Books - Recommendations

First topic message reminder :

I'm currently reading both the Keith Richards autobiography & also Brian Keenan's book 'An Evil Cradling'.

If anyone has read any masterpiece, please share on here as I'm always on the look out for a good book. Thanks.

DT, no i haven't seen the films.

I don't like watching films of books that i love, as they generally either
change them, or in some way it ruins the book for me (maybe another
thread we can get up and running?).

After you'e read Fatherland by Robert Harris, try ENIGMA by the same
author, which is just as good in my opinion, and just as rubbish film.

Kramxel wrote:I've read all the fiction works of Clive Cussler and Matthew Riley and eagerly awaiting their next releases -- do you know of any similar authors, i could get my teeth into?

Try Bernard Cornwell, Who wrote the Sharpe books, and has also done other seris
Covering from when the Vikings invaded, To the battles around Azincourt, through
to obiously the Sharpe era, The main characters are fiction, but the battles are
all real battles. And at the end he alway's tells what really happened at the battles.

Also Iain Gale, simaliar type books, but following a guy Called Jack Steel instead,
these are the best i hae found.

tigerrobins wrote:DT, no i haven't seen the films.

I don't like watching films of books that i love, as they generally either
change them, or in some way it ruins the book for me (maybe another
thread we can get up and running?).

After you'e read Fatherland by Robert Harris, try ENIGMA by the same
author, which is just as good in my opinion, and just as rubbish film.

I actually quite like the movies. I read all three first...and I've seen the first 2 movies. Hasn't changed the story at all.

Possibly because they haven't done the big budget Hollywood remake.

David Tails wrote:

tigerrobins wrote:DT, no i haven't seen the films.

I don't like watching films of books that i love, as they generally either
change them, or in some way it ruins the book for me (maybe another
thread we can get up and running?).

After you'e read Fatherland by Robert Harris, try ENIGMA by the same
author, which is just as good in my opinion, and just as rubbish film.

I actually quite like the movies. I read all three first...and I've seen the first 2 movies. Hasn't changed the story at all.

Possibly because they haven't done the big budget Hollywood remake.

My mum saw the first, and she also really liked it, so may give them go. If i do,
will probably wait for the boxset, then on a day off watch them one after another.

The reason hate watching films of the books, is mainly because of hollywood.
Saw The Natural where they changed the ending completely, And also i wasn't
overly impressed with the Lord of the Rings, They did somethings very well, but
changedcertain storylines, and missed out important storylines for me.

what about the road by cormac mcarthy great book but quite difficult to get into

I completely agree. Hollywood movies have to make a big impact and be full of effecs etc....that will always result in a change of storyline.

David Tails wrote:I completely agree. Hollywood movies have to make a big impact and be full of effecs etc....that will always result in a change of storyline.

Sadly to true,resulting in many goodbooks be ruined.

I also feel though, that certain books should neer be made into books.
The point of a good book is to feed your imagination, so you can imagine the
characters/places, and being on the journey with them. I do not need the visual
of this as it ruins it, and spoils my enjoyment of the books, myimagination is very
good thanks. Lord of the rings is one of my favorite books of all time, now when i read it all i see is the film and actors.
Which where no where near the pictures my imagination had of the book.

Seeing as i love fantasy books, just to throw out some other books for people.
These are all FANTASY BOOKS.

TAD WILLIAMS - MEMORY, SORROW AND THORN - this is a 4 book seris
BRENT WEEKS - THE NIGHT ANGEL TRILOGY
SERGEI LUKYANENKO - NIGHT WATCH - This is also 4 books

Just started Whiteout by Ken Follett - the couple of his I've picked up previously have been good and this one looks to be OK so far.

Just finished The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly, which was good, and others I've enjoyed recently have been
Bones of Avalon by Phil Rickman
Tickling The English by Dara O'Briain
Killing Floor by Lee Child (borrowed 62 Hours on holiday last year so will now try a few earlier ones)
IT by Stephen King
Fear The Worst by Linwood Barclay
A Time to Die by Wilbur Smith
Girl with The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larrson (Parts 2+3 on my 'to read' shelf) and
The Tenth Chamber by Glenn Cooper

I try not to stick to one genre with books; variety, I reckon, is the key to keeping me reading a lot .... if I tried to read all the books in a series by one author straight through, or even a succession of the same type of books, I'd probably get bored and give up completely.

There are a few authors I've read all (or most) of their books, but always spaced in between other stuff, and I love picking up a book by an author I've never heard of before; so I can seldom resist those B1G1F or 3F2 offers ...... I must admit this does land me with some junk, but not often!

Going back to a book I've read a long time ago can also be a real pleasure, as it was a couple of months ago with IT.

I really enjoyed the Stieg Larrson Millenium Trilogy.

I've read all of the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child - very good books.

David Tails wrote:I really enjoyed the Stieg Larrson Millenium Trilogy.

Same here, they were brilliant. If you liked them you'll probably like Jo Nesbo's books.

tigerrobins wrote:

Seeing as i love fantasy books, just to throw out some other books for people.
These are all FANTASY BOOKS.

TAD WILLIAMS - MEMORY, SORROW AND THORN - this is a 4 book seris
BRENT WEEKS - THE NIGHT ANGEL TRILOGY
SERGEI LUKYANENKO - NIGHT WATCH - This is also 4 books

Completely agree with you on Tad William's 'Memory, Sorow and Thorn' series, absolutely loved them! His 'Otherland' series is also v v good although for sci-fi than fantasy. I also loved his one off book 'The War of the Flowers' I believe it's called - well worth a read!

This is a bit of a carry-over from the TV forum, but I wanted to know a bit more about the Game of Thrones books.

Has anyone read them? Are they any good? And is A Song of Ice and Fire the first in the series, or is there another series/book I should read first to set the scene?

I used to read a lot of fantasy up to about ten years ago and just got rather fed up of the whole 'kitchen boy who is really the last heir to some ancient kingdom must go on an epic quest with a diverse bunch of people to find some magical doohickey and have a big good vs evil battle with a power-crazed megalomaniac before the aforementioned megalomaniac uses the doohickey to enslave the entire universe' kind of thing.

I downloaded a sample of the book and it seems OK, but thought I'd see if the fantasy fans in here had an opinion.

I've not read it yet but I do have a few mates who have and they swear blind that it's the best series of books bar none.

Even better than choose your own adventure?

Bah!

Reading the final Necroscope book just now. That is a good series off books and a different slant on the vampire genre.

calamity jane wrote:This is a bit of a carry-over from the TV forum, but I wanted to know a bit more about the Game of Thrones books.

Has anyone read them? Are they any good? And is A Song of Ice and Fire the first in the series, or is there another series/book I should read first to set the scene?

I used to read a lot of fantasy up to about ten years ago and just got rather fed up of the whole 'kitchen boy who is really the last heir to some ancient kingdom must go on an epic quest with a diverse bunch of people to find some magical doohickey and have a big good vs evil battle with a power-crazed megalomaniac before the aforementioned megalomaniac uses the doohickey to enslave the entire universe' kind of thing.

I downloaded a sample of the book and it seems OK, but thought I'd see if the fantasy fans in here had an opinion.

It's a cracking series of books and well worth a read. Game of Thrones is the first book in the series then clash of kings,the third book is spilt into two books if you get it in paperback.

Also Shadow and claw (The Book of the New Sun) by Gene Wolf is a very good read it is an older book but something i read a couple of months ago.

JOHN GRISHAM - A PAINTED HOUSE.

Completly different from most of his other books, and well worth
a read.

STEPHEN KING - THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON.
Brilliant, personally by far and away his best book.

Two good books that were better than the films are I Am Legend and Mr. Nice.

In fact, Mr. Nice is one of the best books I've read.

Il Gialloblu wrote:Two good books that were better than the films are I Am Legend and Mr. Nice.

