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ShakeyDog posted:Any recommendations for native american literature? I'm working on The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie right now and it owns. It's the first book in a while where I'll read a section and then want to go back and read it again to pick up on the subtext. Read The Grass Dancer by Susan Power. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46276.The_Grass_Dancer Not just you, that applies to everyone.
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Mar 25, 2015 19:47
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a kitten posted:Read The Grass Dancer by Susan Power. Thanks! Somehow both this and Little Tree are checked out of the library right now. Guess someone else is barking up the same tree haha.
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Mar 25, 2015 20:13
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Highly recommending Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko for you, ShakeyDog.
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Mar 25, 2015 20:52
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dokmo posted:I enjoyed Big John McCarthy's autobio Let's Get It On, which isn't exactly the most difficult read, but not terribly written either. Full of great anecdotes by someone who's been around the sport forever. This one is perfect! Spot-on suggestion. Thank you man!
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Mar 25, 2015 21:21
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Hey I'm looking for a decently-long science fiction or fantasy series that I can listen to in audiobook format. As far as fantasy goes I have already covered all the 'standard' bases (Brooks, Goodkind, Jacques, GRRM, Tolkein, Eddings, Sanderson, Butcher, Salvatore, Hobb, Anthony, Jordan etc.) so I'm looking for something a little more off the beaten path. With sci-fi I'm not actually very well-read because I tend to like long running series and a lot of popular sci-fi seems to be one-shots (at least that I've seen, I haven't looked very hard). Things I'm looking for in a series 1. Most importantly I really need it to have all of the books in audiobook format. I don't have free time to read English books on paper (mainly because I spend all my reading time reading Japanese books on paper). These are for listening to while walking/riding the train which takes up a few hours of every day. 2. I'd prefer it if the work isn't too snarky/cynical/self-aware. Despite being well aware of all the tropes I'd like to just lose myself in a fiction that still has that starry-eyed wonder quality. For example I LOVE Eddings' stuff, Elenium and Malorean are two of my favorite fantasy series. 3. It has to be a series that has at least 3 or more books. And that's it. Not being too picky here. Honestly if you can hit those three criteria and the books aren't absolute drivel or dry enough to put me to sleep when I'm trying to walk I'll try out just about anything. Incidentally, having just finished it, The Wheel of Time series in audiobook format is amazing. I can't imagine trying to actually read the books, but the two voices who do the audio versions are absolutely outstanding and they make it a breeze to sit down and listen to the whole series, long as it is.
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Mar 26, 2015 04:35
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Getsuya posted:Hey I'm looking for a decently-long science fiction or fantasy series that I can listen to in audiobook format. As far as fantasy goes I have already covered all the 'standard' bases (Brooks, Goodkind, Jacques, GRRM, Tolkein, Eddings, Sanderson, Butcher, Salvatore, Hobb, Anthony, Jordan etc.) so I'm looking for something a little more off the beaten path. With sci-fi I'm not actually very well-read because I tend to like long running series and a lot of popular sci-fi seems to be one-shots (at least that I've seen, I haven't looked very hard). Have you considered branching out into historical fiction? The Aubrey-Maturin series or Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe's Rifles series would both probably fit your criteria. Especially Aubrey-Maturin, there's a lot of wonder in their travels.
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Mar 26, 2015 04:43
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ShakeyDog posted:Any recommendations for native american literature? I'm working on The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie right now and it owns. It's the first book in a while where I'll read a section and then want to go back and read it again to pick up on the subtext. Dude, you need to read The Truth About Stories by Thomas King. That book is insanely good. It's sort of nonfiction but it's an adaptation of a series of Massey Lectures and it retains an oral storytelling style in a way that goes beyond, say, Wagamese's intro in Keeper'n Me does, if that makes sense.
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Mar 26, 2015 04:50
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Have you considered branching out into historical fiction? The Aubrey-Maturin series or Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe's Rifles series would both probably fit your criteria. Especially Aubrey-Maturin, there's a lot of wonder in their travels. Sure! My dad is a huge historical fiction fan and we used to listen to some of this stuff on road trips so I wouldn't mind going back and listening to it all. I'm not sure if we listened to the Master and Commander series but I do remember hearing at least a little bit of Sharpe and his other big favorite was the Horatio Hornblower series.
