My Challenge To You - Recommend 10 Books That Have Nothing To Do With Each Other

[The Fisher King]

Ok My Fellow Book-Lovers...Rules are Simple...You can't like suggest WOT and ASOIAF as 2 of your 10...or two westerns...or like The Shining and also It ... Diversify People...No Repeats LOL!!! ... Ill do my best to meet my own challenge and start:

 

1 The Dread Empire ... great lesser known fantasy series.

 

2 Lonesome Dove ... one of the best books ive ever read.

 

3 A Time To Kill ...MUCH better Grisham Book than The Firm...I still think his best.

 

4 Bio of a Space Tyrant... excellent and enthralling dark sci-fi series.

 

5 On Writing... a pretentious, but still worthwhile, book on...well...writing.

 

6 Casino Royale ... very pulp, very cool, very crisp.

 

7 Eyes of the Dragon ... Its a ''Fairy Tale'' for adults ...and its great.

 

8 The Jordan Rules... If youre a sports fan, its a fascinating read.

 

9 No Mans Land ... Best Novelization of a Comic Book Storyline Ever (imo).

 

10 The Gunslinger ... Not a Western, not Fantasy...not sure what it is but its great.

 

 

Well, THOSE are Mine!!! I'l be interested to read Yours!

 

 

Fish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SirTownsend]

That's simple

 

1. Count of Monte Cristo

 

2. The Chamber

 

3. The Tommyknockers

 

4. Riders of the Purple Sage

 

5. Murder at Georgetown

 

6. Prey

 

7. The Road

 

8. The Pillars of the Earth

 

9. The Killer Angels

 

10. Rickenbacker: an autobiography

[Hallow]

1: Lord of the rings

 

2: Wheel of time: The eye of the world

 

3: The Gunslinger

 

4: Game of thrones

 

5: 1984

 

6: Darren Shan, Cirque du Freak

 

7: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone

 

8: Ulysses

 

9: The Demonata, Lord Loss

 

10: The Silmarillion (Fine I'm a cheating little whore)

[ed2funy]

Sorry, but I have one that I really want to recommend.

Ok...two...

Ok...I will just list em if I remember later.....here are a few:

 

 

 

1. Rage of Angels by Sidney Sheldon

 

2. Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

 

3. The Shadow Club by Neal Shusterman

 

4. A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer

 

5. Mythology by Edith Hamilton

 

[shinerfan]

Its hard to pick favorites because that's constantly changing but here's a few I highly recommend.

 

1. Lonesome Dove (Larry McMurtry)- Its easy to say you don't like westerns but this is so much more. Funny, sad, informative, action-packed. Plus, the CBS mini-series adaptation was one of the best novel to screen projects I've seen.

 

2.Harlot's Ghost(Norman Mailer)- Like Lonesome Dove its a genre book, this time spy novel, that doesn't fit the genre at all. Mailer's vast output was pretty hit or miss over the course of his career but I would call this one his best. He promised a sequel but Father Time said no.

 

3.Dune(Frank Herbert)- I would say the original Dune was a real highpoint of the sci-fi/fantasy genre. But I wasn't crazy about the sequels.

 

4.Meat Market(Bruce Feldman)- If you're a fan of American college football, this is a must read. Sort of a trip into the proverbial sausage factory mostly centered on recruiting during the Ed Orgeron years at Ole Miss.

 

5.Just Takin' Orders(Claude Vidrine)- Insider's look at the early years of Fast Eddie Edwards, the charismatic former governor of LA., now serving time in federal prison on corruption and racketeering charges. (Shortly after this book was published, Vidrine was gunned down on the steps of the federal courthouse in Shreveport, LA.)

 

6.Fingerprints of the Gods(Graham Hancock)- I'm not sure about the author's name but as I mentioned in another thread this is a well-referenced look at what appear to be contacts with an advanced race somewhere buried in prehistory. I'm skeptical about theories of this sort but its still a good read.

 

7.Generation Kill(Evan Wright)- The basis for the HBO miniseries of the same name is a disturbing look at modern warfare, who's fighting it and why.

 

8.The First Man in Rome(Culleen McCullough)- The first book in her Master's of Rome series which was kinda, sorta the basis for HBO's Rome miniseries. Although they sexed it up considerably. These last two give me high hopes for HBO's take on aSoIaF.

 

9.When Money Grew on Trees(David Mac)- Autobiography detailing the rise and eventual fall of an Arkansas marijuana tycoon, full of adventure, intrigue, and well, you know how these stories end. (I think this is probably out of print.)

 

10.Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates(Tom Robbins)- If you like Tom Robbins, this is a good one.

 

11.The Witching Hour(Anne Rice)- Yeah, yeah, I know you said ten but I can't leave this one out. I don't usually find books frightening but this made me get up in the middle of the night and turn all the lights on. Full of history; if you've never been to New Orleans this book will show you some of the magic that makes it such a special (though creepy) place.

[Hallow]

 

7.Generation Kill(Evan Wright)- The basis for the HBO miniseries of the same name is a disturbing look at modern warfare, who's fighting it and why.

 

 

Forgot about that one, brilliant book that.

