George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, a very good read.

Slaughterhouse-Five & The Sirens Of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut.

I'm reading Iron Council at the moment, and while it is fantastic, I find some of his vocabulary and style convoluted at best. I don't think it's for first time readers... Same goes for Perdido Street Station and Embassytown. I guess Kraken might be a bit more fun though in that regard, as it's quite comic-y.

Ooh, on that subject, what about comics? There's some great stuff out there if you know where to look. Watchmen remains one of my favourite books...

Anything by Neil Gaiman..."Neverwhere" is my favorite of his

Stephen King's books & short stories. The Dark Tower series is my favorite, but it may not be as beginner-friendly as some of his other stuff.

Richard Matheson also has a lot of good work (mostly short stories), including "I am Legend" as someone previously mentioned.

Hmmm, Game of Thrones is a book that I find a pleasurable read, but like you said, it's not for you. You could try reading the Hobbit, but it wasn't my type of book. The Hunger Games sounds like something you would be able to read swiftly and enjoy.

I love that book, but its my second favourite of his. American Gods is first and is very close to being what I think of as a perfect book.

The Saxon Tales by Bernard Cornwell