Books - What do YOU read?
 

...And can you make suggestions to other people for good books?


I have always had a few authors myself that I read alot and never shy away from.

R.A.Salvatore obviously...you can't really ignore him with Drizz't and Artemis on the prowl...also Cadderly has a place in my heart. Crimson Shadow is btw also worth a look - its epic in its own way.

David Eddings...my first fantasybook ever was Sparhawk...hence my name but I got insanely hooked after reading Mallorean and Belrariad - wauw...also Redemption of Althalus is good - the later works Elder Gods seem to be shallow though.

Richard Knaak...I have only read his Warcraft work and it is deeply satisfying for an old GameMaster from WoW to read his books as they are so in the spirit of the Blizzard! I need to find more books - do you know any?

Weiss & Hickman - partnering these two was a stroke of genious producing the epic dragonlance novels about Tanis, Camerom and the ever pragmatic Raistlin ( who is most likely one of my all time favourite characters ).

Ed Greenwod - the master of forgotten realms - reading about spellslinging in the streets between Manshoun, Khelben and Vangerdahast is immensely satisfying for me - especially as Elminster always seems to pop up and turn the scales.

Naomi Novik - one of the people that helped make NWNSoU has written a "little" book - its actually 5 epic books about a dragon called Temeraire and William Laurence his pilot - I was VERY surprised and pleased by this. The books was somewhat a gamble on my part but has ended up being one of my favourite books of all time.

J.R.R Tolkien - well definately NOT my favourite author - he is stiff and unbending in his words and it is so droll to get through the first book in LOTR - however I applaud his work as being an inspiration for a whole generation of authors.

J.Rowling - Yes...and I am not ashamed to admit that even though I am 31 I do read Harry Potter...I love it.

Robert Jordan - Wheel of Time - lengthy and slow...I am currently stuck on the second book - of 13 Yiiiks....but the story seems to be good.

Now you may ask why in the world I have made this post - well its simply suggestions for you people to look into these books if you can wrench yourself free of DAO or Wow or Guildwars and open a book and let your mind take you to another place. I would be glad for any suggestions you can make yourselves so I also get some new books :-)

Re: Books - What do YOU read?
 

For my graduate program I read quite a lot of stuff, with almost nothing else in free time. I know this is rather far from your fantasy list, but let me post some interesting stuff anyway for those interested. I know for some of you this might be totally not understandable, but feel free to ignore it in that case:

- Leviathan and the Air Pump by Shaffer and Shapin. Awesome book that had a whole new look at the controversies surrounding Boyle and his air pump, and what was commonly considered to be the 'birth of the experimental philosophy'.

- Formation of the Scientific Mind by Gaston Bachelard. While his ideas are a bit dated, there were some very insightful comments in the book that, had he been more well-known (a problem most french philosophers face because of language issues), he might have been very influential outside French philosophy. That said, he certainly has some ideas that come back in Kuhn and the likes, and he wrote the book some 30 years before Kuhn.

- The Rise of Early Modern Science by Toby Huff. Pretty bad book this, because his main thesis has been set up right from the start and he then goes on to show that, surprise!, his presentation of the facts support it. Still, he has some insightful ideas of the influence of judicial systems on the possibility for science to 'arise'. The comparative historical approach of the book is also pretty nifty.

- Consciousness and Society by Stuart Hughes. Interesting book that shows a shift in ideas around 1900 from positivism to something new (like Max Weber). It is a little bit hard to read and get to the core because the ideas are not presented in a strictly structured matter so you have to read between the lines a lot and remember to have a critical attitude and ask lots of questions while reading. I suppose it was a good overview of what happened on the idea-front during that time. (for the laymen: it also involves Karl Marx a lot.)

Re: Books - What do YOU read?
 

I've read and enjoyed the majority of authors that Sparhawk listed.

Some other favorites of mine:

Dennis McKiernan--obviously Tolkien inspired series of interesting fantasy books. I especially like how many of the books take on a philosophical issue--like how to define good vs. evil or what affect living potentially forever would have on how the elves approach life.

Peter F. Hamilton--Sci-fi series dealing with ideas of how humans might explore and spread through space. He constructs very detailed worlds.

Doctor Who novels--I've gotten into the book series based on the recent Doctor Who shows (9th and 10th Doctors). They come as small hardcovers that weigh around 200-250 pages. I like the fact that I can start and finish one in a single evening. The quality of the books varies as with any series by multiple authors, but overall, I recommend them to Doctor Who fans.

Re: Books - What do YOU read?
 

Well, im reading the Wheel of Time series again, i gotta get ready for 13th book, which i wont be able to read until christmas.....R.I.P. Robert Jordan.

Other than that i read pretty much anything.

Try reading some the the "Magic" books, if you liked the game.

Re: Books - What do YOU read?
 

Yeah me too, I'm 1/2 through EOTW right now. It's gonna take months with what little time I have to read!

Re: Books - What do YOU read?
 

Some recent reads (not that all the books are recent...):

Robin Hobb: Read the Assassin and Liveship Traders trilogies. Enjoyable, if a bit predictable at times. Liveship Traders for its refreshing originality, I liked better.

Raymond Feist: Riftwar Cycle. Not bad, but not good either. First few books are ok, but then it just becomes recycling of previous books. And stay away from the books made from the Krondor games...repetitive encounters with enemies might work in a game, but are horrible in a book.

Steven Erikson: Malazan Book of the Fallen. Complex, dark, long. Easily the most detailed and thought out world I have read in fantasy. 9 out of a planned 10 books of the series have been published so far and I've already read 8 (waiting on the 9th to come out in paperback). I can see the series not being for everyone, with its large cast and very vast plot, but so far the author has been keeping everything together quite well. And the world he has created is refreshingly different from usual fantasy worlds. Don't look for elves, dwarves, hobbits, gnomes, etc in these books, you won't find them.

Stephen R. Donaldson: Read his Mordant's need series and greatly enjoyed it. He has a really great writing style.

Re: Books - What do YOU read?
 

I have been looking into the assasin series from hobb as my former boss in blizz was quite insistant I read it...I never do what the boss tells me though perhaps its time I give it a try then hehe*

I was AMAZED with the Temeraire novels from Naomi Novik - mixing history with dragons - english vs. french and Napoleon as a mad power hungry but extremely intelligent warlord. I love those books so much.

I forgot to mention the pinnacle of my books ofc. Robert A. Howard and his legendary character Conan - written in a formal language this is still excellent. I can almost hear the words when I take out the book.

And then the music by Basil Poledouris EPIC!!!!

Now Arnold was never my favourite actor - but he sure picked the right roles to play thats for sure.

Re: Books - What do YOU read?
 

Right now, I'm reading Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy.

Re: Books - What do YOU read?
 

Brent Weeks, Night Angel trilogy. Very... detailed.

Re: Books - What do YOU read?
 

They're brilliant books. :)