I’m sure we have some readers in our midst, and I’m guessing many of us have common interests (bets on fantasy and sci-fi), and I’m always looking for new recommendations… so why not share! Any and all contributions are welcome.
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I’m a huge fan of Audible and its audiobooks (thanks to my long commute), so I thought I’d kick things off with a list of audiobooks I highly recommend. I’d love to hear other audiobook recommendations, but feel free to recommend whatever you’d like!
Fantasy:
- The Chronicles of Amber series by Roger Zelazny. Probably my favorite fantasy series. One of the things I love most about it is that it focus more on the order-chaos divide as opposed to the stereotypical good-evil divide. Absolutely “modern classic” about an amnesiac that pieces together his true heritage and tries to right the injustice, save the world, etc.
- American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Very cool book by Gaiman. The basic premise is that gods and fantasy creatures exist to the extent that people believe in them and the plot is about the old gods and the new clashing in a contemporary American setting.
- The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. Pretty famous series about a planeswalking gunslinger trying to get to the bottom of troubling signs about the universe. I’m not a big King fan even but this is well worth the read.
- Earthsea series by Ursula K Le Guin. Another modern classic by an amazing author. Sort of coming-of-age tale about the education and growth of a young mage. One of the coolest things about it is the portrayal of magic in the book.
- The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss. This has gotten a lot of hype recently, and is currently unfinished. It’s a very entertaining read about the life and adventures of jack-of-all-trades type hero (fighter, musician, magician, etc.).
- The Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson. Great series where a thief discovers a really cool system of magic and tries to use it to steal from the dark lord that rules that world. The author first became famous as being the one chosen to complete the Wheel of Time series.
- The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. Fun, violent book about a charming but blood-raging barbarian.
- The Gentlemen Bastard series by Scott Lynch. Great series about an orphan-turned-con-artist and his band. (@Jainus also recommended this in the thread that led to this one.)
- Riyria Revelations series by Michael Sullivan. Entertaining read about a pair of thieves and their (mis)adventures.
- The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks. Fun if violent read about an assassin.
- Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Fun, quick read filled with references to 80s/90s nerd culture about a kid trying to win a contest inside a VR MMO that everyone in the world takes part in.
Sci-Fi:
- The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein. Probably my favorite sci-fi book of all time and also a “modern classic”. About a rebellious lunar colony and AI.
- The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson. From the author of Snow Crash, this one is a coming-of-age story about a girl that has a state-of-the-art interactive book fall into her hands. A lot of really interesting stuff about nanotechnology in particular.
- Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. I’m sure most people know of this one but it’s earned it’s reputation for a reason.
- Ringworld by Larry Niven. Another I’m sure most people know of this one and it should also be read.
- The Fold by Peter Clines. Fun, quick read about a modern-Sherlock type that investigates something mysterious going on at a facility where they’ve figured out how to create a teleportation device.
- The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. Modern classic and very interesting book about a soldier that travels through spacetime to fight an unending war and the resulting consequences of time dilation.
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Yeah, I love fantasy and sci-fi. My favorite genre of all would have to be dystopia though. Come November, the dystopian genre may have a lot more non-fictional works. 
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Here’s some recommendations:
Psychihistorical crises - kind of a re-imagining of the division series, really good.
You should also read “14” by Peter clines, I’d say something about it but I don’t want to spoil it.
The “ex” series, but Peter Clines is also a really really good. Super heroes during a zombie apocalypse.
The prefer mage trilogy - gunpowder wizard, very well written and highly regarded, nuff said.
I’ve read just about everything you posted, some great stuff in there!
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A song of ice and fire series George rr Martin
Eyes of the Dragon. Stephen king
The talisman. Stephen king
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Btw, @RiverSong, I’d heard about the Hyperion Cantos and it sounded like it was right up my alley, but I didn’t know anyone that has actually read it. I already had it in my wish list so I just moved it to the top!
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@Tacet, I love dystopian stuff too! The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, The Diamond Age, and Ready Player One fit in there if you haven’t read them. Neuromancer and Snow Crash, both classics I’m assuming you’ve read, are two of my favorites as well.
Definitely welcome more recommendations in the genre if you have em!
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Also:
The light bringer series by Brent weeks, considerably better than the Night Angel series, which is saying a lot.
Hitchhikers guide series of course.
Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, so so good but comedy if you’re not into that.
The Amber chronicles are also some of my favorites, read the whole thing like 3 times. Really good and unique even today.
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For a light and quick fantasy reading, I recommend “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” by Neil Gaiman.
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If you liked Zelazny’s Amber series, Lord of Light is also excellent. Harlan Ellison, Terry Pratchett, Neal Stephenson, Stephen R. Donaldson and Nancy Kress are some of my favorites; I could recommend almost anything by them, though Kress’ novellas are much better than her full length novels.
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@Studs you should prep for the next kingdom by reading the Dresden files. To put it in perspective, the Dresden files are Rothfuss’ favorite books.
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I was always a fan of the Belgariad and Malloreon series by David Eddings.
I also have been reading the Dragons of Autumn Twilight trilogy from the Dragonlance series. Finish the first book and trying to find time to read the other 2 
.
The Kingkiller Chronicles is on my to-read list but it was recommended to me that I wait for the 3rd book to come out before I start reading it.
Read several books from the Dresden Files with Summer Knight being my favorite (), unfortunately there was a gap between reading that and the next book and I had trouble getting back into the series.
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If you are trying to get back in restart at book 4. Books 1-3 are good, but he turns a corner at book four and going back to the other three is painful. Book 4 is where the overall arc between the story’s hits traction and development of characters and plots become remarkably better. Basically the difference between good and great.
Have you read “the redemption of althalus”? Sane author, lots of fun, written similarly to the other series of his but all encapsulated in a single novel!
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@RiverSong: Anything in particular you’d recommend of Ellison or Donaldson or Kress? I know Pratchett and Stephenson but not those.
@Mufasha: The Dresden Files are already on my list! I’ll bump them up a bit 
@Nimhain: I have the Belgariad series on my list, but what’s the Mallorean series?
I try it but I didn’t enjoy it as much. Same with the Sparhawk books.
It’s a second set of books in the same universe. Lots of fun. There’s also a couple stand alone books that are prequels in the series that are rather good.
I’m a big fantasy fiction fan. My favorite author ever is probably Terry Pratchett. Recently, I’ve really been getting into the books of Jim Butcher and Brandon Sanderson.
Likest Thou Jelly in Thy Doughnut?
For those of you who like the Dresden Files, my friends and I are waiting expectantly for the release of DFCO: a cooperative board game being Kickstarted by EvilHat. Jim Butcher is involved and it looks like it is going to be a lot of fun for those who enjoy the series. As of this post, there is about 18 hours left before the project is funded.
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Hitler’s second book was a hell of a read, minus all the racist rhetoric of his first.
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