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The D&D Reading Thread
Jacobkosh
Gamble a stamp.I can show you how to be a real man!Moderator mod
Gamble a stamp.I can show you how to be a real man!Moderator mod
TAKE A LOOK, IT'S IN A BOOK!
This is the thread where we talk about what we're reading and why, recommend things to each other, and maybe find out about some things we never would have known otherwise. Because if you're anything like me, you're always on the lookout for something new and interesting, even if you have a stack of unread books climbing halfway up to your ceiling.
Many PAers have been listing and reviewing our books on Goodreads. Join us!
To get us started, here are some books that a lot of people in these parts have enjoyed.
The (Semi)Official D&D Recommended Reading List
GENERAL FICTION
SCIENCE FICTION
FANTASY
MYSTERY/CRIME
ESPIONAGE/THRILLERS
HORROR
NONFICTION
Those of you with a few hundred spare dollars should check out Centipede Press, a small-press dealer specializing in lavishly deluxe reprints of rare and hard-to-find books of all genres, from horror to sci-fi to early-20th-century European surrealism. And they're gorgeous. Anyone who wants to buy me one, feel free. :P
So what's on your bedside table these days?
This is the thread where we talk about what we're reading and why, recommend things to each other, and maybe find out about some things we never would have known otherwise. Because if you're anything like me, you're always on the lookout for something new and interesting, even if you have a stack of unread books climbing halfway up to your ceiling.
Many PAers have been listing and reviewing our books on Goodreads. Join us!
To get us started, here are some books that a lot of people in these parts have enjoyed.
The (Semi)Official D&D Recommended Reading List
GENERAL FICTION
The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano
Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
If on a winter's night a traveler by Italo Calvino
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
The Yiddish Policemens’ Union by Michael Chabon
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby
Dubliners by James Joyce
Ulysses by James Joyce
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Harauki Murakami
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Harauki Murakami
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
The Quincunx by Charles Palliser
Youth in Revolt by C.D. Payne
The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
Life with Jeeves by PG Wodehouse
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano
Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
If on a winter's night a traveler by Italo Calvino
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
The Yiddish Policemens’ Union by Michael Chabon
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby
Dubliners by James Joyce
Ulysses by James Joyce
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Harauki Murakami
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Harauki Murakami
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
The Quincunx by Charles Palliser
Youth in Revolt by C.D. Payne
The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
Life with Jeeves by PG Wodehouse
SCIENCE FICTION
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov
The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks
The Algebraist by Iain M. Banks
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
When Gravity Fails by George Alec Effinger
Neuromancer by William Gibson
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Dune by Frank Herbert
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Left Hand Of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
1984 by George Orwell
Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Ilium by Dan Simmons
Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
Stations of the Tide by Michael Swanwick
The Dying Earth by Jack Vance
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
Dread Empire’s Fall by Walter Jon Williams
The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson
The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe
The Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe
The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov
The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks
The Algebraist by Iain M. Banks
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
When Gravity Fails by George Alec Effinger
Neuromancer by William Gibson
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Dune by Frank Herbert
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Left Hand Of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
1984 by George Orwell
Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Ilium by Dan Simmons
Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
Stations of the Tide by Michael Swanwick
The Dying Earth by Jack Vance
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
Dread Empire’s Fall by Walter Jon Williams
The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson
The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe
The Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe
FANTASY
The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander
The Sharing Knife by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Little, Big by John Crowley
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R. Donaldson
The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart
The Dark Tower by Stephen King
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
Perdido Street Station by China Mieville
The Scar by China Mieville
The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
The Once and Future King by TH White
Latro in the Mist by Gene Wolfe
The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny
The Sharing Knife by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Little, Big by John Crowley
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R. Donaldson
The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart
The Dark Tower by Stephen King
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
Perdido Street Station by China Mieville
The Scar by China Mieville
The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
The Once and Future King by TH White
Latro in the Mist by Gene Wolfe
The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny
MYSTERY/CRIME
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
The Myron Bolitar series by Harlan Coben
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy
American Tabloid by James Ellroy
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
The Continental Op by Dashiell Hammett
The Ripley novels by Patricia Highsmith
Fletch by Gregory Macdonald
The Wallander novels by Henning Mankell
The Inspector Rebus novels by Ian Rankin
Keeper by Greg Rucka
The Lord Peter Wimsey novels by Dorothy L. Sayers
Hardcase by Dan Simmons
Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith
The Myron Bolitar series by Harlan Coben
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy
American Tabloid by James Ellroy
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
The Continental Op by Dashiell Hammett
The Ripley novels by Patricia Highsmith
Fletch by Gregory Macdonald
The Wallander novels by Henning Mankell
The Inspector Rebus novels by Ian Rankin
Keeper by Greg Rucka
The Lord Peter Wimsey novels by Dorothy L. Sayers
Hardcase by Dan Simmons
Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith
ESPIONAGE/THRILLERS
Complicity by Iain Banks
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carré
The Constant Gardener by John Le Carré
The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad
The James Bond novels by Ian Fleming
Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
The Quiet American by Graham Greene
Harlot's Ghost by Norman Mailer
A Gentleman's Game by Greg Rucka
The Crook Factory by Dan Simmons
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carré
The Constant Gardener by John Le Carré
The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad
The James Bond novels by Ian Fleming
Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
The Quiet American by Graham Greene
Harlot's Ghost by Norman Mailer
A Gentleman's Game by Greg Rucka
The Crook Factory by Dan Simmons
HORROR
Weaveworld by Clive Barker
World War Z by Max Brooks
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
It by Stephen King
The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub
Demons by John Shirley
Song of Kali by Dan Simmons
Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons
World War Z by Max Brooks
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
It by Stephen King
The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub
Demons by John Shirley
Song of Kali by Dan Simmons
Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons
NONFICTION
Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein
D-Day by Anthony Beevor
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls by Peter Biskind
The Centennial History of the Civil War - Bruce Catton
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
The Iranian Labyrinth by Dilip Hiro
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstadter
The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia by Peter Hopkirk
In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan by Seth Jones
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang by Pauline Kael
I Lost It at the Movies by Pauline Kael
On Writing by Stephen King
Battle Cry of Freedom by James MacPherson
Fear of Music: The 261 Greatest Albums Since Punk and Disco by Gary Mulholland
This is Uncool: The 500 Greatest Singles Since Punk and Disco by Gary Mulholland
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes by John Pierson
The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat by Oliver Sacks
The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan
The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets by David Simon
The Corner by David Simon and Edward Burns
The Elements of Style by Strunk and White
Reading Comics by Douglas Wolk
D-Day by Anthony Beevor
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls by Peter Biskind
The Centennial History of the Civil War - Bruce Catton
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
The Iranian Labyrinth by Dilip Hiro
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstadter
The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia by Peter Hopkirk
In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan by Seth Jones
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang by Pauline Kael
I Lost It at the Movies by Pauline Kael
On Writing by Stephen King
Battle Cry of Freedom by James MacPherson
Fear of Music: The 261 Greatest Albums Since Punk and Disco by Gary Mulholland
This is Uncool: The 500 Greatest Singles Since Punk and Disco by Gary Mulholland
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes by John Pierson
The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat by Oliver Sacks
The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan
The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets by David Simon
The Corner by David Simon and Edward Burns
The Elements of Style by Strunk and White
Reading Comics by Douglas Wolk
Those of you with a few hundred spare dollars should check out Centipede Press, a small-press dealer specializing in lavishly deluxe reprints of rare and hard-to-find books of all genres, from horror to sci-fi to early-20th-century European surrealism. And they're gorgeous. Anyone who wants to buy me one, feel free. :P
So what's on your bedside table these days?
Jacobkosh on
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This discussion has been closed.
Posts
And regarding Ender's Game: I enjoyed Speaker for the Dead immensely, and while Xenocide and Children of the Mind aren't on par with Ender's Game nor Speaker, they are enjoyable. I was confused as hell with them when I first read them though. I reread them after Ender in Exile came out and found everything much more clear.
But definitely read the Bean saga, starting with Ender's Shadow.
See how many books I've read so far in 2010
Gene Wolfe is very good.
