# OK, I need book suggestions. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 19, 2008, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-need-book-suggestions/468620 "2008-10-19T06:19:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-need-book-suggestions/468620/1 "2008-10-19T06:19:51Z")
I have a $50.00 gift certificate to [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com). I need some new authors. My taste is boring, but please don’t beat me up about it. 😃 I like Stephen King, Patricia Cornwall, Terry Brooks Michael Crichton, John Grisham, Larry McMurtry, Anne McCaffery and Kate Wilhelm. I loved Tad Williams until I trudged through _Otherland_. I like fantasy. Anything with a science theme HAS to be acurate. (I **HATE** _HOUSE_!) I’d like to try the books that _Bones_ is based on, but I can’t remember her name. Thank you in advance for suggestions and for not beating me senseless for my mundane taste. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-need-book-suggestions/468620/2 "2008-10-19T06:26:00Z")
Have you tried Frederick Forsyth? Some of his stuff is a bit dated now, but if you like a good thriller then you should like most of his work. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-need-book-suggestions/468620/3 "2008-10-19T06:27:06Z")
Are you mostly into fiction? Do you like those “essay type” authors like David Sedaris? If you do, you might check out Laurie Notaro because she is hilarious. You might check out websites like [Goodreads](http://www.goodreads.com/). Even if you don’t make an account to track your reading, you can poke around and see what people are reading that share your interest in authors. If I may ask you something…is Patricia Cornwall the writer that’s mostly crime-type fiction? Do you have a suggestion of one of her books to start with if you are unfamiliar with her? Also, I just read “[Oxygen](http://www.amazon.com/Oxygen-Novel-Carol-Cassella/dp/1416556109/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224397569&sr=1-1)” by Carol Cassella. She used to be an anesthesiologist and now she writes medical drama. Not a bad book at all. Sorry for the rambling, I’m wee tipsy. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-need-book-suggestions/468620/4 "2008-10-19T06:53:20Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Have you tried Frederick Forsyth? > > Some of his stuff is a bit dated now, but if you like a good thriller then you should like most of his work. I read him several years ago. Probably not everything. Thanks. **Sleeps With Butterflies** , although the stories are mostly self-contained, there is a cronological back story, so reading them in order helps. _A Time for Remembering_ is her first. She has two series. The longer one (best IMO) is centered on Kay Scarpetta, a medical examiner. The other is about chief of police, Judy Hammer. Thanks for the suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-need-book-suggestions/468620/5 "2008-10-19T07:03:43Z")
I’m not super familiar with most of the writers you’ve listed, but I’d recommend; Stephen Saylor’s _Roma_ if you like history or historical novels. Glen Duncan’s _I, Lucifier_ is funny as hell. Anything by Christopher Moore too. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-need-book-suggestions/468620/6 "2008-10-19T11:43:43Z")
Well, Lois McMaster Bujold. Wide Green World novels - fantasy, not entirely alternate earth, vaguely post apocalyptic but nothing bladerunnerish. 3 books, soon to be 4. The Sharing Knife 1-Beguilement, 2 Legacy and 3 Passage. 7 great lakes, with 7 major cities inhabited by mages fell, now 1000 years later 2 ‘factions’ of humanity try to coexist in the region. No cities, and the 7 lakes have turned into 1 large lake. Because of the mismanaging of power by the mages, now ‘demons’ will randomly and periodically hatch out and the group of men called Lakewalkers patrol the area and kill off the demons before they get too powerful. The farmers in general disbelieve in these demons and consider them folklore. Books are about a farmer and a lakewalker who end up married and trying to bridge the 2 cultures. The 5 gods universe - fantasy more medievaly. Not alternate earth. Curse of Chalion, Paladin of Souls and Hallowed Hunt Basic premise is that there are 5 gods, one for each season and the bastard, who is fortune/random chance [be careful what you pray for] essentially everything ‘out of season’. They exist and will answer prayers and do other godly acts. ‘Saints’ are people possessed by one or another of the gods. First 2 books follow one noble family and the ruling family as they try to understand and eliminate a curse effecting them. Third book is set with a differnt set of families in a different kingdom, but it is set in the same universe. Id have to reread it but I think it is also set some 40 or 50 years later than the first 2 books. ---
**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:** [October 19, 2008, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-need-book-suggestions/468620/7 "2008-10-19T11:49:14Z")
Homer Hickam’s [Back to the Moon](http://www.amazon.com/Back-Moon-Novel-Homer-Hickam/dp/0385334222), if you like a technothriller romp. The science ain’t too shabby. Do **not** get Zubrin’s _First Landing_. It’s not crap…it’s like the crap _of_ crap. The author has a good cause, but he’s a marginally better storyteller than Ed Wood. Lordy. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-need-book-suggestions/468620/8 "2008-10-19T11:58:42Z")
