Favorite non-vet related books

[GellaBella]

So I was going to post in the other "favorite books" thread but that one asks for vet related books only. I dunno if I'm weird or something but most of the vet related books I've read haven't done anything for me. They are interestingbut not books I would read again. And I absolutely love to read! So I'm curious what your favorite non vet books are.

My favorite:
catch-22 by Joseph heller
a confederacy of dunces by John Kennedy toole
the mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmerman Bradley
pillars of the earth by Ken Follett

I'm constantly looking for new books to fall in love with (when I somehow find time to read) and add to my library. So, what other books do you love

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[Pandacinny]

I loved The City and The City by China Mieville. Other favorite books are Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman and Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.

 

[gilch]

Harry Potter series, hands down . Had to be said!

I am also a big fan of the classics and am currently reading A Farewell to
Arms by Hemingway, and rereading Doctor Zhivago by Pasternak.

 

[lalzi22]

Harry Potter series, hands down . Had to be said!

YAY! I love them too!

 

[twelvetigers]

I tried to read a lot of classics and overall popular type books this summer. The ones I enjoyed most were:

To Kill A Mockingbird (can you believe I hadn't read it?)
The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Alborn
Anna Karenina - Tolstoy
The Wasp Factory - Banks
The Time Traveler's Wife - Niffenegger
Love in the Time of Cholera - Marquez
Watership Down - Adams

and my favorite this year:

Life of Pi - Martel

and of course I'll always love The Gitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Alice in Wonderland, most Stephen King books, LOTR, and the Harry Potter series. Please note Twilight's absence - I have read it, thought it tolerable, but no way is it being placed on a list with Tolstoy etc.

I look forward to everyone else's replies!

 

[168135]

Timeline by Michael Crichton
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot
Harry Potter!!!

I haven't done ANY reading since starting university... just don't have the time. It sucks

 

[SocialStigma]

Harry Potter series..grew up with those books, and I'm the same age as them so it's a huge part of my teen years haha

His Dark Materials trilogy - Philip Pullman
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult (also enjoy lots of her other books..they always bring me to tears)
Angels and Demons - Dan Brown
1984 - George Orwell

And I also enjoy reading plays as well:
A Doll's House - Henrik Ibsen
King Lear, Macbeth - Shakespeare
A Streetcar Named Desire - Tennessee Williams

 

[PM2009]

Some of my favorites:

Atlas Shrugged (Rand)
The Shining (King)
'Salems Lot (King)
The Other Boleyn Girl (that whole series, really)
Any historical fiction novel...I have way too many but I really love that genre.

 

[clairbear]

Any historical fiction novel...I have way too many but I really love that genre.

Me too!

My favorite non-vet book would probably be Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand.

 

[Pigsfoot]

I am currently reading the books by Charlaine Harris that the HBO series True Blood is based on-the Sookie Stackhouse series. And they're great! really well written, funny, wry and vivid. Very enjoyable! way better than that Twilight drivel......

oh, but I loved Harry Potter so much...am considering picking it up again.

 

[chyactnate]

The Lovely Bones
I read a series called the Earth Children Series which is my favorite. It is about a story when mankind first started. They are really good books.
Wicked
Son of a Witch
What the Dickens
The Last Lecture
My Sisters Keeper
Tuesdays with Morrie

 

[badcats]

GellaBella, do you mean Pillars of the World by Anne Bishop? I loved that trilogy!(Well actually all of her stuff really)

I'm a fantasy dork, but I have been trying to branch out so I read and enjoyed
Emma and am working on Don Quixote.
Another favorite that I reread at least once a year isThe Blue Sword by Robin McKinley.Also for Twilight haters, she has a pretty awesome book called Sunshine that involves vampires and baked goods.

ETA: Of course HP is where the magic is at

 

[katryn]

My reread list is completely fantasy:

The Hero and the Crown, and The Blue Sword-Robin McKinley
The Enchanted Forest Cronicles-Patricia C Wrede
Sorcery and Cecelia, The Grand Tour, and The Mislaid Magician-Patricia C Wrede and Caroline Stivemer
The Entire Pern Series-Anne McCaffery, minus the stuff co-written with her son....just not the same.

I've also enjoyed:

The Kushiel Trilogies(there are two)-Jaqueline Carey
The Green Rider Series-Kristan Britain
Dracula:The Undead-Dacre Stoker


I've read too many books to remember them all! ><

 

[GellaBella]

GellaBella, do you mean Pillars of the World by Anne Bishop? I loved that trilogy!(Well actually all of her stuff really)

I'm a fantasy dork, but I have been trying to branch out so I read and enjoyed
Emma and am working on Don Quixote.
Another favorite that I reread at least once a year isThe Blue Sword by Robin McKinley.Also for Twilight haters, she has a pretty awesome book called Sunshine that involves vampires and baked goods.

