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Sucrose posted:Anyone have any horror recommendations? Preferably something recent, either long or short is fine. I'm thinking something that's more psychological horror-ish and less about serial killers, but I'll take anything that's good. I guess it's quite hard to find his stuff but Thomas Ligotti is a very good horror writer. My Work Is Not Yet Done is a brilliant and unusual piece of horror fiction.
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May 19, 2014 18:35
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Selachian posted:Best second-person book I know of is Tom Robbins' Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas, but that can depend heavily on your tolerance for Robbins. Never read anything he wrote so I'll check this one out, thanks.
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May 19, 2014 20:15
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Ddraig posted:I guess it's quite hard to find his stuff but Thomas Ligotti is a very good horror writer. My Work Is Not Yet Done is a brilliant and unusual piece of horror fiction. Actually you can get about 90% of his work on Kindle nowadays. Solid recommendation, though it's a stretch to call it recent. Other recent horror recommendations: Lesser Creatures by Peter Giglio, Corrosion by Jon Bassoff, Ancient Enemy by Michael McBride, The Walls of the Castle by Tom Piccirili, Whom the Gods Would Destory by Brian Hodge, North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud
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May 19, 2014 23:26
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An awesome recent horror novel I read after getting it recommended itt is Adam Nevill's Last Days.
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May 20, 2014 01:24
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savinhill posted:An awesome recent horror novel I read after getting it recommended itt is Adam Nevill's Last Days. I was getting to ready to order his book Ritual. Now I am not sure which one to order.
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May 20, 2014 14:41
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Could anyone recommend a good nonfiction book about the Spanish Civil War?
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May 20, 2014 23:39
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nate fisher posted:I was getting to ready to order his book Ritual. Now I am not sure which one to order. I liked Last Days a lot more, but any horror with a hippie cult as the main focus is always gonna automatically be better to me, so someone else might be a better judge.
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May 20, 2014 23:58
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Laocius posted:Could anyone recommend a good nonfiction book about the Spanish Civil War? I liked The Battle for Spain by Anthony Beevor, though it's a bit short. Sam. fucked around with this message at 01:07 on May 21, 2014 |
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May 21, 2014 01:03
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Laocius posted:Could anyone recommend a good nonfiction book about the Spanish Civil War? I've always preferred Orwell's non-fiction & essays to his fiction, and this book is a big reason why
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May 21, 2014 05:45
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Sam. posted:I liked The Battle for Spain by Anthony Beevor, though it's a bit short. Thanks! Wraith of J.O.I. posted:Homage to Catalonia I was actually already planning on reading that, since I also really like Orwell's nonfiction. I'm looking for something more like a general history of the war, rather than an individual experience. More recommendations are welcome!
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May 21, 2014 06:16
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Could someone recommend me some good books on werewolves? Maybe something in the spirit of The Dresden Files. It can be old or new, just not in the romance section.
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May 22, 2014 20:02
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Hughmoris posted:Could someone recommend me some good books on werewolves? Maybe something in the spirit of The Dresden Files. It can be old or new, just not in the romance section. Not in the spirit of the Dresden Files, but I really enjoyed Toby Barlow's Sharp Teeth, which is an unusual and unique (in my experience) take on werewolves. I will not recommend either Percy's Red Moon or Duncan's The Last Werewolf, both of which I intensely dislike.
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May 22, 2014 20:55
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Hughmoris posted:Could someone recommend me some good books on werewolves? Maybe something in the spirit of The Dresden Files. It can be old or new, just not in the romance section. Defining "good" is something I'm not very...."good....at. But I remeber enjoying these 2 books so please check them out. Fang Face and Werewoof by Norm Cowie. http://smile.amazon.com/Fang-Face-teenager-doesnt-enough-ebook/dp/B00HTOFI9S/ref=la_B003U06XPI_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1400791285&sr=1-1 http://smile.amazon.com/WereWoof-Norm-Cowie-ebook/dp/B004U35APS/ref=la_B003U06XPI_1_12_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1400791170&sr=1-12
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May 22, 2014 21:44
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Hughmoris posted:Could someone recommend me some good books on werewolves? Maybe something in the spirit of The Dresden Files. It can be old or new, just not in the romance section. I haven't read his book Wolf Hunt, but Jeff Strand is pretty good at mixing legit-horror, gross-outs, and great humor, and it's only $3 on kindle. Cycle of the Werewolf seems a generic answer. It's a decent quick read and a cool concept (murder mystery with a werewolf), but it lacks a lot of what makes King good (no world-building or character-building). It's illustrated, which is interesting, but it kind of ruins some of the surprises of the story. There's always The Howling. I've never read it either, but everyone knows the movie. I would really like a good werewolf book as well, so hopefully someone can give better recommendations than me. Something like The Wolf Man or An American Werewolf In London would be great. Or a history of the origin of the werewolf mythos, it's meaning in pop culture, etc. Franchescanado fucked around with this message at 22:56 on May 22, 2014 |
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May 22, 2014 22:54
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Hughmoris posted:Could someone recommend me some good books on werewolves? Maybe something in the spirit of The Dresden Files. It can be old or new, just not in the romance section. GRRM's The Skin Trade is precisely what you're looking for, although it's novella length instead of being a full novel. Also available in a graphic novel iirc.
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May 22, 2014 23:49
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elbow posted:I loved Where'd You Go, Bernadette and it's a pretty light read, so go for that one. Based on the other books you said you enjoyed, I would also recommend The Virgin Suicides, The Bell Jar, Life of Pi, and maybe something by John Irving. I was going to suggest Owen Meany or Garp
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May 24, 2014 03:32
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I've always been interested in military history and historical fiction but realized that besides the oft-recommended novels like All Quiet on the Western Front, I haven't spent a lot of time looking at World War II from the perspectives of German or Japanese soldiers; I'm interested in finding well-written and translated novels from those perspectives and would like to read about both the Western & Eastern fronts from the German point of view as well. I would also ask and hope for such novels to be written by enlisted rather than officers.
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May 24, 2014 22:48
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Furious Lobster posted:I've always been interested in military history and historical fiction but realized that besides the oft-recommended novels like All Quiet on the Western Front, I haven't spent a lot of time looking at World War II from the perspectives of German or Japanese soldiers; I'm interested in finding well-written and translated novels from those perspectives and would like to read about both the Western & Eastern fronts from the German point of view as well. I would also ask and hope for such novels to be written by enlisted rather than officers. I know your looking for WW2, but would you consider WW1 worth looking at? Storm of Steel by Junger (who went on to write fiction as well) is a great account of a German soldier who thought that war was good. It went on to become hugely popular with the Nazis.
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May 24, 2014 23:16
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Hughmoris posted:Could someone recommend me some good books on werewolves? Maybe something in the spirit of The Dresden Files. It can be old or new, just not in the romance section. The 3 biggest 'werewolf' releases of the past few years are probably Glen Duncan's The Last Werewolf, Benjamin Percy's Red Moon, and Toby Barlow's Sharp Teeth. I've read the first but not the latter two so YMMV. Glen Duncan's was pretty good and there's also a sequel. My favourite werewolf book of the past few years is Christopher Buehlman's Those Across the River, but you specified something Dresden Files-ish and this one is more of like an atmospheric Southern Gothic novel. You might want to check it out anyway. savinhill posted:I liked Last Days a lot more, but any horror with a hippie cult as the main focus is always gonna automatically be better to me, so someone else might be a better judge. I think overall as a complete work, Last Days was a lot stronger, but the first 2/3rds of The Ritual were terrifying to me. That last third though... what a let down.
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May 25, 2014 04:11
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Furious Lobster posted:I've always been interested in military history and historical fiction but realized that besides the oft-recommended novels like All Quiet on the Western Front, I haven't spent a lot of time looking at World War II from the perspectives of German or Japanese soldiers; I'm interested in finding well-written and translated novels from those perspectives and would like to read about both the Western & Eastern fronts from the German point of view as well. I would also ask and hope for such novels to be written by enlisted rather than officers. If you really want to be horrified about the Japanese perpsective in WW2, track down a copy of Japan at War: An Oral History. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31040.Japan_at_War The section about biological testing on unwilling human subjects was horrifying. It made the person who was addicted to beheading people seem slightly less of a monster. Do not read this book while near food.
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May 25, 2014 16:37
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I read The Martian by Andy Weir and liked it way more than anything else I've read recently. Any suggestions?
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May 25, 2014 19:09
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Recommendations for historical fiction that is: Well-researched, fairly accurate (as far as time period, way of life... The story can be fictional of course) Well-written, nicely paced Not a thinly veiled romance novel Thanks! E: forgot to mention that any time period is fine. I'm particularly interested in Middle Ages at the moment, but anything pre-WWII is ok. frenchnewwave fucked around with this message at 13:25 on May 26, 2014 |
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May 26, 2014 13:22
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frenchnewwave posted:Recommendations for historical fiction that is: This was recommended in this thread, and is probably the best novel I've read in ages: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_End_of_the_World I'm reading this one right now, it's supposed to be Mishima's best: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_Snow
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May 26, 2014 13:33
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frenchnewwave posted:Recommendations for historical fiction that is: True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey. I haven't read much historical fiction, but that was a recent favorite of mine.
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May 26, 2014 15:20
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frenchnewwave posted:Recommendations for historical fiction that is: Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall and its sequel, Bring up the Bodies (Tells the story of the rise of Thomas Cromwell) Maria McCann's As Meat Loves Salt takes place during the English Civil War - warning this is about a gay couple, but I wouldn't call it a romance as the ending is ridiculously brutal. I'd say it's easily one of the best researched historical novels I've ever read. Hannah Kent's Burial Rites takes place in Iceland in the 1800's and tells the story of the last woman to be executed in that country. Last but not least, Robert Graves' I, Claudius. Told from the point of view of Roman Emperor Claudius, the story of the various murders and machinations in his family for the throne.
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May 26, 2014 15:33
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frenchnewwave posted:Recommendations for historical fiction that is: Anything by Mary Renault, especially The King Must Die, and the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian.
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May 26, 2014 15:47
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frenchnewwave posted:Recommendations for historical fiction that is: Romance of the Three Kingdoms attributed to Luo Guanzhong is essential to understanding East Asian cultural and historical references; the closest analogy would be The Illiad. It's mainly fiction but there are definite real historical characters and events in the story as well. Since it is rather old and contains numerous, different Chinese dialects as well as the necessity of translating all these conflicting languages into English, I'd strongly recommend watching the most recent drama adaptation of the series to help put faces to names and get a better grasp of the story. I watched the 2010 adaptation that was produced in China and really made getting through the story a lot easier and more interesting. I'd recommend the Moss Roberts translation as the best version. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara is another go-to recommendation for exceptionally well-done historical fiction; it also allows the reader to experience and gain a solid understanding of the Civil War and one of its decisive battles. Edit: I, Claudius mentioned by Poutling is fantastic. Furious Lobster fucked around with this message at 16:52 on May 26, 2014 |
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May 26, 2014 16:48
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I'm looking for some books set in present day where a protagonist suddenly finds themselves involved in a community of supernatural beings. Nothing too angsty or sexual.
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May 26, 2014 20:07
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IShallRiseAgain posted:I'm looking for some books set in present day where a protagonist suddenly finds themselves involved in a community of supernatural beings. Nothing too angsty or sexual. Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch and London Falling by Paul Cornell are exactly this.
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May 26, 2014 21:37
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IShallRiseAgain posted:I'm looking for some books set in present day where a protagonist suddenly finds themselves involved in a community of supernatural beings. Nothing too angsty or sexual. Magic Kingdom For Sale - Sold! by Terry Brooks. Lightweight and fun, don't go in expecting Proust or Dostoevsky and you'll have a good time.
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May 26, 2014 21:56
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IShallRiseAgain posted:I'm looking for some books set in present day where a protagonist suddenly finds themselves involved in a community of supernatural beings. Nothing too angsty or sexual. Kraken by China Miéville is a pretty good fit in addition to whats already been posted by others.
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May 26, 2014 23:46
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IShallRiseAgain posted:I'm looking for some books set in present day where a protagonist suddenly finds themselves involved in a community of supernatural beings. Nothing too angsty or sexual. You might also look into Tim Powers -- Last Call and Declare in particular are quite good.
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May 27, 2014 15:19
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I'm looking for any "classic American literature." I'm not trying to be that guy who just reads things to say he did it - it's more that I just realized I haven't read a lot of the most acclaimed books out there and I want to fix that. Plus I enjoy reading stuff from other time periods and getting to imagine what life was like in such a different world. I'm specifying American lit because I was contemplating reading Crime and Punishment but that guy is apparently very very hard to understand, and he has a lot of other books too. Plus if I just say "classic literature" I'll be overwhelmed by the choices. I just wanted to narrow it down some ya know? I was thinking about Moby-Dick after finishing The Scarlet Letter. I have no idea why the latter book is so reviled on boards like these... I am inclined to blame inept teaching when most posters were forced to read it in school and didn't understand it. That same thing led to a lot of people hating Shakespeare. Anyway, I enjoyed it a lot. I thought of MD next because I was reading up on Hawthorne and found out he was friends with Melville for a time. I've always had an odd fascination with authors who were close to each other - Keats and Byron and Shelley, Tolkien and CS Lewis, etc.. NikkolasKing fucked around with this message at 21:58 on May 28, 2014 |
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May 28, 2014 21:54
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Moby-Dick is loving awesome.
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May 28, 2014 22:21
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NikkolasKing posted:I'm looking for any "classic American literature." I'm not trying to be that guy who just reads things to say he did it - it's more that I just realized I haven't read a lot of the most acclaimed books out there and I want to fix that. Plus I enjoy reading stuff from other time periods and getting to imagine what life was like in such a different world. That Crime and Punishment guy is actually amazing and is no harder a read than The Scarlet Letter, though of course that depends on the translation. Another book by him, The Idiot, in the translation available on Project Gutenberg, is immensely readable and one of my all time favorites. That said, Huckleberry Finn is fantastic and a great, essential piece of American literature. Catcher In The Rye is another "everyone must read this" book that is ultimately sophomoric and immature at its heart but deserves to be read nonetheless. The Great Gatsby is another classic of American lit and of course is really good as well. I feel like if in your heart you identify as a teen or early 20-something, you'll like Catcher in the Rye more. If 30+, The Great Gatsby will likely resonate more. e: If I were forced at gunpoint to choose what I consider the so-called "Great American Novel", I'd probably go with Lolita -- ironically (or not) written by a naturalized Russian writer. You may know it as that book about a pedo, but it's so much more. e2: You could do a lot worse than to read the books listed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_American_Novel regulargonzalez fucked around with this message at 22:35 on May 28, 2014 |
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May 28, 2014 22:29
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NikkolasKing posted:I'm looking for any "classic American literature." I'm not trying to be that guy who just reads things to say he did it - it's more that I just realized I haven't read a lot of the most acclaimed books out there and I want to fix that. Plus I enjoy reading stuff from other time periods and getting to imagine what life was like in such a different world. havee you tried GRAVITY''S RAINBOW by THOMAS pYNCHON?
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May 28, 2014 22:33
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You're an evil man
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May 28, 2014 22:47
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It doesn't get as much attention as many other "Great American Novels," but I'll put in a good word for Dos Passos' U.S.A. trilogy. The structure can take a little getting used to, but it's fascinating once you get stuck into it. Oh, and Huckleberry Finn. Because.
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May 28, 2014 23:08
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CestMoi posted:havee you tried GRAVITY''S RAINBOW by THOMAS pYNCHON? I keep on doing this with The Recognitions and then deleting the tab pre-post. e: both are good, guy, but don't be put off from reading Dostoyevsky. He's good unless you've got a duff translation.
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May 28, 2014 23:39
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The Grapes of Wrath is still one of my favorite books.
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May 29, 2014 00:40
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