TBB Book Recommendation Superstation !!

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > TBB Book Recommendation Superstation !!

ulvir: Jan 2, 2005

try searching around on that standford plato site, they might have something. though I would assume a lot of it'll be philosophy of religion and the like.

# ? Jun 23, 2017 16:31

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Jun 6, 2024 20:02

Mel Mudkiper: Jan 19, 2012; At this point, Mudman abruptly ends the conversation. He usually insists on the last word.

elbow posted:

This is going to sound so wanky, but I'm looking for a recommendation for a philosophy book that deals with the question of why anything exists at all. I know there are some physics books that deal with this question but I find those a little inaccessible, plus it doesn't answer the question of why physics even exists.

Basically, I get a little anxious when I think about the universe, where it ends, what's outside it, or if it doesn't end how that can even be, as well as about why people exist, and in hoping that a book can help me get a little more comfortable with those thoughts.

Yeah, if you are looking at "why us?" go for Camus or Sartre

If you want "why anything?" I have no clue

# ? Jun 23, 2017 17:55

Franchescanado: Feb 23, 2013; If it wasn't for disappointment
I wouldn't have any appointment; Grimey Drawer

elbow posted:

This is going to sound so wanky, but I'm looking for a recommendation for a philosophy book that deals with the question of why anything exists at all. I know there are some physics books that deal with this question but I find those a little inaccessible, plus it doesn't answer the question of why physics even exists.

Basically, I get a little anxious when I think about the universe, where it ends, what's outside it, or if it doesn't end how that can even be, as well as about why people exist, and in hoping that a book can help me get a little more comfortable with those thoughts.

Just get The History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell.

# ? Jun 23, 2017 20:00

chernobyl kinsman: Mar 18, 2007; a friend of the friendly atom; Soiled Meat

Mel Mudkiper posted:

If you want "why anything?" I have no clue

jim holt's why does the world exist? an existential detective story

# ? Jun 23, 2017 22:06

elbow: Jun 7, 2006

I'm really not interested in a religious take on it, maybe I didn't explain myself too well. Thanks for the other recommendations, I'll give those a go!

# ? Jun 23, 2017 23:56

UNRULY_HOUSEGUEST: Jul 19, 2006; mea culpa

I'm looking to buy some sort of morbid nonfiction book for a friend's birthday along the lines of In Cold Blood or HHhH or Devil in the White City. Ideally with some similar kind of veneer of intellectual credibility but I'm open to whatever is compelling without being straight-up tabloid garbage. Thanks in advance for any recommendations

edit: or just digging into subculture weirdness like the first section of Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem would also be welcome

UNRULY_HOUSEGUEST fucked around with this message at 03:47 on Jun 27, 2017

# ? Jun 27, 2017 03:43

Briny Sea Pup: Mar 28, 2010

Wrong thread!

# ? Jun 27, 2017 05:20

chernobyl kinsman: Mar 18, 2007; a friend of the friendly atom; Soiled Meat

GimpChimp posted:

I'm looking to buy some sort of morbid nonfiction book for a friend's birthday along the lines of In Cold Blood or HHhH or Devil in the White City. Ideally with some similar kind of veneer of intellectual credibility but I'm open to whatever is compelling without being straight-up tabloid garbage. Thanks in advance for any recommendations

edit: or just digging into subculture weirdness like the first section of Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem would also be welcome

wisconsin death trip

smoke gets in your eyes

# ? Jun 27, 2017 06:20

AARP LARPer: Feb 19, 2005; THE DARK SIDE OF SCIENCE BREEDS A WEAPON OF WAR; Buglord

GimpChimp posted:

I'm looking to buy some sort of morbid nonfiction book for a friend's birthday along the lines of In Cold Blood or HHhH or Devil in the White City. Ideally with some similar kind of veneer of intellectual credibility but I'm open to whatever is compelling without being straight-up tabloid garbage. Thanks in advance for any recommendations

edit: or just digging into subculture weirdness like the first section of Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem would also be welcome

2666 by Roberto Bolano

# ? Jun 27, 2017 06:22

The Veler: Dec 26, 2012

Hi all,

I've been trying to figure out who has done the best translation of Omar Khayyam and seemed to run into a wall. For me 'best' would consist of accurate translations as well as being poetically sound/well put together in English. It seems like most things I've read recommend Richard Le Gallienne or Edward Fitzgerald. I see examples of their work but never the same quatrains for a good comparison of styles. I know Fitzgerald is the oldest, or most famous but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Has anyone read Ahmad Saidi's translations?

Anyone with more experience on Omar's work have an opinion on who's work I should read?

Thanks!

