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Humbug Scoolbus posted:Stephen Baxter's NASA series (Voyage, Titan, and Moonseed), or his Xeelee Series The billionaire worship thing's common throughout his novels. He loves it. (It's distracting, but I guess he works well with it) His main characters are usually comically well-connected. I agree on the nuclear strike thing. It also highlights my favorite part of Sci-Fi (Also Carl Sagan's, if my memory and reading comp is working): His concepts in the MOAB section about a post-truth world, armies of influencing bots, the internet and tribalism. It's so relevant, and I think we're living in a turning point of it. It's the type of writing that makes me want to just start coding my own apes, and see how much karma on reddit I could get. If I could make bots in the D&D section of this forum and have them learn from and parrot various talking points, to turn the discussion one way or another. And to think how much of this is actually happening now, and how much isn't, but could be. We're so dependent on media, the internet etc for what we think about, how we think etc. Social pressure etc. The potential (Realized, not realized, or yet-to-be realized) is thought-provoking. How much we depend on the opinion of our peers is evolutionary baked in to us, but we now live in a time when we can't be sure our peers are real. Right now, I'd argue most people don't question it, but will have to soon. (IMO should already be) More broadly, and perhaps a stretch: It got me thinking about what's the purpose of the internet? Why do we use it? What are the evolutionary triggers? Why do we compulsively check our email, Facebook, etc? What are we getting out of it? We can make it what we want, but what do we want? I've applied this to my own hardware devices I'm working on. I've decided to make the latest one deliberately internet-free. The trendy solution, and one existing similar products take, is to connect it to the web (aka The Cloud, aka IoT), use your smartphone touchscreen etc, but I've made it offline, its own screen etc. I have a vision where bucking the trend of the internet/IoT/cloud, combined with cheap hardware (display etc) will open up a world of smart, task-specific devices that don't suffer from the problems our current phones and computers have... ie spam and distractions everywhere, powerful hardware grinding to a halt due to security software, email taking 10 mins to load, popups stealing your attention etc. Personal assistants that can solve the hard problem of interpreting speech, but must have constant connectivity, and have crippled functionality. Taking a step back in some ways, but augmented in a way to be more useful. Inspired by Fall. Dominoes fucked around with this message at 05:45 on Jun 20, 2020 |
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Jun 20, 2020 04:10
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If I loved mason & Dixon, would I also like against the day?
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Jun 20, 2020 05:07
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meanolmrcloud posted:If I loved mason & Dixon, would I also like against the day? Yes! It is written much in the same way encompassing different genres depending on which characters are present. Its a much easier reading experience as it is not written in old english, but its long. Really long. It also incorporates a lot of scientific principles which made sense in the context of its time period it takes place, like aether and bi location, which have since been disproven by more modern theories like quantum physics.
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Jun 20, 2020 14:45
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Dominoes posted:Awesome I don't have anything interesting or productive to add but I enjoyed this post. Thanks for writing it.
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Jun 20, 2020 15:02
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I loved blindsight and some short story about planets silently trying to kill each other with meteors so don't invent radio. Im looking for more like that.
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Jun 20, 2020 15:08
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Harold Fjord posted:some short story about planets silently trying to kill each other with meteors so don't invent radio. I would like to know more. This sounds fantastic.
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Jun 20, 2020 15:59
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Just got laid off. I’m wondering if there are any actually good books about determining a career path besides What Color Is Your Parachute. I’d really like to avoid corny self-helpy bullshit, and an author that can clearly explain how to figure out a way to find a job that doesn’t make you want to play in traffic. I find myself at a career crossroads and am fortunate enough to have a little less pressure in determining my next move, so anything that could help me organize my thoughts to that end would be really helpful.
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Jun 22, 2020 23:22
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meanolmrcloud posted:If I loved mason & Dixon, would I also like against the day? It's safe to assume you're going to like every other Pynchon novel.
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Jun 23, 2020 12:35
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If you're looking for recommendations, the Book Barn discord might be a good place to ask: https://discord.gg/jgBDB25
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Jun 24, 2020 15:38
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I've been playing around with the recommendation engine on Goodreads and LibraryThing, and I like how they play off the books you rate. Sometimes I just have no specific desire for anything in particular and need a bunch of options thrown at me that I wouldn't have otherwise known about. Since I really like clicking through the "what's related" tab and discovering random stuff, are there any other places that are a good source of "automatic" recommendations?
