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Gripweed posted:Is there a good single volume history of Israel, or failing that just the founding/early years of Israel? Preferably one that acknowledges the humanity of Palestinians, no Exodus-style blowjobs
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Oct 28, 2023 01:59
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fez_machine posted:Vikram Seth's An Equal Music this, and Orfeo by Richard Powers
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Oct 28, 2023 18:09
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FPyat posted:Any novels or short stories that express the power and joy of music? that's one of the (many) recurring points in À la recherche du temps perdu  shorter, and more contemporary, it also features in Compass by Mathias Enard. the narrator is a musicologist
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Oct 29, 2023 15:49
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I need some grimdark suggestions. I feel like I am exhausted every mainstream option I can find.
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Oct 31, 2023 19:45
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Sickening posted:I need some grimdark suggestions. I feel like I am exhausted every mainstream option I can find. Just to be clear, you have tried Warhammer 40k, Warhammer Fantasy, and the Horus Heresy series?
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Oct 31, 2023 20:00
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Gripweed posted:Just to be clear, you have tried Warhammer 40k, Warhammer Fantasy, and the Horus Heresy series? Yep. If it has movies or tv series then it’s been read already. Also any huge author like Sanderson and such is also all read.
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Oct 31, 2023 20:05
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Sickening posted:Yep. If it has movies or tv series then it’s been read already. Also any huge author like Sanderson and such is also all read. If you’re up for comics, the works of Tsutomu Nihei might be up your alley. Blame, Biomega, Knights of Sidonia, he mainly does quite grim stories about humans trying to survive in worlds that have become inimical to human survival. But with just enough of a dash of hope or compassion or humanity to stop them from devolving into pure misery porn.
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Oct 31, 2023 20:11
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Sickening posted:I need some grimdark suggestions. I feel like I am exhausted every mainstream option I can find. Starfish by Peter Watts isn't "grimdark" in the sense of something ultra pulpy or over the top like 40k, but I just finished it and it's incredibly bleak, hopeless, and grim in both the world, characters, and themes. One of the few books that I truly just felt everyone and everything was truly hopeless without being comically grim or exploitative. Prince of Nothing for a more trad grimdark fantasy book. Edit: another weird suggestion. Redliners is a military sci fi book that isn't necessarily grimdark, but scratched the itch for me. It's nonstop action and exploration of what PTSD and constant war does to soldiers in the future. Kvlt! fucked around with this message at 20:53 on Oct 31, 2023 |
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Oct 31, 2023 20:50
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Sickening posted:I need some grimdark suggestions. I feel like I am exhausted every mainstream option I can find. I've recommended them before, but: Karl Edward Wagner's Kane books. Particularly Bloodstone, Darkness Weaves, or Dark Crusade.
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Oct 31, 2023 20:53
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Glen Cook's Black Company series? Good (or "good") does win out but people go through some poo poo to get there.
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Oct 31, 2023 21:31
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disposablewords posted:Glen Cook's Black Company series? Good (or "good") does win out but people go through some poo poo to get there. Its like the top of googles searches for grimdark, but yep read those too (not great IMO) but great for their time.
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Oct 31, 2023 22:24
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Sickening posted:I need some grimdark suggestions. I feel like I am exhausted every mainstream option I can find.
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Oct 31, 2023 23:00
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Sickening posted:I need some grimdark suggestions. I feel like I am exhausted every mainstream option I can find. Most anything by Michael Cisco but The Divinity Student and The Golem Vampire Hunter D by Hideyuki Kikuchi (The novels not the manga, Viz translated them up to volume 25 (30 in western reckoning) which releases 2024 , there are 41 in total) Jeffery Ford's The Physiognomy Speaking of Ford you might find something you like in this series: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GSC4RTL?binding=kindle_edition& Edit: Marlon James's fantasy novels have a strong grim and dark reputation but maybe you've read them fez_machine fucked around with this message at 01:18 on Nov 1, 2023 |
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Oct 31, 2023 23:43
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Sickening posted:I need some grimdark suggestions. I feel like I am exhausted every mainstream option I can find. Gideon the Ninth Ten Low
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Oct 31, 2023 23:54
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Sickening posted:I need some grimdark suggestions. I feel like I am exhausted every mainstream option I can find. Have you heard of an author named Cormac McCarthy?
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Nov 1, 2023 01:09
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Any textbooks that provide particularly great intellectual sustenance? Math and chemistry are the only subjects I don’t have some desire to read about right now.
