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Hieronymous Alloy posted:I need titles of specific recommended works and/ or at least a sentence saying why a given rec is a good pic. My Name Is Red is good, funny, but a little dense. It's a Murder Mystery / Love Story / Historical Fiction / Magical Realism / Large Cast of Characters with shifting perspectives for each chapter. In 16th Century Turkey, a miniaturist (artists who illustrated sacred texts for sultans) is murdered by one of his peers. If the murderer is not found in three days, all of the suspects and their masters will be tortured to death. Concepts it explores: the purpose of art and artists in culture, history, religion, society; the nature of creativity; Eastern cultures dealing with a shift in tradition with the influx of Western culture; Eastern religion vs. Western religion; meditations on death; censorship (from religion, politics and moral tradition); and many more! It's a bit slow to start, since it has many different characters (one of which is the murderer), but it has moments of hilarity and insight, and it's very emotional fulfilling. It also creates a dialogue with the reader and explores the act of reading fiction with you. That is the only Orhan Pamuk I've read, but I hear good things about Snow and The Museum of Innocence.
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Oct 27, 2016 15:53
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:I need titles of specific recommended works and/ or at least a sentence saying why a given rec is a good pic. When are you going to do Babyfucker by Urs Allemann??
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Oct 27, 2016 16:05
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Selachian posted:if you're looking for hard SF, you might want to try Alasdair Reynolds or Kim Stanley Robinson (especially KSR's "Mars" series). Thanks, ill check them out.
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Oct 27, 2016 16:04
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CestMoi posted:When are you going to do Babyfucker by Urs Allemann?? I am unfamiliar with the work but I suspect we have a different thread for that.
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Oct 27, 2016 16:31
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:I need titles of specific recommended works and/ or at least a sentence saying why a given rec is a good pic. A strangeness in my mind. It's a pretty good novel that details the life of a poor street salesman in the suburbs of Istanbul and how he copes with changes not only in Turkish society but also changes to the city itself. the narrative structure is also interesting in the way pamuk gives his side characters a real voice.
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Oct 27, 2016 18:14
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I want to read some books on early modern warfare and/or the transition from medieval to early modern warfare, so far I found a book called European Warfare, 1494-1660 by Jeremy Black who seems like a pretty well respected historian. Any other recommendations?
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Oct 27, 2016 19:41
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Selachian posted:if you're looking for hard SF, you might want to try Alasdair Reynolds or Kim Stanley Robinson (especially KSR's "Mars" series). KSR's Antarctica is pretty awesome too.
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Oct 27, 2016 21:39
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MaxxBot posted:I want to read some books on early modern warfare and/or the transition from medieval to early modern warfare, so far I found a book called European Warfare, 1494-1660 by Jeremy Black who seems like a pretty well respected historian. Any other recommendations? he is indeed. you might also try frank tallet's War and Society in Early Modern Europe: 1495-1715, though that works to set warfare in its sociopolitical context rather than focus entirely on the killing part
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Oct 27, 2016 21:43
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I really liked Fight Club, and Dietland which is Fight Club minus the plot twist. Does anyone have any recommendations for authors like Chuck Palahniuk minus the M. Night Shyamalan?
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Oct 28, 2016 01:32
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bet you like hunter s thompson
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Oct 28, 2016 06:21
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xtal posted:I really liked Fight Club, and Dietland which is Fight Club minus the plot twist. Does anyone have any recommendations for authors like Chuck Palahniuk minus the M. Night Shyamalan? He wears his influences on his sleeve, and they are better writers: Bret Easton Ellis, Kurt Vonnegut, Irvine Welsh, Ken Kesey, maybe some DeLillo and Pynchon. You'd probably enjoy Daniel Handler, Arthur Nersesian, Johny Glen, Joe R. Lansdale, Robert Rankin, Barry Gifford, or even Christopher Moore. Really, check out The Toy Collector by James Gunn. Palahniuk wishes he could write a book as good as The Toy Collector.
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Oct 28, 2016 14:23
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Franchescanado posted:He wears his influences on his sleeve He covers his sleeves in poo poo?
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Oct 28, 2016 14:56
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Mel Mudkiper posted:He covers his sleeves in poo poo? He likes those shirts covered with repeating offensive witty remarks.
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Oct 28, 2016 15:07
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I just found out about the ice company series and it sounds like it'd be a neat read. Have any of you read it? I can't seem to find any concrete information on if it is even available in English or not. I can find all of the books in French but I can only find one book that says it contains "detailed summaries" of the series and that sounds lame as hell.
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Oct 29, 2016 08:00
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xtal posted:I really liked Fight Club, and Dietland which is Fight Club minus the plot twist. Does anyone have any recommendations for authors like Chuck Palahniuk minus the M. Night Shyamalan? You could go back to the source of that style of writing, which is Knut Hamsun's Hunger. Not a hell of a lot actually happens, but it was probably one of the first to be written from that voice. The Lyngstad translation is probably the best. Hamsun was also a pretty hardcore Nazi supporter, too, if that would influence your judgment.
