Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Bloopity Bloop]

I started reading super early as a child. I read a LOT throughout elementary school. I remember reading almost the entire collection of these http://www.greatillustratedclassics.com/great-illustrated-classics-s/45.htm in like a summer.

In any case, I stopped reading almost altogether starting in middle school. I think I read Harry Potter but that's been the most of it. Call me low class, judge me, think of me what you will, whatever, I don't really care--my favorite movie is freakin' Rush Hour 2--yep, RUSH HOUR 2!!!!

Now that I'm in Korea, I've taken to reading again--don't know what it is about my life here; I've also started playing video games again (which I stopped doing in high school). These are the books I've read/been reading recently:

- City of Thieves (Benioff)
- Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman (Murakami)
- Kafka on the Shore (Murakami)
- The Kite Runner (Hosseini)
- Good Omens (Gaiman & Pratchett) -- didn't really like this one...
- American Gods (Gaiman) -- REALLY like this one so far
- The Congo (Crichton)

Here's my queue:
- Pirate Latitudes (Crichton) -- I LOVE PIRATES
- Gentlemen of the Road (Chabon)
- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (Chabon)

So for someone with my very pedestrian taste in books, can anyone recommend me easy reading fiction novels? I know a lot of you are avid readers.

Maybe I'll step it up to the big leagues of reading as I rekindle my interest in books, but for now, I'm in it for pure and simple entertainment.

[notafbiagent]

I only read what Oprah approves for me. It's worked out pretty well so far.

[Pa Jan Jo A Hamnida]

Good call on the Neil Gaiman. I bought that book in Nampo Dong, Busan many years ago.

Here are some mainstream recommendations:

Caught by Harlan Coben. An easy read but enjoyable.

Horns by Joe Hill.

The Passage by Justin Cronin.

[DrugstoreCowgirl]

Anything Harlan Coben. I also love John Grisham and Michael Crichton. I just finished The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and I'm reading the 2nd book in the series now, they're pretty decent as well.

[Fox]

If you like American Gods, then try Mythago Wood. It deals with a similar concept of the supernatural. Also, if you like Neil Gaiman, I recommend his Sandman series of comics. They're really well done, and I would say they're a better-quality read than many of today's average paperback novels despite their format.

[iselynjenniep]

a thousand splendid suns is even better than the kite runner.
but i have "bad" taste in books... i love chelsea handler (hilarious!), the twilight series, and the sookie stackhouse series.
other good fiction books i've read recently:
the help
nineteen minutes
change of heart
one thousand white women
the wild girl
water for elephants
thirteen moons
really good non-fiction that reads like fiction:
into thin air
the glass castle
half broke horses
the house at sugar beach
tears of the desert
the road of lost innocence
a long way gone
stolen innocence

[Junior]

Anyone know where the Kyobo bookstore (formerly at gwangwhamun) has moved to?

[DorkothyParker]

Neil Gaiman isn't bad by any means. QQ

I recommend Philip K Dick. (He's my fave). Specifically, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? The actual writing style is very casual, though the story is so human and gripping. Really anything by PKD is worth the read. The stories are also super short and can be read in a weekend or a single lazy Sunday.

There are a lot of novels in the modern canon that are actually really relaxing reads and not too uppity. Kurt Vonnegut's work comes to mind. Hell, Ernest Hemingway is known for his casual writing style. The Old Man and the Sea is still one of my all-time faves and again, was engrossing and painless.

Good luck~

[Arthur Dent]

[Globutron]

Just go for classic novels. If you're anything like me you tend to be hesitant and avoiding of such things because 'everybody has read them', but I finally picked up H.G. Wells stuff one time and never looked back. H.G.Wells -Invisible man, Time machine are two I would highly recommend if you like Science Fiction.

- As you asked, easy reading and good, only a couple of hundred pages.

Anyone else read the entire Goosebumps collection as a kid? (up until the millennium books, which were a waste of time.)

[pangaea]

For entertainment I like anything by Michael Crichton, James Rollins, or Robin Cooke.

When I'm feeling more scholarly I plan on reading some classics that I've somehow escaped reading until now. I have a copy of Fahrenheit 451 that I brought with me and one of my classes is reading the very abridged verson of Frankenstein's Monster, which has made me interested in reading the book.

[AustSaint]

[DrugstoreCowgirl]

[Patrick Bateman]

I consider myself an avid reader, so I'll give my opinion. However you should know, I cannot stand Neil Gaimen, Paul Coelho, and the like.

When I was much younger I read a lot of Chrichton, who I thought was a really great writer. I haven't read anything of his since State of Fear, but most of his books, even those that were made into movies, are still an enjoyable read.

Some books I'd recommend:
Rant by Palahniuk
Cats Cradle by Vonnegut (actually, anything written by Vonnegut)
Catch 22 by Heller
The Fermata by Baker (a kind of strange/adult novel, but highly entertaining)
The Things They Carried by O'Brien
1984 by Orwell (again, anything written by Orwell is very good)
Candide by Voltaire
Less Than 0 by Ellis (again very adult, but a great read)

Those are the best "readable" books that I could think of right now. I guess I'm either a fan of the bizarre or classics when it comes to fiction.

If you're interested in some non-fiction let us know and I'll try to direct you to some of those too.

[Claytron]

Bukowski, Burroughs, and more Bukowski