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Hey everyone, I was wonderin if people on Dakka Dakka could provide good books for me and others to read for a class.

Anything goes, and this might also help out people on dakka dakka to look at books of different genres.

List a book you like personally and say why you like it and why People should read it.

I will show an example....

Old Man's War
What age should read it? Please read it if your above 17 years old. Or else you will not know what is going on.

Why do I like? Because of the following.....
Its has great senses of humor (if you like old people jokes and everything). EPIC battle scenes. Characters are easily relatable, really cool sci-fi. Alien Races are exactly that, ALIEN.

Bad things about the book?
Slow to begin, some attempts at irony that really didn't pull through and predictable ending.

People should get this book because its an amazing piece of science fiction, it may have flaws but it is far better than sci-fi I have gotten used to reading. It will also make you laugh out loud! Cool Characters. And please remember there is a sex scene. Only one.... For like 30 pages. If you don't like sex, you can skip it no big deal.

Trainspotting and Porno by Irvine Welsh - if you can get through the Jock vernacular, they are excellent tales.

 filbert wrote:
Trainspotting and Porno by Irvine Welsh - if you can get through the Jock vernacular, they are excellent tales.

Yeah, Trainspotting is a great movie.

Socrate's Apology - because it's the founding myth of western philosophy.

Schopenhauer's Foundations of morals - because it's one of the most concise book on ethics ever written, and well written.

Kissinger's Diplomacy - Huge, but captivating.

Mein Kampf - Read it, throw up a little, then find answers to the inevitable questions you have.

Primo Levi - If this is a man/The Truce.

“I am constantly amazed by man's inhumanity to man.”

A great book from a survivor of Auschwitz. He talks about his own experiences in camp and outside, and is rather non judgemental. Because of this you may suffer from smoke in your eyes.

Wasp by Eric Frank Russell

The title of Wasp comes from the idea that the main character's actions and central purpose mimic that particular insect; just as something as small as a wasp can terrorize a much larger creature in control of a car to the point of causing a crash and killing the occupants, so the defeat of an enemy may be wrought via psychological and guerrilla warfare by a small, but deadly, protagonist in their midst.

One of my favourite sci fi tales to read again.

I am Legend -By Richard Matheson - This book is the inspiration for zombisim, forget will Smiths film.

The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett - I wouldn't have got through my life so far without a dose of the Watch or the Witches every now and then.

Bram Stoker's Dracula is one of my favorites.
On the Non-Fiction side of things, the two Books Of General Ignorance are important to read.

Whenever these pop up I invariably have to kick out Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein, if you're considering joining the military it goes from "good read" to "mandatory read". I wouldn't hand it to a child, but a freshman in high school with decent mental acuity should be able to process it with some discussion.

Positives: Classic sci-fi with a bunch of food for thought on a wide variety of subjects. When the action shows up it's a great time and of course it's the origin of power armor so that's always fun. It's not the Verhoven movie.

Negatives: Heinlein does go on some rants in this novel, however they're set up pretty well in Universe and well laid out in discourse between characters, it's not like you're getting an author monologue. Not enough action sadly.

The Dresden Files...

 whembly wrote:
The Dresden Files...

Yes. holy feth yes. The Dresden Files are awesome.

Anything by Tad Williams or Charles Stross.

Also The Black Company series by Glen Cook. HOLY CRAP those are some damn good books.

Blood Meridian. Prepare to throw out all those romantic ideals of the old west.

"Foundation" series from Issak Asimov.
The Adeptus Mechanicus was based on these books, there are 5 in total - very excellent read.

But I would recommend you to read next book: "The Bridge on the Drina" - this is the only book from our region that won the Nobel Prise in 1961. It tconsist of several stories about people living in close proximity of the bridge and their ultimate fate in the the most turbulent times of Balkan peninsula.

From Nobel committee: "for the epic force with which he has traced themes and depicted human destinies drawn from the history of his country".

What about a good 40k book that just as good.

 Asherian Command wrote:
What about a good 40k book that just as good.

I don't think you will find 40k books that entirely talks about life of ordinary Imperial citizen on some Hive World or Forge World or Medieval World.
But it would be awesome if someone would write one down, we have enough Space Marine books already..

 Brother Captain Alexander wrote:

 Asherian Command wrote:
What about a good 40k book that just as good.

I don't think you will find 40k books that entirely talks about life of ordinary Imperial citizen on some Hive World or Forge World or Medieval World.
But it would be awesome if someone would write one down, we have enough Space Marine books already..

