Your favourite authors?(recommend books!)

[fungi]

i dont know if this topic may be considered similar to this http://www.jay-chou.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=177588#177588 so mods, lock this if you see fit. :happy:

i've got a 7 to 8 month break before heading off to uni, and really would just like to spend most of my time reading this break, but i just cant find good books. when i go to the bookstore or the library, i'm greeted with a sea of authors and titles, and i really dont wanna waste time randomly taking one and reading the synopsis to see if the plot interests me. anyone has a good author or good books to recommend? especially those that are really obscure?

these are just a few of my favourites:

jeffery archer(especially kane and abel and the prodigal daughter)
a book called sybil by flora rheta schreiber(true story of a girl with 16 personalities)
first person plural by cant remember his name(another book about multiple personality disorder)
doomsday conspiracy by sidney sheldon
ken sarowira(this african activist who died trying to fight for one of his causes, writes mostly satires)

[cmy_185]

i'm a romance novel freak.. so can't recommend something that u like..:) but if u'd like to read some romance...

i need to go to novel house soon too. gonna rent loads of books! can somebody recommend more Romance Novels to me? hehe, i don't wanna look at those M&B anymore.
my favourite authors are

Jude Deveraux ( any story on The Montgomery and Taggert Families are very nice )
Judith McNaught ( Once and always, Whitney My Love, Something Wonderful)
Nora Roberts ( Trilogy : Sea Swept, Rising Tides, Inner Harbor , the MacGregor stories , Daring to dream, holding the dream,Finding the Dream)
J.D Robb ( she's nora roberts, but with this pen name, she rights those murder stories.. with a touch of romance )
Catherine Coulter
Barbara Taylor Bradford ( Voice of the Heart )

and i've read most of their books. so i wanna look for other books, that have similar writing style.. funny, romantic ..


another author i really like is Sue Townsend. her books are hilarious. especially the Adrian Mole series! i read it when i was 14.. but i think i'll still find it funny now..hehe. check out
The Adrian Mole Diaries : The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 : The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole

teens might like to read it. :)

[kahel]

I'm a bibliophile. :wink2:

I recommend...
Neil Gaiman The whole Sandman Series, Neverwhere, Coraline, American Gods
Milan Kundera The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Identity
Jostein Gaardner The Solitaire Mystery, Maya
Chuck Palahniuk Fight Club

[cinsin]

All the authors and books you guys recommended are too intellectual for me.
I still read children books. Well not really childrens books but young adult books.
I recommend Gretel Killeen - My Life is a Toilet (it's hilarious)
and Lemmoney Snicket - A Series of Unfortunate Events

[ker_ai_teresa]

you're so fortunate fungi, to have so much time up your sleeve for leisure reading...i use to have that time back when i was still in high school....

hmmm, don't know whether you would be interested, but i'm more into thriller/horror/supernatural type books. here are some recommendations anywayz.

Stephen King - esp. Firestarter, Carrie, Desperation, The Green Mile, 'Salem's Lot, Christine.....and many more.

John Grisham - his books are all law thrillers, very easy to read and get into coz he gets to the point very early on in his books. plus you don't need to be a law professional to understand what's going on. The Partner and The King of Torts are really good.

Anne Rice - specialises in stories about vampires and witches. her Vampire Cronicles is a must read. it includes Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Vestat, and others.

oh, and have you read Lord of the Rings yet? :happy:

[panda_shine]

I use to read a lot too until I went to high school and have been way too busy but I still manage to read during holidays (summer, winter break..). I am currently reading Nicholas Spark's Bend in the Road and it's pretty good.

Some authors I recommend:
Nicholas Sparks: mostly romancey, life stories/drama type novels (He wrote Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, The Rescue)
VC Andrews: complicated romance relationship (The End of the Rainbow, Hidden Jewel...)
And I also recommend The Lovely Bones although some people didn't find the book good but I personally found it quite sad. (I almost cried and I've never cried reading a book x_x)

[Fontane1212]

Personally, i like to read autobiographies. Below are some of my favourites and which I would recommend u to read:

1. LA PRISONNIERE by Malika Oufkir and Michelle Fitoussi. This is a true story about the life of Malika, who, at the age of nineteen, was imprisoned with her mother and five younger brothers and sisters in an isolated desert jail after her father made an unsuccessful attempt to assinate the King of Morocco. They were imprisoned for fifteen years until finally, they managed to dig a tunnel with a spoon to escape...

2. FALLING LEAVES by Adeline Yen Mah...an autobiography of the author - its mostly about her painful childhood .

If you want some light-hearted reading, try:

DIARY OF ADRIAN MOLE AGED 13 1/2 - This is my absolute favourite! Its soooo funny.

[Jerria]

i'm a fan of children novels.....lol sound a bit funny but they give me a good reason to imagime fun stuffs:

JK Rowling!!! Yes i cant deny it Harry Potter series are the best ones i've ever read...

GP Taylor..i've just started to read his book, Shadowmancer ...its pretty good though...

Well, i've just started to pay attetion on books so i don kno much about author...i guess this thread would be a good info center for me...hehe

[moonsilk]

I like to read chinese story bks...

I think jin yong and chiong yao rockz esp chiong yao....

Sometimes i can cry aft reading her bks...who can forget bout huan zhu ge ge?

[cici bebe]

Well for those interested in Asian point of view, definitely check out..

Amy Tan (Bonesetter's Daughter, Joy Luck Club, 1000 Senses, Kitchen God's Wife, more.)

Maxine Hong Kingston (Trickmaster Monkey, Woman Warrier, more.)

[vunsin]

I like many authors:

VC Andrews (have all her books) - Weird and sad family relationships, many of which are borderline incestous somehow. I cried reading some of her books.

Amy Tan (have all her books) - Chinese American culture based on personal experiences. Not exactly autobiographies, just ideas based on her experiences in identity development as an AA.

John Grisham (have all his books) - Legal mysteries. Very cool! Very intelligent! Very brilliant! :happy:

Sidney Sheldon (have most of his books) - I haven't seen any recent work from him. Mysteries, suspense. Uses simple words and sentences but brilliant ideas.

There's more but those I've mentioned are my favorites.

