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Human Tornada posted:I'm looking for some novels similar in tone to Michael Mann's crime movies. Cops and criminals who are smart and capable but not superhuman, stories that are believable and small-ish in scope, and maybe some well researched technical details thrown in there. Airport novels are fine but I'm looking for career criminal type stuff rather than serial killers and nuts. Richard Stark aka Donald Westlake's Parker novels might work. They're from the pov of the "bad guy", who is close to amoral but very competent. They maybe lack a bit of Michael Mann style flash, though. The Mel Gibson movie Payback is an adaptation of a Parker book, if that helps.
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Mar 10, 2015 01:21
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BillBear posted:I am looking for any good horror/thrillers based on someone from modern day earth who somehow wakes up/ends up in a alien civilization and is trying to desperately find his/her way back home. I'll prefer the aliens not to be completely hostile, just having totally different cultures. The Descent by Jeff Long
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Mar 10, 2015 02:19
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:AS far as I know the differences are minimal but I don't know specifically what they are.
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Mar 10, 2015 12:13
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savinhill posted:The Descent by Jeff Long Franchescanado posted:Nightbreed is like that, but with monsters. It's fun, has aged a bit, but I like the ideas. I wouldn't call it a thriller, though. Thanks guys, I'll be picking both of these up in the future.
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Mar 11, 2015 00:22
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I'm looking for the best books about World War I, fictional or non. I recently listened to the Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast's "Blueprint for Armageddon" series (well, the 5 episodes that are released, still waiting on the sixth episode). It was almost an audiobook unto itself at 16+ hours but it was a great overview of WWI and made me realize that I had some huge gaps in my knowledge of the Great War. I'm looking for 2-3 more books on the subject to round out my knowledge. I'm assuming that All Quiet On the Western Front should be one of them (never read it). I've also been eyeing G.J. Meyer's A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914-1918 based on high Amazon and Goodreads ratings and the fact that it was referenced and praised in the podcast. Any suggestions from the hive mind? Bonus points for well-narrated, non-fiction audiobook recommendations to make my commute more tolerable. Lawen fucked around with this message at 14:10 on Mar 11, 2015 |
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Mar 11, 2015 14:06
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The First World War by John Keegan is the only book I've read on the subject, but it's excellent.
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Mar 11, 2015 14:10
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Lawen posted:I'm looking for the best books about World War I, fictional or non. The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went To War In 1914 by Christopher Clark is brilliant.
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Mar 11, 2015 14:17
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The usual reply is Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August, kind of an older, better written companion to Sleepwalkers, focusing on the origins on the war. A World Undone is a very good overview, but the war is tough to capture in any single volume (I think Hew Strachan's two-volume History of the First World War does a better job of capturing the events and causes) . The war itself was the first to really capture the attention of historians to the plight of the ordinary soldier. A number of great books were written about these people, I recommend Peter Liddle's 1914-18 The Soldier's War and Lyn MacDonald's They Called It Passchendale. For the Central Powers side of the story, Herwig's The First World War: Germany and Austro-Hungary. For Italy's side of the story, Mark Thompson's heartbreaking The White War. For the French side, Douglas Porch's dense and combative March to the Marne. Norman Stone's The Eastern Front is very good. That's probably enough for now. But also related is Rohl's multi volume biography of Kaiser Wilhelm II, a fascinating man whose belligerence and inept diplomacy helped pave the way for the war, and Geoffrey Wawro's A Mad Catastrophe, a history of the Habsburg empire's decline and Austria's utterly incompetent conduct of the war.
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Mar 11, 2015 15:17
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Wow, thanks for all of the great recommendations! I've kind of cherry picked The Guns of August since it was already on my radar (if I want more on the causes/buildup to the war I'll circle back to Sleepwalkers) and They Called it Passchendaele since I find the 3rd Ypres battle pretty fascinating/horrific and am really interested in the rank-and-file soldier's perspective/experience. I'm also really interested in Rohl's Wilhelm II biography but don't know that I'm interested enough for a 3800-page, 3-volume work; it may have to wait a couple decades until I'm retired. Anything a bit more superficial worth a look that covers Wilhelm as well as maybe the Sclieffen Plan and von Falkenhayn's implementation of it? Any suggestions for a good biography of Joffre? He seemed like a really interesting character that I'd like to know more about. Anyone read Martin Gilbert's The Somme and willing to vouch for it? I read his biography of Churchill years ago and thought it was great and the Somme battles are really compelling. No one mentioned All Quiet On the Western Front. I assume it's so well-regarded for a reason and that it's worth my time? I'm also really curious to try the Keegan book, mostly because Dan Carlin makes it clear that he doesn't much care for Keegan as a historian but also quotes several passages from Keegan's book. I'd like to read it to draw my own conclusions but that's another project that may have to go on the back burner.
