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maxmars posted:Have some time to kill, would like to read something weird, like the "library of the dead" (Glenn Cooper).. As an alternative, a good crime novel, Michael Connelly style. Please? ^_^ Kill two birds with one stone and read John Connolly's Charlie Parker books (first one is Every Dead Thing).
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Jun 25, 2013 01:22
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maxmars posted:Have some time to kill, would like to read something weird, like the "library of the dead" (Glenn Cooper).. As an alternative, a good crime novel, Michael Connelly style. Please? ^_^ If you like the Connelly books because of the police procedural elements, Ed McBain's 87th precinct series virtually defined the genre, as well as being well written. Joseph Wambaugh's Hollywood Station books are also very good. If what you liked about Connelly is the brooding, noirish elements, may I suggest Lawrence Block's Scudder series? If you're just vaguely looking for good crime stories, just about the best are Richard Stark's Parker books.
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Jun 25, 2013 02:16
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Thank you both, I knew the Book Barn would not disappoint.. Getting a few books as we speak 
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Jun 25, 2013 07:06
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I'm looking to dive into classic Russian literature,but I have no idea where to start. Should I start with The Brothers Karamazov, Lolita, or I don't know where?
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Jun 25, 2013 22:10
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Both of those books are really good and you would not waste your time reading them, but it's hard to give a hearty recommendation on where to make a start. The category's so massive it would just collapse into a list of names you'd have heard of before. Skim the Russian Literature thread and try a few of the authors listed and see what you enjoy. Also there's a really pedantic argument to be had about whether Lolita counts as Russian Literature. It was written in English and is set in America. I guess my feeling boils down to "it's not as Russian as Pushkin."
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Jun 25, 2013 22:42
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I've wanted to read more Russian Lit. as well. I have two friends that study in Russian Literature and Russian History in college, and they both recommended me Notes from Underground by Dostoyevsky and The Portable Nineteenth-Century Russian Reader edited by George Gibian. I read a copy of Peaver and Volokhonsky's translation of Notes From Underground, and I really liked it. It's a short read and very interesting. George Gibian's collection is a bunch of poetry and short stories from all of the big names, from Pushkin to Gogol, Dostoyevksy to Chekov. Some of the translations are by done by Nabakov, so you get some of his style, too. I've seen it in a few different bookstores, so it should be easy to find. Lolita's great too, but I fall in the camp that considers it American Lit., even though it's a grey area.
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Jun 25, 2013 23:02
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MikeDinosaur posted:I recently read Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, I just finished it, and I'm pretty sure I would have been interesting to watch read, because once the initial hilarity gave way to horror, my face rotated between  and  . I mean there was insane musical chairs which seem almost baffling in a way, and then there were things like the thought reform. Also, while not having read any of Hubbard's works, if he was seriously sending out first drafts, I doubt they were any good, and it makes me sad that they're in these nuclear bunkers or whatever. I have this image of alien archaeologists finding these and just shaking their heads. But yeah. Hubbard was one (awful) thing, but Miscaviage. Dear God. I know sociopath is a term that gets thrown around a lot but, that's seriously what comes to mind here. You're right, I could totally see him as a serial killer. I really want to know what happened to his wife. I hope she's okay. I always wondered why Scientology and Hollywood seem to go hand-in-hand, and that was answered. But I realized, since I was told once that Hollywood and mental illness go hand in hand, if you combine Scientology hating psychiatry, a bunch of celebrities and fledgling actors/writers/whatever probably aren't getting the help they need. I just made myself sadder. Either way, thank you for recommending this book. It was a wild ride.
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Jun 25, 2013 23:32
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Rommel1896 posted:I'm looking to dive into classic Russian literature,but I have no idea where to start. Should I start with The Brothers Karamazov, Lolita, or I don't know where? Also don't be afraid of War & Peace; it's a great introduction to the Russian Novel.
