Summer Reading List

[Fia]

For a few brief weeks I have some time off before I start summer classes. And considering that soon I will be poring/crying over tomes with names like "Fundamentals of Federal Income Tax", I figure I need to fit in some lighter reading.

I know how to pick out good literature, but I don't know what to read when I want some easy reads.
I enjoy fantasy novels, but I never know where to start, there are so many to pick from and I don't want to read swill. So what do you all reccomend?

I like moderately happy endings and good characters are a must. It is also a bonus if the cover of the book will not get me strange looks at the cash register.

[Karuka]

Anything by Micheal A. Stackpole. He's got a new series out that I haven't gotten to sink my teeth into yet, but hopefully his Talion book is still in print.

It's my fave book ever. A bit gruesome, though.

[grim137]

The Red Wall series is also pretty good, I don't read much any more.

[Saxon]

Look into the Sanctuary books edited by Robert Lynn Asprin. Though they're huge, they contain short stories from like 7-8 different writers in a fantasy realm. Its intricate, enticing, and you'll get your fill. As for happy endings and good heroes, its written mainly by perspective, so you'll have to ready some stories about some very uhh.. shady people. It also comes in small short stories written by individual authors, but those are more like appetisizers to the real deal. Give it a shot though, it might be a bit slow at first but it picks up the more you read.

[Artifex Felicis]

Gaimon's books are worthwhile. Neverwhere and Stardust.

Pratchett's Discworld series.

[Chiroptera]

I don't know how fast of a reader you are, and it took me about four months to read them all since I was in school, but you cannot call yourself a fantasy reader without having read Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" series.

Actually, I should assume that you've already read them.
In that case, read David Edding's "Belgariad" series. It was my favorite before I got ahold of the Wheel of Time.

And on a non-fantasy note, the book "The Ruins" by Scott Smith is an excellent thriller.

And this isn't a book, but I recently started YouTubing an anime series called "Death Note" that has to be popular because it is the best that I've ever seen. Waste a coupla days on that and you won't regret it!:D

[Elijah_Morendale]

I would highly recommend anything by Christopher Moore. He's sick and twisted as all hell, but I don't believe that I've laughed harder while reading. Look for "A Dirty Job" or "Island of the Sequined Love Nun".

Another one you could probably find on Amazon that's worth reading is "Battle Royale" by Koushun Takami.

Books will forever be better than movies, and the manga version of that one... Well, a bit too sexual for my tastes.

[Reiko]

I really must recommend Steven Brust, he has a great way with style and his books are light and dark at the same time and aren't too stupid or smart, great summer reading. Book of Taltos and Book of Jhereg are the best books since they contain his out of print books, though you have to not like reading stories in chronological order, if you have to get both books^^. Also To Reign in Hell is an awesome fiction based on religion, making the rebellion in heaven much more realistic.

I also like Terry Brooks' Landover series, it's much more fun than his larger Shanara series and has plenty of great characters. Magic Kingdom for sale sold is a great little book and Wizard at large is just really fun.

[Ther]

Most modern fantasy is blah - try reading some of the romances of Chretien de Troyes translated in to English prose. They're fun reads.

[grim137]

Or if you really want to get classic I highly suggest Beowulf, its one of the few books that I had to read for english class that I actually enjoyed.

[googlyeyesultra]

If you haven't already, I'd recommend reading the insanely long Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. If you don't want to go read all 13ish 600 page books, you could try a somewhat shorter but not quite as good series by Sara Douglass (yes, with two ss's). 'Tis called The Axis Trilogy, and The Wayfarer Redemption Trilogy.

[Artifex Felicis]

I can't believe I forgot. I feel bad about it. If you haven't read it.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

[Jasmine]

I love fantasy myself. here are my favorites.

Redwall (one word :P) not a super short read, but not insanely long like the Wheel of Time series. Also, each book is not totally reliant on the other books for information. Each book can stand on its own, which I find to be a good thing.

Anything by David Eddings. The Belgariad, Polgara, Belgarath, and The Mallorean are all related, though Belgarath and Polgara are not part of the Belgariad series. The Elenium and The Tamuli are both trilogies and are related to each other, but are set in a different world than the Belgariad. There's another set of books called The Dreamers by Mr. Eddings, but I haven't gotten to those yet. i got them on the base that I have thus far loved all of Mr. and Mrs. Eddings' work. ^__^

Another fave of mine is the Wheel of Time series, but as has been previously mentioned, each book is insanely long and the series is like 13 or 14 books long now. It's good, but there's a lot to it.

And even though they are short books and not your average college level reading, I can't forget my all time favortie series of Narnia. Simple, yes, but I love the books anyway. Quite short, you could easily sit down and read the whole series in a week (one book a day, they're only a little over 200 pages each)

anyway, it looks like you've got lots of suggestions so i'll shut my trap for now, and possibly go looking for some of these other suggestions myself. ^_^

[Fia]

Lovely! Thanks you guys! I knew Althanas peeps would not let me down. :D

Keep 'em coming as I am sure others are looking at this too.

So far on this list I've already read and enjoyed

1. All the Hitchhikers
2. Several translations of Beowulf (Chickering is the most accurate, Heaney the most poetic)
3. The Belgariad
4. Gaiman's novels
5. Book of Jhereg
6. Narnia (Lewis's Mars trilogy too, those are a bit of a trip)
7. And strangely enough, most Chretien's poems (I liked The Knight of the Cart best) and his romance of Perceval