|
TopherCStone posted:I was just reading this Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rider_Waite_Tarot_deck inspired partly by the cards in Persona 4 Adam Nevill does a lot of books like this - his last one, Last Days is about a documentary filmmaker researching Jonestown-esque cult. Very good. If you want something more traditional check out Banquet for the Damned but I don't think that one is anywhere near as good as Last Days. I'd also check out F.G. Cottam's House of Lost Souls in which Aleister Crowley actually makes an appearance.
|
#
?
Oct 7, 2013 15:43
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 22:12 |
|
|
Last Days is one of the few modern horror novels I've actually enjoyed. The way he used film making as a narrative device worked extremely well, I thought.
|
|
#
?
Oct 7, 2013 16:11
|
|
|
TopherCStone posted:I was just reading this Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rider_Waite_Tarot_deck inspired partly by the cards in Persona 4 Charles Stross's Laundry Files fit the bill, though Stross isn't everyone's cup of tea.
|
|
#
?
Oct 7, 2013 16:16
|
|
|
I've been reading some assorted Seamus Heaney poems and I was wondering which one of his books I should start with. Should I start with Death of a Naturalist and keep going or should I start with North and skip around? Something else, perhaps?
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2013 03:23
|
|
|
I am looking for a fairly general history book about East Timor. I know very little about the history of the country and I'll be receiving a group of teachers and students from the area next month, and was looking for something that gave me a good background. I was thinking a history book, but if there's something good in the political science realm I would also be super interested in that. If you know anything that sounds like this, let me know!
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2013 08:39
|
|
|
Can I get some recommendations for Sci-Fi horror? I prefer psychological horror, but it's pretty hard to find apparently. Lovecraft is way too overwrought and one-note, but I did enjoy "A Colder War". I also liked Blindsight, though I'm not too crazy about "hard" sci-fi, necessarily. Anything else worth checking out?
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2013 20:40
|
|
|
The Void by Brett Talley is pretty good sci-fi horror.
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2013 21:52
|
|
|
Ornamented Death posted:The Void by Brett Talley is pretty good sci-fi horror. Wow, we had completely differing opinions on this one. I read it and it felt very been there, done that to me - I could have just watched Even Horizons again and it would have been better. Nothing against Talley, I really enjoyed That Which Should Not Be. My soft sci-fi horror go to is always the peerless Ray Bradbury, especially The Martian Chronicles and S is for Space.
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2013 22:30
|
|
|
So, I read Columbine by Dave Cullen and A Sniper in the Tower by Gary Lavergne over the summer, and enjoy reading actually well-written and researched looks into the minds of totally hosed-up people. However, more often than not, the genre of true crime stuff like that ends up with absolute garbage writing and no research done besides a cursory look at Wikipedia. Are there any other good books in that vein that people can recommend?
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2013 23:10
|
|
|
rotinaj posted:So, I read Columbine by Dave Cullen and A Sniper in the Tower by Gary Lavergne over the summer, and enjoy reading actually well-written and researched looks into the minds of totally hosed-up people. However, more often than not, the genre of true crime stuff like that ends up with absolute garbage writing and no research done besides a cursory look at Wikipedia. The Guardian recently published a top 10 of true crime books. It's obviously not exhaustive, but I think it's a great list.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2013 00:17
|
|
|
rotinaj posted:So, I read Columbine by Dave Cullen and A Sniper in the Tower by Gary Lavergne over the summer, and enjoy reading actually well-written and researched looks into the minds of totally hosed-up people. However, more often than not, the genre of true crime stuff like that ends up with absolute garbage writing and no research done besides a cursory look at Wikipedia. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson is well-written and researched, although it doesn't get too much into HH Holmes' head.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2013 00:27
|
|
man
|
rotinaj posted:
Black Mass by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill is pretty good. It's mainly about how Whitey Bulger used his status as a FBI informant to take over Boston's criminal world and just how corrupt and incompetent a lot of Boston's FBI and politicians were. Both writers were journalists for the Boston Globe and they do a good job of telling their story through facts that were revealed in interviews, police investigations and trials.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2013 00:54
|
|
|
rotinaj posted:So, I read Columbine by Dave Cullen and A Sniper in the Tower by Gary Lavergne over the summer, and enjoy reading actually well-written and researched looks into the minds of totally hosed-up people. However, more often than not, the genre of true crime stuff like that ends up with absolute garbage writing and no research done besides a cursory look at Wikipedia. Satan's Circus: Murder, Vice, Police Corruption, and New York's Trial of the Century (Mike Dash): Turn of the century murder involving cop Charley Becker. Also dabbles into later Tammany Hall as the victim had connections. For the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb, and the Murder That Shocked Chicago (Simon Bratz) And the Dead Shall Rise: The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank (Steve Oney): Race relations, both African-American and Jewish in the south in the 1910s. It's a monster of a book and has its slow parts, specially during Frank's trial, but the case inspired both the [Jewish] Anti-Defamation League and the revival of the KKK. Brothers in Blood (Clark Howard): Probably impossible to find anywhere but the deep south, but it's one of those with considerable exploring of the suspects' minds. Two brothers and an associate escape jail in Maryland, pick up the youngest brother and end up in very rural Georgia where they take their time and slay six members of the Alday family. Thou Shalt Not Kill (Mary S. Ryzuk): Probably crosses the line into trashy. John List slayings.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2013 06:27
|
|
|
This is pretty general, but worth a try. I'm looking for books based around important early medical discoveries, not picky on what. They can be nonfiction, fictionalized accounts of real events, or pure fiction (thriller, genre, whatever) based off historical progress, as long as they're written well, scientifically accurate, and preferably have an engaging story to them. I don't want to read a textbook.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2013 08:37
|
|
|
Echo Cian posted:This is pretty general, but worth a try. I'm looking for books based around important early medical discoveries, not picky on what. They can be nonfiction, fictionalized accounts of real events, or pure fiction (thriller, genre, whatever) based off historical progress, as long as they're written well, scientifically accurate, and preferably have an engaging story to them. I don't want to read a textbook. This might be what you're looking for, though I haven't read it myself: http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Work-Medicine-Scientific-Revolution/dp/0393342239
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2013 08:59
|
|
|
Hieronymous Alloy posted:This might be what you're looking for, though I haven't read it myself: http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Work-Medicine-Scientific-Revolution/dp/0393342239 Yup, that's what I was going to suggest. VVV Steven Johnson, meant to mention him, as well. funkybottoms fucked around with this message at 15:47 on Oct 12, 2013 |
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2013 11:42
|
|
|
Echo Cian posted:This is pretty general, but worth a try. I'm looking for books based around important early medical discoveries, not picky on what. They can be nonfiction, fictionalized accounts of real events, or pure fiction (thriller, genre, whatever) based off historical progress, as long as they're written well, scientifically accurate, and preferably have an engaging story to them. I don't want to read a textbook. Scurvy: How a Surgeon, a Mariner, and a Gentleman Discovered the Greatest Medical Mystery of the Age of Sail by Stephen R Bown The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson The Anatomist: A True Story of Gray's Anatomy by Bill Hayes
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2013 15:41
|
|
|
elbow posted:The Guardian recently published a top 10 of true crime books. It's obviously not exhaustive, but I think it's a great list. I can't believe that "Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and his Followers", didn't make that list. Incredibly well researched book about one of the most unthinkable occurrences in criminal history written by a reporter who was shot at Jim Jones' command. It's also the go-to book if you want to learn about cults. Literally, I've seen this used as a "text book" in a graduate level criminal justice class at West Chester University. Edit: But if you decide to read this, I suggest not going the Kindle route, as the physical copy has a bunch of nice photos to put some visuals to the people and locations in the book. Edit 2: Sorry, I was remembering the Scott Peterson book. The photos in the paperback of Raven are black and white on paper, so they will likely look the same in the Kindle edition, if they have them. Fremry fucked around with this message at 16:07 on Oct 12, 2013 |
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2013 15:56
|
|
|
I am looking for books that utilizes cryogenics as a plot device to transport people from our time, or one close to it, into the far future. So far I haven't been able to find many good examples. except comedy stuff like Futurama. Anyone know of any books with that as the basis for their plot?
