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chernobyl kinsman posted:jonathan strange and mr norrel Will give it a shot! Ended up reading Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro in the meantime, which I can highly recommend to basically everyone with a pulse. I'd read earlier in the thread that it caused a lot of people to cry, but personally I'm much more fond of the incredible sense of "place" Ishiguro managed to convey. It's become rare for me to be able to perfectly visualize locations and such in books, but due to the constant first person narration style it almost felt less like a book and more an expertly transcribed storytelling - it pulled me in in a big way, and I read it in two big 2 hour long chunks, sometimes just enjoying the "scenery" as it was. I just wish it was a happier book. Will definitely be checking out the others he's written.
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Feb 8, 2017 12:33
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Any good historical books about Japan? I was reading a bunch of Wikipedia aritcles randomly about Japan's history of War crimes and all the wars they've had with Korea and China. Also how they were a isolated country for a long time until they opened up and started invading their neighbors. It doesn't matter what period it is. I have heard the Meiji restoration is interesting or Japan's economic boom post world war 2. Any thing is fine as long its about Japan's history.
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Feb 10, 2017 23:05
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Last time I posted in this thread I got recommended I, Claudius which ended up being one of my favorite books. Just finished the sequel - also great. Recommendations for either 1) books related to ancient Rome or 2) books with fantastic first-person narration?
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Feb 10, 2017 23:07
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my bony fealty posted:Last time I posted in this thread I got recommended I, Claudius which ended up being one of my favorite books. Just finished the sequel - also great. Recommendations for either 1) books related to ancient Rome or 2) books with fantastic first-person narration? OK, I'll go off kilter here: Latro in the Mist by Gene Wolfe
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Feb 10, 2017 23:10
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If you want your heart ripped out of your chest then there is the book you can't talk about without spoilering it- remains of the day by Kazuo Ishiguro.
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Feb 10, 2017 23:15
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learnincurve posted:If you want your heart ripped out of your chest then there is the book you can't talk about without spoilering it- remains of the day by Kazuo Ishiguro. I thought that heart ripping line was gonna lead into _Never Let Me Go_
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Feb 10, 2017 23:17
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my bony fealty posted:Last time I posted in this thread I got recommended I, Claudius which ended up being one of my favorite books. Just finished the sequel - also great. Recommendations for either 1) books related to ancient Rome
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Feb 11, 2017 00:16
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my bony fealty posted:Last time I posted in this thread I got recommended I, Claudius which ended up being one of my favorite books. Just finished the sequel - also great. Recommendations for either 1) books related to ancient Rome or 2) books with fantastic first-person narration? I'm personally fond of Susan Howatch's Absolute Truths - about life and death in the Church of England. Not my usual topic, but the writing style is addictive.
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Feb 11, 2017 00:19
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Ulio posted:Any good historical books about Japan? I was reading a bunch of Wikipedia aritcles randomly about Japan's history of War crimes and all the wars they've had with Korea and China. Also how they were a isolated country for a long time until they opened up and started invading their neighbors. It doesn't matter what period it is. I have heard the Meiji restoration is interesting or Japan's economic boom post world war 2. Any thing is fine as long its about Japan's history. So, Shogun is historical fiction but gets good reviews even from historians for being accurate in its atmosphere and world, and semi-historically accurate with its storyline. It's also a ripping good book. It's not quite what you're asking for but I feel like it deserves a mention all the same.
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Feb 11, 2017 09:51
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Seconding Shogun. Just a drat enjoyable read. If non-fiction books about Rome are an option, Mary Beard's SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome is really good.
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Feb 11, 2017 17:10
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as is o'connell's ghosts of cannae, which also has the advantage of being short enough to rip through in about an afternoon
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Feb 11, 2017 18:56
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my bony fealty posted:books related to ancient Rome The Makers of Rome and Fall of the Roman Republic by Plutarch are both great.
