I need to read more books.

I found the inheritance cycle by Christopher Paolini really interesting, There are 4 books each 800-900 pages long, Books are
Eragon (They made a film of this book and quite frankley its terrible, so dont go by the book)
Eldest
Brisinger
Inheritance.

These books got me through high school, granted im a geek but aren't we all on here?
 
Fantasy heavy like Tolkien;

Tad Williams

Shadowmarch quadrilogy

Shadowmarch
Shadowplay
Shadowrise
Shadowheart

Fantasy light (but not as light as Harry Potter or the Paolini series in the above post) Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy

The Dragonbone Chair
Stone of Farewell
To Green Angel Tower (split into To Green Angel Tower: Siege & To Green Angel Tower: Storm)

This series can be found cheaply as used books on Amazon.
 
A 'classic' of any genre: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
A fantasy novel: The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time series)
An historical novel: A Tale of Two Cities - Dickens
A wild card of your choice: Nineteen Eighty Four or Tom Brown's School Days (followed by the Flashman books)

Sorry I don't really read thriller or horror. I can recommend the Inspector Rebus books by Ian Rankin though if you like a bit of suspense and thought.

I just finished the Wheel of Time books, it's an epic undertaking but a fantastically well thought out story and I'd easily put it on par with Lord of the Rings.
 
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semi-pro waster said:
There's a fair argument that Brave New World is the more prescient novel but I think as a story 1984 is better, it's also contributed more to the lexicon than Huxley's book.

You're not alone if you think that Catch 22 is overrated. In fact I started a thread on precisely that premise a few years back, I wouldn't say you shouldn't read it but it takes an awfully long time to articulate a fairly straightforward point. Some people love it for the very reason I don't rate it though.
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A bit of a thread revival as I'm looking through it for books to take with me on holiday (bought Imajica so far as it looked interesting!).

Have you read We by Yevgeny Zamyatin? I read it recently and it was a really interesting book to compare to 1984 and Brave New World. It's similar in that it sets out a futuristic society, and in parts is very similar to 1984 (apparently it strongly influenced Orwell), but was written from the perspective of somebody inside a communist nation rather than a westerner looking in.
 
I'm mainly into fantasy stuff, so my recommendations are around that.

Don't do Game of Thrones, yet. Brilliant in parts but annoying that it's not finished and isn't likely to be any time soon.

For me Feist's Midkemia novels are probably better and have actually finished now, start with The Magician.

But yeah, another vote for the Robin Hobb books, Farseer amongst them.

Also the Mageborn series get an honourable mention for me.

Historical wise, I absolutely loved Conn Iggulden's Conqueror series about Ghengis Khan, read that before the David Gemmell Legend series, which has been recommended, as you'll see a lot of how the Mongol story influences the Nadir race in Gemmell's work.
 
Sorry to Hijack a little.

I picked up the Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer trilogy) by Robin Hobbs on recommendation from this thread. Nearly 1/2 way through it in just a few days. Really good read so far and it looks like its going to intensify. Lovely. :p
 
manic111 said:
A bit of a thread revival as I'm looking through it for books to take with me on holiday (bought Imajica so far as it looked interesting!).

Have you read We by Yevgeny Zamyatin? I read it recently and it was a really interesting book to compare to 1984 and Brave New World. It's similar in that it sets out a futuristic society, and in parts is very similar to 1984 (apparently it strongly influenced Orwell), but was written from the perspective of somebody inside a communist nation rather than a westerner looking in.
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I haven't yet but it sounds like it could be interesting so I'll put an order in for it.

Edrof: any update on whether these books are along the right lines for what you wanted or do you need other suggestions?
 
I'm a massive Bernard Cornwell fan so I'm glad to see others recommending his stuff. I'm into the historical novels simply because it's a fun way of learning about the politics, culture and warfare of the time. My dad is really into Patrick O'Brian, who I'm told takes the technicalities behind naval warfare to a new level. I've never read Master and Commander but I hope to one day. The Hornblower series is also meant to be quite good. Similar to Sharpe, and not as detailed as the Patrick O'Brian stuff.

I don't think I've ever read a 'classic'. I probably should. A Tale of Two Cities has been sat on my shelf for years. There just isn't enough time in our short little lives!
 
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