ETA: Of course HP is where the magic is at

Nope different book, sorry!
I remembered the author now: Ken Follett.

 

[luplodw]

The Fountainhead
The Lovely Bones
The Help
The Count of Monte Cristo

 

[DVMorBust]

Also a fantasy reader. Current favorites include:

Mistborn trilogy (The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages) - Brandon Sanderson (magic system seriously made me geek out)

The Bone Doll's Twin/Hidden Warrior/Oracles Queen - Lynn Flewelling (I love the Nightrunner series, but felt she hadn't yet hit her stride with writing. She really nails it with this trilogy.)

 

[FutureVet4]

If any of you are into the whole "green" movement, I read a book recently called Sleeping Naked is Green by Vanessa Farquharson. The tagline is "How an eco-cynic unplugged her fridge, sold her car, and found love in 366 days". Very inspiring

 

[cuitlamiztli]

I also sci fi/fantasy. Some of my favorites are:

Temeraire series by Naomi Novik
Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
Heralds of Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey (and almost anything by her, really)
Obsidian Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory

And seconding/whatevering these:
Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey (again, minus the ones written or co-written by her son. A plague? Again? Really?)
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede
Earth's Children series by Jean Auel
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Harry Potter

 

[twelvetigers]

Enchanted Forest Chronicles?!? Yay! I'm having a little girl named Cimorene someday. LOL. Those were my favorite books for years! Did you ever read the Pit Dragon Trilogy by Jane Yolen? Those were excellent as well. Oh, how about Bruce Coville's books? Those were about unicorns.

 

[that70sfan11]

Can I just say I'm a huuuge Oscar Wilde fan?? One of the best writers ever, he's so clever! My favorite book of all-time is The Picture of Dorian Gray

The last books I've read are:
-The Princess Bride (yes, there is a book and it's fantastic!)
-Reread all of Harry Potter in a row -- had never done that since I would read in-between new books coming out.
-The Time Traveler's Wife -- VERY good

I also recommend A Handmaid's Tale if you like books about Utopian societies like I do

 

[psjlg2]

Harry Potter!!!
Neil Gaiman The Graveyard Book and American Gods
The Southern Vampire Mysteries (TruBlood HBO series is based off of these books)

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

If you love a good history book and also love a real vampire story (not vampires that sparkle) read the Historian, it is long and sometimes tedious with all of the history but it was beautifully written and about Dracula the man who became the legend....creepy

 

[HopefulAg]

Joining the ranks of the SciFi/Fantasy crowd.


Some of my favorites, in no particular order (though the first ones are there for a reason):

Fantasy
The Deathgate Cycle
The Sovereign Stone Trilogy
The Farseer, Liveship, and Tawny Men Trilogies (they're somewhat sequential)
The Magician trilogy, followed by the Serpent War saga
Temeraire (like dragons? Like the Napoleonic War? Ever wish the two could meet? Yah me neither, but it's still an awesome result!)

Sci-Fi
Neuromancer
Ender's Game
Rama quadilogy (is that a word?)
Pretty much anything by Jose Farmer (Riverworld guy)
Otherland (only read the first so far because it's soooooo freakkkkking lonnnnng; I got other **** to read!)
Hitchhiker's series
Dune
1984

'Regular' Books
Don Quixote
Outliers
Darwin's Ghost
And uhh....I'm not a big 'regular book' reader.

 

[HandD42]

If you love a good history book and also love a real vampire story (not vampires that sparkle) read the Historian, it is long and sometimes tedious with all of the history but it was beautifully written and about Dracula the man who became the legend....creepy

I agree the beginning is quite tedious but it is one of the only books I have ever read where I got honest to goodness scared when I was reading it alone. I had to put it down and wait for someone to get home until I could finish it. Masterfully suspenseful!

 

[sirbuckie]

Catch-22
Watchmen (the comic book)
Pride and Prejudice (and Zombies)
The Hot Zone

I definitely recommend all these books, but especially The Hot Zone. It's about the Ebola scare we had in the states and the scary part is that everything in the book is TRUE! Pride and Prejudice would be a good cheesy book to read and the added zombies will add an additional chuckle here and there. I grew up reading comic books and I would have to say Watchmen is by far one of the best ones out there.. the movie did it no justice.

