|
GreyLondon posted:Thanks for clearing that up. No suggestions but I will second the request. I don't actually know much about pre-Soviet Russia, it's something I've been meaning to learn about.
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2010 01:55
|
|
I'll be sure to pick it up sometime in the future. I got several recommendations in this thread about which books I should look into if I was interested in Russia. Do you think you could recommend me something concerning the tsarist era and anything before the Romanovs (Kievan Rus', the Duchies that formed after its fall). I'm also very interested in the Don and Zaporozhian Cossacks as well and would love to find a book that isn't horribly outdated about them.
|
|
| # ? May 17, 2024 15:05 |
|
|
Contra Calculus posted:So, I've never read any mystery novels, but the concept of Sherlock Holmes has greatly intrigued me over the last few weeks. Very very easy to get into. I suggest just reading them chronologically by when they were written. I really enjoyed them and my wife absolutely adored them. They are worth reading 3 or 4 stores (they go quick) as you can get them for free off project guttenberg
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2010 04:15
|
|
|
I'm looking for a general history book on warfare, but with a bit more of a focus on battles or strategy. Something not too academic, either, with variety in terms of time period and cultures. And I'd also like opinions on A Briefer History of Time or A Short History of Nearly Everything. I know they have different focuses but I'm sure they overlap some and I'm wondering which is a more rewarding read.
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2010 08:49
|
|
|
I just sat down and laughed my rear end off through the first of John Ringo's Ghost books. It's really bad. Hilariously bad. Apparently according to the liberals its the fault of the college girls held hostage in Syria being simultaneously raped, and tortured, whilst this is broadcast over the Internet, for letting themselves get kidnapped. Is there any good writer who writes a good military/special-forces/general badassery with guns/etc. novel? Or series of novels? Preferably on iBooks or Kindle or Borders e-Reader, but I'm willing to settle.
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2010 09:44
|
|
|
I just finished "God's Demon" by Wayne Barlowe and I'm interested in any similar, dark, demon related books. A good demon or devil related horror would be fine. Any ideas? Oh yeah, no Gaiman or Lovecraft. I've read plenty of both.
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2010 10:32
|
|
|
Jefferoo posted:Is there any good writer who writes a good military/special-forces/general badassery with guns/etc. novel? Or series of novels? Preferably on iBooks or Kindle or Borders e-Reader, but I'm willing to settle. I think the general consensus is that Lee Child's Reacher series is ridiculous, but nevertheless far exceeds the low low standards of the genre, certainly in terms of dialogue and characterization.
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2010 16:47
|
|
man
|
Big Centipede posted:I just finished "God's Demon" by Wayne Barlowe and I'm interested in any similar, dark, demon related books. A good demon or devil related horror would be fine. I'd like to second this. While it's not particularly dark, Christopher Moore's Practical Demonkeeping has a very fun and interesting look at a demon. And is an all around Good Book.
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2010 17:49
|
|
|
I was thinking of subscribing to one of the sci-fi magazines on Nook and I was wondering which: Analog or Asimov's
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2010 22:00
|
|
|
Fooley posted:I was thinking of subscribing to one of the sci-fi magazines on Nook and I was wondering which: Analog or Asimov's I subscribed to Asimov's on a whim and ended up hating it tremendously. To me the stories were just too slow-paced and generally not compelling at all, though to be fair I didn't give it too much of a chance after it disappointed me several times in a row. I know a couple of people who like Analog a lot and have similar taste in SF to my own, but I've never read it.
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2010 22:30
|
|
|
electricmonk500 posted:I subscribed to Asimov's on a whim and ended up hating it tremendously. To me the stories were just too slow-paced and generally not compelling at all, though to be fair I didn't give it too much of a chance after it disappointed me several times in a row. I know a couple of people who like Analog a lot and have similar taste in SF to my own, but I've never read it. Stories being slow paced reminded me of another question. Are these all short stories, or are there a few that continue? That was one of the things that drove me crazy about Shonen Jump (only similar thing I have to compare this to). Sometimes you'd get so little story it almost made me feel cheated.
