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Wiley360 posted:Over the past few weeks I have been binging on the Wire, the HBO show. I really love it and I'm familiar with David Simon's other books, but can anyone recommend any literature that's along the same lines as the show? Richard Price, George Pelecanos, Dennis Lehane, and I'm sure some others, but that's what I got off the top of my head. They all wrote guest episodes for the Wire as well.
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Mar 29, 2012 19:11
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PatMarshall posted:Richard Price, George Pelecanos, Dennis Lehane, and I'm sure some others, but that's what I got off the top of my head. They all wrote guest episodes for the Wire as well. Thanks!
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Mar 29, 2012 19:40
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Chunky Delight posted:Looking for a decent pulpy modern day horror author that isn't Bentley Little, any recommendations? Douglas Clegg is good especially his short stories. Jack Ketchum is also good especially Off Season and Hide and Seek. Ramsey Campbell is very well known and is very much along the lines of Bentley Little. Richard Matheson wrote the very excellent I Am Legend but he has lots of great horror novels including Hell House which is my favourite. Ornamented Death posted:You might like Brian Keene or Edward Lee. Edward Lee is an acquired taste I find, his short stories are okay but sometimes his novels are a little too over the top on the gross outs, almost like if someone took a garbage pail kid card and turned it into a novel.
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Mar 30, 2012 00:12
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I want to read some books Fantasy or Sci-fi in which the main protagonist is thought of as legendary or super human, but in reality the protagonist is actually extremely mortal[gets out smarted, doesn't walk away unscathed from every fight, etc]. Examples in books I've read: Vlad Taltos in the Vlad Taltos Series Kvothe in The King Killer Chronicles
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Mar 30, 2012 00:54
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KildarX posted:I want to read some books Fantasy or Sci-fi in which the main protagonist is thought of as legendary or super human, but in reality the protagonist is actually extremely mortal[gets out smarted, doesn't walk away unscathed from every fight, etc]. Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light Isle of the Dead Amber series Seriously, you're like describing Zelazny's entire body of work. For a Zelazny short story in this general theme, try: http://www.msu.edu/user/carterca/rose.htm Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 04:10 on Mar 30, 2012 |
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Mar 30, 2012 02:45
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AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 01:16 on Jan 22, 2016 |
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Mar 30, 2012 06:24
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Wiley360 posted:Over the past few weeks I have been binging on the Wire, the HBO show. I really love it and I'm familiar with David Simon's other books, but can anyone recommend any literature that's along the same lines as the show? EDIT: beaten! Richard Price's(he was a guest writer for The Wire) books Lush Life and Clockers. He has others, but IMO those are the most Wire-like. Clockers was also made into a movie directed by Spike Lee.
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Apr 1, 2012 02:31
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I've been looking for something in a non-fiction regarding either American Civil War or World War II field medics. Any recommendations?
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Apr 1, 2012 08:34
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QuickbreathFinisher posted:Also, I want a good gay novel. Books that I like a lot include the aforementioned HOL, Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk, White Noise by Don Delillo, Burn Collector by Al Burian (which I know is more of a zine collection than a novel) and I really love Jorge Luis Borges. Are there any good gay novels that are pretty crazy and well written? I don't want the book to have like literal steamy gay scenes, not that into erotica, just possibly a gay main character or something who deals with some crazy possibly horror element. That would be good While it's more literary than crazy, you might be interested in The Lost Language of Cranes by David Leavitt.
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Apr 1, 2012 14:23
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Hi, I'm really into the summoner class for D&D right now and would like some fiction recommendations which draw from a similar inspiration source. I've already read the Bartimaeus Trilogy, but I haven't seen many others that focus on a character that summons creatures using magic. Would appreciate some suggestions, thanks.
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Apr 1, 2012 19:12
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U4RiiA posted:While it's more literary than crazy, you might be interested in The Lost Language of Cranes by David Leavitt. The best "good modern literary novel about homosexuals" that I've read lately has been The Amazing Adventures of kavalier and clay . It won the 2001 Pulitzer.
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Apr 1, 2012 21:58
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Chabon's first novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is another good choice.
