Topic

I'm looking for a good read

Not that lately the forum hasn't been entertaining enough but I am going to the lake this weekend (NO Glitch :`( )and want to take a good book along and was hoping to get some suggestions.
I like pretty much anything but tend to lean more toward fantasy. I also like regular fiction, satires, and distopian settings too. Oh, and smut of course!
But like I said I really like anything as long as it well written.
And yes, I've already read HP,  LOTR and Twilight.
Thanks!

Posted 17 months ago by curiousfae Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

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  • Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke.  But pretty much only if you also like Jane Austen, because the first section of the book is more like an Austen-ish social satire than a fantasy novel.  But oh wow, what a book.  And it has lots and lots of ravens, so...Rook!  Rook! 

    Plus it will most likely never be made into a film or tv show, so you can cast in your head forever.
    Posted 17 months ago by Nanookie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • mercedes lackey, jennifer estep, charlaine harris, carrie vaughn, ce murphy, patricia briggs, rob thurman, devon monk, - all my fav fantasy writers

    for fantasy AND Smut - lol - Laurell K Hamilton
    Posted 17 months ago by Princess NoDrama Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Neil Gaiman, of course.
    Posted 17 months ago by jasbo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Anything by Robert Rankin - British, silly and seriously fun. Like glitch as a novel, but English =)

    Just read FTW by Cory Doctorow. Well worth the read. Scifi - Peter F Hamilton, Neil Asher, Philip K Dick (most now free as ebooks)...

    Nearly wasn't going to reply when I saw you'd read twilight, but I'm pre-judging it =)
    Posted 17 months ago by arcturus Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Do you like Crime Fiction? I could recommend lots of great authors in that genre. Also try reading Watchers by Dean Koontz, a fabulous book!
    Posted 17 months ago by Morticia Addams Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @jasbo - totally agree!

    Also, did you know on android 'jasbo' gets corrected to hashish? =)
    Posted 17 months ago by arcturus Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @arcturus - LOL!!!

    ETA: I'll have to check out Robert Rankin....
    Posted 17 months ago by jasbo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @arcturus I made that confession (and cringed whilst doing so) only because I assumed someone would suggest it. I was the one 'pre-judging' since it's seems whenever there is talk about the fantasy genre that book always seems to pop up and I was afraid someone would suggest it right off.
    I just looked on Amazon and from his titles alone Rankin sounds like someone I MUST to look into.
    Posted 17 months ago by curiousfae Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Dystopian sci-fi-ish novel with a touch of smut: The Windup Girl.  I read it more than a year and a half ago and I still mull over parts of it.

    War with the Newts is a great older dystopian novel.  Highly recommended if you've never read it.
    Posted 17 months ago by Magic Monkey Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Bradbury, definitely.
    Maybe Asimov.
    If you are into the current fiction, I recommend the Percy Jackson series.

    ETA: And the House of the Scorpion
    Posted 17 months ago by Djoe6897 Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The Help, its an amazing book!
    Posted 17 months ago by Barb E. Dahl Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 Barb E. Dahl. not at the book, but the name. very clever!
    Posted 17 months ago by bored no more Subscriber! | Permalink
  • OH YES The windup girl was amazing. So was Baluciawhateveragi's other stuff, Ship Breaker, and uhhh the short stores one. Pump Six and Other Stories.

    I'd suggest Pump Six for a vacation read, since they are, you know, short.
    You can read one between swimming, or whatever it is that people who leave the house do.
    Posted 17 months ago by Biohazard Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @ Barb: I just finished "The Help" over the weekend. I LOVED it. Movie out later this month.
    Posted 17 months ago by GreyGoose Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The Pillars of the Earth By Ken Follett....
    Posted 17 months ago by napabeth Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Well, it seems everyone's reading George R Martin these days, but the Song of Ice and Fire series is actually as good as the hype.  Have you read any Diana Wynne Jones?  She has tons of books, and many people (including me) think she's way better than JK Rowling (and EVERYONE thinks is better than Stephanie Meyer)

    +1 for Neil Gaiman

    Also consider the Inda series by Sherwood Smith.  Not just because she's a friend of mine, but because they are Awesome.
    Posted 17 months ago by Tradescantia Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Ah, Diana Wynne Jones!  <3 <3 <3

