RockDiesel

So every year in San Francisco they have, what is called, the Big Book Sale. It is the largest book sale on the west coast, like over 50,000 books or something like that.

Friends of the San Francisco Public Library - big book sale

I enjoy expanding on my recently started library even though I may never get around to reading all these books I have. All the used books at the sale are cheap as hell, and on Sunday, the last day of the sale, every book is $1 or less. So naturally I will go on Sunday and stock the library.

So if anyone on WickedFire enjoys reading and has any recommendations on good reads I would love to hear them. I am open to pretty much anything as long as it is good.

For example, so far I picked up the whole Dark Tower series by Stephen King, David McCullough's books (1776, John Adams, and Truman), Tolkien's The Silmarillion, The Coming of the King by Nikolai Tolstoy, some thick ass book called the Inside Story of the KGB (spy shit is always cool).

so yeah, whatever recommendations you got I would love to hear them (Fantasy, History, Sports, Mysteries, Biographies, etc...)

Dr_Ngo

A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin, the first book is called "A Game of Thrones"

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glowleaf

Oh, don't remind me of books...I am moving out, and I am still packing my huge library.

Since you like fantasy, I suggest "The Dresden files", by Jim Butcher. There are around 10 in the series, and they are funny and interesting. Its about a wizard in modern day Chicago working as a private investigator, tossing around fireballs. Very funny, almost pulp fiction. I read them at a rate of one book per night, couldn't put them down.

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RockDiesel

Funny you should mention moving. My girlfriend's company is relocating, so we are moving in a couple of weeks. However, they are paying for the whole move, including movers to come pack up all our stuff. So, I am trying to get as many books as possible because I don't need to pack them, someone else will for me.

Someone mentioned the Dresden Files to me a couple days ago, definitely going to check them out.

Thanks for the rec. Dr. Ngo. I will keep an eye out for that series when I go to the sale tomorrow.

turbolapp

How about supernatural thrillers? I'm always looking for new authors and a good read in that genre...

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RockDiesel

are you asking for recommendations or asking if I would read supernatural thrillers? if you are asking me, then yes I would be interested in what you have to recommend.

ChrisS

Rock: Judging from your posting history, here are a few of my favorites that you would probably like.

Sperm Wars: Infidelity, Sexual Conflict, and Other Bedroom Battles
"Published to acclaim and controversy a decade ago, Sperm Wars is a revolutionary thesis about sex that turned centuries-old biological assumptions on their head... best-selling author Robin Baker reveals these new facts of life: ten percent of children are not fathered by their "fathers;" less than one percent of a man's sperm is capable of fertilizing anything (the rest is there to fight off all other men's sperm); "smart" vaginal mucus encourages some sperm but blocks others; and a woman is far more likely to conceive through a casual fling than through sex with her regular partner. It's no wonder that Sperm Wars is a classic of popular science writing that will surprise, entertain, and even shock."
(You'll never look at sex and relationships the same way ever again.)

The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists
"Strauss was a self-described chick repellant--complete with large, bumpy nose, small, beady eyes, glasses, balding head, and, worst of all, painful shyness around women. He felt like "half a man." That is, until a book editor asked him to investigate the community of pickup artists. Strauss's life was transformed. He spent two years bedding some fine chiquitas and studying with some of the North America's most suave gents--including the best of them all, the God of the pickup "community," a man named Mystery."
(Don't get me wrong, I'm no Mystery fan. But this book was a ton of fun to read")

How to Win Friends & Influence People
"This grandfather of all people-skills books was first published in 1937. It was an overnight hit, eventually selling 15 million copies. How to Win Friends and Influence People is just as useful today as it was when it was first published, because Dale Carnegie had an understanding of human nature that will never be outdated. Financial success, Carnegie believed, is due 15 percent to professional knowledge and 85 percent to "the ability to express ideas, to assume leadership, and to arouse enthusiasm among people." He teaches these skills through underlying principles of dealing with people so that they feel important and appreciated."
(One of my favorite books ever. It should be required reading for everyone)

History of My Life by Giacomo Casanova
"While Casanova is most notorious for his womanizing, his memoirs are also remarkable as they give a top-to-bottom view of European life in the 18th century. Johns Hopkins University Press has done a handsome job, packaging the entire story in six double volumes"
(If you can get past the old writing style and sheer volume of this book, you'll find some awesome stories in here)

and because I care for your mortal soul...

