Can anyone recommend some "must read" books (just for fun)?

Question

I love to read, so I'm always on the lookout for great books. Anything you guys recommend as a MUST READ? I enjoy just about anything (mostly fiction). Some examples of books I really enjoyed in the last year include:
The Harry Potter series
Dan Brown's "Angels & Demons", "The Da Vinci Code"
The Devil Wears Prada

I'm about to start reading Erik Larson's "The Devil in the White City" (recommended to me recently by a cab driver who thought it was fantastic).

I'm also a huge fan of Stephen King (though haven't read him in a while), & John Grisham.
As you can see, my tastes are ALL over the place.

Thanks guys!

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.

Hunter's moon,Moon's web are novels written by Cathy Clamp and C.T. Adams about a werewolf Tony Giodone who is an assassin-for-hire by profession.It is written from Tony's first person POV (point of view).Tony meets his new client, one Suzi Quentin. She wanted someone offed. Well, this is child's play to our boy...um...wolf...Tony. Only she knocks him for a loop when she tells him the name of the person she wants killed - herself!So begins the story.

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?

I liked the Valdemar series by Mercedes Lackey.The books I liked in the series are Exile's honor,Exile's valor and Take a thief.

The review given below is about Exile's honor.
Valdemar and Karse have long been enemies. The Karse have made an art of it, sending bandits to plunder Valdemar, having their priests train the people to believe that anyone with a Herald's Gift is a demon in need of death. Alberich of Karse, newly-made captain and gifted with a handsome white stallion, has never formally committed himself to battle with his hereditary enemy. He has the gift of foresight, which he has long tried long to hide, but cannot when he sees that a village is about to be attacked and destroyed. He rallies his men, and saves the lives of many, only to forfeit his own. Two men who wanted his commission take advantage of the situation and have a Priest condemn him as a demon. They throw him in a small barn, planning to burn him to death. His white stallion charges in to save him, but he is still badly burned. This stallion, a Companion named Kantor takes him to Valdemar, where he is healed... only to find himself facing a whole new set of problems.

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 Time-Master trilogy By Louise Cooper.(review from Amazon)The books are 'The Initiate',The Outcast and The Master.It tells the story of Tarod a fascinating anti-hero, evolving throughout the series from a loyal disciple of Order to the God of Chaos that is his true heritage, with the repeated examination of his humanity thrown into the mix.

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.

Read both Odd thomas and Forever odd by Dean Koontz.These books are about Odd Thomas who see dead people and is compelled to solve crimes.

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.

Landslide by Desmond Bagley.Bob Boyd wakes up in a hospital with no memory,the only surviver of an accident.He was burned badly all over and needed extensive plastic surgery which was payed by a mysterious sponser.He is told that he's a geology student with a bad history.However Bob recovers and gets on with his life.Hired by the powerful Matterson Corporation to survey land before they build a great new dam, he begins to uncover the shaky foundations of the Matterson family and becomes a fly in their ointment.His accident and the Matterson family have more in common than he thought.

Answer 2

A Woman's Worth By Tracy Price-Thompson
Great Book
Anything By Donna Hill, Francis Ray, Brenda Jackson and Donald Goines.

Answer 3

Here are a few scattered recommendations but I enjoyed reading all of these:

The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson which is an entertaining and informative read.

The His Dark Materials Trilogy by Phillip Pullman, a children's fantasy series which can also be read by adults.

Monkey by Wu Cheng En and translated by Arthur Waley - fun read. High Recommended.

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley - fun dragon hunting book. cool fantasy.

The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears. Wonderful writing.

The Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson - beautiful, beautiful book.

See No Evil by Robert Baer - a real CIA case officer talks about what it was like intelligence gathering in the Middle East.

The Game of Thrones and the rest of the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin. This is an awesome fantasy series. The best fantasy that I've read in years.

Answer 4

And then there were none- Agatha Christie
Rebecca- Daphne DuMaurier
Walk two moons- Sharon Creech
The Outsiders- S.E. Hinton
The View from Saturday- E.L Konigsburg
Go Ask Alice- anonymous
Beauty Queen- Linda Glovach
The Pigman- Paul Zindel

those are some good books. and the list goes on and on.... i like harry potter too =]

Answer 5

Jeffery Deaver wrote The Bone Collector, which became a movie. It was great reading, also Along Came A Spider. I also enjoy Ted Dekker, he is a Christian writer, who wrote a Triology....Black, White, Red. I've read everything that Grisham has written, including The Innocent Man. The only one I didn't really enjoy was Skipping Christmas. Brenda Novak. Rita Herron. Just to name a few that I enjoy....Hope it helps!

Answer 6

The Shadow of the Wind By Carlos Ruiz Zafón Bloodline by Kate Cary The Historian By Elizabeth Kostova Sunshine By Robin McKinley

Answer 7

Anything by John Patterson, he writes mystery books. His main character is usually Alex Cross or some other type detective. They are really interesting and engrossing. However, you should try to read his books in order because some of the main characters and killers come back in another book.
Also, The Modern Girls Guide to Life, Jane Buckingham. very interesting and handy.
Anything by V.C Andrews, she is really great.
This book called the Lovely Bones is really good, but i dont know the authors name. Good Reading!

Answer 8

I loved the "Artemis Fowl" series by Eoin Colfer. It's technically a young adult book, but they're still great. 12-year-old genius finds out that "fairies" DO exist. And he kidnaps one to make some money.

Also, I read a couple Terry Pratchett books for the Fantasy part of my SciFi and Fantasy class. "The Color of Magic" is, more or less, the starting point for the series. They're really funny - it's basically all fantasy satire.

Answer 9

If you haven't, you should try Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events; it is a thirteen book series, but it is fun to read. I also enjoyed reading Are you Afraid of the Dark by Sydney Sheldon; it was sort of a drama, thriller, thing. Also, you could try The Giver, by Lois Lowery; one of the best utopia, stories that IO have ever read.

Answer 10

You absolutely MUST read J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings", as well as C.S. Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia". If you like Harry Potter you should like those. If you haven't already read it, you need to read John Grisham's "A Time to Kill". Other great books are:
"Flowers in the Attic" by V.C. Andrews
"Daughter of the Forest" by Juliet Marillier
"The Mists of Avalon" by Marion Zimmer Bradley
"Eragon" & "Eldest" by Christopher Paolini
"The Giver" by Lois Lowry
"The Mermaid Chair" by Sue Monk Kidd
"The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
"Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
"Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
"The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" by Ann Brashares
etc. etc. etc.

Hope that helps!

Answer 11

I really loved The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger