TBB Book Recommendation Superstation !!

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > TBB Book Recommendation Superstation !!

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

Basically I want "Law & Order: the Novel." Murder mystery, not necessarily police but that would be nice. Also, Kindle version for sure. I'm looking for traveling reading. Thanks in advance.

# ¿ May 19, 2012 08:04

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# ¿ May 8, 2024 11:27

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

Is there a particularly good translation of The Odyssey? On Kindle.

# ¿ Feb 23, 2020 03:13

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

Panic! at Nabisco posted:

Looking to get back into reading fiction after falling off it for a few years. I've been in a bit of a bad way lately, so I'm looking for things that are on the funny, cheerful, or uplifting side. Not necessarily cloyingly so, but things that I will smile while reading, because I do appreciate a dark work but I've been reading a bit too much nonfiction about how awful everything is for everyone lately in the interest of staying informed and politically aware, and it's been affecting my day to day mood.

Like any classic goon I like scifi/fantasy, but other stuff (definitely including non-genre fiction) is cool too. Bonus points for LGBTQ+ characters who aren't the focus of tragedy.

Check out Becky Chambers' Wayfarer books. They're sci-fi that focus more on characters than plot but they're very mellow. She also had a novella out last year that was similarly low-key and mostly chill.

# ¿ Feb 27, 2020 13:49

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

LionYeti posted:

I love creeping dread, thrillers, mystery, stuff that messes slightly with standard format, Sci-Fi, Space Opera and some historical stuff. I love to read the SCP Wiki especially the more modern story based stuff. My favorite authors are Orwell, China Miéville, King when not obsessed with magical black people and most of all David Mitchell. Looking at Night Film by Marisha Pressl but open to suggestion. Also cool lady characters are a bonus but not necessary.

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix might be up your alley. I don't read a lot of horror (nor do I handle it well) and it sounds like you do so this may be not scary enough but I enjoyed it a lot. I've also read We Sold Our Souls by the same author which was a similar style of being more unnerving and creepy more than outright horror.

# ¿ Apr 16, 2020 16:05

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

For westerns, this may be so obvious you've read it already but True Grit by Charles Portis is really good.

# ¿ Apr 29, 2020 12:25

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

Just actually read Jurassic Park? It's set in late 80s/early 90s but it's pretty good.

# ¿ Oct 18, 2020 17:10

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

ahobday posted:

I’m looking for novels with very competent protagonists who can do no wrong. Some examples:

Jack Reacher
The Kingkiller Chronicles
Travis McGee
Sherlock Holmes
Fletch

I’m not sure if Jack Reacher is considered well-written, but all of the similar “ex-military badass” books that I’ve tried have been absolutely terrible, so I’ll make clear that I’m looking for competent writers.

Dan Brown's Robert Langdon books (Angels and Demons, Da Vinci Code, etc)?

funkybottoms posted:

Earth Abides and Alas, Babylon are two of the foundational books if you haven't read those, but they are very much grounded in reality. This is the Way the World Ends and A Canticle for Lebowitz are two classics that mix in some fantastic elements, and The Apocalypse Reader, Wastelands, and The End of the World are really good anthologies.

I'll throw in a vote for Alas, Babylon as well. I haven't read it in a while but I've been meaning to reread it.

# ¿ Jan 22, 2021 20:55

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

FWIW I find the way Kindles handle footnotes/annotations to be far better than physical books. I read Count of Monte Cristo last year and it was great. If the note is short enough it just pops up on the page you're reading when you click on it, otherwise it takes you to the note at the end, but as soon as you hit the X it brings you back to your page.
IMO if a book "must" be read as dead trees it isn't worth reading.

# ¿ Feb 11, 2021 13:02

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

wheatpuppy posted:

I like to watch procedural-type TV shows, especially those that feature some kind of "special consultant" working with the cops. Some examples of shows I have enjoyed: Castle, Forever, Psych, The Mentalist, The Listener, and F.B.Eye. Obviously I am not concerned about realism, I just like stories where the cops aren't (all) bastards and they work regularly with outsiders to solve crimes and theres a happy/satisfying ending.

Does anything like this trope exist in book form? I have read a lot of private eye mysteries, which have a similar vibe, but in those usually the cops are either bumbling around while the PI does the work, or if they work together it's all under the table or bribing the cops to look the other way. Some of the closest examples I have found are romance thrillers, which is fine, but if there are examples where the relationship aspects aren't the main focus I think I'd prefer that.

Any suggestions? Am I looking for something too specific? If so I will also gladly take recommendations for procedural-type mysteries without the "consultant" angle.

Maybe nobody else said so because it's too obvious but Agatha Christie, specifically the Poirot books. Maybe Miss Marple too but I've actually never read any of those. Very similar vibe to Monk if you've watched that. Police aren't incompetent but they typically just pass off the crime to Poirot instead of trying to solve it.

# ¿ Feb 25, 2021 01:46

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

Franchescanado posted:

Pride & Prejudice rules and has a lot of humor.

I don't know they make a compelling case
(I've never read any Austen)

# ¿ Mar 31, 2021 00:52

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

Vei posted:

Yeah it probably comes down to quality of teachers... I definitely had a chip on my shoulder from my high school experiences.

I will never forget the indignation I felt when I put a lot of effort into an essay analyzing The Catcher in The Rye, and my senior English teacher marked me down, saying that my interpretation was straight up wrong and that X was a metaphor for Y, not Z. And I was like, okay, so "this class / literature" is all about parroting the accepted interpretation back to the teacher and blah blah blah...

Looking back, I can see both sides... On one hand, I am certain that I'm capable of misinterpreting anything. And I'm sure that plenty of authors indeed set out to make a few discrete points.

On the other hand, I know I am very sensitive towards taking the "art" of out of creative works by trying to reduce them to clear, discrete arguments, metaphors, and even genres...

Luckily, now that I've been out of school for a while, none of this really matters, and I just read whatever and have a good time!

No some teachers just suck, or the school/district sucks and has standardized lessons or something lovely. In the sucky teacher column my English teacher in 10th grade said Jay Gatsby is the main character in The Great Gatsby which is just lol to me all these years later.

# ¿ Apr 23, 2021 20:59

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

Jack B Nimble posted:

Hey, does anyone have a recommendation for a swashbuckling sci fi adventure novel, preferably some sort of classic. I'm going to be playing in a Star Wars game and, rather than actual SW media, I'd like to read something more like a spiritual precursor.

I guess Buck Rogers (is that just comics?) or maybe even John Carter is maybe what I'm talking about?

Well the John Carter books are public domain so you have only your time standing in the way. Fwiw I read the first John Carter book last year and I liked it enough. It's not long either, it would probably be a novella by today's standards.

# ¿ May 19, 2021 20:45

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

feedmyleg posted:

I just finished The Ten-Cent Plague about the rise and fall of horror comics in the 40s and 50s and loved it. I also loved Shock Value about the rise of a new generation of horror filmmakers in 60s and 70s New Hollywood and how they pushed horror to new levels. I also watched a documentary about the censorship of DTV horror in Britain in the 80s called Video Nasties.

I might be a bit burnt out on horror history (might!) but I really enjoy that intersection between history and pop culture, getting really in depth with the figures and politics behind the scenes. I'm big on movies so that seems like an obvious area, though I'm not really a music guy so I'm not particularly interested in anything in that arena. But is there anything else that pops to mind that might tap that same itch?

It doesn't even have to be anything particularly nerdy. I have Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes' Hollywood that I might jump into, but wanted to see if there's anything else that someone might recommend. Open to tangentially-related suggestions, too!

It's about books not movies but Grady Hendrix (a horror author himself) has a nonfiction called Paperbacks from Hell about cheap 80s horror books. I haven't read it but I've heard good things.

# ¿ Jul 16, 2021 17:09

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

Buy Andúril and then smash it into pieces for an authentic and unique gift

# ¿ Aug 3, 2021 00:01

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

Saul Kain posted:

I’m looking for either a fantasy or sci-fi series with a good audiobook narrator. I’m coming off of the latest Joe Abercrombie novel and think that Steven Pacey is one of the best narrators in the business.

I prefer audiobooks as I commute about 45 minutes one way and also like to listen while I walk.

I enjoy the Expanse Series, pretty much everything by Sanderson, Joe Abercrombie’s novels.

I’ve read Three-body problem and enjoy that sort of harder sci-fi as well.

I’m just at a loss on what to read next, I pretty much take a series all the way to completion.

There's new audio for Hobbit and LotR read by Andy Serkis and I've heard they're very good.

# ¿ Oct 28, 2021 22:14

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

Embrace digital, Orange County has a huge ebook selection. I also signed up for Broward County's library using my Orange County address and there was no issue at all.

I should edit, I'm not assuming you live in Orange County, just that you may be able to get an OCLS card because you live in Florida. There is a way for non residents to pay for one but there also may be options for a Florida resident.

Humerus fucked around with this message at 14:44 on Jan 6, 2022

# ¿ Jan 6, 2022 14:29

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

Franchescanado posted:

Doesn't NYC or another major city allow library cards to out of state people for digital services? I only use my city's library card for Hoopla and Libby. It would be sweet if I could increase my options, but I haven't looked into it much.

Brooklyn does for $50/year. It's well worth it and I do it. Between that and my free Orange County one I very rarely have to wait for books, and even new releases I might wait just a few weeks.

# ¿ Jan 6, 2022 18:35

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

Opopanax posted:

Looking for non-traditional post apocalyptic fiction, stuff like post apocalypse but in an alien or fantasy setting. Anything like that out there?

Rebecca Roanhorse has a series that's Native American mythology inspired post apocalypse. It's our world but after the apocalypse, magic and gods are back. The first book is Trail of Lightning, I don't think the series is done yet if it matters to you. It's also YA and I personally wasn't wowed with it but maybe you'll like it more.

# ¿ May 29, 2022 22:48

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

Anno posted:

I’ve been out of the fantasy novel game since book two of the Stormlight Archive (so….2014?) but want to get back in. Sanderson stuff aside, any suggestions on books that have come out since then? Especially if they’re of the “epic fantasy” series sort.

Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon was a favorite of mine from the last few years.

# ¿ Dec 19, 2022 00:07

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

Yeah it sounds like maybe your library has a poo poo selection. Look into cards from other metro areas in your state or for libraries that offer out of state cards for a yearly fee (RIP the Brooklyn Public Library out of state card). With my library I almost never run into non-Kindle ebooks. I also never really read nonfiction so that could be part of it.
Also removing the DRM from the Libby only ebooks is actually pretty easy, assuming you have a real computer that can run Calibre. I've done it to get those few books onto my Kindle when I needed to.

# ¿ Jun 19, 2023 17:13

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

dpkg chopra posted:

I really want to pick up reading again. I'm the classic "read constantly until phones happened" millennial.

I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit it, but I'd like to recapture some of the magic I felt reading the Harry Potter books when I was a kid/teenager. By that, I mean fun fiction where I use my imagination to conjure up vivid images of characters and settings.

Ideally it would (in descending order of importance).

1) not be not written by a horrible TERF.
2) have diverse characters.
3) Be somewhat modern, ie: from the last 15 or so years, the more modern the better, to be honest.
4) Be generally optimistic. I don't mean nothing bad happens, just in general characters and the world evolve for the better.

It can be a standalone story, doesn't have to be part of a series or universe or whatever.

This is all just a general vibe, recommendations that you feel fit the general goal are more than welcome.

If you like sci-fi, check out Becky Chambers. I personally like her Wayfarer books more than her new Monk and Robot, but all of her stuff fits this bill. Wayfarer isn't really a series as much as four books in the same universe, though there's some crossover characters. You don't really need to read them in order (maybe read the first, first though). Monk and Robot is a series that needs to be read in order.

# ¿ Jun 29, 2023 14:09

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

Full disclosure that I haven't read either but:

Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke is entirely in Slack messages. Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer isn't entirely through posts but I believe a significant portion is.

# ¿ Oct 4, 2023 20:27

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

I really liked Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh, it came out earlier this year. Very space opera so there's aliens and lasers and you shouldn't examine the technology too much.

# ¿ Oct 9, 2023 15:41

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

Hide by Kiersten White takes place at an abandoned amusement park.

# ¿ Jan 27, 2024 13:28

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# ¿ May 8, 2024 11:27

Humerus: Jul 7, 2009; Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.

Better Living Through Birding by Christian Cooper. I haven't read it but I think it's very similar to Raw Dog in that it's also a memoir in addition to the birding stuff.

# ¿ Apr 7, 2024 15:31

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