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Fremry posted:I'm about to come to the end of the books I bought cheaply on Kindle, and I'm trying to decide what to read next. Here's a short list of recent stuff. I love reading Project Gutenberg books on Kindle -- can't beat free, and it's a great excuse to read classics I've always skipped. Two of the best books I've ever read I discovered this way: Dostoevsky's The Idiot (which had always carried that intimidating 'russian lit' aura but it's actually extremely readable in the Proj Gutenberg translation and incredibly compelling) and The Count of Monte Christo (again, fantastic translation that hits just the perfect sweet spot between historical flavor and modern tastes in prose readability). They're very different books -- Count of Monte Christo is like the best heist movie you've ever seen; no depth, but loads of fun. The Idiot is very thoughtful and funny and sad, and just a wonderful work of literature. Not sci-fi of course, but you said you're open to anything. regulargonzalez fucked around with this message at 19:31 on Aug 28, 2013 |
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Aug 28, 2013 19:25
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regulargonzalez posted:I love reading Project Gutenberg books on Kindle -- can't beat free, and it's a great excuse to read classics I've always skipped. To add to this, Don Quixote is surprisingly hilarious, meta and modern for a book that was written in the 1600s.
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Aug 28, 2013 20:11
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regulargonzalez posted:Not sci-fi of course, but you said you're open to anything. Definitely. Thanks. I downloaded the Count of Monte Cristo.
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Aug 28, 2013 20:46
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I really enjoyed the Count of Monte Cristo as well. It was this book that introduced me to project Gutenberg and now I am kind of hooked on classics. It's such a great resource and almost a reason alone to get something to read ebooks on.
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Aug 28, 2013 22:10
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I didn't see a thread, so I'll ask here: with Elmore Leonard dying the other week, I feel like I should read something of his. I never have, but that's not because I don't like crime novels; I do quite a lot, but I've just never got round to him. Any recommendations? Anything I should definitely avoid?
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Aug 29, 2013 03:09
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Albinator posted:I didn't see a thread, so I'll ask here: with Elmore Leonard dying the other week, I feel like I should read something of his. I never have, but that's not because I don't like crime novels; I do quite a lot, but I've just never got round to him. Any recommendations? Anything I should definitely avoid? Ah poo poo, I somehow didn't hear about this. What a drat shame, he was one of my favorite writers. I can't think of a single book of his that i didn't like, so no recommendation other than to seriously check him out.
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Aug 29, 2013 03:27
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Does anyone know any really good intro to law books? My wife just started law school and I'd like to have some kind of basis of what she's learning so we can talk about it and she can bounce ideas off of me for papers and stuff.
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Aug 29, 2013 03:34
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Albinator posted:I didn't see a thread, so I'll ask here: with Elmore Leonard dying the other week, I feel like I should read something of his. I never have, but that's not because I don't like crime novels; I do quite a lot, but I've just never got round to him. Any recommendations? Anything I should definitely avoid? Leonard is not known to have written a bad book. I loved Bandits, Cat Chaser, Maximum Bob, Glitz, 52 Pick-Up, but you can start anywhere and not be disappointed.
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Aug 29, 2013 03:44
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Nemesis Of Moles posted:Does anyone know any really good intro to law books? My wife just started law school and I'd like to have some kind of basis of what she's learning so we can talk about it and she can bounce ideas off of me for papers and stuff. Don't. Sigh.... if you must try http://www.amazon.com/Bramble-Bush-Annotated-Legends-ebook/dp/B007XABK9K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1377750664&sr=8-2&keywords=bramble+bush It'll give you an idea of what she's going through. Don't read One L (well you can if you want, its pretty entertaining, but law school's not like that. ditto Paper Chase). Really, she'll probably want to talk about something, anything, else. If you're just curious and want to learn about the law, most E&E's are excellent. I really enjoyed Chemerinsky's Constitutional Law treatise.
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Aug 29, 2013 05:40
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Does anyone know of any good books that go into modern worship of ancient pantheons that didn't make it into the modern mainstream like the Abrahamic faiths, Buddhism, Hinduism and the like have? Stuff like the Norse gods, Greek gods, Celtic gods. A wiccan acquaintance mentioned briefly recently that this is in fact a thing, and I've been curious about that for a while now so I'd love to learn more about it.
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Aug 30, 2013 01:10
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Not to hijack this thread into "Do you know the name of this book", but I'm trying to find a book for which I'd read a summary. Some of this is possibly incorrect, but the book is about a soldier who ends up stranded in Japan or Russia and ends up committing a good bit of murder to survive. I believe there was something related to his growing up in Alaska and there being a blood red wall in the cabin in which he lived.
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Sep 1, 2013 04:39
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FamDav posted:Not to hijack this thread into "Do you know the name of this book", but I'm trying to find a book for which I'd read a summary. Sounds like To the White Sea by James Dickey
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Sep 1, 2013 04:46
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dokmo posted:Sounds like To the White Sea by James Dickey Yes! Thank you.
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Sep 1, 2013 04:50
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Viridiant posted:Does anyone know of any good books that go into modern worship of ancient pantheons that didn't make it into the modern mainstream like the Abrahamic faiths, Buddhism, Hinduism and the like have? Stuff like the Norse gods, Greek gods, Celtic gods. I've seen stuff like this a while back whilst dating a wiccan and I'll warn you, a lot of it is dreck. I too would be interested in reading something on this topic that's actually good.
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Sep 1, 2013 13:10
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Here's what I'm looking for. I loved Ready Player One. I liked the modern/pop culture references, especially how it was so video game oriented. I really liked all the trivia about Easter Eggs, etc. If there is anything like that, that would be awesome. Also, I'm looking for any sort of Whodunit style novels, modern if possible. I want a good mystery, along the lines of the new Sherlock BBC series, but in book form.
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Sep 2, 2013 04:29
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Capsaicin posted:Here's what I'm looking for. I've been meaning to read Noise by Darin Bradley. It's a post apocalyptic novel that has it's characters using some type of D&D and video game inspired survival guide after society's collapse(at least this is what I remember from reading a review of it awhile ago). I think it's supposed to be much darker in tone than Ready Player One though.
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Sep 2, 2013 05:27
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Capsaicin posted:Here's what I'm looking for. I just finished Cory Doctorow's Little Brother and it reminded me a lot of Ready Player One. The theme is (superficially) similar - tech-savvy teen fighting against a shadowy, evil organisation - and Doctorow frequently nerds out about cryptology, surveillance systems, ARGs, LARP, and so on. Doctorow has some other books like For the Win that are more focused on video games, but I haven't read them yet - definitely worth a look if you haven't read any of his stuff though. Poking around Goodreads, I found this thread which has a ton of other recommendations: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/828213-books-similar-to-ready-player-one
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Sep 2, 2013 05:59
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I'm looking for something horror and science fiction, something similar to Dead Space except novelized. Derelict spaceships, mysterious disappearances, protagonists desperately trying to survive against horrible monsters and shadowy organizations are some of the themes I'm looking for, though they aren't strictly necessary. I tried the prequel novel Martyr, but it wasn't terribly well written and didn't have a lot of the elements I was looking for.
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Sep 2, 2013 16:46
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I've been on a crime drama binge lately with regards to audiobooks (can get them free at the library). I recently read one which dabbled a bit in serial killers, and it got me itching for a more full-fledged serial killer novel. I read Thomas Harris's Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs but I remember hearing his other Hannibal books weren't so good. Any good suggestions for the "cops hunt down serial killer" genre, or similar?
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Sep 2, 2013 22:45
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SnowDog posted:Any good suggestions for the "cops hunt down serial killer" genre, or similar? There are tons; recently I've enjoyed Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole series and Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander books. Jussi Adler-Olsen's Department Q books are good, too.... I guess what I'm saying is go Scandinavian.
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Sep 2, 2013 23:19
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Can anyone recommend some good fantasy/SF series with a female lead character? I trend more towards space opera than hard SF, if that helps.
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Sep 3, 2013 05:16
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I've recently finished Ian Tregillis' Milkwood Tryptic and thought it was excellent, I also like Hellboy and the B.P.R.P stuff and was hoping for recommendations on fiction Nazism and Occultism hopefully somewhat grounded in reality or Alt-universes.
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Sep 3, 2013 13:37
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I've been meaning to try a Bukowski novel for some time and I got nothing to read at the minute - which is his best?
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Sep 3, 2013 16:03
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Eau de MacGowan posted:I've been meaning to try a Bukowski novel for some time and I got nothing to read at the minute - which is his best? Post Office is a great place to start.
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Sep 3, 2013 18:12
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Eau de MacGowan posted:I've been meaning to try a Bukowski novel for some time and I got nothing to read at the minute - which is his best? Post Office is fun, so is Ham on Rye. If you've never read anything of his, Run With the Hunted is a good sampler of his prose and verse, with a little from almost all of his books.
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Sep 4, 2013 00:08
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Post Office is great. Factotum's a good follow-up to it. For poetry I started with Mockingbird Wish Me Luck, which is really good and is an in-between for those two.
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Sep 4, 2013 00:57
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Thanks for the tips. I'll give Post Office a crack.
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Sep 4, 2013 10:21
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So having read Bridge of Birds and absolutely loving it, I'm in the mood for more books set in China, ancient or otherwise. Not necessarily fantasy like Bridge of Birds, maybe some novels based on or adapted from Chinese mythology, or really just good books about China period so long as they're not too difficult of a read since I have plenty of those and want some good easy stuff I can just zone out with before I go to bed.
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Sep 4, 2013 10:39
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Safari Disco Lion posted:So having read Bridge of Birds and absolutely loving it, I'm in the mood for more books set in China, ancient or otherwise. Not necessarily fantasy like Bridge of Birds, maybe some novels based on or adapted from Chinese mythology, or really just good books about China period so long as they're not too difficult of a read since I have plenty of those and want some good easy stuff I can just zone out with before I go to bed. Tai-Pan isn't a difficult read per se, but it's very long and plot heavy. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a lightweight but compelling story about growing up as a girl in 1800s China.