XBL/PSN-Polaris314/Twitter/DJ P0LARI5
My general rule is to try and not take requests for the list, because otherwise the thread would devolve into a bunch of "add this plz!" posts and it would get in the way of actually talking about books. So I just go through the thread every so often and pick out stuff that I notice a lot of people talking about; it's not meant to be a comprehensive survey of any one genre, but more a collection of things that people in the thread can actually vouch for.
In this particular case though you are probably right and Zelazny, especially, deserves to be exposed to more people, and also I've already added a few things to the list today so two more wouldn't hurt. That'll be it for at least a little while, though.
I guess they sold out the $5000 edition though
this was a fine book
I am in line, at my library for his Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son
That's a wonderful book. I think it's a surrealist masterpiece and so few people know about it. I've never really read anything that was at once so atmospheric and dramatic and yet so dreamlike.
Am I missing something?
Drat!
I love just the idea of the place, though. I lust after those books purely as physical objects. I am a booksogynist.
Just started Too Big To Fail. I'm not too well-versed in the world of finance, but it seems to be written to be very accessible to laymen. I can tell that this book is going to piss me off, but/and I'm finding it interesting so far.
What do you mean by take it seriously? It's a light read - modern fantasy set in today's world but if magic and gods and vampires and werewolves and any other monster/fantasy type creation you might think of were real, and inhabiting the same universe, with a wise-cracking in over his head private detective wizard protagonist, disembodied skull sidekick, and faerie maids who work for pizza.
I don't know that I'd ever say that I take it seriously, but I do enjoy the series for what it is.
Also, obligatory note: from book 3 onward they get quite a bit better.
Except for maybe James Marsters, no. The Dresden Files is more of a HI5, THAT WAS AWESOME experience. :^:
This.
The Dresden books aren't meant to be taken as a straight-faced attempt at literature. They're a modern almagam of fantasy and mythological tropes, filtered through the lens of pulp fiction and the detective genre.
It's all about the ride.
~ Buckaroo Banzai
Um, yeah, make of that what you will.
Oh, and it's very nice reading a nice first edition hardcover for a change, after reading a bunch of cheap, pulpy mass market soft covers. The type is very generously set, letting a lot of air in between the rows and letting the margins breathe.
I've been excited about this book. It's in my pile of recently bought to read. Your description makes me want to move it up in the queue.
In the middle of The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, by Alain de Botton. It's the.. 4th book by him that I've read, including How Proust Can Change Your Life which I enjoyed more so far. Pleasures is mostly about the ways in which our current relationships towards careers and the production of goods effects our psyche. It's a great read as I always enjoy this authour a lot, but it he really does have a tendency to state the obvious. However, I have the feeling a lot of the reading republic sometimes benefits from it.
I shall fix this lapse on my part.
Piers Anthony gets a lot of (well deserved) shit for a lot of the stuff he writes, but this series is holding up as just as good as I remember.
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz
Gates of Fire by Stephen Pressfield
Jurrassic Park by Michael Crichton
No Second Chance by Harlan Coben
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
October Sky by Homer Hickam Jr.
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
I picked up The Historian after seeing it mentioned in the Gaf Reading thread since it was only 20 cents, and I have been reading Coben's Myron Bolitar series so I was pleased to get something else by him. The Pillars of the Earth book is in very good shape and is definitely the best find.
I read the first two, and they're a lot better than his other stuff. None of the puns of the shitty Xanth novels (well, after the third one or so), none of the emo shit from the Mode series...
Have Metro 2033 lined up after that, its coming out as a game this year and it looked intriguing.
Pubs can be good like that. The only PD James I've ever read was in a pub in Spain - sitting back, drinking cheap beer and eating free tapas makes nearly any book worth reading
God I wish that caught on here.
XBL |Steam | PSN | last.fm
I need to finish this series. I read the first three books in the early '90s, read the fourth book a couple years ago, and still haven't started the fifth book. I especially want to finish it now that he published the eighth book.
I remember the first book being really good. The second was good too, but not as good as the first. I didn't think that highly of the fourth book, but it's possible that my tastes might have changed or that I had trouble remembering thing given that I read the previous books fifteen years prior.
I know I'll like the former, but how's the latter?