The Next Best Book Club discussion

I'll have about 3 weeks of summer to relax and read. I have a preference for fiction (I live in the non-fiction world). I am looking for about 10 to 12 books, and am WIDE open in terms of topics/genres. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!!!

Okay, the most obvious suggestion ever: On The Road by Jack Kerouac, it's incredible.

So any novels in any genre? Thts pretty vague...
Here's 10 novels i love that dont crop up in every list:
The end of eternity by isaac asimov
Down and out in paris and london by george orwell (IMO everything orwell wrote was superb. Consider everything he wrote other than animal farm and 1984 as a "neglected masterpiece". Down and out is the best of these but go for "keep the aspidistra flying" if it absolutely has to be "fiction" and not journalism.)
Replay by Ken Grimwood
The STars my destination by Alfred Bester
The Drowned world by J.G. Ballard
Mildred Pierce by James M. Cain
My Life and hard times by James thurber
Ask the dust by John Fante
A scanner Darkly by Phillip K. Dick
Mockingbird by walter tevis.

Theres a few sci-fi novels there as i'm into SF in a fairly big way.

I'm traveling myself this summer, so maybe this will help..these are the books I'm taking with me (all got great recommendations):
The Book Thief
The Thirteenth Tale
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Alienist
Fracture

HI Edward. I live about a Texas stones throw away from you (I was reading your profile).
It occurred to me that you might enjoy "Communions With Christ", (my true story), Fascinating read - Many miraculous things happen in Texas towns you may be familiar with - Denton, Sherman, Lewisville, Corpus Christi, Galveston, Arlington, and more.
Please click on my photo to read profile more & if you select this book, let me know. Send me a personal message if you like. As you read, I'm here to discuss with you.
Happy relaxing vacation!
Sharon :)

Edward,

In the vein of roadtrips, have you read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson? Supposedly based on a true story but, if so, I'm not sure how much would be memory and how much hallucination. Regardless, it's a funny book...although I've occassionally been accused of having a warped sense of humor.

Edward-
I recommend the Shadow of the Wind and/or his latest book, The Angel's Game, which is best seller already. Lots of folks in this group are reading it and it's getting great reviews.

I took a look at your shelves so based on that, I would reccomend some Haruki Murakami. Kafka on the shore or the Wind up Bird Chronicle. Oddly enough, they are both about traveling...And it seems like you liked Middlesex, so check out The Virgin Suicides.

Try some Amitav Ghosh for good, but not too demanding, sagas with some foreign historical interest (Burma, India etc). Sea of Poppies and The Glass Palace A Novel

Jay Dobbins No Angel My Harrowing Undercover Journey to the Inner Circle of the Hells Angels was an amazingly good read. It worked on many levels.

Jorge Amado's Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon or Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands are good, long, really entertaining books. Not as heavy as Garcia Marquez, but also beautifully written.

Aravind's The White Tiger was a 5 star book and unusual in that the immorality of the characters was neither excused nor condemned (nor pardoned). A good read.

I know you said preferance for fiction but...check out a travel book by Bill Bryson. He is laugh out loud funny and it may be fun to read his humorous accounts of where you may be visiting.

Edward wrote: "I'll have about 3 weeks of summer to relax and read. I have a preference for fiction (I live in the non-fiction world). I am looking for about 10 to 12 books, and am WIDE open in terms of topics/..."

The Nightingales of Troy by Alice Fulton (love the nurse character and the bootlegger); The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry; Half of a Yellow Sun by ... can't spell the author's last name. The Information (very funny, yet also profound) or House of Meetings by Martin Amis. Have a great trip! Eva

How about Maisie Dobbs or Dissolution? They are both historical mysteries.