Good Reads

[SEO Nick]

I was originally going to make this a blog post, but thought I could spark up a better conversation in the "Laid Back Chat."

I have been reading more than ever the last year and a half. Most likely due to my Girlfriend always recommending/making me read books and also just out of plain ol' boredom.

What are some of your favorite books? Mine is a short list:

His Dark Materials Trilogy: The Golden Compass/Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.

This series has been the subject of much controversy due to it's religious views.
These books are amazing, folks. You can find them in the kids section, but they are definitely for adults as well. You can read up on them at Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Dark_Materials

Another obvious series is the Harry Potter books. I'm obsessed and dying for "The Deathly Hallows" to come out. My girlfriend and I managed to read them together, all within 6 months. That's pretty good for me!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter

And last but not least, the Short Story "The Hellbound Heart," which is the basis for the movie "Hellraiser." It's not the most well-written book ever, but it definitely conjures up some cool imagery and themes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hellbound_Heart

What about you guys? I will add more as I think of them.

[REW Christian]

Steve Berry has a great series of historical fiction books.

The Templar Legacy
The Amber Room
The Romanov Prophecy
The Third Secret
The Alexandria Link

These were all amazing books and I can't wait for his next one. In the meantime I'm back to re-reading my extensive collection of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series,

[rew Kathleen]

When I was a little kid I was the biggest snob and I thought that books were for geeks but for as long as I can remember my mother was always trying to get me to read more. She canceled cable when I was about, 9 and I started reading out of boredom, Im not sure when I realized that reading was actually fun but ive been an avid reader ever since.

One of my all time favorites is "The sisterhood of the traveling pants", its a coming of age story (I love those) about 4 young friends. There are 4 installments, each book offers a look at the 4 lives growing older while focusing the spotlight slightly more on one girl per book.

Some other books that have stuck with me that I highly recommend are;

• Women with Big Eyes by Angeles Mastretta,
  
• Miss Wyoming by Douglas Coupland,
  
• The Godfather by Mario Puzo,
  
• Leo Tolstoys' Anna Karenina,
  
• Thumbsucker by Walter Kirn
• Anthropology by Dan Rhodes,
  
• How I paid for college' A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship and Musical Theater by marc acito,
  
• How to Make Love Like a Porn Star by Jenna Jameson. (it was actually really good)
  
• I love reading anything by Edwidge Danticat. (her stories are amazing!)

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. (its a GREAT one, halfway through right now...)

I also hear that Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson is a really great read. Its on my long list of books to get to as soon as I find the time

[lprest]

Just what I need- more books I want to read. I agree with the OP- can't wait for the new Harry Potter book. Thanks for the tip on the others. I will check them out.

[SEO Nick]

I should add some Brett Easton Ellis books...

Rules of Attraction, American Psycho and Glamorama.

EDIT: and if you like Harry Potter... there is a good chance you will like "His Dark Materials." Same vein but a little more grown up.

[REW Christian]

Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas is one of the best books ever written. Period.

[rew Kathleen]

HAHA Rules of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis ...I wanted to read that book SOOO bad a few years ago.

I ordered it into the Gabriola Island Library on an "interlibrary" loan and waited, and waited...and waited some more.

FINALLY it came! I got the call!
...I rushed up the the library and what i found was indeed the "Rules of Attraction" by Christina Dodd ...a part of "the popular Governess Brides series set in Victorian England".

I was heartbroken, so I gave up and haven't thought about it since. I'm glad you mentioned it. You wouldn't happen to have a copy would you Nick?

[REW Reed]

I'm an old-school fantasy and sci-fi guy.

LOTR Trilogy - dry when compared to some of todays fantasy, but the first series that truly made me feel like I was experiencing a living, breathing world outside my own.

Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind - I read it before the Robert Jordan series so had a great impact, but quite good for an EPIC series (each book is about 500+ pages and there are now 10 in the series).

Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan - My only fear is that Jordan will die before he wraps the series up! There should only be one more to go (there are already 11 out) and each are epics into and of themselves. So many characters your head will spin and such crazy twists and turns that you just have to read the next one.

Neil Stephenson - Diamond Age, Snow Crash, and Cryptonomicon are 3 of my favourites. He kind of a new-age cyber-punk writer who loves to throw history into the mix. Great, well-realized technology, unorthodox non-dystopian near-futures makes his books very readable and thought provoking.

George R. R. Martin's 'A Song of Ice and Fire' Series - I've only read half of one so far but he takes the scope and number of interacting characters of Jordan and condenses it into shorter, faster read epics. And don't get too attached to your favourite character because he has a habit of regularly and brutally killing off the protagonists in his trilogy and ancillary books.

Douglas Adams' Trilogy in Five Parts - I can't believe no one mentioned the seminal sci-fi humour series! Words cannot describe the characters, situations, and writing in this series! 42!

[SEO Nick]

George R. R. Martin's 'A Song of Ice and Fire' Series - I've only read half of one so far but he takes the scope and number of interacting characters of Jordan and condenses it into shorter, faster read epics. And don't get too attached to your favourite character because he has a habit of regularly and brutally killing off the protagonists in his trilogy and ancillary books.

Yes! I'm 3/4s of the way through "A Game Of Thrones."

It's an awesome book so far, I just have to be in a certain mood to want to read it.

[REW Christian]

The trilogy of five doesn't need to mentioned because everyone should know that it rules..

While we are at it with Douglas Adams lets throw in The Long Dark Teatime of The Soul and Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. Salmon Of Doubt too!