    She died this year... :(
    Posted 17 months ago by Nanookie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @ Napabeth: Yes, yes, yes I loved, loved, loved "Pillars of the Earth" and the 8-hour Starz movie was A+. "World Without End" was just as good. Follet is one of the best....and so are you *smooch*---lol

    @ Trandescantia: Since the HBO series I have become a huge George Martin fan. The 2nd book in the trilogy is waiting for me on my iPad!
    Posted 17 months ago by GreyGoose Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @ napabeth:  The Pillars of the Earth is one of my most favorite books!
    Posted 17 months ago by LunaSea Subscriber! | Permalink
  • 1984 is amazing, of course. Read it if you haven't.
    Posted 17 months ago by Rascal Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Nanookie I KNOW!!  I cried for two days.

    I was at the first ever Conference on Diana Wynne Jones in Bristol, two years ago.  It was awesome.
    Posted 17 months ago by Tradescantia Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Damn! I think I've read the works of most, if not all the author listed so far.
    Posted 17 months ago by Fokian Fool Subscriber! | Permalink
  • if you don't mind adult scenes, try Christine Feehan, particularly the 'Dark' series...Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series is also great...Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern is a wonderful series...David Eddington, Elizabeth Haydon...just to name a few  :)
    Posted 17 months ago by Firestone1960 Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Another idea - if you are a fan of genre fiction, look into the graphic novel series "The Unwritten" - SO good.
    Posted 17 months ago by jasbo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • TUMBLR.

    ALL OF TUMBLR.
    Posted 17 months ago by Cerulean Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Ceruleal - That might be a bit difficult to do. :)
    Posted 17 months ago by Fokian Fool Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Things I read and enjoyed lately (in English):

    The knight and The wizard, by Gene Wolfe (actually one big novel split in two parts).
    The city and the city, by China Miéville.
    Four ways to forgiveness, by Ursula Le Guin.
    Anansi boys, by Neil Gaiman.
    Posted 17 months ago by Ximenez Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @folkian fool -Every time I see your name on here it reminds me of the book "Fool" by Christopher Moore. Have you read it? Very funny remake of King Lear from the Fool's point of view. As a matter of fact, I listened to it on audio book as well and found it even funnier for the voices of the reader.
    It gave me one of my favorite swear words to date.."F*ck stockings"!
    As in, "Oh, f*ck stockings! I left the mayo out on the counter again overnight!"

    Thanks all for the suggestions!
    Posted 17 months ago by curiousfae Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I can't recommend Ender's Game series of books highly enough.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ender's_Game_(series)
    Posted 17 months ago by Vicereine Linnæa Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I always enjoy a nice romp with P.G. Wodehouse for satire. Perfect vacation reading.
    Posted 17 months ago by Colette Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @curiousfae - No, I can't say I have. I think I've heard of it, but never managed to find it. :(
    And I run (when I can) an adult-themed D&D campaign. I actually add (among others) the "Sexual Orientation" and "Libido" scores. It's from this campaign world I derive my Glitch name.

    @Linnaea - Orson Scott Card is indeed a good writer. He recently has tended to include his religious faith into his more recent writings (final book of "Memories of Earth" and "The Lost Boys" if I recall my titles correctly). "Enders Game" and the follow-up books were killer.
    Posted 17 months ago by Fokian Fool Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I think we can all safely assume why I would not want to support O.S. Card. :P

    But I'm serious about Tumblr. You can find some amazing writing there. There are plenty of short story blogs that are really neat.
    Posted 17 months ago by Cerulean Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Jasper Fforde. Deserves to be better known because he's wonderful.
    Posted 17 months ago by Lelu Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Have you read the Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud?  Really fun, smart funny, but written for young adults, so not stressful.  Great Summer reading.

