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I haven't read enough books to compile a list but there is an AMAZING series which my father loved, which passed down to me - of which i have enjoyed to a great extent.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ALL.

"The Sword of Truth" series, first book is the Wizards first rule, the whole series goes to about 8 books. Trust me, if you like wizzards, massed wars and one kick ass hero - you would like this series.

1) sword of truth
wizards first rule
stone of tears
blood of the fold
soul of the fire
temple of the winds
faith of the fallen
pillars of creation
naked empire
confessor
Debt of bones

all by terry goodkind all fantastic

2) the riddle master of hed
heir to sea and fire
harpest in the wind
by Patricia A. McKillip

3) Malekith loves it.

4) We need to talk about kevin (cant recall who wrote it)

5) lightning
by Dean Koontz

6) Misery
by Mr King

7) Emperor the death of kings
by Conn Iggulden

8)Wheel of Time series
by Robert Jordan.

9)Riftwar Saga
Raymond Feist

10) sea of trolls
Nancy Farmer

11) Dexter
Jeff Lindsay

thats all i can think of for now but technically thats more than 15
XX

@Poptarticus: I remember Go Dogs Go, but i mistakenly thought it was another of the many Dr Suess books i had.

chromedog wrote:2. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley. More of the above. Scary future is scary.

Free love and a general fallout of supernatural religion is scary? With the exception of programming and being one of the mass produced people, i'd describe it as a fairly pneumatic future.

1. Colour of Magic - Terry Pratchett : I could fill the list with Pratchett novels, and they probably would be my favourites... but i won't.
2. Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb
3. Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
4. WoT Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
5. Daniel X Alien Hunter - James Patterson : What an awful book!
6. Brave New World - Huxely
7. Thief of Time - Terry Pratchett
8. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone : Oh yes, i went there.
9. Bombproof - Michael Robotham
10. Thunderball - Ian Fleming
11. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
12. Fox in Socks - Dr. Suess
13. Ship of Magic - Robin Hobb
14. Does Anything Eat Wasps?: And 101 Other Questions - New Scientist
15. Warhammer 40000 (rule book) - Alessio Cavatore etc

The Assassin Series - Robin Hobb
Legend - David Gemmel
The Empire Series - Janny Wurts and Raymond E. Feist (Nearly made me cry)
The Riftwar Saga - R.E. Feist
The Serpentwar Saga - See above
LOTR - duh. Who do you think?
The Troy Series - David Gemmel
Redwall Series - Brian Jaqques (What got me reading fantasy when I was 9)
The Rigante Series - David Gemmel
Waylander - David Gemmel
The Jarusalem Man Series - David Gemmel
Ghost King - David Gemmel
Romulus, My Father - I can't remember ( a really sad, gritty Biography of a migrant in Oz in the 20s/30s)
Lord of the Flies - William Golding (I think...) (well written, hated every second of it)
The Watchmen - Alan Moore (only read this earlier this year. Finished it in 3 hours, with tea breaks. Loved it)

I know all up that is about 50 books, but the series' are all the same story over several books...

OH, The Martian Chronicles.
How could I have forgotten.

I was young when I read it and hadn't delved into much fiction except a couple Dragonlance novels. That thing kind of blew me away.

Also: Animal Farm.

Thank you roze! I had the plot and the twist at the end running through my head all of yesterday, but my google-fu was not strong enough to find that title. The Sea of Trolls is an outstanding modern adaptation of an ancient fairy tale.

Yeah and to think i only read it because someone left it on a train! Thank you that forgetful person!!

@ Ridcully - I still have the copy my mom read to me....over and over and over...lol I can't wait to read it to my daughter in a few months. I remember arguing with mom over the color of the red light, telling her it was pink, so many memories.

15 is a short book list. I wish I had read more of the "classics." I may have to pick up Animal Farm, 1984, Catcher in the Rye and so on and take a break from Mistborn, etc. I haven't read any Gemmel either, so there is an option for the next trip to the B&N.