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Apr 2, 2012 04:36
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I just watched a documentary on the differences between medieval sword play and that found in movies and fencing and found it really interesting. I am wondering if there are any good books with similar themes that separate perceptions of history and the reality. Not necessarily about swords, but more along the lines of "This is what people think, this is what it was actually like."
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Apr 2, 2012 04:59
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Kung Food posted:I just watched a documentary on the differences between medieval sword play and that found in movies and fencing and found it really interesting. I am wondering if there are any good books with similar themes that separate perceptions of history and the reality. Not necessarily about swords, but more along the lines of "This is what people think, this is what it was actually like." Neal Stephenson's/Greg Bear's/etc. upcoming The Mongoliad is actually inspired by just such a thing (although it was a discrepancy Stephenson became interested in while writing a previous trilogy). It releases in book form on April 24th, but I believe can be read in its entirety for free online now at http://mongoliad.com/.
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Apr 2, 2012 15:37
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I'm a newcomer in the whole global warming debate. I was discussing whether or not it's a real phenomena with another wonderful goon. Could anybody recommend me a book that's -fairly- unbiased showing comparing and contrasting whether or not global warming is actually happening?
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Apr 2, 2012 20:55
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I have a couple, if anybody can help I'd be very appreciative. First, I love reading about stuff like 80's computer/hacker culture, nerd pop culture from the 80's (arcades, games, comics, computers, TV, Movies, etc), and stuff like that. Basically most of the stuff that was in Ready Player One, but I'd prefer non-fiction if at all possible. I'm not a programmer or anything, so I'm not interested in tech manuals or overly technical stories, more of just general nerd stuff from that time. Fiction about this time is fine too. Secondly, I'd love a good non fiction book about the LAPD Rampart division. I'd love to know more about what happened, the stories from there, etc.
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Apr 3, 2012 02:57
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PonchtheJedi posted:I have a couple, if anybody can help I'd be very appreciative. It's more early 90s than 80s, but David Kushner's Masters of Doom is a fun read about the rise of iD software.
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Apr 3, 2012 03:40
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PonchtheJedi posted:I have a couple, if anybody can help I'd be very appreciative. Fire in the Valley, if you'd like to read about young Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and other key players in the industry. It's a fun read about the early days of personal computing. Starts in the 70's, though.
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Apr 3, 2012 13:20
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QuickbreathFinisher posted:Also, I want a good gay novel. Books that I like a lot include the aforementioned HOL, Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk, White Noise by Don Delillo, Burn Collector by Al Burian (which I know is more of a zine collection than a novel) and I really love Jorge Luis Borges. Are there any good gay novels that are pretty crazy and well written? I don't want the book to have like literal steamy gay scenes, not that into erotica, just possibly a gay main character or something who deals with some crazy possibly horror element. That would be good Oh I have the perfect book for you. Try The White Devil by Justin Evans. It's set in an all boys' school, it's got a mystery about George Gordon, Lord Byron, and it has a gay ghost!
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Apr 3, 2012 16:47
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PonchtheJedi posted:I have a couple, if anybody can help I'd be very appreciative. http://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Computer-Revolution-Anniversary-Edition/dp/1449388396/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333470109&sr=1-3 That's the best one I've read so far - it covers a bunch of that stuff and spends most of its time in the 80's, with a good stop off for the people at the forefront of the computer gaming revolution like Ken and Roberta Williams (Sierra Online) and Richard "Lord British" Garriott (Ultima, etc.). This one - http://www.amazon.com/On-Edge-Spectacular-Rise-Commodore/dp/0973864907/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2 - is about the rise and fall of Commodore and reads like a great caper/adventure/farce. Anyone who thinks that Apple was behind the home computer revolution should read this. It's full of larger-than-life characters, insane anecdotes, and amazing moments. And finally, this one is half the answer, half not, but it's still a great read that I think you'll dig: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/04...B6YW3HWK55XCGG2 It's about how the Japanese basically took over the electronics industry, with each chapter broken down to a specific innovation like the quartz watch, affordable digital synthesizers, the calculator, CD player, etc. It's amazingly interesting if you already geek on this sort of thing and reveals much about the culture and specific visionaries, companies, and innovations.
