Reccomend a book

[TheFacelessOne]

Ender's Game and its series.

Slightly offensive, cuss words, the first refers to genitals sometimes, but in a harmless manner.

Plus it doesn't do it all the time. Usually spaced out.

 

[Weaver]

why does it need to be after 1960?? Some of the most seminal works of fiction were created before 1960. Is this your own personal restriction or the schools? Whoever is responsible for such stringent restraints is an idiot.

According to my teacher it still leaves 50 years of literature to be read. I mean it discounts works like White Fang, Moby Dick, War of the Worlds, Lord of the Rings, etc, but why read that when I could read great works like Twightlight.

haha, I guess so

I just don't see why any of it matters. A good book is a good book, it shouldn't matter when it was written. Hell, Euthyphro is estimated to be written around 399 BC and it's still a mighty philosophical text.

Well, I'm not your teacher but I think he/she is barring your class from reading some amazing works. Of course, there are great books written after 1960. Life of Pi is pretty accessible and pretty interesting, though it has a bizarre narrative structure... and it's 356 pages.

 

[Telasro]

If you're willing to ignore the 200 page limit, The Saga of the Seven Suns series is a really good scifi book series. Each of the seven books is fairly long, and has a fairly intricate plot.

 

[Cpt. Red]

World War Z.
If you ever read a book with zombies in it read this one.
Seriously it's one of the best books I've read for quite some time and I like to read. Hell I've read it three times already and I'm going trough my forth right now...

 

[azncutthroat]

World War Z, Max Brooks, Historical Fic
Armor, John Stealey, Sci-Fi
Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman, Fantasy
American Gods, Neil Gaiman, Fantasy

Enjoy.

 

[Brotherofwill]

I know there are other threads about this but it's for a project at school and I have some requirements.

1. Be written after 1960
2. Must be fictional
3. Be 200 pages
4. School appropriate (who knows who my books could offend)
5. Can't be a movie
6. It is likely to need some symbolism or theme that I can babble about in an essay

I mostly read classics so this is kind of a hard pick for me so any reccomendation is welcome.

Sucks that it can't be a movie. Other wise I would have recommended Cormac McCarthy. He's probably the most highly regarded modern writer and has lots and lots of themes and all that shit schools want. His best books "The Road" and "No Country for Old Men" have been turned into films, so there goes that.

Otherwise if you'd like a little bit more of a surreal book I'd recommend Haruki Murakami's books. Try 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles' or maybe 'Kafka on the Shore'. The books are pretty long but rediculously easy and quick to read. So if you want no real effort then take these.

 

[NyteRaven]

If it was me, I'd be looking at either His Dark Materials, any of the three, but if you skip one, then they don't make much sense, or you could try almost any of the Black Library novels, especially the Fantasy ones.

Hope that helped, if not, ah well, at least I tried

 

[Ironic Pirate]

why does it need to be after 1960?? Some of the most seminal works of fiction were created before 1960. Is this your own personal restriction or the schools? Whoever is responsible for such stringent restraints is an idiot.

I'm just mad because 1984 is one of my favorite books of all time and was published in 1949.

Really, I thought it was 1948?

Hey wait, it was probably re-published, so that could be a workaround...

Maybe some Bernard Cornwell books? The symbolism isn't usually specific, but the Warlord Chronicles seems to shit all over the bland, staid King Arthur stories in favor of something grittier. You could write about how we tend to idolise certain figures, and put them in "can-do-wrong" kind of light.

It may not be appropriate though. The violence is detailed, the characters curse frequently, and a baby gets straight up shanked. And an old dude (Merlin) has sex with 12 year olds, but that was normal back then.

 

[NyteRaven]

Snip

Chart Throb by Ben Elton.

A satire of modern culture, the UK's obsession with the royal family, Simon Cowell and talent shows.

Easy stuff.

EDIT: The main plot of the book is a Simon Cowell expy tries to win a bet to see if Prince Charles can win the X-factor.

That is an awesome book, but suitable for a classroom? not so sure, plenty of expletives... but what the hell.

 

[Baneat]

Philip K Dick's novels are great reads. Pretty difficult, had to read more than once to take it in fully.

 

[MinishArcticFox]

Snip

Chart Throb by Ben Elton.

A satire of modern culture, the UK's obsession with the royal family, Simon Cowell and talent shows.

Easy stuff.

EDIT: The main plot of the book is a Simon Cowell expy tries to win a bet to see if Prince Charles can win the X-factor.

Chances are this would go over my Glenn Beck adoring English teacher's head

 

[jmoore4ska]

"The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" or "The Yiddish Poilicmen's Union" both by Michael Chabon. They would really be perfect: They're recently written, exceptional fictions.

Kavalier & Clay (which won a Pulitzer) has a bit of explicit content here and there (It deals some with relationships and includes hetero- and homosexual sex, with taste of course), but if that's a problem, Yiddish Policemen's is a great fall-back.

You know, now that I think about it, Yiddish Policemen's Union is probably the better choice. The symbolism is a bit more apparent, i think, and it's less likely to offend anyone. Plus, it's a bit shorter (at 432 pages) and funnier as well. It also might earn you some brownie points with a teacher or professor, since it isn't likely to be a commonly chosen book among your classmates but IS by one of the greatest authors of the current generation.

Also, both are standalone titles, so you won't need to read a whole series, like with a fantasy book. You might have to put in some time to familiarize yourself with some basic jewish culture, though.

So there you go. I seriously recommend it, to you (and anyone else reading this post):

The Yiddish Policemen's Union - Michael Chabon.

 

[Weaver]

why does it need to be after 1960?? Some of the most seminal works of fiction were created before 1960. Is this your own personal restriction or the schools? Whoever is responsible for such stringent restraints is an idiot.

I'm just mad because 1984 is one of my favorite books of all time and was published in 1949.

Really, I thought it was 1948?

Hey wait, it was probably re-published, so that could be a workaround...

Maybe some Bernard Cornwell books? The symbolism isn't usually specific, but the Warlord Chronicles seems to shit all over the bland, staid King Arthur stories in favor of something grittier. You could write about how we tend to idolise certain figures, and put them in "can-do-wrong" kind of light.

It may not be appropriate though. The violence is detailed, the characters curse frequently, and a baby gets straight up shanked. And an old dude (Merlin) has sex with 12 year olds, but that was normal back then.

It was WRITTEN in 1948 and published in 1949.

 

[willman137]

The curious incident of the dog in the nighttime, hands down excellent.

 

[Gralian]

The Book With No Name by Anonymous.

However, that is really not suitable for school as it contains heavy violence, sex, horror and a mindfuck plot.

One of my favourite authors is John Ajvide Lindqvist. I loved Let The Right One In and Handling the Undead. One of my favourite novel series are the Night Watch books, by Sergei Lukyanenko. While there is some light violence, it's certainly not graphic. It's high on supernatural and fantasy and is set in Moscow.

 

[quiet_samurai]

I know there are other threads about this but it's for a project at school and I have some requirements.

1. Be written after 1960
2. Must be fictional
3. Be at least 200 pages
4. School appropriate (who knows who my books could offend)
5. Can't be a movie
6. It is likely to need some symbolism or theme that I can babble about in an essay

I mostly read classics so this is kind of a hard pick for me so any reccomendation is welcome.

Shogun by James Clavell.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dgun_(novel)

1. Written in the 70's
2. historical fiction.
3. Almost 2000 pages
4. Check
5. Was made into a fairly well made TV miniseries, but the book is epic.
6. Not really alot of symbolism, but it's a good story. Even though the plot isn't really unique nowadays it's still a fascinating read. You could write an essay about an outsider learning to love his new found way of life more then his old one. So it kind of has that Avatar, Dances with Wolves, The Last Samurai thing going for it, but it's still awesome.

 

[scnj]

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. It's a sci-fi war novel about soldiers who go off to fight, only to find that after a few months on tour, the lightspeed travel has caused time dilation and centuries have passed on earth. It deals with how Vietnam veterans felt after going home from their time out there, and extreme measures of population control.

I dunno how appropriate it would be for class though, since homosexuality is a major factor in the plot. Definitely worth a look though.

 

[Radeonx]

why does it need to be after 1960?? Some of the most seminal works of fiction were created before 1960. Is this your own personal restriction or the schools? Whoever is responsible for such stringent restraints is an idiot.

According to my teacher it still leaves 50 years of literature to be read. I mean it discounts works like White Fang, Moby Dick, War of the Worlds, Lord of the Rings, etc, but why read that when I could read great works like Twightlight.

haha, I guess so

I just don't see why any of it matters. A good book is a good book, it shouldn't matter when it was written. Hell, Euthyphro is estimated to be written around 399 BC and it's still a mighty philosophical text.

Well, I'm not your teacher but I think he/she is barring your class from reading some amazing works. Of course, there are great books written after 1960. Life of Pi is pretty accessible and pretty interesting, though it has a bizarre narrative structure... and it's 356 pages.

The Life of Pi was pretty awesome. I had a few books to recommend, but this was better than all of them.

 

[Mykonos]

If only The Sandman wasn't a comic...

 

[TheRocketeer]

Hell, I'll give you a choice.

Shōgun by James Clavell, a masterfully-written epic of an English navigator trapped in a violent power struggle in feudal Japan. Clavell's immense insight into the times and mindset of the nation make it one-of-a-kind, its era-spanning sequels notwithstanding.

The Caine Mutiny, Herman Wouk's tale of a young sailor's life on a WWII rustbucket and its mad captain, the hated, cowardly P. F. Queeg, and the dramatic overthrow of his petty tyranny that threatens to doom the whole crew. The book is widely considered one of the greatest books of the 20[sup]th[/sup] Century.

Or Lonesome Dove, a book that did for Westerns what The Lord of the Rings did for fantasy, the epic saga of two aging Texas Rangers attempting to put their looming mortality out of mind via a two thousand-mile cattle drive. The tale is comprised of soaring adventure and crushing tragedy side-by-side, with some of the most compellingly-crafted characters in literary memory and a narrative that will stir any reader's soul.

And if that's not enough of a recommendation, keep in mind that all three of these books won Pulitzer Prizes. Regardless of whether you use one of these for your assignment, you should definitely read these books for your own sake. They are three of my favorite's, and worthy of a spot on anyone's shelf and in everyone's hearts.