If you're up for fantasy, Howl's Moving Castle started out as a book. It's lighthearted, fun, and actually quite different from the better-known Miyazaki film.
I need some books . . .
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Am a massive fan of terry pratchett the best author of modern times in my opinion.
Try Robin Hobb's series of books, very good reads. Jonathan Stroud's the bartamaius trilogy is an enjoyable read.
Try Robin Hobb's series of books, very good reads. Jonathan Stroud's the bartamaius trilogy is an enjoyable read.
Yes, a thousand times yes.jrhamilton said:
Umberto Eco
What's better than a map maker writing a fantasy novel?
A symbolist writing a conspiracy novel...
Foucalt's Pendulum is like a GOOD Da Vinci Code...
Breaking Rank by Norm Stamper
Confused by all the OWS police incidents? In-confident of the police? Want answers?
Read Norm Stamper's best book ever...
Then buy a LEAP pin!
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
Read a Manga every now and again. I can think of few Dark Comedy/Satire manga that so accurately parody and reflect modern Japan...
Read this, and learn about the Japan that the culture studies majors don't know about...The Despairful one...
What's better than a map maker writing a fantasy novel?
A symbolist writing a conspiracy novel...
Foucalt's Pendulum is like a GOOD Da Vinci Code...
Breaking Rank by Norm Stamper
Confused by all the OWS police incidents? In-confident of the police? Want answers?
Read Norm Stamper's best book ever...
Then buy a LEAP pin!
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
Read a Manga every now and again. I can think of few Dark Comedy/Satire manga that so accurately parody and reflect modern Japan...
Read this, and learn about the Japan that the culture studies majors don't know about...The Despairful one...
Thank you all, I don't think I'll need to post a thread like this again for a long time now 
I knew I picked a good place to ask for recommendations. From the books suggested that I have either read or are aware of, I seem to have been handed a great selection.
I knew I picked a good place to ask for recommendations. From the books suggested that I have either read or are aware of, I seem to have been handed a great selection.
Any fan of fantasy should read The Old Kingdom series, 3 books, Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen. They're the best books I've ever read in my life.
Fantasy:
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin
-Game of Thrones
-Clash of Kings
-Storm of Swords
-Feast for Crows
-Dance With Dragons
Dreamsongs Volume I and II by George R. R. Martin
The Old Kingdom Series by Garth Nix
-Sabriel
-Lirael
-Abhorsen
The Demon cycle by Peter V. Brett
-The Painted Man
-The Desert Spear
Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson
-New Spring
-Eye of the World
-The Great Hunt
-Dragon Reborn
-Shadow Rising
-Fires of Heaven
-Lord of Chaos
-Crown of Thorns
-Path of Daggers
-Winters Heart
-Crossroads of Twilight
-Gathering Storm
-Towers of Midnight
Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks
-The Way of Shadows
-Shadow's Edge
-Beyond the Shadows
Lightbringer Series
-The Black Prism
Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
-The Final Empire
-Well Of Ascension
-Hero of Ages
-Alloy of Law
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
- The Way of Kings
The Black Company by Glen Cook
-Chronicles of the Black Company
-The Books of the South
-The Return of the Black Company
-The Many Deaths of the Black Company
Instrumentalities of the Night by Glen Cook
-Tyranny of the Night
-Lord of the Silent Kingdom
-Surrender to the Will of the Night
The Belgariad/Mallorean by David Eddings
-Pawn of Prophecy
-Queen of Sorcery
-Castle of Wizardry
-Magicians Gambit
-Guardians of the West
-King of the Murgos
-Demon Lord of Karanda
-Sorceress of Darshiva
-Seeress of Kell
-Belgarath the Sorcerer
-Polgara the Sorceress
The Elenium/Tamuli by David Eddings
-The Diamond Throne
-The Ruby Knight
-The Sapphire Rose
-Domes of Fire
-The Shining Ones
-The Hidden City
The Redemption of Althalus by David Eddings
The Kyralia Series by Trudi Canavan
-The Magician's Apprentice
-The Magician's Guild
-The Novice
-The High Lord
-The Ambassador's Mission
-The Rogue
The Age of Five Trilogy by Trudi Canavan
-Priestess of the White
-Last of the Wilds
-Voice of the Gods
Anything by David Gemmell (Too many to List)
Thriller:
The Man who Turned into Himself by David Ambrose
The Brotherhood of the Rose by David Morell
Anything by Nelson Demille (Too many to List)
Anything by Steve Berry (Too Many to List)
------------------------------------------------
That covers most of what I have in my room at the moment and I can't be bothered to head over into my library to list off more. Though if you get all those, it should keep you tied over until next Christmas.
