cmarango Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Please help me make a list of about 60 (or so) books. I am hoping to do so much better this year when it comes to sitting down and actually reading a book through until the end. I think that last year I only read about 5 total books. I tend to skim non-fiction books that relate to a new skill I am trying to pick up (knitting last year), travel (my love), and education books. I love many of the classics....Austen, Dostoevsky, Dickens, Bronte. When I was younger I really enjoyed Vonnegut. I have never ventured into Sci Fi so if you have recommendations for a newbie, then that would be great. I would also like any books about making a great marriage even better. I am open to just about anything. Thanks for any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I have never ventured into Sci Fi so if you have recommendations for a newbie, then that would be great. I would also like any books about making a great marriage even better. I am open to just about anything. Thanks for any help. A good first step into sci fi for a person who isn't naturally drawn to it is Lem. I think I started with Pirx the Pilot and then read everything I could find. He has serious and funny. He is *very* well known in the non-US world: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanis%C5%82aw_Lem I went through a spell of carrying a Lem book with me to get strangers to talk to me in NYC. Every single one was a visiting student or professor. (I will also note, aside from the nice old Jewish folks I chatted with in an old neighborhood where the only white folk were me and the very old Jewish folks, I never had a non-Lem-noticing stranger talk to me in NYC except to try and rip me off or give me a hassle. And I was there for 10 God-forsaken years.) And don't forget what I tell everyone to read: Kristin Lavransdatter. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'smom Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Check out the Book a Week Thread, there are TONS of ideas there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Most recently I've really enjoyed The Night Circus and The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I only JUST started Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, so I can't recommend either to avoid or read it. Neil Gaiman has some good books, written for young adults. Stardust was good. My mom loves science fiction, her favorite author is Andre Norton. I read a number of her books when I was younger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 My top sci-fi/fantasy authors who lean toward sci-fi, classic and otherwise: Jules Verne Ursula LeGuin Phillip K Dick Aldous Huxley Douglas Adams Neil Gaiman Arthur C Clarke Mary Shelley Frank Herbert Robert Heinlein A couple of my favorite books that are less than 25 years old: Bridget Jones's Diary Good Omens A few of the books I read and enjoyed last year (non Classics): The King's Speech by Peter Conrad and Mark Logue Lamb by Christopher Moore Mary Boleyn by Alison Weir Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs The Bell at Sealey Head by Patricia McKillip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 A random list of some of my favorites (various genres): Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas Sleeping in Flame by Jonathan Carroll I, Claudius by Robert Graves Dancer by Colum McCann The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova Bel Canto by Ann Patchett Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro Born to Run by Christopher McDougall C by Tom McCarthy The Guinea Pig Diaries by A.J. Jacobs All the Names by Jose Saramago Fatu-Hiva by Thor Heyerdahl A Red Herring without Mustard by Alan Bradley Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Darkmans by Nicola Barker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmarango Posted January 3, 2012 Author Share Posted January 3, 2012 Can you tell me which Le Guin book to start with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Can you tell me which Le Guin book to start with? The Earthsea books are good if you want to start with something lighter, The Wizard of Earthsea is the first in that series. Left Hand of Darkness is considered one of her best books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simka2 Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 For scifi I am going to recommend Anne McCaffery. I also go against the flow and highly recommend the Prequel for adults starting her series.http://www.amazon.com/Dragonsdawn-Dragonriders-Pern-Anne-McCaffrey/dp/0345362861/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325605223&sr=8-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I love these types of threads. :) ABSOLUTE AND ALL-TIME FAVORITES Pride & Prejudice - if you want a classic, this is my absolute all-time favorite Jane Eyre To Kill a Mockingbird Harry Potter books A Thousand Splendid Suns - this one, by far, is amongst one of the best books I have ever read The Help The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende and anything else by her, but this is her best. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Allende The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy .. but the first book is quite boring and confusing in the first 60-70 pages. Hang in there. It does get better! Yes, they are graphic. But I tend to look beyond that and just focus on the story Roots by Alex Haley The Geography of Bliss – non-fiction, very insightful Mindset – non-fiction, a book that one should read at least once – really gets you thinking OTHER BOOKS THAT I HAVE LOVED (not in any particular order) The Kite Runner The Book Thief Outliers … and all Malcolm Gladwell books Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl – best self-help book ever, fabulous Confessions of a Prairie B*tch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated – some painful stuff, very engaging, entertaining, lots of humor – loved this book - but more enjoyable if you liked the TV series Middlesex – Jeffrey Eugenides The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver OTHER BOOKS THAT I HAVE LIKED (not in any particular order) The Scarlet Pimpernel - another classic I really like Confessions of an Economic Hit Man – very interesting and a real eye-opener I would also like any books about making a great marriage even better. Everlasting Matrimony: Pearls of Wisdom from Couples Married 50 Years or More by Sheryl P. Kurland - gorgeous book! Take Back Your Marriage The Five Love Languages – Chapman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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