Hey, people who read books

Any recommendations? Not just for me :) , I'm sure other people will benefit too - I like to read books, but they way I pick them in a book shop is based on whether they have an interesting cover, or based on the description on the back + the final test of whether the words are readworthy :8* - not the same with discovering new music - it's harder to know what a book is like...

Anyways:
A ESFj friend of mine recommended The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (which I liked, even if I couldn't relate to it very much - it's from a different time to me :) ) and Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto, which I've ordered but haven't read yet - she looks like an appealing author from what I found out from teh internet (is it good? :) .

Two of the latest books I've read (latest meaning something like five years :oops:) which I like are The Constant Gardener and Enigma by Robert Harris - I kinda like books where the main characters are fighting against some giant hidden thing like corporate corruption in Africa, or an outstanding reclusive mathematician trying to single-handedly beat the Nazis by cracking their code - of course, he has to be slightly unhinged for dramatic effect.

I like Harry Potter books too (but who doesn't) and Dan Brown (yes, I know, shoot me) - I like eventful things with clever twist and turns happening in an unusual, maybe dreamlike world (by eventful, I don't mean the Rocky or Die Hard films in book form - I'm sophisticated, ya know?). I don't like books about urban housewives, who go about their daily business and have lots of problems arranging unexpected tea parties etc. - but I did like the angst (if that's the right word) in The Bell Jar to a certain degree too - so books similar to that where not a lot necessarily happens are O.K. too.


(...Are there any books left? Thanks if anyone bothers to help me in my plight for summertime reading - I appreciate it :P )

i would highly recommend theodor geisel's the cat in the hat, as well as any applicable sequels. it is a highly intriguing read.

The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton. If you can stand his philosophizing dialogue its a brilliant read.

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Originally Posted by niffweed17

i would highly recommend theodor geisel's the cat in the hat, as well as any applicable sequels. it is a highly intriguing read.

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You might be surprised to find I read that ages ago - It wasn't as good as the later sequel Green Eggs And Ham, and besides, I didn't find it as good as The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

"I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson. It's sort of pseudo-horror. It's mostly about the protagonists day-to-day life after the majority of the population has been turned into vampires. It's what inspired Night of the Living Dead.

It's not like most vampire stories, and it tries to take more of a scientific approach to the "vampirism" than most vampire stories, as well.

The Brethren by John Grisham is my favorite book I've read, I don't know why, but I really liked everything about it.
The Tipping Point by Malcom gladwell, I found it quite an interesting read.
http://www.amazon.com/Tipping-Point-.../dp/0316346624
Because I liked that book as much as I did I also read *Blink* by this same author ^ and liked it. Actually, I got so into this book the day I picked it up I read it straight through in one sitting... no other book has ever done that for me, and no it's not a picture book like some people may be thinking...lol. :)

in seriousness:


if you haven't, take a look at

anything by robert heinlein
the uplift series by david brin
anything by isaac asimov
his dark materials by philip pullman

robert heinlein sounds really interesting

Jules verne

A trip too the moon and back

very nice book!

It speaks for itself =)

edit; just read classics they are classics for a reason you know, and even if it has some hundred years on it's back it is surprisingly fresh to read it.

hey that sounded worthwile, istp dude

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Originally Posted by enjio

If you haven't already, this is the book to read:

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

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oh, yes, that whole series as well is terrific.

Good terrific? :)

terrific, adj., extremely good; wonderful

anything by

Phillip K Dick
Rudy Rucker
William Gibson
Bruce Sterling
Tom Maddox

not sure our tastes match, but here are some goodies, assuming you're looking for fiction.

