I'll admit, I haven't actually read a book for leisure in about 6 years. I used to LOVE reading but school kinda ruined it for me. All of a sudden though, I got a recent urge to actually start reading again after I walked into a Banes and Noble. I just picked up the Marvin eReader app from the appstore and am exploring eReading for the first time. That being said, I'm pretty out of the loop for what's popular, so is there any one else here who reads (lol) and what you'd recommend? I have no idea what my tastes are really since it's been so long, but I did like fantasy, sci-fi, and adventure. I've heard a lot of good things about Brandon Sanderson, so I'll probably start with his books, possibly after rereading the Pendragon Series or Harry Potter.
try Oryx and Crake, picking up fast And funy enough, I was abot to suggest Mistborn series as a fantasy fix, but you already mentioned Brandon Sanderson And if you havnt dug into the epic mythos of 'The Dark Tower' from Stephen King.. its 8 books long and should keep you entertained as long as you dig that kind of books. And of course Douglas Adams for the more lighthearted, yet still a lo of pseudo-philosophy mixed in with all the madness. Besides the obvious 'Hitchikers' series, look into the Dirk Gently books. So there you have it.. a bit more 'serious' ScifI, an epic adventure/scifi/fantasy and a lighthearded fun scifi
I found that audiobooks are a great way to supplement reading when you're unable to pick up a book, but have to perform a menial task. Here's a fairly mixed list to get you started - most of these have ebook versions: The Hobbit Lord of the Rings trilogy World War Z (the book is amazing, the only one to actually give me chills) Game of Thrones (reading these at the moment) The Accident Man (and the following series - by Tom Cain) Stolen (Lucy Christopher - an unusual book in my eyes, but quite enjoyable) The Dog Hunters (a little-known book from David Bell, who I've met and spoken to. Got a signed copy, and it's quite a good and imaginative read, definitely recommended) Sherlock Holmes Greg Keyes books - he wrote a few short ones for the Elder Scrolls universes that are very interesting. Pretty much anything from Simon R Green (Wikipedia), particularly the 'Hawk & Fisher' and 'Secret History' series are my favorites. I can't seem to get my hands on the Deathstalker books, but no doubt they're great too. The Vampirates series by Justin Somper. These are written for young adults and admittedly I've only read the first book, but it was well written and interesting. That should start you off. In fact, there's a couple I ought to look up myself... Edit: Stainless Steel Rat and Deathworld series by Harry Harrison. Old, old books (1961) but still a damn good read. I only wish I could get my hands physical copies of these in English...
I read quite a bit it's a decent way to unwind and get to sleep, I use pretty much every trick in the book to adjust to my night-shift hours. For fantasy type stuff I'd recommend the Dresden files by Jim butcher their quite entertaining and there is enough to keep anyone going for a while I think of them as an adult harry potter. I've read tons of great books in all sorts of genres though it really comes down to what interests you, mobileread is a good site for finding ideas.
I JUST started the third book in the Mistborn series. Very good stuff by Sanderson. Ever since my first son was born (He is twelve now), I've gone old school reading actual books. I like being able to look at a full book shelf and saying, 'I read all of those.' My tastes skew to the fantasy, but I would recommend the following: R. A. Salvatore - He writes in the D&D world. He created one of my favorite characters, Drizzt Do Urden, the drow. Brandon Sanderson - I am reading Mistborn now, but I also have started the Stormlight Archives. He had only released book one of the epic ten book series, but I highly recommend it Robert Jordan / Sanderson - I understand that The Wheel of Time isn't for everyone. It even took me two tries to get thru the whole series. Having said that, the payoff for finishing the entire fourteen book series was well, well worth it. David Eddings - He authored two series of five books each (The Belgariad and The Mallorean - sp?). I found these books to read entertaining and easy to pick up and become engrossed in Eddings' world Sorry to ramble, I just wanted to share my thoughts. Thanks! Rob
You Sir, got a very good taste in fantasy literature Drizzt Do'Urden nearly wrrecked my life as I got caught up in a time consuming MUD (Final Realms) playing a drow warrior.. lol.. think it ended up at around 50 DAYS playtime=1200 hrs
I love reading, but prefer to do it with either real books (easier on my aging eyes) or with a text-to-speech software like Voice Dream reader. With Voice Dream I have no need for audiobooks, since the TTS has gotten quite good. It's no substitute for a voice actor but it's getting closer and closer.
I read all sorts of crap (depending in your definition of crap) At the minute I'm reading Chris Ryan's strike back, but in he past year I've read nearly all bear grylls books and if you count fighting fantasy books as reading I picked up some of them over the past year (physical books not digital) I read mostly on the bus or in waiting rooms.
I love reading as well, I recently started up again. Currently, I'm reading Robert Ludlum's Bourne trilogy. I'm a HUGE fan of the movies, so I thought I'd like the books. I was right, they're substantially different from the movies so far, too. Something I've been wondering, what are the top 5 (standalone) books from Stephen King. I've been wanting to get into his books for a while, just never know where to start.
Actually have a lot of bourne books myself although I've yet to try reading them it's nice to know they differ from the movies I've actually 9 of them I just checked to make sure. Also if you like Stephen King you might want to give his son Joe Hill a look I read his book Horns about a month ago and it was pretty close to his fathers work I'm going to give his other books a try at some point. My problem as you can likely guess is I tend to stockpile several books for the future in the time I read one.
Yeah, from what I understand though, the only Bourne books actually written by Robert Ludlum are the original trilogy. I think the others were written by other authors. Could be wrong, though. Yeah, I've never read any of King's books, but I hear a lot of good stuff about them. I just never know which one to read first. Any recommendations? Lol, I do the same thing with books. I have about eighteen books I still need to read, and I'm constantly buying more. Can't help it!
Haven't read the ones people really seem to rate really highly like The Stand, Salems Lot or The Shining but I'm pretty sure consensus is they are his best work. The ones I have read are the dark tower series, cell, under the dome, Talisman and it's sequel black house. I enjoyed them all to be honest but I'm not a massive fan of his endings.
Thanks for the suggestions. Looks like there's a lot of good stuff to be read. And I've never used an audiobook before, so I might try it out sometime just for the experience. Man it's pretty overwhelming with all these stories. Reminds me when I discovered the app store, so many apps, so little time.
Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan Kane Chronicles ^ The Reckoners by Brandon Sanderson Werelords series by Curtis Jobling The Hungry City. Chronicles by Philip. Reeve Hunger Games Gone by Michael Grant All good books in my opinion
One of the best books/ series i have ever read is Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Hyperion,The fall of Hyperion,Endymion and The rise of Endymion. An absolute must for anyone who likes sci-fi. Lord of light by Roger Zelazny is a blast to read. Eyes of the overworld and Cugel's saga by Jack Vance are lighthearted and funny stories. Enjoy!
I dont read many books, i quite like things like 'making of star wars' (available as an ebook), 1001 video games you must play before you die and similar gaming books. Must admit i love graphic novels (okay comics !) and its great reading those on the ipad. Actual 'paper' based books i hardly buy anymore