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Feb 12, 2017 06:07
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Rubicon; the last days of the roman republic by Tom Holland is the one a lot of people jump into Roman history from. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/91017.Rubicon?ac=1&from_search=true
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Feb 12, 2017 09:42
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just going to ask for a recommendation for some stories where it's about multiple characters competing in some kind of ongoing real life game, like the Westing Game or Zelanzny's Night in Lonesome October.
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Feb 12, 2017 20:32
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wolf in white van?
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Feb 12, 2017 20:41
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Hemingway To Go! posted:just going to ask for a recommendation for some stories where it's about multiple characters competing in some kind of ongoing real life game, like the Westing Game or Zelanzny's Night in Lonesome October. If you don't mind kid lit, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library and its sequels are pretty good. There's also Ready Player One, but that depends heavily on your tolerance for '80s nostalgia.
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Feb 12, 2017 21:57
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Hemingway To Go! posted:just going to ask for a recommendation for some stories where it's about multiple characters competing in some kind of ongoing real life game, like the Westing Game or Zelanzny's Night in Lonesome October. My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk is pretty much Clue with Turkish artists.
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Feb 12, 2017 22:09
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Selachian posted:There's also Ready Player One, but that depends heavily on your tolerance for '80s nostalgia. i legitimately dont understand how anyone who isn't a basement-dwelling incel with a traumatically damaged cerebral cortex could derive any enjoyment from rpo. its existence is an active affront to the written word itself,and more importantly to me
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Feb 12, 2017 22:31
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Hemingway To Go! posted:just going to ask for a recommendation for some stories where it's about multiple characters competing in some kind of ongoing real life game, like the Westing Game or Zelanzny's Night in Lonesome October. PKD's The Game-Players of Titan, Solar Lottery, or maaaaybe Time Out of Joint, but that might be a stretch. There's tons of YA stuff out there, too, like 39 Clues and Interstellar Pig (a childhood favorite), but I'm guessing that's not what you're looking for. chernobyl kinsman posted:i legitimately dont understand how anyone who isn't a basement-dwelling incel with a traumatically damaged cerebral cortex could derive any enjoyment from rpo. its existence is an active affront to the written word itself,and more importantly to me While I have not read the book and would likely find it insufferable, I'm still going to enjoy the irony of this post.
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Feb 12, 2017 23:34
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Hemingway To Go! posted:just going to ask for a recommendation for some stories where it's about multiple characters competing in some kind of ongoing real life game, like the Westing Game or Zelanzny's Night in Lonesome October. The Magus might not fit completely but I'm gonna recommend it anyway
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Feb 13, 2017 02:19
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Hemingway To Go! posted:just going to ask for a recommendation for some stories where it's about multiple characters competing in some kind of ongoing real life game, like the Westing Game or Zelanzny's Night in Lonesome October. Not quite sure what you mean by "real life game", but the Dream Park books might work. California Voodoo Game is the best of them IMO.
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Feb 13, 2017 02:21
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funkybottoms posted:While I have not read the book and would likely find it insufferable, I'm still going to enjoy the irony of this post. what irony are u referring to my man
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Feb 13, 2017 03:30
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Hemingway To Go! posted:just going to ask for a recommendation for some stories where it's about multiple characters competing in some kind of ongoing real life game, like the Westing Game or Zelanzny's Night in Lonesome October. Not sure if it fits your criteria, but maybe The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks?
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Feb 13, 2017 06:43
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A human heart posted:what irony are u referring to my man The post itself is really bad.
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Feb 13, 2017 10:34
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It's ironic because you should listen to it on audiobook
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Feb 13, 2017 10:46
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On the other hand I too did find Ready Player One to be rather too preoccupied with pandering to nerds to actually manage to make the narrative work. It is actually a bit unfortunate, because it sets up a pretty vivid backstory and real-world grounding, but then goes on to do stuff like spend page after page obsessing about an old (bad) D&D campaign, describing the details of an old arcade game, and generally expounding on MMORPG tropes. It might pay off in a good way eventually, but I had to put it down something like a third of the way through. But then I had to stop reading the Martian when he named kWh/day (which remains just kW with some scale factor) monkeypirates of whatever the hell monkeycheese thing it was, so I may in general not be cut out for this brand of novel.
