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[PlutoniumApe]

This

(Hooray for the random books button.)

Where did you see that at?

If you click the "book search" thing on the main page, you should find it there.

Or just this.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?sort_order=random

Indeed amazing, but I feel like you often need to know what you are looking for.

I also loved Pratchett, but to be honest I stopped reading after about 10 books or so into the series. It's too random and the novelty and wit wears off rather quickly.

A book I grew to love is the Anatomy of Melancholy by Richard Burton.
I'm a sucker for 15th/16th/17th Century scientific literature.
To give you a few excerpts:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Now go and brag of thy happiness, whosoever thou art, brag of thy temperature, of thy good parts, insult, triumph and boast; thou seest in what brittle state thou art, how soon thou mayest be dejected, how many several ways, by bad diet, bad air, a small loss, a little sorrow or discontent, an ague, etc.; how many sudden accidents may procure thy ruin, what a small tenure of happiness thou hast in this life, how weak and silly a creature thou art.

Germany hath not so many drunkards, England tobacconists, France dancers, Holland mariners, als Italy alone hath jealous husbands.

Tobacco, divine, rare, superexcellent tobacco, which goes far beyond all the panaceas, potable gold, and philosopher's stones, a sovereign remedy to all diseases. A good vomit, I confess, a virtuous herb, if it be well qualified, opportunely taken, and medicinally used; but as it is commonly abused by most men, which take it as tinkers do ale, 'tis a plague, a mischief, a violent purger of goods, lands, health, hellish, devilish and damned tobacco, the ruin and overthrow of body and soul.

To conclude with Chrysostom: "When thou seest a fair and beautiful person, a brave Bonaroba, a bella donna, a comely woman, having bright eyes, a merry countenance, a shining lustre in her look, a pleasant grace, wringing thy soul, and increasing thy concupiscence; bethink with thyself that it is but earth thou lovest, a mere excrement, which so vexeth thee, that thou so admirest, and thy raging soul will be at rest. Take her skin from her face, and thou shalt see all loathsomeness under it, that beauty is a superficial skin and bones, nerves, sinews: suppose her sick, now riveled, hoary-headed, hollow-cheeked, old; within she is full of filthy phlegm, stinking, putrid, excremental stuff: snot and snivel in her nostrils, spittle in her mouth, water in her eyes, what filth in her brains," etc

He that will avoid trouble must avoid the world

Thou canst not think worse of me than I do myself

[Vattic]

Finished Koushun Takami's Battle Royale a couple of days ago. I'd only seen the film previously save a couple of the mangas a long time ago. It was nice to find out about the setting in more detail and I generally enjoyed the book.

[Hubris Incalculable]

I also loved Pratchett, but to be honest I stopped reading after about 10 books or so into the series. It's too random and the novelty and wit wears off rather quickly.

Actually, I rather dislike the earlier books for just this reason. The later ones (starting around The Truth, maybe?) are much more focused, and although the humour is still there, he jumps around a lot less and satires maybe three aspects of life per book rather than 15.

[Sirus]

I, on the other hand, have never read a Pratchett book. Go figure.

I am currently reading Under the Dome by Stephen King. Lots and lots of characters, many of whom die within a few chapters. At least they're memorable and sometimes likable.

[Vattic]

I've not read one either. All the readers I grew up with were not overkeen on his work and so I was never suggested it until more lately.

[Scelly9]

I've not read one either. All the readers I grew up with were not overkeen on his work and so I was never suggested it until more lately.

HEATHENS

[Lectorog]

I started a Pratchett book (The Colour of Magic), but I stopped reading it less than 100 pages in. It just didn't interest me much.

I recently finished Neuromancer. A really excellent book. I would recommend it to anyone who might like it.
I'm not sure if I should read the two other books in the trilogy. I'm worried I'll just be disappointed. Has anyone here read them?

[Vattic]

I recently finished Neuromancer. A really excellent book. I would recommend it to anyone who might like it.
I'm not sure if I should read the two other books in the trilogy. I'm worried I'll just be disappointed. Has anyone here read them?

Just finished Neuromancer this morning myself. Very enjoyable. I don't know about the other two but I ordered them nonetheless along with a compendium of William Gibson's short stories (part of the same canon).

It was my 23rd last weekend and I got given two books. A favourite problem: I don't know which to read first. Either Albert Camus' The Fall or Iain M. Banks' Use Of Weapons. Never read anything by Camus before and I enjoyed Banks' The Wasp Factory. Likely I'll go for the later as the friend who gave it me is eager to know what I think of it.

[Hubris Incalculable]

I started a Pratchett book (The Colour of Magic), but I stopped reading it less than 100 pages in. It just didn't interest me much.

I really wouldn't recommend reading the earlier books until you've read some of the later books. The earlier books are much less focused and more schizophrenic, and I, an already established Pratchett fan, had a rather hard time reading them. I'd recommend starting with The Truth, or thereabouts in order of books written.

Also, and only partially related, I really prefer Paul Kidby's cover illustrations to Josh Kirby's. Paul Kidby seems to find one image that is central to the story, but Josh Kirby tries to cram the entire plot into one image, that mostly gets covered up by the cover text.

[ghjijhg]

Frankenstein is a pretty damn good book too.

[Flying Dice]

Agreed on starting with later Discworld books. Though honestly I seem to have run into the same thing where, after a dozen or so, it stops being interesting and becomes quite dull.


Anyhow, on topic: Everything written by Vernor Vinge. Every one of his novels that I've read has been fresh and interesting, which is rather uncommon for speculative fiction in this day and age.

[i2amroy]

I own a few of the Pratchett books, but I've never actually gotten around to reading them.

Anyways I just finished my re-read of the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher so that I could read his second-to last book (I've yet to get my hands on his latest). It's an awesome series that is the resultant combination of your noir Sam Spade and the wizard Merlin into a single character, with our hero being a wizard detective (he's in the Chicago phonebook as "wizard", so most people think he's crazy) and his various encounters with dangers ranging from vampires to fairy queens. He's got a pretty funny sense of humor too.

[i2amroy]

The Inheritance series (quadrology? ) was fairly good, but it had the second most anti-climactic ending that I have ever read. The only series that has beats it was the Rhapsody trilogy where the final bad guy shows up like 100 pages from the end of the book and is gone five pages later. He went down so quickly and so far away from the end of the book that I in fact thought that he wasn't actually the final bad guy until I reached the end and nobody else had shown up. Of course apparently the author decided that the entire trilogy was actually going to serve as the prequel for another trilogy, and that's why the bad guy went down so fast, but still...

[Skyrunner]

I read all of Wheel of Time except book 10, Crossroads of Twilight, just because of the horrendously low rating on Amazon (and the hilarious comments). Turns out I did the right thing. I jumped into b11 Knife of Dreams with no confusion at all. None. Most of book 10 was fluff, they said, and I concur.
From book 11 of WoT, another author takes over and SUDDENLY PLOT ADVANCES. It becomes much more brisk and less painful. Quite nice, so those who left of in the middle, I suggest reading the wiki for exposition then jumping into b11.

Now I'm eagerly waiting for b13 A Memory of Light. I like the title, too.

Speaking of anti-climaticness, most of the WoT books have a sizzling climax, often gone and done for in a second. In one of the books, a BIG BAD EVIL DUDE who is a thousand levels above you appears and is like I KILL U ALL then dies in a single magic spell.

[Durin Stronginthearm]

Dune by Frank Herbert (but not any of his son's)

I'd steer well clear of Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson's Dune books if I were you, they're bloody awful.