What were some of the best books you've read?

Question

It's summer and I'm looking for some great books to read. Your recommendations would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Dresden file book series by Jim Butcher.There are 8 books in the series beginning with stormfront.It narrates the story of Harry Dresden,chicago's only professional wizard who works as a detective.He stands between the general population who is ignorant about the supernatural world and the monsters -Vampires,
werewolves,fallen angels,fey.He is aided by Bob,a talking skull.Karrin Murphy-a police officer and Thomas-a white court vampire.

Another good series is the Dark Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon.The books provide an alternate take on vampires.People who are unjustly murdered call upon Artemis(Greek goddess) and she grants them a day to avenge themselves.After that they are recruited to her army to fight against evil.This series is romance based.Best of the series are 'Dance with the devil' and 'Seize the night'.

Count of Montecristo by Alexander Dumas.The hero is Edmond Dantés, a young French sailor who, falsely accused of treason, is arrested on his wedding day and imprisoned in the island fortress of Château d'If. After staging a dramatic escape he sets out to discover the fabulous treasure of Monte Cristo and catch up with his enemies. A novel of enormous tension and excitement, Monte Cristo is also a tale of obsession and revenge, with Dantés, believing himself to be an `Angel of Providence', pursuing his vengeance
to the bitter end before realizing that he himself is a victim of fate.The author did a great job describing the emotions of the prisoner.Disbelief,denial,self pity,madness,apathy and finally hope.For God's sake don't see any of the movies based on the book.They don't do justice to the book.

Dragonjousters series(joust,alta,sanctuary) by Mercedes Lackey.The setting is ancient Egypt.Hunger, anger, and hatred are constants for young Vetch, rendered a brutally mistreated and overworked serf by the Tian conquest of his homeland. But everything improves when a Tian jouster requisitions Vetch to become the first serf ever to be a dragon boy. His training is intense, and his duty clear-cut: to tend his jouster, Ari, and his dragon, Kashet. He discovers that, because Ari himself had hatched Kashet, the dragon is different from others that have been captured live in the wild and must be drugged to be made tractable. Vetch finds he really likes and understands dragons, and soon he becomes the best dragon boy of all. He still harbors anger, however, toward the Tian invasion. Could he, perhaps, hatch a dragon, and then escape to help his people?

Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini.When his best friend, a young clergyman, is killed in a mockery of a duel by an arrogant noble, just to quiet his eloquent expressions of democratic ideals, Andre-Louis Moreau vows revenge. From that point, through meteoric careers as a consummate actor and scenario writer, then as a fencing master, and finally a politician, the brilliant Moreau keeps thwarting the aims of the aristocratic Marquis de la Tour d'Azyr. However, the nobleman causes pain to Moreau as well, and the time must come when the two will meet to settle their enmity once and for all. You are not likely to guess how their confrontation finally turns out. Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, this swashbuckling novel is exciting throughout, and it presents one of the most dashing heroes in fiction, a man who can fight equally well with his mind, his mouth, his pen, and his sword, a man who stirs up events wherever he goes.

The door to december by Dean Koontz.A psychiatrist's daughter was kidnapped by her ex-husband years ago. When the daughter is finally found, the real fight begins. One by one the people who held her captive become mysteriously tortured and killed. Everyone is afraid the young girl will be next.

The mystery unravels as to what happened to the young girl while she was kidnapped. The young girl, Melanie, is unable to speak, but her mother soon learns that the young girl went through extreme torture as her father used her for a rat in his experiments.

The Vivero letter by Desmond Bagley.Jeremy Wheale's well-ordered life is torn apart when his brother is murdered by a mob hit man, whose bait was a family heirloom - a sixteenth-century gold tray. The trail takes Wheale from Devon to Mexico and the wild tropical rain forests of Yucatan. In dense jungle, he helps two archaeologists locate the rest of a fabled hoard of gold - treasure from Uaxuanoc, the centuries-old lost city of the Mayas. But his brother's enemies are on Wheale's trail, and with them are the Chicleros, a vicious band of convict mercenaries.

Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum.Forget the movie.The book is the real article."The Bourne identity" is the story of a man without a past, rescued from the Mediterranean Sea by some fishermen. He is very ill, and his body has suffered the impact of many bullets. The man is taken by the fishermen to a doctor in a nearby island, who helps him to recover physically and mentally. Our protagonist doesn't remember who he is, but with the help of the doctor he finds some clues he doesn't like too much. He only knows for certain some things, for instance that his face has been altered by plastic surgery, that he knows a lot about firearms and that he carried on him a microfilm that contains the code to an account of four million dollars.

In the Swiss bank where the account is he also finds a name: Jason Bourne. But... is he Jason Bourne?. He cannot remember, and if it were for quite a few people, he won't. From the moment he leaves the island onwards, our man without a past will be followed, and attacked. He doesn't understand why, but he reacts in order to stay alive. Add to this already interesting mixture a woman he takes as a hostage, Marie, a number of assasins (including the most famous assassin in the world, Carlos), and the possibility that he is, as a matter of fact, also an assassin, and you will understand why this book is so good. The main character will be hunted all throughout the book not only by the "bad guys", but also by the "good" ones (mainly agents from the USA Government). You won't be able to stop reading this book, and you will find yourself asking aloud to nobody in particular "who on earth is this man?" and "what started this whole mess"?

Answer 2

The Six Wives Of Henry The VIII by Alison Weir About the eccentric King Of England very good book!
Shadow Bob Woodward about 5 presidents and legacy of Watergate!
The Conquerors Michael Beschloss book about Roosevelt Truman and the destruction of Hitlers Germany 1941-1945
And Hearts In Atlantis Stephen King!
D Day by Stephen Ambrose is very good 2!

You might consider John Steinbeck Grapes of wrath!

Answer 3

If you want classics, I'd recommend The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, or The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

Otherwise John Grisham is a great author, I have a few friends
that enjoy Dean Koontz
Happy Reading! :)

Answer 4

just read a book called Speak. it was amazing! I absolutely loved every word of it. Although, I usually go for classics just because they are so much better then most newer books.
Maybe you should try going to a local library and just pick up any book that appeals to you. Then sit down, look through them all and choose on a couple you would like. Don't just go with other's word, try for yourself and you will find that you made the best choice!

Answer 5

These are some of my favorite books:

The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Native Son by Richard Wright
Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin
If that's too heavy for you, try some books by Mary Higgins Clark, Danielle Steele, or Patricia Cornwell.

Happy reading, m'dear!

Answer 6

I read Lee Child's most recent NYT's #1 best seller"The Hard Way" and it blew me away! I could hardly put it down and was hooked in the first 5 minutes of reading. I was so impressed I started reading all 10 Child's books, and each one was really terrific. Here they are from the first: "Killing Floor", "Die Trying", "Trip Wire", "Running Blind", "Echo Burning", "Without Fail", Persuader--A personal favorite!", "The Enemy", and "One Shot."

I also like Dennis LeHane's books especially "A drink before war", "Darkness, take my hand","Sacred"--the best and comical of the lot, but all are great!), "Gone, Baby Gone--soon to be a major motion picture by Ben Afflack (his directing debut--hope it supercharges his career like Mystic River, also a LeHane book, did for Clint Eastwood), "Prayers for rain", and "Shutter Island"--Wow what a page turner with a great twist at the end.

A great oldie-but-goodie page turner is James Clavell's "Shogun."

Below are links to both Child and LeHane so you can read book summeries if you wish:

God Bless, and Great reading!! Your friend, Greg

Answer 7

Any bestselling classical book dating to the 1960's-1970's would give you true pleasure and joy. Start with Arthur Hailey, James Clavell and Ian Fleming. Read on !!!

Answer 8

If you like novels, try "The Straw Men" by Michael Marshall. I only read on occasion, so I don't know if the author is well known, but this novel yeilds a great story, with a twist, but not too hard to follow. Trust me.

Answer 9

In the universe the best book is Holy book Al-Quran. Read it, understand it. You will certainly enjoy. And in addition to enjoyment , you will be successful in life after death if u observe the things what is describes in this Book.

Answer 10

Ooh, anything JD Salinger. Definetely. Catcher in the Rye=best book ever written.

Answer 11

A Scanner Darkly by Phillip K. Dick, Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, and God Bless You Mr Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut.