Suggest a book?

Question

Over the last week I've probably read 20 books (alright- 10) and I've exhausted the Library on books I know are good.

My Favorite books: (excluding the broader subjects, I have all read the entire selection of these in the Library- most recently)
The Sevenwater's Trilogy
The Otori Trilogy (er- I guess it is a quartet now)
Anything by Orson Scott Card (I like his stuff so much my dad has forbidden me to check out his books- yeah right)
Les Miserables
Eragon
Some Non-fiction (relgious books, philosophy books, self-help books, ext.)
Terry Brooks is Ok
Alanna's serries is ok, but a bit simple
I'm trying to mentally walk through the library- and it isn't working. Alright- I know this seems very fantasy focused- but I don't want books that are just that. I love books with an underlying love plot- but that it isn't the plot of the book. I hate too-happy of endings (like Harry Potter- He was suposed to AHHH! *I'm sure anyone reading this has either read it or doesn't care*)

I really want something REALLY good- and REALLY different. I want something that replaces Les Miserables as my favorite book.

oh- and I counted, 15 (300+ page books, the little books I read don't count) books this week. I need a good suggestion. (I've read all the books of my bookshelf)

Answer 1

hmmm ...

if you haven't already, you MUST read "the hobbit" and "the lord of the rings trilogy", because tolkien is one of the three sources eragon-author paolini ripped off and because you'll get your bittersweet non-harry potter ending, just like you want it.

some places to go after "les mis":
"the count of monte cristo" is the obvious one, because it's french, has adventure, and deals (a little) with class tensions in its historical context.
dickens' "a tale of two cities" might be a better one, though. two men look exactly alike. one is a french aristocrat, the other a ne'er do well englishman. it's the french revolution.
i second "jane eyre": it's a little bit of a coming of age, a little bit romantic tragedy, a little bit adventure, etc.

if you want a complex "alanna" go for "the privilege of the sword", which will make you forget YA forever. it's about a girl who is summoned to her wealthy uncle's in the city (he's a duke) to be trained as a swordswoman. once you've read that and fallen in love with it, there are two more written in the same world.

where to go from orson scott card: that's a tough one. you might try john scalzi's "old man's war" trilogy, which has some similarities with "ender's game".
but i'd recommend just getting away from card entirely and exploring the possibilities of science fiction. ursula le guin is one of my favorites. try "the dispossessed", which is about twin planets: one is a desert planet inhabited by anarchists and the other a lush planet controlled by capitalism. very political. the other one of hers to try is "the left hand of darkness", which takes place on a planet inhabited by humans who have no gender. a thought experiment, and a wonderful one.

i have some problems with the otori books because they use archaic japanese culture without respecting it. a better use of a traditional culture for entertainment purposes is barry hughart's "master li" books. i think "bridge of birds" is the first one, but i'm not sure. they take place in an alternate ancient china that never existed, and are funny and delightful fantasies, which also end up being horrifying and creepy at the same time.

enjoy!

Answer 2

These are found in most libraries:
Peter Marshall -Mister Jones Meet the Master
Catherine Marshall-A Man Called Peter
Lloyd C Douglas-Green Light

David B. Coe:The LonTobyn Chronicles
1-The Children of Amarid
2-The Outlanders
3-Eagle-Sage

Stephen R. Lawhead-Hood****
Mitch Albom-For One More Day
Sue Monk Kidd-The Secret Life of Bee's
Louis L'Amour-The Last of the Breed
Ian Rankin-Knots & Crosses
Randy Wayne White-Sanibel Flats
Dennis Lehane-A Drink Bdfore the War
Philip R. Craig-A Beautiful Place to Die
Ken Bruen-The Guards
Michael Connelly-Overlook
James Lee Burke-Neon Rain
Joe Hilley-Sober Justice

Answer 3

Let's see, there's:
The Icewind Dale Trilogy~That's pretty good
The Hobbit~ Excellent once you get past the first one or two chapters
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen~ Read the novel then watch the movie
Sherlock Holmes~ Perfect mystery short-stories
Dracula~ Creepy sometimes but a really good read
Count of Monte Cristo~ Takes a while to get into, but jam packed of adventure
and.....Peach Girl~ This is manga, but has an excellent romance plot, read the first series, and if you like it, read the second
If you need any more, just e-mail me or something, I should have some more books read shortly

Answer 4

I have a few ideas:
"The Sparrow" by Mary Doria Russell -- a delightful and thought provoking story about a Christian sponsored team (not all Christians though) making first contact with 2 intelligent species just discovered on a far distant planet....
The books of Octavia Butler, mostly sci-fi/fantasy about the union and relationships between vastly different alien species and humans, some modeled on the reproductive methods of insects...
George MacDonald, the 19-th century author, and "master" (spiritual teacher) of C.S. Lewis, wrote a number of novels, including love stories emphasizing the spiritual aspects, fantasy allegories on spiritual experience (e.g. Lilith, the first wife of the Adam of Genesis, a giant leach/seductress, and the possibilities of her salvation; also children's novels such as "The Princess and the Goblin" and "At the Back of the North Wind."

Answer 5

I am glad you enjoy reading so much, so do I. However, if you wish to expand your reading try these authors: Matthew Reilly, James Rollins, Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child(these two either alone or together are great), James Doss, John Dunning, Jack DuBrul, Paul Christopher, David Weber, John Ringo, Eric Flint, S.M.Stirling, Tany Huff, Jane Lindskold, or some older novels by H. Rider Haggard, H. Beam Piper, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, Stanislaw Lem and enjoy!

Answer 6

I recently read Les Miserables, but it could not replace my favorite, Jane Eyre.

That being said, peoples' personal opinions differ and I can't be sure you'll love Jane Eyre as much as I did. I also recently read Little Women, Phantom of the Opera and almost all of the Horatio Hornblower series. All good. Hope that helps. =D

Answer 7

I have answered this question so many times, I decided to dedicate a web site to answer this question. Here it is:

http://www.life-after-harry-potter.com

Included is a list of only the best sorcery fantasy books, grade reading level, and a short review of each book.

Another good site for you: http://www.interleaves.org/~rteeter/grtother.html#great . I especially like the Harvard Classics list - all the books I should have read (and mostly didn't).

I hope this helps.

Jim, http://www.jimpettis.com/wheel/

Answer 8

in case you enjoyed maximum trip, you're able to probably like different books via James Patterson, which contain Daniel X. The starvation video games (Suzanne Collins) and the city of Bones (Cassandra Clare) are the two the two spectacular. actual well worth a study. The Audition via Ryu Murakami. Very suspenseful and exciting, and the action picture became purely downright creepy! you're able to like the books via Ellen Hopkins. there is no longer plenty action (it relies upon which e book you study) yet they're superb books, all heavy and intensely lifelike. and you're able to constantly study the Harry Potter books. wish this helped! stable success e book-searching!

Answer 9

If you like fantasy, try 'The Once and Future King' by T.H. White. Excellent. The 'origin' of all these modern fantasy classics. This one is the one to get.

Answer 10

the Abhorsen Trilogy (Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen) by Garth Nix sounds perfect for you. You sound like you have the same taste in books as me and I loved them
hope you like them too!