Ode to Kirihito by Osamu Tezuka (graphic novel)
The Zoo Story by Edward Albee (play)
The American Dream by Edward Albee (play)
The Rat by Gunter Grass
Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
Alice in Bed by Susan Sontag (play)
Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West
Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
Seven Plays by Sam Shepherd
My Life as a Man by Philip Roth
The Kingdom of Heaven by Harry Mulisch
Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello (play)
Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron by Daniel Clowes (graphic novel)
Caricature by Daniel Clowes (graphic novel)
Remembrance of Things Past (many-volumed) by Marcel Proust
Maus by Art Spiegelman (graphic novel)
What we talk about when we talk about love (short story collection) by Raymond Carver

never sure how to start of end these lists, so i think of it as a game of freeze tag where i'm finally frozen with no hope of being rescued by "it"

Sophie's World by Jostein Gaader
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Seven People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

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Originally Posted by reyn_til_runa

not sure our tastes match, but here are some goodies, assuming you're looking for fiction.

Ode to Kirihito by Osamu Tezuka (graphic novel)
The Zoo Story by Edward Albee (play)
The American Dream by Edward Albee (play)
The Rat by Gunter Grass
Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
Alice in Bed by Susan Sontag (play)
Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West
Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
Seven Plays by Sam Shepherd
My Life as a Man by Philip Roth
The Kingdom of Heaven by Harry Mulisch
Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello (play)
Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron by Daniel Clowes (graphic novel)
Caricature by Daniel Clowes (graphic novel)
Remembrance of Things Past (many-volumed) by Marcel Proust
Maus by Art Spiegelman (graphic novel)
What we talk about when we talk about love (short story collection) by Raymond Carver

never sure how to start of end these lists, so i think of it as a game of freeze tag where i'm finally frozen with no hope of being rescued by "it"

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tag! (yer it! :) )

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Originally Posted by Sfida

"I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson. It's sort of pseudo-horror. It's mostly about the protagonists day-to-day life after the majority of the population has been turned into vampires. It's what inspired Night of the Living Dead.

It's not like most vampire stories, and it tries to take more of a scientific approach to the "vampirism" than most vampire stories, as well.

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:) That was the very first book in English I read cover to cover.

Did you know that there is a film version, The Last Man on Earth, with Vincent Price? It's very poorly done in terms of budget but it does follow the book quite accurately.

The whole movie is freely available on YouTube, 2 oparts:

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=KGOAgBT--FA[/youtube]


[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=y44iHydcPBU[/youtube]

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Originally Posted by Bionicgoat

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Originally Posted by reyn_til_runa

not sure our tastes match, but here are some goodies, assuming you're looking for fiction.

Ode to Kirihito by Osamu Tezuka (graphic novel)
The Zoo Story by Edward Albee (play)
The American Dream by Edward Albee (play)
The Rat by Gunter Grass
Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
Alice in Bed by Susan Sontag (play)
Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West
Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
Seven Plays by Sam Shepherd
My Life as a Man by Philip Roth
The Kingdom of Heaven by Harry Mulisch
Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello (play)
Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron by Daniel Clowes (graphic novel)
Caricature by Daniel Clowes (graphic novel)
Remembrance of Things Past (many-volumed) by Marcel Proust
Maus by Art Spiegelman (graphic novel)
What we talk about when we talk about love (short story collection) by Raymond Carver

never sure how to start of end these lists, so i think of it as a game of freeze tag where i'm finally frozen with no hope of being rescued by "it"

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tag! (yer it! :) )

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<3
was bordering on an emergency, ty.

Thanks everybody :P .

The ones I found most interesting and are therefore on my list, are Ender's Game suggested by enjio, eunice's suggestions, and niffweed reminded me that I was going to read Stranger in a strange land by Robert Heinlein at some point.

What's with all the scifi books being suggested by niffweed and bionicgoat? - What's a 'cyberpunk?' :P. Some of those authors looked liked they covered some interesting things, but scifi books scare me - I think I might have a glance at some of them.

reyn_til_runa shows an incredible range of books, but they are not really my cup of tea :oops: They seem too real and grim - like watching a Wagnerian opera or something. Steppenwolf looks quite interesting though - though I nearly passed by researching it, due my thoughts on the band of the same name :shock:. I don't have a high opinion of reading plays - but it's not like I have tried to read any, so...maybe sometime. I also have a prejudiced view of graphic novels, even though the few I've read were actually quite good (like Tintin and an animated version of The Hobbit - I gave up on the 'normal' version after two pages because it was difficult to read, not like Lord of the Rings strangely :shock:).


I wanted to get Everyman by Philip Roth after it was mentioned on an arts program - it wasn't at my local shop, so I got The plot against America instead - I gave up after a couple of chapters and a glance through the rest because the ending seemed kind of obvious, and the page-by-page stuff I found tedious and boring. He looks like Larry David - I wonder if he's INTp or INTj (one of those two)?

(anyway, who cares about my ramblings? :wink: )

John Irving - A Prayer for Owen Meany
Kurt Vonnegut - really anything by him, esp. God Bless You Mrs. Rosewater and Slaughterhouse 5
Anything by Bill Byrson
I've started reading some books by Terry Pratchett and they're really fun

I'm reading of all things The Wind in the Willows right now. :D If you have a kid, you read kids books I guess. Anyway, I'd only read more kid-friendly abbreviated versions before and I'm loving reading the real one. The language is really beautiful.

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Originally Posted by Slacker Mom

John Irving - A Prayer for Owen Meany
Kurt Vonnegut - really anything by him, esp. God Bless You Mrs. Rosewater and Slaughterhouse 5
Anything by Bill Byrson
I've started reading some books by Terry Pratchett and they're really fun

I'm reading of all things The Wind in the Willows right now. :D If you have a kid, you read kids books I guess. Anyway, I'd only read more kid-friendly abbreviated versions before and I'm loving reading the real one. The language is really beautiful.

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I've heard a lot about Kurt Vonnegut, but never read ones of his books - I guess I should see what all the fuss is about! I loved Bill Bryson's History of Everything, very informative, and I've read bits of one of his travel books - it had some amusing anecdotes in it, but I don't think they are the kind of books I could read in their entirety - I suppose I found it a bit mundane overall, with no structure.

I find Terry Pratchett's back catalogue daunting - I have no idea where to start. I read some of a book once, and thought it was a bit like Lord of the Rings but with humour and no real urgency to it (I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing yet - need more data :P) - I remember some town with some non-human creatures running a fire service, and all the characters having very selfish human characteristics, which I thought was amusing but there seemed to be no sense of direction *shrug*.

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Originally Posted by Subterranean

I find Terry Pratchett's back catalogue daunting - I have no idea where to start. I read some of a book once, and thought it was a bit like Lord of the Rings but with humour and no real urgency to it (I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing yet - need more data :P) - I remember some town with some non-human creatures running a fire service, and all the characters having very selfish human characteristics, which I thought was amusing but there seemed to be no sense of direction *shrug*.

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There are actually websites out there with advice on where to start in the Discworld series. Here ya go: http://www.lspace.org/books/reading-...des/index.html

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Originally Posted by reyn_til_runa

Maus by Art Spiegelman (graphic novel)

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second this, and breakfast of champions as well. sounds like our tastes are similar, at least.

I've finished re-reading niffweed's suggestion of the cat in the hat, but now I need some more books to consume. I would preferably like to read some books from the Fucked-Up genre, along the lines of Camus, Plath and Mirbeau just because I seem to like reading from this particular genre...educate me, s'il vous pla&#238;t! I also like trashy novels involving lesbian angst, as well as semi-historical fantasies, preferably involving magic.

(Out of the books suggested, I thought Ender's Game was probably the best I read, though Stranger In A Strange Land was very good too - it's better written, I just don't like the ending so much. Not that it mattered, I guess :). I read The Breathen by John Grisham, and thought it was O.K., but The Broker by him was pretty brilliant, so I guess I should read some more of his. I thought the ending of the His Dark Materials trilogy was a bit of a let down, though the books were very good otherwise).

die

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Originally Posted by Subterranean

I read The Breathen by John Grisham, and thought it was O.K., but The Broker by him was pretty brilliant, so I guess I should read some more of his.

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The Partner and The Summons by John Grisham are also really good and they are more like The Broker so you may like them too. Many of his books are made into movies so it's good to read his books beforehand since they are usually quite better IMO. When they do go to movie though, they are usually pretty close as far as the books go so by watching the movie first you may not want to read the book. When I bought The Client I started reading it and then remembered the movie so I never actually finished reading it because it was so close to what I had already watched on TV.

