# Name a good book that you're pretty sure nobody else has read **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 22, 2008, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-good-book-that-youre-pretty-sure-nobody-else-has-read/460941 "2008-08-22T17:32:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-good-book-that-youre-pretty-sure-nobody-else-has-read/460941/141 "2008-08-29T01:12:31Z")
[QUOTE=Buran] ‘Storming Intrepid’ by Payne Harrison, technothriller about the Soviets stealing an American space shuttle. It also has a semi-sequel featuring some of the same characters, ‘Thunder of Erebus’, not quite as good but still worth a read. [/QUOTE] Aw, man, I forgot all about that one! Good pick…didn’t know about the sequel, though. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-good-book-that-youre-pretty-sure-nobody-else-has-read/460941/142 "2008-08-29T01:19:39Z")
[QUOTE=Buran] An interesting book I came across in a second hand store is, ‘Hitler Victorious: Eleven Stories of the German Victory in World War II’, a collection of short stories with the above premise. My favourite of the stories is, ‘Thor Meets Captain America’ by David Brin, sounds extraordinarily silly but its a great story. [/QUOTE] I haven’t read that collection, but I read that David Brin when it was first published in F&SF. I agree, it’s a great story. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-good-book-that-youre-pretty-sure-nobody-else-has-read/460941/143 "2008-08-29T01:26:02Z")
[QUOTE=Buran] Agreed, one of my favourite books. I recently finished ‘The Jagged Orbit’ by the same author and really enjoyed it, if not quite as much as ‘Stand on Zanzibar’. [/QUOTE] That’s one of his really good ones. If you haven’t already, try _The Sheep Look Up_ and _The Shockwave Rider_. Keep reminding yourself while reading the latter that it was published in 1975. ---
**Author:** ![Buran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Buran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buran)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-good-book-that-youre-pretty-sure-nobody-else-has-read/460941/144 "2008-08-29T01:57:21Z")
[QUOTE=Ranchoth] Aw, man, I forgot all about that one! Good pick…didn’t know about the sequel, though. [/QUOTE] Well its not really a sequel, it just has some of the same characters from what I remember. Its definitely still a good read. [QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] That’s one of his really good ones. If you haven’t already, try The Sheep Look Up and The Shockwave Rider. Keep reminding yourself while reading the latter that it was published in 1975. [/QUOTE] I’ll definitely have to check them out, as for your latter comment pretty much how I felt while reading the books already mentioned! ---
**Author:** ![Pixilated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aeb1de/32.png) [@Pixilated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixilated)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-good-book-that-youre-pretty-sure-nobody-else-has-read/460941/145 "2008-08-29T02:12:25Z")
[LUNA](http://www.amazon.ca/Luna-Garon-Whited/dp/142573975X/ref=sr_1_3/702-3178221-7328814?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219975803&sr=1-3) by [Garon Whited](http://www2.xlibris.com/bookstore/author.asp?authorid=16181&bookid=37345) (or Nightlord:Sunset) ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-good-book-that-youre-pretty-sure-nobody-else-has-read/460941/146 "2008-08-29T02:21:38Z")
[Beyond the Pale](http://www.dykewomon.org/page5/page5.html) by [Elana Dykewomon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elana_Dykewomon). Yes, she picked quite the separatist surname, but it is a great book. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-good-book-that-youre-pretty-sure-nobody-else-has-read/460941/147 "2008-08-29T03:15:40Z")
[QUOTE=Eleanor of Aquitaine] **Mirabile** , by Janet Kagan. [/QUOTE] I really liked this book (got it at a used book store years ago) and still look for others by her in the bookstore. Never found one. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-good-book-that-youre-pretty-sure-nobody-else-has-read/460941/148 "2008-08-29T03:50:14Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] Is this a typo? Or does one come back to life after four hours? [/QUOTE] The latter – which leads to a drug epidemic of brain-damaged temporary death addicts. It’s a very strange book. ---
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-good-book-that-youre-pretty-sure-nobody-else-has-read/460941/149 "2008-08-29T03:58:01Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] I don’t think I know anyone who’s read _Stand on Zanzibar_. Yet it is an awesome book. I know it’s not unknown to everyone… but it seems to be unknown to everyone I’ve ever had the occasion to ask. -FrL- [/QUOTE] Oh yeah. That’s an excellent book. Another one he wrote, _Sheep Look Up,_ was a similar extrapolation of what could happen if current trends (in this case, of gross overuse of pesticides and other toxic chemicals) goes on unchecked. Horrific, sad and ultimately believable. I’m much more a horror-head than a fan of sf or fantasy, and that one had me going but **bad**. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-good-book-that-youre-pretty-sure-nobody-else-has-read/460941/150 "2008-09-02T15:49:11Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > **The Armageddon Rag** by George R. R. Martin. > > Most definitely **not** a book like his later works. It’s a mystery, it’s a horror novel, it’s a wonderful trip, so perfectly realized that you’ll start googling “West Mesa”, just in case you somehow missed the concert. Read it. Loved it. How about **Fuel-Injected Dreams** by James Robert Baker? It’s a hilariously creepy little murder mystery valentine to Phil Spector, written _way_ before the most recent unpleasantness. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-good-book-that-youre-pretty-sure-nobody-else-has-read/460941/151 "2008-09-02T18:06:57Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Me too (Forsyte Saga). Would you recommend the Pallisers novels? I love family sagas. My previous reply was lost over the weekend: I didn’t enjoy the Pallisers as much as Trollope’s Barchester novels. They are very heavy in their Victorian sentiments and Trollope doesn’t show as much of his sense of humor. ---
**Author:** ![auRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@auRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auRa)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-good-book-that-youre-pretty-sure-nobody-else-has-read/460941/152 "2008-09-02T18:25:36Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > Also the “Finn Family Moomintroll” series by Tove Jansson. I was and still am absolutely mesmerized by these books. I actually found Moomintroll magnets at a shop in Honolulu. Jill M. from Junior High introduced me and she and I are the only people I know of that have even heard of the Moomins. Huge in Finland. HUGE. (Not surprising, seeing as Jansson was Finnish.) One of the fondest memories I have of childhood is listening to a set of 8 cassettes onto which my aunt had recorded herself reading Moominland Winter. The comics are also awesome; more edgy than the books. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-good-book-that-youre-pretty-sure-nobody-else-has-read/460941/153 "2008-09-02T18:30:39Z")
The powerful trilogy of Pearl/The Book of Reuben/One on One by Tabitha King. It’s too bad Tabby gets overshadowed by her husband Stephen. She is a fine writer in her own right. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-good-book-that-youre-pretty-sure-nobody-else-has-read/460941/154 "2008-09-02T18:39:28Z")
> [@sinjin](#): > > I really liked this book (got it at a used book store years ago) and still look for others by her in the bookstore. Never found one. ☹ Kagan only wrote one other novel, called _Hellspark_. ---
**Author:** ![Zeke\_N.Destroi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4af34b/32.png) [@Zeke\_N.Destroi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeke_N.Destroi)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-good-book-that-youre-pretty-sure-nobody-else-has-read/460941/155 "2008-09-02T19:08:12Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Zamiatin, Eugene **We** - Huxley’s **Brave New World** and Orwell’s **1984** quite obviously were heavily influenced by this book When I finaly found a copy of We I was thrilled. I’d heard of it many times in the context of it’s influence on 1984 and the dystopic genre in general. I can’t say I enjoyed it much - I can see where a math major would love it though. I offer up _Satan: His Psychotherapy and Cure by the Unfortunate Dr. Kassler, J.S.P.S._ by Jeremy C. Leven? In this Satan is a terminaly depressed computer seeking help. ---
**Author:** ![misshannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3e96dc/32.png) [@misshannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misshannah)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2008, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-good-book-that-youre-pretty-sure-nobody-else-has-read/460941/156 "2008-09-03T00:31:44Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > How about one from a best-selling author? _Anything for Billy_ by Larry McMurtry? Anyone else read it? I have **AuntiePam**! I went through a long McMurtry phase and I read everything he wrote. This thread is great, but I’m disappointed at how few of these I’ve even heard of – and I thought I was fairly literate! Of those mentioned, I’ve read Aztec and the Painted Bird…and I think that’s it! I would contribute: Momo by Michael Ende. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-good-book-that-youre-pretty-sure-nobody-else-has-read/460941/157 "2008-09-05T00:12:13Z")
I’ve read _A Nun’s Story_ and _M_A_S_H Goes to Maine\*. In junior high, though, which was a l-o-ng time ago. I do remember finding the M_A_S\*H book to be an absolute hoot, although I don’t remember exactly why. I’ve read _Anything for Billy_, too. although I preferred _Buffalo Girls_, which is my favorite McMurtry book. And I’ve read _Aztec_. _The Journeyer_, too. But the brilliant _Spangle_ is my favorite Gary Jennings novel. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-good-book-that-youre-pretty-sure-nobody-else-has-read/460941.md?page=7)