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Kea posted:Hey goons hope to get a recommendation on my next book to read. I am a huge fan of urban fantasy books in general but honestly theres a very good chance I have read any that might be suggested. Im also a fan of fantasy and sci fi in general and would like something a little on the lighter side if at all possible. No recommendations of GRR martins stuff (Hated it) pulpy fiction and sci fi is definately up my alley. Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding? Pulpy and fun, it's a non-stop action adventure a lot like Firefly, but in a fantasy world with airships instead of set in space. Also a bit like Lies of Locke Lamora, being a "charming criminal rascals getting caught up in conspiracies" kind of thing. Oh and despite the airships it doesn't have most of the trappings of steampunk. So check it out even if you're averse to that sort of thing. Hedrigall fucked around with this message at 23:37 on Apr 9, 2014 |
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Apr 9, 2014 23:35
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Kea posted:Hey goons hope to get a recommendation on my next book to read. I am a huge fan of urban fantasy books in general but honestly theres a very good chance I have read any that might be suggested. Im also a fan of fantasy and sci fi in general and would like something a little on the lighter side if at all possible. No recommendations of GRR martins stuff (Hated it) pulpy fiction and sci fi is definately up my alley. Well as far as Urban Fantasy goes, the obvious suggestion is Jim Butcher's Dresden Files. The first couple are kind of weak, but it's a good series about a wizard who lives in Chicago and solves supernatural crimes. Very fleshed-out world
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Apr 9, 2014 23:53
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Hedrigall posted:Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding? Pulpy and fun, it's a non-stop action adventure a lot like Firefly, but in a fantasy world with airships instead of set in space. Also a bit like Lies of Locke Lamora, being a "charming criminal rascals getting caught up in conspiracies" kind of thing. I've read this, it is almost EXACTLY firefly up to an including a weird character who occasionally does badass things, it is fantastic and i pass on the advice to everyone else. Also read Dresden files and basically every urban fantasy including the ones with scantily clad female protagonists.
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Apr 10, 2014 00:02
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What would be considered a modern transcendentalist novel? I've read some Thoreau and I plan to revisit all of his stuff and Emerson's, but I'd like to reading something that came out within the last five-fifteen years, too. Does it exist?
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Apr 10, 2014 02:51
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blue squares posted:What would be considered a modern transcendentalist novel? I've read some Thoreau and I plan to revisit all of his stuff and Emerson's, but I'd like to reading something that came out within the last five-fifteen years, too. Does it exist? A bit older than that, but Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and maybe Siddhartha
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Apr 10, 2014 02:58
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Kea posted:I've read this, it is almost EXACTLY firefly up to an including a weird character who occasionally does badass things, it is fantastic and i pass on the advice to everyone else. Check out the Chathrand Voyage series by Robert Redick, tons of adventure, great characters and monsters, has some nice humor mixed into it and has actual consequences for characters without getting grimdark.
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Apr 10, 2014 03:17
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Kea posted:Hey goons hope to get a recommendation on my next book to read. I am a huge fan of urban fantasy books in general but honestly theres a very good chance I have read any that might be suggested. Im also a fan of fantasy and sci fi in general and would like something a little on the lighter side if at all possible. No recommendations of GRR martins stuff (Hated it) pulpy fiction and sci fi is definately up my alley. Try Talbot Mundy's JIMGRIM series. It's old school pulp action, surprisingly engaging, and really cheap in ebook formats. Or some Fritz Leiber Gray mouser & Fafhrd. In Swords & Death, Gray Mouser & Fafhrd steal a freaking house using blindfolded porters. In The Swords of Lankhmar, they deal with a underground rat civilization trying to take over the city. Fun encounters happen with wererats, undead liches, potions of shrinking/growth, and some really weird rat-civilization stuff.
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Apr 10, 2014 07:10
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I've just finished Wool and really enjoyed it. What's the goon consensus about Shift and Dust?
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Apr 10, 2014 08:24
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blue squares posted:What would be considered a modern transcendentalist novel? I've read some Thoreau and I plan to revisit all of his stuff and Emerson's, but I'd like to reading something that came out within the last five-fifteen years, too. Does it exist? Not quite that recent, but Paul Auster's New York Trilogy is littered with references to the transcendentalists, and (if you're willing to stretch even further back) Saul Bellow's Henderson, the Rain King also draws on the tradition. Having said that, let me undermine any helpfulness by adding I'm not really into either Auster or Bellow.
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Apr 10, 2014 08:28
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elbow posted:I've just finished Wool and really enjoyed it. What's the goon consensus about Shift and Dust? I liked both of them. Shift is the strongest of the three imo and is definitely worth reading as it is a prequel, which is what I was most interested in after reading Wool.
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Apr 10, 2014 09:49
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On the opposite side, I found Shift to be pretty boring and far less engaging than Wool. I also didn't feel like the world of Wool was made any stronger by adding the backstory- I think leaving it a mystery would have been more satisfying than the explanation that was given. Haven't read Dust.
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Apr 10, 2014 10:06
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inktvis posted:Not quite that recent, but Paul Auster's New York Trilogy is littered with references to the transcendentalists, and (if you're willing to stretch even further back) Saul Bellow's Henderson, the Rain King also draws on the tradition. regulargonzalez posted:A bit older than that, but Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and maybe Siddhartha Thanks, guys
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Apr 10, 2014 12:51
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This is more of a technical request, but it might be worth a shot here. I recently accepted a position working in Electrical Power systems and am looking to get a more indepth knowledge of that beyond my EE degree. Does anyone know any good books, textbook or otherwise, that cover the subject well?
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Apr 10, 2014 14:47
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Quandary posted:This is more of a technical request, but it might be worth a shot here. I recently accepted a position working in Electrical Power systems and am looking to get a more indepth knowledge of that beyond my EE degree. Does anyone know any good books, textbook or otherwise, that cover the subject well? Yarbrough's Electrical Engineering Reference Manual for the PE Exam is a standard textbook that I sold many of over a number of years at a few different college bookstores. Can't speak to content, unfortunately, as I am no engineer.
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Apr 10, 2014 15:03
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elbow posted:I've just finished Wool and really enjoyed it. What's the goon consensus about Shift and Dust? Shift was a very good prequel, the background and the worldbuilding turned out to be the meat of that story. Dust, in comparison, was a dull conclusion that was very narrow in scope and didn't do anything more than paint by numbers through a resolution of the inevitable confrontations and which characters do and don't have a happy ending. If you want more than that out of it, you'll be disappointed. Dust wouldn't be bad if there was going to be more to come, but I found it unsuitable as a conclusion given such a strong start. I'm guessing it was intentional, that Howey had no intention of closing the door on his most successful franchise so he left the "ending" open.
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Apr 11, 2014 00:11
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Kea posted:Hey goons hope to get a recommendation on my next book to read. I am a huge fan of urban fantasy books in general but honestly theres a very good chance I have read any that might be suggested. Im also a fan of fantasy and sci fi in general and would like something a little on the lighter side if at all possible. No recommendations of GRR martins stuff (Hated it) pulpy fiction and sci fi is definately up my alley. For lighter scifi try some of John Varley's stuff, particularly Steel Beach and The Golden Globe. The latter is probably one of my favourite novels of all time, about an actor/con man making his way from Pluto to Luna for a production of King Lear, while being chased by an unkillable mafia hitman.
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Apr 11, 2014 02:49
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Koburn posted:I liked both of them. Shift is the strongest of the three imo and is definitely worth reading as it is a prequel, which is what I was most interested in after reading Wool. Radio! posted:On the opposite side, I found Shift to be pretty boring and far less engaging than Wool. I also didn't feel like the world of Wool was made any stronger by adding the backstory- I think leaving it a mystery would have been more satisfying than the explanation that was given. A A 2 3 5 8 K posted:Shift was a very good prequel, the background and the worldbuilding turned out to be the meat of that story. Dust, in comparison, was a dull conclusion that was very narrow in scope and didn't do anything more than paint by numbers through a resolution of the inevitable confrontations and which characters do and don't have a happy ending. If you want more than that out of it, you'll be disappointed. Dust wouldn't be bad if there was going to be more to come, but I found it unsuitable as a conclusion given such a strong start. I'm guessing it was intentional, that Howey had no intention of closing the door on his most successful franchise so he left the "ending" open. Thanks guys. I might check out Shift then, but I'll stay away from Dust. I'm really tired of authors leaving their books with open endings so they can get their audience to buy an endless string of books.
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Apr 12, 2014 03:00
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tuluk posted:Try Talbot Mundy's JIMGRIM series. It's old school pulp action, surprisingly engaging, and really cheap in ebook formats. You really can't go wrong with Fritz Leiber. His stuff is just fun to read.
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Apr 13, 2014 12:53
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Elyv posted:Well as far as Urban Fantasy goes, the obvious suggestion is Jim Butcher's Dresden Files. The first couple are kind of weak, but it's a good series about a wizard who lives in Chicago and solves supernatural crimes. Very fleshed-out world Just to put this out there - you may not want to start with the first book of the series. I started on that one and couldn't finish it. Very hackneyed writing. But by all accounts Butcher got a lot better as he went along.
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Apr 13, 2014 12:55
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funkybottoms posted:While I personally did not care for it, "literary genre" people dug Colson Whitehead's Zone One. Zone One is a great book, and I'm a person who doesn't give a poo poo about "literary genres." Argali fucked around with this message at 14:53 on Apr 13, 2014 |
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Apr 13, 2014 13:02
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blakout posted:I loved True Detective and I was wondering if there were books that had similar structure. A police drama/mystery that has significant psychological horror elements and the case ruining their lives. Available on audible a big plus. Honestly, check out Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. It's a fantastic book that has all of these elements. IMo it's the best thing Harris ever wrote.
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Apr 13, 2014 13:09
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twitter and bisted posted:Hello, Book Barn! I'm interested in reading biographies of famous musicians (Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky) does anyone have suggestions for something along those lines? Not a biography, but if you're focused on classical music you'd like The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century, by Alex Ross. Can't recommend Miles: The Autobiography, by Miles Davis and Quincy Trope, enough. A classic. It will also teach you new and inventive ways to use the word "motherfucker."
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Apr 13, 2014 13:15
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I would really appreciate getting any recommendations for a book (books) that have had a profound effect on you. I'm trying to go back to school and one of the application requirements is to write about a book (any book) in regards to the author's central argument/proposal/theme. I honestly hardly ever read anything but for this, obviously, I'll give it all I've got, I just need some recommendations. Something that's had a deep effect on you, thought-provoking, etc. Thanks very much in advance.
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Apr 13, 2014 20:37
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Prune Juice posted:I would really appreciate getting any recommendations for a book (books) that have had a profound effect on you. I'm trying to go back to school and one of the application requirements is to write about a book (any book) in regards to the author's central argument/proposal/theme. I honestly hardly ever read anything but for this, obviously, I'll give it all I've got, I just need some recommendations. Something that's had a deep effect on you, thought-provoking, etc. Thanks very much in advance. For a more classical approach, I would recommend Anthem by Ayn Rand. It's a dystopian novela set in a futuristic socialist/collectivist society. Throughout the entire novela, the singular first-person pronoun "I" is left out in order to oppress the reader with the same sentiments as the characters--that individualism and personal identity don't have place among the collective people. If length is a factor for you as well, it's pretty short. I'd also recommend Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. Its a fictional account of the battle of Thermopylae (The 300 Spartans), written through the perspective of the last surviving squire of Sparta, who is captured by the Persian king Xerxes so he can learn why he lost so many persian warriors to a mere handful of Spartans. It was one of those books that, after closing it for the final time, kept me thinking for hours. Hope this helps you!
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Apr 13, 2014 22:28
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DreadNite posted:For a more classical approach, I would recommend Anthem by Ayn Rand. It's a dystopian novela set in a futuristic socialist/collectivist society. Throughout the entire novela, the singular first-person pronoun "I" is left out in order to oppress the reader with the same sentiments as the characters--that individualism and personal identity don't have place among the collective people. If length is a factor for you as well, it's pretty short. If you want people to take you seriously, don't write about how Ayn Rand changed your life. If you want them to think you're a simple-minded rear end in a top hat, go right ahead.
