You'll probably be very surprised that I greatly enjoyed The Fountainhead. However, I couldn't make it past the first 100 pages or so of Atlas Shrugged.
i second this. i highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend GS. the opening alone is worth the cost - absolutely, positively gripping. it will turn your stomach inside out, i promise. it burned images into my brain that i'll never be able to erase.
thanks guys ghost soldiers sounds good. i havent really got to read many books like that. im going to pick it up.
Here are a few I recommend... Roman Blood, by Steven Saylor. If you like mysteries and historical fiction, this is both. This will give you a view of Rome during the Late Republic that you could never have imagined. The real players of the period come alive. The first of a series. Dread Empire's Fall: The Praxis, by Walter Jon Williams. Great science fiction, and this is the first of a trilogy. (unless he writes more) Very unusual, which is hard to do these days in SF. The Golden Compass, by Phillip Pullman. Fantasy with a religious twist. The first of three. Can't recommend it enough. Stonehenge, by Bernard Cornwell. Cornwell's take on how Stonehenge was built, and anything by Cornwell is better than good. Watchers, by Dean Koontz. You've probably read this, but if you haven't... get it. Thriller/horror/SF of the highest order. Lot's of terrific stuff in this thread. Enjoy.
Have read both of these...Saylor's fun, and the context is my favorite period in history. Stonehenge was, IMO, a lesser work for Cornwell, though still entertaining. I prefer his Sharpe series, or even his Arthurian novels. The farther back in history you go, the more he seems to feel the need to emphaisize brutality as an everday occurence; it's a vialbe ( although somewhat contested) position, but he hits you over the head with it a bit nuch in Stonehenge, IMO.
I agree about Stonehenge... it was the first one of his I saw in my bookcase. I didn't want to take the time to figure out the first in the Richard Sharpe series, as he's now going back and forth in time. (which is a lot of fun!) He has really found his stride with Sharpe. They just keep getting better, if that's possible. He does have a bloody streak, doesn't he. Saylor is a gas, and his take on the people we know from history is a good read for those who don't ordinarily enjoy it.
The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody by Will Cuppy a favorite quote (not from that book) Side Effects by Woody Allen Without Feathers by Woody Allen Great Comedians Talk About Comedy by Larry Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde There's a start for travel books. Fun page turners.
I'll just throw out a few for fun. Possession, A.S. Byatt Notes From Underground, Dostoevsky Against Nature, Huysmans The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith, Peter Carey hmmm, just so the Americans don't feel left out, I'll throw in Cat's Cradle, Vonnegut
I can't believe no one has suggested any Dan Brown books Da Vinci Code Angels and Demons (the best of the bunch) Deception Point All three are some of the best books I have read in quite a while.
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire series) by George RR Martin - A mix of fantasy, drama, medievil fiction..good stuff. He also wrote a short story called "Sandkings." I think you can find it and download it off a P2P...print it out...good evening read for about 45 minutes. The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen Donaldson - one of the best anti-heros ever The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis This Ain't Brain Surgery : How to Win the Pennant Without Losing Your Mind by Larry Dierker - You have to be a baseball fan. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In - A must have to get what you want and have everybody be happy with the deal, whether you are closing a deal, negotiating a salary, or buying a car. Father Joe : The Man Who Saved My Soul by Tony Hendra The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler - Old school noir and mystery Joan of Arc by Mark Twain - yes...Mark Twain...actually one of his best works. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - One of my all time faves.
Well, I went with Augusten Borroughs' memoir Running With Scissors. That's probably my favorite current genre right now after loving A Heartbreaking Work..., A Million Little Pieces, and How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.
