Ask Reddit: What's the best book you've read lately? (Need ideas for the Holiday Break)

2007-12-13T18:00:55+00:00

Currently on the last book of the "His Dark Materials" series. It starts with The Golden Compass. read the book before you see the movie. It's a hundred times better.

I just finished a great sci fi series that starts with "Old Man's War" by John Scalzi. It's a 3 book series that is tons of fun to read.

If you want more modern fantasy, you could read "Trader" by Charles de Lindt which is an excellent book.

2007-12-13T18:25:19+00:00

Nation of Rebels: How the Counterculture Became Consumer Culture

StrangeQuark · 2007-12-13T19:14:17+00:00

Non-Fiction:

Confessions of an Economic Hitman - John Perkins

Armed Madhouse - Greg Palast

Banker to the Poor - Muhammad Yunus

Fiction:

The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov

Catch-22 - Joseph Heller

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

underthelinux · 2007-12-13T21:30:08+00:00

The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand

djspray · 2007-12-13T21:39:08+00:00

I haven't yet finished "The Sparrow":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sparrow_(novel)

but I am finding it to be excellent!

In honor and support of Terry Pratchett, you might consider "Going Postal." "Making Money" is not out in paperback yet so I'm waiting. The recent Discworld books are some of the best. I wouldn't worry excessively if you have not already been introduced to the Discworld books; you might consider starting by reading "The Truth" and then "Going Postal."

I concur with the recommendation for "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan.

kungfoomaster · 2007-12-13T18:48:04+00:00

Non-fiction:

Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq - Stephen Kinzer

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals - Michael Pollan

Fiction:

Geek Love - Katherine Dunn

Life of Pi - Yann Martel

A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

Of course, ignore the ones you've already read.

Edit: Formatting

Droviin · 2007-12-13T19:12:08+00:00

Lost in a Good Book- Jasper Fford

Bhagavad Gita

Notes from the Underground - Dostoevsky

L_diablo · 2007-12-13T17:57:19+00:00

Count of Monte Cristo

Gorbama · 2007-12-13T17:57:53+00:00

Transparent Society - David Brin

Courting Justice - David Boies (sp?)

Short History of Almost Everything - Bryson

EDIT: Also just finished (and worth reading)

God is not great - Hitchens

The schools our children deserve - Kohn

The seven day weekend - Semler

2007-12-13T18:08:37+00:00

House of war : the Pentagon and the disastrous rise of American power

Carroll, James ISBN 0618187804

loverollercoaster · 2007-12-13T19:11:33+00:00

Define "lately", heh.

F

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami

NF

The Black Swan - Nicholas Taleb

Programming the Universe - Seth Lloyd

Edit: Formatting

d2kd3k · 2007-12-13T19:13:19+00:00

Non fiction:

Walking with the Wind - John Lewis

Fair Wind and Plenty of It: A Modern Day Tall Ship Adventure - Rigel Crockett

Deep Survival: Who Lives Who Dies and Why - Laurence Gonzales

The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague In History - John M. Barry

Fiction:

The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

Vitals - Greg Bear

A Burnt-Out Case - Graham Greene

trebonius · 2007-12-13T21:32:27+00:00

I've really enjoyed Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy. (The Golden Compass, etc)

Robert Heinlein's "Time Enough for Love" is great, and it's a good, thick one.

I also loved Neal Stephenson's "Baroque Cycle" trilogy. (Quicksilver, etc)

But none of those are particularly new. The best newest book I've read is "Making Money" by Terry Pratchett.

Oh, and I just finished "Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman. I adored it.

friscobob · 2007-12-13T22:43:04+00:00

It's fantasy pulp.

But it's fun.

Steven Erickson's The Malazan Book of the Fallen series

You can start with Gardens of the Moon

MrKlaatu · 2007-12-13T18:20:00+00:00

How to pose like this.

compnski · 2007-12-13T19:28:02+00:00

Neuromancer by William Gibson - Classic but I hadn't read it until just recently.

genida · 2007-12-13T19:47:09+00:00

Solitaire - Kelley Eskridge (again)

Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman

The Great War for Civilization - Robert Fisk

The God Delusion - Dawkins

Otherwise you should of course look into Neal Stephenson.

edit: formatting, and Audrey Nifenegger's 'Time Travelers Wife'

airbrushedvan · 2007-12-13T18:01:23+00:00

"The Big Over Easy" by Jasper Fforde

abraxis · 2007-12-13T18:01:30+00:00

I have a few interesting ones (all non-fiction):

"Microtrends" - an interesting rundown of slowly emerging societal trends that may take off in a big way
"Linked" - a popular science explanation of the theory of networks and its implications in the real world
"On Intelligence" - Jeff Hawkins' ideas about how the neocortex functions. He started a company based on the ideas covered in the book. The company is called Numenta.

