I've begun meeting people recently with increasing regularity who have read Chuck Palahniuk's work. At the very least, they've heard of him. Currently, he's on my list of people I want to read.
I wish more people knew of Clive Barker—beyond Hellraiser, at least.
"I can't imagine what Hell will have in store, but I know when I'm there, I won't wander anymore."There might already be a similar discussion but I think its nice to narrow it down to just books.
I once read this cool fantasy series by Alan Burt Akers about this guy named Dray Prescott. The first six or so have been reprinted lately but can only be bought online. I recommend them.
And it just gets better from there!Dhalgren.
By Palahniuk I've only read Rant: Long Subtitle That I Forget but i loved it.
[1] This facsimile operated in part by synAC.John Moore has written three or four comic fantasy novels that are short, whimsical, and extremely enjoyable. Nobody knows who John Moore is, though. 8-( The ones I remember include Bad Prince Charlie and The Unhandsome Prince. In fact, tropers in particular would love these books because of how thoroughly they play with tropes while still providing three-dimensional characters and a good story.
What? People don't know of Mr. Palahniuk? Butbutbut... he wrote Fight Club!
@Lucky: I still say one of my favorite books is The Thief of Always. Sad that it doesn't have its own article here.
The City Of Dreaming Books. Which has an article just because I enjoyed it that much. It's a really strange book. It has the light, whimsical tone I remember from fantasy books for kids, and it's about books, and the lead is a talking dinosaur, but then it's also full of things like people committing suicide by swallowing glass, And a long discussion of the various ways a book can be rigged with poison, while you're reading a book. And there are drawings (not of the glass swallowing.)
I really liked Nicole Galland's The Fool's Tale. Not great literature by any means, but it is side-splittingly funny as often as it is horrifying and sad, and the characters are developed very believably, especially considering that the premise was derived from basic archetypes.
My words fly up, my thoughts remain below.You Can't Win
! Don't let the William S. Burroughs influencing and AK Press rhetoric fool you. It is just a great, great book.
I want to say Bridge Of Birds, except that clearly I'm not the only person who has ever heard of it because we have a thread on it in which I am not the only participant.
The Lions Of Al-Rassan is the best of Guy Gavriel Kay's books, and a good starting point.
Jethro and I seem to be the only people on this site who've read Jennifer Government.
I found Neil Cross' Christendom at a second-hand shop a while ago. It's pretty good.
Oh, and Conqueror, the series I Entry Pimp; it seems like I'm the only person I know who's actually read those books.
Ukrainian Red CrossI really liked No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman even if it was formulaic but people always look at me like I'm crazy when I suggest it. Is it the name...?
You're looking for this person.E.E. Knight's Vampire Earth books: Way of the Wolf, Choice of the Cat, Tales of the Thunderbolt, Valentine's Rising, Valentine's Exile, Valentine's Resolve, and Fall With Honor.
Take one part Apocalypse. Mix vampires liberally with Cosmic Horror. Add one part Shonen hero (thanks to being Touched by Vorlons) and then mix liberally with the Indiana Jones trilogy. Blend until it reaches the right consistency.
edited 15th Aug '09 1:02:14 AM by lanky
@Vampire Buddha: I've also read Jennifer Government, but I'm the only person I know who's read his earlier work Syrup, which I thought was better.
the dice are loaded, the deck is stacked, the game itself will hold you backThere's always Eric Hoffer's The True Believer, as Entry Pimped by Korg and myself.
edited 15th Aug '09 1:19:45 AM by English Ivy
I haven't met anyone else who has read End Of Eternity (mostly because it's out of print), but there are at least two other people who contributed to the wiki page.

A couple of years ago, I stumbled upon a book called The Four Dorothys by Paul Ruditis. This turned out to be the first installment in a quartet. On the surface, it’s just a fluffy teen series about some theatre geeks at a private high school in Malibu, but there’s so much more to it than that. The books are fast-paced, original, and laugh-out-loud funny; the characters are three-dimensional and totally believable. By the last book, I was so invested in the protagonist’s emotional journey that I actually shed a few tears at the climax. Needless to say, this is now one of my all-time favorite series.
And I have yet to meet anyone else in real life who’s heard of it.
Is there a book or book series that you think should be way more popular than it is? Share it with us here.