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What are the go-to literary young adult books? I mean, I'm not sure this is even a category since YA is really good just to get young people reading (like, reading Divergent is better than not reading at all). But, apart from stuff like Lord of the Flies or Catcher in the Rye, what are some others that I may not have heard of? I'm asking as a teacher, not as a reader.
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Oct 25, 2014 18:19
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regulargonzalez posted:For the younger side of YA, Where the Red Fern Grows and Bridge to Terebithia I remember the first two from grade five, Bridge to Terebithia was so good! But I'm thinking 13-15 and 16-18 year-old range. I see lots of fourteen year-olds reading The Hunger Games and that Mazerunner stuff and even... Divergent and just cringe. But I can't remember what I was reading at that age that wasn't really abnormal (grade 9 I was reading Atlas Shrugged and Nineteen Eighty-Four, for example) so I don't know where to steer students. But like I said, it's not that much of an issue. They can read Green Eggs and Ham until they're 21 for all I care, as long as they're not just killing time watching Pewdiepie videos and listening to Taylor Swift instead.
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Oct 26, 2014 01:21
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Wade Wilson posted:All of my YA reading was the really embarrassing poo poo like the "Aliens ____!" (Fried my brain, ate my homework, etc.)by Bruce Coville or something like that, and the Pit Dragon Chronicles by Jane Yolen. I've seen a couple of students reading stuff like that, and they're my main targets. Though I don't think it's very wise to even bring it up because they might be sensitive and I could contribute to turning them off of reading altogether. Maybe it's not a thing that I should be worried about. 
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Oct 28, 2014 22:39
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Yeah reading out of necessity/poverty as a kid kind of makes me want to kill the Internet and fake poverty for video game consoles for ten years or so to give my own kids the same treatment. I remember getting in trouble for staying up late with a book and then hearing my parents argue about how stupid it was to punish a kid for reading. 
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Oct 29, 2014 03:39
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BoyMeetsWorld posted:I'm not much of a reader, but I just finished The Martian and absolutely loved it. I'd like some recommendations for similar science fiction, space exploration, survival stories. Much appreciated You could check out some light stuff like Forever War by Joe Haldeman, which is kind of military sci fi. Or go whole hog with 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson, though that's more of future tech porn mystery story. The Road by Cormac McCarthy may have a similar vibe.
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Nov 3, 2014 04:50
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Magic Hate Ball posted:What're some good books to read about domestic life at the turn of the last century? I'm thinking in the vein of Ingmar Bergman's Fanny & Alexander - sprawling, homey, detailed. They don't have to be Scandinavian but I do enjoy that area (see also: the earlier chapters of Roald Dahl's Boy describing his times in Norway, or Tove Jansson's The Summer Book). For a comedy history book, Bill Bryson's At Home: A Short History of Private Life is pretty good. It's funny but also seems fairly well researched. It also focuses on 19th and 18th century British life, iirc.
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Nov 6, 2014 15:07
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Love Stole the Day posted:Recommend me a book for getting involved in politics, specifically with campaigning or getting into an elected office of some kind. Have you read A People's History of the United States by Zinn? You should do that if you haven't. Then dig a shallow hole and put your dreams of affecting meaningful change in politics inside, fill it in, and walk away forever. Maybe go live in a yurt and be good to your children and environment, slowly making the world a much better place than you would have if you ever participated in modern politics. Though also seconding The Shock Doctrine.
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Nov 7, 2014 18:36
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LionYeti posted:I love Bill Bryson's two major travel books. Notes From a Small Island a travelogue of England Scotland and parts of Whales with light autobiographical sections. Also, his exploration of Australia In a Sunburned Country. Both of these are interesting funny full of little details and Bryson's voice shines. A Walk in the Woods is also excellent, and probably my favourite book of his. I'm looking for horror novels about Antarctica. Much less like Solar and more classic British adventure fiction, if that makes sense. Stuff about creatures in caves or isolation are perfect. Dale Bailey and Nathan Balligrud's The Crevasse is perfect.
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Jan 24, 2015 01:02
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Shitshow posted:It's set at the other pole, but Dan Simmons' The Terror otherwise sounds exactly like what you're looking for. I also really like Dan Simmons, so I'll read that next. Parasite by Mira Grant seems to be suffering some sort of weird John Scalzi or Joss Whedon syndrome going on where everyone speaks with identical sorts of wit and pithiness at all times and all the characters are basically indistinguishable from each other. I don't think I can finish.
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Jan 24, 2015 06:21
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funkybottoms posted:It's pretty stupid and predictable and the lolrandomness of the one chick (Tansy? I read an ARC a long time ago) is mega-aggravating. You aren't gonna miss anything. Shortlisted for a Hugo, though! Wtf?
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Jan 24, 2015 17:05
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funkybottoms posted:Huh, guess they're accepting Chricton fan-fiction now, eh? Yeah, it's weird because both Ancillary Justice and We Have Always Fought were great, but The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere was crappy but obviously a political selection and Parasite is just baffling. Last year they picked loving Redshirts over 2312 (and MaddAddam, which was weak compared to Oryx and Crake but still, Redshirts, wtf?), though, so maybe the award is meaningless? I think I'm going to use the Nebula awards over the Hugo awards, which is weird because you'd think the Hugo's would be more prestigious.
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Jan 25, 2015 01:59
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Ornamented Death posted:You guys realize the Hugos are largely a popularity contest, right? The people that win tend to be the ones that can best bend social media towards that end. No, I didn't know that. It sounds like something a butthurt loser would say so it's kind of surprising that it's kind of true. I mean, they've been running for over 60 years and I didn't know that winners are selected by like 3800 readers rather than a panel like the nebulas. If I wanted to read the most popular books I'd just scour goodreads for the YA postapocalyptic fiction of the moment.
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Jan 25, 2015 03:40
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Shitshow posted:It's set at the other pole, but Dan Simmons' The Terror otherwise sounds exactly like what you're looking for. This is so loving good. Thanks! pumpinglemma posted:How about Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness? It seems to fit what you're looking for to a tee, and it's out of copyright so you can read it online for free. Man, that was a terrible story, though awesome worldbuilding. It was just a slog pretty much the whole way through. I guess I appreciated how the use of adjectives was clarified later in the story (those horrid penguins!), but that only stood out because the rest just wasn't very pleasant to read.
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Jan 29, 2015 05:44
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Twerp posted:Can anybody recommend some well-researched books on folklore/mythology? That is, something that's more than just a flat collection of stories. I recently read Nart Sagas from the Caucasus, and it has all the sorts of things I really like - copious footnotes, historical/cultural contexts, thematic analyses, examples of cross-cultural story pollination, and even etymological breakdowns of the various regional dialects. Something India-focused would be peachy, but I'd be more than happy to explore anything you got for me. Check out The Truth About Stories by Thomas King. It's based on his Massey Lectures, which you can also listen to on CBC's website. It's more a commentary on the sociology of narratives mixed with a memoir rather than a collection of FNMI stories with anthropological/historical analysis, but it's a really incredible book and everyone should read it. Super light reading, as well. I think I finished it in an evening.
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Jan 31, 2015 23:53
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Beyond sane knolls posted:Got two recommendations to ask: 1) history of Cuban military during the Cold War, and 2) 80s sci-fi with time travel. The Hyperion Cantos series by Simmons has some time travel stuff throughout, and the first book is outstanding. From 1989. One of the best science fiction novels I've read, and I'm a junky for this stuff.
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Feb 5, 2015 01:21
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Time Cowboy posted:The Saga of Pliocene Exile by Julian May is as '80s as sci-fi gets, entertaining as hell and full of what-the-gently caress. They aren't great literature, but you asked for '80s sci-fi, so I assume you know what you're getting. Is there a trope or something in 80s sci fi I don't know about? I thought it was a great decade for the genre. There are the two I mentioned, and Ender's Game, Neuromancer, The Handmaid's Tale, The Postman. Unless you're saying that most 80s sci fi is pap, but that's true of any decade. Look at the whole 21st century. It's like all terrible sexist YA post-apocalyptic garbage.
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Feb 5, 2015 05:50
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Transistor Rhythm posted:Hello! I am looking for something that I'd call Haunted Spaceship sci-fi - not explicitly ghosts or horror set in space, but material that's heavily dependent on creating a moody and haunted atmosphere in a sci-fi context. The gigantic, dark, quasi-abandoned spaceship in Alien, or the creepy and haunted-feeling Villa Straylight space cryo-crypt in the end of Neuromancer. The abandoned spaceships floating quietly above the planet Pern in the dragonriders series. That vibe is what I'm after. Solaris.
