# Favourite Books?



## Sagt (Feb 6, 2017)

I've been reading quite a few books myself recently, and I was hoping that I could use some of your favourites as suggestions for what I should be reading next.


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## Sarachaga (Feb 6, 2017)

Since you seem to like classics, I've got a few recommendations. These are some french books so I'll put the original titles:

Les Misérables  (Victor Hugo) Very long book and in my opinion, very thrilling story. There's a lot of characters , and even though Hugo tends to get off track sometimes, the story is really well written.
Le docteur Pascal: (Emile Zola) Quite interesting. Zola explains through it the 'scientific' theory behind the 'Rougon-Macquart' book series. Zola has a weird style sometimes and tends to over exaggerate, but it should make a good read. If you like it , you should then go for  _L'Assomoir _or _Germinal _, which are among his most famous novels.
Les liaisons dangereuses (Choderlos de Laclos): Stop! If you haven't read this book, go read it . It's gorgeous. It's a great story with great characters, and even though Frears' film is good, it doesn't give it fully justice in my opinion.
Now if you're into more experimental literature, I could recommend Marguerite Duras. Her works are bizarrely fascinating to read!
If you're into fantasy, I would recommend Jean-Philippe Jaworski, but sadly I don't think his works are translated in english :c


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## Xaroin (Feb 6, 2017)

Catcher in the Rye
(doesn't read much) I guess
um ...
Well I mean I can't really think of anything else


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## Sarachaga (Feb 6, 2017)

I've got another recommendation, which is a bit peculiar: read _The Lesser Albert. _It's a medieval grimoire and frankly, it's hilarious. Specifically the parts about physiology( the author thinks you can deduce a person's inner nature by the length of his hair and the size of his nose xp ).


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## Sagt (Feb 6, 2017)

Sarachaga said:


> Since you seem to like classics, I've got a few recommendations. These are some french books so I'll put the original titles:
> 
> Les Misérables  (Victor Hugo) Very long book and in my opinion, very thrilling story. There's a lot of characters , and even though Hugo tends to get off track sometimes, the story is really well written.
> Le docteur Pascal: (Emile Zola) Quite interesting. Zola explains through it the 'scientific' theory behind the 'Rougon-Macquart' book series. Zola has a weird style sometimes and tends to over exaggerate, but it should make a good read. If you like it , you should then go for  _L'Assomoir _or _Germinal _, which are among his most famous novels.
> ...


Les liaisons dangereuses really interests me. Next time I'm in the bookstore, I'll have a look to see if they have it. If not, I can probably get it off of Audible.


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## Ravofox (Feb 6, 2017)

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Philip K. Dick) 
The entire _Redwall _series, by Brian Jacques (I think it is also popular amoungst the fandom) 
Aaaand, I got a blank... There's probably more though that I can think of right now


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## Sarachaga (Feb 6, 2017)

Ravofox said:


> Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Philip K. Dick)


I really enjoyed this book. If you haven't read 'em, I would recommend two other books by K Dick: _The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch_ and _A Scanner Darkly_


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## Jarren (Feb 6, 2017)

Slaughterhouse Five -Kurt Vonnegut
A Prayer For Owen Meany -John Irving
Frankenstein -Mary Shelly
Flatland -Edwin Abbot

Hardly a favorite, but if you're feeling up for a lengthy read on conspiracy theories:
The Creature From Jekyll Island -G. Edward Griffin


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## Sagt (Feb 6, 2017)

Jarren said:


> Hardly a favorite, but if you're feeling up for a lengthy read on conspiracy theories:
> The Creature From Jekyll Island -G. Edward Griffin


I just did a quick wikipedia search on that. Did you actually read that book?


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## Jarren (Feb 6, 2017)

Lcs said:


> I just did a quick wikipedia search on that. Did you actually read that book?


Yup. It's a massive indictment of the federal reserve and much of the American financial system. That said, throughout it does throw a few crackpot theories/viewpoints at you. Some it debunks, others it just lets sit. It's been a few years since I read it, so I can't readily call any examples to mind.


