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Somewhat in line with JerryLee's request, I'm really wanting to start reading H. P. Lovecraft's works but I'm clueless as to where I should start. Most bibliographies I've found are lengthy lists of every single short story, novella, novel, and essay. I understand that much of his "universe" whether it's the town, supernatural beings, gods, and whatnot spreads across multiple works, but is there a definitive novel or series of novels that is considered the definitive entry point into that world?
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Jul 26, 2009 21:33
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Two posted:I was just wondering if anybody knew of a good fantasy series? I havent come across any good fantasy books since I was in high school and the poo poo I used to read back then is not appealing to me any more. I am not incredibly picky but I will say that vampires are not my favorite subject. So whatever you can think of, throw some suggestions at me if you have any. Thanks! I don't read a lot of fantasy and am only one or two books deep into each of these series but I enjoyed them all: The Bone Doll's Twin Kushiel's Dart The Book of the New Sun I want to like fantasy but so many of the writers out there want to actively dissuade me from it. These books do not. Convincing characters, rewarding writing, great settings, and women who aren't scenery.
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Feb 11, 2010 05:41
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7 y.o. bitch posted:Hi guys, I'm looking for a book that takes on misogyny and patriarchal oppression from a Tolkienien standpoint, it's so hard to find good fantasy that doesn't silence women's voices and remove their autonomy! I'm sure you know what I'm "Tolkien" about Because saying that most fantasy writers can't convincingly portray female characters to save their lives is totally the same thing as saying they're cogs in the patriarchal oppressive machinery. Bohemienne fucked around with this message at 20:28 on Feb 14, 2010 |
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Feb 14, 2010 19:52
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MrHyde posted:Does anyone have suggestions for a book about some kind of heist? Something along the lines of the Oceans 11 maybe? I kind of want to avoid the "Great Train Robbery" type books as I was hoping for a book with a slightly more modern setting. Thanks. I'm reading The Lies of Locke Lamora right now, which so far feels like a fantasy version of Ocean's 11.
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Apr 27, 2010 23:32
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Viola the Mad posted:Can someone recommend good mystery books for me? I'm finishing up a run through Sherlock Holmes, and I'm considering going onto Agatha Christie and Edgar Allen Poe, but I'd also like to add a few more modern books to the list. Hell, I'm open to anything, modern or not, so long as it's good and keeps the reader guessing and on their toes. I have greatly enjoyed Tana French's work so far. In the Woods was exceptional, and The Likeness was drat good too. They straddle the line between literary fiction and the mystery genre, but it makes for an extremely compelling story, I think.
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May 19, 2010 23:02
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Stoicinema posted:For my second request. Crime novels set in Asia. Hardboiled crime-fiction, who-dunnits, police dramas, whatever as long as it's set in places like India, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, China or anywhere in that area. Thanks in advance. I've not read either one of these but I plan to: Bangkok 8 by John Burdett (and I think there are subsequent books in the series as well) Rock Paper Tiger by Lisa Brackman (just released)
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Jun 26, 2010 16:15
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sc0tty posted:I tell her that Twilight is such a poorly written book and there are so many other great romantic novels out there that are also written well, except I couldn't come up with any. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater should work--it's like Twilight in the forbidden paranormal love story sense, but with werewolves, and written a billion times better. None of the chastity bullshit either. And there's a sequel coming out at the end of July.
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Jul 1, 2010 11:07
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Steiv posted:I'm looking for a good read about the intelligence community, be it CIA or NSA or whatever, but something less There's a decent CIA one called Blowing My Cover. Pretty much every NSA book is  though. Its existence has only been declassified for about 16 years, so you're either going to get small mentions of it in larger tomes on security, cryptography, and signals intelligence, or else completely idiotic made-up poo poo that's about as accurate as Enemy of the State.
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Jul 4, 2010 21:59
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The Soviet Experiment by Ronald Suny is considered a classic history of the Soviet era. I'm also a big fan of David Hoffman's The Oligarchs, though it's a bit outdated. I'd love to find something in that vein that includes the more recent developments in the Khodorkovsky debacle.
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Jul 17, 2010 23:20
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I would love to read some dark comedy novels--perhaps in the vein of Coen Bros or Guy Ritchie movies--and, if at all possible, told in the third person. I'm usually a fantasy reader and I think the last/only comedy I've read was Richard Russo's Straight Man so please don't be afraid to state the obvious.
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Aug 24, 2011 23:39
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wevs posted:Oh ya! Forgot Knut Hamsun. Also: ignore the Lolita recommendation. It's really not for what you're looking. Like I said, all great canonical works are funny. That doesn't mean they're all 'dark comedies', you know? Thanks so much for all the suggestions. I haven't read Gogol since college, and I think some of the humor was lost in translation (was reading it for Russian class and our professor gutted the experience of all possible joy) so I'll grab that again for sure. In English this time. And yeah, Palahniuk is not really what I'm looking for. Thank you! e: Hieronymous Alloy: Okay, Slaughterhouse V is my all-time favorite book in existence ever amen but I'm terrified of reading any of his other works for fear they won't live up.
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Aug 25, 2011 15:14
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Copernic posted:Not to get too meta, but can anyone recommend good book blogs or other sites that highlight new and interesting books? Preferably sci-fi/fantasy and nonfiction. Google the following blogs: Grasping for the Wind, a Dribble of Ink, SF Signal, Tor.com, Fantasy Cafe. The Book Smugglers are great too, but review a lot of YA/MG in addition to SF/F. Bohemienne fucked around with this message at 15:20 on Aug 25, 2011 |
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Aug 25, 2011 15:18
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BeigeJacket posted:Pretty sure I've asked this before, but I can't find the post. I just got done re-reading Richard's Suny's The Soviet Experiment for a Kruschev/Brezhnev era story I was writing. It doesn't go into it as much as I'd like but it's at least present. The Oligarchs indirectly covers the '60s/'70s as well just because that's when most of the oligarchs profiled started their careers. If you want something space race-specific, Starman, a bio of Yuri Gagarin, is fantastic and also helped me a great deal for the book. One of their major sources was a KGB officer from the timeframe so his understanding of the space race was in a policy/security context.
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Aug 27, 2011 16:40
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Transistor Rhythm posted:I'm looking for an incredibly atmospheric mystery novel where the "place" is as much of a character as the characters. Think Twin Peaks, the video game Heavy Rain, or even the vibe of a film like Mullholland Drive or The Machinist. Supernatural or mystical elements would be welcome, but I'm not looking for some sort of Jim Butcher or Stephen King thing in this case - I can easily scratch that itch in the horror genre. Noir and/or police procedural vibes are totally welcome, but the key is on the atmosphere/place and the mystery. I think Tana French does a nice job of this with her debut novel In the Woods. Her follow-ups are definitely worth reading too, though maybe have slightly less an emphasis on place. Cherie Priest's southern gothic series, beginning with Four and Twenty Blackbirds, are amazingly rich with their swampy Chattanooga locale. Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, if you're looking for classics, makes the manor very much its own character. I don't know how you feel about YA but Nova Ren Suma's Imaginary Girls definitely turns the flooded town of Olive into its own breathing entity. Bohemienne fucked around with this message at 16:33 on Sep 7, 2011 |
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Sep 7, 2011 16:31
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