heavy-set 39 Posted January 3, 2012 i am talking fiction. no self help or bios. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagles Green 34 Posted January 3, 2012 Try reading "Cooking Lite." And read it while running Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cyclone24 1,814 Posted January 3, 2012 11/22/63 is now available everywhere. The epic tour-de-force chronicles the adventures of Jake Epping as he travels back in time to prevent the Kennedy assassination. For more information, see our promo page at the link below. Stephen King book.....im on it now...its been very good. Great storyline...and he does a great job of telling Jakes story as if it could be me or you doing this. And awesome detail about sayings and verbage used during the 60's, manners, customs, etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hoytdwow 202 Posted January 3, 2012 Do you want to read actual literature/good stuff or are you looking for pulp? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
parrot 789 Posted January 3, 2012 Lonesome Dove. I think I've read it five times over the last 20 years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Little Rusty 17 Posted January 3, 2012 The ones that have an equal type to image ratio Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Savage Beast 1 Posted January 3, 2012 Terry Goodkind's Sword Of Truth series. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shotsup 832 Posted January 4, 2012 The Stand The Count of Monte Crisco Thanks cyclone was looking forward to 11/whatever/63 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zmanzzzz 1 Posted January 4, 2012 dune never gets old. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
heavy-set 39 Posted January 4, 2012 Coloring you won this thread Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
heavy-set 39 Posted January 4, 2012 Do you want to read actual literature/good stuff or are you looking for pulp? no literature Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Riddlen 1 Posted January 4, 2012 terry pratchett. discworld. british social satire hidden in a fantasy setting Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phillybear 364 Posted January 4, 2012 terry pratchett. discworld. british social satire hidden in a fantasy setting My favorite author and favorite series of books. Most of the books are nearly stand-alones, so you don't really have to read them in order. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cyclone24 1,814 Posted January 4, 2012 The Stand The Count of Monte Crisco Thanks cyclone was looking forward to 11/whatever/63 Yeah its solid....you have to be a little patient for the Kennedy/ oswald stuff...but the story is worth it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
parrot 789 Posted January 4, 2012 Just finished "Shutter Island" last night. I don't know that it's one of my favorite books, but it was very good. You don't go wrong with Lehane in my experience. Lots of fantasy being mentioned, so I'll throw "A Song of Ice and Fire" in the ring. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
patweisers44 697 Posted January 4, 2012 Ready Player One. usually not a sci-fi genre guy, but this has a lot of 1980's resets in it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OldMaid 1,838 Posted January 4, 2012 I hear Fun With Dck and Jane & See Spot Run are real page turners. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IGotWorms 3,313 Posted January 4, 2012 Who are you kidding? You're gonna end up planting your fat ass on the couch and watching Kourtney and Kim Take New York while digging into a box of BonBons anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JackARoot 2 Posted January 4, 2012 Ready Player One. usually not a sci-fi genre guy, but this has a lot of 1980's resets in it. I just read this one, Wifey got it for me for Xmas. I really enjoyed it First novel by Ernest Cline ... can't wait for the sequel. He cleverly sets up a situation where the fate of the world hangs in the balance of the main character's geekly knowledge of 80's pop culture Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nzoner 936 Posted January 4, 2012 Where The Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls but fair warning if you have a soft spot for dogs get ready to like a biotch I also agree with The Stand probably one of King's best although my favorite is still Salem's Lot as I'm a big fan of the vampire genre not to be confused with all that Twilight crap. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
parrot 789 Posted January 4, 2012 The Road by Cormac McCarthy is a great book. No Country for Old Men is pretty good too. A lot of people will tell you that Blood Meridian is his best work but I didn't care for it. The Devil in The White City by Erik Larsen is a fascinating read. I recently read Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It was okay, but long. A lot of people like it more than I did . Anything by James Lee Burke. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cyclone24 1,814 Posted January 4, 2012 The Road by Cormac McCarthy is a great book. No Country for Old Men is pretty good too. A lot of people will tell you that Blood Meridian is his best work but I didn't care for it. The Devil in The White City by Erik Larsen is a fascinating read. I recently read Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It was okay, but long. A lot of people like it more than I did . Anything by James Lee Burke. Nice.....ive read most of those. Devil in the White city is good.....his other one...In the Garden of the Beast or something like that was also pretty good. Not as good though. The Road i thought was overrated...but wasnt bad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