# ? Jun 27, 2017 07:06

Mr. Squishy: Mar 22, 2010; A country where you can always get richer.

WAR DOGS OF SOCHI posted:

2666 by Roberto Bolano

This is neither nonfiction nor a potboiler with literary pretensions.

# ? Jun 27, 2017 07:39

AARP LARPer: Feb 19, 2005; THE DARK SIDE OF SCIENCE BREEDS A WEAPON OF WAR; Buglord

Mr. Squishy posted:

This is neither nonfiction nor a potboiler with literary pretensions.

Ugh. You know, you're absolutely right; consider me properly shamed. I don't know what I was thinking.

# ? Jun 27, 2017 07:54

Humbug Scoolbus: Apr 25, 2008; The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers, stern and wild ones, and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss.; Clapping Larry

GimpChimp posted:

I'm looking to buy some sort of morbid nonfiction book for a friend's birthday along the lines of In Cold Blood or HHhH or Devil in the White City. Ideally with some similar kind of veneer of intellectual credibility but I'm open to whatever is compelling without being straight-up tabloid garbage. Thanks in advance for any recommendations

edit: or just digging into subculture weirdness like the first section of Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem would also be welcome

RE/Search #12: Modern Primitives.

# ? Jun 27, 2017 12:02

Selachian: Oct 9, 2012

GimpChimp posted:

I'm looking to buy some sort of morbid nonfiction book for a friend's birthday along the lines of In Cold Blood or HHhH or Devil in the White City. Ideally with some similar kind of veneer of intellectual credibility but I'm open to whatever is compelling without being straight-up tabloid garbage. Thanks in advance for any recommendations

edit: or just digging into subculture weirdness like the first section of Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem would also be welcome

Deborah Blum's The Poisoner's Handbook might suit your friend.

# ? Jun 27, 2017 13:42

Hieronymous Alloy: Jan 30, 2009; Why! Why!! Why must you refuse to accept that Dr. Hieronymous Alloy's Genetically Enhanced Cream Corn Is Superior to the Leading Brand on the Market!?!; Morbid Hound

Possibly Killer of Little Shepherds (early french serial killer defeated by early forensics) or Blood Work by Holly Tucker (early history of blood transfusions, murder, etc). Neither of those may be quite right though.

# ? Jun 27, 2017 13:46

Captain Hotbutt: Aug 18, 2014

GimpChimp posted:

I'm looking to buy some sort of morbid nonfiction book for a friend's birthday along the lines of In Cold Blood or HHhH or Devil in the White City. Ideally with some similar kind of veneer of intellectual credibility but I'm open to whatever is compelling without being straight-up tabloid garbage. Thanks in advance for any recommendations

The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Reveled in Death and Detection and Invented Modern Crime - Judith Flanders

Broad reaching and historical, but gets into morbid stuff when discussing individual, influential murder cases. Might be a little too dry in some parts, but it's still pretty cool.

# ? Jun 28, 2017 01:39

de_dust: Jan 21, 2009; she had tiny Italian boobs.
Well that's my story.

Anyone have any good recommendations for good spooky monster books? I'm working graveyards all week and want to be spooked.

# ? Jun 28, 2017 03:26

Epic High Five: Jun 5, 2004

I just finished Let the Right One In and recommend it for graveyard duty.

I normally think horror stuff is either uncreative (tropes and jump scares) and lovely or played out and tiresome (Cthuluomgsospoopy and zombiesomglol) but this book wormed its way into my mind and managed to trouble me in a profound manner

# ? Jun 28, 2017 03:31

de_dust: Jan 21, 2009; she had tiny Italian boobs.
Well that's my story.

Epic High Five posted:

I just finished Let the Right One In and recommend it for graveyard duty.

I normally think horror stuff is either uncreative (tropes and jump scares) and lovely or played out and tiresome (Cthuluomgsospoopy and zombiesomglol) but this book wormed its way into my mind and managed to trouble me in a profound manner

Is it very similar to the movies? I really enjoyed them.

# ? Jun 28, 2017 03:34

Epic High Five: Jun 5, 2004

de_dust posted:

Is it very similar to the movies? I really enjoyed them.

I haven't seen the movies, but from what they have been compared to me, the book is the movies with the brake lines cut. More violence, more androgynous tension, more gruesome backstory, more general grossness and brutality

If you liked the movies I can't imagine you not loving the book. It's a surprisingly quick read and will convince you that every single person in Sweden is an alcoholic

# ? Jun 28, 2017 03:39

funkybottoms: Oct 28, 2010; Funky Bottoms is a land man

Epic High Five posted:

I haven't seen the movies, but from what they have been compared to me, the book is the movies with the brake lines cut. More violence, more androgynous tension, more gruesome backstory, more general grossness and brutality

True. The Swedish movie does a really good job of paring the book down and capturing the main story line, but it does leave out a fair amount, including my absolute favorite scene of all (which is also easily the scariest part of the novel). I think people who aren't big horror fans might have actually preferred the film because of this.

Thomas Olde Heuvelt's Hex is tight- think classic King without shoe-horned sex scenes- and seems pretty popular with the goon set.

# ? Jun 28, 2017 11:22

The Berzerker: Feb 24, 2006; treat me like a dog

GimpChimp posted:

I'm looking to buy some sort of morbid nonfiction book for a friend's birthday along the lines of In Cold Blood or HHhH or Devil in the White City. Ideally with some similar kind of veneer of intellectual credibility but I'm open to whatever is compelling without being straight-up tabloid garbage. Thanks in advance for any recommendations

edit: or just digging into subculture weirdness like the first section of Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem would also be welcome

The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer

or if you want something <1000 pages, try The Good Nurse by Charles Graeber (though it skews a bit towards the tabloid type stuff)

# ? Jun 28, 2017 17:35

Transistor Rhythm: Feb 16, 2011; If setting the Sustain Level in the ENV to around 7, you can obtain a howling sound.

Epic High Five posted:

I just finished Let the Right One In and recommend it for graveyard duty.

I normally think horror stuff is either uncreative (tropes and jump scares) and lovely or played out and tiresome (Cthuluomgsospoopy and zombiesomglol) but this book wormed its way into my mind and managed to trouble me in a profound manner

Hex, it's a modern classic.

# ? Jun 28, 2017 19:14

Hiro Protagonist: Oct 25, 2010; Last of the freelance hackers and
Greatest swordfighter in the world

I have a strange request. Can anyone recommend me some good, recent, generic-as-gently caress fantasy? I guess it would technically be epic fantasy, but I'm feeling nostalgic for RA Salvatore and the terrible world of Forgotten realms and Dragonlance novels. It feels like all fantasy has been trying to break free from Tolkien over the last 10 years. Have there been good authors who embraced it and made something interesting from it?

# ? Jun 28, 2017 23:43

Ornamented Death: Jan 25, 2006; Pew pew!

Hiro Protagonist posted:

I have a strange request. Can anyone recommend me some good, recent, generic-as-gently caress fantasy? I guess it would technically be epic fantasy, but I'm feeling nostalgic for RA Salvatore and the terrible world of Forgotten realms and Dragonlance novels. It feels like all fantasy has been trying to break free from Tolkien over the last 10 years. Have there been good authors who embraced it and made something interesting from it?

Seems like you're asking for two different things. Writers that have embraced the Tolkienesque tropes of fantasy but done so in interesting ways generally wouldn't be called "generic-as-gently caress."

For "generic-as-gently caress" fantasy, you can always look into new stuff by the folks that wrote your favorite Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms books; Weis, Hickman, and Salvatore are all still active.

For authors that have done something interesting with fantasy tropes, I recommend Chris Evans's Iron Elves series.

# ? Jun 29, 2017 02:49

Hiro Protagonist: Oct 25, 2010; Last of the freelance hackers and
Greatest swordfighter in the world

Ornamented Death posted:

Seems like you're asking for two different things. Writers that have embraced the Tolkienesque tropes of fantasy but done so in interesting ways generally wouldn't be called "generic-as-gently caress."

For "generic-as-gently caress" fantasy, you can always look into new stuff by the folks that wrote your favorite Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms books; Weis, Hickman, and Salvatore are all still active.

For authors that have done something interesting with fantasy tropes, I recommend Chris Evans's Iron Elves series.

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll looked into Iron Elves.

# ? Jun 29, 2017 04:21

Adib: Jan 23, 2012; These are strange times, my dear...

I realize this is a niche request, but are there any good novels or short stories told from the perspective of a sweatshop worker?

# ? Jun 29, 2017 19:37

Franchescanado: Feb 23, 2013; If it wasn't for disappointment
I wouldn't have any appointment; Grimey Drawer

Adib posted:

I realize this is a niche request, but are there any good novels or short stories told from the perspective of a sweatshop worker?

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair?

# ? Jun 29, 2017 19:42

KingShiro: Jan 10, 2008; EH?!?!?!

Looking for something in the same vein as People Who Eat Darkness: Love, Grief and a Journey into Japan's Shadows

# ? Jun 29, 2017 22:27

Transistor Rhythm: Feb 16, 2011; If setting the Sustain Level in the ENV to around 7, you can obtain a howling sound.

Adib posted:

I realize this is a niche request, but are there any good novels or short stories told from the perspective of a sweatshop worker?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FC11II/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

# ? Jun 30, 2017 16:32

Transistor Rhythm: Feb 16, 2011; If setting the Sustain Level in the ENV to around 7, you can obtain a howling sound.

Hiro Protagonist posted:

I have a strange request. Can anyone recommend me some good, recent, generic-as-gently caress fantasy? I guess it would technically be epic fantasy, but I'm feeling nostalgic for RA Salvatore and the terrible world of Forgotten realms and Dragonlance novels. It feels like all fantasy has been trying to break free from Tolkien over the last 10 years. Have there been good authors who embraced it and made something interesting from it?

This is how I feel about Brandon Sanderson's entire oeuvre, YMMV

# ? Jun 30, 2017 16:33

Hughmoris: Apr 21, 2007; Let's go to the abyss!

Could someone recommend me some books on aging heroes? Where the old badass comes out of retirement for one more job. It can be fiction/mystery/fantasy etc...

# ? Jul 1, 2017 05:03

Carly Gay Dead Son: Aug 27, 2007; Bonus.

Hughmoris posted:

Could someone recommend me some books on aging heroes? Where the old badass comes out of retirement for one more job. It can be fiction/mystery/fantasy etc...

Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorpe, the book Die Hard was based on. The John McClain character is like 60-something years old.

# ? Jul 1, 2017 06:42

Tiggum: Oct 24, 2007; Your life and your quest end here.

Hughmoris posted:

Could someone recommend me some books on aging heroes? Where the old badass comes out of retirement for one more job. It can be fiction/mystery/fantasy etc...

I read it a while ago so I can't guarantee I'm remembering it accurately, but I think In Hero Years... I'm Dead was pretty decent?

# ? Jul 1, 2017 06:43

doug fuckey: Jun 7, 2007; hella greenbacks

True Grit.

# ? Jul 1, 2017 06:59

Selachian: Oct 9, 2012

Hughmoris posted:

Could someone recommend me some books on aging heroes? Where the old badass comes out of retirement for one more job. It can be fiction/mystery/fantasy etc...

Fantasy-wise, David Gemmell's Legend is the first thing that comes to mind.

# ? Jul 1, 2017 12:25

Hughmoris: Apr 21, 2007; Let's go to the abyss!

Budgie Jumping posted:

Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorpe, the book Die Hard was based on. The John McClain character is like 60-something years old.

Tiggum posted:

I read it a while ago so I can't guarantee I'm remembering it accurately, but I think In Hero Years... I'm Dead was pretty decent?

Zesty Mordant posted:

True Grit.

Selachian posted:

Fantasy-wise, David Gemmell's Legend is the first thing that comes to mind.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll give these a look.

# ? Jul 2, 2017 21:06

Rolo: Nov 16, 2005; Hmm, what have we here?

Franchescanado posted:

Yes.

Also, I forget what you posted initially, but you should probably give ~~Cat's Cradle~~* Breakfast of Champions or Sirens of Titan a chance as your next novel by him. Neither are as good, but BoC is very funny and has a lot of interesting tangents, and SoT is an interesting exploration of predestination, suffering, and finding meaning within the life you're given.

I'm glad you enjoyed Mother Night, that's one's still my favorite by him.

*saw your post in he Just Finished thread

edited for different recs.

I just finished Sirens of Titan and it was such a good read. That and Mother Night are so awesome, I'm so glad I gave Vonnegut a second try after Slaughterhouse Five didn't interest me much.

# ? Jul 4, 2017 22:52

Ulio: Feb 17, 2011

Any good self help books? Not with super metaphorical stuff like "find yourself" "take control of mind and soul" that stuff just turns me off whenever I read that on the cover of self help.

# ? Jul 5, 2017 02:54

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Jun 6, 2024 20:02

Franchescanado: Feb 23, 2013; If it wasn't for disappointment
I wouldn't have any appointment; Grimey Drawer

Rolo posted:

I just finished Sirens of Titan and it was such a good read. That and Mother Night are so awesome, I'm so glad I gave Vonnegut a second try after Slaughterhouse Five didn't interest me much.

Glad you enjoyed it! I always enjoy reading Vonnegut, even Player Piano is a cut above many other novels of it's ilk.

Ulio posted:

Any good self help books? Not with super metaphorical stuff like "find yourself" "take control of mind and soul" that stuff just turns me off whenever I read that on the cover of self help.

Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl.

# ? Jul 5, 2017 04:01

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > TBB Book Recommendation Superstation !!

«‹›477 »