Recommend a book!

[Poet Laureate]

My Top Ten, in no particular order:

Shogun, James Clavell. He was a master storyteller. Set in the Orient around 1600, it chronicles the intrigue, manipulation, and double and triple dealing in the various courts of the warlords who, emperor notwithstanding, really controlled feudal Japan.

Knight's Cross, Sir David Fraser. If you are into military history or WWII at all, this biography of German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel will be a very satisfying read.

The Bourne Identity, Robert Ludlum. Arguably his best work. A deep cover operative loses his memory and tries to discover his true self while running for his life. Read it and understand why Richard Chamberlain and Jaclyn Smith were perfectly cast for their respective roles.

East of Eden, John Steinbeck. Without question the single most powerful ending of any book I've ever read. And I've been reading books for fifty years.

Watership Down, Richard Adams. A fascinating study of the power of believing in oneself in the face of overwhelming odds.

A Time To Kill, John Grisham. A riveting, ultimately accurate depiction of a racially charged murder trial in the deep south.

Lucifer's Hammer, Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. The disaster novel to end all disaster novels. A believable scenario that was clearly thoroughly researched, well-developed characters that you actually care about, and a storyline that will make you want to read in the car at red lights. Never again will you gaze at the stars without thinking of this book.

Dune, Frank Herbert. One critic is famously quoted on the paperback: "A triumph of imagination." Brilliantly conceived and flawlessly executed, Herbert creates an entire world with its own unique ecosystem, all the while showing the reader why love, loyalty, and honor will trump hatred, deceit, and betrayal every time.

Without Remorse, Tom Clancy. Actually, nearly every one of Clancy's Jack Ryan books could be on this list, but for my money this prequel, explaining how CIA superagent John Clark got to be John Clark, is the best place to start.

Sherwood, Parke Godwin. A study of the mythical rogue Robin Hood, and what his tale would likely had been if he really had existed. Godwin makes the Sheriff of Nottingham a tragic, sympathetic figure, vying for the affections of the Lady Marian with the heroic main character. Well written and historically accurate, it will forever change your thinking about the man who became known as Robin Hood and those who are said to have followed him.

[GypsyHeart]

Stephen King: Gerald's Game-To face your inner demons while fighting for your life from what you perceive to be the Reaper. Great read. Rose Madder-The ultimate survival of a battered woman. Four Past Midnight and Everything's Eventual-his short story collections.

Anne Rice: The Beauty Series-Three book series on the tale of Sleeping Beauty after the prince has brought her from her slumber to his kingdom of pleasure slaves.

The Guide To Getting It On-any of the series. Very eye opening to human sexuality.

John Grisham or David Baldacci both good crime/drama authors

[1Curiousguy]

I love to read and I've read several authors mentioned in this thread. I've even met one or two of them in person.

I read mostly fantasy and science fiction these days. I've only read the first book in the WOT series. Since series seem to be the norm these days in that genre, I will usually get the first in a series by someone I don't know and read it to see if I want more. Then I buy them as they come out and read them when the series is completely published. However I have not gone back to WOT because I've had so many others to read.

I like Piers Anthony, however having said that I find that he is a guy with some of best concepts for stories where the execution falls short. I've read all of the Xanth except the latest, the Incarnations of Immortalithy and many of his others.

I also really like humor and for that I go to Terry Pratchett and his DiscWorld series. Right now I'm reading his Dickens' pastiche called Dodger. Kind of a slow read but it's good.

One of my favorites is Harry Turtledove who does great and wonderful things with alternate history. He's a former history prof who turned to writing. He also does historical fiction. If you like the Civil War he wrote one called Fort Pillow after a real incident in the Civil War.

I also read Stephen King's 11/22/63 recently and I loved it up until the end where I felt that not all threads were wrapped and questions answered.

As far as the hobby goes I just finished reading Chet Brown's Paying for It. He's a cartoonist and wrote a graphic novel regarding his experiences as a hobbyist in Canada.

I could go on and on, since I almost never read only one book at a time.

And since we're on books, how many of you are using e-readers and how many of you still read dead-tree books?

