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If he's into fantasy a bit get him Promise Of Blood by Brian McClellan. "Former police inspector and current private investigator Adamat is summoned to the Skyline Palace to help resolve a baffling mystery: during a brutal coup against Adro’s monarchy, every single member of the Royal Cabal uttered the same cryptic phrase right before dying: “You can’t break Kresimir’s Promise.” Field Marshal Tamas, who coordinated the coup with a small group of other powerbrokers, needs Adamat’s perfect memory and investigative skills to figure out what this may mean. Adamat conducts his investigation while Tamas begins the brutal work of purging the country’s nobility and pacifying the capital during the inevitable civil war. His first priority is hunting down an uncommonly powerful member of the Royal Cabal who managed to escape the palace during the coup. Tamas assigns this duty to his son Taniel, a talented powder mage who has just recently returned to the city with a mysterious young savage named Ka-Poel. Gradually it becomes clear that the overthrow of the monarchy was just the start of a series of events that will change the world forever...." from this review
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Dec 15, 2013 13:35
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Honestly, I was thinking more non-fiction. As an example, he greatly enjoyed With the Old Breed but was slightly less enamoured with The Tiger.
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Dec 15, 2013 13:40
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Darth Walrus posted:Honestly, I was thinking more non-fiction. As an example, he greatly enjoyed With the Old Breed but was slightly less enamoured with The Tiger. Hmm, sounds like I might've made a recommendation or two! It is military-related, but I'm quite enjoying Eric Schlosser's Command and Control at the moment, although now that I think about it the author breaks up the "main" story with lots of asides and tangential information in a similar way to the author of The Tiger, so if he didn't love it because of the writing... you might wanna check out The Bully Pulpit, Doris Kearns Goodwin's latest; Jerry Brotton's A History of the World in 12 Maps looks like a pretty sweet dad book; and pretty much anything from Simon Winchester (The Men Who United the States being his most recent).
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Dec 15, 2013 14:16
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Darth Walrus posted:So a while back, I requested some good dad books for Father's Day and got some excellent replies. Can I ask again, seeing as Christmas is on its way? Non-military this time, please - he's a huge military nerd, but I think I've been over-mining that vein lately. Books that I read this year and loved: Tom Reiss's The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal about a black general in Napoleon's army Cullen Murphy's God’s Jury: the Inquisition and the Making of the Modern World Robert Hughes's The Fatal Shore: A History of the Transportation of Convicts to Australia, 1787-1868 Mark Bostridge's Florence Nightingale: The Woman and Her Legend -- possibly my favorite bio of all time Christopher Andrew's The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB Mark Zuehlke's Ortona: Canada’s Epic World War II Battle --oops military, but still about a little known part of the war, written very well Jeremy Paxman's Empire: What Ruling The World Did To The British a lot of wry, self mocking humor in this history of British colonialism Giles Hunt's The Duel: Castlereagh,Canning, And Deadly Cabinet Rivalry -- rich Victorians were weird dudes David Cordingly's Cochrane The Dauntless: The Life and Adventures of Thomas Cochrane, 1775-1860 -- Cochrane is the guy whose lifeinspired The Master And Commander books, but whose actual life was crazier than anything in a novel Jay Rubenstein's Armies of Heaven: The First Crusade and The Quest For Apocalypse -- a history focusing on the religious motivations of the crusaders
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Dec 15, 2013 14:17
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I'm looking for survival guide books for a seven year old and a four (almost five) year old. Anyone have suggestions? Something like a DK Eyewitness book would be perfect, but the only 'Survival' title I could find from them was a VHS tape. They don't necessarily have to be the same title for both kids.
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Dec 15, 2013 23:50
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Dangerous Book for Boys and The Boys' Book Of Survival seem to be good choices. They're written for the upper end of that age, but should be enjoyable to both. I don't have first-hand experience with using them, though.