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Jun 26, 2013 00:20
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I have an odd-ish request. I want to read Moby Dick but I'm looking for a specific e-book version. I started reading Moby Dick in physical paper and the version I was reading had excellent footnotes (as well as etching illustrations). I believe it was the "Modern Library" edition. Unfortunately, this copy is 2 provinces away from where I am now, otherwise I'd forgo the ebook. Modern Library doesn't really do ebook editions (they do some, but they didn't do Moby Dick). What I'm looking for is an ebook edition with excellent footnotes to help me follow along. I know I can get the book for free from Gutenberg Project, but I'm willing to pay for a well annotated ebook edition. I'm reading on a non-3g Kindle if that helps. EDIT: This seems to be what I'm looking for. Checking the sample now. Snuffman fucked around with this message at 17:10 on Jun 30, 2013 |
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Jun 30, 2013 17:07
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I'm looking for anything from two different genres, both seemingly with nothing to do with each other. Lately I've been in to non-fiction about human atrocities, the psychology behind them, or basically anything disturbing. As some loose examples of what I'm looking for, I recently finished Raven by Tim Reiterman about The Jonestown Massacre and The People Who Eat Darkness by Richard Lloyd Perry, both of which I'd highly recommend to anyone looking for a peek in to the seedier parts of humanity. I particularly enjoyed Perry's explanation of the Japanese police and how the culture of the area made the search for the victim so much more difficult. I'm not necessarily looking for non-fiction recommendations or even books about murder - I'd really just like some meaty, disturbing, visceral reads about anything that leaves me closing the cover and feeling like I just looked at something I shouldn't have. I've also recently been on a kick with learning about Eastern politics, culture, and religion, specifically from Egypt to India, and anywhere in between. I read The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright (who also wrote Going Clear which most people in this thread seemed to have enjoyed a lot) and from there on found an obsession I didn't know I had with the Eastern world. It was eye-opening since I knew that radical Islam wasn't representative of the religion as a whole, but Wright did an amazing job of explaining how its' followers don't consider themselves residents of their nations, but Muslims, and what that means to it's people. I'm really interested in reading about different cultures and how they identify themselves, what they believe in, how they live, and the why behind all of it.
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Jun 30, 2013 19:45
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Does anyone have any reccomendations for books on Pre-history? Reading about stuff like evolutionary roots and early migrations and lifestyles and all fascinates me, for whatever reason. Hell, it could even be pre-humans for all I care.
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Jun 30, 2013 21:26
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hybriseris posted:I'm not necessarily looking for non-fiction recommendations or even books about murder - I'd really just like some meaty, disturbing, visceral reads about anything that leaves me closing the cover and feeling like I just looked at something I shouldn't have. Littell's The Kindly Ones. It's a novel about an SS officer. He joins something called Einsatzgruppe and goes to the Eastern front. In Lviv he helps move all the town's Jews to a nearby ravine. Then we find out the ravine is known locally as Babi Yar. Then it starts getting really disturbing.
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Jun 30, 2013 22:11
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Anyone familiar with Only an Alligator (Accomplice) By steve aylett I'm looking for similar books or authors like him.
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Jun 30, 2013 22:48
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Snuffman posted:Moby Dick Just FYI, I'm reading Moby Dick now (260 pages left!) and without any footnotes I haven't had any challenge understanding much of anything Melville writes. The structure of the book and Ishmael's narration results in a fat loving book of amply described whale and boat poo poo. Unless you want background information on Nantucket or something, like it's not good enough knowing that the crew is from Nantucket and you have to know the political climate of Nantucket at the time or something, you should be fine just reading the book. And Queequeg's the fuckin man.
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Jul 1, 2013 00:05
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Anyone got any suggestions for some lighthearted high fantasy stuff? Something along the lines of Pratchett or Aspirin, but preferably not completely batshit like Anthony. (I binge-read the "Twisted!" thread and need an antidote for needlessly angsty were-things and I think a shot of whimsy is what I need.) Focacciasaurus_Rex fucked around with this message at 00:20 on Jul 2, 2013 |
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Jul 2, 2013 00:13
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http://www.amazon.com/Bridge-Birds-Novel-Ancient-China/dp/0345321383/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372721020&sr=8-1&keywords=bridge+of+birds You will love it.
