Books.

[insidemyownmind]

I will read absolutely anything.
I mean hell, I've read the bible three times.

I need some help though.
Recently, I've been grabbing any book and reading it, but I haven't found a book that has woo'd me.

So could someone leave names of a couple good books?
Anything.
I may be 15, but you would be suprised what all I can understand.
Hell, I understand houseofcantor -LOL- and Shakespeare, most of the time.

[Chas]

(07-12-2011 11:27 AM)insidemyownmind Wrote:  I will read absolutely anything.
I mean hell, I've read the bible three times.

I need some help though.
Recently, I've been grabbing any book and reading it, but I haven't found a book that has woo'd me.

So could someone leave names of a couple good books?
Anything.
I may be 15, but you would be suprised what all I can understand.
Hell, I understand houseofcantor -LOL- and Shakespeare, most of the time.

Anything by Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins, or Bill Bryson (especially his A Short History of Nearly Everything)

[Erxomai]

My all-time favorite book (and already mentioned in another thread) is "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card.

Closely followed by "The Razor's Edge" by W. Somerset Maugham.

And in my opinion, everyone should read "The Hobbit" and if you like that, then go straight into The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

[kingschosen]

Ender's Game (best book ever)
The Maze Runner Trilogy
Anything and everything by Terry Pratchett (mainly the Discworld books that deal with Rincewind)
Jurassic Park
Andromeda Strain

These are some of my favorites.

Edit:
Good Omens... how I forgot this amazing little gem, I don't know. Possibly one of the funniest books I've ever read.

[lucradis]

This is a very personal question. Not a bad one at all, but one that requires more info to proceed more effectively. I also love to read, though I've been off my game recently. My wife (girlfriend) does not like reading. She says that she has a hard time finding anything that she can get into. I've explained to her that it is most likely because she has failed to look. Which earns me a dirty look. But it's true. There are so many types of books, written by so many types of authors that if someone can't find ANYTHING they like to read, especially when they fail to read pretty much at all, it's entirely the fault of the expectant reader.
I admit that when you are an avid reader it can become harder and harder to find anything that really wows you though. However at this point it's not for lack of looking it from exhaustion almost at having looked everywhere and seen everything. I personally get locked into what I call blues boxes (simply because I play guitar and it describes a set of frets that can be scaled and played in any number of ways to always pleasing sounds and I think it describes how I now look for books) I stay within a set of authors, rarely venturing outside anymore because I've read pretty well all the classics, and shit tons of the middle to the point of boredom, and now I find dissatisfaction at anything new, even from my fav authors.
Holy cow, ignore the second paragraph.
First, what books, genres or authors are favored? That will make it easier for an avid reader to point you in a direction.
I am a fan of horror, or sci fi, but I will literally read anything. i even read this book about a mormon girl which was really good actually, I have it somewhere.... I can't remember the name.... I'll get back to you on that one. Warning though, it's written from her perspective as if she was writing in a journal.... and she's weird.

To go along with Pratchet, how about some Gaiman? Neil of course. As well as being an interesting author the guy is aces.

[germanyt]

I'd like to read more but I'm just to lazy. The DaVinci Code was good but it's really the only non fiction I've read in 10 years. I read a lot of political/history books because they are the only ones that seem to hold my attention.

I could recommend this one.

[kim]

Swell! Will we get book reports/reviews on the ones you've read? Might be interesting. Interesting as well to know a book you have already read and what your take on it is. Daunting proposition? Maybe... but here, where opinion is a virtuous enterprise... always good to get some practice in.

On another thread the other day, I suggested a book out of the blue I hadn't thought about in years. I think I might give myself a little Saturnalia gift this year to celebrate the lengthening of days.
Here's a couple...

Man In The High Castle ~ Philip K Dick
The Razor's Edge ~ W Somerset Maugham (Erxomai, you found my lost brain cell!! )
I Sing The Body Electric ~ Ray Bradbury (Uncle Ray, as he's referred to)- a collection of shorts, to be carried around for variety... you know; the spice of life.

Should do you for a bit.

ps. Anything by Uncle Ray... in fact, anything by any of the above authors will pretty much get you through life quite well.

[insidemyownmind]

Two people have mentioned The Razor's Edge, so I'm going to check that one out. And Kim, sure I would love to do some reviews. I'll make sure to let you guys know what I think of some books. Like I've said, none of the books lately have wow'd me, so they're not even worth writing about. :|

[morondog]

Don't know if you'll find a copy - it might be out of print, but Starship Troopers, and the Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein.

Also Chaos by James Gleick, and Genius by the same author.

Carl Sagan is great - there's one with the subtitle "science as a candle in the dark."

Douglas Adams is pretty much required reading - try get a copy of Last Chance to See. Absolutely brilliant.

I find Dawkins hard to read - I get 5 chapters in and somehow lose interest, but there's no doubt he's a brilliant author. I'm just not great at reading him.

Asimov is great too - I've got some of his non-fiction. His fiction I find rather serious. Although Nightfall is great.

Arthur C Clarke... oh man, you're gonna have so much fun

Brief History of Time - get the original, don't settle for dorky 'even briefer history' or anything less

Feynman might be a bit of a stretch right now - Genius by J Gleick is his biography, but the man himself is worth a look. Just he's quite... er, well, he writes for university audiences - I nearly got turned off him when I was a teenager 'cos he's talking about *hard stuff*. I only mention him 'cos he's a total legend and no list of books imo is complete without him.

[Chas]

(07-12-2011 02:34 PM)morondog Wrote:  Carl Sagan is great - there's one with the subtitle "science as a candle in the dark."

The Demon-Haunted World