Recommend me a book.

[Tricky]

This is crazy. For the record, I know of just a few people who read more than I do. I'm working on a PhD in English literature, which simply means I spend a lot of time at the library investigating stuff (writers, books, biographies, anything). Unfortunately I feel I haven't read anything for fun in some time.

As it happens I'm having some doubts on whether or not I should continue my chosen study. Suffice to say it hasn't captivated me for some time. So, recommend me something -anything- that will provide a fun, challenging read. It has to be something recent, but any genre will do. If the book is a translation from a non-English writer, then that's fine by me too.

Thanks.

[Lady Dragonfly]

Try Bible.

Edit: it is not recent, but fun.

[fable]

The Cairo Trilogy, of Naigub Mahfouz. Tons of characters, loads of humanity, lots of conflict, and 0% self-righteousness.

[dragon wench]

I know that problem. When I was working on my French literature degree I was required to take an armload of critical theory courses, many of which focused in post structuralism. For a long time afterwards I found it very difficult to actually just enjoy a book.

I don't know how challenging you'd find him, but if you are looking for a fun romp that alleviates an excess of 'lit crit' I'd highly recommend anything by Terry Pratchett.

[Heksefatter]

I loved 'The Catcher in the Rye'. Some of the themes have become a bit commonplace in more recent literature, though, so it might feel a bit "worn".

[Heksefatter]

If you like 18th-century English, you might like 'The History of the Life of the Late Mr Jonathan Wild the Great' by Henry Fielding. While it is a satire of the politician Robert Walpole, it is also an excellent comment on the idea of "great people".

[Tricky]

Well I know of Fielding, yes. I appreciate everything that has been mentioned so far, and I have already written down a few titles for the holidays, but with recent I really do mean post 2005 or so.

Take games or music for instance. I really know what's going on in the here and now, what to anticipate. Books? Absolutely no idea. Yes, one more Harry Potter, but that's about all I know. I'm completely oblivious to the uhm.. bookscene.

[Cartell]

Shogun was good. It is very well written and has a great story.

[fable]

Eddison's "Worm Ouroboros." Your basis kind of fantasy plot, written about 60 years ago, and with more beauty and music in the English language than most novelists of the last century.

[Malta Soron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragon wench I don't know how challenging you'd find him, but if you are looking for a fun romp that alleviates an excess of 'lit crit' I'd highly recommend anything by Terry Pratchett.

QFT, Terry Pratchett is really funny. If you want something more profound, you could try Kader Abdolah. He is an Irani who fled to the Netherlands and here started writing. I only read one book of him, but I thought it was really good. He is a great narrator and through the main plot he tells a lot of stories which give you great insight into the culture he describes (in this case Iran in the time of the revolution).

[Heksefatter]

I can also recommend 'Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel', a very amusing book. It is about the "return of magic to Great Britain" (and here magic should NOT be seen as a narcisisitic way of self-expression). The author Susanna Clarke masters the art of writing in a good pseudo-19th-century English and telling lies without twitching.

[Tricky]

I think I've seen that one at the bookshop. I'll pick it up this afternoon, if I have time to spare.

[Magrus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady Dragonfly Try Bible.

To be honest, this was the only book I have ever read that produced the urge to lose everything in my stomach upon reading it. I wouldn't suggest it to anyone who isn't sitting in a church willingly.

Most of the books I read are very light reading. Something I can breeze through in order to fall asleep at night. Given you are an English major, I doubt you'd be interested in those. I did find the book "The Briar King" by Greg Keyes to be a good one though. I got it as a gift, and wasn't sure I would like it, but I really did. Some traditional fantasy elements were taken in a direction I had never seen before to make an interesting plot.

Another one is a series that I thought was interesting. Kristine Kathryn Rusch did a series called "The Fey", another fantasy type thing which took traditional fantasy elements and took them in a different direction than I was used to. Turning the normal concept of Fey creatures from harmless and cute into bloodthirsty conquerers definately was an intriguing read.

[Moonbiter]

If you want fantasy that isn't your average yarn, I recommend "The Chronicles of The Black Company" by Glen Cook. Those books completely changed my perception of what fantasy could be. For some adult faerie-tale reading, try "Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman. And if you REALLY want a heavy mindbender, try starting on "The Malazan Books of The Fallen" by Canadian archeologist/anthropologist turned fanatsy writer Steven Erikson. You'll need a laptop and a rather large-ish harddrive to take notes while you read.

Apart from that, "A Short History of Nearly Everyhing" by Bill Bryson is a great read, which you can keep coming back to and read other stuff inbetween.

[BlueSky]

Try "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova...although at 650 pages or so its not a quick read.

Been holding back to see what everybody suggests.....
I work in a library and when somebody says, " what's good" we usually follow up with questions like, "what have you read in the past and liked and what genre do you like to read?" This gives us a clue to the patrons likes and dislikes.
The Pratchett's are a very good fantasy series with a slighty different slant.