I love reading but I never seem to be able to pick out good books. Can anybody make any suggestions of books that they found good? I will read any genre and any book as long as it's good. I read young adult, as well as adult. Thanks, this would really help me out.
My favourites Mist Over Pendle by Robert Neill (just been reprinted lol) Across the Nightingale Floor - Lian Hearne (young adult) Dragons of Pern series my favourites are the ones with Menolly the harper in them Anne McCaffrey Chronicles of Narnia Little Women. Good Wives, Little Men and Jos Boys - Louisa May Alcott
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchet. Time Stops for No Mouse by Michael Hoeye The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins (the series she did before the Hunger Games) The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon Catcher in the Rye by JD Sallinger Ordinary People by Judith Guest Life of Pi by Yann Martel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury The Outsiders by SE Hinton White Fang, The Call of the Wild, Sea Wolf, and To Build a Fire and Other Stories, all by Jack London.
My all-time favorites: American Gods by Neil Gaiman Catch-22 by Joseph Heller The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien A Song of Ice and Fire (series) by George R. R. Martin I also second Across the Nightingale Floor and The Shadow of the Wind
Some varied ones I've loved fairly recently, each in their own way: Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami (prob one of my favourites, ever) Regeneration - Pat Barker To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf Fugitive Pieces - Anne Michaels The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro Disgrace - J.M. Coetzee American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis
One of my all-time favorites, that still is, is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Agatha Christie is quite amazing, if you like murder mysteries. Sherlock Holmes is another good one, lol. Written by A. Conan Doyle. While Dean Koontz isn't amazing, he has a few good reads. I'd recommend Phantoms and Odd Thomas. ...That's all I can think of right now.
Thanks sooo much - any other suggetions feel free to add them -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The man who reads is the man who leads - Mid 20th Century Proverb
The God Box Alex Sanchez Brother's Bishop Bart Yates the story is fantastic but ending limp wristed. Cadfael Ellis Peters Hound of Death Agatha Christie Mrs Shakespeare by Robert Nye Plutarch Rameses Christian Jacq The Forgotten Garden Kate Morton The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Adult: A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry (cannot speak highly enough of it) Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (read this over and over) YA The Tomorrow Series (starting with "Tomorrow When the War Began") by John Marsden The Obernewtyn Chronicles - Isobelle Carmody
Anything by Terry Pratchett is a good bet. The Man Who Turned Into Himself by David Ambrose. Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White (young adult.) Anything by Bill Bryson, but particularly A Walk in the Woods and Down Under. Anything by James Herriott. My best friend loves the Bones series of books by Kathy Reichs (Deja Dead is the first one, I believe) and books by Gerald Durrell. What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson. Ice Station, Scarecrow, Area 7, Hell Island, all by Matthew Reilly (he's written more and I do own them all, but those 4 are my favourites.) The Green Mile books by Stephen King. My mum and grandma love Anne Perry's books, but I haven't read them. April Fools Day by Bryce Courtenay (true story, very sad.) My sister likes Terry Brooks, Phil Rickman and David Gemmell. That's all I can think of this late at night!
Thought of a Few More Not sure if you can get this guy's books where you live (he's an Australian author) but I enjoy G. M. Hague's stuff. His books include: A Place to Fear The Devil's Numbers Ghost Beyond Earth Voices of Evil Missing Pieces (I couldn't get into this one, seemed very different from his previous work) Another Aussie author is John Marsden. He's written a truckload of stuff but is most famous for the Tomorrow series, which I highly recommend. These are YA books, and in order are: Tomorrow, When the War Began The Dead of the Night The Third Day, The Frost Darkness Be My Friend Burning For Revenge The Night is for Hunting The Other Side of Dawn If you enjoy the series, there are a further three books in a related series called The Ellie Chronicles (the main character from the Tommorow books is Ellie Linton), and in order these are: While I Live Incurable Circle of Flight Mark Morris has an anthology of short stories called Close to the Bone that I quite like, especially the story A New Man. Jonathan Carroll's short story collection called The Panic Hand was also good. (SORRY, WRONG GUY! He did write The Panic Hand, but the other books that I mention in this paragraph were written by Jonathan Aycliffe. Many apologies to Mr Carroll, who has never made me feel like ending it all after reading his work I wouldn't really recommend any of his novels, though. They are all incredibly depressing and should only be read if you are in fact suicidal and are looking for that one thing that will push you over the edge! Even though Dean Koontz's books these days are basically identical to each other (the man is obsessed with Tiffany lamps, golden retrievers, bougainvilleas, architecture and guns), I have enjoyed the Odd Thomas books, of which there are four so far: Odd Thomas, Brother Odd, Forever Odd, and Odd Hours (didn't enjoy the last one as much; from memory he kept building up and building up to this big confrontation which never actually eventuated - frustrating!) If being horrified and genuinely scared while reading a book, try Graham Masterton. Having read horror novels and short stories since the tender age of eight, I'm pretty immune to most things so-called horror novelists dish up, but at least once in each Graham Masterton book I read I find myself truly and horribly frightened by what I'm reading - which is both a horrible and fantastic feeling! I also felt this while reading House on Haunted Hill, by Shirley Jackson. I read that book because every horror writer in the world sites it as a classic. I wasn't terribly impressed, from memory (will have to read it again, just to make sure), but there's one scene where I think two of the characters are huddled in a bedroom and something is in the hallway and approaching . . . well, you'll have to read it It scared the crap out of me, that bit. Bentley Little is a pretty sick puppy and comes up with some truly awful things to do to his characters, particularly in the book The Policy, so if you like horror you might want to try him. I'm trying to think of something a bit nicer so you won't think I'm a freak . . . Nope. I'm a freak.
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (Just think of the anti-christ being born and then getting switched with a normal baby because of an evil minion mishap) House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski (A house - seemingly alive and haunted - terrorizes a family, a person reading their diary and your comfort-level regarding the style of the book)
YES YES YES! The Tomorrow, When the War Began series by Marsden! It's fantastic and there are 7 books, so it will keep you occupied. I love YA-it's my primary reading, so I'll give you a list of things I've read in the past month or so. I'm currently reading: The Furnace Series, by Alexander Gordon Smith. There are three books, beginning with the first, Lockdown: Escape from Furnace. These are dystopian thrillers. I'm also reading the Chaos Walking Series, by Patrick Ness. There are also 3 books, and I love it. The 3rd book isn't out yet. Also dystopian, but involving aliens. The first book is called The Knife of Never Letting go. Another YA series (3 books) is The John Cleaver Series, by Dan Wells. The first 2 books are out: I Am Not A Serial Killer and Mr. Monster. LOVE these. These are supernatural books about the most kind-hearted teenage sociopath ever. The Hunger Games series (3 books-seeing a trend? lol). I own it, so I must love it. More dystopian, but different than all the others. If you like The Hunger Games, you might also like Battle Royale. The Forest of Hands and Teeth series (3 books, the last isn't out yet). This is good if you want to read a zombie book. Dystopian, but way in the future. If you want to read a faster paced zombie book series (3 books again), try The Enemy by Charlie Higson. I haven't gotten to read the second book yet (it's on order), and the 3rd isn't out. These are fantastic though-they have the feel of a horror/thriller film. The plot is basically that some virus wiped out all the adults (everyone over 16) and if it didn't kill them, they turned into zombies. So it's all about kids and teens. The Roar by Emma Clayton. Set far in the future also, after everyone's been forced into a small living area because the rest of the world is destroyed from 'the Animal Plague' that killed everything. The Carbon Diaries 2015 and 2017- Global warming forces the world to survive on Carbon restrictions. Love these books too. The Mortal Instruments series (3 books). This might be your cup of tea if you aren't into Twilight, but like supernatural elements. As a whole, I think this is just a much better alternative to the Twilight series. It's not really vampires and werewolves so much, though they are in the series. It's about demon-hunters. For a comedy that is fantastic, I'd recommend Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford, and it's sequel, Carter's Big Break! I love these books. They seriously will make you laugh at the 14-yr-old boy humor. I'd also recommend books by Laurie Halse Anderson if you are interested in some serious subjects (rape, eating disorders, anorexia). Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow. These are my two favorite sci-fi books. Unwind by Neil Shusterman. I really really really hope you get a chance to read it. It's a standalone book, though there are talks that he will write a sequel later. It's just too good for words. He's a great author, and I've been trying to get a hold of more of his books to read. Unwind is another dystopian novel. Unwinding is the process of taking apart teenagers bodies and donating then all around the country, while still keeping 98-99% of that body 'alive', so they exist in this weird, fractured mental state. It's terrible, but such a fantastic book. Luna, by Julie Anne Peters. This is about a transgendered teenage boy. I don't really know how to describe it, but I really love it. And his story is told through the eyes of his sister. Okay, so this is a really long list, but I tried to put in a wide variety of subject matter and genre. If you ever want to talk books, or see what I'm reading, you are welcome to PM me, and I will give you my goodreads info so you can find me on goodreads.com and see what I'm reading as I read it. I'm a very avid reader. ETA: I just realized I misread your post. I thought it said you read primarily YA. So I want to add some adult to the list. Cell, by Stephen King. The Descent, Deeper, The Wall, by Jeff Long. I really liked these books.
I just read a really good book called Room. I finished it in less than a day it was so good. Pillars of the earth is also a good read but I should warn you, its long with a lot going on.
I recommend: House by Tedd Dekker and Frank Peretti Pretty Little Mistakes by Heather McElhatton Hush, Hush by Fitzgerald...first name has lost me and I've got some more if you're interested Nicki
What have you come across that's a must-read? Hey, guys. Just came across this forum while getting around a writer's block on a college application essay. I'm not a writer nor do I foresee myself pursuing it professionally in the immediate future, but I am wondering what you guys would recommend as reading material for any aspiring young person whether it's fiction, nonfiction, your favorite quote, or just something profound you read on the wall of a bathroom stall. I'm working my way through the waiting list for other books which were recommended to me like How to Win Friends and Influence People and You Say More than You Think but fiction of any genre and biographies are just as desired. If I were to offer up a few of my own, one would be World War Z for at least its format and global setting. Another is an article with a title I can't recall from Wired about how increased control and responsibility lessens the damaging effects of stress. Lastly, my favorite quote is "If you knew how much work went into it, you wouldn't call it genius" by far. Anyhow, what are YOUR must-reads?
There are loads mostly fiction - thing my favourite non fiction are too specialised. Mist Over Pendle - by Robert Neil about the Pendle Witches Mrs Shakespeare - by Robert Nye about why Shakespeare left his second best bed to his wife. Cadfael - by Ellis Peters (can't narrow it down to one about medieval detective monk) There are others but they are my standout must read at least once a year books.
I'm all about fiction. You MUST read "Lord Of The Flies" even though it was first published in 1954. Good book
Well, if you like fantasy fiction, in my opinion, the best two series ever written are The Lord of the Rings series and the Harry Potter series. If you're more into psychological/mystery horror, I recommend Stephen King. Some of my favorite quotes: “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” -Jimi Hendrix "We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out." -Ray Bradbury “If death meant just leaving the stage long enough to change costume and come back as a new character...Would you slow down? Or speed up?” -Chuck Palahniuk “If you don’t know what you want, you end up with a lot you don’t” -Chuck Palahniuk "I am not only a pacifist but a militant pacifist. I am willing to fight for peace. Nothing will end war unless the people themselves refuse to go to war." -Albert Einstein
I'm a little intrigued by Anthem but I may have had my fill for the time being on these socialist/totalitarian worlds after reading 1984, Brave New World, and Animal Farm and seeing movies like The Matrix, Equilibrium, V for Vendetta, etc. I had forgotten about Lord of the Flies. I remember back in school when students would groan about having to read this but most would later admit to being glad they did. While I've currently picked up one of Mick Foley's autobiographies with All Quiet on the Western Front waiting on deck, I imagine I'll read Lord of the Flies next given that it's on a much shorter holds list. Thanks for the suggestions. Keep 'em coming!
