Recommend me some books

[thesilentman]

I LOVE READING, DIDN'T YA' KNOW!

Anyway, to a professional and civil list. There's:
-Hitchhiker's Guide (Bloody, bloody, good; I recommend only the first three though.)
-The Wizards Series by Diane Duane (Basically present day mature Harry Potter with magic that works like alchemy from Fullmetal Alchemist. Good read for a mix of everything)
-The Glitch in Sleep and the Split Second both by John Hulme. (A kid applies to work in a world that manages our world. Short, but fun read)
-Anything by Lovecraft (No explanation needed)
-House of Leaves by Mark blubbdy blah (Horror and pretty...interesting)
-Stephen King (He drags on though, so I recommend only the Dark Tower series)
-Kurt Vonnegut (I really, really like this guy)

...and that's all I can think of at the moment.

 

[soren7550]

Perfect Dark: Initial Vector by Greg Rucka
Perfect Dark: Second Front by Greg Rucka
Black Hawk Down
Generation Kill
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader (any really)

Buh, too tired to think of more.

 

[Jmp_man]

How about any book by Walter Moers?
I really liked The Thirteen and a Half Lives of Captain Bluebear.
(No really, check it out it's THE best book I have EVER read.)

So ya...
also on the other hand...

The Hobbit - J.R.R Tolkien
If you don't know what this is about then....why are you here?

I'veneverreadLotRorDiskWorldorevenASoIaFdon'thitmeplease!

 

[Clearing the Eye]

[HEADING=2]The Mode of Information: Poststructuralism and Social Context[/HEADING]
By Mark Poster.

When we make phone calls and use computers, electronic devices mediate how we communicate. In each instance, we exchange symbols and information just as we have since humans began speaking and writing. What, then-besides economy of space and time-differentiates electronic communications from ordinary speech and writing?

The difference, Mark Poster argues, is the profound effect electronic mediation exerts on the very way we perceive ourselves and reality. To help decode the linguistic dimensions of our multiple forms of social interaction, he plays upon Marx's theory of the mode of production-the shift to late capitalism has a parallel in the shift from the mode of production to that of information.

Enlisting poststructuralist theory, he links four modes of communication with four poststructuralists: TV ads with Baudrillard, data bases with Foucault, electronic writing with Derrida, and computer science with Lyotard. Mode of Information points the way to a poststructuralist strategy for writing history, a framework well suited to unearthing structures of domination and the means to their disruption.

"An informed, insightful, provocative account of phenomena that have transformed virtually every area of public and private life on our time."-Robert Anchor, American Historical Review

"The importance of Poster's book is unmistakable for he skillfully negotiates between and juxtaposes two wide theoretical domains?electronically mediated communications and poststructuralist theory-about which much has been written, but hardly with the acumen that he brings to bear in a long-awaited critical rapprochement."-Charles J. Stivale, Criticism

-http://www.amazon.com/Mode-Information-Poststructuralism-Social-Context/dp/0226675963

 

[Tiger King]

use of weapons by Iain banks.

 

[Hawkolf]

Any Douglass Adams book, especially The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy.

I agree with this.

If you want something grim then I recommend Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell. Ever heard terms "Big Brother is watching" "Thought Police" or "Tought Crime" before? That's the book where it all began. It's easily the best book I've ever read and my all time favorite. If you want a bit lighter version read Orwell's "Animal Farm". It has same elements of political corruption but with animals. Still pretty grim though.

For fantasy books I recommend R.A Salvatore's books about Drizzt Do'Urden. Yeah he might be second to Jesus in terms of characteristics but Jesus didn't fight his way through enemies with scimitars and magical panther on his side! At least I can't remember that part of the Bible...

Last book I'm going to recommend is "Silence of the Lambs". Who hasn't heard about it? "Hannibal" is actually my favourite of the series but I recommend reading Silence before although it's not all that necessary.

 

[theonlyblaze2]

Ready Player One

Ready Player One

READY PLAYER ONE!!

I cannot stress the amazingness that is this book. If you love video games, movies, books or basically any form of entertainment, you'll love this book. I've read it 4 times in less than 6 months and still can't get enough of it. I've also had 10 people read it. Every single one loved it as much as I did.