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Apr 3, 2012 17:30
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AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 01:16 on Jan 22, 2016 |
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Apr 3, 2012 20:19
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I'm halfway through Michael Crichton's Pirate Latitudes which I'm loving since Crichton is one of my favorite authors. I was wondering if anyone could recommend me some other Pirate/Privateer/Age of Sail fiction? Or Whaling fiction that's not Moby Dick? The only thing is I have an extremely hard time getting through most older books. Books like Moby Dick or The Lord of the Rings are just too wordy and low on action for me to get through even though I love the subjects of both.
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Apr 3, 2012 21:25
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Epi Lepi posted:I'm halfway through Michael Crichton's Pirate Latitudes which I'm loving since Crichton is one of my favorite authors. I was wondering if anyone could recommend me some other Pirate/Privateer/Age of Sail fiction? Or Whaling fiction that's not Moby Dick? The only thing is I have an extremely hard time getting through most older books. Books like Moby Dick or The Lord of the Rings are just too wordy and low on action for me to get through even though I love the subjects of both. The best nautical age of sail fiction is the Aubrey/maturin series by Patrick O'Brian, but it's crazy wordy so probably not your cup of tea. Maybe the Hornblower books?
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Apr 3, 2012 21:27
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:The best nautical age of sail fiction is the Aubrey/maturin series by Patrick O'Brian, but it's crazy wordy so probably not your cup of tea. Maybe the Hornblower books? I might give them a try, but it's not quite the setting I'm looking for. Thinking more 16th and 17th century than 19th.
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Apr 3, 2012 21:41
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Ok, well how about nonfiction? Maybe Two Years Before the Mast? Though actually now that I check it's set in the 1830's, I just think it's earlier because it's an American book. Alternatively, you could try something like Treasure Island, or even Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates. If you don't mind a fantasy gloss on your pirate fiction, I know that Tim Power's On Stranger Tides was the inspiration for the Monkey Island games and the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, but I haven't read it myself so I can't verify its goodness.
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Apr 3, 2012 21:51
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Epi Lepi posted:I'm halfway through Michael Crichton's Pirate Latitudes which I'm loving since Crichton is one of my favorite authors. I was wondering if anyone could recommend me some other Pirate/Privateer/Age of Sail fiction? Or Whaling fiction that's not Moby Dick? The only thing is I have an extremely hard time getting through most older books. The Horatio Hornblower series [The books span from 1790 till the end of the Napoleonic Wars] by C.S Forester is really really good, although there are some EXTREMELY DRY areas in the chronologically later books [Anything dealing with his courting of a socialite]. edit: Didn't see the previous recommendation of it, well I suggest it as well.
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Apr 3, 2012 23:26
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KildarX posted:The Horatio Hornblower series [The books span from 1790 till the end of the Napoleonic Wars] by C.S Forester is really really good, although there are some EXTREMELY DRY areas in the chronologically later books [Anything dealing with his courting of a socialite]. Are the Hornblower books better or is the TV series? If I watch the series, would it still be worthwhile to read the books, or vice versa? Which is it better to do first?
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Apr 3, 2012 23:48
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terrorist plumber posted:Are the Hornblower books better or is the TV series? If I watch the series, would it still be worthwhile to read the books, or vice versa? Which is it better to do first? I couldn't tell you, never seen it {I should probably have said Book Series I suppose...), suffice to say the other five books in the series the show didn't cover [according to wiki] aren't bad, they just have spots in which they're boring as Milquetoast [A romance subplot which I felt was carried into too much detail]
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Apr 4, 2012 00:05
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terrorist plumber posted:Are the Hornblower books better or is the TV series? If I watch the series, would it still be worthwhile to read the books, or vice versa? Which is it better to do first? They're both very good, but the TV series ends with him becoming Post Captain whereas the books carry on well past the point. Also, the characterisation of Hornblower differs a bit between the two. The TV version is pretty straight up heroic whereas the book version can be whiny sometimes and is also a bit of an adulterous bastard. Flatscan fucked around with this message at 02:22 on Apr 4, 2012 |
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Apr 4, 2012 02:19
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Ok, well how about nonfiction? Maybe Two Years Before the Mast? Though actually now that I check it's set in the 1830's, I just think it's earlier because it's an American book. On Stranger Tides sounds more up my alley. I don't mind fantasy since that was an era where some people did think there were Kraken and Mermaids in the deep waters. The book I'm reading now is all about an English Privateer from the Jamaica Colony leading a small group to steal a treasure galleon from a Spanish Fortress and along the way hitting all the cliches, a Hurricane, a giant squid attack, being attacked by cannibals. That's the kind of fiction I was hoping to find more of.
