Good Book Suggestions

[sbudzynski]

I live in Baltimore and am going to the Florida Keys in July.

Could some of you suggest a really good book for me to take on my trip? I am looking forward to reading something, aside from college texts of course.

I guess just list the title, author, the genre, and why you love it (don't spoil it though)!

I'll give you all my current favorite.
Title - The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Author - Stephen Chbosky
Genre - Nonfiction Drama
Why I love it - Painful story of such a sweet character dealing with the pressures of depression and society.

It's good and not a long read don't take my word for it, read it yourself!


Thank you for all your suggestions!

----------

Steve Budzynski


"So, pass another round around for the kids. Who have nothing left to lose and for those souls old and sold out by the soles of my shoes"

 

[hilfy]

If you like Space Opera, the Honor Harrington series by David Weber. I also really enjoyed his Apocalypse Troll.

If you're into alternate history type stuff, 1632 by Eric Flint and its various sequels are marvelous - a part of the modern day West Virginia coal-mining area gets mysteriously transplanted to Germany in 1632, during the 30-Years War which was a very bloody period of European history.

-Dell

A computer only does what you actually told it to do - not what you thought you told it to do.

 

[jsaxe]

Since you're driving down, and someone else mentioned Harper Lee, let me suggest anything by T.R. Pearson, especially his first, A Short History of a Small Place.

Pearson has been described as one part Southern Gothic, two parts slapstick.

jsaxe

Mundus Vult Decipi

 

[PaulTEG]

Big Pratchett Fan, recommends "Good Omens**" by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. aka "The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter (Witch)". When she's burned at the stake for heresy, it goes down a bomb ;-)
** spoiler in article
Also a Robert Rankin Fan

According to the (largely fictional) biography printed in some Corgi editions of his books, Rankin refers to his style as 'Far Fetched Fiction' in the hope that bookshops will let him have a section to himself. Many of Robert Rankin's books are bestsellers.

Sort of like "hang a left at "Sick and Twisted", next right, and keep on Trucking"

Paul
------------------------------------
Spend an hour a week on CPAN, helps cure all known programming ailments ;-)

 

[SilentAiche]

Steve,

Not really a book recommendation, here. Just a driving recommendation, for anyone driving south with a buddy in a yellow 1974 Toyota right after graduation. It may apply to other vehicle models, but as I haven't tested them, I'll make no such claim here:

If, in Charleston, SC, you find yourself at a "T" intersection, stopped first in line at a red light, with a SC Trooper IMMEDIATELY on your bumper, and while simultaneously stamping out a cigar while changing tapes in the car stereo, [blue]DO NOT PROCEED THRU THE INTERSECTION UNTIL THE LIGHT ACTUALLY TURNS GREEN.[/BLUE] Cops really hate that behaviour, especially from the vehicle immediately in front of them.

BTW, this IS on topic, since you could be BOOKED.

Tim

[blue]________________________________________________________
"To be rather than to seem" - Official Motto of the State of North Carolina[/blue]

 

[rwong]

Hi Steve,

My 2 cents...
"The razor's edge" by W. Somerset Maugham... great author of the twentieth century.

Also you may try A.J. Cronin "The keys of the kingdom"

and.. I agree with the BJCooper suggestion "To kill a Mockingbird" is an excellent book and a good movie as well,

gl,

Rick

 

[strongm]

>anything in particular you didn't like?


Sure. He has a poor writing style, his plots are all derivative and essentially the same (except for 1 of the books), the 'twists' are signposted by laboured attempts at hiding them (so much so that in Digital Fortress it is clear who the bad guy is before you get to the end of the first or second chapter). Dialog is mostly unconvincing, and the characterisation is generally cliched and thin.

His books were only mildy successful until the Da Vinci Code became popular (I'd argue because of the core idea that he hangs his plot on, not because it is particularly well-written) and somehow magically turned all his earlier books into best sellers.

If you must read a Dan Brown book, I'd suggest Angels and Demons.

Note that DB, when questioned about how he felt about his critics is reported as saying (and I precis) "I just look at my bank balance" - which is a great response

 

[AngelB]

My most recent favourite is the Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan. I can recommend the first two books and about a third of the third one since that's as far as I've got, but they're well worth a look if you like the fantasy genre.


Geraint

Let's think the unthinkable, let's do the undoable, let's prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all

 

[sbix]

Could seem childish... but the Harry Potter saga is not that bad.
Yes I know the two first books are really "boy books", but the others are very good.
At least you can really relax your mind with nothing in touch with the real world

 

[gbaughma]

I'm glad nobody's suggested "Wizard's First Rule".

<Shudder>



Just my 2¢

"In order to start solving a problem, one must first identify its owner." --Me
--Greg

 

[donbott]

Wizards First Rule!
Wizards First Rule!
Wizards First Rule!

DonBott
Why don't you get a toupee with some brains in it? Moe Howard

 

[donbott]

What's a book?

DonBott
Why don't you get a toupee with some brains in it? Moe Howard

 

[sleipnir214]

Keeping in mind the classics:
I go through the high school summer reading lists (your local bookstores should have it/them) and find some classics to read or re-read. I have over the last few years been able to get reaquainted with Moby Dick, Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, In Cold Blood and Fahrenheit 451. You might also contact the English department of your local college and ask them for a list.

On the science fiction front:
You might also go through the lists of the Nebula Awards for best novel or the Hugo Award for best novel and see what's still in print or available used.

I highly recommend Gardner Dozois' "Year's Best Science Fiction" collections of science fiction short stories. The 23rd edition will be released mid-July, but most bookstores have earlier editions on the shelves.

Someone mentioned Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man (which won the first Hugo Award). I also recommend Bester's The Stars My Destination for a rollicking tale that makes interesting comments about the haves and have-nots.

I'd also recommend Child of Fortune by Norman Spinrad if you're in the mood for a coming-of-age story.

I enjoyed immensely Neal Stephenson's "Baroque Cycle": Quicksilver, The Confusion and The System of the World. Follow that up with Cryptonomicon. Although book stores disagree on whether these are science fiction or fiction.


On the non-fiction side:
I prefer Walter Isaacson's Benjamin Franklin: An American Life over H.W. Brands' The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin.

If you're interested in the U.S. space program, check out First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen, Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond by Gene Kranz or Project Orion: The True Story of the Atomic Spaceship by George Dyson.

If you have an interest in the history of technology or the history of ideas, try One Good Turn: A Natural History of the Screwdriver and the Screw, by Witold Rybczynski, Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea, by Charles Seife or The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography by Simon Singh





Want the best answers? Ask the best questions! TANSTAAFL!

 

[donbott]

In fiction I like Gregory McDonald (the made a movie from "Fletch", but made it a comedy not a great movie)

Non fiction John McPhee is amazing, I just ordered a replacement copy of "Table of Contents", a collection of some of his shorter works

DonBott
Why don't you get a toupee with some brains in it? Moe Howard

 

[chiph]

Agree with strongm about Dan Brown. I read "Digital Fortress", and it has a number of plot problems above and beyond the poor writing.

1. CIA builds a super-secret computer... but puts it in a building with a glass roof.
2. Unnecessary precision: Attacker is breaking through the firewall in exactly 38.342299 seconds

If you want a good conspiracy book, try Umberto Ecco's "Foucault's Pendulum".


____________________________________________________________________
If you want to get the best response to a question, please read FAQ222-2244 first

 

[Volk359]

How about the Camulod Series by Jack Whyte:

The Sky Stone
The Singing Sword

"From the building blocks of history and the mortar of reality, Jack Whyte has built Arthur's world and showed us the bone beneath the flesh of legend."--Diana Gabaldon

"The very best storytellers keep their readers glued to the story with plot, character, and a keen sense of the dramatic . . . . Whyte breathes life into the Arthurian myths by weaving the reality of history into it."--Tony Hillerman

These are the start of a very good series of 6-8 books.

 

[bekibutton]

Anyone read 'His Dark Materials' trilogy? Despite them being books for adolescents (at least that's where they are in my local bookshop), I found them really entertaining - better than LotR, and that's saying a lot coming from an ex-Ringer!

And now, really childishly, I want my own daemon ;-)

--------------------------------------
I was gonna take over the world but got distracted by something shiny

 

[sbix]

chiph,
The Umberto Eco's masterpiece "The Foucault's pendulum" it's absolutely hard to read in italian (the original language).
I don't dare to think what it could be translated.
Speaking about Umberto Eco I suggest "The name of the Rose", it's very heavy to read too... but it's more fascinating.

 

[LFCfan]

Anyone read 'His Dark Materials' trilogy? Despite them being books for adolescents (at least that's where they are in my local bookshop), I found them really entertaining - better than LotR, and that's saying a lot coming from an ex-Ringer!

And now, really childishly, I want my own daemon

The Dark Materials trilogy was wonderful!! I really don't think it was an adolescent book - at ALL. I loved the whole idea about God, etc, that was portrayed. And yes, I really, really, really want a daemon.

[sub]Not all those who wander are lost[/sub]

 

[buck2506]

I'll second(third, fourth, fifth) the audio book suggestion. I used to drive a route of two hundred miles every Sunday. Bokks on tape were a life saver. I read almost anything but my favorites are:

S/F: Heinlein
Mystery: Hillerman,Deaver
Western: L'Amour, Kelton

 

[joe5902]

chiph,
The Umberto Eco's masterpiece "The Foucault's pendulum" it's absolutely hard to read in italian (the original language).
I don't dare to think what it could be translated.
Speaking about Umberto Eco I suggest "The name of the Rose", it's very heavy to read too... but it's more fascinating.

I agree, works of Umberto Eco aren't easy-read but it keeps enough suspense and would keep you thinking...
I think I like his "The Island of the Day Before".

cheers!


---------------------------------------------------------
"I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren't trying to teach us." - Umberto Eco