Hi I'm looking for 20 recommended-by-you novels to read this year pls give me your ideas...?

Question

No historical romance, no jackie collins or cecelia ahern type books or trashy romance either please. Well written, good stories and interesting characters. Something that really affected you deeply. Contemporary or classics will be considered and as long as it's in english, based in any country! Help me with my decision to have a fantastic reading year.

Answer 1

Given I read so much, here is a decent booklist:



Chocolat – Joanne Harris (the gypsy was based on me)



Unusual Point of View:



Skepticism – Bo Fowler (main character is a supermarket trolley)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close – J. Safran Foer (main character is a boy whose dad called from World Trade Centre and left an answer phone message)



British:



Hemmingway’s Chair – Michael Palin

Not the End of the World – Christopher Brookmyre

White Teeth – Zadie Smith

Making History – Stephen Fry

Popcorn – Ben Elton



International:



The Ringmaster’s Daughter – Jostein Gaarder

Memoirs of a Geisha – Authur Golden



Well paced:



Jonathon Livingston Seagull - Richard Bach*

The Beach – Alex Garland

Life of Pi – Yarn Merkel

The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemmingway *

Flud – Hilary Mantel



Non Fiction:



Round Ireland with a Fridge – Tony Hawks

Kitchen Confidential – Anthony Bourdain

Playing the Moldavian’s at Tennis – Tony Hawks

Fever Pitch – Nick Hornby



Classics:



Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll *

Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh

Madame Bouvary – Gustave Flaubert

Gormenghast Trilogy – Mervin Peake

I, Robot – Isaac Asimov



Humor:



The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1st three books in the trilogy) – Douglas Adams

A Book of Nonsense – Mervin Peake *



Detective:



Complicity – Iain Banks

Filth – Irvine Welsh

Inspector Rebus novels – Ian Rankin



* books that I read cover to cover without putting down



Source(s):



my 360 Blog

Answer 2

1. Fountainhead - Ayn Rand

2. False Impression - Jeffery Archer

3. Phantom of the Opera - Gaston Leroux(sp?)

4. Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë

5. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë

6. Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien

7. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

8. Cather in the Rye - J. D. Salinger

9. To Kill a Mocking Bird - Harper Lee

10. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

11. Scarlett Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne

12. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

13. Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

14. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

15. Tom Sawyer/ Huck Finn - Mark Twain

16. Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

17. Little Women - Louisa M. Alcott

18. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

19. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

20. Heidi - Johanna Spyri



well these are just some i picked out since these are what i could remember right now... i hope u like it

Answer 3

The Mediator series By Meg Cabot

1.Shadowland

2.Ninth Key

3.Reunion

4.Darkest Hour

5.Haunted

6.Twilight

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anyway...you should read Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Including sequel New Moon. I could not stop reading this books! A little romantic and cute story. You should go on barnesandnoble.com to get a good idea of the summary! You will not regret reading these books!



well there are several...I love all of them. You should try them. You should go to barnesandnoble.com to get more info on the books.

1. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

2. New Moon (sequel to Twilight)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz

1. Strormbreaker

2. Point Blanc

3. Skeleton Key

4. Scorpia (my favorite)

5. Ark Angel

6. Snakehead (coming in 2007)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~...

Fearless Series By Francince Pascal.



1. Fearless

2. Sam

3. Run

4. Twisted

5. Kiss

6. Payback

7. Rebel

8. Heat

9. Blood

10. Liar

11. Trust

12. Killer

13. Bad

14. Missing

15. Tears

16. Naked

17. Flee

18. Love

19. Twins

20. Sex

21. Blind

22. Alone

23. Fear

24. Betrayed

25. Lost

26. Escape

27. Shock

28. Chase

29. Lust

30. Freak

31. Normal

32. Terror

33. Wired

34. Fake

35. Exposed

36. Gone



Definitely read them, first chance you get, they are difficult to find in stores so try buying them from www.amazon.com, or www.bn.com. Also when you finish those look for the new series "Fearless FBI" I just started it and it's great. (Theres a lot of books in the series but they are kind of short..dont worry) I cant stop reading them!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~...

Artemis Fowl Series by Eoin Colfer

1. Artemis Fowl

2. Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident

3. Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code

4. Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception

5. Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony

6. Sixth and final book: Title not currently known (2007/2008

Answer 4

1) The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

2) The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

3) The Saffron Kitchen by Yasmin Crowther

4) Snow Flower and the Secret Garden by LIsa See

5) Girlfriend in a Coma by Douglas Coupland

6) Donorboy by Brendan Halpin

7) Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevelier

8) Montrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett

9) Wicked by Gregory Maguire

10) The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

11) Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination by

12) Good Omens by Neil Gaiman

13) Lamb by Christopher Moore

14) Sammy's Hill by Kristin Gore



This is only 14, but hoepfully you will consider some of them.

