|
Kvlt! posted:Hey all, I have pretty bad ADHD and ain't much of a reader but I'd like to get back into it. Why not go back to the wellspring of the Western genre: Owen Wister's The Virginian. (I also really want to recommend Zane Grey's Riders of the Purple Sage, but it's a more complicated book and it might not be for you if you want something simple.)
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2014 18:00
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 06:50 |
|
|
Selachian posted:Why not go back to the wellspring of the Western genre: Owen Wister's The Virginian. I love Zane Grey, I read him a lot when I was younger. Maybe something a bit more dark? Think like No Country For Old Men, as a separate recommendation as well.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2014 18:42
|
|
|
Selachian posted:Why not go back to the wellspring of the Western genre: Owen Wister's The Virginian. The other big one I'd suggest taking a look at is Shane. Probably the single greatest straight-up classic western novel. At some point I want to re-read Louis L'amour's The Haunted Mesa. It's a weird sortof western/sf/fantasy? hybrid thing that I read when I was a kid and that's sortof floated in my subconscious ever since.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2014 18:51
|
|
|
Kvlt! posted:I love Zane Grey, I read him a lot when I was younger. Blood Merridan by Cormac McCarthy. Your that weirdo death/rape fetishist so you would probably like it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2014 19:50
|
|
|
Stravinsky posted:Blood Merridan by Cormac McCarthy. Your that weirdo death/rape fetishist so you would probably like it. Sweet thanks. Is this one part of a series or a stand-alone book?
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2014 20:05
|
|
|
I just read The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England and loved it. It's a tour of how life was like in 14th century England, exploring everything from justice to medicine to marriage to commerce. I'd like to read a similar book on ancient China. Any recommendations?
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2014 20:14
|
|
|
Kvlt! posted:Sweet thanks. Is this one part of a series or a stand-alone book? Stand alone.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2014 20:47
|
|
|
Baron Bifford posted:I just read The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England and loved it. It's a tour of how life was like in 14th century England, exploring everything from justice to medicine to marriage to commerce. I'd like to read a similar book on ancient China. Any recommendations? It's not an exact analogue, but Shogun is apparently quite historically accurate and gives you a real feel for 16th century Japan. It's also a super fun story.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2014 21:18
|
|
|
That's an old TV show, right? I might look into it, though I've seen too much of feudal Japan. I want China now. I've been watching a Chinese-made show called Three Kingdoms, detailing the life of Cao Cao. I was struck by the mannerisms, speech, and body language of the characters; the way they talk, move, curse, weep, and tremble. To a Westerner like me, they feel strange and unnatural. Did Chinese people in those days really talk and move like that, or is this some sort of theatrical style?
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2014 06:41
|
|
|
Baron Bifford posted:That's an old TV show, right? I might look into it, though I've seen too much of feudal Japan. I want China now. Shogun is a book that was made into a mini-series
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2014 09:00
|
|
|
atrus50 posted:Would anyone be able to recommend any novels about marketing? Stuff like william gibson's Blue Ant stuff Lighter in tone, but Jennifer Government is in that space.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2014 10:15
|
|
|
Baron Bifford posted:I've been watching a Chinese-made show called Three Kingdoms, detailing the life of Cao Cao. I was struck by the mannerisms, speech, and body language of the characters; the way they talk, move, curse, weep, and tremble. To a Westerner like me, they feel strange and unnatural. Did Chinese people in those days really talk and move like that, or is this some sort of theatrical style? From what I can tell, they mainly just shout and then kill 1650 guys without taking any damage. Source: Dynasty Warriors (judging by the quite excellent Red Cliff movies, which are based on the same book - Romance of the Three Kingdoms - its half accurate representation of the period around the end of the Han Dynasty, and half bad acting. Also, ROTK is an amazing story, if oft-confusing)
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2014 13:11
|
|
|
What're some good books to read about domestic life at the turn of the last century? I'm thinking in the vein of Ingmar Bergman's Fanny & Alexander - sprawling, homey, detailed. They don't have to be Scandinavian but I do enjoy that area (see also: the earlier chapters of Roald Dahl's Boy describing his times in Norway, or Tove Jansson's The Summer Book).
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2014 07:50
|
|
|
Magic Hate Ball posted:What're some good books to read about domestic life at the turn of the last century? I'm thinking in the vein of Ingmar Bergman's Fanny & Alexander - sprawling, homey, detailed. They don't have to be Scandinavian but I do enjoy that area (see also: the earlier chapters of Roald Dahl's Boy describing his times in Norway, or Tove Jansson's The Summer Book). For a comedy history book, Bill Bryson's At Home: A Short History of Private Life is pretty good. It's funny but also seems fairly well researched. It also focuses on 19th and 18th century British life, iirc.
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2014 15:07
|
|
|
Oh, yeah, I love that book, Bill Bryson is great. I guess another book I'm thinking in terms of is James Joyce's The Dead. I don't even know if this is a real type of story but anything with families and food and domestic stuff is just really interesting to me.
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2014 20:43
|
|
|
Kvlt! posted:Hey all, I have pretty bad ADHD and ain't much of a reader but I'd like to get back into it. Warlock by Oakley Hall is an awesome book. Also you may want to look into Elmore Leonard's westerns (he has some great short story collections too).
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2014 01:24
|
|
|
Kvlt! posted:Hey all, I have pretty bad ADHD and ain't much of a reader but I'd like to get back into it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2014 04:33
|
|
|
I've just finished reading all of the Deathstalker books, and the Daemon/Freedom two parter by Daniel Suarez. Really liked the Richard Morgan Takeshi Kovacs books, Finch by Jeff VanderMeer, Snow Crash/Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson and everything William Gibson. Looking for more similarly schlocky but entertaining sci-fi/cyberpunk/techno thriller stuff to read on lunch breaks.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2014 11:58
|
|
|
Also everyone suggesting Blood Meridian as an easy to read book is cruel. You should still read it though, it's brilliant and utterly brutal.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2014 12:27
|
|
|
Recommend me a book for getting involved in politics, specifically with campaigning or getting into an elected office of some kind.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2014 13:33
|
|
|
Love Stole the Day posted:Recommend me a book for getting involved in politics, specifically with campaigning or getting into an elected office of some kind. Primary Colors - by Joe Klein (while fictional is suppose to be pretty close to what happen in the Clinton campaign I guess, and a very easy read) Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 72' and Better Than Sex: Confessions of a Political Junkie - both by Hunter S Thompson Game Change - by John Heilemann (Obama vs. McCain) To step it up some (books that go beyond campaigning)... Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America and Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus - both by Rick Perlstein The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism - by Naomi Klein 500 Days: Secrets and Lies in the Terror Wars - by Kurt Eichenwald Anything by Noam Chomsky I don't read much political stuff, but I've enjoyed all of the above (I haven't read Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 72', but I thought it might be worth a look).
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2014 14:14
|
|
|
Kvlt! posted:Hey all, I have pretty bad ADHD and ain't much of a reader but I'd like to get back into it. Here you go: https://www.goodreads.com/book/similar/3281465-lonesome-dove
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2014 16:26
|
|
|
Love Stole the Day posted:Recommend me a book for getting involved in politics, specifically with campaigning or getting into an elected office of some kind. Have you read A People's History of the United States by Zinn? You should do that if you haven't. Then dig a shallow hole and put your dreams of affecting meaningful change in politics inside, fill it in, and walk away forever. Maybe go live in a yurt and be good to your children and environment, slowly making the world a much better place than you would have if you ever participated in modern politics. Though also seconding The Shock Doctrine.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2014 18:36
|
|
|
Anyone got books with amoral protagonists? Like not above kicking a puppy if they were getting paid enough. Thinking about people like Jorg from the Broken Empire books. Preferably sci-fi.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2014 21:29
|
|
|
Brainamp posted:Anyone got books with amoral protagonists? Like not above kicking a puppy if they were getting paid enough. Thinking about people like Jorg from the Broken Empire books. Preferably sci-fi. The Flashman series. Not sci-fi but otherwise exactly what you're looking for.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2014 21:34
|
|
|
Brainamp posted:Anyone got books with amoral protagonists? Like not above kicking a puppy if they were getting paid enough. Thinking about people like Jorg from the Broken Empire books. Preferably sci-fi. Paul McCauley's Quiet War had some POV characters that are like this. Alasteir Reynolds' Chasm City has a protagonist that definitely fits this mold.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2014 03:40
|
|
|
Brainamp posted:Anyone got books with amoral protagonists? Like not above kicking a puppy if they were getting paid enough. Thinking about people like Jorg from the Broken Empire books. Preferably sci-fi. Bio of a Space Tyrant (don't read this) Mission: Earth (also don't read this) e: The Collector. Not sci-fi, but several orders of magnitude better than the two above. regulargonzalez fucked around with this message at 03:47 on Nov 8, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2014 03:43
|
|
|
Mechafunkzilla posted:The Flashman series. Not sci-fi but otherwise exactly what you're looking for. This. Also, the Parker novels by Richard Stark (aka Donald Westlake), although they're not sci-fi either.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2014 05:16
|
|
|
Selachian posted:This. Also, the Parker novels by Richard Stark (aka Donald Westlake), although they're not sci-fi either. I'll second these. Super fun reads.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2014 05:38
|
|
|
I just finished Cloud Atlas, and I'm looking to read another David Mitchell book in the future. Which one would you recommend and why?
