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gameday posted:There have been some fantastic recommendations in this thread so far, and I want to thank all the goons who have contributed. Now I have a request: As far as fiction goes, Jhumpa Lahiri's my favorite by far. She's Indian-American so most of her stories are about first- or second-generation Indian immigrants reconciling their heritage with their new home, so if that's your thing definitely check her out.
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Mar 2, 2011 23:03
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WeaponGradeSadness posted:Gonna shamelessly promote my own thread on the subject here. To actually answer your question instead of just advertising, William Dalrymple is my favorite non-fiction author about India--everything from travel essays to history. Nine Lives might be a good place to start with him--it looks at the religious life of 9 Indian people, and is a pretty good look at spirituality in India. Thank you both for the responses!
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Mar 3, 2011 02:01
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This might sound like a weird request, but I'm looking for a good text on human microbiology (cells, hormones, etc) that's not completely dry and maybe has some nice illustrations. Actually, any interesting books on biology in general that you found particularly interesting!
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Mar 3, 2011 06:43
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I love cyber punk poo poo no matter what the medium. Shadowrun, Blade Runner, the Sprawl trilogy, I'm all about that poo poo. I've read Neuromancer, Counter Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive, Snow Crash, and I'm aware of all of William Gibson other poo poo but I haven't read all of it. I've been googling around for other books to read because my thirst for cyber punk anything is relentless. I'm sure you guys have a few recommendations for me? Thanks in advance
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Mar 3, 2011 12:33
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Dog Jones posted:I love cyber punk poo poo no matter what the medium. Shadowrun, Blade Runner, the Sprawl trilogy, I'm all about that poo poo. I've read Neuromancer, Counter Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive, Snow Crash, and I'm aware of all of William Gibson other poo poo but I haven't read all of it. I've been googling around for other books to read because my thirst for cyber punk anything is relentless. I'm sure you guys have a few recommendations for me? Thanks in advance Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is the book they made Blade Runner from. Read all of William Gibson's other poo poo, especially Idoru and All Tomorrow's Parties. Some people might define Charles Stross' Accellerando as cyberpunk but it's a stretch. A lot of people define Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination as the archetypal proto-cyberpunk novel, but it was written in the 1950's, so while it has evil corporations and cybernetics and robots and a lot of other weird poo poo, it's not exactly neuromancer. If you don't care about medium, make sure you've played Deus Ex, the first one, don't worry about the sequel. Ghost in the Shell is cyberpunk that's almost not-bad enough to make up for being anime. You could also try branching out into the better quality steampunk, though there isn't much of it; China Mieville's probably your best starting place there.
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Mar 3, 2011 15:25
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is the book they made Blade Runner from. Read all of William Gibson's other poo poo, especially Idoru and All Tomorrow's Parties. Word, Deus ex is the poo poo. I didn't really give a poo poo about Ghost in the Shell though. Thanks for the recommendations buddy
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Mar 3, 2011 23:50
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AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 01:11 on Jan 22, 2016 |
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Mar 4, 2011 01:27
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Dog Jones posted:I love cyber punk poo poo no matter what the medium. Shadowrun, Blade Runner, the Sprawl trilogy, I'm all about that poo poo. I've read Neuromancer, Counter Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive, Snow Crash, and I'm aware of all of William Gibson other poo poo but I haven't read all of it. I've been googling around for other books to read because my thirst for cyber punk anything is relentless. I'm sure you guys have a few recommendations for me? Thanks in advance I know you're aware of the other William Gibson novels but I just want to chime in that I actually liked the Bridge Trilogy (Virtual Light, Idoru and All Tomorrow's Parties) more than the Sprawl Trilogy. Mind you, that's akin to saying I prefer lasagna to macaroni beef casserole when they're merely slightly different spins on the same delicious flavour.
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Mar 4, 2011 19:52
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Can someone recommend me books about biology, biomedical engineering, that kind of stuff. Books that are well-written, not just technical. Also that might discuss these sciences in terms of social issues. Also, preferably not books about How Awesome The Future Will Be With All This New Stuff or whatever.
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Mar 4, 2011 20:54
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Thanks for the recommendations guys, definitely gonna try and get around to all of them.
