I need a good book.

[DTWolfwood]

Paradise Lost.

and

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

2 books i've been wanting to read but haven't the inclination to pick up the books

 

[Jamous]

David Eddings writes some amazing characters; Check out The Redemption of Althulas (Althalus? I can never remember the spelling.)
See also, The Necronomicon, a compendium of Lovecraft's stuff. Very good read. (Although reading it before going swimming in Egypt is inadvisable. You see tentacles in the coral. D
I can also recommend you Pandaemonium by Christopher Brookmyre, most books by Neil Gaiman (They're epic) and Paradise Lost by Milton. If you're in the mood for a 17th Century Epic.

 

[thethingthatlurks]

Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut is hilarious and surprisingly deep. Plus it's one of the most quotable books I've ever read, if that's your thing.
Just about anything by Kafka if you're feeling emo.
The Fall, The Stranger, or The Plague by Camus if you want something on the nature of humans.
Steppenwolf, or Magister Ludi (aka The Glassbead Game) by Hesse if you want some life is worth it stories.
Notes From Underground, by Dostoevsky if a) you are a shallow misanthrope, or b) are seriously interested in the struggle of the individual against society on moral matters.
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. Pure hilarity, nothing deep or meaningful, just plain funny.

 

[Brownie101]

Go get some Discworld.

Ain't gettin' much better than that

This definitly. I started at Going Postal but start where you want, really. It's just if you start later in the books, you might miss small continuity nods.

Other books I've read and consider "Generally Awesome":
Stephen King's The Dark Tower series
Sepulchre Not Kate Moss'. I can't remember the author.

That's all I can remmeber for now. I might remember some later.

if you want something a bit more serious, then go for the Sword of Truth series. Be careful though, it starts off seeming like it's in the same vein as Eragon, then BAM! All this brutal shit comes out of nowhere about halfway through book one. Good series, and the situations the characters get put into really make you think. (Particularly Faith of the Fallen.)

Yes. Serious novels, not much humour. And that brutal shit, I suppose includes the near-rape in almost every freakin book. Though it does work as a plot device.

 

[Pat8u]

Christie Goldens Arthas is good even if you don't like warcraft

 

[TheKruzdawg]

The Heralds of Valdemar series by Mercedes Lackey. Sure it's long (somewhere around 30 books) but I've loved all of them. If you like going in chronological order, start with the Black Gryphon. If that's not as important (there is some carry-over into future books, but they span a very long timeline, although they do reference the past at least once in each book and it's kind of cool to have read about that event) then start with the Last Herald-Mage Trilogy. Great trilogy and IMO one of the best of the series.

 

[Giest4life]

The Name of the Wind

It's been a long time since I've someone else mention this book. A long time.

OT: If you haven't already, I recommend Ender's Game. Every other good book has pretty much been mentioned.
Also, if you are ready for a long-term commitment, I recommend the Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Ericksson. Very philosophical, very Nitzscheish.

 

[Hylke Langhout]

Pretty much anything by Lovecraft if you like dark fantasy or psychological horror. The Hunger Games trilogy if you like your sci-fi a little more conventional. 13 Things That Don't Make Sense is an awesome and witty nonfiction book that you might like. Good Omens for the most hilarious fantasy book you probably ever read, because it's written by Terry Pratchett AND Neil Gaiman

 

[Purple Dragon]

Discworld Series
The Steel Remains
Gardens of the Moon
The Blade Itself

 

[Ferrious]

The Windup Girl

I am still not sure why I loved that book so much. Its writing style is very refreshing, and the outlook it offers at a possible future in which gene manipulation and climate changes brought the world to its knees, is stunning almost. There is no black and white, no good and evil, and I suppose that might just be why I liked it so much.

On second thoughts, given your request for sci-fi/philosophical, I wholeheartedly endorse this. One of the more promising recent sci-fi books, and the ending doesn't disappointing (unlike most sci-fi).

 

[cubikill]

Brave new world, or We, both are good dystopian sci-fi novels, that are more nuanced then 1984 in my opinion.
A song of ice and fire is really good as well, Im like the fifth person to recommend this.

 

[Socks and Shoes]

Pillars of the Earth.

Great. Fucking. Book.

