Okay, so here's another contest! The winner gets to pick any one game from GOG (except for The Witcher 2).

I'm an avid reader and always on the lookout for the next interesting book. I still have about 30 unread books at home, but that won't stop me from getting another one. The idea is that you recommend a book to me and give a brief explanation as to what makes it required reading in your opinion. Ideally, it would be something I have never heard of.

I will then get the book that sounds the most interesting to me based on your recommendations, and the person to recommend it will receive a free GOG as a reward. I generally prefer non-fiction, but I'm open-minded. I won't tell you any more so that the results will be more surprising. Depending on the feedback, I will probably close the contest in a few days.

Wheel of Time
A Song of Ice and Fire
Ranger's Apprentice
Searching for Bobby Orr

Wheel of Time and A Song of Ice and Fire are required reading if you have ANY interest at all in fantasy.. and Ranger's Apprentice is good for when you still want to read a fantasy, but not as complex.. its brilliant. :P

Searching for Bobby Orr is an amazing biography on the greatest NHL defensemen of all time, if you have any interest in hockey at all, it is a must read.

Day by Day Armageddon

Awesome zombie book written by a guy in the military. It details a man's struggle to survive in a world where the dead rule.

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson.

It is about a guy who survived the end of the world. Everyone else turned into vampires or died. The vampires want him dead.

Non-fiction? I'd highly recommend Brian Greene's The Hidden Reality. Very well done and easy-to-understand-for-the-layman look at some theoretical aspects of string theory that, if correct, would necessitate the existence of multiple/parallel universes.

I have read very few books and enjoyed them, pretty much fantasy.

Game of Thrones (Part of the saga A Song of Ice and Fire)

It's a tale about power, there are various families fighting for the kingdom while ignoring what I consider a major threat, the set is medival kinda of, but it's not your typical story, there are very good twists to the story, and saying or even hinting to one might be a spoiler.

American Gods

I'm near the ending on this one and really liked it, it's about a character named Shadow that goes across the USA with someone named Wednesday, fighting the now american gods and remembering the ones lost.

The Maltease Falcon

A detective novel about Sam Spade in his search for the truth of the murders ocurring lately and the search for the priced maltese falcon

Looking For Alaska

Great book, great story. John Green did a fantastic job writing about high school life. Hope you read it. Once you do, you'll realize it's no surprise that it won the Teen's Top 10 Awards--in fact, it probably deserves more.

I don't know if you're into History and Economy at all, but I would recommend Fernand Braudel's series of books (3 volumes) "Civilization and Capitalism (15th-18th century)".

I know, seems a strange choice, but let me explain. This series of books gives a wonderful insight into the early structures of Europe's (and the world's) economy. Even if it's a book about economy, Fernand Braudel (a major french historian of the 80's) knows how to explain everything to make it intelligible even for non-specialists.

He describes a far more complex world that we thought it would be, given the fact that we have generally the impression the modern economy dates back only from after World War II. It's astonishing to see how developed the international economic networks were already back in the 16th century. IO don't know how it has been translated from French into other languages, but I hope they kept this "easy-to-read, beginner-friendly" feel I had when I read it.

Of course, it's a series of books that have been written in the 80's so you feel that he (and other specialists) had absolutely no clue about what the world's economy would become from the 90's onwards. But it's normal after all, it's an historian work.

For me, it's definitely a must read if you want to understand the world better.

Hmm...books...I would recommend these:

1. The Chronoliths by Robert Charles Wilson
2. Terror by Dan Simmons
3. Embassytown by China Miéville

ad 1.
Cant really tell...but lets say there is time loop when a guy tries to secure victories he has achieved by meddling wit the past.

ad 2.
Two English ships searching for the nortwestern passage in 1845. Really cold, dark and low on supplies. Plus some mystic eskymo features. Simply awesome.

ad 3.
Havent read yet but its Miéville's last book and he is somewhat unique narrator and this is his first step into sf territory.

For non-fiction, I'm gonna suggest Frans De Waal's Our Inner Ape. A book by a leading primatologist that not only provides a fascinating insight into the world of chimps and bonobos, but also attempts to draw novel conclusions about the ancient origins of human nature. It manages to cover deep and complex issues in a methodical and engrossing way, while refuting many of the popular cliches associated with discussions of our 'ape like' nature.

All in all, an excellent and enlightening read. And it's available in German, if you prefer: http://www.amazon.de/Affe-uns-Warum-wir-sind/dp/3423345594/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1305586141&sr=8-2

Deeds of Paksenarrion - Elizabeth Moon [Omnibus edition that contains all 3 books]

Awesome fantasy novel that has in depth characters, a great story line, and some very very good writing. I have read this book ~15 times since I bought it a few years ago, it never gets old on me [I read it again every few months].

I too am a fan of non-fiction books, so here's my two favorite I've read recently.

1. American Shaolin

This scrawny guy takes a leave of absence from Princeton to study kung fu at a Shaolin Temple for 2 years. It details his struggle there, the culture around the temple area, and provides a unique perspective on China before the economic and media boom they've experienced (this took place around 1998 I believe). A few of examples of some stories he tells- how he rose up to eventually face one of China's top kickboxers, how he managed to get the entire local village economy to sell Coke, and iron crotch kung fu. Released around 2008 (there's a epilogue where he goes back to visit). Written with a funny wit, yet also introspective and relatable.

2. Ghost Soldiers
The tale of the U.S. Army 6th Ranger Battalion and how they marched 30 miles behind enemy lines to rescue 513 POW's from a camp that included some of the last survivors of the Bataan Death March. Provides the stories of the soldiers involved in the rescue, the prisoners and their struggles, and those that helped both groups. Very thrilling.

Thinner.

Written by Richard Bachman (a.k.a. Stephen King), Thinner is about an overweight lawyer named Billy Halleck who was charged with vehicular manslaughter and acquitted because he was close friends with the judge. The father of the elderly gypsy woman he killed stroked Billy's cheek as he left the courthouse and whispered one word: "Thinner"

Read the Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb.