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taco show posted:I'm looking for a funny/charming, adventure-y book. I haven't read much fantasy since grade school so the only references for the style I'm aiming for are Howl's Moving Castle or Ella Enchanted. I just finished Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore which was fun, if a little too pat. Maybe along the lines of The Mummy if it was a book? The Discworld series for sure! Not quite like the mummy, but there's awesome British comedy mixed with fun adventures. Here's a recommended reading order guide: 
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May 6, 2013 19:01
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AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 01:18 on Jan 22, 2016 |
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May 6, 2013 20:38
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Lord Hydronium posted:What are some good layman's books on basic economic theory? As in, "assume I know nothing about economics" basic.
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May 6, 2013 23:00
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BlazinLow305 posted:Can someone recommend some fantasy somewhat similar to A Song of Ice and Fire? Not really sure how to explain what I'm looking for. I just know I really enjoyed that series, and it seems like the feel of the series is hard to find. I basically enjoyed the POV chapters, the fact magic wasn't simply everywhere and anyone could us it, I enjoyed whatever you'd call the system/politics of the houses and lords. I also liked how the series had a generally darker tone. I've read some forgotten realms stuff which I sometimes enjoy but is mostly the opposite of all that. I also have tried Malazan, and while it's pretty complicated and hard to get into I'm not in the mood for that now though I'm eventually going to try it again. Also, I've already read Abercrombie. Since Game of Thrones has been on again lately, it's really making me miss reading ASoIaF. I'm afraid there's nothing to replace the void, because I generally keep up with this forum and I figure if there was anything similar and just as interesting I'd have heard of it by now. I know this is from a few pages back but I really enjoyed David B. Coe's Lon Tobyn Chronicle series starting with Children of Amarid. Magic users are rare but featured, using bird familiars they bind with to cast spells. There's also a trial and you get to see their political system, and the story shifts around to several different characters throughout the novel. Granted I was like 15 when I read this but it stuck with me!
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May 7, 2013 08:32
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Any recommendations for books about Nikola Tesla?
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May 8, 2013 01:40
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I'm looking for mainly non-fiction books/textbooks that concern the economic system of the Byzantine Empire.
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May 8, 2013 18:40
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Mike Cartwright posted:I'm looking for mainly non-fiction books/textbooks that concern the economic system of the Byzantine Empire. A friend says The Byzantine Economy by Laiou and Morrisson is the standard text.
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May 8, 2013 19:27
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Does anyone have any good suggestions for books on Mexico? Fiction, non-fiction, I'm open to anything you've got. My only real preference is that I'd prefer something set after Spain arrived, but any time between Cortés first setting foot in the Yucatán to the modern day would be great. Thanks in advance!
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May 8, 2013 21:02
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What can you guys recommend in the way of Chomsky's work on linguistics?
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May 9, 2013 18:09
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Anyone got any recs for books with good love stories? I think that a book with a legit good love story is pretty rare. I realized that, other than Pride and Prejudice and Gone With The Wind, I've never really read a book where I was actually interested in the couple in question - it's usually something that I kind of look at and go "oh, okay, whatever" - so yeah, hit me with some good love stories.
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May 13, 2013 01:13
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Have you tried Lolita by Vladimir Nabakov? Another good one is Pamela by Samuel Richardson.
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May 13, 2013 04:17
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AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 01:18 on Jan 22, 2016 |
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May 13, 2013 06:05
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Please point me to some good mil sci-fi. Not too John Ringo, more Steve White-ish? Also my kindle will puke if someone says David Drake.
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May 13, 2013 08:08
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barkingclam posted:Have you tried Lolita by Vladimir Nabakov? Another good one is Pamela by Samuel Richardson.
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May 13, 2013 15:07
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Akarshi posted:Anyone got any recs for books with good love stories? I think that a book with a legit good love story is pretty rare. I realized that, other than Pride and Prejudice and Gone With The Wind, I've never really read a book where I was actually interested in the couple in question - it's usually something that I kind of look at and go "oh, okay, whatever" - so yeah, hit me with some good love stories. Some Short Stories: - "A Girl I Knew" by J.D. Salinger (search online) - "The Lady with the Dog" by Anton Chekhov (gotta be widely available online) - "L. DeBard and Aliette: a Love Story" by Lauren Groff (I have it in Best American Short Stories 2007, but was published originally in Atlantic Monthly) - Jeffrey Eugenides edited a short story collection of love stories that I think actually includes the Chekhov one I listed above. For a novel, I actually really like The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, and Atonement by Ian McEwan. Of course, you could also check out everything else by Austen. It's poetry, but Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnets from the Portuguese are amazing and beautiful. EDIT: If you read Pamela you have to read Shamela by Fielding. You have to. DirtyRobot fucked around with this message at 15:14 on May 13, 2013 |
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May 13, 2013 15:12
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satchmo.joe posted:Please point me to some good mil sci-fi. Not too John Ringo, more Steve White-ish? Also my kindle will puke if someone says David Drake. Have you read Scalzi's Old Man's War?