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Feb 13, 2017 11:16
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Cybernetic Vermin posted:It is actually a bit unfortunate, because it sets up a pretty vivid backstory and real-world grounding, i dont think thats true cybernetic vermin
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Feb 13, 2017 13:11
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A human heart posted:i dont think thats true cybernetic vermin That's fascinating.
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Feb 13, 2017 13:49
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Cybernetic Vermin posted:That's fascinating. 
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Feb 13, 2017 14:04
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i'm a basement-dwelling incel irl
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Feb 13, 2017 16:38
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How does everyone feel about the Wordsworth Classics paperbacks? I'm looking at this edition of Ulysses, since it's only $2, but I don't wanna waste $2 that could go towards a better edition. Is the binding decent? Font size legible? Room for notation? Paper quality, etc... EDIT: This edition has tiny little print. If anyone has a recommendation for a good edition, I would appreciate it. Franchescanado fucked around with this message at 21:16 on Feb 13, 2017 |
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Feb 13, 2017 20:35
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regulargonzalez posted:So, Shogun is historical fiction but gets good reviews even from historians for being accurate in its atmosphere and world, and semi-historically accurate with its storyline. It's also a ripping good book. It's not quite what you're asking for but I feel like it deserves a mention all the same. I will check it out. I had it in my to read list but I always thought it was more about drama and not really about being historical accurate or whatever. Don't know why I got that impression.
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Feb 13, 2017 20:58
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Ulio posted:I will check it out. I had it in my to read list but I always thought it was more about drama and not really about being historical accurate or whatever. Don't know why I got that impression. Its a cool book so I don't want to put you off, but It is mostly about drama.
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Feb 13, 2017 21:09
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Franchescanado posted:How does everyone feel about the Wordsworth Classics paperbacks? Dublin Illustrated Edition No doubt. https://www.amazon.com/Ulysses-Dubl...ses+illustrated the $2 is very good value though.
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Feb 14, 2017 11:17
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Ulio posted:I will check it out. I had it in my to read list but I always thought it was more about drama and not really about being historical accurate or whatever. Don't know why I got that impression. I mean, it's plot heavy in a very GoT, plots-within-plots type of way, but it has a lot of world building and atmospheric / setting-type things that make it feel very authentic. The first 50 pages or so can be a bit intimidating with all the names thrown at you but I don't know anyone who has read through the entirety who doesn't love it and feel they have a better understanding of feudal Japan.
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Feb 14, 2017 13:08
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regulargonzalez posted:I mean, it's plot heavy in a very GoT, plots-within-plots type of way, but it has a lot of world building and atmospheric / setting-type things that make it feel very authentic. The first 50 pages or so can be a bit intimidating with all the names thrown at you but I don't know anyone who has read through the entirety who doesn't love it and feel they have a better understanding of feudal Japan. Just to be clear, are we talking about James Clavell's Shogun?
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Feb 14, 2017 23:21
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learnincurve posted:If you want your heart ripped out of your chest then there is the book you can't talk about without spoilering it- remains of the day by Kazuo Ishiguro. I might be broken because I really didn't enjoy this book. I found Stevens to be insufferable. But I adore Never Let Me Go.
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Feb 15, 2017 03:42
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Xtanstic posted:In the spirit of upcoming Valentine's Day, do you have any suggestions for a decent romance book? Preferably with a hook or a gimmick? I'm not exactly looking for trashy airport romance. I thought The Time Traveler's Wife was decent when I read it years ago. Is Outlander decent? Not really a "romance" novel but I was moved by the understated and tragic romance in Euphoria.
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Feb 15, 2017 03:44
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Solitair posted:Just to be clear, are we talking about James Clavell's Shogun? Yessir
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Feb 15, 2017 03:52
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Any recommendations for fictional non-fiction books? Two examples are Motel of the Mysteries and The Atlas of Remote Islands.
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Feb 15, 2017 10:16
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