I love to read and hope to someday write a novel. My life is such that I don't read as much as I did in the past and so I am a bit more discriminating about which books I choose. At the moment I am reading a book entitled, "The Orphan Master's Son," by Adam Johnson. It's a story about the realities of living in North Korea. I think that it's very well written and presents a compelling, timely story that I have found to be truly believable, despite the fact that it's truly unbelievable. The most difficult aspect, for me, is that I find it to be almost overwhelmingly sad. While I want to push through and discover what happens to the protagonist, Jun Do, I find it difficult to read more that 20-30 pages per session. I expect to finish this book within the next week and am looking to move on to something else. Any recommendations? I read almost anything. Earlier this year I read the Count of Monte Cristo (1100 pages - what a beast) and A Tale of Two Cities but mostly I read stuff that's more contemporary. I have a soft spot for Sci-Fi/Fantasy but not kids stuff (Harry Potter, etc.) Tell me what you're reading. What's good? What's not.
If you like hard SF space opera, I suggest Alastair Reynolds. The Revelation Space series is good, but my favorite is the far-future novel House of Suns.
I love to read! Sadly, I'm going to school right now, so I can't read as much as I'd like. I love books that have to do with Detective work, Homicide, Mystery, etc. Just about anything written by James Patterson.
Once upon a time I read all the Travis McGee novels by John D. McDonald. I read them, in the order they were written and I was genuinely sad when he died before finishing the last book in the series. Beyond that I was more of a spy novel reader. To this day I love the "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" novels (I'm including Smiley's People). In my opinion the best spy novels ever written. I know that they just re-made the movie, can't wait to see it. I just bought a copy of "Gods Without Men," by Hari Kunzru. I want to start it immediately but I haven't finished the Adam Johnson book yet.
I absolutely love murder mysteries. Currently I'm reading a book called Mary Mary, by James Patterson, and although it isn't my favorite so far, it is really good. I am always amazed at the great writing style of his. I love just about every book written by James Patterson - even if it is not about a homicide murder. Give him a try, eh?
3 books I'm reading right now...IT Disaster Recovery for Dummies, Project Requirements: A Guide to Best Practices and Exploring Scrum: The Fundamentals oh and my church book club The Bullet Proof Mind. I wish I could throw in some light reading but I'm swampped, 2 are required for work, 1 is required for school and 1 is for church. What's a guy gotta' do to sneak a little sci/fi in every now and then?
Nightfall by Issac Asimov is an interesting short story - combines science and psychology. I'm not a big reader of Science Fiction but this is a great story. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightfall_(Asimov_short_story_and_novel)