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Oct 29, 2016 12:51
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Thanks! I got Fear and Loathing and Cats Cradle so far. I will check that out. I appreciate your suggestions everyone.
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Oct 29, 2016 13:04
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Cat's Cradle is a pro choice. I'd also go for Mother Night, which is another short read and probably his best alongside Cat's Cradle.
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Oct 29, 2016 13:35
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Hieronymous Alloy, if you're still looking for recommendations for the monthly club, how about Your Face Tomorrow 1 by Javier Maras? Look at this opening line:quote:One should never tell anyone anything or give information or pass on stories or make people remember beings who have never existed or trodden the earth or traversed the world, or who, having done so, are now almost safe in uncertain, one-eyed oblivion. Telling is almost always done as a gift, even when the story contains and injects some poison, it is also a bond, a granting of trust, and rare is the trust or confidence that is not sooner or later betrayed. It's mostly a spy novel, but also much more.
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Oct 29, 2016 19:08
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Your Face Tomorrow is fantastic and everybody who likes books should read it (I was actually thinking of getting to the third part of trilogy when I finish the current read), but I'm not sure how well would it work for BOTM. on the other hand, I'd really like to see peoples' reactions here, so do it, Hieronymous! (or else, one of the more political Roth books, The Plot Against America maybe?)
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Oct 29, 2016 19:46
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I just got finished busting myself through my guilt non-fiction book and would like a good recommendation for some fun scifi. Preferably a series, as I like to go along with a character over multiple books. Does anyone have any good recommendations for a decent scifi book/series that is somewhat similar to Robert Buettner's Orphanage series or Graham Sharp Paul's Helfort's War series? Basically, I'd like a book (or series!) that is relatively character driven, shies away from weird sex and/or politics, and has a military bent. For those of you that haven't read those two series, they're pretty standard teenager joins the military, has a hard time, overcomes his troubles, and succeeds stories. Both are really fun series though, and the last three Orphanage books (Overkill, Undercurrents, and Balance Point) are pretty much spot on to what kind of book I'm looking for. As you can probably tell from my request, I'm not super picky in what I read, so if you have any ideas please shoot them my way.
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Oct 31, 2016 06:08
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Burning Rain posted:(or else, one of the more political Roth books, The Plot Against America maybe?) We should do this, it'll be perfect for the month in which Trump/Hillary gets elected!
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Oct 31, 2016 10:04
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I've been reading goodreads status updates and get this: all books are related to donald trump and hilary clinton so anything you choose will be relevant
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Oct 31, 2016 13:20
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I've been rotating in some non-fiction lately and I'm looking for something on humor and comedy. Not something humorous or comical, rather something about humor, such as the cultural differences, history of, or the process of writing comedy. I'm finding it hard to find a book about a genre without being bombarded by a bunch of books within that genre. Any suggestions?
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Oct 31, 2016 20:36
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lifts cats over head posted:I've been rotating in some non-fiction lately and I'm looking for something on humor and comedy. Not something humorous or comical, rather something about humor, such as the cultural differences, history of, or the process of writing comedy. I'm finding it hard to find a book about a genre without being bombarded by a bunch of books within that genre. Any suggestions? Getting the Joke by Oliver Double is a sort of guide of the craft of stand up comedy. There's also 'The Naked Jape' by Jimmy Carr and another author who I can't quite remember the name of. This is about how comedy itself works, with some cultural context of historic jokes etc. If you want something more historical, Mary Beard wrote a wonderful book about humour in Ancient Rome. It's called, appropriately, 'Laughter in Ancient Rome'. She's a bona fide good classicist too, so she knows her stuff.
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Oct 31, 2016 22:05
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lifts cats over head posted:I've been rotating in some non-fiction lately and I'm looking for something on humor and comedy. Not something humorous or comical, rather something about humor, such as the cultural differences, history of, or the process of writing comedy. I'm finding it hard to find a book about a genre without being bombarded by a bunch of books within that genre. Any suggestions? Books about Comedy as an Art Form: Truth in Comedy by Charna Halpern (used by those who trained under Del Close) The Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Improvisation Manual by Ian Roberts, Matt Besser, and Matt Walsh. (Links to the UCB page since they get better percentages on those sales.) Don't be put off by "Improv Manual". While that is true, it also talks about comedy writing, the idea of comedy as an art form, etc. I think these are both essential readings for anyone interested in comedy in any aspect. Born Standing Up is pretty great story from the perspective of a wanna-be magician becoming a comedian, failing for over a decade, then becoming an insanely huge comedian only to turn away from that a few years later in the height of his success, in under 250 pages. The fact that it's Steve Martin is kinda secondary, despite the fact that he discusses his material at the time. Comedy History: The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High Times in Stand-Up Comedy's Golden Era Comedy at the Edge: How Stand-up in the 1970s Changed America On the Real Side: A History of African American Comedy
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Oct 31, 2016 22:09
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Excellent suggestions, thanks!
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Oct 31, 2016 22:33
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I'm just off a two-month long James Ellroy binge. I want to read some more noir but something less ghoulish. I've got Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Elmore Leonard on my list. Any others I should add? Separate request: Book (or books) primarily set in a city during a major blackout, as modern as possible. Could be speculative (but nothing sci-fi) or historical. Carly Gay Dead Son fucked around with this message at 05:01 on Nov 4, 2016 |
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Nov 4, 2016 03:52
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Budgie Jumping posted:Separate request: Book (or books) primarily set in a city during a major blackout, as modern as possible. Could be speculative (but nothing sci-fi) or historical. City On Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg
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Nov 4, 2016 05:18
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Budgie Jumping posted:I'm just off a two-month long James Ellroy binge. I want to read some more noir but something less ghoulish. I've got Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Elmore Leonard on my list. Any others I should add? I'd normally recommend Jim Thompson, but you did say less ghoulish, and Thompson can be really goddamn dark. Maybe Patricia Highsmith (Strangers on a Train and/or the Ripley books) or The Postman Always Rings Twice.
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Nov 4, 2016 14:17
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Budgie Jumping posted:I'm just off a two-month long James Ellroy binge. I want to read some more noir but something less ghoulish. I've got Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Elmore Leonard on my list. Any others I should add? I've really enjoyed Timothy Hallinan's Junior Bender series, which is definitely a bit lighter than those other dudes.
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Nov 4, 2016 23:21
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I need a recommendation. I'm looking for a book or books on folk medicine, herbology and anything to do with strange and even harmful remedies. If the author ties them into supernatural beliefs, that's even better. Preferably I'd like a book where the author doesn't try to sell the reader on why it works. Either playing it straight as a retelling of events or that with a healthy dose of debunking. The Podcast Sawbones is wonderful for this but I need a book for a project. Folk medicine/lore is very fascinating to me and I'd like to know more about how people got things so wrong for so long.
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Nov 6, 2016 19:26
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Inzombiac posted:I'm looking for a book or books on folk medicine, herbology and anything to do with strange and even harmful remedies. I gave my dad a copy of 1 Out of 10 Doctors Recommend not too long ago and he seemed to enjoy it- I think it leans a little more funny/layman than serious/technical if that matters.
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Nov 6, 2016 21:46
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thiselton-dyer, the folk-lore of plants. has sections on lightning plants (as in warding off), plants in witchcraft (as in those that witches use and those for warding off witches), plants in demonology, plants in fairy-lore, plants and the weather, and plants in folk-medicine
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Nov 7, 2016 00:05
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I am so sorry Inzombiac probably doesn't read Croatian, because I have a wonderful folk medicine book on my shelf that recommends: 1. downing two liters of brandy as a cure for tapeworm 2. staring at a single point for 20 minutes a day to cure non-Hodgkin lymphoma (sadly, no advice for Hodgkin sufferers) 3. tightly wrapping sliced onion and olive oil around your head with a rag if you suffer from migraines And the madness goes on and on. One of those books you can read aloud to your friends when they're slightly drunk and probably make someone asphyxiate from laughter.
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Nov 7, 2016 00:12
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I finished The Name Of The Rose recently and have become very interested in the Catholic Churches history, and that setting in general. Any recommendations for either books that go into that subject matter or fiction in a similar setting?
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Nov 7, 2016 01:09
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Megabound posted:I finished The Name Of The Rose recently and have become very interested in the Catholic Churches history, and that setting in general. I've only just started it myself, but the Reformation by Diarmaid MacCulloch is absolutely fascinating and readable (so far) about the Catholic church and how/why it fractured the way it did. The author also wrote a book about the first three thousand years of Christianity, so that might be of interest?
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Nov 7, 2016 01:13
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StrixNebulosa posted:I've only just started it myself, but the Reformation by Diarmaid MacCulloch is absolutely fascinating and readable (so far) about the Catholic church and how/why it fractured the way it did. The author also wrote a book about the first three thousand years of Christianity, so that might be of interest? Sounds great, I think I'm really most interested in the internal politics so Reformation sounds fantastic. I'll look into both books.
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Nov 7, 2016 02:16
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Thanks, folks. I bought the Dyer book for $5 and it led me down a fruitful path. How about books on lesser-known folklore. I know a lot about American, European and some Japanese but very little from South America and SE Asia.
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Nov 7, 2016 03:44
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Looking for some short, impactful reading. Would prefer good poetry books or short story collections. I like anything, but especially surreal/fiction.
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Nov 8, 2016 03:35
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Loving Life Partner posted:Looking for some short, impactful reading. Would prefer good poetry books or short story collections. I like anything, but especially surreal/fiction. You should try an Etgar Keret collection or Sum: Forty Tales From The Afterlives by David Eaglemann
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Nov 8, 2016 04:42
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