Book Thread

[Smushface]

I'm compiling a reading list that I want to get through over the next 18 months. It's already a bit lengthy but I'm looking for some more suggestions.

Also, since I figure we're all relatively nerdy (and surprisingly well-educated) here, it'd be nice to talk about reading at some point.

[Evan20000]

Altas Shrugged if you haven't done so already. It's a bit of a tl;dr, but it's really good.

[elxir]

War and Peace

[Evan20000]

Art of War is good as well.

[Selfish Lover]

[Boko]

Originally Posted by Selfish Lover

That's actually the second best-selling book series after Harry Potter!

[sunshineduck]

american gods by neil gaiman is awesome. so is anansi boys, but less so.

i'm plowing through a couple basketball books atm (simmons' book is classic simmons, so if you enjoy him then you'll enjoy the book) such as like such as and the jordan rules.

i was a big fan of the mitch albom books back in high school, but those might be short for your tastes.

[Ajuk999]

Pendragon and Spirit Walker were two of my favorite series.

They are kinda childish, but they definitely kept me reading.

[Selfish Lover]

Originally Posted by Boko

That's actually the second best-selling book series after Harry Potter!

Not gonna lie, I had almost all of them as a kid. On a serious note, anything by Michael Crichton is worth the read.

[sunshineduck]

Originally Posted by Ajuk999

Pendragon and Spirit Walker were two of my favorite series.

They are kinda childish, but they definitely kept me reading.

did you read those before or after eragon?

how about harry potter?

artemis fowl?

..captain underpants?

[sunshineduck]

but yeah re: smushface a short list of books you like would be nice if you're looking for rec's specific to your interests. if you just wanted to start a book thread for discussion, that's cool too >_>

[[Y]]

I'm sporadically reading something Smush the history major would appreciate- Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen.

[Smushface]

I'm technically working through the reddit book list which is pretty solid. http://www.reddit.com/r/raerth/comme...vourite_books/

From there, I've already read about half and am currently working my way through another 50 or so.

Also much love for Goosebumps. Goosebumps and Animorphs was how i originally discovered a love for reading as a little kid.

[Tekn0]

Art of Computer Programming by Donald Knuth.

End of story.

P.S. You didn't tell they had to be story books (what people call novels).

[Selfish Lover]

Originally Posted by Smushface

Also much love for Goosebumps. Goosebumps and Animorphs was how i originally discovered a love for reading as a little kid.

God, Animorphs...I forgot how awesome I thought those were when I was little. We had it so much better back then. What do kids have now? ****ing Twilight.....stab me now.

[Ajuk999]

Originally Posted by sunshineduck

did you read those before or after eragon?

how about harry potter?

artemis fowl?

..captain underpants?

Never even read any of those series.

Are they good SSD?

[MajorPayne257]

I can say that Harry Potter and Captain Underpants were both amazing series.

On the other hand, I really liked a book called "Snow Falling On Cedars" by David Guterson. I read it back in high school and plan to re-read it after I finish my 3rd time through "Band of Brothers", which is another awesome book (and miniseries) btw.

[Ribilla]

These are excellent books, all a kind a of literary Sci-Fi. As in, set slightly in the future or in a different world, rather than being boring 1200 page long descriptions of space. The wiki links contain spoilers, don't read too far! I tried to pick books you might not have read that I love. Obviously things like the foundation series are brilliant, but you already knew that.

Lord of Light - Roger Zelazny
A truly amazing book, essentially a story of uprising told through Hindu mythology. It sounds impenetrable and weird, but trust me, its really very good.


Mockingbird - Walter Tevis
A dystopian novel, set in the near future, the human race is drugged into a stupor and cared for by intelligent (and depressed) robots. Maybe read this if you are flagging a little after going through some hard books - the central storyline is all about learning to read in a world where the art is forgotten.


I am Legend - Richard Matheson
Yes, the film was based on this book. No, it wasn't faithful to the original story and I realise the ending is ****. The book remedies this and actually tries to make a statement about the evolution of the human race, rather than chucking grenades at ****. Want to read the best and most poignant survival horror before Hollywood butchered it? NB: this is nice and short, easy to read whilst still being well written, good after reading epics.


Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick (ikr, lol)
Adapted into the film Blade Runner, which was good, but nothing like the original story. Thriller about a man who hunts rouge androids down in a dystopian world, where most animals have become extinct. This guy is a prolific writer and all of his books are amazing (other film adaptations include A Scanner Darkly and Minority Report)


The Demolished Man - Alfred Bester
Kind of cyberpunk before cyberpunk was invented, this is about a ruthless business leader trying to murder his rival in a world full of telepaths. No crime has been commited in years, simply because the intention is identified before it can take place. Fast-paced with a great twist at the end.