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Feb 11, 2015 21:26
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Rusty posted:This is a great book, read this one. I know, right? Such an awesome depiction of inconceivable alien ontology and the horror of interacting with that. I love that book.
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Feb 12, 2015 05:31
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Kvlt! posted:What are some books that are about isolation/loneliness and sadness? Terror by Dan Simmons. It's basically 800 pages of people starving to death in the Arctic during the Franklin Expedition. Don't read the wiki page on that expedition or it will totally ruin it for you. 
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Feb 22, 2015 22:05
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rumtherapy posted:It would be very nice if somebody could recommend something like Frankenstein. Something with the main character being a scientist or having a focus on Science, and with some sort of great discovery preferably. Frankenstein actually motivated me to start studying more (although I suppose the message is rather the opposite), so if possible I'd like something along the lines of a scientist's' journey through life. Solar by McEwan, for sure. tuyop fucked around with this message at 04:08 on Feb 24, 2015 |
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Feb 24, 2015 03:45
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Rusty posted:Can someone recommend some books they really liked? I am in kind of a rut and not able to find anything I want to read. I am open to any genre besides fantasy and sci-fi unless it is really good. Sorry for the vague request, but I always tend to find good books when people just talk about their favorites. Uh, let's see: Tinkers The Truth About Stories The Cider House Rules Beloved Slaughterhouse-Five Russka Pillars of the Earth The Road Blood Meridian Born to Run Lolita Cosmos The Human Stain Quite a few genres there. I hope this helps.
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Feb 28, 2015 21:01
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trigonsareNOThomo posted:I'm looking for any kind of book that will help me not give a gently caress about what others think of me. Even if the book isn't about that specifically, I'm just struggling with that so if there's any book, novel or self-help or whatever that's helped you with that, please let me know A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy. If you're an analytical, philosophically-minded sort. It's less a self-help book than a review of Classical Western life philosophies for laymen. Really changed my life. That fear of judgement is explicitly one of the issues that Stoicism helps people manage.
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Mar 2, 2015 02:14
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regulargonzalez posted:This line immediately brought Charles Bukowski to mind. He's an interesting writer if only because you can track your progress through becoming a mature adult by your reaction to it. I went through phases of thinking it romantic, then juvenile, and now as a compelling look at a life I could never otherwise know or experience. I'd recommend starting with Post Office. I was going to recommend this as well. Bukowski is also something you can read in public without people thinking you're a moron.
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Mar 3, 2015 14:35
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ShakeyDog posted:Any recommendations for native american literature? I'm working on The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie right now and it owns. It's the first book in a while where I'll read a section and then want to go back and read it again to pick up on the subtext. Dude, you need to read The Truth About Stories by Thomas King. That book is insanely good. It's sort of nonfiction but it's an adaptation of a series of Massey Lectures and it retains an oral storytelling style in a way that goes beyond, say, Wagamese's intro in Keeper'n Me does, if that makes sense.
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Mar 26, 2015 04:50
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Galick posted:Anyone have a recommendation for a western? Trying to branch into the genre but I was never fond of the classic movies at all, so maybe a more modernly written piece? Or a modern twist on it? Have you read Blood Meridian by McEwan?
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Mar 26, 2015 23:27
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funkybottoms posted:He means McCarthy,, and I agree with him. It's crazy violent, though, so if you want something a little less brutal and a few years more modern you could also check out his Border Trilogy. The classic recommendations are McMurtry's Lonesome Dove and, Louis L'amour, and Zane Grey Haha, oops. And I've recommended it a few times here as well! With the correct name.
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Mar 27, 2015 04:35
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blue squares posted:Novels about love that are geared toward/equally enjoyed by men? I want to read a good story about people who meet and fall in love, but it has to be well-written, not some Romance Novel. Time-Traveler's Wife is one of my favorite books. The Constant Gardener is surprisingly good this way.
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Apr 26, 2015 21:30
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anilEhilated posted:As long as you're aware it's pretty horrible in all other ways. I read it when I was like, 15, so this may be correct.
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Apr 27, 2015 13:21
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NotAnArtist posted:Book Barn, I really enjoyed China Mieville's Kraken but wasn't really gripped by most of his other works. I enjoy sci-fi, supernatural and western. Hm, The Water Knife by Paulo Bacigalupi comes to mind. If you've seen Sicario it was really evocative of that movie to me. So a little bit of Sci Fi western going on. Not at all silly, though. All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anderson is a not-bad book that kind of blends Sci Fi and fantasy and is kind of funny at times.
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May 8, 2016 23:34
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Splicer posted:I too am looking for stories with a heavy emphasis on exploration. You might enjoy Rendezvous with Rama (don't bother with the sequels trust me). The Terror by Dan Simmons is kind of about exploration, it's a great 800-page dive into slow starvation and death by exposure on a 19th century arctic exploration voyage. Arkwright is a multi-generational story about the ground crew of an interstellar colonization ship, though also kind of about science fiction itself. The Three Body Problem is also kind of about exploration in a nontraditional sense. I actually found Russka by Edward Rutherfurd had a great sense of pioneering through the first act, though it's more historical fiction about Russia for most of the book, and the characters (like all Rutherfurd characters) are less compelling than Follett's characters even if the history might be better. Not nearly as much "milky breasts" as Follett, though, for what it's worth. Oh, and Seveneves by Neal Stevenson might also scratch the same itch, since it's (mostly) about coping with a crazy disaster and somewhat about exploring the aftermath. Maybe Zone One as well? I don't know. It's an attempt at a literary zombie book and I thought it was fairly successful.
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May 9, 2016 17:46
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WAR DOGS OF SOCHI posted:This is how I'd describe Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. Just scour the Pulitzer nominees for books. Tinkers by Paul Harding is probably the most beautiful book I've ever read. The Sixth Extinction reads a bit like a love letter to biology most of the time as well. A bit more Bill Bryson than you're probably looking for, though. All the Light We Cannot See was beautiful, so was The Orphan Master's Son. All Cormac McCarthy ever. Philip Roth also has his moments. I also love Beloved and I don't understand the popular negative opinions about it.
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May 15, 2016 22:51
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It's basically this but in coded anti-intellectual literary criticism form.
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May 17, 2016 02:01
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:That's a pretty good call actually. It's very explicitly libertarian but it's well done and well written and believable in context. If you go that route, I'd also suggest Ursula K. LeGuin's The Dispossessed, which is about a marxist space utopia instead of a libertarian one. I was going to mention this. It's also a better book since it has fewer of Heinlein/Classic Sci Fi's weird sexist or tonal... Quirks, in my opinion. Luna is the best moon drama I've read.
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May 18, 2016 20:44
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Butt Frosted Cake posted:Recommend me the Evangelion of literature I don't know what that means.
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May 19, 2016 02:45
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Parallax posted:this thread made me want to buy books so i bought cocaine nights by ballard, waiting for the barbians by coetzee and the cold war by john lewis. also the second volume of nichijou, which everyone should read I don't get this at all. And yeah, what else is up for best Harrison Ford movie? Star Wars? Is a children's movie ever an actor's best movie? And Indiana Jones is a cartoon so... The Fugitive and K-19 are fine, I guess.
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May 19, 2016 04:30
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Zas posted:everyone read some thomas bernhard, he's the best angry austrian since you know who Who?
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May 19, 2016 15:29
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DisDisDis posted:Recommend me lit or nonfiction about soldiers processing war trauma/guilt. Also maybe something happy since I just finished Man Tiger and am now nearing 200 pages into Zone. The Junior Officer's Reading Club fits the bill at times, though I think it's mostly comedy.
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May 20, 2016 19:50
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I was pretty meh about it, it's definitely a time capsule but I'm glad I read it.
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May 20, 2016 22:20
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Weird double post redirect: which hard sci fi book is best? I found it hard to suspend my disbelief during the spaceship scenes in The Dark Forest, for instance.
tuyop fucked around with this message at 01:16 on May 21, 2016 |
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May 21, 2016 01:00
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paragon1 posted:Is there any military sci-fi that is both A)Good and B)Not written by an awful human being. Starship Troopers by Heinlein The ancillary series (Ancillary Justice, et al.) The Women of Our Occupation by Kameron Hurley (short story, but loving awesome. I can't wait for her first novel) Motherfucking Dune
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May 25, 2016 04:34
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