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Panic! at Nabisco posted:Looking to get back into reading fiction after falling off it for a few years. I've been in a bit of a bad way lately, so I'm looking for things that are on the funny, cheerful, or uplifting side. Not necessarily cloyingly so, but things that I will smile while reading, because I do appreciate a dark work but I've been reading a bit too much nonfiction about how awful everything is for everyone lately in the interest of staying informed and politically aware, and it's been affecting my day to day mood. Check out Becky Chambers' Wayfarer books. They're sci-fi that focus more on characters than plot but they're very mellow. She also had a novella out last year that was similarly low-key and mostly chill.
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Feb 27, 2020 13:49
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Panic! at Nabisco posted:I guess I should mention that I like Agatha Christie-style fair play murder mysteries for their fun puzzle box-like qualities, although they don't really tend to be too uplifting, on account of being about murder. Funny, maybe. In that case, you might want to check out Dorothy L. Sayers -- not all that uplifting, no, but she's witty and amusing. Murder Must Advertise is her funniest book IMO.
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Feb 27, 2020 15:12
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Selachian posted:In that case, you might want to check out Dorothy L. Sayers -- not all that uplifting, no, but she's witty and amusing. Murder Must Advertise is her funniest book IMO. The Campion books By Margarey Allingham are also good in that vein. Start as a light parody of Sayers and then go off in their own direction. Hell if you want cozy murder mysteries without the murder, read Jeeves and Wooster. Start with _ Right Ho,Jeeves_
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Feb 27, 2020 15:54
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Corona got me hankering for something topical. What's the best fiction about a pandemic or gently caress off scary disease or similar? I want something with a bit of heat and hollywood, but anything is fine as long as it isn't a lone pensioner's diary dying alone and learning nothing about the disease or some poo poo like that. Edit: A loner learning a lot about the disease is good though. E.g. I am Legend. Black Griffon fucked around with this message at 23:35 on Feb 27, 2020 |
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Feb 27, 2020 23:30
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Blindness by Jose Saramago, probably
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Feb 27, 2020 23:34
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Black Griffon posted:Corona got me hankering for something topical. What's the best fiction about a pandemic or gently caress off scary disease or similar? I want something with a bit of heat and hollywood, but anything is fine as long as it isn't a lone pensioner's diary dying alone and learning nothing about the disease or some poo poo like that. You might like some non-fiction, such as Hans Zinsser's Rats, Lice and History, which has great chapter subheads.
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Feb 28, 2020 00:01
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Black Griffon posted:Corona got me hankering for something topical. What's the best fiction about a pandemic or gently caress off scary disease or similar? I want something with a bit of heat and hollywood Scott Sigler's Infected; it does have some serious body-horror moments if you're squeamish, though
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Feb 28, 2020 00:09
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Oh I loving adore body horror, so that, along with the other two recs, are added to my list. Edit: Or rather, it's purchased, since I'm terrible at resisting books that are $3 or less.
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Feb 28, 2020 00:14
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Black Griffon posted:Oh I loving adore body horror, so that, along with the other two recs, are added to my list. Tight! If you want less gore and more science, The Andromeda Strain is a classic for a reason, and John Dies at the End is fun if you can you want less science and more druggy, supernatural fuckery.
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Feb 28, 2020 00:28
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Connie Willis's Doomsday Book (a time travel story where the protagonist accidentally gets dumped in the midst of a black plague outbreak in medieval England) is dark, but good.
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Feb 28, 2020 00:29
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Everyone's gonna tell you Bridge of Birds. Humerus posted:Check out Becky Chambers' Wayfarer books. They're sci-fi that focus more on characters than plot but they're very mellow. She also had a novella out last year that was similarly low-key and mostly chill. Hieronymous Alloy posted:The Campion books By Margarey Allingham are also good in that vein. Start as a light parody of Sayers and then go off in their own direction. Thanks for all the recs, this thread is great. I've read Sayers before (I think Whose Body?, the first Lord Peter book) so I'll check out more of her work. Panic! at Nabisco fucked around with this message at 00:57 on Feb 28, 2020 |
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Feb 28, 2020 00:41
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Selachian posted:Connie Willis's Doomsday Book (a time travel story where the protagonist accidentally gets dumped in the midst of a black plague outbreak in medieval England) is dark, but good. Every Connie Willis is like a hot topic shirt that became a novel somehow. I hate it so bad. Black Griffon posted:Oh I loving adore body horror, so that, along with the other two recs, are added to my list. The Last Canadian is pretty good if you can find a copy.
