Book Reccommendations

I can't game for a bit so i want something else that I can do for my 'me time.' I'm in to most genres (except romance) but have been meaning to read more science fiction.

Any recommendations would be welcome =)

Screw books, go with Manga.

I recently bought Ready Player One which has got a lot of buzz about it - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ready-Player-One-Ernest-Cline/dp/0099560437/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339855466&sr=8-1 has a lot of video game parallels and tropes.

@SexyToad said:

Screw books, go with Manga.

Manga are books.

The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer for an interesting perspective on WW2. 

Half of the responses your going to get you can find by googling "classic literature"- Ex. Count of Monte Cristo, Catcher in the Rye, 1984. The other half will be the Songs of Fire and Ice series (Game of Thrones) and Hitchhiker guide to the galaxy.

@bio595:

I recommend everything by Mo Hayder if you're into thrillers.

Young Stalin is a good one if you have any interest in history.

Otherwise In Cold Blood is the last fiction book I read that I would recommend, Capote paints them pretty word pictures.

My year in reading so far:

• Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger - tremendous American football book, as well as social commentary on a point in time. Incredibly good read.
• Dune by Frank Herbert - far more compelling than I had imagined. Initially bewildering, but very intelligently put together, and completely rewarding in its narrative.
• Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro - if you've read Ishiguro's most famous and acclaimed work, Never Let Me Go, this earlier work by Ishiguro will be both familiar and strange. It's incredibly subtle and seemingly devoid of focus or real intent, but it's also a beautiful story, told in Ishiguro's characteristically soulful, deliberate, honest, and utterly human style. A deep cut, but a good read.
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - I'm late to the party, but this is a great book. It's short and very engaging, which means I got through it in five days, which for me is rocket pace. A seminal book, and parodied and referenced enough to be culturally significant, and it's very witty, very clever, and very silly.
• In progress -America's Game by Michael MacCambridge - an in-depth history of the rise of pro football as America's cultural phenomenon. A gripping read and fascinating insight into the development of the game from its humble origins. Packed with detail but never dry, and very conscious of the greater social context of the time, it's been a joy to read.

Also, allow me to be yet another person to say that Song of Ice and Fire is essential reading if you're in any way interested in fantasy literature. I came to the series quite, but just before it became a TV phenomenon (I think I read A Game of Thrones in January-February 2010), and it's become my favourite book series of all-time, And don't worry if you've seen the series; my sister watched the series then picked up the book and she's still really enjoying the book, as she appreciates the more in-depth look at characters she's already familiar with through the series.

Hopefully avoiding too many 'classics' I guess I should attempt to pick a bunch of books you may not have heard of (and as a result may hate, but that's half the fun, right?). Obviously some of these might just happen to be books that are indeed well known, but just not to the people around me! I'm afraid I don't know a lot of unknown Sci-fi. I tend to gravitate towards classics in that area, so I guess try Dune if you haven't, it's brilliant!

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski.

Immediately I choose a book that is difficult to describe. House of Leaves is closest to a horror novel, with a haunted house as the central narrative, but I wouldn't say it was particularly scary. Regardless, what makes the book incredibly unique and fascinating is that the author uses the physical object of the book to play around with your interpretation of the story. Margins, typefaces, and writing styles clash and warp depending on the events taking place, the book covers and pages themselves even featuring links to the narrative. The easiest example would be a scene in which a character is being chased and the author spreads words out across individual pages, some with single letters on them, as if to give the impression of speed or movement. It's a fairly dense and uninviting book on the surface, but not a challenging read at all, and one of the most fun books I have ever picked up.

John Dies at the End by David Wong.

Ok so this one might be a bit more well known, it was an internet sensation turned into best-selling novel a few years back, with a movie having been made and a sequel on the way. That being said, I think it's still worth a mention for being one of the most unique stories out there. It's a crude, intensely clever mind-bend of a horror/thriller/comedy....something! It's a tough book to describe, and I again shudder to attach 'horror' to it, as I am pretty much the wimpiest person alive and hate to give the impression of some terrifying book of which this is not.

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami.

Again, I am under the impression this one might be more well known, but still worth a mention. 1Q84 tells the alternating story of Tengo and Aomame, written chapter by chapter in their own voices. It's a brilliant mystery, wrapped in a love story, wrapped in a fantastical plot of parallel universes and dark motives. The sheer breadth of the narrative is stunning, and it's definitely one of the more easy reads this side of a thousand pages (if not less challenging in theme).

The Mastership Game by Scott McBain.

Behind every world power sits the 'Master.' A man, and his institute, entrusted with managing the peace of the world stage. But as the Master grows old, it becomes necessary to secure a successor, another human to bear the weight of all problems, and so the Mastership Game begins. Five are chosen, with the simple task of producing 20 Million dollars, and whomever reaches that target first is declared the winner. However, putting five of the most intelligent, ambitious people into competition with one another makes that task not as simple as it first seems, and so is born one of the best intellectual thrillers I've ever read.

The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas.

Describing books is a lot harder than I envisaged. Hm. The End of Mr. Y is a thriller at heart. Readers follow Ariel Manto as she discovers the once thought non-existent titular book, written by an enigmatic and fascinating Thomas Lumas. It is soon made clear why the book was intended to be lost, as Ariel is plunged into a dangerous and unknown world that in itself raises a series deeply existential questions. It's a fast paced narrative, with a great amount of humour, intrigue, and genuinely thought-provoking theories. A fascinating, if pulpy, read.

I've gotten carried away here, but just quickly, on the comic front: Bone (Jeff Smith), Akira (Katsuhiro Otomo), From Hell (Eddie Campbell / Alan Moore), Pluto (Naoki Urasawa), Hellboy / B.P.R.D. (Mike Mignola / Various).

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (R.I.P). Not too long (179 pages) and is highly entertaining.

@InternetCrab said:

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (R.I.P). Not too long (179 pages) and is highly entertaining.

this. and the Ender/Bean Sagas.

for the Ender/Bean, i started off with enders game, and then went to the Bean saga (or is it a trilogy, i cant remember), and recently finished the Enders saga. they are pretty good, but at some points, i felts that the author discussed a little too much about religion, and got some parts of what he wrote wrong for some of the religions.

@ManU_Fan10ne said:

@InternetCrab said:

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (R.I.P). Not too long (179 pages) and is highly entertaining.

this. and the Ender/Bean Sagas.

for the Ender/Bean, i started off with enders game, and then went to the Bean saga (or is it a trilogy, i cant remember), and recently finished the Enders saga. they are pretty good, but at some points, i felts that the author discussed a little too much about religion, and got some parts of what he wrote wrong for some of the religions.

this. Ender's Game specifically is a great and really easy read. Great summer sci-fi book.

• The Black Company series by Glen Cook: puts a realistic point of view on a fantasy world, main characters are believable and get along like real people
• Garret P.I. series by Glen Cook: It's detective mystery noir mixed with fantasy, what more could you want?
• Gaunt's Ghosts by Dan Abnett: a more human look into the world of Warhammer 40k, and great action
• Ciaphas Cain by Sandy Mitchell: a more sarcastic and cynical look at the world of Warhammer 40k, pretty damn fun read

A Song of Ice and Fire is some of the most fun i've had reading a book in years. Truly an enjoyable read. That being said if you want to read something with a little more mass appeal Catch 22 is simply put one of the best books ever written.

I like pimping Player of Games by Iain M Banks whenever the opportunity arises. It's the second book in the Culture series, but you can start with it since they aren't connected book to book any way other than the universe, and the first one, Consider Phlebas, was interesting, but not great.

Blindsight by Peter Watts was really good.

Neal Stephenson does good stuff, just look at his books and pick whichever jumps out at you they're all good.

Hyperion by Dan Simmons is a book I love.

Really wish I read more, I've so many books laying around that I haven't read so don't know whether I should recommend them.

I second House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski

I think most 15-25 years old introvert guys like us can relate to Demian by Herman Hesse to a degree -- or to The Picture of Dorian Grey, similarly. Even if you are older, they both are excellent reads.

On a lighter note, I'm a big fan of Fight Club as you might have guessed from my avatar. If you haven't seen the movie, please read the novel first (the narrator is JOE not JACK, sheesh).

Ubik

Dracula, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Gods and Fighting Men.

The great thing about these is that if you have an e-reader or a phone, they're free! You'd probably find the latter too strange a tongue to read though.

I'll recommend some non-fiction, two of most satisfying book I've read in recent years. The breadth of these books are quite impressive, yet the writing captivating and flowing.

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman.

The Information by James Gleick.

Read a 'A map of Time' by J.P. Palma. Phenomenal piece of literature.

Bookmarking this page. I've been trying to get back into reading recently, and I'm liking what I'm reading in this thread.

I cannot recommend Yukio Mishima books enough. Some (e.g., Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea) can be a bit odd, but he tended to write in a very beautiful manner. Hell, if nothing else his own life is interesting enough to read about.

One of the more interesting writers I've come across in the last years or so has been Elie Wiesel. His "Night" trilogy is absolutely breathtaking, but if you're not into WW2 stories then you might not enjoy it very much. Still, it's good for anybody to read about some of the things that occurred to the survivors (and victims).

Now, I typically don't like video game novels, but ICO: Castles in the Mist by Miyuki Miyabe has been startlingly good thus far. I haven't finished it, but was pleasantly surprised by the grace at which Miyabe writes.

Unrelated to the OP's question, but.

Can anyone recommend me a good book.. and I really do mean GOOD (if it's even slightly boring, i'll lose interest and stop reading it) where the main protagonist is the bad guy? Like a serial killer or a villain of some type?