Thread: Recommend any Good Books?

Hey, everyone. The title says it all: basically, if you can think of any good books that you think a young girl might enjoy (or even love), could yo u please tell me? I am a bookworm and constantly on the hunt for great books...so anything, anything, just let me know. Also, you can include any thoughts about books that maybe you DIDN'T like so that I know what's stupid and what's not.

Thanks everyone!

P.S. I am currently reading The Book Thief. One of the greatest books ever written. Beautiful, set in WWII, told from death's POV. Try it.......you may come to love it. It is a book that will not let you stop thinking about it long after you finish it.

Although it is apparently aimed at teens, my girlfriend has become rather obsessed with the Twilight series. Not deeply intellectual stuff, I gather, but a solid story. She's re-read the first one about four times now, and she's a fairly discriminating reader.

Ahh, yes, the ubiquitous Twilight series. I've read all four, and I am vaguely disturbed by what I've read: it seems to be a hormonal girl's steamy fantasies that mainly revolve around sadistic and homicidal vampires (who are gorgeous by the way) and creepy, frozen-in-time werewolves.

Actually, Stephenie Meyer wasnt bad at all in The Host. Has your girlfriend read that, TB? It's quite good.

LOOK AT THIS LINK AND YOU'LL GET AN IDEA OF WHAT THE 4 BOOKS ARE LIKE (CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO MAKE IT BIGGER) :P

http://scargut-the-gutless.deviantar...dward-99242138

SORRY

ha ha
i forgot to add it on before

You can edit your post =)

Hmm - I have enjoyed the odd kid’s book, such as Kidnapped or Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde written Robert Louis Stevenson. Little treasures like that, quick to read. I bought a nice old copy of kidnapped, red leather bound published in the early 1900’s I think. It’s a charming book which has a diagram on the front and a nice pattern for the cover.

Tom Clancy’s spy/war books are always a good read, but something tells me you wouldn’t like him all too much.

Tom Clancy’s spy/war books are always a good read, but something tells me you wouldn’t like him all too much.

Hmm, why do you think I wouldn't like them? Are they anywhere similar to Clive Cussler books, because our school library houses many of both Clancy's and Cussler's books.

Little treasures like that, quick to read.

Have u read Journey to the Center of the Earth and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? Both are excellent adventure books if are interested at all. You've probably read them anyway, though.

So you all are telling me that besides Twilight and Tom Clancy books, and Robert Louis Stevenson books, there are NO OTHER GOOD BOOKS OUT THERE?!?!?

Sheesh. And here I thought people actually read.

UGHHHH!

I-bang-HAVE-bang-600-bang-DOLLARS-bang-WAITING-bang-TO-bang-BE-bang-SPENT-bang-AND-bang-THIS-bang-IS-bang-THE-bang-RESPONSE?



PLEASE! MY BRAIN IS HUNGERING FOR A GOOD READ! SOMETHING, ANYTHING! PLEASE!

HG Wells - The Time Machine.
Jules Verne - 20,000 Leauges under the sea.

The top one will give you a few important lessons about differences in the world from a timeless perspective. You can also fantasise about travelling in one as I have. That book gives you insight into humanity itself and how it can change in a hearbeat, or rather how it can adapt over time. There are a lot of pro-humanistic metaphors in there, (which is a term I just made up).

The second one will teach you comradeship and the lesson that you are not alone, alone. It will also teach you to understand anceint myths and legends with more ease than taking them all at face value to be literal. It is also a fantasy to get away from everything without fearing reprimand from any so called 'authority'.

I have also read both.

But, yes, those are good books.

I also just realized the smiley thats banging its head against the wall is saying "dammit" before every bang. Isn't it great to know I'm wasting valuable brainpower on this sort of stuff?

The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan.

My favourite series, although I'm not sure if they're particularly girls' books.

Also, the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchet are a good read.

