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What are some other books that would fit into the bucket of post-modern detective stories? I've read the Spade and Marlowe books but I enjoy the more modern resurgence of books like The Name of the Rose, Motherless Brooklyn, and The New York Trilogy. Books that actively draw attention to the fact that they're detective stories and deconstruct the genre.
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Sep 22, 2013 22:31
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Skrill.exe posted:What are some other books that would fit into the bucket of post-modern detective stories? I've read the Spade and Marlowe books but I enjoy the more modern resurgence of books like The Name of the Rose, Motherless Brooklyn, and The New York Trilogy. Books that actively draw attention to the fact that they're detective stories and deconstruct the genre.
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Sep 22, 2013 22:33
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Chas McGill posted:You might enjoy the Manual of Detection by Jebediah Berry. Looks good! Thanks. No, but I do like Pynchon. I'll check that out too. vvv Skrill.exe fucked around with this message at 01:13 on Sep 23, 2013 |
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Sep 23, 2013 00:33
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Skrill.exe posted:What are some other books that would fit into the bucket of post-modern detective stories? I've read the Spade and Marlowe books but I enjoy the more modern resurgence of books like The Name of the Rose, Motherless Brooklyn, and The New York Trilogy. Books that actively draw attention to the fact that they're detective stories and deconstruct the genre. Have you read Pynchon's Inherent Vice? Not exactly a deconstruction of the genre, but it might be up your alley.
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Sep 23, 2013 00:41
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Are there any books that accidentally tell another story than what is advertised? KInda like Exit Through the Gift Shop. Starts out as one thing, but ends up with a total different bent.
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Sep 23, 2013 01:07
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Pale Fire is a slender book of poetry overtaken by the annotations of a madman. That's not really accidental (although neither is Exit Through the Gift Shop).
Mr. Squishy fucked around with this message at 01:22 on Sep 23, 2013 |
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Sep 23, 2013 01:20
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Sandwolf posted:Are there any books that accidentally tell another story than what is advertised? KInda like Exit Through the Gift Shop. Starts out as one thing, but ends up with a total different bent. I don't know if this is what you're asking for, but the original Fu Manchu books are a bizarre read because they're so wildly racist that by modern standards . . . well, Fu Manchu is basically so much smarter than the protagonists that the only way they ever beat him is by relying on his "inscrutable Oriental honor" to deceive him into bargains that Our Heroes then betray. All his plots involve mysterious, nefarious drugs like "indian hemp, cannabis indica". The actual protagonists are literal Aryan heroes. With every book the racism gets more and more extreme; in one volume they're protecting a Father Coughlin surrogate. Fu Manchu's main motivation is that he's a Chinese nationalist agent trying to fight off western imperialist spies. By the end of the series -- in a volume written in 1939 -- Fu Manchu's evil plot is literally that he's trying to assassinate Hitler to prevent World War II and Our Protagonists are trying to stop him so there will be a glorious war to preserve the White Race. It's all written non-ironically; they're horribly, horribly racist; but they're really bizarre and interesting reads to a modern reader because the effect is completely, utterly opposite from what the author intended. It really takes almost no time before you're actively cheering Fu Manchu.
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Sep 23, 2013 01:21
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regulargonzalez posted:Also, the unabridged Gulag Archipelago. I've only read the abridged (which is still quite long) and it was really good. What's a good translation to get of this?
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Sep 23, 2013 03:22
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^^ No idea, I just read whichever was at the bookstore. Didn't even know there were competing translations.Skrill.exe posted:What are some other books that would fit into the bucket of post-modern detective stories? I've read the Spade and Marlowe books but I enjoy the more modern resurgence of books like The Name of the Rose, Motherless Brooklyn, and The New York Trilogy. Books that actively draw attention to the fact that they're detective stories and deconstruct the genre. It's a short story rather than a novel, but Umney's Last Case by Stephen King would be an excellent fit Sandwolf posted:Are there any books that accidentally tell another story than what is advertised? KInda like Exit Through the Gift Shop. Starts out as one thing, but ends up with a total different bent. House of Leaves is the first example that springs to mind, although it does tell the story that is advertised -- the reader just becomes aware that it also tells others, one of which is what I would consider the 'main' story. regulargonzalez fucked around with this message at 11:07 on Sep 23, 2013 |
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Sep 23, 2013 10:57
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Grrl Anachronism posted:I'm looking for a recommendation for some nonfiction reading in the kind of 'pop science' genre. Recently I've finished Mary Roach's books (Gulp, Bonk, Stiff, Packing for Mars) and just finished Jon Ronson's The Psychopath Test. I'm interested in all kinds of science, so it doesn't need to be a specific area of study, but I'd like it to not be heavy reading. It's a decade old but I really enjoyed Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything when it came out.
