I need a good book to read, non-medical.

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makeshift123

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I've been on this reading kick lately, and i've run out of books, so i'm looking for suggestions. In the past month, I've re-read Catcher in the Rye and 1984, read The Alchemist, Veronika Decides to Die, Life of Pi, The Perks of being a Wallflower, and A thousand splendid suns. All of them were awesome.

If any of you know about these books above, those are the types of books i enjoy reading. Anyone got any good suggestions for me???

No sci-fi, historical, or biographies.
 
I'd recommend A Million Little Pieces by James Frey, regardless of the controversy that surrounded the book, its an amazing piece of literature.
 
I picked up "Reading Lolita in Tehran" the other day. It's a great read.
 
ColeOnTheRoll said:
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe - a little mindless, but a very entertaining and well written series.
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The OP said he doesn't want sci-fi.

makeshift123 said:
I've been on this reading kick lately, and i've run out of books, so i'm looking for suggestions. In the past month, I've re-read Catcher in the Rye and 1984, read The Alchemist, Veronika Decides to Die, Life of Pi, The Perks of being a Wallflower, and A thousand splendid suns. All of them were awesome.

If any of you know about these books above, those are the types of books i enjoy reading. Anyone got any good suggestions for me???

No sci-fi, historical, or biographies.
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The books you like seem to be mostly bestsellers or popular, accessible classics, so I'd recommend The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.
 
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Check out "The Road" and "No Country for Old Men" by Cormac McCarthy.

I'm a big fan of post-apocalyptic fiction so i'd also suggest:

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Swan Song by Robert McCammon
Earth Abides by George Stewart
 
I recommend the Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. It is one of the best books I have read!:idea:
 
Try a search, there was another thread about the same thing recently that may have some good suggestions.
 
tiedyeddog said:
TheThirdLevel said:
Check out "The Road" and "No Country for Old Men" by Cormac McCarthy.
+1. The Road is awesome. I didn't like it that much the first time.. Took a second reading to get it all in.

You might also like for whom the bell tolls
The man and the Sea
Grapes or Wrath
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It's great. Have you seen the movie? It's actually very good.
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TheThirdLevel said:
Check out "The Road" and "No Country for Old Men" by Cormac McCarthy.

I'm a big fan of post-apocalyptic fiction so i'd also suggest:

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Swan Song by Robert McCammon
Earth Abides by George Stewart
Click to expand...

my favorite dystopias are by Margaret Atwood--Oryx&Crake, The Year of the Flood, and then The Handmaid's Tale (you may have already read this in school--I want to eventually watch the movie, it was filmed at my undergrad). Oryx & Crake is just a phenomenal book, and The Year of the Flood features the God's Gardeners, aka Best! Cult! Ever!
 
tiedyeddog said:
So, there is a book about reading a book? I dunno about this...
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Reading Lolita In Tehran is about the extremely conservative and restrictive Islamic state of Iran. Although not commonly or openly discussed, Iran is a state with several banned books, movies, etc. I think based on your interests you would enjoy this book.
 
-Girls of Riyadh
-Anything by Jodi Picoult (although her books lack the cultural background that books like A Thousand Splendid Suns have)
-Sold
-The Kite Runner (Also by Khaled Hosseini)
Medical related books
-House of God
-Complications
-The Checklist Manifesto
 
Lolita is fantastic.

Faulkner's stuff is great. I'm reading "All the King's Men" right now and it's entertaining but thoughtful.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I've decided to start with A Million Little Pieces cuz i had always wanted to read it, but forgot about it. Keep coming with the suggestions, though, so I can look into my next book. I'm a pretty fast reader.
 
Three Cups of Tea, and its follow on, Stones into Schools. Really inspiring and eye-opening book. Added bonus: I taked about those two books at every med interview they asked about a book, and the interviewers always enjoyed it.
 
I picked up The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo at a train station bookstore, and I've been pleasently suprised (still reading it). Well written mystery with some compelling characters.
 
schrizto said:
The OP said he doesn't want sci-fi.



The books you like seem to be mostly bestsellers or popular, accessible classics, so I'd recommend The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.
Click to expand...

This. amazing book.
i just finished up The Great Gatsby again, so i'd recommend that.
 
Heart of Darkness is a good read, although sometimes dense.

If you are into fantasy-ish epics, Stephen King's The Dark Tower series is amazing, even if it's 576543223524545 pages long. Start with The Gunslinger and see how you like it, since it gets better and deeper.

The Stand is another good King book. I don't really like Stephen King, but those two are great stories.
 
Here are some novels that I've enjoyed that are set in other countries:


The Death of Vishnu: A Novel by Manil Suri (India)

Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky (France)

Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt)

Bel Canto: A Novel by Ann Patchett (South America)


In Cold Blood by Truman Capote Non-fiction but well written and timeless

Currently reading "The Immortal Cells of Henrietta Lacks" which is non-fiction and related to cell biology, bioethics, African-American history, and a bit of history of science.
 
Not to nitpick, but I think people are starting to recommend books they like themselves rather then suggesting what the OP might like based on his list. King is grim/dense stuff compared to The Alchemist or The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Also, a lot of Margaret Atwood is dystopian science fiction and the OP specifically said no science fiction.
 
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If you liked 1984, why not Brave New World? I liked it better and am currently re-reading it.

I've been reading a lot lately too, only most of it doesn't fit into what you are looking for. Maybe The Screw Tape Letters by C.S. Lewis? I am about to read it.

The Language of God is a cool book and short/easy read.

You might like The F*** up.
 
metallica81788 said:
Heart of Darkness is a good read, although sometimes dense.

If you are into fantasy-ish epics, Stephen King's The Dark Tower series is amazing, even if it's 576543223524545 pages long. Start with The Gunslinger and see how you like it, since it gets better and deeper.

The Stand is another good King book. I don't really like Stephen King, but those two are great stories.
Click to expand...


The Stand is my favorite book, ever. Check out what happened to my copy after having been read 20-30 times:

http://i40.tinypic.com/14t6dyd.png
http://i40.tinypic.com/i60bo2.png

It's in two 500-page pieces :laugh:

I'm a huge fan of all sorts of post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction, and when I'm not reading those I'm reading social science-y type nonfiction books (like Ayaan Hirsi Ali's autobiography, or Half The Sky by Kristof) so my book choices are probably not all that good for the OP.

ALTHOUGH, OP, if you like A Thousand Splendid Suns you should read The Kite Runner. I personally like ATSS better, but I'm a girl and there's a whopping 1 female character total in the Kite Runner, so maybe I'm biased.
 
I would recommend anything by Vonnegut, George Saunders, Philip Roth and Charles Bukowski.
 
The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
 
I'll second the vote for Oryx and Crake by Atwood. I'm currently reading it, and it's got me quite hooked. It reads along the lines of 1984 in that it's dystopian fiction but definitely not sci-fi like 2001 or asimov.
 
I second The Road. It's a bit dark, but Cormac McCarthy is a very talented writer.
 
Ian Fleming's James Bond series is incredibly good.
 
Running With Scissors or Dry (or anything elese by Augusten Burroughs)
The Time Traveler's Wife
My Sister's Keeper
My Friend Leonard (sequel to A Million Little Pieces)
The Summer We Fell Apart
The Cider House Rules

All fantastic books!
 
tiedyeddog said:
TheThirdLevel said:
Check out "The Road" and "No Country for Old Men" by Cormac McCarthy.
+1. The Road is awesome. I didn't like it that much the first time.. Took a second reading to get it all in.

You might also like for whom the bell tolls
The man and the Sea
Grapes or Wrath
Click to expand...

Grapes of Wrath is a good read, classic

I personally like C.S. Lewis (no not the Narnia Series). His other works include the Abolition of Man, The Problem of Pain, The Scrutape Letters. They are more philosophical but Lewis is a fantastic writer and he makes it interesting.
Click to expand...
 
I really liked Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie.
 
makeshift123 said:
Catcher in the Rye and 1984, Life of Pi, The A thousand splendid suns.

No sci-fi, historical, or biographies.
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Fahrenheit 451, Lord of Flies, or Attonement. There are a ton of books similar to the ones you listed. Perhaps just try different books by same authors.

If you want something different and not sci-fi, historical, or biographical, Don Quixote (any translation) or Metamorphosis (short) may interest you. I think.
 
LizzyM said:
Currently reading "The Immortal Cells of Henrietta Lacks" which is non-fiction and related to cell biology, bioethics, African-American history, and a bit of history of science.
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👍

Perks of Being a Wallflower was awesome.
I hated, with the fire of 1000 suns, Catcher in the Rye. It took all I had to actually finish it.

Just finished up Blood Crazy by Simon Clark. Not particularly well written or inventive, but still a good read.
 
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Excellent read! It's a little over 1000 pages though, but it's in Oprah's book club...haha
 
I guess it depends on what your in the mood for, but I really like:

Atwood: The Blind Assassin (amazing book)
anything by Salman Rushdie
Don Quixote (my absolute favorite book ever)
Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis (although this book is about a doctor it is an amazing discussion on the ethics of different areas of medicine like public health, surgery etc.)
 
This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a great coming-of-ager. He wrote it while he was still at Princeton, and it seems to largely follow his own experience
 
kywii said:
Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis (although this book is about a doctor it is an amazing discussion on the ethics of different areas of medicine like public health, surgery etc.)
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I read the first few chapters of Arrowsmith and put it down because the main character seemed like a jerk. The book probably gets better, though.
 
I personally like C.S. Lewis (no not the Narnia Series). His other works include the Abolition of Man, The Problem of Pain, The Scrutape Letters. They are more philosophical but Lewis is a fantastic writer and he makes it interesting.
Click to expand...

Agreed on C.S. Lewis!! Check out his Space Trilogy, especially Perelandra, if you haven't already. 🙂
 
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