Please recommend me a book to read. I see many recommendations for movies and games, but hardly find one for books.
I like Harry Potter, James Patterson's thrillers like Blow Back, the President is Missing, The First Lady. I don't really enjoy other genres from him, like twelve days to Christmas.
I also like some of Stephen King's books.
In general I like thrillers, except horror/ghost/supernatural story. I don't enjoy fantasy, except Harry Potter and LOTR.
28 books, sheesh! (yes, I know they are chapters…)
How come they use ads from Luxembourgh. something like a -hub?
I finished 7 books in the Jack West Jr series (by Reilly) about a month ago. All 7 were excellent. Some nights, I was only going to read for 30 minutes in bed, but I couldn't put the books down and read them for hours. You should read them - you won't regret it.
I’m a big fan of Matthew Reilly and have read all his books. If you liked the jack west series you’ll love Sigma force series by James Rollins. Very similar style to Matthew and very hard to put down.
Start off with Ice Station. The epitome of Mathew Reilly imo
Drink every time you read the word 'hovercraft'
Part of why I liked early Reilly. You could tell when someone had taught him about some cool army fact or tech because he would milk it dry.
As a pre-internet kid at the time of reading it really felt like I was getting a secret look behind the curtain of military stuff
@900dollaridoos: Haha this! I remember Googling the MP7 because I first heard about it in a MR book (can't remember which one now). And the P90 come to think of it.
More like drink every time someone uses a Maghook
Since you like thrillers, here's a real life one. Incredible story.
The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War / Ben McIntyre
Will definitely look into this. Thanks
Second this….it's very well written and from what I can tell, historically accurate.
Other books in the genre (but fictional) are any of the John Le Carre books (particularly 'The Spy Who Came In From the cold').
But The Spy and the Traitor is certainly a case of the truth being better than fiction.
Also another is 'Agent Sonya' by Ben McIntyre, a similar true story.
Literally reading this right now! Very good!
Not fiction, but I'd recommend some of Richard Dawkins books if you want a crash course in biology/evolution. The Selfish Gene and The Greatest Show on Earth are probably the two I'd recommend. You will have a first year undergraduate understanding of biology after reading them, well it's a bit light on the cell so you'll have half a first year undergraduate understanding of biology. It helps remove some of the mystery behind life. And if you like that then a pop science book on chemistry and the cell will probably ruin the supernatural for you forever.
Thriller - The Silent Patient
A decent and short thriller with a great twist.
Fantasy - The Emperor's Soul
A solid and short fantasy novel. Great to see if you like Brandon's writing style. If you love it, I really recommend his flagship series The Stormlight Archive. This is pretty light on and digestible, but if you're really against fantasy it might not be for you.
This looks really good, thanks
+1 for Brandon Sanderson books.
Another +1 for Brandon Sanderson.
The Stormlight Archive books area really great books, but very hard to get into at the start. I'd recommend starting with Mistborn or one of his novellas and taking it from there.
Although not close to finished, The Stormlight Archive is by far the best fantasy series i've ever read and it's my main genre.
It is phenomenal. Nevernight is a less known series that is also good if you haven't read it.
Thanks will add to list.
Working my way through The Riftwar Cycle by Raymond E Feist, 8 books completed so far.
I'm also a big Brent Weeks fan.
"A Man With One of Those Faces" by Caimh McDonnell, a rollicking good read, and a good introduction to his work.
https://www.amazon.com.au/Caimh-McDonnell/e/B01K6GFZWU/ref=d…
I suggest getting into Terry Pratchett. There are 40 books in the Disc World Series plus his other books. Disc world has a reading order you can find online. He could keep you going for sometime. They are considered fantasy but they are more humour and social commentary.
Maybe it was just because I was a kid at the time, but I remember Pratchett books being very funny. I'd say the fantasy serves the comedy foundation of the Discworld series more than the other way around. Also speaking of joke dense books, the short books written by John Schwartzwelder are extremely joke dense, they are basically written like classic Simpsons episodes.
They are even funnier when you are an adult. The books are full of clever wordplay and the sort of anger at injustice that good humour needs.
It also some quite deep philosophical ideas delivered with a light touch.
I like the Schwarzwelder books, but you have to go into them accepting it's not going to faitfhully pay tribute to a novel having plot arcs and resolutions and so on.
He's creating (and discarding) scenarios to make as many Schwazelder jokes as he can.
If you came to them as a normie (and not as a Simpsons fan) then you might now understand what you are getting into.
I haven't read much of Terry Pratchett, but Guards Guards really truly made me laugh out loud almost every chapter. The perfect blend of high fantasy, nonsense politics, and British humour. I can't recommend it enough.
I have read a handful of Terry Pratchett and Guards Guards is my favorite so far.
Plus one for Terry Pratchett books but do not watch any of the TV/movie adaptations (Hogfather etc). They are just horrendous. Except Good Omens which was not too bad. Any good Terry Prachett adaptations to the screen?
Unfortunately Terry Pratchett has ruined all other books for me, its hard to find anything I like as much as his works.
Hitchhikers guide to galaxy isn't bad and not is Red Dwarf. But yeah.. Nothing really beats his Death..
Anything you were supposed to read at high school for English literature classes, but never did…
William Gibson
I couldn't stand Neuromancer. I had no idea what was going on at any point, it was a slog to get through.
I've been enjoying the Joe Pickett series by C. J. Box. An easy ready with 20+ books.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/BC9/a-joe-pickett-…
Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett, an everyman hero with a penchant for stepping into trouble, works with an outlaw falconer and his resourceful wife and daughters to protect the land of Twelve Sleep country from hunters, eco-terrorists, cowboy hit men, and rogue government agents, among others.
Daniel Kahneman - Thinking, Fast and Slow
Robert Greene - 48 Laws Of Power
Robert B. Cialdini - Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
I like thinking fast and slow. But it's non fiction
Thinking fast and slow is good, but I remember it being very long to finish especially with all the big-noting he gave himself throughout the book.
Probably could just be summarised in a few pages - type 1 vs type 2 / slow vs fast thinking systems - beyond that it would be great for behavioural economists or marketing psychologists but few other people need the level of detail he goes into!
Anything from brandon sanderson.
If you like scifi/fantasy then the Known space series by larry niven is pretty underappreciated.
Don't pass up YA fiction.
Nevermoor series (Australian author) is very much in the style of HP. New book coming out in Sept.
Scythe by Shusterman series is another good one.
A quick glance at your local op-shop should find a few of these for $3-4 each.
I'm not huge into fantasy as well, but since you mentioned LOTR and Harry Potter which I certainly enjoyed heaps, I'll mention Eragon and its series, by Christopher Paolini. It was marketed for younger readers and YA, but damn, that series also had me hooked.
How about sci-fi? You said you liked LotR and HP. Try Dune by Frank Herbert - so many themes that can apply to our world today. Unless it really, REALLY grabs you, stop at the first book. ;-)
+1 for Dune but why after the first book and not book 3? Seems like a more natural stopping place unless you are really into it.
Have you read the da vinci code series books?
Tbh, dan got lucky with his controversial book. His writing is quite ordinary and unexciting. Angels and demons perhaps the better of the bunch. Without da vinci code he probably won't make it the list
The Bible
The Quran
Have you read it in English? I'm a massive fan of religious texts but found the Quran really difficulty. Chronologically it is just all over the place. The Bible has some real dense areas but they are easily skippable.
I think I heard it's meant to be like that. Something about how it was written by Allah and he's God so us mortals couldn't possibly understand the perfection/sequencing of events he was going for
Could be wrong, I haven't read it
Great!
They need to be stacked the right way,
Torah, Bible, Quran, the LDS, the Scientologists plus all versions of whatever you find in the rest of the world.
In Latin, aloud, sitting in a circle of salt.
ummmmm, I think you are confused with how Apple users watch the Apple Keynote events.
enders game
lonesome dove
kite runner
pillars of the earth
these are all highly recommended.
i usually google best sellers, or award winning books when i havent read in a while. good luck!
I loved these books when i read them few years ago
Dark Tower series by Stephen King
Heard it isn't good in the later books, so I stayed away. Heard it's because he had accident and write the later books in a rush
'Jack Reacher' series by Lee Child.
I enjoy the reacher books. They're entertaining.
I like these also!
Emporer and Conqueror series by Conn Iggulden.
I need to start reading again.
Great series set in Rome and Genghis times. I enjoyed them both as well.
1984
And Animal Farm
he said he wants fiction only
Used to be fiction ;)
So it goes.
I was late to the party, playing THUG2. Then worked back to the 1972 movie, then the 1969 novel.
Watched the Fried Green movie before reading it too.
A rare example of the reverse was To Kill a Mockingbird which was on the Year 9 syllabus at the time. Saw the movie years later, and good it was too.
If you like HP and LOTR, try the wheel of time, you will be sucked.
Also try the name of the wind, we are all busting for book 3 but it will definitely draw you in!
Came here to tecommend Wheel of time and also Malazan book of the fallen series
"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"
Don't tell my Mom I work on the rigs, she thinks I'm a piano player in a Whorehouse.
by Paul Carter
Ripper book written by a Aussie.
