I personally enjoyed watching the movie adaption of Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, although I'm not sure how the actual written piece is. As you can tell, I'm not an avid reader. Although I am an avid writer. If you really need something to read, PM me a general idea you have and I'll try to come up with a story for it. Now I want to write a story about Skyrim...
If you're looking for a challenge in Skyrim, however, try to locate all 16 Accords of Madness (correct me if I got the title wrong) books. They're about dealings between Sheogorath and the other Daedric Princes. I've only found 2, but they're highly entertaining.
I like the Accords of Madness too. Don't worry about not finding them all as I think there are only two or three to collect.
Also, I encourage you to get writing and share your stuff with us all here. The fiction side of the blog doesn't get as much attention as the builds but there are plenty of us who care. If you prefer the challenge aspect then I'll happilly send you a pm, but why not create a discussion instead and open the "give me an idea and I'll write it" challenge to the entire group?
Then pick the one that most appeals to you.
Thanks, Phil. I'd be more than happy to start a little fiction adventure once school's out. I have a sh*t ton going on right now, but as soon as summer hits, my schedule frees up. I'll have to take up your discussion idea.
Also, you're right about the Accords of Madness. I checked it out and the books are spread out between a few games. Probably going to be a few in Elder Scrolls V (whenever that comes out).
Christopher Paolini's Eragon and so on and David Eddings' The Belgariad (a five book series then leading onto the Mallorean) are brilliant. If you're a younger reader try Curtis Jobling's Wereworld series, a great mix of fantasy and horror. (The guy is the creator of Bob The Builder, btw) Or Joseph Delaney's Spook's series ( The Last Apprentice in America) or Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy. All are brilliant fantasy series.
Some have already been mentioned of course but I'd suggest, in no particular order:
Compared to Lovecraft and Sherlock Holmes, some of these books are extremely light-hearted and definitely not of the same quality of writing. For example, Eddings isn't a particularly great author - by his own admission before I'm savaged by some of his fans - and his stories are cliche but I consider him to be brilliant when it comes to writing his characters and writing humourously. Just don't be expecting too much from them and his books will be a delight. In Edding's own words he wrote these books for young adults, so if you're looking for a serious book I'd say overlook Edding's.
Someone else here recommended R. Scott Bakker's works. They're good books however his failing is that he tries very hard to make them serious yet his main character is essentially a Mary Sue. Kellhus is unbeatable due to his mastery of the Logos. In books such as Edding's, which can have serious themes but aren't particularly serious books, a Mary Sue can be acceptable. In an epic like Bakker's Prince of Nothing it starts to feel a little stale. That's just personal opinion though. His writing style is very good nonetheless although Kellhus aside, I wouldn't say his characters are particularly memorable.
The Name of the Wind is an excellent novel. I really like Rothfuss and his books are definitely worth the read. As for Gemmell, practically anything he wrote is gold if you're just looking for a silly heroic fantasy yarn. Probably my favourite fantasy author. His books aren't particularly serious yet they often include serious themes and he writes his characters well in a number of his books. Particularly Sword in the Storm. Feist is pretty much a mainstay in the fantasy genre, his book Magician is probably one of the few I'd consider iconic. Worth a read.
Anyway, wow, sorry for that wall of text.
Good suggestions guys, keep 'em coming. I keep forgetting this thread each time I finish a book. Since I last replied here I have read a few more, most memorably Lonesome Dove and The Wheel of Time Vol 1. I couldn't get into the second wheel of time book though and out of lack of ideas I turned to R.A.Salvatore's Ten Thousand Orcs. Yes, sometimes I have the reading tastes of a ten year old
I'll recommend the books about the Kingdom of Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey.
There are 27 books,so you should be on it for awhile.
The series is spread apart over different reigns of the kings and queens,so there is more than just 1 main character.
I'm on the 5th book so far, and I'm loving it.
In the first 3, the main character is a very cocky gryphon named Skandranon, and it occurs BEFORE the founding of the kingdom.
The next 3, the trilogy I'm on right now,has to do with a Herald-Mage (they protect the kingdom from magic,I think) named Vanyel,about 2000 years after Skandranon
Vanyel closed himself off mentally for most of the first book,and he also has dreams that may be connected to a big threat to Valdemar.
Sorry if there are too many spoilers,I'm horrible at describing books.
Having not read literature in English much and from the listed books I've only read The Island of Dr. Moreau that Kyrie mentioned - it is indeed awesome read. I want to add one fantasy series that I enjoyed very much and reread for quite many times - The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny.
Loved the Sword of Truth series, although the sequels never beat Wizard's First Rule in my opinion. Good call Chris! Couldn't get into Fire and Ice but that's because I didn't want to watch it and read it at the same time. Maybe in a few years. Dune a bit too sci-fi for me at moment but will put a pin in it for now.