I Need Some Help

O.K. I read a lot as you can see. But I need help from you. I'm reading (and in one case re-reading) a few series and I have a couple other titles on my list to read, but NOTHING is really capturing my attention so far as new stuff to pick up. I need recommendations. New, old, fiction, non-fiction, I don't care. I want to try some new authors, but nothing is really appetizing when I pick it up. E-mail me or comment on this post with titles you've really enjoyed or even something you might want to try, but you just don't have time to waste on bad writing. Make sure to note in the subject line of an e-mail "recommendation" so I don't delete it as junk. My only request is not War and Peace or, really, any other die hard classics. I already have 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 on my list and should get to them relatively soon. Please help me find some new books!

8-30-08 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling - Fiction

5 - This is the turning point for this series and begins the descent into darkness that really gives this series meat. Read my other reviews for this title.

8-25-08 Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - Fiction

4 - Disturbing. I wasn't really ready for something so cerebral, but I wanted to finally read this title. After reading the first few chapters, I was horrified. The idea of growing humans to be what you want them to be and to do what you want them to do is disgusting. And then the conditioning of those humans from their infancy through adulthood is perverse. An entire consumer culture that perpetuates itself because of the need to use. Huxley, unfortunately, was a visionary, seeing a civilization that force feeds desires and drugs through repetitive suggestion and then uses those same things to control its populace. Don't misunderstand me, this is an excellent book and well written, but I really can't express how disgusting and disturbing I found it. I'm glad I read it, but I highly doubt I will ever read it again.

8-22-08 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling - Fiction

5 - Read my other reviews of this title.

8-19-08 Desecration by TimLaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins - Fiction

4 - Nicolae, proclaiming himself God and stating his resurrection as proof, now moves to supplant the holiest temple from the Jews. The crowds present for the "rededicating" of the temple are full of people who have not yet taken the mark but who also are not believers. The Trib Force puts into motion a plan to evacuate all believers from Jerusalem in accordance with God's word and attempt to bring as many of the undecided as possible to God before it is too late. Now is when the final battle between good and evil gets ugly. This book ends with a great cliffhanger.

8-17-08 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling - Fiction

5 - See all my other reviews for this title.

8-16-08 The Mark by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins - Fiction

4 - The adventure continues and gets more risky by the minute. The resurrected Nicolae has decreed that all citizens must get the mark of loyalty. If they refuse, they will be put to death. The Trib Force and their colleagues work tirelessly to prepare all believers around the world for the time when all must go into hiding and fend for themselves. They also are preparing for the next trial.

8-13-08 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

5 - See my previous 4 reviews for this book. I'm going to be going through this series yet again.

8-9-08 The Indwelling by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins - Fiction

3 - OK, now it's starting to get a little preachy. But, putting that aside, it's still a thrilling series. Now halfway through the tribulation, the Tribulation Force is scattered all over the world trying to prepare for the worst yet to come. They have gained new converts and have lost more members. The Global Community is reeling from the loss of their leader, Nicolae. The Trib Force must gather together to face the storm that is now coming with the resurrection of the Antichrist.

8-8-08 Apollyon by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins - Fiction

5 - This was a good one. The members of the Tribulation Force are sent into hiding by others who know they've been discovered. But the Meeting of the Witnesses goes on as planned in Jerusalem. Chloe is more pregnant every day as the next judgements fall. A member of the force is killed and many citizens of the world fall ill during the plague of the locusts. Tension is high for the believers as they try to escape Israel and return home. This book is full of action and danger. Sorry I missed it in the correct order.

8-5-08 Paths Not Taken by Simon R. Green - Fiction

4 - The Nightside is still weird no matter when it is. John Taylor is trying to stop his mother from destroying the Nightside and to do that he, Suzie Shooter, and Tommy Oblivion have to travel back to the time when the Nightside was created. Unfortunately, even though Father Time agreed to send them, they end up not quite making it back far enough, not once, not twice, but three times. So, as a visitor, the reader gets a peek at the history of the Nightside. And at all times it is dark, dangerous, and weird.

8-2-08 Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer - Fiction

5 - Holy Crap! This is the best book of the Twilight series. I'm not going to put any spoilers in here, so don't panic. I will say that I now look like a hungry vampire what with the dark bags under my eyes and the tendency to snap at anyone because I only slept a couple hours really early in the morning so I could finish Eclipse and start on Breaking Dawn on its release date. But Meyer took the story of Bella, Edward, and Jacob in a direction I never saw coming and made a fantastic conclusion to the series. I will say that this story is full of werewolves, more vampires, and the Volturi but that's all you'll get out of me. Until the next time I read the series. At that point I think that all the rabid fans worldwide will have read this fabulous and final Twilight book.

8-2-08 Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer - Fiction

5 - The love triangle started in New Moon gets even more complicated in this book as Jacob decides to fight for Bella's love. He can't stand the thought of her loving a vampire and Edward tolerates him only to please Bella. Bella, of course, is a trouble magnet and forces them to confront each other about their feelings toward her. Mind you, this is not some sloppy love story, so much more goes on through the book. It's full of action and realizations about many members of both families and leaves you wanting more.

7-30-08 New Moon by Stephenie Meyer - Fiction

5 - We know Bella is not exactly a normal human teen. She's in love with a vampire, something that makes all other humans shy away instinctively. So it's only natural that she turns to her best friend Jacob when left alone and discovers he's not exactly human either. Not content with just vampires, Meyer brings werewolves into the story as well. But, like her vampires, the werewolves are portrayed as humans as often as wolves. Bella, stuck in the middle, becomes part of a triangle she never wanted and follows her heart.