[mockeryjones]

1. Night's Dawn Trilogy (Peter F Hamilton)

2. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (Heinlien)

3. Journal of a Plague Year (Author Unsure)

4. World at Arms (a one volume history of WWII)  (author Unsure)

5. In Her Name (Author Unsure)

6. Bourne Identity (Ludlum)

7. Neverwhere (Nail Gaiman)

8. North and South (John Jakes)

9. Belgariad (eddings)

10.Sea Wolf

[Thorum]

1. Valhalla Rising (Clive Cussler) - most of his books would fit in this top 10

2. Stripped (Brian Freeman)

3. Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson)

4. Vlucht over de Grens (Marie Jacques) - This one is in Dutch

5. A Game of Thrones (George R.R. Martin) - too bad this series isn't being continued at even the WoT rate :(

6. Last Light (Andy McNab)

7. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Roald Dahl)

8. Crimson Petal and the White (Michel Faber)

9. The Order of the Phoenix (J.K. Rowling)

10. Lord of Chaos (Robert Jordan) - The series rates higher, but the best book doesn't rate much higher than this

 

 

Books the others mentioned I read (not counting books from series mentioned):

- The Gunslinger (Stephen King) - I don't really liked it. Too complicated, not exciting, not fantastic, not wonderful, ... Same problems his The Green Mile had

- Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien) - very good movies, not so good books

- 1984 - Could have been in the list

- Night's Dawn Trilogy - I'm reading it now for the first time. 50-page chapters a bit too much for me, but it's wonderfully written. For those who like worldbuilding. May have gotten on the list if I had already finished it...

 

[FallingBullets]

* Otherland - Tad Williams -- Is an awesome story, just awesome

* The Dice Man - Luke Rhinehart -- I want dice!

* Sabriel - Garth Nix -- Necromancy for the good? *thumbs up*

* Green Eggs and Ham - Dr Seuss -- Sam I Am!

* Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson -- Knowledge is Power, as they say

* [a book from WoT] - Robert Jordan  -- WHAT AN AWESOME STORY!

* The Dreaming Void - Peter F Hamilton  -- Scifi, Fantasy AND building on a previous universe...whats not to love :D

* 2001 A Space Odyssey - Arthur C Clarke -- Dave?

* Mortal Engines - Philip Reeve -- Municipal Darwinism makes me hungry.

* The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien -- HERE BE DRAGONS!

[Vic]

1. Winter King (Bernad Cornwell)

2. Racing in the Rain (Garth Stein)

3. Cinderella Man (Jeremy Schaap)

4. Into the Wild (Jon Krakauer)

5. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)

6. No Angle

7. One Flew Over the Cukkues Nest

8. On the Road

9. It (Steven King)

10. Dune (Frank Hebert)

[Caedda_Sedai]

ooooh, mine recommendations would be - not in any particular order:

 

1. The Mermaids Singing - Val McDermid

2. All the Sweet Promises - Elizabeth Elgin

3. The Dragonbone Chair - Tad Williams

4. Carriers - Patrick Lynch

5. Good Omens - Terry Pratchett

6. The Stand - Stephen King

7. Twilight Eyes - Dean R Koontz

8. Moreta Dragonlady of Pern - Anne McCaffrey

9. Darkspell - Katherine Kerr

10. Dragon Prince - Melanie Rawn

 

:)

[Owayn The Traveller]

In no particular order other than what pops in my head first and no authors sorry. Okay some.

 

1. The Pirates in an adventure with scientists - Gideon Defoe

2. A Voyage Long and Strange

3. Damned United (humourous)

4. The Shrinking Man - Richard Matheson

5. The forever War - Joe Haldeman

6. The Princess Bride - William Goldman

7. The Barrytown Triology (that the way I read them so it seemed like one book to me) - Roddy Doyle

8. The Fifth Element or Jingo (can't decide) - Terry Pratchett

9. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon

10. Jurassic Park (dinosaurs were big in my childhood)

 

Its hard to pick ten. So here's more - Drawing of the three, Thomas Covenant, American Gods, Rubicon, Over the edge of the world, Bury my heart at wounded knee, Treasure Island, The Twits, a penguin greek mythology book for kids cant remember the name. Dont kick me out for picking more. Some good choices from others as well - Good Omens, Neverwhere amd the gunslinger. Oh and I forgot anyone of the books of John Connolly's Charlie Parker series.

[shinerfan]

9.When Money Grew on Trees(David Mac)- Autobiography detailing the rise and eventual fall of an Arkansas marijuana tycoon, full of adventure, intrigue, and well, you know how these stories end. (I think this is probably out of print.

 

 

I just read that the author, real name David McElyea, committed suicide recently in the security office of a Fayetteville WalMart by slashing his own throat. I would've guessed that this wasn't even possible. Still a great book though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rinkai]

-American Gods

-Why We Lie

-The Art of War

-The Prince

-Rapture of the Geeks

-Warbreaker

-The Lies of Locke Lamora

-Neuromancer

-The sword of Shannara

[Eel-finn]

- Count of Monte Cristo - Alexander Dumas

- Off Armageddon Reef - David Weber

- Storm Front - Jim Butcher

- Old Man's War - John Scalzi

- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

- Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien

- The Eternity Artifact - L.E. Modesitt

- Starship Troopers - Robert A. Heinlein

- War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells

- 1984 - George Orwell

[Kierkegaurdian]

Infinite Jest -- David Foster Wallace

112 Mercer Street -- Burton Feldman

The Republic -- Plato

War of the Flowers -- Tad Williams

The Quincunx -- Charles Palliser

The Crying of Lot 49 -- Thomas Pynchon

Giovanni's Room -- James Baldwin

On Literature -- Umberto Eco

Days of War, Nights of Love -- (CrimethInc.)

Linux Phrasebook -- Scott Granneman