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Nov 1, 2023 09:41
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Do you do audiobooks? The Great Courses on Chinese history, From Yao to Mao, is very good.
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Nov 1, 2023 10:24
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My library card has access to a lot of them, so I guess I'll reconsider my usual preference for reading with my eyes. Edit: Searching Overdrive/Libby for "Great Courses" gives me a bunch of AI-generated "50 Great Meals in Three Courses" type books amidst the actual things I looking for. FPyat fucked around with this message at 11:42 on Nov 1, 2023 |
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Nov 1, 2023 11:35
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FPyat posted:Any textbooks that provide particularly great intellectual sustenance? Math and chemistry are the only subjects I don’t have some desire to read about right now. Origin of Species is pretty good and a lot more readable than you'd expect.
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Nov 2, 2023 06:40
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Azhais posted:Gideon the Ninth Thanks for this the audio book has been great so far.
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Nov 2, 2023 13:31
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Bilirubin posted:Have you heard of an author named Cormac McCarthy? I will second this. Many will point to The Road. But in my opinion Blood Meridian is the spirit of ‘grimdark’ distilled into a single work of literature without the pulpy tropes of genre novels.
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Nov 4, 2023 02:51
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The Road at least ends on something of a hopeful note
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Nov 4, 2023 03:12
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Azhais posted:Gideon the Ninth The audiobooks for The Locked Tomb series are maybe my favorite audiobooks ever. I still read through the text first because those books are packed with little Easter eggs and clues that I probably would have missed listening, but then I immediately listen to the audiobook after.
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Nov 4, 2023 11:39
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I'd like to buy a gift book for a friend on western astrology and/or divination, a survey of different kinds of astrology all around the world, or a clear-eyed history about such things. It can be about a particular culture or a particular method. It can focus on its development, use, art, etc. I'd prefer the book take a historical, mostly neutral stance, in favor of just exploring what these things are. I'm not looking for a Dawkins-esque takedown of astrology, and I'm definitely not looking for stuff from con artists or deluded people who purport that it's true and accurate. My friend appears to be a casual believer in astrology: she practices cartomancy with her own tarot cards, when something goes wrong she says stuff like "Mercury is in retrograde," things like that. She does the whole "no wonder we don't get along, he's a ____ and I'm a ___." She's not overly weird or evangelical about it, she doesn't bug people about their birth signs or try to slip her beliefs into casual conversation. She's a balanced person. We have friendly debates about stuff like this. I think it's hogwash but find the aesthetics and rules interesting, and when you do your own reading, your interpretations can tell you something about you. It's also a topic that, as a child raised in a very, very Christian home, always had the allure of extreme danger, and I wouldn't mind knowing more. Ideally, such a book would be interesting and give her some fun stuff to read about and for us to share. Or debate about. And maybe exploring the roots of astrology and divination will give her a clearer perspective on its uses and misuses. Or draw her further in, whatever, she's an adult. doctorfrog fucked around with this message at 02:11 on Nov 5, 2023 |
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Nov 5, 2023 02:08
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An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural by James Randi (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Nov 5, 2023 03:13
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Upsidads posted:An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural by James Randi So edgy
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Nov 5, 2023 04:32
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Modern astrology was fathered by Alan Leo, and popularized in news columns. It doesnt really have a rich history unless maybe from a marketing perspective. He was charged with fraud over it. Ancient astrology is really different depending on the culture practicing it. I dont think someone whose into modern astrology would find it particularly interesting because they'd discover how lot of the modern astrology stuff is...its own thing to put it respectfully. Kvlt! fucked around with this message at 05:03 on Nov 5, 2023 |
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Nov 5, 2023 04:54
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A History of Horoscopic Astrology by James Holden is probably what you're looking for. It also has a huge bibliography if your friend wants to go into more depth.
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Nov 5, 2023 19:55
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I read Blood Meridian about a month back and I'm looking for some other books like it as a result. I don't need anything nearly as bleak or intense as Meridian (or really want anything that intense for a bit, lol), mostly looking for westerns that don't really idealize or mythologize the American west, or at least play with some of the standard themes in interesting ways.
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Nov 9, 2023 17:11
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Warlock by Oakley Hall is a classic for that.
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Nov 9, 2023 18:07
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I'm quitting weed for a bit, and I'm looking for something breezy and fun to read to kill time while I'm restless/can't sleep. Previous books that did the job include Joe Abercrombie's The Heroes and Stephen Hunter books about snipers. SF, fantasy and military thrillers would be great but I'm wide open really.
