Interesting books you've read in your life

[arctic_zakura077]

We probably were made to read some books because it was required that we read it. Others, we just saw it in the bookstore and thought to ourselves "This must be cool."

So what were the interesting books you've read in your life?

These are mine:
1. Harry Potter (from 1-7) by J.K. Rowling
2. "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho
3. "The Prophet" by Khalil Gibran
4. "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown
5. "Animal Farm" by George Orwell
6. "The Romanov Prophecy" by Steve Berry
7. "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren
8. "Ang Paboritong Libro ni Hudas" (The Favorite Book of Judas) by Bob Ong <a Filipino author>
9. "Ang Pagkamulat ni Magdalena" (The Awakening of Magdalene) by Alejandro Alejo <another Filipino author>
10. "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger
11. "The Pilgrimage" by Paulo Coelho
12. "ABNKKBSNPL Ako" (Read as "Aba, Nakakabasa Na Pala Ako"= "Wow! I Can Already Read") by Bob Ong
13. "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint Exupery
14. "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare
:idea:

[Unicorn_Lad]

hmm i've read a lot of good books but my top favorites would probably be:
1)The Sellsword Trilogy
2)The entire Legacy of Drizzt series
3)Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Matinence
4)Transitions Trilogy: well they are still coming out so we will see how good they actually turn out to be.

[Jimbob]

1. A Song of Ice and Fire - George R.R. Martin
2. The Sword of Truth - Terry Goodkind
3. Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan (series will be completed by: Brandon Sanderson)
4. Darkglass Mountain - Sarah Dougless
5. Wayfarer Redemption - Sarah Dougless
6. Harry Potter - J.K Rowling
7. Black Magician - Trudi Canavan
8. Sabriel/Lirael/Abhorsen series - Garth Nix

[blunt_smoker_420]

I have read
1.To Kill a Mockingbird
2.A Wrinkle in Time
3.all the Cirque Du Freaks
4.Lord Loss
5.Gates of Fire
6.Three Cups of Tea
7.Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

They were all pretty good

[Sympathy]

Battle Royale
East of Eden
The Things They Carried
The Poisonwood Bible

[WatermelonRat]

Way too many for me to count, but I've read a lot of classic books (Tom Sawyer, Robinson Crusoe, etc.) along with series like Harry Potter and Star Wars novels. I honestly couldn't list every book I've ever read even if I had them all in front of me. I read so many books that I lose track of them.

[pumpkin13]

I guess if you're interested in them it's probably because you enjoyed them... so my list of favourite books is (in no particular order):

John Irving - The World According to Garp
Lindsay Clarke - The War at Troy
Fitzgerald - Tender Is the Night
Lian Hearn - The Otori chronicles (Across the Nightingale Floor, Brilliance of the Moon, Grass for his Pillow, Harsh Cry of the Heron, Heavan's Net is Wide)
Manfredi - Spartan, Tyrant
Pressfield - Gates of Fire
Anne Rice - Blood and Gold
Gemmell - Troy trilogy
Geoffrey Eugenides - The Virgin Suicides
Hemingway - Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises
Burroughs - Naked Lunch
McEwan - Atonement
Coupland - Generation X
B.E. Ellis - American Psycho
Much of Terry Pratchett's disc world series, mostly the ones focused on Ankh Morpork City Watch

[m2mmus]

"Veronica Decides to Die" by Paulo Coelho. Quite sad and very inspirational too.

[Skirr]

I have read very few books that interested me past just sheer entertainment, but here they are:

Fight Club because it's very fucked up, interestingly written and again fucked up.
The First Law trilogy which is like if you put LOTR into realistic characters. Basically everyone's evil, even the good guys.
And anything by Chuck Palahniuk.

[octocheese]

I've read way too many to remember them all but off the top of my head some of my favs were/are:
Why Do Birds -Phillip K. Dick (I read through this one, finished the last page, stared blankly at it for a sec then flipped back to the beginning and read it again)
The tripod trilogy books and prequel -Christopher White (young adult books but I own them and re-read them occasionally)
Aztec -Gary Jennings
Anything Asimov. His Foundation/robot series are epic
Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant & Unbeliever
Wyrms -Orson Scott Card
Anything Heinlein and Clarke
Mission Earth Series by L. Ron Hubbard. 10 hysterical sci-fi books. I should reread them again.

[Luna]

I remember this book in 6th grade that I liked, but I forgot the title years ago. The premise was that a disease wiped out all the adults on earth, so children had to fend for themselves while nothing was working [no one to operate shit]. In the end, a gang of kids gathered together and ending up living in a high school since it had eating areas, first aid supplies and some other appealing features.

Some of my favorites have been Enchantress from the Stars [Sylvia Louise Engdahl], Ella Enchanted [Gail Carson Levine], and the Abhorsen Trilogy [Garth Nix]. I finished Stardust last summer. That was pretty good. I'm blanking on others right now...

[Seanc]

The Bible.

[fourwalls]

The Book of Lost things - John Connolly
Night Watch - Sergei Lukyanenko
The Fraternity of The Stone- David Morrel
The Protector - David Morrel
Battle Royale - Koushun Takami
Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice
Angels and Demons - Dan Brown

[kochito22]

Manchild in the Promised Land - Claude Brown
The Land - Mildred D. Taylor
His Dark Materials Series - Philip Pullman

[Skirr]

Manchild in the Promised Land - Claude Brown
The Land - Mildred D. Taylor
His Dark Materials Series - Philip Pullman

Yeah, actually, that was a very interesting series.

[zeocloud]

I don't really read much but I recently read a book called "the book of five Rings", Iit teach you how to fight with a long sword and short sword and other things to do with the ways of the samurai.

[Paulio]

The "Song of ice and fire" series by George R.R. Martin.

Great series of books, written in a pretty unique way.

[Hiwapi]

Almost all James Patterson's books...i just love Alex Cross's series
One of my fav is Along Came A Spider

[Yexley]

The Bible always makes me laugh at the crazy shit they talk about. Then I remember the US Presidents take it seriously and it is less funny.
Freakanomics was pretty interesting as was the Blind Watchmaker.

[novae]

Some of my favorites
Harry Potter series
Animorphs
Warriors
In Death series
The Age of Fire series
Angel and Demons and The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Illusions: The Adventures of a Relucant Messiah by Richard Bach
The Hollows series
Jiley Jenkins Guardian series
Jane Linskolds Wolf novels
and that's all that I can think of at the moment.

[Goroth]

I find Uncle John's book called "Curiously compelling bathroom reader" very interesting. It's that book you can read and don't have to return in a hurry to finish. But in fact, you do comeback, because the stories are really intriguing and mind-blowing. Some might say this is a book collected with non-sense things, but I think it's very educational and beneficial for readers to read it between their intense novels and possibly some mangas, just to have it as a side-dish.
As the name suggests, designed to be red in the bathroom, but I assure you will reading it everywhere...

more info here (http://www.bathroomreader.com/product.asp?specific=371)
http://www.bathroomreader.com/images/products/curiously_compelling.jpg

[paradise_found]

"candide" by voltaire.
very strange book.

[Yadomaru]

Indeed. Extremely strange.

Anyway, interesting books I've read:

Gospel of John
Harry Potter books (I especially found interesting how she handled Severus Snape in the last couple of books, and the quote from the Gospel of Matthew in the 7th
The Lord of the Rings
The Hobbit (Bit childish, compared to LotR, but awesome)
The Silmarillion (Most epic book I've ever read)
Beowulf
Dan Brown's Langdon novels (Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code)
The Homerian epics (Illiad and Odyssey - preferred the former)
The Icewind Dale trilogy (Great stuff)
Secrets of Mary Magdalene: The Untold Story of History's Most Misunderstood Woman by Dan Burstein and Arne J. De Keijzer

[Goroth]

Dan Brown's Langdon novels (Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code)
Secrets of Mary Magdalene: The Untold Story of History's Most Misunderstood Woman by Dan Burstein and Arne J. De Keijzer

May I add DIGITAL FORTRESS on Dan Brown, it's a really good book with hackers and amazing plots. I finished the book in less than 5 days.