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2014 12:22
|
|
|
Solitair posted:I just finished Cloud Atlas, and I'm looking to read another David Mitchell book in the future. Which one would you recommend and why?
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2014 12:29
|
|
|
The Bone Clocks also has different POV characters/time jumps and begins in the past and ends up in the future. I started Ghostwritten last night because now I'm reading everything David Mitchell ever wrote.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2014 14:53
|
|
|
Recommend me some books about extinction. I prefer information about the things that have gone extinct rather than the process itself. I just finished A Gap in Nature by Tim Flannery and it was equal parts interesting and incredibly depressing and I crave more.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2014 22:42
|
|
|
Sanford posted:Recommend me some books about extinction. I prefer information about the things that have gone extinct rather than the process itself. I just finished A Gap in Nature by Tim Flannery and it was equal parts interesting and incredibly depressing and I crave more. David Raup's book Extinction would be your first step. Edit: wait about things extinct. Hmm. Perhaps Richard Dawkin's Ancestor's Tale or one of several books by Donald Prothero? Tim's a pretty incredible guy and more of his books would also work.
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2014 08:01
|
|
|
For my money, Black Swan Green is the best David Mitchell book. It's a simple coming-of-age story about a British boy in the 1980s. It has a few ties to his other books (Hugo Lamb is the character's cousin, and someone from Cloud Atlas shows up) but it's great just by itself.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 06:46
|
|
|
Chamberk posted:For my money, Black Swan Green is the best David Mitchell book. It's a simple coming-of-age story about a British boy in the 1980s. It has a few ties to his other books (Hugo Lamb is the character's cousin, and someone from Cloud Atlas shows up) but it's great just by itself.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 11:12
|
|
|
Any books about finance/the economy I can read? I don't know anything about finance (like at all, what even is a 'long' or a 'short') so I'm interested in reading both introductory finance-y books and books about the history of Wall Street or recent financial problems and stuff like that. I'm currently reading Too Big To Fail by Sorkin, which I find interesting so far even though some of the stuff goes over my head (I suspect that I should have gone into the book with a little more knowledge about the 2008 financial crisis/Bear Stearns/Lehman Bros).
Akarshi fucked around with this message at 18:43 on Nov 13, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2014 18:36
|
|
|
Akarshi posted:Any books about finance/the economy I can read? I don't know anything about finance (like at all, what even is a 'long' or a 'short') so I'm interested in reading both introductory finance-y books and books about the history of Wall Street or recent financial problems and stuff like that. I'm currently reading Too Big To Fail by Sorkin, which I find interesting so far even though some of the stuff goes over my head (I suspect that I should have gone into the book with a little more knowledge about the 2008 financial crisis/Bear Stearns/Lehman Bros). I thought When Genius Failed was good, also My Life As A Quant.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2014 19:10
|
|
|
Akarshi posted:Any books about finance/the economy I can read? I don't know anything about finance (like at all, what even is a 'long' or a 'short') so I'm interested in reading both introductory finance-y books and books about the history of Wall Street or recent financial problems and stuff like that. I'm currently reading Too Big To Fail by Sorkin, which I find interesting so far even though some of the stuff goes over my head (I suspect that I should have gone into the book with a little more knowledge about the 2008 financial crisis/Bear Stearns/Lehman Bros). Not really a book per se, but if you're enjoying reading about finance but find some of the concepts and terminology difficult, you might want to check out http://www.investopedia.com/ as they have basically everything you could want to know there written in a very easily understandable manner.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2014 23:12
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 06:50 |
|
|
I'd like some books to help a friend of mine build her vocabulary, and to help get her more interested in reading. This person is a little shy of fifty. She is not unintelligent by any stretch, but she's had a kind of lovely life with very little exposure to literature or culture beyond a high-school education. I think she will attempt to read almost anything if I promise to read it, too. I don't want anything seriously dense, but I want it to hold some challenge for a person like the one I described.
|
|
|
#
?
Nov 14, 2014 07:48
|
|
