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anaaki posted:I'm a huge Diana Wynne Jones fan and have been looking for more books in that same category. Mainly, YA fantasy fiction, but really well written so that it appeals to adults. Her books are like Harry Potter (except BETTER, believe me). I enjoy her Chrestomanci series and Howl's Moving Castle set as well. The Dark is Rising by Susan Goddamned Cooper. The first book, Over Sea, Under Stone, was written years before the rest and is for younger audiences, a la The Hobbit. When I was a kid the first book wasn't even considered part of the series. I'm not saying it's not good, because it sure as hell is, but there's a marked difference in tone, and for my money the real gold starts with the second book, The Dark is Rising. It's your classic good vs evil set in mid-late 20th century Britain, mostly Cornwall and Wales, with a Lewisian cast of child protagonists, and draws a lot from the associated folklores; specifically the Arthurian. And it kicks mega-rear end.
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Jan 7, 2010 03:46
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Can anyone recommend me a good book on the Cold War? I had a crappy historical education in high school and the whole thing is kind of nebulous to me, but what I know of it is pretty interesting. So basically a history of the Cold War that isn't too dry.
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Jan 7, 2010 23:57
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Magic Hate Ball posted:Can anyone recommend me a good book on the Cold War? I had a crappy historical education in high school and the whole thing is kind of nebulous to me, but what I know of it is pretty interesting. So basically a history of the Cold War that isn't too dry. About three pages back you'd find my recommendation for The Cold War, A New History by John Lewis Gaddis. There's a little spiel there about the book.
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Jan 8, 2010 01:10
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I need to buy a belated birthday present for my 14 year old Teenage niece, my Sister said shes recently got into reading in a big way, and for Christmas I got her a copy of The Lovely Bones which she didn't put down once for the following week until she finished it. Being a 14 year old girl she loves anything overly dramatic and listens to music that I would say is pretty emo (e.g my boy/girlfriend dumped me and mum wants me to clean my room! I want to kill myself why is life so haaarrddd? sort of thing). I thought she might enjoy Girl Interrupted, but are there any other books that people remember at a teenager which at the time they felt was life changing? anaaki posted:I was leaning towards trying some Terry Pratchett... I'm a huge Pratchett fan but bear in mind that while very well written, they lean mostly towards comedy/fun than serious fantasy, although the Discworld setting is very believable. The main advice people always give with getting into TP is never read the books in order, the first two books are OK but he really hit his stride with his latest books. I'd recommend starting with Good Omens, the collaboration he did with Neil Gaiman or Going Postal, it has nods to existing characters but is entirely accessible to a brand new reader and a really strong book. Lord Dekks fucked around with this message at 10:17 on Jan 8, 2010 |
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Jan 8, 2010 09:50
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I recently read the Herman Melville short story Benito Cereno and really enjoyed the tense and suspicious atmosphere of it. Can anyone recommend short stories or novels that have a similar "something isn't right here" feel to them? Perhaps those with a macabre theme a la Twilight Zone or Hitchcock. I also attempted to start reading my copy of Outlaws of the Marsh but found that pages 24-73 were missing. Is anyone by chance aware of an online english-translation of this novel? Unfortuantely all I can find are Chinese-language versions.
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Jan 8, 2010 16:57
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Jive One posted:I recently read the Herman Melville short story Benito Cereno and really enjoyed the tense and suspicious atmosphere of it. Can anyone recommend short stories or novels that have a similar "something isn't right here" feel to them? Perhaps those with a macabre theme a la Twilight Zone or Hitchcock. John Collier wrote some of my favorite short stories, his collection Fancies and Goodnights is excellent. I haven't read that Melville story, but I'm recommending him because he also wrote for both The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
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Jan 8, 2010 17:42
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Lord Dekks posted:I need to buy a belated birthday present for my 14 year old Teenage niece, my Sister said shes recently got into reading in a big way, and for Christmas I got her a copy of The Lovely Bones which she didn't put down once for the following week until she finished it. If she liked The Lovely Bones she might enjoy She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb, anything by Ellen Hopkins (though her stuff is on the risque side, if you're at all hesitant about mature themes), and then there are lesser known books like The House Tibet by Georgia Savage and The Grounding of Group 6 by Julian Thompson. I'm just going by what I really enjoyed reading at that age. She's Come Undone is particularly good.
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Jan 8, 2010 21:15
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Enentol posted:About three pages back you'd find my recommendation for The Cold War, A New History by John Lewis Gaddis. Oh, wow, that's exactly what I was looking for, thanks.
