Recommend a fiction book...

[SLCentral]

Got a Kindle DX and want to read some fiction. Some background: I'm 20 years old, junior in college, and I can't remember the last fiction book I've read (a shame to say). I think the last book I've read was Choke by Chuck Palanuik, which I enjoyed. Would love a good thriller, but something with some dark/dry humor (a la Chuck Palanuik) would also be great.

Bring on your recommendations, ATOT.

 

[Chaotic42]

I just read "The Count of Monte Cristo". It's my new favorite book. It's very long though.

 

[YoungGun21]

1984
Any book by Dan Brown

 

[irishScott]

Issac Asimov

Prelude to Foundation
Forward the Foundation
Foundation
Foundation and Empire
Second Foundation
Foundation's Edge
Foundation and Earth

In that order. Once you get a decent ways into the first you'll be hooked.

 

[ProfJohn]

Da Vinici Code and Angels and Demons are both very good books and move at a fast pace.

 

[Nintendesert]

Looking at some of the trash recommended so far, just go join the Oprah Book Club, you'll get the same recommendations.

 

[gorcorps]

the bible

*obligatory*

 

[ProfJohn]

Looking at some of the trash recommended so far, just go join the Oprah Book Club, you'll get the same recommendations.

Perhaps you could enlighten us as to what a good book is then.

 

[destrekor]

I'm close to finishing Stephen King's The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower.
I have absolutely loved this series. Quirky toward the end, but it has been a blast to read.

Something that has either helped, or perhaps hurt, has been the fact that I have read these 7 books back to back over the past 6-8 weeks. Oh, and I only read them at work. I love it.

 

[xanis]

1984 and A Clockwork Orange. Oldies but goodies.

I also second (third?) the suggestions for Angels & Demons and The DaVinci code. Highly entertaining and they move fairly quickly. Dan Brown has written two other books (can't remember the names right now) that are pretty good as well.

If you like post-apocalyptic stuff, check out The Stand and Lucifer's Hammer. Along those lines, look at World War Z, I Am Legend, and Salem's Lot if you like stories about vampires and zombies.

For military-type stuff you can't go wrong with Tom Clancy. Try Rainbow Six.

If you like medical fiction, take a look at Robin Cook's books. Don't remember specific titles off the top of my head, but I read 2-3 a long time ago and I remember them being good. One was especially good -- Andromeda Strain, I think it was called.

 

[Nox51]

Read Terry Pratchet's Discworld books? Certainly a special kind of humor.


Science Fiction - the way Fiction is meant to be:
Frank Herbert's Dune.
Iain M Banks Culture series.
Peter F hamilton. mostly everything- he's quite wordy and likes to set the scene expansively rather than action packed

 

[destrekor]

If you like medical fiction, take a look at Robin Cook's books. Don't remember specific titles off the top of my head, but I read 2-3 a long time ago and I remember them being good. One was especially good -- Andromeda Strain, I think it was called.

Andromeda Strain was a Michael Crichton novel.

 

[irishScott]

Looking at some of the trash recommended so far, just go join the Oprah Book Club, you'll get the same recommendations.

Troll post is troll.

 

[xanis]

Andromeda Strain was a Michael Crichton novel.

Yeah, I figured I had the wrong author there. My bad.

 

[destrekor]

Read Terry Pratchet's Discworld books? Certainly a special kind of humor.


Science Fiction - the way Fiction is meant to be:
Frank Herbert's Dune.
Iain M Banks Culture series.
Peter F hamilton. mostly everything- he's quite wordy and likes to set the scene expansively rather than action packed

Dune, starting at the beginning (and likely not getting around to his son's books, I want the original from the original mind), is my next series. Have a Hold at my library to get it shipped to the closest branch, hopefully it arrives this week as I am about to wrap up The Dark Tower. Next big and heralded series, and I am looking forward to reading all of it - was absolutely enthralled by the Sci-Fi mini-series (both of them), so hopefully I find the books even better. Considering I have also forgotten most of the details of the plot in the tv series, I am looking forward to not really having all that much spoiled while reading the novels.

 

[Nox51]

Frankly, I found that as long as you try not to conflate the son's books with the original series and keep them separate it works. Easier said than done I know. I actually enjoyed the earlier books setting up the back story about the Butlerian jihad and the Houses than the ones that try to tie up the whole thing.

That said yes if you are new to the series stick to the originals by Frank. Also while I enjoyed the movies, they severely lack in depth; the movies just can't cover all the plots and subterfuge going on in the book. Be prepared to pay attention to detail with the books tho.

 

[aleckz]

Lately I have read 2 books by Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere and The Graveyard Book. Both of them are phenomenal reads but the Graveyard Book is a wee bit more childish and slow. I would recommend Neverwhere and also Stardust from him. You can always keep it simple and read Harry Potter, I know the first three books are childish, but the last four are simply excellent.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Gaunt's Ghosts. Sci Fi.

 

[Malak]

Dune, starting at the beginning (and likely not getting around to his son's books, I want the original from the original mind), is my next series. Have a Hold at my library to get it shipped to the closest branch, hopefully it arrives this week as I am about to wrap up The Dark Tower. Next big and heralded series, and I am looking forward to reading all of it - was absolutely enthralled by the Sci-Fi mini-series (both of them), so hopefully I find the books even better. Considering I have also forgotten most of the details of the plot in the tv series, I am looking forward to not really having all that much spoiled while reading the novels.

Actually the son's books are pretty good for the most part. Frank did 6 books but had notes on how the story was going to end before he died, so the son finished the series off with 2 more books. You have to read them, otherwise you'll just read Frank's last book and be left wanting, it doesn't really end at all. Then the son did 3 prologues that take place like 20 years before the first Dune novel, and they are not only pretty good but also explain some good back story. Then there is the 3 prologue novels that take place like 10,000 years before the original Dune novel, describing the Butlerian Jihad(you'll see mention of this several times throughout the series) and also has some very important back story that is never explained in the main series. There are 2 other books that were written as interruptions in the main series, because there are gaps in time between some of the books(as much as thousands of years) so they can be pretty decent. I have Paul of Dune but never got Winds of Dune. Winds is the only book I don't own of the whole set.

 

[dawp]

you can grok 'Stranger in a Strange Land', unabridged edition of course.

 

[TridenT]

the bible

*obligatory*

Came here to post this. :\

 

[MovingTarget]

I can't believe that nobody has suggested Call of Cthulu yet. You can get the entire H.P. Lovecraft collection at the Kindle store for 99¢ I believe.

 

[I Saw OJ]

I just started reading the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, very good bunch of books so far.

 

[SLCentral]

I suppose I should have mentioned this, but I'm not really into science fiction. Any other suggestions?

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Classic: Ivanhoe - The manliest man ever to don armor
Fantasy: Conan series or Barsoom novels
SciFi: Honor Harrington series
SciFi Horror: Berserker series Fred Saberhagen
Historical Fiction: Hornblower series (Naval) Sharpe series (Army)

Just a smattering of excellent stories to take a look at. I recommend checking out project gutenberg for free public domain stories.