# Tell me what books to buy. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 31, 2001, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219 "2001-03-31T06:33:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219/21 "2001-03-31T20:17:01Z")
_Infinite Jest_ by David Foster Wallace Mr. Eggers’ HWOSG is a great read–no matter how you say the title. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Creant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b487fb/32.png) [@Miss\_Creant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Creant)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219/22 "2001-03-31T20:48:12Z")
almost forgot The Alienist by Caleb Carr and the sequel althoughI can’t think of the name of it right now ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219/23 "2001-03-31T20:50:07Z")
_Sex Tips For Girls_ by Cynthia Heimel. It’s a fantastic read, dead funny and the advice is actually really good. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219/24 "2001-03-31T21:30:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ruadh \* > \*\*_Sex Tips For Girls_ by Cynthia Heimel. It’s a fantastic read, dead funny and the advice is actually really good. \*\* 🙂 Excellent advice. 1. Have adventures 2. Give fear exceedingly short shrift 3. Shun boredom 4. Cultivate a deviant attitude Eschew the trivial. Embrace the frivolous. Plus it’s where I learned how to give a (good) blow job. Every girl should own it. ---
**Author:** ![Lyllyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@Lyllyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lyllyan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219/25 "2001-03-31T23:44:58Z")
\*A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords \* by George R R Martin _Wheel of Time Series_ by Robert Jordan _Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber,Voyager and Drums of Autumn_ by Diana Gabaldon ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2001, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219/26 "2001-03-31T23:50:14Z")
I’ve recently been incrediblyimpressed with Nick Hornby’s About a Boy, and Roddy Doyle’s Barrytown Trilogy. On my all-time must-read: How the Irish Saved Civilization-Thomas Cahill An Anthropologist on Mars-Oliver Sacks Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady-Florence King In Cold Blood-Truman Capote Me Talk Pretty One Day-David Sedaris The Cloister Walk-Kathleen Norris A Star Called Henry-Roddy Doyle Angela’s Ashes-Frank McCourt The Dark is Rising Sequence-Susan Cooper There are more, of course, but I can’t think of them at the moment… ---
**Author:** ![Fairy\_Princess\_Kitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Fairy\_Princess\_Kitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fairy_Princess_Kitty)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2001, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219/27 "2001-04-01T00:27:10Z")
The Elenium (The Diamond Throne, The Ruby Knight, and the Saphire Rose)and The Tamuli (Domes of Fire, The Shining Ones, and The Lost City) by David Eddings, two trilogies that I fell in love with. There’s also the Belgariad and the Mallorean by the same author. Really great fantasy books. Kitty ---
**Author:** ![hardygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@hardygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hardygrrl)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2001, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219/28 "2001-04-01T02:42:28Z")
Hmmmm How about: The Divine Comedy by Dante…I actually own all his works,poetry,essays,etc in one volume. Memoirs of a Geisha-sorry can’t remember the author’s name and too lazy to go look. White Teeth by Zadie Smith London Fields or Experience by Martin Amis Beloved by Toni Morrison Cat’s Eye or the Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2001, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219/29 "2001-04-01T02:53:31Z")
A REBOURS by Joris-Karl Huysmans. The insidious “yellow book” that so twisted the mind of the beautiful young Dorian Gray. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2001, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219/30 "2001-04-01T04:32:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bookworm \* > \*\*Any David Sedaris > \*\* Yes. He is so funny. Kind of mean-spirited, but funny. _The Phantom Tollbooth_, by Norton Juster. If you’ve never read it, read it now. If you read it as a kid, read it again. _Foucault’s Pendulum_, by Umberto Eco. Much better than _The Name of the Rose_. It’s about three editors who decide to invent a conspiracy theory out of thin air, but then it becomes real. ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2001, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219/31 "2001-04-01T13:24:03Z")
