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10387 Posts
At my school we do this thing called Accelerated Reader, which is 10% of our english grade. AR is due next week and I have.. about 500k words I need to read haha.. Usually I get all this stuff done pretty quickly but I haven't really been able to find any interesting books this year.
Books I really liked (and have already tested) are the Ender series, LotR books, HP books, Bartimaeus Trilogy, Fountainhead and some others I can't really remember right now. I tried to read Inkheart and this bigass book by Tom Clancy, but I got kinda bored of those and stopped reading it.
For a point of reference, Fountainhead is around 300k words.
Edit: My preferred genre is that of Fantasy/Sci-Fi, or a combination of the two, but I do not mind the other genres. I have read some fiction novels that involved some litigation (Forgot the author's name, books were titled something like "The Judge" or "The Firm", idk), which I enjoyed. As long as its well-written at least, I should enjoy it.
More books I really enjoyed:The Last Book in the Universe
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Jules Verne novel's are the way to go.
20k leagues under the sea, Mysterious island
Journey to the center of the earth..so many good ones.
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Try A game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, its the first book of A song of ice and fire. I liked it.
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THE DIAMOND AGE BY NEAL STEPHENSON
I put it in caps because YOU SHOULD REALLY REALLY READ IT
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Each book in the Night's Dawn trilogy is probably 450-500k words. Way too much sex in the first book, and although most people seem to think the sequels weren't nearly as good I liked them more.
Battlefield Earth is about that length too, but I haven't read it since I was like 12 so I can't vouch for its quality anymore. Was a hell of a lot better than the movie, at least (not that that says anything).
I can't think of any other +1k page books I've enjoyed. The first several books of the Wheel of Time are good, but you'd probably have to read the first two to get your 500k words.
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George R. R. Martin books were good. I really like how he randomly kills main characters from time to time. Never know what to expect.
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Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
The 100 by Michael Hart
Catch22 by Joseph Heller
Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
3x Carlin by George Carlin
Mapping the Mind by Rita Carter/Phantoms in the Brain by V. S. Ramachandran(s/p)
The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins
Thats a pretty good mix for you to read, any 2/3 will suffice
Are you required to read fiction or nonfiction? Because only 2 from my list are fiction
oh and every person that is alive required to read:
"The Ultimate Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy"- simply the best series ever made
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Baa?21243 Posts
Did you also read the Ender's Shadow Quartet/Speaker Trilogy? First Meetings?
Try the Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix if you liked Bartimaeus. Pretty typical fantasy stuff, but pretty well written from what I remember.
His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman definitely. In line with that, read Paradise Lost by Milton if you're in the mood for some classics.
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I HATED the Ender's Shadow series. I really wanted and tried to like them, but all the international politics were so silly and shallow I just couldn't take them seriously.
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I liked eragon, eldest, and brisingr you should read them.
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I second Jules Verne and also recommend H.G. Wells. The easy answer is "War of the Worlds" but I'd recommend "The Man Who Could Work Miracles" and "The Invisible Man" as they are both excellent works. I couldn't guess their length in words though. They're short novels and may only put a dent in the required amount of reading. For something lengthy you might check out Nietzsche's "Thus Spake Zarathustra." If you don't mind that it reads in a manner similar to the Bible, it is an interesting philosophical piece.
Edit: I forgot H.G.'s "Star-Begotten." The ending felt a little predictable but left me with a smile never the less.
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My fav book used to be Ender's Game ... until I read A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving. They're totally different genres but check it out. All of John Irving's books are well written (he did Cider House Rules as well as The World According to Garp).
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The Unknown Terrorist - Richard Flanagan
Stranger in a strange land - Robert Heinlein
Scarecrow - Matthew Reilly
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My Colombian Death
An Australian news writer becomes so frustrated and bored with his work that he travels to Columbia:
"My Columbian Death covers Thompson's 2006 experiences in Colombia, when he roamed the country spending time at carnivals, with gang members and cocaine dealers, ran with bulls, played the explosive drinking game of tejo, met Salvatore Mancuso, the then-head of the right-wing paramilitary United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a US-designated terrorist organisation, made friends in the bohemian circles of Medellin and drank the legendary shamanic hallucinogen, yage AKA Ayahuasca. (wikipedia)"
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10387 Posts
AR quizzes I can take are listed at http://www.renlearn.com/store/quiz_home.asp?c=MA 71:11:2 9002/6/21
George RR Martin, The Diamond Age, Night's Dawn trilogy, Wheel of Time and Abhorsen Trilogy except Abhorsen (-_-) were not available as tests sadly. Those looked quite fantastic, but unfortunately..
The Jules Vernes books, 20k leagues and Around the World in 50 Days are listed, along with the Owen Meany books and HG Wells books
I've read the Eragon series, those are ok, not my favorite.
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Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins. I suppose you could classify it as fantasy but that book is really in a genre of its own. It follows the lives of four main characters, a waitress in modern Seattle, a perfume shop owner in New Orleans, the co-owner of a perfume company in France, and an exiled Norwegian King.
Tom Robbins is a fantastic author. It isn't your typical fantasy but it was the best book I've ever read.
Any of the Robert Heinlein novels are excellent but as a sci-fi fan you've probably read them.
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read the dark elf trilogy by R.A Salvatore great light reading, and it'll fit your quota nicely, and FWIW the writing is leaps and bounds ahead of the Eragon series. most fantasy light reading.
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On December 06 2009 17:21 ArvickHero wrote:AR quizzes I can take are listed at http://www.renlearn.com/store/quiz_home.asp?c=MA 71:11:2 9002/6/21George RR Martin, The Diamond Age, Night's Dawn trilogy, Wheel of Time and Abhorsen Trilogy except Abhorsen (-_-) were not available as tests sadly. Those looked quite fantastic, but unfortunately.. The Jules Vernes books, 20k leagues and Around the World in 50 Days are listed, along with the Owen Meany books and HG Wells books I've read the Eragon series, those are ok, not my favorite.
Catch22 and Slaughterhouse 5 are though
Hitchiker isnt T__T
Read Catch22(its level is 7.1 and its worth 30 points? Thats good I suppose). Its my favorite novel and all I can say its pretty fucking awesome, awesome chars, very hilarious and humongous and makes a lot of strong points.
I also recommend 100 years of Solitude by Garcia Marquez, a fantastic and epic novel
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On December 06 2009 16:19 zerosiris wrote:
Try A game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, its the first book of A song of ice and fire. I liked it.
This. A good read and a page turner.
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EPT![[image loading]](http://www.timeoutsydney.com.au/books/reviews/inline-interview-matt-thompson-My-Colombian-Death.jpg)