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Jun 26, 2020 00:25
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Jun 26, 2020 03:52
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I was hoping for some guidance on choosing a non-fiction about poker. I already know how to play, but would like to learn more and improve. I would normally just dive in at the library, but the VIRUS has taken that pleasure from me. If I am going to be buying one or two blind, I would love any manner of direction. I swear there used to be a poker sub-sub-forum, but I cannot find it.
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Jun 28, 2020 06:01
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Matlack Radio posted:I was hoping for some guidance on choosing a non-fiction about poker. I already know how to play, but would like to learn more and improve. I would normally just dive in at the library, but the VIRUS has taken that pleasure from me. If I am going to be buying one or two blind, I would love any manner of direction. Theres a thread now. not super busy but youll still get good recs there. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3504125&pagenumber=93&perpage=40
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Jun 28, 2020 07:32
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Muchas gracias.
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Jun 28, 2020 14:00
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Can’t remember if I’ve asked this before but does anyone have recs for books set in or about 19th working class scotland? Fic or non fic.
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Jul 2, 2020 02:53
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I’m looking for some fluffy sci-fi/fantasy, preferably with a gay/bi male lead? Something really escapist. Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet’s been suggested several times in this thread and it sounds like something I’m looking for. I guess I’m also trying to find some stories with a big cast of fleshed out supporting characters, possibly with a really well-realized setting. I’ve been reading through the Gaunt’s Ghosts series by Dan Abnett and that’s kind of been hitting me with the feeling of what I’ve been wanting.
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Jul 4, 2020 05:03
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Have you read Murderbot yet? Go read Murderbot
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Jul 4, 2020 07:01
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Circutron posted:I’m looking for some fluffy sci-fi/fantasy, preferably with a gay/bi male lead? Something really escapist. Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet’s been suggested several times in this thread and it sounds like something I’m looking for. I recently started rereading Diane Duane's Middle Kingdom fantasy series (The Door into Fire, The Door into Shadow, The Door into Sunset) and you might enjoy them.
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Jul 4, 2020 16:56
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I have just finished reading 'Hunt for Red October'. Highly recommend it. If you are interested in Cold War politics, military, espionage then it is a great book. I watched the movie straight after and it definitely wasn't as good as the book.
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Jul 5, 2020 16:34
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NGC773 posted:I have just finished reading 'Hunt for Red October'. Highly recommend it. If you are interested in Cold War politics, military, espionage then it is a great book. I watched the movie straight after and it definitely wasn't as good as the book. Red Storm Rising is a pretty great book too. Really captures the 80's Cold War flashpoint vibe. Clancy is generally categorized under "chud" and most books/games/movies/shows with his name on them are pretty bad, but his early stuff is fun to read if you're into late 20th century military history.
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Jul 5, 2020 20:26
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NGC773 posted:I watched the movie straight after and it definitely wasn't as good as the book. I have never understood why so many people back then said "This character would absolutely positively not have a Scottish accent. I know, let's cast Sean Connery!"
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Jul 5, 2020 21:54
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My one weird trick for Clancy is to stop after Clear and Present Danger. That's still the one I like best from early Clancy, I feel it did the best job at the things he was good at Or you can do the Dune thing and stop whenever you get bored because after a certain point each book gets worse. Khizan posted:I have never understood why so many people back then said "This character would absolutely positively not have a Scottish accent. I know, let's cast Sean Connery!" Wasn't that made in the 80's? If I recall correctly Highlander was another 80's classic where Sean Connery played... an Egyptian pretending to be a Spaniard.
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Jul 5, 2020 22:29
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The general rule of thumb in my opinion at least is that Clancy was good when he was writing during the Cold War. Once the Soviet Union fell things get real iffy
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Jul 5, 2020 22:34
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Sarern posted:My one weird trick for Clancy is to stop after Clear and Present Danger. That's still the one I like best from early Clancy, I feel it did the best job at the things he was good at
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Jul 6, 2020 02:22
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“shome thingsh dont react sho well with bulletsh.”
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Jul 6, 2020 02:42
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Does anyone have any recommendations for historical fiction that doesn't take place in either Europe or the US?
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Jul 6, 2020 16:19
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IBroughttheFunk posted:Does anyone have any recommendations for historical fiction that doesn't take place in either Europe or the US? Shogun from James Clavell is the obvious recommendation if you haven't read it yet.
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Jul 6, 2020 16:47
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Haven't gotten to Shogun yet, but it is on the to-read list. And now because I think this might come up as the other obvious recommendation, I will note that I've already read (and enjoyed) Pachinko.
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Jul 6, 2020 16:54
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"Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet" is really good, though has a strong European undercurrent. It takes place in the Dutch trading zone of Japan in the 1700s. The first half of the book is from the POV of the titular character, but despite the setup it does a good job of avoiding the "White Savior" trope as the 2nd half breaks away. It's more fiction than historical as it leans into some fantastic/mystical cult stuff that fits into the larger world that Mitchell writes about. It's a good starting place for him though. Not exactly what you were asking for but it's a really good novel and I am a big Mitchell fan so I like to butt in with recommendations.
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Jul 6, 2020 17:16
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IBroughttheFunk posted:Does anyone have any recommendations for historical fiction that doesn't take place in either Europe or the US? How about mysteries? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judge_Dee
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Jul 6, 2020 17:29
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IBroughttheFunk posted:Does anyone have any recommendations for historical fiction that doesn't take place in either Europe or the US? If you get past the first 200 pages, The Egyptian may be enjoyable.
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Jul 6, 2020 17:34
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IBroughttheFunk posted:Haven't gotten to Shogun yet, but it is on the to-read list. Shogun is good but it's *extremely* western-perspective, like, oh god so much it hurts.
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Jul 6, 2020 17:41
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loving westerners, always writing from a western perspective. And don't get me started on Ahmad ibn Fadlan, writing about other cultures from his Arabic perspective. What a bum.
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Jul 6, 2020 19:31
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regulargonzalez posted:loving westerners, always writing from a western perspective. And don't get me started on Ahmad ibn Fadlan, writing about other cultures from his Arabic perspective. What a bum. This is a hell of a take with that redtext. The person is specifically asking for books that aren't about Europe, noting the western perspective seems reasonable.
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Jul 6, 2020 20:32
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IBroughttheFunk posted:Does anyone have any recommendations for historical fiction that doesn't take place in either Europe or the US? Do you consider Russia European?
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Jul 6, 2020 20:48
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The Years of Rice and Salt is about the fictional historical destruction of Europe so... does that work?
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Jul 6, 2020 21:52
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My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk is set in the 16th century Ottoman empire. Starts off kinda like a crime novel then turns into something else.
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Jul 6, 2020 22:07
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Aztec by Gary Jennings is some wild poo poo and fairly historically accurate from what I've read.
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Jul 6, 2020 22:22
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IBroughttheFunk posted:Does anyone have any recommendations for historical fiction that doesn't take place in either Europe or the US? Life and death are tearing me apart by Mo Yan, a (current government approved) critical eye at chinese society from the rise of Maoism to the 1990s from the perspective of a feudal lord that’s killed and subsequently resurrected as a bunch of different animals
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Jul 6, 2020 23:25
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Lockback posted:"Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet" xcheopis posted:How about mysteries? Fruits of the sea posted:My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk Human Tornada posted:Aztec by Gary Jennings ulvir posted:Life and death are tearing me apart by Mo Ya Thanks so much for all of the recommendations, everyone! These look great. Hieronymous Alloy posted:Shogun is good but it's *extremely* western-perspective, like, oh god so much it hurts. Yeah, I could kinda feel that when I read Tai-Pan a while ago, which is one reason that Shogun has lingered on the to-read-later list for a while. cda posted:Do you consider Russia European? I do, but I am still happy to hear any title(s) that you want to suggest. tuyop posted:The Years of Rice and Salt is about the fictional historical destruction of Europe so... does that work? I wasn't necessarily thinking about alternate history at the time, but this looks really interesting, so I appreciate the recommendation! IBroughttheFunk fucked around with this message at 02:39 on Jul 7, 2020 |
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Jul 7, 2020 02:33
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