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I wouldn't be surprised if someone has asked about this before, but I couldn't find anything. I'm curious about cults and fundamentalism. For cults: What attracts people to cults, and what keeps them there? (I know it has to do with exploiting their weaknesses, but I'm hoping to find specific examples or at least a clearer explanation) For fundamentalism: I guess I'm interested in what it's like living in a fundamentalist community. So maybe memoirs dealing with that?
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May 24, 2013 23:59
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funkybottoms posted:Philip K Dick and Ray Bradbury wrote tons of great short stories, too, but I don't know if that would be too "out there" for your boy. Most PKD is too out there for this, but I'm sure he could read A Scanner Darkly with no problems.
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May 25, 2013 00:05
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stratdax posted:What book should I suggest to a 20 year old who has literally never read a book in his life? He works with me and sees me reading every day on lunch break, so today he said that he wants to start reading. Big pressure - if I suggest the wrong novel he might never give it another go. He dropped out of school in 9th grade and has partied his way through life until now, but he has his poo poo together at work and, as I said, he approached me and said he wants to start reading, so I think he's going to give it an honest try. The Hunger Games got my dad back into reading after 20+ years of not picking up a book. I think appealed to him because he'd heard of it and because since it's YA it's a pretty quick, easy read.
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May 25, 2013 02:13
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Radio! posted:The Hunger Games got my dad back into reading after 20+ years of not picking up a book. I think appealed to him because he'd heard of it and because since it's YA it's a pretty quick, easy read. Yeah, that's probably a good choice. If he likes fantasy, try Harry Potter.
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May 25, 2013 02:22
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Here I am whining for something fun to read again, although this time it's just because I want something fun to read, not because I'm sick and stuck on the couch or anything. Lately I've been working through the LOA Philip K Dick set, and I've finished 1Q84, and I want something that is merely entertaining. Any ideas?
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May 25, 2013 03:21
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Zola posted:Here I am whining for something fun to read again, although this time it's just because I want something fun to read, not because I'm sick and stuck on the couch or anything. Lately I've been working through the LOA Philip K Dick set, and I've finished 1Q84, and I want something that is merely entertaining. Any ideas? Hrm. From what I remember you've already read most of the things I would recommend for that. Lately I've been on a crash course of schlocky sci-fi Space Opera; the Lost Fleet series, the Star Carrier America series, and the Leviathan Wakes series. They're all decent and about what you'd expect. Of the three Leviathan Wakes is the brainiest and the Star Carrier series is the most awesomely stupid. For something a little more old school maybe try the Dilvished the Damned and Changing Land collections of fantasy short stories by Roger Zelazny. They're relatively unknown but among Zelazny's best work. (If you haven't read any Zelazny at all, ignore everything I just said and read his Lord of Light and Isle of the Dead). A Night in the Lonesome October is another pure fun one but more suited to reading in October. Looking over the shelf, hrm. . . Asprin's Myth series? Goblin Quest? Ill Met in Lankhmar? The Misenchanted Sword by Lawrence Watt-Evans? Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 03:39 on May 25, 2013 |
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May 25, 2013 03:35
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Hrm. From what I remember you've already read most of the things I would recommend for that. I thought Leviathan Wakes and Caliban's War were pretty decent, although I'm a little concerned the series is going to go the same route as Michael Kube-McDowell's The Trigon Disunity and end up with some sort of galactic superpower deus ex machina. I've got a bunch of Lawrence Watt-Evans, in fact, I particularly love the Misenchanted Sword because the hero is so refreshingly ordinary. I get tired of the eternally perfect hero types (Honor Harrington, anyone?), or the "pull the deus ex machina out of my rear end because I wrote myself into a corner" stuff. I actually have all the Zelazny titles mentioned and Amber besides, but could never get into Lord of Light despite trying to do so repeatedly. Aspirin is just plain fun, I have a number of the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Maybe I'll check out Goblin Quest or even Libromancer. I really appreciate the suggestions, I keep hoping for something as good as Bridge of Birds or as fun as Morden's Petrovitch series, but even if books like that are few and far between, one thing this thread has done for me is give me a bunch of new authors to follow!
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May 25, 2013 04:10
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If he hasn't read Harry Potter I'd say it is an obvious choice.
