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Scooting in with one last recommendation: Catherynne Valente has a pretty fun series starting with The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making.
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Oct 27, 2022 17:10
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Is there a good single volume history of Germany?
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Oct 28, 2022 03:46
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Gripweed posted:Is there a good single volume history of Germany? The Milhist thread also fields all sorts of other history questions. The fine folks there will be happy to recommend you something.
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Oct 28, 2022 03:53
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Gripweed posted:Is there a good single volume history of Germany? Urs Allemann’s novel from 1992.
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Oct 28, 2022 03:56
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LLSix posted:The Milhist thread also fields all sorts of other history questions. The fine folks there will be happy to recommend you something. I'll see what they have to say, thanks. Carly Gay Dead Son posted:Urs Allemann’s novel from 1992. You gotta read another book man
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Oct 28, 2022 12:56
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Which Thomas Ligotti book should I start with? Really love to dwell in a bleak melancholy world rn
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Oct 30, 2022 00:48
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tuyop posted:Which Thomas Ligotti book should I start with? Really love to dwell in a bleak melancholy world rn Conspiracy Against The Human Race is set in my favourite bleak melancholy world (the real one)
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Oct 30, 2022 00:53
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tuyop posted:Which Thomas Ligotti book should I start with? Really love to dwell in a bleak melancholy world rn Songs of a Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe is a great starting point imo
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Oct 30, 2022 17:15
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evilpicard posted:Conspiracy Against The Human Race is set in my favourite bleak melancholy world (the real one) I’ve got it on my list but I feel like fiction really distilled an argument and the affective dimensions of the despair. Also my list is too long. PsychedelicWarlord posted:Songs of a Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe is a great starting point imo Thanks!
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Oct 30, 2022 17:20
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I am looking for a book with a protagonist (any gender) who wants to leave her family for any reason and gets to do so. Preferably urban fantasy or paranormal romance in genre, but I'll take anything at this point... mostly because I'm mildly annoyed at three separate series featuring women who left their domineering werewolf/werecat packs/prides before the book started, founded their own independent life, and then plot drags them back in kicking and screaming to deal with them again. The series that mildly annoyed me: Pat Briggs' Mercy series, Rachel Vincent's Stray series, and Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series. One exception I can think of: Carrie Vaughn's Kitty series, as that book is all about Kitty getting out of her abusive pack and making her own way as a radio talk show host and werewolf.
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Nov 5, 2022 02:01
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Gripweed posted:Is there a good single volume history of Germany? "The Shortest History of Germany" from James Hawes is alright if you want the entire (recorded) history of Germany in one book. Though the further it goes into modern era, the more strenuous its overarching interpretation of East Germany as bulwark of reaction and West Germany as bulwark of progress becomes.
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Nov 7, 2022 18:27
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Looking for a book recommendation for my wife - Her favorite film has always been The Godfather (no, do not just recommend she reads the Godfather books). Over the last few years, we've been working through the Yakuza game series and she absolutely loves it. She likes the crime family aspect, but she especially likes the tragic stories about interpersonal relationships and people manipulating each other for power. Anyone have any recommendations for books that have a similar vibe? EDIT: Also - no true crime stuff. She's only interested in fiction. Mordiceius fucked around with this message at 08:37 on Nov 13, 2022 |
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Nov 13, 2022 08:30
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Shogun, Dune, A Song of Ice and Fire
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Nov 13, 2022 17:25
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The Shogun series by James Clavell is what springs to mind. It's a bit dated now but for 80s values of white dude writing abut Asian history they hold up. Well written and paced etc.
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Nov 13, 2022 17:30
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Just to clarify a bit, Shogun isn't a series per se, it's a standalone novel. Clavell wrote a bunch of Asian-set novels but they involve various countries and time periods and are mostly unrelated to each other. Shogun is by far the best. Tai-Pan is good as well and also has a ton of political and family intrigue.
