# Find me a good book **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 16, 2007, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-me-a-good-book/411968 "2007-07-16T13:38:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-me-a-good-book/411968/1 "2007-07-16T13:38:38Z")
I’m on nights this week, and usually order a book from Amazon so that I have something to read in the on-call room, and on my days off. I can’t think of anything I want to read while I wait for HP7. Help me find a good one. Preferably a new(ish) book. Most recent reading which I have enjoyed over the last couple of months: Bit of a Blur- Alex James The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid - Bill Bryson Neverwhere/Anansi Boys/American Gods - Neil Gaiman The Book Thief-Markus Zuzak The Book of Lost Things- John Connolly The Canterbury tales- Geoffrey Chaucer Rashomon and 17 other stories - Ryunosuke Akutagawa My Name Is Red- Orhan Pamuk I dislike romance and chick-Lit, anything involving spies or ex SAS officers and historical fiction (My Name is Red is just too well written to count as hisotrical fiction), otherwise I am quite catholic in my tastes. Apart from Pratchett, I tend to avoid bestsellers. Work away. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-me-a-good-book/411968/2 "2007-07-16T13:56:09Z")
[The Quincunx](http://www.amazon.com/Quincunx-Charles-Palliser/dp/0140177620/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-7551893-1248007?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184593933&sr=1-1) by Charles Palliser [Shantaram](http://www.amazon.com/Shantaram-Novel-Gregory-David-Roberts/dp/0312330537/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-7551893-1248007?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184593973&sr=1-2) by Gregory David Roberts [Firelord](http://www.amazon.com/Firelord-Parke-Godwin/dp/0380775514/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-7551893-1248007?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184594072&sr=1-1) by Parke Godwin. Like My Name is Red, it’s too well-written to be considered historical fiction. There you are. Three magnificent books that few have ever heard of. Go, and ask your silly questions no more. ---
**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-me-a-good-book/411968/3 "2007-07-16T14:55:41Z")
_The Chronicle of Battle Abbey_ - by a bunch of monks who were trying to avoid paying taxes. A gripping primary historical source created by the monks of Battle Abbey who hoped to lean on their supposed connection to William the Conqueror to avoid ever having to cough up loot to a lord or king. Read it in university. Thought it was a blast. I see that it’s a pricey tome at [abebooks.com](http://abebooks.com). _The Weekend Man_ or _Clara Callan_ - by Richard B. Wright ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-me-a-good-book/411968/4 "2007-07-16T15:28:09Z")
If you enjoyed those Gaiman books, try _Good Omens_, which he co-authored with Terry Pratchett. Marvelous stuff. Don’t let its bestseller status dissuade you from reading _The Whistling Season_ by Ivan Doig. Independent bookstores all over the U.S. voted it one of the top picks for last year. Ditto Greg Mortenson’s _Three Cups of Tea_. The writing is okay, but the (true) story it tells is worth reading. And on a completely different note, I recently reread _The Odyssey_ by Homer. I’d forgotten how good it is, and it reminded me ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-me-a-good-book/411968/5 "2007-07-16T15:43:09Z")
_“Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”_ - Richard Feynman. Even if you have no idea who he was (about as famous as physicists get without being named ‘Einstein’) his anecdotes are hilarious and fascinating. _A History of Pi_ - Petr Beckmann. A book about the history of our understanding of pi that’s really a history of intellectual freedom, mainly (but not exclusively) in the Western world. If you like nonfiction historical narrative and cranky, opinionated narrators, this is a book for you. _Down and Out in Paris and London_ - George Orwell A wonderful look at Depression-era Paris and London through the eyes of someone at the lowest rung of society. _Uncle Tungsten_ - Oliver Sacks Sacks can make stories interesting even when he doesn’t have case histories to flip through. This is autobiographical, but his life story is a framing device for fascinating excursions into chemistry and history. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-me-a-good-book/411968/6 "2007-07-16T18:38:31Z")
I’ve read both Good Omens and D&O I P&L and enjoyed them. Will look into the others. Thanks, good job so far. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-me-a-good-book/411968/7 "2007-07-16T18:58:09Z")
Also meant for younger readers, but my daughter and I both loved the Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. Harry Potterish, but the wizards are not the good guys. I also read _To Say Nothing of the Dog_ by Connie Willis on the recent recommendation of some Dopers and I really enjoyed that, too. It’s older but _An Instance of the Fingerpost_ by Iain Pears is a fascinating Rashomon like story of a murder, told by several different people. Part of the stories involve real people from history. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/find-me-a-good-book/411968/8 "2007-07-16T19:11:53Z")
[QUOTE=cher3] Also meant for younger readers, but my daughter and I both loved the Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. Harry Potterish, but the wizards are not the good guys. [/QUOTE] I’m midway through the second book right now and enjoying myself very much. I took the recommendation from the board, so if you’ve brought it up in the last month or two, thanks!