[Viv]

I highly recommend S.E.Hinton but I think only for people around my age...

We had to read "The Outsiders" in english class and wow...it made me cry. I never thought a school book would make me cry so hard.

Other than "The Outsiders" S.E.Hinton has written more books called "That was then, This is now" and "Rumblefish"

All of them are quite good. :)

Oh~ and also Phillip Pullman (i think that's how u spell it...) His trilogy called "His Dark Materials". Oh those are some awesome books. He also wrote "I was a rat!" but I've never read that one...

[Shari Fantasy]

jay_lover_4lyf, I totally agree with you. 'The Outsiders' rox!!

Well, I recommend Christopher Pike's books, especially the 'Remember Me' trilogy. They're GOOD. And something I don't get - is 'To Kill a Mockingbird' THAT bad? People seem to treat it as a book for lit only... I feel that it's real good. Call me weird. I don't care.

JK Rowling, Meg Cabot, Nicholas Sparks, Timothy Zahn (The Star Wars trilogy about Mara Jade), George Lucas, Stephen King, Carrie Asai and Eoin Colfer are good authors too, to me anyway.

[Donny]

Shari, JK Rowling? wo~O! you never miss that out, didn't you?

yah~! Stephen King is gd(*highly recommend), and besides that, John Grisham, though is been a long time since i buy his books.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, perhaps? though kinda out dated, and i believe that everyone had read of sherlocks holmes, but its still fun to read it. the whole series of the adverture.

Fungi, are you really that free? wo~O! how envy i am. after this month, i'm goin for a huge war for a dame whole yr! i'l be soooooo busy... can't even sign in here that often anymore. *sigh*

[fungi]

Fungi, are you really that free? wo~O! how envy i am. after this month, i'm goin for a huge war for a dame whole yr! i'l be soooooo busy... can't even sign in here that often anymore. *sigh*

haha yea, i just finished my A levels.

hmm.. nicholas sparks, judith mcnaught and nora roberts.. i've read some of their works, dont really fancy them though cuz they are usually saccharine sweet love stories with hardly any plot.

vunsin, i agree that sidney sheldon has brilliant ideas and plot. his stories are usually very engaging. the only gripe i have about him is that there are too many sex scenes in his books that are usually carnal and vulgar. the language can get really crude too.

[s2]

Anna Quindlen[list:fb2ed4f49b]- One True Thing
- Black & Blue [/list:u:fb2ed4f49b]
They are both very deep books. She's a very good writer which makes you look at your own life and rediscover the TRUE things in life that you take for granted. Very very good books. :) They're part of Oprah's Book club!! I did them as study texts at school and were the only books i ever liked writing an essay about.

[Donny]

Fungi, A level? gd for you. A level is in... what? sec 4? i'm takin sec4 english next yr.Spm too, in the same horrible yr. GBM!!!

there are too many sex scenes in his books that are usually carnal and vulgar. the language can get really crude too.
hey~ English books and novels are like that. what can we do? mayb Asian Books will do for you, but Western books are more wavy and attractive to read. as for the s** part, skip that!

s2, Black&Blu3? Bsb you mean? just joking. yah~ i'v read One_True_Thing before, i think. its gd. yah~

[Das Le Epi]

My favorite books are Fight Club and Catch-22. Both are pretty amusing, though Fight Club takes a pretty dark tone to it. It's sort of a love it / hate it book, I only read it once so I am not quite sure if I should take such a definate stance on it, but when I read it I was seriously in love. Although, when I watched the movie that it was based on (Brad Pitt!!) for the third time, I wasn't so enthralled.

I had actually read another book by Palahniuk (auther of Fight Club), Choke, I wasn't so swayed. It was alright, there were some great quotes from it, but I just left the book feeling quite disturbed. There are other books by Palahniuk too, although I am not really sure if I want to pursue them.

Catch - 22 was just so wonderfully written, although I never really took note of the author and searched for his other work so I am not sure about him.

[kahel]

My favorite books are Fight Club and Catch-22. Both are pretty amusing, though Fight Club takes a pretty dark tone to it. It's sort of a love it / hate it book, I only read it once so I am not quite sure if I should take such a definate stance on it, but when I read it I was seriously in love. .

I love that book too! :D the one-liner paragraphs are the higlights of the book. and the i-am-jacks was pretty creative. :wink2:

I've read "Invisible MOnsters" and Palahniuk, was well consistent with his dark writing.

[polaris^^]

i just bought John Marsden's "While I Live" (the ellie chronicles) and im up to the 6th chapter ^^. you guys should read his "Tomorrow when the war began" series. they're excellent ^^. can't put his books down. can't wait for more of his ellie chronicles to come out ^^. haha and thanks for all these recommendations of books...now i have a selection of books to read for the holidays!

[Shanhaigirl]

I want to share with you my love for Japanese authors!
Haruki Murakami
Kendzaburo Oe
Misima Yukio
Kavabata Yasunari, etc.
All of their books are terrific, and really make you think.
My fav is Murakami and Misima Yukio. Have anyone read their books? I just finished reading "Dance dance", you really get to know a lot about Japanese culture from these books.

[kahel]

My fav is Murakami and Misima Yukio. Have anyone read their books? I just finished reading "Dance dance", you really get to know a lot about Japanese culture from these books.

I've read one Murakami book. I had to reread a couple of pages from that book before I finally get it. :laughing: His writing style is very interesting.

I'll check out those other Jap authors once I get the money to buy books.

