Book Recomendation Thread

Originally posted by MTXBlau@Jan 26, 2004 @ 11:56 PM

Hmm, I read quite a bit.

Da Vinci Code - a thriller type novel. You have to be under a rock to not have heard of that particular book.

Atlas Shrugged - not for the weak of heart (2000+ pages in pt 6 font). An allegory of socialism v. capitalism.

Ishmael - How to save the world.

Crime and Punishment - ageless. An allegory for a huge number of things.

Prison Planet - a pretty old sci-fi book, but it's one of the only sci-fi books I can actually enjoy (Xender's was also pretty good, but also old).

Right now I'm on War and Peace.

Cael, how old is that book of yours? I really am leery of these books that try to classify left and right wing - they use sweeping generalizations and tend to denegrate the side they are trying to differentiate (Atlas Shrugged is no different - but it's fiction).
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copyright 1995...

Sowell writes an article you can find here:

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/thomass...l/archive.shtml

Though it's a lot less in depth than his book, the articles usually aren't half bad.

And yeah, the book uses a lot of sweeping generalizations, though most of them seem to hit pretty close to the mark from what I've seen.
 
Oh I remember this guy. He said something along the lines of liberals are like children that never grew up and conservatives are adults. That's why there are so few conservative teachers and so many liberal ones (they never want to leave school).

That guy is pretty (indirectly) hysterical.
 
Well here goes. This is in no particular order though..

C.S. Lewis - The Chronicles of Narnia

Jack McKinney - Robotech (the entire 21 book series, great series)

Sidney Sheldon - Doomsday Conspiracy

Katsuhiro Otomo - Akira (manga) Ok, so it's not really a book, but AKIRA is one badass manga. Its 20 times better than the movie, and I LOVE the movie.

Literally ANYTHING by Isaac Asimov, specifically the "Foundation" series.

And finally, one writer I'm really getting into is Orson Scott Card. He has a series that begins with a book called "Ender's Game". Its about 5 books I think, maybe more, but its a fantastic story. I'm in book two now, "Speaker for the Dead". There is also a book that takes place at the same time as the first book (Enders Game), it is called "Ender's Shadow".

A fantastic series of books, and I reccomend picking them up.
 
MTXBlau, most of the books you suggested are quite good, but Atlas Shrugged... man, that thing reminds me of a romance comic book written by an 8-year old with Down's Syndrome. Seriously. ;)
 
Originally posted by it290@Jan 26, 2004 @ 09:14 AM

MTXBlau, most of the books you suggested are quite good, but Atlas Shrugged... man, that thing reminds me of a romance comic book written by an 8-year old with Down's Syndrome. Seriously. ;)
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Oh come on now. The romance thing was fairly balanced and played a strong role in the allegory. Sheesh. I thought it was well written, too well written at times (language wise). Trust me, I can list several books that fit your criteria, but I will have to politely disagree with your assessment. :)
 
Originally posted by MTXBlau@Jan 27, 2004 @ 12:07 AM

Oh I remember this guy. He said something along the lines of liberals are like children that never grew up and conservatives are adults. That's why there are so few conservative teachers and so many liberal ones (they never want to leave school).

That guy is pretty (indirectly) hysterical.
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Really now?

I never found anything remotely close to that in his books... mind trying to find me a link?
 
Originally posted by MTXBlau@Jan 26, 2004 @ 11:56 PM

Da Vinci Code - a thriller type novel. You have to be under a rock to not have heard of that particular book.
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I want to read that, just the title sounds cool.

I recommend "Everything's Eventual" by Stephen King. It's a book of short stories that can be read through pretty quick and most are really good.
 
I don't usually like to read books at all (except for information), but here are four I recommend:

1) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

2) Boy's Life

3) Kaffir Boy

4) Makes Me Wanna Holler

Basically they are all autobiographical type books of some people who've had interesting lives and good writing skills. Except for Boy's Life, they all have a theme of overcoming poverty and hard times to make something of themselves
 
Mountaindud, I have ADD to and I still read. I'm sure alot of people here have it. Alot more common then you think.
 
I've enjoyed roughly everything I've read of Terry Pratchett's and Neal Stephenson's, also I've got several favorites from the high school reading list, most notably:

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

1984 - George Orwell

(it wasn't exactly your typical high school ;))

Einstein's Dreams - Alan Lightman (hard to describe, not exactly a novel)

And I really hate to be political, but I couldn't let this kind of attack go:

Left-wingers tend to have a higher than deserved view of human nature. They believe that when given the prize, people will then work as hard as they should have to earn it. That's the basic premise behinds welfare. Give people the money they haven't earned, so that they'll go out there and work hard enough to earn it.
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The basic premise behind welfare is that people don't deserve to starve and freeze if they have trouble finding a job. If you think it's implemented in a twisted, inefficient, and overblown way that's one thing, but to condemn it entirely is pretty odd.
 
I also like most of Pratchett's writings, but the later one (on the whole) aren't as good IMHO. I particularly like Good Omens which he wrote with Neil Gaiman.
 
Oh come on now. The romance thing was fairly balanced and played a strong role in the allegory. Sheesh. I thought it was well written, too well written at times (language wise). Trust me, I can list several books that fit your criteria, but I will have to politely disagree with your assessment.
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Heh heh heh. Okay, I was halfway kidding. What I meant to say is that I find Ayn Rand's idealistic writings (like this one) to be ridiculously oversimplified, and the characters in them end up being nothing but shells for those ideals, rather than actual human beings. I'm not saying there's anything terribly bad about the second point, but it grates in combination with the first.
 
Originally posted by it290@Jan 26, 2004 @ 09:14 PM

Heh heh heh. Okay, I was halfway kidding. What I meant to say is that I find Ayn Rand's idealistic writings (like this one) to be ridiculously oversimplified, and the characters in them end up being nothing but shells for those ideals, rather than actual human beings. I'm not saying there's anything terribly bad about the second point, but it grates in combination with the first.
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I'll agree with your points, although I thought she made them that way to seem virtuous (re: single minded in their goals, almost saint like in their aspirations) as opposed to the supporting characters. I don't think the story or the point would come across as well if the characters were more dynamic (re: trying to sell a concept more than a person).
 
Originally posted by IceMan2k@Jan 27, 2004 @ 08:36 AM

Mountaindud, I have ADD to and I still read. I'm sure alot of people here have it. Alot more common then you think.
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Maybe if I can find a good brand of horse tranquilizer I can finish that book I started 2 years ago. :banana
 
Here's some...

Atlas Shrugged

Farenheit 451

Fast Food Nation (SCARY!!)

Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People

Stranger in a Strange Land

Just a few.
 
Lately, I've been enjoying James Patterson's Alex Cross books. As good as the movies (Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls) may be on their own, anyone who has read the books will be annoyed at how much is changed or left out. They have a simple, easy to read style masking some rather complex characters and stories.

I've also been getting into Max Allan Collins' "CSI" books. Being a fan of the TV shows makes them easy to get into. For some reason, they remind me of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series.

And everyone should read Collins' original Road to Perdition graphic novel. Again, the movie may have been great, but the book was so much better.
 
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