Thank you very much, drowsy turtle. I shall look for those and try them. And puh-leese: not particularly girls' books? Like i care. i need a break from all the ridiculously frenzied chick-lit novels. :?

I guess I shouldn’t have said you might not like them. Because most people I know (My English and film study pals) don’t seem to think they are worth the paper they are printed on. Spy – political thrillers aren’t their cuppa tea.

The hobbit.

You could invest in a weekly magazine of interest to read, for example new scientist. Even thought they do jump the gun a little, I find some articles quite interesting as a read, not always for the science they contain. And now and again they do have a rare gem of neuroscience, which you may find interesting as a potential neurosurgeon. Of course there are many weekly mags out there you might find intersting. This way you might get somthing new to read every week, to keep the reading bugs away.

If anyone here likes fantasy/adventure/some romance all in one, I suggest the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. They're very very good, but mainly for teens. I'm actually rereading the final one again (its a trilogy).

And I have no idea what I'm doing up at 2:25 on a science forum, but that's ok. We have spring break: NO SCHOOL FOR A WEEK!

8)

I'm not sure how you feel about dark fantasy novels after your assessment of Twilight - I haven't read that series nor do I have any interest in doing so, but the Dark Jewel Trilogy by Anne Bishop (Daughter of the Blood is the first one) is pretty good - at least it was a favorite of my friends and I in high school. Take that as you will.

My favorite fiction books are the Xenogenesis series by Octavia Butler. They're post apocalyptic sci fi, pretty different from anything that has been mentioned in this thread so far. But I hope you give them a try.

I started in on Wheel of Time in high school as well, but by then I'd read so many fantasy epics they all seemed the same to me. Some great supernatural evil is threatening the world and an unlikely hero must go on a long journey and experience many adventures in order to eventually defeat it. Lord of the Rings, incarnation number 76. I turned to what I call politico-fantasy, including the Kushiel books by Jacqueline Carey and the Song of Ice and Fire books by JRR Martin, but they also blend into each other after a while.

Thank you very much Paralith! I'm sure they will be interesting!

Originally Posted by paralith

I'm not sure how you feel about dark fantasy novels after your assessment of Twilight - I haven't read that series nor do I have any interest in doing so, but the Dark Jewel Trilogy by Anne Bishop (Daughter of the Blood is the first one) is pretty good - at least it was a favorite of my friends and I in high school. Take that as you will.

My favorite fiction books are the Xenogenesis series by Octavia Butler. They're post apocalyptic sci fi, pretty different from anything that has been mentioned in this thread so far. But I hope you give them a try.

I started in on Wheel of Time in high school as well, but by then I'd read so many fantasy epics they all seemed the same to me. Some great supernatural evil is threatening the world and an unlikely hero must go on a long journey and experience many adventures in order to eventually defeat it. Lord of the Rings, incarnation number 76. I turned to what I call politico-fantasy, including the Kushiel books by Jacqueline Carey and the Song of Ice and Fire books by JRR Martin, but they also blend into each other after a while.

Ya it's rare that you get new life in the genre.

I quite liked Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card in high school.

China Mieville has some interesting fantasy/sci-fi kind of set in a pseudo 19th century "steam-punk" universe. I really liked Perdito Street Station by him.

Book of the New Sun series by Gene Wolfe is an interesting far future "dying Earth" sci-fi novel, which has a more fantasy-esque feel.

Hyperion by Dan Simmons and it's sequels. A retelling of the Canterbury Tales in a sci-fi universe. A priest, a diplomat, a starship captain, a detective, a poet, and a professor make a pilgrimage to a far away planet and each tell a story as they move towards their destination.

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. It's a must read sci-fi classic.

A guilty pleasure of mine is Watership Down by Richard Adams, it was one of my favorites as a child along with Redwall by Brian Jacques.

I think that's enough of a list for now

I quite liked Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card in high school.

Yeah, I just got that book, and another called Shadow Puppets. Apparently, they're parallel books?

