I have a lot myself, so feel free to throw out multiple entries. Just curious about what my fellow gamers read when not reading about games.
Anyhoo, to the topic at hand!
Hmm. I guess I'd have to say that in terms of non-fiction (as opposed to non-fantasy/sci-fi) that David Attenborough's various books and Geoffrey Regan's historical Blunders series are the ones I read time and again. Mostly it's natural history or military history in some guise. (Most of which gets applied right back into my games anyway!)
Specifically counting non-fantasy but fiction, it's mostly sci-fi (mainly popular like Star Wars, Star Trek and Stargate). Though I do have a certain affection still for the Three Investigators as a bit of light read, and the odd CSI novel (I've read Cadfael in the past, though not recently).
A couple of sci-fi books of particular note to me is Spacecraft 2000-2100 (or the newer 2100-2200 revision) by Stewart Cowley and Rip Foster Rides the Grey Planet. The former is basically a Jane's guide to spacecraft set in a relatively low-sci-fi future; the latter also low tech, but a boy's adventure story that must be a good 30-40 odd years old.
Spacecraft in particular has always held a special place in my soul as it speaks to me on so many levels. One, it's full of starships, which are genuniely one of the few things I drool and fanboy over; two it's written in such a marvellously textbook historical fashion and thirdly and probably most importantly it instills a great sense of mystery with the unknown alien vessels and ruins described at the back. The art really helps drive it in, but the writing is masterful; even after scads of years (my Dad's copy of the book is older than I am!), reading about the mysterious alien wreckage and bizarre encounters with unmanned spacecraft from an unknown alien race with equally unknown motives never fails to send a chill down my spine. Bloody marvellous.
So there you have it. Probably more than you wanted to know, but there you are!
The Stand by King
-- both are kind of iffy as fantasy.
david gerrold, he wrote the original script for "the trouble with tribbles." his series the war against the chtorr is excellent. a very well thought out attempt by an alien species to change earth to be more like their home planet.
me favorite author is robert heinlein. his best works are stranger in a strange land and the moon is a harsh mistress. he also wrote starship troopers, which is alot better than the movie.
for just a fun read, starwars, battletech, shadowrun, and the occasional FR books.
I greatly enjoyed the books by Jane Austen and Charles Dickens (note to self, acquire more Dickens books
) that I've read.If you're looking for something written less than 100 years ago, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden is also an excellent book.
In the genre of Sci-Fi I would recommend Ender's Game (by Orson Scott Card) and its sequels.
Battle Royale by Koushun Takami is pretty high on the list. It's the only one that I will list as a specific book since it is the only book by Takami I have read. The rest will have to be authors because I tend to pick one I like and then read everything I can find by that person. :D
Authors (in no particular order):
Brett Ellis
Chuck Palahniuk
Anthony Burgess
Joseph Heller
Kurt Vonnegut
Richard Adams
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Leo Tolstoy
Hunter Thompson
And probably more
I haven't read everything by these authors, but I have read a fair number of their works. I guess you could say I'm a sucker for the classics (old and new). And the disturbing. ;)
was a very good piece of work. ;)
This might get me looked at funny, but some of my faaaaavourite books are the Daily Show crew's America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction
Good book
Do the Science of Discworld books count as fantasy or not for purposes of favorite non-fantasy book?
Hemingway - Fiesta
Norman Mailer - The Naked and the Dead
Hunter S Thompson - The Rum Diary
Richard Yates - Revolutionary Road
Theodore Dreiser - Sister Carrie
Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness
China Meiville - Perdido Street Station (Actually, that counts as fantasy)
James Joyce - Dubliners
Raymond Carver - Collected Stories
Thats enough for now.
On War by Carl von Clausewitz
The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse by Jared Diamond
The Fall of the Roman Empire by Peter Heather
The Federalist by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay
The Story of Civilization (11 volumes) by Will and Ariel Durant
As examples
Of course most of that pales besides the hundreds of fantasy and sci-fi books I have read.
I Claudius and Claudius The God by Robert Graves
Anything by Will and Ariel Durant
The Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
To name a few.
The Inner Game of Fencing by Nick Evangelista.
