I need book suggestions...

I'm reading: The Sparrow from Mary Doria Russell right now. Good characters, good story... I'm not finished yet but... so far, so good.

poopshovel wrote: Big Vonnegut fan here. REALLY big. I won't say "Read everything he ever put down." Some were non-starters for me.

I've ready everything I can get my hands on with Vonnegut. Great author. I'm with you in that I thought Slaughterhouse Five wasn't his best work.

mtn wrote:

poopshovel wrote: Also: Catcher in the Rye. And "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole, published posthumously.

Confederacy of Dunces, like I mentioned above, is next on my list after I finish LOTR. I just spent a week with my uncle who talks about it all the time as one of his favorite books, and my brother was reading it at the same time and laughing out loud about every five minutes. The fact that Erik is reading at all must mean it is good, I'd be surprised if he has read one book for my every fifty.

If you guys liked Confederacy of Dunces please read anything by Christopher Buckley. Hilarious and satirical political writer.

poopshovel wrote: Big Vonnegut fan here. REALLY big.

Vonnegut managed a SAAB dealership in the late '50s and very early '60s.

I haven't read the whole thread and I may repeat what someone said, but I have read a lot over the past twenty years and here are books that come to mind: Shogun Lonesome Dove and anything else by Larry McMurtry John Adams by David McCullough by Richard Russo -- Mohawk (1986) (Vintage Books) The Risk Pool (1988) (Random House) Nobody's Fool (1993) (Random House) Straight Man (1997) (Random House) Empire Falls (2001) (Alfred A. Knopf)

Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides Lone Wolf anything by Elmore Leonard early Balducci and Grishman all by Steig Larsson

Heinlein.

The moon is a Harsh Mistress.

NOHOME wrote: Heinlein. The moon is a Harsh Mistress.

I liked The Number Of The Beast.

Also, I can't believe I forgot this.

Lamb, The Gospel According To Biff by Christopher Moore. I have never laughed as hard at a book as I did at this one.

Ian Douglas does some great military sci-fi. He's got a hard-on for Marines, but the stories are great. The original Heritage Trilogy (Semper Mars, Luna Marine, and Europa Strike) are excellent, and the follow up trilogies (Legacy Trilogy and Inheritance Trilogy) are still pretty good. The Star Carrier stuff is related but different, and arguably better (at least if you're into space fleets).

Alastair Reynolds is probably my favorite sci-fi author right now. Almost all of his books are completely different. House of Suns is just epic and Terminal World is a steampunk stuck-on-Earth awesome story.

On the non-fiction side, try The Control of Nature by John McPhee. It'll really open your eyes, especially about the Mississippi.

Imperial Cruise by James Bradley will completely alter your perception of WWII.

Start your Heinlein with something light like Rocketship Galileo or Have Spacesuit, Will Travel and then move on to the deeper stuff. Not a bad book in the bunch but some are more fun than others.

King's gunslinger series is just plain good reading.

Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a lot more than Sherlock Holmes, and most of the rest are as good or better and free on project Gutenberg or Librivox.

And while there, download Pellucidar, Mars, and Tarzan series' by Edgar Rice Burroughs. There is something classic about all three series.

C.S.Lewis wrote more Narnia books than the ones they made into movies, and they also are worth the read.

If you're at all nautical, Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt series makes you think about history in a different light, even if only for the what ifs. Bonus for super cool cars.

And lastly, if you are up for a pod cast audio book, look into Scott Sigler. Infected and the rest of that series are modern day and well worth listening to on your commute, and Earthcore is one of my favorite new books.