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Mar 5, 2011 00:55
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Ugh, welp, been doing some serious reading after a while of not reading much of anything new. Just finished up two of Ian M Bank's Culture novels, (Consider Phlebas and Matter). Very good books, but after two of them, they're feeling a little too thought provoking and deep, so I decided to go for something a bit lighter next, but have no idea what to read. So, can anyone recommend something lighter? On bit of a sci-fi kick, so something vaguely in that direction would be ace! Help me goons, help me find something where everyone doesn't die at the end. Felime fucked around with this message at 08:27 on Mar 5, 2011 |
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Mar 5, 2011 08:18
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Felime posted:Ugh, welp, been doing some serious reading after a while of not reading much of anything new. Just finished up two of Ian M Bank's Culture novels, (Consider Phlebas and Matter). Very good books, but after two of them, they're feeling a little too thought provoking and deep, so I decided to go for something a bit lighter next, but have no idea what to read. Do you want modern sci-fi or more golden-age type stuff? If you're willing to read older stuff, then if you haven't read The Stars My Destination go read that. For more modern sci fi, try the Old Man's War series by John Scalzi or the Fire Upon the Deep or Deepness in the Sky books by Vernor Vinge. For something truly light-hearted and fun, try Scalzi's The Android's Dream. It opens with an Earth diplomat using a rectal implant to fart out insults in an alien's scent-language and gets weirder and more fun from there.
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Mar 5, 2011 08:47
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I don't know if there are any G.K. Chesterton lovers here, but if there are I'd appreciate your wisdom. I've read The Man Who Was Thursday and absolutely loved it. Which of his novels should I look in to next?
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Mar 5, 2011 12:28
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oceanside posted:I don't know if there are any G.K. Chesterton lovers here, but if there are I'd appreciate your wisdom. None of his other stuff is quite as out there as Thursday, but if you like that kind of thing, The Napoleon of Notting Hill is probably the next one you should read in that vein (Personally I prefer it to Thursday by a significant margin).
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Mar 5, 2011 16:17
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So, I just got done watching Inside Job and wasn't surprised at how much of it basically flew over my head because it was either financial jargon or because of how much history is involved. What I'm looking for is non-fiction books that are about : -How deregulation of corporations/banks harms people and society -Monopolies or big business in general -How the latest economic recession happened -How any other economic depression or recession happened, US preferred but I'll read about any country -How these issues effect politics and education Sorry if this seems like a tall order, I tried to keep this as encompassing and ambiguous as could be. Even like 2 or 3 books will help me get started on what I'm looking for. Thanks! 
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Mar 6, 2011 15:01
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octothorpopus posted:So, I just got done watching Inside Job and wasn't surprised at how much of it basically flew over my head because it was either financial jargon or because of how much history is involved. What I'm looking for is non-fiction books that are about : Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America
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Mar 6, 2011 15:26
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octothorpopus posted:So, I just got done watching Inside Job and wasn't surprised at how much of it basically flew over my head because it was either financial jargon or because of how much history is involved. What I'm looking for is non-fiction books that are about : Michael Lewis' The Big Short and Andrew Ross Sorkin's Too Big to Fail are each good reads about the latest recession. Lewis in particular has a real knack for explaining the ins and outs of the stock market - and especially bond trading - in a clear, jargon-free manner.
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Mar 6, 2011 16:37
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I just rewatched Blade Runner and am almost done reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I'm wondering what other futuristic (or perhaps cyberpunk - I really like the Detective Story segment from the Animatrix) books there are that really feel like classic detective pulps.
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Mar 7, 2011 04:38
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feedmyleg posted:I just rewatched Blade Runner and am almost done reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I'm wondering what other futuristic (or perhaps cyberpunk - I really like the Detective Story segment from the Animatrix) books there are that really feel like classic detective pulps. Try Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon - the first of a few books. It reads like a somewhat noir mystery set in the distant future, where people have "sleeves" instead of bodies sometimes, and people can back up their memories on computer... for a price (thus living essentially forever). The world is very interesting, and I like the main character, Takeshi Kovacs. If you prefer the more surreal vibe of Philip K. Dick, perhaps you might like Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami. It's more of a puzzle than a mystery, but it has that element to it as well.
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Mar 7, 2011 05:33
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I am totally burned out by constant dumb work, and want to murder, so can anyone recommend a solid book on meditation? One that focuses on the practice and discipline, but with absolutely no new age crap. Although I want to vomit death on anyone who remotely believes in healing crystals, I have no problem with actual historical religious/spiritual content, and a Buddhist-oriented text or something like that would be fine, as long as it's accessible. There's actually a Buddhist thread in Ask/Tell, but I figured I'd ask here too.
