What books should I read?

Question

What are some GREAT books that are not necessarily widely known, but are worth reading? I like humor a lot, but am open to suggestions.

Answer 1

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole is hysterical...one of the greatest works of American fiction in the 20th century, check that out....I think I already gave you some suggestions about DFW, but he's amazing...More recently, Absurdistan by Gary Shtyngart(spelling?) is very funny and the main character of that is similar to the main character in Dunces...oh yeah, while he is well known, if you haven't already, you should check out some Vonnegut.....oh my gosh, I almost forgot Chuck Pahlinuck(spelling?); you should read Choke, it's awesome, he's the guy who wrote Fight Club.

Answer 2

Dan Brown's:
The Da Vinci Code
Digital Fortress
Deception Point
Angels And Demons

Or Kathy Reichs':
Deja Dead
Death De Jour
Deadly Decisions
Fatal Voyage
Grave Secrets
Bare Bones
Cross Bones
Monday Mourning
Break No Bones

Hope this helps

Answer 3

I'm mainly a fantasy reader, but some of the funniest books I've read are by John Moore - "The Unhandsome Prince," "Heroics for Beginners" and "Bad Prince Charlie." They're all upside-down, inside-out hilarious fairy-tale-like stories.

Another fantasy I enjoyed (which was not a humorous novel) was "Reiffen's Choice" by S. C. Butler.

If you like humor I'm assuming you've read some Christopher Moore, but I'll mention him anyway, because he's very entertaining, (especially "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal.")

Answer 4

Bellarion the Fortunate by Rafael Sabatini.Brilliant swordfights,marvelous schemes and beautiful damsels abound in this fascinating tale of a condottiere or mercenary in 15th century Italy.As the story unfolds Bellarion a convent bred orphan youth is on the way to Padua for higher studies. He gets entangled in the affairs of Princess Valeria of Montferrat.And immediately takes up her cause.He acquits himself marvelously in the court intrigues at Montferrat.However the situation proved too hot and he escapes to Milan.In Milan he passes himself off as the son of Facino Cane,the great mercenary captain to escape the clutches of Gian Maria Visconti the bloodthirsty Duke of Milan.The real Facino Cane was amused at Bellarion’s deviousness and adopts him as his son.Under Facino Cane’s tutelage Bellarion emerges as one of the greatest mercenary captains of that age.

Garlic and sapphires by Ruth Reichl.
As the New York Times's restaurant critic for most of the 1990s, Reichl was determined to review the "true" nature of each restaurant she visited, so she often dined incognito--each chapter of her book highlights a new disguise, a different restaurant (including the original reviews from the Times), and a fresh culinary adventure.

Reilly's Luck by Louis L'Amour.This story starts off with a young boy, Val Darrant, being abandoned by his mother.(she tells her boyfriend to kill him).Val ends up being cared for by Will Reilly who is a gambler.Turns out to be the best gamble Reilly ever made.The first quarter of the book is about adventures that Will and Val have. They have to deal with outlaws, they fight off Indians, and they travel to Europe.Unfortunately Will is ambushed by three men and killed while Val is still a teenager. But Val has learned many important lessons from Will. The next part of the book is about Val growing up. He has some money and is able to invest the money in a couple ventures.

The story then jumps forward a couple years, and the last part of the book pulls together many of the threads. Val finally meets his mother, who is again trying to have him killed. Val kills the last two of Will's murderers. And Val financially destroys the man who hired the murderers.

Answer 5

"Illusions" by Richard Bach as well as his Ferret Chronicles series. I've had at least half a dozen copies of "Illusions" and have lent them all out - they're continuing to circulate and I'll probably get more copies in the future. It's an absolutely awesome book - fiction that makes you think and believe in yourself and others!

Answer 6

Escape to witch mountain and return from witch mountain as well as through the forgotten door by alexander key. The serrated edge by mercedes lackey. The sookie stackhouse series by charlane harris. Just to name a few.

Answer 7

Sue Grafton's a b c mystery series. Her characters and situations are good. Evanovich has humor. So does J. A. Jance.

Answer 8

If you like humor, I would suggest Kurt Vonnegut, Carl Haaisen (Lucky Me in particular) and Christopher Moore (You Suck was great)

Answer 9

My favorites--Pilgrims Progress
--Blackstone's Book of Law

Answer 10

try mystery's I like Tony Hillerman.. 'Sinister Pig", Coyote Waits"