Books are really expensive. :cry:

[Shanhaigirl]

Yeah, you are right! Books are expensive!
And here i have to buy books in English( 'cause i'm not that good in Chinese to read in it) and they are awfully expensive, so can't buy a lot and therefore can't read a lot :(
i borrowed a couple of books in Russian from my friend though, luckily he likes Murakami :)
I guess i should have my parents send me some books from Moscow :)

[macdawn]

Hey, I am the huge, huge sucker for books, and the bookstore is my favorite place..... I've spent so much time in Border, Kinokuniya, and Popular Bookstore, that I do wish I had bought stock in Borders and Kinokuniya....... :laughing:

For english books, I prefer the ficition section, with special 'specialisation' in detective mysteries. In the more recent times, I have gravitated towards books of the same series. ..... I have and would recommend:

Lilian Jackson Braun : The Cat who.... series
The series include
-"The Cat Who Could Read Backwards"
-"The Cat Who Came for Breakfast"
-"The Cat Who Turn Off and On"
The series is about how this journalist, Jim Qwilleran, solves mysteries with the help of a very smart Siamese cat, Koko

Selma Eichler: Murder Can ... series
The series includes
-"Murder Can Ruin Your Looks"
-"Murder Can Upset Your Mother"
-"Murder Can Rain On Your Shower"
This is a delightful series about this not-so skinny PI, Desiree Shapiro, and how she solves cases. The tone in this series is light-hearted and entertianing....

Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain: The Murder, She Wrote... series
I think I don't need to elaborate too much on this series...

Sue Grafton: Alphabet series
I thought the title to this series is rather interesting, as they are all following the alphabet, they include
-"A is for Alibi"
-"B is for Burglar"
The latest one should be "Q is for Quarry"

Chiese books I like Wu Dan Ru, and Wu Rou Quan..... but they are not of any particular series, cos they write more short stories....

I have lots more.... but I would be boring you all.... hee hee :bleh:

-MacDawn

[beach gurl]

macdawn - your favorite authors are eerily similar to my eldest sister !She's got all the cats and the alphabets series !What are your other fav. writers, post - post !

I'm also the series lover, for mysteries it's Patricia Cornwell. Her earlier series - up to 2/3 books from the latest one are better. Prior to her, I like reading Mary Higgins Clark and John Grisham, but after Cornwell, all the mysteries feels so mild in comparison.

For lighter and heartwarming reading, Mitch Alborn is good. I never finish Tuesday with Morrie but just finish 5 People you Meet in Heaven, which makes you ponder about 'after life' for the moment !

For romance and laughters (forget the author) :
-Knight in Shining Armor
-Nobody's baby but mine

My latest catch is Michael Chabon. I had just stock 3 of his books : Kavalier and Clay (Pulitzer winner), Wonder Boys and The Mysteries of Pittsburgh.
The praises are great !

[maria85]

I'm not much of a reader actually, I'm reading Bridget Jones's Diary at the mo. Yeah, it has something to do with my HUGH GRANT infatuation. Will be thinking of getting some Nick Hornby books as well. Heh. Here's what I can introduce, since I havent read as much as i did since ......well, i dont read much.

but this year, i started and its great. So, here's recccomeding:

-Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist
-Mitch Albom - The five people you meet in heaven

or..chick-lit sort of books like:

-Jane Green - Spellbound

[kahel]

maria, Nick Hornby's books are interesting. He has this musical pop-culture view of everything. :D I highly recommend "about a boy", if you haven't read it and just saw the movie, and "high fidelity", a really good breakup book.

[bee]

i've been a major book worm since 4th grade, and i have almost 600 (sucks, my sis has over 1200)

i like the book, The Accidental Asian by Eric Liu

-Phillip Pullman, His Dark Materials Trilogy ROCKS!!! and i liked his Sally Lockhart Trilogy too, its very very very interesting. suspenseful, u could say.
-Kurt Vonnegut---HILARIOUS, his Breakfast of Champions was good, although some was kinda...ecchi
-Tamora Pierce-i love her work, i have every single book shes written. im into fantasy, and shes a great author
-Marianne Curley-good fantasy ^^ highly reccomended
-Andre Norton-sci-fi fantasy, my sister and me like his stuff a lot
-Ann Rinaldi-i put her up with T. Pierce, she does historical fiction which was practically my passion. shes definately good.

the list could go on forever. im a definate book-luver, i chill at the bookstore for fun, ok? :)

[jessca]

Last week, my friend sent me a couple of books she knew id like cos i love chinese history. The first ones called The Bonesetters Daughter by Amy Tan and the second is Wild Swans by Jung Chang.

The Bonesetters Daughter is fictional and is about a woman called Ruth living in America reading the story of her mother when she was young and still in China. Its very moving and it mentions a lot about the way women were valued only as brides and slaves...its dramatic about loss and betrayal.. :cry:

Will be starting Wild Swans tonight methinks.. :D

[hisashiluv14]

I think I did an extract from "Wild Swans" for comprehension when I was in Secondary Two. There's a part in it about feet binding right? Something about using a rock to crush the bones of the toes... Ouch.

Nowadays the stuff I read are more literary, since I have to cram a few books into my head for one of my Literature papers by June latest. But they're good, obviously. Here's a few:

George Orwell - 1984
The novel that immortalised the term "big brother". A very amazing book, and that's just an understatement. This was written in 1947 and you see quite a lot of what Orwell predicted happening today. It's great.

Aldous Huxley - Brave New World
If I'm not wrong, this book, along with a Russian dystopian novel "We" (can't spell and forgot author's name), influenced Orwell's 1984. Another futuristic novel that denounces technology advancement at the expense of humanity. I think Huxley was quite a genius.

Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale
Yet another futuristic novel, this time by a female Canadian author. This woman is a brilliant brilliant writer. Such poetic descriptions and lyrical phrases! And she has a great plot going on too.

J.D. Salinger - The Catcher in the Rye
My favourite book by far. A must-read for anyone going through teenage angst. Fantastic novel.

Joyce Carol Oates - Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang
Oates is another author whose style I desperately want to emulate but can't. Beautiful beautiful writing.

Tiger Eyes - Judy Blume
I've outgrown teenage fiction but I can read this book over and over again and not tire of it. I think it's Judy Blume's best novel. Or maybe I'm just biased. Very poignant novel.

The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Expurey
Not sure if I spelled the author's name right but yeah, a children's book with depth. Amazing.

The Memory of All That - Brian Foster
Eh, not very sure if I got the author's name right as it was quite a while back that I read this book, but I really loved. It's not serious literature or whatever but it's about Hollywood and I like reading books set in Hollywood. Great story. One of the few adult fiction I got through in secondary school.

Also read books by David Ambrose. I think he mostly writes crime; not very sure, 'cause I've read only one novel and a collection of short stories satirising Hollywood but can't remember the titles of both. But the crime novel that I read was very gripping and imaginative, the short stories strange and thought-provoking. Definitely check him out. Singapore readers can find him in any NLB library.