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Sep 4, 2013 17:48
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Safari Disco Lion posted:So having read Bridge of Birds and absolutely loving it, I'm in the mood for more books set in China, ancient or otherwise. Not necessarily fantasy like Bridge of Birds, maybe some novels based on or adapted from Chinese mythology, or really just good books about China period so long as they're not too difficult of a read since I have plenty of those and want some good easy stuff I can just zone out with before I go to bed.
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Sep 4, 2013 18:03
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Safari Disco Lion posted:So having read Bridge of Birds and absolutely loving it, I'm in the mood for more books set in China, ancient or otherwise. Not necessarily fantasy like Bridge of Birds, maybe some novels based on or adapted from Chinese mythology, or really just good books about China period so long as they're not too difficult of a read since I have plenty of those and want some good easy stuff I can just zone out with before I go to bed. Journey to the West is the most fun, enduring Chinese fairy tale/adventure. For readability, I like the version translated by Arthur Waley: http://www.amazon.com/Monkey-Novel-China-Wu-Cheng-en/dp/0802130860/ The story has spawned a crazy number of adaptations, including a few entertaining Chinese soaps. The excellent comic American Born Chinese references the myth heavily.
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Sep 4, 2013 19:23
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Pheeets fucked around with this message at 20:21 on Sep 5, 2013 |
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Sep 4, 2013 20:13
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Aleksei Vasiliev posted:Can anyone recommend some good fantasy/SF series with a female lead character? I trend more towards space opera than hard SF, if that helps. I really liked the trilogy by Kameron Hurley: God's War, Infidel and Rapture. It's very far future, extremely violent and the lead Character Nyx's favorite quote "Bodies are my business" is very applicable. I'm not sure everyone will like this though, so please do your homework before investing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sandstein/Drafts/God's_War
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Sep 4, 2013 20:18
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Safari Disco Lion posted:So having read Bridge of Birds and absolutely loving it, I'm in the mood for more books set in China, ancient or otherwise. Not necessarily fantasy like Bridge of Birds, maybe some novels based on or adapted from Chinese mythology, or really just good books about China period so long as they're not too difficult of a read since I have plenty of those and want some good easy stuff I can just zone out with before I go to bed. The Judge Dee-books are pretty great as follow-up to the Number Ten Ox-trilogy. Starts off with Chinese Maze Murders Wikipedia: quote:Judge Dee (also, Judge Di) is a semi-fictional character based on the historical figure Di Renjie, magistrate and statesman of the Tang court. The character first appeared in the 18th-century Chinese detective novel Di Gong An. After Robert van Gulik came across it in a second-hand book store in Tokyo, he translated the novel into English and then used the style and characters to write his original Judge Dee stories. The books aren't as lighthearted as the books by Hughart, but I found them quite entertaining. Aleksei Vasiliev posted:Can anyone recommend some good fantasy/SF series with a female lead character? I trend more towards space opera than hard SF, if that helps. Elizabeth Moon's Serrano series and the Vatta's War series. Also the first two books of Bujold's excellent Vorkosigan series (the rest of the series features Miles) Decius fucked around with this message at 11:19 on Sep 5, 2013 |
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Sep 5, 2013 10:54
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Judge Dee is pretty awesome. Also, since they're old Chinese mysteries you get to read about the criminals being executed at the end.
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Sep 5, 2013 16:43
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I read primarily fantasy and non-fiction, and have been trying to bust into sci-fi. I just finished Starship Troopers, and read Horus Heresy before that. I liked them both, especially Heinlein. Now, I am looking for a sci-fi novel that has tons of tech. Lots of overly elaborate gun, ammo, and system descriptions. I want to know all about the guns the powersuit dudes are wielding. Bonus points for powersuits, but they are not mandatory. Just lots of gritty tech stuff will make me very happy. Anyone read anything like this?
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Sep 7, 2013 02:26
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Anuvin posted:I read primarily fantasy and non-fiction, and have been trying to bust into sci-fi. I just finished Starship Troopers, and read Horus Heresy before that. I liked them both, especially Heinlein. I think you'd like Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan. Edit: Actually, Armour by John Steakley was written for you. 
Chas McGill fucked around with this message at 02:52 on Sep 7, 2013 |
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Sep 7, 2013 02:28
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Awesome, I can't wait to try it out. Thanks for the recommendation.
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Sep 7, 2013 16:41
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I'm looking for some happy science fiction, preferably in space, that isn't the Hitchhiker's Guide. All of the Sci-fi is depressing. 
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Sep 8, 2013 23:09
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Smoking Crow posted:I'm looking for some happy science fiction, preferably in space, that isn't the Hitchhiker's Guide. All of the Sci-fi is depressing. Rob Reid's Year Zero, Scalzi's The Android's Dream, lots of A Lee Martinez funkybottoms fucked around with this message at 01:46 on Sep 9, 2013 |
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Sep 9, 2013 01:43
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