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A book for a 19 year old male?

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    #32
    whiterob81
    Registered Users Posts: 552 ✭✭✭whiterob81


    wouldn't agree with that about catch 22, really enjoyed it myself. Can't really vouch for catcher in the rye. started reading it once but i remember the sarah palin-esque "gee whizz gosh darn" language started to grate after 2 or 3 chapters and had to give up.

    i'd recommend one flew over the cuckoo's nest by Ken Kesey. Loved that as a teenager and it's still one of my favourite books. It's a pretty uplifting book.
    the lord of the rings trilogy might be worth a look
    animal farm might be worth checking out too judging by what you're looking for


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    #33
    ocianain
    Closed Accounts Posts: 141 ✭✭ocianain


    LoTR is a great book, it shows you what is important in life, the little things, time with friends, good beer and a smoke. It also shows there are forces that hate this view of life and seek to destroy it. The good news is, they can be defeated. Very relevant for our times as the orcs are in the shire.

    A more overt moal tale would be C.S. Lewis Narnia books, see also his Silent Planet trilogy. Catcher is one of the most depressing books I've ever read. There's nothing upliftig in it IMHO.


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    #34
    bathroom gurgle
    Closed Accounts Posts: 59 ✭✭bathroom gurgle


    Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

    I don't know if anyone said it yet though.


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    #35
    glenjamin
    Registered Users Posts: 2,494 ✭✭✭glenjamin


    Playboy 2010 Annual


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    #36
    SLUSK
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,156 ✭✭✭SLUSK


    I can recommend Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. Another great book although it is not fiction is The road to serfdom by Friedrich von Hayek.


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    #37
    spadder
    Closed Accounts Posts: 985 ✭✭✭spadder


    On the road- Jack Kerouac


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    #38
    Blush_01
    Registered Users Posts: 5,016 ✭✭✭Blush_01


    I know I'm not a guy, but I hated The Catcher in the Rye. I found the protagonist vacant, petulant and irritating beyond belief. I definitely agree with Dades about turning the page to get through it.

    I'd recommend:
    Shantaram - the sheer size of it is a bit daunting, but it's so worth it.

    Steig Larsson's Millenium Trilogy - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; The Girl who Played with Fire and The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - I've only read the first two, but the third is supposed to be the best in the trilogy - so worth reading. The beginning of the first one can be a bit tough going as it's not very entertaining, but it is interesting. Stick with it!

    The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks. Compelling reading. Wonderfully engaging.

    Platform - Michel Houllebecq. Well written.

    Million Little Pieces - James Frey. Very easy to read, compulsive reading and very entertaining.

    Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood. The first Atwood novel I ever read and I fell in love. Creepy 1984 edge to it, but well worth it, very easy to read and very enjoyable.

    There are a few more that are prodding my brain but I'm having issues remembering what I wanted to say today. It's just too cold.


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    #39
    c0rk3r
    Registered Users Posts: 1,256 ✭✭✭c0rk3r


    SLUSK wrote: »
    recommend Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

    +1 but i dont think its apt in the case of the orginal poster. You just dont go ramming your...:eek: analogy is abit crude.heh

    Im sure by now you;ve bought and maybe read something. Let us know which one you bought and how you found it


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    #40
    Denerick
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 6,488 ✭✭✭Denerick


    OP, if you're looking for a sweet moral theme, then look no further than 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. This is the kind of book that transcends cynics, idiots, and the literati, and forcibly merge them into one streaming, emotional mass of consciousness.

    Or failing that, Lord of the Rings. I recently re-read it and its only got better since the last time I read it (6 or 7 years ago..)


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    #41
    Ridley
    Registered Users Posts: 3,178 ✭✭✭Ridley


    Discworld.Specifically The Last Hero (for an introduction).


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    #42
    REPSOC1916
    Closed Accounts Posts: 162 ✭✭REPSOC1916


    Gomorrah - Roberto Saviona

    Ok I know its not fiction but to be honest its a fantastic tale of the modern day Camorra in Naples.


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    #43
    garfieldsghost
    Registered Users Posts: 290 ✭✭garfieldsghost


    spadder wrote: »
    On the road- Jack Kerouac

    +1. You could also try 'The Dharma Bums' by the same author.


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    #44
    spurious
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 27,196 CMod ✭✭✭✭spurious


    "A confederacy of dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

    Classic.


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    #45
    garfieldsghost
    Registered Users Posts: 290 ✭✭garfieldsghost


    I forgot to add 'The Rum Diary' by Hunter S Thompson. It's a book I go back to every now and again... it draws you right in and you can vividly picture each scene!


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    #46
    RonMexico
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,916 ✭✭✭RonMexico


    +1 on the Rum Diary. They are making a movie out of it this year too.

