[RobOnTheCape]

Last year I read a book titled "Shantaram", by Gregory David Roberts. I believe he uses his life in creating an incrediby rich and exciting read. It's about Roberts arriving in Bombay as an escaped convict with cash and doing well until he gets robbed, and is left broke, living in the slums of Bombay. From there the story follows his life from the slums of Bombay to the mountains of Afghanistan, and the relationships in between which unfold. It's one of the best books I've come across in a long time. We gave a few copies to friends as Christmas presents and they soon agreed with our assessment.

http://www.shantaram.com/


So that's my recommendation. I'd love to find something to grab me the same way, but something close would be ok too.

What about yours?

[Dakar]

I'm not one that delves too far off the mainstream as far as fiction is concerned.

Anyway, if you're a fan of science-fiction, Asimov's Foundation series is probably on of the best things ever written.

[Monique]

The books I always recommend to people whoever they are, were written by Wilbur Smith, now you should begin by Moonson, then the Blue Horizon then the Courtneys saga then the Courtneys from Africa saga; they are exciting, fun, easy to read but well written, there are 11 books in these series.

What is interesting about them is that he wrote Burning Shore at the beginning of the 60's and Moonsoon in the 90's but the action of Moonsoon is by a few centuries. Good read.

[RobOnTheCape]

Thanks. I'll look that one up today.

[mdc]

the time traveler's wife. someone told me about that book and i *really* enjoyed it.

it's $2.95 on the amazon marketplace.

[zanyterp]

Ender's Game (and the rest of the series) by Orson Scott Card.
Honor Harrington series by David Weber
Good Omens (can't remember the authors right now)
Sword of Saganami by David Weber

[Nicko]

Hitch hikers guide to the galaxy. Its fiction I swear!

[dav]

"a soldier of the great war" - mark helprin

[festeringwounds]

Copied from amazon, but an incredible read:

"It may seem a stretch to connect a volcanic eruption with civil and religious unrest in Indonesia today, but Simon Winchester makes a compelling case. Krakatoa tells the frightening tale of the biggest volcanic eruption in history using a blend of gentle geology and narrative history. Krakatoa erupted at a time when technologies like the telegraph were becoming commonplace and Asian trade routes were being expanded by northern European companies. This bustling colonial backdrop provides an effective canvas for the suspense leading up to August 27th, 1883, when the nearby island of Krakatoa would violently vaporize. Winchester describes the eruption through the eyes of its survivors, and readers will be as horrified and mesmerized as eyewitnesses were as the death toll reached nearly 40,000 (almost all of whom died from tsunamis generated by the unimaginably strong shock waves of the eruption). Ships were thrown miles inshore, endless rains of hot ash engulfed those towns not drowned by 100 foot waves, and vast rafts of pumice clogged the hot sea. The explosion was heard thousands of miles away, and the eruption's shock wave traveled around the world seven times. But the book's biggest surprise is not the riveting catalog of the volcano's effects; rather, it is Winchester's contention that the Dutch abandonment of their Indonesian colonies after the disaster left local survivors to seek comfort in radical Islam, setting the stage for a volatile future for the region. --Therese Littleton"

[Dork.]

Originally Posted by zanyterp

Good Omens (can't remember the authors right now)

Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Good Omens is a funny, funny book. Read it, Now. It's a quick read, I think I read it in between chapters of one of Neal Stephenson's monster books.

Gaiman is a pretty good author. Some people don't like his writing style, though, it's a little too heavy on the "loner gets involved with supernatural beings" genre. I liked his last two books, but he has a new one out which I haven't gotten around to yet.

Pratchett is like Douglas Adams would have been if DNA had read more fantasy novels as a kid. And Pratchett, I think, has about a million and two books out there right now (give or take a few).

I don't really have time to read right now, but I recently picked up David McCullough's book on the building of the Brooklyn Bridge anyway, since I may be taking some business flights this year, and need something to read on the plane. I figured I needed a dose of fact after so many novels, and I've heard nothing but good things about the book (and about McCullough's writing style).