The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus: What's So Good About the Good News?
"Asserting that we are meant to go beyond the Bible in order to discover the gospel, Gomes points away from the past toward a future in which promise and fulfillment meet. Meanwhile, we must manage to live in the world as it is—a world steeped in hostility, suffering and injustice. If we take the gospel seriously, then like Jesus we will risk all, and might even lose all."
(That's a gay description, but this book rocks. It's a slap to the face of hypocritical Christians everywhere, but it's still a Christian book written by a well-respected preacher)

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turbolapp

No. I was asking for recommendations.

However, since you're interested. Richard Laymond is a good author. Mostly he writes about wacked out psychopaths and chaotic cannibalism but he has two good supernatural thrillers that I would definitely recommend: Bodyrides and The Traveling Vampire Show

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stmadeveloper

.... if you like this type of book there is also an 11 or 12 book series that's great. Robert Jordans "wheel of time" series.

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RockDiesel

I tried to start the Wheel of Time series, couldn't get into it. Don't know why, because i heard nothing but good things about it.

guerilla

The Agony and the Ecstasy - Irving Stone (Michaelangelo story)

Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand

Dune - Frank Herbert

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glowleaf

Oooh, that "sperm wars" book got me interested. Ill try to find it.

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RockDiesel

On the list, I heard it was a great book.

glowleaf

Since we are all recommending books, here is another book list I posted a while ago:
Books to read | Glowleaf

You all know how to bypass the affiliate id, I am too lazy to rewrite them here.

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amanda11

Fight club novel

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Benji49

The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: An Experiment in Literary Investigation (Volume One) (Paperback)

by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn

Also read volume three, which details the rebellions of Soviet cities in the 1960s and 70s (which curiously enough, were not widely reported in Western media at the time).

Russians make the 1) Toughest mafias 2) Strongest booze 3) Best books.

Best light reading on a airplane:
Vertical Run by Joseph Garber

-Bill-

Tom Clancey - Executive Orders & Red Rabbit

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HarveyJ

I'm with Amanda... ANYTHING by Chuck Palahnuik is golden! Speaking of, Choke is coming out as a movie soon.

I'll recommend authors instead of single books:

SF&F
Clive Barker
Phillip K Dick
Frederick Pohl
David Brin
Phillip Jose Farmer (which was actually three separate SF authors from the 60s-80s working on side projects together)

Comedy
Ben Elton
Tom Sharpe
Terry Pratchett (although it's also a fair bit of SF&F really)

Suspense & Horror
Any of Stephen King's not supernatural based books (he writes really good psychos, like in Rose Madder)
Clive Barker (again)
H. P. Lovecraft

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guerilla

It truly is. The other ones I suggested are great as well if you have not read them. All 3 of my recommendations are classics of one sort or another.

William Gibson's Neuromancer is another good one. Neal Stephenson, Diamond Age and Cryptonomicon.

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SniperRyan

Here are some I just read that I would highly recommend (many were rec's from other WF threads):

House of Leaves - Mark Danielewski
I Hope they Serve Beer in Hell - Tucker Max
The Revolution: A Manifesto - Ron Paul
Getting to Know the General - Graham Greene
Amusing Ourselves to Death
Quantum Psychology
The Blind Side

amanda11

How about what NOT to read ...

Punching In by Alex Frankel. He's some douche bag who goes undercover and works for UPS, Star Bucks, Rent-a-rent Enterprise, Mac store and writes about his experience as a "front line employee".