Answer 5

I love reading and I read almost anything, so here are some of the best that I've either recently read or so good that I've read them several times. Have fun :)



The Concrete Blond by Michael Connelly

Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

The No. 1 Ladies Detectives Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian by Marina Lewycka

Through Wolf's Eyes by Jane Lindskold

Dhampir by Barb and J.C. Hendee

Shakespeares Landlord by Charlaine Harris

1st to Die by James Patterson



There is one other book that I love but comes under historical romance although it isn't really.



Crosstitch by Diana Gabaldon

Answer 6

1. The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

2. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas

3. The Lady of the Camelias by Alexsander Duma - son

4. Shirley by Charlotte Bronte

5. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

6. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

7. Gone With the Wind by Margareth Mitchel

8. Stardust by Neil Gayman

9. Love of Seven Dolls by Paul Galico

10. Captain's Daughter by Alexandar Sergeyevich Pushikn

11. The Golovlyov Family by Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin

12. The Alquemist by Paulo Coelho

13. Clandestine in Chile by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

14. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin

15. Mill on the Floss by George Eliot

16. Papa Goriot by Honore de Balsac

17. Tunnel by Antonio Sabato

18. Stranger by Alber Camus

19. Jonathan Lilvingstone: Seagull by Richar Bach

20. Damned Yard by Ivo Andric



Here you go - 20, out of my list. Excluded what you asked to be excluded, although I do read fiction and trashy romances.

In nos. 1, 8, 12 and 19 you would need to reveal life truths masked in light stories.



P.S.

I do apologize in case of spelling mistakes when it comes to the name of author, but English is my second language.

Answer 7

Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolf, A Fan's Notes by Frederick Exley, Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse, On the Road by Jack Kerouac, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, Cannery Row by John Steinbeck, Burden of Proof by Scott Turow, The Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller, A Case of Vineyard Poison by Philip R. Craig, The First Immortal by James L. Halperin, St. Alban's Fire by Archer Mayor, The Last Convertible by Anton Myrer, Candlemas Bay by Ruth Moore, The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ichiguru, Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, White Fang by Jack London, The Rains Came by Louis Bromfield, The Serial by Cyra McFadden, Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg, Go by John Clellon Holmes, Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice, The Lost Weekend by Charles Jackson

Answer 8

1. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

2. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

3. The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks

4. The Magic of Recluce by L. E. Modesitt

5. The Belgariad series by David Eddings

6. Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

7. Heaven by V.C. Andrews

8. Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis/Tracy Hickman

9. Dragons of Winter Night by Weis/Hickman

10. Dragons of Spring Dawning by Weis/Hickman

11. Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg

12. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

13. Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind

14. Split Infinity by Piers Anthony

15. On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony

16. Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey

17. Hawkmistress! by Marion Zimmer Bradley

18. The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel

19. Valley of Horses by Jean M. Auel

20. The Mammoth Hunters by Jean M Auel

Answer 9

Leo Tolstoy is my favourite author his books "war and peace" and " Anna Karenina" are written beautifully. by the end of these books you will find that you are looking at the same world with new eyes. if you are interested in philosophy than Paulo Cohello is answer to your prayers. he writes in a very nice and simple language, conveys his message by moving the plot in the form of interesting story. nothing like Khalil Gibran's dull and hard to digest philosophy. "Al Chemist" "Veronika Decides to Die" and " pilgrimage" are the books that i would recommend. then there is "KonTiki Expedition" by Thor Heyerdhal. first two chapters are boring or seem to be boring but once expedition gathers speed you really cannot put it down until you reach the last pages. these are only few of the many books that made me realized that reading is truly the best of habits and a blessing

Answer 10

Get any of Dan Brown, Eric Lustbader, Robert Ludlum, John Grisham, Adam Williams. Maybe a few of Nelson Demille's and Sidney Sheldon.

Answer 11

You have got already so many suggestions but I would like to add the following:

-Moby Dick H.Melville

-1984 G.Orwell

-Annimal Farm G.Orwell

-Brave New World A.Huxley

-This perfect day I.Levin

-The Stepford wives I.Levin

-The Fountainhead A.Rand

-Atlas shrugged A.Rand

-Cannery Row J.Steinbeck

-Our man in Havana G.Greene

-The old man and the sea E. Hemingway

-The "Deadly Sin" series by L.Sanders

-The "Robot" trilogy by I.Asimov

Answer 12

1. Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo - moving anti-war story

2. Where Did This Come From? by Larry Nocella - new author with lots of great ideas, action-packed story, thought-provoking too

3. Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - fascinating story of missionaries in Africa

4. 1984 by George Orwell - a total classic, one of best works of fiction ever

5. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess - superb work, violent, but brilliantly written



I don't have time to list twenty, but those great reads should keep you busy. All of them are available on Amazon.com.

Answer 13

Anything by Marion Keyes. Seriously, she's well worth looking into.



