What are some good novels to read this winter?

[Pan]

Throwing these out there: A Confederacy of Dunces, The Moviegoer, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, True Grit, The Picture of Dorian Gray, As I Lay Dying, I Capture the Castle, World's Fair, and On the Move: A Life, which was a surprisingly good travelogue from a guy mostly noted for his neurology texts.

 

[All Who Wander]

Confederacy is definitely on the list, history of the author is very worth knowing also...

considering some of the other choices... "Ishmael"

Ishmael is a 1992 philosophical novel by Daniel Quinn. It examines the mythological thinking at the heart of modern civilization, its effect on ethics, and how this relates to sustainability and societal collapse on the global scale.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishmael_(novel)

so wait... the greatest evil mankind ever invented... what led to every war, most of the diseases, and all great human suffering... was agriculture?

yup.

If your into philosophy, I'd also add "The Principa Discordia" by Eris, and the "Illuminatus" trillogy by robert anton willson. (both gods)

For just raw fun... I really liked Gun Monkeys (best pacing of any book I ever read), Hard Magic by Corriea (co-creator of the sad puppies anti-hugo sci fi movement), God is a Bullet, and the entire Hairy Dresden series by Jim Butcher.

and now... operation mindfuck:

 

[DowneastDom]

Not a novel, but I'd add Eden Express from Mark Vonnegut (Kurt's son). He traveled around during the old hippie days (remember them fondly) and wound upon a commune in BC where his mental illness became scarily full blown. Another book from that era was Total Loss Farm by Ray Mungo. It's a hilarious story about a bunch of Ivy League-educated kids starting a farm commune in Vermont. Smart they were, but it seems like not one of them had ever even planted a tomato before. I'd recommend anything by Dashiell Hammett. Hard, fast, mean crime fiction. Hammett invented hard-boiled fiction. Maltese Falcon is the greatest American novel; Red Harvest is a great story of the utter corruption of a company town. You can usually find a hardback collection of 4 of Hammett's novels at GW for a buck or two. Keep you going for a month.

 

[Soulutions]

Dune by Frank Herbert.

I've been told to read this by a very good friend
But uh:
Supernatural by Graham Hancock!
This book is mind melting, in a sense as reading through it will alter your perception of reality, with or without your consent considering the clear, easy to understand, fluidity that is his writing style added to the completely coherent and logical arguments he presents. Definitely gonna read more of his works in the future.
What it's about is kinda 3fold
The birth of modern behavior and knowledge of symbols, because anatomically modern humans have been around at least 200,000 years, but modern behavior 30,000-40,000
Spirits, aliens, fairy's, folklore and the interlaced commonalities across different cultures and time periods. Religion. And the use of entheogens

 

[Jerrell]

I second that Daniel Quinn's Ishmael nod. One of my all time favorites right there. Also, Kurt Vonnegut's books are always good. Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles collection is what I used to read back in the day. The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde wasn't bad. Chuck Palahniuk has some good stuff as well. If you're into science fiction, Isaac Asimov might be up someone's alley.