[wallinbl]

Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

Fiction is for sissies.

[yugyug]

I just finished wrestling my way through Neal Stephensen's Baroque Cycle at the end of last year - and I have to say its worth the effort- totally epic. It has many many strengths but a critical weakness - the first half of the first book quicksilver is really really boring so I imagine more people will put it down than finish it. shame, its a damm good book.

For a simpler read thats very inspiring and life affirming (in a non-sentimental way) is 'Life of Pi' by Yann Martel - awesome. Quick synopsis - boy gets stuck in a lifeboat after a shipwreck with a baboon, a hyena and a bengali tiger. It sounds like the start of a joke but the author sustains the premise for the entire book. Its engaging, though provoking, thrilling and funny.

[yugyug]

Originally Posted by wallinbl

Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

Fiction is for sissies.

WTF?

[yugyug]

that book about networks looks pretty interesting tho

[Dork.]

Originally Posted by yugyug

I just finished wrestling my way through Neal Stephensen's Baroque Cycle at the end of last year - and I have to say its worth the effort- totally epic. It has many many strengths but a critical weakness - the first half of the first book quicksilver is really really boring so I imagine more people will put it down than finish it. shame, its a damm good book.

I'm a big fan of Stephenson's other books, and pre-ordered Quicksilver when it first appeared on Amazon. It was the only book that I remember getting pissed off at the author while reading it. I could tell there was a good plot there, but there were so many layers of cruft encrusting the plot it that it was almost too much trouble to finish! After putting it down halfway through, I did pick it up again a few months later and finished the series. The other two books are your reward for slogging through the first one.

Incidentally, his "Snow Crash" is required reading for anyone who likes science fiction. Even if you think the standard "Cyberpunk" story is silly, you'll like this one. IMHO, it reads so well because since he had less of a reputation, he was forced to have an editor trim out the cruft for him, leaving all the juicy, fast-moving stuff!

[itistoday]

Shogun by James Clavell. The size might be intimidating but it reads very fast. Probably the best book I've read so far...

[mdc]

Originally Posted by zanyterp

Ender's Game (and the rest of the series) by Orson Scott Card.

I've heard really good things about this book and yesterday I placed another amazon book order.
Dean Koontz's Frankenstein, Book One: Prodigal Son
Dean Koontz's Frankenstein, Book Two: City of Night
Ender's Game Boxed Set: Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon
The Forever King (Forever King Trilogy)

[shunt]

Anything by Trevanian, I've read them all except "Incident at Twenty Mile" (left it on an airplane)

Shibumi-heavy lifting, but worth it.
The Main-retro feel to it
Summer of Katya-loved, cried
etc....they're all good

or..."Travels", Micheal Chrichton....funny and fast reading.

[aberdeenwriter]

The Day of the Jackal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Day of the Jackal


The Day of the Jackal is a thriller novel by Frederick Forsyth, first published in 1971, about a professional assassin who is contracted by the OAS, a French terrorist group of the early 1960s, to kill Charles de Gaulle.

The novel is widely regarded as one of the best "spy thrillers" ever written, widely praised for its convincing portrayal of France in 1963, and its carefully thought-out plot. It is also notable for remarkably effective suspense considering the Jackal's target is a real historical figure who was not assassinated. The book was filmed in 1973 by Fred Zinnemann starring Edward Fox in the title role. Like the novel, the film was praised for its depiction of 1963 France.

While the OAS did exist as described in the novel and the film opens with a remarkably accurate re-enactment of the Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry-led attempt on de Gaulle's life, most of the remaining plot is fictional. The storyline follows the efforts of an extremely professional hired assassin (hired by an exiled OAS) in his preparations to assassinate de Gaulle, the efforts of an equally professional but rather hard-pressed French detective assigned to identify and stop him along with elements of intrigue and bureaucratic maneuvering at the highest levels of the French government.