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Mar 26, 2015 04:52
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Getsuya posted:Hey I'm looking for a decently-long science fiction or fantasy series that I can listen to in audiobook format. As far as fantasy goes I have already covered all the 'standard' bases (Brooks, Goodkind, Jacques, GRRM, Tolkein, Eddings, Sanderson, Butcher, Salvatore, Hobb, Anthony, Jordan etc.) so I'm looking for something a little more off the beaten path. With sci-fi I'm not actually very well-read because I tend to like long running series and a lot of popular sci-fi seems to be one-shots (at least that I've seen, I haven't looked very hard). If you want to read more sci-fi try The Hyperion Cantos by Simmons, Uplift Universe by Brin, Foundation by Asimov, Ender's Game by Card, Vorkosigan Saga by Bujold, the aforementioned Dune by Herbert, and also Ringworld by Niven is a thing that exists that other people like even if I don't. You could also look into something like Weber's Honor Harrington series, McCaffrey's Pern, or something like the Star Wars novelizations which are all long-running series comprised of stand-alones and sub-series in the same universe, allowing you to read a couple and then go read something else for a while without worrying about losing the plot. Most if not all of these have audiobook format, but I didn't check them against any particular site since I don't know what you use.
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Mar 26, 2015 14:38
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Looking for some sci-fi recs Books I've read and enjoyed: 2312 Takeshi Kovacs Anathem Schild's Ladder Blindsight Accelerando Jean Le Flambeur series Rifters trilogy First 2 Ender books Getsuya posted:Hey I'm looking for a decently-long science fiction or fantasy series that I can listen to in audiobook format. As far as fantasy goes I have already covered all the 'standard' bases (Brooks, Goodkind, Jacques, GRRM, Tolkein, Eddings, Sanderson, Butcher, Salvatore, Hobb, Anthony, Jordan etc.) so I'm looking for something a little more off the beaten path. With sci-fi I'm not actually very well-read because I tend to like long running series and a lot of popular sci-fi seems to be one-shots (at least that I've seen, I haven't looked very hard). The Jean Le Flambeur books are a fantastic fusion of sci-fi and fantasy. The prose is lush and gorgeous, the ideas are big and fantastical, I love everything about those books, and all are available in audio, only 3, but they're great.
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Mar 26, 2015 21:37
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Loving Life Partner posted:Looking for some sci-fi recs I think you'd really enjoy Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle. It starts with Quicksilver, and does take a little bit to ramp up, but it remains as a whole one of the favorite works I've read.
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Mar 26, 2015 22:52
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Anyone have a recommendation for a western? Trying to branch into the genre but I was never fond of the classic movies at all, so maybe a more modernly written piece? Or a modern twist on it?
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Mar 26, 2015 23:16
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Galick posted:Anyone have a recommendation for a western? Trying to branch into the genre but I was never fond of the classic movies at all, so maybe a more modernly written piece? Or a modern twist on it? Have you read Blood Meridian by McEwan?
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Mar 26, 2015 23:27
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Loving Life Partner posted:Looking for some sci-fi recs Encounter with Tiber by John Barnes and Buzz Aldrin. It's one of my favorites but I never see it get recommended anywhere.
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Mar 26, 2015 23:31
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tuyop posted:Have you read Blood Meridian by McEwan? He means McCarthy,, and I agree with him. It's crazy violent, though, so if you want something a little less brutal and a few years more modern you could also check out his Border Trilogy. The classic recommendations are McMurtry's Lonesome Dove and, Louis L'amour, and Zane Grey
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Mar 26, 2015 23:36
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Galick posted:Anyone have a recommendation for a western? Trying to branch into the genre but I was never fond of the classic movies at all, so maybe a more modernly written piece? Or a modern twist on it? The Son by Phillip Meyer Getsuya posted:Hey I'm looking for a decently-long science fiction or fantasy series that I can listen to in audiobook format. As far as fantasy goes I have already covered all the 'standard' bases (Brooks, Goodkind, Jacques, GRRM, Tolkein, Eddings, Sanderson, Butcher, Salvatore, Hobb, Anthony, Jordan etc.) so I'm looking for something a little more off the beaten path. With sci-fi I'm not actually very well-read because I tend to like long running series and a lot of popular sci-fi seems to be one-shots (at least that I've seen, I haven't looked very hard). The Chathrand Voyage series. It's four long books, it has that sense of wonder & adventure you're looking for in spades, and the audiobooks for all of them are awesome, with a perfect narrator.
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Mar 26, 2015 23:39
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Never read any westerns, but I'll give both of those a go. Thanks!
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Mar 27, 2015 00:30
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Galick posted:Anyone have a recommendation for a western? Trying to branch into the genre but I was never fond of the classic movies at all, so maybe a more modernly written piece? Or a modern twist on it? The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark.
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Mar 27, 2015 01:04
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Galick posted:Anyone have a recommendation for a western? Trying to branch into the genre but I was never fond of the classic movies at all, so maybe a more modernly written piece? Or a modern twist on it? Neither of these are classic westerns, but The Sisters Brothers by Patrick Dewitt and Butchers Crossing are both fantastic.
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Mar 27, 2015 03:28
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Galick posted:Never read any westerns, but I'll give both of those a go. Thanks! Cormac McCarthy's border trilogy starting with All the Pretty Horses is more classic western in tone. True Grit is also a really good classic western.
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Mar 27, 2015 04:31
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funkybottoms posted:He means McCarthy,, and I agree with him. It's crazy violent, though, so if you want something a little less brutal and a few years more modern you could also check out his Border Trilogy. The classic recommendations are McMurtry's Lonesome Dove and, Louis L'amour, and Zane Grey Haha, oops. And I've recommended it a few times here as well! With the correct name.
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Mar 27, 2015 04:35
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I just read (audio book) the first 3 books of the Gentleman Bastard series, and I loved it. What else can you recommend like this book? I'm counting down till Scott Lynch releases the next book! I've read The Hobbit, and TLOTR series, Harry Potter Series, and The Name of the Wind. but I haven't really read anything else. mrbass21 fucked around with this message at 06:28 on Mar 27, 2015 |
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Mar 27, 2015 06:26
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mrbass21 posted:I just read (audio book) the first 3 books of the Gentleman Bastard series, and I loved it. Across the Nightingale Floor springs to mind, sort of feudal fantasy Japan (don't look for exact corollaries with regard to culture, language, religion, cause this aint Shogun), and it doesn't have the whimsical sort of tone that the GB books have, but still very highly enjoyable.
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Mar 27, 2015 06:55
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So all this talk of westerns dovetails with something I've been looking for. I just finished up Shadow by K. J. Parker and while I'm planning on finishing up the Scavenger trilogy, I want to step away from the detached tone of Parker's work. But there are some particular elements that I'm looking for in a recommendation. Shadow has an amnesiac protagonist who, in order to discover his sorted past, starts a kind of nomadic and aimless journey. Along the way he picks up details about his history, and while that mystery in and of itself interests me, it's not what I'm looking for. What I'm after is a sort of episodic series of incidents. Think wanderer, series of vignettes, that sort of thing. Bonus points if the places the protagonist visits are given particular focus and character... I want to get a strong sense of the qualities that sum up each stop on the protagonist's journey. So what we've got is like a wandering Samurai thing, or a western, or whatever. I'm not even picky about genre. I just love the aesthetic of a wandering individual impacting the places he/she visits with focus given to the character and uniqueness of those places. I don't care about the tone of the work so much as the structure, if that makes sense. Red Country by Abercrombie and Bridge of Birds by Hughart have a little of this baked in, and I know Bridge is a favorite around here, but I've read both of those already.
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Mar 27, 2015 09:19
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One of the strongest examples I've seen of what I believe you're referring to is in Miéville's Iron Council. Just keep in mind it's not the whole book - but there's a lot of what you seem to be looking for in there.
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Mar 27, 2015 12:15
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Could anyone provide a recommendation for a good introduction to medieval history? I am looking for something that isn't too textbook-like and acts as a nice starting point for the subject.
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Mar 27, 2015 14:55
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esn2500 posted:Could anyone provide a recommendation for a good introduction to medieval history? I am looking for something that isn't too textbook-like and acts as a nice starting point for the subject. The first book I ever read about medieval history was Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century, which I loved, continue to love, and will love no matter what anyone says about it.
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Mar 27, 2015 15:19
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dokmo posted:The first book I ever read about medieval history was Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century, which I loved, continue to love, and will love no matter what anyone says about it. Thanks for the recommendation! Definitely seems like what I'm looking for, and the author is quite acclaimed as well.
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Mar 27, 2015 17:44
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esn2500 posted:Could anyone provide a recommendation for a good introduction to medieval history? I am looking for something that isn't too textbook-like and acts as a nice starting point for the subject.
