I'm fine with adaptations so long as they stick to the basic core values of the book, but the series, in my opinion, didn't do that. Among many things that bothered me, the greatest annoyance was how that the magic system didn't work the same. I caught Zedd doing negative magic a few times, which if you've read the books is impossible by him. Overall, it seemed like the show took too much "creative license," and it ended up looking like they skimmed the books and didn't really understand Goodkind's vision.
I recently read Fahrenheit 451, and it thrilled me more than anything I've read since 1984. I mean the book of course, not the actual year. The minute I finished it I had to read it a second time because I missed Montag too much.
If you enjoyed books by Dan Brown, I would ask what's wrong with you. Joking, of course. Though you might want to try the books by Andy McDermott. Start with 'The hunt for Atlantis', then follow up with 'The tomb of Hercules', 'The secret of Excalibur', 'The Covenant of Genesis', 'The cult of Osiris', 'The secret vault', 'Empire of gold' and 'Temple of the gods'. All pure awesomeness, and much, much better than anything Dan Brown have written. Just be prepared for a lot of action. Being shot at in a house would be fun. Being shot at inside a burning skyscraper is better. Escaping a gunfight inside the top floor of a burning, collapsing skyscaper by jumping out the window without parachutes while a helicopter shoots at them on the outside? Now you're talking.
If you're planning on going into both journalism and law I'd recommend reading Areopagitica by Milton, not really a story or very thrilling as a read, but I think it'd valuable in terms of subject matter to you if you have those interests. Also I'd recommend The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch.
I'd go looking for a book that 'speaks to you,' and might change your life. For example, Robert Blake carried around Truman Capote's book, "In Cold Blood." He related on a talk show that he read the thing ragged, and had pages filled with yellow high-lighter and some sentences underlined. I was 14, and my parents yanked me out of the only city I knew. I was 'imprisoned' out in the 'burbs. Bland schools, blander courses, the country starting to tear itself apart over the war. I liked to draw and write, and avante gard thought was always maligned at that time as being "too hippie." One day I picked up a copy of Thompson's book on The Angels. Changed my life. Not just for the bikes, but it told me about places on the other side of the continent where some guys had differing thoughts, and spoke their minds. Strangely, about things that didn't always relate to just the generation gap and the war. I messed around with bikes, and when I came to Madison during the protest years, I took solace in biker bars. You might not believe this, but they became a "safe haven." Go find a book like that. Read it until the pages fall out. Be able to quote sentences years after the book has crumbled to dust. Find your voice. And that sometimes means telling the world to go to hell. I would still be sitting at a dead end job, espousing the sound-bytes of idiots who know less about the world than you do. My ability to keep my soul from being gobbled up by interlopers and detractors was enhanced by one book. Oh, I take a lot of heat here for speaking openly about creativity. After you've had your nose broken twice, actually talked to a few women, and realized your words need to be spoken, a computer forum isn't scary at all. Neither is the world.
What do you mean by psychologically stimulating? Do you mean intellectual or academic? Animal Farm Brave New World An Infinite Jest (this is a monster of a book and takes dedication to finish...) Company, Ill Seen Ill Said, Worstword Ho - Samuel Beckett (collected into Nohow On) Anything by Italo Calvino The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro That should get you started...
Well, a lot of titles can be thrown since you would like to read "Anything",but I have to say I cannot give too much from that information. It depends on Genre, on level of challenge you want, on writing style. For genres Depends if you like Mystery/Horror I suggest a book entitled "Skin". The writer has a very easy style of writing, by which I don't mean he'll throw a bunch of pre-school words and call it a novel, I mean easy as in the Imagery and Idea of the book is easy to stay in your head for days at a time. As for Challenge again I don't know what kind of novels you can specifically or what kind of difficulty do you want in a novel. For an example, when I started I was reading easier books, with easily analyzed and understood words and ideas. However, from such books I strove higher and higher and am currently trying to read and fully analyze John Milton's "Paradise Lost" which is quite difficult if I do say so myself. However, if you don't want a Challenge as much as a relaxing read, I do suggest "Skin" and perhaps some of the Author's other novels, since they can get fairly entertaining. However, this is a Mystery/Horror Genre, so if you do not like it, then don't read Skin since it does involve some mature and serious themes and scenes.
