If you could recommend just ONE book or book series...

originally posted by: stosh64
a reply to: Sublimecraft
I have been wanting to read this.

I was not aware it was available in free pdf online.

THANK YOU!

Yes, good catch, I grabbed it too.

Thanks sublime!

If you havnt read Moby Dick
It's a great story on its own though it isn't just a story

Truly one of the greatest novels, surprised more people don't read it, a piece of historical documentation of a world long lost

a reply to: Raggedyman
And if you're looking for "worlds long lost", then Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi will be enthralling.

originally posted by: Raggedyman
If you havnt read Moby Dick
It's a great story on its own though it isn't just a story

Truly one of the greatest novels, surprised more people don't read it, a piece of historical documentation of a world long lost

Yes, I read it again last year in audio form and it was effortless and much more enjoyable than it was years ago.

a reply to: 02bmw76
Excellent book!

And a song to go with it.

Found the 1971 movie too.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: The Gulag Archipelago

"The Illluminatus Trilogy" by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea is a real gem.

originally posted by: MagnaCarta2015
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: The Gulag Archipelago

Yes, better to read this than his novels (he's better as an historian than as a creator of fictional characters).

a reply to: anxiouswens

Great book!

If you are into space opera, then I'd check out 'The Expanse' series by James S.A. Corey, at least the first three: Levianthan Wakes, Caliban's War, and Abbadon's Gate. There are two others (Nemesis Games and Cibola Burn), but I haven't yet worked my way through them yet.

If you want something denser, try The Quest for Cosmic Justice by Thomas Sowell which talks about the importance of defining terms when it comes to political ideologies and why we so often wind up arguing past each other.

Job a comedy of justice by Heinline

The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway

originally posted by: ketsuko
If you are into space opera, then I'd check out 'The Expanse' series by James S.A. Corey, at least the first three: Levianthan Wakes, Caliban's War, and Abbadon's Gate. There are two others (Nemesis Games and Cibola Burn), but I haven't yet worked my way through them yet.

If you want something denser, try The Quest for Cosmic Justice by Thomas Sowell which talks about the importance of defining terms when it comes to political ideologies and why we so often wind up arguing past each other.

The syfy TV series of 'The Expanse' is pretty good. It's gets better with each episode too.

Episode 4 has a Mars Navy gunship scene that is incredible and very reminiscent of BSG in look and feel.

My favorite book series lately is the Sevenwaters series by Juliet Marillier. First of all, the books are exquisitely written. Not much writing these days qualifies as literature; this does. Secondly, Marillier's handling of the subject matter (historical fantasy) is majestic. She renders the magick in her stories as magick would actually have been. It is hard to explain; she makes you believe in magick by her writing. Thirdly, this is because the author herself actually DOES believe in magick. Juliet Marillier is herself a practicing druid and therefore handles the subject with extreme realism and sensitivity. Absolutely beautiful!

Plus, you will develop an accurate historical understanding of the culture of Ireland and the British Isles prior to and during the introduction of Christianity. Reading her work will fill you with a deep respect for the pre-Christian pagan mindset.

Start with Daughter of the Forest.

a reply to: greencmp

Avasarala is SO much more interesting in the books.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: greencmp

Avasarala is SO much more interesting in the books.

I'll have to check it out, I generally try to watch any film adaptations before I read the source so I won't be disappointed.

a reply to: kosmicjack

After that, not sure, so....what do you think ATS?

I don't know why, but Taylor Caldwell's "Captains and the Kings: The Story of an American Dynasty immediately came to mind. It is set in the late 19th/early 20th centuries (written in the 70s I believe), during the robber baron days, when unions were gaining strength, in the run-up to WWI. I read it years ago, but if I remember correctly, it is eerily similar to issues we are dealing with today.

The more things change the more they stay the same! She consistently scores 4+/5 on Goodreads:

Taylor Caldwell Book List

If you ever read it, let me know what you think!

a reply to: kosmicjack

Just to be different: "The Captive Mind" by Czesław Miłosz. For a collection of pure wit in essay form: "The Prose Writings of Heinrich Heine" or Oscar Wilde's "intentions", which is the only book that sits on my night table. Many novels have changed my life, but they are personal.

Hmmm, I also really enjoyed Colleen McCullough's 'Rome' series. The First Man in Rome, The Grass Crown, Fortune's Favorites, Caesar's Women, Caesar, and The October Horse. They take you from the last days of the Roman Republic through the birth and rise of Caesar to his death and coronation of Octavian as the first Emperor.

The politics is fascinating with some scary parallels and you learn a lot about Rome. Still they are huge books, but very entertaining.

I have enjoyed a number of books through the years and some have already been mentioned. One in particular that made me laugh and made me angry is a series of books, a "Dekology", by L. Ron Hubbard. The Mission Earth series is both humorous as well as intellectually challenging, a story that examines human nature from top to bottom from an outside perspective. It covers issues from the violent nature of humans to environmental abuses and poverty. The Aliens are worse but seem to have learned from us...truly a good read.

You have enough books here to sate your appetite for a year or 4, but if you like humour and wit with a decent storyline Terry Pratchetts Discworld series is fantastic, I recommend reading in order of arcs, but I read them so jumbled and must have reread each a half dozen times :$ I am a huge fan, and advocate these books enormously, I don't know of any escapism written with such a human voice to date.

Also the Anne Rice vampire chronicles were pretty tasty, a good dose of humanism and philosophy if you like something more intangible and dark.