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Hieronymous Alloy posted:https://www.amazon.com/Bridge-Birds...s+barry+hughart Could not have made a better set of selections
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Jun 30, 2016 04:46
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Fun Times! posted:I need to add $15 worth of stuff to get free shipping on my Amazon order. My current cart has a $14 shipping price anyway so why not get some (sort of) free books? Aquarium by David Vann gets a lot of love in the Lit thread. It was $5 yesterday, and it's $7 today. (I haven't read it, I just bought my copy with this deal.)
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Jun 30, 2016 12:24
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:https://www.amazon.com/Bridge-Birds...s+barry+hughart These two look great! Franchescanado posted:Aquarium by David Vann gets a lot of love in the Lit thread. It was $5 yesterday, and it's $7 today. (I haven't read it, I just bought my copy with this deal.) And this one looks good, too. I ended up going $10 over, thanks assholes
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Jun 30, 2016 21:54
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Fun Times! posted:These two look great! Welcome to the Vann Clan brother
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Jun 30, 2016 22:35
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Fun Times! posted:I need to add $15 worth of stuff to get free shipping on my Amazon order. My current cart has a $14 shipping price anyway so why not get some (sort of) free books? Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell Gone Away World by Nick Harkaway The Peripheral by William Gibson I'm not checking the prices, but they all are amazing and should be in that range. Even if I'm late as heck.
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Jul 1, 2016 20:49
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I'm looking for a psychology book, accessible to the layman, that explores how humans make moral judgments and how they allocate sympathy, in relation to power, race, gender, and other factors.
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Jul 2, 2016 18:16
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Just read Between the World and Me and Homegoing, can someone recommend a non fiction book about the African side of slavery / diaspora?
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Jul 6, 2016 22:06
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xian posted:Just read Between the World and Me and Homegoing, can someone recommend a non fiction book about the African side of slavery / diaspora? -Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie -Every Day is for the Thief by Teju Cole Edit: Derp not nonfiction sorry
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Jul 6, 2016 22:27
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No worries! Fiction that covers the same subjects is good too. If anyone has nonfiction recs I'd still love some.
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Jul 7, 2016 01:08
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Picayune posted:Also City of Stairs/City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett--they revolve around fantasy versions of Russia and India. This book is BAD. Picayune posted:There's the Night Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko (Night Watch, Day Watch, Twilight Watch, and so on). Granted, it's been years since I read those, so they may not be as good as I remember. The movies they made from the first two books were pretty good, too. Now I'm gonna read all 6 of these.
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Jul 7, 2016 19:52
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Hey folks, looking for an audiobook recommendation for the gym - need something light, page-turny and not big on romance/sex scenes. I'm not averse to genre fiction so my standards are pretty low by literary measure - I enjoy whodunits, sci-fi, fantasy, not so big on airport fiction, kinda wary of LITERATURE for this purpose because I'd prefer something that doesn't depress me when I'm physically tired. Bitch of a request, I know.
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Jul 11, 2016 10:39
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anilEhilated posted:Hey folks, looking for an audiobook recommendation for the gym - need something light, page-turny and not big on romance/sex scenes. Would Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari be too close to "Romance"? It's the most enjoyable audiobook I've heard, but I don't know if laughing it is a problem while working out.
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Jul 11, 2016 12:13
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Franchescanado posted:Would Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari be too close to "Romance"? It's the most enjoyable audiobook I've heard, but I don't know if laughing it is a problem while working out. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 13:23 on Jul 11, 2016 |
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Jul 11, 2016 13:08
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It's less about "Everyone should fall in love" and more about how this generation's ideas of love, romance, and relationships have evolved and changed since the previous generation (our parents, our parents parents) and how that compares with the rest of the world, and explores it with science and social experiments. As a lonely nerd, it's reassuring to know that we're all nerds and we're all lonely. Edit: After perusing my Audible, how about: The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brian (narrated by Bryan Cranston) So You've Been Publicly Shamed written/narrated by Jon Ronson Anything by David Sedaris Franchescanado fucked around with this message at 13:38 on Jul 11, 2016 |
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Jul 11, 2016 13:32
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Jon Ronson sounds perfect, I loved The Men Who Stare At Goats. Thanks.
