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[blackguy-n-Asia]

War and Peace -Russian guy - good

Aztec -Gary Jennings -great

The Bible -various artists - powerful

The Assyrian -Nicholas Guild -nice!

The Earth Shakers -can't remember- made me want to travel in the first place!

[SueH]

[nomadic]

Since lots of people have already covered many great books in other categories, let me 'get my geek on' and recommend two favourites of my own:

"Surely You're Joking, My. Feynman!", about the life and adventures of Richard Feynman, an extremely interesting guy who happened to win the Nobel in physics in '65 (along with two others). Don't let the word 'physics' stop you from picking it up, though, it's a really light read, and it's really amusing. :)

And "Fermat's Enigma", by Simon Singh, about the .... ok, this will sound tedious, but it's really interesting!.. solving of the longest standing problem in mathematics, which happened just a decade ago after standing some about 350 years. Yeah, 'mathematician' is rarely synonymous with 'exciting', but give it a try anyways.

Other than that, blackguy recommended the Bible, so I'll recommend Asimov's Guide to the Bible, which focuses on the history and people in the Bible from a secular position. Regardless of your personal beliefs, it's certainly very interesting. (And not really antagonistic to Christianity, despite Asimov's atheistic bent.)

For science fiction, though it's more driven by the characters than the 'science fiction' aspects, there's "Ender's Game", by Orson Scott Card. It's one of my alltime favourites, and finds itself as suggested reading in all sorts of unique places - from grade schools to US military academies, apparently.

Finally, I'll second (or third?) the "Lord of the Rings", which is really so much more breathtaking in one's imagination than in the movies, even as good as they were. And if you like mythology, "The Silmarillion", also by Tolkien, has some good stories.

Anyway, very interesting list. I'll have to try Marquez again - I had the inclination to, and then a friend described the act of 'one hundred years of solitude' as being preferable to having to read through any more of the novel with the same name. Guess she's in the minority here! :)

Cheers,
- nomadic

[waxwing]

[Snoopy]

Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse was a master craftsman of the English language and is the only author who makes me laugh out loud. The evocation of upper-class English life of a bygone era takes me back to what I wish had been a previous existence.

[guest of Japan]

[zaneth]

I read what I can find in English. Nothing more, nothing less.

[ntropy]

To all the Japan hands out there, try the "Rain" series by Barry Eisler. Very deliciously noire.