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Jul 2, 2013 00:23
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Focacciasaurus_Rex posted:Anyone got any suggestions for some lighthearted high fantasy stuff? Something along the lines of Pratchett or Aspirin, but preferably not completely batshit like Anthony. Anything by Diana Wynne Jones if you don't mind YA (you shouldn't mind YA), particularly Howl's Moving Castle and its sequels; and the Johannes Cabal books by Jonathan L. Howard, for something more mature but still hilarious.
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Jul 2, 2013 02:12
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Anyone else playing the Last of Us on the PS3 right now? I'm looking for essentially a character-driven adventureish book like that where the characters have to traverse a large distance. Doesn't have to have zombies and post apocalyptic is a plus. Basically if "The Road" and "The Stand" had a bastard lovechild or a sibling or something. Blitz of 404 Error fucked around with this message at 04:12 on Jul 2, 2013 |
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Jul 2, 2013 04:10
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Red Garland posted:I would love a good book about the late 70s/early 80s new wave/punk/no-wave scene of New York. Know any? Preferably as doc as possible. Richard Hell's recent memoir - http://www.amazon.com/Dreamed-Very-Clean-Tramp-Autobiography/dp/0062190830 - is great for this. He was basically the Forrest Gump/Zelig of that scene in NYC.
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Jul 2, 2013 05:55
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Blitz7x posted:Anyone else playing the Last of Us on the PS3 right now? I'm looking for essentially a character-driven adventureish book like that where the characters have to traverse a large distance. Doesn't have to have zombies and post apocalyptic is a plus. The Dark tower series is sort of similar....a group traveling long distances in a strange world.
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Jul 2, 2013 13:31
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What's a good translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses? I'm more concerned with readability than strict accuracy, and I have no preference for poetry v. prose.
Quovak fucked around with this message at 22:03 on Jul 2, 2013 |
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Jul 2, 2013 21:22
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Quovak posted:What's a good translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses? I'm more concerned with readability than strict accuracy, and I have no preference for poetry v. prose. I enjoyed AD Melville's verse translation that Oxford publishes, especially against the prose one Penguin has. I've heard Allen Mandelbaum's translation is first rate, too.
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Jul 3, 2013 00:35
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I just finished Archer's Tale, which was recommended to me when I wanted historically grounded medieval fiction. It was a great book but I should be careful what I wish for; by the time the book got to it's dramatic climax it's historical events had gotten so significant that I knew ahead of time how things would turn out. I've still got The White Company to dive into and I'm looking forward to a book with a more antiquated writing style. Anyway, what's the best fictional, fantasy based medieval book series that isn't currently my favorite hbo show. Like what's the next best choice aside from A Song of Fire and Ice or Game of Thrones or whatever it's called. Something with the depth and darkness of Game of Thrones, not something like the Lord of the Rings. Bonus points if it's a finished series. I mean I read some of those DnD books when I was a teenager, and I'm sure there has to be huuuuuge pile of fantasy novels. Which ones other than A Song of Ice and Fire are considered really good, "literary" works.
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Jul 3, 2013 06:12
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Jack B Nimble posted:I just finished Archer's Tale, which was recommended to me when I wanted historically grounded medieval fiction. It was a great book but I should be careful what I wish for; by the time the book got to it's dramatic climax it's historical events had gotten so significant that I knew ahead of time how things would turn out. I've still got The White Company to dive into and I'm looking forward to a book with a more antiquated writing style. This might very well be the most recurring request in the whole thread (besides maybe "recommend me a light, funny and well written fantasy book"). The usual answers to your request are The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie and The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. Both have a thread here. As for me, I have a request of my own: which authors have similar interests, style and subjects as Kurt Vonnegut. Ie. I'm looking for satirical/philosophical books similar to Cat's Cradle, Sirens of Titan, Mother Night, etc. If possible, I'd rather not read extemely bleak dystopian novels (ie. Atwood) but rather something humoristic (ie. Catch-22). Somewhat similar authors I also really like include Joseph Heller, Philip K. Dick, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Ted Chiang (altough none of these have the same style/focus). I prefer if it's easily readable. A collection of short stories would be great.
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Jul 3, 2013 13:59
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Walh Hara posted:As for me, I have a request of my own: which authors have similar interests, style and subjects as Kurt Vonnegut. Ie. I'm looking for satirical/philosophical books similar to Cat's Cradle, Sirens of Titan, Mother Night, etc. If possible, I'd rather not read extemely bleak dystopian novels (ie. Atwood) but rather something humoristic (ie. Catch-22). Somewhat similar authors I also really like include Joseph Heller, Philip K. Dick, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Ted Chiang (altough none of these have the same style/focus). I prefer if it's easily readable. A collection of short stories would be great. Ron Currie, Jr, maybe also Kevin Wilson's The Family Fang. I'll add a couple more when I'm not suddenly crazy busy at work. Okay, you absolutely have to read Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk and you might also dig How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe funkybottoms fucked around with this message at 22:59 on Jul 3, 2013 |
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Jul 3, 2013 15:05
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AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 01:19 on Jan 22, 2016 |
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Jul 3, 2013 17:04
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My mom is looking for books about Russian royalty in the vein of Danielle Steel's Zoya. I know nothing about this 'genre'. Can anyone help me find her something to read? Lots of romance probably would be preferred for her.
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Jul 3, 2013 18:52
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So I know a lot of people hate Michael Crichton but I've read a ton of his works and i kinda just figured I'd finish the lot, I'd rank them: Sphere Jurassic Park Airframe The Lost World Congo The Andromeda Strain Timeline Prey So what of the others? I've heard some good things about The Terminal Man. His non-scifi stuff also gets some praise, namely The Great Train Robbery. I liked Airframe a lot so I think I could enjoy a book by him that wasn't all about technology and stuff.
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Jul 5, 2013 22:49
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NikkolasKing posted:So I know a lot of people hate Michael Crichton but I've read a ton of his works and i kinda just figured I'd finish the lot, I'd rank them: My rankings are similar to yours and I liked Disclosure but hated State of Fear
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Jul 8, 2013 18:54
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I finished Infinite Jest a few months ago and sort of feel like I'm still detoxing. I'd just pick it back up and read it again but that would feel uncomfortably like performance art without an audience. What are good things to read after IJ? How do you get from there back to normal fiction? I was not a fan of House of Leaves, I don't know anything about Gravity's Rainbow, and those are basically the only two books I've heard mentioned alongside it. I apologize for making such a vague request but I don't really know what I'm after here. Something more weird, something less weird, something even funnier? Maybe just something I won't feel compelled to compare to it when I finish.
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Jul 9, 2013 06:51
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Uhh, if you're not wanting to launch into another tome you might try A Confederacy of Dunces if you've not read that before? It's equally absurd as IJ but you can read it in under a week. I think that's what I read, it was a nice detox having a linear, simple, funny narrative.
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Jul 9, 2013 08:11
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I'm of the opinion that there's plenty of great books to read after IJ since it gets wildly overpraised, but I know what you mean. You mentioned Gravity's Rainbow, so here's some words on Pynchon. While he's someone in the same general area as DFW (I think he's much better, FWIW), Gravity's Rainbow is a daunting read. I've started and stopped it a couple of times. I'd recommend Mason & Dixon, which is a long novel about America right before the Revolutionary War. At first, it can seem offputting since it's written like something from the 18th century and is a couple inches thick, but it's actually not that hard to keep up with. After a bit you get used to the style and the story keeps getting better, funnier and crazier. If you want something shorter, Vineland is also decent: it's about the daughter of an aging hippie, on the run from a vast government conspiracy and searching for her long-lost mother. Also: aliens, ninja assassins and punk rockers playing at a mob wedding.
