Great Literature not about Beer

[Subsailor]

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Shogun by James Clavell
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

I loved Shogun by Clavell, also King Rat and Taipan.

Alaska by James Michener

the Geoddysey series by Piers Anthony:
1 Isle of Woman (1993)
2 Shame of Man (1994)
3 Hope of Earth (1997)
4 Muse of Art (1999)
5 Climate of Change (2010)

 

[DrunkleJon]

Yeah the GoT books can get a bit tedious when you get to chapters of characters you don't like or care for. I always blasted through Tyrions chapters and Dany's chapters were a complete bore until a Dance With Dragons. I also struggled with the Ironborn chapters in A Feast For Crows, but everything starts coming together in aDWD so its all worth it.

Really? Dance is where it is getting tedious to me. I am getting a tad sick of Daerneys though so she is probably the one to blame.

 

[TheSmithsEra]

Really? Dance is where it is getting tedious to me. I am getting a tad sick of Daerneys though so she is probably the one to blame.

*Game Of Thrones Spoiler Alert*



Well i mean as far as the Ironborn are concerned. Their stories come together in DWD. Lol about Dany though, I can see how you would get sick of her she just seems to be F***ing up, she should have taken the dragons and left for the Sunset Kingdom when she had the chance. She could always have come back to the Slaver cities after she had trained her damn dragons.

I did enjoy the Dany chapters though there is so much treachery afoot. I do enjoy her whoriness

 

[truvr]

UGH, The Road I could not get into, the book or the movie. I found it dull...

Fair enough. But please don't let that deter you from checking out the Wool series.

 

[+HopSpunge+]

Anything by "Kurt Vonnegut". The man could write an entire book about a brick. And it would be great to read.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Crow Killer - Raymond Thorp & Robert Bunker. Based on history, but there is some argument as to just how accurate it is, but it's a good read either way.

The "Earth's Children" series - Jean M. Auel. The 1st book in this series is Clan Of The Cave Bear.

One Second After - William Forstchen. Fiction, but the premise is entirely possible, even probable.

"The Dresden Files" - Jim Butcher. The 1st book in the series is Storm Front. Sort of Harry Potter meets the Rockford Files. The books keep getting better & better. Action, mystery, fantasy & some humor all rolled into this series.

+ 1 on anything by Patrick F McManus, you'll laugh so hard it hurts!

The "Spellsinger" series - Alan Dean Foster. An interesting & humorous spin on fantasy. 1st book in the series is Spellsinger.

The Long, Loud Silence - Wilson Tucker. A very good post-apocalyptic survival story.

The "Amber" series - Roger Zelazny. 1st book is Nine Princes In Amber. This is an excellent fantasy series, not like any other.
Regards, GF.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Crow Killer - Raymond Thorp & Robert Bunker. Based on history, but there is some argument as to just how accurate it is, but it's a good read either way.

The "Earth's Children" series - Jean M. Auel. The 1st book in this series is Clan Of The Cave Bear.

One Second After - William Forstchen. Fiction, but the premise is entirely possible, even probable.

"The Dresden Files" - Jim Butcher. The 1st book in the series is Storm Front. Sort of Harry Potter meets the Rockford Files. The books keep getting better & better. Action, mystery, fantasy & some humor all rolled into this series.

+ 1 on anything by Patrick F McManus, you'll laugh so hard it hurts!

The "Spellsinger" series - Alan Dean Foster. An interesting & humorous spin on fantasy. 1st book in the series is Spellsinger.

The Long, Loud Silence - Wilson Tucker. A very good post-apocalyptic survival story.

The "Amber" series - Roger Zelazny. 1st book is Nine Princes In Amber. This is an excellent fantasy series, not like any other.
Regards, GF.

+12 on the amber series. Great books. They get a touch weird when you hit the extended part of the series (after the main story line ends) though.

 

[Homercidal]

+12 on the amber series. Great books. They get a touch weird when you hit the extended part of the series (after the main story line ends) though.

I agree. And they are pretty short and easy reading.

 

[TheSmithsEra]

Fair enough. But please don't let that deter you from checking out the Wool series.

Well then i guess its time to check on the Wool series

 

[Quixoticosis]

Anything by Terry Pratchett, though his Discworld books are really his best. Don't start at the beginning though - I appreciate Rincewind and the beginning as a fan, but I think if I'd started there, I'd just have been... "What is this?" Guards Guards! is a great stepping stone into Pratchett's world, I think. Or Small Gods if you want something a little heavier on the philosophy.

 

[Homercidal]

Anything by Terry Pratchett, though his Discworld books are really his best. Don't start at the beginning though - I appreciate Rincewind and the beginning as a fan, but I think if I'd started there, I'd just have been... "What is this?" Guards Guards! is a great stepping stone into Pratchett's world, I think. Or Small Gods if you want something a little heavier on the philosophy.

He's a fantastic author. And I agree; you must look for a reading guide for the best recommended reading order. In fact, I think after I get caught up on GOT I might see if he's done anything more since the last time I checked.

 

[oneandahalfshepherds]

Ill give accolades to a hometown author:

Bill Bryson "A walk in the woods"

I will also recommend "zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance" recognizing the complexities and nuances of mans relationship with modernity and technology through the lens of philosophy.

 

[BigDaddyBeard]

Ill give accolades to a hometown author: Bill Bryson "A walk in the woods"

Great book, read it a few months back. Eye opening on what is around us and what is disappearing very quickly. Funny to boot

 

[DrunkleJon]

Pretty much anything by Neil Gaiman. I especially liked Good Omens(he paired up with Pratchett on it), Neverwhere and American Gods.

 

[Cbaddad]

There have some been some great ones noted already.
I am a big Cormac McCarthy fan and think his other books are better than The Road. The Border Trilogy (All the Pretty Horses, Cities of the Plain, The Crossing) is great. Blood Meridian is also pretty crazy.

Other books that are worth checking out are:
Lord of the Barnyard- Tristan Egolf (Oneof the funniest books I have ever read)
The Brief History of the Dead- Kevin Brockmeir
The Museum Guard- Howard Norman (The Bird Artist is also great)
Most everything by T.C. Boyle, but especially The Tortilla Curtain
Any of Raymond Carver's short stories, but if you haven't ever read him grab Cathedral as the jumping off point.
I am also always surprised by how few people have actually read any Jack Kerouac. On the Road and the Subteraneans both are fantastic reads.

This Wheel's on Fire by Levon Helm of the Band is a great read as well for any Band/Dylan fans.

 

[chawagi]

After 20+ years and the purchase of a new Kindle Fire I decided I'm going to finally finish Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series.

Started back at the beginning with The Eye of the World and am about halfway through. Forgot how good his early works were before he got literary diarrhea and decided every book needed to be measured by weight to determine its worth.

I've been avoiding the final three books because I heard mixed reviews about Brandon Sanderson's writing quality when finishing the series, but I'm plodding forward regardless. For better or worse I need to put this series to bed.

I don't know where I'm going to go after this. TWoT and Stephen King's Dark Tower novels have been huge parts of my life since I was a teenager.

 

[Subsailor]

I remembered another one I liked, haven't read it in years:

The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

 

[glick]

Anything by John Mortimer.

 

[ted464]

Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield.

 

[DrunkleJon]

After 20+ years and the purchase of a new Kindle Fire I decided I'm going to finally finish Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series.

Started back at the beginning with The Eye of the World and am about halfway through. Forgot how good his early works were before he got literary diarrhea and decided every book needed to be measured by weight to determine its worth.

I've been avoiding the final three books because I heard mixed reviews about Brandon Sanderson's writing quality when finishing the series, but I'm plodding forward regardless. For better or worse I need to put this series to bed.

I don't know where I'm going to go after this. TWoT and Stephen King's Dark Tower novels have been huge parts of my life since I was a teenager.

I am actually a sanderson fan since I heard he was chosen to finish it. The mistborn series is pretty awesome. I like the way that 'magic' is organized.

 

[Rhumbline]

Mark Twain always makes me laugh out loud.
Some of Tom Clancy's early stuff.
John MacDonald
Jules Verne
John LeCarre
Robert Ludlum

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Stranger In A Strange Land - Robert A. Heinlein
Starship Troopers - Robert A. Heinlein
The Integral Trees - Larry Niven

 

[chawagi]

I am actually a sanderson fan since I heard he was chosen to finish it. The mistborn series is pretty awesome. I like the way that 'magic' is organized.

This is good to know. I was crushed when I heard Jordan had died after the 11th book and figured we'd never find out how things ended for Rand and the rest of the Emond Fielder's.

I had heard Sanderson did a really good job with the story itself but lost some of the character depth because of his more modern writing style and lingo.

Regardless, finally going all the way this time. Start to finish. Just restarted Book 2, The Great Hunt, today.