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Sep 23, 2013 15:23
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Looking for a certain type of apocalyptic book. Not post-apocalyptic but a book set at least partly / mostly in the period where poo poo is hitting the fan. The Stand, for instance, covers the beginning and the period after everyone who is going to die has died, but doesn't really cover society as it is in the process of disintegrating (probably because, in that book, the process is too quick). Something like The Road if it covered the first couple months of whatever the disaster was, instead of being set an indeterminate amount of time later. So, obviously a more drawn out disaster than a virus that kills everyone it infects within 48 hours or a nuclear war immediately wiping out 90% of humanity.
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Sep 23, 2013 16:23
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The Passage by Justin Cronin.
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Sep 23, 2013 16:35
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regulargonzalez posted:Looking for a certain type of apocalyptic book. Earth Abides or The Children of Men
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Sep 23, 2013 16:52
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Sandwolf posted:Are there any books that accidentally tell another story than what is advertised? KInda like Exit Through the Gift Shop. Starts out as one thing, but ends up with a total different bent. Perdido Street Station kinda does this, in the sense that the focus of the plot changes drastically some way into the book.
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Sep 23, 2013 17:03
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Sandwolf posted:Are there any books that accidentally tell another story than what is advertised? KInda like Exit Through the Gift Shop. Starts out as one thing, but ends up with a total different bent. Laurence Stern's Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman is a great, rambling read where the narrator never even gets close to the story he's supposed to tell.
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Sep 23, 2013 17:56
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Thanks for the recommendations, started The Passage. It's good so far, though it feels a bit like a slightly better-written Dean Koontz book.
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Sep 23, 2013 22:19
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regulargonzalez posted:Looking for a certain type of apocalyptic book. Not post-apocalyptic but a book set at least partly / mostly in the period where poo poo is hitting the fan. The Stand, for instance, covers the beginning and the period after everyone who is going to die has died, but doesn't really cover society as it is in the process of disintegrating (probably because, in that book, the process is too quick). Something like The Road if it covered the first couple months of whatever the disaster was, instead of being set an indeterminate amount of time later. Take a look at http://www.amazon.com/Last-Policeman-Novel-ebook/dp/B0076Q1GW2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379972076&sr=8-1&keywords=the+last+policeman
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Sep 23, 2013 22:35
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regulargonzalez posted:Thanks for the recommendations, started The Passage. It's good so far, though it feels a bit like a slightly better-written Dean Koontz book. Damned with faint praise. I would also add Lucifer's Hammer (it starts slowly, though) and maybe even World War Z.
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Sep 23, 2013 22:38
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regulargonzalez posted:Thanks for the recommendations, started The Passage. It's good so far, though it feels a bit like a slightly better-written Dean Koontz book. Considering your original request, there's going to a chunk of time not covered in The Passage, and its absence may give you blue balls, but then the sequel will sorta kinda cover some of it. I'm being vague because spoilers, but you'll see what I mean. And what I'm saying is, if that happens, you might consider reading the sequel, because it won't just be about the time you're not really interested in. DirtyRobot fucked around with this message at 23:29 on Sep 23, 2013 |
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Sep 23, 2013 23:27
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funkybottoms posted:Damned with faint praise. I would also add Lucifer's Hammer (it starts slowly, though) and maybe even World War Z. I would definitely recommend World War Z, the first two sections sound very much like what he's looking for.
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Sep 23, 2013 23:56
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Sandwolf posted:I would definitely recommend World War Z, the first two sections sound very much like what he's looking for. I've tried reading it before ... I didn't like the presentation. I know this makes me a terrible person. @specklebang -- thanks, that looks perfect
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Sep 24, 2013 00:14
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funkybottoms posted:Earth Abides or The Children of Men Earth Abides is a great classic but does not match the criteria as it's very much a "slept through the apocalypse" story (by the time the POV character knows anything's wrong, 99%+ of humanity is already dead and mostly buried, the story is all about trying to pick up the pieces). Might be worth looking at John Barnes' "Daybreak" series which does give a lot of attention to the unraveling of civilization.
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Sep 24, 2013 06:10
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regulargonzalez posted:@specklebang -- thanks, that looks perfect You're welcome. There is also this very high tech SF book that is central to an imminent and unstoppable apocalypse. http://www.amazon.com/Final-Days-ebook/dp/B005BOHZ76/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380001507&sr=8-1&keywords=final+days+gibson. The sequel, The Thousand Emperors is already published.
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Sep 24, 2013 06:48
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Skrill.exe posted:What are some other books that would fit into the bucket of post-modern detective stories? I've read the Spade and Marlowe books but I enjoy the more modern resurgence of books like The Name of the Rose, Motherless Brooklyn, and The New York Trilogy. Books that actively draw attention to the fact that they're detective stories and deconstruct the genre. "Dreaming of Babylon" by Richard Brautigan is my favorite one of these.
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Sep 24, 2013 06:53
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Are there any good factually-accurate books in English about the modern Yakuza? Nonfiction would be better, but a novel is fine as long as it's well-researched.
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Sep 24, 2013 14:20
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Castomira posted:Are there any good factually-accurate books in English about the modern Yakuza? Nonfiction would be better, but a novel is fine as long as it's well-researched. Closest thing I've read to this is Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein. It's more of a general account about his time as a crime reporter in the city, however.
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Sep 24, 2013 14:35
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regulargonzalez posted:Looking for a certain type of apocalyptic book. Not post-apocalyptic but a book set at least partly / mostly in the period where poo poo is hitting the fan. The Stand, for instance, covers the beginning and the period after everyone who is going to die has died, but doesn't really cover society as it is in the process of disintegrating (probably because, in that book, the process is too quick). Something like The Road if it covered the first couple months of whatever the disaster was, instead of being set an indeterminate amount of time later. It's been many years since I've read it, so I'm not sure I can vouch for its quality any more (though I liked it at the time), but The Forge of God by Greg Bear is pretty much exactly this. You could also make an argument, on a smaller scale, for both Under Heaven and River of Stars by Guy Gavriel Kay, which are set in a fictionalized version of ancient China (the Tang and Song Dynasties, respectively), at times of impending civilization-changing upheaval.
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Sep 24, 2013 14:48
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Groke posted:Earth Abides is a great classic but does not match the criteria as it's very much a "slept through the apocalypse" story I know what you're saying, but I feel that it has enough of what he's looking for to work, not to mention the book as a whole is very much about the disintegration of our civilization.
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Sep 24, 2013 15:05
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regulargonzalez posted:I've tried reading it before ... I didn't like the presentation. I know this makes me a terrible person. Nah, World War Z is just not very good.
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Sep 24, 2013 16:21
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funkybottoms posted:I know what you're saying, but I feel that it has enough of what he's looking for to work, not to mention the book as a whole is very much about the disintegration of our civilization. Well, it certainly should be read by anyone who's at all interested in post-apocalyptic literature, in any case. Beautiful, beautiful book.
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Sep 25, 2013 05:56
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specklebang posted:You're welcome. There is also this very high tech SF book that is central to an imminent and unstoppable apocalypse. http://www.amazon.com/Final-Days-ebook/dp/B005BOHZ76/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380001507&sr=8-1&keywords=final+days+gibson. The sequel, The Thousand Emperors is already published. I want to thank you for this one, finally something in the genre that doesn't insult my intelligence that isn't by Reynolds or Banks.
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Sep 25, 2013 10:33
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Thanks again for the recommendations, working my way through them. I'm also looking for books that cover the history of the middle east, either in large scale from around the years 0-1000 or a more narrow scope of what day-to-day life was like, especially in the latter half of that period.
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Sep 25, 2013 23:40
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Volume 1 of Venture of Islam covers the latter part of that time range, but obviously mostly through the lens of Islam. edit: Wait this isn't the thread I thought it was, you are talking about non-fiction, right?
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Sep 25, 2013 23:50
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Xandu posted:Volume 1 of Venture of Islam covers the latter part of that time range, but obviously mostly through the lens of Islam. Either is fine, as long as the fiction is grounded in some historical research. Thanks for the recommendation!
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Sep 26, 2013 00:24
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Howdy Book Barn. I'm in the mood for some good non-fiction books on cold war espionage. "The Sword and the Shield" caught my eye, is it worth checking out? I take books written by 'retired' operatives and others with a grain of salt, as we all tend to tell things the way they want them to sound (especially in these type of books). So I suppose ideally I'm looking for a book that highlights some of the more interesting tales from material that has became declassified.
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Sep 28, 2013 03:13
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Dr.Caligari posted:Howdy Book Barn. I'm in the mood for some good non-fiction books on cold war espionage. "The Sword and the Shield" caught my eye, is it worth checking out? That book is exactly what you're looking for.
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Sep 28, 2013 16:07
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What's the dumb, fun adventure novel equivalent of films like The Mummy (Brendan Fraser version) and Indiana Jones? With historical setting (especially during wartime in the 20th century), supernatural elements, tomb raiding, etc etc?
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Sep 29, 2013 07:32
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H Rider Haggard. I think King Solomon's Mines is free on Kindle.
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Sep 29, 2013 17:37
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PatMarshall posted:H Rider Haggard. I think King Solomon's Mines is free on Kindle. For H. Rider Haggard in the vein of The Mummy, the one you really want to read is She. King Solomon's Mines is good too but doesn't have the same degree of supernatural element.
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Sep 29, 2013 18:59
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Hedrigall posted:What's the dumb, fun adventure novel equivalent of films like The Mummy (Brendan Fraser version) and Indiana Jones? With historical setting (especially during wartime in the 20th century), supernatural elements, tomb raiding, etc etc? I kind of want that, but more modern. Is there one more like Uncharted or Tomb Raider?
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Sep 30, 2013 05:16
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