Gargoyle King Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 Nothing beats Stephen King's Dark Tower series... Yes, it's hard to come close to them. I love JRR Tolkien's books, all are so immensly epic that a lot of modern authors don't seem to match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bee Hoon Posted June 16, 2007 Share Posted June 16, 2007 The Harmony Silk Factory by Tash Aw, set in 1940s Malaya. It's, in part, about how your ow beliefs can warp your perception of a person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tk102 Posted June 16, 2007 Share Posted June 16, 2007 Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. Short chapters and only 160 pages and you can read it online here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted June 16, 2007 Share Posted June 16, 2007 I read Siddhartha last fall in school. It was a pretty good book, I enjoyed it because it was easy to read but it still required some thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pavlos Posted June 16, 2007 Share Posted June 16, 2007 Yes, it's hard to come close to them. I love JRR Tolkien's books, all are so immensly epic that a lot of modern authors don't seem to match. I'd recommend you take a look at Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, if you haven't read the books already. It's your usual "Darkness sweeps the land, reluctant hero must save it" but it's written in a solid style and the books themselves are genuinely gripping. I don't have much love for Tolkein; he's the father of a genre but his writing style and pacing are some of the worst I have seen. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep [Philip K. Dick] is good... if a little eccentric. The film Blade Runner is based off it - but it misses out the "Dream of Electric Sheep" part and makes to with the "Do Androids." There's more that I can't think of off the top of my head... were you looking for strictly novels, or are you open for poetry and theatre too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negative Sun Posted June 16, 2007 Share Posted June 16, 2007 Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep [Philip K. Dick] is good... if a little eccentric. The film Blade Runner is based off it - but it misses out the "Dream of Electric Sheep" part and makes to with the "Do Androids." Reading this book atm, it's great...The movie's good too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentScope001 Posted June 16, 2007 Share Posted June 16, 2007 If you are interested in something different, read some of Vonnegut's works. They are easy to read and can be done rather quickly (about 200 pages), and are a refreshing break from the traditional novel. Don't read all of it however, but only the best ones out there. "Slaughterhouse Five" is a really great piece of work that actually draws attention to the Allies' bombing of Dresden, and talks a lot about free will, or the lack of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arátoeldar Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 I'd recommend you take a look at Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, if you haven't read the books already. It's your usual "Darkness sweeps the land, reluctant hero must save it" but it's written in a solid style and the books themselves are genuinely gripping. I don't have much love for Tolkein; he's the father of a genre but his writing style and pacing are some of the worst I have seen. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep [Philip K. Dick] is good... if a little eccentric. The film Blade Runner is based off it - but it misses out the "Dream of Electric Sheep" part and makes to with the "Do Androids." There's more that I can't think of off the top of my head... were you looking for strictly novels, or are you open for poetry and theatre too? You don't like Tolkien's pacing and writing style. Yet you love all of Jordan's WoT books. I love the first five books of the series. However books 6-9 were very very slow and plodding. It didn't pick up again until Crossroads of Twilight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth InSidious Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 The problem with Tolkien is that he writes too much, particularly in Lord of the Rings to really be a comfortable read (unless you like to spend 20 years on a book ), which I suppose is why it lends itself to the visual arts so well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon92 Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 If you're from England and looking for a light read I suggest either Danny Wallace's Join Me or The Adrian Mole Diaries series. Seriously, I read Weapons of Mass Destruction [the longest one - around 400 pages I think] in a day somehow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinkle Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 The problem with Tolkien is that he writes too much, particularly in Lord of the Rings to really be a comfortable read (unless you like to spend 20 years on a book ), which I suppose is why it lends itself to the visual arts so well. If you think the main body of Lord Of The Rings is too prosy, don't even bother picking up a copy of the Silmarillion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth InSidious Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 If you think the main body of Lord Of The Rings is too prosy, don't even bother picking up a copy of the Silmarillion. I tried it. I got lost about thirty pages in, and couldn't remember who all these rapidly appearing and disappearing characters were... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totenkopf Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 Speaking of books that I never got very far into......Joyce's Achilles, Grisham's The Client and Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. For "light" reading I've read various novels already mentioned, Marcinko's Rogue Warrior series and alternate history novels by Harry Turtledove. Read most Clancy novels, though mainly the hardback variey. Probably 1/2 of Grisham's stuff as well. Read Tolkien's "movie books" to see exactly where the actual novels differed from the films. David Drake's Hammer's Slammer's series is pretty good as is another series called FIST (Sherman/Crag). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pavlos Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 You don't like Tolkien's pacing and writing style. Yet you love all of Jordan's WoT books. I love the first five books of the series. However books 6-9 were very very slow and plodding. It didn't pick up again until Crossroads of Twilight. I have yet to get my hands on a copy of book six... (so many other things to read, you see) which may explain my views. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gargoyle King Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 I'd recommend you take a look at Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, if you haven't read the books already. It's your usual "Darkness sweeps the land, reluctant hero must save it" but it's written in a solid style and the books themselves are genuinely gripping. I don't have much love for Tolkein; he's the father of a genre but his writing style and pacing are some of the worst I have seen. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep [Philip K. Dick] is good... if a little eccentric. The film Blade Runner is based off it - but it misses out the "Dream of Electric Sheep" part and makes to with the "Do Androids." There's more that I can't think of off the top of my head... were you looking for strictly novels, or are you open for poetry and theatre too? I've heard of the "Wheel of Time" series but never read them (never got round to it i suppose), i may give these a try. I never realised "Blade Runner" was based of a book so it's a great revelation for me; is the book any good as i don't have much of a likeness for the film, Harrison Ford played an okay part i suppose but yet i think nothing will ever compare to his roles as Indiana Jones (i really can't wait for the new installment) and Harrison Ford, respectively. Yeah i'm open to poetry and theatre as i feel it gives a much different atmosphere than in novelisations. Do you like any Shakespeare? My personal favourites are "The Tempest" & "Macbeth". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinkle Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 If you're open to poetry, go for Dylan Thomas and Theodore Roethke. W.H. Auden, too, although he represents a much larger time investment due to the expansive nature of his body of work (compared to Thomas and Roethke, at the very least). Imagine if T.S. Eliot wasn't a brooding ass completely under the spell of Ezra Pound and you'd have Auden. If you have the time and about $80 to shell out on his Complete Illuminated Poems, William Blake is *highly* worth the time. Not really worth reading in standard transcriptions, unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gargoyle King Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 If you have the time and about $80 to shell out on his Complete Illuminated Poems, William Blake is *highly* worth the time. Well $80 would only be about £45 here in the UK, so it's worth the price - might even get a good deal on Amazon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mur'phon Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 Just a warning to everyone thinking of reading wheel of time, after reading all of them (I got a nasty flu, and needed to pass time), I noticed they are very similar. Basically: the magic guy micromanage his three braindead wives while killing/beating one of many bad magic guys/gals. The gambling guy get forced by circumstanses to be a hero. The blacksmith guy tries to avoid his jealous wifes wrath. This happens in every book after the first few, and makes them to predictabel for my taste. The only reason to read the books is if you need to kill time, as with 700-1200 pages pr book, it takes some time to finish them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arátoeldar Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 I have yet to get my hands on a copy of book six... (so many other things to read, you see) which may explain my views. There are a total of 12 book out with one of them bing a prequel. Supposedly the next book will wrap up the series and may come in at a whopping 1500 pages. However this is all on hold while he is battling his fatal illness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Galt Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Asimov's Federation series is also quite worth looking into. It was also one of the major inspirations for the original Star Wars movie also, including the term GALACTIC EMPIRE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emperor Devon Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Asimov's Federation series is also quite worth looking into. Don't you mean Foundation series? Oh yeah, great reads. Must-reads for any science fiction fan, along with Dune. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
True_Avery Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 The entire Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy collection. You need a certain amount of intelligence to read it and find it funny and the smarter you get, the more hidden jokes pop up. Your life is not complete until reading those book. Enough said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pho3nix Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 I recommend reading the two Jurassic Park books by Michael Crichton. I love the movies, and reading them helped clarify a few things and also taught me more about evolution and dinosaurs in general. And in the Lost World (which is the second book) each chapter comes with a quote regarding evolution from Einstein and such. I think I like it more than the first one. a great read for any dinosaur / Jurassic Park enthusiast out there ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Dravis Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 I just finished the Bhagavad-Gita yesterday, that's also fun if you're interested in stuff like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Lion54 Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 And in the Lost World (which is the second book) each chapter comes with a quote regarding evolution from Einstein and such. I think I like it more than the first one. a great read for any dinosaur / Jurassic Park enthusiast out there ! You should read "The Lost World" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Its a fun story, but whats also great about it is seeing the different beliefs we had about dinosaurs when it was written. For instance, the stegosaurus had an actual "Chicken head." It was written in the late 1800's or early 1900's. I don't have the exact date off hand, but basically, a hundred years ago. Also, if you have ever seen the television show "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's : The Lost World," don't let it sway your opinion about the book before you read it. Its completely different. I'm a big fan of Sherlock Holmes, but its great to read something else by Doyle. "The Lost World" was one of the few non-Holmes stories that he had any success with. Holmes was such a popular character that whenever he tried to write anything else, people would complain that he wasn't writing more Holmes stories. Doyle even killed off Holmes in an attempt to distance himself from the character, but to no avail. He had to revive Holmes because of all the complaints he received. OK, enough history. I actually had a point. Well, three points, actually. First, read "The Lost World" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Second, read Sherlock Holmes. Both are awesome but you don't have to take my word for it. (*cue the Reading Rainbow theme*) Ahem, anyway, moving right along... My other point, and this is a bit out of left field, but I can't help but see a correlation between Doyle and JK Rowling. It will be interesting to see how her career goes once "The Deathly Hallows" is published... Rowling is adamant that "The Deathly Hallows" is the final book, but then so was Doyle with the incorrectly named "The Final Problem." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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