What do you like to read ???

[Elen Sentier]

Wondering what folks like to read?

I read some bushcraft stuff (just finished The Ultimate Hang) but enjoy fiction, mystery stuff particularly and really good sci/fi (like Ursula le Guin) or Mary Stewart's mystery/romances. Need really good characters, striking plot that makes me turn the pages and lots of "show not tell".

What about you?

 

[Niels]

I like thrillers. I loved first family by David Baldacci. And I've read a couple of Dan Brown books I liked. (Dutch translations that is.)
When I was younger I read the chonicles of Narnia a lot. I read all seven of them at least 3 times.

 

[Goatboy]

Hi Elen,
As a kid it was encyclopedias, how to books, natural history, history and Greek legends and classics. Still read a lot, usually a few books on the go at a time. (even with the kindle). Fiction I like Terry Prattchet, Christopher Brookmyre (wickedly evil sense of humour), Jasper Fforde (just unbelievably smart writting), Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir (Destroyer series - Cheap formulaic pulp novels but a lot of fun). Still read a lot of history books, with a leaning towards military history. Though some of the fictional history like the muck about Willaim Wallace just bugs me. Factual books and periodicals like New Scientist tie together my interest from different fields which I like as I feel it's the cross pollination of ideas from different fields that make the greatest discoveries. (A reason I like it here on BBUK). Only sometimes hit the biographies and it's got to be someone entertaining and worthwhile ( David Niven got me started, then Peter Ustinov but I feel a 21 year old who's appeared on Pop Idol won't throw me much enjoyment so avoid.) Though basically I'll read most things knowledge and the classics are still up there with the best forms of entertainment and escape.

 

[John Fenna]

Recent reads have been everything from childrens classis to Jasper Ford, Pratchet to Glob, Brookmayer to Kephart.
Wide ranging - but it has to be well written or it is dumped fairly quickly!

 

[JohnC]

Just finished the Sten series, quite like Scifi

 

[Elen Sentier]

Pratchet's another very good writer although his plots never quite do it for me. But you've given me some new stuff to try out - Brookmayer, Kephart and Jasper Fforde - none of whom I've read yet so just got samples of each on my Kindle to see how I like them. Definitely one of the advantages of kindle, you can read a bit before you buy to see it's your cup of tea

 

[Goatboy]

Elen, you've probably read him but I love Dick Proenekke's writtings as they have a wonderfull turn of phrase and relax and inspire at the same time.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Mans-Wi...UTF8&qid=1367235694&sr=8-1&keywords=proenneke

 

[HillBill]

I read all sorts. Factual stuff for the most part, i've always been into history so lots is related to that, military history got me into it. Recently (past few years) i've been more into early civilisations. Like reading science stuff sometimes too.

When it comes to novels.... i like historical fiction/ fantasy. Bernard Cornwell is probably my favourite author, but i also like David Gemmell and Conn Iggledun. Dan browns not bad either, but his short chapters annoy the hell out of me...... good for busy people though who can only read for short periods at a time. Me, i like to read a book straight through. So tend to finish most books in a day.

I've read many of the outdoors/bushy related stuff. Some of it can be quite hard to read, given the difference ini writing style and language as a whole back when they were written.

 

[santaman2000]

Magazines:
-The American Rifleman
-Guns & Ammo
-AOPA Pilot
-Field & Stream
-Boys Life (The Boy Scouts magazine)
-Readers' Digest
-Popular Mechanics
-Popular Science

Fiction:
-Various Sci Fi
-Various war novels
-Anything by John Grisham
-or Alistair Maclean
-or Louis L'amour
-The Classics:
--Anything by Edgar Rice Burroughs
--or Arther Conan Doyle
--Swiss Family Robinson (as a child)
--The Long Trail North
--All the Brains Benton mysteries
--Agatha Christie
--Rascal (by Stirling Notrh)
--The Wolfling (also by Stirling North)
--anything by Mark Twain

Non Fiction:
-The Bible
-History
-Assorted how-to books

Children's books to my grandson

 

[Dave]