I Claudius and Claudius The God by Robert Graves
Anything by Will and Ariel Durant
The Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
To name a few.
Did you ever read Goodbye To All That by Graves?
Oh, wait... it IS fantasy...
Let's say Paradise Lost...
Goodbye To Al That? I'll have to check that one out. Thanks Jimbo7987.
Brilliant account of his time as an officer in the First World War. Very moving if you're into that sort of thing.
Very cute story all around.
Of Mice and Men was probably the only book I read in school that I actually liked, however most everything I've read since then of my own accord has been round-about-fantasy (accept for A Gentleman's Game by Greg Rucka. I was a big Tolkien-nut a few years ago (and I just recently statted out the Witch-king, though he's a higher level than I would've liked), and my "to read" list includes The Modern Prometheus, The Princess Bride, and The Screwtape Letters.
Other books I've enjoyed:
- Catcher in the Rye
- American Psycho
- If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor
- Tom Stoppards: The Real Thing (technically a play, and I'll be playing Brodie in September, yay me!)
- Where the Wild Things Are (yes it's a children's book, but I still like it.)
- Shakespeare's: The Tempest (yes another play, but I've read it.. so :P)
EDIT: I would like to note, i enjoy translator notes on anything like this, the Qu'ran, the Hebrew Bible, and many, many others. There are just a TON of Study Bibles out there for the different Christian translations, and they tend to be slightly different, and very accessable. In no way do I support any one faith above another. Except that of Wee Jas. All hail the fallen Ruby Sorceress. May she rise again.
Loved "Armor" by John Steakley. Another action space opera.
Stephan King wrote, among others, "The Long Walk" and "The Running Man" as Richard Bachman. Although Schwarzenegger & co butchered the "Running Man", the book is so different that you might as well claim the movie was a remake of "The Fugitive" and you'd be more accurate. Read them both.
Yeagar: An Autobiography was very good.
The Damned series by Alan Dean Foster.
The Founding of the Commonwealth series by Alan Dean Foster.
The Pip and Flinx series by Alan Dean Foster.
Aesop's Fables.
Warriors of God: Saladin and Richard the Lionheart in the Third Crusade(nonfiction).
The Orgin of Species by Charles Darwin.
The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins.
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins(He isn't very civil to his opposition however. Just a warning)
-Elric
-Short Stories and Poems by E. A. Poe
-Lovecraftian Horror stories
-The German fantasy author Markus Heitz
-Books on Warfare (Sun Zu, Clausewitz, Montgomery, etc.)
Wow... I just realized how much of a cliché I must be^^.
Latest books in my stack:
The Candy Bombers, about the Berlin Airlift. Possibly America's 'Finest Hour' in the best sense of that phrase.
Nameless Cults, a collection of Cthulhu Mythos stories by Robert E. Howard.
The Orthodox Church, by Timothy Ware. An overview - historical and current - of the Orthodox churches.
Some favorite non-SF/F books over the years:
The Gift of Fear. Ways to be aware of risky situations and protect yourself, including the importance of paying attention to subconscious cues which warn of danger.
Mind of the Maker. A meditation on the Holy Trinity as echoed in the workings of an author's mind.
Death on a Friday Afternoon. A meditation on the last words of Christ on the cross.
The Tenth Good Thing About Barney. A children's book, dealing with the death of a beloved pet.
*Yawn*
*Bump!*
Whoa. Talk about some serious necrothread action.
Catch 22 is, for my money, probably the best book i've ever read. That or Brothers Karmizov.
Seeing as the Zombithread has arisen, I'll respond.
For books, nothing beats White Fang by Jack London. Close runners up would be the Phaze, Xanth, Tarzan of the Apes, and John Carter or Mars series by Piers Anthonys (the first two) and Edgar Rice Burroughs (the second two).
My favoritest of all series: The Dark Tower series by Stephen King - It has fantasy fiction, science fantasy, horrer, and western elements. To it's not entirely "fantasy" which means it still counts. So there.
the zombie survival guide. was a very good piece of work. ;)
Kind of gimmicky, but I like it too.
Whoa. Talk about some serious necrothread action.
