|
AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 01:12 on Jan 22, 2016 |
#
?
Jul 26, 2011 18:26
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 21, 2024 02:26 |
|
|
This is probably absurdly too specific, but can any one recommend me a novel that is like what Pynchon did to turn-of-the-century North America and Europe in Against The Day, but set in The Middle East?
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2011 21:30
|
|
|
WeaponGradeSadness posted:For something a little more literary, Warlock by Oakley Hall is a good one (Thomas Pynchon listed it as one of his influences). Also, don't let the name throw you--"Warlock" is just the name of the town the novel's set in. I ignored that book in my Amazon recommendations for so long because I figured it was just something about wizards or some poo poo until someone talked about it in the Western thread here. This. Definitely this. I read it recently after seeing a recommendation quite a while back. Great book.
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2011 05:02
|
|
|
Anyone know of any good books on Ethnobotany? I have Food of the Gods but I would like to know what else is out there. Similarly, I just finished Oaxaca Journal and was looking for recommendations on travel books that looked into some similar concepts, e.g. botany, history, culture, etc. I hope this isn't too vague.
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2011 12:18
|
|
|
Patrovsky posted:Anyone know of any good books on Ethnobotany? I have Food of the Gods but I would like to know what else is out there. Similarly, I just finished Oaxaca Journal and was looking for recommendations on travel books that looked into some similar concepts, e.g. botany, history, culture, etc. I hope this isn't too vague. Michael Pollan's Botany of Desire. There's also a good PBS documentary based on the book, but not surprisingly it doesn't go into quite as much detail.
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2011 12:47
|
|
|
I'm hoping someone can help me out! I'm looking for a book on Polish Mythology. A lot of the books I've seen have mostly been just about folklore, but I'm trying to find something that also talks about the beliefs of pre-christian Poland. The other type of book I'm interested in is continental Germanic mythology. The one I've found that seems interesting is "Teutonic Mythology" by Jacob Grimm.
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2011 13:43
|
|
|
Today I caught my girlfriend reading Twilight, so I feel the need to get her something better. She doesn't read much, but she used to really like Virginia Andrews books, and she's read a whole lot of Nicholas Sparks as well. She likes vampires, but is hesitant to read Dracula because it's "too old and predictable". So if anyone can recommend some type of modern vampire story or just general girly romance stuff that would be awesome, thanks!
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2011 16:11
|
|
|
boonsha posted:Today I caught my girlfriend reading Twilight, so I feel the need to get her How about the books that True Blood is based on? I've actually never read them, but the show is great.
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2011 19:55
|
|
|
Day Man posted:How about the books that True Blood is based on? I've actually never read them, but the show is great.
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2011 21:01
|
|
|
Quantify! posted:I don't know that those are "better" than Twilight but at least there's more of them to read. The Sookie Stackhouse novels are orders of magnitude better. I would agree with Day Man that these would be a good upgrade for someone who likes vampire stories but isn't a big reader. Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver (and its sequels) might also be of interest.
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2011 21:40
|
|
|
Anyone have good post-nuclear/post-apocalyptic recommends? More in the vein of "Jericho" than, say, the Fallout games, but I'm looking for both.
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2011 23:25
|
|
|
Patrovsky posted:Anyone know of any good books on Ethnobotany? I have Food of the Gods but I would like to know what else is out there. Similarly, I just finished Oaxaca Journal and was looking for recommendations on travel books that looked into some similar concepts, e.g. botany, history, culture, etc. I hope this isn't too vague. I haven't read it myself, but the book "Empires of Food" has been on my to-read list for awhile. It might fit the bill.
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2011 23:29
|
|
|
Doc Faustus posted:Anyone have good post-nuclear/post-apocalyptic recommends? More in the vein of "Jericho" than, say, the Fallout games, but I'm looking for both. Alas, Babylon is the Jericho-est book I've come across. It's about a town in Florida trying to survive after America is destroyed by nuclear weapons. So yeah, very similar and also very good. The Postman by David Brin is a pretty good bet, as well. It's about a man who takes up the role of a postman in post-apocalyptic America. The ending is a little crazy, but it's still good overall.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2011 00:22
|
|
|
Hey guys and gals, I'm trying to find good examples of meta-fiction, preferably novels but any sort of book is fine, as long as it deals with the meta aspects of writing. So far I've read The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster and have House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski and Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar on my Amazon Wish List and know about stuff like Don Quixote, The Handmaid's Tale, Locos: A Comedy of Gestures and Pale Fire I'd be looking mainly for newer works but any recommendations relating to sort of stuff like this at all would be helpful. Thanks!
