This isn't a Japanese book but it is one of my personal favorites.
I would recommend "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck.
It tells the story of an impossible, yet beautiful friendship.

^ I read that book last year for English, I wouldn't say it was a favourite read, but it certainly was an eye opener to how grim life could be and how people strive that dream but succumb to something else...

My fave series is The Elves by Bernhard Hennen!
But i also love Jane Austen's books!!

Sensai Steve wrote:This isn't a Japanese book but it is one of my personal favorites.
I would recommend "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck.
It tells the story of an impossible, yet beautiful friendship.

The only Steinbeck novel I've read is "The Pearl". It was quite enjoyable.

•Vampire Diaries
•Hunger Games trilogy

can't remember the others at the moment

jimi hendrix biography

Short stories by Jack London and the two Williams, Faulkner and Saroyan, never disappoint. Particularly Faulkner's "Turnabout"...

Here are some good book series that I've read:
Harry Potter
The Hunger Games (My favorite)
The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
Divergent

the Percy Jackson series (REALLY GREAT!)
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower
Mrs Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children (will be made into a movie)

those are my current favorites and I recommend it to all

This post hasn't been updated in a while.

I can recommend a writer called "John Grisham". He used to be a lawyer and his novels are about the cases he has experienced. Great writer and intriguing stories.

I think I've read a book of Grisham but I can't remember the title. 

Books of Agatha Christie, Robert Ludlum, and Arthur Conan Doyle would be my favorite kind of read.

"The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever" series by Stephen R. Donaldson.

"The Book of Swords" and "Berserker" series' by Fred Saberhagen.

Left readers begging for more!! Made into second and third trilogies by popular demand.

I mostly read history books, but as far as fiction goes anything from Kurt Vonnegut is high on my list, particularly "Sirens Of Titan."  Joseph Heller's "Catch-22" is also one of my favorites.

As for rock biographies go, I highly recommend Motley Crue's "The Dirt" even if you're not a fan (I'm not).  It's a good insight into everything you shouldn't do, and why a band like that could never be as successful today.

Sensai Steve wrote:This post hasn't been updated in a while.

I can recommend a writer called "John Grisham". He used to be a lawyer and his novels are about the cases he has experienced. Great writer and intriguing stories.

Wait, is he not that popular? I always thought he is. I read some of his books like The Pelican Brief, Playing for Pizza and The Testament. Man, he's a genius.

Casual readers must be warned of his books tho, they are intricate and might be boring if one's not a fan. Also, because they are based on cases he has experienced, readers will be forced to lawyer's jargon and idioms. The first time I read one of his novels, I have to reread many a chapters to fully comprehend the story but his novels will be easily understood eventually as one read more of his books.

I really suggest Grisham's books although I'm not yet familiar with his recent ones. 

Osakashnaide wrote:... Arthur Conan Doyle would be my favorite kind of read.

Have you read his other works too?

In any case, I also love his Sherlock Holmes stories. For the benefit of others, Sir ACD wrote four novels and many short stories about Sherlock Holmes, the world's only consulting detective. And no, we are not talking about the one wherein Benedict Cumberbatch's plays the lead role (although it is based on the original SH stories). While not the first fictional detective stories, the collective stories of SH is, without argument, the best of its kind and widely opened the way for future detective stories on all sort of medium.

I would also recommend the following:

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
*(hardcore fans will say its a one long novel, not a trilogy! And I'm a semi hardcore fan so... haha)
Brief intro: No need. 

Ups:

• the best fantasy books ever, paved the way to other great fantasy books
  
• characters are well-written with diverse personalities. Also, the races. And the heroes. Awe.
  
• the sceneries are illustrated so well you could feel the agelessness of Rivendell or the openness of Rohan's field
  
• the fictional languages Sir Tolkien used in the books are also nothing short of spectacular
  
• if you hate gore and/or erotic, this is better than A Song of Ice and Fire novels (where GOT is based) minus the two.
  
• has a dope movie trilogy! and dope video games too!
  
• it's like reading real history, except more magical
  

Downs:

• a very looong read! (It is futile to read one book only because , I repeat, the books are basically one long novel)
  
• the presence of multiple fictional languages and, consequently, fictional (albeit realistic) names and terms make it also a hard read
  

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Dune by Frank Herbert
Brief intro: Dune is the LOTR of Science Fiction. Period.

Ups:

• has a beautifully constructed universe
  
• just like LOTR, has diverse and well-written characters
  
• touches social and environmental issues
  
• intriguing, politics is an essential element of the novel
  
• has a medieval flavor to it
  
• although set in the future, computers are virtually absent on the world of Dune! (Don't want to spoil so I won't bother explaining why)
  
• spawned lots of sequels
  

Downs:

• although not a hard scifi, still requires a lot of brain power to read
  
• if you hate politics, avoid this one. Or at least if you hate thinking a lot. haha
  
• some say the sequels are not that good. Personally, I also love them but I admit the direct sequel depressed me a bit. It's not because it's not but because the story is... spoiler, spoiler.
  

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I'm already getting tired of writing so I'll just leave the following here: American Gods by Neil Gaiman, Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and Kane Chronicles books, The Last Legion by V.M. Manfredi, Jeanne DuPrau's The City of Ember, The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi, Unto Leviathan by Richard Paul Russo, and, for a little taste of Japanese literature, Koushun Takami's Battle Royale.

I would like to recommend the Discworld series by Sir Terry Pratchett.

A mixture of Harry Potter, Lord of the rings and Monty Python. Very funny indeed

Recently, I downloaded the complete works of George Orwell. Completely fascinating how the plot of Nineteen Eighty Four is actually starting to come true. 

I would recommend anyone to read George Orwell.