I'll suggest Day of the Jackal.

On the basis of intelligence reports that say certain terrorist group members are meeting for a few days and very, very little more than that to go on, French police are able to determine that a crime has been set in motion.

That's it.

And without knowing what the exact crime will be, who will commit the crime, when or where it will take place, and who would be the victim or the crime the police are able to (convincingly) use their wits and intelligence to gradually identify more and more of the mystery pieces of the puzzle though tantalizingly always one step behind the criminal in their attempt to prevent a horrendous crime before it's too late.

If you've seen the Bruce Willis film, that's nice but it's not the same story at all.

The 1973 film with Edward Fox is great, but reading the book is better.

It has all kinds of juicy details about procedure and tactics a sly criminal actually can use to commit his crimes. In fact, one tactic was revealed by Forsyth in this book that authorities later made illegal but at the time the book was written it was a little known technique for creating/ assuming a new identity.

If you HAVE to know more about the book right now, go to wikipedia and there's lots. I left most of that out of this post to keep from spoiling the ending or giving away too much of the story.

Great, fast read.

[Hash]

All the King's men by Robert Penn Warren.

Great, great read

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/015...e&n=283155

its movie won Oscar too. But soon there will be a new version.

[zanyterp]

The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, and the Bourne Ultimatum by Robert Ludlum.

Hollywood has a bad habit of destroying plots/storylines in book-to-movie adaptations and half got it right (ish) by meshing the 1st two books into the two movies....books, as usual, are much better than the movies.

[Monique]

I had some difficulties enjoying Ludlum, but kept trying; I do not know why so many people do. I prefer Forsyth, I read all of his books, some twice.

[Hash]

I like Ludlum, some his earlier things, but All the Kings men is truly one great read, and does not get old at all. It will be remade with Jude Law, Sean Penn and Winslet (Ann Stanton), though I really would prefer someone else as Ann.. not Winslet. Not that i do not like her, simply I always imagined Ann to be different. Winslet is not so romantic, if you understand what I mean. Maybe someone like Charlize Theron would be great and she would be such a beautiful Ann Stanton.

I remember reading last chapters of the All the kings men. What a beauty is this story and the way it unfolds. To be honest, I paid less and less attention to the political side of the plot and really was concentrating on Ann's story. I hope the movie will have good balance of both stories of the book - of the power corruption and great sadness of love (Ann's story). Yet it does have a happy end - to some sort of course. Or did I forget the ending?

[JoshKurtz]

Props to the two who mentioned Ender's Game. Great book.

"A Feast for Crows" by George R. R. Martin came out in Nov '05 (in the US) and it's incredible. It's the fourth book in his "Song of Ice and Fire" series and if you haven't figured out by the titles, it's fantasy. It's not your cookie-cutter elves and fairies unite to battle the evil overlord and his gang of orks and monkeymen. It's a very complex, multi-plot, multi-character point of view epic that will suck you in even if you don't like books about dragons.

The first book in the series is called "A Game of Thrones". PM me if you get it and like it or, if you don't like it, pm me anyways and tell me what a schmuck I am for wasting your time with a bad recommendation.

I recently read "Fevre Dream", also by Martin, which is a vampire novel about a riverboat in the mid 1800's. It provides a very fresh look into what I thought was a pretty played out genre. It literally made me cry and it's one of his earlier books.

Really anything by George R. R. Martin is high on my recommendation list right now. "Sandkings" rocks!

If you're looking for something funny, "Lucky Jim" by Kingsley Amis is a book that I reread every couple of years and it never loses its humor. It's British so be warned!

...But if you enjoy British humor, P. G. Whodehouse's Bertie Wooster/Jeeves stories are fantastic.

Right now I'm reading "The Macintosh Way" by Guy Kawasaki who was one of the original software evangelists for the Mac. A very good look at how business should be conducted.

I'm also reading through a bunch of my old Nintendo Power magazines. Their reminding me of how much fun I used to have playing that stuff when I was a kid and how much I suck at those games now compared to then.

