# Help me get out of a really bad habit... (reccommend me some books!)



## Daemoniac (Oct 1, 2009)

I haven't done much reading recently (the last 4 years or so ) and i'm beginning to miss it.

Unfortunately, i am a very very visual person, and as a result i am one of those very stupid people who _does_ judge a book by it's cover... Needless to say, i'm positive this has turned me away from a great many good books, but it seems that i can't really help myself. Even when i pick up a book and read the blurb, if i am not taken in by the art then it's lost me.

So, i need some recommendations from you guys 

I'm really big into some fantasy (though i can't really say what type ) the Tolkien books i always loved, anything written by Sara Douglas, and older style novels like H.G.Wells science fiction and even older short stories like Edgar Allen Poe's writing. Not so big on stuff like Twilight (even the books) or Stephen Kings writing. Post-apocalypse style stuff is good, and just generally things with a bit of an interesting element to them.

Go!

EDIT: I also love Noddy.


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## gdbjr21 (Oct 2, 2009)

The book i always go back to is "Dune".


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## Daemoniac (Oct 2, 2009)

Oh shit, i haven't read that yet!

I keep meaning to, and i saw the old movie, but never got around to reading them  Thanks


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## gdbjr21 (Oct 2, 2009)

Yeah its a great book. Ive read it at least 5 times, really complex. And the rest of the original series is good as well; the new series of books are OK but not as good as the original.


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## ralphy1976 (Oct 2, 2009)

i am very partial to the work of Daniel Baldaci. It is mostly detective / police / investigation / big scret type stuff.

I think Clint eastwood made a film based on one of his book (absolute powers)


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## petereanima (Oct 2, 2009)

Mischa, you MUST read George Martins "A Song Of Ice And Fire". i cant recomment that enough. for details check http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/mo...363-george-martin-a-song-of-ice-and-fire.html


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## TheSixthWheel (Oct 2, 2009)

Down And Out In Paris And London - George Orwell
Down and Out in Paris and London - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Upon reading this, I gained excellent perspective on life, and how lucky most of us are to live how and where we do.


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## Daemoniac (Oct 2, 2009)

^ Oh yes, Orwell too. I *LOVE* Brave New World. One of my favorite books of all time.


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## TheSixthWheel (Oct 2, 2009)

Then read the shit out of Down and Out in Paris and London already. It's short, it's a good intense quick read. Cheap book, easy to find.


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## TomParenteau (Oct 2, 2009)

I like Vallerie Bertinelli's autobiography "Losing It." If you're an EVH fan, there is lots of little-known info and rare photos.


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## matty2fatty (Oct 2, 2009)

If you like visuals, you should try reading The Watchmen graphic novel


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## conorreich (Oct 3, 2009)

read a scanner darkly


if you like horror read ; edward lee, richard laymon, guiliermo del toros book is rad, dean koonts, and poppy z brite.

i work in a bookstore =]]


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## Daemoniac (Oct 3, 2009)

^ Cheers dude  I have a mate who works in a bookshop, but i haven't seen him in ages aye


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## t3sser4ct (Oct 3, 2009)

Demoniac said:


> ^ Oh yes, Orwell too. I *LOVE* Brave New World.


_Brave New World_ was written by Huxley, not Orwell. _1984_ was pretty good, though.

I'd recommend getting a collection of HP Lovecraft's stories, or reading them on Wikisource. You can't beat the Cthulhu Mythos!


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## keeper006 (Oct 3, 2009)

For fantasy, Michael Moorcock's "Elric of Melnibone" and "The Swords Trilogy" will make you happy.


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## shredfreak (Oct 3, 2009)

Get one of those necronomicon's from HP Lovecraft, should keep you busy for quite some time that.

And weaveworld from clive barker


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## Daemoniac (Oct 4, 2009)

t3sser4ct said:


> _Brave New World_ was written by Huxley, not Orwell. _1984_ was pretty good, though.
> 
> I'd recommend getting a collection of HP Lovecraft's stories, or reading them on Wikisource. You can't beat the Cthulhu Mythos!



Motherfucker, i hate it when you get shit like that wrong  Love both of them, Aldous Huxley and George Orwell. Read 1984 a little while ago, and it was pretty awesome too


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## EDG3CRUSHER (Oct 4, 2009)

The Road - Cormac McCarthy


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## conorreich (Oct 5, 2009)

Demoniac said:


> ^ Cheers dude  I have a mate who works in a bookshop, but i haven't seen him in ages aye


go buy some of the books i recommended you from him? my friends used to visit me all the time because i would get them deals on cds and stuff.


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## Daemoniac (Oct 5, 2009)

I'll have a look dude, cheers  I'm going down when i get paid to pick up a few books (the ones i mentioned as a starter, then some H P Lovecraft too  and whatever else i can afford)


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## phaeded0ut (Oct 7, 2009)

I'd recommend the following folks:
Iain M. Banks, "the Player of Games," "Matter," "Use of Weapons" and several others within the "Culture" series.

Tom Shapre, "Riotous Assembly," "Porterhouse Blue," "Blott on the Landscape" and "the Gropes."

George Crile, "Charlie Wilson's War"

Dambisa Moyo, "Dead Aid"

Vali Nasr, "Forces of Fortune"

A little lite and heavy fare.


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## MFB (Oct 8, 2009)

Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas


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## Bungle (Oct 9, 2009)

"1984", "Brave New World" and "The shape of things to come".

"Emergency" is pretty good too.


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## Stealthdjentstic (Oct 9, 2009)

The Chrysalids.


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## Daemoniac (Oct 9, 2009)

phaeded0ut said:


> I'd recommend the following folks:
> Iain M. Banks, "the Player of Games," "Matter," "Use of Weapons" and several others within the "Culture" series.
> 
> Tom Shapre, "Riotous Assembly," "Porterhouse Blue," "Blott on the Landscape" and "the Gropes."
> ...





Bungle said:


> "1984", "Brave New World" and "The shape of things to come".
> 
> "Emergency" is pretty good too.



Thanks to both of you  Bungle, i've read 1984 and Brave New World, liked BNW much MUCH more.


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## hairychris (Oct 9, 2009)

Iain Banks does some great contempory stuff too... But yeah, I have all his sci fi - the culture stuff's good but some of the stand-alone books (Against A Dark background, Feersum Endjinn, The Algebraist, etc) are equally entertaining.

Try Alastair Reynolds 'Revelation Space'. Some of the books that followed are iffy, but on the whole his stuff's great.

I see that Fear & Loathing has been mentioned. Yeah, recommended. HST has written some very entertaining stuff, I can recommend 'The Great Shark Hunt' which is a collection of articles from earlier on in his career.


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## AvantGuardian (Oct 9, 2009)

I'll recommend a couple more modern boooks:

Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. He's a modern writer in the "new weird" genre, and he combines elements of steampunk sci-fi, fantasy, and gothic horror. I have always been a big "classic" sci-fi fan as well as being into horror stuff like Poe and Lovecraft. I've read four of his books now and he's definitely my favorite author at the moment.

Another book I recently enjoyed is As She Climbed Across The Table by Jonathan Letham. Its a really well written and quirky kind of slipstream sci-fi novel. Its a really quick read that just leaves you feeling kind of weird.


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## cpnhowdy (Oct 27, 2009)

EDG3CRUSHER said:


> The Road - Cormac McCarthy




a very excellent suggestion, highly recommended


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## Ben.Last (Oct 28, 2009)

If you like fantasy give Neil Gaiman a try. Neverwhere is one of the best reads I've had lately. Also, I'm a big sucker for anything by Chuck Palahniuk but I can see why most people are either take it or leave it with his stuff. Finally Clive Barker's stuff is always great.


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## robotsatemygma (Nov 2, 2009)

OP... I'm the same as you, visual but I get massive ADD when I read sometimes. The fix... fast paced and short stories. 

I'm huge on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holme's. I picked up the complete set (Vol 1 & 2) for like 14 bucks at Barnes and Noble. I'm almost done with Volume 2 as of now. The stories are short (11-20 some odd pages) with the few "books" being under 150 pages. I'm pretty sad I breezed through it so quickly but I couldn't put it down!

I'm sure someone mentioned Dan Brown by now. DaVinci Code, Angels and Demons, whatever the new one is called. Interesting reads with interesting hypothesis about Christ. Angels and Demons is my favorite of the two.


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## techcoreriffman (Nov 2, 2009)

The Eragon series is a great read for fantasy.

Michael Crishton is a good sci-fi writer. Just got done reading The Andromeda Strain, actually, a very very good book.


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## Daemoniac (Nov 3, 2009)

I tried the Eragon series, but they just ended up annoying me. Nothing against his work, just not for me I suppose


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## petereanima (Nov 5, 2009)

Mischa, start George Martins "A Song Of Ice And Fire" NOW!


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## xmetalhead69 (Nov 5, 2009)

Fight Club. nuff said.


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