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Nov 13, 2022 22:26
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regulargonzalez posted:mostly unrelated to each other. Clavell billed them as the "Asian Saga." Four of the books are directly connected (in the "this book is about the kids of the people from the last book" kinda way), then Shogun and GaiJin are sortof off to the side but tie in through various characters as descendants of other characters and that sort of thing. They're not a series in the modern sense of a continuous story with the same characters, though, yeah. And they have BIG problems from a "wait, let's hear more opinions from a 1980s white dude about Asian history" kinda way. But Clavell was a talented writer and knew how to tell a story and they're definitely page-turners; they were favorites of mine back in the 80's and 90's when I first read them. Another thing in the same general vein is Edward Rutherford's _Sarum_, which attempts to be a complete history of England, or more precisely of Salisbury Plain, from prehistoric times to 1985, by covering the history of six interwoven families. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 22:50 on Nov 13, 2022 |
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Nov 13, 2022 22:44
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Mordiceius posted:She likes the crime family aspect, but she especially likes the tragic stories about interpersonal relationships and people manipulating each other for power. The first couple Gormenghast books maybe?
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Nov 14, 2022 02:12
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Mordiceius posted:Looking for a book recommendation for my wife - The Accursed Kings by Maurice Druon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Accursed_Kings I, Claudius by Robert Graves She'd probably like Michael McDowel's books, especially Gilded Needles and The Blackwater Saga Bellefleur and My Heart Laid Bare by Joyce Carol Oates Oh, if she really wants something to chew on there's Les Rougon-Macquart by Emile Zola https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Rougon-Macquart not every book is about a criminal but there's a streak of criminality in the family and it contains several of the great French tragic novels. It's not a crime family drama but it is Japanese, Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama The most Yakuza like fiction is on film unfortunately, but she should check out the Battles Without Honor and Humanity series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_Without_Honor_and_Humanity and Kitano's Yakuza films fez_machine fucked around with this message at 02:58 on Nov 14, 2022 |
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Nov 14, 2022 02:44
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You all are coming in clutch. I'll pass on all these recommendations to her.
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Nov 14, 2022 03:07
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Mordiceius posted:Looking for a book recommendation for my wife - Seconding Shogun. Dune has the manipulation aspect, and only doesn't involve crime families because the criminals are the nobles so make the laws. For crime stuff, it's hard to go wrong with The Lies of Locke Lamora. It's the story of a fantasy conman.
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Nov 14, 2022 05:38
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StrixNebulosa posted:I am looking for a book with a protagonist (any gender) who wants to leave her family for any reason and gets to do so. Preferably urban fantasy or paranormal romance in genre, but I'll take anything at this point... mostly because I'm mildly annoyed at three separate series featuring women who left their domineering werewolf/werecat packs/prides before the book started, founded their own independent life, and then plot drags them back in kicking and screaming to deal with them again. You're really going to like The Sharing Knife series.
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Nov 14, 2022 11:27
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Walh Hara posted:You're really going to like The Sharing Knife series. I think you're right. I already like Bujold.
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Nov 14, 2022 20:19
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What's the best book about Frederick II?
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Nov 14, 2022 21:43
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Mordiceius posted:Looking for a book recommendation for my wife - Jade City and the whole Green Bones series. 40s/50s fantasy world, but one island has magic jade that people (with training) can use to become martial arts punch wizards, and then they can join the clans that help and protect folks when they aren't at war with each other. Very realistic, once you accept the premise, and great, well rounded characters. Godfather is a clear influence, but this book goes its own way. The later books have more and better international relations than I expected.
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Nov 18, 2022 02:01
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Looking for a book on Oliver Cromwell and all the history around him, preferably something fiction. That is, still true, but told as more of a story, not a fan of dry history.
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Nov 19, 2022 20:06
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Is there any fiction books in a genre that usually treats women like crap that doesn’t do that?
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Nov 27, 2022 06:58
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The man called M posted:Is there any fiction books in a genre that usually treats women like crap that doesn’t do that? Ursula Le Guin mostly wrote scifi and fantasy and she was good to her female characters.
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Nov 27, 2022 07:16
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The man called M posted:Is there any fiction books in a genre that usually treats women like crap that doesn’t do that? Cradle and Forge of Destiny both have strong female characters in a genre where women are often sold as child brides to men 100s of years older then them. And yes, I mean that literally, Xianxia is a weird, unlovely niche. Simon R. Green’s Hawk and Fisher short stories are notable for being Noir stories with a female detective (Fisher and her husband Hawk are a team and she’s just as tough as him). His Deathstalker series is also relatively good about having powerful female characters, but it’s less spot on than Hawk & Fisher. LLSix fucked around with this message at 03:17 on Dec 1, 2022 |
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Nov 27, 2022 16:54
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Charles Sheffield could write a decent female character. The few Delaney I read were also decent, but I read from a male perspective so I am likely missing things.
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Nov 28, 2022 02:23
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Any fun pop non-fiction about hotly contested theological issues? Emphasis on the ideas themselves and not the political ramifications of the religious controversy.
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Nov 30, 2022 05:01
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FPyat posted:Any fun pop non-fiction about hotly contested theological issues? Emphasis on the ideas themselves and not the political ramifications of the religious controversy. Bart Ehrman might be up your alley.
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Dec 1, 2022 03:37
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Sounds excellent!
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Dec 1, 2022 04:43
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Elaine Pagels too I suppose
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Dec 1, 2022 05:34
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Looking for novels set in the intelligence community but not spy stuff or Jack Ryan per se, more the diplomat / ambassador / handler level stuff. Something like Count Fenring in Dune, or Laird Barron's story The Siphon, except not fantasy or horror. Thanks!
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Dec 2, 2022 19:40
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regulargonzalez posted:Looking for novels set in the intelligence community but not spy stuff or Jack Ryan per se, more the diplomat / ambassador / handler level stuff. Something like Count Fenring in Dune, or Laird Barron's story The Siphon, except not fantasy or horror. Thanks! I'm drunk but maybe Victor Canning?
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Dec 2, 2022 22:03
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regulargonzalez posted:Looking for novels set in the intelligence community but not spy stuff or Jack Ryan per se, more the diplomat / ambassador / handler level stuff. Something like Count Fenring in Dune, or Laird Barron's story The Siphon, except not fantasy or horror. Thanks! Have you read the Culture novels?
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Dec 2, 2022 22:08
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Gripweed posted:Have you read the Culture novels? I think maybe one or two? The Mote in God's Eye, something like that? I wasn't looking for sci Fi but you're not the first person to recommend these to me so I'll have to check them out. E: looks like that's not a Culture novel after all, not sure why I thought it was 3D Megadoodoo posted:I'm drunk but maybe Victor Canning? Will look into it, thanks!
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Dec 2, 2022 23:09
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regulargonzalez posted:Looking for novels set in the intelligence community but not spy stuff or Jack Ryan per se, more the diplomat / ambassador / handler level stuff. Something like Count Fenring in Dune, or Laird Barron's story The Siphon, except not fantasy or horror. Thanks! Have you tried Alan Furst? His specialty is spy stuff in pre-World War II Europe. Maybe not as high-level as you want, but it's more cerebral stuff in the line of Eric Ambler or John Le Carre than Bourne, Bond, or Ryan.
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Dec 3, 2022 00:54
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Selachian posted:Have you tried Alan Furst? His specialty is spy stuff in pre-World War II Europe. Maybe not as high-level as you want, but it's more cerebral stuff in the line of Eric Ambler or John Le Carre than Bourne, Bond, or Ryan. Following up on this, Le Carre is technically "spy stuff" but it is not schlocky spy stuff. The way I describe it to people is, "The tensest parts of the books are when the protagonist has to meet with his boss to justify his budget," and I mean that in a good way. Lots of diplomacy, handlers, etc. The "Smiley trilogy" is probably the best place to start. Edit: The other place people recommend starting with him is "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold," but it is actually somewhat more directly related to spy tradecraft than some of his other stuff, so might not be the best place to start with your specific interests.
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Dec 3, 2022 04:04
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regulargonzalez posted:Looking for novels set in the intelligence community but not spy stuff or Jack Ryan per se, more the diplomat / ambassador / handler level stuff. Something like Count Fenring in Dune, or Laird Barron's story The Siphon, except not fantasy or horror. Thanks! Le Carre has a bunch of novels about handlers and diplomats The Antrobus stories by Lawrence Durrell The Slow Horses series which is mainly focused on data analysts being asked to become proper spies Rubicon was a great tv series about data analysts edit: oh poo poo I forgot The Sandbaggers is probably the greatest intelligence community television series, there's a conspiracy theory that the writer was killed for leaking state secrets through the show. Anyway, it's primarily about the handlers having to deal with the fact that their ultra-component spies are a very rare commodity that wear down and get killed and have to be saved for the most important missions only. fez_machine fucked around with this message at 10:25 on Dec 3, 2022 |
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Dec 3, 2022 10:21
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