*literature YOU'd recommend*

[schlafmuetze]

I am too lazy ( and tired)to read through all this writing: :-blush

I just love The Discworld Novels by Terry Pratchett....it's just lots of fun .

In my opinion lots of word games and jokes in books get lost by getting translated ino a foreign language.

[Grübler]

Okay, sometimes phrases are not translated literally, but in most cases it is surprisingly possible to get the sense (and also the joke) right! I remembered a pun done in one of the Harry Potter novels. One of the wizards wanted to descibe weapons used by the Muggels (average humans not being able to wield a wand) and got it not quite right.

"Firelegs" was the word he used. That's funny because the right word is very near to this creation, but everyone gets it, how he came to this "conclusion": legs-/>arms. The right word is "firearms".

I never thought this could be accomplished in German, but the translator did quite well. Instead of the very direct translation of firearms to "Waffen" he translated it to "Handfeuerwaffen", this way the pun was not perfect, but it also wasn't sooo clumsy or even wrong!


Also Jeff Long's novels are a great read! It's a mixture between scientific thriller and horror. I already read two books: "The Descent" describes a very cruel forgotten race in the underground of the world, thousands of miles beneath our feet. But they just don't stay there, they even move up to us and influence people and society. The leading individual is referred to as "Satan" - Long's books use religious themes to some extent. "Year Zero"'s topic is an ancient, during the book released, virus that kills almost whole mankind.

Perhaps this sounds a bit crude or flat, but it is very well written, and worth a read!

[SynC]

...and the early works by Stephen King.
His latest stuff is just boring and without any fresh ideas.

I don't know which books you have read, but what's about the Dark Tower-Series or Love, at least the latest two books? In my opinion they show a really different style compared to his earlier books.
Apart from that you may be right, he hasn't shown the same class like in his best books for a long time. My favorite King is a pretty unknown one, "Todesmarsch".

[Kackbratze]

ANd for all english speaking readers..."Todesmarsch" is a "short story" called:

The long walk

Stephen King wrote it as Richard Bachmann.

If somebody wants to read this story, there is a compilation called: The Bachmann Books

4 of his Bachmann Stories are in it, except THINNER and the Desperation/Desolation Part he wrote as Bachmann.

[Flauta]

"Kultur Schock USA "


Gebrauchsanweisung "USA"

[Tombow]

Almost any book by John J. Nance - well-written aviation-centered thrillers.
Roger Zelazny - any book by him you can get a hold on. If you like fantasy, you will love these books.
Robert Sheckley - once an opponent of the "new wave" in sci-fi, eventually dabbled into mixing sci-fi with fantasy himself.
Ursula LeGuin - "A Wizard of Earthsea" and "The Left Hand of Darkness"
Studs Terkel - "The 'Good' War"
James Oldridge - "The Hunter" and "The last inch"
Dean Koontz - "Lightning"

[Flauta]

Even if I repeat myself:

Harry Potter, especially 1-7...........


(Do you know a book like: how to find everything in your house you have lost? or: How to find your ski helmet?
I'd need these books right now....) :-???

[Azumarill]

"ON BEAUTY" or "White Teeth" by Z. Smith. Theyre both readable, though i s'pose teyre kind of girls-books ;)

[papiertiger]

anything by Raymond Chandler :-love


Alan Weisman, "The world without us" - the german translation, altough scoring high in "Spiegel Bestseller Liste" for some time, doesn't even get close to the original text ;-)

[phoinix]

Yann Martel - Life of Pi

[B22]

Read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - it's a classic, it's a deep and thought-provoking book but one that is also entertaining and filled with wicked awesomeness!

Other than that, I can recommend the Crichton books, preferably the Andromeda Strain, State of Fear and Next. Crichton was probably the most badass politician/lobbyist/author the world has ever known!

And, last but not least, I found Stephen King's "Cell" (aka "Pulse") to be one hell of a scary book. The ending is lame, but other than that the book is fantastic - great storytelling, mystery, plot-twists and all that. Seriously a great read!