h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Fantasy-any of the Robyn Hobb series (" the Liveship Traders", "Assassins Quest" or "The Tawny Man")
"Little ,Big" by John Crowley (my alltime favourite book)
The new(ish) "Prelude to Dune" books

Will Self's "Tough Tough Toys for Tough Tough Boys", a collection of stories written with a certain evil in mind and a delicious attention to language

A book that changed my way of thinking about love and sex was Robert Heinleins `Time enough for Love`. It really depends what part of your life you feel needs a re-think! Some people dont like sci-fi much though. Up to you.

John Steinbeck - Cannery Row. It'll make you laugh (a lot), it'll make you cry (a bit), and it'll draw the most wonderful pictures in your head

A damn good read? try ? Fall on your knees by Anne Marie Mcdonald (a Canadian) very Gothic but you can't put it down. Another (written many years ago) Cry the Beloved Country by Allan Paton ( A south African) his book was banned in his country fcr many years. Another book -also banned but American_ Johnny got his gun.By Dalton Trumbo This book was banned during the Mcarthy era. On The Beach by Nevil Shute- written many years ago during the Cold War but very relevant today. Happy reading - K Oh Yes! one of my all time favourites, Slaughter House Five by Voneghut. A true masterpiece. Kathleen

Ooh! Will Self

I can recommend any and all of his stuff

Have you read any of these Rankin novels?

The Antipope 1981
The Brentford Triangle 1982
East of Ealing 1984
The Brentford Trilogy 1988
The Sprouts of Wrath 1988
Armageddon the Musical 1990
Armageddon II: The B-Movie - They Came and Ate Us 1991
Armageddon III: The Remake - The Suburban Book of the Dead 1992
The Book of Ultimate Truths 1993
Raiders of the Lost Car Park 1994
The Greatest Show Off Earth 1995
The Most Amazing Man Who Ever Lived 1995
The Garden of Unearthly Delights 1995
A Dog Called Demolition 1996
Nostradamus Ate My Hamster 1996
Sprout Mask Replica 1997
The Brentford Chainstore Massacre 1997
The Dance of the Voodoo Handbag 1998 [My favourite]
Apocalypso 1998
Snuff Fiction 1999
Sex and Drugs and Sausage Rolls 1999
Waiting for Godalming 2000
Website Story 2001
The Fandom of the Operator 2001 [My other favorite]
The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse 2002

Oh, also Crash > JG Ballard, A Clockwork Orange > Anthony Burgess, Gridlock, Stark, This Other Eden > Ben Elton
And I could go on for some time by I'm so I won't...

Hmm, I have never read anything by Rankin, though from the reviews on Amazon.com, it looks like that was a mistake for which I will have to make up soon.

* serendipitous backthread - "Time Enough for Love" - been trying to remember that one for ages - thanks Bornonthe20August *

If you want a life-changing book, you've got to find your own. These probably aren't L-C, but they've all been good recent reads (all very different) :
- In the Heart of the Sea (Nathaniel Philbrick)
- The Last English King (Julian Rathbone)
- Chocolat (Joanne Harris)
- Stand on Zanzibar (John Brunner)
- The Way of All Flesh (Samuel Butler)
- Point Counterpoint (Aldous Huxley)

On top of the pile on the adjacent table is "Riley on Business Interruption Insurance". If you read a book like that now and again, you'll notice a massive improvement in all the others.

I'd second 'Stand on Zanzibar' - someone recommended that to me as a book that changed their life, and since I read it this summer I've been recommending it to anyone and everyone.

Some other good reads:

'A Place of Greater Safety' - Hilary Mantel
'The Songlines' - Bruce Chatwin
'His Dark Materials' - Philip Pullman
'Woman on the Edge of Time' - Marge Piercy

Lullabye by- wait for it - chuck Palahunick (my spelling might be off)

Ian M Banks' "Culture" series...

A particular favourite of mine is "Use of weapons"... deep, thoughtful, amusing at times, (science fiction)... very imaginative.

I personally adore the Discworld books, but I know some people can find them quite repetitive in style (my dad can't read two in a row, he has to wait a few months between books ).

Ian Banks is also excellent in a very different way - I have to admit that I don't like the Culture series, but "The Wasp Factory" or "Walking on Glass" are very good, not to mention very weird.

~~A~~

The Wasp Factory

That was the first one of his I read, actually... and I wouldn't say I *like* it, exactly... there's a certian morbid fascination there, but it's a bit much for my delicate tastes

Certainly makes an impression, though...

Our Man in Havana or Travels With My Aunt, both by Graham Greene - the later is currently keeping me between stitches and awe at the moment.
Also - The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuschinski

Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
Crime and Punnishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Chesapeake by James A Mitchner

Re: Rankin. I found him a big disappointment, frankly. I'm a Pratchett fan (although I don't in anyway wish to worship him), and Rankin's style just seemed more predictable, more derivative, and stuffed full of cheap gags. And I wouldn't trust Amazon reviews any further than I could throw Jim Lynn (sorry, Jim).

I've recently enjoyed digging out all my junk sixties/seventies spy/police/terrorist novels, which all make surprisingly good reads, particularly Alastair MacLean and Lawrence Sanders.

B

On the other hand, Rankin is good if you like cheap gags

I find that h2g2 (the site, not the book) is pretty good for cheap gags, myself.

B

Slaughterhouse Five by Voneghut, Probably one of my all time favourites. Cry The Beloved Country by Alan Patton, and , although thiese didn't change my life, Away by Jane Urquhart and FDall On Your Knees by Anne-Marie Macdonald. The latter was Brilliant! and it was her first novel. Happy reading Oh, Oh and The Wars by Timothy Findley, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, Anything by John Wyndham and tdhat goes for Evelyn Waugh too. And On The Beach by Shute- Timeless. I had better stop - K