Book Recommendations (fiction)?

Timely thread. I'm looking for some evening fun reading while on vacation in Hawaii and on the plane. I'm headed to our local online library. I can borrow e-books on my Kindle. Saves money and that's what libraries are for!
 
If you haven't read them, the classic British mysteries are great and never gruesome; Josephine Tey, Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Wilkie Collins.

I find a lot of the "cozy" mysteries a little twee for my taste, but some of them can be amusing and are rarely gruesome. I like the ones that have historical settings; Rhys Bowen, Anne Perry, Alyssa Maxwell, and some others who aren't popping into my mind right now.

I've been reading the Charles Todd Inspector Rutledge mysteries this fall. They're set just after WWI and the inspector is struggling to hide his "cowardly" "shell shock" as he returns to Scotland Yard.
 
I suggest that you try Dune by Frank Herbert. If you like it, carry on with the series.
 
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold
Old Man's War series by John Scalzi

These are the top three that haven't been mentioned yet, but others to consider are Neal Stephenson, Neil Gaiman, Mike Resnick, Brandon Sanderson, and Benedict Jacka, to name a few.
 
Exrook said:
Neal Stephenson, Neil Gaiman
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Particularly liked Stephenson's Cryptonomicon, and have read Gaiman's Neverwhere several times, (before giving it to our eleven year old granddaughter)......the TV movie of the book wasn't half bad either:

 
brucethebroker said:
BTW- website literature-map.com, allows you to plug in an author you like and it will provide names of similar authors.
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Hm. I was looking for other humor writers, so I plugged Dave Barry into that site. It suggested Jesus was a close match. Although I'm sure Dave would approve, I have read this Jesus fellow, and I didn't find his stuff all that funny.
 
Here are some of my favorites:

11/22/63 by Stephen King - Fascinating! That guy can write & he doesn't insult your intelligence.

A Married Man by Piers Paul Read - a married barrister has an affair & the results are ... complicated. A meditation on religion, class & the consequences of choices in England in the 1970s.

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh - One of my very favorites; when I finish it, I just want to start reading it all over again. Also about class, religion - and love. Just mesmerizing.

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry -someone mentioned this, & I second it. Great characters & a very powerful story.

Washington Square by Henry James

Amsterdam by Ian McEwan - unforgettable!

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett - what happens when rebels take over an embassy in a South American capital during a glittering concert and hold dozens of hostages (loosely based on an actual incident)

The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

And 2 nonfiction gems:
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow - I just finished this, and wow!!! This is a book that will stay with me for a long time. (The first 40 pages or so about his ancestors was a little slow going, but once Hamilton gets to New York there's no turning back.) Fascinating information and insights on every page.

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.
 
If you've never read it, Dracula by Bram Stoker is utterly engrossing and not at all difficult to read, even though it's considered "classic literature".

I also highly recommend the so-called Millenium trilogy (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and its sequels).
 
This book is the first in a trilogy written by an excellent Chinese SF writer:

The Three Body Problem

Basically, advanced aliens on an unstable planet light years away decide to take over the Earth. They send a message to their willing dupes on Earth "We are coming to take your planet from you. We'll be there in 400 years."

By the way, the translation is excellent. No funny wording that hurts the ears of native speakers.
 
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The Penal Colony. Thoroughly enjoyed as a summer beach read....AND, if you grab it now the cost is $0.00 for kindle.
 
I've been getting a kick out of The Monster Hunters Inc. series by Larry Corriera. I'd say it's aimed at teenage boys before they can drive (13-15). Might be a bit too low brow, and all but Four or five characters are very shallow, but the author treats science and ballistics with more respect than that Jack Reacher writer.
 
Check out author Nelson DeMille. His book "Night Fall" was one of my favorites. His John Corey character is hilarious if you enjoy a sarcastic, dry wit.

Some other older books that I always include in my favorites list are:

"The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein. Great book for animal lovers.

"The Truth Machine" by James Halperin. Very interesting premise that will make you think quite a bit.

“Flash Forward” by Robert J. Sawyer. Again - interesting premise.

“Replay” by Ken Grimwood.

"The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett.

"State of Fear" by Michael Crichton.

Please be sure to let us know which of the many suggestions in this thread you enjoyed. I always appreciate the recommendations of others, and it will also help us to narrow down the list for you!
 
Not Alone, by Craig A. Falconer.
Different type of alien contact book. It is about how the world would react to the discovery of alien artifacts and how the gov't. covers up the find.
 
