Writing Book Recommendations

[Shinmaru]

Recently I finished a book and I'd like to recommend it to everyone: [b]Red Dirt Marijuana and Other Tastes[/b] by Terry Southern. It's an incredibly surreal, hysterical collection of short stories and journalistic pieces; I've probably laughed more reading this than I have with any other book in quite a while. Also, many of the stories provide an interesting look into American culture during the 50s and early 60s (mostly the drug culture, race relations, conflicts involving sexual orientation, annoying hipsters, etc.).

Be forewarned that the humor is [i]very[/i] dark at times - I was never really offended by anything in the book, but there were plenty of passages that made me mouth, "Oh my God!" before launching into loud fits of laughter. There's one short paragraph in particular in the last story, "The Blood of a Wig," that's just... really, it's indescribable lol. Anything that I write here would not be able to do justice to how bizarre and twisted it is. Well, one word might be able to do the trick: [spoiler]Neck-rophilia.[/spoiler] Other than that, it's best to experience it yourself, haha.

I love almost all of the stories in the book, but my favorites are: "The Night the Bird Blew for Doctor Warner," "Put-down," "You're Too Hip, Baby," "You Gotta Leave Your Mark," "The Road Out of Axotle," "Apartment to Exchange," "A Change of Style," "The Moon-shot Scandal," "Red Giant on Our Doorstep!" "Scandale at The Dumpling Shop," and "The Blood of a Wig." As you can see, it's loaded with fantastic stories. Everyone should give it a read. :)

[Raina]

[COLOR=Blue]Here are my top three authors that I would like to recommend:

1. [B]Stephen Donaldson[/B]. He writes fictions novels which includes magic. He explores the human psyche of despair. It sounds dark, but his books are good and makes you think. You would need a good dictionary to fully understand some of the words he uses; but he writes in a way that you would understand the things he writes about without one.
I was 15 when I first picked up his book. I started with [B][I]The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever[/I][/B] (a trilogy). Then went on to [B][I]The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant[/I][/B] (also a trilogy). I am currently reading [B][I]The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant[/I][/B] (another trilogy, but I think only the first book is published so far). These series are about the fight of Thomas Covenant, a leper, against Lord Foul in a place called the Land. Lord Foul wants to escape his prison (Time) and Covenant must stop him using Wild Magic. The only problem is, Covenant doesn't believe in magic.
Be warned: each book of these series is at least 600 pages long.

2. [B]Kazuo Ishiguro[/B]. He is a Japanese who lives in England and writes in English.
[B][I]When We Were Orphans [/I][/B] is a good book to read if you are tired of the usual detective stories. Christopher Banks is a detective trying to find his parents in Shanghai in the 1930s. The only clues he has at first are his memories.

3. [B]Yoshimoto Banana[/B]. She is also a Japanese author. Her books have been translated into English, but I do recommend the original Japanese versions more.
I read the book [B][I]Tsugumi [/I][/B] (the English title is [B][I]Goodbye Tsugumi[/I][/B]) in my last year of high school in my Japanese class. It's about a girl who visits her family in the town she grew up in. The book is about Japanese family values, so it would be a good book to read if you want to know about Japanese culture.

I hope you have fun reading. :catgirl: [/COLOR]

[mangamaniack21]

There are a lot of good books that you can read. You can read any of the harry potter books, or you can read the bar code tattoo, which was a really good book despite it's name. There is definitly no shortage of good books out there that you can read that are not manga or realated to anything of that topic. Another good book is Fever 1793 if you like historical fiction.

