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Suggestions on Books to Read

Siro said:
Stranger in a Strange Land is one of those books I read as a kid and really loved. Same with Asimov's work. Lots of innovative ideas that I look upon fondly since they were my entry into the genre. But really, all of the ideas in them have since been explored more deeply and with more nuance. Nowadays, I'd much rather read, say, Banks' Culture series, over something like Foundation.
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Heinlein's benevolent misogyny is a bit hard to get over, now.

Asimov had great IDEAS, and was magnificently prolific, but both his style and characterization were minimal to the point of being spartan.
 
As far as personal growth and non-fiction books go, these are ones I've read this year that I recommend:

"Make Your bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World" by Admiral William H McRaven, former Navy Seal
This is a short book (less than 150 pages), but if you have any interest in the life of a Navy Seal and the lessons learned from that experience, I highly recommend this one. Sadly, he didn't convince me to make my bed every morning.

"Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy" by Sheryl Sandberg. I'm only a few chapters in, but if you are looking to find a new way to get through a tough time, this one's worth your time.

"The American Spirit: Who We Are and What We Stand For" by David McCullough. This is a collection of speeches he has given, mostly at university graduations. While some aren't so great, there are many gems in here about the history of our country, our presidents, our symbols.

"Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates. This book helped me understand a bit more about being black in America. There are phrases in it that keep running through my mind whenever I hear people talking about what they do not understand.

"Gratitude" by Oliver Sacks. Quick read but profound thoughts. I've written one phrase down that I'm insisting be included in my funeral.
 
As far as fiction goes, I've been on a binge of Fredrik Backman books ("A Man Called Ove" being my favorite) and Liane Moriarty books (four of her books are tied for my favorite, but would probably recommend "Big Little Lies" to start).
 
Siro said:
What? It's a poorly written series. No real sense of threat. The main characters are teenage bumpkins. Entire books can be skipped with a 2 paragraph summary. Aside from the richness of the world, which is still overstated, the series has little going for it. If you haven't read a lot, and you mostly read fantasy, then maybe it's for you. I don't know. But I wouldn't recommend it.
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I agree 100%
It's very very rare that I start a book or book series and don't finish it. I got to like book 5 or 6 and couldn't take it anymore.
Everything was so cliche and predictable and inside the box and sexist...... I hated those books so bad despite liking quite a few things about them at the same time lol.
 
Best sci fi I have read is and probably will always be Stanislaw Lem's Solaris.
 
Wes Mantooth said:
Anyone ever read McCarthy's Blood Meridian? It's generally considered his masterpiece, an infinitely tougher read than the simple The Road and No Country for Old Men, and is begging to be made into an 8-12 episode mini-series on HBO.
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Mini? That's about 8 seasons to the Brits. Thanks for the suggestion though. I'm not really an author specific type of reader.
 
Siro said:
What? It's a poorly written series. No real sense of threat. The main characters are teenage bumpkins. Entire books can be skipped with a 2 paragraph summary. Aside from the richness of the world, which is still overstated, the series has little going for it. If you haven't read a lot, and you mostly read fantasy, then maybe it's for you. I don't know. But I wouldn't recommend it.
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Most annoying thing is how it's very black and white. Also, predictable. Ain't got nothing on GOT.
 
The biggest slog of a book I've experienced was The Souls of Black Folk. I'm convinced Du Bois was trying to make a lot of racist white people feel pretty dumb.
 
Tom Pitt said:
The biggest slog of a book I've experienced was The Souls of Black Folk. I'm convinced Du Bois was trying to make a lot of racist white people feel pretty dumb.
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Juxtaposed with Booker T Washington's Up From Slavery and you get quite a dichotomy.
 
Oh, how about some Guy Gavriel Kay? Under Heaven and River of Stars are some of the most beautiful writing I'm ever had the pleasure to read.
 
Siro said:
It amazes me how famous WoT is. It speaks to the state of fantasy fiction. I would not recommend it to a well-read adult.
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Wheel of Time is awesome, although the action really dragged in some of the middle books. If the overall series were about 2/3 the actual length it would be perfect.
 
Siro said:
What? It's a poorly written series. No real sense of threat. The main characters are teenage bumpkins. Entire books can be skipped with a 2 paragraph summary. Aside from the richness of the world, which is still overstated, the series has little going for it. If you haven't read a lot, and you mostly read fantasy, then maybe it's for you. I don't know. But I wouldn't recommend it.
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For what it's worth I've read literally thousands of fantasy books, and I'd put Wheel of Time up there with the very best. So, different strokes.
 
Siro said:
American Gods was okay for me. I heard so much about it, and when I finally decided to read it, it felt a bit underwhelming.
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I started reading it a month or so ago. Got ~30-40 pages into it and stopped. Nothing really drew me in and the profanity was out of control.

In other disappointing books, I read Joe Haldeman's "Camoflauge". Won the Nebula Award but I have no idea how. First half was interesting but the book overall was probably the worst book I've read in 10 years (partly because I usually stop reading if it's that bad). 2 out of 5 stars.
 
I know the OP wasn't necessarily restricted to fantasy, but that's what a lot of discussion has been. So I'll put this out there--my favorite current fantasy writer by far is Brandon Sanderson. I've read all his adult books and liked them all A LOT (except for Elantris, which I liked a little less than the others). But the Mistborn trilogy is truly outstanding, probably just below Lord of the Rings for my favorite fantasy work of all time.
 
colton said:
I started reading it a month or so ago. Got ~30-40 pages into it and stopped. Nothing really drew me in and the profanity was out of control.

In other disappointing books, I read Joe Haldeman's "Camoflauge". Won the Nebula Award but I have no idea how. First half was interesting but the book overall was probably the worst book I've read in 10 years (partly because I usually stop reading if it's that bad). 2 out of 5 stars.
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Only read two Haldeman book, and both were utter ****.

Do you read hard sci-fi? If so, check out Dragon's Egg by Robert Forward. It is marvelous.
 
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