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Dec 16, 2013 01:14
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mmtt posted:It sounds like it's what I'm looking for. Thanks for the recommendation goons! If you really enjoy her books and would like some more recommendations in that line (and want to stick with a Roman theme), you might also enjoy Rubicon, by Tom Holland and Imperial Governor by George Shipway. In the general action-intrigue-historical vein, you might also want to check out Bernard Cornwell, especially if you like lots of battles and fighting mixed in. On another note, as you said you would be open to fantasy or sci-fi books that fit the theme, if you want a break from the historical fiction for a bit you might also enjoy The Lies of Locke Lamora, which has plenty of court-type intrigue and scheming and general interesting adventurey type stuff.
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Dec 16, 2013 01:52
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Hey, I know this has probably been covered a few times but I'm looking for the most up-to-date recommendations: I'm looking for some good, modern horror that will scare the hell out of me. I liked the main story of House of Leaves and would love something similar, I don't know what you'd call it (psychological horror?) Just really scary stuff please. Thanks!
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Dec 16, 2013 02:52
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Quantum of Phallus posted:Hey, I know this has probably been covered a few times but I'm looking for the most up-to-date recommendations: Do you mean modern as in a modern setting or modern as in written in the last five years or so?
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Dec 16, 2013 02:57
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Sorry for getting in on the action a bit late, but to the gentleman who was looking for books suitable for a 10 year old girl, this recent list of "The 13 Best Children’s, Illustrated, and Picture Books of 2013" from Brain Pickings might add some extra fodder to your list: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/12/09/best-childrens-books-2013/
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Dec 16, 2013 17:01
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I'm looking for books on Italy's various campaigns during WWII. I have The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944, but I'm really more looking for their offensive campaigns.
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Dec 16, 2013 19:43
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Are there any good books out there (sci-fi or thriller maybe) with an ocean setting? I just saw a book called The Atlantis Gene on Amazon Kindle Prime and it sounds like a cool concept, but Good Reads has a bunch of reviews that are basically "Good idea, poorly written". I'm thinking stuff with a setting like Sphere, Atlantis, Bioshock. That kind of style, but well-written. I'm really pretty flexible on it (doesn't have to take place completely under the ocean). I've just always liked the idea of the mysteries of the ocean with a sci-fi type twist, and have no idea where to start. Edit: Also, doesn't have to be earth.
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Dec 16, 2013 20:46
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Fremry posted:Are there any good books out there (sci-fi or thriller maybe) with an ocean setting? I just saw a book called The Atlantis Gene on Amazon Kindle Prime and it sounds like a cool concept, but Good Reads has a bunch of reviews that are basically "Good idea, poorly written". You could try Cachalot but it's by Alan Dean Foster so the "science" part is rather lacking.
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Dec 16, 2013 21:49
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I'm trying to think of a book to get my dad for Christmas. He likes a lot of classy stuff: Moby Dick, Le Rouge et le Noir, Pushkin, The Wheel of Time etc. He's a retired navy officer and and a sailing fan so something nautical would be a plus. He has pretty eclectic tastes, and the stuff he's read looks a lot like the stuff I'd have read if I was alive 37 years longer, so I'm having a hard time thinking of things he'd like but hasn't already read.
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Dec 16, 2013 23:49
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Quantum of Phallus posted:Hey, I know this has probably been covered a few times but I'm looking for the most up-to-date recommendations: I don't know about psychological horror, but if you are up for scary supernatural horror, there is English author Adam Nevill. He is best known for The Ritual, Last Days is sort of apocalypsey if you like that leaning, Apartment 16 is supposed to be more of a psychological kind of horror, though I have no idea how it compares to House of Leaves. I am not a big horror reader, so I have a hard time judging what is good (so take this with a grain of salt). I know some people who are massive horror fans and love his stuff though so I thought I would toss it out there.
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Dec 17, 2013 00:07
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The Moon Monster posted:I'm trying to think of a book to get my dad for Christmas. He likes a lot of classy stuff: Moby Dick, Le Rouge et le Noir, Pushkin, The Wheel of Time etc. He's a retired navy officer and and a sailing fan so something nautical would be a plus. He has pretty eclectic tastes, and the stuff he's read looks a lot like the stuff I'd have read if I was alive 37 years longer, so I'm having a hard time thinking of things he'd like but hasn't already read. William H. Hodgson wrote a bunch of sea-themed stories, which he might really enjoy.
