Book/Author Recommendations

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Hi All,
I am male and in my thirties and am starting to read books again after not doing so for years. When younger I always read the usual Famous Five etc and recently after giving my niece Harry Potter books I ended up reading them myself. Having got the bug again I am finding myself reading the wifes romantic novels - and I don't want to be doing that ! - I did read some James Herbert books years ago but they all seem to be the same. I would be possibly interested in Murder Mystery but any recommendations would be greatfully appreciated.
 
Hi there

Lee Child is a great writer all of his Jack Reacher novels are fantastic!!

Michael Connelly is also one to look for with his Harry Bosch novels!

J...
 
THe shadow of the wind ... is a great read. I have also recently read We need to talk about Kevin ... which is a very unsettling book.
 
Yes, I second the Harry Bosch novels recommendation, begin with "The Poet" very good.

Dan Brown Di Vinci Code is very enjoyable, a bit of religious john grisham, but a page turner (and really anything to get you off the wife's mills and bloom)

Id also recommend Jodi Piccult (not sure of spelling) "my sisters keeper"
 
Yeah have to agree with Dan Brown.

"Deception Point" is a great read!

James Patterson is also one to look for!!
 
Hello, if you're interested in the Murder Mystery genre, PD James writes excellent stories, they are in the the classic style but very intelligent and very well drawn characters. She has one main detective: Adam Dalgliesh, any of the books featuring him are well worth a look.
 
The Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman is one of my recent favourties (it is a children's book but very good and good reading for adults too I think).

The Count of Monte Cristo is definitely in my top 10 all time greatest books - if you can read old books without getting annoyed with the language then you should try it.

I also read the Time Traveller's Wife recently and enjoyed it - it's often in bookshops as a 2 for the price of 3 offer (can never resist a bargain, have ended up reading some interesting books for no reason other than they were cheap. Admittedly have also ended up with some awful ones for the same reason!)

There's a literature forum on boards.ie with a few threads on things like best book you ever read/top 10 books/books you've always meant to read and so on - could also be good for some tips.
 
The inspector Linley series by Elizabeth George is quite good. You could also try the inspector Rebus series by Ian Rankin.
 
His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman.
Everything Chuck Palahniuk has written.

Dan Brown books are ok but they all really have the same type of plot. If you've read one you can guess who the goodies/baddies are in the other 3 by the end of the first chapter!

Million Little Pieces by James Frey

Just finished all the Ross O'Carroll Kelly books and was surprised to find I actually enjoyed them except the last one, which isn't great.

Also just finished a good one about Irish Crimes of Passion - it's in the non-fiction bestseller section of Hughes and Hughes.
 
I enjoyed http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books-uk&field-author=Tracy%2C%20P.J./026-0041978-4920444 (PJ Tracy's Want to Play & Live Bait) recently - US-based cops/murder stuff with a bit of hi-tech thrown in for good measure.
 
One of the books I read years ago and which stuck in my mind was "The Day After Tomorrow" by Allan Folsom (this is not the book of the film about global warming etc etc) - an excellent thriller and page turner. I also recently read three Robert Ludlum books, The Bourne Conspiracy, the The Bourne Identity and the Prometheus Deception which were very good and yet nice easy reading.

And for any scifi fans I have always loved Battlefield Earth by L Ron Hubbard (yes he of scientology infamy and yes the book was made into a terrible movie staring John Travolta as Terl) - I'm sure the writing is staid and the characters one dimensional but I just always loved the book for some reason - I think I have read it 11 or 12 times - It just goes to show there is no accounting for taste!!

Edit - I just saw Cahir's post on Dan Brown and I agree 100% - I would recommend reading at least one of his books but no more than that because they are all the same!
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802130208/102-8531979-0685745?v=glance&n=283155&v=glance (A Confederacy of Dunces) by John Kennedy Toole.
 
Frederick Forsyth-The Dogs of War, The Day of the Jackal, The Fourth Protacol, The Negotiator.
Glenn Meade-Brandenburg.
Colin Dexter-Inspector Morse murder mysteries.
I really enjoy reading anything by PJ O'Rourke.
 
Larry McMurtry`s "Lonesome Dove" is a great read.
A western that won the Pulitzer Prize.
The film is a pale shadow.
If you like it, read the sequel....and then the prequel....or any McMurtry book.
 
John Connolly - excellent. A bit gory, and I've really gone off gory stuff, but I really like the John Connolly Charlie Parker novels.

I also enjoyed the inspector Rebus series by Ian Rankin.

Iain Banks is GREAT - writes fiction and Sci-fi. Some weird fiction but very well written and hilarious - The Wasp Factory, Whit, Complicity.
 
I'll echo the recommendations for His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman, and A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, and the Chuck Palahniuk books (though I found his last one, Haunted, a bit tough going). Palahniuk wrote "Fight Club" upon which the movie of same name was based.

Others I would recommend -

Douglas Coupland (Microserfs and Generation X being the most famous)
Harjuki Murakami ("The Wind Up Bird Chronicles" being the place to start).
James Ellroy (LA Confidential being most famous)
Arthur Nersesian (fantastic american author whom I've never seen in Irish shops, but well worth the effort over amazon).

I also enjoy Richard Russo, Lawerence Block and Walter Mosley. But I would put these in the same "throw away" category as James Patterson, Dan Brown, James Herbert et al.
 
i would recommend James Pattersons books as they grip you from the start.
Kiss the girls, Along came a spider, roses are red etc.. all excellant murder mystery type books.

Also would recommend Elizabeth George but try to read them in sequence as the characters lives prgress through the series.

Also second the PD James reccomendation as very good,

Also just finished the "No. 1 Ladies dectective agency" by Alexander McCall Smith and it was very easty reading. Just started the second book. Wold be ideal reading for someone returning to reading as the chapters are small.

Also can REcommend "Micheal Connolly" as above. The Harry Bosch series in particular.
 
macshaned said:
and the Chuck Palahniuk books (though I found his last one, Haunted, a bit tough going).
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Really? I'd read all sorts about people fainting during the reading of the book so I was expecting something gruesome - I have to say I ended up disappointed by the tameness even though it's still a good book.
 
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