|
13Pandora13 posted:So I have a common request with a few odd twists: I just finished re-reading the Wheel of Time series and what's completed of the A Song of Ice and Fire series for the umpteenth time and I'm looking for something in that same fantasy vein but I have a couple of wants/do not wants. Since you already read some of Sanderson's work, I'll go and recommend The Way of Kings, The Emperor's Soul, and Mistborn. All have female leads and fit all your criteria (although honestly, pretty much all fantasy books recommended here do). quote:Last four books read: It would be useful to know if you actually liked these books. Either way, read Dune.
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2013 14:18
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 15:39 |
|
|
Down With People posted:Maybe try out Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie? This sounds perfect, thanks! Walh Hara posted:Since you already read some of Sanderson's work, I'll go and recommend The Way of Kings, The Emperor's Soul, and Mistborn. All have female leads and fit all your criteria (although honestly, pretty much all fantasy books recommended here I'll check out these too. =D
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2013 14:58
|
|
|
Admiral Goodenough posted:I'm looking for a book that can explain the history of poetry, because I'm looking to get into reading more poetry but I don't know where to start. What I want to know about is the different eras and styles, preferably with lots of examples. A good and extensive collection of poetry from different periods might also work, I guess, I just want to get a sense for what the different styles sound like. Perrine's guides are very good. I've gone through prose and (partly) drama ones, but I imagine the poetry one would be similar. They mostly explain how to make sense of texts, which includes structure and technique analysis as well as historical context and follow-up questions which help you think about the text from different aspects. Here's the amazon link http://www.amazon.com/Perrines-Sound-Sense-Introduction-Poetry/dp/1428289704 , but I suggest you hit up ebay for older editions. I got my one-volume set of prose/drama/poetry guide from 2006 for  .
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2013 15:24
|
|
|
Burning Rain posted:Perrine's guides are very good. I've gone through prose and (partly) drama ones, but I imagine the poetry one would be similar. They mostly explain how to make sense of texts, which includes structure and technique analysis as well as historical context and follow-up questions which help you think about the text from different aspects. This sounds perfect, thanks!
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2013 16:01
|
|
|
Walh Hara posted:Since you already read some of Sanderson's work, I'll go and recommend The Way of Kings, The Emperor's Soul, and Mistborn. All have female leads and fit all your criteria (although honestly, pretty much all fantasy books recommended here do). Liked/loved all of those books. Also, I own Dune and loved that as well.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2013 17:01
|
|
|
ScaerCroe posted:Last four books read: The Re-Discovery of Man by Cordwainer Smith
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2013 22:25
|
|
|
Admiral Goodenough posted:I'm looking for a book that can explain the history of poetry, because I'm looking to get into reading more poetry but I don't know where to start. What I want to know about is the different eras and styles, preferably with lots of examples. A good and extensive collection of poetry from different periods might also work, I guess, I just want to get a sense for what the different styles sound like. I see you've already had one recommendation, and one that seems more suited to what you are looking for; but I have to point towards Glynn Maxwell's On Poetry as an excellent primer on the stuff-wot-comes-in-verse. Wondering if anybody might be able to help me: I'm on a travelogue jag, especially those set in Japan. I've been through Ferguson's Hokkaido Highway Blues (loved it) and both of Booth's books (also great). Does anybody have something along this line? houseboatdays fucked around with this message at 11:52 on Mar 3, 2013 |
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2013 11:49
|
|
|
houseboatdays posted:I see you've already had one recommendation, and one that seems more suited to what you are looking for; but I have to point towards Glynn Maxwell's On Poetry as an excellent primer on the stuff-wot-comes-in-verse. Seeing as it doesn't appear to be too expensive, I can probably pick up this too. Thanks!
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2013 13:05
|
|
|
13Pandora13 posted:So I have a common request with a few odd twists: I just finished re-reading the Wheel of Time series and what's completed of the A Song of Ice and Fire series for the umpteenth time and I'm looking for something in that same fantasy vein but I have a couple of wants/do not wants. Any of the Taltos books, by Steven Brust.
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2013 07:22
|
|
|
Can someone recommend a fair account of the 1917 Russian revolution and then another one for the USSR from the 1922 and up?
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2013 20:14
|
|
|
I'm looking for a book that covers the Boxer Rebellion, fiction or non works fine. Contrasting perspectives would be nice, but that's not a necessary requirement.
Urdnot Fire fucked around with this message at 21:26 on Mar 6, 2013 |
|
#
?
Mar 6, 2013 21:23
|
|
|
Geek U.S.A. posted:Can someone recommend a fair account of the 1917 Russian revolution and then another one for the USSR from the 1922 and up? Sheila Fitzpatrick's The Russian Revolution is a pretty good (and reasonably short) book on the subject. She's a really well-renowned scholar on the revolution and the book actually covers up until the purges of the 1930s since she takes a long view of the revolution. In terms of more general histories of the Soviet Union, The Soviet Experiment by Ronald Suny is a pretty good overview of the broad scope of Soviet history. It's very much a textbook though, and is correspondingly expensive, so that may turn you off, though it's pretty densely packed with information and has a lot of good recommendations for further reading on subjects at the end of each chapter.
|
|
#
?
Mar 8, 2013 06:08
|
|
|
Does anyone know of any books about the Lebanon War in 2006? Books about Hizbullah/the Lebanese government around this period would be great too.
asap-salafi fucked around with this message at 22:34 on Mar 8, 2013 |
|
#
?
Mar 8, 2013 21:25
|
|
|
For Hizballah, there's a few options. I would avoid Thanassis Cambanis's book, it's not great. I would go with Nick Blanford or maybe Nicholas Noe. For a rather sympathetic treatment, try Amal Saad-Gorayeb's book, Hizbu'llah: Politics and Religion.
|
|
#
?
Mar 8, 2013 22:00
|
|
|
wiegieman posted:Any of the Taltos books, by Steven Brust. Thanks! Wikipedia lists the release order and the actual plot chronological order for this series, which do you recommend I read these in? 19 planned volumes 
|
|
#
?
Mar 9, 2013 19:35
|
|
|
13Pandora13 posted:Thanks! Wikipedia lists the release order and the actual plot chronological order for this series, which do you recommend I read these in? 19 planned volumes Release order. Internal chronological isn't bad for a reread, but you want the pace of Brust's reveals.
|
|
#
?
Mar 9, 2013 19:45
|
|
|
vyelkin posted:Sheila Fitzpatrick's The Russian Revolution is a pretty good (and reasonably short) book on the subject. She's a really well-renowned scholar on the revolution and the book actually covers up until the purges of the 1930s since she takes a long view of the revolution. In terms of more general histories of the Soviet Union, The Soviet Experiment by Ronald Suny is a pretty good overview of the broad scope of Soviet history. It's very much a textbook though, and is correspondingly expensive, so that may turn you off, though it's pretty densely packed with information and has a lot of good recommendations for further reading on subjects at the end of each chapter. I'll pick up Fitzpatrick's book and if I still want to know more I'll check out the textbook. Thank you!
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2013 00:22
|
|
|
It's semi-related to the thread, but I couldn't find any place where it would fit better and I don't think this question deserves a thread of it's own. Is there a website like http://www.theyshootpictures.com/oldTSPDT.htm but for books? What I mean is the catalog of authors with a list of their most recommended works, worth checking out, worse etc. Thanks. And beside that - is Satori in Paris a good read for someone who had never read any Kerouac before? A man searching for his heritage, in Paris on top of it - sound pretty interesting. Red Garland fucked around with this message at 22:35 on Mar 11, 2013 |
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2013 22:33
|
|
|
Can anyone recommend a good biography of Frederick Douglass? He's always seemed like such a larger-than-life figure to me, and I'd really like to learn as much as possible about him.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2013 21:09
|
|
|
Adib posted:Can anyone recommend a good biography of Frederick Douglass? He's always seemed like such a larger-than-life figure to me, and I'd really like to learn as much as possible about him. Didn't he write an autobiography? edit, post google: http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/DouNarr.html
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2013 21:26
|
|
|
Hieronymous Alloy posted:Didn't he write an autobiography? Oh, right! I had read a chapter or two of this ages ago but I'd completely forgot about it. I'll definitely look into that, but I was also looking for a scholar's "outside" account of his life, if that makes sense.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2013 22:07
|
|
|
Can anyone recommend me an epic modern science fiction series? Doesn't need to be completed, but it certainly doesn't hurt. I'm thinking of something like Mass Effect meets A Song of Ice and Fire. I want lasers and AI and complicated cultures and societies and giant webs of galactic wide political intrigue and all the fun stuff like that. Alternatively, I've been watching a ton of Rome and Spartacus lately, and any recommendations for fiction that takes place in Ancient Rome would be awesome too.