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Apr 13, 2014 23:34
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Prune Juice posted:I would really appreciate getting any recommendations for a book (books) that have had a profound effect on you. I'm trying to go back to school and one of the application requirements is to write about a book (any book) in regards to the author's central argument/proposal/theme. I honestly hardly ever read anything but for this, obviously, I'll give it all I've got, I just need some recommendations. Something that's had a deep effect on you, thought-provoking, etc. Thanks very much in advance. Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid and the semi-followup, semi-rewrite, semi-summary I Am a Strange Loop (which tells the former's message in a much more straightforward way) completely changed / helped crystallize my thoughts about the nature of identity, consciousness, and free will. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance did much the same in relation to my notions of art and the subjective nature of "goodness" (or, as the author puts it, Quality). And, I'll say it, I think everyone should read Atlas Shrugged if only for a view of a vastly different perspective than is presented in normal life. We all take it for granted that selfishness is bad, altruism is good, the rich are greedy, and so on. I don't subscribe to many of the views in this book but it is an essential read to both broaden one's horizons and help clarify one's thoughts on those matters.
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Apr 14, 2014 00:18
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Prune Juice posted:I would really appreciate getting any recommendations for a book (books) that have had a profound effect on you. I'm trying to go back to school and one of the application requirements is to write about a book (any book) in regards to the author's central argument/proposal/theme. I honestly hardly ever read anything but for this, obviously, I'll give it all I've got, I just need some recommendations. Something that's had a deep effect on you, thought-provoking, etc. Thanks very much in advance. I can toss out a few. Night, Elie Wiesel. A bit of a no-brainer. I read this when I was quite young. All Quiet On the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque. There are a lot of novels about the horrors and futility of war, but there is something about the way this book is told that stuck with me quickly...I think that it's told from a German perspective, and begins with a bunch of basically kids who swallowed the Kool-Aid of war only to realize they're tiny, meaningless cogs of meat in a senseless death machine. This is another one I read in my early teens that had a big impact on my worldview, and made me anti-war for the rest of my life, and a pacifist until quite recently. What Is the What, Dave Eggers. So I guess books about war and genocide have a profound affect on me. This one though hits you with a double-whammy. First you follow along the horrific story of a Sudanese "Lost Boy" who survives the horrors there, only to become a misplaced and ignored/hated part of American society. Eggers frames a part of the novel with the main character flashing back to his experiences in Africa as he's beaten and robbed in his apartment in the U.S. It's the kind of book that makes you realize how sheltered the average American is from everything, no matter how intelligent of "worldly" you might think you are.
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Apr 14, 2014 00:21
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Prune Juice posted:I would really appreciate getting any recommendations for a book (books) that have had a profound effect on you. I'm trying to go back to school and one of the application requirements is to write about a book (any book) in regards to the author's central argument/proposal/theme. I honestly hardly ever read anything but for this, obviously, I'll give it all I've got, I just need some recommendations. Something that's had a deep effect on you, thought-provoking, etc. Thanks very much in advance. I would recommend Catch-22 by Joseph Heller; it's probably the single book that had the most profound impact on my world view, perhaps just because it was the first absurdist novel I ever read. If you want something shorter, I'd suggest The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus, or perhaps The Plague by the same author. In terms of books that aren't fiction, probably the Tao te Ching, but again more because of when I read it.
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Apr 14, 2014 00:50
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Prune Juice posted:I would really appreciate getting any recommendations for a book (books) that have had a profound effect on you. I'm trying to go back to school and one of the application requirements is to write about a book (any book) in regards to the author's central argument/proposal/theme. I honestly hardly ever read anything but for this, obviously, I'll give it all I've got, I just need some recommendations. Something that's had a deep effect on you, thought-provoking, etc. Thanks very much in advance. 1984 is good for this and is just as relevant today as it's ever been. John Irving's books were thought provoking, etc. whenever I read them as well as being good stories and enjoyable.