Catch 22 is, for my money, probably the best book i've ever read. That or Brothers Karmizov.
You, sir or madam, have excellent taste. Both of those make any list of favorite books I feel compelled to post.
What's your favorite non-fantasy book? I have a lot myself, so feel free to throw out multiple entries. Just curious about what my fellow gamers read when not reading about games.
The Rogue Squadron series is probably still my favorite book series. Jurassic Park is pretty good to read to.
Death on the Nile by good ol' Agatha Christie
"The Last Temptation" by Nikos Kazantzakis, 'The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco and "Long John Silver: the True and Eventful History of My Life of Liberty and Adventure As a Gentleman of Fortune and Enemy to Mankind" by Bjorn Larsson
The books on the Change: H. M. Stirling
Timeline: Micheal Crichton
Jurassic Park: Micheal Crichton
Two of my other favorites: Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut and Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (and no, I don't empathise with the character Holden Caufield).
Two of my other favorites: Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut and Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (and no, I don't empathise with the character Holden Caufield).
You don't happen to have a John Lennon obsession, do you?
I really liked Slaughterhouse 5 (and most of Vonnegut's stuff - truth be told) but I never bothered with Catcher in the Rye. I wonder if I ever will ...
To the post above, which is still surprisingly up-to-date, I must add my single favourite book by now: Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad. And seriously, before commenting on it, read it entirely - I was tempted to lay it aside after 3/4ths of it, but didn't, and it's only those relevant two pages that make the entire book so utterly awesome.
On a side note, I have recently read an interesting treatise dubbed World War IV, by a certain Mr. Norman Podhoretz, I believe. Very technical and a lot drier than the publicism I usually like to read, but a thorough, well-researched book nonetheless.
The War of the World is quite simply awesome if you have the time, patience and interest to tackle this magnum opus. By the British Historian Niall Fergusson, it basically puts all the wars of the late XIXth and the XXth century into perspective as one long decline of civilization. A bit bleak, maybe, and sometimes ponderous to read, but quite excellent.
I've seen Heart of Darkness pimped quite a few times. I'll have to check it out eventually. Maybe after I finish Faulkner.
Speaking of Faulkner, I just finished Sanctuary. An interesting book but one I had trouble getting into at first. His style bothered me, but I got used to it. I'll certainly read more (As I Lay Dying might be next), but I'm still uncertain whether or not I'll name myself a fan.
Two of my other favorites: Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut and Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (and no, I don't empathise with the character Holden Caufield).
You don't happen to have a John Lennon obsession, do you?I really liked Slaughterhouse 5 (and most of Vonnegut's stuff - truth be told) but I never bothered with Catcher in the Rye. I wonder if I ever will ...
Nope. I don't even like the Beatles that much (I respect them for being important etc. etc.).
Also, If you are talking to someone about books, and they say that they really identified with Holden and thought that he represented them in the book, WALK AWAY DO NOT BEFRIEND THIS PERSON.
Nope. I don't even like the Beatles that much (I respect them for being important etc. etc.).
Also, If you are talking to someone about books, and they say that they really identified with Holden and thought that he represented them in the book, WALK AWAY DO NOT BEFRIEND THIS PERSON.
The Lenon thing was a Mark David Chapman reference. He wanted to model his life after said Holden dood. I assume you're familiar with the link?
I finished Faulkner's Sanctuary yesterday and needed to get a new book. So, I went to Borders and purchased As I Lay Dying and Conrad's Heart of Darkness. I'm not sure which I'll read first, but I'm leaning towards the Faulkner. Since I'm still undecided about whether or not I'm a fan, I figure I'll offer a second audition of sorts. Conrad will likely be a one-shot (technically two since the book also includes The Secret Sharer) so I'll probably wait to read it. It was only $5 so I really couldn't pass it up.
Hey Zb. Have you read any Jim Butcher yet?
Good stuff. I like both of his book series so far.
Hey Zb. Have you read any Jim Butcher yet?
Good stuff. I like both of his book series so far.