If you haven't read anything like this before, I urge you to at least try one of these books. I have plenty more recommendations if you are interested, especially of more trippy books (The three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Grass, The Necromnicon, etc...)

EDIT: Good to see The Forever War, Ender's Game and Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? on that list of yours.

[Smushface]

Ender's Game is a must read.

[Ribilla]

This is basically my reading list (or it has been for the past year or so) + any of my Dad's old books he recommends, that way, they are free

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF_Masterworks

[sunshineduck]

i really liked ender's shadow as well, but the other ones weren't that awesome.

anyone remember the choose your own adventure animorphs where you actually got to be an animorph? god that was such an awesome series.

@ajuk: you must have had an awful ****ing childhood

[sunshineduck]

93. American Gods by Neil Gaiman. (UP:46 | WS:180 | Total:226)

ha! reddit rules

[Boko]

Originally Posted by Tekn0

Art of Computer Programming by Donald Knuth.

End of story.

P.S. You didn't tell they had to be story books (what people call novels).

A BOOK about PROGRAMMING
I know they're helpful sometimes, but really? lol
To raise another question:

Do you guys prefer a really good book, or a really good game?

I personally prefer a game with a great storyline (Final Fantasy anyone?)

[vintage]

Originally Posted by Smushface

I'm technically working through the reddit book list which is pretty solid. http://www.reddit.com/r/raerth/comme...vourite_books/

Oooo... Awesome list. I'm definitely going to try a few of the ones I haven't read already. Thanks.

Originally Posted by Smushface

Ender's Game is a must read.

♥
This is my go to if someone asks me what to read.

Originally Posted by sunshineduck

i really liked ender's shadow as well, but the other ones weren't that awesome.

Blasphemy! The entire Ender and Bean series are amazing. I would almost say Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide are better than Ender's Game. Although, I wasn't as impressed by Children of the Mind or Ender in Exile.

Back on topic

It really depends on what you're looking for, but... here are my suggestions.

• Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein - If you liked Ender's Game then I would bet good money on you liking this book.
• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - One of the funniest books I've ever read.
• The Dark Tower by Stephen King - This is a seven book series, but I _highly_ recommend that you only read the first four books. I don't want to spoil anything, so... just trust me.
• Looking for Alaska or An Abundance of Katherines by John Green - These are young adult books, but they are quick reads and totally worth it.
• The Game by Neil Strauss - Don't judge me. It's a good book.
• Influence by Robert B. Cialdini - Cool psychology that can be applied to sales, marketing, negotiations, and everyday life.
• And of course all of the classics that you were probably forced to read in school: 1984, Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm, etc.

[shrode]

harry potter was good

[Smushface]

Originally Posted by vintage

Oooo... Awesome list. I'm definitely going to try a few of the ones I haven't read already. Thanks.



♥
This is my go to if someone asks me what to read.



Blasphemy! The entire Ender and Bean series are amazing. I would almost say Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide are better than Ender's Game. Although, I wasn't as impressed by Children of the Mind or Ender in Exile.

Back on topic

It really depends on what you're looking for, but... here are my suggestions.

• Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein - If you liked Ender's Game then I would bet good money on you liking this book.
• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - One of the funniest books I've ever read.
• The Dark Tower by Stephen King - This is a seven book series, but I _highly_ recommend that you only read the first four books. I don't want to spoil anything, so... just trust me.
• Looking for Alaska or An Abundance of Katherines by John Green - These are young adult books, but they are quick reads and totally worth it.
• The Game by Neil Strauss - Don't judge me. It's a good book.
• Influence by Robert B. Cialdini - Cool psychology that can be applied to sales, marketing, negotiations, and everyday life.
• And of course all of the classics that you were probably forced to read in school: 1984, Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm, etc.

I have like 20 pages left in Stranger in a Strange Land right now and Heinlein is quickly working his way dear to my heart. Starship Troopers was also excellent.

Also, I just finished the Dark Tower series a few months ago. **** everything about those books.

[sunshineduck]

i haven't tried to read speaker of the dead or any of the other ones since i was fifteen or so, maybe they'll grow on me :P

[vintage]

Originally Posted by Smushface

Also, I just finished the Dark Tower series a few months ago. **** everything about those books.

Really? The bathroom shoot out, the evil train, the blood poisoning from a crab attack... none of that was appealing?

Oh well, my favorite was easily the fourth book where it was him and his two childhood friends. I thought that one was epic.

Originally Posted by sunshineduck

i haven't tried to read speaker of the dead or any of the other ones since i was fifteen or so, maybe they'll grow on me :P

Well, they are totally different stories... much deeper and thought provoking imo. I'd give Speaker for the Dead another read if you have the time. If it doesn't do it for you then definitely don't try Xenocide.

[TAYLOOP]

Read anything by Hemingway or Fitzgerald. It's all so amazing. Brave New World is a really good one, if you haven't read that.

[Boko]

Originally Posted by shrode

harry potter was good

Shrode u mah hero

[Ribilla]

Originally Posted by vintage

Really? The bathroom shoot out, the evil train, the blood poisoning from a crab attack... none of that was appealing?

Oh well, my favorite was easily the fourth book where it was him and his two childhood friends. I thought that one was epic.



Well, they are totally different stories... much deeper and thought provoking imo. I'd give Speaker for the Dead another read if you have the time. If it doesn't do it for you then definitely don't try Xenocide.

I agree with ssd, I loved enders game and ender's shadow, but I found speaker for the dead boring as hell (I think I was only about 12 when read them though).

[leoman]

Just a few ideas:

A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

Anything by Oscar Wilde (especially The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest (which is a play, but still, amazing))

Anything by George Orwell (especially 1984 and Animal Farm)

Umberto Eco - The name of the rose

Lets finish with the band of Russians: Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and Bulgakov

[Tekn0]

Originally Posted by Ribilla

I agree with ssd, I loved enders game and ender's shadow, but I found speaker for the dead boring as hell (I think I was only about 12 when read them though).

Hmm, I've only read ender's game in that series. But I heard about the last one and didn't feel like reading anything more.

[Tekn0]

Originally Posted by Boko

A BOOK about PROGRAMMING
I know they're helpful sometimes, but really? lol
To raise another question:

Do you guys prefer a really good book, or a really good game?

I personally prefer a game with a great storyline (Final Fantasy anyone?)

You're not arealprogrammer are you?

[beefheart]

What i recommend are two rummy carribean stories to get you into the the wild hot drunk summer nights mood.

Ernest Hemingway - To have and have not

Hunter S. Thompson - The Rum Diary

[beefheart]

Oh only now see the reddit list, which is really nice. Books on that list that i have read and really recommend:

On the Road by Jack Kerouac
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The Stranger by Albert Camus
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond (non fictional, but so interesting)
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
1984 by George Orwell

ps. gets me thinking i should start reading more, there are A LOT of books on that list i havent read and seem very interesting, so books out of this list i will HAVE to read soon and seem interesting:

Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo

[tyr]

Honor Harrington series by David Weber : extremely rich and well written military science fiction series. Some of my friends were unable to read it because it was supposedly "too hard" to read. It definitely is not easy at first, but that also adds to the awesomeness of the books.

I haven't seen anyone talk about the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. This is, like Dune, a must read. Top2 best science fiction series EVER. The first three books. No more. Forget the others, the first three are the ones you should read and stop there.

Patient Zero and the following books of the Joe Ledger series by Jonathan Maberry. Pretty awesome realistic and militaristic books about different weird topics in our world, such as zombies, or mad neo-nazi geneticists. The combat scenes are sooo well written. You feel like you're in there.

and some stuff that I'm currently reading :

A Song of Ice and Fire by G.R.R Martin. Do I really need to introduce this one ? It's quickly becoming a top reference of the fantasy genre, and HBO's A Game of Thrones is based on this series. Definitely a must-read if you're into fantasy.

The Safehold series by David Weber once again. Since I ran out of books in the Honorverse (some of which I read twice), I needed some other military SF series. And this one looked pretty awesome. Not only it's also by David Weber so I knew the battles in space would be epicly-well written, but apparently, somehow, there are both naval battles on sea, and battles in space. How can anything be any awesomer ?

[Ribilla]

Originally Posted by Ribilla

I tried to pick books you might not have read that I love. Obviously things like the foundation series are brilliant, but you already knew that.

Originally Posted by tyr

I haven't seen anyone talk about the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov.

inb4tyr, I agree though, the first 3 are easily the best, the later books aren't bad, but they mar the perfection of the earlier ones. Also, read some of his short stories, they are truely amazing.

I just remembered Highrise - J.G. Ballard, same guy the wrote crash. This is another post-modern masterpiece.

[VeRiTaS]

Originally Posted by Boko

A BOOK about PROGRAMMING
I know they're helpful sometimes, but really? lol
To raise another question:

Do you guys prefer a really good book, or a really good game?

I personally prefer a game with a great storyline (Final Fantasy anyone?)

Best game EVA! <3 <3 <3

[Premier Stalin]

Originally Posted by beefheart

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

That book can go **** itself. Seriously, after spending around a year studying all 100 pages of it, I honestly see nothing in that book at all.

"There isn't any symbolism. The sea is the sea. The old man is the old man. The boy is a boy and the fish is a fish. The sharks are sharks, no better, no worse. All the symbolism people say is s**t. What goes beyond is what you see beyond when you know" Hemingway.

Also, Catch 22 is awesome, and so are the sci fi books by Peter F Hamilton.

Ill add to this, ran outa space for books in my room when i was about 12.