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Nov 9, 2023 20:30
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The Vlad Taltos novels by Steven Brust are absolutely light and breezy fantasy. The first one has a bit of first novel syndrome – it's a bit too short, and some of the plot points don't feel earned. However, the books jump around in the timeline and all of the points in the first book definitely get paid for. The dialogue is chatty and fun, and the setting is super satisfying as it all spins out. Plus, there's a side series that's a pastiche of the D'artagnan Romances which is excellent.
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Nov 9, 2023 21:22
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Clipperton posted:I'm quitting weed for a bit, and I'm looking for something breezy and fun to read to kill time while I'm restless/can't sleep. Previous books that did the job include Joe Abercrombie's The Heroes and Stephen Hunter books about snipers. SF, fantasy and military thrillers would be great but I'm wide open really. My top rec for this vibe is (surprisingly controversial, but) Piranesi Otherwise, I felt like all these were great light books that I still remember and never had to slog through Some great page-turney classics: Around the World in 80 Days Journey to the Centre of the Earth Actually maybe anything Jules Verne has written The Time Machine More recent: A Wizard of Earthsea The Goblin Emperor Of Mice and Men (possibly not light, but very readable if you haven’t gotten to it yet)
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Nov 9, 2023 21:41
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Thank you! Yeah Piranesi has been on my list for a while, maybe today's the day
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Nov 9, 2023 21:43
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Oh! Definitely look at any Robert Lewis Stevenson. Treasure Island and Kidnapped are both incredible.
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Nov 9, 2023 21:56
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Clipperton posted:I'm quitting weed for a bit, and I'm looking for something breezy and fun to read to kill time while I'm restless/can't sleep. Previous books that did the job include Joe Abercrombie's The Heroes and Stephen Hunter books about snipers. SF, fantasy and military thrillers would be great but I'm wide open really. Discworld's humor didnt work for me but if it does for you theres a lot of em Redwall Warhammer (pick your preference offantasy or 40k) books are very pulpy and easy to read, one of my go to choices for before bed
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Nov 9, 2023 22:28
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Clipperton posted:I'm quitting weed for a bit, and I'm looking for something breezy and fun to read to kill time while I'm restless/can't sleep. Previous books that did the job include Joe Abercrombie's The Heroes and Stephen Hunter books about snipers. SF, fantasy and military thrillers would be great but I'm wide open really. I don't know if this is going to be Tempting for you but Pollan's This is Your Mind on Plants is a great read and especially if you're used to getting a bit hosed up.
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Nov 10, 2023 02:23
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Clipperton posted:I'm quitting weed for a bit, and I'm looking for something breezy and fun to read to kill time while I'm restless/can't sleep. Previous books that did the job include Joe Abercrombie's The Heroes and Stephen Hunter books about snipers. SF, fantasy and military thrillers would be great but I'm wide open really. The entire Horus Heresy novel series.
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Nov 10, 2023 04:47
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Thanks very much everyone!Kenning posted:Oh! Definitely look at any Robert Lewis Stevenson. Treasure Island and Kidnapped are both incredible. Excellent suggestion, on the list they go Gripweed posted:The entire Horus Heresy novel series. Kvlt! posted:Warhammer (pick your preference offantasy or 40k) books are very pulpy and easy to read, one of my go to choices for before bed Also excellent, I will happily read a Warhammer novel no matter how dogshit. Unfortunately I went on a WH binge earlier this year and I'm a bit boltered (and Sigmar'd) out VelociBacon posted:I don't know if this is going to be Tempting for you but Pollan's This is Your Mind on Plants is a great read and especially if you're used to getting a bit hosed up. Oh it's not a Temptation thing, I'm just going on vacation somewhere it isn't legal and I'm detoxing beforehand rather than risk being a grumpy dickhead to my family all holiday. Sounds like a great book though! Kvlt! posted:Discworld's humor didnt work for me but if it does for you theres a lot of em I have argued about the Middle East on Twitter, I have told CSPAM posters to cheer up a bit, and the most poo poo I have ever gotten online was when I said Terry Pratchett was mid
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Nov 10, 2023 05:12
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Clipperton posted:I'm quitting weed for a bit, and I'm looking for something breezy and fun to read to kill time while I'm restless/can't sleep. Previous books that did the job include Joe Abercrombie's The Heroes and Stephen Hunter books about snipers. SF, fantasy and military thrillers would be great but I'm wide open really. Lois Mcmaster Bujold
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Nov 10, 2023 05:35
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