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Mar 11, 2015 17:01
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Lawen posted:No one mentioned All Quiet On the Western Front. I assume it's so well-regarded for a reason and that it's worth my time? It is one of my favorite books, period.
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Mar 11, 2015 17:50
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I just read All Quiet on the Western Front for the first time, capping off a month long binge of WWI books (all already included in other's recs to you). It kicked my rear end, so very good and the perfect way for me to have capped off my reading of all those volumes.
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Mar 11, 2015 19:47
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I'll throw in one more: Robert Graves' Good-Bye to All That
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Mar 12, 2015 03:18
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Lots of great WWI recommendations. I'd also add Rites Of Spring by Modris Eksteins. It's less about the actual substance of the war, but rather about the cultural impact it had on Europe. Really interesting read, though! Also, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway is obviously critical to the whole Lost Generation movement that sprung up as a result of WWI. Lesser-known, but just as good is Antic Hay by Aldous Huxley. I think both are good works for understanding the postwar mindset.
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Mar 12, 2015 17:37
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Okay, I mostly read genre fiction which blah blah I don't care, I did enough reading of poo poo like Brothers Karamazov for school. But lately, I've had problems really getting into any books. I've tried with like 6 or seven different books, but the last time I really got hooked on a book and didn't want to put it down was The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. Interestingly, I don't normally read science fiction, it's not a genre I care for, but that book really got me good. Are there any similar reads, style and theme wise?
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Mar 16, 2015 07:52
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My most recent reads were Murakami's 1Q84 and David Mitchell's The Bone Clocks. I really liked how the settings came alive in the books, 1984 Tokyo in the first one and Thatcher era England in the second one. Now I want to read more novels set during the eighties, whether written at the time or contemporary. I would especially like to read coming of age stories set during the period.
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Mar 16, 2015 11:56
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KittyEmpress posted:Okay, I mostly read genre fiction which blah blah I don't care, I did enough reading of poo poo like Brothers Karamazov for school. But lately, I've had problems really getting into any books. I've tried with like 6 or seven different books, but the last time I really got hooked on a book and didn't want to put it down was The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. Interestingly, I don't normally read science fiction, it's not a genre I care for, but that book really got me good. It is part of a loosely-connected set of stories known as the Hainish Cycle, so you could certainly check those out, although TLHOD is, for me, the pick of that particular litter. Some are bit more science-fictiony than others, but all have an emphasis on sociology and politics, particularly The Dispossessed. My favorite Le Guin, though, is The Lathe of Heaven, which is one of the few books I still make a point of rereading every few years.
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Mar 16, 2015 12:02
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mcustic posted:My most recent reads were Murakami's 1Q84 and David Mitchell's The Bone Clocks. I really liked how the settings came alive in the books, 1984 Tokyo in the first one and Thatcher era England in the second one. Now I want to read more novels set during the eighties, whether written at the time or contemporary. I would especially like to read coming of age stories set during the period. Have you read any of Bret Easton Ellis' stuff? Less Than Zero and American Psycho both spring to mind as good, readable novels set in and largely about 1980s US (LA and NYC, respectively) and the moral bankruptcy and nihilism of the "Me Decade". Less Than Zero is kind of a coming of age book -- the characters are the right age at least but also don't really grow (may even regress), so it's not really a Bildungsroman but does play with some of those conventions. They're both really dark but quite good books. If you're looking for something similar to American Psycho's "NYC yuppie investment bankers" setting but with less hooker murdering, maybe Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities? I haven't read it but it's well-regarded as a satire of 80s NYC.
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Mar 16, 2015 14:07
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mcustic posted:My most recent reads were Murakami's 1Q84 and David Mitchell's The Bone Clocks. I really liked how the settings came alive in the books, 1984 Tokyo in the first one and Thatcher era England in the second one. Now I want to read more novels set during the eighties, whether written at the time or contemporary. I would especially like to read coming of age stories set during the period. Mitchell's "Black Swan Green" does this even better than "The Bone Clocks" and has a tiny tie-in too. When I read this years ago, it got me on an eighties coming-of-age kick, because that's when I came of age. Two that I cannot recommend enough are Adam Langer's "Crossing California" and the followup, "Washington Story." They're set in Chicago in the late seventies through mid-eighties and are kind of part "Freaks and Geeks," part "Dazed and Confused," and part "The Ice Storm." http://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Cali...sing+california also these two: http://www.amazon.com/Please-Dont-Come-Back-Moon/dp/0156031671 http://www.amazon.com/Green-Grass-G...een+grass+grace And pick a handful of Ian McEwan while you're at it. And Michael Chabon's "Wonder Boys."
