vmcoia91: Book Recommendations

vmcoia91 02.14.12	oh, and I'm currently reading Breakfast of Champions which is really good too. So recs based on these books would appreciated. Thank you
fsharptrit0ne 02.14.12	the book thief. read it. reading the shadow of the wind right now, owning so hard
Satellite 02.14.12	choke rules. haven't read any of his stuff after rant. the visible man - chuck klosterman
kris. 02.14.12	bout to start reading 1 get a game of thrones by george rr martin best fantasy novels ever written FACT
liledman 02.14.12	the stranger - albert camus the sense of an ending - julian barnes moby-dick - herman melville notes from underground - fyodor dostoyevsky lolita - vladimir nabokov
AggravatedYeti 02.14.12	the risen empire
silentstar 02.14.12	Read Unwind by Neal Shusterman, it's a dystopian novel that by far surpasses Hunger Games.
Cipieron 02.14.12	Old Man's War Crime and Punishment American Psycho The Road The Worthing Saga
Cipieron 02.14.12	moby dick is an overrated piece of shit, and yes i did read it
fsupride 02.14.12	The Deluge - Polish historical fiction, won a Nobel Prize yaknow
zeppelinUSA 02.14.12	Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Dharma Bums Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance For Whom the Bell Tolls
liledman 02.14.12	yeah i can understand people not enjoying moby-dick at all, but i absolutely loved it. one of my favourites.
VlacDrac 02.14.12	The old man and the sea 1984 A brave new world Pulp (Charles Bukowski) Fight club A clockwork orange
VlacDrac 02.14.12	If you like classic books you should read the divine comedy, specially the Inferno (the best part IMO).
RooseveltsGhost 02.14.12	His Dark Materials
Rowan5215 02.14.12	His Dark Materials [2] And also The Hobbit/LOTR, amazed no-one's rec'd that yet.
liledman 02.14.12	fuck yeah his dark materials
Winsomniac 02.14.12	Obligatory House of Leaves recommendation.
Piglet 02.14.12	Trainspotting - Irvine Welsh Brilliant book. I can't really say any more than that. I can't wait to watch the movie either. The Iliad - Homer Definition of classic. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller As Harper Lee put it "the only war novel I've read that makes sense" The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams It's a delightful read if you're into quirky, british humour. Lots of suble mockery undertones and just a genuinely fun read. Palo Alto - James Franco It's a pretty dark novel, but really worth it. I garentee you'd be able to finish it in under a day and it would be worth your time. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien If you haven't read any Tolkien, read this first. And then go read the actual trilogy. It's a real fantasy epic, nothing comes close to it. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy An absolutely amazing and satisfying read. Probably the most epic book of all time, probably the best written as well. Les Miserables falls short to this. The Tale of Genji - Murasaki Shikibu I would only read this if you enjoy Japanese culture. Personally, I found this to be my favourite book over the past couple of months. There's something so compelling about everything Japanese and this is basically considered to be their best book. A bit like how Seven Samurai is considered to be their best movie. It helps that the version I have is the most beautiful thing I've ever laid my eyes on. Worth every dollar. His Dark Materials Trilogy - Phillip Pullman This is double the fun when you get the metaphorical value and even if you don't... well it's still so good. Pullman is a talented writer, I would actually rank this above C.S. Lewis.
Piglet 02.14.12	American Psycho - Bret Eason Ellis This book truly made me feel all filthy and crap inside after reading it. And I'm so glad that I did, it's probably changed my outlook on Western Culture and how I want to live my life later on. This'll probably shake up your moral values along with Trainspotting and Palo Alto. The Origin of Life - Paul Davies If you even have the slightest tickle of interest for how we got here, then you'd love this. It doesn't drag on or hard to read like most scientific books can. It's surprisingly light and philosophical. You'll gain a lot of knowledge from it. The Stories of English - David Crystal Oh my god, this will completely revolutionize the way you look at English. Don't worry, it's got no silly grammar as such it's an adventure story of the best kind. It carefully examines our language and will probably turn out more intriguing than your favourite high school subject. The Day of the Jackal - Frederick Forsyth You wouldn't believe how detailed this guy can write. He's probably the most interesting, page-gripping writer I've come across so far and I still can't put my finger on why. Every book he's done are the kind that you could read all night and absolutely love every minute of it. He is a beast, he writes like other Thriller writers should. Period. The Incredible Adam Spark - Alan Bissett One of the best pieces of Scottish literature ever, besides Trainspotting of course. I want you to ignore the slightly toyish title and it's writing style and just pick it up. It's a boyish fantasy that somehow conveys deep adult thought. The Scottish writing style just makes it double the brilliance! Touching the Void - Joe Simpson This is the best survival story I've ever come across and probably ever will. The trauma this man, Joe Simpson, went through in the course of 3 days is just... I honestly don't know where to begin. It perfectly illustrates the true values of us humans and how much we can go through. These kind of books motivates you do something with your life, no matter the pain you might endure.
