This a long list. Well, it's two lists actually; one for fiction and one for non-fiction. I'll warn you that I have odd tastes in books and I've definitely forgotten a number of good ones. I can remember what the books are about, but not the titles.
My books are probably boring to everyone else *cries*, but just in case someone's interested...
Fiction
I prefer to be challenged to the point of insanity by the books that I read. So, most of these fall into the "OMG I'm so going to break all of my ceramic dishes because I just [/i]cannot[/i] understand this concept and I've read these last two chapter 4 times!" The books are well put together, but they're total (il)logic puzzles.
Summerland by Michael Chabon,
Coraline by Neil Gaimon, and
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gamon. Also
Federation by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens and
Night Eyes by Garfield Reeves-Stevens. More.
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson,
Blindness by Jose Saramago. Darnit, I forgot two more!
Origin by Stephen Baxter and
Nightworld by F. Paul Wilson.
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Under the Amazon listing
Night Eyes has some "not that great" reviews. I'm not sure why because from what I remember it was a great book. Granted, I was, like, 12 or 13 (maybe 11?) when I read it. However, I remember it being good enough that I read it three times in a row...and still didn't understand what the hell happened, but that's beside the point. It was a great book. I used to have a habit of reading "over my head"; I read Steven King's The Tommyknockers in 4th grade. Is it any wonder that a) I can remember half of the book and b) I couldn't quite figure out what happened? It was a good book, though.
Technically,
Coraline is a kid's book, but just ignore the classification. It's very good. After all, they classify Harry Potter as kids' books and I would argue against that for everything after book three.
Federation? You have to know your Trek for that or else you'll be hopelessly confused. If you're properly prepared, it's an awesome book and one of my all-time favs. Actually, pick up damn near anything by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens. They rock.
Looking at the authors of
Good Omens, need I say anything more about the quality of the writing? You'll probably be mildly confused, however. As a matter of fact, I still don't understand the end, but I'm sure it'll make sense to someone who's a bit more clever than I.
You need to know your American folklore for
Summerland; knowledge of baseball is not necessary. However, as a result of reading this book, I did finally learn how to read the progress ticker at the top of the tv screen during baseball games. You know, "bottom of the 7th, 1 man on first, 1 man on third." Know your Norse gods too. Yes, baseball, folklore, dirigibles, and some Norse gods are all in the same book. Even more amazing is that the book is really awesome!
Housekeeping is, of course, very good. Odd choice for subject, but not really.
Now
Blindness...that's a doozy. No one could never quite get a grasp on it in the English course in which I read the book. It's the breakdown of society and I'm positive there's a metaphor in there somewhere having to do with the stained glass window in the church...if anyone finds it, let me know, please.
Nightworld had me cringing, gasping, and putting down my windows in the middle of summer even though I didn't have airconditiong. I haven't bothered to read any of the previous books in the Night Cycle series because I'm really not all that interested. However,
Nightworld's definitely worth a look-see if you don't mind having the bejeesus scared out of you.
Origin is mad-crazy and, truth be told, I quit halfway through. Not because it was bad, just the opposite in fact, but my mind imploded and I'd had enough. I made my sister read the entire thing and tell me what happened when she came up for the holidays this past December. She thought it was quite good, very strange, and neither of us could quite make out what the hell the Red Moon was, what humans evolved to, and why they wanted to de-evolve. Buh wuh?
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Non-Fiction
The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene,
The Fabric of The Cosmos by Brian Greene, and
A Brief History of Time by (duh) Stephen Hawking.
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The Elegant Universe doesn't need to be read before
The Fabric of The Cosmos, but you'll be better off if you do read both of them in that order. Supposedly, you don't need to know anything about physics, but it does help if you have at least a rudimentary knowledge.
The Fabric of The Cosmos is one of the most fascinating books that I've ever read. It's more digestible than the first book, mainly because it's a bit more interesting. Here we get into multiple universes, multiple dimensions (4 dimensions is for your granddad, nowdays the magic number is 11), and why an ice cube can't un-melt.
You probably know the last one (or at least you know the author),
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. Black Holes. That's really all that I remember of this one, other than the fact that it was good. It's kind of old school now, I'd say. If you have to choose between Hawking and Greene, go with Greene; he's more fun and you can't go wrong with M-Theory.
[edit]: Geez, I need to proof before posting. I've had to edit this, like, 10 times.
Have you noticed a trend in my choice of books? All but a few are sure to give you a massive headache at some point. Ah damn, there's also this
Doctor Who book with Aleister Crowley, a woman with a pair of time/space manipulating pinking shears, and poodles with hands...who live on Dogworld, I believe it is...and one of the poodles is having an affair with a human male. The bright pink cover is almost as notable as the book. Make sure you read the Amazon reviews, they're pretty hysterical. The book's by Paul Magrs, I think. It's not as insane as it sounds. Ok, well it is, but it's a very good book, nonetheless.
Then there's the
Doctor Who book by Jonathan Morris; it's the book in my avatar. The people turn into clocks. It sounds stupid, but it's really quite disturbing. Both books are the 8th Doctor.
Ok, I swear I'm finished my marathon post now. If I think of more books, I'll put them in a separate post for ease of reading. ...I read too much...I need more friends.
AyanEva
Excellent book recommendation
Linear Mode
