I dont read books.. I use the net to grab tech info on an as needed basis.. but no books, not my thing.

I print off RFCs and read those... and the NSA technical guides... and various random tech documents.

I have an extensive list of technical books from Salvation Army and the bargain bins at local computer stores...

Fiction's ok, I just don't have as much time for it anymore.

Terry Pratchett, Robert Rankin, John Sandford, Stephen King/Richard Bachman, Neal Stephenson, James Herbert, Frank Herbert, Dennis Lehane, Ed McBain/Evan Hunter, technical books, autobiographies, Fermat's Last Theorem was good as was Longitude, Alexander McCall Smith, Alexandre Dumas - basically, I read all genres and authors.

XavierP, have you ever read Edgar Wallace?

He is one of the greatest crime fiction authors of the 20th century (in my opinion) and at one time, it is said that his books outsold those of another great author Agatha Christie. I say this because I see that you are from UK and must surely be acquainted with British authors.

Edit: His books are back in print recently.

I haven't, but I have heard of him - off to the library later today, I'll see if they have him in stock. Oh yeah, also Richard Stark/Donald Westlake and Robert B Parker: Stark's Parker novels are excellent and Parker's Spenser and Stone novels rock big time. (If you like Raymond Chandler, you'll love Spenser).

Thanks for those recommendations. I'm glad to see that a lot of us still have that old reading habit.

Hello,

I'm am a book maniac, it's just like a bad habit and I cannot stop
I teach English, so of course I've a preference for Anglo-American writers , but living in France I also like European novelists as well. To give you an idea :
General Literature : oldies but goldies like Sartre, Camus, but also Andrea Camillieri, Michel Houellebecq, there's a good American satirist named Chuck Palahniuk (author of Fight Club), Douglas Coupland is very good, too.
Sci-Fi, Fantasy : Asimov, philip K. Dick, Tolkien, David Gemmell (smashing fantasy writer), Terry Pratchett for his humour.
Thrillers, terror : Graham Masterton, Clive Barker, S King, Brian Lumley (Necroscope Series)
Dan Brown (interesting, a bit overrated), Dennis Lehane, Ian Rankin. I don't quite like women crime writers. James Ellroy (fantastic)
People seldom improve your life, great books do !

Philip K. Dick & Camus from samael26's list. I also like Italo Calvino, Toni Morrison, Raymond Carver and a whole load of other fiction writers. Just started 'The Book of Illusions' by Paul Auster.

I don't read nearly as much fiction as I used to (trying to remedy that though - especially as I'm thinking of teaching English Lit. & Lang. in a year or two once I've done my PGCE).

For compy stuff I tend to read internet sites and get the odd Linux magazine

One of my favourite books was/is 'Crime & Punishment' which I didn't really want to read except a friend kept saying how good it was and eventually gave me his copy

Philip K Dick rocks. I love how all of his stories ask the question "what is real?".

Philip K. Dick still surprises me with some great plot twists - I just finished 'We Can Build You' a few days or so ago 'Ubik' is one of my favourites.

I prefer the short stories. Second Variation is a favourite.

Also while mentioned an author, please do also tell me what the genre (kind of book) he has written. Would be most useful.

It's nice to see the wide variety of reading habits among the Linux users and also the large number of votes for casual and recreational reading. It shows that in spite of the hectic schedule of modern living a lot of us still have time to relax and smell the flowers.

I really like E. A. POE

People like you are ignorant.

When was the last time you read a fiction book? I think you will find if you read one with a story you like then your opinion will change.

I have a huge collection of movies but sometimes a good book will beat them all.

I wouldn't say ignorant, but those who don't read good books are missing something. In fact missing a lot...

Movies are ok, but books are great! Find a book that grips you and you can read it 'n' number of times without getting bored.