[ninski]

Daughter of Fortune by Isabelle Allende...hell...ANYTHING by Isabelle Allende... like Eva Luna as well! ^_^

[RipVanRagnarok]

Dark Tower Series by Stephen King
Burnt Sienna - David Morell
Darklight - Forgot the author
Shutter Island - From the guy who wrote Mystic River. Total mind blow.
Dragon Moon - Dragons having sex and stuff...
Interview With The Vampire - Probably my favorite Anne Rice novel

[airyie]

the rabbit proof fence
jane yollen's dragon trillogy
google the search
shade's children

[Shinigami♥]

Harry Potter series. <3

[Wrasvan]

Lord of Snow and Shadows (http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Snow-Shadows-ebook/dp/B000FBFO6Y/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239312122&sr=8-6) (by Sarah Ash)
Very interesting, as it puts a spin on old, familiar fantasy. It's like medieval, but it's Russian, and the technology is more advanced and realistic (allowing the magical-tech to be even cooler). The main characters and fantasy elements are the same as you'll find anywhere but the style of writing is simple, easy to get into, and addictive. It's not the best in terms of quality but it is very much interesting and is worth a read for fantasy fans.

[Afrojack]

The Power of One
The Great Gatsby
Most any of the tales from Arabian Nights

[DarkBunny]

Ice station-Matthew Reilly
Area 47-Matthew Reilly
Scarecrow-Matthew Reilly
four seasons-Stephen king
hearts in Atlantis-Stephen king

[airyie]

oh, I'm reading this really funny one right now. It is called Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/airyie/prideprejudicezombies.jpg

[stig]

'The Brothers Karamazoz', originally written in russian by Fyodor Dostoevsky.., there are a few translations in cirulation and I've read all of them, but the best has to be the Pevear and Volkhonsky translation. Literary modernism and various schools of psychology and theology have been deeply changed by the ideas presented in this book and with the translation I've mentioned above, one finally gets the musical whole of dostoevsky's original.

'Fooled by randomness' by Nick Taleb also makes for an interesting read.

[En]

Oh, I was about to buy that book by Dostoevsky, but I didn't like the plot written at the back of the book.

[Luna]

oh, I'm reading this really funny one right now. It is called Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/airyie/prideprejudicezombies.jpg

Ha, that sounds entertaining. This might be a dumb question, but I'm not much of a zombie or Jane Austen fan--what's the main plot/concept?

Lord of Snow and Shadows (http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Snow-Shadows-ebook/dp/B000FBFO6Y/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239312122&sr=8-6) (by Sarah Ash)
Very interesting, as it puts a spin on old, familiar fantasy. It's like medieval, but it's Russian, and the technology is more advanced and realistic (allowing the magical-tech to be even cooler). The main characters and fantasy elements are the same as you'll find anywhere but the style of writing is simple, easy to get into, and addictive. It's not the best in terms of quality but it is very much interesting and is worth a read for fantasy fans.

Ooh, that sounds very much up my alley.

As far as fantasy fic, I personally love the Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix, and Enchantress from the Stars by Sylvia Louise Engdahl.

[notorious UZIMAKI]

@darkbunny - hearts in atlantis was good, i'm not a huge king fan, but i loved the whole dark tower series - amazing fantasy novels

@stig - 'brothers..' is an amazing book, i need to read it like 5 more times.

reading a book of short stories by dave eggers now - 'why we are hungry' funny and biting

[En]

Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut. This guy has an interesting point of view of militant surrealism.

