Recommend a book!

[Iridian 71]

I was looking for something to read, and I thought a book recommendation thread would be totes kawaii - I could tell everyone about my favorite books, and they could tell me some of theirs! You'll get something new to read, and so will I. It's a win-win!

 

Here's my recommendation:

A Long Way From Chicago and A Year Down Yonder, both by Richard Peck

Genre: Humor

A Long Way From Chicago documents the nine summers that siblings Joey and Mary Alice spend with their eccentric grandmother in a sleepy Illinois town. It takes place before and during the Great Depression.

In A Year Down Yonder, which takes place a few years after the first book, the Great Depression is over and Mary Alice goes to live with her grandmother for an entire year.

Both books are hilarious, lighthearted reads, and have earned a Newberry Honor and Newberry Award, respectively.

My pathetic recommendation does not do these books justice - you have to read them to find out how awesome they are.

 

So what are your favorite books?

 

 

Also, if you want to add me on Goodreads so we can share even more books, feel free: goodreads.com/iridian

Edited September 16, 2013 by Iridian

[Moonlight 7,279]

My recommendation is:

 

A Monster Calls by: Patrick Ness

 

Personally, this is my favorite all time book and for some good reasons...

 

• The characters are actually interesting and do manage to get some development..
• The setting is not anything new, but it was done well.
• The ending...the ending...after reading the entire book and then finishing it in a single night (I sat in one spot for 5 hours just to finish reading it), I must say...the ending actually made you feel with the main character.

 

Here's the description of the book:

 

"At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting-- he's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It's ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth."

 

Cover is here:

 

 

You have no idea how happy I was when I figured out that this book was extremely positively received. Do yourself a favor, and check it out. 

[techno915 407]

Schooled. idk the author or anything because it's at my house and i'm in my dorm right now, but i loved it. it's basically about this hippy kid who gets thrown into the real world. he has to survive school and everything that goes on. it's a great read. only advice i have really is to pay attention to the beginning of the chapters. it tells you whose perspective the chapter will be in.

[PlunderSteed 1,251]

Jack London's classic "The Call of the Wild."

 

It's a stark, grim and lonely story.  No happy endings, I'm afraid...depending on how you look at it.  Still, it captures the beautiful simplicity of tooth & claw, loyalty & betrayal that defines pack mentality and survival in the extreme climate of central Alaska.

[Squeaker101 50]

Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel, and Airborn by the same author.

Two of my all time favorite books, they both are series which have 3 books all together.

 

Silverwing is about a little bat that could. Being the runt of the family, he gets picked on daily by the other bats. During a migration, he gets blown away from his flock and lost overseas. Thus, an epic adventure begins.

 

Airborn is a little difficult to explain in a short answer. Basically ships can fly in the air, and the protagonist works on one. The protagonist is a teenager, trying to make his way up to being a captain. The story kicks off with a hot air balloon not responding to the ships call, so they investigate. Turns out to be some old guy dead, researching something. Fast forward a few years later, he meets his grandaughter by chance. She wants to complete her grandad's research, and needs his help. Thus, another adventure begins,

 

Both are Adventure/Romance.

Jack London's classic "The Call of the Wild."

 

It's a stark, grim and lonely story.  No happy endings, I'm afraid...depending on how you look at it.  Still, it captures the beautiful simplicity of tooth & claw, loyalty & betrayal that defines pack mentality and survival in the extreme climate of central Alaska.

Have you read "White Fang" by Jack London? It's another one of my favorites. It might be a little weird saying this, since it's focused on a realistic animal, but. I really felt for the wolf.

 

I think they made a movie adaption, but I doubt it's any good. Most movie adaptions of books are generally terrible. Save for the Harry Potter series, but I much prefer the books on those too lol.

Edited September 16, 2013 by Squeaker101

[Iridian 71]

My recommendation is:

 

A Monster Calls by: Patrick Ness

 

Personally, this is my favorite all time book and for some good reasons...

 

• The characters are actually interesting and do manage to get some development..
• The setting is not anything new, but it was done well.
• The ending...the ending...after reading the entire book and then finishing it in a single night (I sat in one spot for 5 hours just to finish reading it), I must say...the ending actually made you feel with the main character.

 

Here's the description of the book:

 

"At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting-- he's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It's ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth."

 

Cover is here:

 

 

You have no idea how happy I was when I figured out that this book was extremely positively received. Do yourself a favor, and check it out. 

 

After checking the Goodreads for this - I'm surprised I haven't seen this book yet! I absolutely must check it out in the very near future.

Schooled. idk the author or anything because it's at my house and i'm in my dorm right now, but i loved it. it's basically about this hippy kid who gets thrown into the real world. he has to survive school and everything that goes on. it's a great read. only advice i have really is to pay attention to the beginning of the chapters. it tells you whose perspective the chapter will be in.

Found it! It's by Gordon Korman. It sounds like a really awesome book - especially since one of my favorite authors marked it as a favorite. Thanks for the rec!

 

Jack London's classic "The Call of the Wild."

 

It's a stark, grim and lonely story.  No happy endings, I'm afraid...depending on how you look at it.  Still, it captures the beautiful simplicity of tooth & claw, loyalty & betrayal that defines pack mentality and survival in the extreme climate of central Alaska.

 

I'm glad that you recommended this to me - my mom just bought a collection of books by Jack London, and I wasn't planning on reading it, but now I think I will.

Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel, and Airborn by the same author.

Two of my all time favorite books, they both are series which have 3 books all together.

 

Silverwing is about a little bat that could. Being the runt of the family, he gets picked on daily by the other bats. During a migration, he gets blown away from his flock and lost overseas. Thus, an epic adventure begins.

 

Airborn is a little difficult to explain in a short answer. Basically ships can fly in the air, and the protagonist works on one. The protagonist is a teenager, trying to make his way up to being a captain. The story kicks off with a hot air balloon not responding to the ships call, so they investigate. Turns out to be some old guy dead, researching something. Fast forward a few years later, he meets his grandaughter by chance. She wants to complete her grandad's research, and needs his help. Thus, another adventure begins,

 

Both are Adventure/Romance.

I have got to check these two books out! I already have Airborn on my to-read shelf, but now I'm adding Silverwing as well.

 

 

Ooh, I'm so happy I made this thread! I wasn't really expecting it to take off because I'm not the best at communication, but I'm happy it has! By the way, if anyone else is on Goodreads, add me! :3 goodreads.com/iridian

[Moonlight 7,279]

 

 

Ooh, I'm so happy I made this thread! I wasn't really expecting it to take off because I'm not the best at communication, but I'm happy it has! By the way, if anyone else is on Goodreads, add me! :3 goodreads.com/iridian

 

 

I went ahead and just connected my Facebook account to it since it would be easier, but I did send you a friend request. Also, you could check out "Alan Wake", it's a book out of the video game by the same name. I loved it. 

[PlunderSteed 1,251]

Have you read "White Fang" by Jack London? It's another one of my favorites. It might be a little weird saying this, since it's focused on a realistic animal, but. I really felt for the wolf.

 

I think they made a movie adaption, but I doubt it's any good. Most movie adaptions of books are generally terrible. Save for the Harry Potter series, but I much prefer the books on those too lol.

 

White Fang was ok, but (IMO) a bit more anthropomorphized and silly at times.

 

London's most profound work by far was his stunning (and chilling) short story "To Build a Fire."  I consider it a classic modern psychological horror novella in the same family as Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and Alfred Hitchcock's genre-defining story "The Birds."

[Iridian 71]

I went ahead and just connected my Facebook account to it since it would be easier, but I did send you a friend request. Also, you could check out "Alan Wake", it's a book out of the video game by the same name. I loved it. 

Oh, yay! Another friend on Goodreads! I never really added anybody on there because I used to use it only to keep track of the books I've read an the books that I want to read and such.

And they actually make books (other than guides) for video games? That's weird and really cool.

[Moonlight 7,279]

 

 

And they actually make books (other than guides) for video games? That's weird and really cool.

 

Yep, they do. Based on what comes to mind, they make, "Alan Wake", "Halo", "Gears of War", "Mass Effect", "Assassin's Creed",  "Kingdom Hearts"...yeah, you get the point. It's actually rather interesting. I know the Alan Wake book pretty much restates everything that has happened in the video game, not sure about other video game novels though. 

[Iridian 71]

I have another recommendation:

The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I just love Sherlock Holmes. He's my favorite detective of all time - all of the books are 100% entertaining and also waaaay better than any TV or movie adaptation of them *cough* BBC *cough*

If you haven't read the complete canon yet, you absolutely must.

 

 

 

 

 

Yep, they do. Based on what comes to mind, they make, "Alan Wake", "Halo", "Gears of War", "Mass Effect", "Assassin's Creed",  "Kingdom Hearts"...yeah, you get the point. It's actually rather interesting. I know the Alan Wake book pretty much restates everything that has happened in the video game, not sure about other video game novels though. 

Kingdon Hearts has books?  I love Kingdom Hearts! I have got to read them!