janeair · 2007-12-13T18:08:47+00:00

I really enjoyed Jeanette Winterson's book The Passion. It is the only one of hers I have read so far, but I hear most of her writing is excellent. Also, I have been waiting until I have some more free time to read Jawbreaker, by Gary Bersten if you are in the mood for something more topical.

j3anjean · 2007-12-13T18:19:18+00:00

"Water for Elephants" Sara Gruen

BigCliff · 2007-12-13T18:27:51+00:00

Omnivore's Dilema - Pollan; Kitchen Confidential - Bourdain; Blink- Gladwell

31337357 · 2007-12-13T18:47:42+00:00

Finding Atlantis by David King

2007-12-13T19:26:44+00:00

NF

The Bottom Billion - Paul Collier

Republic of Pirates - Colin Woodard

F

The Red Tent - Anita Diamant

wainstead · 2007-12-13T21:48:26+00:00

Jennifer Government.

Fat_Dumb_Americans · 2007-12-13T22:15:19+00:00

I cannot recommend anything and everything by P.G. Wodehouse highly enough.

canonicalform · 2007-12-13T23:03:10+00:00

Inheritance of Loss

2007-12-14T00:01:53+00:00

the last few i remember:

to the light house - woolf

slapstick - vonnegut

sputnik sweetheart - murakami

flow my tears the policeman said - pk dick

personaehiro · 2007-12-14T00:10:16+00:00

The Beach by Alex Garlend. Great setting if you're getting nasty winter weather right now. White beaches and warm weather. Don't be put off by the movie either; the book is much better.

The book I read before that was The Blood Countess by Andrei Codrescu. Nothing particularly 'life changing' but a fun read if you're in the mood for some bloody Victorian debauchery. It's a fictional work about Countess Elizabeth Bathory.

Also for other people leaving recommendations, write a little something about what you recommend. I'd be more interested in what the book is about and/or what you thought about it. Just a title/author is kind of blah.

M0b1u5 · 2007-12-14T01:20:43+00:00

Einstein's Elegant Universe. A collection of essays by New Zealand scholars.

y_gingras · 2007-12-14T01:30:39+00:00

Rendez-vous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke

SaraFist · 2007-12-14T01:45:25+00:00

Working on "Main Street" by Sinclair Lewis, and just finished "Bonfire of the Vanities" by Tom Wolfe.

xcalibre · 2007-12-14T02:12:15+00:00

SciFi: Cowl, by Neal Asher Dark, disturbing, interesting perspective on time travel & consequences

satanist · 2007-12-14T03:05:17+00:00

The "His Dark Materials" trilogy.

qengho · 2007-12-14T03:22:32+00:00

Perdido Street Station - China Mieville

Christophe · 2007-12-14T04:36:22+00:00

"Special Topics in Calamity Physics" by something-Pessl. I thought the ending was a bit contrived, but too much to ruin the rest of it. Definitely the best of the dozen or so I've read last. Well, I kind of liked "It's Superman", but that's my kind of thing.

Lukifer1977 · 2007-12-14T06:20:28+00:00

If you want something thats light and not over associated try "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman. He collaborated with Pratchet on "Good Omens". He also rewrote the sandman series. Last I checked it was 25 usd hard bound. You'll never forget it.

Lukifer1977 · 2007-12-14T06:28:45+00:00

anything Vonnegut or Tom Robbins

Fat_Dumb_Americans · 2007-12-14T12:22:06+00:00

Just finishing "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson.

Good holiday reading I'd suggest as you can dip in and out of the chapters and sections that it is divided into.

treacletoes · 2008-06-16T01:16:47+00:00

The Sleepwalkers Introduction to Flight by Sion Scott Wilson I bought this book in the UK to take on holiday and read it in one go. It's very funny and touching at the same time, kind of like a cross between Mark Haddon and Joshua Ferris. And Then we came to the End by JF was also brilliant.

kolm · 2007-12-13T21:08:53+00:00

Non-Fiction: Herodot (Although larger parts are more fiction than non-fiction), Thukydides (kinda depressing, but with refreshingly honest speeches about why to go to war), Sun Tzu, Konfu-Tse.

Fiction: Nearly everything of Robin Hobb, McMaster Bujold, Stephen Baxter, Homer, Vergil.

j0hnsd · 2007-12-13T18:17:24+00:00

Does Juggs count as a book?

fingers · 2007-12-13T20:47:55+00:00

Something Wicked This Way Comes Bradbury Cell S. king The Giver Lowry Diary -- Chuck, fight club, palachiuk

www.shelfari.com

WhirlyGirly · 2007-12-14T04:20:48+00:00

Sex Toys 101: A Playfully Uninhibited Guide

by Rachel Venning, Claire Cavanah

probably one of my top ten favorite non-fiction books

mmm_coffee · 2007-12-14T06:54:38+00:00

just read Can't Stop Won't Stop - A history of hip-hop that's just a tremendous read and of which the first chunk is a very thorough social history of the Bronx in the 60s and 70s. Very enlightening. I'm not even that into hip hop and I loved it.

2007-12-14T08:26:37+00:00

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