William Gibson is good
Kitchen was decent (can't remember what it was about really, but I do recall a positive response)
Haruki Murakami has some interesting reads
Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers
and Red Dwarf: Better Than Life -------Brilliant
Terry Pratchett
Neil Gaiman
Armor by John Steakley
Osamu Dazai (his short stories tended to be better than his novellas, imo)
Notes From the Underground - Fyodor Dostoevsky
Candide - Voltaire
Twilight of the Idols/The Anti-Christ - Nietzsche
H.P. Lovecraft
The Future of An Illusion - Freud

The Watchmen graphic novel

The A Song of Ice And Fire series by George R. R. Martin

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Originally Posted by munenori2

Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers

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My brother has just got this book - I'm going to have to steal it off him, then :). Is that Freud book really any good? He scares me.

Well, the book of Freud's I recommended is pretty interesting, as well as brief. Apparently Freud was an award winning writer in his time, which comes out in that one.

The Dig, Alan Dean Foster - Lightweight sci-fi, but a great 'what if' story of exploration.

The Average American Male, Chad Kultgen - Offensive and funny. You can tell that the author is a fan of Bukowski and Ellis.

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Originally Posted by discojoe

The Watchmen graphic novel

The A Song of Ice And Fire series by George R. R. Martin

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I wholeheartedly second the A Song of Ice and Fire reccomendation. IN the five years since I discovered the author, they're still the books I reccomend most.
First book is A Game of Thrones.

If you like George RR Martin's stuff, you should check out Steven Erikson's books (the Malazan series), while you wait for GRRM to finish his next one in the series.

I think you might like books by Paul Arden:

-It's Not How Good You Are, Its How Good You Want to Be: The World's Best Selling Book

-Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite

-God Explained in a Taxi Ride

They are rather "fun" books to read, not as "preachy" as what the titles have suggested. :)

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Originally Posted by Wittmont

If you like George RR Martin's stuff, you should check out Steven Erikson's books (the Malazan series), while you wait for GRRM to finish his next one in the series.

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Hopefully the wait won't be too much longer :p I've actually read the first 4 books of the malazan series. I enjoy those books occasionally, and the width of the scope is great, but I wouldn't say I'm a great fan.
Are you familiar with Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing?

Most of you have shitty taste. You might as well sit about watching Power Rangers all day for the things that you read.

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Originally Posted by Isolda Biloruka

Hopefully the wait won't be too much longer :p I've actually read the first 4 books of the malazan series. I enjoy those books occasionally, and the width of the scope is great, but I wouldn't say I'm a great fan.
Are you familiar with Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing?

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Hmm, nope. I'll take a look at it :)

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Originally Posted by Garmonbozia

Most of you have shitty taste. You might as well sit about watching Power Rangers all day for the things that you read.

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Are there any books involving self-hating surrealist nihilists that you could recommend? Or possibly books where nothing bad ever happens, and the characters are so perfect they send you into a self-hating nihilistic gloom?

I know you have read basically every book ever written on the human condition, which must mean you are an extremely nice and perceptive person.

:lol::D:lol:
:D:lol::D

Right now, I'm reading Ovid's Metamorphosis in a translation by some guy with the last name Humphries that I bought last summer and neglected to read. It's actually not that bad. Ovid's a funny guy.

my current book: the art of war, sun tzu.

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Originally Posted by Baby

Right now, I'm reading Ovid's Metamorphosis in a translation by some guy with the last name Humphries that I bought last summer and neglected to read. It's actually not that bad. Ovid's a funny guy.

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Then you should try his Ars Amatoria, with tips about picking up girls in ancient Rome.

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Originally Posted by Subterranean

Are there any books involving self-hating surrealist nihilists that you could recommend? Or possibly books where nothing bad ever happens, and the characters are so perfect they send you into a self-hating nihilistic gloom?

I know you have read basically every book ever written on the human condition, which must mean you are an extremely nice and perceptive person.

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The fact that you don't read anything even remotely intelligent shows.

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Originally Posted by Garmonbozia

The fact that you don't read anything even remotely intelligent shows.

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The fact that you read remotely intelligent books and don't learn anything from them also shows.

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Originally Posted by discojoe

The fact that you read remotely intelligent books and don't learn anything from them also shows.

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Wow, the grammar in that Manga you read must be awful.

That begs the question.

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Originally Posted by Garmonbozia

Wow, the grammar in that Manga you read must be awful.

That begs the question.

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The m in manga isn't capitalized.

I love how you always seem to sabotage your own efforts to insult other people's grammar by accidentally making a mistake of your own.

Also, I've never read manga.

Also, I hope you get aids.

I read only trashy populist novels, though I would ideally like to read deeply esoteric books that no-one has ever heard of in order to appear hip and knowledgeable about a range of otherwise alien topics such as lesbianism and art murder.

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Originally Posted by discojoe

The m in manga isn't capitalized.

I love how you always seem to sabotage your own efforts to insult other people's grammar by accidentally making a mistake of your own.

Also, I've never read manga.

Also, I hope you get aids.

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I am stupid it is true. I know so little about the subject that I thought manga was the writer rather than the genre.

Forgive me Father for I have sinned; I know very little about Japanese silliness.

I wont get HIV for I have the black plague gene.

Nope, you said "know know".

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Originally Posted by discojoe

Nope, you said "know know".

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Yes I did; and I thought it was correct until I looked up the proper usage for "know know".

How do you tell someone you love them for who they are without them thinking you are being sarcastic?

Some books I read over the holidays:

"Universe on a t-shirt: the quest for the theory of everything", it's a Canadian book about the major theoretical issues in theoretical physics. Nice acccessible read with lots' of interesting info.


"Tank versus Tank" is another Canadian book about the history of tank battles in the last century.

"Tank" is a cultural history of the tank from the UK, still reading it, has some very interesting bits.

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Originally Posted by Expat

Then you should try his Ars Amatoria, with tips about picking up girls in ancient Rome.

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:lol: I saw that at the bookstore when I bought it as well as an edition of erotic poetry by him as well. I'll have to go back and find them again.

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Originally Posted by Baby

:lol: I saw that at the bookstore when I bought it as well as an edition of erotic poetry by him as well. I'll have to go back and find them again.

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At the Circus:

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Originally Posted by Ovid

Why do you keep trying to edge away from me? You can't do it; we've got to sit close because of the seats. That's an advantage I owe to the Circus arrangements. But you, there, who are sitting on the other side of this lady, mind what you're about; don't lean on her like that. And you behind there; don't thrust out your legs like that; don't let your hard knee dig into her back. Mind, darling, you're letting your dress drag on the ground. Pull it up a little, or I shall have to do it for you. Ah, jealous dress, how you liked to cover her beautiful legs. Aye, and the longer you looked--oh, you jealous dress, you! Atalanta's legs must have looked like yours, when she was running--no wonder Milanion wanted to catch hold of them--and Diana's too, when, with uplifted dress, she pursueth the wild beasts in the forests, beasts less fearless than herself. Though I never saw them, those legs set me on fire. What would happen if I saw yours? You will be adding fuel to fire, water to the ocean. I can just imagine, from what I've seen, what those other charms are like that you conceal so well under your dainty dress.

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Originally Posted by discojoe

The m in manga isn't capitalized.

I love how you always seem to sabotage your own efforts to insult other people's grammar by accidentally making a mistake of your own.

Also, I've never read manga.

Also, I hope you get aids.

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Not on anyone's side here but I think AIDS is in fact capitalized. (I think Aids is also acceptable.)

Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. Anthropologist Dr. Paul Farmer is a major hero of mine!

Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis, three book series which starts with Dawn, if you like science fiction. She talks about human and alien realtionships and alien society as metaphore for our own complex social issues. She was a really interesting lady, and very smart.

I just recently discovered Dostoevsky and was ashamed it took me so long. "Notes from the Underground" and "Crime and Punishment" were both tantalizing, about to start "The Brothers Karamazov". It's fun reading his books because his psychological description of characters makes them pretty easy to socionic type