Haven't read anything for a looooooooooong time. Too much starcraft ><.
Used to read a shitload of fantasy and occasional sci fi. Loads of Pratchett, some gaiman (can't get into it as much as you sadly Dippa), some Gemmell, Song of ice and fire (who doesn't after the bloody show) and some Neal Stephenson; ******* loved Cryptonomicon so much and I quote it often without thinking, probably more then any other book. Long life the Shaftoes!
David Gemmell is amazing stuff if you're into heroic fantasy. I've re-read some of his best ones 2 or 3 times. Ravenheart & Legend are both great starting points.
I don't know what Erasmus is on about. Feist's early work is great, it's the latest stuff that's terribad and lazy. Magician, the Serpent War Saga and especially the Daughter of the Empire (must read) series are amazing. He's just cashing in with another Pug and Friends save the world every now and then these days.
The Earthsea Saga by Ursula le Guin is another classic i've read multiple times. Definitely pick it up at some point
I was a big fan of Eddings growing up: Belgarath the Sorcerer, Pawn of Prophecy etc. although I'm not sure how well they've aged.
It baffles me how Terry Goodkind gets mentioned so much. He's barely a class above R.A. Salvatore in writing ability and I'm yet to finish a book of his after attempting several on recommendations.
Paolini's first two were very readable, last two declined steeply as his fame/college got to him.
In terms of scifi i'm less well read. The Forever War, The Stars My Destination (Tiger Tiger), Ender's Game, The Rediscovery of Man and Dune are all must reads though.
Last edited by TAScarecrow; Tue, 6th-Mar-2012 at 12:49 AM.
i couldnt get enough of forgotten realms and R.A salvatore when i was growing up(10-15)
havent read any forgotten realms or dragonlance since then though and i assume i wouldnt like them as much now that i am a little older. those sort of books are fantastic when you are young tbh. they do so much for your imagination and arent hard to follow.
Juliett Marillier. Bridei Series is the flagship in my eyes but sevenwaters series, and well basically all of them are pretty good.
Was coming to say those two ^_^
And also OMG READ SOME PRATCHETT!!!! Get them from the library if you don't have money to buy them right now....
Also Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series.... some people love them some people hate them Personally I think they're fun Oh and Cecelia Dart-Thornton, the Crowthistle Chronicles... her style of writing is annoying for some peope, I know, but she does have Asrathiel in the last two books of that series, and Asrathiel kicks butt
Quote:
Originally Posted by Drgoose
Yes I have a wall of books and no it isn't growing fast enough.
Dune is probably at the top of my sci-fi list. It is so amazingly written, ever single word is written for a reason. However I think the sequels to Dune are very underrated and in my opinion they are the better books. They are less action oriented and have some really good ideas and thoughts written down in them.
Having said that I haven't gotten round to reading any asimov yet however he is high on my 'to read' list.
The Belgariad series was a pretty good fantasy set I've read (though i've only read the Belgariad books and none of the other series by the same author).
Just to add some series I've read recently that I haven't seen mentioned-
The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie has some very unique and colourful chareceters and I found it a very entertaining fantasy series.
also I haven't seen anyone mention "The Wheel of Time" by Robert Jordan, it's pretty classic with the final (13th ? I think) book to be released probably at the end of the year (Robert Jordan has passed away however the books are being finished by Brandon Sanderson). - edit Asrath mentioned it while I was writing this QQ.
This bring me to my next point, Brandon Sanderson has written a few books, I've read the Mistborn Trilogy which was quite unique and a good read, and also "The Way of Kings (Part 1, books 1 and 2)" was a very cool too.
I recommend enders game if you like starcraft very cool book.
I also recommend to those that don't know http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/ free shipping worldwide
A book thread! Here is my list of good books. Hopefully they're not too kiddy/have predictable plots :P
Fantasy - Garth Nix
The Keys to the Kingdom Series
The Old Kingdom Trilogy
The Seventh Tower Series
Fantasy - Epic Battles
Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
The Inheritance Cycle - Paolini
The Temeraire Series - Naomi Novic
The Icemark Chronicles - Stuart Hill
Almost Sci-Fi Fantasy
The Secrets of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel - Michael Scott
The Gone Series - Michael Grant
Miscellaneous Fantasy
The Belgariad - David Eddings
The Spooks - Joseph Delaney
The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness - Michelle Paver
The Bartimaeus Trilogy - Jonathan Stround
The Edge Chronicles - Stewart and Riddel
Historical Fiction
Everything by Conn Iggulden
Everything by Bernard Cornwell
The Revolution Quartet - Simon Scarrow
The Masters of the Sea Trilogy - John Stack
Nah but seriously I'm just not interested in reading fiction. I'd far prefer to watch a tv series or movie for entertainment, and I probably read more text than the average person per day just via interaction on the interwebs. I don't think my take on the English language has suffered at all from not reading books, and I was able to wing every English class up till year 10 by just asking friends what the book was about, watching the movie if there was one, and providing answers that are just common sense. I then did English language for VCE(year 11/12) which imo had far more useful real-world applications than studying what an author was really trying to say when he said the main characters eyes were blue.
Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to put down anyone who enjoys reading books, I just don't particularly enjoy it since I have very little imagination and can't picture images in my head like most people.
Besides the usual morbid assassination/crime/spy novels from Alex Kava, Kathy Reichs and Barry Eisler, I've (finally!) gotten around to dusting off the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series since it's been sitting on my shelf for years. Loving it so far.
English studies is the biggest load of bullshit I have ever had the poor fortune to be required to take. Analysing creative works just kills them for me, I can't enjoy a lot of good shit because we covered them in highschool.
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