Stephen King’s Favorite:
This Book Will Save Your Life by A. M. Homes
Saturday by Ian McEwan
The Mad Cook of Pymatuning: A Novel by Christopher Lehmann-Haupt
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The Tenderness of Wolves: A Novel by Stef Penney
When Will There Be Good News?: A Novel by Kate Atkinson

J.K. Rowling’s Favorite:
The Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L. Sayers
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Skellig by David Almond
The Woman Who Walked into Doors by Roddy Doyle

Jeffrey Eugenides, author, Pulitzer prize winner
“Herzog,” by Saul Bellow
“Love in a Fallen City,” by Eileen Chang
“The Lay of the Land,” by Richard Ford

Oprah Winfrey’s Favorite:
White Oleander by Janet Fitch
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Recommendation website:
http://www.famouspal.com
( http://www.famouspal.com/index.php?node=110 )

How about Stephen Colbert’s _I Am America (and So Can You)? Very truthy, very funny.

Novels? OK, I go “Vonnegut” as well. Read, reread.

I saw it already listed, but it’s such a fantastic read I had to emphasize it. The text is so compact with linguistic somersaults that will keep you from putting the book down from page one until you are done.

-”The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don’t.” //THHGTTG

It’s a hobo adventure for everyone!

If surfing’s your thing you might try Don Winslow’s Dawn Patrol, also a great crime/PI fiction.

And for epic storytelling and ripping good yarn of historical and stupendously gory proportions, I’d heartily recommend Tim Willocks’s The Religion. Based on the 16th century Siege of Malta.

Yes Man also by Danny Wallace.

Both very funny books indeed. Yes Man is being made into a film staring Jim Carrey in the lead roll. How that’s gonna work I dont know. I’m not a fan of Carrey, so don’t think you have to be to enjoy the book.

The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. Time travel / historical fiction.

http://www.amazon.com/Revolution-Manifesto-Ron-Paul/dp/0446537519/ref= pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214597785&sr=8-1

America is in trouble and it’s because the average person has no clue what is currently going on in America. The book is an amazing read and life changing if you realize what it’s telling you.

Hopefully there are some Ron Paul supporters here that can comment on the book. I highly recommend it. RE-LOVE-UTION

Another ” Road ” to try would be Jack Londons.

Also P C Doherty Did an awesome series of medieval mysteries with Bro Corbett I believe.
Cheers to Ya

The Road by Cormac McCarthy
anything by Kurt Vonnegut
One Hand Clapping by Anthony Burgess
Anything by Peter Hamilton (sci-fi)
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson (contains the most detailed description of Cap’n Crunch fetishism ever)

Happy Reading!

Into the Wild is also a great quick read. It’s also about a kid trying to move back to the land and failing, though this is a true story.

Roddy Doyle is a fun read in Irish brogue; I especially liked Patty Clarke Ha Ha and the Barrytown Trilogy (the latter was made into second rate movies, but the book’s worth reading)

Try a more obscure Vonnegut, God Bless You Mr Rosewater is hilarious.

And for a really light yet entertaining read, #1 Ladies Detective Agency is a hoot, about a woman in Botswana who starts a detective agency and the odd, small incidents she investigates.

i love this thread! i already had my summer reading picked out, but now I’ve got another whole list!

Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
all about the famous racehorse.

Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir by Frank McCourt
an irish boy growing up in extreme poverty- makes you realize how fortunate you really are.

Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln
what is the mystery of the Holy Grail?

and
The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot
discusses whether the universe is a giant hologram and what is conciousness.

Dune – now that’s a book! The first one was awesome, but I haven’t kept up with the subsequent books in the series. Come to think of old sci-fi novels that I’ve read, I really liked Rama and other books by Arthur C. Clarke, and Hyperion (the first one) by Dan Simmons.

@onecrazymomma: Nothing by Albert Camus belong in anyone’s summer reading list, except maybe a masochist.

I started “Spook Country” by William Gibson but couldn’t for the life of me finish it – I know he became a legendary author for Neuromancer (read that too) but I couldn’t understand a sentence he wrote … (happened when I was reading Neuromancer too)

and Blindness, by Jose Saramago.

Half-cock Jack is a hero for any age

A Lawyer Presents the Case for the Afterlife

http://www.victorzammit.com/book/4thedition/index.html

Full of magic and people with wigs

“Dirty Jokes and Beer” Drew Carey.

A very funny autobiography mixed with really funny dirty jokes.

Don’t forget Isaac Asimov – the Foundation series is probably the only set of books I’ve read twice. The Robot series are also a gem.

For the supernatural lover, the Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz is fun.

Thanks to Dust, I’m now so intrigued by Barry Hughart’s Master Li series.

Here’s the synopsis of Eight Skilled Gentlemen:

Master Li, the Sherlock Holmes of a mythical China, struggles with a bizarre mystery involving the murdering of mandarins, as evidence points to the Eight Skilled Gentlemen, long-dead shamans who engage demon-dieties to perform their evil deeds

I think I’ll check him out!

Why have just Pratchett or only Gaiman when you can have ‘em both – Good Omens is a fun read

Alex, one is never too old for comics. Read The Watchmen, its a classic

Seconding/thirding Ender’s Game.

Also, American Gods by Neil Gaiman.

On a more serious (but fun) note, anything by Anne McCaffrey (especially the PERN series) cannot be put down before finishing or using your nose for a bookmark.

I also found Orson Scott Card’s books to be a good read but somewhat stilted. A “new” book I picked up is The Warlock In Spite Of Himself by Christopher Stasheff, wonderfully written, funny, fast and a good read.

Enjoy your summer of books, they’re good for your head.