Topic: Books that you should own (Read 3725 times)

Merc · « **on:** August 14, 2007, 10:08:57 PM »

I personally think books are underrated as a form of story telling in this day and age. I also would like to know where to dump a couple hundred dollars besides electronics.

So, on that note, what are some good books that are just good books? They don't need to be philosophical, relevant, or even coherent.

These are amongst my favorites, off the top of my head that is.

Party Monster - James St. James (This book was originally released as 'Disco Bloodbath' but was discontinued)
I Am Drakulya - C. Dean Andersson
The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
Lord of the Rings - If you don't know his name, you should not be reading books

His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
The Elder Scrolls - from the game series... lots of interesting 'books' and lore in those games
The Bear and the Dragon - Tom Clancy
1984 - George Orwell
The Wizard Knight - Gene Wolfe
The Sword of Truth series - Terry Goodkind (I'm only on the 6th book... so don't give me spoilers)
And anything by the coolest 'atheist' ever, George Carlin. I'm not sure to call him atheist though... I think he still worships the sun and Joe Pesci.

P.S. I do know that another topic does discuss books, but after reading it, I figured that it was more about philosophical books in particular. So I started this one on books that are just a good read in general.

Chris · « **Reply #1 on:** August 14, 2007, 10:14:52 PM »

How Stuff Works - Marshall Brian

This is an essential book for any geek, I think.

pbsaurus · « **Reply #2 on:** August 14, 2007, 10:23:53 PM »

I thought we already had a book thread.

Merc · « **Reply #3 on:** August 14, 2007, 11:48:35 PM »

*holds up his hands* I looked, I swear. The only one I saw was on philosophical books, and it was beyond necromancy by the looks of it. If I'm proven wrong though, I'll delete the thread without question.

pbsaurus · « **Reply #4 on:** August 15, 2007, 12:03:56 AM »

It's such a hot thread, it's sticky

Merc · « **Reply #5 on:** August 15, 2007, 12:17:47 AM »

*puts his head down in shame* Didn't think to check outside the Entertainment thread... ahh I'm not on a good roll here.

Well, would the powers that be wish for this to stay up as homage to idiocy? Maybe want me to delete it, or even delete it themselves?

Chris · « **Reply #6 on:** August 15, 2007, 12:19:37 AM »

You know, I bet if the search function actually worked, this wouldn't have happened. When is that going to get fixed?

Chris · « **Reply #7 on:** August 15, 2007, 12:20:42 AM »

I have been looking for a fix for the search function for a while now, but still no luck. Hopefully in the next release of SMF this issue will somehow magically be corrected.

Merc · « **Reply #8 on:** August 15, 2007, 12:25:21 AM »

*shrugs* I'll take that as a, "Lets not delete." Might teach a lesson to my fellow newbs, and maybe, just maybe, magically fix the search button. I'm headed over to the sticky though. I mean, 63 pages of books...

Chris · « **Reply #9 on:** August 15, 2007, 12:33:29 AM »

Out of those 63 pages, there are probably only 10, good, solid pages of books. The other pages probably went off topic, knowing this crowd.

Dark Shade · « **Reply #10 on:** August 15, 2007, 03:33:49 AM »

Well, let's leave this one up for the time being. I'm all for it.

Here's a few from my personal library...

-- The 'Myst' series, by Rand Miller. The game series tends to follow the story. Not only are the books themselves fantastic, but the games are visually stunning. Definitely worth a look for those of you who haven't seen them.

-- 'Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer', by Patrick Süskind. A very worthwhile read. With the recent movie release the book only became more popular, and it kept me going until the very end. If you haven't read the book, read it. If you haven't seen the movie, rent it. They're both quite good.

-- 'Idlewild', by Nick Sagan. Taken from Nick Sagan Online:

"Ten children are about to come of age. One of them, a young man, is suddenly startled awake. He has no memory. His surroundings mean nothing to him. All he knows for certain is that someone is trying to kill him.

Unsure whom he can trust, he is reacquainted with his peers, all of whom are being trained at a unique school run by the enigmatic Maestro. As he tries to uncover the identity of his would-be killer, it becomes clear that the ramifications of his investigation are far greater than he could ever have imagined - that it's more, much more, than just his life that is at stake."

All I can say is simply this: Read the book. I literally could not put it down until I had finished.

That's about it for the moment. I'll be sure to look over some others and jot 'em down for you.

BizB · « **Reply #11 on:** August 15, 2007, 07:31:18 AM »

I own a liberry kard. I can haz all books I kneed!

pickled kitten · « **Reply #12 on:** August 15, 2007, 01:01:57 PM »

The Elegant Universe - Brian Greene
The Fabric of the Cosmos - Brian Greene
Good Omens - Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

I will post more once I'm home and in front of my book shelves.

pbsaurus · « **Reply #13 on:** August 15, 2007, 01:06:10 PM »

One of my personal favorites is Oral Sadism And The Vegetarian Personality. Anyanka should love this one.

Anyway this thread can stay, after all, they are free. It will live or die on its own merits. However, it going off topic is almost a given.

Scheherazade · « **Reply #14 on:** August 15, 2007, 01:52:53 PM »

--Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

--The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern (though I'd suggest the abridged edition by William Goldman. I've read both, and the abridge ddoesn't cut out anything important or even interesting...just about one hundred pages of Gilderian fashion tips. Seriously. Also, if you are only reading the book because you liked the movie, the abridged version is where the tale of the grandfather reading this book to the sick kid comes from...true story, actually. <.< )

--Le Morte D'arthur by Sir Thomas Malory

--The Increasingly Inaccurately Titled Hitchhiker's Trilogy by Douglas Adams. Includes (in order):
-- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
-- The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
-- Life, the Universe and Everything
-- So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
-- Mostly Harmless
-- The Salmon of Doubt (not officially part of the "Trilogy," but it does have several characters from the "Trilogy" in it, particularly Zaphod Beeblebrox)

Agent_Tachyon · « **Reply #15 on:** August 15, 2007, 03:07:27 PM »

Here are the books I'd ideally take with me when I move:

-The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells
-The Time Machine, ditto
-20,000 Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne
-The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and RAWilson
-The Book of the SubGenius by Reverend Ivan Stang and J.R. "Bob" Dobbs
-The Schroedinger's Cat Trilogy by Pope Bob
-Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman
-The Poor Man's James Bond by Kurt Saxon
-Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard
-The Gunslinger (and the other assorted DT books I have) by Stephen King
-The Art of Deception by Kevin Mitnick
-Assorted Doc Savage Bantam reprints by Lester Dent
-The Silent World by Captain Jacques Cousteau.

Paladin · « **Reply #16 on:** August 15, 2007, 03:50:04 PM »

The first books that come to my mind and weren't already mentioned:

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie,
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez,
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter Thompson,
Tristam Shandy by Laurence Stern,

and, of course,
The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks. (who knows when you'll need it? Better to be safe and carry a copy all the time.)

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Author Topic: Books that you should own (Read 3725 times)