what should i read?

Question

Its been a long time since i read a good book, got a bit of time on my hands, can anyone recommend a good novel please?

Answer 1

The Stand by Stephen King.
anything by Ben Elton or Terry Pratchett.
Wild Swans by Jung Chang (extremely good, historical - about Mao's China)
All John Grishams novels, except Bleachers (baseball inclined)
And all Stephen Fry's books especially the Spectacled Bear one which is a diary rather than a novel, but good.

Answer 2

Given I read so much, here is a decent booklist:

Chocolat – Joanne Harris (the gypsy was based on me)

Unusual Point of View:

Skepticism – Bo Fowler (main character is a supermarket trolley)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close – J. Safran Foer (main character is a boy whose dad called from World Trade Centre and left an answer phone message)

British:

Hemmingway’s Chair – Michael Palin
Not the End of the World – Christopher Brookmyre
White Teeth – Zadie Smith
Making History – Stephen Fry
Popcorn – Ben Elton

International:

The Ringmaster’s Daughter – Jostein Gaarder
Memoirs of a Geisha – Authur Golden

Well paced:

Jonathon Livingston Seagull - Richard Bach*
The Beach – Alex Garland
Life of Pi – Yarn Merkel
The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemmingway *
Flud – Hilary Mantel

Non Fiction:

Round Ireland with a Fridge – Tony Hawks
Kitchen Confidential – Anthony Bourdain
Playing the Moldavian’s at Tennis – Tony Hawks
Fever Pitch – Nick Hornby

Classics:

Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll *
Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh
Madame Bouvary – Gustave Flaubert
Gormenghast Trilogy – Mervin Peake
I, Robot – Isaac Asimov

Humor:

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1st three books in the trilogy) – Douglas Adams
A Book of Nonsense – Mervin Peake *

Detective:

Complicity – Iain Banks
Filth – Irvine Welsh
Inspector Rebus novels – Ian Rankin

* books that I read cover to cover without putting down

Source(s):

my 360 Blog

Answer 3

If you haven't read his material already, Conn Iggulden is fast becoming a firm favourite of mine. I started with 'The Gates of Rome'. Normally I cannot be bothered with historical tales, but Iggulden definitely changed that! If you like historical fiction then you also want to check out anything by Valerio Massimo Manfredi (the man's a genious) - at the easier end of the spectrum for historical is Pompeii by Robert Harris.

If you want a laugh then anything by Terry Pratchett or Robert Rankin. I whole heartedly suggest 'The Antipope' by Robert Rankin - the first ever book that made me laugh so much it hurt!

Fantasy type books - The Elenium Trilogy by David Eddings or Magician by Raymond E. Feist.

Something to make you laugh and cry then try Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan - you kinda live that book more than read it, it's fantastic. But if you're not an animal lover then give it a miss.

If you try any of my suggestions then I hope you enjoy them. I selected the above choices because they are all books that, when I finished them I closed the book, said wow and had a good think about them for at least a few days afterwards!

Answer 4

It really depends on what type of book you like.

Stephen King
John Grisham
Patricia Cornwell all are all good

You could try the Harry Potter Series--very good

Try an older book entitled "Savage Grace" by Natalie Robins and Steven M. L Aronson

Read Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables"
or the
Atwater's "Mr. Popper's Penguins"

Answer 5

The Stand, especially the re-edited version, is a great book. Marley & Me is a great story of a family and a dog. Grave Secrets by Kathy Reichs is a good read. Any of the books in the Inspector Banks series by Peter Robinson are wonderful.

Answer 6

I am a fan of Stephen King, especially the Gunslinger series. Two of my other favorites are Jonathan Kellerman (a psychological murder novelist) and Christopher Paolini if you are into the fantasy dragon thing.

Titles I would suggest:
Stephen King - The Gunslinger and following books
Jonathan Kellerman - Flesh and Blood, The Murder Book
Christopher Paolini - Eragon and Eldest, the first two books of the Inheritance Trilogy

I love to read, and these are some of my absolute favorites. Good luck with your choice!

Answer 7

Really depends what you like. I'd suggest the following: -

Arthur & George by Julian Barnes (it's fictional/biographical - Arthur is Arthur Conan Doyle)

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts by Louis de Bernieres

Anything by Graham Greene and Emile Zola.

Answer 8

Try any of the books by Matthew Reilly: Ice Station, Temple, Seven Deadly Wonders, Scarecrow, etc. Matthew Reilly is probably(in my humble opinion) the greatest thriller writer on the planet today.

Answer 9

Goldfinger, by Ian Fleming
A Call for ther Dead, by John LeCarre
The Client, by John Grisham
The Third Man, by Graham Greene
Any of the Burglar Who.. series, by Lawrence Block

Answer 10

Bryce Courtenay The Power of One