It's nowhere near as easy to find a good book as it is to find a movie or music. So Why not post some of your favorites, or ones you're currently reading recommend. Explain what its about, why you liked it, and who you'd recommend it to. I guess I'll start.

Right now I'm reading Magical thinking by Augusten Burroughs. If you're not familiar with his work, he wrote the memoir "Running with scissors" which was made into a movie recently (which I dont find to be nearly as good as the book). Magical Thinking is full of short, humorous true stories about events that happened to him. The author is gay, and does talk A LOT about his odd homosexual encounters from the past in explicit detail. But if you think you can stomache that, a lot of the stories are hilarious. I'm not really sure who to recommend it to. If you liked Running with scissors, I can almost be sure you'd like this book too.

i started re-reading my faves

books by dunsany (mostly short stories, true to his style), ambrose bierce (he could out-poe Poe himself at times) and well Poe

im not too familiar with newer books, but if you like 19/early 20th century writings, you'll enjoy those

1984.

Dracula and Frankenstein are two horror classics you don't want to miss out on. Dracula esp. is so well-written that you won't want to put it down.

Jack Kerouac - Desolation Angels
William S. Burroughs - Naked Lunch
Stephen King has a few good 'uns. The Shining and Salem's Lot were stellar.

But my favorite book is probably The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.

All John Steinbeck's work owns my soul. Especially To A God Unknown.

Currently reading Slaughterhouse 5

Lord of the Rings is the best book I've ever read, it's even better now I'm re-reading it.

Other favourites are Animal Farm, Fight Club, and I'm just starting to get into Lovecraft. Any specific recommendations for him?

Mark Z. Danielewski - House of Leaves




Ill just copy some info from wikipedia because the story is way to complicated to explain (i know, its a long read but trust me it's worth it)

The format and structure of the novel is unconventional, with unusual page layout and style typical of ergodic literature. It contains copious footnotes, many of which contain footnotes themselves, and some of which reference books that do not exist. Some pages contain only a few words or lines of text, arranged in strange ways to mirror the events in the story, often creating (paradoxically) both an agoraphobic and a claustrophobic effect. The novel is also distinctive for its multiple narrators, who interact with each other throughout the story in disorienting and elaborate ways.

House of Leaves begins with a first-person narrative by Johnny Truant, a Los Angeles tattoo parlor employee. Truant is searching for a new apartment when his friend Lude tells him about the apartment of the recently deceased Zampanò, a blind, elderly man who lived in the same building as Johnny's friend, Lude.

In Zampanò's apartment, Truant discovers a manuscript written by Zampanò that turns out to be a very academic study of a documentary film called The Navidson Record.

The rest of the novel alternates between Zampanò's report on the fictional film, Johnny's autobiographical interjections, a small transcript of part of the film from Navidson's brother, Tom, a small transcript of interviews to many people regarding The Navidson Record by Navidson's partner, Karen, and occasional brief notes by unidentified editors, all woven together by a mass of footnotes. There is also a fourth narrator, Johnny's mother, whose voice is presented through a self-contained set of letters titled The Whalestoe Letters. Each narrator's text is printed in a distinct font, making it easier for the reader to follow the occasionally challenging format of the novel.

Zampanò's narrative deals primarily with the Navidson family: Will Navidson, a photojournalist (partly based on Kevin Carter), his partner Karen Green, an attractive former fashion model, and their two children, Chad and Daisy. Navidson's brother, Tom, and several other characters also play a role later in the story. The Navidson family has recently moved into a new home in Virginia.

Upon returning from a trip to Seattle, the Navidson family discovers a change in their home. A closet-like space shut behind an undecorated door appears inexplicably where previously there was only a blank wall. A second door appears at the end of the closet, leading to the children's room.

As Navidson investigates this phenomenon, he finds that the internal measurements of the house are somehow larger than external measurements. Initially there is less than an inch of difference, but as time passes the interior of the house is found to be seemingly expanding, while maintaining the same exterior proportions.

A third change asserts itself: a dark, cold hallway in their living room wall that, according to the laws of physics, should extend out into their yard, but doesn't. Navidson films this strange place, looping around the house to show where the space should be and clearly is not. The fictional filming of this anomaly comes to be referred to as "The Five and a Half Minute Hallway". This hallway leads to a maze-like complex, starting with a large room (the "Anteroom"), which in turn leads to a truly enormous space (the "Great Hall"), a room primarily distinguished by an enormous spiral staircase which appears, when viewed from the landing, to spiral down without end.

There is also a multitude of corridors and rooms leading off from each passage. All of these rooms and hallways are completely unlit and featureless, consisting of smooth ash-grey walls, floors, and ceilings. The only sound disturbing the perfect silence of the hallways is a periodic low growl, the source of which is never fully explained, although an academic source "quoted" in the book hypothesizes that the growl is created by the frequent re-shaping of the house.

It is by far one of the books i own, i still havent finished it (it's 709 pages)

it sounds like it could be good but it looks like postmodern BS.

and for Lovecraft, all I'll say is stay away from The Dunwich Horror. My god does it ever blow. The Cthulu mythos are a safe bet, though I've only read the first one...

We used to have a "What are you reading now" thread but of course I can't find it because the search is still not working properly (how 'bout fixing that, Doug?)

I guess I'm kinda into autobiographys

Hell Bent for Leath - Confessions of a Heavy Metal Addict - Seb Hunter

If Chins Could Kill - Confessions of a B-Movie Actor - Bruce Campbell

and for Lovecraft, all I'll say is stay away from The Dunwich Horror. My god does it ever blow. The Cthulu mythos are a safe bet, though I've only read the first one...

Cheers, I'll seek them out.

hey frequency-lsd, I've read house of Leaves before and it is indeed an amazing book. Im thinking of re reading it eventually.

Ah, Lovecraft. He's great, my girlfriend got me into him last summer.. Collection of short stories, she had. Think it was just called The Call of Cthulu and Other Short Stories. Thought it was a mightily enjoyable read myself.

Currently reading The Steep Approach to Garbadale by Iain Banks. Thus far, and I'm not very far in, it's intriguing, but not phenomenal. Looking for it to pick up as it goes along though. It's only just building.

On a note of Mr. Banks, people should definitely try get The Wasp Factory. His finest, in my view, and I don't think I've ever seen a book that split critics and people more. Some think its a wonderous, twisted tale that grips and holds from the get-go, other think its a terribly-written, unnecessarily chilling piece that "strives for mediocraty", as one critic I read put it. Personally, I thought it was great..

hey frequency-lsd, I've read house of Leaves before and it is indeed an amazing book. Im thinking of re reading it eventually.

Actually im also kind of re-reading it, i was around page 300 and felt like i missed out on alot of small details and started over..after the first couple of chapters i already noticed that i really did miss lots of small details on the first read!

Ther Dark Tower series by Stephen King
most Jack Ryan novels by Tom Clancy
the entire Nick Stone series by Andy McNab
The Moonlight Bay series by Dean Koontz
1984 by George Orwell
The Dumas Club by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft