# Recommend me some good books **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2003, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-books/172527 "2003-05-02T01:43:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-books/172527/1 "2003-05-02T01:43:40Z")
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. So what do you guys think? Suggestions? [Johnny-5] More input! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-books/172527/2 "2003-05-02T01:50:44Z")
Can we assume you’ve read Adams’ Hitchhiker books already? The author I’d probably recommend most quickly to anybody is F. Scott Fitzgerald. ---
**Author:** ![lukaspriest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5a626/32.png) [@lukaspriest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lukaspriest)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-books/172527/3 "2003-05-02T02:17:00Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Super\_Gnat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Super\_Gnat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Super_Gnat)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-books/172527/4 "2003-05-02T02:21:28Z")
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). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-books/172527/5 "2003-05-02T02:28:38Z")
I liked Fast Food Nation a lot as well. The author is named Eric Schlosser. ---
**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-books/172527/6 "2003-05-02T02:40:10Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-books/172527/7 "2003-05-02T07:06:19Z")
Thanks for all the suggestions. Yes, I’ve read all the Hitchhikers books. I’ve also read the Time Machine, but none of the others mentioned here. I think I’ll start out with _Treasure Island_ (is it _really_ good?) and work my way around to just about every other book mentioned. Thank you and if anyone has anymore books, bring 'em on! ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-books/172527/8 "2003-05-02T14:57:56Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-books/172527/9 "2003-05-02T16:57:54Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Ludo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Ludo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-books/172527/10 "2003-05-02T18:06:18Z")
**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. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-books/172527/11 "2003-05-02T18:21:51Z")
Tom Robbins is allllllllll good. 😃 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. Happy reading! ---
**Author:** ![Estilicon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Estilicon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Estilicon)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-books/172527/12 "2003-05-02T18:44:58Z")
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). ---
**Author:** ![DaveX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/96bed5/32.png) [@DaveX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveX)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-books/172527/13 "2003-05-02T19:25:24Z")
Just adding a second vote for Neil Gaiman’s ‘American Gods’. Probably my favorite novel of the last 10 years… ---
**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:** [May 2, 2003, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-books/172527/14 "2003-05-02T23:12:59Z")
**Back to the Moon** , by Homer Hickam **Feet of Clay** , by Terry {ratchett **The Inferno** , by Dante **The White Mountains** , by John Christopher **The World’s Strangest Aircraft** , by Michael Taylor **The World’s Worst Aircraft** , by Bill Verne **1632** , by Eric Flint **Hard Drive** , by David Pogue ---
**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:** [May 2, 2003, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-books/172527/15 "2003-05-02T23:34:34Z")
Perdido Street Station by China Mieville ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-books/172527/16 "2003-05-02T23:46:32Z")
Another vote for Tom Robbins, for fun Another vote for _Guns, Germs, and Steel_ for provoking thought ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-books/172527/17 "2003-05-03T00:03:57Z")
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.) That’ll do to be getting on with, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-books/172527/18 "2003-05-03T01:02:47Z")
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.”) Julie ---
**Author:** ![TheRealJohnPeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TheRealJohnPeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheRealJohnPeat)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-books/172527/19 "2003-05-03T01:10:53Z")
Just lifting some books from my recent reading… Last Chance to See - Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine (Douglas’s best book but probably his least-read one - I read this at least once a year!!) The Truth - Terry Pratchett (his best effort for ages and VERY topical) The Separation - The Quiet Woman - The Prestige - Christopher Priest (there’s nothing quite like Christopher Priest really…) Pollen and Vurt - Jeff Noon (that’s 2 books I can never remember the ‘order’ of) For Non-fiction - my reading list is a bit depressing but Anything whatsoever by Bill Bryson 🙂 (that’s not a title it’s a hint 🙂 The Lucifer Principle/Global Brain- Howard Bloom Captive State - George Monbiot (mandatory for anyone in the UK - not much use to the US 🙂 No Logo - Naomi Klein (just look at all the trouble it’s caused 🙂 TTFN JP ---
**Author:** ![Fibber\_McGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a6a055/32.png) [@Fibber\_McGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fibber_McGee)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-books/172527/20 "2003-05-03T01:27:14Z")
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. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-books/172527.md?page=2)