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Jul 9, 2013 21:06
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The Crying of Lot 49 was my first Pynchon; it's actually my least favorite of his I've read, but I still recommend it as a first step. It's short enough that you can get through it in a few days, so it doesn't have the same intimidation factor as something like GR, and it lets you get used to his eccentric writing style and very low emphasis on resolution before those things burn you in a longer work. If you enjoy the way he does things, Gravity's Rainbow is definitely worth it. Wallace's short stories are very hit or miss, but if you liked IJ it's worth picking up an anthology. Good Old Neon (included in Oblivion) is probably his best. His essays are also must reads; I adore IJ, but I think Wallace's real strength is nonfiction. Pick up A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again and Consider The Lobster and just devour them over a weekend. Hold off a bit on Both Flesh and Not; it's basically the loose ends of his career and nowhere near as consistently good as the rest. I haven't read The Pale King yet, but that's another obvious next step. It's also fun to go back and read Wallace's first book, The Broom of the System, having read Lot 49, since it's basically young Wallace saying "I can write like Thomas Pynchon too!". That said, it's probably DFW's weakest work.
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Jul 9, 2013 22:19
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What is the closest I could get to Keith Thompson, the book? I'm in the mood for some dark, somewhat body-horror fiction, but not really a horror story itself. Just a story that takes place in a very dark, disturbing setting.
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Jul 9, 2013 22:35
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Irony.or.Death posted:I finished Infinite Jest a few months ago and sort of feel like I'm still detoxing. I'd just pick it back up and read it again but that would feel uncomfortably like performance art without an audience. What are good things to read after IJ? How do you get from there back to normal fiction? I was not a fan of House of Leaves, I don't know anything about Gravity's Rainbow, and those are basically the only two books I've heard mentioned alongside it. I apologize for making such a vague request but I don't really know what I'm after here. Something more weird, something less weird, something even funnier? Maybe just something I won't feel compelled to compare to it when I finish. Adam Levin's The Instructions.
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Jul 10, 2013 16:18
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I love looking into the guts of major elections. Is there an equivalent to "Game Change" for the 2012 election yet, or is it too soon to hope for a comprehensive and candid account?
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Jul 10, 2013 17:52
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Walh Hara posted:There's appears to be a rule in TBB that Bridge of Birds must be recommended at least once a week (but there's a good reason why it happens to be recommended so often) and I guess it's again the perfect book to recommend here. This book is loving awesome, many thanks!
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Jul 11, 2013 01:36
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mdemone posted:Adam Levin's The Instructions. This is a fantastic book, but I wouldn't jump into it right after IJ. Honestly I would go with something shorter and/or nonfiction first, then hit The Instructions. Either way, you're doomed to compare the two. Maybe try a classic like Gatsby or Watership Down; something to cleanse the palette. Alternatively a recent best-seller like A Visit From The Goon Squad might be in order. No matter what you do, eventually read The Instructions.
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Jul 11, 2013 01:36
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OMG JC a Bomb! posted:I love looking into the guts of major elections. Is there an equivalent to "Game Change" for the 2012 election yet, or is it too soon to hope for a comprehensive and candid account? Newsweek used to do a good wrap up after the elections, but that won't be much help for 2012. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend What it Takes by Richard Ben Cramer. Its an epic meditation on presidential elections and candidates during the 1988 race. Another good read is Hunter Thompson's Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail about the 1972 election.
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Jul 11, 2013 04:28
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PatMarshall posted:Newsweek used to do a good wrap up after the elections, but that won't be much help for 2012. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend What it Takes by Richard Ben Cramer. Its an epic meditation on presidential elections and candidates during the 1988 race. Another good read is Hunter Thompson's Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail about the 1972 election. And Nixonland, which has extensive stuff about 1968 and 1972. Yes, even you can become the Democratic Party's Vice Presidential candidate.
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Jul 11, 2013 07:35
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