Easy to read, felt like i had the bloke talking to me. About the character's you meet working 24*7 industries and their adventures on and off rigs around the word from Afghanistan to Russia
I Am Pilgrim is a great thriller
Agree - a must-read…. hope his long awaited 2nd novel gets released some day… a hard act to follow I Am Pilgrim though!
Yeah one day… maybe… haha
Bible, Quran & Lotus Sutra
Old school YA?
The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew
Started in 1920/30s and still going today - you'll never run out (approx.1000 books) and they're easy/quick to read if you're bored
by Jules Verne
The Mysterious Island
A Journey to the Centre of the Earth
Around the World in Eighty Days
Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea
Classic!
Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea
1st chunky book I read
Looking for alibrandi
Most of my recommendations would have been fantasy, but since you explicit mention your lack of interest in the genre, I will recommend science fiction instead: a) The Mote in God's Eye by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven (it's not religious in any way, except that there is a minor Muslim character) b) Greg Bear - Eon c) Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
It seems there are people trying to turn Hyperion into a film (or a miniseries): https://movieweb.com/bradley-cooper-hyperion-movie-epic/
Given the success of Dune, I hope Hyperion can one day become a blockbuster.
Another series I would like to see converted into TV are the Malazan fantasy novels by Steven Erikson. There are 10 in the series + another 4 by Novels of the Malazan Empire Series by Ian C. Esslemont. They are closer to LOTR than A Game of Thrones, more epic world building than interpersonal drama. Here is the best starting point: https://malazan.fandom.com/wiki/Malazan_Wiki
I just finished Eon! It felt very much like a more fleshed out version of Rendezvous with Rama. It was great.
I have Eternity ready to go.
Anything Dean Koontz, but he uses the same formula over and over again, they are well written, a little bit basic but very interesting for the lizard brain.
If you like Scifi then the culture series is a great read.
read the three body problem, solaris, hyperion, left hand of darkness, the stars my destination, and maybe finish off with some blood meridian and then stoner by john williams which is the best book of all time in the history of recorded earth
Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
Pale Web Serial by Wildbow (free to read and beyond a good read!)
Worm Web Serial by Wildbow (free to read and a very interesting take on the superhero genre)
Someone mentioned the Malazan series - just a heads up its a love or hate it series. I recommend getting more into Fantasy before giving it a shot. I personally couldn't enjoy it but I have friends that love it.
Someone else mentioned The Name of the Wind Series - its amazing but at this stage it doesn't look like book 3 is ever going to be released so I'd personally steer clear for now. The 10+ year wait is excruciating…
I am fully expecting Rothfuss to pass away and Sanderson having to step in and finish the series for him…
I'd take it at this stage!
RE: Name of the Wind
I mean whether the third book ever comes or not… The fact that the wait for the next book is excruciating speaks to how amazing the first two books are.
Read them knowing that the series may never be finished. They are amazing books.
I still have fond memories of the Name of the Wind and read it over a decade ago. It was a really great book, and on its own I think it's awesome.
However, it's been so long since the second book came out and the writer has been a huge twat to fans (even worse than GRRM) that I don't feel good recommending it to people.
There are books that can stand alone and do not need the story to continue to feel satisfying. Alas, I don't think that's the case for the Name of the Wind series. Specially given the second book. So now I either recommend not bothering at all or reading only book one and pretending that's the end.
Different strokes for different folks I guess. They were the best books I've read in my life. Even if they are never finished I would not wish to have never read them…
Well I would wish I had never read them, but only so I could read them and enjoy them again.
Shogun by James Clavell.
Adventure/political thriller set in 16th century Japan. Based on actual events but fictionalised.
Goodreads Rating: 4.4/5
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry.
American Western with a lot of action and adventure, winner of the 1986 Pulitzer prize.
Goodreads Rating: 4.5/5
Papillon by Henry Charriere.
Reads like an adventure novel, but is actually his biography about being sentenced to a life of hard labor in a South American prison and his attempts to escape.
Goodreads rating: 4.23/5
+1 for Shogun and Papillion - don't be daunted by the page count, they are worth it.
https://www.amazon.com/Gospel-Flying-Spaghetti-Monster/dp/08…
The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
All of your religious questions answered.
I really need to get back into reading again, but a few that I last read and enjoyed were:
A Gentleman in Moscow
The Three-body Problem
Project Hail Mary
Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and…..
the matthew reilly books are alright.
Or the communist manifesto,Some of the spin off Aliens books are good too, mein kampf, etc