Help me with my Holiday list

I'm on the look out for some great books on history and the history of countries and the people from those countries. From Africa to Ireland. Also what is great for fiction?

Anything by John Jakes....

reply to post by tribewilder


For fiction? I would have to check him out. I'm interested in books about video games. Like Assassin's Creed and Halo. i would also enjoy to learn about Canada.

reply to post by Romantic_Rebel


fiction : the dark tower series by stephen king (most exellent read and a bit addicting and hard to put down), the dresden files series by jim butcher, anything put out by white wolf games studios fiction department (most highly recomended ), everything written by howard phillips lovecraft. his mythos series and its expansions by other authers. and his dreamlands works are masterpieces of science fiction and unknowable horror, j. d. salingers nine stories anthology very enjoyable and original styled work, the epic works of edger allen poe, the poems and prose of lord byron and keats just amazing works, the works of jules verne, the works of ray bradbury, and of course i must recomend whole heartedly the ancient mythologies of greece,sumeria,india,china, and the native americans while these could be argued over if they are or are not fiction i dont think it matters the material is wonderful, historic, and easily to get your hands on.

You should look into the Zombie Survival Guide By Max Brooks. Its a great read plus very helpful to have around in case of zombie apocalypse.

reply to post by Romantic_Rebel


Bill Bryson writes really great books about travelling to different places.

He's an American that lived in Britain for a long time and wrote a lot of books about the odd customs / places in Britain and they are really excellent. He;s also done books about Australia and Africa and probably many other places

Amazon Bill Bryson

reply to post by davespanners


I would have to check him out. Many of the recommended books are just to fake to me. I don't see why books about vampires, Stephen King and others appeal to so many. Maybe it's the poster? Fiction books are just to fake for me.

reply to post by Romantic_Rebel


I don't tend to read that much fiction either, I do have a lot of Terry Pratchett books though which I always enjoy.

reply to post by davespanners


That's cool homes. I recently purchased three books. Two on the issues and life of women and another about imperialism in Latin America. Crazed gringos run wild in my roots.

reply to post by Romantic_Rebel


As far as history goes, the two books I'd reccomend are River of Doubt by Candice Millard, which documents former United States president Theodore Roosevelt's journey down an uncharted river in the Amazon in 1912, and We Die Alone by David Howarth which documents the escape of Jan Baalsrud(a Norwegian expatriate commando) from pursuing Nazis after the ambush and slaughter of his combat unit in Nazi occupied Norway in 1943. Both are such thrilling and remarkable reads that I had trouble putting the books down and often I had to remind myself that what I was reading actually happened! Both are very powerful books.

For fiction, I would recomend The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. Jesuits sent to a distant planet where they encounter alien life and the darkside of existence. Need I say more? Also, check out The Road by Cormack McCarthy. His postapocolyptic story of a father and son struggling to survive in a dead world has also been made into a film(which I think compliments the book but is in no way superior). And of course, anything by Henry Miller.

Another worthy mention is Supernatural by Graham Hancock.(I'll let you decide if that falls into the fiction or non-fiction category.) In it, he manages to tie in ancient cave paintings, shamanic religions based upon hallucinogenic plants, fairy and alien abduction mythology, and modern experiments with '___' and '___'. By far one of the most engrossing and thought provoking books I've read this year.

Hope that helps. Needless to say, I read alot. PM me if you want further suggestions.