What else are you reading that's not fantasy/sciene fiction?

[zoobooz]

I thought Angels and Demons was much better than the Da Vinci Code personally...

 

Anyhow, I just read Split Second by David Baldacci which was good. Abour to start into One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest and maybe one day I'll finish Catch 22.

[Natael]

Actually I read these awhile ago but they were really good and a kept the books.

 

Author/title

 

Sophocles/Antigone

Sophocles/Oedipus The King

Sophocles/Electra

 

Shakespeare/any play of course!

 

Phillip Pullman/His Dark Materials

(series including Golden Compass, Subtle Knife, and Amber Spyglass)

 

Jonathen Swift/A modest Proposal

 

Edgar Allan Poe/anything

 

I'm sure there's more but I can't think of them now. Guess I read too much. But all of these are really good. If you ever feel like ready a fiction book that isn't really fantasy or sci-fi then I'd suggest the Phillip Pullman books.

[Anajon]

Hi basically read anything :-)

 

just read The Traveller by John Twelve Hawks, first of I Trilogy - it is a bit of fantasy but with some other stuff through in, great can't wait for the next one to come out.

Have read the cave - series or the first two actually found them to saucy - so I'm not sure if I will buy the rest if it becomes even more.

 

Anyone reads time travel books like the Suzann Frank or Diana Garbadon series on Scotland and early years of the American Colonies Jamie and CO?

Historic Novels in general, are great my favourite is The eight by Katherine Neville.

 

Other books I like are by Gardner "Sophie’s World" but I like another one even better but I don't know what it is called in English, sorry.

 

OH YES and look out for Frank Schaetzing, a German author, the first translation of is amazing book The Swarm is on its way - he has written more great stuff - really looong gripping Thrillers!

[Kaznen]

I thought I dredge up this thread to plug Syrup by 'Maxx' Barry. If you like to laugh this is a great book, and the characters are not forgettable with names like Scat, 6(not "Six"), Sneaky Peat, and @.

 

You can go to the Author's website at:

 

http://www.maxbarry.com

 

He has the "bonus material," like on a DVD, there and a blog about his books.

 

P.S. Max Barry is Australian if you're interested. :P

[Guest Froix]

Try Watership Down by Richard Adams. A must read for anyone.

[Graendals favourite]

I liked the Miserables by Hugo a while ago. I haven't read much, though I plan on reading Kalevala, as well as Crime and Punishment and Idiot by Dostojevski.

[Kati]

I will read any Stephen King book there is, I know its may not be "great" fiction, but I do think he's got talent! "Bag of Bones" is great, and "Misery" is heaps good.

 

I'm about to read "The Murder Room" by PD James (I think) so I'll let you know how that goes.

 

"Snow Falling on Cedars" was great too.

 

As for the classics:

 

A Clockwork Orange

The Great Gastby

Catcher in the Rye and all the other Salinger books

From Here to Eternity and The Thin Red Line

Dracular

Wuthering Heights

The Power of One and all the other Bryce Courtney Novels

 

And as a teenager I couldnt get enough of SE Hinton books like "The Outsiders" and "Rumble Fish".

 

And I also liked all the Dan Browns.

 

I guess I like different books for different moods. Because I am studying and often read a lot of "heavy" material its nice to read something that does not require any thought while on the train to work and while falling asleep!

[Ringthane]

The Bhagavad Gita right now, intertwined with Eco's "Foucault" and Hannah Arendt's "Truth and Politics".

[Ringthane]

Ah. There's my signature.

[Ringthane]

I liked the Miserables by Hugo a while ago. I haven't read much, though I plan on reading Kalevala, as well as Crime and Punishment and Idiot by Dostojevski.

 

Terve! If you find the Kalevala in proper English, please let me know. Kiitos! 8)

[lahman]

Try Watership Down by Richard Adams. A must read for anyone.

 

I could not agree more. Excellent, excellent book. You'll never think about bunnies the same way.

 

I've been reading some Stephen King (who I got into via the Dark Tower series) off and on, but Pet Semetary was so disturbing that I had to take an indefinite hiatus from his stuff.

 

Recently, I've been reading the very entertaining and very fun Stephanie Plum novels. Not very deep stuff, but it's really good escapism.

[Covenant]

Um...what is this "not sci-fi/fantasy" of which you speak?

 

Hehe...no seriously..I'm reading self-help books and learning japaneese for dummies.

[Ehecatl]

Oo lots of good books out there, all of the Dream of Eagles (Camulod Chronicles in the States) by Jack Whyte, most anything by Fyodor Dostoevsky, especially The Brothers Karamazov and The Gambler, Martin Cruz Smith's books about Arkady Renko (Gorky Park, Polar Star, Red Star, Havana Bay, and Wolves Eat Dogs) which are mysteries, but they're very well written. I'm reading Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche at the moment, which is definitely worth giving a shot as well.

[Kati]

I just finished "Long Way Down" by Nick Horsby - great read! Aparently going to be a movie soon.

 

I am now reading "Shawmancer" by GP Taylor, which is probably Fantasy, not sure though, not far into it yet.

[Auld Manriva]

I have greatly enjoyed the "Richard Sharpe" series by Robert Cornwell. Its about an Englishman (born of a whore) who worked/fought his way up through the ranks of the British army during the Napoleonic wars. At that time' date=' only 5% of British officers rose from the ranks, all others bought their commissions.[/quote']

 

ANY of Cornwells' series are good.

The Archer series (should be required for The Band)has cavalry and infantry too..

The Arthur Legend(5th century England)Engles, Saxons and Celts, Oh My

The Starbuck series(American War Between the States).Learn why we in the south refute the term Civil War

Viking era series I've not tackled yet.His solo books are good as well.These are all Historical fiction..

 

These are just authors..throw a dart

Robert Heinlein..sci fi.try Stranger or Fear No Evil

James Lee Burke..hard boiled detective(poor desc.)

John Irving..American life

Jaqueline Carey..Alternate Hist. fiction(saucey)

Anne Rice..Vampires.

 

Roll the Dice..You'll have Mats Luck..

[Taymist]

Hmm, I'd agree with most of the classics which have been mentioned particularly Austen and Dickens. The Great Gatsby was good and Watership Down... well, you just have to read that.

I won't get into too much of a list as my degree and Masters were in literature and I'd be here forever lmao.

Just a couple of quick ones:

Diana Gabaldon starting with "Cross Stitch" (this is a kind of romantic, time travelling, historical series of books which continues across several generations).

Rebecca Wells "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood"

Kurt Vonnegut "Slaughterhouse 5"

Lindsay Davis's Falco series... a Roman times sleuth/murder mystery series with a ton of historical info and a nice romance running through it. Very humourous.

I'm currently reading Nora Roberts because I'm in a totally trashy mood and my mum gave me a whole pile of her books lol.

[slothrop]

taking a break from school reading for the summer. attempting The Recognitions by William Gaddis. Rather daunting. In the queue is some Gunter Grass or Dostoevsky. Basically, a light summer.

[caitlinsucks]

I just read 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' by Jonathan Safran Foer and it is one of the best books I have ever read. It's about an offbeat little boy whose father died in 9/11 and how he finds closure. After that I read his first novel 'Everything is Illuminated,' and I liked it, but not nearly as much. I also love Kurt Vonnegut, and in Spanish I like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Isabel Allende, and Miguel de Unamuno.

[slothrop]

i read both of the foer books. liked "Illuminated" more, perhaps because i read it first. He must be the type of author that whatever you read first is your favorite.

[Lirrennia]

Am currently going between the Poe Shadow and Madame De Stael.

[JenniferL]

"How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms". Its a real page turner.