 

[cuitlamiztli]

Did you ever read the Pit Dragon Trilogy by Jane Yolen? Those were excellent as well. Oh, how about Bruce Coville's books? Those were about unicorns.

Yes to both! I had to wikipedia the Pit Dragon Trilogy because I wasn't sure if it was what I thought it was (if that makes any sense) and apparently a 4th book came out last May. Who knew??

 

[twelvetigers]

That's crazy, she wrote those forever ago. I met the author of those, gave a speech about her, and have a few signed books as a result.

 

[Pandacinny]

I LOVE LOVE The Princess Bride. I didn't even realize it was a movie until midway through college. (Both versions are excellent!)

Also, if we're allowed to include comic books, I have to plug the following:
Fables, Y The Last Man, Runaways (not sure of the last few trades, but the first were EXCELLENT), Owly, Sandman (of course), and Spider Man Loves Mary Jane (if you're into cutesy things - which I sometimes am.) I could go on and on and on about comics, so I'd better keep the list there...

Another great book is The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson. It's about London's cholera epidemic in the 1850's and is SOOO engrossing.

 

[HoneySmucks]

Oo GellaBella Pillars of the Earth was epic!! And the sequel World Without End!

Also, Water for Elephants (it's actually sort of vet-related I guess, about a Cornell Vet grad who works for a circus in the 30s... very good read).

And I'm sure these books are not actually that good, but I have awesome childhood memories of the Thoroughbred Series... Ashleigh Griffin and Wonder, anyone?

 

[Myotis]

Totally un-original here, but Harry Potter! I am such a Harry Potter nerd, I have a wand, and I'm a red head, so in my mind, I am a Weasley! hahaha

My other favorites would have to be:
Geek Love-Katherine Dunn
Cruddy-Lynda Barry
The Future of Life-Edward O. Wilson
The Name of the Wind-Patrick Rothfuss (a new fantasy series, only the first book out so far, if anyone is looking for a good fantasy book, this one is AMAZING!)
Into the Wild-John Krakauer
Attic-Katherine Dunn
Dune-I can't believe I'm forgetting the authors name, it'll come to me
Darwinia-Robert Charles Wilson
Amazonia-James Rollins
The Giver-Lois Lowry
Parable of the Sower-again, forgetting the name
And anything by Edgar Allen Poe.

I'm currently reading The Song of the Dodo, a very interesting book, and I'd like to tackle The Origin of Species at some point this year. I'm trying to read The Lovely Bones, but I'm having a hard time getting in to it (and I'm over half way through it).

 

[Myotis]

Honeysmucks- I really want to read Water for Elephants! School makes it so hard to find time to read for pleasure, and my list of books to read keeps growing

 

[twelvetigers]

Frank Herbert.

 

[Myotis]

Ah, thank you twelvetigers! I always forget his name for some reason

 

[PM2009]

And I'm sure these books are not actually that good, but I have awesome childhood memories of the Thoroughbred Series... Ashleigh Griffin and Wonder, anyone?

Ummm yes...I remember crying like a baby when Wonder died on a road trip to Disney World. My parents thought I was insane.

 

[Trilt]

Third/Fourthing the Anne McCaffrey recommendations, but don't limit yourself just to the dragonriders series! The Doona, Crystal Singer & Ship Who Sang series are also quite good books. If it has Todd McCaffrey on the cover, it has the plague. Don't touch it.

In addition, I don't think I've seen Harry Turtledove, who is one of my favourite alternative history writers... each book is a bit of a practice in masochism, as he often tells the stories from 5+ perspectives, but they're really interesting.

I also recently read "The Zookeeper's Wife," which was a good historical novel about WW2. I read a lot, and suck at listing everything.

 

[HoneySmucks]

Ummm yes...I remember crying like a baby when Wonder died on a road trip to Disney World. My parents thought I was insane.

Yeah it was so sad... and then there was Wonder's Star and Wonder's Pride and all her foals and then Ashleigh's daughter became a jumper and then more stuff happened... I think I finally stopped at like Book 28 or something, but I know they've made even more..

And Myotis, Water for Elephants is a quick read and such a page turner you'll be done so quick.. Maybe a spring break book?

 

[Wolphcats]

All of the Disc World series by Terry Pratchett (almost completely done reading all 37 books)
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Niel Gaiman.
Life of Pi
White Tiger (if you guys liked Life of Pi, you might enjoy White Tiger)
And of course Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy!

Funny story about Hitchhiker... My organic chem prof would always wear a "DON'T PANIC" shirt on the exam days. I could not answer one of the questions... so I put down 42. He gave me 1/2 credit!!!