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2010 22:50
|
|
|
Fooley posted:Stories being slow paced reminded me of another question. Are these all short stories, or are there a few that continue? That was one of the things that drove me crazy about Shonen Jump (only similar thing I have to compare this to). Sometimes you'd get so little story it almost made me feel cheated. I don't believe any of the stories continued in Asimov's. I get annoyed when the first 3-4 pages are just a couple characters talking to each other about some mundane bullshit that has absolutely nothing to do with the story in some pathetic attempt at characterization. It could be that I'm just not a fan of the sort of stuff they try to publish, but I found all the stories I read, or tried to read were just too dull to put up with.
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2010 01:39
|
|
|
Big Centipede posted:I just finished "God's Demon" by Wayne Barlowe and I'm interested in any similar, dark, demon related books. A good demon or devil related horror would be fine. In terms of fiction I really liked A Good and Happy Child which has possession in it. Also liked Pandemonium. A friend of mine really liked Demon Theory, but I couldn't get past the writing style. But those are really more about demonic possession and once I read the summary of God's Demon I realized that wasn't really what you were talking about.. but hey, still demons and devils there!
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2010 01:42
|
|
|
Big Centipede posted:I just finished "God's Demon" by Wayne Barlowe and I'm interested in any similar, dark, demon related books. A good demon or devil related horror would be fine. Mister Be Gone is about a homosexual demon rampaging through medieval Europe. Pretty short read though.
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2010 04:34
|
|
|
I just read Blind Descent and Into Thin Air and really enjoyed them both. What's some other good man vs. nature non-fiction?
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2010 07:23
|
|
|
Might be a bit of an odd request; Basically looking for something like O'Neill's The High Frontier, but in some kind of ebook format. The High Frontier itself doesn't seem to be in ebook format anywhere so I'm buying a normal copy, but in the meantime I was wondering if there's anything similar I can have on my kindle. On a similar note, any good books on that kind of subject, space mining, colonization an so on. Zoraks thread in A/T has me really interested in this stuff right now.
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2010 00:55
|
|
|
Contra Calculus posted:So, I've never read any mystery novels, but the concept of Sherlock Holmes has greatly intrigued me over the last few weeks. Do you have a Barnes & Noble near you? They sell a nice leatherbound $20 edition of the complete Sherlock Holmes. The stories are in chronological order and it's an all-around nice collection if you haven't picked another one up yet. As for the stories themselves, they make up some great, if not extremely complex, literature. There's some action-adventure thrown into many of the stories, and most of the villains, even the side-villains, are unique. Definitely worth getting into as Doyle defined the mystery/detective genre as we now know it(although 1001 Nights invented it).
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2010 03:56
|
|
|
I read Dune a while back and loved it, but I've heard that some of the other books in the series were lovely. What are the best Dune books, and which should I avoid?
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2010 05:23
|
|
|
I'm looking for a work of fiction, preferably fantasy or slipstream, that is funny but also has some of that mythical literary merit dust sprinkled on it. I'm not sure exactly what I mean by that, but I'm hoping it'll make me look at the world a little bit differently, or at least give my paradigm a few good hard knocks. I've read: Gaiman: kind of hit or miss with me because he occasionally gets really self-indulgent in ways that squick me out. And by "self indulgent" I mean "random sex scenes in American Gods." I've read all of his stuff, including Sandman Pratchett: I've become a little weary of Pratchett recently, though, as I begin to notice that he seems to wuv his characters a little too much (nothing truly bad will ever happen to Susan or Vimes, for example. Vimes' arc completed in Night Watch, and yet he somehow wound up in Thud. I've read just about everything the man's written. Butcher makes me happy because, for however many sections there are of Dresden being stupidly Good and True and Noble and Goony, there are also sections where that has consequences because he walked into something stupid. I've read all of his Dresden stuff. Codex Alera didn't get me. Douglas Adams shaped my sense of humor really intensely. I've read all his stuff. Palahnuik: The feel of his novels is nice because I can occasionally relate to that kind of gently caress YOU DAD sense that Palahnuik writes, but