[CarolineDavenport]

It took me forever to buy an e-reader. I only just did, or rather, allowed someone to buy me one for Christmas. :P

There is something I just love about having an actual book in my hand and physically turning the pages. Picking it up and hoping for the start of a great adventure or amusing tale upon turning the first page, feeling the progress as the left side of the book becomes thicker than the right, and dreading the end of it as I reach the last few pages. I just don't get all of that with an e-reader.

However, the convenience of it is undeniable. I won't give up shopping in Barnes & Noble, but it does seem like most of my book purchases in the future will be digital. I'm a little sad about that, but I'm also a hypocrite and very much appreciate the convenience.

[jbravo_123]

Originally Posted by lostforkate

Yes, these piers anthony is a fun read. I also liked the "incarnations of immortality" series he did.

I don't read much Piers Anthony these days, but I also loved the Incarnations of Immortality books from my younger days (I actually have a couple of them on my bookshelf right now).

Originally Posted by 1Curiousguy

And since we're on books, how many of you are using e-readers and how many of you still read dead-tree books?

I got a Kindle Fire last year mainly because I wanted something where I could read digital comic books on it but didn't feel like I needed a full tablet. It's been really useful so far for reading regular books as well and while I'll always love the tactile sensation of paper books, the digital stuff is really amazingly convenient (and cheap).

Re The Dark Tower books: I'm not a huge Stephen King fan, but I've heard good things about those books as well. I was told you should really read his previous works though because the Dark Tower books apparently pull everything together into a united continuity and revisits some of the previous locations.

Another Fantasy recommendation: If you're into Urban Fantasy at all, the Dresden Files is a really fun series that moves along quickly so it's actually a fairly quick read given that it's on 14+ books and counting so far.

[CarolineDavenport]

Originally Posted by proudoftexas

The Count of Monte Cristo is on my top 5 desert island list. The greatest revenge story ever told. And yeah, all of his popular books that I've read I loved. Interesting how his storytelling isn't as dated as some of his contemporaries.

On The Great Gatsby, so much of our experiences are driven by our expectations. When we've been told over and over again how great something is --- especially by people we like and trust --- it's very easy for OUR personal experience to be met with disappointment.

I do think The Great Gatsby is a story best appreciated with multiple readings, but that's an easy thing for anyone to say. Its power as the so-called Great American Novel is in as much the lyricism of it, and capturing a time and feeling, as it is the plot, of which there isn't much. I can certainly appreciate you not enjoying the book. I would always prefer people find something they actually like, than soldier through an experience that they hate, whether it's a book, movie, or what have you.

Wow! Hopeless certainly has a fan club. I love hearing about girly books. It's not a genre I'm familiar with. I'd check it out. It's 302 pages. I bet I could knock it out pretty quickly.

Never heard of Stone Butch Blues before. It looks like a challenging story. My only real personal experience with a transgender was when an employee at a company I'm involved with made the switch from being a man to a woman, including name change, plumbing change, and everything. She was terrific at her job (web programming) so the rest of it didn't matter, but it was interesting to watch how the management and culture of the company (it's a startup) handled it.

I consider Piers Anthony somewhat of a literary mortal enemy, but I realize my strong negative reaction is in the minority. Cannot stand that guy. Any number of reasons why, but I remember being so furious at his depiction of the perfect chick, who would undergo a metamorphoses from a beautiful bimbo, to a plain, normal personality, to a hyper intelligent, ugly hag, and how the male character she was partnered to figured out that she was the perfect person for him. Meh. I have an irrational contempt for that guy. Doesn't make it right. I can't help myself.

Jesus, Caroline. The Kindness of Strangers looks powerful. Child abuse is one of my big, big hot buttons, whatever its source. Not sure how I'd feel about reading it, but it looks compelling.

Yeah, I mostly read articles now, too. I disappoint myself. It's tough when a person creates an identity for themselves, and then later in life can't follow through as well with that identity. I've been a voracious reader throughout my life, but in the last few years I haven't invested the time required to read whole books. Too busy working, various volunteer activities, and playing on message boards, lol. But threads like these always manage to spark some interest, which is why I do it.

