# Recommend me some great books to read **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 18, 2008, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081 "2008-02-18T09:23:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Windwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5e9695/32.png) [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/1 "2008-02-18T09:23:56Z")
I’ll just go ahead and list some favorites I can remember: **Arundhati Roy** - _The God of Small Things_ (perhaps my favorite book ever) **John Irving** - _The Hotel New Hampshire_ **Haruki Murakami** - _Norwegian Wood_ **Paul Auster** - _Leviathan_ **George R. R. Martin** - _A Song of Ice and Fire_ (series) **Stephen King** - _The Stand_ **Haven Kimmel** - _A Girl Named Zippy_ I don’t really like stories that strive to be too intellectual or arty at the cost of humanity and good pacing. However, one of my favorite chapters ever is “The Grand Inquisitor”, in _The Brothers Karamazov_. It’s a long-winded ideological tirade, but still amazingly powerful (just wish the entire book was nearly as good!). So, there’s always exceptions. Anyway, along these lines, please recommend your absolute stand-outs (explanations are most welcome, too). ---
**Author:** ![mshar253](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@mshar253](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mshar253)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/2 "2008-02-18T09:56:19Z")
I don’t know if I am going to be scoffed at for the possibility of this being cliche, but Vonnegut’s “Slaughter-House Five” is probably my favorite book. I never see him get a whole lot of love on this message board, though–maybe everyone has outgrown him, or something. In the book, though, he actually mentions “The Brothers Karamazov:” one of the characters says that it has includes everything there is to know about life. I tried reading it, but I kept falling asleep. (P.S. There’s actually a very good possibility, the more I think about it, that the statement about TBK was actually in “Hocus Pocus.” I don’t know; one or the other.) ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/3 "2008-02-18T10:15:28Z")
If you like George R. R. Martin, I recommend his _Tuf Voyaging_. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/4 "2008-02-18T11:39:52Z")
I just finished reading a two-book series (bilogy?) that my wife aptly described as a mix between George R.R. Martin and Ellen Kushner: [Flesh and Spirit](http://www.amazon.com/Flesh-Spirit-Carol-Berg/dp/0451461568/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203334728&sr=8-2), followed by [Breath and Bone](http://www.amazon.com/Breath-Bone-Carol-Berg/dp/045146186X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203334728&sr=8-1). They’re very well-written, with an interesting protagonist and a great, move-em-along plot. Daniel ---
**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:** [February 18, 2008, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/5 "2008-02-18T15:12:51Z")
If you like Irving’s Hotel New Hampshire, I’d recommend all his other works, particularly Garp, Owen Meany, and Widow for a Year. He also did a collection of his short stories with commentaries written later called “Trying to Save Piggy Snead.” ---
**Author:** ![Genghis\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/45deac/32.png) [@Genghis\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genghis_Bob)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/6 "2008-02-18T15:42:18Z")
\*Grendel \* by John Gardner. The Beowulf saga told, of course, from the perspective of the beast. Who is both very beastly, and much more human, than perhaps we would like. ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/7 "2008-02-18T15:55:00Z")
There are too many books! But if I had to name four, I would pick \*\*The Hunchback of Notre Dame The Grapes of Wrath Appointment In Samara\*\* And if you want a more recent book, **The Last Convertible**. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/8 "2008-02-18T16:24:47Z")
[QUOTE=Windwalker] I’ll just go ahead and list some favorites I can remember: **Arundhati Roy** - _The God of Small Things_ (perhaps my favorite book ever) **John Irving** - _The Hotel New Hampshire_ **Haruki Murakami** - _Norwegian Wood_ **Paul Auster** - _Leviathan_ **George R. R. Martin** - _A Song of Ice and Fire_ (series) **Stephen King** - _The Stand_ **Haven Kimmel** - _A Girl Named Zippy_ I don’t really like stories that strive to be too intellectual or arty at the cost of humanity and good pacing. However, one of my favorite chapters ever is “The Grand Inquisitor”, in _The Brothers Karamazov_. It’s a long-winded ideological tirade, but still amazingly powerful (just wish the entire book was nearly as good!). So, there’s always exceptions. Anyway, along these lines, please recommend your absolute stand-outs (explanations are most welcome, too). [/QUOTE] C. S. Lewis’s NARNIA Chronicles (Lion, Witch & Wardrobe FIRST) Bram Stoker’s DRACULA and Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN Ayn Rand’s ANTHEM- If you like that, go onto THE FOUNTAINHEAD and ATLAS SHRUGGED ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/9 "2008-02-18T16:54:36Z")
Are you only interested in novels here, **Windwalker?** ---
**Author:** ![Windwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5e9695/32.png) [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/10 "2008-02-18T17:13:11Z")
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I don’t really know what to do with just a title; explanations for why a book is special would be most appreciated. [QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Are you only interested in novels here, **Windwalker?** [/QUOTE] I’m interested in good stories, so non-fiction’s cool, too. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/11 "2008-02-18T17:57:16Z")