    I used to work at a bookstore, and everyone to whom I recommended these books was back for the next one in the series.
    Posted 17 months ago by ArtOfHands RoboGirl Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The Hunger Games. By Suzanne Collins. 'Nuff said.
    Posted 17 months ago by Cupcake Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Thee Robot Creator - Read that series last summer. Sad ending.
    Posted 17 months ago by Fokian Fool Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Fokian Fool  - yes, but the three-book journey to that ending was a LOT of fun.  Plus, investigating for this discussion, I just discovered that there is a 4th book in the trilogy!  I love it when that happens!  I'll be listening to the audio book in my studio by the end of next week!!!!
    Posted 17 months ago by ArtOfHands RoboGirl Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 Linnaea for Ender's Game series
    and +1 Jasbo for Neil Gaiman
    +1 to Ximenez for China Miéville and Ursula Le Guin (my fav Ursula is lathe of heaven)

    I recommend the black cloud
    classic sci fi
    to quote a review "In this slender tale (190 pages) from 1957 -- the year of Sputnik... renowned astronomer Fred Hoyle managed to foretell AI (artificial intelligence), OCR (optical character recognition), TTS (text-to-speech converters), digital burst communications and a whole host of other technologies which didn't become commonplace until 40 years later. "

    I also recommend Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban.  Not quite as old.  Almost the entire book is misspelled hehe.  Post nuke England.  Lots of plays on words and riddles.
    Posted 17 months ago by Artilect Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Is it possible I'm the first person to suggest Snow Crash?  Snow Crash which was the inspiration for Second Life and has been referenced in Glitch articles?

    glitchzen.com/page/3/?archi...
    Posted 17 months ago by ArtOfHands RoboGirl Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I loved the Hunger Games but was a little disappointed with the end of the third book.....kinda blah. It will be interesting to see how it fares on the big screen.

    Surprisingly, I've read a lot of what you all have posted but not all! Keep 'em coming. I'm thinking I will definitely come back to this list even after this weekend!
    Posted 17 months ago by curiousfae Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Terry Pratchett! The Wee Free Men to start!
    Posted 17 months ago by r0gu3 Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It's not a fiction book, but I'm reading a book about human consciousness called Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain. I'm a psych major and an aspiring doctor, and I'm really starting to believe that this book might possibly be one of the most entertaining reads I've had in a while. It's a bit academic but remarkably accessible with an entertaining narrative. I actually saw the author on The Colbert Report and picked it up a few days later.

    As for lighter reading, poetry works for me. Tennyson and Poe and Wordsworth especially, but I love Philip Larkin too. Aside from Harry Potter I haven't really gotten into any newer books at all. I'm gonna have to check out some of the titles on this list!
    Posted 17 months ago by LitaPie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Snow Crash was great, but I like Stephenson's recent work more. Anathem isn't a light read but well worth the time.
    Posted 17 months ago by Lelu Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Ditto Jasper Fforde.  If you want to go reallly light, but still exciting fun - Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series is really well written and funny - light fantasy/escape fare
    Posted 17 months ago by ArtOfHands RoboGirl Subscriber! | Permalink
  • in the non fiction arena - "Your Inner Fish" was really interesting - unless you're a creationist.

    If you like history "The Great Bridge" is one I never thought I would enjoy so much.
    Posted 17 months ago by ArtOfHands RoboGirl Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Oh man, if we are venturing into nonfiction, Look Me In The Eye (John Elder) is a ridiculously funny autobiography.
    Posted 17 months ago by Biohazard Subscriber! | Permalink
  • This is an older book, but a wonderful fantasy novel. 'Maia' by Richard Adams, don't even know if it still in print but i know it is possible to get it used. It has adventure, romance and
    sex all set in a mystical land and you won't be able to put it down! If I remember correctly it's about 1200 pages so it's not a quick read. I also would have to recommend 'The Hunger Games' by Suzanne Colloins. I am currently reading the second in the series and enjoying it and they are fast reads. One other of my favs is 'Ahabs Wife' by Senna Jeter Nasland.
    Posted 17 months ago by Saba Moon Subscriber! | Permalink
  • One of the dangers of working at a bookstore is that you will have to come to grips with "I'll never read all the books I want to read"  I have over 10,000 titles on my "to be read" excel spreadsheet.  All that said, I'm reading everyone's recommendations and I've found a thing or two to add!
    Posted 17 months ago by ArtOfHands RoboGirl Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Oh yes, to both Jasper Fforde, especially Thursday Next, and to Riddley Walker.
    Posted 17 months ago by Colette Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 Lelu for Snow Crash, Stephenson!
    Posted 17 months ago by Artilect Subscriber! | Permalink
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