Well a story about brotherhood (Horus Rising, Thousand Sons) are great examples of brotherhood

'Animal Farm' by George Owell, just read it. 'Tis a work of a genius at his peak. I'm also really enjoying 'The Gobbler' by Adrian Edmondson, it's rude, provocative and extremely funny. But not for the under 16's. At all.

'The Amtrak Wars' series is quality, by Patrick Tilley, oh and 'The Mars Trilogy' by Kim Stanley Robinson. Riveting books, but can be VERY slow going.

The old Lone Wolf choose your own adventure series.

Germline and its sequels by T.C.McCarthy. A good sci fi series set a hundred or so years in the future. Not for those who like happy endings though, as everything's grimdark all the time. Its take on what are pretty much Marine Dreadnoughts is disgusting though and the amount of death's worse than a 40k novel.

Aside from John Scalzi's Old Man's War series his other novels are great too. The Android's Dream's a good story about about the humanity's first years in a larger universe. It carries his sense of humor and its messages are light enough to not bog you down if you're not into them.

The Lies of Loche Lamora by Scott Lynch. About group of confidence tricksters in a fantasy version of Venice. Little fish trying to stay out of the lime light as the city falls into a gang war. The humor's light hearted, but there's a fair few dark scenes (read a torture scene involving a bag of glass and a suspected traitor's face), but there's plenty of fighting and a good take on magic for a story about a gang war.

The Night Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko. Magic in a modern day Russia. It plays upon the idea that there's difference between dark and light, just perspective, whilst showing how magic would function when politics and buerocracy gets involved.

KalashnikovMarine wrote:

 whembly wrote:
The Dresden Files...

Yes. holy feth yes. The Dresden Files are awesome.

Or you could just read Clive Barker's Everville and then lose all respect for the Dresden series when you realize Jim Butcher is essentially just a fanficiton writer.



Title: East of Eden

Author: John Steinbeck

What age should read it?
5th grade and higher for its difficulty of language.

Why do I like it?
A beautifully written saga of two intertwined families in California, the novel is Steinbeck's magnum opus. He once described his entire literary career as being only practice leading up to this novel. It is full of well-rounded characters and possesses considerable depth in its themes. The skill of writing creates great accessibility for the novel without the detriment to its substance. I would be inclined to argue that it is the greatest piece of American literature written to date.

Bad things about the book?
Nothing. If you do not enjoy the book, then the problem is you.



Title: Blood Meridian

Author: Cormac McCarthy

What age should read it?
10th grade and higher.

Why do I like it?
I enjoy McCarthy's minimalist-style of writing, which is emphasizes the honesty and matter-of-factness of the novel's brutality. It displays the 1840s American Southwest as being closer to The Road Warrior or a Bosch painting than any romanticized cowboy story, and it contains Judge Holden; one of the most well-written literary characters to date.

Bad things about the book?
This book is extremely graphic in its depictions of violence, and its seldom-punctuated writing style holds minimal exposition, so it should be avoided by younger or struggling readers.


Title: Starship Troopers

Author: Robert A. Heinlein

What age should read it?
5th grade and higher for its difficulty of language; 10th grade and higher to appreciate the philosophical concepts expressed in the novel.

Why do I like it?
Heinlein is able to incorporate an excellent discourse on the nature of power and the state, set against a futuristic backdrop of an interplanetary war against an intelligent insect-like race and their allies. It efficiently displays morality and necessity as gradients, showing how they change from black-and-white actions on a small scale to shades of grey on a large scale.

Bad things about the book?
It's quite short; closer to a novella. The majority of negatives surrounding the book are actually the result of Verhoeven's God-forsaken film that missed the point entirely.



Title: Fight Club

Author: Chuck Palahniuk

What age should read it?
10th grade and higher due to subject matter.

Why do I like it?
A scathing and satirical commentary on on modern-day gender roles and the need for social conventions, Palahniuk's minimalist style of writing emphasizes the curt, though often ludicrous nature of characters displaced within their settings.

Bad things about the book?
It's one of the rare times when you can say that the movie is actually superior.

Yeah, have to agree with sarpedons-right-hand - Animal Farm is a good read.

 Kovnik Obama wrote:

Kissinger's Diplomacy - Huge, but captivating.

Similar tails were told of LBJ.

But in all seriousness, Diplomacy is a great book. It is simultaneously a lesson in history and diplomacy from a critical figure in both.

Nation by Terry Pratchett

Age: 13+

Why I like it: A) It's by Terry Pratchett and anything he writes is exceptional. B) It is a hugely powerful book covering a wide range of themes from love and loss to friendship, survival and much much more. It will leave you wanting to read it again for the first time.

Bad things about the book:
I honestly have a hard time picking anything bad about anything Pratchett writes but if I had to pick I'd say that if you've never read one of his books before it can take a bit to get into his style.