I'm not terribly interested in fantasy/sci-fi much any more. I have meant to read some Pratchett and Lovecraft at some point down the road, though. After all, I can't read the stuff/authors I'm reading forever. I'll add Butcher to the list of authors to check out down the road. To be quite honest, once I'm finished with Faulkner (I just started so it'll be a bit), I've not got much in the way of an idea of what direction I'm going to take my reading. I may go back and read some more Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Nabokov and Burgess. I may not. At that point, sci-fi/fantasy may be a good 'reset' of sorts. I'll keep the recommendation in mind. Thanks.
cool. I've not read any of those authors hehe. Maybe I'll give one a shot.
They're what some may consider 'heavy reading'. While not terribly difficult to 'get', they're certainly not for everyone. I like a li'l work when I read, I guess. I also want to be impressed. The names I listed - as well as many others - impress me.
I remember when I was in training at my last job. I was reading Anna Karenina at the time and had it on my desk. A woman in my class noticed the book and asked me if it was for school. Heh. She was a bit surprised, to say the least, when I informed her that I was not being compelled to read the book for credit but that it was what I considered a pleasant diversion.
They're what some may consider 'heavy reading'. While not terribly difficult to 'get', they're certainly not for everyone. I like a li'l work when I read, I guess. I also want to be impressed. The names I listed - as well as many others - impress me.
I remember when I was in training at my last job. I was reading Anna Karenina at the time and had it on my desk. A woman in my class noticed the book and asked me if it was for school. Heh. She was a bit surprised, to say the least, when I informed her that I was not being compelled to read the book for credit but that it was what I considered a pleasant diversion.
I can't help it. When I read I tend to read a book almost non stop until it is completely read. Very few books exist that I actually sit down, read for a little while and then close the book for the day. Usually when they do they are incredibly word heavy.
I used to read that way. Now I read only during my lunch breaks at work. I still get a surprising amount of reading done. I do read a li'l at home, too, but that's stuff like magazines. I save the real stuff for my job. It's a nice escape, ya' know?
I used to read that way. Now I read only during my lunch breaks at work. I still get a surprising amount of reading done. I do read a li'l at home, too, but that's stuff like magazines. I save the real stuff for my job. It's a nice escape, ya' know?
very much so. I'd take D&D books into work all the time.
I've read a few D&D novels at work in my time. Don't read 'em too much anymore, though. I used to bring my PHB and stuff to work when I DMd, too. The last time I DMd I just did the work at home, though. Lookin' back, I wish I spread some of that out to breaks at work, too.
So randomly? Today I lent out my copies of Monstrous Regiment and Wee Free Men to my SO's mother. I think she'll get a kick out of 'em. Though apparently she's one of those weird people that'll take more then a day to read a book.
It's not my favorite book, but I recently read this book and it entertained me for about a week.
Haven't really read all that many Non-fantasy books myself, but The Call of the Wild by Jack London was a good one (hehe... I have a book called The Collected Jack London- it has all of his works in one big book).
My favorite series is the Bartimaeus Trilogies- fantasy, but still good...
I just finished Duma Key by Stephen King. It was pretty good. I don't have another book lined up, unfortunately. I tend to enjoy less heavy reading right now, since I read in spurts when I can get away from my son for a bit.
I'm sorry, I thought this was a thread about what we were currently reading.
... did I just apologize for being off-topic? WTF?
I'm going to start reading the C Reference Manual (5th Edition) once it comes in. While I doubt I'll end up reading it cover to cover, I'm going to end up going over large parts of it to make sure our implementation is correct.
I'm currently reading As I Lay Dying. I had hoped to solidly determine whether or not I'm a fan of Faulkner by now. Sadly, I can't be sure just yet. While I have found his stuff entertaining thus far, I have also found that his style can occasionally annoy me. I'll probably still end up reading every book he's written (that's what I do and he's not terrible), though.
I hardly ever read non-fantasy books...
Gotta love Terry Pratchet though; trying to read the whole Discworld series (they are really funny)
Read Dune a while ago; but that's probably more science fiction.
I can't even remember the last non-fantasy/SF book I read. Usually don't like them either, so that probably explain why I can't remember.
Couple of favorites of mine:
Good Omens
The Social Contract and Discourses
Black Boy
The Odyssey
Superfudge
Maniac McGee
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell