Book Recomendations

[Sikboy]

Ok, so I'm two classes away from Spring Break. During the School Year I don't get a lot of voluntary reading done, so I like to try and cram in a good book or two during the off time.

I'm thinking about:
"The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco
"The Fall" by Albert Camus
(WTF??? why all the Euros?)

"Tortilla Flat" by John Steinbeck
or "Tender is the night" by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

These are all works by authors I've enjoyed in the past (well, except for Camus' "The Stranger" what a stinker, I think that one lost something in translation lol). And I imagine that any of them would be fun.

Does anyone have any other recomendations? I'll read damn near anything.

-Sik

[Mini D]

The Name of the Rose was a decent movie.  Never read the book.

[mosgood]

"Atlas Shrugged" Ayn Rayn

"How to win Friends and influence people" Dale Carnegy

"Catcher in the Rye" J.D. Salinger

"The salesman of the century" Ron Popeil (woops  how'd that get in there!  My infomercial background is getting in the way)

[OIO]

Depends on what kind of books you like man.

Ive read 'In the Name of the Rose' when I was in senior high school. And mind you , im a HEAVY reader.

That book bored me to tears. I finished it just because my pride made me do it.


I always reccomend the DUNE books written by FRANK HERBERT (not the prequels written by his son after Frank's death.. his son cant write worth snot).

The DUNE books seem to many as sci-fi stuff, but its really not sci-fi in the way you think of asimov (I, Robot, Foundation books) or Heinlein (Starship Troopers, The Left Hand of Darkness).. Herbert takes religion, sociology, psychology, politics and human nature and uses them to move an incredibly complex story along.. the only 'sci-fi' elements are that its based 10k+ years in the future and there's space travel..thats it.  

If its sci-fi you like, you can look up the REALITY DYSFUNCTION novels (I forget the authors name).

Fantasy books you can look up DEATH GATE by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman... its not the same thing as their famous DRAGONLANCE books (which are corny as heck in my view since they just stole the stereotypes of the fantasy races and made the lame story around it, no matter how well written it was it was still LAME). Deaths Gate is an excellent set of books imo.


You could also try reading books from other cultures or 'based' on other cultures.

SHOGUN (James Clavell) is an excellent book. Written by a foreigner, its about a British sailor who gets stranded in Japan's feudal era.  Fiction

Tale of Genji (Japan) is AMAZING in detail of life in feudal japan, as written by the Lady Genji, a member of the imperial court. Non-Fiction.

TAIKO (Japan) narrates the life of Hideyoshi Toyotomi; the man who united all of Japan under one rule.  Historical fiction (aka, facts and events in the book are historically accurate, the characters in book are based on what was known of the personalities of the historical figures)

100 Years of Solitude (Colombia) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is the story of a family before, during, and after the time known as 'La Violencia' (The Violence) .. Colombia's civil war. Follows the lives of several generations of the family in those times. Very good book. Fiction

War and Peace .. this one i wont even try to summarize. Its an effing big book.

MAUS (graphic novel by ART SPIEGELMAN) one of the hardest 'books' ive read.. its about the Holocaust. I think this graphic novel should be required 'reading' in all high schools.

[hawker238]

I liked both Catcher in the Rye and Maus.

[straffo]

I don't know if the translation are good but I would say any book by : Georges Perec , Patrick Modianno or Joseph Kessel.

[Sikboy]

Originally posted by OIO

SHOGUN (James Clavell) is an excellent book. Written by a foreigner, its about a British sailor who gets stranded in Japan's feudal era.  Fiction

100 Years of Solitude (Colombia) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is the story of a family before, during, and after the time known as 'La Violencia' (The Violence) .. Colombia's civil war. Follows the lives of several generations of the family in those times. Very good book. Fiction

I'm not passing judgement on you in any way, simply making an observation: You and my Mother have the same taste in books

Someday I'll get around to reading Dune, but not next week. The above two books have promise though. As does Atlas Shrugged.

Thanks guys, I appreciate all of the input.

-Sik

[Pongo]

Enders Game, Orson Scott Card.

The Lord of the Rings. Cant remember who wrote it.

[Martlet]

I enjoyed the W.E.B. Griffin "The Corps" series.

[OIO]

Lord of the Rings was a horrible set of books imo. I just cant stand Tolkien's writing style. He takes like 20 freaking pages to describe a room and all the crap its filled with, puts a little move-along the storyline dialog and then moves on..and all that you read about the room was irrelevant. Makes me sick.

LOTR is the first case ever for me where the movies are better than the books lol.

Sikboy: get your mom a copy of Tale of Genji and TAIKO... those books put SHOGUN to shame.

Though im a bit ashamed to admit it, I hold this fascination for folk stories and fairy tales... or books based on them or written LIKE if they were. Some look like kids books but they really hold a different meaning when you read them as an adult:


The Little Prince (France)

The Never Ending Story (yes its a book dammit)

Stories from the Middle Ages (i dont remember if this is the exact name of the book. Its not a collection of stories like beaowulf or king arthur crapola... it was a collection of stories and songs from the middle ages along with historical background of them)

You can also check out Sir Winston Churchill's 'The Second World War' .. its a BIG set of books but the man writes them in detail... theres lots of info there if you like to read about WW2.

[Halo]

Top of the World  (Hans Ruesch)
The Dwarf (Par Lagerkvist)
A Garden of Sand (Earl Thompson)
Staring at the Sun (Julian Barnes)
The Songlines (Bruce Chatwin)

[JB88]

i prefer "foucault's pendulum", over name of the rose.

eco is a great writer.

i aslo prefered the "fountainhead" by ayn rand.  a pure perspective changer for me.

rand is definately a good branch.  she considered herself a philosopher and in many ways, writes like a male.  if you've ever seen her, you'd know why.  lol.

i am also a fan of an obscure czech writer named milan kundera.  its sort of like watching foreign films reading non american authors, you have to like the difference.

there are the staples too.

at your age, i was reading alot of herman hesse.

camus is good, though often flatly translated.

if you are feeling really strange pick up some w.s. burroughs or kafka.

read howl by ginsburg.

any of these belong to a vey long vein.

[Krusher]

Originally posted by Sikboy
I'm thinking about:
"The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco

-Sik

Anything by Umberto Eco is going to be long winded and for the most part dull.


I hate to admit it, but pretty much all I get to read now days is tech books.  Here is one I have read, its a nice WWII book from (and about) a Canadian pilot.  Its easy reading and very informative.

"A thousand shall fall" by Murray Penden

[Skydancer]

"The Young Lions"

Irwin shaw

A Classic.

"Early One Morning"

Robert Ryan

"Pegasus Bridge"

Stephen Ambrose

Just a few of the many good books I've read recently

[Scrap]

The Company  by Robert Little.  900 page book and it was so good I read it in a weeks time.