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2013 20:17
|
|
|
Mr.Drf posted:I am looking for books that utilizes cryogenics as a plot device to transport people from our time, or one close to it, into the far future. So far I haven't been able to find many good examples. except comedy stuff like Futurama. Anyone know of any books with that as the basis for their plot? The Unincorporated Man.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2013 20:35
|
|
|
Mr.Drf posted:I am looking for books that utilizes cryogenics as a plot device to transport people from our time, or one close to it, into the far future. So far I haven't been able to find many good examples. except comedy stuff like Futurama. Anyone know of any books with that as the basis for their plot? It's not cryogenics (it's magic-tech stasis fields instead) but on the other hand it's very goddamn far into the future: Marooned in Realtime by Vernor Vinge.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2013 21:18
|
|
|
I'm sure this is being asked a lot lately, but what is the best collection to start with Alice Munro? Going in completely blind on Nobel prize faith.
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2013 02:48
|
|
|
Mr.Drf posted:I am looking for books that utilizes cryogenics as a plot device to transport people from our time, or one close to it, into the far future. So far I haven't been able to find many good examples. except comedy stuff like Futurama. Anyone know of any books with that as the basis for their plot? The World at the End of Time by Frederik Pohl
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2013 17:07
|
|
|
Mr.Drf posted:I am looking for books that utilizes cryogenics as a plot device to transport people from our time, or one close to it, into the far future. So far I haven't been able to find many good examples. except comedy stuff like Futurama. Anyone know of any books with that as the basis for their plot? A World out of Time by Larry Niven. quote:Jerome Branch Corbell has incurable cancer and is cryogenically frozen in the year 1970 in the faint hope of a future cure. His body is revived in 2190 by an oppressive, totalitarian global government called "The State". His personality and memories are extracted (destroying his body in the process) and transferred into the body of a mindwiped criminal. After he is awakened, he is continually evaluated by Peerssa, a "checker", who has to decide whether he is worth keeping. With the threat of mindwiping looming over his head, Corbell works hard to pass the various tests. There's a short story and a novelization. The original short story is dandy and chilling. I haven't read the full novel and can't vouch for it. edit: The original short story is titled "Rammer" Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 17:16 on Oct 13, 2013 |
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2013 17:11
|
|
|
TheYellowFog posted:I'm sure this is being asked a lot lately, but what is the best collection to start with Alice Munro? Going in completely blind on Nobel prize faith. Vintage recently published Selected Stories, kind of a best-of collection. It's as good a place as any to start.
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2013 19:33
|
|
|
TheYellowFog posted:I'm sure this is being asked a lot lately, but what is the best collection to start with Alice Munro? Going in completely blind on Nobel prize faith. Collections are always hit and miss, so I'll say anything with "The Progress of Love", "Fits", and "The Albanian Virgin" is worth it. I mean, my god. Those three are my top favorites, and two of them are practically novellas in length and depth.
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2013 20:25
|
|
|
Thanks, I think I'll go with the 3 collections published in the late 70s/early 80s. I've read a few opinions calling that her prime.
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2013 21:20
|
|
|
Fremry posted:I can't believe that "Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and his Followers", didn't make that list. Incredibly well researched book about one of the most unthinkable occurrences in criminal history written by a reporter who was shot at Jim Jones' command. Cults, and especially Jim Jones, always fascinated me, I'm going to check this one out. On that note, does anyone have any recommendations for any good fiction where a cult is central to the plot?
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2013 03:35
|
|
|
You can try various H.P. Lovecraft stories, if you are into that sort of thing.
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2013 03:49
|
|
|
savinhill posted:Cults, and especially Jim Jones, always fascinated me, I'm going to check this one out. On that note, does anyone have any recommendations for any good fiction where a cult is central to the plot? Much better are Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco and The Magus by John Fowles, but those are more secret societyish than cult. But they're both fantastic books. Comedy /r/atheism answer: The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2013 05:43
|
|
|
I'm currently looking for books - fiction or non - about the Yugoslav wars. I knew many refugees growing up because they fled to places in the Midwest where the Catholic Church had set up havens for them. My high school had a ton of these folks, but most of them didn't really talk about what they'd left behind. So anything about the refugees, or the politics of the territories over there, or really anything that's well-written would be great.