Originally Posted by tritai

I quite liked Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card in high school.

Yeah, I just got that book, and another called Shadow Puppets. Apparently, they're parallel books?

Ya it's a retelling of the same story from another character's perspective, but it's reasonably different.

Originally Posted by paralith

I started in on Wheel of Time in high school as well, but by then I'd read so many fantasy epics they all seemed the same to me. Some great supernatural evil is threatening the world and an unlikely hero must go on a long journey and experience many adventures in order to eventually defeat it.

Indeed. That's not what I like about them though; it's the attention to detail, and the complexity of parts of the plot.

Originally Posted by drowsy turtle

Originally Posted by paralith

I started in on Wheel of Time in high school as well, but by then I'd read so many fantasy epics they all seemed the same to me. Some great supernatural evil is threatening the world and an unlikely hero must go on a long journey and experience many adventures in order to eventually defeat it.

Indeed. That's not what I like about them though; it's the attention to detail, and the complexity of parts of the plot.

Some of the WoT books are pure garbage, others are decent. Unfortunately, Robert Jordan died with the last book unfinished. It's being finished by some other guy from Jordan's notes, and somehow the last novel has turned into 3 books

Originally Posted by drowsy turtle

Originally Posted by paralith

I started in on Wheel of Time in high school as well, but by then I'd read so many fantasy epics they all seemed the same to me. Some great supernatural evil is threatening the world and an unlikely hero must go on a long journey and experience many adventures in order to eventually defeat it.

Indeed. That's not what I like about them though; it's the attention to detail, and the complexity of parts of the plot.

I appreciate that, but other authors accomplish that just as well with more original content. I second tired_sleepy's recommendation of Left Hand of Darkness, and really anything by Ursula K. LeGuin. She's a great author.

I read Ender's Game as well, and went on to read the other books that follow Ender later in life (Speaker of the Dead is the immediately following one, I think). I never read Ender's Shadow or Shadow Puppets though. Funnily enough, I read Hyperion but I didn't know it was based on Canterbury Tales - I never read those. I enjoyed the first one a lot, was shocked to discover it was supposed to continue in another book, tried to carry on and didn't enjoy the second one nearly as much. Still haven't finished it.

Originally Posted by paralith

I appreciate that, but other authors accomplish that just as well with more original content. I second tired_sleepy's recommendation of Left Hand of Darkness, and really anything by Ursula K. LeGuin. She's a great author.

I read Ender's Game as well, and went on to read the other books that follow Ender later in life (Speaker of the Dead is the immediately following one, I think). I never read Ender's Shadow or Shadow Puppets though. Funnily enough, I read Hyperion but I didn't know it was based on Canterbury Tales - I never read those. I enjoyed the first one a lot, was shocked to discover it was supposed to continue in another book, tried to carry on and didn't enjoy the second one nearly as much. Still haven't finished it.

The following books are very very different, but I liked them.

Anyone here read Phantom of the Opera? I dont know if I should use the time and effort to read it or not...

Originally Posted by tritai

Anyone here read Phantom of the Opera? I dont know if I should use the time and effort to read it or not...

I've seen the musical...

Yeah I got roped into seeing that, not as bad as I expected to be honest.

How about this...

Er, well, considering that I'm not 5 years old, I'll have to pass. But gee, that was a classic wasn't it? Oh, if anyone here likes mystery, I recommend all Agatha Christie books and John Grisham books. (My two faves of the moment for AC are And then there were none, and death comes as the end:Egypt 2000 BC .

John Grisham's a Time to Kill is very good also.

i love another "and there were none", an SF novella by Eric Frank Russell

Books I've read and recommend:

History:

New Deal or Raw Deal?: How FDR's Economic Legacy Has Damaged America by Burton W., Jr. Folsom

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West by Dee Brown

From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life 1500 to the Present by Jacques Barzun

The Invasion of Europe by the Barbarians by J. B. Bury

1066: The Year of the Conquest by David Howarth

Fiction:

Coyote Blue by Christopher Moore

Fool by Christopher Moore

The Cabinet of Curiousities by Doug Preston and Lincoln Child

The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice

Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice

The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman

The Stingray Shuffle by Tim Dorsey

Slaughterhouse-5 by Kurt Vonnegut

German Fiction:

Komm Süsser Tod von Wolf Haas

Der Prozess von Franz Kafka

Der Zauberberg von Thomas Mann

Science:

Survival of the Sickest: The Surprising Connections Between Disease and Longevity by Sharon Moalem

The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature by Matt Ridley

Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters by Donald R. Prothero

Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life by Nick Lane

The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution by Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending

Four Laws That Drive the Universe by Peter Atkins

The Naked Brian by Richard Restack

Human by Michal Gazzaniga

Genome by Matt Ridley

Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin

Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmer

Phantoms in the Brain by VS Ramachandran

The Balance Within: The Science Connecting Health and Emotions by Esther M. Sternberg

The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge

The Making of the Fittest by Sean Carroll

At the Water's Edge : Fish with Fingers, Whales with Legs, and How Life Came Ashore but Then Went Back to Sea by Carl Zimmer

Evolution: The First Four Billion Years by Michael Ruse

Hmm, I have yet to try any of Anne Rice's books. I'll look into that, and some of the others you mentioned. I'm not a great history buff, but some of them look good all the same. Thank you gottspieler!

Meh, not a big fan of Anne Rice.

Slaughterhouse-5 by Vonnegut and The Trial by Kafka are good recommendations though.

Ok, this might sound like a lame question, but has anyone here ever cried over a book? I have - twice, actually. The first time I just cried because of the injustice that was portrayed in the book. The second time, I WEPT, and SOBBED, and basically cried for a straight hour over one damn book. Why, you may ask? Because, during my second cry, I was in the final part of a trilogy, and the main character dies, leaving behind a terrible, tragic romance which had been evolving for the past over 1200 pages. I was heartbroken and actually slamed the book shut in my misery. When I finally DID get to reading the rest of the book, I found out that he really did not die, and that he got the girl in the end....happily ever after.

Yeah, I didn't whether to laugh or cry at that point.

Umm, i dunno if it is called something different in USA but:

The Books of Pellinor - Alison Croggon's
The boy in striped pajamas's - John Boyne
Cherub Series - Robert Muchamore
Bartimaeus Trilogy -Johnathan Stroud
Septimus Heap - Angie Sage

http://www.alisoncroggon.com/fantasy/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boy...triped_Pyjamas
http://www.cherubcampus.com/index.html
http://www.bartimaeustrilogy.com/home.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septimus_Heap

Total books: 24

I think some are exclusively for UK, but see what you can get and if not message me. I might be able to do something.

Thanks, Dementis Vir! I actually started the Bartimaeus Trilogy about 3 years ago, but I think I got about halfway through the second book.

Cherub series? :-D - Sounds intriguing

The boy in striped Pajamas - -groan- oh no. another great book that will probably have a tragic ending and make me stay up until 2 on a school night wondering what went wrong with humanity..... :?

All in all, thanks DV. Say, have you tried the Bobby Pendragon series? And Alex Rider? They're pretty good, you know, for some adventure, and some fantasy.

Originally Posted by tritai

Thanks, Dementis Vir! I actually started the Bartimaeus Trilogy about 3 years ago, but I think I got about halfway through the second book.

Cherub series? :-D - Sounds intriguing

The boy in striped Pajamas - -groan- oh no. another great book that will probably have a tragic ending and make me stay up until 2 on a school night wondering what went wrong with humanity..... :?

All in all, thanks DV. Say, have you tried the Bobby Pendragon series? And Alex Rider? They're pretty good, you know, for some adventure, and some fantasy.

Yeah, the Bartimaeus Trilogy is a really good read, the last book is the best though.

The Cherub series is about an England secret organization made up of agents that are orphaned children. Maybe you can't get it. If not PM me and i might be able to do something about it.

Yeah, the boy in striped pajamas's is a very sad story of the German WWII Camps. It's about a German young boy who meets the boy in striped pajamas's and learns about his country.

Bobby Pendragon? No, i have never heard of them? What are they based on? I have read the first 4 Alex rider books but failed to save up enough money for the rest and forgot about them.

I have another book series that you may have heard of, although i think it is Another UK book only. It's called Skulduggery Pleasant.

http://www.skulduggerypleasant.com/us/

I hear you sent a PM to my mother? Care to tell me about it (PM me about it please)

The Collector, by John Fowles

He sees her. He loves her. He kidnaps her and keeps her in his basement hoping that way she will eventually love him back..........one day.

It's a must-read. I'd cry if you don't read it

Originally Posted by Numii

The Collector, by John Fowles

He sees her. He loves her. He kidnaps her and keeps her in his basement hoping that way she will eventually love him back..........one day.

Sounds like my love life lol, na jokes. I have read that, it is a truly great book, Remind me, is it true or not?

What do you mean, true or not?

E.g. Is it a true story?

I don't know. I don't think so...
There was a movie made after the book came out also. I don't really care if it's true, but the way he portrayed everything, amazing.

The Collector, by John Fowles

He sees her. He loves her. He kidnaps her and keeps her in his basement hoping that way she will eventually love him back..........one day.

It's a must-read. I'd cry if you don't read it

Sounds like somthing I'd like...Thanks, Numii and DV! :-D

@ DementisVir - The Pendragon books are beasically about a boy striving to overcome the different demons throughout the universe as he travels through different dimensions. It's written in two different perspectives, and there are a bunch of books involved. Very good, in my opinion.

http://www.thependragonadventure.com/

I love The Sound and the Fury.

As I Lay Dying is great as well.

Originally Posted by frank

I'd recommend Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

Great book. It overlooks little, considering the scope of coverage.

I'm off to the bookstore today! Thank you everyone who gave their suggestions! I know I'm going to have an enjoyable Sunday. :-D

language:turkish
author:arda denkel
book:düşünceler ve gerekçeler
a philosophy book

I would like to recommend Second Nature, by Gerald M. Edelman.
Dr. Edelman is the Chair of The Department of Neurobiology at The Scripps Institute.
The book is extremely interesting, in it there is a major discussion of how various regions of the brain communicate and how different deficits impair behavior.

Oh, I love that book.
My favorite part begins in Chapter 2 with discussion of the optical sensing apparatus. And it continues through Chapter 3 with discussion of temporal cognition. In it he describes with sincere enthusiasm how the various loci can 1) adapt to recognize vary types of stimuli; the visual cortex can be reprogrammed to hear and vice versa, but more interestingly he describes how we exist as temporal beings. In that we are aware of the present but also simultaneously cogent of where we are and what we plan to do.

I believe that it is fascinating.

blatant advertising.

Or am I to be blieve that two accounts with the same avatar, both new and with <5 posts, one fo them banned for spamming, happened to agree about how great a book is completely by accident?

Oooo, some digging around found an identical post in the trash can. Nice.

He/She is banned...again. Please let me know if you see any more posts that resemble this poster.

Thanks,

IS

Oooh I have one! Unaccustomed Earth... It got "Best Book Of The Year".

