Suggestions of a book to read?

[mattvanduck]

Give me some of your best books you have ever read? I seem to be totally undecided as what book to bury my head into next?

[woofgang]

anything by Jane Austen, Robert Jordan, Terry Pratchett

[kick3m0n]

Anything by Christopher Brookmyre.  Described as "trtan noir"....dark but often hilarious. 

Anything by Iain Banks (or Iain M Banks, if you like sci-fi).  Absorbing stories, often unusual.  The Wasp Factory is my favourite.

The Meaning of Liff and The Deeper Meaning of Liff - both by John Lloyd and the much missed Douglas Adams.  The funniest, laugh-out-loud, tears-streaming-down-my-cheeks books I have ever read (not novels tho) and I have read both countless times.

[Hgrove]

My favourite book of all is Jane Eyre.  I'll post some more when I think of them.

[ursula62]

I am currently reading Utopia - it's a thriller about a futuristic theme park. - Excellent!

[mattvanduck]

Ah kick03, i think i have "The bridge" by iain m banks. where he is seeing a psychologist... yes i remember that. Right thats one book to read...... keep em coming folks great so far!!!!!!

[mr. piper]

it may seem like abit of a cliche' but if you have not read Papillon and the sequel Banco it may interest you. i have not read a more absorbing auto'. if you are thinking of the film forget it, it is as usual a traversty of the book. 

[hugoboss]

You simply HAVE TO read The Time Traveller's Wife. It's life changing, almost! Just finished the Da Vinci Code, which is also spectacular.

[dosset]

birdsong by sebastian faulks

[dosset]

short history of nearly everything---bill bryson

angels and demons-dan brown

[natalie_1982]

Angels and Demons - Dan Brown

Adventure, thriller which I personally think is better than The Da Vinci Code.

Somebody Else's Kids - Torey Hayden

"They were all "just somebody else's kids" - four problem children placed in Torey Hayden's class because nobody knew what else to do with them"

Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

"Summoning up more than 20 years of Japan's most dramatic history, the geisha's story uncovers a hidden world of eroticism and enchantment, exploitation and degradation"

Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

A 14 year-old girl is raped and murdered, the book focuses on her idea of heaven and watching how her family and friends cope, as well as watching the person who killed her.

Sickened: The True Story of a Lost Childhood - Julie Gregory

A real-life story relayed from the victim of a mother with Muchausen by Proxy.  It made me cry, and some bits are a bit gorey/ pukey.

[natalie_1982]

And Bill Bryson - Notes from a Small Island

Book about his travels around Great Britain, is so funny you'll be laughing out loud.

[hobsonbear]

look at www.whichbook.net for ideas!

h

[kick3m0n]

matt - must confess, The Bridge is my least favourite...I'm not into sci-fi tho. xx

[cullum]

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time

The Girl with the Pearl Earing

Big Hearted Man

[mattvanduck]

I have read that callum. its a really good book, very well written.

kick03, no probs i put it down coz it was doing my head in i think lol.. but will take note of yours and all the others suggestion... please keep them coming.

Cheers

Matt x

[Lotus]

Funny you should ask that today, I've just come back from a lecture where we discussed our favourite contemporary writers... :)

Anyway, here are a few suggestions:

- 'Vernon God Little' by DBC Pierre
This is a rather dark satire about a young boy accused and imprisoned for a school shooting. Quite twisted, but very good

-'Atonement' by Ian McEwan
Great novel - great twist in the end...

-Anything by Haruki Murakami, he's a genius ('The Wild Sheep Chase' is one of my favourites, though)

-''The God of Small Things' by Arundhati Roy
She won the Booker prize for this novel - its an incredibly touching story of two twins, Estha and Rahel, who grow up as 'Estha and Rahel' - until something happens that makes them just Estha and just Rahel... Very moving

-'The PowerBook' by Jeanette Winterson
A very erotic tale of creators and their creations, of story telling and living your own fiction. She has a beautiful way with words...

-'�9.99' by Frederic Begbeder
Very cynical tale of an advertising executive - gets a bit trippy towards the end, but great book all the same

-"True Tales of American Life' by Paul Auster
A great book and very easy to read. Paul Aster asked the American nation to send in their stories - they could be on and about anything, as long as they were true. He got so many replies, he put them together into a book. Some are funny, some very touching - all in all, worth the read.

And at this point, I think I'm going to stop - as I could go on for ages :) But if you want any more, just ask!

[Philtaz]

 I can thoroughly recommend Dave Gorman's Googlewhack Adventure.

[graemer]

Have you read "The Corrections" by Jonathan Franzen?Fantastic saga of a dysfunctional family

[Oscar3]

Jasper FForde!

The Eyre Affair, Lost In A good Book, The Well of Lost Plots and Something Rotten. New one out in July.

Excellent books, literary fantasy, jumping in and out of fiction, time travel, bad puns. Books you can read again and again.

Also Perfume by Patrick Suskind. Amazing. If you like that try De Sade's Valet, sorry can't remember the author's name, but I think he's Norwegien.

Enjoy!

[LeMarchand]

Skallagrigg by William Horwood.

It's a bit of a hard sell, but it's the only book to ever move me to tears and changed quite a few of my preconceptions about people who suffer from various disabilities.

Anyway, it follows the stories of Arthur and Esther, two cerebral palsy sufferers. Arthur's story is mainly set in the past, and Esther's is contemporary. Arthur is severly afflicted, but able to communicate, and tells stories of the "Skallagrigg" - a mythical being who helps those whose disabilities mean they cannot help themselves. In the present, Esther is searching for the truth behind the myth.

It's very moving and nowhere near as depressing as a synopsis makes it sound!

If you like fantasy, try George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire books. Then regret it, as he seems to be years in between volumes.