Racer X said:
[....] Please be sure to let us know which of the many suggestions in this thread you enjoyed. I always appreciate the recommendations of others, and it will also help us to narrow down the list for you!
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Thank you, I will. This turned out to be a very helpful thread for me, and hopefully for others, too.

I am about halfway through Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett, which was the first recommendation in the thread (REWahoo) and a book you recommended as well.

I like it quite a lot, so far. I was a bit intimidated by the size of the thing (900+ pages) and assumed I was in for a 100+ page warm-up. But no, he gets rolling right away and keeps things moving.

I like his writing style. It is clear and crisp, without a lot of ostentation or superfluous verbiage. The characters are well drawn and believable. The time period is interesting. I haven't read many books set in the Middle Ages. I feel like I'm being entertained and also learning some things. I've gotten emotional a couple of times, so I know I'm connected with the characters.

Based on what I've read so far, I plan on reading more of Follett's stuff in the future. I hadn't read any prior to this.

I've got a long list of titles to investigate, based on this thread. I'll try to provide feedback as I make my way through them. I appreciate the suggestions. I've googled the subject before ("best novels" and whatnot), but for some reason have never gotten very good results that way.
 
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How bout a collection of short stories? Tons of them at the library. I've noticed that the editor of the collection makes a big difference in whether or not I enjoy the stories. One editor has selected a bunch of boring, uninteresting (to me) stories and another has selected stories almost all of which I like. Currently reading a collection edited by Joyce Carol Oates, which I like.
 
Finished Pillars of the Earth (Follette) today. Really powerful book, enjoyed every bit of it. I was very impressed by his writing, his command of all that varied material, his ability to hold my attention for 970 pages, and to bring all those characters to life. I want to sample other writers first, but I definitely look forward to reading his Century trilogy and other works.

John, that's a good idea. There are some excellent short stories out there (although it also seems to be a "dying form," in a way, probably because it doesn't pay as well as a novel). As you say, the anthologies can be a bit of a crap shoot. I am gravitating to novels at the moment, because they allow you to sink into the world and the characters more than a short story, which tends to be more of a snapshot. Still, I've enjoyed short stories in the past, so it's something to keep my mind open to.
 
Updating, for anyone who gives a poot.

Tried a few crime fiction novelists -- Larsson, Paterson, Ellroy, Nebso. All of them seemed to be good writers, but I'll have to leave this genre for later. My issue is that it focuses on the worst elements of humanity, and so it usually amplifies my cynical or mistrustful attitudes. I polished off a novel in this genre not long ago, so I'll have to wait for a while before I do another.

Tried a few science fiction novels -- Three Body Problem, Old Man's War, Illium. I didn't take to the first or third, but I enjoyed the second one. It was a light, entertaining read. The military SF stuff isn't really my style, but I needed something simple after the epic tome of Pillars of the Earth.

As far as fantasy, I tried Bujold but didn't like her writing style, seemed too affected, and the story focused too much on politics and royalty for my tastes. I sampled a little of Robin Hobb (Ship of Magic) and liked that better. It's on my shelf, waiting for the right time.

Ah, Lonesome Dove. I'm only 50 pages in or so, but I'm really liking it so far. I love the atmosphere and the characters, especially the main ones. McMurtry can really turn a phrase sometimes, and some of the lines are laugh out loud funny. I've never read a western before (well, not since Shane in college), but I may read more in this genre, if I continue to enjoy this one. It kind of surprised me, because I never thought I'd like a western. I think I had a prejudice against it, thought of it as redneck or something. But there's something here I like.
 
Rustic23 said:
Never read the book, but Lonesome Dove is a classic TV series!
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I wasn't in the mood at the time to watch the whole thing, but I saw half an hour of it, enough to remember Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones. I picture them now whenever I read about Augustus and Call. That's some good casting.

I'll have to watch that series, once I finish the book.
 
I am reading Slash and Burn by Colin Cotterill.

This book is the further adventures of Dr. Siri Paiboun, the Laotian national coroner. In this book he sets out with a group of American searching for the remains of a helicopter pilot who crashed in Laos on an 'aid' mission during the Vietnam War.

The character of Siri is remarkable. Forced to work as the National Coroner (Pension? What pension? That was promised to you by the old royalist regime.) Siri can't help but look into things that embarrass the people in power. He is not the low energy, easy to control old guy they think he is. Rather he is a cantankerous old man who is nobody's fool. And he knows where a lot of skeletons are buried.

The books are a delight to read and you don't need to know much about Laotian culture and customs to enjoy them.
 
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