I’ve had a bit of extra time on my hands lately and, as there are 3 libraries within 5 miles of here, I’ve taken to reading quite a bit. Problem is, I’m starting to run thin on ideas for books to read. I was thinking maybe you guys could look over a list of some of the books I’ve been reading lately and use that as a kind of gauge to see what other kind of books I might like. So here goes: Private Parts and Miss America by Howard Stern
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, The Long, Dark Tea-Time of the Soul and The Salmon of Doubt by Douglas Adams
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Jennifer Government and Syrup by Max Barry
The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
As you can see, it’s a fairly diverse list. I’m especially liking Max Barry right now, but that doesn’t do me any good since I’ve just finished his second book, and he’s only got two in print. I’m also a huge Douglas Adams fan but, alas, I’ve now read just about everything the man ever published.
read A Game of Thrones by George R R Martin. Its the most amazing, mature, brutal, realistic, mysterious, and stylized fantasy book I’ve ever read, filled with troubled characters. The fourth book (it’s a series) will be released sometime either late this year or early next. I picked it up on a whim from a recommendation from a salesman at a bookstore, and i was absolutely blindsided by its sheer quality and quantity.
You might like American Gods by Neil Gaiman or Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. If you don’t mind puns, you could try some of the Discworld Books by Terry Pratchett. Maybe Fast Food Nation, don’t remember who that’s by. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card is a book I recommend to everyone, everywhere. The Time Machine by H. G. Wells might spark your interest, as well as the one he wrote about the martians (I can’t recall the name right now). You may like Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson if you haven’t read that, or Kidnapped, a rousing tale (references to “laboring beside negros” notwitstanding). I’m not sure how well you’d like it, but I’ll tentatively put The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin. It’s fiction with a lot of talking, and I’m not sure how well you’d take to it. That’s all I can think of now (and it was rather stream-of consciousness, as I’m sure you can tell).
Well, since you’ve mentioned several science fiction titles, and Adams (and Heller) show that you like books with a sense of humor, I’ll recommend To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis. A time-travel romance/mystery/comedy by IMO one of the best science fiction writers out there. Probably the funniest SF I’ve read since Adams’ earlier works (although a very different sense of humor.
And when you’re done with that, you can read the wonderful little book that provided the inspiration for Willis: Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome.
If you can tolerate writing that’s a throw-back to the 19th century, the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian is wonderful. The series starts with Master and Commander and goes for 20 volumes.
It’s really one long story, and many of us POB readers tend to think of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin as old buddies.
There’s a wealth of detail about late 18th and early 19th century British naval life there.
You might want to check out The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde. It’s a Hitchhikeresque fantasy/SF/literature/comedy romp about Thursday Next, literary operative. Someone’s kidnapping characters out of beloved English novels, and Thursday’s got to stop them. (In her world, the Crimean War has been going on for over 100 years, and novels are as popular as television is here.)
Also, Kage Baker’s series about the Company is good stuff – start with In the Garden of Iden and work forward. ItGoI is kind of like Charles Dickens meets Isaac Asimov.
Cisco, the book I always give to my best friends who ask me for book ideas is Jitterbug Perfume, by Tom Robbins. One of the greatest books of all time, IMHO, and with what you’ve read, I’m pretty sure you’ll be bowled over.
Are you up for nonfiction? I read Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond after seeing it so highly recommended here at SD for a long time. I’m so glad I did! I understand so much more about human history now. It won a Pulitzer, so you can’t go wrong there. In fact, I’m sort of on a mission to read as many Pulitzer books as I can. I’ve got a long way to go and many don’t interest me, but you can’t beat 'em usually.
Since you seem to have a liking for science fiction I recommend Philip K. Dick’s short stories. I also enjoy getting Hugo Award winning compliations from the library.
And I must recommend two of my favorite books in the world – Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry and The World According to Garp by John Irving. A Prayer for Owen Meany is wonderful too.
Treasure Island is the best pirate story ever. A classic. Someone already mentioned “A game of Thrones”, perhaps the best fantasy book I’ve ever read (yes, perhaps even better than LOTR).
Any Neil Gaiman is good Neil Gaiman. Have you tried Stardust?
On the non-fantasy/sf scene: another good Kerouac book, of course, is Big Sur. You should also probably read Howl by Allen Ginsberg, unless you’re allergic to poetry. And if you can find it in your local library, read Tripmaster Monkey by Maxine Hong Kingston. One of my favorites.
And two nonfiction books I would recommend: Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain (of course, I’ve worked in a few restaurants, so I may be biased), and A Beautiful Mind by Sylvian Nasar (don’t judge it by the movie - IMHO, the only real connection between the two were the names of the people involved.)
Many people who love Douglas Adams also love Terry Pratchett. He’s worth a try, anyway.
George RR Martin’s books are amazing, and amazingly depressing. I couldn’t keep reading.
I didn’t like Verne. I didn’t like Arthur Conan Doyle for the same reason. Perhaps that means that you might like Doyle. (Wonderful logic, eh?) Then, if you try Doyle and like, or almost like him, you can try Laurie R King. (This is called “free association book recommendations.”)
I’ve never read either of Max Barry’s books, but based on the description of them I read I plan to check them out myself.
I’ve also determined, on this minimal information, that if you haven’t read them already you might enjoy Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, Spares by Michael Marshall Smith and Sewer, Gas & Electric by Matt Ruff.
I’ll also reccomend Blackburn by Bradley Denton and any book by Bill Fitzhugh, Christopher Moore and James Morrow, because I reccomend those to anyone asking for reccomendations. Their best books in my opinion are, respectively, The Organ Grinders, The Island of the Sequined Love Nun and Towing Jehova.