[ellikadan2x]

The most interesting book I've read was FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN..
It was written by Mitch Albom..
It's a very inspiring story about finding life after death..

[Rosh]

Angels and demons by Dan brown was a good read.

[Detrimentalist]

A Clockwork Orange was a brilliant read, as was the Inheritance trilogy (to be continued to a quadrilogy.)

[Doxa]

A Clockwork Orange was a brilliant read, as was the Inheritance trilogy (to be continued to a quadrilogy.)

Well, I find the Inheritance triology to be predictable and typical for its genre.

Oscar Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Gray ~ the absolute all-time favourite novel
Orwell: 1948, The Animal Farm
Huxley: A Brave New World
Emile Zola: Therese Raquin
Amelie Nothomb: The Hygiene of the Assassin (Hygiene de l'assasin)
Chuck Palahniuk: Fight Club, Invisible Monsters(still have to finish reading this one)

[Detrimentalist]

Well, I find the Inheritance triology to be predictable and typical for its genre.

It's cool if you've actually read them, but a lot of people say that when they have only seem the (shitty) film spinoff.

Have you actually read them all?

[notorious UZIMAKI]

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell - there are no geniuses, only practice, environment and opportunity

brothers karamazov

living buddha, living christ - thich nhat hanh - one of the most intelligent and open discourses about religion i've read in awhile. honestly one of my favorite books ever and one of those texts you think everyone should read (and i'm not religious)

[raja3]

the interesting books i have read in my life are Othello, Harry Potter, Pride and Prejudice and much like.

[micsquared]

Sun Tzu - The Art of War

A really brilliant look into the intricacies of not just violent confrontation, but interaction as a whole. Studying the subtleties of this piece can help anyone understand every instance of interaction they have at any given moment, thus giving them more insight into how they can handle particular situations.

Hunter S. Thompson - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Not just a story of drug-riddled good ol' boys adventuring through Vegas, but a truly in depth look into the aftermath of the social tidal wave that was the hippie movement on the 1960's. A damn near necessity.

[deadp00l]

the encyclopedia of serial killers second edition, and the monster of florence.

[Shunshin Yoruichi]

The Artemis Fowl series isn`t all that bad. I would reccomend to anybody who likes science fiction and fantasy. XD

[dark shadow]

It's cool if you've actually read them, but a lot of people say that when they have only seem the (shitty) film spinoff.

Have you actually read them all?

I've read all 3 and am awaiting the fourth, but I do need to agree that there was nothing groundbreaking about the books. They were a good read, but they were written within the well established confines of the genre. I never read anything in the books that would be considered innovative or unpredictable.

[Sagasu]

"Cities of the Red Night" - William Burroughs

Was my introduction to experimental fiction and left more of a lasting impression than his other work.

[kyoot_matsum0t0]

Wrong About Japan - Peter Carey

The best book I've read in a long time. He gives insight into peoples perceptions about Japan and his own. And how he was stunned when nothing at all was "anime" like (if you catch my drift). Its weird how some people think they understand the vast traditions and Japanase language when reading or wathing anime/manga.

Not only was this a huge eye opener on how narrow-minded people can be, but it also made me more interrested in Japan. One thing I've learnt, you've gotta speak the language fluently if you want to go there, otherwise you wont be able to experience Japan to the max!!!!

[aastik01]

The animorphs series(32 out of 54)
Eragon
Eldest

[sakura487]

1. vampire kisses `````by. Ellen Schreiber
2. Cirque du Freak`````by. Darren Shan
3.Twilight (though thats probably wasnt a shocker) ;)

~~~~i'm a sucker for a good romance, and if you throw in a little horror i'm sold!~~~~

[ileranerak]

Homeward Bounders by Diana Wynne Jones
..........no..EVERYTHING ever written by Diana Wynne Jones
Howl's moving Castle
Conrad's Fate
The lives of christopher Chant......
and many others...

[Queen Neliel]

Well, I've read tons of good books, but "interesting" books - well, I might have to take a different spin on that. I consider interesting anything that made me go OMGWTFBBQ and still kept me reading.

1. Pretty much anything by Chuck Palahniuk. Seriously, that guy's insane. ("Guts", anyone?)
2. Bless Me, Ultima ~ Rudolfo Anaya - I've not finished it yet, but the first few chapters weirded me out.
3. Stranger in a Strange Land ~ Robert A. Heinlein - You'll have to read it to find out. It's so beautiful, though.
4. The Shadow of the Wind ~ Carlos Ruiz Zafon - This book is so messed up. But it's brilliant.

Perhaps more to come. Who knows?

[jeuxaijin]

1. Pretty much anything by Chuck Palahniuk. Seriously, that guy's insane. ("Guts", anyone?)

he's a genius. guts within the context of haunted was less hardcore. hm. i did read american psycho before hitting palahniuk so he's never shocked me (except w/ the awful banality of snuff :xp:)

[ismey]

Lord of the rings (books)
Physics of the impossible by Michio Kaku
Falied States by Noam Chomsky
Night Watch,Day Watch and Twilight Watch(not to be confused with twilight)by Sergei Lukyanvenko

[Dattebayo-chan]

To Kill a Mockingbird: A classic that brings up many important and interesting topics. It makes you think.

[benassi-x]

The Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving is pretty interesting.

[Zcyth]

In no particular order:

1. Holes - We had to read it for some school project
2. Death Note: Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Case - Narrated by Mello; very interesting
3. Little house in the Big Woods
4. Little House on the Prairie

[Vyraeil]

Let's see now.

- Paolini's 'Eragon' was good, although the next two weren't as impressive.
- Tolkien's 'The Hobbit', 'The Silmarillion', 'Child of Rhun' and the timeless 'Lord of the Rings'.
- Tolstoy's 'War and Peace'.
- 'The Order of the Rose', I forget the author.
- All of Terry Pratchett's books, without fail.
- Bernard Cornwell's series, I forget the collection name, but it includes 'Heretic'.
- ^ and his Last Kingdom series.
- Ravenloft: The Covenant multi-author collection. Particularly Laurell K Hamilton's 'Death of a Darklord'.
- Jeremy Clarkson's 'The World According to Clarkson' series.
- Lian Hearn's 'Tales of the Otori'. Personally I preferred the prequel to the actual series.
- Doug Naylor's 'Red Dwarf'. Amazing classic Sci Fi.
- 'The Forever War'; again I forget the author, but he's a wartime journalist.

That's all for now.

[aKiBa55]

The Hobbit- JRR Tolkien
Rune- Christopher Fowler
Rainbow Six- Tom Clancy
Star Wars: Allegiance- Timothy Zahn
Watchmen- Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Batman: The Long Halloween- Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale
The Magician's Nephew- C.S. Lewis

[Gilgames]

-LOTR
-Song of Ice and Fire series
-Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series 'cept the latest.. mindboggingly complex :D
-The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, got it for Christmas couple years ago
-World without End, got after scoring the best result in English test when I was in the ninth :lol:

That's it so far

[Captn_Hitsugaya]

i dont want to list as many as you guys so hereare a few

the bell jar- silvia plath
kiss of the night- sherolyn kenyon
tale of despereaux - kate decamillo

[t_kamaro]

all about herbs and medicine..
and maybe harry potter..

[The Desolate One, Grimace]

Dante's Inferno- Dante Alighieri
We Were Soldiers Once, And Young- Lt. Gen. Harold Moore and Joseph Galloway
The Things They Carried- Tim O'Brien
The Hobbit- J.R.R. Tolkien
Indian Killer- Sherman Alexie
Guests of the Ayatollah- Mark Bowden