Yeah, that's about it.

[sera]

I like Dean Knootz and Terry Brooks alot. Dean Knootz is a suspense thriller writer, his style is similar to that of Stephen King but I prefer him to King. Recommended Dean Knootz's works are Sole Survivor, Watchers, From The Corner of His Eyes and Tick Tock. As for Terry Brooks, he is a fantasy writer and his The Voyage of Shannara series are darn good! I also like a couple of literature books, like The White Mountain (Tripod) trilogy by John Christopher and yes, The Outsiders by S.E Hinton which a few people have already mentioned. :happy:

[XIII Dizzy]

Like a few others in the thread, I agree that Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy is enthralling. That along with Garth Nix's Sabriel and Jadrien Bell's AD 999 are my favorite fantasy reads. Words fail to describe how wonderful they are, and reading them will leave you speechless as well.

Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood remains one of the saddest and most poignant tales, and my favorite book to date. It's one of those books that you don't realize you love until you've finished it, and then it hits you. The gorgeous scenic descriptions of the snowy mountainside and silky moonlight that add ambience to the story. The reluctance and regret of the characters are felt by the reader between the lines. It's tragic (without the melodrama), it's realistic, it's life.

Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front. What can I say? It's the first and only book to make me cry. You can just feel the harsh and brutal reality of war stab you in the gut.

Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights is, in my opinion, the best romance novel ever written. Throughout all the murder, intrigue, and betrayal that miraculously take place between merely three households, we are made painfully aware of Heathcliff's undying devotion to Catherine Earnshaw.

Ryu Murakami's Coin Locker Babies is dark, vulgar, carnal, and about as perverse as they get before venturing into the zone of Marquise de Sade. While it's not for the masses, it's certainly an interesting read.

And of course, Jin Yong's wuxia novels, such as Yi Tian Tu Long Ji or Tian Long Ba Bu are so good I can li

ve on them as if they were food.

-farfie-

[esotericdragon]

joy luck club was good but very confusing...
em...try tuesdays w/morrie, or the 5 ppl u meet in heaven by mitch albom. it's very phlisopical. he's an amazing riter
i also luv reading poems...girl coming in for a landing by april halprin wayland is good though some of the poems are short and don't have much meanig...the drawings/collages are amazing

[FenFen]

Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City, Four Blondes, Trading Up

J.R.R. Tolkien's LOTR, The Hobbit :yeah:

[freebird_brown]

lorenzo caracatera-sleepers, gangster, apaches, and street boys
john grisham- i suggest client, pelican brief, partner, street lawyer, and king of torts.
victor hugo-les miserables
fyodor dostoevsky-the brothers karamazov<--pretty hard reading but i liked it... one of those literary classics

some other oens... but i'm too laZ to think about them now

[abra16]

hmm.. there is this author name matthew reilly. some of his books are ice station, contest, temple and also area 7. it's recommended by angels_on_clouds. hope she did not reply here yet. haha... yah, it's thrillers, very nice.

haha, and i like Roald Daul. hee... his children books are so nice!!!!!
like the witches so much!!


there is also this chinese author by the name 简贞. her writings are just so good that it's full of descriptions and makes your senses sharper as the time goes by.

[hellokitty]

hmm...I recommend to you all Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Evernts!!! I've read every book in the series! This series is very sad but very read worthy!! Go on peeps, try it!

[yummieboba]

Mitch Albom - The Five People You Meet In Heaven
Such a good book! It's an easy read, and it's short too. I hardly ever read for pleasure - I tell myself too busy but I know the truth :bleh: :happy: - and this was definitely a good choice! This book made me cry :cry: and so happy in the end!

Adeline Yen Mah - Falling Leaves
Really interesting book about an Asian girl/woman who escapes to America. Read this a while ago so it's kinda cloudy in my head, but it was a good book! Really interesting cuz there're chinese phrases in it that sound oh-so familiar.

Toni Morrison - Beloved & Love
I read Beloved for class last year, and it was kind of hard to understand, but in the end it was a great book! Her sentences are really beautiful and they just all sound so good when you read it aloud! I bought Love already, but I haven't gotten a chance to read it yet. I started it, and it seems really interesting already. Again, written so beautifully!

Michael Moore - Dude, Where's My Country?
Again another interesting book. I guess more interesting for those living in the US though. Haven't read it yet but it's gotten good reviews and I know a couple people who've read it and liked it!

[illusionanqel]

Blu's Hanging by Lois Ann Yamanaka - I recommend this for people a little bit older, around 16? Because it deals with mature topics but it's so beautifully written, it's a MUST READ!

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb Again, this book contains some graphic material but through this book I gained a lot of perspective on life~

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee Another one of those classic cliche books but it definitely opens your eyes to the history of the U.S., and racial issues in general.

[lene]

Gabriel Garcia Marquez's 100 Years of Solitude

the book is really a showcase of marquez's genius. it's a very mysterious, imaginative piece about life, family, love, relationships, companionship, loneliness and solitude. actually it's a novel with in a novel, with very passionate, colorful characters. it's a very good read: one that provokes, stimulates and inspires.

[jmin13]

I think my best author will go to Zhang Xiao Xian..she is a taiwan writer...haha..same hometown as Jay...cheer~ She wrote about romatci short stories and novels..she has some great books like San Ge A Cup de nu ren - 3 girls with A cup...sound familiar to anyone here ?

[rosiean86]

I like Sidney Shelton. His book are very explicit and kinda twisted and they play with your mind, but they always leave me breathless. His books show the dark side of the world...

Other than that, I like Mary Higgins Clark. Her novels always surpise you. Although I'm one of those people who can't stand the suspense and always turns to the last page of the book to find out what happens :rolleyes:

[crusty-applepie]

i highly recommend mario puzo's books particularly:

the godfather
the sicilian - which i loved more than the godfather
the last don
fortunate pilgrim
omerta

i like how puzo vividly describes the settings of his stories. the way he paints a scene with his words, i could almost feel the hard dry earth that the characters were walking on. i could almost smell the newly baked bread and tomato sauce that he talks about. i love how his books suck you into the stories that u feel that u are there. you dont have to be a violent person to appreciate his books. although his stories revolve around the lives of the mafia, it does go beyond that. his books tackle issues such as poverty, honor, love and family.

this is also one reason why yi fu zhi mhing is my favorite jay video because it reminds me of mario puzo's stories.

[esotericdragon]

does anyone no any good poetry bks? i'm more of a short poetry person..i don't have the patience to read a really long poem...

[crusty-applepie]

i have the poetry book by jewel it's called ' a knight without armor' and i find it really good. it's a collection of poems that jewel has written over the years and it, in a way, reflects the life that she has lead from being a kid in alaska, growing up with her father and her brothers and being a celebrity.

her poems are very passionate and the best thing that i like about it is that the poetry is raw. it doesnt follow any style or form in poetry. it's written freely in her own style.

[feixuan]

wow u guys ...love reading...hehe..i love 2 read huang yi.....especially da tang shuang long zhuan....the rest is from jin yong...and gu long..i like wu xia novel.....hehe very diffirent all of u :excited: :excited: :excited:

[Pepsi24601]

Angela's Ashes, 'Tis- Both by Frank McCourt. Angela's Ashes is his memoir of his childhood, growing up poor and hungry in Ireland with an alcoholic father. And then the sequel, 'Tis, is about his life in America. So sad, made me cry a lot.

[powerlessangel]

j-k rowling- i dun understand why people say that this book is mainly about fantasy...

harper lee( to kill a mockingbird)- i love this book..i just love the way the author wrote this book through a child eye...

lavyler spencer- i am a sucker for romance....not teenager romance but adult romance

jacqueline woods( if you come softly)- This book speaks about the racial discomfort in america.....

[the one]

i haven't a clue about any good authors but i recently book two books filled with poems. one by robert frost. and the other by edgar allan poe. i'm pretty sure you've heard of him. he's famous for his short horror stories like the raven. i'm mostly into poetry/mystery/fictional adventure..

[Lai Cheng Hung]

I like "the hunchback of Notre Dame",
itz written by Victor Hugo,fantastic...
I av juz read it.

[_jayrox_]

I love Catherine Lim; she's from Singapore, one of the famous one. I simply love her stories... Especially the "little ironies"

FOr singaporeans, and from what i know, her books can be found in Singapore "popular store". Under "Asian Writers", you can find her book

[esotericdragon]

txs crusty-applepie
i liek free verse poems a lot better than rhyme...
any other reccomendations for good poems?

[cici bebe]

I don't usually read poems but I hear Robert Frost is not bad. He's not my personal favorite but there's a reason he's so liked. If you like vignettes, definitely check out Sandra Cisneros. I looove her.

[pinkypat_6]

Hey, anyone know Roald dahl?
he writes story for kids like charlie and the chocolate factory, matilda, the bfg, the twits etc.
I also love his ryhmes and poems, there hilarious.

[Sha]

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

I had to read it for year 12 English Literature but in the end, I really liked it. It's very descriptive and forces you to feel. I even cried =)

[newg]

I like the books of Meg Cabot/Meggin Cabot. Um...do i said corny?Cause majority of her books are stories of a girl falling in love with a "unbelivable guy".She is the author of "The Princess Diaries". Just love princess diaries!!its just so like my life!i mean i can really relate to it,but of course im not a princess. *lol*

[esotericdragon]

roald dahl is cool. i really like his bks...witches was a good bk.
hve u seen the movie? i've only seen part of it

[Viv]

I've seen the movie for witches. Ronald Dahl is indeed very good. My favorite book of his is the BFG (big friendly giant) because I'm tall for my age. It just kind of related to me... in a way. Also, Charlie and the Choclate Factory was good too. ^^

[bee]

my sis used to love Ronald Dahl's stuff!
:hmm: some good poets are Lord Byron aka George Gordon...he was one wildman--and most of his poetry is directed towards "darker" women, which is a good difference. He was good friends with Percy Shelley, husband of the Mary Shelley that wrote Frankenstein-- Percy is a good poet too, but i dont like his stuff. i cant understand it no matter how hard i try.
i also really like Robert Burns' poetry. :wink2:

Violet Eyes and Silver Eyes both by Nicole Luiken are good...and i liked Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier. ooh...and two of my all-time favorite books are The DaVinci Code, and Digital Fortress by Dan Brown ^_^ i LOVE them, so suspenseful. did anyone say those yet? im really surprised, almost everyone in my school has read it, is reading it, or are going to read it. (The DaVinci Code, i mean) Digital Fortress is just as good though.

The Crucible, is an excellent play. probably the only interesting one i've read, other than Medea....its about the Salem Witch Trials--so freaky! they were all a bunch of puritan fools there. i havent got anything against puritans though..:sweat:

[fungi]

Anyone from Singapore read President Wee Kim Wee's new memoir? I am gonna get it over the weekend. Read a short excerpt from it on the papers. I believe its a very good book as he puts across his insightful perceptives in a really charming and humourous manner. Its interesting the way he draws the reader into his experience. Not to forget, he was a very good president. :happy:

[denise88]

dan brown - the da vinci code

prolly the best book i've read in my entire life! while i was reading, i couldn't seem to put the book down even for just a second! but you might want to read angels and demons before you read the da vinci code, its sort of a prologue for dvc :happy:

[crusty-applepie]

i read dracula by brahm stoker. it's very good and i highly recommend it. they made a movie out of it too - starring winona ryder and keanu reeves. they changed the story a little bit, though. i like the original story better although the movie was very well-made too. :wink2:

[Jaded butterfly]

the best book? ... it will definately have to be 'Rebecca' by Daphne du Maurier ... it is so good and it has murder mystery along with a love story! o! and also Pride and Prejudice is really good also ... Mr Darcy!!!!!! *squeals*

[chiccox3]

well..there's lots of really awesome super duper good books..i liked the da vinci code, by dan brown
this book is kinda childish, but very good vampire kisses by ellen schreiber (sp?)
memoirs of a geisha
the series of unfortunate events lemony snicket( does anyone besides mean think they're just funny and not sad?o.O)
i like books by Meg cabot, like the boy next door, or princess diaries.

has anyone read any funny books?i'd like to read some more humorous type books.