Different stuff. I jump about all over the place.
My parents had a large collection of books. House was always covered in em.
Grew up on Sci-fi and fantasy, Asimovs foundation series, Heinlen, all those 50's sci fi magazine writers, plus Terry Brooks, Tolkein, Piers Anthony and CS Lewis. Nowadays, pulp or trash fiction to Hemingway, Miller, Orwell, but mainly have a love/hate relationship with all authors.
Russians, solzhenitsyn's Ivan Denisovich, great novel, but not a fan of the others I've read.
Dostoevskys Crime and Punishmnet, thumbs up, but Brothers Karamazov gets a pass.
LE carre. Spy who came in from the cold. great novel. his other stuff. Ok, but not for me.
Some Cult novels. Not a fan of the classic english writers like George Elliot. Find Dickens to be too dense.......and a lot of the classics like Proust etc, unreadable. If Im reading fiction, I want to enjoy it. Some booker stuff. I find it harder now to 'fall' into a novel than I did when I was younger.
Marguerite Yourcenars Memoirs of Hadrian just popped into my head. Good Read.

Read a couple of Mankells Wallanders recently, reread androids, by Philip K dick, Some Ballard, cant get into George RR Game of thrones stuff, but lovin the TV series.[ Dan Brown cant write for s**t] As a teenager read a lot of those cold war novels, like Craig Thomas.
Non fiction, all sorts.
Plus I get given national geographic from a 92 year old friend of the family, once he's read them....

I'd recommend to you Elen, The Morality Play by Barry Unsworth.

 

[Man of Tanith]

Emberverse is a favourite.
Games workshop warhammer 40k sci fi.
Old journals like samuel hearne.
Biographies.
Most things will get a go. But I'll bin it (occasionally literally) if I cant get into it

 

[Biker]

Mostly Sci-fi for me. Robert Heinlein's my fav in that genre and I stick with authors once I find a good one, it's too much like a gamble to move onto another in the hopes of finding that ruby in a mountain of rocks. As MOT said above the Emberverse series of books is also rather good by S.M. Stirling. I'm so glad I was recommended those. I like Fantasy as well and David Gemmel is good as was David's Eddings Belgariad series, the sequel series wasn't so hot though

Of late I've been reading some historical books about WW2. I've just finished Pacific which had been made into a 10 part series along the lines of Band of Brothers. It was superb! The book is more factual as you'd expect and as enjoyable. I'll be starting on Band of Brothers later next month. I need something light to read for some variety.

I like a good thriller too. Like Dave said I read all that Dan Brown had produced but I found it to be over-rated, he's OK, kinda clever, but also rather predictable. I could name several authors I enjoy but my Kindle's not close by to copy over a list of them, sorry. Clive Cussler is good for a rip roaring adventure, but you need to suppress your whopping great coincidence gland when reading his stuff as his fiction sometimes beggars belief.

There are several threads here at BCUK about books and I always enjoy looking in to see what people read.

 

[sandbender]

Anything that Cormac McCarthy puts down on paper, it is a pity that 'The Road' is as popular as it is, I think that it is one of his lesser works. Far better would be 'The Border Trilogy', three books which stand alone but that are probably best read in order.

I have never traveled in Texas or Mexico, but those books made me fall in love with the land.

 

[Corfe]

Anything that Cormac McCarthy puts down on paper, it is a pity that 'The Road' is as popular as it is, I think that it is one of his lesser works. Far better would be 'The Border Trilogy', three books which stand alone but that are probably best read in order.

I have never traveled in Texas or Mexico, but those books made me fall in love with the land.

I second that. 'Blood Meridian' is one of the most violent and beautiful books I've ever read.

 

[sandbender]

I second that. 'Blood Meridian' is one of the most violent and beautiful books I've ever read.

Violent? The word isn't strong to convey the horror that can be found in that book, but beautiful, oh yes.

“The jagged mountains were pure blue in the dawn and everywhere birds twittered and the sun when it rose caught the moon in the west so that they lay opposed to each other across the earth, the sun whitehot and the moon a pale replica, as if they were the ends of a common bore beyond whose terminals burned worlds past all reckoning.”

 

[British Red]

I'll agree with "Emberverse" by SM Stirling - at least the first three in the series - an truly great page turner - love, lust violence, swords, bushcrafty bits, eben a puukko - what's not to like?

I always think of Toddy as "The MacKenzie"

 

[Man of Tanith]

The rest of the series is good too Red.
Lisa knows she has lost me once i start the first one until ive read all of them back to back.
Already starting to wear the first ones out

 

[British Red]

I've got the rest - it all got a bit silly in the Nantucket quest for me

 

[Lister]

My favorite authors are Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler and Colin Forbes.

 

[_mark_]

I am currently reading Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine De Saint-Exuprey, I can't remember ever having been so moved by a book.