i need a book

[Green_Fairy]

soo...i've decided i need a book.
i dig history, fantasy, steampunk, sci-fi, mystery...
any ideas?

[Taboo]

Ender's Game and Dune are both great sci-fi classics, just in case you haven't read them yet. For fantasy, I'm a big fan of Diana Wynne Jones' work.

[AdminAssistant]

I'm just finishing Anthony Bourdain's The Nasty Bits (I also recommend Kitchen Confidential), and I'm about to dig into David Mamet's new one Theatre.

[Elspeth]

Currently reading "The Stepsister Scheme" by Jim C Hines. It is a series. New take on the classic fairy tales. I like it so far

Also The Game of Thrones is suppose to be good (I read it when it first came out, but I don't remember much of it)

Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara is another series. Read the first book and loved it

Dresedn Files Series is very good also Jim Butcher's other series is very good


I will add to this if I think of any more

[Treasure]

the Hollow's Series by Kim Harrison (Also known as the Rachel Morgan series) awsome! (witch bounty hunter w/ a vampier roommate/bus. partner and a pixie who she trusts more than anything! also with werewolves, fairies, elves, demons, etc)

any of the Anita Blakes by Laurell K. Hamilton, she also has a fairy series - all i know is one of the books is called "Lick of Frost"

[Seshat]

Almost anything by Niel Gaimen.

Girl Genius, by Phil and Kaja Foglio. (Yes, it's written/illustrated in comic format - it's a GREAT story, though.)

Tanya Huff's stuff is good. I'm not as fond of her vampire books as her more fantasy stuff, but I'm sure about half her fans say that, and the other half prefer the vampire ones.

[TelephoneAngel]

I'm reading Fragment by Warren Fhy it's about a mysterious island inhabited by creatures never seen before, plenty of intrigue and gore.

[trailerparkmedic]

Fiance is reading Off Armageddon Reef and is enjoying it. It seems to be a Fantasy-ish book.

If you like mysteries, have you ever read any of Janet Evanovich's numbered series (Stephanie Plum books)? They're hilarious and you don't need to read them in order. The only continuous plot line (at least in the ones I read) was the main character's love life. I'd start with One for the Money just so you get an idea of how the main character's story started. I'm not a huge mystery fan and I still liked the books.

[Exaspera]

Fatherland by Robert Harris. I was so sad when the book was over!

[bookworm]

My all time favorite sci-fi author is Robert Heinlein. My favorites of his are The Cat Who Walked Thru Walls and Number of the Beast (which is much more science-y than most, but is still a good read).

Robert Jordan is another fave of mine, but warning, his Wheel of Time series is LONG. Book 12 is currently out and there's going to be 2 more (he died, but someone else is finishing the series based on his notes. There was supposed to be 1 more book, but they decided to split it up).

Terry Goodkind's Truth series is another good one. It's been a few years since I've read it, so I don't remember the book names, but I know there's a tv show based on the books. The Seeker or some such.

Everything is vampires nowadays, and I'm not much into that, but Sherrilyn Kenyon's DarkHunter series is great. They aren't technically vampires and it's based on Greek/Roman type mythology.

David Eddings has a couple series I liked.

(If you can't tell, I like series and quest type books.)

I second Janet Evanovich - she's laugh out loud funny. To this day I can picture Lulu running down the street with a bag of bacon, being chased by a pack of dogs. That's just an image you never forget!!!

I also like JD Robb, which is a pseudonym for Nora Roberts. It's a futuristic murder detective series. Warning though, it can be sexually explicit and the main character has flashbacks to some severe abuse she suffered as a child. (I always like to warn people about that, just in case).

I'll stop now, but I have several more authors I like if you need more recommendations.

Edited: Mercedes Lackey is a prolific fantasy writer, and her Valdemar series is exceptionally good.

[Whiskey]

The dark half by Stephen king.

[jedimaster91]

The Dune series is great, although I could only get through the first three. God Emperor of Dune made my head hurt.

I would recommend the New Jedi Order series. It starts with Vector Prime by RA Salvatore. It's deliciously dark and violent and arguable the best Star Wars series ever written. You can still understand it even if you haven't read any of the other books. All you need to know is Han and Leia got married and had 3 kids, and Luke's married to a former Imperial.

[Mishi]

Treasure, TrailerParkMedic and bookworm already mentioned the authors that I was going to recommend so here's a few more.

- Clive Cussler: easy to read and I like the way he writes about alternate historical events.

- Kerry Greenwood: for the dicotomy between the two mystery series she writes (A 1920's ex-model lady detective and a present day size 20 baker that has mysteries sneak up on her).

- Kylie Chan: Chinese gods and Martial Arts in a present day setting.

- Dick Francis: Mysteries centred around the horseracing industry.

- Terry Pratchett: for laugh out loud funny.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson (History, WWII, and adventure to boot).

I met the author and the 4 main "characters" (it's a true story) the week before I read the book, and there is a section that still had me on the edge of my seat (so to speak) waiting to find out if the guy makes it out. Afterwards, I said to myself, "Duh! You just met the guy!" Great book.

[ArcticChicken]

Tanya Huff's stuff is good. I'm not as fond of her vampire books as her more fantasy stuff, but I'm sure about half her fans say that, and the other half prefer the vampire ones.

I just picked up The Enchantment Emporium, and am enjoying the hell out of it.

Robert Jordan is another fave of mine, but warning, his Wheel of Time series is LONG. Book 12 is currently out and there's going to be 2 more (he died, but someone else is finishing the series based on his notes. There was supposed to be 1 more book, but they decided to split it up).

Brandon Sanderson is the guy who's finishing Wheel of Time, and he's and awesome writer. Elantris was OK, but the Mistborn and it's sequels were absolutely brilliant.

Mercedes Lackey is a prolific fantasy writer, and her Valdemar series is exceptionally good.

I just arranged my books and discovered that I have two entire shelves of Lackey.

Naomi Novik has the Temeraire series, which is historical fantasy, and on my "Must Own" list, the first book is His Majesty's Dragon.

Jim Butcher is good. While I enjoy the Dresden Files, I really love his fantasy series, which he just finished.

Louis McMaster Bujold has both sci-fi and fantasy series that I love.

I can't recommend Orson Scott Card enough.

P.N. Elrod has a vampire detective series that's pretty fun.

Neil Gaiman is on my personal list of deitys.

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch is brilliant, it's sequel, Red Seas Under Red Skies, less so, but worth reading once.

If you like young adult fiction, Tamora Peirce has some fun series, but I'm not sure how much of my attachment is related to fond childhood memories.

Diana Wynne Jones is also a young adult author, but I know I don't just like her because of memories, my particular favorites are Howl's Moving Castle and The Dark Lord of Derkholm.

I just picked up The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson, and I'm loving it, the other book I've read of his is Snowcrash, which I also loved.

If you're looking for more classic fantasy I highly recommend The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams, and, of course, the sequels.

That's all I can think of right now, but I'll post again if anything else occurs to me.