 

[Ailia]

I strongly recommend The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, about a group of con artists in a city that has never even heard of the trade. Then shit happens, and well... let's just say it was one of the most dramatic, plot-twisty books I'd read in years. (The second book in the series is already out, and the third is coming out soon).

 

[KafkaOffTheBeach]

Just read Atlas Shrugged and be done with it.
You'll never want to read another book ever again - and I'd like to remind you all that said phrase has many connotations.
Just saying.

 

[spartan231490]

Any recommendations? Anything sci-fi, philosophical, or just generally awesome.

I reach out to the mighty knowledge base that is The Escapist community.

Another one of these threads, another chance for me to suggest "Sword of Truth" series by Terry Goodkind. It's one of those series that you will either love with all your heart or despise. I haven't met anyone who despises it, but that's all that there seems to be on the internet. It's an epic fantasy with a great deal of philosophy in it, and it's generally awesome.

"Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin is also a good fantasy.

The "Attikus Kodiak" Series by Greg Rucka is also very good, it's more of a mystery series than anything else, but it has some great action scenes.

"Vlad Taltos" series by Steven Brust is a awesome fantasy series, especially if you like dry sarcastic humor.

"Inheritance" Cycle by Christopher Paolini is a good fantasy.

"Mercy Thompson" series and The "Alpha and Omega" series by Patricia Briggs are pretty good as long as you don't mind Romance mixed in pretty heavily with your action/sci-fi/fantasy.

"Wheel of Time" by Robert Jordan is another great Epic Fantasy.

"Hellgate: London Saga" by Mel Odom is a good sci-fi/fantasy series if you don't mind the whole series ending in a cliffhanger.

"Ranger's Apprentice" by John Flanagan, and "Percy Jackson" by Rick Riordan are very good fantasy series if you like relatively short, quick-read books, and don't mind a writing style aimed at teenagers.

Sorry, I don't read much Sci-fi, I'm more of a fantasy kind of guy, but I would strongly suggest all of these series. Every one of them is a fun read.

EDIT: "Fahrenheit 451" is probably my favorite true sci-fi book. You could read that

 

[ZtH]

The Night Angel series by Brent Weeks

I just started this one myself and the first book in it was very good.

I would recommend the aforementioned Neil Gaiman novels in addition to Warbreaker or Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson.

 

[Dale Cooper]

House of Leaves.

If you like scary.

I also agree with the people that said American Gods.

 

[Azahul]

I'll add my voice to the many, many others saying the Discworld series. On a more original note however, I have to say the Anno Dracula series by Kim Newman. The basic premise for the first book (Anno Dracula) can be summed up along the lines of "Jack the Ripper: Vampire Slayer", set in a Victorian England where Dracula won, married Queen Victoria, and turned a good portion of England into fellow vampires. Then some nut (labelled by the press as Jack the Ripper) starts murdering vampire prostitutes.
The first is an amazing book, but the second one (The Bloody Red Baron) gets even better. Set during WWI, it mostly revolves around the Baron von Richtofen and his squad of fliers, as well as their Allied counterparts. Oh, and the German flyers shapeshift into giant bat-things and tackle planes in mid-air.
The second and third ones in particular (the third, the Judgement of Tears, is set in Rome during the 1960's) feature the effects of long-term immortality on the world at large and individuals in particular a bit more than the first one, and the series has this devastatingly black humour running throughout it as characters mention various historical and bloody events that, from their point of view, would never have happened without vampires in general and Dracula in particular, which I personally found hilarious.
The books feature a cast of characters both historical and fictional, as well as a number of characters drawn from historical literature that have ended up in the public domain (I loved the fact that Dr Hyde was the coroner on the Jack the Ripper cases), all of which he blends with the setting reaaally well. Anno Dracula is hands down my favourite series of all time (excluding the Discworld books). They're just brilliant in every way imaginable, and not to give away any real spoilers but the encounter between a vampire called James Bond and the cat that runs the Russian spy bureau in Rome is probably my favourite scene in anything. Ever. Particularly when Frankenstein's monster and clockwork ballerinas get involved...

 

[Voration]

I just read 'Among Thieves' by Douglas Hulick. It came out sometime in the last month, I couldn't put it down until I finished it.

 

[VampSmiley]

I also agree with the Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks. Great set of fantasy books.

Seconded John Dies at the End. Hilarious and creepy at the same time.

The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. Great supernatural mystery series set in present day Chicago.