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kedo posted:Hello thread! A bit of an odd question – can anyone recommend either a great western or mystery novel in which a cave plays an important or recurring role? My dad is a big fan of both genres and I'd like to get him a book as a gift. The cave is a bit of an inside joke. Child of God
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Nov 20, 2016 13:14
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Rush Limbo posted:Child of God I was gonna recommend Liminal States as a joke, but that's funnier.
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Nov 20, 2016 14:03
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kedo posted:Hello thread! A bit of an odd question – can anyone recommend either a great western or mystery novel in which a cave plays an important or recurring role? My dad is a big fan of both genres and I'd like to get him a book as a gift. The cave is a bit of an inside joke. Comedy option but the first one that popped into my head, Edgar Rice Burroughs's 'A Princess of Mars'. Hey...it starts and ends in a cave in Arizona...
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Nov 20, 2016 16:30
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anilEhilated posted:The Bartimaeus books by Jonathan Stroud, maybe a bit YA but still a fantastic read. Magicians running the British government. Thanks for this and the other recs. I've actually read this series and enjoyed it, somehow it slipped my mind though.
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Nov 21, 2016 10:47
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books on consciousness?
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Nov 21, 2016 23:27
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chernobyl kinsman posted:books on consciousness? A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness: From Impostor Poodles to Purple Numbers by V.S. Ramachandran I haven't personally read Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman, but I have read his short stories, which are great, and had his non-fiction recommended as well.
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Nov 21, 2016 23:51
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I recommend you sign up for the 2016 Tangled Up in Books Secret Santa if you haven't already. We're into the last 24 hours or so and everyone who joins in will get free gifts of PDFs about sex magick, Tang poetry, Black Panther newsletters, and anything else the generous CestMoi feels like contributing.
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Nov 22, 2016 13:33
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anilEhilated posted:The Bartimaeus books by Jonathan Stroud, maybe a bit YA but still a fantastic read. Magicians running the British government. Couple days late, but I second the Bartimaeus books. Entertaining, even if they are a bit towards YA. Also, I finished The Plot Against America. Definitely a worthwhile read. Some of the similarities to current events are interesting however... Gonna be reading The Years of Rice and Salt next.
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Nov 22, 2016 16:55
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I've never read any spy fiction, but I'm kind of curious all of a sudden. Can anyone suggest any modern (i.e. recently written, not necessarily modern setting) spy fiction?
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Nov 26, 2016 03:38
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Ian Fleming's Bond stuff is still good. Bond is an absolute rear end in a top hat, it's wonderful.
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Nov 26, 2016 16:05
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Define "modern" - for example, I love John Le Carré's Cold War stuff but his later books suffer from having more politics than storytelling. Frederic Forsyth could be another recommendation - it's basically airport fiction but well-written, very engaging. Some Graham Greene could go here - not modern by any means but he's probably the best writer who happened to deal with the topic. Hell, come to think of it, I wouldn't mind some modern spy fiction recs either. James Bond is an acquired taste, I suppose. Very entertaining if you can get past all the sexism, it's very much a product of its age.
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Nov 26, 2016 16:13
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Modern was honestly thrown in there specifically because I did not want Bond or any of the similarly racist/sexist 60s poo poo. I'd rather not have to deal with lovely opinions to get to the enjoyment, unless it is a deliberate choice, because it's a period piece.
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Nov 26, 2016 18:22
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John LeCarre's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is fantastic. It's a more realistic spy novel, though. No James Bond superspies to be found in it.
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Nov 26, 2016 21:20
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Hiro Protagonist posted:Modern was honestly thrown in there specifically because I did not want Bond or any of the similarly racist/sexist 60s poo poo. I'd rather not have to deal with lovely opinions to get to the enjoyment, unless it is a deliberate choice, because it's a period piece. Le Carre's cold war books is what you want then, especially Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and the two books after it. I was looking for the same things you are awhile back, and while i didn't really become a fan of spy stuff in general, those books are really freaking good.
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Nov 26, 2016 21:23
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Le Carre is a good choice. I also often recommend Alan Furst, who writes about spies in pre-World War II Europe. Like Le Carre, he's more on the talky/thinky end of spy fiction rather than punchy/shooty. If you would rather have punchy/shooty ... it's not recent, but maybe Peter O'Donnell's Modesty Blaise books? All the rear end-kicking of James Bond, with (almost) none of the sexism.
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Nov 26, 2016 23:43
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Selachian posted:If you would rather have punchy/shooty ... it's not recent, but maybe Peter O'Donnell's Modesty Blaise books? All the rear end-kicking of James Bond, with (almost) none of the sexism. Modesty Blaise is a real good series, definitely try them. If you want to get a taste of them, it started as a newspaper comic serial (also written by O'Donnell) which have been being posted over in the Comic Strip Megathread in BSS; read some here.
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Nov 27, 2016 12:31
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I just finished Craig Schaefer's Daniel Faust series and both of the Harmony Black books, and I'm looking for some recommendations for other urban fantasy stories along the same lines, other than the Dresden Files series and the Rook. I can deal with some romance, just as long as its not the main focus of the story.
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Nov 28, 2016 11:23
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Food Guy posted:I just finished Craig Schaefer's Daniel Faust series and both of the Harmony Black books, and I'm looking for some recommendations for other urban fantasy stories along the same lines, other than the Dresden Files series and the Rook. I can deal with some romance, just as long as its not the main focus of the story. Ben Aaronovitch's Peter Grant books (magic cop in modern London) are good stuff, and a new one just came out. The first one was published under the title Rivers of London in the UK and then changed to Midnight Riot in the US.