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin
-Game of Thrones
-Clash of Kings
-Storm of Swords
-Feast for Crows
-Dance With Dragons
Dreamsongs Volume I and II by George R. R. Martin
The Old Kingdom Series by Garth Nix
-Sabriel
-Lirael
-Abhorsen
The Demon cycle by Peter V. Brett
-The Painted Man
-The Desert Spear
Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson
-New Spring
-Eye of the World
-The Great Hunt
-Dragon Reborn
-Shadow Rising
-Fires of Heaven
-Lord of Chaos
-Crown of Thorns
-Path of Daggers
-Winters Heart
-Crossroads of Twilight
-Gathering Storm
-Towers of Midnight
Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks
-The Way of Shadows
-Shadow's Edge
-Beyond the Shadows
Lightbringer Series
-The Black Prism
Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
-The Final Empire
-Well Of Ascension
-Hero of Ages
-Alloy of Law
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
- The Way of Kings
The Black Company by Glen Cook
-Chronicles of the Black Company
-The Books of the South
-The Return of the Black Company
-The Many Deaths of the Black Company
Instrumentalities of the Night by Glen Cook
-Tyranny of the Night
-Lord of the Silent Kingdom
-Surrender to the Will of the Night
The Belgariad/Mallorean by David Eddings
-Pawn of Prophecy
-Queen of Sorcery
-Castle of Wizardry
-Magicians Gambit
-Guardians of the West
-King of the Murgos
-Demon Lord of Karanda
-Sorceress of Darshiva
-Seeress of Kell
-Belgarath the Sorcerer
-Polgara the Sorceress
The Elenium/Tamuli by David Eddings
-The Diamond Throne
-The Ruby Knight
-The Sapphire Rose
-Domes of Fire
-The Shining Ones
-The Hidden City
The Redemption of Althalus by David Eddings
The Kyralia Series by Trudi Canavan
-The Magician's Apprentice
-The Magician's Guild
-The Novice
-The High Lord
-The Ambassador's Mission
-The Rogue
The Age of Five Trilogy by Trudi Canavan
-Priestess of the White
-Last of the Wilds
-Voice of the Gods
Anything by David Gemmell (Too many to List)
Thriller:
The Man who Turned into Himself by David Ambrose
The Brotherhood of the Rose by David Morell
Anything by Nelson Demille (Too many to List)
Anything by Steve Berry (Too Many to List)
------------------------------------------------
That covers most of what I have in my room at the moment and I can't be bothered to head over into my library to list off more. Though if you get all those, it should keep you tied over until next Christmas.
A song of Ice and Fire, better known as game of thrones. Best. Freaking. Books. Ever. ever since I read them, every other book pales in comparison to its magnificence as a series. Read it all, its a great series, and George R.R. Martin is a freaking awesome writer.
You're not the first person to mention those. I'm really ashamed to admit that, until a few hours ago, I'd forgotten they even existed. I can barely even remember the plot now, but I know I enjoyed it enough for me to go hunt them down later. I should really get back into his Keys to the Kingdom series too, although those weren't as good as The Old Kingdom books.Kungfu_Teddybear said:
As you are already versed in the way of Steven Kings wats, may I suggest you try the Dark Tower series? There are 7 books in total which he started when he was 19. They are brilliant books, I am on book for at the moment, and they have kept me interested all that time!
The Hunger Games! (All of them! Although I feel like the author just ended the last book with a "and they live happily ever after" sort of ending, because she didn't have any more ideas.)
Also, World War Z!
I recommended these because they're all either fantasy or sci-fiction. I guess. I guess it depends on how you view Zombies. Either as horrorifying monsters or science fiction creatures. =P
Also, World War Z!