Flatland I can't remember the auther, but it's a book my calc teacher recomended

I'd like to recommend:

"Foundation trilogy" by Isaac Asmiov
"The Black Cloud by" Fred Hoyle
"Big Bang" by Simon Singh
"The Invisible Man" by H.G. Wells
"I, robot" by Isaac Asimov

This is a blatant plug – I hope I can be forgiven for mentioning a book my daughter has written. It’s called Margin Notes and is a collection of short stories about middle school children who are slightly outside the “norm”. It’s drawn from my daughter’s experiences as a middle school teacher. I’ve read most of it, and while I wouldn’t dare claim to be an unbiased reviewer, I have to say it’s very good.

http://www.amazon.com/Margin-Notes-C.../dp/1440140170

Wow, Bunbury, that's really cool! It sounds good too.....I'm sure it will be a good read. Thanks for the recommendations, guys! Now if only i had some more tiempo libre..... :x



:wink:

Battlefield Earth (nothing like the movie)

The Wall

Plato's Symposium

just to give you EVEN MORE suggestions..
these are the books which have had a lasting impression on me:

Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
His Dark Materials trilogy - Philip Pullman
Obernewtyn series - Isobelle Carmody
A Fortunate Life - A.B. Facey
The Little Prince - Antoinette Saint de Exupery (think I spelt that right.. haha)
Jonathan Livingstone Seagull - Richard Bach

Sorry I may have gone a little over the top but books excite me! Hope some of you out there enjoy these as much as I have

Originally Posted by Bunbury

This is a blatant plug – I hope I can be forgiven for mentioning a book my daughter has written. It’s called Margin Notes and is a collection of short stories about middle school children who are slightly outside the “norm”. It’s drawn from my daughter’s experiences as a middle school teacher. I’ve read most of it, and while I wouldn’t dare claim to be an unbiased reviewer, I have to say it’s very good.

http://www.amazon.com/Margin-Notes-C.../dp/1440140170

Sweet!

You must be so proud!

Available in the UK yet? (It's been years since I amazoned anything.)

I recommend the most recent book I've read:

The Link by Colin Tudge

"I, robot" by Isaac Asimov

My favorite book about robots as well as my favorite work of Asimov.

Originally Posted by sunshinewarrior

Available in the UK yet? (It's been years since I amazoned anything.)

Not sure about that. But check your messages.

Atlas Shrugged

The God Delusion

Howards End by E.M. Forster, I've always had a soft spot for it.

Originally Posted by i_feel_tiredsleepy

Howards End by E.M. Forster, I've always had a soft spot for it.

Great movie that inspired.

Originally Posted by gottspieler

"I, robot" by Isaac Asimov

My favorite book about robots as well as my favorite work of Asimov.

Ditto. One of the first Sci-Fi books I've read.

Originally Posted by Arcane_Mathematician

Flatland I can't remember the auther, but it's a book my calc teacher recomended

The book is by Edwin A. Abbott

A Canticle for Leibowitz, a post apocalyptic science fiction novel that is beautifully written.

The Song of Ice and Fire series by George Martin. High fantasy in a gritty, feudal world.

Originally Posted by Ellatha

Originally Posted by Arcane_Mathematician

Flatland I can't remember the auther, but it's a book my calc teacher recomended

The book is by Edwin A. Abbott

Thank you

This was the best SF I read growing up, or at least stayed with me, most of the others are already fading from memory. It's old but a classic. By Charles R. Tanner

Tumithak of the Corridors: The Legendary SF Classic Summary:

"Human Characters and an Exciting Plot!" -Isaac Asimov. Tumithak of the Corridors is a keystone science fiction classic from the pages of the 1931 Amazing Stories. It made a big impression on the youthful Isaac Asimov, who later described it as "far and away the best and most exciting story I had ever read up to that time. I found the characters human and the hero all the more admirable because he could feel fear. I found the plot exciting and a deep humanity in the sentence 'Tumithak had to learn that in no matter what nation or age one finds oneself, he will find gentleness, if he looks, as well as savagery.'" Asimov also credited Tumithak of the Corridors' for inspiring his own description of the underground city of the future in Caves of Steel. Although the science fiction has become far more sophisticated since the era in which Tanner and others were first consciously exploring its limitless possibilities, it still remains a masterpiece of pace, culture-building, and, dare we say it, sense of wonder.