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Mar 27, 2015 17:47
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anilEhilated posted:Probably not exactly what you're looking for, but The Name Of The Rose serves as a great probe into the problems and ways of thinking of that period. Some historical fiction can't hurt, given my aim isn't to memorize the chronological events during the period or all the great houses/dynasties etc etc. Also I have been enjoying Bernard Cornwell lately, so this is right up my alley.
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Mar 27, 2015 17:55
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mrbass21 posted:I just read (audio book) the first 3 books of the Gentleman Bastard series, and I loved it. If you're willing to try SF, you might enjoy Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat books, another "master criminal" series. Be aware, however, that the quality drops off really hard after the first three or four books.
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Mar 27, 2015 18:08
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AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 01:20 on Jan 22, 2016 |
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Mar 28, 2015 00:29
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mrbass21 posted:I just read (audio book) the first 3 books of the Gentleman Bastard series, and I loved it. You might enjoy the Nightrunner Series by Lynn Flewelling. It's a bit more campy then Gentleman bastards, but it's about a spy and his protege fighting necromantic forces of evil. On the other side there's Sherwood Smith's Inda which is...a complicated political drama set in a semi-Nordic fantasy world. Half way through the first book the main character becomes a pirate and starts building a fleet to hunt other pirates. Food Guy posted:After reading god knows how many books about people realising that they are gay and then have a huge angsty coming out journey, and so I would like some recommendations for queer fiction that doesn't involve any of that, or only involves a very minimal amount of coming out angst. Also I meant to post this up and forgot until just now so I hope you're still interested. http://booklist.rassaku.net/ This is a guy's personal rec blog that he started with the intended goal of sorting out quality queer lit from the bad and boring stuff. The result is actually a pretty good rec list for science fiction and fantasy, along with a few other things. I haven't hated anything I picked off the list, and I second the strong recommendation for St. Olivia. It's just a fun book on top of being about queer youth without being a sappy bildungsroman with a melancholy ending.
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Mar 28, 2015 10:14
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Galick posted:Anyone have a recommendation for a western? Trying to branch into the genre but I was never fond of the classic movies at all, so maybe a more modernly written piece? Or a modern twist on it? Try checking out Ed Gorman's westerns especially if you're looking for a hard-boiled twist on the genre.
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Mar 29, 2015 21:28
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Anyone have any thoughts on A Darker Shade of Magic? Vicious kept my interest but wasn't amazing.
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Mar 30, 2015 02:52
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Hey guys I really want to read exciting books about spies in Nazi-occupied territory during WW2! I love tense and exciting stuff like that scene in the bar during Inglourious Basterds. Actually, all of that movie. Recommend me a fiction and a non-fiction book? That way I can get a dose of the thrilling-but-not-realistic, along with the actual history.
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Mar 30, 2015 06:19
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It's airport fiction at its finest but I did enjoy Garden of Beasts by Jeffrey Deaver.
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Mar 30, 2015 09:33
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Can anyone reccomend some good books written by firefighters or EMTs about their lives and professions?
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Mar 30, 2015 12:55
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Hedrigall posted:Hey guys I really want to read exciting books about spies in Nazi-occupied territory during WW2! I love tense and exciting stuff like that scene in the bar during Inglourious Basterds. Actually, all of that movie. Declare by Tim Powers has some of what you're looking for, but it's got major fantasy overtones too, so as long as you're okay with that I would highly recommend it. Powers' shtick is that he takes unanswered questions in history and gives them fantastical answers via the supernatural. This particular book takes place over a few decades, but the first couple segments are based in and around WWII. The very first is a prolonged cat-and-mouse game in Nazi occupied France, and the fantasy elements are seriously downplayed for that segment. It gets crazier later on, but it's great. I can't speak to other espionage fiction. Not really in my wheelhouse. Hopefully that helps though.
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Mar 30, 2015 13:16
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Hedrigall posted:Hey guys I really want to read exciting books about spies in Nazi-occupied territory during WW2! I love tense and exciting stuff like that scene in the bar during Inglourious Basterds. Actually, all of that movie. It's not spies and espionage but just yesterday at lunch a friend recommended The Last Battle: When US and German Soldiers Joined Forces in the Waning Hours of World War II in Europe as a quick-reading, cinematic, non-fiction book.
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Mar 30, 2015 13:46
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