Piglet 02.14.12	The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald Fuck Catcher in the Rye or The Outsiders or that shit. This is the great American novel. The Doors of Perception - Aldous Huxley This book is basically a guide, an introduction to the world of inner consciousness. The most common mistake I see people making is going through their lives living in prejudice and preconceptions without realizing how small their worries are compared to the big plot. You read this book and take it for philosophical value that it has and it could just change your perspective of everything. Moby Dick - Herman Melville I don't see how people can really think how this is over-rated... It just doesn't make sense in my brain. The Autobiography of Malcolm X - Malcolm X Apparently Time listed this as one of the 10 nonfictional books that you are required to read. I couldn't agree more.
qwe3 02.14.12	"Palo Alto - James Franco" lol this is such a terrible book
qwe3 02.14.12	"oh you read hunger games. excuse me. let me go look some other bland childrens books for you, since you are apparently a 13 year theater geek...." dude you try to be condescending here but the crucial mistake you make is recommending any book by chuck palahniuk, and you end up looking like someone who tries desperately to seem intellectual but is a massive tool who fellates 2nd rate literature
IAmHollywood 02.14.12	The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Piglet 02.14.12	"lol this is such a terrible book" Yeah hahah I see where you're coming from. Maybe it's because I have an undying love for James Franco, but i enjoyed it. it's not the kind of book you expect to be beautifully written or graceful but I think he did that on purpose. I think it's a dark reflection on adolescence which can really appeal to those that are still in it. Like me.
iambandersnatch 02.14.12	"The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien If you haven't read any Tolkien, read this first. And then go read the actual trilogy. It's a real fantasy epic, nothing comes close to it. " George R. R. Martin would have words with you
Piglet 02.14.12	Well frankly, George R. R. Martin can go take that extra "R." out of his name.
Piglet 02.14.12	Aeneid is a book I'm yet to read, but I'll definitively get around to it! I've heard a lot of good things about it.
klap 02.14.12	hahaha qwe spot-on smackdown
qwe3 02.14.12	"Maybe it's because I have an undying love for James Franco, but i enjoyed it" dude i would have sex with him and that book still made me want to throw babies at spikes "aeneid>iliad>odyssey all are great but the aeneid and the iliad are way better imo." i dont think you can compare the odyssey with the iliad since one is a romance/adventure epic and one is a war epic. aneid is great but it's hard to compare different writing styles if they're in latin. i think i prefer the aneid too though since virgil doesn't describe every person like "the ____ ____ed (name)"
lobby 02.14.12	"I think it's a dark reflection on adolescence which can really appeal to those that are still in it. Like me." We went to a party, then we went driving, then we went to another party, then we went and got high, then we fucked this girl, then I got bored of writing so this is now the end of the story.
Masochist 02.14.12	I'll recommend one single book: 'Flowers For Algernon', by Daniel Keys That is my favorite book. One of the most bittersweet stories you'll ever read (and great for a Psych major).
Rowan5215 02.14.12	I think The Hobbit may actually be better than the trilogy. But they're both pretty much the best fantasy books series' ever created, so yeah.
Piglet 02.14.12	"dude i would have sex with him and that book still made me want to throw babies at spikes" wow, well i didn't think it was that bad lol. but each to his own. i second the motion of having sex with him. "We went to a party, then we went driving, then we went to another party, then we went and got high, then we fucked this girl, then I got bored of writing so this is now the end of the story.' By the same token "Oh me and sam just went fucking around when that stoner dude, gandorf or some shit told us to walk to some random river place with this useless cunt ring. lol i bet that fat fuck fredeger bolger to make better rings out of dwarf shit and high on dat new batch of old toby. fuckin' stupid emos on horses are chasing us around lol they should go back to slitting their wrists. and then you got that selfish prick boromir who's liek "Oooooh look at me im a little cunt nugget from gondor and i starred in that film troy". nigga has no idea about mah bitch sting, i'll slice that mofo in half wit' it like fuckin a brazilian chick wit ma pixie dick." i just don't see the book in that way, like a lump of incoherent stories written like it came from a vulgar 17 year old drop out. I see it as a journal of Franco's personal experiences, written bluntly to get a point across: the alienation of adolescent. It would go against the grain for him to write with an eloquent plot in mind and make mix it in with precocious words that a bunch of teenagers simply would not use. It gives the impression that it's taken straight from Franco's mind or his friend's mind just as it was happening. And that, to me at least, just strikes a chord. but nah, fair enough. agree to disagree.
qwe3 02.14.12	you seem to like vonnegut just get everything by him
Piglet 02.14.12	cool, will do.
BigBlob 02.14.12	'The 120 Days of Sodom' by Marquis de Sade
porch 02.14.12	the mantle of the prophet - roy mottahedeh an interest in iran would help but it's still really good either way "chuck klosterman" guy is pretty horrible and draws so many retarded conclusions, wouldn't push a novel-length amount of that bullshit on anyone
porch 02.14.12	"We went to a party, then we went driving, then we went to another party, then we went and got high, then we fucked this girl, then I got bored of writing so this is now the end of the story. " ha
slashface000 02.14.12	Lolita
FearThyEvil 02.14.12	My friend literally loves 1.
