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regulargonzalez posted:Please don't troll Speaking as someone who just got to the New Testament and will also have finished reading the Bible in a few days (minus the Apocrypha, since it's just the KJV my dad gave me and it doesn't have those--I guess now I'll ask if those are worth reading, or at least which ones?), I agree with Fellwenner. Even the books that aren't referenced as often can be interesting, or are at least carried well by a consistently entrancing prose style. Also anything involving visions is pretty sweet.
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Aug 16, 2014 19:48
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Sir John Feelgood posted:What books of the Bible are most essential? For Dante, you might also want to read up on some classical Roman and Greek mythology/poetry.
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Aug 16, 2014 21:29
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I was going to read the King James Version, the David Norton version with paragraphs. I hear it's got some editing blunders in it (like inappropriately getting rid of thines), but overall it sounds good. The Penguin Classics version of the Bible is D. Norton's KJV. Haven't bought it yet, so if you have a better suggestion I'll hear it. The two-volume Norton Critical Edition of the KJV has been highly praised, but I'm hesitant. I'm fearing tracing-thin paper and footnotes taking up three quarters of the page. Also, I will eventually get around to reading the rest. I just wanted to know what were the Greatest Hits so I can get more out of some of the Medieval and Renaissance stuff I'm about to read. xcheopis posted:For Dante, you might also want to read up on some classical Roman and Greek mythology/poetry. Sir John Feelgood fucked around with this message at 23:59 on Aug 16, 2014 |
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Aug 16, 2014 23:53
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Can anybody recommend any good works of nonfiction, in English, dealing with the Mexican drug wars/cartels? Bonus points if it's historical in nature. I tried reading El Narco and didn't care for its style.
Shitshow fucked around with this message at 00:35 on Aug 17, 2014 |
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Aug 17, 2014 00:23
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Shitshow posted:Can anybody recommend any good works of nonfiction, in English, dealing with the Mexican drug wars/cartels? Bonus points if it's historical in nature. I tried reading El Narco and didn't care for its style. Narcoland by Annabel Herrera. It's really detailed and starts rather early in the last century, although the main part covers the rise of El Chapo. I also recommend you look up Charles Bowden's The Sicario: A Juarez hit man speaks. It's a feature available online for free, one of the most chilling pieces of nonfiction I've ever read.
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Aug 17, 2014 16:57
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Sir John Feelgood posted:
Maybe not necessarily in line with what you need, but when available, go with Fagles translations for Classics. His Iliad is the best by a lot (though Lombardo isn't bad).
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Aug 18, 2014 02:55
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13Pandora13 posted:Maybe not necessarily in line with what you need, but when available, go with Fagles translations for Classics. His Iliad is the best by a lot (though Lombardo isn't bad). I actually think that for the Iliad and the Oddysey, Lattimore's translations are more accessible than Fagles' but I think that's just down to preference, both are quite highly regarded.
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Aug 18, 2014 03:22
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edit: Didn't notice you tried El Narco and didn't like it.
Shirtless Rob fucked around with this message at 12:16 on Aug 18, 2014 |
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Aug 18, 2014 12:13
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Octavia E. Butler's Wild Seed has given me a taste for stories of immortal superhumans living through various eras of history. Are there any other good books along those lines, that don't involve vampires?
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Aug 18, 2014 16:08
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Time Cowboy posted:Octavia E. Butler's Wild Seed has given me a taste for stories of immortal superhumans living through various eras of history. Are there any other good books along those lines, that don't involve vampires? You might want to try Kage Baker's Company series. No vampires, just immortal cyborgs living through all of recorded history. The first one in the series is In the Garden of Iden.
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Aug 18, 2014 17:01
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Time Cowboy posted:Octavia E. Butler's Wild Seed has given me a taste for stories of immortal superhumans living through various eras of history. Are there any other good books along those lines, that don't involve vampires? I could swear I've recommended this before in the thread, but Ben Bova's Orion series. It's probably a lot pulpier than Butler, though.
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Aug 18, 2014 18:30
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HollowClown posted:You might want to try Kage Baker's Company series. No vampires, just immortal cyborgs living through all of recorded history. The first one in the series is In the Garden of Iden. Is it appreciably better than Baker's The Anvil of the World? I've rarely been so disappointed with a book (at least one I bothered to finish). It went from promising fantasy to discount bin Terry Pratchett in barely a hundred pages.
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Aug 18, 2014 18:43
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Sir John Feelgood posted:
I'm mostly joking. You don't have to do any reading up at all, since any decent translation will have excellent footnotes. Dante packs the poem with all sorts of medieval Catholic beliefs, allegories, and references to various aspects of Roman and Greek myth and history. You don't really need to be any more conversant with the Bible then you do the Aeneid.
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Aug 18, 2014 19:27
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Time Cowboy posted:Is it appreciably better than Baker's The Anvil of the World? I've rarely been so disappointed with a book (at least one I bothered to finish). It went from promising fantasy to discount bin Terry Pratchett in barely a hundred pages. I'd suggest reading the first book, and not judging Baker by Anvil of the World. That book was truly terrible. Overall, I thought the Company series started off quite strong, but started getting significantly weaker after about book 4 (The Graveyard Game), with the exception of the short story collections. Generally speaking, I quite liked the concept of the series and Baker's writing style; she has some interesting takes on living through history with access to modern sensibilities. Towards the end of the series it was focusing more on a love story that felt like a generic pastiche of cyberpunk and Mansfield Park. If you're willing to put the series down when it starts getting unwieldly, the first few books are probably worth reading. Baker doesn't write as well as Octavia Butler, but then again, who does?
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Aug 19, 2014 03:04
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My girlfriend loves Fifty Shades of Gray. It seems to be a pretty awful book and even the people who are into the scene depicted in it bad mouth it. Are there any good recommendations in the genre? I'm looking to gift it something that's actually considered "good" by the people who like the genre, but I don't even know where to start looking. Also, anything in the political fantasy genre besides G.R.R.M?
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Aug 21, 2014 00:05
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Dump her.
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Aug 21, 2014 00:15
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Azran posted:My girlfriend loves Fifty Shades of Gray. It seems to be a pretty awful book and even the people who are into the scene depicted in it bad mouth it. Are there any good recommendations in the genre? I'm looking to gift it something that's actually considered "good" by the people who like the genre, but I don't even know where to start looking. There's that Jaqueline Carey Kushiel fantasy series that's supposed to have S&M stuff in it. I haven't read it but I've seen it get positive reviews and I've read a different series of hers that was good.
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Aug 21, 2014 00:52
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Azran posted:My girlfriend loves Fifty Shades of Gray. It seems to be a pretty awful book and even the people who are into the scene depicted in it bad mouth it. Are there any good recommendations in the genre? I'm looking to gift it something that's actually considered "good" by the people who like the genre, but I don't even know where to start looking. The Man Who Was Thursday, A NIghtmare, by G K CHESTERTON might just be what you are looking for on both counts.
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Aug 21, 2014 01:08
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savinhill posted:There's that Jaqueline Carey Kushiel fantasy series that's supposed to have S&M stuff in it. I haven't read it but I've seen it get positive reviews and I've read a different series of hers that was good. It's very love-it-or-hate-it. Very politically dense, but if sex in books is too prurient for one's tastes they'll despise it. I'm like a half step from being asexual and it still didn't bother me, so v  v
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Aug 21, 2014 03:45
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On a similar note, any good books like ASOIAF set in the 20th/21st century or equivalent? Someone recommended American Tabloid, which I enjoyed, but I couldn't get into the sequel.
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Aug 21, 2014 05:02
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Azran posted:My girlfriend loves Fifty Shades of Gray. It seems to be a pretty awful book and even the people who are into the scene depicted in it bad mouth it. Are there any good recommendations in the genre? I'm looking to gift it something that's actually considered "good" by the people who like the genre, but I don't even know where to start looking. The absolute gold standard author for erotica written for women is Anais Nin, the books Little Birds and Delta of Venus should interest your girlfriend. Pork Pie Hat fucked around with this message at 10:42 on Aug 21, 2014 |
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Aug 21, 2014 10:39
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Pork Pie Hat posted:The absolute gold standard author for erotica written for women is Anais Nin, the books Little Birds and Delta of Venus should interest your girlfriend. There's also My Secret Garden. http://www.amazon.com/My-Secret-Garden-Nancy-Friday/dp/1416567011
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Aug 21, 2014 12:01
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:There's also My Secret Garden. http://www.amazon.com/My-Secret-Garden-Nancy-Friday/dp/1416567011 For a horrible five seconds I was sure you were talking about this book, and I was about to call a halt to the whole conversation.
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Aug 21, 2014 14:53
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Looking for something with these traits: Grounded science. Moody, atmospheric, other worldly. Weaves a variety of philosophical themes into the narrative. Some political allegory. At least one witty, likable central character. High stakes. Relevant movies/TV I enjoy for reference: No Country For Old Men, Total Recall (1990), The Wire, Aeon Flux, and the first four episodes of True Detective.
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Aug 21, 2014 17:05
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Dr Rotcod posted:Looking for something with these traits: Grounded science. Moody, atmospheric, other worldly. Weaves a variety of philosophical themes into the narrative. Some political allegory. At least one witty, likable central character. High stakes. How about Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick? (aka "the Blade Runner book").