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Mar 16, 2015 16:17
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I'm looking to get into Literary Journalism and New Journalism. What is the best stuff out there? The classics, new works, anything. No need to recommend Hunter S. Thompson as I'm already a big fan of his.
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Mar 16, 2015 18:34
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I enjoyed the works of Joan Didion the most out of all the New Journalism writers when I was checking out the genre a couple of months ago. We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live is a fantastic and solid collection if you want a primer of her stuff. It also includes my personal favorite book of hers, "The White Album". I found the subject matter fascinating and her style really rich and captivating.
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Mar 16, 2015 19:33
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TrixRabbi posted:I'm looking to get into Literary Journalism and New Journalism. What is the best stuff out there? The classics, new works, anything. No need to recommend Hunter S. Thompson as I'm already a big fan of his. Start with Gay Talese, bruh invented it. http://www.amazon.com/Gay-Talese-Reader-ebook/dp/B002STNAX0/ref=la_B000APSCT6_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426531500&sr=1-1
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Mar 16, 2015 19:45
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I'm looking for detective fiction, following a male/female pair of partners, where they remain platonic. Examples I've read would be Kovac and Liska by Tami Hoag (great), Balzano and Byrne (mediocre, especially when we get into Byrne's head) and Donaghue and Stainer (Canadian series, would be better if not for the occasional plot derailing unnecessary infodump).
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Mar 16, 2015 23:36
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Any good recent horror novels that are not in the haunted house genre? The last one I read was House of Small Shadows by Adam Nevill and I thought it was very good, but I want something different, and his latest book is another haunted house story. More specifically, are there any novels about creepy lost civilisations? I read The Descent by Jeff Long a while back and thought it was a good idea let down by bad characterisation and prose. A missed opportunity.
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Mar 16, 2015 23:55
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Mars4523 posted:I'm looking for detective fiction, following a male/female pair of partners, where they remain platonic. Richard Montanari's Philadelphia series qualifies, I think: http://www.goodreads.com/series/53497-jessica-balzano-kevin-byrne Been a while since I read them but I'm pretty sure they're platonic partners. Google sent me to Cool and Lam, which I'd never heard of but looks pretty great: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_and_Lam dokmo fucked around with this message at 11:14 on Mar 17, 2015 |
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Mar 17, 2015 11:02
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Lawen posted:Have you read any of Bret Easton Ellis' stuff? Less Than Zero and American Psycho both spring to mind as good, readable novels set in and largely about 1980s US (LA and NYC, respectively) and the moral bankruptcy and nihilism of the "Me Decade". Less Than Zero is kind of a coming of age book -- the characters are the right age at least but also don't really grow (may even regress), so it's not really a Bildungsroman but does play with some of those conventions. They're both really dark but quite good books. Well, yes, I've read all of them. But only now I understand why they appealed to me so much. Transistor Rhythm posted:Mitchell's "Black Swan Green" does this even better than "The Bone Clocks" and has a tiny tie-in too. When I read this years ago, it got me on an eighties coming-of-age kick, because that's when I came of age. I've finished most of what McEwan ever wrote. I didn't know about the other Mitchell's book, so I'll definitely pick it up, and research your other suggestions. Thanks!
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Mar 17, 2015 12:59
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AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 01:20 on Jan 22, 2016 |
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Mar 17, 2015 21:24
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funkybottoms posted:It is part of a loosely-connected set of stories known as the Hainish Cycle, so you could certainly check those out, although TLHOD is, for me, the pick of that particular litter. Some are bit more science-fictiony than others, but all have an emphasis on sociology and politics, particularly The Dispossessed. My favorite Le Guin, though, is The Lathe of Heaven, which is one of the few books I still make a point of rereading every few years. Read The Dispossessed if nothing else, and if you find yourself exhausted of Le Guin reading, go for Atwood.
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Mar 17, 2015 21:49
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I've recently gotten into WW1 stuff thanks to The Great War and found a kindred spirit in MY BEST FRIEND who also coincidentally shares my new-found interest. (We) are looking for WW1 books that are personal accounts/fiction-based-on-true-life stories (as opposed to scholary-type books) - old standbys and newer stuff are both welcome. He actually sends me here now to ask for him. You guys NAILED my last request of a gritty fantasy medieval novel with Joe Abercrombie and we both flew through The First Law trilogy.
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Mar 18, 2015 01:48
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Storm of steel by Junger.