The writing style is dry, pretentious and he sounds like an academia douchebag.

Worst book ever.

But if you wanna read an epic book, read Shogun by James Clavell. It's like the Asian verison of Lord of The Rings, except it has alot of sex, violence and more sex.

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koloth44

In the SF&F vein, I really enjoyed the Coldfire Trilogy, by C.S. Friedman. Also anything by Roger Zelazny, and "A Canticle for Leibowitz" by Walter M. Miller Jr.

Non-supernatural thriller/mystery- I've always liked James Patterson's Alex Cross novels. Not high literature, but fast paced and fun to read.

omgyams

American Psycho

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IronLogik

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

emp

Richard Morgan.

His Sci Fi is great, and he just released "The Steel Remains" which is a great take on Fantasy, but only if you don't mind a gay protagonist. (Actually, only one of three characters he follows, the other one being a nomad and a non-human lady)

::emp::

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Work Plus Faith

Great (history) book on the reconstruction era:
"The Senator & The Socialite" by Lawrence Otis Graham

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RockDiesel

wow, great stuff. love all the recommendations and will be looking into them in the future. I went to the book sale on Sunday and picked up about 20 books, but unfortunately I didn't find really anything from this thread. The books are arranged by genre, but after that it is like playing Where's Waldo trying to find the books you want. anyways, thanks for all the suggestions.

if people want to keep posting more suggestions I am all ears.

by the way, I started TRUMAN by David McCullough. The man is damn good writer and knows how to make history enjoyable to read.

UltimateJakob

PLEASE READ THE CHINA STUDY.

I'm in no way affiliated with it, but as a nutritional consultant and general healthy guy at the office this book could/will save your health.

If you add dot com to the end it has a site, it's the longest ran most comprehensive study of nutrition and it's relation to health and disease. And best yet it's not even boring.

Hit me up if you want more info on health - I know a lot of us in the online world need it!

UltimateJakob

By the way read: The Singularity is Near by Ray Kurzweil

Seriously.

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BluuueJammm

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
Relic - Shaun Hutson, awesome horror writer
Legend - David Gemmell

Hitchhikers especially is a book everyone should read.

HarveyJ

I thought the first book in the Ender's series was ok, but by the time they got up to Xenocide it just lost the point, and got continually suckier...
Did you read Shadow of the Hegemon. I think that's the first book since the original Harry Potter that I just put down and seriously thought about using as fire tinder.

Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently series is great too. Not quite as bizarre as Hitch Hikers' got, but there's some awesome stuff in there about the way other people work.
I wish he'd written more

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RockDiesel

Sorry, not really interested in vegan propaganda.

As a "nutritional consultant" I would think you would be able to see the heavily biased presentation of the information in that book.

amanda11

SUMMARY FOR THOSE WHO ARE TOO LAZY TO READ THE CHINA STUDY:

According to the study, eating meat gives you cancer.

Now if you excuse me, I'm going downstairs to have a plate full of chicken.

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hyperion

Battle Royale FTW

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IronLogik

Another great one I'd suggest is: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

It's a monster of a book, so I'm only halfway through, but so far it's been a rewarding read. I guarantee it will fire you up.

Actually, Ender's Game was the only one I read in the series. I also heard from reviews that the rest of the series wasn't as good, so I never pursued them. There's just not enough time in our lives to read all the good books out there, so we gotta be choosy, heh. Also, I can usually tell how worthwhile a book is by the first few chapters, so if it sucks, I have no problem aborting when I come across a fire tinder candidate.

EDIT: just want to mention that this thread has 35 replies and only one amazon link. that's classy.

RockDiesel

I just realized I haven't been giving any recommendations in return, so here are a couple of novels I read and enjoyed over the year, both are by Jess Walter.

JESS WALTER - Citizen Vince (2005)

JESS WALTER - Land of the Blind (2003)

glowleaf

Now I have to read it... LotR even though being epic, was too family friendly for my tastes. Thanks amanda.

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