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ptdc

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I assume people here read sometimes and aren't uncultured foul-smelling grog swilling pigs, well probably. I wondered what peoples' favourite books are, I'm stuck for something to read and need some recommendations.

 

Right, I'll start (and quite possibly finish :\)

 

The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The Lord Of The Rings

His Dark Materials

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You bet.

 

Tolstoy - Anna Karenina, War and Peace

 

Jane Austen - everything. I like her stuff, but most people think it's dry and silly.

 

C.S. Lewis - The Chronicles of Narnia and the Screwtape Letters

 

Nabakov - The Defense

 

You already know about my Shakespeare addiction.

 

Dickens - The Pickwick Papers

 

Tolkein - duh.

 

And when you're done with all that, watch "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." ;)

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WOW!

 

PDTC you have excellent taste in books.

 

I loved His Dark Materials. I waited impatiently for the 3rd book to come out, bought it on the day it came out, and read the whole thing that day. I also listened to all three books while driving to Virginia with my mom this summer. Their quality leaves me speechless.

 

Other books by Philip Pullman are very good, he has another trilogy (The Ruby in the Smoke, The Shadow in the North, and The Tiger in the Well) which is fantastic. It's about a girl named Sally Lockhart who lives in Victorian London, who kind of solve sthese dark mysteries, but the books aren't exactly mysteries themselves. I strongly recommend them. Some of his other books I have read I have found mildy disturbing, and I can't place why that is, but they are still good (Count Karlstein, The White Mercedes)

 

The Hitch Hiker's Guide leave me laughing every time I read any of it, but I haven't made it through the entire Lord of the Rings.

 

If you like nautical things, read the series by Patrick O'Brien (The first book is Master and Commander) Don't give up, the first 50 pages or so of the first one are kind of heavy and dry, they pick up after that and are great. The movie they just came out with combines aspects of several of the books.

 

If you ever run out of stuff to read, really do go back and read classics (Bronte sisters, Jane Austen, Dickens, Hardy). They can be hard to get started on, but once you get used to the language they are very good, (not when you have to read them for school, however.

 

And of course I must mention two of my favorite books: The original, full, unabridged version of Black Beauty, and Robinson Crusoe.

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A few classics -

 

Chuck Palahniuk - Survivor - If you liked Fight Club (movie or book) you'll love this one. Excellent satire with some great, dark humor. I also dig all of Chuck's other books, but Survivor stands out.

 

George Orwell - 1984 - You probably already know it.

 

David Wiesner - Tuesday - Amazing picture book - check it out here.

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Of course we ignore the things that are right in front of us. Did I say "Dune?" No? I'll say it a few more times. Dune. Dune. Dune. Frank Herbert.

 

If you like that kind of thing, then Robert Heinlein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and Huxley's "Brave New World" are my other picks.

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OOoh, I just finished the truth and I'm starting to read nightwatch.

 

His dark materials was very good, there are some not so hidden messages in it (mainly about religion) and the end was sad. Oh and it's not just a children's book ;)

 

I think I read all of HHGG apart from book five which I read the start of and it seemed a little jumbled. I'll have to make myself read it one day.

 

I've been meaning to read 1984, oh and dune, etc, etc.

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I'll second a recommendation for Anna Karenina. Plus:

 

Ken Kesey - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

 

Harry Turtledove - Ruled Britannia (it's a little hard to get into at first, and bloody long, but well worth it)

 

Armin Shimerman - The Merchant Prince (there's also a sequel, but I haven't read it yet)

 

Sharon Shinn - The Shape-Changer's Wife (fantasy meets Anna Karenina. Sort of.)

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Reading sucks ass.

 

I mean, er, I too have enjoyed His Dark Materials, and a number of other books with absolutely no pictures. But my favourite books are still the ones that I read when I was small.

 

"The Witches" by Dahl is the scariest ever book ever in existence ever, and "Matilda" is also top notch. "The Very Hungry Caterpiller" ranks highly on my list too, although that isn't Dahl and is in fact based upon a true story.

 

The last few books that I have enjoyed were Stephen Kings "The Stand" - which is actually pretty damn good, although King is usually quite boring - and "Birdsong", which also comes with a seal of approval of some kind.

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When I was little I liked Dick King-Smith and Roald Dahl books. It's so long ago that I can't really remember any titles. Then when I was older I liked Brian Jacques Redwall books, I'd probably still read them now except they're children's books and it's against the law ;)

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in no specific order:

 

Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Geoffrey James - The Tao of Programming

J.R.R. Tolkien - Lord of the Rings

Everything from Stephen King (especially the "Dark Tower" books)

Frank Herbert - Dune

George Orwell - 1984

Micheal Moorcock - Elric of Melnibone

James P. Hogan - The gentle Giants of Ganimed (sp?)

James P. Hogan - The Genesis machine

Rudy Rucker - White Light

Everything from Isaac Asimov

John Brunner - The wrong End of Time

John Brunner - Quicksand

John Brunner - Children of the Thunder

John Brunner - The Crucible of Time

 

thats all i can remember right now...

as you can see, i read a lot of sf and fantasy...

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Salman Rushdie - The Satanic Verses

Voltaire - Candide

Jonathan Swift - Gulliver's Travels

Franz Kafka - The Trial, A Hunger Artist and Description of a Struggle

John Steinbeck - Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, Sweet Thursday

Jean-Paul Sartre - Nausea

 

And, if you can call them books, Tintin-comics.

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Some Steven King books can be ok... but he seems to have run out of ideas. He also lives with two hours of me and I have had to hear all about him all of his life and hate all of the movies of any of his books so I am kind of anti-Stephen King. But the older ones are ok.

 

Upton Sinclair-The Jungle-(You need a strong stomach)

George Orwell-Animal Farm -(much better if you son't look for symbolism

F.Scott Fitzgerald-The Great Gatsby-(Also much better if you don't look for symbolism)

I don't know the author- The Solitaire Mystery

Any of Roald Dahl's books

Politically Correct-Fairy Tales and Christmas Stories

The orgianal Grimm's Fairy Tales (they are very gruesome)

John Steinbeck-Cannery Row

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Originally posted by The Feral Chicken

The Discworld novels for me, all the way (just finished Monstrous Regiment; Night Watch is still the best, though). I've also enjoyed the two autobiographies from Mick Foley, Bill Bryson's books, and Stephen King's "The Shining".

Listened to Night watch on CD, didn't follow it (four CD's = four audio tracks, about four hours, and only breaks between cds, try and follow that). So I bought the book (hardback) and read it. it was awsome! The I read Montrouse Regiment. Twas okay. The I reread Night Watch (paperback) and still love it. Probably his best book yet.

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