[Moonlight 7,279]

 

 

Kingdon Hearts has books?  I love Kingdom Hearts! I have got to read them!

 

http://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=kingdom%27s+hearts 

 

 

Yes, I don't have much experience with Kingdom Hearts but they do exist.

 

I also recommend: The Quiet: A Novella by: Robert S. Wilson. 

and:     Asylum by: Amy Cross.

 

"The Quiet" is average, it's not awful but it's not amazing. I started reading "Asylum" and it's alright so far.

[Lucky Lass 528]

I read mostly fantasy these days, but one of my favorite books from the past year was Goblin Quest by Jim C. Hines.
Along with the other two books from the series, I like his writing style and the characters he chooses to feature aren't

your everyday heroes.
 

These days I think it usually comes with all three stories in one book, so the cover looks like this.
It is a fun read for humor/adventure/high fantasy c:

 

I also really like the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher, the first book is Storm Front.
There is a lot of cool character growth and the series is really long if you want something to last you awhile, lol

 

 

Also forgot to mention that if you enjoy high fantasy many of the book series published by Warhammer

are fun. Both sci-fi and old school fantasy, a variety of topics and usually different writers for many of the

series if I remember right.

Edited September 16, 2013 by Lucky Lass

[Iridian 71]

http://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=kingdom%27s+hearts

 

 

Yes, I don't have much experience with Kingdom Hearts but they do exist.

 

I also recommend: The Quiet: A Novella by: Robert S. Wilson. 

and:     Asylum by: Amy Cross.

 

"The Quiet" is average, it's not awful but it's not amazing. I started reading "Asylum" and it's alright so far.

I don't usually read horror books because I'm a bit of a scaredy cat, but I'm gonna give these two a try. Maybe I'll surprise myself!

[HeroSparks 232]

A couple of my favorite books are The Sight and the sequel, Fell. The characters are all wolves. Both are about rising to meet your destiny. Admittedly, Sight is kind of hard to get into at first. The time gap between the two is done very well and Fell sweeps you into the story immediately. The author is David Clement-Davis.

[Silverwisp the Bard 2,353]

Jack London's classic "The Call of the Wild."

 

It's a stark, grim and lonely story.  No happy endings, I'm afraid...depending on how you look at it.

 

Its also about a dog, (one should know that going in).

 

 

I'd recommend "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman to anyone even remotely interested in modern fantasy and/or mythology.

 

To anyone who loves classic fantasy , I'd say try Terry Pratchett ("Guards!Guards!" is a good starting point).

[Lost 1,410]

I'll recommend 3 of my favourites, each with different audiences.

 

1. The Necronomicon (The best tales of H.P Lovecraft)

Genre: Horror

Author: H.P Lovecraft

 

The Necronomicon is a fictional book in multiple stories by H.P Lovecraft, it has a Cult following, there is a commemorative Necronomicon which is a larger collection of Lovecraft's best works, it's a great read and contains the tales of the old ones and Cthulhu.

 

 

2. Eragon.

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Author: Christopher Paolini

 

If you've seen the movie, it's no way near as good as the books, read these, I beg of you.

 

 

3. The Name of the Wind

Genre: Fantasy

Author: Patrick Rothfuss

 

This is a great book, well written and well thought out, the author took his time writing the series and it really shows, one of my favourite books of all time.

[GhostPony750 958]

The Nightrunner series is probably the best fantasy book I have ever read, and I readed a lot of books.

It's really a must, this is incredibly detailed and intertaining. I don't want to spoil anything at all from the book, so I'll leave you with my recommendation, of the best book I have ever read.

 

Sadly, with school, I don't have any time to read.

 

 

Edit: Stupid keyboard, sometimes it doesn't want to write some characters...

Edited September 17, 2013 by GhostPony750

[Grand_Finale 529]

The night circus by Erin morgenstern and the lovely bones by Alice sebold are my two favorite books, I highly suggest them both

[Batbrony 15,994]

I'll recommend three of my favorites!

 

1. "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara

 

 

Hands down, the greatest Civil War novel you will ever read!  There's some other great ones out there, such as Shelby Foote's "Shiloh", but "The Killer Angels" is a magnum opus of epic proportions that captures so much of the spirit of the war and America itself as it was engaged in the midst of the greatest moral, constitutional, and spiritual crisis it has probably ever faced!  Seriously, if you haven't read it, read it as soon as possible!

