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I'm trying to find good books, so i thought you guys can help out a little.
for me, it was The Lord of the Rings (The Tow Towers & The Return of the King. I didn't read the first book because i saw the movie but i think i will read it after watching the second movie)
I like to read sci-fi related stuff. My favs have been trilogies including
- The Riverworld series by Philip Jose Farmer
The individual titles are:
To Your Scattered Bodies Go
The Fabulous Riverboat
The Dark Design
The Magic Labyrinth
The Gods of Riverworld
- The Rama series by Arther C Clarke
The individual titles are:
Rendezvous with Rama
Rama II
The garden of Rama
Rama Revealed
- The Dune series by Frank Herbert
And then anything by Isaac Asimov and a few more I can't think of just now.
I'm a big Heinlein fan; I think my favorite book by him is The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. It's the story of a revolution on the moon -- which is a penal colony --, led by an anarchist, who after winning power manipulates events brilliantly to make sure nothing ever happens. It also includes a sentient computer running the revolution, typically Heinlein political dialogue, and rocks being shot at the earth.
I read the first Lord of the Rings book after the movie, the book is so much better than the movie! Although you cant show everything in the movie, the book has so much more depth, I suggest you read it.
Other recommendations, if you are interested in the Vietnam war, Tim O'Brien wrote some excellent books, my favourite being The Things They Carried, others include: Going after Cacciato, and If I Die in a Combat Zone.
I really love the LOTR and the Hobbit. I also really loved Dune. Ah it's too hard to choose a favourite!
Earth Abides is a scifi book where a super-virus has wiped out most of mankind (back in the 40s, after ww2) and this guy and a few thousand people scattered all over are the only ones left. It shows his life until he dies, how his newly created civilization worships his favorite hammer, and the effect of massive stores of canned goods on his children. It also shows how mankind's impression on Earth, such as roads, decay over time and descend back into brush.
Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" series. Initially planned to be a trilogy I'm damn glad to be waiting for the tenth book. Possibly the last: *cries*.
The Dragon Bone Chair series by Tad Williams. Slow going at first but most definatly worth it later on.
maybe Thinking in C++ ? :p
You should definately read the Hobbit, all three of the lotr trilogy and the Simarillion. Tolkien also wrote a few short stories that are worth a read. A number of them published in an anthology titled "The Tolkien Reader", although I imagine that would be hard to find as it was many years ago. Don't read the Silmarilion until after the Hobbit and LOTR. It happens first but it is so obscure that you'll be totally lost unless you read it after.
If you want a change of pace I would recommend Tom Clancy. Lot's of action but with a frighteningly realistic feel. In cronological order of the plot:
The Hunt for Red October
The Sum of All Fears
The Bear and the Dragon(my favorite)
are some of his best. They aren't one continuous plot but they are kind of a continuing story. Clancy's "Rainbow Six" is good too.
For some light Scifi fun try "Footfall" by Niven and Pournelle or "Battlefield Earth" by Hubbard. Hubbard wouldn't know a science text if it bit him in the you know where, and Niven and Pournelle were being tongue in cheek, but both books are entertaining.
A really good SciFi series are the War Against the Ch'tor novels by David Gerrold. Be advised that:
It is as yet an unfinished series. The author keeps promising book five.
It is quite disturbing and some people are rather offended by the violence, gore and some psyko/sexual overtones.
I honestly wouldn't recommend it to anyone under 18. It addresses some very mature themes, plus the fact that it gets downright creepy at times. I seriously considerred deleting this part, but I'm going to leave it in because this series is truly one of the few original storylines to come out of SciFi in many years.
A few reading ideas anyway.
>Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" series. Initially planned to be a trilogy I'm damn glad to be waiting for the tenth book. Possibly the last: *cries*.
not to be rude, but it should have ended with six... thats where i quit.
maybe he cleaned it up later, but it seemed to me he was just dragging it out.
Terry Brooks does some good books.
and of course the Chronicles of Narnia.
i don't know i have been much of a reader since my teacher screwed(NOT LITERALLY) me when i was in the first grade.
The "Foundation"-series by Asimov is a great series of SF books.
The latest book I've read was also a great one, "Water touching stone" from Eliot Pattison. It is situated in Tibet.
That doesn't sound half bad.Quote:
Originally posted by webmaster
I'm a big Heinlein fan; I think my favorite book by him is The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. It's the story of a revolution on the moon -- which is a penal colony --, led by an anarchist, who after winning power manipulates events brilliantly to make sure nothing ever happens. It also includes a sentient computer running the revolution, typically Heinlein political dialogue, and rocks being shot at the earth.
I read a few Michael Crichton books like Congo, Sphere, and Jurassic Park. They were all good.
I like some of the James Patterson books too, Kiss the girls, and along came a spider.
I enjoyed the old Margret Weiss and Tracy Hickman, Dragonlance books. I read the series on Rasitlin and Caramon. That was long time ago, but I liked them.
As far as C/C++ books, I have tons of them. I think that 'Accelerated C++' is one of the better ones.
I tried to read LOTR again to refresh myself for the movies, and found I couldn't get into them. I just don't like Tolkien's style...
As for my favorites...
Stephen King:
The Dark Tower series
IT
The Stand
Elmore Leonard:
Out of Sight
Aldous Huxley:
Brave New World
William Golding:
Lord of the Flies
The Hacker Diaries: Confessions of Teenage Hackers
It's a good book and it only costs $25.00!!
Some books I like reading:
Harper Lee
To Kill a Mockingbird
Stephen Crane
Red Badge of Courage
J.D. Salinger
Catcher in the Rye
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby
Those are all pretty short and very good books (imo).
EDIT: Oops! to answer original question about the best book I would have to say Stephen King's IT.
non programming favorite book: The Perks of Being a Wallflower, one of my friends suggested it to me because I reminded her of the main character, go figure :)
my favorite book its the puppy who lost his way.
Enigma by Robet Harris.
Anything based on WW2 is too my liking... any suggestions?
"The Stand" was kinda boring at times but I liked it. Stephen King tends to write at about an 6th grade reading level but he writes great stories. I read "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" not too long ago. Not bad but you could say it dragged also. "Pet Cemetary" is my favorite of the S.King books.
Favorite book though? The Lord of the Rings trilogy is way up there.
Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler
or any books from William Coughlin
Methinks LOTR is overrated...
I like R.A.Salvatore's Drizzt series. And L.E.Modesitt Jr's books about Recluce.
I liked Fahrenheit 451. It isn't too long, but it is pretty interesting, especially since it was written like 50 years ago.
Favorite: Watership Down
2nd Favorite: Battlefield Earth
Both are awesome books. The movie of Battlefield Earth sucks...but the book is awesome...I suggest everyone read it. Watership Down is an awesome book. I love it.
Other favorites:
The entire Battletech series (I am a big Battletech fan).
The entire Redwall series (very good books).
To Kill A Mockingbird
The Crucible
Le Morte De Arthur (the original Arthurian legend story...I suggest everyone read it.)
Lord of the Rings. Read it first 17 years ago, and have read it a number of times since. Great book.
Other than that:
Hitch Hikers Guide (all of them) - Douglas A.
Good Omens - Neil G + Terry P.
Snow Crash - Neal S.
i have read Lord of the Rings - the first one before i saw the movie. i have been searching for the second one at my local library, but no luck so far.
a book i liked is "Ice Station Zebra" by Alistar MacLean. pretty good. exciting. if you like espionage and counter espionage and stuff...