10 MORE Awesome Fantasy Series That Are Not Potter or LoTR I received a massive response to my previous post that attempted to showcase some less well-known and under-appreciated fantasy series. Infact I received so many great comments with people recommending their favourite series that I decided to create a definitive list of great fantasy series (stay tuned for that one, it is coming in the next few weeks). But since it is a pretty big job to compile such a list (I already have well over 80 series on the list and it is still growing), I thought I would create this little list of 10 MORE under-appreciated fantasy series in the meantime. This list incorporates some of the great suggestions made by readers in the comments on my previous post. Once again this list will not include, Robert Jordan’s “Wheel of Time” or Martin’s “Song of Ice and Fire” (you will have to wait for the definitive list to see these) since they have received more than their fair share of spotlight. 10. [column size="1-2" last="0" style="0"] Gatherer of Clouds [/column] 9.
thoughtcatalog You know you’ve read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend. –Paul Sweeney What’s the last book that moved you? That made you laugh or cry or completely reconsider your thoughts on life or love? 1. Haunted by the death of his brother and the suicide of his mother, Ben continues to slip deeper into the darkness of his own mind. 2. In The Lost Girls, readers go an adventure around the world with Jennifer, Holly, and Amanda as the three best friends decide to ditch their careers and lives back home for a crazy journey around four continents. 3. The title explains it all, although some might know the book as the PG-friendly title Being Flynn. 4. Marina Keegan was seen as a literary prodigy for her work as both a journalist and playwright at a young age. 5. This is every 20-somethings’ manifesto as Sheila Heti explores all of the life issues we deal with as adults while also wondering if we’re actually adults or just faking it. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
The Books That Changed Your Lives I have a feeling that many of these are favourite books rather than life-changing. Certainly I love "The Hitch-hikers Guide ...", "Ender" and "Dune" but I don't think they have changed my life. I also love "The Lord of the Rings", by coincidence I married an Arwen so maybe that counts in my case. Jared Diamond's book is very interesting but hardly life-changing. In my opinion "2001: A Space Odyssey" had a huge effect on the way people perceive the benefits of science, undermining the positive attitude created by the Apollo program. "1984" had the biggest effect on me, changing my view of government, communication and words. I have read but cannot recall much of "Zen ..." but you have inspired me to pick it up again and the two Dawkins books are waiting on my "to be read" pile.
whytoread There are books that change your entire mindset and shift your perception into a hole new paradigm. These books inspire you to read more and to pursue more enlightenment. Exactly what WhytoRead is all about. The books on this list will do just that. Blow your mind and put it back together in a whole new way. 10 Mind Blowing Books 1. The most intriguing part of this book is the true story of a man who fakes insanity to get off on an assault charge, but ends up spending many years locked up in a mental health facility. He tries to prove his sanity, but no one believes him. 2. An excerpt from the book should tell you why this book is mind blowing: In the beginning, God created the earth, and he looked upon it in his cosmic loneliness. And God said, “Let Us make living creatures out of mud, so the mud can see what We have done.” “Everything must have a purpose?” “Certainly,” said man. “Then I leave it to you to think of one for all this,” said God. And He went away. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
32 Sci-Fi Novels You Should Read Looking for some new material to add to your science fiction reading list? Below are 32 books that have pushed the boundaries of the genre, inspired generations of thinkers and in some cases have even predicted key aspects of societies development. Foundation – Isaac Asimov From Amazon, Foundation marks the first of a series of tales set so far in the future that Earth is all but forgotten by humans who live throughout the galaxy. The only person willing to confront this imminent catastrophe is Hari Seldon, a psychohistorian and mathematician. The Time Machine – H.G. From Wikipedia, The Time Traveler’s tale of the future is a disturbing vision of the human situation as it appeared to Wells in the late 19th century. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? From Amazon, By 2021, the World War had killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending mankind off-planet. They even built humans. Animal Farm – George Orwell From Wikipedia, War Of The Worlds – H.G. From Amazon, From Amazon,
5 Grimm Fairy Tales You Should Only Read to Kids You Hate Many of Grimm's fairy tales have been lightened up for modern children. However, some of them are beyond any hope, and should only be read to children you hate. #5. All of Bluebeard's previous wives have died under sparsely detailed circumstances shrouded in mystery, although he has never been asked to produce either a body or an explanation, because police work at that time typically required crimes to be committed within a constable's field of vision. Bluebeard, the first and least creepy pickup artist. As he leaves, Bluebeard stresses that she can go anywhere in the castle except the cellar. Of course she opens it, and inside she finds all of Bluebeard's missing wives hanging on hooks from the ceiling. Then they all move into his house. #4. A boy buys a magic fiddle that makes everyone who hears it powerless to resist dancing (this fiddle is now owned by Charlie Daniels). Project GutenburgIt was a different time. The Jew goes to the police, and the boy is sentenced to hang. #3. #2.
Sci-Fi Lists - Top 100 Sci-Fi Short Stories Best Places to Get Free Books - The Ultimate Guide When we were reviewing 10 of the best online resources for free books, we had a LOT of readers chime in with their own favorites as well. Thank you for all your helpful contributions! In fact, we had so many suggestions, we have enough to compile a huge list from them, so here they are in no particular order: ManyBooks – Free eBooks for your PDA, iPod, or eBook reader – Thanks Tony Bryan & abben BookCrossing – Where real books are released into the wild to be found by others – Thanks EngtechLibraryElf – The perfect companion to a public library system – Thanks EngtechScribd – Open library to publish and discover documents online – Thanks CincauHangus Word Public Library – 400,000 PDF ebooks for download – Thanks EllenFree Tech Books – Free computer science and engineering books (+ lecture notes) – Thanks EllenBookins – Swap real books with other readers – Thanks Jimbob WellToldTales – Free short story podcasts (like audiobooks, but shorter) – Thanks Kevin C. Google+
10 Great Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Novels Books It’s a classic theme of science fiction: something really, really bad happens, and mankind is knocked back to the Stone Age. Of course, with the dropping of atomic bombs by the U.S. to end World War II, people came to realize that for the first time Man himself possessed the power to bring about a global cataclysm. And science fiction wasted no time in examining the possible effects (there were speculative stories in print well before the Manhattan Project was even conceived). But nuclear holocaust isn’t the only way Man’s thin veneer of civilization can be stripped by catastrophe. It may have even already happened in our past (the vast majority of cultures have a Great Flood in their mythos). Shouldn’t stop us from thinking about the possibilities, however. Lucifer’s Hammer Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle This best-selling 1997 novel details the approach and aftermath of a comet striking earth with disastrous results. Buy the book at Amazon: Lucifer’s Hammer On The Beach Nevil Shute
» 50 Amazing and Essential Novels to Enrich Your Library :zenhabits Post written by Leo Babauta. I recently ran into a couple of reading lists (I’ll share them at the end) and realized that I LOVE reading book recommendations. I can’t get enough of them. So I decided to compile my own (somewhat eclectic) list of novels I think are amazing and essential to every library. I should make some notes before diving in. Another note: there are actually many more books listed here than 50 — a number of those listed are actually series of books, in a couple cases series that include 20 or more books. There are classics here, but there are cheap thrillers and popular fiction and even a few “kids” books. If you could fill your library with only 50 books, you could do much worse than choose these 50. Not in any order but just in the order they came to me: King Lear, by Shakespeare. Some other lists of books I’ve enjoyed recently: