Literature

[fguy64]

-Catch-22: hands down the funnies book in the English language. I re-read this every few years, and laugh every time.

Good call. Joseph Heller is one of a kind. Catch-22 wasn't an easy read for me, it took me several tries to build up the momentum to get through it, I had to give up on trying to keep track of who everyone was.

Another amazing novel by Joseph Heller is Something Happened. Incredible and tragic irony. Also, there is his book No Laughing Matter, a true story about his recovery from being totally incapacitated by the disease Gillaume Barre Syndrome.

[psic]

Good call. Joseph Heller is one of a kind. Catch-22 wasn't an easy read for me, it took me several tries to build up the momentum to get through it, I had to give up on trying to keep track of who everyone was.

Another amazing novel by Joseph Heller is Something Happened. Incredible and tragic irony. Also, there is his book No Laughing Matter, a true story about his recovery from being totally incapacitated by the disease Gillaume Barre Syndrome.

Interesting, I devoured Catch-22 when I first read it, but I never really got into any of his other stuff. I did try to read quite a few of his books, but they never seemed to have the same magic - you're right, they are more tragic and ironic than Catch-22, it's as if you can tell that Heller was getting older. I have Something Happened, you've now convinced me to give it another shot

I know there's a thread about e-readers, but I also wanted to mention that I'm becoming more and more convinced I'll be buying one in the near future

[fguy64]

One interesting book I really like is Hanta Yo, by Ruth Bebe Hill.

It's a historical fiction about Lakota (Sioux) Indians. What makes it unique is that it was written in English, translated into the Lakota language, then translated back into English. This give the book a very authentic feel.

[cousinlucky]

When I was young ( many moons ago ) I loved reading science fiction. Kurt Vonnegut's books always thrilled me. I remember one book named " The Power " that blew me away but i do not remember who wrote it.

I have had the pleasure of just reading " A Good Inheritance " by Heather Rheece.

It was not my usual cup of tea; but it was very captivating!!

[techieMoe]

I just finished reading The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett. It's the first of his Discworld books. Fun stuff. The one I'm reading now is Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill, an author I'd never heard of before. Turns out on further research, he's Stephen King's son. It's a good read so far.

I also recently finished a book by an unknown author: The Weight of Blood by David Dalglish. It's high fantasy, but it manages to maintain interest through unpredictable, multifaceted main characters. It helps that most of the books in the series are 99 cents, too.

[psic]

I love Pratchett - I have quite a few of his Discworld at home, though I've yet to read The Colour of Magic. Check out David Gemmell's stuff - heroic fantasy, and the books are quite cheap. I just read his first novel - Legend, good stuff, quite easy yet entertaining reading.

[techieMoe]

I'm currently reading another Discworld book, Mort, which is starting out just as funny as the previous ones. Here's an excerpt.

"Well, ----me," he said. "A ----ing wizard. I hate ----ing wizards!"
"You shouldn't ---- them, then," muttered one of his henchmen, effortlessly pronouncing a row of dashes.

[elija]

Mort. A book that starts good and just keeps getting better. Have you got to the conversation between Mort's father and Death yet

[psic]

My favorite Diskworld books are the ones revolving around the Watch and Captain Vimes

I've just ordered the Goblin series by Jim C. Hines, it looks a bit similar - fantasy but told from a goblin's point of view.

[techieMoe]

I just finished The Killing Room by John Manning. If you're into paranormal murder mysteries, this one's good.