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May 25, 2013 07:53
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Down With People posted:Most PKD is too out there for this, but I'm sure he could read A Scanner Darkly with no problems. That's one of my favorite books, period, and it's certainly pretty grounded for Dick, but I don't think it's a good choice for a non-reader. Some of the short stories are obviously pretty weird, but they're more like Twilight Zone episodes than the absolutely what-the-fuckery of stuff like Lies, Inc or Palmer Eldritch. Zola posted:I really appreciate the suggestions, I keep hoping for something as good as Bridge of Birds or as fun as Morden's Petrovitch series, but even if books like that are few and far between, one thing this thread has done for me is give me a bunch of new authors to follow! Dang, I was about to suggest the Petrovich books. I brought it up within the last few pages, but if you didn't know, a fourth book came out recently, so you could holler at that. Most of the other stuff I can think of you probably already know (or I already suggested)- Mike Carey's Felix Castor series, Stross' Laundry Files books, Scalzi's The Android's Dream, Timothy Hallinan's newish Junior Bender mysteries (fun, snappy, LA noir), Sigler's Infected or Ancestor, and, if you want some seriously goony author wish-fulfillment, Jonathan Maberry's Joe Ledger Novels (although they quickly decline in quality).
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May 25, 2013 11:26
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AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 01:18 on Jan 22, 2016 |
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May 25, 2013 17:05
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anybody got any recommendations for non fiction about Mexican drug cartels? Investigative journalism, memoir, anything really. I'm curious both as a voyeur interested in the grizzlier aspects of the business and as an amateur anthropologist/student of culture. I guess I want something that'll either scratch my itch for the grim or give me insights into the cartel's effects on Mexican government/military/police. But really, almost anything will do.
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May 26, 2013 02:42
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BurningBeard posted:anybody got any recommendations for non fiction about Mexican drug cartels? Investigative journalism, memoir, anything really. I'm curious both as a voyeur interested in the grizzlier aspects of the business and as an amateur anthropologist/student of culture. I guess I want something that'll either scratch my itch for the grim or give me insights into the cartel's effects on Mexican government/military/police. But really, almost anything will do. A friend says quote:There are a few terrible books on Mexico's drug cartels but only one good book: El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency by Ioan Grillo. Don't read the wikipedia page, which reads like it was written by the author's sockpuppet, but the book itself is solid.
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May 26, 2013 03:27
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Thanks for this. Bought it and am reading it. It looks great!
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May 26, 2013 04:06
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stratdax posted:What book should I suggest to a 20 year old who has literally never read a book in his life? He works with me and sees me reading every day on lunch break, so today he said that he wants to start reading. Big pressure - if I suggest the wrong novel he might never give it another go. He dropped out of school in 9th grade and has partied his way through life until now, but he has his poo poo together at work and, as I said, he approached me and said he wants to start reading, so I think he's going to give it an honest try. In Search of Lost Time  Serious answer: Probably some bottom of the barrel airport novel trash. If he likes video games where you shoot things then I'd suggest Ice Station by Matthew Reilly. It's a loving terrible book, but 13-year-old me loved it. Otherwise, if he likes recent movies or TV shows, suggest the books they're based on so he can connect scenes and characters to their on-screen counterparts while simultaneously discovering that the book is always better. Eg: The Hobbit, Hunger Games, Harry Potter etc. Hedrigall fucked around with this message at 08:43 on May 26, 2013 |
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May 26, 2013 08:39
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You could try to pull something YA with the Hero's Journey archetype. Something with broad appeal, which if he likes, you can ask what he liked about it and narrow it down from there. Maybe try some spy stuff? If you're looking for movie tyeins or something he's already familiar with, it's hard to beat the Bourne novels. Bhodi fucked around with this message at 05:25 on May 27, 2013 |
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May 27, 2013 05:23
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I'm looking for a book about the lives of astronomers - memoir, day-to-day life on the job kind of thing. My favorite parts of Contact by Carl Sagan were the parts that took place at the Aricebo and VLA observatories, and I'd like some non-fiction along the same lines. Does anyone know of anything like that?
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May 27, 2013 09:26
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Can anyone recommend something on Historical Jesus? I'm not totally new to the subject, I've read Paul Verhoevens book (which I enjoyed for what it was) and one by Geza Vermes whose title escapes me. Not particularly interested in theology so I've given Crossans works a miss so far.
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May 27, 2013 17:40
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stratdax posted:What book should I suggest to a 20 year old who has literally never read a book in his life? He works with me and sees me reading every day on lunch break, so today he said that he wants to start reading. Big pressure - if I suggest the wrong novel he might never give it another go. He dropped out of school in 9th grade and has partied his way through life until now, but he has his poo poo together at work and, as I said, he approached me and said he wants to start reading, so I think he's going to give it an honest try. I'm not a fan of his, but Chuck Palahniuk is probably the perfect writer for a kid like this to start reading. He's probably seen and enjoyed Fight Club if he's seen and enjoyed American Psycho. The book's very easy to read and it's philosophical in a way that could easily appeal to dude-bros.
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May 27, 2013 17:50
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I'm looking for some suggestions for non-Anglocentric dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction that's widely available in English. What I've got so far: - 2017 (Olga Slavnikova) - Battle Royale (Takami) - Bend Sinister (Nabokov) - Blindness (Saramago) - The Plague (Camus) - The Windup Girl (Bacigalupi) - We (Zamyatin)
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May 28, 2013 05:27
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elbow posted:I'm looking for some suggestions for non-Anglocentric dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction that's widely available in English.
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May 28, 2013 13:32
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Whenever someone recommends a book to me, especially if it's a "classic," it's super depressing. Is there a "classic" or well-written book that is actually happy? Edit: vvvv Read it. Smoking Crow fucked around with this message at 23:45 on May 28, 2013 |
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May 28, 2013 23:30
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The Hobbit?
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May 28, 2013 23:40
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Lex Talionis posted:Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor sounds like it would be up your alley. And while they don't precisely match your requirements you might also like Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower (technically Anglocentric) and Geoff Ryman's Air (not quite dystopian). Thanks for that, Who Fears Death sounds perfect, but I'm adding the other two to the list as well (it's for my book club).
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May 29, 2013 06:47
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Smoking Crow posted:Whenever someone recommends a book to me, especially if it's a "classic," it's super depressing. Is there a "classic" or well-written book that is actually happy? Huck Finn, David Copperfield, the Pickwick Papers, Don Quixote, Tom Jones, Pride and Prejudice, most of the Shakespearean comedies. Those all have happy endings and they're funny. Of them, Pride and Prejudice is probably the easiest to read, then Huckleberry Finn, assuming you're willing to get used to the weird dialects of all the characters.
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May 29, 2013 15:08
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MikeDinosaur posted:Huck Finn, David Copperfield, the Pickwick Papers, Don Quixote, Tom Jones, Pride and Prejudice, most of the Shakespearean comedies. Those all have happy endings and they're funny. Of them, Pride and Prejudice is probably the easiest to read, then Huckleberry Finn, assuming you're willing to get used to the weird dialects of all the characters. These are all pretty decent suggestions. My favorite on that list is David Copperfield; it's just a beautiful, beautiful book. Pride and Prejudice and other Austen novels tend to be difficult for modern readers because they assume you know everything there is to know about eighteenth century upper class British society -- since Austen's original audience obviously did -- and that becomes a problem when (for example) you get an extended scene where all the humor is based on the differences between a curricle, a dog cart, and a barouche-landau. If you want ease of reading though I'd go a little more modern. To Kill a Mockingbird maybe. John Steinbeck's Cannery Row and its sequel, Sweet Thursday. Any of the Jeeves books by P.G. Wodehouse (they're interchangeable). Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 15:19 on May 29, 2013 |
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May 29, 2013 15:14
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I can not get enough of The Kingkiller Chronicle, by Patrick Rothfuss. It's brilliant in how, during the storytelling portion of the story, that there is not a SINGLE wasted word. I actually tried to find one, but everything links closely with every other part of the story, and it's all elaborately crafted and held together. Fitting, since the first book is called "The Name of the Wind", and some magic in the book is a spoken type, where every word matters. The links and hints and variants are amazing as well. The author doesn't flat out tell you things, he simply gives the reader enough information to figure it out. For example, in book 2, The Lockless Lady that the Maer marries is Kvothe's Aunt Does anyone else know a book with such a fine level of crafting to it, and such a level of detail,that also assumes intelligence in the reader?
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May 29, 2013 15:24
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Selkie Myth posted:Does anyone else know a book with such a fine level of crafting to it, and such a level of detail,that also assumes intelligence in the reader? Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. It took her a decade to craft that book and it shows.