I recommended these because they're all either fantasy or sci-fiction. I guess. I guess it depends on how you view Zombies. Either as horrorifying monsters or science fiction creatures. =P
I suspect you would like the Artemis Fowl series, which is one of my all-time favorites. It's kind of a science-fiction/heist/adventure series featuring a wonderful sense of humor, plenty of excitement, and compelling characters that include a 12-year-old boy genius/criminal mastermind, his loyal bodyguard Butler, and an underground society (literally) of fairies and other uniquely-interpreted mythological creatures. It might sound a little silly, and it often is, but when I said "compelling" I meant it. Each book is dramatic, thoroughly entertaining and frequently brilliant. I strongly recommend you at least give it a try!
Seems like you mostly like anything that is well-written, so I'll just recommend the works I've read and felt like transcended genres and just became great books.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
The Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson. (10 books at around 1000 pages a pop. Will keep you occupied, but is worth it. It's so good that almost everyone I know who've read all 10 is planning, have done or is in the doing of rereading the whole series)
Name of the Wind and Wise Man's Fear by Pat Rothfuss
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R Martin
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
American Gods by Neil Gaiman (HBO-series produced by Tom Hanks incoming)
Heroes by Joe Abercrombie
Other great genre books are (That I've read):
Everything by Brandon Sanderson (Including a Wheel of Time series if you can handle the draught of action in the middle of the series)
Everything else by Joe Abercrombie
The Magicians and The Magician King by Lev Grossman (Begins as Harry Potter and evolves into something else that is magical, meta and brutal)
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
All books by Jo Nesbø (Norwegian equivalent of Stieg Larsson)
Lots of other suggestions here
Things to avoid:
The Sword of Truth series unless you are a rabid Ayn Rand fan.
Eragon.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
The Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson. (10 books at around 1000 pages a pop. Will keep you occupied, but is worth it. It's so good that almost everyone I know who've read all 10 is planning, have done or is in the doing of rereading the whole series)
Name of the Wind and Wise Man's Fear by Pat Rothfuss
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R Martin
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
American Gods by Neil Gaiman (HBO-series produced by Tom Hanks incoming)
Heroes by Joe Abercrombie
Other great genre books are (That I've read):
Everything by Brandon Sanderson (Including a Wheel of Time series if you can handle the draught of action in the middle of the series)
Everything else by Joe Abercrombie
The Magicians and The Magician King by Lev Grossman (Begins as Harry Potter and evolves into something else that is magical, meta and brutal)
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
All books by Jo Nesbø (Norwegian equivalent of Stieg Larsson)
Lots of other suggestions here
Things to avoid:
The Sword of Truth series unless you are a rabid Ayn Rand fan.
Eragon.
Pendergast books by Preston/Child. The earlier ones I always found were a nice mix of some fantasy/crime/thriller. It sorta reminded me of watching X-files. I also read this book Scar Night once that was pretty good, kinda screwy.
Anything by Diana Wynne Jones is fun and worth reading.Singularly Datarific said:
Also an older series, maybe a little childish but The Dark is Rising by a female author. They made a terrible film out of it but the books are quite fun.
Another slightly childish one but the Redwall series by Brian Jacques. Slight repetitive but nice lighthearted fun nonetheless.
As has been said before, The Belgariad and The Mallorean by David and Leigh Eddings as well as the two companion books Belgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara the Sorceress. Also the Rivan Codex if you want some background, probably best to read after the series.
Hope you choose some good books for Christmas and enjoy the holidays
I'll second the Philip K Dick recommendations. I'll throw Ubiq in there as my favorite.
Alone Against Tomorrow by Harlan Ellison is a great collection of short stories. And that includes I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream which is an essential science fiction story.
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. The story is centered around a visit to the atheistic Soviet Union by the Devil and his entourage. One of which is a large talking cat with a fondness for chess and vodka. Bulgakov was still working on his final draft when he died in 1940. It wasn't published until the '60's in a heavily edited and censored version. Eventually we got a complete version based on all available manuscripts some decades later.
And a character in Psychonauts was named after Mikhail Bulgakov, which is awesome.
Alone Against Tomorrow by Harlan Ellison is a great collection of short stories. And that includes I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream which is an essential science fiction story.
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. The story is centered around a visit to the atheistic Soviet Union by the Devil and his entourage. One of which is a large talking cat with a fondness for chess and vodka. Bulgakov was still working on his final draft when he died in 1940. It wasn't published until the '60's in a heavily edited and censored version. Eventually we got a complete version based on all available manuscripts some decades later.
And a character in Psychonauts was named after Mikhail Bulgakov, which is awesome.