The Official "Books Worth Reading" Thread

Snowdogs list pretty much sums up a lot of my favourite books, but I'm surprised noones mentioned Anne McCaffrey Dragon Riders of Pern series, now thats a classic.

Also, Weis and Hickman - Dragonlance Chronicles series is great as well, set in a D&D universe, so lots of Dragons and Wizards and all that fun stuff.

I think Patrick Ruthfuss The Name of the Wind may be my fav book of all time though, as mentioned, its slow to start but really is a page turned by the end.

Someone mentioned Tom Clancy, i really loved Red Storm Rising, very very good book about a Soviet invasion of Europe and the middle east after a terrorist attack on the Soviet oil fields.

@tadin If you like The Name of The Wind, try Brandon Sanderson 'Mistborn' Series. Excellent books. I am onto the fifth book now, really good. The way he creates depth to stories and characters is amazing.

I am more of a cyber punk kind of reader but after reading 'The Name of the Wind' and unable to wait for the last book I found this series. Get the first book Final Empire, I'll bet you love it.

Seveneves, Cryptonomicon, and Reamde by Stephenson are also so good.

Count Zero was better than Mona Lisa Overdrive (change my mind).  I also recommend Pattern Recognition, Spook Country, and the Burning Chrome collection by Gibson.

Nonfiction books I recently finished include The City of the Lost Monkey God, and The Quantum and the Lotus; both gripping reads.  I am currently slogging through The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind which is heady, dry, and probably wrong, but I am determined.

The Word for World is Forest is a good read, and so is Dune.

Well don't get me wrong I loved both books, Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive but in the latter (if I remember right) Molly Millions makes an appearance again, grounding me a little more to Neuromancer.

I was not so impressed with burning chrome to be honest. I liked a couple of the short stories but it fell short of his normal standards.

Luciferous said:

Seveneves, Cryptonomicon, and Reamde by Stephenson are also so good.

Count Zero was better than Mona Lisa Overdrive (change my mind).  I also recommend Pattern Recognition, Spook Country, and the Burning Chrome collection by Gibson.

Nonfiction books I recently finished include The City of the Lost Monkey God, and The Quantum and the Lotus; both gripping reads.  I am currently slogging through The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind which is heady, dry, and probably wrong, but I am determined.

The Word for World is Forest is a good read, and so is Dune.

Well don't get me wrong I loved both books, Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive but in the later (if I remember right) Molly Millions makes an appearance again, grounding me a little more to Neuromancer.

I was not so impressed with burning chrome to be honest. I liked a couple of the short stories but it fell short of his normal standards.

So... to be totally honest I never finished Mona Lisa Overdrive; it just didn't grab me in the way that Neuromancer and Count Zero did, even though any time Gibson puts words on a page it's art (have you checked out his poem Agrippa?).

Count Zero holds a special place in my heart due to the Loa.  The novel has a very nice timbre and tempo.

Burning Chrome was my first pass at Gibson, so I'm no doubt somewhat biased.  However, it's great in a way that a writer just stretching his wings can be.  Any would-be novelists ought to take note: before writing a novel, try writing short stories.  Maybe use some of the ideas generated in your first novel.  I remember Red Star Winter Orbit, The Belonging Kind, The Gernsback Continuum, Johnny Mnemonic, and Dogfight being good.

Now that I'm not getting a Yaw VR motion simulator this year I decided to buy myself a cheapo tablet from Amazon so I can start reading books again. Only cost me 37 quid so it's not going to be great but should be good enough for reading books and watching Netflix. :D

 :D  :D :D

snowdog said:

And the Second Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant has my all time favourite quote in it, which you can see in my signature  :D

Thomas Covenant series was always a favorite. Saltheart Foamfollower frequently brought me to tears, with his words or his deeds..

“Are you a storyteller, Thomas Covenant?"
Absently he replied, "I was, once."
"And
you gave it up? Ah, that is as sad a tale in three words as any you
might have told me. But a life without a tale is like a sea without
salt. How do you live?"
... Unconsciously, he clenched his fist over his ring. "I live."
"Another?"
Foamfollower returned. "In two words, a story sadder than the first.
Say no more -- with one word you will make me weep.”


Then there's the Apprentice Adept, and Incarnations of Immortality series' from Piers Anthony. And David Eddings' The Belgariad. The Well World series by Jack L Chalker. Crystal Singer and Killashandra from Anne McCaffrey.

Heck I have a library of books I love. Too many to mention.

I've been reading "The History of the Future" by Blake Harris, which tells the story of the early days of Oculus. Pretty interesting read so far.