_A Fine Balance_ by Rohinton Mistry – I’ve never heard a negative comment about this book. I just finished _The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint_ by Brady Udall – it’s been compared to John Irving (who isn’t a favorite of mine) but I think the comparison works. If you liked _The Stand_, you might like _Swan Song_ by Robert McCammon. I haven’t read McCammon for awhile though, and he might not be as good as I remember. I hated his recent historical effort, _Speaks the Nightbird_. I love the Song of Ice and Fire books too – you might want to try Steven Erikson’s Malazan series, beginning with _Gardens of the Moon_. Or start with _Midnight Tides_, which is easier to get into. I haven’t read _A Girl Named Zippy_, but for coming of age novels, you can’t beat _Black Swan Green_ by David Mitchell. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2008, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/12 "2008-02-18T18:53:26Z")
_All Quiet on the Western Front_ by Erich Maria Remarque. A very moving book about young German soldiers in WWI. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/13 "2008-02-18T19:16:58Z")
John Le Carre’s _The Constant Gardner_ - well, I have quite similiar tastes and loved it. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/14 "2008-02-18T21:09:49Z")
_ **A Distant Mirror** _, by Barbara Tuchman. The finest book on history I’ve ever read. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2008, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/15 "2008-02-18T23:13:22Z")
Just about anything by James Ellroy, especially the four-part **LA Series** (_The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, LA Confidential_, and _White Jazz_) and a couple of his older stand-alone ones, _Brown’s Requiem_ and _Clandestine_. Tough, poetic, vicious and intricate crime novels that are both horrific and beautiful at the same time, and blend recent history and personages into the fictitious action smooth and seamless. Robert Ferrigno has written some damned good ones too, especially _Horse Latitudes_ and _The Cheshire Moon_. Then there’s Richard Price. His first four novels (_The Wanderers, Bloodbrothers_, _Ladies’ Man_, and _The Breaks_) are just fucking excellent, but the quality of his work falls off really sharply after that, IMNAAHO. And if you’re up to going all the way back to the early-to-mid-20th, there are a few real choice ones you might have already read but that I’ll recommend anyway just in case. There’s _The Pawnbroker_, by Edward Lewis Wallant --which is depressing, but very good. _Thieves Like Us_,a 1937 novel by Edward Anderson, is one I just can’t recommend highly enough, it’s such an amazingly excellent book. And just about anything by Carson McCullers is great, especially _The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter_ and\* Clock Without Hands\*. Going even further back, Nathaniel West wrote four novels before he got killed in a car wreck, of which _The Day Of The Locust_ is very good indeed, I think; \*A Cool Million \*and _Miss Lonelyhearts_ are pretty good but not as good as TDOTL, and the other one he wrote just stinks on ice, so you can skip it, even if you get one of those editions which collects all four of them. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/16 "2008-02-19T02:41:05Z")
[QUOTE=Windwalker] I’ll just go ahead and list some favorites I can remember: **John Irving** - _The Hotel New Hampshire_ **Stephen King** - _The Stand_ [/QUOTE] John Irving, _A Prayer for Owen Meany_ Stephen King, _Bag of Bones_ Wally Lamb, _I Know This Much Is True_ ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/17 "2008-02-19T03:05:04Z")
My current book I am in love with is “A River Sutra” by Gita Mehta. (A ‘sutra’ is actually a sort of prayer.) It is not a heavy or lengthy read. But exquisitely rendered. A wonderful story, beautifully told. Both simple and deep at the same time. Very few are the books I could read a second time. This book I could read over and over, I’m sure. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/18 "2008-02-19T03:15:34Z")
[QUOTE=Der Trihs] If you like George R. R. Martin, I recommend his _Tuf Voyaging_. [/QUOTE] Enthusiastically seconded. Also Martin’s _Fevre Dream_, a vampire novel set along the Mississippi River before the Civil War. Great atmosphere and delightfully chilling. Gary Jennings’s _Aztec_ is a terrific big blockbuster of a historical novel, about the Aztec Empire before and just after the Spanish arrive. Highly recommended. I just read Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin’s _Three Cups of Tea_, a pretty good nonfiction book about building schools for impoverished kids in Pakistan and Afghanistan as a humanitarian imperative and a cultural counterweight to the pro-al Qaeda _madrassas_. It’s a pretty good book. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/19 "2008-02-19T13:56:34Z")
I completely agree on **The Grapes of Wrath, A Fine Balance, The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter** and **All Quiet on the Western Front**. I’d like to add **Middlesex** , by Jeffrey Eugenides. It’s a stunning book about a sensitive subject that’s marvelously well done. One of my favorite books of all time is **To Kill a Mockingbird** by Harper Lee. The movie is as perfect as the book. ---
**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:** [February 19, 2008, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/20 "2008-02-19T14:00:00Z")
Stephen King “On Writing.” A book that should be read by everyone in the entire universe. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081.md?page=2)