 

2. "Democracy - An American Novel" by Henry Adams

 

 

Henry Adams is probably the most unappreciated genius in America's history!  The great-grandson of John Adams and grandson of John Quincy Adams, Henry Adams is probably the greatest historian America's ever produced, no joke.  The man had an incredible command and understanding of American and world history, and in his surprisingly accessible novel (at least for him; the man's usual writings are incredibly dense, each sentence usually containing a treasure trove of meaning) written after living in Washington, D.C. for a period, Adams dissects and exposes the perennially corrupting effects of politics to the human character, the best and the worst that American democracy and politics have to offer, the hard truth of our political system without all the bells, whistles, and idealistic illusions, and let me tell you, it is simply fabulous and so dead on!  If you're looking for nonfiction from him, Adams's autobiography "The Education of Henry Adams" and his landmark "History of the United States during the Administration of Thomas Jefferson" are both incredible and terribly unappreciated works, and I'm saying this when I've only read portions of them!  Seriously, if you haven't yet (and chances are you haven't), read some Henry Adams; the man was truly a remarkable genius!

 

3. "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain

 

 

I'll close on one you've all probably heard of.  Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is quite possibly the greatest American novel ever.  Twain's command of American Southern dialect is simply amazing (although for Southern authors it actually wasn't that unusual for the period), and so much of the American story is encapsulated in this novel.  Some of the greatest characters of all of American literature are found in this novel, and it really never gets old any time I read it.  A warning that really is only relevant for fellow bronies in the more liberal regions/school districts of our country, such as New England or California; DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT settle for a censored version of this classic that removes the N-word.  It is plain and simple literary butchery and it breaks my heart that people could be so politically correct that they would censor a book because they simply don't understand the historical context of the word, especially when the novel was written, or, furthermore, that Twain is actually sympathizing with and trying to humanize for American readers African Americans, rather than denigrate them as so many fools misinterpret just because he uses that word!  Yes, Southerners used that word at that time, but pretty much everyone did; Southern whites, African Americans, Irish (who were actually called it themselves oftentimes), heck, even NORTHERNERS used that word!  It doesn't make it right, but you cannot change the fact that that word was once commonplace in American dialect across the nation!  OK, rant over; like I said, and I cannot emphasize this enough, this is simply an American classic, Twain is possibly America's finest novelist ever, and if you haven't yet you should definitely pick up and read "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"!

Edited September 17, 2013 by Batbrony

[Hyper Tumble 1,483]

A great series of books to read are The Ranger's Apprentice books. They're really well written, and there are ten of them to keep you reading for weeks. It's about a boy in Medieval times who is an orphan and is accepted into this elite group of archer/trackers known as the Rangers.

[Dsanders 5,742]

I don't really read as much as I used to, but I still remember and know of a bunch of a good reads that would definitely make your time worthwhile and fun. :3

 

If you like the historical stuff, then I recommend  "Code Talkers". It's a pretty good read, and it's based on the history of the Navajo Indians and their involvement in WW2.

 

If you're up for a really long read, and are also a fan of history, poetry, romance, drama, and politics, then Les Miserables would be a good book to read. As well as one to take up a lot of your time. xD

 

The book is like as long as the bible. However, there's so much detail, history, and it encompasses a beautiful plethora of 'poetry' and dialogue in the story that it would definitely be an interesting and insightful read. 

 

 

I'll come up with more suggestions soon.

Edited September 17, 2013 by Dsanders

[Frosty V 309]

Have you tried the Warrior series? If you like fantasy, action, drama......and cats. That's a great series for you to start reading. Or maybe the Maximum Ride series, those are top notch books. One really in depth book is Blasphemy, a book were science and religion collide hehe.

[Sweet Pen 1,348]

I have many recommendations of books, but I think even more interesting is the Saga Shadow Falls Camp, from C.C. Hunter, who talks about supernatural and also a little romance.

[Silverwisp the Bard 2,353]

 

 

it has a Cult following

Ha!, I see what you did there. What's your favourite story out of the bunch?

 

 

 

2. Eragon.

Honestly, I'd recommend stopping after the first book (which is decent, by-the -numbers Hero's journey ). The story just goes into shambles after that

 

 

 

3. The Name of the Wind

I got halfway through the first one before stopping because I couldn't stand the pprotagonist Mary Sueing it up. Does it get any better later in?

 

 

 

 

The Nightrunner series i

Hmm, sounds interesting. Is there anything you'd compare it too?

 

for a censored version

I always wondered if anyone calling for the censure actually read the book... Wouldn't exactly call it the best evar, but definitely a great book and reading it should really be mandatory, if you're American.

 

I'd also recommend "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" to anyone: Its great fun (endings a bit messed up though).