[eleanor]

[color=dimgray]
Not exactly a book, but still definately worth a read. [i]Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood[/i] and if you like it, [i]Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return[/i], both by Marjane Satrapi. They're graphic novels, but a departure from the conventional, and a great one at that. Amazon.com summary (click [URL=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/037571457X/sr=8-1/qid=1152675628/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-8581468-9782300?ie=UTF8]here[/URL] for link):

[i]...[the] story of a young girl's life under the Islamic Revolution... Satrapi's art is minimal and stark yet often charming and humorous as it depicts the madness around her... Iron Maiden, Nikes and Michael Jackson become precious symbols of freedom, and eventually Satrapi's rebellious streak puts her in danger, as even educated women are threatened with beatings for improper attire. Despite the grimness, Satrapi never lapses into sensationalism or sentimentality...[/i]

It's just something you get sucked into after you first start reading it. I first read it when I went to an academic summer camp and during the breaks of my class I'd always be reading it.*


[i]The Kite Runner[/i] by Khaled Hosseini tells the story of two young boys living the 1907s Afghanistan, Amir and Hassan. Amir is the son of a wealthy business owner, and Hassan the son of Amir's father's servant. They grow up together as best friends, but after a traumatizing event the two separate. The rest of the novel focuses of Amir and the regret and pain he feels for the rest of his life, and the events that occur because of those feelings. Incredibly compelling, despite questionable plot turns... it's another book you read until you finish.

[i]The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time[/i] by Mark Haddon. Narrated by a 15-year-old autistic boy who is trying to solve the mystery of who killed his neighbor's dog. Funny and bittersweet, a.k.a a book that opens your eyes but doesn't overkill you in the process.

[i]Everything is Illuminated[/i] by Jonathan Safran Foer. Hilarious. No, really. I actually laughed out loud more than a few times during this book, which is one part of why I love this book so much.

The story is about a young man from the US, incidentally also named Jonathan Safran Foer, who goes to Ukraine to try and find the woman who possibly saved his grandfather from the Nazis during WWII. Jonathan's search is aided by Alex Perchov (who serves as a Ukrainian translator), the narrator, Alex's grandfather, and a seeing-eye dog named Sammy Davis Jr. Jr.

The novel actually has three parts. One story is in present-time and is narrated by Alex, who basically describes their search for the woman. The other, written by Jonathan, tells the history of a shetl (a village) in Ukraine via his anestors. The third part is actually letters written by Alex to Jonathan written in the future, after the search has finished and Jonathan has returned to America.

It may seem like overkill, but if you do decide to read it, stick with it. When I first started, I was completely confused and sort of had a 'WTF is this' mindset until the third chapter or so. It'll grab ya in sooner or later and then you can't take your hands off of it. Jonathan Safran Foer is both smart and funny in his writing, and his talents are obvious throughout the whole novel. The first half of the book you'll be laughing it up, but by the end you'll be crying.

So now that I've made this post incredibly and overly long, I'll just end it with some more recs. The four books I've talked about aren't necessarily my favorites, but I picked them because I thought they had the best chance for unviersal enjoyment, so here are more. :D

[i]Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close[/i] by Jonathan Safran Foer
[i]Angela's Ashes[/i] by Frank McCourt**
[i]Kafka on the Shore[/i] by Haruki Murakami***
[i]Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books[/i] by Azar Nafisi
[i]Ender's Game[/i] by Orson Scott Card****

*If you life it, check out [i]Epileptic[/i] by David B.
**If you like it- [i]'Tis[/i] by Frank McCourt
***If you like it- [i]The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle[/i] by Haruki Murakami
****If you like it- [i]Ender's Shadow[/i] by Orson Scott Card, which I actually enjoyed more then Ender's Game.

I feel horrible for leaving out 45203942 other books, but I'll stop my madness.[/color]

[Mr. Maul]

[size=1]My, my, my... so many books, and yet so little time...

Let me help you "skinny" down the list:

[u][b] Books To Read[/b][/u]

1. [b]The Artemis Fowl Quadrilogy[/b] by Eoin Colfer - You don't have to read all four books, just the first ([b]Artemis Fowl[/b]) and the third ([b]The Eternity Code[/b]). I got the first book when it came out about five years ago, and I've read it every year since. These books are a great read and Harry Potter's got [u]nothing[/u] on them.