One of the great things about being a middle school teacher is being exposed to some wonderful books that most people never see because they are in the “young adult” section of the bookstore. Good writing is good writing, no matter who the intended audience is. You might try some of these. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli Holes by Louis Sachar Jacob Have I Loved, Bridge to Terabithia, The Great Gilly Hopkins, and Lyddie, by Katherine Paterson Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt The Giver by Lois Lowry The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis Island of the Blue Dolphins and Zia by Scott O’ Dell A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck Matilda by Roald Dahl The Chocolate War by Rober Cormier Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2001, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219/32 "2001-04-01T14:40:18Z")
books…how i love them… 1. The Giver- Louis? Lowry 2. Sofies Verden(Sofia’s world, Sofia’s Garden, something like that)- Jonstein Gaardner 3. The name of the Rose- Umberto Eco ---
**Author:** ![A\_Friend\_of\_the\_Devil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@A\_Friend\_of\_the\_Devil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Friend_of_the_Devil)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219/33 "2001-04-02T03:02:34Z")
Even if you don’t buy these, get them from the library and read them: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller Moby Dick by Herman Melville And anything by Mark Twain. Life on the Mississippi, Huckleberry Finn, The Innocents Abroad, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Mofo\_Rising](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mofo\_Rising](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mofo_Rising)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219/34 "2001-04-02T03:10:01Z")
I don’t think one can count one’s self educated without owning a copy of Mr. T’s autobiography, “Mr. T: The Man With The Gold”. Sure you may have to search around a bit to find a copy, but once you do I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with its literary quality. And the bragging rights alone! ---
**Author:** ![BunnyGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@BunnyGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BunnyGirl)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219/35 "2001-04-02T18:08:37Z")
I’d recommend almost anything by **Barbara Kingsolver** , especially _High Tide in Tucson_ or \* The Poisonwood Bible\*. I’ve got lots more but, shoot, I post from work, so I can’t go look at my bookshelf. Rats!! ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219/36 "2001-04-02T21:05:53Z")
All are fiction except where indicated: Jaws, by Peter Benchley The Prince of Tides, by Pat Conroy The English Patient, by Michael Ondaatje CAtch-22, by Joseph Heller The Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger Nightmare of Ecstasy, by Rudolph Gray (non fiction) A Clockwork orange, by Anthony Burgess Planet of the Apes, by Pierre Boulle Pastoralia, by George Saunders A Heartbreaking work of Staggering Genius, by Dave Eggers Happy reading. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219/37 "2001-04-03T01:27:44Z")
James Clavel is all very fine & well when you want your meat & potatoes reading. But when you want your dessert; your light-n-tasty reading that doesn’t require months to complete, I suggest [**The Tripods Trilogy**](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0020425716/qid=986260460/sr=1-4/ref=sc_b_5/102-6727749-7575320) by John Christopher. Written mainly for teens (I believe), it never the less fascinated me about ten years ago (I was in my late 20s) and I plan on picking it up again real soon to see if it still has the same mesmerizing effect. I’d be interested in hearing others’ comments (if any). Oh shoot. I just noticed it’s out of print. Curses. Oh well, look for it in the library or on ebay. ---
**Author:** ![Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soup)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219/38 "2001-04-03T01:51:46Z")
_Into Thin Air_ and _Into The Wild_ by Jon Krakauer _Lonesome Dove_ by Larry McMurtry ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219/39 "2001-04-03T01:52:21Z")
I’m usually buyinh Egyptian history books, but a few of my favs that aren’t: Zelazny’s Amber Chronicals, now available in one book “The Big Book of Amber”, and his “Midnight at the Lonesome October”. The Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon novels by Spider Robinson. Also by Spider “Stardancer” and “Starseeder”. I know there’s more, but I’m groggy from pain killers. ---
**Author:** ![ghandi5569](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@ghandi5569](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ghandi5569)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219/40 "2001-04-03T02:09:00Z")
The books that I would die without (in order): Jeanette Winterson’s Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit Barbra Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible Amy Tan’s The Kitchen God’s Wife Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity Terry Prachett’s Small Gods Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman Terry Prachett and Neil Gaimen’s Good Omens There are probably more, but those are more along the lines of classics rather than contemporary necessities. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-books-to-buy/60219.md?page=3)