In my next 15 I think I would add Mistborn just for the magic system alone, very creative. Dan Abnett's Malus Darkblade books would be there too.

Too lazy to write the authors but here ya go:

1) Ender's Game
2) The Hunt for Red October
3) A Brave New World
4) 2001
5) Rendezvous to Rama
6) The Great Gatsby
7) Flyboys
8) Flags of our Fathers
9) Band of Brothers
10) Childhood's End
11) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
12) Marine!
13) Napalm and Silly Putty
14) The Alphabet of Manliness
15)Star Wars: Shadows the Empire (this is what really got me into reading sci fi in the first place)

1. The Bible - Everyone should read it...one of the greatest literary achievements of humanity, even if you don't agree with it. I would mention the Qur'an as well, but it just wasn't as memorable and I have pretty much forgotten it.

2. Ender's Game (Orson Scott Carde)- Another popular one on here.

3. Hills Like White Elephants (Hemmingway)- The first Hemmingway story I really picked apart for meaning.

4. The Penal Colony (Kafka) - Gruesome, disturbing, I still don't understand it all.

5. King Lear (Shakespeare) - Acted in it as a minor support character, read it repeatedly, love the meaning and the humanity of it all.

6. The Stand (King) - Stephen King's condemnation of technology and his offered alternative to it is very well written and gripping...it's not a horror story at all.

7. The Art of War - No brainer here

8. The Shining (King) - A play in novel format, it's still awesome, and definitely a bit spooky

9. Imperial Armor 4: The Anphelion Project - I like this one the best so far of the ones I've read.

10. Redwall (Brian Jacques) - I read this one over and over as a kid!

11-13: Lord of the Rings Trilogy - 'Nuff said.

14: The Silmarillion (Tolkien) - Great prequel to LOTR and a good batch of short stories as well, there are some REALLY good ones in there.

15: Insomnia (King) - More conventional thriller, but I love the main character and how a used-up old man can still be a hero. Good stuff.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

AlexCage wrote:Unfortunately I can't add much that hasn't already been mentioned, but I'm bored and like writing about books, so I'll add my $.02*. And I'm quite aware that much of my list reads like a High School summer reading list. I don't friggin' care.

If it's good, it's good. I've got a BA in English, so my list reads very similarly for half of it. Most of what we read we forget next week, that's why academics read the books they read...they are unforgettable!

8. Walden, Thoreau. Living on a boat in relative seclusion at the time I first read this book, I found it vaguely mirrored my situation. I seemed to share a similar light-hearted yet sardonical view of the 'civilized' world as the author.

Every 20-something should read this. It is phenomenal, and the one quote I will never forget: "Rags are as becoming as purple when one is struck by a cannonball."

I genuinely cannot believe that no one has mentioned A Song of Ice and Fire by GRR Martin... Its way better written than LoTR!

LotR is probably the most influential series of all time, and its the father of all things fantasy and I love it for that (Read it several times over) But still there are much better plots in loads of other books.

And to think that 40k novels are being mentioned and ASoIaF not even listed.... I really, really find it strange.

Relativity by Albert Einstein.

Off the top of my head...

1.Shogun - James Clavell read it about a dozen times
2.LOTR trilogy - Tolkien same as above
3.The Stand - Stephen King my favorite King novel, completely sucks me in
4.American Gods - Neil Gaiman an amazing commentary on my country, and an incredibly imaginative story. Of course it is Neil.
5.The Book of the New Sun - Gene Wolfe One of the hardest books for me to read, I've read it like 5 times, and still don't understand parts.
6.The Count of Monte Cristo - Dumas just a freaking good book
7.Do Robots Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip Dick better than the movie, and that's saying alot
8.Animal Farm - Orwell blew my mind when I first read it in jr. high
9.A Clockwork Orange - Burgess waaaaay better than the movie
10.Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk saw the movie first, so I had Pitt and Norton already in my head when I read it.

Oh yeah the Sword of Truth series too, but particularly "Faith of the Fallen" That one had me in tears.

Wheel of Time
Lotr
Any Ciaphas Cain novel
The Illiad
Mein Kampf
Most anything Stephen King
Anything by John Grisham
Horus Heresy series
I.A 1-6
Of Mice and Men
Anything by Tom Clancy

Ridcully wrote:
Free love and a general fallout of supernatural religion is scary? With the exception of programming and being one of the mass produced people, i'd describe it as a fairly pneumatic future.

Scary in its tone of absolute blandness.
A Population drugged/programmed into mindless subservience.

That to me is more scary than any totalitarian overlord oppressing the people plot.

(Although there are more than a few books in my "favourites" that feature that plot).

Wow, I can't believe I forgot Animal Farm.

Lots of good idea here, I started reading my Hemmingway short stories again after a hiatus of about four years. Glad I chimed in here.

Ashen-Shugar wrote:I genuinely cannot believe that no one has mentioned A Song of Ice and Fire by GRR Martin... Its way better written than LoTR!

Freaking phenomenal series, and I was very tempted to list it (or at least A Clash of Kings), but I'm being ornery about it until A Dance wuth Dragons is published.

1) Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
2) Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
3) LotR by J.R.R. Tolkien
4) The Bachman Books by Stephen King
5) The Green Mile by Stephen King
6) Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
7) Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
8) Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
9) Macbeth by Shakespeare
10) The Tempest by Shakespeare
11) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Ashen-Shugar wrote:I genuinely cannot believe that no one has mentioned A Song of Ice and Fire by GRR Martin... Its way better written than LoTR!

Complete and utter blasphemy...I will give this one chance to repent of your heinous sins before I send Emperor's Faithful and his Inquisition after you....

Not a full list, but in no particular order

(1. Mort / terry prachett
(2. macbeth / guess
(3. the curious incident of the dog in the nightime / mark haddon
(4. A short history of nearly everything / Bill bryson
(5. Once were warriors / Alan duff
(6. the hitchikers guide to the galaxy / Douglas adams
(6. the resturant at the end of the universe / Douglas adams

@ Ashen-Shugar: Nice name

Lint wrote:1.Shogun - James Clavell

Woah, can't believe I did not think of that. It literally changed my life.

Read Shogun
Because of that, I read a biography of Will Adams, the real life person that the book Shogun is based on.
After that, I started reading Japanese history books.
That developed into a general interest in Japan as well as a specific interest in Japanese art.
Started learning Japanese.
Moved to Japan for two years...

Topic dead for a month....

Firstly, a month is not that long. Secondly, the post is not inane, as it responds with a relevant point.

But I guess when you get your kicks from posting "funny" pics, you have to take opportunities where you find them, right?

1. Colin Wilson--The Occult: A History This is what really got me interested into the paranormal and all things...weird. Spans from the rituals of ancient Mesoamerica to the ties between Hitler and the occult, and ends off with Edgar Kaycee. Amazin'.
2.Lord of the Rings--Nothing really more needs to be said. Amazing series, some of my first fiction I ever read. Still read it every so often.
3. Dune--Again, same as Lord of the Rings. Amazing, and holds its own alongside what we see now.
4. Richard Matheson--I Am Legend: Amazing piece of fiction, and frankly--an interesting look at how myths perpetuate.
5. Glen Cook--The Black Company: Awesome series, full of betrayal and guerilla warfare.
6. Stephen Brust--The Vlad Taltos novels: Pretty fun books about a smart-assed assassin making his way in a world where he's just a "normal" man being played off against gods and mages that could fry him with but a thought. Best line?
"It doesn't matter how subtle the wizard...a knife between the shoulderblades is always enough to crimp his style."
7. Robert Heinlein--Starship Troopers: Great piece of fiction, with a fantastic subtle bit about the dangers of society.
8. Robert E. Howard--Any and all Conan books: 'Nuff said. Great books, great author, shame at how he left the world too soon.
9. Jim Butcher--The Dresden Files: Great author, great books, smartass wizard in modern times. Highly recommend.
10. David Gemmel--The Rigante novels: Always fascinating read, kind of a "what if..." Roman/Celtic series. Fun books.
11. Karen Traviss--The Republic Commando novels: Fun, interesting, and full of Mandalorian funsies.
12. Michael J. Durant--In The Company of Heroes: Really interesting book about his time working with Delta, and a bit about what happened to him after being shot down in Somalia.
13. Mary H. Herbert--The Valorian series: Fun books, full of myths and a sentient, deity gifted horse.
14. Edgar Rice Burroughs--The Outlaw of Torn: Awesome book of vengeance. Great read.
15. Richard Minniter--Shadow War: Interesting look at the war on terrorism, and how it was going leading up to 2005.

1/ Lord of the Rings, J R R Tolkien, Probably the first "proper" book I ever read, it cemented my love of all things Fantasy

2/ Mort, Terry Pratchett, Read to my class in junior school and got me hooked on Disc World for many years

3/ The Mallorean/Belgariad, David Eddings, A fantastic two set's of books with great characters and some very clever issues covered

4/Best Served Cold, Joe Abercrombie, Brutal and full of dark humour

5/ The Picture of Dorian Grey, Oscar Wilde, A truly creepy Faustian tale

6/ Drachenfels, Jack Yeovil, The first Warhammer book I ever read, wonderful camp horror

7/ Mr B Gone, Clive Barker, A cleverly written and very twisted horror

8/ Dark Tower series, Stephen King, Simply stunning

9/ Winter King/Enemy of God/Excalibur, Bernard Cornwell, difficult to pick one paricular series but these books are my favorite interpretation of the Arthurian legend

10/ Master and Comander series, C S Forester, Wonderfuly descriptive historical fiction and vivid naval combat

11/ Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere, Bizzare and briliant alternative fiction, also a cracking BBC series

12/ Temeraire series, Naomi Novik, After a whole raft of naff dragon books this series revitalises the genre

13/ Bartimeus Trilogy, Jonothan stroud, a fantastic magical series just as good as Harry Potter

14/ His Dark Material trilogy, great books, awful film!

15/ Generation Kill, Evan Wright, A gritty, honest and moving acount of modern warfare

15 books? What do you think I am, 70 years old?

Ahtman wrote:15 books? What do you think I am, 70 years old?

Well you started wargaming in 1988, so I can safely assume you are at least 21. 70, though? Seems unlikely!

I'm not much of a book reader but here are the ones I really enjoyed -


1. Bret Hart - My real life in the cartoon world of wrestling
2. Slash - The Autobigraphy
3. Shawn Michaels - Heartbreak and Triumph
4. Stephen Kings - IT
5. Fellowship of the Ring
6. Two Towers
7. Return of the King
8. The Hobbit
9. The Warlock of Firetop Mountain
10. Death Trap Dungeon

Ok I’ve just finished reading it and it’s a history book but I’ve just finished reading Mud, Blood and Poppycock by Gordon Corrigan.

Now I’ve never read anything about WW1 as it’s not a period that’s ever interested me and all my opinions were based primarily on popular conceptions of the war and from watching Blackadder. So I picked it up in Waterstones almost by accident. it’s a book which attempts to shatter the popular myths of WW1 and being relatively Ill informed regarding it I thought it was worth a punt.

No only did I demolish it in about a day but I can’t remember the last time a history book made me totally change my opinion on a subject. I intend to read some more books on the war to help me out but it’s certainly one of the most though provoking books on the realities execution of warfare I’ve ever read. It’s also given me an enthusiasm for the history of WW1 I never though I would have. Can’t recommend it enough.