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Feb 28, 2020 03:34
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Stringent posted:How was the Abercrombie? It's been a while since I've read his earlier books, so I'll shy away from detail about them. I read 'A Little Hatred' recently, and all the exposition in the book takes place by dogmatically exploring odious characters. The pacing and intent revolves around characters' sense of self being unassailable, only to have them experience rapid change through environmental factors outside of their control. It's a raw critique of narcissism (and capitalism). I remember his earlier books being similar, but not nearly as well written as his most recent book.
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Feb 28, 2020 06:40
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Ubiquitus posted:It's been a while since I've read his earlier books, so I'll shy away from detail about them. Cool, well I'm a huge fan of the original trilogy so I'll check it out, thanks!
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Feb 28, 2020 12:41
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I'm interested in learning about the history of the concept of the Devil/Satan, and how it's evolved into the modern idea of it. Any good books about that?
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Feb 28, 2020 16:38
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Lord Hydronium posted:I'm interested in learning about the history of the concept of the Devil/Satan, and how it's evolved into the modern idea of it. Any good books about that? maybe not quite what you are looking for, but if you are at all interested in a characterization of Satan, you absolutely must read Paradise Lost
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Feb 28, 2020 18:07
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Lord Hydronium posted:I'm interested in learning about the history of the concept of the Devil/Satan, and how it's evolved into the modern idea of it. Any good books about that? I haven't read it yet but Satan the Heretic: The Birth of Demonology in the Medieval West by Alain Boureau might be what you want.
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Feb 28, 2020 18:12
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Lord Hydronium posted:I'm interested in learning about the history of the concept of the Devil/Satan, and how it's evolved into the modern idea of it. Any good books about that? You want Elaine Pagels's The Origin of Satan.
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Feb 28, 2020 18:50
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TommyGun85 posted:maybe not quite what you are looking for, but if you are at all interested in a characterization of Satan, you absolutely must read Paradise Lost I think this is an excellent suggestion. Paradise Lost is where most personifications of the Devil/Satan take inspiration.
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Feb 28, 2020 18:57
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Selachian posted:You want Elaine Pagels's The Origin of Satan. This. I have it on my shelf and should read it soon too OP.
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Mar 1, 2020 08:12
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funkybottoms posted:Tight! If you want less gore and more science, The Andromeda Strain is a classic for a reason, and John Dies at the End is fun if you can you want less science and more druggy, supernatural fuckery. hey buddy I just got to the part where Perry inspects his scrotum and oh my god I thought my current deliberately ambivalent view of my own gender had removed from me the sympathetic pain one feels when the balls are in peril but now my entire crotch is aching. gently caress you and also thanks, this is very enjoyable. and thanks for other recs, all added.
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Mar 1, 2020 13:49
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Black Griffon posted:
You're welcome- it gets worse!
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Mar 1, 2020 15:48
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TommyGun85 posted:maybe not quite what you are looking for, but if you are at all interested in a characterization of Satan, you absolutely must read Paradise Lost StrixNebulosa posted:I haven't read it yet but Satan the Heretic: The Birth of Demonology in the Medieval West by Alain Boureau might be what you want. Selachian posted:You want Elaine Pagels's The Origin of Satan.
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Mar 2, 2020 00:29
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I finished Voyage of the Space Beagle a few weeks ago and it was awesome, so thanks whoever recommended that! I mean, it was a great time capsule and obviously influenced a ton of the Sci Fi of the era. And was fun in a Star Trek original series kind of way.
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Mar 4, 2020 04:31
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After some stalling and easy reading, I think I’m going to tackle The Brothers Karamazov. Am I ok with the P+V translation if I already own it and liked their Idiot and C&P translations?
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Mar 5, 2020 17:21
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Rolo posted:After some stalling and easy reading, I think I’m going to tackle The Brothers Karamazov. Am I ok with the P+V translation if I already own it and liked their Idiot and C&P translations? I've been recommended the Magarshack translation, which you can get (used) for $1-3. It was a Penguins Classic in the 80's.
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Mar 5, 2020 17:31
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Can anyone recommend a good "big picture" non-fiction book about the 1920s and the post-WWI period, especially 1918-1923ish? Just something about the social and political changes brought about by such a huge event. Ideally focusing more on Europe than the US, but anything is welcome.
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Mar 6, 2020 09:10
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Anyone know any good English language biographies of Sun Yat-Sen from a political perspective? I read No Less Than Mystic about Lenin which was a good read (although critical) and was wondering if a similar work existed for Sun Yat-Sen.
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Mar 16, 2020 02:54
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Splicer posted:Looking for some apocalypse fiction where the majority if not all of the book takes place as poo poo Is Going Down. I want to read about one or more people holing up in an apartment carefully rationing food for 300 pages. Splicer posted:I'm basically looking for the film Contagion, but longer and in book form. Splicer posted:Looking for some survival horror/sci fi where outside is bad but inside unsustainable. The Mist is an obvious example, though preferably with extended scenes of people going outside to support the inside.
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Mar 21, 2020 17:07
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Lomarf.
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Mar 21, 2020 17:20
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quick splicer, ask for books about people having fun and going to big parties because everything's cool
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Mar 21, 2020 17:32
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Hey can anyone recommend a good book on eating the rich during a successful worker revolution
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Mar 21, 2020 17:48
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Splicer posted:Hey can anyone recommend a good book on eating the rich during a successful worker revolution Ok you can borrow my journal but it’s not done yet.
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Mar 21, 2020 17:55
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Rolo posted:After some stalling and easy reading, I think I’m going to tackle The Brothers Karamazov. Am I ok with the P+V translation if I already own it and liked their Idiot and C&P translations? I read The Brothers Karamazov twice just not that translation, it's my favorite book. Also read the P+V translation of Anna Karenina and War&Peace, and I thought it was really good. Upon further inspection maybe they aren't considered the definitive best though. I guess I read the Avsey translation, but it seems there's zero agreement between anyone on the best one. knox fucked around with this message at 02:18 on Mar 22, 2020 |
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Mar 22, 2020 02:09
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Any good page turners a la Presumed Innocent or Gone Girl? Not necessarly having "a twist" (if it does don't tell me about it  ), just that feeling of having no loving clue where it could be going.
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Mar 22, 2020 18:23
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Edmond Dantes posted:Any good page turners a la Presumed Innocent or Gone Girl? Not necessarly having "a twist" (if it does don't tell me about it The Dinner
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Mar 22, 2020 19:08
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Edmond Dantes posted:Any good page turners a la Presumed Innocent or Gone Girl? Not necessarly having "a twist" (if it does don't tell me about it Pictures at 11 by Norman Spinrad
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Mar 23, 2020 01:13
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Hi friends. Please recommend books, articles, videos on building positive habits and destroying negative habits. There is a world of literature on this topic but I don’t know what’s legitimate and what is garbage self-help scamming. Non-fiction please.
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Mar 23, 2020 05:29
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Anyone subscribed to a good fiction magazine they’d like to recommend? Preferably ones available on Kindle, any genre. I’m subbed to Fantasy & Science Fiction, but if I have to read one more “magic clockwork people, but it’s an allegory about slavery/disability/something else incredibly obvious” story, I’ll go insane
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Mar 25, 2020 09:25
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Any good books on the Imjin War or really any history of Japanese invasions of Korea? ALSO, any good books about the American Eugenics movement?
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Mar 26, 2020 16:01
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