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Mar 7, 2011 09:10
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AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 01:11 on Jan 22, 2016 |
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Mar 7, 2011 18:23
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I was interested in checking out some alternate history? I'm not really familiar with the genre, so I'm being pretty vague here. I don't know where to really begin, but the idea of "what happens if X happens instead of Y?" Sounds really interesting to me. I pretty much only read airport fiction 
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Mar 7, 2011 21:01
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I can't think of too many alternate history books but one I read and really liked is Philip K. Dick's Man in the High Castle. The background is that the Allies ended up losing a much longer World War II to the Axis powers, and the book is set fourteen years after the war has ended.
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Mar 7, 2011 21:16
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Bruiser posted:I was interested in checking out some alternate history? I'm not really familiar with the genre, so I'm being pretty vague here. I don't know where to really begin, but the idea of "what happens if X happens instead of Y?" Sounds really interesting to me. I pretty much only read airport fiction
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Mar 7, 2011 21:37
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octothorpopus posted:So, I just got done watching Inside Job and wasn't surprised at how much of it basically flew over my head because it was either financial jargon or because of how much history is involved. What I'm looking for is non-fiction books that are about : As for de-regulation and big business in general, Naomi Klein's stuff, particularly The Shock Doctrine, sounds up your alley. It's a bit conspiracy-minded for me, but not completely terrible. As for this economic collapse, a few I really liked:
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Mar 7, 2011 22:27
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Can anyone recommend any good books about or set in LA/socal/Inland Empire? especially IE? also, I'm reading Poor Things by Alasdair Gray and it good. anything similar or any other Gray recommendations?
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Mar 8, 2011 14:09
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octothorpopus posted:So, I just got done watching Inside Job and wasn't surprised at how much of it basically flew over my head because it was either financial jargon or because of how much history is involved. What I'm looking for is non-fiction books that are about :
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Mar 8, 2011 15:44
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Hey all, I'm looking for some nonfiction books about extremism, from a psychological perspective. That is, books examining how a person can end up following an extremist ideology and acting out violently against society. I'd prefer books based on actual science, and I'm a psych student, so highly technical stuff is fine, and even preferred. (No bullshit political propaganda please.)
Jeremiah Flintwick fucked around with this message at 22:55 on Mar 8, 2011 |
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Mar 8, 2011 22:53
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Zartosht posted:Hey all, I'm looking for some nonfiction books about extremism, from a psychological perspective. That is, books examining how a person can end up following an extremist ideology and acting out violently against society. I'd prefer books based on actual science, and I'm a psych student, so highly technical stuff is fine, and even preferred. (No bullshit political propaganda please.) For the 9/11 terrorist and al Qaeda leaders, there is 'Understanding Terror Networks' by Marc Sageman. It's really good and challenges popular conceptions (FOX News conceptions) on who salafi jihadists are and why they do the things they do.
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Mar 8, 2011 22:59
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Do Not Resuscitate posted:I would recommend Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki and The Three Pillars of Zen by Philip Kapleau. The latter offers a bit more substance about the practical nature of meditation; the former delves a bit more into the spiritual aspect of Zen Buddhism.
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Mar 9, 2011 00:45
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Feral Integral posted:This might sound like a weird request, but I'm looking for a good text on human microbiology (cells, hormones, etc) that's not completely dry and maybe has some nice illustrations. Actually, any interesting books on biology in general that you found particularly interesting! Pedro De Heredia posted:Can someone recommend me books about biology, biomedical engineering, that kind of stuff. Books that are well-written, not just technical. Also that might discuss these sciences in terms of social issues. Also, preferably not books about How Awesome The Future Will Be With All This New Stuff or whatever. Maybe not exactly what either of you are looking for, but I really liked Wetware by Dennis Bray. It's written for a popular audience, but maybe a bit more technical than some popular science. It's about the "wiring" and "logic" of cells, as built with proteins. It's very accessible but also profound. Definitely still comes to mind for me when I think about such things.
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Mar 9, 2011 02:49
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Zartosht posted:Hey all, I'm looking for some nonfiction books about extremism, from a psychological perspective. That is, books examining how a person can end up following an extremist ideology and acting out violently against society. I'd prefer books based on actual science, and I'm a psych student, so highly technical stuff is fine, and even preferred. (No bullshit political propaganda please.) Even though it's not quite what you're looking for, I liked Them by Jon Ronson quite a bit, and thought he did a good job just showing you the people while remaining politically neutral.
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Mar 9, 2011 03:13
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Theomanic posted:Try Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon - the first of a few books. It reads like a somewhat noir mystery set in the distant future, where people have "sleeves" instead of bodies sometimes, and people can back up their memories on computer... for a price (thus living essentially forever). The world is very interesting, and I like the main character, Takeshi Kovacs. Thanks, I'm about halfway through Altered Carbon right now and it's exactly what I wanted. I skimmed a bit of Hardboiled Wonderland and the narrative structure seems a little offputting to me. If anyone else has any I'd be open to more suggestions.
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Mar 9, 2011 21:02
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I find the idea of successfully eradicating corruption in a complex system (Government, for example) alluring, perhaps because it's likely never to happen in reality. Are there any fiction books that focus on this, preferably non-violently? I don't want people eradicating corruption simply by killing the corrupt.
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Mar 9, 2011 22:05
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What are some similar novels to Matterhorn? I finished this a little while ago and I loved every page of it. What are some other good war novels (I'd prefer novels over memoirs but both are fine). It doesn't have to be about Vietnam but I do like Vietnam literature such as The Things They Carried
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Mar 10, 2011 18:03
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sdr782 posted:What are some similar novels to Matterhorn? I finished this a little while ago and I loved every page of it. What are some other good war novels (I'd prefer novels over memoirs but both are fine). It doesn't have to be about Vietnam but I do like Vietnam literature such as The Things They Carried Matterhorn's story is very similar to Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead, but with much more likable characters. Joe Haldeman's The Forever War is really excellent and would make a nice companion to Matterhorn seeing as how it's about Vietnam, but it's also not about Vietnam.
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Mar 10, 2011 18:58
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I could use some recommendations for sci-fi along the same lines of Asimov's Robot/Foundation series, or Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress or JOB: A Comedy of Justice. I"d even take recommendations of more Heinlein and Asimov. They've written so much, it's hard to sort through the good and mediocre. Is the Empire Trilogy any good? Nimrod fucked around with this message at 19:46 on Mar 10, 2011 |
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Mar 10, 2011 19:29
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Nimrod posted:I could use some recommendations for sci-fi along the same lines of Asimov's Robot/Foundation series, or Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress or JOB: A Comedy of Justice. You liked JOB? Weird. For Heinlein, I recommend anything he wrote, up to and including Stranger in a Strange Land. That is, "by up to," I mean chronologically. After he wrote Stranger he got on the crazy train and I hesitate to recommend anything he did after that. I Will Fear No Evil, Time Enough For Love, Job, etc., all might be good books and worth reading, but they're out-there enough that you're going to have to make that call on your own, I'm not going to take responsibility for recommending them. That said, if you haven't read Starship Troopers or Stranger in a Strange Land, you should read them just for general genre literacy. If you want more books like Heinlein, read Scalzi's Old Man's War series, also his "The Android's Dream." Also try Vernor Vinge's _Fire Upon the Deep_ or _Deepness in the Sky_. If you like Asimov's stuff, read Larry Niven's Known Space collections; specifically, the short story collection "All the Myriad Ways" and the novel Ringworld. Do not read the Ringworld sequels, only read the first one. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 19:59 on Mar 10, 2011 |
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Mar 10, 2011 19:53
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:You liked JOB? Weird. EDIT: I had a hard time getting in to Time Enough For Love, but I tried anyways because Lazarus Long was pretty rad in Methuselah's Children. So I can definitely understand why you wouldn't go out of your way to recommend books like it. Nimrod fucked around with this message at 20:01 on Mar 10, 2011 |
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Mar 10, 2011 19:58
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Nimrod posted:It was a fun rainy day read, and I usually like it when god fucks with characters in books. I was just trying to say that i'm open to more Heinlein than just Stranger/Mistress. Ah, ok. If you like his weird stuff, then I Will Fear No Evil and Time Enough For Love are probably the "best" of his crazy-train years, but yeah, I'm not "recommending" them, so on your own head be it :P If you like his juveniles, Citizen of the Galaxy is probably the best of them; it should probably be considered one of his masterworks but it gets forgotten because it's less controversial. Really an excellent, excellent book.
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Mar 10, 2011 20:01
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