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Jan 8, 2010 21:57
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Anyone have some good books on Latin America? Looking for anything and everything, I've already read Open Vein's, looking for any well researched books, particularly from the 1700's-1900's, but I'll take anything.
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Jan 9, 2010 06:52
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LuckySevens posted:Anyone have some good books on Latin America? Looking for anything and everything, I've already read Open Vein's, looking for any well researched books, particularly from the 1700's-1900's, but I'll take anything. I Die With My Country, a collection of essays about the not very well known (outside of Latin America) Paraguayan War. The War Nerd devoted a very interesting article to it.
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Jan 9, 2010 13:03
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teepee posted:If she liked The Lovely Bones she might enjoy She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb, anything by Ellen Hopkins (though her stuff is on the risque side, if you're at all hesitant about mature themes), and then there are lesser known books like The House Tibet by Georgia Savage and The Grounding of Group 6 by Julian Thompson. I'm just going by what I really enjoyed reading at that age. She's Come Undone is particularly good. They all look exactly the sort of thing she would enjoy, but unfortunately none of them have ever been published in the U.K, or at least have been out of print for quite some time  .Thanks for the suggestions though.
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Jan 9, 2010 15:38
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Lord Dekks posted:They all look exactly the sort of thing she would enjoy, but unfortunately none of them have ever been published in the U.K, or at least have been out of print for quite some time The only thing I can think of reading as a teenager, that was about teenagers, was the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series. Yeah, it's trash, but it's funny and deals with boys and schools and friends and all that. Plus, it's written by a UK author, so I would imagine it would be readily available for purchase. (don't judge me  )
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Jan 9, 2010 18:21
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anaaki posted:The only thing I can think of reading as a teenager, that was about teenagers, was the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series. Yeah, it's trash, but it's funny and deals with boys and schools and friends and all that. Plus, it's written by a UK author, so I would imagine it would be readily available for purchase. Good Call, Apparently one of them was made into a film and I vaguely recall her talking about it (Angus, Thongs and Snogging). Thanks!
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Jan 9, 2010 20:02
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I haven't had a good classical education and thought I'd enjoy reading some Roman philosophers. I would need a short introduction to have eg Stoicism outlined before I read it unless it's self-explanatory, but after that I will just read the original texts. I have been recommended Ciceto, Tacitus, Plutarch and Marcus Aurelius but I have no clue why. Any suggestions? Also a web based introduction would be nice.
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Jan 10, 2010 22:48
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I finished Infinite Jest recently, and really enjoyed it. I'm looking for a book that's somewhat comparable. For example, I'd like it to be a decent length. I'd also like it to be somewhat modern (as in takes place in the 20th or so century; for some reason I have trouble getting into books that take place real far in the past or future.) I am also a fan of Wallace's prose, specifically the humor, so anything that's not only a good story, but funny, is a plus. It's somewhat vague, but I'm open to suggestions.
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Jan 10, 2010 23:24
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rasser posted:I haven't had a good classical education and thought I'd enjoy reading some Roman philosophers. I would need a short introduction to have eg Stoicism outlined before I read it unless it's self-explanatory, but after that I will just read the original texts. I have been recommended Ciceto, Tacitus, Plutarch and Marcus Aurelius but I have no clue why. Any suggestions? Also a web based introduction would be nice. I loving love Aurelius' Meditations, I can recommend that. His thoughts on the transience of life and our relationship to others have a very calming effect on me. http://classics.mit.edu/Antoninus/meditations.html "Begin the morning by saying to thyself, I shall meet with the busy-body, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial. All these things happen to them by reason of their ignorance of what is good and evil. But I who have seen the nature of the good that it is beautiful, and of the bad that it is ugly, and the nature of him who does wrong, that it is akin to me, not only of the same blood or seed, but that it participates in the same intelligence and the same portion of the divinity, I can neither be injured by any of them, for no one can fix on me what is ugly, nor can I be angry with my kinsman, nor hate him, For we are made for co-operation, like feet, like hands, like eyelids, like the rows of the upper and lower teeth."
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Jan 11, 2010 01:05
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Diabetes By Sundown posted:I finished Infinite Jest recently, and really enjoyed it. I'm looking for a book that's somewhat comparable. For example, I'd like it to be a decent length. I'd also like it to be somewhat modern (as in takes place in the 20th or so century; for some reason I have trouble getting into books that take place real far in the past or future.) I am also a fan of Wallace's prose, specifically the humor, so anything that's not only a good story, but funny, is a plus. Well, why not another one of Wallace's books? I've heard that The Broom of the System and Girl With Curious Hair are both good.