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Jul 11, 2016 14:46
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FWIW, I think this is his best book as well. Check out Them too, though.
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Jul 11, 2016 18:47
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I am looking for short-ish contemporary novels, non-genre. I really enjoy melancholy books such as Tao Lin's Taipei and Vasquez's The Sound of Things Falling. If it's fresh and contemporary (people driving in cars, dicking on their Macbooks...) I could go with a longer novel too. No imitation crab meat please.
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Jul 11, 2016 22:12
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mcustic posted:I am looking for short-ish contemporary novels, non-genre. I really enjoy melancholy books such as Tao Lin's Taipei and Vasquez's The Sound of Things Falling. If it's fresh and contemporary (people driving in cars, dicking on their Macbooks...) I could go with a longer novel too. No imitation crab meat please. If you didn't read last month's BOTM, read The Vegetarian. I also enjoyed Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle, The Toy Collector by James Gunn, maybe some Bukowski. The Lit thread has been talking about Elena Ferrante's The Neapolitan Trilogy and David Vann's books for a while now. Franchescanado fucked around with this message at 22:34 on Jul 11, 2016 |
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Jul 11, 2016 22:32
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mcustic posted:I am looking for short-ish contemporary novels, non-genre. I really enjoy melancholy books such as Tao Lin's Taipei and Vasquez's The Sound of Things Falling. If it's fresh and contemporary (people driving in cars, dicking on their Macbooks...) I could go with a longer novel too. No imitation crab meat please. You might enjoy Jenny Offil's Dept. of Speculation which is short and very reflective, not necessarily sad but about very sad things and also goes into boredom and the unreliableness of the mind. I've seen her writing described as being between Elena Ferrante and David Markson or Renata Adler, if you're a fan there.
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Jul 11, 2016 23:28
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anilEhilated posted:Hey folks, looking for an audiobook recommendation for the gym - need something light, page-turny and not big on romance/sex scenes. Into Thin Air is a nice page turner that's easy to keep up with that also has the advantage of being an extremely good book. May depress you tho near the end. Otherwise yeah anything Sedaris, or Pratchett. I recommend starting the Discworld series at Guards! Guards! and if you like genre subversion then it's WAY up your alley I think
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Jul 11, 2016 23:56
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mcustic posted:I am looking for short-ish contemporary novels, non-genre. I really enjoy melancholy books such as Tao Lin's Taipei and Vasquez's The Sound of Things Falling. If it's fresh and contemporary (people driving in cars, dicking on their Macbooks...) I could go with a longer novel too. No imitation crab meat please. Paul Auster maybe? He's very spare, unemotional, and graceful. Depends on your tolerance for absurdity (not comedy, although he's sometimes dryly funny). Try the New York Trilogy or The Music of Chance.
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Jul 12, 2016 01:57
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Epic High Five posted:I recommend starting the Discworld series at Guards! Guards! and if you like genre subversion then it's WAY up your alley I think
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Jul 12, 2016 08:00
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anilEhilated posted:It is, and I've been reading them over the last fifteen years. Into Thin Air sounds great, though. Let me just take a moment to say that you have great taste
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Jul 12, 2016 08:12
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Franchescanado posted:If you didn't read last month's BOTM, read The Vegetarian. Thanks for the recs, I am something like 30% into The Vegetarian right now. Elena Ferrante looks interesting, especially since it's about one of my favorite periods/countries ever (Italy during Years of Lead, what the gently caress is wrong with me?). e: Ferrante's covers are  I'll probably skip the two nerdy protagonist novels, and although I've heard a lot about Vann's Aquarium, I believe it features child molestation, which is a theme I tend to avoid in fiction. Mover posted:You might enjoy Jenny Offil's Dept. of Speculation which is short and very reflective, not necessarily sad but about very sad things and also goes into boredom and the unreliableness of the mind. I've seen her writing described as being between Elena Ferrante and David Markson or Renata Adler, if you're a fan there. Thanks, looks like something I might enjoy. I'll research it some more. Selachian posted:Paul Auster maybe? He's very spare, unemotional, and graceful. Depends on your tolerance for absurdity (not comedy, although he's sometimes dryly funny). Try the New York Trilogy or The Music of Chance. I've read pretty much his entire opus, and loved every line, thanks. If you can think of anything similar, keep the recommendations rolling. Take the plunge! Okay! fucked around with this message at 12:07 on Jul 12, 2016 |
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Jul 12, 2016 12:04
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mcustic posted:I am looking for short-ish contemporary novels, non-genre. I really enjoy melancholy books such as Tao Lin's Taipei and Vasquez's The Sound of Things Falling. If it's fresh and contemporary (people driving in cars, dicking on their Macbooks...) I could go with a longer novel too. No imitation crab meat please. Leni Zuma's The Listeners, Sean Beaudoin's Welcome Thieves (short stories), Stewart O'Nan's Last Night at the Lobster, and I will second Paul Auster and John Darnielle; Wolf in White Van is one of the most well-written things I've read in a while.
