<p>the sun also rises is amazing</p>
<p>For some of my own input, I like Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels. I’m into detective stories. I really like Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.</p>
<p>I read Brave New World, which was an interesting read, though I don’t know that I’d say it was a good book. I’d recommend it to others, perhaps.</p>
<p>Does anyone else agree that the best novels have been written since 1900? I’m not sure if that’s just my opinion, the fact that the books are newer, or if it’s “true,” but I haven’t read a pre-1900 book that I’d want to read again.</p>
<p>Catcher in the Rye
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time
The Overachievers:The Secret Lives of Driven Kids (perfect for this site)</p>
<p>The Overachievers is absolutely amazing, and as mentioned before, perfect for this site.</p>
<p>I’m reading “An Intelligent Person’s Guide to Philosophy” right now and I absolutely LOVE it. However, if you’re looking for fiction, here are some recommendations:</p>
<p>-Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
-Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich
-The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
-The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
-Animal Farm by George Orwell
-Pan’s Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro (Okay, so this a movie, but it’s absolutely AMAZING. And it’s in Spanish, so you have to read the subtitles. Reading! Yay!)</p>
<p>Too bad. The original is always worth the effort, and frequently better than any translation.</p>
<p>Les Miserables by Victor Hugo is gorgeous and amazing. It is a life-changing book. read it! skatj, you are the only other person i’ve “met” that has read Les Mis!
Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath</p>
<p>currently, I’m reading A Portrait of A Lady by Henry James. Next up: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz.</p>
<p>^^
Haha, I’ve read Les Mis and I liked it…but it’s a bit hefty and, er, rambling (Waterloo, anyone? Paris Sewage System, pour vous?) at parts to be considered a pleasure read (for me). Plus Cosette annoyed me to no end 
But the overall story/message was incredible!
I am now working on it in French (it’s slow going -_-)</p>
<p>Um, some other books that might be good for pleasure (I don’t know if anyone</p>
<ul>
<li>Life of Pi by Yann Martel</li>
<li>Pearls Before Swine comic books (how light can you get there? But I love 'em…)</li>
<li>Harry Potter (I’m sure this one is obvious but I thought I’d just throw in my vote)</li>
<li>Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (joking, don’t worry :P)</li>
</ul>
<p>Damn, that’s all I can think of now…I haven’t read a “pleasure” book in too long :(</p>
<p>Reading The Age of Innocence right now and it’s pretty good.
Just finished Zadie Smith’s novels and she’s awesome–especially if you start reading her books right after finishing a Forster.</p>
<p>I’ve been trying to read The Feminine Mystique to improve my reading skills, but after a couple hundred pages I sure got the point… I have 100 pages left but I doubt I’ll finish it anytime soon.</p>
<p>Next on my reading list is Catch-22, Lolita (this time to understand it), and probably some short stories.</p>
<p>the forsyte saga, harry potter, labyrinth, jane eyre…
do you know the year in the merde? its also rgeat</p>
<p>If anyone is curious what kind of reading their parental units are into nowadays, check “the best book I read in the past 6 months” thread on the Parent Cafe board.</p>
<p>Ayn Rand, which I didn’t understand what all the fuss was about until recently (Atlas Shrugged OMGORZZZ!)</p>
<p>A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith</p>
<p>Some graphic novels are amazing too, such as Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman. </p>
<p>Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card . . . I don’t really like its sequels, though. </p>
<p>Currently reading Dune by Frank Herbert.</p>
<p>I second The Perks of Being a Wallflower.</p>
<p>I’m currently rereading Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami. It’s a wonderful book, even in translation, combining elements of Japanese culture, both traditional and modern, with a wonderful plot and sci-fi elements. Really a great read.</p>
<p>
Can I have a veto? I’ve read just about all of his well-known works (some in multiple translations), and his writing still makes my brain hurt. If you don’t find your eyes and your mind in totally different places when reading N, either you’ve been reading for no more than 30 seconds or you have super powers. ;)</p>
<p>Agree with Daniel12..instead find a copy of Plato’s ‘The Republic’..Jowett translation is **great<a href=“still%20reading”>/b</a></p>
<p>Other recent “fun” reads for me (can’t include interesting stuff…some of it is rather boring):
1984
Brave New World
Art Of War
Anthem
Atlas Shrugged
Cane River </p>
<p>Iliad is interesting but mega boring at points…</p>
<p>Other books mentioned in past posts that are good:
Animal Farm
Deception Point
Catcher in the Rye
To Kill a Mockingbird
An Intelligent Person’s Guide to Philosophy
America, The Book
I Am America, and So Can You!
Harry Potter books
Fountainhead</p>
<p>Kristin Lavransdatter is a classic and perfect for winter reading. It’s VERY long though, actually 3 books, based in the 1300’s in Norway and Sweden. Not light reading, certainly not Beach Reading, but absorbing.</p>
<p>Religious fiction: try Michael D. O’Brien’s Father Elijah. Excellent.</p>
<p>Finally I find more fans of Les Mis! I thought I was the only one. Whenever I urge my friends to read it, they look at me like I’m crazy (“It’s too long, bla bla bla”).</p>
<p>I also liked Animal Farm by George Orwell, Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, and Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas if you’re going for more “academic sounding” reads. Non-fancy books: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and Matilda by Roald Dahl (I know how ridiculous this sounds, but I’ve reread this so many times I have much of it memorized :P).</p>
<p>Loved Count of Monte Cristo.</p>
<p>Oscar Wilde’s plays? They’re typically short, sweet, and very amusing.</p>
<p>seconding teenage_cliche-- i’ve been on a big haruki murakami kick this year. his books are somewhat similar but (to me) doesn’t get tiring because they’re all really interesting. “after dark” is the most straight-up thrillerish, “norwegian wood” is the most…pensive? (and probably my fave).</p>
<p>You read Les Miserables for PLEASURE? I have a silent chuckle every time I see that on the shelf, and I think, “Who in their right mind would ever read that?”</p>
<p>Someone mentioned James Joyce, so I thought I’d read Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. As it turns out, I don’t have much of a reading attention span, like at all. I can’t get through more than one page without having to fight the temptation to put the book down.</p>