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2013 10:34
|
|
|
The Dark Wind posted:Can anyone recommend me an epic modern science fiction series? Doesn't need to be completed, but it certainly doesn't hurt. I'm thinking of something like Mass Effect meets A Song of Ice and Fire. I want lasers and AI and complicated cultures and societies and giant webs of galactic wide political intrigue and all the fun stuff like that. Alastair Reynolds should be right up your alley! • Revelation Space trilogy and assorted prequel novels, novellas and short stories set in the same universe — full of everything you described • House of Suns, standalone book set in its own universe, unrelated to his other works — not a series but still full of everything you described (but no aliens)\ edit: I suppose to a lesser extent, James SA Corey's The Expanse series is going to end up a bit like a sci-fi Game of Thrones. There'll be 6 books (plus assorted novellas) when it's all done, with lots of politics and factions and multiple POVs. It's so far entirely solar-system bound but they still cram a lot of interesting worldbuilding into the books. Not to mention, the authors (James SA Corey is a pseudonym for two people) are friends with, & often collaborators with, George RR Martin. First book is Leviathan Wakes. edit 2: gently caress I suppose Michael Cobley's Humanity's Fire series (first book titled Seeds of Earth; fourth book comes out August this year) fits the bill too. It's kinda Mass Effect by way of Game of Thrones with many POVs and many factions. I reviewed it earlier in this thread: I posted:Really fun, engaging space opera which packs EVERYTHING into one story: machines vs organics, alien races both good and evil (and neutral), human resistance, space chases/battles, ancient alien ruins, sentient forests, politics, AI/droid characters with tons of personality, and more. It's a lot like Mass Effect, entirely in good ways. Cobley has created a living universe with lots of action and intrigue. Hedrigall fucked around with this message at 11:22 on Mar 13, 2013 |
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2013 11:09
|
|
|
The Dark Wind posted:Alternatively, I've been watching a ton of Rome and Spartacus lately, and any recommendations for fiction that takes place in Ancient Rome would be awesome too. Check out Colleen McCullough's series that begins with The First Man in Rome, at least the first three volumes or so (which is as far as I've read; remind me to track down the rest). Fictionalized account of the last generations of the Republic, starting out with a focus on Gaius Marius vs. Lucius Cornelius Sulla and ending with the ascension of Augustus. It's chock full of intrigue and decadence and Latin obscenities and has more pitched battles and poo poo going on than the average fantasy novel.
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2013 13:53
|
|
|
The Dark Wind posted:Alternatively, I've been watching a ton of Rome and Spartacus lately, and any recommendations for fiction that takes place in Ancient Rome would be awesome too. Robert Harris has written several novels set in the Roman Empire: Pompeii is a thriller/mystery set in Pompeii (where else) shortly before, and during, the eruption of 79AD. Imperium and Lustrum are a fictionalised retelling of the life of Cicero.
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2013 17:47
|
|
|
Thanks, these are some awesome recommendations. You guys kick rear end. 
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2013 21:17
|
|
|
The Dark Wind posted:Alternatively, I've been watching a ton of Rome and Spartacus lately, and any recommendations for fiction that takes place in Ancient Rome would be awesome too. I've been meaning to check out Steven Saylor's novel Roman Blood, but I haven't gotten around to it (or any of his others) yet. He writes mysteries set in the later years of the Roman Republic (right around the time of Caesar) about a guy named Gordianus and they get a bunch of praise.
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2013 22:22
|
|
|
I'm looking for recomendations for espionage thrillers set during the Cold War. I've enjoyed the obvious Len Deighton and John Le Carré novels, and thrillers that veer into action territory (such as Tom Clancy's The Cardinal of the Kremlin) are good too. I've read a couple of Frederick Forsyth books before and liked them, but honestly can't remember which ones, since it was years back.
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2013 22:28
|
|
|
Danger - Octopus! posted:I'm looking for recomendations for espionage thrillers set during the Cold War. I've enjoyed the obvious Len Deighton and John Le Carré novels, and thrillers that veer into action territory (such as Tom Clancy's The Cardinal of the Kremlin) are good too. As it happens, I am on the third book of Jeremy Duns's Paul Dark series, which are well researched and well written. The "protagonist" is a British spy who is a double agent for the Soviets, and the backdrop is a bunch of real cold war people and places. Can't recommend these enough.
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2013 23:31
|
|
man
|
The Dark Wind posted:Alternatively, I've been watching a ton of Rome and Spartacus lately, and any recommendations for fiction that takes place in Ancient Rome would be awesome too. I, Claudius.
|
|
#
?
Mar 14, 2013 01:01
|
|
|
Danger - Octopus! posted:I'm looking for recomendations for espionage thrillers set during the Cold War. I've enjoyed the obvious Len Deighton and John Le Carré novels, and thrillers that veer into action territory (such as Tom Clancy's The Cardinal of the Kremlin) are good too. Eric Ambler and Alan Furst are both worth reading.
|
|
#
?
Mar 14, 2013 03:53
|
|
|
I'm looking for books that are character-driven and deal with the psychological problems of these characters. Something along the lines of a Winesburg, Ohio. Also, are there any writers that are spare like Raymond Carver or Ernest Hemingway? I really like that style of prose. Smoking Crow fucked around with this message at 07:27 on Mar 14, 2013 |
|
#
?
Mar 14, 2013 07:24
|
|
|
I really like Snow Crash and Neuromancer, and I need some good Cyberpunk books to hold me over until Shadowrun Returns comes out, what are some good books that are similar? Sorry if this request has come up before, I didn't want to read 146 pages.
|
|
#
?
