What if you have to read an entire book not less than 3 times, I mean the material in your major or for work?
plcmts17- If you liked "Lonesome Dove", you have to read "Comanche Moon" by Larry McMurtry. It's a prequel to "Lonesome Dove" and I think that it was the best of that series. There was another one "Dead Man's Walk" or something like that, but it wasn't as good. "Comanche Moon" was great and I'm sure that you'll like it.
"I, Claudius" by Graves is very good, and well researched. I, Claudius : From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius, Born 10 B.C., Murdered and Deified A.D. 54 "Memoirs of Hadrian" by Marguerite Yourcenar is awesome. It's so thoroughly researched that it's hard to find fault with historically, and it's also very well written. Memoirs of Hadrian Both are first-person historical novels written from the perspective of a Roman emperor. Two of my favorite historical novels.
Salman Rushdie - Shalimar the Clown Just picked it up this weekend, but I've only had time to read the first 20 pages.
I just finished "Record Men: The Story of the Chess Brothers and the Birth of Rock -n- Roll". Currently reading Levon Helm's autobiography.
I just read this as well, and it was a little dissapointing. Two things that contributed to the disappointment for me- I read a good 20% of the chapters online that were posted on a fansite messageboard, which gave me a good idea of what to expect for a good chunk of the book, and the fact that the book was actually split in half to finally get some content out. When the next book, A Dance With Dragons, comes out, it should be considered the second half. I still liked AFFC, though, just not as much as the three previous books. Right now I'm reading 'Galveston' by Sean Stewart.
I'm referring to fiction. If you have to read fiction for your work, then I would say you're damned lucky! I've read many books more than once, which is why I keep them. Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit, are a couple that I've read at least a half dozen times each. Here's one I've read several times... the first time in 1961, when it was published. I still have this book jacket. The title always resonated with me, as it described how I felt then, and how I feel now. You might say that I grok what Heinlein was laying on us. This was a radical novel for it's time. It's quite dated now, but only because of the modern lens through which we read it. (edit: man, i didn't realize the image would be this big! be sure and read the unabridged edition, which came out decades later) plcmts17, Lonesome Dove is, in my opinion, the finest western ever written. You could not have made a better choice, and I agree with firecat about Commanche Moon. You should check out McMurtry's more recent Berrybender Chronicles, which is wild, and get wilder as the series continues. McMurtry's grandson is a friend of my own son. I know his dad, James, although not well, but I've yet to meet "The McMurtry." Sheer genius.
Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dovstoyevsky A Confederacy of Dunces is a DAMN good book. I recommend it highly.
Loved it. Just finished Chapterhouse Dune, and they seemed to get worse as the series went along IMO. The original was certainly the best.
I think you taught my English lit class in college. Good grief. (Speaking of which, CB is on tonight! on ABC.)
Interestingly plcmts17, I think I m going in the other direction. It used to be all fiction, but I started to wonder what the point was, and now read 3 non fiction to every fiction. I'll give you a few fiction recommendations if you give me some non fiction: Gates of the Alamo - Steve Harrigan The Good German - Joseph Kanon The Killer Angels - Michael Shaara Fatherland - Robert Harris (all historical fiction more or less, and all do an amazing job of portraying the authors view of the essence of the era) If you are into action/thrillers, try Frederick Forsyth (the master) and Nelson DeMille , and Terms of Endearment was a McMurtry that I really enjoyed.