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Jul 12, 2016 12:19
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funkybottoms posted:Leni Zuma's The Listeners, Sean Beaudoin's Welcome Thieves (short stories), Stewart O'Nan's Last Night at the Lobster, and I will second Paul Auster and John Darnielle; Wolf in White Van is one of the most well-written things I've read in a while. Dude, I said no imitation crab meat, and you recommend Last Night at the Lobster just to spite me, what the hell?!? Joking aside, thanks for the recommendations and I will probably buy that book because it looks intriguing.
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Jul 12, 2016 12:26
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Black SF that ain't Delaney or Space Opera. Go.
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Jul 14, 2016 05:36
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Twerkteam Pizza posted:Black SF that ain't Delaney or Space Opera.
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Jul 14, 2016 09:57
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Twerkteam Pizza posted:Black SF that ain't Delaney or Space Opera. Octavia Butler and NK Jemisin
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Jul 14, 2016 10:32
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Is there any "good" literature that deals with themes of defying or fighting against God? This is a trope I see in Japanese video games or anime a lot which I'd love to see a well-thought-out version of. I know the Greeks did a lot of fiction related to trying to fight fate (and failing miserably) such as in Oedipus Rex, but I guess I'd like to read something more direct with it? EDIT: Fantasy or Science Fiction novels are fine, just as long as they're deeper than a video game.
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Jul 14, 2016 15:44
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His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman is the first things that springs to mind. I mean they're still YA novels but well done ones.
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Jul 14, 2016 16:00
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The Unholy Ghost posted:Is there any "good" literature that deals with themes of defying or fighting against God? This is a trope I see in Japanese video games or anime a lot which I'd love to see a well-thought-out version of. I know the Greeks did a lot of fiction related to trying to fight fate (and failing miserably) such as in Oedipus Rex, but I guess I'd like to read something more direct with it? The Gospels According to Jesus Christ by Jose Saramago
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Jul 14, 2016 16:07
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The Unholy Ghost posted:I know the Greeks did a lot of fiction related to trying to fight fate (and failing miserably) such as in Oedipus Rex, but I guess I'd like to read something more direct with it? Euripides' Bacchae is quite literally about fighting a god.