2. [b]The Hitchhicker's Guide Quadrilogy[/b] by Douglas Adams - With these, however, you [i]do[/i] have to read all four books. They are amazing. Even if you're not a sci-fi fan, you'll still love them.

3. [b]Any Book by Chuck Palahniuk[/b] is pretty much a safe bet (that is if you're not easily offended by explicit sexual dialogue, graphic violence, and vulgar language). As stated, [b]Fight Club[/b] and [b]Choke[/b] are probably his most popular works.

4. [b]A Clockwork Orange[/b] by Anthony Burgess - Simply fantastic. Once you get past the "language barrier," it becomes a real page-turner. A word of advice on this one - it helps if you just read through the book instead of constantly turning to the glossary in the back of the book (if your book has a glossary). The words make a whole lot more since if you just read them in context.

5. [b]A Brave New World[/b] by Aldous Huxley - Much better than Orwell's [b]1984[/b], in my opinion, though slightly different subject matter. If you're going to read one of the two, I deffinitely recommend read ABNW.

6. [b]Pretty Much Any Book by John Steinbeck[/b], with [b]Grapes of Wrath[/b] and [b]Of Mice and Men[/b] being my favorites. Read OMAM first, because it's shorter and it will give you a better feel of Steinbeck's style, that way you'll know whether or not you want to tackle a giant like GOW.

7. [b]To Kill A Mocking Bird[/b] by Harper Lee - Yet another classic that's [i]actually good[/i]. And like [b]Athena[/b] said:

[quote]At first, it's really slow; but it sucks you in.[/quote] 8. [b]House of Leaves[/b] by Mark Z. Danielewski - Although I've only read the first five chapters of it, it's a pretty good book (from what I can tell). Different, but good. A couple friends of mine have read the whole thing (one of which acts as if it's his Bible) and they love it. So if you're up to it, you can try to read this monstrosity.

9. And finally, [b]The Fugitive Game[/b] by Jonathan Littman and [b]Catch Me If You Can[/b] by Frank Abagnale - Two great non-fiction works about lives of crime. Deffinitely check these out.
[u][b]

Books Not To Read

[/b][/u](The reason being for all of these is that, for a lack of a better word, they [b]suck[/b])
1. [b]The Crucible[/b] by Arthur Miller - Horrible. So is [b]Death of a Salesman[/b]. As a matter of fact, don't read anything by Arthur Miller. Ever.

2. [b]The Scarlet Letter[/b] by Nathaniel Hawthorne - [i]Yawn[/i]

3. [b]Sister Carrie[/b] by Theodore Drieser - [i]Rips out hair, then pulls gun on self[/i]

4. [b]Anything by Charles Dickens[/b] - [i]Stabs person sitting next me in the jaw

[/i]5. [b]Anything by William Shakespeare[/b] - Okay, maybe just[b] Romeo and Juliet[/b]. And [b]As You Like It[/b]. And [b]Julius Caesar[/b]. Nevermind, just scratch that. Never read anything by ol' Bill.

6. [b]The Odyssey[/b] and [b]The Iliad[/b] by Homer - Just rent [b]Clash of the Titans[/b] (or was that Remember the Titans?). They're based on the same thing ([i]insert sarcasm here[/i]).

7. [b]1984[/b] by George Orwell - You could either [b]A[/b]: Read the first five chapters and then the last three, or [b]B[/b]: Just Read Huxley's [b]A Brave New World[/b] because it's better. Your choice.

8. [b]The Jungle[/b] by Who Cares - [i]Stabs a pig in the jaw


[/i]
Well, there's my two cents on reading. Hope somebody actually bothers to read this. You migh learn something.

Nah... I doubt it.[/size]

[eleanor]

[QUOTE=Mr. Maul][size=1]
[B][U]Books Not To Read[/u][/b]

(The reason being for all of these is that, for a lack of a better word, they [b]suck[/b])

[...]