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## Sagt (Feb 6, 2017)

Another book on my 'to read list' is The Da Vinci Code. Whenever I spend time at my parent's house and complain about being unable to find books that interest me, my mother always suggests that one. I've avoided it in the past since it's a mystery book, but I'm now tempted to give it a go despite the genre.


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## Multoran (Feb 6, 2017)

Mein Kampf.


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## Sarachaga (Feb 6, 2017)

Multoran said:


> Mein Kampf.


Heh. If you want to read the poorly written ravings of a mad man go for it.  I would not recommend it as it is in my opinion a very boring book


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## Multoran (Feb 6, 2017)

Sarachaga said:


> Heh. If you want to read the poorly written ravings of a mad man go for it.  I would not recommend it as it is in my opinion a very boring book


Well, I'm just hoping to figure out why so many people who disagree with me politically end up telling me I'm "Like, literallyyyy Hitler."


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## Sarachaga (Feb 7, 2017)

Lcs said:


> Another book on my 'to read list' is The Da Vinci Code. Whenever I spend time at my parent's house and complain about being unable to find books that interest me, my mother always suggests that one. I've avoided it in the past since it's a mystery book, but I'm now tempted to give it a go despite the genre.


I haven't read it but it's one of the he books I'm always tempted to take at the bookstore. Two books that I really long to read are _The great god pan _and _Melmoth reconciled. _
Btw, do you have a specific genra or type of text you would like to have recommendations  on?


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## Vitaly (Feb 7, 2017)

A Brief History of Time 
Neuromancer
1984
Ravenor


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## Sagt (Feb 7, 2017)

Jarren said:


> Yup. It's a massive indictment of the federal reserve and much of the American financial system. That said, throughout it does throw a few crackpot theories/viewpoints at you. Some it debunks, others it just lets sit. It's been a few years since I read it, so I can't readily call any examples to mind.


I'll probably give it a pass since it's not really my thing. That aside, the author's wikipedia page gave me a good laugh.


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## xaliceonfire (Feb 8, 2017)

Anything by Sherrilyn Kenyon.
Anything by Kerrilyn Sparks.
_Forgotten Fire_ by Adam Bagdasarian
Pretty much any WWII history books or articles.
Pretty much anything on serial killers or crime.
Pretty much anything on religion or social problems.
Pretty much anything on psychology.


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## Mandragoras (Feb 27, 2017)

Favourite novel is probably _Peace_ by Gene Wolfe, maybe the most obliquely unnerving and poignant ghost story ever written, at least for me; my favourite collection of short stories is probably _Songs of a Dead Dreamer_ by Thomas Ligotti, although I could name plenty of other short story writers whose work I hold in similar regard.



Sarachaga said:


> I haven't read it but it's one of the he books I'm always tempted to take at the bookstore. Two books that I really long to read are _The great god pan _and _Melmoth reconciled. _
> Btw, do you have a specific genra or type of text you would like to have recommendations  on?


Another Machen fan? Woot! And Honoré de Balzac, too. Very classy.


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## Beatle9 (Mar 11, 2017)

Life of Pi, by Yann Martel. I really like the journey of the main character and Richard Parker, the Tiger. The message at the end also resonated very well with me, when I was just starting college and kind of figuring out who I was as a person. Sounds cliche, I know, but it's still my favorite.


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## AlleycatIrony (Mar 11, 2017)

oh goodness... my favourite books are ones i used to read over and over when i was little

'*a dog's life: an autobiography of a stray*' was my top favourite and i used to read it at least once a week (it's... looking a little worse for wear now)
(it's about a stray dog who's telling her life story from the time she was born in a wheelbarrow in a shed to the end when she's old and gray, it's a v heartbreaking and heartwarming read - i'd highly reccommend if u like animal tales)

'*the lost island of tamarind*' was another one i rly enjoyed (and still do, i need to read it again tbh)
(i'm not sure how to describe this one in a short sentence because there's just so much that goes on in it, but there are three children and their parents who live on a boat (bc the parents study marine life) but a storm throws the adults overboard and washes up on the shore of an unknown island, the children then have to navigate their way thru a place full of fantasy creatures, war, child theft and labour to find their parents again and head home... sounds like ur typical young teen fantasy novel but there's more depth than that imo)

and i also loved '*the golden compass*'! tho when i was younger i didn't really understand a lot of it that well because it used a lot of words i didn't understand at the time, but i loved the story nonetheless 
(most ppl know that story/movie so idk if i have to describe it... not sure if i could anyway bc it's also quite complex)


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## reptile logic (Mar 13, 2017)

I used to read books like a machine. Along with a few hard covers, I also had a paperback collection that exceeded 300 books. That collection is long gone. I live a very minimalist lifestyle these days. 

It's hard for me to pick favorites, truly. I read them, live the story and then move on. That said, I have read and enjoyed a number of the classics, though Swiss Family Robinson left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Too much 'manifest destiny' attitude from the author, I suppose. 

I've now seen a couple titles and authors mentioned here that I'll take a look at.


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## Alex K (Mar 13, 2017)

I never quite understood the science behind my favorite book Green ham n eggs. Why would anyone wanna eat that?


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## Aurorans Solis (Mar 13, 2017)

Favourite books? I've got some. I absolutely love hard sci-fi of almost all shapes and sizes, though a couple have stood out to me.

_Dune_ (and the sequels) by Frank Herbert - The first book (_Dune_) is my favourite book of all so far. That being said, the sequels (of which there are five) are all extremely well-written, too.

Dan Simmons - writer of the _Hyperion Cantos_. Holy moley are those books good.

Robert L. Forward - this man wrote the first sci-fi novel I ever read: _Dragon's Egg_. I've gone on to read a number of other books from him including _Starquake_ and _The Flight of the Dragonfly_ (a modified version of _Rocheworld_, which I've been meaning to read). I've also got _Camelot 30K_ up on my bookshelf waiting to be read.

And the last ones I can think of...
The _Into the Looking Glass_ series by John Ringo. This is my favourite series of all time (with _Eragon_ coming in a close second). It's a futuristic military hard sci-fi series with four installments, all taking names from _The Jabberwocky_ by Lewis Carroll. Brilliant read (both the series [of course] and the poem).

Edit: I can't believe I forgot Asimov! You can never go wrong with a little Asimov.


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## Mandragoras (Mar 19, 2017)

Still need to get to _Dune_. I've seen the adaptations and my sources suggest that the original is even more baroque and surreal, which is impressive.


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## nerdbat (Mar 19, 2017)

Anything by Douglas Adams and Kurt Vonnegut - lots of ingenious and humorous metafiction, I've never read anything like it before or since. "The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy" had possibly the strongest and most lasting influence on me of all books I've ever read in my life - maybe it's because I was really in the mood for this book at the time, maybe because it's that good (and it _is _really, really good), but I can boldly, non-hyperbolically claim it's my most favorite book ever.
"Ring" by Koji Suzuki. As much as I like the 2002 movie based on it, this adaptation still doesn't give original book proper justice. I can't really talk about this one in details without spoiling too much, all I can say is while it will not scare you directly as movie version did, it _will _get under your skin in the long run - and even if you don't like horror genre that much, it'll still entertain you with an engaging and upredictable thriller story, so yeah, read this in any case, it's fantastic. Other books in the series aren't as great in general, but are still quite decent and readable, though they step away further from the whole "horror" thing and delve into "sci-fi thriller" territory, with third book being closer to "Matrix" and "Ghost In The Shell" than murderous long-haired girls.
From series, Dark Tower by Stephen King - althrough later books decline in quality a bit, but "The Drawing of the Three" and "The Waste Lands" are great.
From nonfiction, "Masters of Doom" by David Kushner, an insightful book on how id Software changed video game industry as we knew it. If you're an aspiring video game developer, this book is a must-read for you, and if not, this may be the book that will turn you into an aspiring video game developer c:


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## fbgemini (May 30, 2017)

My favorite books:
The Alchemist
The little prince
Socrates in Love (A wonderful japanese story about love)
The Shadow Thief (Marc Levy)


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## Alstren (Jun 2, 2017)

The complete works of HP Lovecraft (got a huge book that contains all of it)

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (fantastic read I highly recommend it)

Metro 2033 and Metro 2034 by Dmitry Glukhovsky (even if the English translations can be kind of crap sometimes)

Grey Seer by C. L. Werner (my first exposure to Skaven)

The Dark Tower by Stephen King

Most stuff by Edgar Allan Poe (yes I know shut up)

Also Iv heard The Dresden Files are good, and Iv been meaning to read them since they sound right up my alley.


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## Julen (Jun 2, 2017)

Probs The Longest Day by Ryan. Great historical book, and there's also a movie adaptation of the book, which is pretty nice too.


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## Fourtificial (Jun 2, 2017)

If you're ok with a more modern novel, the book that captured my attention from start to finish was *Scythe* by Neal Shusterman. It qualifies as a YA fiction novel, but Neal Shusterman is one of the best YA authors I've ever read and it's really worth a look. It was the first book in years to emotionally invest me in the characters the way it did, but my god it caught me. Another recommendation from Neal Shusterman is the *Unwind *series of books and I'm currently reading his *Everlost* series of books, they have my stamps of approval. 

Don't let the YA label run you off, they are brilliant and thought provoking and tackle dark subjects. Like Scythe is about humans in a world post mortality, and they still need death, so they have a group of people known as the Scythes that are there to cull the herd and keep humanity from causing overpopulation. Unwind is about America in a post modern civil war over abortion where a cruel agreement had been come to where parents are able to give up their children between the ages 13 to 18 so that their bodies could be undone and used for parts. The reasoning behind it being that the human's body is still very much alive, it's just being undone, and it becomes a tale of what happens to your soul if the pieces of your body are away from you. God I cannot recommend these books more. 

Another good recommendation is anything by Ursula K. Le Guin. They're short stories, but they're beautifully done. I particularly recommend *The Wife's Story* and *Vaster than Empires and More Slow. *She has also written *Tales of the Earthsea*, which was unfortunately turned into a movie but came out far worse than the base product. But you can usually pretty reliably find pdfs of her work online for free so if you have the time it is definitely worth the look.


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## ebbingRose (Jun 2, 2017)

I'm not sure if my favorites sufficiently qualify.
I firstly have enjoyed stories by H. P. Lovecraft; such as the Statement of Randolph Carter, The Picture in the House, and Call of Cthulu. However, I would not qualify them as books due to their brief length; I would qualify them as accumulated collections of short stories. I should note these are horror stories lest someone read them and be disturbed. If you're looking to read them, I believe there is a collection book called "The Complete Works of H. P. Lovecraft". 
I also enjoy nonfiction. National Geographics, engineering textbooks, and books on psychology and of atomic nature (nuclear power, quantum mechanics (to understand the physics of an atom), radioactivity) particularly interest me.


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## Alstren (Jun 2, 2017)

ebbingRose said:


> I'm not sure if my favorites sufficiently qualify.
> I firstly have enjoyed stories by H. P. Lovecraft; such as the Statement of Randolph Carter, The Picture in the House, and Call of Cthulu. However, I would not qualify them as books due to their brief length; I would qualify them as accumulated collections of short stories. I should note these are horror stories lest someone read them and be disturbed. If you're looking to read them, I believe there is a collection book called "The Complete Works of H. P. Lovecraft".
> I also enjoy nonfiction. National Geographics, engineering textbooks, and books on psychology and of atomic nature (nuclear power, quantum mechanics (to understand the physics of an atom), radioactivity) particularly interest me.



Yup got said book right here or at least some version of it. I know not all of the stories are necessarily written by Lovecraft (like the Hounds Tindalos) but its still a fun collection.


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## ebbingRose (Jun 2, 2017)

Alstren said:


> Yup got said book right here or at least some version of it. I know not all of the stories are necessarily written by Lovecraft (like the Hounds Tindalos) but its still a fun collection.


