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StrikerJ posted:Any suggestions for non-fiction books about gangs (as in street gangs like Bloods or MS-13 and similar)? Thanks in advance. While I have a few problems with it, Sudhir Venkatesh's Gang Leader For a Day provides a really interesting look at the organization and operations of Chicago's Black Kings gang.
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Sep 30, 2011 12:07
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funkybottoms posted:Sudhir Venkatesh's Gang Leader For a Day Coming here to post this. Also, Herbert Asbury's The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld is a dated mishmash of anecdotes and possibly misleading and inaccurate history. It is fascinating and an great read, however.
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Sep 30, 2011 16:45
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StrikerJ posted:Any suggestions for non-fiction books about gangs (as in street gangs like Bloods or MS-13 and similar)? Thanks in advance. Among The Thugs by Bill Buford is almost like a real-life A Clockwork Orange, where Buford follows a gang of "football hooligans" as they rampage across Europe during the World Cup. True story, and a really fascinating read.
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Sep 30, 2011 16:50
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AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 01:13 on Jan 22, 2016 |
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Sep 30, 2011 22:43
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Adrianics posted:Am looking to bolster my collection of American History books: Can anyone recommend an easy-to-read and engrossing non-fiction book about the Vietnam War, along the same lines as Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin and Battle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPherson? Obviously looking for accounts of America's involvement, contexts, histories, etc. Thanks in advance Sheehan's "A Bright Shining Lie" is pretty good. It's a non-fiction story about an American soldier's rise and fall that parallels his country's military involvement in Southeast Asia.
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Oct 1, 2011 00:11
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The Library of America has a pretty good two-volume set collecting reportage from Vietnam. There's a lot of neat stuff there: David Halberstam's profile of John Paul Vann, memoirs from front-line soliders, lengthy excepts from Dispatches and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail and a cool Tom Wolfe piece on fighter pilots. I'm not sure if I'd call it engrossing, but it was a fascinating read.
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Oct 1, 2011 02:36
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Looking for some good contemporary sociology books. I just graduated after studying sociology (and am now in a great tech job thank you very much) and kind of miss the reading. Any suggestions? I'm mostly into media/technology/culture/theory/micro sort of stuff but open to anything interesting.
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Oct 4, 2011 16:29
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Are there any good crime novels set in the Middle East, North Africa, or India? I've read Vikram Chandra's Sacred Games and loved it, but was disappointed by Rawi Hage's De Niro's Game because it abandoned the crime aspect incredibly early into the book in exchange for "main character fucks around and is an rear end in a top hat." I'd prefer it to be set in the Middle East and be contemporary, but any crime fiction in that general part of the world would be good.
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Oct 5, 2011 02:29
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WeaponGradeSadness posted:Are there any good crime novels set in the Middle East, North Africa, or India? I've read Vikram Chandra's Sacred Games and loved it, but was disappointed by Rawi Hage's De Niro's Game because it abandoned the crime aspect incredibly early into the book in exchange for "main character fucks around and is an rear end in a top hat." I'd prefer it to be set in the Middle East and be contemporary, but any crime fiction in that general part of the world would be good. So an Indian friend of mine told me that Surender Pathak is the king of super cheesy Indian pulp, but as far as I can tell there are only 2 books available in English: http://www.amazon.com/Lakh-Heist-Surender-Mohan-Pathak/dp/8190605658/ Look at that cover! Publisher is here: http://blaft.com/ I kinda want to buy everything on this site. Have you read The Thief and the Dogs by Mahfouz? It's not a crime novel exactly, but I feel like you'd dig it. ShutteredIn fucked around with this message at 08:27 on Oct 5, 2011 |
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Oct 5, 2011 08:17
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StrikerJ posted:Any suggestions for non-fiction books about gangs (as in street gangs like Bloods or MS-13 and similar)? Thanks in advance. I can't vouch for it myself, but David Simon's book The Corner was the basis for The Wire.
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Oct 5, 2011 08:22
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WeaponGradeSadness posted:Are there any good crime novels set in the Middle East, North Africa, or India? I've read Vikram Chandra's Sacred Games and loved it, but was disappointed by Rawi Hage's De Niro's Game because it abandoned the crime aspect incredibly early into the book in exchange for "main character fucks around and is an rear end in a top hat." I'd prefer it to be set in the Middle East and be contemporary, but any crime fiction in that general part of the world would be good. The Arabesk trilogy (Pashazade, Effendi, Felaheen) by Jon Courtenay Grimwood is pretty good - it takes place in an alternate version of North Africa where the Ottoman Empire never collapsed. It's not exactly a series of crime thrillers per se but the first book at least has the main character trying to solve the murder of a family member and unraveling a conspiracy. Might be worth checking out.
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Oct 5, 2011 14:57
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ShutteredIn posted:So an Indian friend of mine told me that Surender Pathak is the king of super cheesy Indian pulp, but as far as I can tell there are only 2 books available in English: http://www.amazon.com/Lakh-Heist-Surender-Mohan-Pathak/dp/8190605658/ Encryptic posted:The Arabesk trilogy (Pashazade, Effendi, Felaheen) by Jon Courtenay Grimwood is pretty good - it takes place in an alternate version of North Africa where the Ottoman Empire never collapsed. It's not exactly a series of crime thrillers per se but the first book at least has the main character trying to solve the murder of a family member and unraveling a conspiracy. Might be worth checking out. Encryptic, could you elaborate a bit on what sci-fi elements are in the Arabesk trilogy? I really like the synopsis but all the reviews are talking about it being SF. Is that just because of the alternate history aspect or what? I like the sound of the story well enough to overcome my wariness of SF and get it anyway, I'd just like to know what to expect. Also, thanks for linking that website, ShutteredIn! A lot of the books listed there sound really good--I'll definitely buy at least those Tamil Pulp Fiction Collections...I mean, how can you say no to a cover like this:  
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Oct 5, 2011 16:18
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StrikerJ posted:Any suggestions for non-fiction books about gangs (as in street gangs like Bloods or MS-13 and similar)? Thanks in advance. You should try Adrian Nicole LeBlanc's book, Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble and Coming of Age in the Bronx. She's a literary journalist who spent a decade immersed in the life of one (extended) family. Gang culture plays a big role.
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Oct 6, 2011 01:56
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I just finished Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 and enjoyed it. Since I liked this book is it reasonable to assume I may like his other works? From what I've read about them they are longer and more challenging to read.
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Oct 6, 2011 02:03
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WeaponGradeSadness posted:Encryptic, could you elaborate a bit on what sci-fi elements are in the Arabesk trilogy? I really like the synopsis but all the reviews are talking about it being SF. Is that just because of the alternate history aspect or what? I like the sound of the story well enough to overcome my wariness of SF and get it anyway, I'd just like to know what to expect. I don't recall it being very heavily sci-fi - there's some futuristic elements but it's not like "The Ottoman Empire - IN SPACE" or something. Grimwood's written other stuff that's definitely SF (Stamping Butterflies), but not this. I checked the (spoilerific) Wiki entry on the trilogy to refresh my memory before I posted originally so hopefully you should be safe.  damage path posted:I just finished Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 and enjoyed it. Since I liked this book is it reasonable to assume I may like his other works? From what I've read about them they are longer and more challenging to read. If you liked COL49 - you might like his other stuff - it definitely has the same tone but on a much larger scale that makes it difficult to follow (for me anyway). I love his stuff, but I understand probably about 75% of it on a good day. Gravity's Rainbow is of course his most famous book and probably the one thing anyone should read by Pynchon, I'd say - it's insane, funny and brilliant in one package. I'd also throw out Mason and Dixon - I loved it but the olde tyme style Pynchon wrote it in can take a while to parse sometimes. It is probably his most straight-forward book though, since it focuses on Mason and Dixon for the most part. Finally - Inherent Vice is pretty fun too if you're into detective fiction at all or just enjoy Pynchon's brand of humor. Edit: The Pynchon Wiki is a good resource for tracking down some of the more obscure references and the like. Encryptic fucked around with this message at 05:23 on Oct 6, 2011 |
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Oct 6, 2011 05:19
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Encryptic posted:
Thanks for the reassurance. I pulled the trigger yesterday and bought V., Gravity's Rainbow, Vineland, and Mason and Dixon before posting my question. I will probably read GR last since I think it is the longest? I also did order the companion guide to it since I read reviews saying it is basically a must have, especially if you are younger than 40 since you won't get that many more references.
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Oct 6, 2011 22:00
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I have a very odd request. Does anyone know of any first-person perspective, science fiction that is either written by a female author or from a female perspective? It's something I've been interested lately.
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Oct 7, 2011 01:36
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Sir Wilson posted:I have a very odd request. Why would this be odd? James Alan Gardener always writes from first person, and I love his stuff. Expendable is the first in a series, it's from a female first-person narrator, and it is awesome. The rest of the series is even more awesome and several of the books feature female narrators. Committment Hour is also by him, not part of the series, and has a first-person female narrator some of the time. John Barnes wrote Orbital Resonance which has the flavour of a modern Heinlein juvenile & has a female first-person narrator. Mira Grant's Feed is a zombie apocalypse novel written by a woman with a first-person female narrator. The Gate of Ivory, Two-Bit Heroes and Guilt-Edged Ivory by Doris Egan. A cultural anthropologist ends up on a planet where magic works and boy is she pissed. Kage Baker's Company series has several books which are narrated from first-person by a woman, including the first of the series, In the Garden of Iden. Talking to a friend of mine about it, we realised that while lots of urban fantasy/paranormal romance and associated semi-detective-noir genres seem to lend themselves well to first, most sf we can think of is written in tight third, and most fantasy tends to be either omni (well, not real omni, but sort of) or a lot of alternating tight third viewpoints. Idonie fucked around with this message at 03:15 on Oct 8, 2011 |
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Oct 7, 2011 03:07
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Octavia Butler! At least some of the Patternist books are first person, and even when writing in third she's often intimate enough with the mind of the protagonist that it feels first-person (Kindred). Maybe someone can double-check my memory.
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Oct 7, 2011 04:47
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damage path posted:Thanks for the reassurance. I pulled the trigger yesterday and bought V., Gravity's Rainbow, Vineland, and Mason and Dixon before posting my question. I will probably read GR last since I think it is the longest? I also did order the companion guide to it since I read reviews saying it is basically a must have, especially if you are younger than 40 since you won't get that many more references. Yeah, a companion will help with GR, definitely. I couldn't get into V. despite trying a few times - not trying to discourage you or anything - just my experience with that one. I've read everything else he's written except for Vineland and his short story collection Slow Learner - everything is good to one degree or another, though Against The Day wasn't my favorite, either.
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Oct 7, 2011 05:08
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Sir Wilson posted:I have a very odd request. Ursala K LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness
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Oct 7, 2011 12:14
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Sir Wilson posted:I have a very odd request. Do you want it to be particularly about gender, or are you just after female protagonists? There's The Hunger Games (bad), and Embassytown (good), which are both sci-fi novels told in first person by a female protagonist.
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Oct 7, 2011 12:32
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Does anyone know of any good short stories or novels that have ghost/horror/supernatural themes? I'm not big on King, but I've read his work. I enjoyed his son's short story collection, though. I want something interesting and unsettling. I grabbed an anthology called "Poe's Children", so we'll see how that goes.
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Oct 7, 2011 23:43
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Sir Wilson posted:I have a very odd request. It's not first-person, but C. S. Friedman is a pretty good science fiction author and a lot of her work focuses on female protagonists. This Alien Shore and Feast of Souls both follow women as their main characters, and to an extent so does In Conquest Born and its sequel The Wilding.
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Oct 7, 2011 23:48
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escape artist posted:Does anyone know of any good short stories or novels that have ghost/horror/supernatural themes? I'm not big on King, but I've read his work. I enjoyed his son's short story collection, though. I want something interesting and unsettling. Dan Simmons has written a ton of mostly good horror (Carrion Comfort, Song of Kali, Fires of Eden, Drood, The Terror, etc.) If you haven't read it - join the BOTM and snag Something Wicked This Way Comes. Great book and very creepy.
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Oct 8, 2011 02:24
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escape artist posted:Does anyone know of any good short stories or novels that have ghost/horror/supernatural themes? I'm not big on King, but I've read his work. I enjoyed his son's short story collection, though. I want something interesting and unsettling. Poe's Children is a great anthology. Check out Ellen Datlow's Best Horror of the Year volumes (three so far).
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Oct 8, 2011 03:45
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Can anyone recommend a good short story collection preferably by a famous author as most English language books are hard to find out here. I'm just now finishing a collection of Hemingway.
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Oct 11, 2011 06:43
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Private Snowball posted:Can anyone recommend a good short story collection preferably by a famous author as most English language books are hard to find out here. I'm just now finishing a collection of Hemingway.
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Oct 11, 2011 08:41
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damage path posted:Thanks for the reassurance. I pulled the trigger yesterday and bought V., Gravity's Rainbow, Vineland, and Mason and Dixon before posting my question. I will probably read GR last since I think it is the longest? I also did order the companion guide to it since I read reviews saying it is basically a must have, especially if you are younger than 40 since you won't get that many more references. Lot 49 is my favorite Pynchon as well. Based on that list, I'd follow it with V., Gravity's (with a guide for the allusions and references and stuff - Pynchon's RICH with that stuff) and then Vineland and Mason and Dixon. "Against the Day" is my second-favorite, but you kind of have to do it after all of the aforementioned. I couldn't get through "Inherent Vice," which is saying something.
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Oct 11, 2011 15:53
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Private Snowball posted:Can anyone recommend a good short story collection preferably by a famous author as most English language books are hard to find out here. I'm just now finishing a collection of Hemingway. Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger.
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Oct 11, 2011 16:26
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Private Snowball posted:Can anyone recommend a good short story collection preferably by a famous author as most English language books are hard to find out here. I'm just now finishing a collection of Hemingway. Scott Fitzgerald's short stories are also pretty great if you would like to spend some more time with the lost generation, so long as you don't mind a little fetishizing of the rich.
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Oct 11, 2011 16:26
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Private Snowball posted:Can anyone recommend a good short story collection preferably by a famous author as most English language books are hard to find out here. I'm just now finishing a collection of Hemingway. Rudyard Kipling's Plain Tales from the Hills. They're his first published works -- he wrote them for a newspaper in India -- and they're basically slice of life stories from British Imperial India. They're all amazing; some are amazingly imperialist, some are amazingly anti-imperialist (esp. considering they're written by Kipling); all of them are excellently written. Plus, out of copyright, so free as ebook. Second recommendation is going to be James Joyce's Dubliners. Third recommendation is going to be Faulkner's Go Down, Moses. It's nominally a collection of short stories but the stories all interlink with each other, so it's sortof a novel, too.
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Oct 11, 2011 16:37
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AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 01:13 on Jan 22, 2016 |
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Oct 11, 2011 19:38
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Private Snowball posted:Can anyone recommend a good short story collection preferably by a famous author as most English language books are hard to find out here. I'm just now finishing a collection of Hemingway. You can't go wrong with anything by Raymond Carver or John Cheever. I've been diggin' 40 Stories by Donald Barthelme and Andre Dubus' Selected Stories lately, too.
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Oct 11, 2011 20:04
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barkingclam posted:You can't go wrong with anything by Raymond Carver F'real, if you liked that Hemingway collecction, you'll like Carver.
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Oct 12, 2011 21:03
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To add to the short story collection love, any of Alice Munro's books would be a good pick. She's absolutely wonderful and does whate'r the gently caress she wants.
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Oct 13, 2011 02:18
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Hey, suggest me something like Asimov's Foundation series. I liked how big and expansive it was and then also the little interludes of galactic history and whatnot. On the flip side, is there there anything more ... space trader/pioneer-ish? Maybe like parts of Heinlein's Time Enough for Love without all the time travel, creepy mother, clone-daughter three way incest, and objectivism.
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Oct 13, 2011 23:30
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Tin-Horn Indian posted:Hey, suggest me something like Asimov's Foundation series. I liked how big and expansive it was and then also the little interludes of galactic history and whatnot. Been a while since I read it, but maybe the Lensman series by EE Doc Smith. quote:On the flip side, is there there anything more ... space trader/pioneer-ish? Maybe like parts of Heinlein's Time Enough for Love without all the time travel, creepy mother, clone-daughter three way incest, and objectivism. John Scalzi's rewrite of Fuzzy Nation.
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Oct 14, 2011 03:16
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Tin-Horn Indian posted:Hey, suggest me something like Asimov's Foundation series. I liked how big and expansive it was and then also the little interludes of galactic history and whatnot. Pournelle's CoDominium series http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CoDominium
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Oct 14, 2011 03:19
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Private Snowball posted:Can anyone recommend a good short story collection preferably by a famous author as most English language books are hard to find out here. I'm just now finishing a collection of Hemingway. Anything by Anton Chekhov. He is extraordinary. You can find it online for free at Project Gutenberg and other places I believe, as well.
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Oct 18, 2011 19:52
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