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Nov 28, 2016 14:13
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Selachian posted:Ben Aaronovitch's Peter Grant books (magic cop in modern London) are good stuff, and a new one just came out. Depending on what side of the pond you're on. The Hanging Tree releases in the US at the end of January.
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Nov 28, 2016 18:54
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ulmont posted:Depending on what side of the pond you're on. The Hanging Tree releases in the US at the end of January. Can't you just order it from Amazon UK? How can that be an issue in 2016?
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Nov 28, 2016 22:03
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Faking UK addresses for Kindle is pretty hard.
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Nov 28, 2016 22:09
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Ras Het posted:Can't you just order it from Amazon UK? How can that be an issue in 2016? I had already preordered from Amazon US, so didn't feel like canceling, flipping address to UK, ordering, flipping back to US, and I'm a digital purist for space reasons.
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Nov 28, 2016 23:20
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Ras Het posted:Can't you just order it from Amazon UK? How can that be an issue in 2016? A physical copy, yes (although it'd be cheaper to go through BookDepository.com). The Kindle version, no.
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Nov 28, 2016 23:25
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Gee, turns out you're all paying into a scam.
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Nov 29, 2016 10:50
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Do you guys just not know that you don't have to pay for ebooks
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Nov 30, 2016 00:54
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I met Ben Aaronovitch at a book signing, he was nice. You should pay actual money for his books. Or alternatively it's out on audible now and the narration has always been very good.
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Dec 1, 2016 09:32
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learnincurve posted:I met Ben Aaronovitch at a book signing, he was nice. You should pay actual money for his books. Or alternatively it's out on audible now and the narration has always been very good. oh for sure maAaronovitch currently lives in Wimbledon and is working on a series of urban fantasy police procedurals
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Dec 1, 2016 11:28
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Nothing wrong with living in Wimbledon
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Dec 1, 2016 15:22
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I want to get back into reading after spending a year or so reading non-fiction technical stuff. At the moment I'm in a real political drama kick, with Madam Secretary and Designated Survivor being my favourite current shows. So I was hoping for recommendations of Fantasy or Sci-Fi books with plenty of political drama. Similar to A Song of Ice and Fire. I like these genres more than modern day as they lay out how the world works through world building rather than expecting you to intuitively know certain things (or explain it poorly). I also like the sense of escapism.
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Dec 2, 2016 13:58
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Lord Windy posted:So I was hoping for recommendations of Fantasy or Sci-Fi books with plenty of political drama. Similar to A Song of Ice and Fire. I like these genres more than modern day as they lay out how the world works through world building rather than expecting you to intuitively know certain things (or explain it poorly). I also like the sense of escapism. Ann Leckie's Ancillary series. I haven't read it, but from reading this thread you might also want to peep goon-authored The Traitor Baru Cormorant (it's definitely on my to-read list).
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Dec 2, 2016 14:13
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I'm reading the Hanging Tree right now, and he's done a bit of a doctor who and semi-retconned all that stuff which was getting away from him, so we are back to what made the series so good in the first place.
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Dec 2, 2016 15:59
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Lord Windy posted:I want to get back into reading after spending a year or so reading non-fiction technical stuff. At the moment I'm in a real political drama kick, with Madam Secretary and Designated Survivor being my favourite current shows. Katherine Addison's The Goblin Emperor was enjoyable and had a fair amount of court/political intrigue. You might like it.
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Dec 2, 2016 18:34
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Lord Windy posted:I want to get back into reading after spending a year or so reading non-fiction technical stuff. At the moment I'm in a real political drama kick, with Madam Secretary and Designated Survivor being my favourite current shows. The Expanse series has quite a bit of politicking.
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Dec 2, 2016 19:11
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Iain Bank's Culture series is right up your alley. Dune is also a classic and ticks that box, although be weary delving into stuff post Dune, as it's of dubious quality.
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Dec 2, 2016 21:32
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Rush Limbo posted:Iain Bank's Culture series is right up your alley. Dune is also a classic and ticks that box, although be weary delving into stuff post Dune, as it's of dubious quality. Read from Dune until you get tired of a book, and then stop, as things will not get better.
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Dec 2, 2016 21:42
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CestMoi posted:Nothing wrong with living in Wimbledon I used to go to the Quakers House there for work meetings, it's ok.
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Dec 2, 2016 22:43
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Looking for a good intro to philosophy. Never took philosophy in college and always sort of wished I had. Any good starting points?
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Dec 2, 2016 23:43
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Lord Windy posted:So I was hoping for recommendations of Fantasy or Sci-Fi books with plenty of political drama. Similar to A Song of Ice and Fire. I like these genres more than modern day as they lay out how the world works through world building rather than expecting you to intuitively know certain things (or explain it poorly). I also like the sense of escapism.
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Dec 3, 2016 00:41
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a mysterious cloak posted:Looking for a good intro to philosophy. Never took philosophy in college and always sort of wished I had. Any good starting points? That's a bit like saying "looking for an intro to Science" but Simon Blackburn's Think is a decent primer on Western philosophy.
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Dec 3, 2016 00:43
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a mysterious cloak posted:Looking for a good intro to philosophy. Never took philosophy in college and always sort of wished I had. Any good starting points? You might want to take a look at The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant. I think it's a pretty good overview of Western philosophy through the years and probably a better-than-average starting point.
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