Yes! I'm hoping to get the book myself; I've only had the chance to read it at a library.


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## Liam The Red (Jun 2, 2017)

I like a lot of Robert Heinlein's work. ( fairly hard Science Fiction)
Anne McCaffrey's "Dragonrider" series is good fun. (softer Science Fiction with fantasy elements)
Ursula K LeGuin does some great stuff. (Fantasy)
and...yes... the Redwall books.


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## Alstren (Jun 2, 2017)

Liam The Red said:


> I like a lot of Robert Heinlein's work. ( fairly hard Science Fiction)
> Anne McCaffrey's "Dragonrider" series is good fun. (softer Science Fiction with fantasy elements)
> Ursula K LeGuin does some great stuff. (Fantasy)
> and...yes... the Redwall books.


Omg I forgot that Redwall started out as a book series. *updates to read list*


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## Zenoth (Jun 2, 2017)

Fuzzy Dice, and Dante's Equation are both in my top favorite. That and The Never Ending Story, and Generation of Swine : Tails of decadence and decay in the american 1980s ^^


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## ebbingRose (Jun 2, 2017)

Liam The Red said:


> I like a lot of Robert Heinlein's work. ( fairly hard Science Fiction)
> Anne McCaffrey's "Dragonrider" series is good fun. (softer Science Fiction with fantasy elements)
> Ursula K LeGuin does some great stuff. (Fantasy)
> and...yes... the Redwall books.


Oh! I've read Redwall. Is there really more of those?


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## Liam The Red (Jun 2, 2017)

ebbingRose said:


> Oh! I've read Redwall. Is there really more of those?



Official Website: www.redwallabbey.com: Brian Jacques: The Official Website

I think there are 34 or 35 Redwall books in all. I have several in print, and all of them in ebook.


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## Pipistrele (Jun 3, 2017)

Alstren said:


> The complete works of HP Lovecraft (got a huge book that contains all of it)
> 
> The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (fantastic read I highly recommend it)
> 
> ...


Fellow Dark Tower fan c:

Also, as a native Russian speaker, I can assure you that Metro translations (at least the ones I've checked) are for the most part pretty damn good. The only thing that's really "lost in translation" is, well, the fact that it's very heavily based on Moscow Metro system, and it's kinda hard to get a full experience without ever being in Moscow Metro - actually visiting the location will explain a _lot_ of things about the setting.


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## MsRavage (Jun 3, 2017)

Pride and Prejudice, peaceful way of the warrior, dog sense, for the love of the dog....i need to read more books


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## Mandragoras (Jun 12, 2017)

Been rereading the VanderMeers' landmark doorstopper of an anthology _The Weird_, and it's a damnably impressive book even if it's not 100% perfect.


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## Sagt (Jun 17, 2017)

Since making this thread I've read quite a few books, some of the ones mentioned in this thread included, so I now feel marginally less uncultured. >.< Some of the books I've enjoyed most that I've read recently: _Blood Meridian, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, Eragon _and_ The Da Vinci Code_.

Also of note, I bought and partially read a very bad book called _Moon People_ that someone jokingly suggested to me. At the time I didn't realise it was a joke because the book was next to many more serious suggestions, but I stopped reading the book pretty fast due to the weird grammar and numerous spelling mistakes. Nice meme though.


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## Jarren (Jun 17, 2017)

Another book I can recommend is _Sozaboy_. It's a work of fiction about a teenager living through the Nigerian civil war. Once you can get past the "rotten english" as the style is described, it's a very compelling story (and I think that the writing style, while somewhat jarring at first, adds to the atmosphere quite a bit). I first read it for a college english course, but I'm gonna pick it up again for another read sometime soon as it really stuck with me.