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Jul 14, 2016 16:12
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The Unholy Ghost posted:Is there any "good" literature that deals with themes of defying or fighting against God? This is a trope I see in Japanese video games or anime a lot which I'd love to see a well-thought-out version of. I know the Greeks did a lot of fiction related to trying to fight fate (and failing miserably) such as in Oedipus Rex, but I guess I'd like to read something more direct with it? Short stories: Flannery O' Connor explores this in a lot of her short stories, blurring the line of Man Vs. God with Man Vs. Religion. She's a master of short form, so I recommend her Complete Short Story Collection, but if you want something smaller, you can just get A Good Man Is Hard To Find. Etgar Keret explores this in his short stories as well. Maybe get The Bus Driver Who Wanted To Be God or The Girl On The Fridge. He only has four collections in English, and they're all fantastic. Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives is a collection of 40 short-short stories of different iterations of the afterlife, ideas of God/gods and man's interactions with/attempts to understand/defy them. It's great, but can get heavy. Letters from the Earth is a posthumous collection by Mark Twain pointing out problems with Mankind under a God. The title story is Satan writing a letter to Archangels about living on Earth with people. Novels: A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving. It's a book about friendship, faith and fate. The title character believes he is God's instrument and it explores all aspects of what that entails. Kurt Vonnegut liked loving with the idea of God/Fate/Predestination as an impediment to Mankind's evolution. Most notably in Cat's Cradle, Breakfast of Champions, Sirens of Titan, and Slaughterhouse-Five. In Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me, the main protagonist believes he can cheat Death/Fate/God by believing in the immortality of youth. He lives his life according to this belief (lots o' sex, drugs, rock-n-roll) to much comic effect. It's probably the funniest book I've ever read. The ideas are made all the more ironic by the author's death two days after it was published, at the age of 29 (he rode a motorcycle with a friend at a party; he died immediately, friend was barely injured). The Stand by Stephen King, maybe? Not top-tier literature, though. I read it as a tale of Man Vs. God, the author says it's Man Vs. God, but many goons in the King thread try to argue against that because they dislike the ending. If you can, read the original version instead of the expanded version. For classics: Moby-Dick. It can be read as Man vs. Nature or Man vs. God, or a comment/satire of both. Frankenstein, of course. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, but that's more about organized religion/Catholicism than actually God. Edit: Comic book: Punk Rock Jesus Franchescanado fucked around with this message at 16:27 on Jul 14, 2016 |
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Jul 14, 2016 16:21
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Twerkteam Pizza posted:Black SF that ain't Delaney or Space Opera. Steven Barnes The Unholy Ghost posted:Is there any "good" literature that deals with themes of defying or fighting against God? This is a trope I see in Japanese video games or anime a lot which I'd love to see a well-thought-out version of. I know the Greeks did a lot of fiction related to trying to fight fate (and failing miserably) such as in Oedipus Rex, but I guess I'd like to read something more direct with it? Island of Dr. Moreau (Depending on how you look at it) 1984 Humbug Scoolbus fucked around with this message at 18:14 on Jul 14, 2016 |
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Jul 14, 2016 18:12
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I have to read a food memoir for the Book Riot Read Harder challenge. Is there a good Food Memoir with a vegetarian perspective? Or, if that's too hard to find, what's a good food memoir? I have never read one. I don't want something like Julie and Julia. Maybe something with weird food, or a weird person?
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Jul 18, 2016 16:39
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Franchescanado posted:I have to read a food memoir for the Book Riot Read Harder challenge. Is there a good Food Memoir with a vegetarian perspective? I don't know any that are vegetarian-oriented, but Jeffrey Steingarten's books(The Man Who Ate Everything and It Must've Been Something I Ate) are pretty good. Might not be offbeat enough for you though.
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Jul 18, 2016 17:13
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Franchescanado posted:I have to read a food memoir for the Book Riot Read Harder challenge. Is there a good Food Memoir with a vegetarian perspective? Man, I've been waiting for someone to mention Book Riot- I actually have two pieces on the site, but declined the offer to become a regular contributor. Anyway, you should read The Devil in Kitchen; Blood, Bones, and Butter; or, for something more vegetable-oriented... Michael Pollan? Wait, no- Eating Animals, that's what I was thinking of! funkybottoms fucked around with this message at 18:04 on Jul 18, 2016 |
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Jul 18, 2016 18:01
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Has anyone read a great nonfiction account of MK Ultra? I want it to be fun in the same vein as Command and Control was about the history of nuclear weapons/power.
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Jul 18, 2016 19:36
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funkybottoms posted:Man, I've been waiting for someone to mention Book Riot- I actually have two pieces on the site, but declined the offer to become a regular contributor. Anyway, you should read The Devil in Kitchen; Blood, Bones, and Butter; or, for something more vegetable-oriented... Michael Pollan? Wait, no- Eating Animals, that's what I was thinking of! The Devil in the Kitchen and B,B,&B were the two I was looking at! I was also looking at Eating Animals, but didn't know if that was technically a food memoir instead of a collection of essays on vegetarianism. Thanks!
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Jul 18, 2016 20:10
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