Two books I just read that can be completed in just a couple days are Mark Haddon's 'the curious incident of the dog in the night-time' and Ayn Rand's Anthem. I finished both in two sittings and thought they were great. Also, a book that got me back into reading is Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. I went to the bookstore and said, "I'm gonna find a classic novel and force myself to read through it" and was happy I did. In my opinion, it is a perfect novel that was hard to put down. EDIT - And good to see Raymond E. Feist mentioned in this thread. Pick up anything in the Riftwar Saga or Serpentwar Saga. Great sci-fi books and he's an underrated writer.
please please please read "the art of racing in the rain" by Garth Stein. Simplistic story told by the most uncanny of main characters... A dog. It's perfect from page one to the very end. This story teaches us so much about being a soulful human being, through the most humanlike dog, Enzo. Please spoil yourself by reading it. It will not let you down, I promise.
Amazing book! And Oliver Twist is one of the only Dickens stories that I actually enjoy. I groaned when it ended up on a syllabus because I don't like other Dickens work, but it is an amazing story.
My brother's exactly your age and he's the same as you--wasn't a huge fan of reading until he picked up The Catcher in the Rye and now he's addicted! I'd recommend that book, actually. You could probably relate quite a bit and it's a fast-paced, conversational read which I find a lot of guys tend to like. I think you'd really like The Long Walk by Stephen King/Richard Bachman. You might enjoy a lot of Stephen King, especially his shorter ones as they're quite intense and chilling. Also, another book I told my brother to read is American Psycho, which is sort of a satire on Wall Street/America in the 80s; it's about a yuppie-turned-serial-killer. Battle Royale might also interest you, similar to The Hunger Games but a bit more mature. The Perks of Being a Wallflower might also be up your alley. It's stylistically like a journal and follows a high-school kid as he tries to fit in, find himself, etc. I'm not too huge into fantasy, so I can't really give you any choices there but hopefully this helps!
"My Name is Asher Lev" by Chiam Potok is amazing, astroannie! "The Chocolate War" and its sequel "Beyond the Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier (young adult fiction) "Ender's Game" and its series by Orson Scott Card (sci-fi)
Try: The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. They're brilliant books, and are definitely good reads. Oh, and you'll have to get all four books at once. If you have to wait between books you are likely to get annoyed (I know I did, with my first time of reading them) Other than that you could also try the Woman in Black by Susan Hill. Creepy, and very good. You'll have to go and see the play after reading it. But really, maybe try rereading any books you've read. You're likely to pick up more than you did the first time.
Don't know if this is what you're looking for, but I really love Naïve. Super by Erlend Loe. It is a pretty short book, but I love how it has a little mystery in it (for example, the narrator's name remains unknow throughout the whole book), although it is pretty realistic. There are only a few books that had really touched me deeply, and Naïve. Super is definitely one of them!
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy The Alchemist The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Mary Higgins Clark books: These are really good, psychologically stimulating, and VERY suspenseful! Mary Stewarts "The Crystal Cave", "The Hollow Hills", and "The Last Enchantment"
Without a doubt my all-time favourite trilogy, my favourite author and my top three novels all roll into one. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman is the most extraordinary fantasy series that brought the characters to life with a passion I'd never seen before in a series and left me in complete awe of the ideas and concepts presented in the story. Not to mention utterly melancholy once I'd finished reading. If you like fantasy on the grandest scale, written in astonishing prose and containing fascinating, truly lovable characters, then His Dark Materials is the way to go. I suggest this not only because I believe everyone should read it, but also because you seem to enjoy fantasy novels or series, and you expressed a wish to read something more psychologically stimulating. I'm writing my Extended Project on His Dark Materials at the moment, and it can be read however deeply you want to read it. It contains fascinating notions about the human condition, life, death, religion and independence. So there's my suggestion. *Steps off soapbox*
I would recommend "Anne from Green Gables" and other stories of Ann by Lucy Montgomery. The films are just lovely too.
