recommend any books?

[Staggerlee]

Just wondering if anyone has any particularly good books they recommend reading?

 

[JustDezIt]

what kinda stuff do you like to read?

 

[Hostile]

"The Hobbit" and the "Lord of the Rings Trilogy."

 

[JustDezIt]

"The Last Lecture" was the first thing that popped in my mind.

 

[Staggerlee]

what kinda stuff do you like to read?

Well I am a history major and love history so anything with historical relevance is obviously something I'd be interested in. But I enjoy a myriad of topics and am just looking for good reads.

 

[danielofthesaints]

house of leaves.

 

[Meat-O-Rama]

Not sure if you've seen the show or not, but I enjoyed the 'Dexter' series of books.

 

[CowboyDan]

Fiction: Anything by Nelson DeMille. Start with The Lion's Game or Night Fall.

Non-Fiction: Brothers - The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years by David Talbot
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

And a great RnR Autobiography: Slash by Slash (this is a great read if you like Guns and Roses or rock n roll in general)
[URL="http://www.musictimes.com.au/images/slash-autobiography1.jpg"][/URL]

 

[kristie]

angels & demons, the da vinci code, and pride & prejudice

 

[63echo]

"The Last Lecture" was the first thing that popped in my mind.

What a fantastic book. Just heartrending. Gonna read it again now...thanks for the reminder.


To the OP, you might check out Game of Thrones by George RR Martin. It's not normally the type of reading I like to do, but I picked it up after reading a lot of hype (here and elsewhere). Great, great novel and am looking forward to getting into the rest of the series and for the HBO series to begin.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

SHOGUN.

My Favorite.

 

[Cowboy Brian]

Inheritance Cycle.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Read the "rate the last book you read" thread. Find a book that lots of people rate highly, and read it!

 

[Wimbo]

Fiction: Anything by Nelson DeMille. Start with The Lion's Game or Night Fall.

If you are a history buff, and want to read an excellent fiction novel written at the end of the Cold War, check out Nelson DeMille's The Charm School.

Here is a reader review from Amazon that nails it:

By
Roger J. Buffington

The Charm School is my favorite Cold War novel of all time and one of my favorite novels of any genre, ever. This is a powerful, well-written, and disturbing novel of Cold War intrigue. It takes place in the old Soviet Union circa 1988, and DeMille's research about, and visits to, the USSR around this time have given this novel an authenticity that resonates throughout the novel. DeMille captures the tension of the Cold War conflict, the sorrow of the Russian people and the contradictions in the old Soviet state ("with gravel roads, ICBMs, and a world-class Secret Police service..."). This is a superb novel.

Without committing any spoilers, the plot is simple, powerful, and disturbing. Two US diplomats in the Soviet Union discover a terrible secret: that over 1000 US MIA pilots shot down over Vietnam have been spirited away to Russia. The purpose is to allow the Soviets to set up "Mrs. Ivanova's Charm School" which is a KGB academy in which the pilots are forced to teach aspiring Russian spies how to act, speak, and pass as Americans. The KGB will go to literally any lengths to keep the existence of "The Charm School" a secret. The rest would be telling. This is a great story.
DeMille literally transports the reader to Soviet-era Russia. His prose dealing with the Russian people, the Soviet government, the vast country, and the long-suffering people to me seemed to capture at least some of the essence of that great and troubled country. The novel moves at a fast-pace without racing to the finish; the reader is allowed to "smell the flowers" along the way, but the storyline never drags. This novel manages to do what very few novels ever succeed in doing: it is a classic of its genre, as well as a ripping page turner. "The Charm School" ranks with DeMille's "Word of Honor" as a true masterpiece that belongs in every reader's library

 

[YosemiteSam]

"The Hobbit" and the "Lord of the Rings Trilogy."

Come on Hos, that's a kids book!

 

[Khartun]

What a fantastic book. Just heartrending. Gonna read it again now...thanks for the reminder.


To the OP, you might check out Game of Thrones by George RR Martin. It's not normally the type of reading I like to do, but I picked it up after reading a lot of hype (here and elsewhere). Great, great novel and am looking forward to getting into the rest of the series and for the HBO series to begin.

+1 on this post

 

[Staggerlee]

Thanks for the recommendations.

 

[CowboyDan]

If you are a history buff, and want to read an excellent fiction novel written at the end of the Cold War, check out Nelson DeMille's The Charm School.

Here is a reader review from Amazon that nails it:

By
Roger J. Buffington

The Charm School is my favorite Cold War novel of all time and one of my favorite novels of any genre, ever. This is a powerful, well-written, and disturbing novel of Cold War intrigue. It takes place in the old Soviet Union circa 1988, and DeMille's research about, and visits to, the USSR around this time have given this novel an authenticity that resonates throughout the novel. DeMille captures the tension of the Cold War conflict, the sorrow of the Russian people and the contradictions in the old Soviet state ("with gravel roads, ICBMs, and a world-class Secret Police service..."). This is a superb novel.

Without committing any spoilers, the plot is simple, powerful, and disturbing. Two US diplomats in the Soviet Union discover a terrible secret: that over 1000 US MIA pilots shot down over Vietnam have been spirited away to Russia. The purpose is to allow the Soviets to set up "Mrs. Ivanova's Charm School" which is a KGB academy in which the pilots are forced to teach aspiring Russian spies how to act, speak, and pass as Americans. The KGB will go to literally any lengths to keep the existence of "The Charm School" a secret. The rest would be telling. This is a great story.
DeMille literally transports the reader to Soviet-era Russia. His prose dealing with the Russian people, the Soviet government, the vast country, and the long-suffering people to me seemed to capture at least some of the essence of that great and troubled country. The novel moves at a fast-pace without racing to the finish; the reader is allowed to "smell the flowers" along the way, but the storyline never drags. This novel manages to do what very few novels ever succeed in doing: it is a classic of its genre, as well as a ripping page turner. "The Charm School" ranks with DeMille's "Word of Honor" as a true masterpiece that belongs in every reader's library

It's sitting on my shelf, I just haven't gotten to it yet......looks like it's next. Thanks for the tip! He's a great author.

 

[daschoo]

Come on Hos, that's a kids book!

it was, he wrote it for his kids. doesn't mean its not good though, i enjoyed it and am looking forward to the film.

i'd agree with the folk recommending game of thrones, just finished it and have ordered a clash of kings.
anything by bernard cornwall is good, excellent historical novels

 

[TellerMorrow34]

The Hobbit, The Long Walk, From The Ashes, The Poet are all books I'd recommend.