FearThyEvil 02.14.12	Oh, try the book In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. Amazing book.
omnipanzer 02.14.12	Been a lot of these lists lately. Fast food nation - Eric Schlosser (don't even think of watching this movie) The Jungle - Upton Sinclair Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road - Neil Peart Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values - Robert M. Pirsig
ConsiderPhlebas 02.14.12	The City & The City - China Mievelle Atomised - Michel Houellebecq Steppenwolf - Hermann Hesse Player of Games/Consider Phlebas/Against a Dark Background - Iain M. Banks
ConsiderPhlebas 02.14.12	Story of the Eye - Georges Bataille
pmmets07 02.14.12	if you like 1 check out Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi. really cool ya novel
ohfoxxxycole 02.14.12	anything by bukowski. actually start with post office and ham on rye then work your way through it all
pmmets07 02.14.12	^ hell yeah. i love those henry chinaski novels. read them like this: ham on rye, factotum, post office, women.
ohfoxxxycole 02.14.12	hollywood was good too
pmmets07 02.14.12	i didn't know that existed. is that all of them then?
omnipanzer 02.14.12	Bret Easton Ellis - Less Than Zero.
jlech 02.14.12	#6, yes! I highly suggest "Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives" by David Eagleman. Also anyone who still lives in the Chicago area ... Do the Eagleman insurance commercials still exist? The two are none related but still both awesome in own ways.
Turtlestlker 02.14.12	His dark Materials
chaos17 02.14.12	I'll easily back up Steppenwolf. Such an amazing read. I'd also recommend Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates Child of God by Cormac McCarthy Outer Dark by Cormac McCarthy Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner Spider by Patrick McGrath American Gods by Neil Gaiman We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson Coming Through Slaughter by Michael Ondaatje A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
fsharptrit0ne 02.14.12	all you lotr and soiaf fans need to read the name of the wind and the wise mans fear (the 3rd one is coming out tba). the name of the wind is by far the best fantasy novel i've read in quite a long time. essential
JohnnyoftheWell 02.14.12	Gonna pick 1 up tomorrow The Hobbit is incredible, also The Inheritance Cycle
iFghtffyrdmns 02.14.12	eeehhhhhhvvvrrrrrrythiiiiiinggggg issss leesssssss thaaaaaan zeeeeeeeeerrooooooooooooo
ohfoxxxycole 02.14.12	other than pulp i think
qwe3 02.15.12	"matthew reilly's books (mainly contest)" i'd back this up but i'd say only contest lol
North0House2 02.15.12	Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Don Quixote by Cervantes is amazing too. My two personal favorites.
MCGF 02.15.12	ask the dust - john fante its quietly the craziest book ever written. read it
Yazz_Flute 02.15.12	Yeah just read all Vonnegut. Everything I've read from him has been excellent. Somewhat surprised nobody's suggest House of Leaves yet. So I will House of Leaves - Mark Danielewski
WeepingBanana 02.15.12	Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut White Noise by Don Delillo Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie (collection of short stories)
Yazz_Flute 02.15.12	The Hardy Boys - The Tower Treasure
qwe3 02.15.12	"White Noise by Don Delillo" seconded whole-heartedly
Turtlestlker 02.15.12	The inheritance Cycle[2] hugo[2]
liledman 02.15.12	contest is prob reilly's weakest by a decent margin... although hover car racer did suck. temple is probably his best, but like anything of his you just have to accept the ridiculous nature of everything going on.
Dunpeal 02.15.12	surprised nobody mentioned the Dune series don't know that they'll ever make a movie that does justice to the original
Rowan5215 02.15.12	Yeah the Dune series started well and sort of veered off by the third or fourth book... but the first two slayed.
ohfoxxxycole 02.15.12	gonna check out white noise soon
JohnnyoftheWell 02.15.12	Has anyone read The Wheel of Time series? Is it worth reading all 13 books?
qwe3 02.26.12	"contest is prob reilly's weakest by a decent margin... although hover car racer did suck." definitely disagree. i'd say contest is his best because that way he doesn't have to invent all these terribly uninteresting characters like he does in every other book so you're not faced with the whole oh shit this chicks talking again i have to pretend to give a fuck. instead its all about killing aliens and shit which is basically all he's good at. temples the only other book by him that doesnt suck
liledman 02.26.12	yeah the action is really all that is appealing, though i read them as a 14 year old finally getting back into reading (like every other australian male it seems). i dont know, maybe just because it was aliens instead of like neo-nazis or ridiculous secret organisations, but contest just didnt sit well with me. guess i cant make an argument for it being any more unbelievable than the rest of his stuff though. btw do you use goodreads?
Relinquished 02.26.12	White Fang by Jack London powerful book and great descriptions throughout. about wolves and winter and shit.
Pentagon 02.26.12	lol hunger games. but read catch-22 and the book thief
qwe3 02.27.12	"yeah the action is really all that is appealing, though i read them as a 14 year old finally getting back into reading (like every other australian male it seems)" this so hard and i dont know what goodreads is
liledman 02.27.12	i suggest you get on it right away http://www.goodreads.com/