There's a lot of cheese (haha! Oh, I crack myself up!) in the self help category, no doubt.

Some of my favorite writers are in the success literature genre, but I can easily argue that one of the most destructive paradigm shifts in Western discourse came about with Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People. Which doesn't make it a bad book. I think it's a terrific book. But it had horrible unforeseen consequences. Prior to that book, a conversationalist was held in high regard on their own merits. Social status was often determined by an individual's ability to engage in repartee.

As the influence of that work permeated society, the importance began to be placed on the sales and networking ability of the conversationalist. Certainly, I've been rewarded for my abilities in that regard, but I do feel like we've lost something as a cultural mandate that existed prior to Carnegie's publication.

Great stuff, Caroline! I'll see how I can do regarding Hopeless and the Kindness of Strangers. They'll at least find a place on my bookshelf/iPad! I appreciate your post.

I'm glad you found a few you might like, but I realized I made a mistake. I was utterly confused by your response about The Kindness of Strangers, so I googled it. The first result is NOT the book I was recommending, however I think I'm going to get it and read it because it DOES look powerful. :P I'm afraid I left part of the title off of the book that I MEANT to recommend, which is The Kindness of Strangers: Penniless Across America. I'm sure you can see how I made the mistake, and I'm sorry that the book is probably not as powerful as the other of a similar name, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, mostly because it appealed very much to the adventuress in me.

Funny how my mistake may have given us both a new reading assignment.

[awl4knot]

I'm re-reading "Breakfast at Tiffany's". It's about a "provider"; it's short and it is so well-written. It is a great delight.

[misspriss]

I'm a huge fan of award winning books. I used to flip flop between the Pulitzer and Man Booker list but now much prefer the Booker winners. My absolute favs are:

1. The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga (Booker 2008 pick)
2. The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy (Booker 1997 pick)
3. Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard - Kiran Desai (her 2nd book won the Booker in 2006, though I much prefer her debut)
4. ANYTHING David Sedaris - highly recommend Holidays on Ice
5. Dry - Augusten Burroughs (hillarious)
6. Sellevision - Augusten Burroughs (LOL funny in a sick twisted way)

If you have a taste for black humor, you'll be happy with anything on my list :-)

[gsgm]

Mañana Forever, Mexico and the Mexicans by Jorge G. Castaneda; I liked this one because it gives one person's insite into what is wrong (and right) with Mexico and Mexican Culture which is interesting to me and difficult for Gringos to understand.

I used to (20 years ago) read a lot of fiction, maybe to dream. My favorite was the Travis McGee series by John D McDonald. I always wanted to live on a houseboat and be a bum. I haven't thought of the Busted Flush in years.

Bye, leaving the office to go to the marina and see what is for sale .... bye

[John Bull]

I imagine Diamond & Tuxedo types read so on that basis alone, this topic is food for D&T. Of course, we expect all the books to have diamond bookmarks.

[sex instructor]

A Song of Fire & Ice series by George R.R. Martin

Tyrion Lannister has to be one of my favorite fictional characters of all time

[jbravo_123]

Originally Posted by sex instructor

A Song of Fire & Ice series by George R.R. Martin

Tyrion Lannister has to be one of my favorite fictional characters of all time

I really liked the first three books, but books 4 and 5 were meh to me (especially book 5 after a what, 7 year wait?).

Plus GRRM is getting old and he's spending all his time durdling around with the HBO series so we'll see how many more books he has left in him before he pulls a Robert Jordan.

[KatieKatie]

I wrote about three bible jokes and had to delete them. You know my sense of humor. Make a few up and playfully offend yourself a little bit.

[mikkifine]

I enjoyed reading Twilight. I have read some books by Stephen King, Anne Rice, and James Patterson. I have enjoyed the Alex Cross series. I regret not reading for enjoyment as much as I did before the internet.

Most of my reading is for school these days. I do enjoy science fiction and horror. When I am not studying I like to veg out and forget the real world.

[VIP Mya Michelle]

The Alchemist