    Here is a transcript of a really funny fax that Thompson sent the producers of the movie:

    Dear Holly,

    Okay, you lazy bitch, I'm getting tired of this waterhead ****around that you're doing with The Rum Diary.

    We are not even spinning our wheels aggresivly. It's like the whole Project got turned over to Zombies who live in cardboard boxes under the Hollywood Freeway... I seem to be the only person who's doing anything about getting this movie Made. I have rounded up Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Brad Pitt, Nick Nolte & a fine screenwriter from England, named Michael Thomas, who is a very smart boy & has so far been a pleasure to talk to & conspire with...

    So there's yr. ****ing Script & all you have to do now is act like a Professional & Pay him. What the hell do you think Making a Movie is all about? Nobody needs to hear any more of that Gibberish about yr. New Mercedes & yr. Ski Trips & how Hopelessly Broke the Shooting Gallery is.... If you're that ****ing Poor you should get out of the Movie Business. It is no place for Amateurs & Dilletants who don't want to do anything but "take lunch" & Waste serious people's Time.

    **** this. We have a good writer, we have the main parts casted & we have a very marketable movie that will not even be hard to make....

    And all you are is a goddamn Bystander, making stupid suggestions & jabbering now & then like some half-bright Kid with No Money & No Energy & no focus except on yr. own tits.... I'm sick of hearing about Cuba & Japs & yr. Yo-yo partners who want to change the story because the violence makes them Queasy.

    **** on them. I'd much rather deal with a Live asshole than a Dead worm with No Light in his Eyes.... If you people don't want to Do Anything with this movie, just cough up the Option & I'll talk to someone else. The only thing You're going to get by quitting and curling up in a Fetal position is relentless Grief and Embarrassment. And the one thing you won't have is Fun...

    Okay, That's my Outburst for today. Let's hope that it gets Somebody off the dime. And if you don't Do Something QUICK you're going to Destroy a very good idea. I'm in the mood to chop yr. ****ing hands off.

    R.S.V.P

    (Signed)

    HUNTER

    cc:
    Depp
    Benecio
    M. Thomas
    Nolte
    Shapiro


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    #47
    hupyago
    Registered Users Posts: 153 ✭✭hupyago


    I'd recommend bill brysons books or michael palin both funny and entertaining and really gives you a taste of other countries and cultures
    theres james redfields books which are fairly easily available and have a great moral to the story
    also theres dan millmans way of the peaceful warrior a great story with a powerful message
    and on a similar warrior theme theres the carlos castenada books
    then theres the classics like treasure island and all the rest
    interms of sci fi artur c clarkes novels are very good
    obamas autobiography dreams from my father is quite good
    have a look in the travel section
    the biography section and the music section you should find plenty of good stuff
    also theres the bible of course full of moral tales
    and books on myths and legends which are good fun
    theres this site where I buy a lot of my stuff
    http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/
    free shipping worldwide which is good
    and theres this network
    http://www.goodreads.com/
    full of interesting people and reading matierial
    the auld books ha'
    sure ya can't beat em !
    especially since tv is a bunch of commercialised rubbish (mostly)


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    #48
    Recon
    Registered Users Posts: 1,204 ✭✭✭Recon


    The Gospel According to Biff, Christ`s Childhood Pal

    very funny book...


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    #49
    Anton Chigurh
    Closed Accounts Posts: 28 ✭Anton Chigurh


    Any of Chuck Palahniuk books. Fight Club, Choke or Survivor is a great introduction to his work.


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    #50
    Owenw
    Closed Accounts Posts: 578 ✭✭✭Owenw


    Can't go wrong with the Adrian Mole diaries by Sue Townsend (can't believe these are cropping up on the Junior Cert!) First two books are the best and will have you in stitches remembering your early teenage years.

    If you like Sci-Fi the Asimov books are great as well as the ones mentioned above (I Robot is vastly superior to the movie which used none of the original story).

    Philip K. Dick is worth a read too - his short stories were the basis for films such as Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report and A Scanner Darkly.

    Thoroughly recommend Douglas Adams for his hilarious Hitchhikers Guide 'trilogy in 5 parts' and the Dirk Gently detective novels.

    Another thumbs up for Hunter S. Thompson


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    #51
    IronMan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 598 ✭✭✭IronMan


    Robert Harris, Fatherland, Enigma, Pompeii etc.

    Page turners. Well written, historically based thrillers. Highly recommended.


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    #52
    Denerick
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 6,488 ✭✭✭Denerick


    IronMan wrote: »
    Robert Harris, Fatherland, Enigma, Pompeii etc.

    Page turners. Well written, historically based thrillers. Highly recommended.

    Ah, but you left out his two best; Imperium and Lustrum.


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