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Dec 17, 2013 00:10
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xcheopis posted:William H. Hodgson wrote a bunch of sea-themed stories, which he might really enjoy. That looks perfect, thanks. Much better than my corncob pipe and can of spinach idea.
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Dec 17, 2013 00:37
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The Moon Monster posted:I'm trying to think of a book to get my dad for Christmas. He likes a lot of classy stuff: Moby Dick, Le Rouge et le Noir, Pushkin, The Wheel of Time etc. He's a retired navy officer and and a sailing fan so something nautical would be a plus. He has pretty eclectic tastes, and the stuff he's read looks a lot like the stuff I'd have read if I was alive 37 years longer, so I'm having a hard time thinking of things he'd like but hasn't already read. How about Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin novels? I don't even like nautical stuff and I found the one I read enjoyable. It has a whole lot of nautical history, but also a fair bit of understated humor, and in general really good characters. Maybe your dad won't have to flip back to the diagram of sails as much as I did to figure out what's going on.
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Dec 17, 2013 00:41
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The Moon Monster posted:That looks perfect, thanks. Much better than my corncob pipe and can of spinach idea. Tell him not to read "The Night Land" unless he's up for a some pretty tough prose. Otherwise, it's all awesome stuff with Ghost Pirates and smuggling and devil-fish.
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Dec 17, 2013 00:46
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Can anyone recommend me some amazing short stories? Something with a good cast of characters and good imagery; I want to do some artwork based on a story, drawing out all the characters, locations, props, and some story paintings.
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Dec 17, 2013 02:24
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Like seemingly everyone else here, I'm looking for a book for my dad. He's interested in the philosophical underpinnings of the founding fathers, and especially how those viewpoints clashed. I spent the evening browsing in a bookstore and the books on philosophy from that era all seemed pretty dry, and books on US history didn't seem to cover the material he'd be interested in. Any recommendations for me? Edit: He's a moderate guy, too, so anything with a hard political bent in either direction won't do.
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Dec 17, 2013 02:28
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Ornamented Death posted:Do you mean modern as in a modern setting or modern as in written in the last five years or so? Either! Enfys posted:I don't know about psychological horror, but if you are up for scary supernatural horror, there is English author Adam Nevill. He is best known for The Ritual, Last Days is sort of apocalypsey if you like that leaning, Apartment 16 is supposed to be more of a psychological kind of horror, though I have no idea how it compares to House of Leaves. I am not a big horror reader, so I have a hard time judging what is good (so take this with a grain of salt). I know some people who are massive horror fans and love his stuff though so I thought I would toss it out there. Thanks 
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Dec 17, 2013 02:33
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teraflame posted:Can anyone recommend me some amazing short stories? Something with a good cast of characters and good imagery; I want to do some artwork based on a story, drawing out all the characters, locations, props, and some story paintings. Raymond Carver. A Small, Good Thing.
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Dec 17, 2013 02:38
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Quantum of Phallus posted:Either! Pretty much anything published by DarkFuse would fit the bill for that answer. They've only been around for a couple of years, and outside of one trilogy, everything they've published was an original publication, and nearly all of it is set in modern times. They also cover nearly all sub-genres of horror, so chances are you'll find something you like. If you want specific recommendations, give me an idea of what types of horror you like (supernatural, monsters, cosmic, etc.).