Again, Ready Player One

 

[Comieman]

Twilight. It is such a great parody of the genre!


But if serious, game of thrones / anything by Strugatski brothers / the Iron Tower / anything by Tolkien / The Black Company

 

[Pickles]

The Beach by Alex Garland is a pretty good read. They made a movie of it but in my opinion doesn't quite hold up to the book.

 

[simonw91]

I shall suggest to you the book "Never trust a Rabbit" by Jeremy Dyson (of The League of Gentlemen fame if you're a British comedy fan), it's a collection of short stories; some of them funny, some of them dark and some in-between. It's a great read and some of the stories really stuck with me years down the line

 

[DutchAssassin8]

For some real philosophical horror, try H.P Lovecraft: Shadow out of time, shadow over innsmouth, the dunwich horror, whisperers in the darkness. Great stories, not too long.

 

[Doneeee]

I misread this as boobs. I'll just leave now...

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Also "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss was one of the best books I've read

I'd agree with this. At least in the sphere of fantasy.

The Mistborn series, while not as good, scratched a similar itch for me. It turns out, I really like it when someone explains how magic works in such a way that it isn't really all that magical. Sympathy in The Kingkiller Chronicles is simply about moving energy from one object to the next so the laws of thermodynamics remain unbroken. Allomancy in Mistborn is not quite as grounded (burning pewter can dramatically increase one's resilience and strength for example) but it's certainly better than the usual "magic is magic" explanation.

Of course, that could easily be explained in Mistborn given that magic is the result of divine intervention.

 

[VladG]

Terry Pratchett has been recommended before as an author to read, but I'll go ahead and mention it as well.

I'd say start with Small Gods. It's not tied to any other Discworld novel and it's a great example of what to expect from his other books. If you like this one, you'll like the rest.

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin is excellent, political intrigue in a pseudo-medieval low-key fantasy setting that's both familiar to those who know a bit of history and very exciting to explore because of it's unique characteristics (like an irregular season cycle, where summers and winters can last from months to years, and how the end of a very long summer and encroaching winter shape the tensions in the book), great round and believable characters with well fleshed out motivations and a complete absence of plot armour.

It's also a pretty substantial read, 5 books so far (with at least 2 more on the way) each over 500 pages long (the first three over 800 long)

Dune by Frank Herbert (and the sequels maybe, I personally didn't like the sequels despite loving the first book) good, solid and interesting Sci-Fi

Shōgun by James Clavell. Great book, historically based fiction set at the start of the 17th century taking place in feudal Japan from the perspective of an Englishman. Very interesting parallels between European and Japanese culture and a pretty hefty read at some 1000 pages.

 

[Mr Somewhere]

Give Gustav Meyrink's novel "The Golem" a go. Not terribly easy to find, unless you're up for ordering it off the internet. Order it off Amazon or the like and you'll find it easy and cheap.
It's a highly atmospheric and stylistic mind-trip of a novel. You'll easily burn through it in a day or two, if you get into it as much as I did. It'll have you thinking quite some time after you finish it.
At the very least it's something different to try.

 

[Vicarious Reality]

 

[Pingrash]

The Belgariad and Mallorian series of books by David Eddings are brilliant.
Highly recommend.

 

[Toaster Hunter]

The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin. A bit depressing at times (my advice, don't get attached to any character) but still one of the best written pieces of fiction available

The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Why?
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1248964599329.jpg

Can you handle the Awesome?

 

[itsthesheppy]

anything by Terry Pratchett.

if you don't want to jump into the (39) Discworld books try Nation or Good Omens.

This man stole my post. Go to your local book store, and pick up the first book you see by Terry Pratchett. It almost doesn't matter where you begin, though starting towards the early books of the Discworld series is a good start.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

anything by Terry Pratchett.

if you don't want to jump into the (39) Discworld books try Nation or Good Omens.

This advice cannot be said enough times, I would recommend Guard! Guards! as an intro into the series authough you don't really need to start at the beginning with the Discworld series.

Ciaphas Cain is something else if you want something funny, it's pretty much a cross of Blackadder and Flashman in the Warhammer 40k universe.