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Aug 21, 2014 17:20
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:How about Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick? (aka "the Blade Runner book"). Was looking for something more obscure instead of the obvious Philip K. Dick, Cormac McCarthy and Nic Pizzolatto creations as I mentioned in my TV/Movies influences. Maybe an author who is a cross between those styles and touches on the themes I mentioned.
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Aug 21, 2014 20:14
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Ok. Hrm. I have to make the obvious recommendations first because the big names are generally big names for a reason. I mean, if you haven't read Electric Sheep, you really should start there. Maybe Gun, with Occasional Music but Johnathan Lethem. There's William Gibson of course but he might be too mainstream for you.
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Aug 21, 2014 20:38
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I have a coworker who for a going away present I bought a Kindle. This coworker is an older lady (60 something) and her favorite genre is True Crime, and her favorite True Crime author is Anne Rule. I know nothing about the genre, but I stuffed the kindle with every Ann Rule book I could find, and just wanted to throw some more stuff on there for variety. So any Ann Rule/True Crime fans out there, what do you think I should put on there for her? I have no idea which stuff she has read, so I was hoping by just shoving a lot on there I'd get lucky with something she likes.
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Aug 22, 2014 01:14
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Suggestions for books about the future being hosed up, but cool dudes set out to make it less hosed up through the power of their meaty paws?
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Aug 22, 2014 06:31
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Obese Janissary posted:I have a coworker who for a going away present I bought a Kindle. This coworker is an older lady (60 something) and her favorite genre is True Crime, and her favorite True Crime author is Anne Rule. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
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Aug 23, 2014 05:38
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noirstronaut posted:Suggestions for books about the future being hosed up, but cool dudes set out to make it less hosed up through the power of their meaty paws?
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Aug 23, 2014 10:09
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frenchnewwave posted:Cool, I have never met another person who's read this book. Have you read Filth (or pretty much anything) by Irvine Welsh? Or anything by Bret Easton Ellis? From forever ago, but yeah, Irvine Welsh was my jam a few years ago and I've pretty much plowed through everything of his. I only picked up Morvern Callar because I read something where he was praising it. I gave Bret Easton Ellis a shot but I sort of gave up in the middle of American Psycho as I think maybe the point went over my head. It seemed shocking for the sake of being shocking, but I didn't finish it so I could be wrong. I wouldn't mind giving one of his books another shot.
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Aug 23, 2014 15:20
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I recently read Fiasco by Stanislaw Lem and thought it was absolute torture to read. Is it pretty indicative of Lem's writing style, or is there something else of his worth checking out? Also, did anyone read Godbody by Theodore Sturgeon and can give their impressions, especially compared to his other stuff?
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Aug 25, 2014 17:47
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I tried reading The Ancestor's Tale recently, but couldn't get past all the Dawkins smugness. I'm really interested in the subject matter though, so I was hoping there is a similar book (or books) that I could enjoy without all the r/atheism Dawkins bollocks. Can anyone suggest anything?
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Aug 25, 2014 20:45
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Mechafunkzilla posted:I recently read Fiasco by Stanislaw Lem and thought it was absolute torture to read. Is it pretty indicative of Lem's writing style, or is there something else of his worth checking out? My favorite Lem books are his robot fairy tales from Mortal Engines and The Cyberiad -- I think they're more fun, and certainly less bleak, than some of his other work.
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Aug 26, 2014 00:10
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Looking for something along the lines of Harry Potter, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and T.H. White Once and Future King. Something where magic is fun and imaginative, and based off folk and fairy tales. Help?
DirtyRobot fucked around with this message at 11:36 on Aug 29, 2014 |
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Aug 29, 2014 11:33
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DirtyRobot posted:Looking for something along the lines of Harry Potter, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and T.H. White Once and Future King. Something where magic is fun and imaginative, and based off folk and fairy tales. Help?
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Aug 29, 2014 11:45
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Also Lud in the Mist by Hope Mirrlees.
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Aug 29, 2014 13:12
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I'd throw in John Bellairs' The Face in the Frost.
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Aug 29, 2014 16:24
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You know what is sometimes pretty great. Films. That's right, films is pretty great. Especaially when you want to retain that slight edge of superiority despite both lit and film being a dying medium. I mean we aspire to your Delillo's with vague imitations (Hal Hartley, Cronenberg, whichever filmmaker is working with P Auster nowadays for his ultra fragile epic) and drat son, JG Ballard, his themes shadowed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, et al. I'd love to hear your opinions on film, maybe what you think is a good adaptation and why? harpomarxist fucked around with this message at 03:14 on Aug 30, 2014 |
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Aug 30, 2014 03:10
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