I'd like to read some more up to date books that are still extremely well written. What are the future classics of today? I'm about to get on a plane tomorrow morning so the faster the recommendation the better.

I'm halfway through amazing adventures of kavalier and clay and I think its really great.

honestly, I think World War Z should be on the list - First real zombie classic I can ever remember seeing in literature

not the best but something i enjoyed reading that over last year...off the top of my head

twenty something
quick/witty/can relate to a lo of it
http://www.amazon.com/Twentysomethin...756523&sr=8-10

dice man. great read.
http://www.amazon.com/Dice-Man-Luke-...7756616&sr=1-1

master and margarita. possibly better in russian, but english translation is still superb. unique novel.
http://www.amazon.com/Master-Margari...7756657&sr=1-1

ghengis khan: makings of the modern world. simply interesting because he was made out to be the ultra-villain in middle school history.
http://www.amazon.com/Genghis-Khan-M...7757158&sr=8-6

hm. i think the narrative non fiction is a new genre which has the best books nowadays (krakenkour, bryson, etc.)

For any foodie, the more juvenile the better, Kitchen Confidential is really good.

time travellers wife, read it before the film inevitably ruins it.

two that are a little more then 10 years old, but relatively new fiction that i strongly recommend are " the bone people" and "imagining argentina". both are great books.

I started this book a few years ago. The first half was solid. Something happened about halfway through and I just totally lost interest, though. I generally liked what little I knew of Chabon's work at that time, something just started rubbing me the wrong way and I never picked the book back up.

Perhaps I might finish it now.

I don't read as much fiction as I used to, which bugs me now that I think about it. Hoping for some good recommendations in this list.

Harry Potter.

The Road
Against the Day
Motherless Brooklyn
House of Leaves
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Interpreter of Maladies (short stories, but still a book)

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.

The last couple of Song of Ice and Fire books were released in the last 10 years. Infinite Jest is the best book of the last 13 years.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The Kite Runner; The Corrections.

I'll nominate Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates by Tom Robbins.

which are all about 100 times better than harry potter. Of course rowling is a billionaire and nobody knows who the **** G.R.R. Martin is

thats what he gets for taking 9.7 years to write an installment


i have never read the HP novels, but fire and ice is just amazing literature.

Kavalier and Clay
The Corrections
Atonement
Saturday
White Teeth
On Beauty
Kafka on the Shore
American Gods
Middlesex*
Empire Falls*
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Never Let Me Go

* - have not read myself.

+1 for The Corrections. Funny and well written from start to finish!

Kafka on the Shore started out great but just never seemed to go anywhere. I quit with 125 pages to go. I also didn't think the main character was believable in any way since I didn't feel any 15 year old would act that way.

American Gods was an interesting story, but in the same genre I enjoyed "I, Lucifer" more.

Ken

American Gods was ridiculously good.

Middlesex is a phenomenal read.

Of these, I have read The Corrections and Empire Falls.

I must say, before I read it, I heard about the brewhaha over the Oprah book club thing and thought that Franzen sounded like he had been taken out of context, and I bought the book out of interest more in the author than in the book. When I got it, I saw that PR photo of Franzen inside the jacket and I immediately wanted to hate the book. I mean, it is the most pretentious, douchebaggy, stereotypical elitist author photo you can imagine.

The book was ****ing gripping. I literally could not put it down, read it in two sittings.

Empire Falls was also good but did not knock me over. I did manage to read this one before the HBO mini series came out, and if I had seen the mini series first I probably wouldn't have bothered with the book. The book was much better than the mini series IMO.

Infinite Jest has been on my wishlist for several years. I'm not sure what to make of DFW. I guess I need to get into it first hand instead of worrying about it.

Hmm, it's not quite as douchebaggy as I remember it. In my mind, his stubble was thicker, his glasses were thicker and tilted just slightly askew, and his hair was just a bit more dishevelled.