[esotericdragon]

oh!
charlie and the choco factory was such a great movie! =)
all my friends taking honors enlish had to read the da vinci code and they all said it was really good..
yah, dan brown has a prequel tot eh da vinci code....is it called angels and demons? i'm not sure of the tilte
dracula was a good book..read it some time ago but it was good..i didn't even no they had a movie of that!! lol

[linny]

Books that I will almost always recommend if you ask me:

Farenheit 451: One of my favorite books of all time by Ray Bradbury. Guy Montag lives in a world where firefighters don't put out fires, they start it. His job is to burn all books. A chance meeting with a young girl, however, causes him to question his life and the value of books. The story circles around censorship, government control as well as freedom of thought.

I was highly disturbed the first time I read this, which makes NO SENSE since this isn't a mystery or horror piece. The closest I can pin it is science fiction, but it's worth the read.

His Dark Material Series: This trilogy set (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, Amber Spyglass) by Phillip Pullman is about the story of a young girl named Lyra who has the amazing ability of reading the althiometer, a device that can answer any question. Throughout the series, you follow her through her journeys. This story has heavy biblical references and enough fantasy thrown in to make a good read for anyone.

You will get hooked if you read this series. Not only is the central plot intriguing, but you'll also get the added bonus of some very memorable minor characters.

There are probably more books I should mention, but for now, I end with a book that I would NOT reccommend to anyone.

The Five People You'll Meet in Heaven: I believe this was written by Mitch Albom, I'm not very sure. Right now, this book is on the Top 10 Seller list of just about ever newspaper I know, and I can't imagine why. This short novel is about an old man who dies saving a little girl. When he reaches Heaven, he learns that it isn't the cloudy paradise that everyone imagines. Heaven is where you meet five people that will explain your life and it's significance.

Why I don't recommend it. Given, the idea of meeting five people in heaven is pretty original. But the way this book is written... It's too easy.

Every person you meet, the lessons are too obvious. The ideas and messages the author is trying to impart is shoved into your face instead of slowly seeping into your subconscious.

When I read a book, I like to read it and reflect on what meaning it could have, what little intricacies the author has added that I might have to sift through to find. In this book, I knew what the author wanted to say, and yet, I didn't walk away with any real sense of that message.

With Farenheit, you walk away and while Bradbury never specifically says "This book is about how we need knowledge, how we need to think for ourselves to truly save ourselves from destruction", you get that impression. It's embedded into your mind even though you could never find the specific place and time the man puts it in his book.

Not so with 5 People You Meet. One person, one lesson. Stated with back story, but the subtlety of the lesson is lost because it's stated. It's there.

I don't know. I just didn't think it was as good as all the hype made it out to be. It was so ...predictable. And the philosophical points just don't have the same impact because they're all so easy to pinpoint. >.<

[en_en]

Im currently loving

sloppy firsts, by megan mccafferty its really just a journal on high school and all teh drama that comes with it. although not conpletely realistic, it hits some points, and some places its really unrealistic, but the sarcasm the main character seems to posess makes up for it. its a fun and easy read and i love it. plus, the guy that the main character likes is a total hottie. ^-^ in my mind anyway. yumm...

but yeah if you decide to check it out theres a sequel to it, second helpings which is a really good book too.

[grasshow]

i always go for anne rice, her vampire chronicles are a must...they're a part of my life!

if you like the fantasy genre, please try and look out for books by piers anthony..he's brilliant! especially the xanth series..you'll be transported to a world of centaurs, mermaids, pies that grow from trees and lakes made out of soda!!!

[phoebe]

so many fav books - just share some with you
pride and prejudice - jane austen - fav in my teens as i love the hero mr darcy - the hero in bridget jones diary is a modern days mr darcy . p.s. i have the cassette tapes of the pride and prejudice tv series which featured colin firth as mr darcy
all detetive stories featuring hercule poirot - agatha christie
all p.d. james crime stories
all james herriots dog stories
the diary of adrian mole - so funny , even after a reread .
angela's ashes - frank mccourt ( cried and laughed at the author's trials and tribulation but it's sequel -" tis' "- not so interesting )
the remains of the day - kazuo ishiguro - the sadness of lost love appears so trivial against the unfolding of historical events but in the end love is what matters but too late for regrets.

[loko]

i definitely have to recommend the outsiders by SE Hinton, i read it for english as well, and cried over and over again, everytime i've read it since, although it is more suited for young teens.

George Orwell is excellent too, i think most ppl know 1984 and Animal Farm, but i really loved Burmese Days as well.

Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are both great too, by the Brontesisters Charlotte and Emily. Anne Bronte is meant to be the best out of the 3 sisters, but i haven't had a chance to read her work yet.

Brave New World i think someone mentioned, is really great too.

Michael Ondatje - i may have misspelt his name, but he wrote The English Patient, which i'm reading now. His writing style is amazing, so smooth and unique. He wrote another book called *someone's* ghost (i can't remember the name) which i'm going to find later.

[miki-chan]

DRAGONLANCE! DRAGONLANCE! if you are into fantasy, or not into fantasy but would like to see what it's all about...DRAGONLACNE!!!! it's actually a huge series with many branches and authors, but start off with DRAGONS OF AUTUMN TWILIGHT by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.

If you're kinda into jap stuff and samurais and stuff then the Legends of the Five Rings is kinda a neat series. Start off with The Scorpian...hmmm sorry i don't really know tha author...you can check it out at www.wizards.com tho.

[moonsilk]

I like the chinese author Qiong Yao from taiwan...

Her books rockz man...huan zhu ge ge is written by her!!
Her books are usually romantic novels...even when u read the books,u can picture the scene of the story and its often very touching!

[Lain Lang]

I just love Harry Potter series.... The Princess Diaries series.. Artemis Fowl and the lord of the rings!
hehehe....but i recently read Agatha Christie and it's great! I read 'the ten little niggers'....and its brilhant!

[tearstained7987]

i realli like an american author called lois lory...when i was like in 5th or 6th grade. but one of the best books i have ever read wat called "split image"!

