Need a good book...

[p0lar_bear]

My :eng101: professor likes to do things a little differently than what most would expect, and requires us to have a novel, [auto]biography, or other non-fiction book (basically, anything besides a textbook or instruction manual) for recreational reading during a time period in our classes.

I can't remember the last time I actually picked up a book for leisure reading, electing rather to play games or read forums. Just wondering if anyone here has some suggestions (looking at you Iffy) as to a good book.

Night by Elie Wiesel, Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, and Lord of the Flies by William Golding are all out of the question; I was forced to read those in high school. I would normally try one of Nylund's Halo novels, but I'd prefer that to be a last choice as I'd feel like a tool publicly reading or discussing those books.

[DirtyOldGriff]

1984. My english teacher in my senior year recommended it to me. I love it.

[Jean-Luc]

1984 was excellent.

I've read a lot of really incredible books lately; The Ice Limit by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, Goliath by Steve Alten, Cell by Steven King, Watchers by Dean Koontz, Digital Fortress by Dan Brown, and Deception Point by Dan Brown.

[sdavis117]

World War Z, Max Brooks (Fiction)
A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson (Non-Fiction)

Those are the only two books I can think of right now, but they are both exceptional books.

Edit: My 1,500th post fuck yeah.

[DirtyOldGriff]

Hitchhikers guide if you can, would be awesome too.

[Rentafence]

Didn't he say NON fiction?

Try Into the Wild (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_the_Wild). It was interesting.

[Jelly]

Hitchhikers guide if you can, would be awesome too.
yes

[CN3089]

I don't know if you've heard of it, but Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer, is a great read and I heartily recommend it.



(I think you'd like Godel, Escher, Bach - if you'd like something a little less huge, try one of Richard Feynman's books. Or just get Catch 22, since it 0wns)

[p0lar_bear]

Didn't he say NON fiction?It can be fiction or non. Basically he wants us to pick up "traditional" reading, and not like, read a textbook or exam guide from another class or something.

Right now Hitchhiker's Guide and 1984 catch my interests the most.


I don't know if you've heard of it, but Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer, is a great read and I heartily recommend it.Stop, do not tro-


(I think you'd like Godel, Escher, Bach - if you'd like something a little less huge, try one of Richard Feynman's books. Or just get Catch 22, since it 0wns)... o

[teh lag]

Dune series. Read them all.

A Brief History of Time is good if you're into stuff that you can only sortof hope to understand, but still like talking about it like you're an expert.

The same goes for Guns, Germs & Steel. It's a bit on the long side though.

I have this one book called The Cyberiad Stories by Stanislaw Lem, which is a bunch of really surreal short stories that are almost science fiction but at the same time are absolutely not. (Think robots building another robot that can do do anything beginning with the letter N, but can't do anything else.) It's really enjoyable and not so long.

Also what CN said. Feynman's stuff is good.

[jngrow]

You haven't read 1984?

1984.

[flibitijibibo]

If the rules are limited to just "not textbook/manual", I would go with the Alphabet of Manliness: Extended Edition, by Maddox. I like giving presentations for this book because you can either review it as it really is, a satire book, or you can discuss it in character (mostly like a pirate) to at least entertain your audience.

[SnaFuBAR]

Das Boot

[CN3089]

If the rules are limited to just "not textbook/manual", I would go with the Alphabet of Manliness: Extended Edition, by Maddox. I like giving presentations for this book because you can either review it as it really is, a satire book, or you can discuss it in character (mostly like a pirate) to at least entertain your audience.

If he's trying to avoid looking like a tool, that would be the last book he should choose.


Das Boot

Hey now, this isn't rossmum we're talking about. :v:

[TheGhost]

Another vote for 1984.

[Alwin Roth]

"The accidental Billionaires"
and
"world war Z"

[Inferno]

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. All 5 books.
Greatest shit ever written.

42.

[Daishi]

Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy was a great read.
Deception Point by Dan Brown is a great book, gets my vote.

[Cagerrin]

Anathem.

[Higuy]

you may find this book strange if you haven't read it, but its one of my favorite books
the Giver - Lois Lowry

pretty epic journey, not to long but pretty interesting.

[Bodzilla]

Stolen Innocence.

it's about a girl who was raised in a fundamentalist mormon family.
forced to marry her cousin
married off at 14
3 miscarraiges and a still birth later (all of them rape babies from her husband, aka cousin) she breaks out of the church and takes down the leader who instigated the whole shit, the prophet called warren jeffs.

Good read.

oh and it's all true.

[=sw=warlord]

Im sorry if this seems a slight bit out of the blue, but you read the fall of reach yet?
A: it relates to what you need
B: it's one of the few good halo books
C: all of the above making it a win win situation.

[p0lar_bear]

Im sorry if this seems a slight bit out of the blue, but you read the fall of reach yet?
A: it relates to what you need
B: it's one of the few good halo books
C: all of the above making it a win win situation.


I would normally try one of Nylund's Halo novels, but I'd prefer that to be a last choice as I'd feel like a tool publicly reading or discussing those books.

reedin iz kool kidz :downs:

[sdavis117]

A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson

I know I already suggested it, but it needs to be suggested twice.

[ExAm]

Rant by Chuck Palahniuk is a good pick-up-and-read book. Excellent mindfuck, too.

[PopeAK49]

I think you should read "The Road". I'm currently in the middle of the book and It's probably the best book I ever read. There making it into a movie also.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road

[Terry]

Hmmmm

-Count of Monte Cristo
-Cat's Cradle
-Atlas Shrugged?

[TVTyrant]

Since its a history class, go with In The Presence Of Mine Enemies by Harry Turtledove. Great book on what if Germany had won WW2.

[DirtyOldGriff]

I think you should read "The Road". I'm currently in the middle of the book and It's probably the best book I ever read. There making it into a movie also.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road

Have you heard his short story "Guts"? Classy stuff my friend.

[Warsaw]

Once an Eagle by Anton Myrer. Great book.

[Syuusuke]

Atlas Shrugged?
NOOOOOOOO
Pendragon series are decent.

[annihilation]

The Mist
The Color Purple

[Futzy]

Anything by Larry Niven. The Ringworld series or Known Space are a good place to start.

The Lifemaker series by James P. Hogan.

The Enders series by Orson Scott Card.

Earthblood by Kieth Laumer.

Cities in Flight series by James Blish.

These are my favorite Sci-fi novels that I can remember off the top of my head. Definitely some of the best books ever written, in my opinion. If you haven't read them, you need to.

[Donut]

the god father?
or no what about "a prayer for owen meany"? i had to read it for school but i really liked it

[paladin]

Mein Kampf bei Adolf Hitler

My friend I read the German version in our 3rd year class in High School. Give you a look into the head of a psychopath.

[=sw=warlord]

Of nice and men.
Or
Gulivers travels.

[Alwin Roth]

Oh!

The Bourne Series, Book version not movie, although movie is good too.

[itszutak]

White Noise, by Don Delilo.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Noise_%28novel%29

Amazing fucking book.

It's very, very existential, if you're into that. The writing made me think of Palahinuk if he wasn't so into violence and was more into questioning what reality is and what "natural" means. Not to say there isn't violence, or at least thoughts of violence.


It's also quite short-- I read it all in two days.

(Then again I read the Brothers K in 3 days and that's a 645-page book)

(Also, if you care about what Time magazine thinks...
Time Magazine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Magazine) included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005. )

[Chainsy]

Twilight

[Futzy]

Twilight
Do not read this book.

[Alwin Roth]

^ read this book.
ftfy

[Dwood]

A Crack in the Line by Micheal Lawrence - It is simply awesome and is just... Twisted, to say the least.

As a short overview, it's about a 16 year old kid who's mother died in a Train Wreck. I don't remember what happened but he gets sucked into another reality, and his Mother is alive but in that situation it's a girl... Just check it out xD

[blind]

alice in wonderland.