Never let me go, by Kazuo Ishiguro

The blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood

Atonement, by Ian McGregor

Twelve Night, by Shakespeare

The death of the heart, by Elizabeth Bowen

1984, by George Orwell

The old man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway

The fall of the House of Usher, by Edgar Allan Poe

 

Anyone read The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch? It's my favorite book of all time.

 

NO. DLP WILL NEVER READ THAT SHIT BOOK!!!111oneoneoneeleveneleven.

Gentlemen Bastards frustrates me the way Name of the Wind does. WHY IS THE NEXT BOOK NOT OUT YET?!

Also he is apparently writing three novellas... Same world as Lies but about secondary characters... I've heard Vorchenza and Drakash's name tossed about in regards to them...

 

Amazon says February. But the bastards keep changing it. D:
He's also working on some kind of "serial adventure" called Queen of the Iron sands, so thats slowing things down. >:[
http://www.scottlynch.us/index.html

 

I was hoping we could make a distinction in recommendations that span series whether the stated series follows one protagonist or one group of protagonists, as opposed to entirely different characters.

A huge peeve for me is having a series with different characters; I just really don't like that. I like following one person around and siding totally with him.

I recommend American God's. It's an excellent book that explores the very real possibility that human consciousness affects reality, and if enough of a population believes, a god is created.

 

I just finished American Gods. I loved it, and the underlying message. Though it was a bit slow in parts. But the ending was a major letdown. All the buildup for absolutely... nothing.

 

Probably mentioned already, but the Merlin series by T.A. Barron. There is 5 books, starting with 'Lost Years of Merlin.' This was the series I read before I even heard about Harry Potter .

 

Same. I remember liking them immensely, but then again, I was in fourth grade when I read them.

 

Greg Egan. Hard Sci-Fi. Pretty damn interesting.

 

I was also in 4th grade when I read them. I remember the first three books were already out, so I had to wait a little bit for the next two. Apparently the author has a fascination with writing books pertaining to Merlin, as he has a few other ones. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T_A_Barron

I also remember reading a series called 'Deltora Quest' while in early elementary school, as well as 'Circle of Magic' They are not very long books but i remember enjoying them as a kid and they are kind of what set me along in the fantasy genre. I am not sure i would recommend them though, as i think they were designed for the younger generation. On the other hand, I did also read the LotR books around the same age. I actually read the hobbit, and the trilogy before I even knew there was a movie series, although I waitied to read the Silmarilion until I was in 7th grade, and let me tell you, that is still a tough book to read even though its been 8 years since I first read it.

Another recommendation from me;the Elminster Series by Ed Greenwood. It is a someone gruesome and mature read, with the first book being called 'Elminster in Hell' and has imagery of Elminster being picked apart limb by limb by a higher level demon, and having sex with a goddess, amongst other things.

Although many people dislike game adaption novels written by people like Ed Greenwood, Richard A Knaak, J Robert Moore, I enjoy those novels immensely. I have read every MTG book up through the Kamigawa series, and enjoyed them all, as well as Diablo series and War of the Ancients.

 

I read that series for the first time last year and enjoyed it, though its not quite as catchy and exciting as HP or Dresden. It's certainly good, but not the type of thing I would go back and read multiple times.

 

Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson is ridiculously awesome.

 

I think the target audience is aimed at 'young adults'.

That is true. I think it may be because it actually came out before both of those series (1996-2000) so the authors of the Harry serieses(?) knew what to aim for to beat.

 

I wouldn't say ridiculously awesome, but it is worth reading...

Oh. This reminds me. Ted Dekker's Circle trilogy... that isn't really a trilogy anymore... Starts with Black, Red, and was meant to end in White, but Green's come along. Haven't read it...

Also they all fit into a universe that spans multiple series. The Lost Books and Paradise series, plus two books; House and Skin.

Circle is basically Thomas Hunter. Head trauma causes him to wake up in an alt reality every time he goes to sleep. Chaos ensues, both worlds are in danger, blah blah blah, you get the picture.

They are ... good books, but they're religiously inspired, so it may turn some people off...

 

Not exactly a 'book' but it could be. I read this several years ago and remember it being hilarious. I don't have an account on the forums it is originally from, but I did find a copy of some of it here. I remember there being like 40 different tales, but this link only has about 80 pages worth.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/33096/Bruiser-A-street-sweepers-tales

Didn't know where else to post it.

 

I'm currently reading The Windup Girl due to the serious praise it's been getting. I'm not very impressed so far. The characters aren't compelling, and the world is unbelievable.

 

I wasn't a huge fan of the Mistborn series too be honest. I read the first book, which I enjoyed a bit, but not enough to read book 2+.

Nor any of his other stuff. The magic system was pretty awesomely original, but I didn't like how... contained it was. It seemed to have very little scope in an incredibly depressing world.