If you like well written fantasy of the sword and sorcery kind, I think David Gemmell’s books are well worth considering. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-need-book-suggestions/468620/9 "2008-10-19T13:29:55Z")
You’ve got a pretty wide variety of tastes there so I suspect that anything interesting will hook you. Have you tried Terry Pratchett? He’s a general favorite on this board for his humor writing and his best known work is the Discworld series. Not only does order not matter but he got much, much better after the first five so I’d recommend starting with _Guards! Guards!_, _Reaper Man_, or _Small Gods_. If you like his books that’ll keep you busy for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-need-book-suggestions/468620/10 "2008-10-19T15:03:51Z")
> [@Just\_Some\_Guy](#): > > You’ve got a pretty wide variety of tastes there so I suspect that anything interesting will hook you. Have you tried Terry Pratchett? He’s a general favorite on this board for his humor writing and his best known work is the Discworld series. Not only does order not matter but he got much, much better after the first five so I’d recommend starting with _Guards! Guards!_, _Reaper Man_, or _Small Gods_. If you like his books that’ll keep you busy for a long time. I have read Pratchett, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-need-book-suggestions/468620/11 "2008-10-19T15:11:13Z")
[Diana Gabaldon’s _Outlander_ series.](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=diana+gabaldon&x=21&y=23) I’m currently rereading book 6 (_A Breath of Snow and Ashes_) and it never fails to delight. Time travel, feisty heroine, warrior-poet Scot, pirates, the battle of Culloden, Paris society circa 1740s, duels, witches, pulling loa loa worms out of a slave’s eyeball…what’s not to love? ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-need-book-suggestions/468620/12 "2008-10-19T15:12:29Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > I’d like to try the books that _Bones_ is based on, but I can’t remember her name. Kathy Reichs ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-need-book-suggestions/468620/13 "2008-10-19T16:27:03Z")
Except for Brooks, I’ve read the authors you like. I think you’d be okay with Michael Connelly, John Connolly, Nelson DeMille, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (the books they write together), Laura Lippman, and Robert Crais for mystery/detective/thrillers. Tad Williams’ stuff reminds me of Robin Hobb – try the Farseer Trilogy, first book is Assassin’s Apprentice. Or The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I’m not sure if it’s out in paperback though. If you feel up to someone new and not so mundane (your word!), try Black Swan Green or Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-need-book-suggestions/468620/14 "2008-10-20T01:57:34Z")
Try reading the books by author Boris Starling. They’re muder/mystery/serial killer books, and they have a lot of science in them (CSI stuff) His first book “Messiah” is AWESOME, and his newest book is a great historical fiction book. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-need-book-suggestions/468620/15 "2008-10-20T14:34:56Z")
I have read several of the, so far, suggested works. I tend to forget the names of once-read authors, so I appreciate the reminders. Thank you **Hello Again** for Kathy Reichs. And **SirTCups** , I’ll try Boris Starling, he sounds like my style. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-need-book-suggestions/468620/16 "2008-10-20T14:42:32Z")
How about the Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I just read it last week and judging by you rlist I think you would like it. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-need-book-suggestions/468620/17 "2008-10-20T19:39:33Z")
> [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](#): > > How about the Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. > > I just read it last week and judging by you rlist I think you would like it. Really? None of the authors I listed write Science Fiction. I read a lot of it when I was younger, but no longer care for it. Fantasy is slower to fall away, I guess. Thanks for the suggestion, anyway. I ordered 5 books from various suggested authors this morning. I’ll let you all know how they fared ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-need-book-suggestions/468620/18 "2008-10-20T19:51:38Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > Really? None of the authors I listed write Science Fiction. I read a lot of it when I was younger, but no longer care for it. Fantasy is slower to fall away, I guess. Thanks for the suggestion, anyway. > > I ordered 5 books from various suggested authors this morning. I’ll let you all know how they fared I wouldn’t really call it sci-fi, even though the main theme is time travel. It’s more character based than anything. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-need-book-suggestions/468620/19 "2008-10-21T03:36:28Z")
picunurse: If you would happen to read a Starling book I would LOVE to know you liked it, and in the off chance you could think of it…Feel free to personally message me and tell me how you liked it (since I doubt I will remember to check this thread) ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-need-book-suggestions/468620/20 "2008-10-21T04:47:53Z")
> [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](#): > > I wouldn’t really call it sci-fi, even though the main theme is time travel. It’s more character based than anything. Ok, I’ll look for it, thanks. I’ll do my best.🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-need-book-suggestions/468620.md?page=2)