In fact, Mr. Nice is one of the best books I've read.

Not seen either film or read either book but will read Mr Nice at some point. Can imagine the film wasn't that good, probably verged on being embarrassing at times. Watched American Psycho first then read the book & enjoyed both. Maybe if I'd read the book first I may not have enjoyed the film as much.

Very recently read Super Size Me, which I also saw first, enjoyed the book & would recommend it. Goes deeper than the film, there are some shocking revelations & gives an insight into big business, multinational corporations & capitalism & its connection with fast food, obesity & poor health, its also quite funny.
Reading & almost completed Wilf Self's 'Junk Mail' at the moment. Its a collection of essays he wrote in the early 90's for various newspapers & magazines, interesting stuff, pretty varied. Never read his stuff before but am going to buy some of his fiction.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.
Yet to read/see The Kite Runner but my neighbour gave me this book and it was a great read. There is always two sides to every story.

Best ever reads

The Bruce Trilogy by Nigel Tranter
Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee [As I walked out is also good]
The Power of One by Bryce Courtney

A few other nominations:

Anything by Bill Bryson, particularly the 'Notes' series and Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid.

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque - best war novel I've ever read.

Bleak House - takes a long time to get into (about 200 pages), but the remaining 600 are the best thing Dickens ever wrote.

I'm just coming to the end of 'Shake Hands with the Devil' by Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire on his time spent in Rwanada. Harrowing as you'd expect for those of you up to speed on what happened over there. Troubling too, but very, very good.

I've a couple of books looking at me now on me book shelf, Mickey Hartes auotobiography & 'Branson' by Tom Bowyer to name a couple, though I am tempted to buy Alex Ferguson's autobiogra phy. Has anyone read it?

Nice to see this thread still running by the way. I love reading.
If anyone reading this who doesn't read much, let me know your interests & I'll try & help find you a good book. Reading is good & helps put perspectives on life.

I am a bit of a fan of boxing, i like watching it but i much prefer reading books about it. I especially like books from the Bar Knuckle era and there are plenty of them. If you can find any books from that era, i would be very interested John.

I am reading a Norwegen book now about a boy who finds a kings buriel mound and is transported back in time and has to adjust to living then. I know it sounds a bit corny but it is actually a very good read. It goes into detail of how they farmed back th, hunted and generally lived. It really portrays hard living conditions.

Oh yeah, and one of my all time favourite books was Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. That was brilliant, much better than the film.

I'll be cheeky and recommend my own book:-

http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/craig+walker/ronald+wolfe/ronald+chesney/on+the+buses/6814450/

Basically, a book about the hit British sitcom On The Buses and its three spin-off films with cast biographies, filming location details and lots more.

I'll get you butler

A really good read is the Red Riding quartet by David Peace. It's basically a fictional story set during the reign of The Yorkshire Ripper about corruption. He's a very dark but realistic writer, and at times poetic. I couldn't get through each book quick enough.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/David-Peace/e/B000APOC5Y/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Oh, and since this is linked to the sports boards, there is one sporting autobigraphy that is head and shoulders clear of the rest - 'The Way it Was' by Sir Stanley Matthews. Tells of a time when footbalelrs were really local working class heroes, not the pampered egotists of today.

Another book that is very funny (to anyone who has ever been to Holland, lived in Holland or has Dutch friends) is The Undoutchables. Its brilliant.

Reading Game of Thrones at the moment. Fantastic book with so many different stories through out, can't wait to read the rest of the series. This is the first fantasy book I have read and if this is anything to go by think I'll read some more.

The Bible. King James Version

Anyone read the Robert Jordan (& Brandon Sanderson) series of books 'The Wheel of Time'?
At present there's 13 in the series with a 14th due out soon (and a prequel out there).

I've read the first 11 of those Hero. Starts off very strong indeed, the first six are very good reads, then I felt it started to go downhill a bit, the plot gets a bit too complicated, and it slows down quite a bit. Book ten is pretty poor really. Book 11 was much better though, so hoping that 12 and 13 are good too. Busy re-reading the first 11 before settling down to n°12 and just finished the ninth today.

I've heard the latter ones of Jordan aren't the best but since Sanderson has taken over they've picked up really well. Once I've got through A Song of Ice and Fire series I'll make a start on these I reckon.

They're well worth a go I'd say Hero, the start of the series is really good. There's also a prequel, good read, probably best if you read it once you're a few books into the series as you'll understand it better.

cheers, heard there's a film on the way of the first book too

Just finished reading Agatha Christie's Cards On The Table a Poirot mystery, its the 1st Poirot I've read & 2nd book by Christie. She's a very good writer imo, books tend to start slowly & very ordinary but bit by bit they get darker/creepier & draw you in. Easy to read as well, I'm going to check out some others by her.

Just read "All Quiet On The Western Front". It's one of those classics everyone should read at least once.

'On the Beach' and 'A Town Like Alice' Nevil Shute
'Last of the Mohicans' James Fenimore Cooper
'Birdsong' Sebastion Faulkes

Hero the "Wheel of Time" series is worth reading, its probably about 1-2 books to long in terms of what was needed. Jordan suffered from the point of view he created multiple characters doing different things at different pacing, as a result often some characters had to be given a back seat. Rather than just doing a short piece to cover the time passing for said characters Jordan would rather just fill up said time with countless chapters of nothing much happening, in essence they were in limbo and we got to live all that limbo in full.

On the whole its a enjoyable series and as a whole much stronger than either what Terry Goodkind or Raymond E Feist have produced. It is a series that gets far more stick than it deserves almost from people bandwagon jumping other than proper reasoning. Good but not great series overall.

To the person who asked about Game of Thrones ("A Song of Ice and Fire" series) its a very good book series and as far as the fantasy genre goes its the 2nd best thing to grace the genre (LOTR is not No1). It's a series which focuses on story above the cares of its characters, this does not mean the characters are under developed quite the opposite the series has some of the most intriguing characters in fantasy. Rather the characters are part of the story but the story does not revolve around certain characters.

A very good series and will be looked back on as a standard bearer for changing the way books are written in fantasy in years to come.

The 'Troy' trilogy by David Gemell

Great historical fiction series, thoroughly recommend them

"Troy" books by Gemmell were good though I thought the "Greek" series (Lion of Macedon & Dark Prince) was the better of the two.

All Gemmell books are worth reading, struggle to think anyone who did simple heroic fantasy as well as that man.

I'm just finishing off 'Moab is my Washpot' by Stephen Fry where I'll be quickly moving back onto 'The Fry Chronicles' which, after reading half way through, put down to purchase Moab is my Washpot.
I love the guy's use of the English Language. He just doesn't waste words.

Jonny, how the devil are you, welcome back.

I finally read The Kite Flyer.
Excellent read but really makes you glad you were born in Scotland.

Few suggestions:

Stephen King is excellent - far better writer than he is given credit for due, I think, to the genre he writes in.

Bonfire of the Vanities is one of my favourites - superb [Author: Tom Wolfe].

Just finished A Piano in the Pyrenees by Tony Hawks - thoroughly enjoyed that. Quirky story about chap [Mr Hawks] who bought a house in France.

Robert Ludlum books are very similar to each other but if you like one you will like the lot !

Good day Doon. I'm pretty good thanks. My wife has read the same book mate. Loved it.

I agree Good walk, Stephen King is a great writer, world renowned, tho I prefer factual books meself. Well, I hope none of Stephen King's books aren't factual going on the couple I read many moons ago.

Cheers....

John~ Sorry I have mistaken you for London Jonny who is banned from the golf site~ don't ask!

Picking up on David Tails post.

Has anyone watched a film that was better than the book. I can't think of many.
Angela's Ashes was a good read but a dreadful film.

Just finished reading the new Lee Child book The Affair. Its another book in the Jack Reacher series but now it talks about an incident that happened when he was still an MP in the army. Well worth a look if you have read any of his others