The Reading Recommendations Thread

[psyclops]

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The History of Sexuality vol I by Michel Foucault.

Best book I have ever read. Ever.

[lealea]

Title: The Season of the Witch
Author: Natasha Mostert
Genre: ....philosophy, alchemy, murder mystery
Medium (fiction, non-fiction, novel, novella, poetry, biography etc): fiction
Why You Should Read It: this book actually completely surprised me, after it had been sitting on my shelf for 3 years i finally decided to read it and i was like "whoa!" after i read it...this book will seriously keep you up all night until you finish it....guessing until the end and when it does reach the end you want more....it is a very good book

Title: The Name of the Wind
Author: Patrick Rothfus
Genre: ....murder, magic, love, travel, knowledge
Medium (fiction, non-fiction, novel, novella, poetry, biography etc): fiction
Why You Should Read It: This is his first text and i was immediately captured by it....it was a bit slow to start with but it was immensely impressive at the end....its a great read

[Ammonsa]

Title: The smoke jumper
Author: Nicholas Evans
Genre: Romance/?
Medium: fiction novel
Why You Should Read It: Because it is a great book. An epic tale of romance, it has everything!

[taggs-sasuke]

Visit:

Complete list of Chick cartoon gospel tracts

Young Foundations

[Guage]

I have about $50 and I'm defs getting Tim Winton's 'Breath' tomorrow for $25.

With the other $25, I'm tossing up between 'American Gods' by Neil Gaiman and 'Magician' by Raymond E Feist.

Which do you guys recommend? I don't mind about genre etc.

Any books you would recommend over these two?

[Jaylee42003]

'P.S. I Love You' by Cecilia Ahern

Don't watch the movie until you've read the book. And if you've seen the movie already, don't be deterred - the book is fantastic. You'll enjoy it.

[chowm]

Seven Ancient wonders by Matthew Reilly, it comes in a trilogy, so be sure to get the other two six sacred stones and the five greatest warriors, any of his books are magnificent to read and are action packed.

[1Eilatan]

Despite a mass list, I have to recommend these:

Title: Study Trilogy, Glass Trilogy (Glass is still awaiting one book that'll be released in Sep, but also may be hard to come by in aus since they weren't picked up here, but you can get them off amazon cheaper than ordering them at a&r) These books in order: Poison Study, Magic Study, Fire Study, followed by, Storm Glass, Sea Glass, Spy Glass (TBR: Sep 2010)
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Genre: Magic, Love, mysteryish.
Medium (fiction, non-fiction, novel, novella, poetry, biography etc): Fiction
Why You Should Read It: I picked the first book up from my cousin's house, it's the only book he's owned and he's never read it. But I read it and didn't sleep the whole night because I had to complete it. You'll be hooked from the beginning. It's got love and mystery and an amazingly adorable and loyal assassin. Trust me, absolutely hooked from the first chapter. (So hooked that I actually wait every month for the mini story that follows the Study series, since the Glass trilogy has a different main character that was in the Study series briefly).

Title: The Farseer Trilogy, ultimately followed up by The Tawny Man trilogy. Book's in order: Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin, Assassin's Quest, (followed by yet set in later time) Fool's Errand, Golden Fool, Fool's Fate
Author: Robbin Hobb (Aka Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden)
Genre: Magic, Fantasy, Thought
Medium (fiction, non-fiction, novel, novella, poetry, biography etc): Adult Fiction
Why You Should Read It: I can say I've read a lot of books and this is the only one that has ever actually made me cry. The ending is both happy and sad. But I warn, only read this is you're able to stay in it for the long haul. It's not for the weak of heart. I actually had to stop from reading it, skipped to find out what happened, and could only go back after months (starting from the beginning again). But I promise that it is an amazingly intellectual book and may be slow to start but it'll have you hooked as soon as it gets into the story. Also, there isn't a lot of dialogue, but the story makes up completely for it. Placed in first person, it is believed that the main character isn't the one telling the story. I must say, Hobb is one of the best writers I've read, definitely better than Myer and Rowling put together. But to each his own, as they say.

This one's only because I feel sorry for people who like vampire novels and don't know anything better than Twilight. Firstly, I recommend Ann Rice's book, but after "The Queen of the Damned" she went insane and it shows in her story, so therefore there's only three books for you to read. Those are the original vampire tales that you probably would hate if you liked Twilight. But anyway, for the rest of you who love that mix of Romance and REAL Vampires (God damn those twinkling fairy boys <3):

Title: Vampire Academy Series. (I warn, the series is unfinished) Books in this series: Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound (TBR: May 2010), (There will then be a sixth TBA late 2010)
Author: Richelle Mead.
Genre: Vampire, Romance, Horror
Medium (fiction, non-fiction, novel, novella, poetry, biography etc): I found it in young adult, but I think it should be classified Adult Fiction
Why You Should Read It: Okay, so you like vampires, but then Twilight finished with this like "WTF IS THIS SHIT *Throws book at wall*" kind of ending. But also, like I said this series is incomplete so if you want to know the end already, don't bother reading until the sixth book is out (Though, if you start now, you probably have just finished the first five by this time). This goes a little bit more in accordance to the Vampire tales of old. Vampire's burn in the sun and only come out at night, but it introduces the crazy vampire side with a mix of magic and unholy beings to some monsters that would even scare Buffy. The Vampire's in this story are protected by their "body guard like" counterparts. And it also answers the always asked question "What would it be like if there was a school for vampires!?" This series (so far) doesn't have quiet a happy end, but I believe that there will be one. It's full of romance, friendship, growth, love and is in all a tale of coming to age and finding where you belong. I love it and think it 100x better than Twilight (which I have also read) but am just waiting to see what happens because at some points you also want to throw it at a wall, but I'm more than sure the writer will make up for it. She knows how to write this one, puts the cliffhangers in the right spot, that's for sure!

Wow. This got super long, sorry, but I had to recommend those. <3

[lonely-lass]

If you haven't yet; start reading Paulo Coelho novels.

[russianROULETTE]

mists of avalon by marion zimmer bradley

it's a fantasy that follows arthurian legend but mixes it with the struggle between paganism and the rise of christianity. some feminist undertones, but mostly it's just a brilliantly plotted and well-written read, truly epic.

i read all my books in one sitting, but this one you can't - it's just far too long, plus i wanted to savour it. there's a whole series of avalon books but this one is the best. it really makes you think as well as being entertaining.