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Mar 18, 2015 02:30
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robotsinmyhead posted:I've recently gotten into WW1 stuff thanks to The Great War and found a kindred spirit in MY BEST FRIEND who also coincidentally shares my new-found interest. (We) are looking for WW1 books that are personal accounts/fiction-based-on-true-life stories (as opposed to scholary-type books) - old standbys and newer stuff are both welcome. The obvious recommendation is All Quiet On the Western Front, but it's probably old news to you.
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Mar 18, 2015 03:09
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I'm looking for something fantasy/sci-fi. I've only got a vague idea of what I want, but I will say that most of the novels I've enjoyed have been funny and/or cynical/GRIMDARK/whatever. Bonus points if the protagonist is morally-questionable or an antihero, or gets by with mainly their wits (Guile Hero, I think the term is from TVTropes). Probably easiest if I throw out some of the series that I've most enjoyed, and y'all can suggest others along the same lines. Both of Jim Butcher's series (Dresden and Codex Alera) <- Probably my favorite, just because Butcher can make my laugh my rear end off like few other authors Everything in Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere-verse. Discworld (obviously) (rip  )Brent Weeks' Night Angel (which I might reread again before too long) Card's Ender's Game E.E. Knight's Vampire Earth (It's been years, but I remember enjoying these) Stroud's Bartimaeus Series (Also extremely funny, at least when I read it in school) Can't really think of anything else at the moment, but hopefully it'll spark some ideas. E: Oh, also, one of the tropes I've always been kind of interested in is the whole Magic vs. Technology thing, not enough to look for anything specific though. EE: Oh, and I suppose it'd be helpful to note that I've tried to get through both Malazan and ASoIaF a couple of times, with no luck. Lprsti99 fucked around with this message at 04:58 on Mar 18, 2015 |
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Mar 18, 2015 04:48
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You might want to look at the Daniel Faust series by Craig Schaefer. It looks kind of like a Dresden cash-in at the first glance but grows into a more distinct thing eventually. The protagonist is a fairly likable scoundrel who tends to solve his world-saving issues by outwitting the other side as opposed to straight-up fighting.
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Mar 18, 2015 07:30
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You might want to try Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie. It's a sort of Kill Bill revenge fantasy set in a grimdark fantasy world and is very good. He's written a few others as well, all of which are great, but that's the first one I read.
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Mar 18, 2015 12:02
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Glen Cook's Black Company books, perhaps? Not so much funny, except for the occasional bleak ha-ha, but they've got cynical and grimdark in buckets. Jack Vance's Cugel the Clever books (The Eyes of the Overworld et al.) are also great examples of a scummy trickster hero, but the world is more preposterous than grimdark.
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Mar 18, 2015 14:41
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Selachian posted:Glen Cook's Black Company books, perhaps? Not so much funny, except for the occasional bleak ha-ha, but they've got cynical and grimdark in buckets. These are both great suggestions. Cugel is part of Vance's dying earth cycle so has the magic vs tech thing he's asking for also. I would also suggest the Kane series by Karl Edward Wagner. His Kane is a dark psychopathic murderer -- imagine Howard's Conan, but skilled in magic also. The plots usually involve Kane trying for world domination, power, and wealth but then getting foiled by his own greed, vengefulness, etc. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 14:54 on Mar 18, 2015 |
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Mar 18, 2015 14:50
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I'm looking for a good book on the British Commandos in World War II. Personal accounts of their various raids and missions would be a plus
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Mar 18, 2015 14:52
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Thanks for the suggestions! Vance sounds right up my alley, think I'll give him a whirl first. E: Oh, and Abercrombie is the First Law guy (which Best Served Cold is a part of)! I've been meaning to read that, so I guess I have my next series too! Lprsti99 fucked around with this message at 16:35 on Mar 18, 2015 |
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Mar 18, 2015 16:22
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Lprsti99 posted:E: Oh, also, one of the tropes I've always been kind of interested in is the whole Magic vs. Technology thing The Darksword trilogy (don't actually read this) Apprentice Adept series (also don't read this)
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Mar 18, 2015 18:32
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Commissar Canuck posted:I'm looking for a good book on the British Commandos in World War II. Personal accounts of their various raids and missions would be a plus You could try Ian Fleming's Commandos by Nicholas Rankin. It tells the story of 30 Assault Unit who would go on Commando raids to specifically steal enemy intelligence. It's very well written, and yes, it is that Ian Fleming. He came up with the idea and then based some of Bond's exploits on stuff 30AU did.
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Mar 18, 2015 18:44
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Cousin's fifteenth birthday is coming up, and he is a total petrolhead. Recs?
Darth Walrus fucked around with this message at 22:29 on Mar 18, 2015 |
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Mar 18, 2015 22:27
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