 KalashnikovMarine wrote:
Negatives: Heinlein does go on some rants in this novel, however they're set up pretty well in Universe and well laid out in discourse between characters, it's not like you're getting an author monologue. Not enough action sadly.

Heinlein tends to do that in a lot of his novels; Stranger in a Strange Land somewhat suffers from it, too. Still, his writing (and his arguments) is/are intelligent enough, and he's pretty much mandatory reading for anyone who calls himself a science fiction afficionado. IMO, by far his best work are his short stories; they're nothing short of genius ("All you zombies" is the gold standard for time travel-plot twist short stories. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is probably my favorite novel of his. Citizen of the Galaxy is a also quite a good read. Growing up, reading this one really hit home the evils of slavery.

Back to original question:
The Forever War by Haldeman. Just read it.

Ringworld, by Larry Niven. Possibly his most famous novel, but by no means the best story set in his Known Space. Protector is also a very good novel of his, but like Heinlein, IMO he is better at short fiction than full-length novels, and unlike a lot of settings (cough 40K, cough), his science tends to be fairly accurate once you accept the necesaary deviations, eg FTL travel (and some of his novels/stories don't even have that).

Tau Zero,by Poul Anderson. Although the climax and conclusion seem somewhat too deus ex machina to me, the real strength and the whole point of the novel lie elsewhere, anyway. Highly recommended read.

Frederick Pohl's "Gateway" and "Jem" are also well worth a read. (warning: Jem is not a very uplifting book.)

Come to think of it, most of the novels listed above are from Gollancz's SF Masterworks line. I have so far found all the books that I've acquired from that series to be well worth the price of admission.

Heinlein is a bit of a troll, his books sway around between those that are quite liberal and others that are outright fascist or racist. The issue is that some people think they know Heinlein's politics because they're read Starship Troopers and think he's a fascist. If you want to try some of his lighter stuff, read Double Star or Door into Summer.

Mr Burning mentions Wasp by Eric Frank Russell, excellent short novel, good example of his humour in writing. Not sure if it's in print though.

I'll recommend Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen by H Beam Piper.

For music fans, Ian McDonald's Revolution in the Head: the Beatles' Music and the Sixties is required reading. It's simply the best book on popular music I've ever read. McDonald furnishes the reader with a comprehensive examination of every single Beatles' track released (up to around 1994, when the book was published, iirc), including a wealth of detail and first-hand testimony from those involved in the creation of the recordings. Fascinating stuff, even if you're not a big Beatles fan.

From the sublime to the ridiculous:


I could barely finish the blurb.

 Howard A Treesong wrote:
Heinlein is a bit of a troll, his books sway around between those that are quite liberal and others that are outright fascist or racist. The issue is that some people think they know Heinlein's politics because they're read Starship Troopers and think he's a fascist.

I've heard people say that before, and I find it so strange. I think people who say that must have not actually paid much attention to the book, or don't actually know what fascism is.

I'll add another vote for Starship Troopers though, it's a great book. Stranger in a Strange Land is very good as well.


If you're into historical novels, The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara is a good American Civil War novel about the battle of Gettysburg.


I could also recommend a bunch of German literature (also available in translation) if anyone is interested in that.

Seconding Mein Kampf. Even if you don't agree with Hitler (ie 99.99999% of us) it truly is a fascinating read. People who are mature should read it. The sad thing is that it's written in such a way as to make you believe what the guy said.

The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Great book, can really help you understand Asian culture.

The Conqueror series by Conn Iggulden. It's a great read about the Great Khan, even if it is historically inaccurate in places.

The Complete Irish Mythology by Lady Gregory. Gives one insight into the great Celtic legends.

 ExNoctemNacimur wrote:
Seconding Mein Kampf. Even if you don't agree with Hitler (ie 99.99999% of us) it truly is a fascinating read.

See, I'm convinced that people only say things like that to sound cool. Mein Kampf is a fething dull, badly-written book. The prose is godawful, even allowing for the translation from German to English. Hitler was a notoriously bad writer, and his skill wasn't in ideas, but presentation, which is why he was more famous for being a demagogue, as opposed to a political theorist.

I'm not trying to sound "cool" at all. I personally really enjoyed reading it. Yes, it's badly written, but so are many other books - Twilight comes immediately to mind. It may be dull in parts, but you're reading a book about some nutjob's life and political views - what do you expect? The prose of the translation wasn't that bad at all. But that's just my opinion, you're free to yours.

Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick - Everything you need to know about North Korea by the people who had to live there (before they defected to the south). Fascinating stuff.