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Apr 4, 2012 05:39
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Hey so I am going out on sailing boat for a month and I need some fiction to balance out the non I'm bringing.. I'm looking for stuff like these: The Black Company series Revelation Space series Neuromancer Snowcrash Prince of Nothing Anubis Gates The Arthur Books The Magicians Did a few dune books, done Tolkien and Asimov when I was younger. Catpetter fucked around with this message at 12:39 on Mar 30, 2015 |
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Apr 6, 2012 04:44
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Hey guys, I'm new A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones fan #1001 and I'm looking for more books with a similar (greater) politics focus. I prefer a short series, and audiobooks, but this isn't necessary. The setting does not necessarily have to be similar to Game of Thrones' setting. Thanks in advance.
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Apr 6, 2012 13:48
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Varicelli posted:Hey guys, I'm new A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones fan #1001 and I'm looking for more books with a similar (greater) politics focus. I prefer a short series, and audiobooks, but this isn't necessary. The setting does not necessarily have to be similar to Game of Thrones' setting. Hard call, there's not much out there that does that kind of politics in anything particularly short. The natural "if you liked Song of Ice and Fire, you should try X" recommendation is probably Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, but it's at ~13 thousand-page volumes right now. It's less grimdark than ASoIaF but similarly complex and political, except that the politics doesn't show up till the later books.
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Apr 6, 2012 14:25
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Are there any good alternate-history books about Captain John Brown succeeding in his raid at Harper's Ferry?
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Apr 6, 2012 14:46
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Hard call, there's not much out there that does that kind of politics in anything particularly short. The natural "if you liked Song of Ice and Fire, you should try X" recommendation is probably Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, but it's at ~13 thousand-page volumes right now. It's less grimdark than ASoIaF but similarly complex and political, except that the politics doesn't show up till the later books. Sorry, I don't mean super short, just nothing like the 10+ book series I've been recommended.
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Apr 6, 2012 15:26
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Varicelli posted:Sorry, I don't mean super short, just nothing like the 10+ book series I've been recommended. It's a tough call -- for some reason that kind of fantasy-politics just eats up the loving pages. Maybe Guy Gavriel Kay's stuff? His three-book Sarantine Mosaic series is based on the Byzantine Empire and has some politics in it. His Lions of Al-Rassan is based on a fantasy version of Reconquista-Era Spain and might also be worth a look, or his Tigana or Song for Arbonne. Really everything of his is good except the Fionavar Tapestry series which you should avoid.
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Apr 6, 2012 15:34
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Can anyone recommend some good "alternative physics" science fiction books? I just made up that genre so maybe nobody has done it well, but something like changing the laws slightly and fully exploring the implications while still having a plot.
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Apr 6, 2012 19:45
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Not sure if it's exactly what your looking for but check out the Virga Series by Karl Schroeder which takes place in a Fullerene balloon drifting through space filled with air and lit up by artificial suns.
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Apr 6, 2012 20:16
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Varicelli posted:Hey guys, I'm new A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones fan #1001 and I'm looking for more books with a similar (greater) politics focus. I prefer a short series, and audiobooks, but this isn't necessary. The setting does not necessarily have to be similar to Game of Thrones' setting. The Foundation Series is seven books and it has a much bigger focus on the political aspect than Game of Thrones, mostly because it is "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" in space. Be warned it is a political book in every sense of the word, the amount of "action scenes" are sparse in parts. Defenestrategy fucked around with this message at 20:56 on Apr 6, 2012 |
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Apr 6, 2012 20:50
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Acallapani posted:Can anyone recommend some good "alternative physics" science fiction books? I just made up that genre so maybe nobody has done it well, but something like changing the laws slightly and fully exploring the implications while still having a plot.
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Apr 6, 2012 22:07
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