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May 13, 2013 16:45
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You've got few choices in mil sci-fi, it's pretty standard stuff. You aren't going to find any Steve White-ish stuff, since Sector General Hospital was specifically and famously pacifist and non-military. Joe Haldeman's Forever War/Peace comes close in it's disdain for the entire thing. Read John Steakley's Armor. Avoiding David Drake (RCN series isn't that bad, mostly because it wasn't his template), if you want spaceships you should check out Ian Douglas's Star Carrier series and Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet. If you're looking at political implications, civilian issues, C.J. Cherryh's Downbelow Station is where it's at. If you want ground combat, look at Robert Buettner's Orphan's... series, Steven L. Kent's Clone series, and also maybe check out Jack McDevitt's Talent for War or Seeker or Timothy Zahn's The Icarus Hunt (no it's good, really) for a more investigatory, extended detachment government arm stuff. Edit: plus Scalzi, as above. Bhodi fucked around with this message at 19:42 on May 13, 2013 |
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May 13, 2013 19:21
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I've read Steakley, Haldeman and Buettner's stuff. I will check out Douglas Zahn Mcdevitt and Kent's books this week. Thank you for all the recommendations as well. Kinda shocked no one threw down the classics of the genre (Dorsai/Starship Troopers). And let us not forget Pournelle's Falkenberg's Legion. On a side note can anyone remember a 70's book about a modern day Tamerlane/Genghis Khan over throwing the USSR and then invading the USA?
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May 13, 2013 23:31
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satchmo.joe posted:On a side note can anyone remember a 70's book about a modern day Tamerlane/Genghis Khan over throwing the USSR and then invading the USA?
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May 14, 2013 00:08
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Akarshi posted:Anyone got any recs for books with good love stories? I think that a book with a legit good love story is pretty rare. I realized that, other than Pride and Prejudice and Gone With The Wind, I've never really read a book where I was actually interested in the couple in question - it's usually something that I kind of look at and go "oh, okay, whatever" - so yeah, hit me with some good love stories. The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery - maybe not as sweeping as Atonement or Time Traveler's Wife, but so, so good.
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May 14, 2013 01:48
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satchmo.joe posted:Please point me to some good mil sci-fi. Not too John Ringo, more Steve White-ish? Also my kindle will puke if someone says David Drake. The Vorkosigan Saga by Louis McMaster Bujold has a lot of military in general, though most books aren't really focused on it.
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May 14, 2013 02:29
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Can anyone recommend books that give really evocative portrayals of cities? Non-fiction is okay, but I would prefer fiction and the more literary the better. Not even entire books, just a really good solid chapter or passage would be fantastic if you know of one.
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May 15, 2013 16:29
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Eau de MacGowan posted:Can anyone recommend books that give really evocative portrayals of cities? Non-fiction is okay, but I would prefer fiction and the more literary the better. Not even entire books, just a really good solid chapter or passage would be fantastic if you know of one.
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May 15, 2013 23:08
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Could anybody recommend books in which the main character is a natural leader, basically somebody with a personality similar to Mal Reynolds from Firefly or Hank Moody from Californication (the TV shows)? The genre doesn't matter at all!
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May 15, 2013 23:19
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Old Man's War!
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May 15, 2013 23:21
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Lex Talionis posted:Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin is a very literary magical realist ode to the idea of New York City. Seconding this, Winters Tale is fantastic.
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May 15, 2013 23:44
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Illegal Move posted:Could anybody recommend books in which the main character is a natural leader, basically somebody with a personality similar to Mal Reynolds from Firefly or Hank Moody from Californication (the TV shows)? The genre doesn't matter at all! All The King's Men by Robert Penn Warren. Wikipedia describes it s follows: All the King's Men portrays the dramatic political rise and governorship of Willie Stark, a cynical populist in the American South during the 1930s. The novel is narrated by Jack Burden, a political reporter who comes to work as Governor Stark's right-hand man. The trajectory of Stark's career is interwoven with Jack Burden's life story and philosophical reflections: "the story of Willie Stark and the story of Jack Burden are, in one sense, one story." It's a really good book and fits your criteria perfectly.
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May 16, 2013 00:07
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Eau de MacGowan posted:Can anyone recommend books that give really evocative portrayals of cities? Non-fiction is okay, but I would prefer fiction and the more literary the better. Not even entire books, just a really good solid chapter or passage would be fantastic if you know of one. Chronic City
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May 16, 2013 03:03
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I just watched the 2011 version of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and loved it, I was wondering if the novel(s) are worth picking up for someone, like me, who has never read any spy fiction at all (unless Hunt For Red October counts, I guess).
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May 16, 2013 03:17
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a kitten posted:I just watched the 2011 version of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and loved it, I was wondering if the novel(s) are worth picking up for someone, like me, who has never read any spy fiction at all (unless Hunt For Red October counts, I guess). Definitely, le Carre is a great writer. His plots can get ridiculously complicated though, so don't be afraid to look up summaries to follow along at points. I had to look up what the hell some of the cold war technology he talks about was too.
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May 16, 2013 04:18
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Lex Talionis posted:Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin is a very literary magical realist ode to the idea of New York City. funkybottoms posted:Chronic City Thanks for these, I'll give both a shot.