[dcmacdaddy]

A selection of my favorites from my own bookshelf.


One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Moor's Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie
Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
Beowulf by Seamus Heaney
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Rosencrantz and Guilderstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard
How We Die by Sherwin B. Nuland
Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman
The Inferno by Dante Alighieri (John Ciardi translation)
The Cloud of Unknowing by Anonymous
Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair by Pablo Neruda

[zanyterp]

Anything by Laurell K. Hamilton (vampire huntress in one series, Anita Blake; sidhe princess, Meredith Gentry, in the other). dark and sensual...very good reads.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by Monique

The books I always recommend to people whoever they are, were written by Wilbur Smith, now you should begin by Moonson, then the Blue Horizon then the Courtneys saga then the Courtneys from Africa saga; they are exciting, fun, easy to read but well written, there are 11 books in these series.

What is interesting about them is that he wrote Burning Shore at the beginning of the 60's and Moonsoon in the 90's but the action of Moonsoon is by a few centuries. Good read.

Actually, as far as the Courtney series by Wilbur Smith, you should read Birds of Prey, then [/i]Monsoon[/i], and then Blue Horizon.

http://www.wilbursmithbooks.com/courtney.html

My favorite Wilbur Smith book is Monsoon.

[Railroader]

I'd also like to recommend anything by Ken Follett. His most popular, and my favorite, is Pillars of the Earth. http://www.ken-follett.com/bibliography/pillars.html

Another I really liked by him is called A Place Called Freedom. http://www.ken-follett.com/bibliogra...cefreedom.html

And another of my favorites is a non-fiction book A Short History of Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson "No matter how hard you try you will never be able to grasp just how tiny, how spatially unassuming, is a proton..."

[Monique]

Why Birds of Prey first? Was it before (time wise) Moonsoon.

I still get into the Ballentyne series.

Do you have to like middle eastern culture to like reading Rushdie??

[Daracle]

This is what I am reading right now.
Because I am not really used to reading sci-fi, especially something like this, where the experience in the story is on such a huge scale, I find it hard to visualize some of the descriptives.
But the over all story is great. But I am sure most of you sci-fi fans have already read this, if not a few times.

[zanyterp]

i, myself, have not read Ringworld...and sci-fi is pretty much all i read. Is it good? what's it about?

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by Monique

Why Birds of Prey first? Was it before (time wise) Moonsoon.

I still get into the Ballentyne series.

Do you have to like middle eastern culture to like reading Rushdie??

Yes, Birds of Prey is the prequel to Monsoon.

[RobOnTheCape]

The author of Ringworld teamed up with Jerry Pournelle for a very good sci-fi book called "Lucifer's Hammer". It's one of the few books out there I've read a few times since the 80s.

The story is about an astronomer who discovers an asteroid or something and gets to name it. In interviews he says you won't be able to see it without a strong telescope at first, then every few days or so the calculations change to "If it's a clear night you should be able to see it...", and finally to "The world is going to take a direct hit". From there it's pretty much about the breakdown of society. Nice that the event takes place fairly early in the book so there is plenty of time for the fallout. Quite a page turner.

[andi*pandi]

Originally Posted by zanyterp

Anything by Laurell K. Hamilton (vampire huntress in one series, Anita Blake; sidhe princess, Meredith Gentry, in the other). dark and sensual...very good reads.

I liked the anita blake series... but couldn't stand the gentry series. Though I do agree she needed to switch to new characters to shake things up a bit, the last few anita books seemed not very fresh.

I just finished the carole nelson douglas Irene Adler series, and am rereading some other things to tide me over until I get hold of The Masque of the Black Tulip or Anansi Boys. waiting for paperback...

[Pendergast]

Sneaking a Look at God's Cards.

It is a fantastic read for those who want to really understand Quantum Mechanics, without the mysticism and parapsychobabble we too often get from general litterature..