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2011 00:39
|
|
|
boonsha posted:Today I caught my girlfriend reading Twilight, so I feel the need to get her Try the Kate Daniels books by Illona Andrews or the Kitty Norville ones by Carrie Vaughn. Both are more werewolf centred, but they don't take a very romantic view of vampires, if that's what you want to encouragw. The Hollows series by Kim Harrison might also work too. Quantum of Phallus posted:Hey guys and gals, I'm trying to find good examples of meta-fiction, preferably novels but any sort of book is fine, as long as it deals with the meta aspects of writing. My recommendation for metafiction will always be the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. They're quite fun if you like that kind of thing, and it definitely helps to have some knowledge of literature. Patrovsky fucked around with this message at 02:19 on Jul 29, 2011 |
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2011 00:50
|
|
|
Quantum of Phallus posted:Hey guys and gals, I'm trying to find good examples of meta-fiction, preferably novels but any sort of book is fine, as long as it deals with the meta aspects of writing. I really enjoyed Charles Yu's How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, which has kind of a Vonnegut-meets-Futurama thing going on.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2011 02:05
|
|
|
Radio! posted:Alas, Babylon is the Jericho-est book I've come across. It's about a town in Florida trying to survive after America is destroyed by nuclear weapons. So yeah, very similar and also very good.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2011 02:34
|
|
|
Been trying to get some narrative driven journalistic or non fiction works on par with David Simon's amazing books. Read and re-read Homicide and The Corner even at the busiest times of my university degree because they were so gripping and after getting all psyched up for Summer reading I drilled through Generation Kill, Matterhorn (I know it's not technically non fiction) Hella Nation, The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test and Hell's Angels in the past fortnight have yet to find something that's nearly as good, found myself dragging myself through Evan Wrights books and Tom Wolfe's style in The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test just pissed me off for some reason. Recommendations on books focusing primarily on the 20th or 21st century would be just grand.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2011 06:05
|
|
|
Quantum of Phallus posted:Hey guys and gals, I'm trying to find good examples of meta-fiction, preferably novels but any sort of book is fine, as long as it deals with the meta aspects of writing. If on a winter's night a traveler
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2011 09:21
|
|
|
Thanks for the suggestions guys!
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2011 10:00
|
|
|
Chumpion posted:Been trying to get some narrative driven journalistic or non fiction works on par with David Simon's amazing books. Read and re-read Homicide and The Corner even at the busiest times of my university degree because they were so gripping and after getting all psyched up for Summer reading I drilled through Generation Kill, Matterhorn (I know it's not technically non fiction) Hella Nation, The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test and Hell's Angels in the past fortnight have yet to find something that's nearly as good, found myself dragging myself through Evan Wrights books and Tom Wolfe's style in The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test just pissed me off for some reason. I'm a fan of RIchard Ben Cramer's books, especially What It Takes, which might be the best book on presidential politics ever written. Gay Talese and Joan Didion are good, too. And if you're willing to hunt around, Tom Wolfe edited an anthology called The New Journalism I'd recommend.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2011 17:05
|
|
|
Thanks guys.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2011 23:17
|
|
|
I have a kindle arriving tuesday, and I am now scrambling for new books to read on it. I just tore through Johnathan Maberry's Patient Zero, but didnt especially like the villains in the second book. My all time favorite book though is Besters The stars my destination. Anything similar to that in terms of semi-realistic future sci-fi with fast pacing?
|
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2011 06:12
|
|
|
Can anyone recommend me something along the lines of Harry Potter and The Magicians?
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2011 00:55
|
|
|
TheJazzMess posted:Can anyone recommend me something along the lines of Harry Potter and The Magicians? Susan Cooper, The Dark is Rising.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2011 01:47
|
|
|
I'm reading 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. It's a very readable and very broad overview of what Native American societies were like pre-contact. Does anyone know of any books like that for Asia and Africa?
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2011 01:57
|
|
|
Does anyone know any good books about Abrahamic angels and demons? Basically books talking about/listing them all and going into detail about them. I find that stuff really interesting and I would love to have a collection of books on the subject. Hell, if you know of any fiction that may utilize various angel and demons (specifically the struggle between the two) that'd be cool too. boonsha posted:So if anyone can recommend some type of modern vampire story or just general girly romance stuff that would be awesome, thanks! You could try The Last Vampire series of books by Christopher Pike. Those are probably my favorite vampire books. The books are a little philosophical/theological and start incorporating some science fiction in the last two or so books.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2011 21:18
|
|
|
Hey guys, I recently finished reading The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter and I really enjoyed it. Looking for more in that sort of vein - not necessarily fairy tale-like but dark, with good prose. On a completely different note, I'd also like to read more books set in ranches, farms, and other rural-like places, kind of like Annie Proulx. I picked up Close Range the other day and loved it. Can't really describe why but it's the combination of the prose and the general melancholy air of the stories.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2011 22:51
|
|
|
Any good non-fiction books about adventures in Las Vegas? Are there any good autobiographies from big time gamblers/poker players? Hell, even a fictional book if it fits the wants.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2011 22:58
|
|
|
AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 01:13 on Jan 22, 2016 |
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2011 23:18
|
|
|
Ok, this could be a bit vague. Basically my knowledge of literature is embarassingly and tragically limited; I grew up reading mostly the Harry Potter series as a child and then those horrible, horrible Warcraft novels by Knaak as a teenager. I somehow managed to get through two years of A-level English literature with good grades despite this, and my crappy tastes improved slightly from reading the classics that were assigned. Of those I enjoyed Wuthering Heights, The Great Gatsby, The Collector, All Quiet on the Western Front, and To Kill A Mockingbird most of all. Now I could do with some reccomedations of more books that are well acclaimed and seen as essentials in the same vein, though I'd generally prefer things that have aged well and are well written rather than famous for being influential or culturally important (I couldn't stand Shelley's Frankenstein for example). For that reason I'd also prefer texts from the beginning of the 20th century to the present over anything written before that period.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2011 23:24
|
|
|
nWoCHRISnWo posted:Any good non-fiction books about adventures in Las Vegas? Are there any good autobiographies from big time gamblers/poker players? The Professor, The Banker, and the Suicide King is a pretty entertaining read about Andy Beal, the banker who played for millions upon millions in Bobby's Room in Vegas. It's not super well written but worth a look. I've yet to read it, but I've heard great things about The Rise and Fall of Stu Unger. Great and tragic poker player and I'm sure you'd like it if youre into poker player biographies.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2011 23:33
|
|
|
TropiusInABox posted:Ok, this could be a bit vague. http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-novels/ There's a lot of good reads in there. You could probably pick 5 titles at random and come across something you'll like. Check them out from a library and you won't spend the price of a modern novel on an old novel that you possibly won't like. Libraries have a billion copies of the classics and if you're reading a classic you should really be smelling the book too.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2011 23:34
|
|
|
I highly suggest I, Claudius and its sequel Claudius, the God. Its an awesome account of the end of Augustus's reign along with Tiberius, Caligula then Claudius himself. It also has one of the greatest villains as you completely understand what she does but it is completely horrifying at the same time. Then when you finish you can watch an amazing mini series
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2011 23:47
|
|
|
Quantify! posted:Pick and choose from this list: I second this suggestion, but with a caveat: the abundance of Rand and Hubbard on the reader's list is a result of stuffing the ballot box, not good taste (not that some of the board's omissions aren't questionable). For a direct suggestion, since you liked All Quiet..., you might want to check out Karl Marlantes' excellent Matterhorn, which recently came out in paperback.
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2011 01:21
|
|
|
Thanks for the suggestions!
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2011 09:40
|
|
|
TropiusInABox posted:Thanks for the suggestions! (I know All the Pretty Horses was recommended on this page but I consider my own question a bit broader)
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2011 09:51
|
|
|
nWoCHRISnWo posted:Any good non-fiction books about adventures in Las Vegas? Are there any good autobiographies from big time gamblers/poker players? Bringing Down The House by Ben Mezrich (the book that 21 was very loosely based on) is an OK read about the MIT students who managed to win a shitload of money playing blackjack in Vegas. The general story is interesting enough but the writer kind of sucks IMHO - your mileage may vary. csidle posted:I'm working my way through Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian at the moment. How do his other works measure up to this in tone and prose? I'm considering putting the time into reading the entire Border trilogy, but I'm also interested in his other stuff. I've read all of his books and Blood Meridian is pretty much the pinnacle. Not to say that his other stuff isn't worth reading - Suttree in particular is excellent (prose and story-wise) and surprisingly funny for McCarthy. The Border trilogy is very good as well if you want more Western stuff from McCarthy, though it takes that in a different direction.
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2011 15:11
|
|
|
I started Blood Meridian just today, and holy poo poo it's amazing. Now for my question! I finished reading Oryx and Crake (by Margaret Atwood) last night and I loved it; are the remaining two books in the MaddAddam trilogy worth reading?
|
|
#
?
Aug 2, 2011 02:41
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 21, 2024 02:26 |
|
|
Whoops, double post.
|
|
#
?
Aug 2, 2011 02:42
|
|