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Jan 11, 2010 02:58
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Team Black Zion posted:I loving love Aurelius' Meditations, I can recommend that. His thoughts on the transience of life and our relationship to others have a very calming effect on me. Yay, thanks man! Will read it soon although I realize that something beautiful makes sense to read in my primary language - Danish - in order to have the words present in conversations at home. It probably won't hurt to read both though, so I'm on it! By any chance, a good online introduction to Roman philosophers?
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Jan 11, 2010 12:42
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barkingclam posted:Well, why not another one of Wallace's books? I've heard that The Broom of the System and Girl With Curious Hair are both good. I actually just finished The Broom of the System and enjoyed it, I'll have to check out Girl With Curious Hair. Thanks.
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Jan 11, 2010 17:39
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Diabetes By Sundown posted:I finished Infinite Jest recently, and really enjoyed it. I'm looking for a book that's somewhat comparable. For example, I'd like it to be a decent length. I'd also like it to be somewhat modern (as in takes place in the 20th or so century; for some reason I have trouble getting into books that take place real far in the past or future.) I am also a fan of Wallace's prose, specifically the humor, so anything that's not only a good story, but funny, is a plus. 2666 and Gravity's Rainbow, while both very different from Infinite Jest, tend to fit under the same category of "epic postmodern novel," and usually get linked together. With regard to their quality, I don't know quite how they'll match up. Unfortunately Pynchon isn't as funny as Wallace.
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Jan 11, 2010 18:09
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I really enjoyed The Road, by McCarthy, and Rant by Palahniuk, and have read several of these authors other works. I'm looking for a new author to dive into, I like post apocalyptic styles, and general mind benders. Any suggestions?
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Jan 11, 2010 22:35
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Elguapo posted:I really enjoyed The Road, by McCarthy, and Rant by Palahniuk, and have read several of these authors other works. I'm looking for a new author to dive into, I like post apocalyptic styles, and general mind benders. Any suggestions? For Palahniuk, I'd swing a guess that you might like Irvine Welsh and his works Trainspotting and Ecstasy. Both writers get inside the mind of tortured, struggling, hosed-up people who regularly get into dark, hosed-up, blackly humorous situations. He's also awesome.
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Jan 11, 2010 23:44
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Diabetes By Sundown posted:I actually just finished The Broom of the System and enjoyed it, I'll have to check out Girl With Curious Hair. Thanks. If you're willing to check out his essays, I can't recommend Consider the Lobster strongly enough.
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Jan 12, 2010 04:34
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barkingclam posted:If you're willing to check out his essays, I can't recommend Consider the Lobster strongly enough. It's definitely the best thing he ever wrote (followed by his other essay book) but it's not fiction and that is the main reason it is so good. It's the fiction aspect that Wallace struggles with, not the writing part.
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Jan 12, 2010 05:46
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I'm looking for suggestions on a mystery series to read. I've watched a couple of TV series lately (Twin Peaks, Veronica Mars, The X-Files) that have piqued my interest in the genre. I've most stuck to epic fantasy and science fiction in the past, so I haven't read anything in the genre aside of Sherlock Holmes. I'm looking for a series with a compelling main character, and an overarching story that spans multiple books. An epic fantasy analog within the genre. Also, I'm not really a fan of procedural cop stuff, but I would make an exception for a very good book. Does anything like this exist?
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Jan 13, 2010 03:07
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Syle187 posted:I'm looking for suggestions on a mystery series to read. I've watched a couple of TV series lately (Twin Peaks, Veronica Mars, The X-Files) that have piqued my interest in the genre. I've most stuck to epic fantasy and science fiction in the past, so I haven't read anything in the genre aside of Sherlock Holmes. Though it's an audiobook (of sorts), you might be interested in this: http://www.amazon.com/Diane-Peaks-Tapes-Agent-Cooper/dp/067173573X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263348649&sr=8-1 It's basically extended tapes from Dale Cooper's dictation, and its pretty interesting.
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Jan 13, 2010 03:11
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Syle187 posted:I'm looking for suggestions on a mystery series to read. I've watched a couple of TV series lately (Twin Peaks, Veronica Mars, The X-Files) that have piqued my interest in the genre. I've most stuck to epic fantasy and science fiction in the past, so I haven't read anything in the genre aside of Sherlock Holmes. Not . . . exactly. There are tons of character-based mystery series, but not so much with the overarching plot. Usually each book is an individual story, because the whole point of a mystery is that it gets solved, and then the detective goes on to the next case. Of course I've got some recommendations anyway. Old school: Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe novels. Pretty much required reading for the genre, for every fictional detective inspired by Holmes there are at least a hundred inspired by Marlowe. Ditto Dashiel Hammett for most of that, he's just not so character based. Newer stuff: For brutal, frenetic writing check out James Ellroy. The Big Nowhere/LA Confidential/White Jazz have a contiguous villain (and lots of other bad guys along the way) with a series of protagonists butting their heads against him. And they are so loving good that sometimes I just can't stand it. For something 180 degrees from the insanity that is Ellroy, I really can't say enough about Kate Atkinson's last three books, starting with Case Histories. They're about a middle-aged private eye in the UK, are extremely well-written, and have some pretty interesting and complex stories.
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Jan 13, 2010 04:02
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Wiley360 posted:It's basically extended tapes from Dale Cooper's dictation, and its pretty interesting. Thanks, I'll check it out. Ballsworthy posted:Not . . . exactly. There are tons of character-based mystery series, but not so much with the overarching plot. Usually each book is an individual story, because the whole point of a mystery is that it gets solved, and then the detective goes on to the next case. I just want something that ties the series together, a villain, plot points that affect character development for the rest of the series, a character's overall goal, etc... I don't want each book to be a standalone novel that doesn't effect anything else in the series. I'll check out the books you suggested, thanks.
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Jan 13, 2010 05:37
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Syle187 posted:I just want something that ties the series together, a villain, plot points that affect character development for the rest of the series, a character's overall goal, etc... I don't want each book to be a standalone novel that doesn't effect anything else in the series. As noted, mysteries (or more generally, the crime fiction genre) doesn't really work that way. The whole point is to have a satisfying resolution at the end of each book. There are plenty of series that have long character developments that take place over many books (I'm thinking here of Robert Parker's Spenser or Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder), but the plot is generally self-contained within each book. Even a recurring antagonist is something of a rarity because of the expectations of the genre: a resolution requires some kind of decisive ending, and a recurring antagonist implies that the previous ending wasn't decisive and was therefore unsatisfying to some degree.
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Jan 13, 2010 06:49
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If you're a fan of Arthur C Clarke's 2001 series, you NEED to read his other book Childhood's End.
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Jan 14, 2010 04:56
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Yeah, what's been said about crime fiction. Diehard Ellroy fan here, so of course he comes highly recommended. The Big Nowhere is probably my favorite crime novel ever. Although - the Long Firm trilogy (The Long Firm, He Kills Coppers, Truecrime) by Jake Arnott might be sort of what you're looking for. It's a loosely connected story through the three books, set in different decades of London.
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Jan 14, 2010 05:35
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I'm looking to read about non-fictional corporate espionage. I know there are a few books out there, I'm looking for something that contains a good selection of interesting case studies and a broad overview of the subject as a whole. This request is partly inspired by my fondness for the films Michael Clayton and Duplicity if that helps.
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Jan 14, 2010 07:05
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Please recommend me: 1) A rather popular psychology "textbook". I don't want anything dry - I'm not preparing myself for university psychology or something, and have enough heavy stuff to read. On the other hand, not something silly and/or pseudo-scientific. I am a political science graduate student and can handle complexity. What I'm especially interested in, psychology-wise, are topics such as: autism, depression, and intelligence, so it's alright if there's a special focus on these things, but what I really wants is a general introduction to the field - hence a "textbook" of some sort. 2) A history of Europe - not dry, but not silly either (again, I'm a polisci graduate student), with a focus on political, economic, and military matters rather than cultural stuff. I'm looking for something general, so I'm interested in the entire continent. Timewise I'm thinking mostly of 500-1700, but a book covering post-Roman until modern would also be fine. To be more specific of something I want to learn more about : The Habsburg empire, how was it ruled, what did it do, why, relations with the rest of Europe, etc. Again, focus on economics, politics, and military stuff. I'm aware that it's hard to guess precisely where I want the balance between "entertaining read" and "serious", but give it a try.
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Jan 15, 2010 17:18
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Let's get down to brass tacks; I know I'm requesting books that are most likely gonna be pulpy to some degree or another, I don't care, I've got McCullough's and Saylor's ancient Rome series in hand for actually 'good' books, and I'm looking for some page turning lovely entertainment to supplement my 'stack o books to read.' I'm looking for EITHER something similar to 'The Dresden Files' (preferably similar to the later books, the author improves as he goes, IMHO the later ones are better) or the 'Starfire' series with Weber and White. Basically noir fantasy set in something that approximates the real world, or some space opera from a more militaristic POV. As I said, lovely books abound, but I'm not looking for them for their quality as great novels, just for the entertainment value. Alternatively if you can think of any alternate history that's been entertaining in the same kind of mindless way, that would be p sweet too... every time I look at the genre though all I see are piles of 'hyuck, what ifin the South had won dat dere Civil Warg? Yup, I wanna fantasize about THAT!' Well, I don't. I'm sure there's a few gems in that bunch, but I'm not gonna dig to find em. rasser posted:I haven't had a good classical education and thought I'd enjoy reading some Roman philosophers. I would need a short introduction to have eg Stoicism outlined before I read it unless it's self-explanatory, but after that I will just read the original texts. I have been recommended Ciceto, Tacitus, Plutarch and Marcus Aurelius but I have no clue why. Any suggestions? Also a web based introduction would be nice. I highly recommend Epictetus' 'The Enchiridion,' and I agree with those who recommended Marcus Aurelius Antoninus' writings. Both are from the 'Stoic' school of philosophy, and both have some pretty interesting and actually quite timeless things to say. For instance, from the Enchiridion: "These reasonings have no logical connection: “I am richer than you; therefore I am your superior”: “I am more eloquent than you; therefore I am your superior.” The true logical connection is rather this: “I am richer than you; therefore my possessions must exceed yours”: “I am more eloquent than you; therefore my style must surpass yours.” But you, after all, consist neither in property nor in style." You can find both online, as you asked for online accessible works.
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Jan 16, 2010 20:41
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Musta Kraken posted:I'm looking for EITHER something similar to 'The Dresden Files' (preferably similar to the later books, the author improves as he goes, IMHO the later ones are better) or the 'Starfire' series with Weber and White. Basically noir fantasy set in something that approximates the real world, or some space opera from a more militaristic POV. As I said, lovely books abound, but I'm not looking for them for their quality as great novels, just for the entertainment value. Alternatively if you can think of any alternate history that's been entertaining in the same kind of mindless way, that would be p sweet too... every time I look at the genre though all I see are piles of 'hyuck, what ifin the South had won dat dere Civil Warg? Yup, I wanna fantasize about THAT!' Well, I don't. I'm sure there's a few gems in that bunch, but I'm not gonna dig to find em. It's not modern or urban fantasy but if you liked the Dresden Files, check out Jhereg by Steven Brust. It follows a guy named Vlad Taltos who works as an assassin in an fantasy equivalent of the Mafia. The writing is better than Butcher's but it has the same light-hearted noir feel to it. You can find the first three books together in The Book of Jhereg.
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Jan 16, 2010 22:03
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Musta Kraken posted:Alternatively if you can think of any alternate history that's been entertaining in the same kind of mindless way, that would be p sweet too... every time I look at the genre though all I see are piles of 'hyuck, what ifin the South had won dat dere Civil Warg? Yup, I wanna fantasize about THAT!' Well, I don't. I'm sure there's a few gems in that bunch, but I'm not gonna dig to find em. How about Phillip Roth's The Plot Against America? It's set in an America where Charles Lindberg ran for, and was elected, president in 1940.
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Jan 17, 2010 03:52
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This is probably a tough recommendation to ask for, but I'm looking for some good pulp in the Star Trek universe. It obviously doesn't need to be anything with literary value, but something that's actually enjoyable and not crap.
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Jan 17, 2010 04:28
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Musta Kraken posted:Alternatively if you can think of any alternate history that's been entertaining in the same kind of mindless way, that would be p sweet too... every time I look at the genre though all I see are piles of 'hyuck, what ifin the South had won dat dere Civil Warg? Fatherland by Robert Harris is set 20 or so years after Hitler has won WW2, quite an entertaining read too.
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Jan 17, 2010 15:54
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barkingclam posted:How about Phillip Roth's The Plot Against America? It's set in an America where Charles Lindberg ran for, and was elected, president in 1940. Seconding this as a great alt history novel. There are some stretches where i feel Roth loses something in the details and drifts from a strong central story line, however overall its a decent read and pretty frightening when you look back at the actual facts surrounding the book.
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Jan 17, 2010 16:19
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barkingclam posted:How about Phillip Roth's The Plot Against America? It's set in an America where Charles Lindberg ran for, and was elected, president in 1940. Thirding this. It's been about 5 years since I read it but I can remember it being particularly entertaining. Also, they're kind of trashy, but Glenn Meade's Brandenburg, Snow Wolf, and The Sands of Sakkara are fun WWII historical fiction novels to blitz through.
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Jan 17, 2010 21:50
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