Recommend a book

[Foggy]

Go on then!

[CZAR]

The Catcher in the Rye! Got Em!!

[iceman]

Epic:
Dostojevski - The Idiot
Tolstoy - War and Peace

Comedy:
Joseph Heller - Catch 22
Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Fantasy:
JRR Tolkien - Lord of the Rings trilogy + Bilbo
Lloyd Alexander - The Chronicles of Prydain

History:
Antony Beevor - pretty much everything

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by iceman

Epic:
Dostojevski - The Idiot
Tolstoy - War and Peace

Comedy:
Joseph Heller - Catch 22
Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Fantasy:
JRR Tolkien - Lord of the Rings trilogy + Bilbo
Lloyd Alexander - The Chronicles of Prydain

History:
Antony Beevor - pretty much everything

Great reads.......

I'll add:
The Brothers Kharamasov(?)
The House on Garibaldi Street

[BluLobsta]

I've always been fascinated by history, so this may be an excellent suggestion for history buffs...a biography of John Adams

"John Adams by David McCullough"

John Adams was an American statesman, diplomat and political theorist. He was the second President of the United States and vice president under George Washington. He played an instrumental role in the American Revolution and subsequently in the creation of an independent nation from thirteen colonies that became the United States of America. And of course, yes, he was very well read

[Darthvong]

John L. Byrne’s Fear Book

[Gamma_Winstead]

Originally Posted by JasonR

Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk

YES! This is one of my favorite books. Hell, anything by Chuck is a great read.

[Nicolidakies]

''True Grit'' by Charles Portis. Even if you're not a fiction fan. It's insanely well written and very entertaining.

[Evra]

I am a big fan of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. I think it's suspenseful and funny.

Any books that you would recommend that are either funny or suspenseful, preferably having both qualities? =)

[Taipan]

The Last Unicorn
The Name of the Wind

[Rob71]

Swan Song by Robert McCammon

http://www.robertmccammon.com/novels/swan_song.html

[Blu Titan]

I am a big Sci Fi fan...thus, The Caves of Steel .

[LeAnn]

maybe... recommend a book and put a short 3-5 sentence blurb about it under it?

[SonOfArathorn]

Smoke and Mirrors - A short story collection by Neil Gaiman

[John The Grudge]

Here's a selection of books I've read that are very good:

Chris Miller - The Real Animal House
Hunter S Thompson - Hell's Angels
Jay McInerney - Bright Lights Big City
Bret Easton Ellis - Less Than Zero
Stephen King - The Shining
Stanton Friedman - Crash At Corona
Mark Pilkington - Mirage Men

[Al_The_Strange]

"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K Dick.

[BluLobsta]

"The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury

A series of science fiction short stories with the feel of a novel. Humans fleeing Earth colonize Mars and run into conflict with native Martians.

[QuasidodoJr]

Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill

"Stoker-winner Hill features a particularly merciless ghost in his powerful first novel. Middle-aged rock star Judas Coyne collects morbid curios for fun, so doesn't think twice about buying a suit advertised at an online auction site as haunted by its dead owner's ghost. Only after it arrives does Judas discover that the suit belonged to Craddock McDermott, the stepfather of one of Coyne's discarded groupies, and that the old man's ghost is a malignant spirit determined to kill Judas in revenge for his stepdaughter's suicide. Judas isn't quite the cad or Craddock the avenging angel this scenario makes them at first, but their true motivations reveal themselves only gradually in a fast-paced plot that crackles with expertly planted surprises and revelations.

Hill (20th Century Ghosts) gives his characters believably complex emotional lives that help to anchor the supernatural in psychological reality and prove that (as one character observes) "horror was rooted in sympathy." His subtle and skillful treatment of horrors that could easily have exploded over the top and out of control helps make this a truly memorable debut."


The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan

"A Boeing 777 arrives at JFK and is on its way across the tarmac, when it suddenly stops dead. All window shades are pulled down. All lights are out. All communication channels have gone quiet. Crews on the ground are lost for answers, but an alert goes out to the CDC. Dr. Eph Goodweather, head of their Canary project, a rapid-response team that investigates biological threats, gets the call and boards the plane. What he finds makes his blood run cold.

In a pawnshop in Spanish Harlem, a former professor and survivor of the Holocaust named Abraham Setrakian knows something is happening. And he knows the time has come, that a war is brewing . . .

So begins a battle of mammoth proportions as the vampiric virus that has infected New York begins to spill out into the streets. Eph, who is joined by Setrakian and a motley crew of fighters, must now find a way to stop the contagion and save his city--a city that includes his wife and son--before it is too late."


Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

"Epic fantasy heavyweight Sanderson (the Mistborn series) pens a powerful stand-alone tale of unpredictable loyalties, dark intrigue and dangerous magic. To keep a treaty made long ago, the king of Idris must send his daughter to marry Susebron, the God King of Hallandren. Loath to part with his eldest daughter, Vivenna, King Dedelin instead sends his youngest daughter, tomboyish 17-year-old Siri, who struggles to make sense of the schemers and spies in Susebron's court. Hoping to rescue her sister, Vivenna joins a group of Idrian operatives with questionable motives. As Vivenna comes to terms with her magical abilities, resurrected hero Lightsong questions the role of the undead Returned Gods, who command Hallandren's mighty army of zombie soldiers. Sanderson melds complex, believable characters, a marvelous world and thoughtful, ironic humor into an extraordinary and highly entertaining story."


Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

"Pratchett (of Discworld fame) and Gaiman (of Sandman fame) may seem an unlikely combination, but the topic (Armageddon) of this fast-paced novel is old hat to both. Pratchett's wackiness collaborates with Gaiman's morbid humor; the result is a humanist delight to be savored and reread again and again. You see, there was a bit of a mixup when the Antichrist was born, due in part to the machinations of Crowley, who did not so much fall as saunter downwards, and in part to the mysterious ways as manifested in the form of a part-time rare book dealer, an angel named Aziraphale. Like top agents everywhere, they've long had more in common with each other than the sides they represent, or the conflict they are nominally engaged in. The only person who knows how it will all end is Agnes Nutter, a witch whose prophecies all come true, if one can only manage to decipher them. The minor characters along the way (Famine makes an appearance as diet crazes, no-calorie food and anorexia epidemics) are as much fun as the story as a whole, which adds up to one of those rare books which is enormous fun to read the first time, and the second time, and the third time..."

[Riff Magnum]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Go on then!

What kinda stuff you into? Most of my favs are pretty dark, so i'll just recommend a couple.

Child of God by Cormac Mccarthy -- about as disturbing as it gets
True Grit by Charles Portis -- not very dark. pretty funny really
Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner -- what a weirdo

Anything by Daniel Woodrell ("winters bone" and "give us a kiss: a country noir" being my two favs thus far), Flannery O'Conner (you won't find a better female writer), and Raymond Chandler.

[mrf]

I really enjoy Sci-fi and Fantasy so one of my favorite publishers since getting into e-books is Baen. They like to give away books by there authors to get you hooked on them. You can also buy a monthly collection of 4-8 books for $15.

http://www.webscription.net//
http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/

The first link you can buy books from them, the second is downloadable "CD"s of Baen's e-book collections which have been previously released.


One series I enjoyed:
Empire of Man series by John Ringo -
March Upcountry
March to the Sea
March to the Stars
We Few

[Show spoiler]
THE ROYAL BRAT IS IN TROUBLE

Roger Ramius Sergei Chiang MacClintock didn't understand.

He was young, handsome, athletic, an excellent dresser, and third in line for the Throne of Man ... so why wouldn't anyone at Court trust him

Why wouldn't even his own mother, the Empress, explain why they didn't trust him Or why the very mention of his father's name was forbidden at Court Or why his mother had decided to pack him off to a backwater planet aboard what was little more than a tramp freighter to represent her at a local political event better suited to a third assistant undersecretary of state

It probably wasn't too surprising that someone in his position should react by becoming spoiled, self-centered, and petulant. After all, what else did he have to do with his life

But that was before a saboteur tried to blow up his transport. Then warships of the Empire of Man's worst rivals shot the crippled vessel out of space. Then Roger found himself shipwrecked on the planet Marduk, whose jungles were full of damnbeasts, killerpillars, carnivorous plants, torrential rain, and barbarian hordes with really bad dispositions. Now all Roger has to do is hike halfway around the entire planet, then capture a spaceport from the Bad Guys, somehow commandeer a starship, and then go home to Mother for explanations.

Fortunately, Roger has an ace in the hole: Bravo Company of Bronze Battalion of The Empress� Own Regiment. If anyone can get him off Marduk alive, it's the Bronze Barbarians.

Assuming that Prince Roger manages to grow up before he gets all of them killed.

You can find all 4 of the books in the series on the "At All Costs" CD from the BaenCD site.


For a good book that doesn't take itself very seriously try:
Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia and it's sequel Monster Hunter Vendetta

Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a fourteenth story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer.

[Show spoiler]
Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a fourteenth story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer.

It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Officially secret, some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. On the other side are the people who kill monsters for a living. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit.

It's actually a pretty sweet gig, except for one little problem. An ancient entity known as the Cursed One has returned to settle a centuries old vendetta. Should the Cursed One succeed, it means the end of the world, and MHI is the only thing standing in his way. With the clock ticking towards Armageddon, Owen finds himself trapped between legions of undead minions, belligerent federal agents, a cryptic ghost who has taken up residence inside his head, and the cursed family of the woman he loves.

Business is good . . .