I also like: Lionel Shriver, Jane Smiley, E. Annie Proulx, Jonathon Saffran Foer.

Answer 14

Phantom of the Opera - Gaston Leroux (A bit of romance, but mostly gothic horror.)

The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis (My personal favorites)

The Hobbit - J.R.R Tolkien (Although you may or may not have read this one...)

Maskerade - Terry Pratchett (More or less a parody of Phantom of the Opera. Very funny.)

House - Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker (Spiritual warfare/psychological thriller type thing)

Answer 15

1-Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger (don't miss this one!)

2-"Aint she Sweet by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (romantic, but not historical or at all trashy

3-1984 by George Orwell

4- to kill a mockingbird

5-One flew over the Cookoo's nest

6- Picure of Drian Grey by Oscar Wilde

7-The importance of being Earnedt by Oscar Wilde (its a play, but really good, nonetheless)

8-A walk to Remmebr by Nichola Sparks (romantic, but not historical or trashy and it is infinitely better than the movie)

9-Can you keep a secret? by Sophie Kinsella (hilarious)

10-Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

11- any book by Janet Evanovitch- hilarious chick books

12-Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

13-Dante's Inferno

14-The Jester byJaems Patterson

15-The Shining by Stephen King

16-The Long Walk by Richard Bachman

17-The Eye of the Dragon by Stephen King

18-No one to Trust

19-The count of Monte Cristo

20-Shocking Pink by Erica Spindler

Answer 16

I think it's a bit mature for an eight year old. She is not quite at the age where she can understand romance like in twilight. Maybe in a few years...Twilight is just such a physically romantic book, not appropriate for an eight year old in my opinion.

Answer 17

In order of greatness:



1. Imajica by Clive Barker

2. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

3. On the Road by Jack Kerouac

4. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

5. Mrs. Bridge by Evan S. Connell

6. 1984 by George Orwell

7. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

8. Bad Haircut by Tom Perrotta

9. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (and I hate Ray Bradbury)

10. The Pearl by John Steinbeck

11. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

12. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie



The following are not novels, but are well written and worth reading.



13. Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott (novel-like story narrated by a square. Borders on novel and philosophy)

14. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (memoir about two heavy-set friends hiking the Appalachian Trail)

15. Boy by Roald Dahl (funny memoir/short auto-bio of Roald Dahl, author of Matilda, The Witches, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and scores of other fun stuff)

16. Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller (South African problems seen from the perspective of a young girl)

17. Love That Dog by Sharon Creech (children's book in poems telling the story of a young boy who loses his dog and finds relief in writing...takes about 20 minutes to read, but will be appreciated long after)

18. Blue Rage, Black Redemption by Stanley Williams ('Tookie' auto-bio; he started a gang, ended up on death row, then worked to keep kids out of gangs, was nominated for Nobel prizes, and strove for peace between feuding gangs)

19. I'm A Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson (Bryson's comedic look at the indulgent life of Americans...so funny we don't care he's insulting us)

20. The Long, Hard Road Out of Hell by Marilyn Manson (auto-bio/memoir of gothic-rock artist; very intelligent, though disturbed, individual)

Answer 18

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.

Answer 19

Anything written by Carl Hiaasen

" written by John Grisham

" written by Dick Frances

" written by Robert Parker

" written by Tess Gerrittson

" written by David Baldacci

" written by Michael Connery

" written by Jeffery Deaver



Just finished Night Fall by Nelson DeMille - really really good.

Answer 20

1. the zahir by paulo coelho

2. the alchemist by paulo coelho

3. by the river i sat down and wept by paulo coelho

4. the little prince

5. black beauty is nice

6. sherlock holmes if you like detective

7. The sound and the fury

8. Ulysses



I can't think of anything else...

it actually depends on what type of a reader you are

Answer 21

heres a few



Cloud Atlas

The Shadow of the wind

Rebecca

Perfume

The World According to Garp

Answer 22

Wolfy:

Check on site below to see if may interest you. Based in Canada although it could be anywhere, from true happenings. Books not found on any shelves.

Wayne Russell The Vagabond Writer

Answer 23

Nerve - Dick Francis

Tell me your dreams - Sydney Sheldon

Windmills of God - Sydney Sheldon

Answer 24

"Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier



"Clan of the Cave Bear" by Jean Auel - also

"The Valley of Horses" by her.

Answer 25

the kite runner, wuthering hieghts, fountain head, we the ppl, mein kamph(adolf hitler's autobiography), catcher in the rye....these r some of my favorites(sorry i hardly ever remember the author names...fountain head and we the ppl were by ayne rand ) :)

Answer 26

hey

I'm a Indian &would recomend

one night at the call center-chetan bhagat

5point some one-chetan bhagat

harry potter is kiddish but nice time pass

jefry archer,sidney sheldon..................goes on& on