Recommend a Good Book
 

Recommend a good book.

I recommend Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger. He didn't just write Catcher in the Rye. Zooey is probably my favorite character of all time... Such hopeless optimism. Anyone ever know of a male named Zooey? I once tried to talk my long time girlfriend into naming a possible future son Zooey… Thankfully she talked some sense in to me.

1984 by George Orwell, a classic and way before its time.

Hehe teflonian I see we share a "non-stick" connection. Anyway I liked Hamlet on the Holodeck by Janet H. Murray since it talks about ways we can express stories and art with computers. It touches on so many aspects of storytelling and the potential that a "procedural, interactive" digital medium truly has, and how we haven't even touched the tip of the iceberg.

Out Of Sight by Elmore Leonard. Fantastic book and a fantasic movie.

Anything by Terry Pratchert, especialy his discworld series. One of the greatest satirists of our time.

His Dark Materials Trilogy, Philip Pullman

George R. R. Martin's series that started with "A Game of Thrones" is great if you like Fantasy, but it's not for the sqeamish.
If you want to have your world turned upside down (and have already read Vonnegut, Pynchon, etc.) then try Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. Just read it recently, it's very interesting.

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Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (and to a lesser extent, the sequels like Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide).

haha... BubblegumTeflon you are right. I am envious though, your name is a bit more creative than mine.

Of the books mentioned that I have read I know 1984, Without Remorse, and Ender's Game are all great books. Without Remorse isn't just another page turner by Clancy, though all his books are good reads. I absolutley loved Ender's Game when I read it in Jr. High and I still loved it when I read it in college. I would have to say the new Shadow series which takes place in the time of Ender's game and, guess what, actually shadows the events of Ender's game, is more in key with the storytelling of Ender's game and is therefore my favorite of the "sequels".... Ok, I am starting to sound like a book reviewer except I am not really telling anything interesting. I guess I am just glad you all are giving your advice and contributing to the first thread I have started. I am sure I will end up checking out at least a couple of the books mentioned.[

Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson is one of the most clever, well-written books i've ever had the pleasure to read... definitely take the time to check it out.

I second Mr. phredgreen's selection. That "delivery" part at the start was the perfect way to get you hooked.

Anything by Tom Robbins. By far one of the best modern writers.

Dune

Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk was amazing

I'm not sure if they have been translated to english but if you read spanish or swedish you might like Jan Guillos trilogy about the crusador Arn.

I really like reading the Nebula Awards, it's a collection of the years best science fiction short stories and novellas. I think they're up to volume 34 now.

Also, you can't get much scarier than reading "the stand" with all the stuff going on in the world today.

My favorite book of all time has to be "Watership Down" by Richard Adams. If you don't really read the book it seems like a bunch of rabbits walking around, but if you read into it, it's a great work revolving around the great chain of being and an excellent social commentary.

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole - Very funny book. I haven't finished it (class required reading took my free time), but I laugh aloud while reading this. It is that funny.

Among the Thugs by Bill Buford - A book about soccer Hooligans. Very well written and interesting. Also quite startling to read about some of the things these guys do.

Dragon Wing by Margaret Weis - The first book of a fantasy series (The Deathgate Cycle) that is the best of have ever read. I recommend the entire series, as I loved it and still consider it to be the best series of books I have read. The characters are so well developed, and the world so enveloping, that it's simply amazing and enjoyable to read.

The Book of the Dun Cow Seriously...you have to find this book and read it!
"Sum Wyrm sub terra! Sum Wyrm sub terra!

Non-fiction...try Theodore Rex but, I'm a TR freak so...

I saw the thread subject & that is exactly what I thought! Its an awesome book, everyone should read this.

Cannery Row by Steinbeck. I love Steinbeck's style, and its a great book. Very quick and easy read, as well.

You beat me. I don't really read fantasy but my cousin (the sane one) recomended it. Oh my lord, great series. The author will get you liking one character and then BAM!! they are dead, you never have the slightest idea what is gonna happen next. Excellent reading.

phunktastic, Cannery Row is my favorite of Steinbeck's works. I have yet to read a couple of his though and therefore my favorite might change.

Anything by Dan Simmons. Especially Carrion Comfort, The Song of Kali, and the Hyperion/Endymion series.

Man alive, y'all have hit a bunch of my favorites so far. My favorite not yet listed:
Zelazney, <i>Lord of Light</i>. I can't explain the book without gving away too much. Whatever you do, do not read the blurb on the back - it is either flat out wrong or completely misleading (depending on which edition you get. I've gone through three.)

Dune is fantastic. The rest of the Dune series is underrated. Herbert's other works are pretty interesting too, particularly <i>The Dosadi Experiment</i>.

Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series is the best epic sword and sorcery series currently going. Steve Brust's Vlad Taltos series is darn good too, but more Chandler than Tolkien. For one that is not in danger of having the author die before the series is complete, try "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn" by Tad Willams (<i>The Dragonbone Chair</i>, <i>The Stone of Farewell</i>, and <i>To Green Angel Tower</i>). That's the only other series out there that may be better than Martin's, and it's finished.

<i>Snow Crash</i> is one of my favorite books. I've read all of the rest of Stephenson's work, too, and it's all as good, nearly so, or better.

Someone mentioned Terry Pratchett. A very witty man, but I have only read two of his books that stand out on their own (rather than as a part of the whole Discworld "thing"), <i>The Colour of Magic</i>, and <i>Small Gods</i>. The latter will be forever underrated because of its humorist source. It is a positively fantastic book: there are universal truths therein.

One that hasn't been mentioned is Tim Powers, particularly <i>The Anubis Gates</i>, <i>Last Call</i>, and <i>Declare</i>.

"No Ordinary Time" by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It's historical AND entertaining. And that's just plain rare!

'Demian' and 'Steppenwolf' by Herman Heese. Also, the two greatest American novels ever -> "Moby Dick" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn".

I'll go ahead and mention Infinite Jest, even though it's 1100 pages and will take you a couple of months to read. They'll be good months, though.

Among books that won't give you a hernia when you lift them, I just finished Ken Kalfus's The Commissariat of Enlightenment, which was great. I actually work for a literary review, so I could go on for a while...

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

"Ambitious, gloriously funny, and oddly heartwarming... A magical mystery tour through the mythologies of all cultures, a unique and moving love story, and another winner for the phenomenally gifted, consummately reader-friendly Gaiman."

Absolutely amazing book. Great story with many twists. you will get even more out of the book if you have some knowledge of mythology but its definately not required.

The Otherland Series by Tad Williams or The Artefacts of power series by Maggie Furey (I'm currently reading that at the moment)
:D

If you like action try Don Pendleton's Mack Bolan Punisher series. If you like funny fantasy try Piers Anthony, Xanth series.

I would throw in for Dune and its sequals.

Also "Executive Orders" by clancy is a good read,

you might want to try Ice Station by Matt Reilly, a little like clancy, but a bit far feched.


The last book i read was PREY by michael crighton. it was good.

it's already mentioned but i'll agree...LOTR series is a great read so is The Hobbit

The Earth Children series by Jean Auel

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/6293/auel.html
Alpha phi read these and convinced me to read them...The 5th book just came out last year ....great series....

The Incarnations of Immortality series by Piers Anthony

http://www.piers-anthony.com/tocseries.html

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Neuromancer
Count Zero
Mona lisa Overdrive
by William Gibson

I'd agree with KrazyKemist; I was going to recommend Amercan Gods by Neil Gaiman. His book Neverwhere is also good.

Here a few lesser known ones:

I am Legend
To Your Scattered Bodies Go
Cross Time Engineer

Some great choices up there!

Here's a couple that haven't been mentioned:

Robert Asprin's "Tarot" trillogy.

Ayn Rand's "We the Living"

Don Quixote

"Religion for Dummies"
its easier to make of people if you know more about them.

And if you want to question everything u have ever heard or believed in the "illuminatus" by robert shea and robert wilson, although it makes war and peace look like a light read.

I have to throw my lot in with many of my fellow TFPers:

Still Life with Woodpecker
Tom Robbins

Neverwhere
Neil Gaiman

Stardust
Neil Gaiman

Dune
Frank Herbert

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agreed, watership down is more than just a story about rabbits, few people seem to see beyond it's surface and regard it as a childrens book, i read it again recently and was thoroughly enthralled by it

Someone already mentioned Herman Hesse so I'll just say that anything by him is worth a read.

My picks:

<i>Collages</i> by Anais Nin - one of the most passionate writers of the 20th century.

<i>Things Fall Apart</i> by Chinua Achebe - great story of how British imperialism destroyed African villages and culture.

<i>A Happy Death</i> by Albert Camus - great example of a man chosing to live life on his own terms.

I can reccomend this book as well.
Also check out "Cuba Libre" aslo by Elmore Leonard... but stay faaar away from "Get Shorty"
Hey..they can't all be winners.

Another book I really enjoyed is
Twilight Eyes by Dean Koontz

qoute:
"Illuminatus is a bear just because in any 20 pages, it will have changed perspective and narrators about 15 times. To make up for that, the trilogy is loaded with tons of sex, craziness and humor"

I agree that it was a tough read, especially since there were no real chapters or breaks in a page that would hint to the conversation and events moving elsewhere to other speakers. Once you get used to it though, its a great read. I think what I liked most about the book was that it seemed as if one of the writers constantly wrote the book while on acid and the other one was probably just high the whole time. K so maybe this doesn't sound like that good of a book but it is, you'll just have to trust me.

Oops- for anyone paying attention:

Peirs Anthony wrote the "Tarot" trilogy... not Asprin.

Apparently, i needed aspirin when i submitted that one.
Apologies

"The Liar" by Stephen Fry (the British actor). Incredibly hillarious storytelling.

Being an English major I have a great excuse to read a lot of wonderful works of literature as well as some less literary works in my spare time :D

I would highly recommend Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize winning novel "The Hours." The style of his prose matches that of Virginia Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway", the book that "The Hours" is centered around. It's a marvelous read.

I would also recommend Edith Wharton's "Summer." If you've read "Ethan Frome", think of it as the "hot" version of that ;)

I also adore anything by Thomas Hardy--"Tess of the D'Urbervilles", "Far From the Madding Crowd", and "Jude the Obscure."

As for less serious reading, I recommend the two Bridget Jones books. Great for a laugh. :)

The Talisman and its sequel, The Black House, by stephen king and peter straub

Catch 22, Cryptonomicon, Jennifer Government, Gravity's Rainbow, Good Omens

Inherit the Stars by James Hogan and its sequals.

I can't get over how much I am enjoying the Harry Potter books.

No one has said Huck Finn yet.

Les Miserables.

Inherit the Stars is an incredible book.

hit man by lawrence block

The source of my signature quote, "Still Life With Woodpecker," by Tom Robbins.

The only one I haven't seen listed (A+ to vermin for Dan Simmons and A fucking triple plus to Grondar for CoD...funniest book in history, bar none) would be House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. Mind fuck par excellence. It's a mighty read, at 800 pages with loads of footnotes and appendicies, but it's not what you think. It's never what you think.

I recommend Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Not like this is one is an unknown, but I would be remiss if it wasn't brought up sooner or later.

i have found that i cannot put down stephen king books

my favorite are the gunslinger series, prolly the best books i have ever read, after i am done with them i think about them for weeks, that is a sign of a good book.

also dream catcher was a great book, does anyone know if the movie was any good?

At last someone mentioned Catch 22. Not particularly obscure but my favourite book of all time, so far anyway. Chapter 39- The Eternal City is one of the the most moving passages I have ever read, when will people learn. We are all subject to Snowden's secret.

"The Godfather" by Mario Puzo, great book. its as good or better than the movie.

Terry Pratchert, the discworld series. Very funny, I've read these lots of times.

Harry Potter books are ok - I gave them a go, and while not amazing, they did enough to make me read them all.

I'm on a fiction kick now. Recently finished "The Kingmaker" by Brian Haig (son of Alexander Haig of 80s fame.) Very good (gave it an 8 out of 10.)

Really well written, and a good modern espionage writer (cross the wit of Nelson Demille and the intrigue of Robert Ludlum (and then make the storyline interesting) and there you have it.

Bad recent book Martin Cruz Smith's "Red Square" - espionage too, I think. No continuity at all. Worst book I never got more than 25% through, The Sound and the Fury by Faulkner. Maybe my brain is miswired, but it made zero sense.

KBilly - Have you read Omerta by Puzo? That's a pretty good one as well with very loose ties to the Godfather series.

I have to throw in a second vote for Ender's Game by OSC.

Also Siddhartha by Herman Hesse is probably the most thought-provoking book I've ever read.

Im currently reading or read and recomend:

-The beach
-Fight club by phalinuk (SP..?)
-The hobbit + lord of the rings trilogy
-Flesh and Machines (non-fiction)
-The universe in a nutshell by Hawking (non-fiction physics)
-1984 was very good
-Into the wild stirred lots of emotions (based on a true story)
-Rich dad poor dad by kiyosaki(guide to money management, everyone should read it...)

I love these topics. lots of the books in my collection have come from topics such as these. So many times people tend to stick to buying only what they feel comfortable with and used to reading. I try to look at buying books like this: I think that just about any book out there is worth reading or might hold some slight sence of good knowledge, but there are so many to chose from. I think that if you get even 1 recomendation for a book, especially when from a trusted forum like this, that it would be worth looking into. Best of luck
-tim

Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert Heinlin(sp?)

Excellent. Give it a whirl.

The Art of War

It has a _lot_ of applications.

MAN! You just said everything I was going to say! George RR Martin and Kurt Vonnegut! With Ishmael, I heard about it from a friend that was reading it, but if you read it and liked it I think I will too!

Also Read Fight club, SM 101 by Jay Wiseman, and Breaking the girl by Kim Corum (short but sweet!)

best books ever written:

Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson
Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neal Postman (this is totally a book dependant on mood, though)

Cryptonomicon by Stephenson (or anything he's written in fact)

Anything by Palahniuk

Anything by Gaiman

The Old Man and the Sea by Hemmingway
(It doesn't get much better than that)

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

William Gibsons books have been represented. But there's Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead at the top of my list.
Also Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins books.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Rober Pirsig should hold an avid reader for a couple of weeks.

Palahniuk is great stuff.

However, if I had to recommend a book if you could only read one in your entire life, go with Dave Eggers' A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. This is best best book I have ever read.

the movie was alright. i havent read the book, but the movie felt like there was just too much plot in the book to explain the movie in a good way.

I Am Legend is good.

So is the Song of Fire and Ice series.

Non-Fiction=Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea.

Seeing how many people here have mentioned it, I am considering the "Snow Crash" book. - Question - should I bother -
I am not big into sci-fi or anime, and only made it through one Heinlein book (The Moon is a ...) and did not enjoy it all that much.

Should I still give it a go - is it one of those books that transcends genres and is enjoyable to a wider audience than usual?

Thanks

I’ll my tupense worth as well into the fray.

No-one mentioned any Iain M banks yet (or just plain Iain for such classics as the wasp factory, a bit sick in parts I’ve been told but I just found it enthralling) so I’ll put in excession as it’s a lot of fun to read.

Other Sci-fi (pronounced sciffy by Iain Banks himself I’ve been told [book reading by Ian Rankin who drinks with Mr Banks every so often, so I wasn’t exactly told personally]) faves of mine include Peter F Hamilton (the reality dysfunction trilogy will keep you going for a while approximately 3000+ pages of fun), although I’d suggest starting with something smaller of his like Mindstar rising to see if you like his work, I also liked Battlefield Earth by old loony tunes L Ron Hubbard (before he got religious).

Fantasy wise the already mentioned Tad Williams is a good author and I particularly like his memory sorrow and thorn trilogy as well as the otherland stuff.

Crime-wise / comedy for the British out there I strongly recommend Christopher Brookmyre, although for the non brits it can be difficult as it can be dialect orientated (not as bad as Irvine Welsh). He writes in a similar style to Carl Hiaasen (but not set in California) if anyone reads his work (who’s also a Insomniac recommendation!).

For forensic science stuff I recommend Jeffery Deaver (the coffin dancer is simply amazing in my opinion)

I’ll also add in there Ian Rankin, who’s Rebus character has improved my whiskey knowledge no end.

Just comedy based I’ll add Practetts mate Robert Rankin, the Armageddon trilogy is especially fun to read .

Hopefully I’ve not overly repeated what others have said (I did skim everything else that had been posted)

I’ll also tack at the end that these are personnel choices and therefore may not stand up to the scrutiny of others, but hell I don’t care I read em, re-read em ands further re-read them again coz I love em. I cannot over empathise how much I love Christopher Brookmyres work, if you read this and take one bit of advise from me read his stuff, you’ll love it. In fact you can read a short story of his on the net for free at

http://www.brookmyre.co.uk/bampota.htm

Give that a go, you’ll like it. Trust me I’m a man with a lot of free time on his hands from lack of sleeping I know a good book when I find one!

The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things by Barry Glassner. :cool:

Another from me. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Stunning.

Richard Dawkin's The Selfish Gene. Very intriguing non-fiction book regarding the gene's view of evolution. Which, as Dawkin’s argues, is the only way to look at that subject.

I find a lot of those books I was forced to read in high school, but never did were actually good once I came back to them later in life. They were, most notably, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Chrysalids by Wyndham John, and Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.

However, for real fun reading, I would recommend Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, and was already mentioned, and if you're willing to stoop down a few reading levels, the Myth Adventures by Robert Asprin was always a favourite of mine.

Shogun by James Clavell

That was an awesome book, well... except for the ending...
When you read that book try to remember when it was written. At the time there were no such things as cell phones, microwave ovens, hover cars, etc... Definitely a man before his time.

Ok, I've looked overthe recommended book selections and it seems we have quite an intellectual group of choices. I am not the most intellectual of people so my recommendations might reflect that...

Also for the record I have only actually read one novel in my life, all the other's I listened to on audio cassette.

Maveric's Recommendations -

• Anything by Stephen King
  (especially the Dark Tower Series)
  
• 2001, 2010, and 3001
  by Arthur C Clarke (don't bother with 2064)
  
• The Light of Other Days
  by Stephen Baxter & Arthur C. Clarke
  
• Stranger in a Strange Land
  by Robert Hienlen
  
• Cabal
  by Clive Barker (it was made into a movie horror called NightBreed)
  
• The Thrawn Trillogy
  by Timothy Zahn (what happens after the Star Wars Movie trilogy)
  
• The Left Behind Series
  by Dr. Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins - (fictional tale about the events of Revelations happening in the present time)
  
• The Hannibal Trilogy
  by Thomas Harris (thillers about serial killers and a pyshopathic pyschiatrist)
  
• Have a Nice Day
  by Mic Foley (A Pro-Wrestler's Biography, very good story telling)
  
• Vampire Chronicles & Servant of the Bones
  by Anne Rice (romantic horror stories about vampires and ghosts)
  
• Strange Highways and Tick Tock
  by Dean Koontz (twilight zone esque stories... I didn't like the ending of Tick Tock)
  
• The Miracle Strain
  by Darrell Larson (about making a clone from the DNA of Christ)
  
• The Last Precinct
  by Patricia Cornwell (very fast paced, mystery, suspense, thriller)
  
• Get in The Van
  by Henry Rollins (biography of a punk rock singer)

I'm sure I left out some so I'll add more as I think of them :)

With SARS in the present scope of daily life the following book waybe wise to read. THE STAND
BY STEVEN KING

:D

Also, anything by Terry Pratchett

..and the following authors

Robert Rankin - extreme screwed-up humour. In one of his books you don't get to realize that the main character is a black-magic using, homosexual, serial-killing maniac, until the last third of the book. And that's a book that combines talking with the dead and alien invasions.

Andrew Vachss - Not for the faint of heart. He's a children's lawyer, and used to be the director of a correctional facility, so he knows what he's talking about. Read the "Burke"-series, it's quite amazing. A lot of it deals with the abuse of children, and pedophiles, and could be heavy reading for some.

Joe R. Lansdale. Read the Hap Collins series. The "heroes" are Hap, a white ex-hippie pacifist from Texas, and Leonard, a black, gay, Vietnam-vet, conservative. The books are offensive, and funny as hell.

Stephen Laws book, "The Chasam" was excellent, well above his other great work. He's an English Stephen King.
Brian Lumley's Wamphir series is a good investment in time as well.
Robert Heinlein has been mentioned a couple times but not "Starship Troopers"-forget that Paul Veerhooven crap that was the movie!
Armour is another book along the same veign though I forget the author's name at the moment.

Oh and Douglas Adam's "The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul"
great title, great book.
Like Flaubert meets Monty Python.

Nothing better than Steven King. Never will be. The Stand and It both gave me nightmares.... And I was 18 when I read them...

Must read writers:

Haruki Marukami

Kinky Friedman

Also the Wamphyr series by Brian Lumley and Long Dark Tea Time od the Soul (both mentioned above) are good too.

I recently read Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom and enjoyed it muchly - plus, it's available as a free download!

Anything by Vonnegut

i recomend starting with slaughterhouse 5. thats the one that everyone reads first

oh btw, if you like The Stand, check out Swan Song, i forget who its by though.

Anything by Tolkien, any of the New Jedi Order series, Left Behind series is good, I liked a book called the Hot Zone, it's about the Ebola scare, kinda graphic, but quite good actually. Anything Clancy, gotta love Tom Clancy.

Gaiman, Pratchett and Adams, Douglas Adams being # 1 in my book. If you've read all of their books then I'm sure your well on your way to insanity.

King, Saul and Koontz, Stephen King is a genius and you must read Night Shift if you like horror. Also I've recently discovered a new Canadian author by the name of Michael Slade ( actually is two authors using the name ) who writes crime/horror novels that are freakishly delightful.

I also enjoy FICTION by Tom Clancy, but would someone please tell him to give up on non-fic. Man I don't think I've ever read anything so mind numbingly boring as his non-fic.

I have a couple:
Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar. There are two ways to read it. You can go chapter 1 to 54, or start at chapter 73 and follow the table of instructions. I endorse the second way.
The Pugilist At Rest-Thom Jones
Where I'm Calling From-Raymond Carver
The Dead Father-Donald Barthelme. Really good

Some really good books suggested here. A lot that I've read, and some that I've read about that I've been meaning to pick up for a while. I feel compelled to throw my two cents in in as well.

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card - can't recommend this one highly enough. Loved it the first time I read it, and I must've read it a half dozen times since.

Jurassic Park - Michael Crighton - forget everything about the movies, the book is ten times better. Couldn't put it down and read it in one night.

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis - Lewis's take on the story of Christ as told as a bedtime story for his grandkids. One day I'll read the other 6 books in the series.

For those of you who like multi-part series:

The Belgariad and The Mallorean - David Eddings - great fantasy series. Saw the first three books on my teachers desk in 7th grade. Read those and then the next two. Finished the series before she did. Start with The Pawn Of Prophecy.

The Riftwar and The Serpent War Sagas - Raymond Feist - great fantasy series part 2 - Start with Magician: Apprentice

Wildcards - edited by George R.R. Martin - anthology series featuring prominent sci-fi and fantasy writers (Martin, Zelazny, John J. Miller, Walter Jon Williams, etc) exploring the theme of "what if superheroes existed in the real world?" Aliens develop a gene altering bomb that can either give you superpowers, disfigure you, kill you or have no effect at all. They come to Earth to test it. Trust me, it's not as hokey as it sounds. Absolutely AWESOME series. If you like comics at all, you owe it to yourself to check this one out. (If you read the comic version, the books are FAR superior) Start with Volume 1.

Myth Adventures: Robert Asprin - good, lowbrow, humorous fantasy series. The puns (good and bad) fly fast and furious. The later books start to really build on each other, but the first four or so can be read on their own. Start with any of these: Another Fine Myth, Myth Conceptions, Myth Directions, and Hit or Myth (those title should give you an idea of what you're in for)

Jhereg - Steven Brust - I second the previous recommendation about this great fantasy series with an Assassin as the hero.

If you like vampire books try Laurell K. Hamilton's, Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Series.

Charlaine Harris southern vampire series.

Dresden files series by Jim butcher. fantasy set in modern day

David Webber's Honor series for science fiction.

"Tyranny of the Moment" - Thomas Hylland Eriksen
Hitch Hiker series by Adams
Tolkien
"The Prince" - Machiavelli
Arn trilogy - Jan Guillou
"The Sharks" - Jens Björneboe

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami.

Hard to find but I loved it.

One hundred years of Solitude - Marquez

AND:

The Human Condition by Hannah Arendt

i'm glad other folks have heard of Martin's "A song of Fire and Ice" Series, i love it. also, "The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy" possibly one of the most zany, and witty series' out there. my perrsonal favorite book, though, has to be "A prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving