Books to read before you die

[HotPocket]

what are your favourite novels you would suggest I read?, i'm not picky about genre.
my personal favourites include Captain Corelli's Mandolin and 1984

Name of the Wind, it is much better than any of these books posted.

come on now no need to be a fanboy we have enough of that in videogame related forums

Have you read it? No.

So don't talk, I have read pretty much ALL of the books on this thread and I can say for a fact that Name of the Wind is the best book I have ever read.

EDIT: And I mean the whole thread, not just your post.

 

[Tdc2182]

Seriously guys?

No one has said Harry Potter yet?

Honestly? For realz?

Wow. I'm disappointed in all of you.

 

[Tdc2182]

The Cirque du Freaks series by Darren Shan is also really good. I've never liked vampire stories much (just not my thing), but this one is amazing because it creates a real culture and the story, in the end, isn't ABOUT vampires. Vampires are necessary to tell the tale, but it's not about vampires. It's a series that gets more in depth as it goes by.

I'm gonna be honest; I really didn't think the ending was good.

But then again, when you create such a stellar series like that you are bound to break a few hearts.

The Demonata series by Darren Shan is also great. Very grotesque, very dark. Shan does many things that you would never ever expect in the series. It's extremely well-written.

Yikes, the most twisted and deliciously grotesque series I think has ever been written.

Wouldn't suggest it for the person who likes happy endings.

P.S. Our library down here had a signed Darren Shan book and didnt even know it.

 

[Death916]

Dune, easily my most favourite work of literature ever. It's oh-so very atmospheric and it's a true linguistical delight.

Then there's The Dresden Files, urban fantasy detective novels with a good helping of black humour with an awesome main character.

And of course Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams. The same type of writers, the former writing the hilarious Discworld novels (especially the Watch and Death series are recommended) and the former writing the brilliant Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (though the last 2 books aren't that good compared to the first 2).

I also still want to read all the Lord of the Rings novels, and especially The Hobbit. Might do that next.

There's of course a ton more, but those come to mind.

Dune is exactly what I was gonna say. I think everyone should read the whole series, including the prequels. The universe the Herberts and Anderson created is amazing

 

[Latinidiot]

...
Do Robots dream of electric sheep?
...
Damn, I think I misread something. These are books I still want to read before I die, not my favourites, because I obviously haven't read them yet.
...

Clearly you haven't read them yet. It's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? =P Just to help you find it when you do get around to reading it. Also, I do highly recommend you and everyone else read it.

And rather than reiterating all the books I'd choose that others have already mentioned, I'll just add a few recommendations of my own to the list - Magician by Raymond E Feist and The Earthsea Quartet by Ursula Le Guin are both classics of fantasy writing that should be read by anyone that enjoys the genre. The 13 and 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers is far and away one of the most incredibly imaginative and enjoyable books I've ever read.

And straying into the graphic story telling medium for a moment, Pluto, Naoki Urasawa's 8 volume adaptation of the classic Astro Boy story arc "The Greatest Robot on Earth" is one of the finest works I have ever read in any medium, and one I have no hesitation recommending to anyone, whether they read manga/graphic novels or not.

And that saves me hours of pointless searching, thank you kindly.

I read magician, It is one of the awesomest fantasy books I can think of. I recomend reading WAylander and other Gemmel books if you like Feist.

 

[Tanner The Monotone]

I would say "Under the Dome" By stephen king

 

[Toaster Hunter]

The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Song of Ice and Fire Series by George R.R.Martin

Dune by Frank Herbert

Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

The Iliad and Odyssey by Homer

Beowulf by Unknown

Just some of my favorites

 

[Cowabungaa]

Also, I hope you've read all of Herberts Dune sequels? I'm still trying to work my way through 'em. Its gooood stuff.

Sadly not, I haven't found the time yet. I'm planning to read The Hobbit next, I think I'll go for another Dune book after that. Or the Sprawl Trilogy. There's do damned much...

Seriously guys?

No one has said Harry Potter yet?

Honestly? For realz?

Wow. I'm disappointed in all of you.

They're fun but, honestly, compared to most other books offered in these threads they pale in comparison.

 

[Flamezdudes]

The mormon bible because, hey, you never know, it could be the religion for you.

As long as you read all the other tons of religious texts too.

 

[YouBecame]

One flew over the Cuckoos nest - Ken Kesey
Brave new world - Aldous Huxley
Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
The Odyssey - Homer
Post Office - Charles Bukowski
The curious incident incident of the dog in the night-time - Mark Haddon

Some of my favourite books there; certainly worth a pop!

 

[44-Blue]

books to read before you die? my answer is as many possible - good and bad - like food, tv, movies and games, the bad make you appreciate the great that much more.

 

[Korenith]

Appologies for any repeats in here but I'd recommend:

American Psycho- Bret Easton Ellis
Oryx and Crake- Margaret Atwood
The Road- Cormac MacCarthy
A Clockwork Orange- Anthony Burgess
The Inheritors- William Golding
I Am Legend- Richard Matheson
The Wasp Factory- Iain Banks
The Cement Garden- Ian McEwan
Lannark- Alasdair Gray
Ulysses- James Joyce
The Malazan Book of the Fallen- Steven Erikson
Song of Fire and Ice- George R R Martin
Catch 22- Joeseph Heller
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest- Ken Kesey
Never Let Me Go- Kazuo Ishiguro
Perfume- Patrick Suskind
The Epic of Gilgamesh- ?? (recommend to anybody who enjoyed reading Homer because they liked seeing how tale telling differed back then since it's even older)
Divine Comedy- Dante Algiheri
Paradise Lost- John Milton
The Wasteland- T S Eliot
The Picture of Dorian Gray- Oscar Wilde
The strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde- R L Stevenson

 

[Korenith]

books to read before you die? my answer is as many possible - good and bad - like food, tv, movies and games, the bad make you appreciate the great that much more.

Liking this answer too though. Can't appreciate talent unless you've got something to compare it to. It's nice to know Dan Brown and all those celebrity autobiographies do serve a purpose.