I know there are a least a dozen threads about people asking for book recommendations, so one more won't hurt http://www.tgeweb.com/cgi-bin/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif
as part of the mass of presents for my Abitur (kinda a-Level) I intend to stock up my library
so give me 10 books you think would be nice or useful to have regardless of genre, style or contents, just tell me
by the way please no religious books http://www.tgeweb.com/cgi-bin/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif I'm convinced atheist

------------------
reality is for those not smart enough to see the truth!!!!!

All of the Forgotten Realms books deal in religion, one way or another http://www.tgeweb.com/cgi-bin/ubb/no...es/biggrin.gif
Even Anne Rice's famous Vampire Chronicles touch in religion a bit...
(Sorry, I know that is not what you meant...I just had to have fun...)
I really liked The Twilight Giants Trilogy, and you do not even need to know alot of Realms background to enjoy them.
If you are looking for newer, easier to find releases, check out the Sembia novels, as I read that they are balanced for people new to the Realms, as well as old timeres, looking to expand their map in what they already call home. I believe I read that this is to be a 6 book series???(somebody confirm...)

------------------
http://members.aol.com/lasttrueprinc...ges/larry2.gif
Devoted member of the Ironworks
Loyal guardian of the OHF
Member of the Ancients' club
Witness of the 4,000th post by Cloudposter
Currently engaged in the Throne of Bhaal expansion set

Fantasy books

Does it have to be forgotten realms, if not books to pick up aer Robin Hobbs Farseer trilogy, this consists of assasins apprentice, royal assasin and assasins quest I think, anyway the best thing to happen to the genre in a long long time.

Next a trip with Margaret Weis and Tracey Hickmans Deathgate cycle, a very good series.

Robert Jordans Wheel of Time books are excellent until book 5 or so where it loses pace but still must read stuff.

I have to mention Tolkiens Lord of The Rings trilogy and what can I say that hasnt been said before about that, to summarise must haves for fantasy fans.

Normal fiction

I cant even hope to give a best of here so ill mention good books ive read recently.

Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas, Hunter s Thompson. Hes funny, serious, twisted, scathing moving and brilliant , cant reccomend this highly enough, great writer.

Kazuo Ishiguro, An artist of the floating world. this is a serious deep book not to be picked up lightly but to be picked up no matter what. Ill give you a quote from the review in the sunday times ''A work of elegance: refined understated economic.'' It won some award I forget what.

The man who was thursday, Cheskerton. Great early spy novel about anarchists and serious policemen all combined in a cosmic joke. You will get it when you read it.



------------------
http://www.facelink.com/edit/raw/raw...43/1922643.bmp

<font color=orange>I'm not going to give you titles, just Authors (well maybe a few titles).
Fantasy - J.R.R. Tolkien, George Martin and Robin Hobbs (you can read on this forum which books to get).

Sci/Fi - Robert Heinlien (he wrote Starship Trooper and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress also a few others), Asimov and Fredrick Pohl also come to mind.

Action/Adventure - Clive Cussler (any of the Dirk Pitt books, they are all great!), Tom Clancy (not sure I like any of his newer stuff, but his older stuff was great!) Alister Mclean also wrote some good books (Guns of Navrrone, Force Ten from Navorrone and Where Eagles Dare were all made into movies). Michael Crichton (He writes about everything and has had several books turned into movies Jurasic Park is one of them. Another one that I finished not long ago and couldn't put down is Timeline. He is also the genius behind the TV show ER.

Westerns - (I know not, a lot of you would never dream of reading westerns, but they are a change of pace!) Luke Short (Riders of the Purple Sage, a classic)
McMurty ( He wrote the Lonesome Dove series, which became movies on TV), Louis L'amor ( my personal favorite, never read one of his books I didn't like, he was not a just a western writer either. Light reading though, you could read one in a night. Also a lot of his books have been made into movies for TV.)

General Fiction - Ernest Hemingway has always been one of my favorites (especially For Whom the Bell Tolls. This is a must read!), Steinbeck and Faulkner.

War - Jeff Shaara. He wrote two books about the Civil War called Killer Angels and Gods and Generals. They are written about the Battle of Gettysburg and the
and the events that preceded the battle of Gettysburg. They are totally awesome.

As you can see, I like to read a lot of different things, just not Fantasy and Sci/fi. Hope this helps! </font>

------------------
Sir Taliesin

http://www.dabros.com/images/sigs/giant.gif

If they take my gun can I still use my Axe?

As this is a fantasy books forum and evertone has suggested something along those lines so far I thought I'd buck the trend and suggest a few non-fantasy books. First, there are a trilogy of books by a guy called Dave Pelzer(A Child Called It, The Lost Boy and A Man Named Dave). These books are a must read and I won't spoil them by revealing any details but they have been a great inspiration to me. If you're into soccer at all anything by John King in the Football Factory trilogy is also a good read. On the fantasy front I would recomend the threat from the sea trilogy by Mel Odom in the forgotten realms setting and also the Jon Shannow books from David Gemmell. Hope this helps and if you do read any of my recommendations let me know how you get on with them(you can get my E-mail address from my profile).

I don't care what anyone says. R.L. Salvatore is a great writer! You should check out his Drow Elf series. The Crystal Shard is good too.

------------------
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I just don't have to listen.
http://train.missouri.org/~prestons/.../flamedrag.gif

http://www.tgeweb.com/cgi-bin/ubb/no...les/LLkiss.gif http://www.tgeweb.com/cgi-bin/ubb/no...les/LLkiss.gif http://www.tgeweb.com/cgi-bin/ubb/no...les/LLkiss.gif http://www.tgeweb.com/cgi-bin/ubb/no...les/LLkiss.gif for Jabidas for mentioning Kazuo Ishiguro!!! He is brilliant! (he wrote The Remains of the Day, as a matter of fact, which will ring a bell for most of you). I think you're referring to the Booker Prize, which he received for that novel in 1989.

To name another Booker Prize winner, Read A.S. Byatt....trust me, she won't disappoint you! Start with something short and sweet such as Angels & Insects, proceed with the stunner Possession, and Babel Tower will really blow your socks off http://www.tgeweb.com/cgi-bin/ubb/no...es/biggrin.gif

Also great fun to read: Iain Banks and Will Self for being so incredibly brilliant and tantalisingly weird http://www.tgeweb.com/cgi-bin/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif

I could recommend so many more....but I'll leave it at this for now http://www.tgeweb.com/cgi-bin/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif




------------------
Melusine, High Queen of Fluffies, Archbabe of the OHF, the LH,
the HADB and the SPAE(Society for the
Prevention of Acronym Extinction) &
Official Entertainer Elf of the BG2 Bar
http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/memnoch/mel1.gif
Your voice is ambrosia
Amy Brown Fantasy Art

Why, it keeps on trickling
thanks to all of you, there's a bunch of interesting books mentioned, shall have a look at them

------------------
reality is for those not smart enough to see the truth!!!!!

Ive read a great deal of the TSR(WOtC) novels, and many other titles, but the short series don't really hold my attention anymore. I'm a fan of the long drawn out kind of stories now. I look for each book to be no less than 800 pages. That said...

The Wheel of Time series is excellent. There has been tons of info about this series so I want comment further (though Path of Daggers was the only one I thought really let me down).

The Sword of Truth series is excellent also(not as good as Wheel of time in my opinion). I picked this series up to read while waiting for Jordan. Some things about Goodkind's world are just kinda' silly to me. Also his main character Richard just seems to be too powerful (Magical powers that auto kick in and super human fighting ability). I like Jordan's Rand a little better. Jordan's world and characters are a bit more fun.

I've finished the latest George R.R. Martin book (Storm of Swords). Right now I think this is one of the best series going. Problem is it takes him forever to crank these things out. While WOT and SOT are along similar lines, this one is fairly different. Some characters you will think are lower than dirt, and the next you will have a new respect for them. This is one I highly recommend. (As you read you get a real sense of something big about to happen in the future). I also read a comment on these boards about a lack of magic in the series. By the third book you will have a good grasp on where magic came from and where its going.

Just my 2.

I'm a big Forgotten Realms fan. Ever since I read the Icewind Dale trilogy, I was hooked. My favourite author by far is R.A. Salvatore(so far).

I highly reccomend any of his works.