Acquired library subscription; what books do you guys recommend?

dopezilla

dopezilla

God of Blood and War
So yeah, I just got a subscription to the local library and I'd like to make the most of it. I'm into srs literature, as well as sci-fi, high fantasy and thrillers as long as it's not just schlock. Can't be wasting time with any of that.

Anyway, I've been out of the reading game for a while now, and I'd like to get back in. I've recently read the first Hyperion book, which I've enjoyed a lot, so I'll definitely read the second as well, but after that I wouldn't know what to pick.

What are NMA's choice picks?

Recommendations should be available in either English or Dutch, as those are the only languages I can actually read. :(
 
As Dutchie said, A Fire Upon The Deep and basically everything else by Vernor Vinge.
Also, everything by Kim Stanley Robinson. Mars-Trilogy, 2312, The Years Of Rice And Salt...
 
Fiction - The Lord Of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Take your time, enjoy the read, you'll have a blast.

Non-fiction - Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini. Nothing more fascinating than really understanding how we think.

Right now I'm also reading Supergods by Grant Morrison which is pretty niche but great if you like comic books (or related characters) at all.
 
This book is awesome, I read it all in just four hours (during two flights, to and from Brasilia):

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Some random ones off the top of my head:

Reality (or claimed to be) if you're into military stuff:
Dear Mom: A sniper's Vietnam - Good
Acceptable Loss ('Nam LRRP & Apache Blue) - Good
Chickenhawk (slick pilot) - Very good & sad
Making a killing (awesome PMC adventures) - Extremely recommended
Escape from Baghdad (PMC adventures the sequel) - Decent, not special
A long way gone (child soldierin') - Decent
The forgotten soldier - Timeless classic, must read
Storm of steel - Timeless classic, must read
Shake hands with the devil (UN ROE suck balls) - Educational

Fiction:
The dogs of war - Timeless classic, must read
Roadside picnic - Get out of here, stalker
I am Legend - Decent classic
Catch-22 - Timeless classic, must read
Brave new world - Timeless classic, must read
1984 - Timeless classic, must read
Animal Farm - Timeless classic, must read
The road - Decent, but hugely overhyped
A canticle for Liebowitz - NMA classic
The name of the rose - Classic

Hard scifi:
Start with Douglas Adams, then go to Heinlein, transition to Haldeman/Scalzi & go back for Philip K. Dick.
 
I was never good at block-of-text-reading, sooner or later, I feel like I'm just staring at the paper material, staring at the ink. It's not dyslexia, because I can write just fine, hell, I can write a LOT

But I must second 1984, which I litterally couldn't put down, I surprised myself, and it spurred me to finally get to work with a sci-fi idea I had brooded on for years (nothing similar, just... inspired by the act of reading - time to write! Before then I had only written short-stories, but suddenly I had the will to really pour it out)
As well as Fear and loathing in Las Vegas, which had me crying tears of laughter in some parts

both these just drew me right in, and out of sheer captivation, I pushed through, despite the aforementioned issues.
 
I'm a big book lover myself. I read everything, but mostly stick to the classics -- much insight can be found in a couple words from Aurelius or Plato. ;) I would definitely have to recommend Meditations and the Republic if you haven't read them already.

I also like Plutarch's Lives. I always keep a few copies of that lying around.

For fiction, 1984 is an excellent book that has already been mentioned. I also quite liked Fahrenheit 451 and Brave New World. The Road is also excellent.
 
So yeah, I've disregarded pretty much all of your recommendations and instead I've read Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk and right now I'm reading Metro 2033 by Dmitri Gloechovski. I'm definitely going to get to your recommendations at some point, but while browsing the library I got distracted by silly comic books and lots of other stuff. Apparently I can read the New York times there. I'm feeling pretty high-brow right now. Anyway, I'll definitely check all of these recommendations out at some point, but the whole library was kind of an overwhelming experience. I'm going to check their online catalogue and see if all the titles you guys mentioned are even available.

Anyway, I've copied most of the titles you guys recommended to my OneNote and I hope I can get to them at some point.

Stone Cold Robert House said:
Fiction - The Lord Of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.
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I've read pretty much everything Tolkien has ever written, including his short stories and the Silmarillion.

zegh8578 said:
As well as Fear and loathing in Las Vegas, which had me crying tears of laughter in some parts
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Already read it. Own it even. Awesome. Big Hunter S. Thompson fan here. I should really finish reading the Rum Diaries at some point. Interesting stuff.

TheRippaMan said:
I'm a big book lover myself. I read everything, but mostly stick to the classics -- much insight can be found in a couple words from Aurelius or Plato. :wink: I would definitely have to recommend Meditations and the Republic if you haven't read them already.

I also like Plutarch's Lives. I always keep a few copies of that lying around.

For fiction, 1984 is an excellent book that has already been mentioned. I also quite liked Fahrenheit 451 and Brave New World. The Road is also excellent.
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Eh. Plato and Aurelius seem a bit too hard to get into. Maybe I'll get into it, but first let me prove to myself I can actually read. 1984 and Brave New World I've already read. Hard to miss classics like that. I have read the Iliad, though. But srs Greek philosophy kind of scares me. I'm afraid I won't get it and feel stupid while reading it. :(

So anyway, all titles are in my OneNote and I'll eventually get to it, but wow, lots of recommendations. When I finish my first batch of books I'm going back with an actual shopping list. :D Thanks guys!

Edit: just discovered that there's an online catalogue from which I can reserve books. On it!
 
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Galaxies Like Grains of Sand (1960, Brian Aldiss)
Collection of short sci-fi stories. I'd like to draw your attention to The Mutant Millennia - Gene Hive (1958) especially, because I believe that Richard Grey's transmutation to The Master in first Fallout was inspired heavily by this one. ^^
 
Couldn't find a lot of the authors listed in this thread in the catalogue. But I've made a list which I'll take with me next time I'll go to the library.
Anyway, for such a big library, the whole catalogue seems a bit disappointing. At least in the sci-fi department. Oh well, like I said, I made a list of authors that *are* available, and I'll be busy for quite some time, I think.

Also, Metro 2033 as a book was pretty disappointing. However, as a really long piece of creepypasta (which it essentially is) it's pretty cool. Mixed feelings. Lots of loose ends and the whole twist ending thing felt kind of cheap. Also, mutants because mutants.
 
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