he's so self-affirming in his nihilistic worldview that by the end of his books I want to go outside and hug trees just to spite him. I've read Fight Club, Lullaby and Choke. Tim PowersI've read Anubis Gates and Last Call. Tim Powers is probably the only writer whose style I enjoy and doesn't have a tic that bugs me every 20 pages or so, but I couldn't get more than halfway through Three Days to Never and I'm not sure why. Christopher Moore: I've only read Practical Demonkeeping, which was funny but also really light. Does his later stuff get any deeper? He's a cool guy and I like his books like I like Pratchett's, but recently I'm trying for something a little deeper. This is all pretty wordy but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I feel like I need a breath of fresh air, novel wise. I like the humor of Adams and Pratchett but the themes and more in-depth character work of Tim Powers. The work doesn't need to be fantasy or sci-fi, but it just needs to be engaging and surprise me and be at least a little funny.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2010 00:23
|
|
|
Impermanent posted:This is all pretty wordy but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I feel like I need a breath of fresh air, novel wise. I like the humor of Adams and Pratchett but the themes and more in-depth character work of Tim Powers. The work doesn't need to be fantasy or sci-fi, but it just needs to be engaging and surprise me and be at least a little funny. China Miéville. Start with Kraken, move on as appropriate. You are going to love this poo poo I guarantee it. hello clarice fucked around with this message at 19:28 on Aug 8, 2010 |
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2010 04:49
|
|
|
Impermanent posted:This is all pretty wordy but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I feel like I need a breath of fresh air, novel wise. I like the humor of Adams and Pratchett but the themes and more in-depth character work of Tim Powers. The work doesn't need to be fantasy or sci-fi, but it just needs to be engaging and surprise me and be at least a little funny. If I'm interpreting your requests properly, then you might want to try the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde, starting with The Eyre Affair. Very meta, but also very enjoyable if you like that kind of thing.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2010 13:10
|
|
|
Impermanent posted:I'm looking for a work of fiction, preferably fantasy or slipstream, that is funny but also has some of that mythical literary merit dust sprinkled on it. I just finished Good Omens (again) - which you've no doubt read - and I've also read lots of the same stuff you have in the past. That said, you will absolutely dig Cryptonomicon by Neil Stephenson. It's long, hilarious and super original.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2010 14:40
|
|
|
Anyone read The Spirit Level? It sounds quite interesting, but I'm curious as to how well the arguments hold up
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2010 15:00
|
|
|
Can someone recommend me some good primers on architecture and life in Russia at the end of the 19th century? and some good biographies of notable people from that time period?
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2010 18:39
|
|
|
I am looking for advice as for what books to read to shore up my literacy a bit. I'm looking for somewhat philosophical works, but preferably novels since I want this to be a leisure activity. Nothing too academic or dry though I can manage that, but also nothing too postmodern and intentionally obfuscating weak ideas with inanity. That drives me crazy. Other than that, I have trouble describing that I'm looking for. My favorite authors are probably Joseph Heller, Kurt Vonnegut and Albert Camus. I also like Issac Asimov, Franz Kafka, J.D. Salinger, Jorge Luis Borges, Michel Foucault, and Friedrich Nietzsche. My problem is that it reads like a summer reading list; I'm really afraid I'm missing something wonderful just because my perspective is limited by the structure of education. I've come across a small number of authors and works that might work for me, but I was hoping for some additional recommendations. Currently, I plan to seek out: H.L. Mencken (it was hearing about this guy that made me realize that I really couldn't figure out what to read alone, because I've never heard of this guy, and apparently he's important?) W. Somerset Maugham Charles Bukowski Any other suggestions?
|
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2010 04:08
|
|
|
Magnetic North posted:I am looking for advice as for what books to read to shore up my literacy a bit. I'm looking for somewhat philosophical works, but preferably novels since I want this to be a leisure activity. Nothing too academic or dry though I can manage that, but also nothing too postmodern and intentionally obfuscating weak ideas with inanity. That drives me crazy. If you haven't read "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov, you really should.