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## CreatureOfHabit (Jun 25, 2017)

_The Night Circus _by Erin Morgenstern is pretty good, if you're a fan of steampunk or neo-victorian fantasy. It's got a sort of dream-like feel to it, which matches the story and characters. _The Thackery T. Lambshead's Cabinet of Curiosities_ is also hella fun, being a collection of short stories of various styles by different authors based around these random photos and art pieces that were found in a fictitious hoarder's basement. You can get lost in the book for hours. _Tailchaser's Song_ by Tad Williams is just a chill but crazy LOTR-style romp through a cat's world that puts the Warriors series to shame, IMHO. I found it at random on the shelf of Half-Price Books one day and couldn't put it down.

Also check out pretty much anything by the author Isaac Asimov. He's the father of modern science fiction, after all, and contributed more than many people realize to science, language, and humanism. I'd recommend picking a series like Foundation or Robots and just start from the first book. Robots is a detective series that deals a lot with race, class, and the adaptation of society, while Foundation is a broader drama series about a dying empire and the people who saw it coming. Foundation's undertones are more related to religious belief, predetermination, and ever nature vs. nurture. If I'm not mistaken, Robots and Foundation take place in the same universe, with Robots occurring long, long before Foundation.


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## Finian Wren (Jun 29, 2017)

The Player of Games, Use of Weapons, Look to Windward, Excession (really, anything from the Culture series) - Iain M. Banks
Spin - Robert Charles Wilson
Treason - Orson Scott Card
Starfish - Peter Watts
Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, Kafka on the Shore, The Windup Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami
Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood
The Forever War - Joe Haldeman
American Gods - Neil Gaiman
Filth - Irvine Welsh
A Scanner Darkly - Phillip K. Dick


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## Benthehornyhyena (Jun 29, 2017)

I don't really like reading, but there have been exceptions, my favorite book series is Skulduggery Pleasant, my favorite classical novel The Phantom of the Opera, and my favorite written play Cyrano de Bergerac.


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## ClinkertheLion (Jun 29, 2017)

The War of the Worlds by H.G.Wells is a personal favourite of mine. Classic science fiction. It being told in a survivor' accounts and perspective adds to the overall atmosphere of the book. Not to mention the interesting and infamous weaponry used by the invaders. Highly recommend to those that haven't read it.


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## annethecatdetective (Aug 31, 2017)

Favorites:
-Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
-The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin (ANYTHING by Le Guin is really good, btw, and she also wrote the most charming kids' book series that starts with 'Catwings')
-Watership Down by Richard Adams


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## Denji (Sep 3, 2017)

Chronicles of Ancient Darkness/Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver. It's not a hard book to read, but it just stuck with me and I have read all the 6 parts several times!


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## ellaerna (Sep 3, 2017)

I just finished reading Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys. It's an expansion of Lovecraftian lore, especially Shadows Over Innsmouth, that focuses on the cultists. It's kind of like Wicked in that regard, making the Deep Ones more relatable and sympathetic while not shying away from the horrors of the universe that Lovecraft created. I loved it and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has even a passing interest in that world.


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## Amiir (Sep 3, 2017)

WHAT THE FU-

BOOKS?? _READING?!?_ ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!?


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## Scales42 (Sep 3, 2017)

The Trench - by Steve Alten
His Majesties Dragon - Naomi Novik 
Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton


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## Scales42 (Sep 3, 2017)

And everything from H.G Wells and Jules Verne


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## PastelBread (Oct 25, 2017)

I have a ton of favourites!

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Dracula
Frankenstein
Anything H.G. Wells
Anything H.P. Lovecraft
The ACOTAR series
The unabridged Count of Monte Cristo
The Vampire Chronicles 
And more! If you want to talk to me about books HMU. LOL


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## Fuzzylumkin (Oct 25, 2017)

Almost anything Stephen king, at one time I owned 69 of his books including his non fiction, his picture book (nightmares in the sky about gargoyle statues), unfortunately in one of my moves I lost literally all of them.


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## Casey Fluffbat (Oct 25, 2017)

Ringworld - Larry Niven
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams


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## Sagt (Oct 25, 2017)

PastelBread said:


> Anything H.G. Wells


This guy seems to be very popular within this thread.


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## PastelBread (Oct 25, 2017)

Lcs said:


> This guy seems to be very popular within this thread.


I noticed that too!


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