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2013 19:46
|
|
|
artichoke posted:I'm currently looking for books - fiction or non - about the Yugoslav wars. I knew many refugees growing up because they fled to places in the Midwest where the Catholic Church had set up havens for them. My high school had a ton of these folks, but most of them didn't really talk about what they'd left behind. So anything about the refugees, or the politics of the territories over there, or really anything that's well-written would be great. Laura Silber's The Death of Yugoslavia is, I think, still the best and most accessible overall view on the Yugoslav wars. It is also available as a BBC TV series. Tim Judah wrote a few pretty decent books about the latter phase of conflict between Serbia and Kosovo. I also liked Marcus Tanner's Croatia: A Nation Forged in War. It's more of a general history of Croatia with a focus on the war. For fiction I would recommend Jergovic's Sarajevo Marlboro. It's a short story collection about the siege of Sarajevo that kind of captures the spirit of the whole affair.
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2013 21:41
|
|
|
Can anyone recommend books which are: Survival horror vs aliens or Mankind having to deal with aliens for the first time or Humans exploring distant planets
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2013 09:40
|
|
|
WastedJoker posted:Can anyone recommend books which are: Peter Watts' Blindsight is all three, pretty much.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2013 11:47
|
|
|
WastedJoker posted:Can anyone recommend books which are: The Tommyknockers by Stephen King Short stories: Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell I Am the Doorway by Stephen King The Mist by Stephen King (novella) Beachworld by Stephen King quote:Mankind having to deal with aliens for the first time The first book of Larry Niven's Known Space series, World of Ptavvs Contact by Carl Sagan, kinda (one way communication, so it's not "dealing with them" per se) Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells It's a short story, but First Contact by Murray Leinster is a really superlative example. Probably not in the vein you're looking for but technically fits the qualifications: The Barsoom series by Edgar Rice Burroughs Mission: Earth by L. Ron Hubbard (don't read these books) Kinda fits: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein e: I'm also going to add Shogun here because it fits the theme really well, even though it's not about outer space type aliens. Really great read in the historical fiction genre where Japan is as alien a culture to the protagonist as any tentacled green alien would be to modern day people. e2: quote:Humans exploring distant planets The Wellworld series, kinda regulargonzalez fucked around with this message at 12:08 on Oct 16, 2013 |
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2013 12:03
|
|
|
regulargonzalez posted:The Tommyknockers by Stephen King Down With People posted:Peter Watts' Blindsight is all three, pretty much. Thanks - I've read some and others turned me off reading the blurb but I'll give Blindsight a go and Shogun (if I can avoid seeing the main character as Tom Cruise).
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2013 13:00
|
|
|
WastedJoker posted:Mankind having to deal with aliens for the first time The Martian Chronicles! Also Solaris and 2001, which is kind of a cousin to the already-mentioned Childhood's End. The Left Hand of Darkness is also great, but I would take that a step further and read the entire Hainish Cycle, a loose set of stories that take place in the same universe and focus a lot on the sociology of other cultures. The Forever War and The Old Man's War kinda fit the bill, too. If you decide to tackle Blindsight- which I loved, but is not for everyone- I think watching this video on his website will help make sense of something that confused the poo poo out me for a while.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2013 14:20
|
|
|
WastedJoker posted:Thanks - I've read some and others turned me off reading the blurb but I'll give Blindsight a go and Shogun (if I can avoid seeing the main character as Tom Cruise). Don't worry, he's actually Richard Chamberlain.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2013 15:15
|
|
|
mcustic posted:Don't worry, he's actually Richard Chamberlain. While this is true, I'll be damned if I don't have 70s era Sean Connery in mind every time I read it.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2013 18:19
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 22:12 |
|
|
Hi book goons, Admittedly, I'm not a huge reader, but after commuting for a year on a hour long train ride, I need something to do, so I picked up a kindle... problem is I'm so out of the loop with books it isn't funny. I'm looking for recommendations for authors similar to Brett Easton Ellis, Hunter S. Thompson, and Chuck Pahlaniuk, due to the fact that I enjoy their general overtones of bleak, depressing, real life with bouts of drug and alcohol abuse mixed in. Are there any quintessential sex, drugs, and rock and roll books I've been missing out on? I also enjoy the general drug culture. Thanks!
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2013 22:49
|
|