 

[HopefulAg]

Oh balls I just realized I forgot one of the best ones! The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin!

Though if he doesn't release A Dance With Dragons soon I'm going to give him a stern glare through the interwebs!

 

[Minnerbelle]

Has anyone read Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst (i think)??? It is AMAZING! It's heartbreaking, but also the cutest love story at times, but also super dark and twisty. When you finish, it all comes together as the story of a grieving husband, and it's sooooo good!

 

[twelvetigers]

When you finish, it all comes together as the story of a grieving husband, and it's sooooo good!

I hope that's not a spoiler!

 

[Minnerbelle]

I hope that's not a spoiler!

haha, the first sentence of the book is in first person as the husband who says that his wife died, and that the only witness was his dog. so nope, not a spoiler at all!

it does have a great ending though!!! but I won't spill that.


aren't ya interested now!?!?

 

[Truby]

Oh balls I just realized I forgot one of the best ones! The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin!

Though if he doesn't release A Dance With Dragons soon I'm going to give him a stern glare through the interwebs!

Totally agree!! The Song of Ice and Fire series is one of the best ever written but I've been waiting for A Dance with Dragons so long I'm about to give up or send GRRM a very rude e-mail.

Also, second The Name of the Wind I picked it up at random, not knowing that it was the first in a series that isn't finished, and now I can't wait for the next one.

Some of my other favorites:
East of Eden (Steinbeck)
The Sword of Truth (Terry Brooks)
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
Lord of the Rings (Tolkien)
Thursday Next (Jasper Fforde)
Redwall (Brian Jacques)
Hitchhikers Guide (Douglas Adams)
Dresden Files (Jim Butcher
Circle Trilogy- Black, Red, White (Ted Dekker)
and pretty much anything arthurian. But I'm not a nerd or anything

 

[twelvetigers]

You bet -I plan on making a list from this thread and keeping it for next summer, spring break... any free time. I really missed reading my first few years of college.

ETA: REDWALL!! All these childhood favorites. Cecil was always my favorite in those... wot wot?

 

[Trilt]

I loved Redwall as a kid, until I realized that I could completely predict the plotline of most of the books using a simple formula. That said, "Taggerung" from the series still hold a special place in my heart.

 

[badcats]

Yay vet school will be populated by many people to trade books with!!

 

[twelvetigers]

Yes, true. But, they ARE kid's books. I re-read the Enchanted Forest series by Wrede and it really came off a bit simple... kind of watching Labyrinth or Dark Crystal or the Neverending Story... kinda ruins the memory a bit, you know?

Also, new avatar! In case anyone is confused. Seems to happen.

 

[Myotis]

twelvetigers-I didn't see the neverending story until I was 19 hahaha, but I'm a sucker for a good childs movie. My roommate and I watch Lion King a lot and sing along like dorks. And we had a movie night with some friends and watched Fern Gully. It was awesome! hahaha

Truby-I finished The Name of the Wind right around the time Amazon posted a fake release date for the second book. I was so excited and then I found out that Pat hadn't even finished the book yet and he still hasn't finished it...

 

[ckd816]

LOVING the new avatar, TT! I never saw the whole second season so I borrowed it from my brother recently... I've got to catch up!!

As for books... I'll get back to you!

 

[psjlg2]

Totally un-original here, but Harry Potter! I am such a Harry Potter nerd, I have a wand, and I'm a red head, so in my mind, I am a Weasley! hahaha

I have a wand and I bought the school robes and gryffindor socks and scarf and my license plate says HGWRTS and I got the deathly hallows tattoo....

I am the biggest Harry Potter nerd. Every year my friend and I dress up and go to the midnight showings, generally at theater's with bar's next to them to make the 4 hour line wait go by much more quickly. But overall, best books of all time....

 

[TrocarKarin]

Books that I've re-read the most are the Hitchhiker's trilogy, and Watership Down and Maia by Douglas Adams.

Other series that I enjoy, but won't read as often are the Patricia Cornwell Scarpetta Books, the Kathy Reichs books that Bones the tv show was based off of, the Ender series by Orson Scott Card, the Dexter books by Jeff Lindsay, and everything by Richard Dawkins.

 

[katryn]

I'm seconding/thirding/whatevering Pat Rothfuss too! Name of the Wind was possibly the most amazing thing I've read in a very long time. If you're a super geek, check out his blog (http://www.patrickrothfuss.com/blog/blog.html) it is wonderfulness also, although not much on updates for the next book(last he posted about that, it was in the editors hands for FINAL revision).

Also, if you don't mind a bit of tedious world building, Anathem by Neil Stevenson is also wonderful.