Often, while reading the SDMB, I keep a window for amazon.com open, so that I can search for movies, music, and books that are referenced in threads here. Because of this fantastic place, I have been exposed to several fantastic books, movies, and bands that I might not have otherwise heard of, and my wish list at Amazon is HUGE.
I thought maybe we could share some of the works that we might not have been exposed to , if not for the SDMB.
And I’ll go first:
Books:
“A Confederacy of Dunces”, by John Kennedy Toole
How in the world I never came across this book on my own is beyond me. Quite possibly the most enjoyable read I’ve had in years.
“A Morbid Taste for Bones”, by Ellis Peters
I’m just about done with this one now. I’ve never had much interest in mysteries, but I’ll definitely continue on with this series. I can’t remember how I heard of this, but I know we have a BrotherCadfael (the protagonist) on these boards.
“Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs: Biological and Chemical Warfare in the Ancient World” by Adrienne Mayor
Haven’t read this one yet, but it’s sitting on my shelf waiting for me to finish “A Morbid Taste…”
“The Bad Beginning”, by Lemony Snicket (book 1 of the Series of Unfortunate Events)
If you like that Potter kid, check these out! (I heard about them through one of the MANY Potter threads.) Also has a strong “Alice in Wonderland” feel to it.
Well, I’ll add more if this thread takes off. In the meantime, maybe some of you can pop in and pass on some of the cool works you’ve found because of this board.
I started a thread a long time ago requesting suggestions for apocalyptic novels because I was (and still am) reading every one I could get my hands on. I think I read every book suggested that met my requirements. Two I remember that came from the SDMB are Robert Charles Wilson’s The Harvest and Gordon Dickson’s Wolf and Iron. I also received a recommendation for Allan Eckert’s The HAB Theory, which I found to be one of the worst, almost unreadable novels I have ever suffered through.
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn. I’m not sure who mentioned it or even what thread (about a year ago), but I’m thankful because it’s now one of my favorite books of all time.
I’ve read most of George Macdonald Fraser’s Flashman novels over the last few years, and picked up the first one largely due to recommendations from others here.
I read most of Arnold Bennett’s The Old Wives’ Tale because Ukulele Ike recommended it especially for me in the infamous Candy for Ukulele Ike book recommendation thread a couple of years ago. Don’t tell Ike, but I didn’t finish it – I liked it well enough, but got distracted by something else before I was done and never got back to it.
George R. R. Martin’s Ice Fire and Wind series. Never would have picked those up if it hadn’t been for the Dope, and now they’re one of my favorite sagas. Same for American Gods (replacing “saga” with “book”).
Lemony Snicket also, though I really didn’t care for it that much.
I read my first ever Pratchett novel, The Color of Magic, after seeing numerous raves in this very forum. Well worth it, and I will certainly read some more in the future.
