Book suggestions

[panagiotis]

Hey guys I was recently interested in reading some of the classic foreign writers(I m from Greece) and I found Poe. I ve read his stories and poems etc and I really love his narrative. The tense he builds the plot in his stories the atmosphaire he creates and his descriptions are outstanding! So I d like to ask yu if there is any other writer similar to Poe that I can read. And yes I ve already read Lovecraft :P

 

[tuold]

I just finished the complete works of Poe and enjoyed (most of) it. How about trying Jules Verne? I'm reading Around the World in 80 Days now. Also try, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. (And everything else Sherlock.)

 

[lochinvar]

Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, Robert W. Chambers. All very tense and atmospheric and all within the "weird" sphere.
For something shorter and faster paced, try Robert E. Howard. He wrote some weird stories in the Lovecraft tradition, but he was the creator of Conan, Kull, El Borak, and many other wonderful adventure stories.

 

[darthcider]

Lovecraft would be the obvious choice, but you've already been there.

+1 for Robert E Howard, especially the Conan stories.

 

[beezer]

Maybe try "The Watchful Mind" by a Monk of Mount Athos...

 

[curl]

Am I supposed to suggest something in the same genre?

I enjoyed the entire Hornblower series by C.S. Forrester.

Bernard Cornwell is a prolific writer who has penned several series of books.

I just finished Conn Iggulden's books about Genghis Khan.
Imperium by Robert Harris is a very good tale with Cicero as the main character.

I read Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series in reverse order...the city of Los Angeles is maybe the main character.
The Heart of Everything That Is by Bob Drury is a fascinating history about Red Cloud...he was undefeated against the U.S. Army.
One quote I like...I don't remember who said it...in fiction, everything is true except the names and dates and places; in nonfiction, everything is wrong except the names and dates and places.

 

[hodirty]

+1 to Jules Verne
Around the World is an excellent read. Twenty Thousand Leagues is pretty good to, although very technical about aquatic life.

 

[warren]

Robert Service and Jack London come to mind. Larry McMurtry has written a couple of great books. Hawthorne is also a great read. Melville's Moby Dick should be on your short list along with Omoo. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane is certainly an American classic.
This list, along with some of the other suggestions should keep you off the streets and behind a pipe for a couple of months.

 

[agnosticpipe]

I've been reading Philip K. Dick's books on and off for about a year. He had a very weird slant to science fiction, and most were written in the 60s-70s. Odd story lines, and fantastic stuff like Germany winning WWII and then making flights to Mars, but no cell phones, just dial up. A lot of his stories have been made into movies, like "Blade Runner", "The Adjustment Bureau" and "The Minority Report", but they've been Hollywoodized to some degree. Fun stuff, with sometimes complex plots.

 

[panagiotis]

wow guys!So many suggestions! I can't wait to start looking in on all those you mentioned!(Btw I ve read Jules Verne and I liked him alot when I was younger)

 

[warren]

It's been said that there are only seven basic plot lines available for the writer of fiction. I find that it can be a bit of fun to read a couple of books with the same plot line and compare how the authors presented them.
I won't list them but, you can find the list all over the web.

 

[oldreddog]

I'd suggest China Miévilee and Jeff Van der Meer if you like weird fiction.

 

[lucky695]

Poe is great. I have read and reread the complete works... never gets old.

 

[petes03]

I like Poe from time to time. With a former English/Literature Major for a wife, I really have no choice but to do so, lol!

You might also enjoy these authors (some of which have already been mentioned);
H.G. Wells

Jules Verne

Jack London

Byron Herbert Reece (who I am actually related to)

Doyle (The entire Sherlock Holmes collection)

C.S. Lewis

J.R.R Tolkien

Ernest Hemmingway
As for current authors, I really enjoy anything by Clive Cussler.

 

[tbradsim1]

For good stories and not any Brain rattlers, read Jeffery Archer, that sucker would have been good around a campfire.

 

[toadshade]

The Aubrey-Maturin series of seafaring novels by Patrick O'Brian of which the first was Master and Commander made into a movie directed by Peter Weir starring Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany.
toadshade

 

[frank13]

These are all more modern fare, but exciting and evocative reads, nonetheless.
Sci-Fi:
"Virtual Light," and, "Burning Chrome," by William Gibson

"Market Forces," by Richard K. Morgan

"The Illustrated Man," by Ray Bradbury

"The Hardboiled Wonderland and the End Of The World," by Haruki Murakami

"The Electric Church," "The Digital Plague," "The Eternal Prison," "The Terminal State," all by Jeff Somers
Fiction:
"The Book Thief," by Markus Zusak

"The Onion Girl," by Charles de Lint

"The Contortionist's Handbook," by Craig Clevenger

"The Monsters Of Gramercy Park, by Danny Leigh

"A Wild Sheep Chase," by Haruki Murakami

"Never Let Me Go," by Kazuo Ishiguro

"Remains Of The Day," by Kazuo Ishiguro
This should be enough to get you started... ::

 

[natibo]

Dune by Frank Herbert is my all time favorite.

 

[warren]

Actually Master and Commander compilation of many of O'Brian's Aubrey series. The movie was surprisingly well done. The books are even better. The movie failed to develop Maturin well enough. He was a much more complex character in the book series.
All that said, if you enjoyed the movie and like to read historical fiction O'Brian's books rank very close to C. S. Forester's Hornblower novels.

 

[frank13]

Mary Shelley's, "Frankenstein," and Bram Stoker's, "Dracula," are also solid classics.
Personal favorites include, "Moby Dick," "A Tale Of Two Cities," and, "Crime & Punishment."