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May 29, 2013 15:40
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:My favorite on that list is David Copperfield; it's just a beautiful, beautiful book. If it's good enough for Leo Tolstoy it's good enough for goons! Joramun posted:Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. Yeah, this too. I think this is also a good suggestion for even the "classics." Not because "oh it's totally gonna become a classic" (it might, I dunno) but because it's such an intelligent riff on the 19th century classics: Austen, Dickens, et al.
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May 29, 2013 16:32
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Selkie Myth posted:I can not get enough of The Kingkiller Chronicle, by Patrick Rothfuss. It's brilliant in how, during the storytelling portion of the story, that there is not a SINGLE wasted word. Some might say that every single word in those books are wasted because the books are poo poo
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May 30, 2013 05:40
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I would love a good book about the late 70s/early 80s new wave/punk/no-wave scene of New York. Know any? Preferably as doc as possible.
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May 30, 2013 19:50
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Red Garland posted:I would love a good book about the late 70s/early 80s new wave/punk/no-wave scene of New York. Know any? Preferably as doc as possible. Rip It Up and Start Again by Simon Reynolds and Just Kids by Patti Smith
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May 30, 2013 21:11
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I've always had a strange love for stories about discovering wise hermits living in exotic locations, like caves, mountains, that sort of thing. I found just the sort of book that has these all these things called "Fourth Uncle in the Mountain" by Marjorie Pivar. The story takes place during the war in Vietnam. It's about a bare-foot Doctor, his son, and their teacher, the Fourth Uncle. I haven't had the pleasure of finding another book like it though. Any recommendations?
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May 30, 2013 22:53
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Hedrigall posted:Some might say that every single word in those books are wasted because the books are poo poo I haven't read the second yet, but I loved the first one.
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May 31, 2013 00:06
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So, I recently re-read American Gods (I know, I know) and really feel like reading some American folklore. Any recommendations?
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May 31, 2013 02:56
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My father really loves Louis L'Amour but has read all of his stuff. Can anyone recommend me any titles or authors similar to Mr. L'Amour to get him for fathers day?
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May 31, 2013 03:04
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PoorUser posted:My father really loves Louis L'Amour but has read all of his stuff. Can anyone recommend me any titles or authors similar to Mr. L'Amour to get him for fathers day? Zane Grey is often mentioned in the same breath as L'Amour. He's an old Western storyteller very much in the same style as L'Amour, though Grey precedes him by quite a few decades. This collection may be a good place to start as it was his first book/trilogy, or you might check out Riders of the Purple Sage, which I think is his most famous/highly-regarded novel. You could also just head to Half-Price Books' Western section and grab a bunch of them, the paperbacks go for just a buck or two each at all the ones I've been to around here. The downside to this is that he's such a huge name in old Western novels that your father may have already read a bunch of Grey, too, if he's so interested in L'Amour. You may want to ask him if he has already.
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May 31, 2013 03:23
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WeaponGradeSadness posted:This collection may be a good place to start as it was his first book/trilogy, or you might check out Riders of the Purple Sage Thanks for the response! Apparently he has read both those and a lot of Zane Grey. But that gives a better idea of the stuff he likes. Any other suggestions?
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May 31, 2013 03:51
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PoorUser posted:Thanks for the response! Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove) springs to mind.
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May 31, 2013 04:25
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PoorUser posted:Thanks for the response! Shane? The Virginian? Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Another good place to look would be the novels and short stories of Bret Harte. Maybe The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Stories, a book I've had on my list to read for years but haven't gotten around to. Unfortunately he's probably read all of those. Technically speaking the Zorro novels are "westerns", try The Curse of Capistrano. If he's willing to branch out a little into other western-influenced stuff, maybe the first of Stephen King's Dark Tower books maybe, The Gunslinger? (note that I am only recommending the first, not the later Dark Tower books). Cormac McCarthy if he likes more literary, darker westerns. Alternatively you could try a period nonfiction account, something like Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail by Theodore Roosevelt, or Roughing It by Mark Twain, where they both respectively describe their adventures Out West. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 04:52 on May 31, 2013 |
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May 31, 2013 04:38
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wheatpuppy posted:Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove) springs to mind. Hieronymous Alloy posted:Shane? The Virginian? He read Lonesome Dove, but I think he will like Shane and the Virginian. Thanks for the input guys!
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May 31, 2013 20:51
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