-amie

[msluckygurli]

Good Books/Authors:
-This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen
-Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah
-Ann Rinaldi (author)
-Harry Potter books by JK Rowling
-Memoirs of Geisha
-hmm... I can't think of any others at the moment.

[Shari Fantasy]

I'm back~ -pauses for applause- hahas. ok. here's my new and improved list:
-JK Rowling
-Christopher Pike
-SE Hinton
-Daniel Silva
-Timothy Zahn
-J.R.R. Tolkien
-Stephen King
-Sidney Sheldon
-Meg Cabot
-George Lucas
-Eoin Colfer
-Nicholas Sparks

Kays, that's about all. But... fanfic rox too!! -huge grin-

[phoebe]

recently read a book - gestures of life by chang-rae lee . very interesting story . the sytle of writing appears simple but effective . it's a reflective story told by a world war two soldier and the effect of captor and captive lifes then and now. read through the book in 4days - cannot put down the book .

[kasic_fantasy]

i greatly recommed catherine lim...a singapore writer.shes very good in writing irony.another will be fang wen shan...(vincent fang...jay's golden partner)...i saw his book...its all poems and songs.
another would be huang jun liang...(the guy who wrote yi fu zhi ming(in the name of the father)....i have rad his 'this book' and feel that its really meaningful...j.k rowling (author of harry potter) is also greatly recommened...

[littlefishie]

I recommend:

Jane Austen (anything by her is good.)
J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter rules!)
Jin Yong (His wuxia novels are awesome, esp. She Diao Ying Xiong Zhuan, Tian Long Ba Bu, Lu Ding Ji, Xiao Ao Jiang Hu, etc.)
Madeline L'Engle (Many Waters, Wrinkle in Time, Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet.)

[shiying]

my favourite author is Marian Keyes...Chris Manby...and Cecilia von sumthing wan...forgotten her name...sum of e bks i would recommend is:

- Gossip Girl
- Olivia's Bliss
- Second Prize
- Three In Bed

[laruku]

David Eddings!! I love him.. Every book he writes is my fave! And I can't wait to get his new book from my friend!!!

And of course the following:
Anne Rice ("Interview with a Vampire", "The Body Thief", "Queen of the Damned")
Eric Lustbader ("Ninja", "Floating City","White Ninja")
James Patterson ("Kiss the Girl", "Along Came A Spider)
P.D.James ("Original Sin")

[luvsfroot]

i think someone mentioned lemony snicket at the beginning of this thread. i read the first, i think, 5 or so books of the series of unfortunate events. this was a few years ago, when they came out, and my friend had recommended them. but then as i read more and more, i thought they were just.. i don't know. i guess i didn't appreciate them like other people did, and i am one of those readers that he refers to on the back cover of each one. the kind of reader that likes happy endings and would feel depressed/joyless with this book, and should just put it down before attempting to read it. i think i'm still glad i did though, made me feel thankful for everything. also, it's being made into a movie with jim carrey as count olaf! what do you guys think? (sorry, i realize this isn't a thread just about the series of unfortunate events, so someone can start one if you want to.) i'll go on to other books now..

ok i only read one of michael crichton's many books. did anyone like jurassic park? of course, most of us have seen the movie; i don't know anyone who's read it though. i liked timeline. such a page-turner! i couldn't put it down, i stayed up late reading it. just like i couldn't put down da vinci code.

i like jane austen's books, if anyone's into classics. i've read alexandre dumas' the three musketeers & the count of monte cristo and i loved both. the language may be a little hard to understand though, since the names are french names. um, i liked the two amy tan books i've read so far.

oh, if anyone's read maya angelou let me know what you think? i heard she's fabulous, i'd like to read something of hers sometime.

there's so many other books i enjoyed reading, sorry i can't think of more right now. if i do i'll post later.

[ropgurl]

i like books by dan brown, john grisham, tamora pierce, and lisa gardner!
the rainmaker by john grisham is really good. ^^

[oNEgumDRop]

like everyone has said.. dan brown has great books.. but i think they're quite similar in story line.. only different characters and puzzles..

i highly recommand mary higgins clark to all mystery story lovers..
shez really good.. shez my favourite author..

nicholas sparks has nice romantic stories..
like 'the notebook' and 'a bend in the road'..

and this author named cecelia ahern..
shez the irish prime minister's daughter btw..
wrote this really sweet book titled ' ps. i love you'
abt this woman who got widowed and wat her husband unexpectedly left behind to help her cope with his death.. oh btw, her husband died of brain cancer..

[fungi]

Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Simple storyline and narration, deeply engaging.

[eiko]

im into all kinds of books :P i love harry potter, unforunte events, lord of the rings, etc
right now im reading the Wheel Of Time Series by robert jordan, anyone ever read it before??

[rainbowballoon]

*drumroll* I present to you one of the most terrific writers of the century ---

let's welcome..

and put our hands together..

for

JK ROWLING!!! :D

w00h00. *flowers thrown on stage, confetti starts raining down* :flowers:

The Harry Potter series is just great, wonderful, fantabulous and really addictive!!! :yeah: Creative plot in a lovely fantasy world, plus characters like harry, hermione and ron.. MUST-READ!! get your hands on them hot stuff NOW!!! :brows: :bleh: (if u haven't done so)

[ellen_nver_falz]

C.S Lewis : Chronicles of Narnia
Robin Gunn: The Christy Miller Series
Other famous books: LOTR, Harry Potter, The Da Vinci Code...they are my favorites! :D

[fungi]

i've just finished this book called "Fast Food Nation" by eric schlosser and i must say its really informative and interesting. usually factual books put me to sleep, but schlosser puts the material across in a really captivating manner. the gist of the book is of course, trying to dissuade readers from adopting a fast food lifestyle as he laments how fast food is becoming a way of life. he goes further to describe how the cattle and poultry and raised, slaughtered, processed and eventually sent to make patties for the burgers, and of course the dire work conditions the workers in the meatpacking and slaughterhouse industry face. stuff that you'd never imagine, totally gruesome.

i'd give this book 5 stars!

[Irina]

I like reading books,especially Haruki Murakami(japanese author)His most known book is Danse,Danse,Danse ,I liked it very much!

[maihuong]

hmm .. this book im about to say might not be famous or anything .. and by the length of it .. it might be considered kid's book to some of you . .but i REALLY ENJOYED IT .. it was such a heart touching book T.T

Mama Let's Dance by Patricia Hermes

[~San-san~]

I just finished reading The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer and I HIGHLY recommend it unless you don't like sad endings.

[venetta]

you should read the J.D Robb series...all the title will be something like [something]In Death. they're really really great. there's romance and detectives story...if you like Nora Roberts (J.D. Robb is her alias by the way)..u'll love these ones.

[bstandards]

I just finished The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and High Fidelity. Both are pretty famous books and for good reason! One of my favorite books of all time is A Million Little Pieces, PM me if you've enjoyed any of these novels!

[junnleenfaah]

the virgin suicides by jeffrey eugenides

the book is SO TRIPPY but its so well written. recommended book if you feel like reading a weird book (= the title practically gives away the plot, haha

[ichigo-chan]

definitely, JoDie Picoult !! especially, the one that titled "the vanishing acts" ....hhhmm...it's more than just interesting...you have to check out for yourselves...you'll enjoy every line of it..

[junnleenfaah]

has anyone ever read "the bluest eye"? by tim morrison or something like that? my friend read it and said that every teenage girl should read it.. even oprah said that!! hahaha

anyone recommend it?

[yukiko]

well... i like ready dan brown novel. angels and demons, and the da vinci code.

[eimiie]

Ooo.. I heard that the Da Vinci Code was pretty good, but I never read it.

If you're looking for a laugh, I recommend the books about Georgie Nicholson by Louise Renninson.

[porridge]

if you guys like romance, then 'PS, I love you' by cecelia ahern is a MUST read.
it is about how a man helped his wife to get on with life after his death. really interesting!

[raerei]

This is really great. <3

So many recommendations! O_O;

I'll have books to read now. ;]

Hmm... favorite author? I've been reading John Grisham books for awhile now and I've gotten into it a lot. <3

His books are great. Everyone should give them a try.

[Galzs_revolution]

i agree that john grisham really has the talent... his books are just awesome.. hehehe... oh and jk rowling too!! lol

some of the authors were mentioned so i won't repeat myself..

i noticed that there wasn;t any recommendation on sophie kinsella...
i have to admit that it was really good.. and hillarious... romantic too i guess...
sophie kinsella - can you keep a secret? , shopahollic series...
and
jane green - Mr. Maybe
those books worth trying..
:)

[intransit]

i agree that john grisham really has the talent... his books are just awesome.. hehehe... oh and jk rowling too!! lol
some of the authors were mentioned so i won't repeat myself..
i noticed that there wasn;t any recommendation on sophie kinsella...
i have to admit that it was really good.. and hillarious... romantic too i guess...
sophie kinsella - can you keep a secret? , shopahollic series...
and
jane green - Mr. Maybe
those books worth trying..
:)

Actually I think John Grisham is a tad too formulaic in the sense of how his stories unfold. Nevertheless he write s a good read it's just they become a bit predicitable.

I would reccommend Pride and Prejudice for a romance. It's so good and Mr Darcy is wonderful.

Books I enjoyed:

The Virgin Suicides and Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. Both very out of the world books that don't follow your usual pattern of stories. I also enjoyed Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. It will open your eyes and appreciate democracy more.

[ichigo fairy]

Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights is, in my opinion, the best romance novel ever written. Throughout all the murder, intrigue, and betrayal that miraculously take place between merely three households, we are made painfully aware of Heathcliff's undying devotion to Catherine Earnshaw.


i like that book too, although it's dark and depressing...i finished reading it within 2 days. =)

i also like the woman warrior by maxine hong kingston. b/c i could pretty much relate to the book. and b/c of this book, i now like the disney movie mulan. LOL^^;;;;;

ender's game by orson scott card was a good book too, although i'm not into sci-fi books.

i also like northanger abbey by jane austen. i liked henry tilney and isabella's brother got me mad....

[kaye21]

Sophie Kinsella - ive read the undomestic goddess, its pretty good...

oh, somebody likes the virgin suicides as well...its a wonderful read...watch the movie too...sofia coppola directed it

[Galzs_revolution]

intransit i guess u're more into the literature.. while i dun really like lit.. hehe.. but i heard 1984 is really good book.. though i can't stand animal farm by the same author.. i read pride and prejudice too! by jane austen rite? again is not my type of stuffs.. hehehe..

kaye21 i read undomestic goddess.. i dun it's dat good though compared to other work of hers.. the jokes are pretty dry and its too unrealistic.. but i like her way to find out the mistakes.. i knew something was wrong in the first place.. it's under the expectation of mine.. hehe.. i still prefer can u keep a secret though and sophaholic went abroad.. lol..

[jacelyn_edison86]

author that i'll recomend is Catherine Coulter if you are interested in loves stories in the time of 16 century... i think.....
i'm waiting for Brenda Joyce's deadly series .....
and i recomend you guys read Socatres in love....
i'm waiting for the books to arrive....

[liliceprincess]

hmm i would recommend a book called Tightrope ack >< sadly i dont remember the author, but it was made into a movie and i didnt know of it, but that book is quite a mystery book.

in addition to that book, i would also suggest the Great Gatsby as a leisure reading book. It is a lil confusing at the beginning but once in get into it, you will see that it is quite and adventure of dramas..lol

[icyicez]

Isabel Allende: books like Portrait in Sepia and Zorro =)

i like the way she writes her books.

[sebrin]

There's this new up and coming young Asian author by the name of Lillian L. Rasavong, who btw, happens to share the exact birthday as our Jay (January 18, 1979). She's written one book so far called This Time Around, which is a collection of short romantic stories for those romance buffs out there. You can order a copy here: http://www.goldenlilypublishing.com/books.html

It's very funny and heartwarming, a good book if want you something to take your mind off things.

She's also finished another book by the name of Sumalee, which won't be released until July. It's a drama about a young girl in Thailand who tries to save her family from slavery.

You can find out more about her at her website: http://www.lillianrasavong.com