The "What are you reading?" / Book recommendation thread

[Black Hayabusa]

Ok, I searched for a bit, and couldn't find a thread like this one. So I decided to changed that.

I just started reading "Expendable" by James Alan Gardner,

and I'd recommend anyone that likes fantasy read "Wizard's First Rule" by Terry Goodkind. "Legend of the Seeker", that show on ABC, is trash. I beg that you please do not misjudge such an incredible book solely on that hollow bastardization. WFR is absolutely nothing like that, and the inconsistencies between them are STAGGERING.

The book is one of my all time favs, and I'm sure you'd all enjoy it.

[Rokiro]

Recently read The Giver by Lois Lowry for the second time. Emotionally staggering, even when I was completely familiar with the plot of the book. Absolutely recommended for those who haven't read it yet.

On a personal note, Fire Bringer by David Clement-Davies could very well be my favorite book. It's not for everyone, though if you enjoyed Watership Down, I'd argue you'd enjoy Fire Bringer.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster is another favorite, even if it's intended for a younger audience. I've cherished that book for a long time, now.

[Thetis ♦]

Finally. I thought we needed a thread like this, but I didn't start one because I didn't think people liked to read these days. ^_^, Glad I was wrong.

I'm into reading up the Tudor dynasty of England, particularly Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. (Then again Mary I had some interesting bits.) Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII is an awesome read about his...well, six wives. The guesswork and historical analysis made it well-worth the expensive cover price...

Also, the historical fiction for this period is abundant, but so far, the only real one I've found worth reading so far was Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl. It's a historical fiction that revolves around Mary Boleyn, who Henry VIII also slept with. There are a few changes like Anne being made into the older sister, instead of Mary, but the book is a lot of fun.

Yes, The Other Boleyn Girl is also the movie that Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johannson starred in. I also heard this same author wrote a novel on Katherine of Aragon, which I may check out some time.

Well, I've got a whole lot (very much so!) more, but I'll save it.

[Anfini08 ♦]

I've been thinking about a thread like this, too. Don't know why I didn't get around to making it...

My favorite author is by far and away Haruki Murakami. His writing style is just in its own league. His characters are also absolutely fascinating. He defies most genres, so it's hard to classify, but I don't think I've encountered anyone who has read his stuff and not enjoyed it. "Kafka on the Shore" is definitely my favorite. "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" and "Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World" are runners-up.

I'm also a fantasy junkie. I read "The Fall of the Kings" by Ellen Kushner and thoroughly enjoyed it. Again, the writing style was beautiful. Sort of a weird plot, and there were parts of it that I thought were oddly put together, but it was still a very good read.

I am also the ever-cliche Stephen King fan. Heh.

More for later? Hmm.

[Choc ♦]

"An oar is an instrument used to propel boats."

I've been reading...my own old writing and trying to remember how to string together plotlines. I read Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead last year and was blown away by the former. I think it has one of the most spectacular and emotionally powerful endings of any sci-fi book I can remember reading ever.

I pretty much recommend anything by James Alan Gardner, honestly. Expendable, Ascending, Vigilant, Trapped, Radiant. All good.

A Wizard of Earthsea (Ursula LeGuin) and Tombs of Atuan are the first two and my favorite books from her Earthsea cycle.

The Holy Man (Susan Trott) and Zen Flesh, Zen Bones are...probably the two most important books I have in my collection. If everything I owned burned to the ground, those two would be the first things I would replace.

Cat's Cradle (Kurt Vonnegut) - I'm not going to tell you why you should be reading Vonnegut. Everyone should have read something by him, Cat's Cradle just happens to be my favorite.

[Elvith]

I just started reading 1984, George Orwell

[Anfini08 ♦]

I just started reading 1984, George Orwell

Definitely an excellent book. We had to read it during my junior year, but I enjoyed it like it wasn't required

[Black Hayabusa]

1984 is, and will likely remain, one of my all time favorites.

[Thetis ♦]

Okay, I was rereading a childhood favorite, Robinson Crusoe, and I have to admit, I was kind of disappointed. Maybe I used to like cataloging endless lists of stuffs when I was younger (I recently found a bunch of old papers of mine, and it kind of appalled me, this hobby of mine.) Suffice to say, I can't recommend it anymore. First novel, and groundbreaker, but...sigh.

Pearl S. Buck, though, is so far pretty good. I've read her novel, The Good Earth, which was just amazing. At first, the simply written tale didn't seem anything exceptional, but I realized that that was the style of the story which suited it very, very well. It's a tale of a Chinese farmer, and his family, and the trials they go through. I can't do it justice, go, read it!

I also started Other Gods, which seems to be based not a little off Charles Lindbergh's life, or rather the cost of fame, despite the author's note that it wasn't based off anyone in particular. I just started this one, so I'll report back if it's worth reading, but so far, it's very well-written, if a bit cynical.

[Tigrdrgn]

Fu ck....... cool and boring thread... well... if it is good reading, nothing better than Homero (Illiada or Odisey), or of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Tolkien the thats better than stupid boring 7 Harry Potter books.

[Tyrant-Foulu]

Fu ck

I preffer Phuck... Sorry I couldn't resist.

Hmmmm.... I started to read Crime and Punishment again... I read it every year, it's like a tradition or something, I really recommend it, I think that you can really discover some dark corners inside your own mind with this book.

Also finished not long ago The Tunnel from Ernesto Sabato, really good book.

And The Old man and the Sea from Ernest Hemingway, frenquently compared with Moby Dick from Herman Melville, I personally love both.

[Thetis ♦]

Ooh, Dostoevsky! I've read The Idiot, and loved the hell out of it and Natasha Filippovna. She...was just one of the most tragic, fascinating characters I've ever read about. I also read Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov--sadly, I did not much care for it. I didn't really care for any of the characters, and the plot was a bit overextended. The trial at the end of the book was brilliantly-written, I'll give it that, though.

So, anybody up for nonfiction? One of my favorites is Love at Goon Park, which revolves around Harry Harlow and his monkey studies. Harlow is probably most remembered for those indelible images of his baby monkeys cuddling with a cloth doll.

At one point in America, parents were told not to be affectionate to their children, believing it was detrimental to their children's well-being. Harlow thought this was rubbish, and demonstrated convincingly with monkeys about how harmful it actually was for a child to grow up without physical affection. Yeah, you may be going on about how obvious it seems now, but back then, doctors were telling mothers that it would actually harm their children to hug them and such.

It's a really good book--it's by Deborah Bloom.

[Nina Windia ♦]

Neil Gaiman and Terry pratchett's Good Omens book was pretty cool. (Of course, I've read the translated version ^^"...)

I want to read "star dust" and "American Gods" next.

[Choc ♦]

Neil Gaiman and Terry pratchett's Good Omens book was pretty cool. (Of course, I've read the translated version ^^"...)

I want to read "star dust" and "American Gods" next.

I really enjoyed Good Omens, although I barely remember it or American Gods, unfortunately. Kind of odd how that works. I've yet to read Star Dust, but I really enjoy Neil Gaiman's writing. Neverwhere is another I really liked.

And he's just so durn handsome :<

He makes me jealous because he's exactly what I want to be.

[Nina Windia ♦]

I really enjoyed Good Omens, although I barely remember it or American Gods, unfortunately. Kind of odd how that works. I've yet to read Star Dust, but I really enjoy Neil Gaiman's writing. Neverwhere is another I really liked.

And he's just so durn handsome :<

He makes me jealous because he's exactly what I want to be.

Well, I read what you posted in the BOF fanart, but I still don't know what your other writing is like. Yet, as far as I've seen, you have great skills (and you should really post more).

That said, I really think it's good when one wants his works to improve to the level of the ones he admires but it's also cool when one finds his own way to write/do things.

And yeah he is good looking but he is also.... >.>"
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On another note, can we bring up books names, not necessarily english by source (Or not even written in english)?