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Dec 17, 2013 02:40
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Hey guys, I'm looking for some fresh reading material over Christmas break and thought I'd give this thread a try. Some of the stuff I've read that I've really liked: Neil Gaiman: American Gods David Mitchell: Cloud Atlas Haruki Murakami: Norwegian Wood Kurt Vonnegut: Cat's Cradle Jonas Jonasson: The 100-Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared Julian Barnes: The Sense of an Ending David Eagleman: Sum: Tales Of The Afterlives I've worked my way through most of Gaiman,Murakami,Mitchell,Vonnegut and Barnes (in order of how much I enjoyed their work). I'm currently pacing through The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (and enjoying it a fair bit) and have just ordered a copy of Beauty & Sadness but I was looking for a few more recommendations to fully make the most of my downtime over these next few weeks; ideally something gripping and properly thought provoking - but not too obtusely dense. In addition to this,if possible, I could do with some help getting recommendations for my parents; they're both first generation North Indian migrants to the Middle East and whilst very well educated have not really been involved with literature in a long time; I think it would be really nice to get back into it. I believe the last proper book my mother read was The Alchemist by Paul Coehlo (which she loved) sometime in the mid-2000s and my father tends to spend his time reading a mixture of financial and religious/spiritual texts. Thanks in advance for any/all recommendations!
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Dec 17, 2013 06:27
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I'd like to start reading some Bukowski. Is Ham on Rye as good a place to start as any?
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Dec 17, 2013 08:57
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Repelex posted:I'd like to start reading some Bukowski. Is Ham on Rye as good a place to start as any? I'd go with Post Office but it's not a big deal either way.
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Dec 17, 2013 10:20
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I started with Pulp and it was fine.
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Dec 17, 2013 10:32
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Nahdrav posted:Hey guys, I'm looking for some fresh reading material over Christmas break and thought I'd give this thread a try. It's a bit of a different tone, but one of the most accessible and emotionally/philosophically gripping books I've ever read is Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let me Go. I would give you a description, but it's better if you go into it blind. Another one that had a really engrossing story and brought out a lot of questions for me (and is a little more obscure) was Who Slashed Celanire's Throat?: A Fantastical Tale by Maryse Conde. Someone attempted to murder the title character when she was an infant, and she spends the novel trying to figure out the title question--along with becoming an incredibly complex, sort of legendary figure. That's a horrible description, but the big reason I recommend it is that it feels like it should be a section of Cloud Atlas. It really makes you dig in to figure out what's going on, and is pretty firmly rooted in magical realism.
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Dec 17, 2013 12:31
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Nahdrav posted:Hey guys, I'm looking for some fresh reading material over Christmas break and thought I'd give this thread a try. I'm still sad the Kurt Vonnegut thread dissapeared. As for recommendations (for you), White Noise by Don DeLillo I liked it and found it somewhat similar to Vonnegut (although not as good). Wikipedia quote: White Noise explores several themes that emerged during the mid-to-late twentieth century, e.g., rampant consumerism, media saturation, novelty academic intellectualism, underground conspiracies, the disintegration and reintegration of the family, human-made catastrophes, and the potentially regenerative nature of human violence. Anything by Gabriel Garcia Marquez also, his magical realism is exceptional and if you liked Murakami you should like him as well. quote:I'm trying to think of a book to get my dad for Christmas. He likes a lot of classy stuff: Moby Dick, Le Rouge et le Noir, Pushkin, The Wheel of Time etc. He's a retired navy officer and and a sailing fan so something nautical would be a plus. He has pretty eclectic tastes, and the stuff he's read looks a lot like the stuff I'd have read if I was alive 37 years longer, so I'm having a hard time thinking of things he'd like but hasn't already read. What about some recent fantasy? Since he liked the wheel of time, I would recommend The Way of Kings. For something specifically nautical, you could give him The Scar from China Mieville. Walh Hara fucked around with this message at 14:41 on Dec 17, 2013 |
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Dec 17, 2013 14:33
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The Moon Monster posted:I'm trying to think of a book to get my dad for Christmas. He likes a lot of classy stuff: Moby Dick, Le Rouge et le Noir, Pushkin, The Wheel of Time etc. He's a retired navy officer and and a sailing fan so something nautical would be a plus. He has pretty eclectic tastes, and the stuff he's read looks a lot like the stuff I'd have read if I was alive 37 years longer, so I'm having a hard time thinking of things he'd like but hasn't already read. If he hasn't read the Aubrey/Maturin novels, get him the complete set: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Aubrey-Maturin-Novels-volumes/dp/039306011X Or if your budget can't handle that, get him the first one: http://www.amazon.com/Master-Commander-Patrick-OBrian/dp/0393325172/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-3&qid=1387290726 If he's already read those, then it's harder, but those are the first choice pick.
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Dec 17, 2013 15:33
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Lisztless posted:Like seemingly everyone else here, I'm looking for a book for my dad. I haven't read it yet but I am looking forward to The Radicalism of the American Revolution by Gordon S Wood. Sounds like it could be perfect for your Dad.
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Dec 17, 2013 18:27
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teraflame posted:Can anyone recommend me some amazing short stories? Something with a good cast of characters and good imagery; I want to do some artwork based on a story, drawing out all the characters, locations, props, and some story paintings. I loved this book of linked short stories about parallel universes. http://www.amazon.com/Crosstime-Traffic-Lawrence-Watt-Evans/dp/0345373952/ref=la_B000AQ3XJY_1_29?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387310811&sr=1-29
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Dec 17, 2013 21:07
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Nahdrav posted:Hey guys, I'm looking for some fresh reading material over Christmas break and thought I'd give this thread a try.
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Dec 17, 2013 22:15
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Hey guys. I'm looking for some recommendations for books to give my family. Mom: Has really been into reading about 60s and 70s musicians recently. She really enjoyed Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--and the Journey of a Generation recently. Last year I got her the Neil Young book - Waging Heavy Peace. Anything similar come out recently that you think she might enjoy? Brother: Sci-fi/fantasy would be the go to for him. He's read all the Wheel of Time, Game of Thrones and Dark Tower books. He has most of the classics, although I got him The Man in the High Castle and One Hundred Years of Solitude last year. Dad: He's really into the arctic exploration books. I think he owns the most recommended in this area of knowledge already. Last year I got him Arctic Labyrinth: The Quest for the Northwest Passage and High Crimes: The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed. Any help would be appreciated. I only scanned through the last 10 or so pages but I plan to read through the rest of the thread to see if there's anything else I think might match their interests. Thanks.
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Dec 18, 2013 00:29
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Barbobot posted:Hey guys. I'm looking for some recommendations for books to give my family. Maybe for your mum? http://www.npr.org/2013/07/30/207021967/on-the-road-to-rock-excess-why-the-60s-ended-in-1973 If your brother doesn't have it already, he might enjoy Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind, the first book of the Kingkiller series.
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Dec 18, 2013 00:44
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Barbobot posted:Hey guys. I'm looking for some recommendations for books to give my family. Bob Dylan's autobiography is great if she hasn't read that yet; it's the best musician autobiography I've read. Patti Smith's Just Kids is a close second and if she's a fan of her music she'll probably enjoy it. Greil Marcus' Mystery Train is a blast, too, although the essays about Sly Stone, Randy Newman and Elvis might not be quite up her alley.
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Dec 18, 2013 00:47
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Edit: I'm dumb and had two tabs open. Thanks for the recommendations so far.
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Dec 18, 2013 01:40
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I'm looking for really heartbreaking or emotionally affecting fiction, to do with human relationships and/or humanity despite struggle. Recent examples I've enjoyed: The Road The Orphan Master's Son City of Refuge Salvage the Bones Anything by Frederick Barthelme I'm also a huge fan of Faulkner if that helps. Secondly, I'm looking for any books (fiction or not) about New Orleans. Doesn't have to be about Katrina. I've read the aforementioned City of Refuge, as well as Why New Orleans Matters and A Confederacy of Dunces. Thanks thread!
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Dec 18, 2013 02:24
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The Schwa posted:I'm looking for really heartbreaking or emotionally affecting fiction, to do with human relationships and/or humanity despite struggle. Recent examples I've enjoyed: Maybe Blindness by Jose Saramago. The writing style is interestingly challenging in a different manner but similar feel to Faulkner. It's not heartbreaking per se but definitely disturbing and plumbs the depths of desperation.
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Dec 18, 2013 02:29
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