Mar 14, 2013 10:02
|
|
|
Turtlicious posted:I really like Snow Crash and Neuromancer, and I need some good Cyberpunk books to hold me over until Shadowrun Returns comes out, what are some good books that are similar? Sorry if this request has come up before, I didn't want to read 146 pages. If you haven't done so already, you could go ahead and read the rest of the Sprawl Trilogy, consisting of Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive.
|
|
#
?
Mar 14, 2013 10:14
|
|
|
Down With People posted:If you haven't done so already, you could go ahead and read the rest of the Sprawl Trilogy, consisting of Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive.  I didn't know it was a trilogy! I'm going to go read that. Thanks, I've read the opening line of Hardwired, and I don't really like it to be honest.
|
|
#
?
Mar 14, 2013 10:31
|
|
|
Smoking Crow posted:I'm looking for books that are character-driven and deal with the psychological problems of these characters. Something along the lines of a Winesburg, Ohio. I just finished Lynn Lauber's White Girls and really digged it. One one level, it's about a girl growing up in a small Ohio town in the early 60s, but like Winesburg, it's about a lot more than that - racism, ennui, etc. If you liked Sherwood Anderson's novel, I'd recommend it. quote:Also, are there any writers that are spare like Raymond Carver or Ernest Hemingway? I really like that style of prose. Off the top of my head: Richard Ford (who I think studied under Carver, too), Andre Dubus and Raymond Chandler (or any of the terse, hardboiled writers).
|
|
#
?
Mar 14, 2013 23:13
|
|
|
Turtlicious posted:I really like Snow Crash and Neuromancer, and I need some good Cyberpunk books to hold me over until Shadowrun Returns comes out, what are some good books that are similar? Sorry if this request has come up before, I didn't want to read 146 pages. Pick up Burning Chrome as well as the rest of the Sprawl books that "Down With People" mentioned, it's a collection of his short stories and they are really good, you'll even recognize a few characters. If you can, track down a copy of the anthology Mirrorshades, there's some pretty great stories in there too, along with some less than amazing ones. Then grab Schismatrix Plus by Bruce Sterling, he's another cyberpunk pioneer like Gibson is.
|
|
#
?
Mar 16, 2013 02:34
|
|
|
I'm looking for something in the realm of urban fantasy, where supernatural creatures exist beside humans in either this world, or a parallel reality, etc. Bonus points if the lead character is femaile. But something well written with an interesting plot and not just focused on sexy time with a vampire. I've read a few of the True Blood novels, they were cheesy fun but repetitive. I've read some of The Hollows series by Kim Harrison but that's also veering toward a cheesy romance story. I remember really enjoying Sunshine by Robin McKinley, and of course anything by Neil Gaiman. You could fit Harry Potter into this mix as well, I guess, but I've read all those. Alternately, I'm looking for memoirs/autobiographies that are laugh out loud funny. Tina Fey's Bossypants has been my favorite, and I've also read Mindy Kaling's. Doesn't have to be written by a celebrity or comedian. I've also read The Idiot Girls Action Adventure Club and Laurie Notaro stories, so something like that is also welcome.
|
|
#
?
Mar 16, 2013 12:52
|
|
|
frenchnewwave posted:I'm looking for something in the realm of urban fantasy, where supernatural creatures exist beside humans in either this world, or a parallel reality, etc. Bonus points if the lead character is femaile. But something well written with an interesting plot and not just focused on sexy time with a vampire. I've read a few of the True Blood novels, they were cheesy fun but repetitive. I've read some of The Hollows series by Kim Harrison but that's also veering toward a cheesy romance story. I remember really enjoying Sunshine by Robin McKinley, and of course anything by Neil Gaiman. You could fit Harry Potter into this mix as well, I guess, but I've read all those.
|
|
#
?
Mar 16, 2013 13:04
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 15:39 |
|
|
frenchnewwave posted:I'm looking for something in the realm of urban fantasy, where supernatural creatures exist beside humans in either this world, or a parallel reality, etc. Bonus points if the lead character is femaile. But something well written with an interesting plot and not just focused on sexy time with a vampire. I've read a few of the True Blood novels, they were cheesy fun but repetitive. I've read some of The Hollows series by Kim Harrison but that's also veering toward a cheesy romance story. I remember really enjoying Sunshine by Robin McKinley, and of course anything by Neil Gaiman. You could fit Harry Potter into this mix as well, I guess, but I've read all those. Have you read any Charles deLint? edit: I really liked Let's Pretend This Never Happened, so I'll recommend that. xcheopis fucked around with this message at 22:52 on Mar 16, 2013 |
|
#
?
Mar 16, 2013 22:50
|
|