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Apr 14, 2014 02:35
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I remember Edward Abbey's The Monkey Wrench Gang blowing me away when I read it in school. It drastically changed my worldview and how I saw the American West.
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Apr 14, 2014 02:45
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Flowers for Algernon: What is intelligence? What is happiness? Main Street, written by Sinclair Lewis, inspired me to expand my physical world. My hometown is Gopher Prairie without the snow and even the book being from 100 years ago changes nothing. The same cliques, the same thoughts, the same reticence to anything. Brideshead Revisited. Happiness is not always inner peace, nor is acceptance. That's terribly simplifying some of the themes, but it's quite a journey from the earliest pages of imagining Sebastian Flyte as some sort of romantic hero. RC and Moon Pie fucked around with this message at 03:21 on Apr 14, 2014 |
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Apr 14, 2014 03:19
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Prune Juice posted:I would really appreciate getting any recommendations for a book (books) that have had a profound effect on you. I'm trying to go back to school and one of the application requirements is to write about a book (any book) in regards to the author's central argument/proposal/theme. I honestly hardly ever read anything but for this, obviously, I'll give it all I've got, I just need some recommendations. Something that's had a deep effect on you, thought-provoking, etc. Thanks very much in advance. The Illuminatus! Trilogy led to teenage me discovering James Joyce, Aleister Crowley, Flann O'Brien, the SubGenii, and a whole bunch of other entertaining weirdness. Still, I'm not sure it's the kind of thing I'd mention on a college application.
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Apr 14, 2014 20:36
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Writing a thing and need an idea for a Senior high school English level book/poem about not wanting something you can't have, and not realizing the thing you really want is right in front of you etc. Yes this is for cheesy allegorical purposes.
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Apr 17, 2014 09:36
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As someone who stopped reading fiction for a long while, the last two books I read that I found incredibly enjoyable were Cloud Atlas and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Does anyone have a recommendation of books in a similar vein? (In other words, modern text meant to mimic another time period, and/or Fantasy/Sci-fi written as if it were non-fiction.)
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Apr 17, 2014 14:27
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kuddles posted:As someone who stopped reading fiction for a long while, the last two books I read that I found incredibly enjoyable were Cloud Atlas and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Does anyone have a recommendation of books in a similar vein? (In other words, modern text meant to mimic another time period, and/or Fantasy/Sci-fi written as if it were non-fiction.) The Golem & the Jinni by Helene Wecker I also liked The Alienist by Caleb Carr
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Apr 17, 2014 16:31
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kuddles posted:As someone who stopped reading fiction for a long while, the last two books I read that I found incredibly enjoyable were Cloud Atlas and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Does anyone have a recommendation of books in a similar vein? (In other words, modern text meant to mimic another time period, and/or Fantasy/Sci-fi written as if it were non-fiction.) Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale might be what you want. Don't let the poo poo-tastic movie adaptation of a couple months ago dissuade you, the book is actually very good. His A Soldier of the Great War is also worth checking out.
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Apr 17, 2014 17:09
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I am thinking of maybe reading Infinite Jest this summer holiday. Now, I've heard it has a whole tonne of foot notes and so forth. So the question is more in the lines of whether to get a physical copy or an e-book. Is it alright to get this for my Kindle and just read foot notes when I'm done with the thing? Or do you recommend I get the physical book so I can easily jump back & forth between sections as I progress? e: Unless Kindle has a simple way of jumping text to end note and back to the text again, in which case the question's moot. ulvir fucked around with this message at 21:32 on Apr 17, 2014 |
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Apr 17, 2014 21:28
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ulvir posted:
It does. But you absolutely must read the footnotes as they appear. They are meant to be read concurrently and you will miss a TON if you do not. Infinite Jest is one of the greatest novels ever written, and those sections are part of the reason why.
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Apr 17, 2014 21:50
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In light of Gabriel Garcia Marquez passing away today we should all reread a Marquez book, or if you never have, read One Hundred Years of Solitude for the first time.
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Apr 17, 2014 22:02
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I'm alright, thanks.
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Apr 17, 2014 23:38
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