Need book recommendations.

Sofa King Kool

Sofa King Kool

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I've been doing a little self improving lately, and I decided it would be a healthy change of pace for me to get off the computer/television and do some real reading, so I'm looking for book suggestions. I'm open to pretty much anything, but I'd prefer something happy over something dark or sad at the moment, and I'd also like to steer clear of anything overtly mind-fuckish.

So tell me, what books have CAGs enjoyed?
 
I'll play along. I just finished reading The Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster last week. Auster is one of my favorite authors, and Follies is perhaps his most down to earth book. I highly recommend it if you looking for something more than just another throwaway book.
 
I recommend the Series of Unfortunate Events and the Harry Potter books. I can't really think of any others at the moment.
 
I just finished Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman, and I liked it quite a bit. It's very funny, and Gaiman is a fantastic author.
 
I hope they serve beer in hell max tucker

or
Beneath the neon: Life and death in the tunnels of Las Vegas
 
[quote name='IvanHood']I just finished Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman, and I liked it quite a bit. It's very funny, and Gaiman is a fantastic author.[/QUOTE]

Good book, though American Gods is his best, I think.
 
enders game
enders shadow

both by orson scott card. probably my favorite books. theres a whole series but these two are the best. the others are different.
 
[quote name='BigSpoonyBard']Good book, though American Gods is his best, I think.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I loved American Gods. Not exactly light reading, but I agree that it's probably his best.
 
Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut. Hilarious, and despite being written in the early 70s, feels 100% relevant today. Fairly short - you could finish it in a few nights of focused reading.

Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein. More lengthy, but considered a hallmark scifi book. Jubal Harshaw alone makes the book worth reading.

Game of Thrones/Clash of Kings/Storm of Swords/Feast for Crows by R. R. Martin. (Collectively called "A Song of Ice and Fire" series.) Highly praised modern fantasy series of novels (swords, magic, etc), but carries a lot of familiarity in terms of dealing with things like religion, relationships, etc. Extremely long - you could feel up weeks, if not months, with reading these.

Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Murakami. Surreal, somewhat scifi tale by a prominent Japanese author. Amusing read.

Good Omens by Gaiman/Pratchett. Satirical look at Armageddon through the eyes of an angel and his devil-buddy. Sort of sly and funny way of looking at Damian from The Omen.
 
[quote name='kainzero']are you looking for self improvement books?[/QUOTE]


Hahaha, no. That's not what I meant. I s'pose I'd just say it's part of my new years resolution to read a bit more.
 
[quote name='Rei no Otaku']Song of Ice and Fire series by George R Martin.[/QUOTE]

Seconded. Just blind buy A Game of Thrones, read about 50 pages and you'll be hooked like a motherfucker. Then cross your fingers and hope this March HBO greenlights it as a series.

I also suggest reading the Victor Hugo "trilogy." Les Miserables, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Toilers of the Sea.
 
i read game of thrones but it wasnt for me. but i also didnt enjoy the lord of the rings books too much which i felt were similar. im going to reread game of thrones since i was like 16 the last time i read that and i have matured..just a little though
 
 
um, not really sure what you're into, but if you want some really great classics - you know, a little more classic than say Harry Potter, et. al. - look at this top 5(ish):
Of Mice and Men - Steinbeck
Animal Farm - Orwell
1984 - Orwell
Catcher in the Rye - Salinger
Brave New World - Huxley
... and if you want some more light (and contemporary) fare, try:
(The Book of) Basketball - Bill Simmons
The Complete Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
I Am America (and So Can You!) - Stephen Colbert
America - Jon Stewart
... good luck and enjoy!
 
Hey thanks for the recommendation for We Did Porn, I'm not trying to hijack the thread, but that looks really interesting. Try Battle Royale-cant think of the author. Japanese school kids pitted against each other on an Island, given weapons and explosive collars, what will happen next?! Sounds very similar to the Hunger Games, which I'm waiting to get from Amazon.com. Or if nonfiction is your thing, I recommend Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, talks a about experiences being a chef, really funny. Choke, by Chuck Pahlaniuk (author of fight club) also very funny, and kind of gross.
 
OK, here we go:

Ender's Game/Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card - Two of my favorite books, someone already suggessted too!
Anything by Terry Pratchett in his Discworld series, but specifically, ANY book with Vimes as the main character (Guards Guards, Men at Arms, Feet of CLay, Jingo, Fifth Elephant, Night Watch, Thud)
Stephen King's Dark Tower series, though Books 5-7 aren't as good as Books 1-4

Graphic Novels I enjoyed as novels: Marvel Civil War/Civil War Frontline, Dark Tower adaptations

Zombie/Post apocalyptic Fiction: I can't recommend Day by Day Armageddon (Bourne) or Morningstar Strain (Recht) enough -- FANTASTIC BOOKS
Also, Dying to Live and its sequel by Kim Phe..... something is also quite good



How's that for recs? Let me know if you read any of them!


 
[quote name='Strell']Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut. Hilarious, and despite being written in the early 70s, feels 100% relevant today. Fairly short - you could finish it in a few nights of focused reading.[/QUOTE]

Great recommendation. This is my favorite Vonnegut book, and one of the few books that I reread every year or two. I think it gets even better after you have read more of Vonnegut's work.

Good Omens by Gaiman/Pratchett. Satirical look at Armageddon through the eyes of an angel and his devil-buddy. Sort of sly and funny way of looking at Damian from The Omen.
Click to expand...
Don't want to threadjack, but I really liked Good Omens and I was wondering if you have any recommendations on where to start if I'm interested in reading more Terry Pratchett books. He has written so much stuff that it's hard to know where to begin.
 
[quote name='Sofa King Kool']I've been doing a little self improving lately, and I decided it would be a healthy change of pace for me to get off the computer/television and do some real reading, so I'm looking for book suggestions. I'm open to pretty much anything, but I'd prefer something happy over something dark or sad at the moment, and I'd also like to steer clear of anything overtly mind-fuckish.

So tell me, what books have CAGs enjoyed?[/QUOTE]

Based off what you said:

Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin - Not exactly happy (since he hints at things falling apart in his personal life afterwards) but it is a fascinating look at his standup career (and before I read this, I never listened to his standup)

Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck - Some parts drag (mostly the California/Texas sections) but the book is still relevant.

And I know you said no self-improvement books but

Get Off Your "But": How to End Self-Sabotage and Stand Up for Yourself by Sean Stephenson - I actually haven't read this one yet (it's on my to read list) but I heard him on the Opie & Anthony show awhile ago and he was extremely well-spoken and made alot of sense. Not only that, he won them over which is no small feat.
 
Funny you started this topic, I like to read but I set a goal to read at least 52 books this year. I probably do it because I can read most books in a sitting or 2.

I just read Battle Royale and this is an excellent book.

I always recommend any book by Chuck Palahniuk. Some of them are pretty weird shit but he has about a dozen books to choose from.

Last year I read a few books by Kathy Reichs. They are the basis for the TV show Bones. Interesting books but I couldn't read them back to back.

I also read Helter Skelter. It's about Charlies Manson and the murders. It was a very interesting and detailed book.

EDIT: Just reread the OP and saw you're looking for "happy" stuff so I don't know how well my recommendations will be now.
 
Books for just an enjoyable read?

Try "Code to Zero" by Ken Follett.
or
"Stiff" by Mary Roach (very informative as well).

Also since this is CAG maybe "A mind of its own" by David Friedman.
 
[quote name='crunchb3rry']Seconded. Just blind buy A Game of Thrones, read about 50 pages and you'll be hooked like a motherfucker. Then cross your fingers and hope this March HBO greenlights it as a series.

[/QUOTE]


I third Songs of Ice and Fire series and listen to the album Age of Winters by The Sword (since the album was based on the books).

Others not mentioned:
The Zombie Survival Guide By Max Brooks(related to Mel)
Got Fight by Forrest Griffin
 
Catch 22 is one of my favorites. As is Grendel (but that's a little philosophical, still hilarious though).

Apuleius's The Golden Ass

Anekdota/The Secret History by Procopius. It's a book about Byzantine/Roman Emperor Justinian's sexual, evil, and personal exploits. Can't believe it was written by someone in his court!

The Apology of Socrates by Plato - it's like 70 or something pages, but one of the best things I've ever read.
 
The importance of being ernest is pretty good quick read. I personally love older lit books. Classics like Les Miserables, Count of Monte Cristo, Great Expectations... that kind of stuff. Although, I must admit, books are just like any other medium, it all depends on your tastes. I currently am readong some of Kings old books that I picked up cheap, but I know some people hate his stuff and some only read scifi ect ect. In other words, you should try to narrow what you like, or if you like anything, maybe give something you could go for (drama, action, comedy...).
 
Battle Royale by Koushun Takami (ignore the ultra shitty movie)
The Forever War by Joe Halderman

And if you end up in the mood for mindfucky, House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski.
 
[quote name='sithmonkeyba']anything in the star wars universe[/QUOTE]

Death Troopers is in my backlog of books, I have heard good things.
 
[quote name='SneakyPenguin']
And if you end up in the mood for mindfucky, House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski.[/QUOTE]
Please do not get this book. You do not know what you will be dealing with :cry:.

Bastard book took me a whole MONTH to get over and done with.
That dude Jhonny Truant...is such..the..character. He , i believe, is the most fucked up character i have ever read in a book. I always looked forward toward his small stories and even the stories of him getting sex as i flipped the pages. :roll:
i swear no book has ever gotten my hard before. fuck you Truant. i feel dirty :cry:

("Hey," you would say "Its not fair!". "Hey, fuck you too!" i would then reply to you - Johnny Truant)
i believe that is from that book. lol, he always made me laugh :lol:

House of Leaves is a good book. It just that it is pretty "special" than your average book.

As a side note,
i would consider

The Pursuit of Happyness
if you are looking for a story to cheer you up and give you a good feeling inside you.
It is a story about a fatherless child who goes through many hardships and decides to be there when his son gets born and never abandon him.
loved it.

World War Z
A Book about zombies what can i say?
It is written like a documentary of what happened AFTER this horrible zombie outbreak. The dude goes to all parts of the world and interviews people. He gets feedback and even dissects on what went wrong and what could have been done to prevent it ,etc.
it really felt like a real event and the way is just narrated...aww man i felt like it actually happened because you actually get names of people and places and detailed information.

The story of "Yonkers - New York" when the Army met the zombies was just awesome. :whistle2:# wish i could spoil.
 
newtk.jpg

Well that is my pic.

Me as of now, i am reading this History book.
Western Civilization I from my class. we were done with finals and the class and i have it. i said "What the hell!" and started to read it. We were on chapter 8 when we were done now i am on chapter 24(?) when the Cold War happened and i need one more chapter to end it.
finally, after all is a damn college book.
but i love history it was worth it. :booty:


I want to start with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. For some reason, i believe i saw these cartoons about Huckleberry Finn or Tom Sawyer as a kid. i figure i might as well read the book. Supposedly, the book was banned at some point in the usa due to its racism and what not..
i am in for a ride..:bouncy:
 
Lord of the Rings
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas- Hunter S. Thompson

Fight Club- Chuck Palahniuk. A lot of his books are good. Survivor and Invisible Monster's are probably my two favorite after FC.

The Great Gatsby- F. Scott Fitzgerald
John Adams and/or 1776 by David McCullough
 
I actually liked Survivor more than Fight Club, but probably because the movie spoils the experience if you read the book afterwards. Still waiting for the indefinitely delayed Survivor movie to come out. Probably never gonna happen.
 
I agree with the Terry Pratchett recommendation. His stuff is light and funny. Also check out Douglas Adams, Christopher Moore, Tom Robbins, Jasper Fford, and Robert Rankin.

It would be easier if we knew what sort of story you were in the mood for.
 
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