[/i]5. [b]Anything by William Shakespeare[/b] - Okay, maybe just[b] Romeo and Juliet[/b]. And [b]As You Like It[/b]. And [b]Julius Caesar[/b]. Nevermind, just scratch that. Never read anything by ol' Bill.

6. [b]The Odyssey[/b] and [b]The Iliad[/b] by Homer - Just rent [b]Clash of the Titans[/b] (or was that Remember the Titans?). They're based on the same thing ([i]insert sarcasm here[/i]).

7. [b]1984[/b] by George Orwell - You could either [b]A[/b]: Read the first five chapters and then the last three, or [b]B[/b]: Just Read Huxley's [b]A Brave New World[/b] because it's better. Your choice.

8. [b]The Jungle[/b] by Who Cares - [i]Stabs a pig in the jaw[/i]
Well, there's my two cents on reading. Hope somebody actually bothers to read this. You migh learn something.

Nah... I doubt it.[/size][/QUOTE]

[color=dimgray] *chokes on cheerios* YOU JUST KILLED MY SOUL. OHmy[size=1]gaw[/size].

*shrinks into corner while hugging Willy and Georgie dearly*

P.S. to whoever is reading this: You MUST read [i]1984[/i]. If not for your enjoyment but just because of its literary power. ARGH. I WILL SEND YOU MY COPY. And I'm well assured you will be forced to read Shakespeare at one point during your high school career. Yes. You will be safe then. ⌐_⌐

AND WHO KNOWS WHAT OUR CHICAGO MEAT INDUSTRY WOULD LOOK LIKE OTHERWISE.
[/color]

[2010DigitalBoy]

Hey, the middle was my favorite part of [COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]1984[/COLOR]! Even if the end did get me mad because I was ready to cry about them not living happily ever after v_v

I agree that [COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]Romeo and Juliet [/COLOR] sucks though. Their relationship was utterly stupid, and I was almost glad to see them die. At least they were spared their detestable future.

[kalon]

Might I suggest [COLOR=DarkRed][U]Fahrenheit 451[/COLOR][/U] by Ray Bradbury? Incredibly simple summary that shall in no way be able to do justice to the book: It's the story of Guy Montag, a fireman. It is a fireman's job to start fires, as books are banned. Montag realizes his dissatisfaction after talking to an unusual girl named Clarisse, and starts to do what society is phasing out: he starts to think.

I am very bad at summaries, but trust me when I say this is a great book. Besides being a piece of literature that truly makes you think, the imagery and style is wonderful. From the beginning it draws you in. My signature, in case you have not figured it out, currently sports the first, second, and fourth lines. [I]It was a pleasure to burn[/I] is forever ingrained upon my mind; that line just strikes me. This is another that you will probably read for high school, but you should find it enjoyable even if you are "forced" to read it. I find it hilarious that his publisher actually put out a censored edition for schools without telling him.

[SIZE=1]o.O Has no one else mentioned this one? I don't think I've seen any of Bradbury's works listed.[/SIZE]

[2010DigitalBoy]

[QUOTE=Tical]My all-time favorite book [COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]Boogiepop And Others [/COLOR] is a great read for anyone into mystery/psychological books. It's really great and unique in that it tells a story with different parts told by different characters which tie together.

Also, for any fans of dark horror/action novels, go for [COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]Vampire Hunter D[/COLOR]. It's increadibly well-written and cool.[/QUOTE]

Ah, I'd like to mention that both of series are continuing to be released.

The second [COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]Boogiepop[/COLOR] novel, [COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]Boogiepop Vs. Imaginator Book 1: SIGNS [/COLOR] is out now, and it's slightly different from the origional. While the first book was focused solely on the academy and it's students, this one braches out more into characters around the city. Also, some of the old charaters come back to play major roles once again which is cool.

[Fyxe]

[size=1][color=slategray][B]Where's Waldo[/B] series. You don't have to read any big words and I hear they banned the books from libraries because someone found a topless woman in one of the beach scenes. ;)


In all seriousness, now...
[B]SweetBlood[/B] by Pete Hautman. This is an interesting read. It's about a high school girl, who happens to be a diabetic and very into vampire lore. It really gets into the underground Gothic scene and puts out some very bold and interesting points. It's by far one of my favorite vampire novels.

[B]Gingerbread[/B] by Rachel Cohn. About another Gothic-ish girl that is part of an alternative high school and has a childhood doll that is named Gingerbread. I absolutely adored this book, very modern and a gripping read. It's a lot more exciting than the way I decribe it.
And if you like that one, check out the sequel [B]Shrimp[/B].

[B]Anything by Julie Anne Peters.[/B] She is the only author that has kept my attention throughout all of her novels. She writes a lot of things dealing with gay/lesbian/transsexual themes. Very up my alley with it's screwed up modernism.
: D[/color][/size]

[Retribution]

[size=1]I would like to reiterate how awesome [B]Brave New World[/B] is. Huxley pioneered sci-fi concepts such as cloning and social conditioning. It's definitely leagues better than 1984 (which is still a decent book).

I'm also here to recommend [b]Neuromancer[/b]. William Gibson is a genius, and if you enjoyed The Matrix [movie], well, the concept of a 'matrix' was stolen directly from this book. The Wachowski Bros. have no shame at all for ripping such a brilliant work.[/size]

[Shinmaru]

[quote name='silver_blade][COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=1]o.O Has no one else mentioned this one? I don't think I've seen any of Bradbury's works listed.[/color'][/SIZE][/quote]

I love [b]Fahrenheit 451[/b], but personally I prefer to recommend books that are less well known. A lot of my favorite books are fairly popular -- [b]Catch-22[/b], [b]The Catcher in the Rye[/b], [b]Slaughterhouse-Five[/b], [b]Invisible Man[/b] (by Ralph Ellison, not [b]The Invisible Man[/b] by H.G. Wells :p), etc. -- and I assume that most will have at least heard of them through school or something (maybe teachers have even forced you to read 'em all). The books I've mentioned in this thread, however, were all either random recommendations from friends or books that I just randomly stumbled upon while searching for something else. I don't know that I would have heard of any of them otherwise (maybe [b]A Scanner Darkly[/b] due to the recent film adaptation).

So, yeah, most classics already get tons of recognition from millions of readers all around the world (and deservedly so in many cases), and I'd rather spend my energy recommending something that you may not have heard about before rather than being the millionth person to suggest that you read [b]The Great Gatsby[/b] (as great as [b]Gatsby[/b] is :)).

[QUOTE=Lunox]
***If you like it- [i]The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle[/i] by Haruki Murakami[/QUOTE]

Yeah, that's a great book; [b]Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World[/b] is fantastic as well (I always switch between those two when deciding what my favorite Murakami novel is, haha).

And, Retribution, I'll be starting [b]Neuromancer[/b] soon, so hopefully it will be as good as advertised. :)

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]I'd recommend [b]Armor[/b] by John Steakley. This book is similar to [i]Starship Troopers[/i] in tone but fixates itself on the psychological affects continuous warfare has on the main character, Felix as he continues to try to simply [i]survive[/i] every battle he is forced into as dozens of his comrades around him are slaughtered.

It's [i]relentlessly[/i] morbid and violent, more than any of the dystopian novels listed in this thread but is surprisingly addictive from how well it's written and presented- you'll find it hard to stop reading if you can tolerate how bleak it gets at times. [/color]

[Dagger]

I am shocked (shocked!) that I haven't replied to this thread yet. Time to start making amends for that, I guess. There are at least a couple of duplicates in here--such as Boogiepop and Invisible Man--but hopefully that'll give you guys some added encouragement to check them out.

[B]Kitchen[/B] by Banana Yoshimoto: If I could get all of you to read just one book, this would be it. Yoshimoto?s writing is clear, gorgeous and moving even in translation.
[B]
Snow Country[/B] by Yasunari Kawabata: This novel basically grabs you by the throat with its desolate, desperate beauty. It?s the perfect example of why Kawabata won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968.
[B]
Silence[/B] by Shusaku Endo: Silence is the painful, riveting, horrifying, revelatory tale of a Portuguese missionary working in Japan in the 1500s, when Christians were heavily persecuted. It?s thought-provoking regardless of whether or not you?re religious.
[B]
After the Banquet[/B] by Yukio Mishima: Watch as love and politics combine in the worst way possible. Mishima is a brilliant writer, and After the Banquet is (IMHO) one of his best works.

[B]Naomi[/B] by Junichiro Tanizaki: Searingly, relentlessly funny, sad and pathetic, Naomi is basically the Japanese version of the Pygmalion story. Set in the 1920s, it shows how a Japanese man tries to mold a naïve young girl into a sophisticated, Westernized lady.
[B]
Boogiepop and Others[/B] by Kouhei Kadono: The Boogiepop books ignited the ?light novel? craze in Japan. Boogiepop and Others, the first installment in the series, has a fascinating structure that plays with time and multiple viewpoints in order to make the reader actively work to piece things together.
[B]
Hannibal [/B]by Thomas Harris: As a general rule, I hate serial killer novels. But I read Hannibal on a whim, and not only does it have great characters, it has the best ending of any book I?ve ever encountered. The ending was so controversial that it didn?t even make it into the Hannibal movie. Anyway, you don?t need to have read Silence of the Lambs to read this; as long as you know a tiny bit about the characters, you?re good to go.

[B]Invisible Man[/B] by Ralph Ellison: Totally different from the sci-fi novel by H. G. Wells. It?s also a total work of genius. No need to thank me for recommending it.

[B]Rebecca[/B] by Daphne du Maurier: Romance (and mystery) done right. Lovely characterization, lovely writing and plenty of dark elements to keep things interesting.
[B]
The Beekeeper?s Apprentice[/B] by Laurie R. King: An aging Sherlock Holmes teams up with a sardonic teenage genius? and it?s actually good!
[B]
Robot Dreams[/B] by Isaac Asimov: A brilliant collection of short stories from the sci-fi master. It also contains my favorite short story of all time, ?The Last Question.?
[B]
Howl?s Moving Castle[/B] by Diana Wynn Jones: Hysterically funny fantasy with plenty of eccentricity to go around. The animated movie based on it is entertaining and beautiful in its own right, but the book (which I?ve read at least once or twice a year since I was in middle school) has a much more complex and coherent plot, as well as far more in the way of Jones? biting comedy. She makes Howl into an unforgettable character: vain, cowardly, downright predatory toward women, weepy?and he?ll still charm you.

[B]Atlas Shrugged[/B] by Ayn Rand: Personally, I thought this book jumped the shark about halfway through. But your mileage might vary?and up until that point, it was one of the most engrossing novels I?ve read. At the very least, it?s worth taking a gander at how Rand works her over-the-top philosophy into the story.
[B]
The Mysterious Affair at Styles[/B] by Agatha Christie: Styles was Christie?s first novel, so it?s as good a place to start as any. Read it, love it, and be grateful that you have over eighty Christie whodunits left to explore. She tricks me every time.
[B]
Ender?s Game[/B] by Orson Scott Card: Yup, it's the Obligatory Ender's Game Mention rearing its ugly head again. Astonishingly enough, there are people in the world who have not read this book. You don?t want to be one of them. Trust me.

[size=1]And one last rec, because I [I]so[/I] have to squeeze this in... just ignore the fact that it's manga. ^^;;

[B]Banana Fish [/B]by Akimi Yoshida: My #1 favorite graphic novel series. Gritty, dark and violent, it?s set in New York City in the 1980s. Gang wars, corruption in the upper ranks of the American government, drug trafficking, the Corsican mafia, the legacy of the Vietnam War?and it was written & drawn by a Japanese woman! The dialogue is snappy and pitch-perfect throughout. The stark artwork (no big eyes here) may take some getting used to, but the story and characters are so, so worth it. I?ve read fourteen or fifteen volumes, and it has yet to become repetitive or stop packing a punch.[/size]

That's all for now. I'm sure I'll come up with more later. :catgirl:

~Dagger~

[Tekkaman]

[font=Palatino Linotype][size=3][b][i]Yep[/i][/b], a [b][i]lot[/i][/b] of book recomendations, and all of them are [b][i]great[/i][/b]. However, a [b][i]great book[/i][/b] that never dies is the book, [b][i][u]Where the Red Fern Grows[/u][/i][/b]. I'm pretty sure that I don't have to talk about the book since I believe everyone knows about the book's reading quality. I read it to this day and [b][i]the story still isn't old[/i][/b].[/size][/font]

[font=Palatino Linotype][size=3][/size][/font]
[font=Palatino Linotype][size=3]Another book that I've read recently is [b][i][u]House[/u][/i][/b]. I forget who the authors are but[b][i] the book is [u]really[/u] good[/i][/b]. [b][i][color=royalblue](At least to me, it is)[/color][/i][/b] Hopefully, another [b][i]OB member[/i][/b] will read this book and talk to me about it later. [b][i][color=royalblue](If not, no big.)[/color][/i][/b][/size][/font]

[JT Darkfire]

Here it is, the booklist of the one-time avid reader (stupid work, killing my book time...) JT Darkfire!

First of all, let's get down to the basics. I'm half tempted to slap everyone on this thread for forgetting a timeless classic like [U]The Giver[/U] by Lois Lowry. It is a clever representation of the falsehood and utter impossiblity of a utopian ([U]Utopia[/U], another good book)society, much like [U]Brave New World[/U]. Sure there's no war,no famine... but is it really worth the price? You'll be asking yourself this question by the end of the book.

Another must read is [U]Robin Hood[/U] by Howard Pyle. He's not the same Disney fox you all grew up loving (or hating, that's up to you). This is a timeless tale of the little man making a difference in a cruel society. Note: If you think about it, The Merry Men=The World's First Union. Only without the dues.

Another entertaining read would have to be [B]The Halfblood Chronicles[/B]. The combined efforts of fantasy greats Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey were an instant favorite. I fell into the story and just couldn't put the books [U]Elvenbane, Elvenblood, and Elvenborn[/U] down, and believe me, I tried. I blame having to retake spanish class on this series, but that's a whole 'nuther story. It's a shame they haven't finished the final story, though. I've been waiting for about four years. ..

...Anywho, on with the show.

Then there is a series that I never thought I would like, from an author that I normally can't stand. [B]The Dark Tower[/B] series by Stephen King. I'll admit, at first I was hesitant. I mean, come on. The master of terror (the one genre that I don't really care for; just call me a chicken) trying to write a fantasy novel? Bad call, Stevie. But to be honest, it wasn't. It was an epic tale, a story worth being told, a seven book series that was almost a painless read. (To all you future or current readers: even if you don't like book four, press on. It's worth it.) I'd have to give this series an 8.7 out of ten (Wizard and Glass: good job, bringing the score down and all).

Well, that's all I can think of at the top of my head, but there are more. [I]Way more[/I].

But don't take my word for it. Give these books a read, and let me know what you think. I'm always willing to discuss a good book. ;)

[DaSilva]

I highly recommend anything and everything by Bentley Little. Even Stephen King gives him kudos to his horror novels. I just finished The Revelation, a book by him about [SPOILER]Satan raising stillborn deformed babies from the grave and using him to do his bidding.[/SPOILER] Pretty gory stuff, but it was spectacular.