I'd recommend Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, which follows a group of characters in medieval England over the course of about 40 years of their lives. I couldn't put it down and I'm just about to start reading the sequel.
Reccomend me a book
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I, Claudius
and the sequel Claudius The God
by Robert Graves.
A fictional autobiography of Claudius the 4th roman emperor, based on the life of the real Claudius... Amazing and very surprising books, discovering a part of the world of the kings of ancient times.
and the sequel Claudius The God
by Robert Graves.
A fictional autobiography of Claudius the 4th roman emperor, based on the life of the real Claudius... Amazing and very surprising books, discovering a part of the world of the kings of ancient times.
Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb (fantasy, its my favorite series of books).
The black magician trilogy by Trudi Canavan (fantasy).
Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind (fantasy).
MOGworld by Yahtzee.
Also. please say which geners you like when making such post.
The black magician trilogy by Trudi Canavan (fantasy).
Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind (fantasy).
MOGworld by Yahtzee.
Also. please say which geners you like when making such post.
Like a few people have already mentioned, Terry Pratchett is amazing, you really can't sing the man's praises enough.
I'll also throw in a second vote of confidence for "House of Leaves" by Mark Danielewski. I had just moved into a new apartment when I read it whilst actually doing a tattooist apprenticeship and man, created a palpable sense of dread. Very good horror book.
If you're gunna read Ayn Rand, whilst I have yet to tackle Atlas Shrugged I found the Fountainhead to be an absolutely marvelous book, but some think it's a little juvenile and it does have it's silly moments, take it with a grain of salt perhaps.
Hunter S. Thompson is always a laugh too, if you've heard of him and are wary, try "The Rum Diary" it's quite a good book and the film's due out for release within the year, looking forward to that
Now the last suggestion is a bit of a dark horse, because well, it's kinda in the wrong age bracket, being a young teen fantasy fiction novel, but any story well told is worth hearing. "Monster Blood Tattoo" follows the story of a young orphan who basically has to try and survive in a world where the natural order sees humanity kind of like a virus and humanity vice versa. Sentient creatures roam the world and some are friendly, most aren't and it looks at prejudice and fear and intolerance and blah blah blah.
Number one thing that got me was the setting, think american war for indepence era uniform and technology, but all using energy derived from biological, vat-grown muscles for motors. It's fascinating, (and beautifully illustrated and appended by the author D. M. Cornish, Australian, woop woop!) - Borrow it from a library and burn through it, I know I did when I ran out of things to read, still trying to find the last one though...
Sorry for the wall of text, but there's no point in making suggestions if you don't provide supporting evidence too.
I'll also throw in a second vote of confidence for "House of Leaves" by Mark Danielewski. I had just moved into a new apartment when I read it whilst actually doing a tattooist apprenticeship and man, created a palpable sense of dread. Very good horror book.
If you're gunna read Ayn Rand, whilst I have yet to tackle Atlas Shrugged I found the Fountainhead to be an absolutely marvelous book, but some think it's a little juvenile and it does have it's silly moments, take it with a grain of salt perhaps.
Hunter S. Thompson is always a laugh too, if you've heard of him and are wary, try "The Rum Diary" it's quite a good book and the film's due out for release within the year, looking forward to that
Now the last suggestion is a bit of a dark horse, because well, it's kinda in the wrong age bracket, being a young teen fantasy fiction novel, but any story well told is worth hearing. "Monster Blood Tattoo" follows the story of a young orphan who basically has to try and survive in a world where the natural order sees humanity kind of like a virus and humanity vice versa. Sentient creatures roam the world and some are friendly, most aren't and it looks at prejudice and fear and intolerance and blah blah blah.
Number one thing that got me was the setting, think american war for indepence era uniform and technology, but all using energy derived from biological, vat-grown muscles for motors. It's fascinating, (and beautifully illustrated and appended by the author D. M. Cornish, Australian, woop woop!) - Borrow it from a library and burn through it, I know I did when I ran out of things to read, still trying to find the last one though...
Sorry for the wall of text, but there's no point in making suggestions if you don't provide supporting evidence too.
And though not a book per se, the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels are A-MAY-ZING, at 30 odd mins a book though it's not exactly time consuming.
Read 'Enders Game'! It's a sci-fi book from the late 70's and it's truly awesome?
here's the description
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut--young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.
Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers, Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.
Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If the world survives, that is.
Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards.
here's the description
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut--young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.
Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers, Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.
Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If the world survives, that is.
Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards.
I'd suggest the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik (Its the Napoleonic Wars, plus dragons.)
Or maybe The Codex Alera by Jim Butcher (Its roman legions with magic versus barbarian cat-people versus 8-foot-tall anthropomorphic wolves versus the Yeti versus the Zerg. Yeah.)
Or maybe The Codex Alera by Jim Butcher (Its roman legions with magic versus barbarian cat-people versus 8-foot-tall anthropomorphic wolves versus the Yeti versus the Zerg. Yeah.)
for historical fiction that's pretty impressively well done, i recommend the sharpe series by bernard cornwell
for alternative history, henry turtledove is pretty much the undisputed master
for dystopian literature, animal farm, a brave new world, and farenheit 451 are all good
you also shouldn't miss i am the messenger and the book thief by markus zusak
i would highly recommend the ender's game series (most specifically ender's shadow- bean is so much more interesting than ender), and one of my favorite sci-fi novels of all time has to be solaris.
miscellaneous books covering a wide variety of styles that i happen to like include: another roadside attraction, shadow divers, rainbow six, going after cacciato, the once and future king, pretty much anything by charles dickens, the brothers torres, pedro paramo, death with interruptions, slaughterhouse five, the hunt for red october, the warhammer series, unbroken, the good soldiers, i am legend, the LOTR trilogy, summerland, lies and the lying liars who tell them (that ones a little political by al franken), the splinter cell series (strictly non canon but cool anyway), the halo series, the sum of all fears, etc.
you get the idea. i like to read.
for alternative history, henry turtledove is pretty much the undisputed master
for dystopian literature, animal farm, a brave new world, and farenheit 451 are all good
you also shouldn't miss i am the messenger and the book thief by markus zusak
i would highly recommend the ender's game series (most specifically ender's shadow- bean is so much more interesting than ender), and one of my favorite sci-fi novels of all time has to be solaris.
miscellaneous books covering a wide variety of styles that i happen to like include: another roadside attraction, shadow divers, rainbow six, going after cacciato, the once and future king, pretty much anything by charles dickens, the brothers torres, pedro paramo, death with interruptions, slaughterhouse five, the hunt for red october, the warhammer series, unbroken, the good soldiers, i am legend, the LOTR trilogy, summerland, lies and the lying liars who tell them (that ones a little political by al franken), the splinter cell series (strictly non canon but cool anyway), the halo series, the sum of all fears, etc.
you get the idea. i like to read.
The Lost Swords (Fred Saberhagen) or the minotaurean based Night of Blood series (Night of Blood, Tides of Blood, Empire of Blood) by Richard A. Knaak.
...but only if you're a real man.
...but only if you're a real man.
i liked "Ender's Shadow" better, bean was more interesting than enderslippereend said:Read 'Enders Game'! It's a sci-fi book from the late 70's and it's truly awesome?
here's the description
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut--young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.
Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers, Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.
Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If the world survives, that is.
Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards.
I still have to read the rest of the books, so I can't say which one I like better yet.
But I really enjoyed Enders game already and have been told that speaker for the dead is really interesting as well.
But I really enjoyed Enders game already and have been told that speaker for the dead is really interesting as well.
Seems like we like a lot of the same books!
Anyway, read these series:
"A Song of Ice and Fire" Prehaps the best fantasy ever.
"Lord of the Rings" Well this should be mandatory by law!
"The Sword of Thuth" A pretty good series i guess, but i left it for "The Song".
"The Weel of Time" A fantastic world, if you have a lot of free time.
Too all fantasy nerds out there don't kill me for putting "The Song" before "LoTR"!
Anyway, read these series:
"A Song of Ice and Fire" Prehaps the best fantasy ever.
"Lord of the Rings" Well this should be mandatory by law!
"The Sword of Thuth" A pretty good series i guess, but i left it for "The Song".
"The Weel of Time" A fantastic world, if you have a lot of free time.
Too all fantasy nerds out there don't kill me for putting "The Song" before "LoTR"!
The 'Samuel Johnson vs The Devil' series by John Connoly. Similar in style to the Artemis Fowl books. Also John Connoly's Charlie Parker books, a complete 180 change, but very, very good.