|
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2010 04:45
|
|
Magnetic North posted:I am looking for advice as for what books to read to shore up my literacy a bit. I'm looking for somewhat philosophical works, but preferably novels since I want this to be a leisure activity. Nothing too academic or dry though I can manage that, but also nothing too postmodern and intentionally obfuscating weak ideas with inanity. That drives me crazy. If you're not afraid of super-long novels, I'd recommend The Man Without Qualities, by Robert Musil, a fantastic Austrian novel of ideas. It's superficially about the crumbling Austrian aristocracy and Astro-Hungarian monarchy, but that's mostly an excuse for the characters to have discussions about political change and its spiritual effects on the mind and society. Often these discussions are highly ironized, and if you pick up on that, then what might seem dry is actually intensely witty and funny. That's the main tone of the book, and why it's so great, imho. There's also Bouvard and Pecuchet, Flaubert's unfinished novel about two copiers who try to amass knowledge of everything in society but never seem to be able to (or you could read Flaubert's other, more famous, novels, Madame Bovary and Sentimental Education). The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne is wickedly funny, but perhaps you might think it is too "post-modern" or obfuscatory even though it was written in the mid-1700s. J-K Huysmans' A Rebours is a novel about nothing where the main character just talks about flowers and monks and art and whatnot the whole time in intense detail, usually in discrete chapters, and its absolutely beautiful in terms of its language, but may be too dry for you as well. There's also the standard Point Counter Point, another novel of ideas, and Brave New World, which I think is terrible satire and hyperbolic, but I'm not exactly in the majority opinion on that one, by Aldous Huxley. I also tend to think of both Thomas Hardy and D. H. Lawrence as emotionally philosophical, if that makes sense, since they wrap up society, being, and pure human sentiment and emotion almost better than anyone.
|
|
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2010 08:33
|
|
ONE TWO THREE TIMES TWO TO THE SIX/JONESING FOR YOUR FIX OF THAT LIMP BIZKIT MIX
|
Patrovsky posted:If I'm interpreting your requests properly, then you might want to try the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde, starting with The Eyre Affair. Very meta, but also very enjoyable if you like that kind of thing. Seconding this, from what you have said Fforde is right up your alley.
|
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2010 17:35
|
|
|
Magnetic North posted:I am looking for advice as for what books to read to shore up my literacy a bit. I'm looking for somewhat philosophical works, but preferably novels since I want this to be a leisure activity. Nothing too academic or dry though I can manage that, but also nothing too postmodern and intentionally obfuscating weak ideas with inanity. That drives me crazy.
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2010 04:35
|
|
|
Big Centipede posted:I read Dune a while back and loved it, but I've heard that some of the other books in the series were lovely. What are the best Dune books, and which should I avoid? I'm working on a syllabus for a modern (50s onwards) political utopian/dystopian science fiction course and am wondering if any of you all have recommendations for books to include as options for a reading list students will be able to pick from for their final project. The main books we'll be reading are The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (Heinlein), The Dispossessed (Le Guin), Trouble on Triton (Delany), and something with a more explicit feminist bent (probably either the Handmaid's Tale (Atwood) or something like Ammonite (Griffith). I'm quite familiar with the genre generally, but would love specific recommendations. Books already on the list include other works by the above authors, the Mars series (Robinson), The Space Merchants (Pohl), and a few others (Banks, Stephenson, Miéville). Affirmations/further suggestions would be much appreciated, especially if you can give me a brief synopsis of the primary political issues the books deal with. I am most unfamiliar with the cyberpunk sub-genre and anything that's not from the us or the uk... honestly I know very little about the global elements of the genre. Adder fucked around with this message at 08:01 on Aug 10, 2010 |
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2010 07:54
|
|
|
Rabbit Hill posted:Maybe some Maugham lovers here will come and rouse support for their guy... Maugham is super-cool. I really like Maugham's penchant for leaving characters to twist in the wind, and for often establishing a dispassionate narrator to describe that twist; he will set up an inevitable fall for a character but will rarely provide a standard climax/denouement to give the expected "meaning" or "weight" to the fall. He wrote tragedies in a completely untragic way (Of Human Bondage is probably the best example of that). I think there is a perverse denial of catharsis in all of Maugham's books I've read that gives them an interesting, frustrating quality. But then I like him; maybe they're just flatly written. Painted Veil isn't my favourite of his, though I still think it's good. I like Razor's Edge best, but it's late-ish. Up At the Villa is an easy read if you have a short attention span but it's kind of uncharacteristic. Moon and Sixpence is cool, short, and a good example of Maugham's style.
|
|
#
?
Aug 11, 2010 02:50
|
|
|
Adder posted:The original is definitely the best of them all, but I like God Emperor followed perhaps by Heretics. Stick to the ones written by Herbert Senior - there's plenty of better sci-fi you should read before you move on to the ones his son wrote. Thanks. Is there are particular order that they should be read in? I'm generally not a big fan of sci-fi, it's just that Dune was great enough to make an exception.
|
|
#
?
Aug 11, 2010 06:01
|
|
|
Big Centipede posted:Thanks. Is there are particular order that they should be read in? I'm generally not a big fan of sci-fi, it's just that Dune was great enough to make an exception. The order is Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and then Chapterhouse: Dune. I'm reading through them right now, going to finish Dune Messiah today.
|
|
#
?
Aug 11, 2010 13:35
|
|
|
Big Centipede posted:Thanks. Is there are particular order that they should be read in? I'm generally not a big fan of sci-fi, it's just that Dune was great enough to make an exception.
|
|
#
?
Aug 11, 2010 18:26
|
|
|
So I was just perusing this thread about Cormac McCarthy's The Road which reminds me how much I want to read that and the oft recommended Blood Meridian but... Say you happen to be a bit depressive; you don't have suicidal thoughts but sometimes fantasies about getting off the ride because everyone and everything is worthless and sad and hopeless and hosed up. You know, all that e/n  crap. I'm just not sure Cormac McCarthy's my boy right now. Are there any books of merit that don't focus on human frailty, entropy, cynicism, longing, etc.? I could be way off base but it seems like intelligence is usually equated with a degree of sarcasm or cynicism (at least when people are trying to fake intelligence/insight this is the route they take) and most of what I've read or tried to read -- especially the stuff which could be argued to have "literary merit" -- is kind of a downer. Intellectually stimulating, sure; I’m asking questions and seeking answers and all, but a bummer none the less. I’m open to the possibility that it’s not the books, it’s just me, but I think I can objectively say it is the books to some extent. I don't want any sappy, saccharin religious or Hallmark type fiction. If at all possible, I'd like to avoid fluff in general. Just wondering if there's a vein of uplifting, or at least less bleak, literature out there. Anyone?
|
|
#
?
Aug 11, 2010 19:02
|
|
|
King Plum the Nth posted:I don't want any sappy, saccharin religious or Hallmark type fiction. If at all possible, I'd like to avoid fluff in general. Just wondering if there's a vein of uplifting, or at least less bleak, literature out there. Anyone? So you want a good book that's also not a downer? Why not Don Quixote - it's long, but it's a great and hilarious read. Or one of these: - Philip Roth, Portnoy's Complaint (or The Great American Novel, if you like baseball) - Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron - Henry Fielding, Tom Jones
|
|
#
?
Aug 11, 2010 19:26
|
|
|
King Plum the Nth posted:
I'll throw in a non fiction recommendation and then explain why - Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know, the autobiography by Ranulph Fiennes. His writing style is very great, almost as if he were telling you a story over a cup of tea or something, and the subject matter is just amazing. His escapades include adventures in the Antarctic and Arctic, time with the SAS, his amazing adventures through treacherous rivers, and his military career. It's better than fiction because it's real. Mr. Fiennes also never (or hasn't, since I'm still reading it) goes into full blown ego boasting. Most of his statements of himself are very self deprecating and hilarious. All in all, it's a great read, parts of the book make you feel like you're with them on their adventures, and it should be pretty cheap to pick up. I got mine for about $8.
|
|
#
?
Aug 12, 2010 00:22
|
|
|
I've just finished Ubik, looking for some Philip K. Dick recommendations. So far I've read Man in the High Castle, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, A Scanner Darkly and Flow My Tears. Oh, and the Minority Report short story collection. What should I pick up next?
|
|
#
?
Aug 12, 2010 18:32
|
|
|
who cares posted:The order is Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and then Chapterhouse: Dune. I'm reading through them right now, going to finish Dune Messiah today. Thanks! I went ahead and ordered them.
|
|
#
?
Aug 12, 2010 18:59
|
|
|
Which books in the Ender's Game series are worth reading after Ender's Game? I'm considering Speaker for the Dead next, is that the next logical step in the series?
|
|
#
?
Aug 12, 2010 21:10
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 17, 2024 15:05 |
|
|
FortCastle posted:Which books in the Ender's Game series are worth reading after Ender's Game? I'm considering Speaker for the Dead next, is that the next logical step in the series? I'd like to know this too. I tried getting through Speaker, but the series takes a huge turn after the whole awesome child soldier thing.
|
|
#
?
Aug 12, 2010 21:27
|
|