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Help me pick out a book to read. (1 Viewer)

LDfan

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Jeffrey
Hi All,

I haven't read a book in years but would like to start reading again. I've read a few Grisham books like the Firm and the Pelican Brief and loved them. I've also read a few Micheal Criton(sp?) books like Rising Sun and the Jurassic Park series.
I guess if anyone could point me towards some good writers I'll take a look. Thanks,
Jeff
 

Malcolm R

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Anything by the writing team of Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child:
  • The Relic (don't judge by the movie; the movie sucked)
  • Reliquary (sequel, of sorts, to "The Relic")
  • Mount Dragon (virus thriller)
  • Riptide (buried pirate treasure thriller)
  • Thunderhead (native american archaeological thriller)
  • The Ice Limit (Antarctic meteorite recovery thriller)
  • The Cabinet of Curiosities (historical/medical/serial killer thriller)
Several feature some of the same characters, so you might want to read them in order though it's probably not critical. I've almost finished the newest, The Cabinet of Curiosities, and will be sorry to see it end. Best book I've read in awhile.
Also, anything by Jeffery Deaver. He has written four books featuring Lincoln Rhyme that should be read in order:
The Bone Collector (don't judge based on the movie, it also sucked).
The Coffin Dancer
The Empty Chair
The Stone Monkey
I liked the first two, the last two weren't as good IMO. His other novels are stand-alone novels. The Blue Nowhere and The Devil's Teardrop are personal faves, but I've liked all his work that I've read.
 

Brent Cantrell

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American Gods by Neil Gaiman (sp?). Excellent read. Good Omens by the same along with Terry Pratchett. Anything at all by Christopher Moore: Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cover, Practical Demonkeeping, Coyote Blue, and the best of all, Bloodsucking Fiends.
 

Zen Butler

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American Gods by Neil Gaiman (sp?).
The spelling is correct, I'll second this book, and any of Neil Gaiman's books.
Neverwhere
Stardust
I'm reading his new book now titled Coraline , which is an all ages book similar to Alice in Wonderland , half way through and it is wonderful :). Although, I would not over "hype" the book like many, and say it will dethrone, Lewis Carroll.........please. Any of the above would be considered dark fiction or maybe modern myth? , if that's your type of thing.
 

Julie K

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Max is right - nonfiction can be just as exciting as fiction. I'll recommend The Red Hourglass: Lives of the Predators by Gordon Grice. It's a real page-turner and sure to keep your interest.
 

Max Leung

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Julie, I'll have to check that out one day!
I'm currently reading Journey Beyond Selene: Remarkable Expeditions Past Our Moon and to the Ends of the Solar System, about the people behind the unmanned space missions, and the history behind the space missions themselves. Pretty good so far!
Oh, I forgot to mention this absolute classic of a book (a handy tie-in to The Red Hourglass, I'm sure): Parasite Rex : Inside the Bizarre World of Nature's Most Dangerous Creatures, which is possibly the best nature book ever written!
 

Matt Gordon

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For non-fiction, I'd recommend "Shark Trouble" by Peter Benchley. He's the guy who wrote "Jaws" and has become something of an authority on the subject.
 

Brent Cantrell

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After some thought, I figure I'd recommend my all time favourite writer, Andrew Vachss with some trepidation. His stuff is generally detective fiction, (Raymond Chander, Lawrence Block, etc) however, it is EXTREMELY hard edged. Vachss is an attorney who ONLY defends children in abuse cases. His books are written to 'wake people up' about the realities of child abuse, (as well as to finance his defense funds for children). His best works are a series about 'Burke', the first of them being entitled 'Flood'. Give them a try, they're entertaining, while being thought provoking and shocking, without being overly preachy.

For non-fiction, you might be interested in, 'Dead Men Do Tell Tales', by Michael Browning and William R. Maples. It's the biography of a Forensic Pathologist along with some interesting stories of his more prominent cases, (Anastasia for one). This is the 'real-life' stories featured in the Deaver books featuring Lincoln Rhyme.

Sorry for the long spiel, I read 7-15 books a week, and get overly excited about recommendations.
 

Julie K

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Sorry for the long spiel, I read 7-15 books a week, and get overly excited about recommendations.
I don't quite get up to that number, but I too read a lot. No offense to Jeff, but I don't think I could make it through a week without reading several books much less a year without books.
I'd recommend my favorite author, but I doubt he'd be quite right for someone wanting to get back into the reading habit :) But I will mention a very fun book that makes some references to his stories:
Resume With Monsters by William Browning Spencer
Poor Philip is stuck in a bunch of dead end jobs while trying to win his girlfriend back. He's in this situation because the monsters from HP Lovecraft's fiction keep following him around. Strangely enough, they go away when he takes his medications. (Note: no familiarity with HPL is needed to enjoy this) This is a very fun book with lots of laughs at workplace mentality. Very clever.
 
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As for non-fiction I have just finished these three books and enjoyed them:
Black Hawk Down : If you like the movie you should read this book to get a deeper understanding of what took place and the backgroud of the Somali peoples anger toward the Rangers.
Killing Pablo : The book that go me to read Black Hawk Down. About the manhunt for Pablo Escobar in Columbia.
What Went Wrong: Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response : Pre Sept 11 book and how the Middle East when from the forefront of thinking and technology in the middle ages to the current state of Western dominated science and technology.
For the lighter side of things I would suggest a good book of short stories or essays that you can easily pick up, read a story, and put down again if you don't have the time. I would highly recommend any book by David Sedaris. I first heard him on This American Life on NPR (Link Removed) and went out and bought his book. I think is best is:
Me Talk Pretty One Day
Scott Diedrick
 

Dennis Nicholls

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I'm a non-fiction reader who loves history. Try the works of William Manchester, specifically The Glory and The Dream (US history from the Depression through Watergate) and the two (should have been three :frowning: ) volume biography of Winston Churchill.
 

Greg Morse

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Jul 13, 1998
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I'm with Dennis on this one. If you have any sort of interest in military history, read The Face of Battle by John Keegan. It's probably the best book I've ever read.

Another recommendation in non-fiction would be The Third Chimpanzee by Jared Diamond (better than his Pulitzer winning followup Guns, Germs and Steel IMO).

If you're looking specifically for fiction, you can't go wrong with Dan Simmons' Hyperion series or Neal Stephensons Cryptonomicon.
 

Jeff Pryor

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I just finished reading 'Mars' and 'Return to Mars' by Ben Bova. If you're interested in sci fi or the exploration of Mars, these books are a great read.
 

LDfan

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Nov 30, 1998
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Jeffrey
Darn. I didn't expect this kind of response to my question! Thanks everyone. I'll be sure to look into some of these picks.


Jeff
 

Bobby Sackman

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Jeff:

All of the other responses have been great but, I can recommend the following as far as light reading:

Harry Potter books, very entertaining.
All of Clancey's books
Dale Brown for military books
Robert B Parker, Spenser books, Randle and Parker and
John Jakes for historical novels

That is a long list with the others but some are lighter than others.

Bobby
 

JustinT

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I just finished reading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. It was a very entertaining read, I finished it in about 2 days.
 

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