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May 16, 2013 16:05
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After watching HBO's Game of Thrones i got pretty interested in reading the books. But the problem is i'm hearing there are seven books. I looked online and i find sets of 5 or 6 books with roughly the same total pages. I'm looking to buy this set. http://www.bol.com/nl/p/a-game-of-thrones-5-copy-boxed-set/9200000002311711/ but there is also this set http://www.bol.com/nl/p/lies-boeken...26itm_role%3din and the total pages are almost the same. Does the 5 set cover the whole story? Because the other sets I saw are also roughly 5200 pages.
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May 16, 2013 19:57
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Sefal posted:After watching HBO's Game of Thrones i got pretty interested in reading the books. But the problem is i'm hearing there are seven books. I looked online and i find sets of 5 or 6 books with roughly the same total pages. There are currently five books in the series, it's just that the books are so long that some publishers like to split them up. That seven book set has the third and fifth books in the series split into two each. So you will be getting the same series either way.
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May 16, 2013 20:06
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WeaponGradeSadness posted:There are currently five books in the series, it's just that the books are so long that some publishers like to split them up. That seven book set has the third and fifth books in the series split into two each. So you will be getting the same series either way. Thank you for clarifying that up.
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May 16, 2013 21:44
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I don't know much about famous paintings and sculptures, so I would like a book that includes biographies of famous artists with pictures and descriptions of their most famous works. When I tried to find famous books about art I came across Lives of the Most Eminemt Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (1550) by Giorgio Vasari, which seems nice but without pictures and seems to be mostly about the artists themselves, and On Painting (1435) by Leon Battista Alberti, which seems to be more about the philosophies behind art in general, again without pictures! I would like a collection geared more toward the classics, but I have no problem with reading about contemporary artists either!
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May 17, 2013 06:34
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Fun Times! posted:I don't know much about famous paintings and sculptures, so I would like a book that includes biographies of famous artists with pictures and descriptions of their most famous works. When I tried to find famous books about art I came across Lives of the Most Eminemt Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (1550) by Giorgio Vasari, which seems nice but without pictures and seems to be mostly about the artists themselves, and On Painting (1435) by Leon Battista Alberti, which seems to be more about the philosophies behind art in general, again without pictures! E. H. Gombrich's "The Story of Art" pretty much ends in the first half of the XX century, but it's a wonderful intro to paintings, sculptures and a bit of architecture. There are more than 400 full-colour pictures of artworks, clear and interesting explanations why they're important, biographies of artists and styles and tons of info on how to 'read' an artwork.
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May 17, 2013 09:03
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Burning Rain posted:E. H. Gombrich's "The Story of Art" pretty much ends in the first half of the XX century, but it's a wonderful intro to paintings, sculptures and a bit of architecture. There are more than 400 full-colour pictures of artworks, clear and interesting explanations why they're important, biographies of artists and styles and tons of info on how to 'read' an artwork. That sounds loving sick. Thank you!
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May 17, 2013 14:54
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I'm fascinated by Islamic Spain. Does anyone know any good simple fiction, alt history, or even outright fantasy that involves historical events like the fall of the Visigothic Kingdom, the Cordoban Caliphate, or the Taifa Kingdoms? I'm not too interested in crusader narratives or stories from the Christian side of the Reconquista, but anything from the Muslim side would be great. The novels I've found so far that involve this region/period are The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and The Walking Drum by Louis L'Amour. So anything at least as tied as them to Muslim Iberia would be interesting. Additionally, I am also interested in suggestions for good historical or non-fiction books on this time period/geographical area. I've read The Legacy of Muslim Spain and at least one other book about the crusades, but they were just what I found in the library that got me interested in this. So I'm curious what the best accounts of this period are.
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May 17, 2013 21:36
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LtStorm posted:I'm fascinated by Islamic Spain. Does anyone know any good simple fiction, alt history, or even outright fantasy that involves historical events like the fall of the Visigothic Kingdom, the Cordoban Caliphate, or the Taifa Kingdoms? I'm not too interested in crusader narratives or stories from the Christian side of the Reconquista, but anything from the Muslim side would be great. The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay and The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold are both fantastic. They're fantasy novels set in fantasy versions of reconquista-era Spain. Lions has characters from both the "christian" and "muslim" side, Chalion is mostly "Christian" side, but neither uses precise religion analogues (ex., in Lions it's sun worship vs. star worship, with one "Jewish" character worshiping the twin moons.).
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May 17, 2013 21:47
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LtStorm posted:I'm fascinated by Islamic Spain. Does anyone know any good simple fiction, alt history, or even outright fantasy that involves historical events like the fall of the Visigothic Kingdom, the Cordoban Caliphate, or the Taifa Kingdoms? I'm not too interested in crusader narratives or stories from the Christian side of the Reconquista, but anything from the Muslim side would be great. Tariq Ali has an "Islam Quintet," the first of which is Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree, a family saga about a Muslim family in the aftermath of the fall of Granada. It's one of those books I've had sitting on my shelf for like a year and have yet to get around to reading so I can't personally vouch for it's quality, but I figured I'd make you aware of it since it seems like it fits what you're talking about.
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May 17, 2013 21:55
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