parrot 789 Posted January 4, 2012 Nice.....ive read most of those. Devil in the White city is good.....his other one...In the Garden of the Beast or something like that was also pretty good. Not as good though. The Road i thought was overrated...but wasnt bad. I was just coming back to edit the post to say that I had heard In the Garden of Beasts was very good too. It's on my short list. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IGotWorms 3,313 Posted January 4, 2012 I was just coming back to edit the post to say that I had heard In the Garden of Beasts was very good too. It's on my short list. It's good but not nearly as good as Devil in the White City and still a little behind Thunderstruck, imo. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mungwater 588 Posted January 4, 2012 I just read this one, Wifey got it for me for Xmas. I really enjoyed it First novel by Ernest Cline ... can't wait for the sequel. He cleverly sets up a situation where the fate of the world hangs in the balance of the main character's geekly knowledge of 80's pop culture Is the protagonist named newbie? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bishop82 61 Posted January 4, 2012 My favorite author is Dostoyevsky (hands down), however lately I've been reading a lot of Kierkegaard, Kant, Rousseau, and Schopenhauer. Which on the surface seems unusual, considering their conflicting views, however they make some interesting cases. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cyclone24 1,814 Posted January 4, 2012 It's good but not nearly as good as Devil in the White City and still a little behind Thunderstruck, imo. Heard that too...i liked Garden but wasnt so impressed to go get Thunderstruck as it looked very similar in style. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ArnieBragg 1 Posted January 4, 2012 Check out Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes. Novel about the Vietnam War released a few years ago. Also Motherless Brooklyn by Lethem. And another vote here for The Stand. The first half of 11/22/63 is great but it still seems King doesn't know how to end novels anymore. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big Blue 06 195 Posted January 5, 2012 11/22/63 is now available everywhere. The epic tour-de-force chronicles the adventures of Jake Epping as he travels back in time to prevent the Kennedy assassination. For more information, see our promo page at the link below. Stephen King book.....im on it now...its been very good. Great storyline...and he does a great job of telling Jakes story as if it could be me or you doing this. And awesome detail about sayings and verbage used during the 60's, manners, customs, etc. I just finished reading this. It was a great read, I enjoyed it all the way through. I agree with those who said The Stand and Salem's Lot. Two of my favorite all time books. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MDC 5,890 Posted January 5, 2012 I have a lot of favorite books. If you like mysteries / thrillers, a few of my favorites are: The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster. Three 100-or-so page novellas and they all make up a sort of philosophical puzzle, I love this book. An Instance of the Fingerpost by Ian Pears. Sort of similar in that the book is in 4 segments. It takes place during the black plague and each chapter has a new character narrating the events from his own perspective, it was really terrific. The Alienist and Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr are both noir type mysteries that take place in 1800s New York City. I preferred the sequel Angel of Darkness but both were really great reads. I read a lot of experimental and offbeat type fiction and a few things I really loved: The Fugue State by Brian Evenson. Terrific collection of short stories, he reminds me a lot of Franz Kafka if Kafka had a sick sense of humor. The Open Curtain by the same author was sort of a horror / thriller that was largely about Mormonism and I really liked that one too. Here is a link to maybe my favorite story by Evenson. Another all-time favorite is Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges, seriously mind-bending sci-fi / magic realism by a great, great Argentinian author. And another one, Steps by Jerzy Kosinski. It's sort of a collection of vignettes (2-3 page mini-stories), all told from the same main character, in Europe during the second World War. Almost all of them are about sex and the book is deeply focked up and twisted, great stuff. Being There by the same author was made into a great movie with Peter Sellers (Pink Panther) and it's a terrific book too. If you're looking for a great literary type gangster book, Billy Bathgate by EL Doctorow was terrific. My alltime favorite science fiction writer is Harlan Ellison. Almost anything from him is worth reading but Deathbird Stories has a lot of my favorites. Here is a link to my favorite Ellison story. Most people won't like any of this stuff, but it's some of my favorite writing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bonkbonk 5 Posted January 5, 2012 Bad Monkeys Fun, short and a great story. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Giants Fan 85 Posted January 5, 2012 super system The original? The problem with it is everyone has read, at least the parts on Hold Em. And MOST of the book is on games that are not Hold 'Em. I know people hate Phil Helmuth, but his book, Play Poker Like The Pros is a much better insight on how to beat all the players that have read SS or SS2. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zmanzzzz 1 Posted January 5, 2012 fantasy football for dummies. i would recommend it to everyone here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jerryskids 5,200 Posted January 5, 2012 I have a lot of favorite books. If you like mysteries / thrillers, a few of my favorites are: The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster. Three 100-or-so page novellas and they all make up a sort of philosophical puzzle, I love this book. An Instance of the Fingerpost by Ian Pears. Sort of similar in that the book is in 4 segments. It takes place during the black plague and each chapter has a new character narrating the events from his own perspective, it was really terrific. The Alienist and Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr are both noir type mysteries that take place in 1800s New York City. I preferred the sequel Angel of Darkness but both were really great reads. I read a lot of experimental and offbeat type fiction and a few things I really loved: The Fugue State by Brian Evenson. Terrific collection of short stories, he reminds me a lot of Franz Kafka if Kafka had a sick sense of humor. The Open Curtain by the same author was sort of a horror / thriller that was largely about Mormonism and I really liked that one too. Here is a link to maybe my favorite story by Evenson. Another all-time favorite is Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges, seriously mind-bending sci-fi / magic realism by a great, great Argentinian author. And another one, Steps by Jerzy Kosinski. It's sort of a collection of vignettes (2-3 page mini-stories), all told from the same main character, in Europe during the second World War. Almost all of them are about sex and the book is deeply focked up and twisted, great stuff. Being There by the same author was made into a great movie with Peter Sellers (Pink Panther) and it's a terrific book too. If you're looking for a great literary type gangster book, Billy Bathgate by EL Doctorow was terrific. My alltime favorite science fiction writer is Harlan Ellison. Almost anything from him is worth reading but Deathbird Stories has a lot of my favorites. Here is a link to my favorite Ellison story. Most people won't like any of this stuff, but it's some of my favorite writing. I feel like we've discussed this before but... we have similar taste in reading, thanks for the list. Fingerpost is great, I've been meaning to reread it. I also enjoyed Dream of Scipio, although not quite as much. Read both of the Carr books, good reads. Last night I read your link to the Ellison story, that is some whack stuff. I believe I'll put Deathbird Stories on my list, also Labyrinths. For some reason I consider myself more of a novel reader than short stories, but every once in a while I find a good compilation and really enjoy it. If you like historical fiction with powerful/complex characters and occasional sprinklings of magic/fantasy, I would suggest anything by Guy Gavriel Kay. His books tend to be loosely based on historical regions; two of my favorites are Tigana (Italy) and The Last Light of the Sun (Vikings/Norse). His latest, Under Heaven (China), wasn't as good IMO. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Next Generation 10 Posted January 5, 2012 Haven't read much in a while with two young kids running me ragged, but my favorite authors are: Ludlum (early stuff) Crichton D Morrell J Rollins King Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MDC 5,890 Posted January 5, 2012 I feel like we've discussed this before but... we have similar taste in reading, thanks for the list. Fingerpost is great, I've been meaning to reread it. I also enjoyed Dream of Scipio, although not quite as much. Read both of the Carr books, good reads. Last night I read your link to the Ellison story, that is some whack stuff. I believe I'll put Deathbird Stories on my list, also Labyrinths. For some reason I consider myself more of a novel reader than short stories, but every once in a while I find a good compilation and really enjoy it. If you like historical fiction with powerful/complex characters and occasional sprinklings of magic/fantasy, I would suggest anything by Guy Gavriel Kay. His books tend to be loosely based on historical regions; two of my favorites are Tigana (Italy) and The Last Light of the Sun (Vikings/Norse). His latest, Under Heaven (China), wasn't as good IMO. Thanks for the suggestions, I'm buried with books to read but I'll definitely check these out. I liked the Dream of Scipio too but not as much as Fingerpost, too. I read a whole lot of short story collections. If you're at all interested in stories, The Fugue State by Brian Evenson is probably the best book of any kind I read last year. I posted a link to a story from another Evenson book above. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jerryskids 5,200 Posted January 11, 2012 Thanks for the suggestions, I'm buried with books to read but I'll definitely check these out. I liked the Dream of Scipio too but not as much as Fingerpost, too. I read a whole lot of short story collections. If you're at all interested in stories, The Fugue State by Brian Evenson is probably the best book of any kind I read last year. I posted a link to a story from another Evenson book above. Last Friday I was out with a friend who is a huge SF/fantasy fan -- has often voted on Hugo's in the past, but will only do it if he has read every nominated book. Anyway, I asked him if he had read Ellison and he said he is one of his favorite writers; he has had dinner with him a few times and has some signed books. He loaned me a (unsigned) copy of Deathbird Stories. I'm about 1/4 of the way through and so far... meh. First two stories were pretty good, but then I seemed to enter his stream-of-consciousness phase. Also: hey Greedo, if you are following this thread, I plan to lend him your first book. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MDC 5,890 Posted January 11, 2012 Last Friday I was out with a friend who is a huge SF/fantasy fan -- has often voted on Hugo's in the past, but will only do it if he has read every nominated book. Anyway, I asked him if he had read Ellison and he said he is one of his favorite writers; he has had dinner with him a few times and has some signed books. He loaned me a (unsigned) copy of Deathbird Stories. I'm about 1/4 of the way through and so far... meh. First two stories were pretty good, but then I seemed to enter his stream-of-consciousness phase. Also: hey Greedo, if you are following this thread, I plan to lend him your first book. Different strokes for different folks I guess. I remember reading a story called Maggie Money Eyes and another one called Shattered Like a Glass Goblin that I liked a lot in that book. Maybe check them out, if you haven't given up on Ellison altogether. I think he's a great writer but maybe not for everyone. Sci-fi also normally isn't my thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites