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ArcticZombie posted:Is John Marsden's 'Tomorrow series' any good? I recently saw the film on TV and I really liked the plot but I thought some parts seemed a bit flat, such as that religious girl breaking and shooting a bunch of people. I mean I knew it was going to happen eventually but it was very sudden and completely ignored for what was left of the film, among other things. Are the books any better? They're also YA novels which puts me off a bit but then again I love The Hobbit and that's a children's book so whatever. If they're junk are there any good books with this sort of invasion theme? The movie is terrible by comparison. It has some of the best, raw authentic character development I've ever read in YA and the set pieces are fantastic. The characters may never leave you, I still think fondly about Ellie and her gang.. After all these years since I read it.
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Mar 12, 2012 05:41
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I just finished a great book. Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion by Janet Reitman was an amazing read. I didn't know much about the church other than they sue everyone, are extremely secretive, and have Tom Cruise as a member. When I found that my library had a book about it for the kindle I had to read it. Starting off with the life of Lafayette Ron Hubbard, and ending with the perspective of a third generation Scientologist it makes for a fascinating read. I was hooked after reading about LRH's first scam. If you have ever wanted to know more about Scientology beyond the Xenu stuff I highly recommend it. Has anyone read Seductive Poison by Deborah Layton? Is it worth reading?
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Mar 12, 2012 21:47
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During lunch I finished the book I was reading and on an impulse bought "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins, after seeing it advertised as a movie. Its now 10 hours later and ive just finished it. It was that hard to put down. I've never devoured a book quite like that before, and it was a roller-coaster of emotions, with one scene affecting me in a way that no book or movie ever has. It tells the story of a dystopia style society where every year 24 children (11-18) enter a massive outdoor arena and fight until only one survives, very battle royale esq. However, this book isn't focused around violence and killing, it instead focuses on the interaction of some of the characters caught in the arena, the writing is incredibly gripping. If you Google it im sure you will find a hundred different websites that can articulate how good this book is a lot better than I can.
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Mar 12, 2012 23:35
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Shadski posted:During lunch I finished the book I was reading and on an impulse bought "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins, after seeing it advertised as a movie. Its now 10 hours later and ive just finished it. It was that hard to put down. I've never devoured a book quite like that before, and it was a roller-coaster of emotions, with one scene affecting me in a way that no book or movie ever has. I too was surprised by how hard it was to put down. I literally sat reading it for like 5 hours. I haven't been that engrossed in a book since Deathly Hallows, probably.
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Mar 12, 2012 23:38
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Shadski posted:a cool story Were you looking for a recommendation?
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Mar 13, 2012 01:51
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Shadski posted:During lunch I finished the book I was reading and on an impulse bought "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins, after seeing it advertised as a movie. Its now 10 hours later and ive just finished it. It was that hard to put down. I've never devoured a book quite like that before, and it was a roller-coaster of emotions, with one scene affecting me in a way that no book or movie ever has. My wife has done the same thing. She's almost finished the third book, and she started the series last week. I'm a little scared to try it out...
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Mar 13, 2012 03:31
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Day Man posted:My wife has done the same thing. She's almost finished the third book, and she started the series last week. I'm a little scared to try it out... It is excellent. However, I recommend not starting until you have a fair bit of free time, I havent read a book this gripping in quite a while. And then you realize there are two more 
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Mar 13, 2012 06:05
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I'm sure there's plenty of people he who love themselves a bit of urban fantasy. I'd highly recommend picking up Zero Sight on Amazon which it's Daily Deal, at the moment, for only $1. Really awesome indie author who's a med student by day and an author by night. Link
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Mar 13, 2012 23:54
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I'm looking for books that build on humanities social interaction with aliens (think Mass Effect), and if possible doesn't drone on and on about new space faring technology and such. Any recommendations?
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Mar 14, 2012 02:26
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Progressless posted:I'm looking for books that build on humanities social interaction with aliens (think Mass Effect), and if possible doesn't drone on and on about new space faring technology and such. Any recommendations? Brin's Uplift series and Iain M. Banks' The Algebraist are both very similar to ME in casting humanity as the newcomers on the galactic scene.
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Mar 14, 2012 08:47
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mcustic posted:Brin's Uplift series and Iain M. Banks' The Algebraist are both very similar to ME in casting humanity as the newcomers on the galactic scene. Mass Effect is also very heavily influenced by Vernor Vinge's stuff, so I'd recommend his Fire Upon the Deep and Deepness in the Sky.
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Mar 14, 2012 12:44
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Progressless posted:I'm looking for books that build on humanities social interaction with aliens (think Mass Effect), and if possible doesn't drone on and on about new space faring technology and such. Any recommendations? While it's not of the level of quality of Vinge, Brin or Banks, I found Michael Cobley's Seeds of Earth to be the closest in tone & setting to the Mass Effect games I've read so far. My Goodreads review 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. It's a trilogy. I've got the second book waiting to be read sometime soon.
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Mar 14, 2012 13:28
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Could someone recommend me a good fantasy/sci-fi detective book (not necessarily crime, just something getting investigated as a main plot point)? Soft "space magic" sci-fi etc. is OK as long as "a wizard did it" isn't the main plot resolution method.
Cat Planet fucked around with this message at 21:27 on Mar 14, 2012 |
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Mar 14, 2012 21:24
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Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan is the most archetypal example, but Iain M Banks' The Algebraist is a kind-of unconventional detective story, as well now I think about it. Banks is much harder sci-fi than Morgan, though.
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Mar 14, 2012 21:54
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Therion posted:Could someone recommend me a good fantasy/sci-fi detective book (not necessarily crime, just something getting investigated as a main plot point)? Soft "space magic" sci-fi etc. is OK as long as "a wizard did it" isn't the main plot resolution method. The Dresden Files books are the best series along the fantasy line, and yeah, Altered Carbon for sci-fi. There are a few others though, for example A. Lee Martinez's The Automatic Detective.
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Mar 14, 2012 22:24
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Therion posted:Could someone recommend me a good fantasy/sci-fi detective book (not necessarily crime, just something getting investigated as a main plot point)? Soft "space magic" sci-fi etc. is OK as long as "a wizard did it" isn't the main plot resolution method. Every Isaac Asimov book. Particularly the 'Robot' books
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Mar 14, 2012 22:41
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V for Vegas posted:Every Isaac Asimov book. Particularly the 'Robot' books *smacks forehead* D'oh, of course, yeah, The Caves of Steel. On a similar note, Larry Niven's Neutron Star is a really brilliant murder mystery about physics. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 14:18 on Mar 15, 2012 |
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Mar 15, 2012 01:29
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After rereading the A Song of Ice and Fire series I've needed a break from dense serious fiction. I've been looking for sci-fi and fantasy books (or series) that are fast and fun. So far the Dresden Files, Codex Alera and Snow Crash have filled the void nicely with mafia pizza delivery ninjas, sperg goon wizard detectives, and elemental roman Pokemon. But, I need more recommendations along these lines: fun, ridiculous, fast paced. (More Jennifer Government than Neuromancer.) Mega bonus points if the book is also available as an audiobook.
Mediant fucked around with this message at 08:50 on Mar 15, 2012 |
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Mar 15, 2012 08:48
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Not sure if they're available as audiobooks but I think you'd get a kick out of the Johannes Cabal series.
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Mar 15, 2012 08:57
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Mediant posted:After rereading the A Song of Ice and Fire series I've needed a break from dense serious fiction. I've been looking for sci-fi and fantasy books (or series) that are fast and fun. So far the Dresden Files, Codex Alera and Snow Crash have filled the void nicely with mafia pizza delivery ninjas, sperg goon wizard detectives, and elemental roman Pokemon. Simon Morden's Petrovich Trilogy edit: also Scalzi's The Android's Dream funkybottoms fucked around with this message at 17:30 on Mar 15, 2012 |
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Mar 15, 2012 10:50
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Mediant posted:After rereading the A Song of Ice and Fire series I've needed a break from dense serious fiction. I've been looking for sci-fi and fantasy books (or series) that are fast and fun. So far the Dresden Files, Codex Alera and Snow Crash have filled the void nicely with mafia pizza delivery ninjas, sperg goon wizard detectives, and elemental roman Pokemon. Gil's All Fright Diner. Everything by Terry Pratchett (though he may be a little too intellectual). The first couple or three of Robert Asprin's Myth books (Another Fine Myth). If you read comics, the _Goon_ series by Eric Powell. Goblin Quest by Jim C. Hines. Zelazny's A Night in the Lonesome October.
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Mar 15, 2012 16:36
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Therion posted:Could someone recommend me a good fantasy/sci-fi detective book (not necessarily crime, just something getting investigated as a main plot point)? Soft "space magic" sci-fi etc. is OK as long as "a wizard did it" isn't the main plot resolution method. I'd totally recommend Babel-17 by Samuel Delany right now, except I actually hated that book. Too bad. Lot of people love it though, so you might try it. How crazy am I? I recommend books I hated.
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Mar 16, 2012 03:28
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I gave my dad American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, and he says it's the best book he's ever read. He's even talking about taking classes in physics to learn more about what exactly they were working on during the Manhattan Project. Does anybody have a recommendation for a similar book (i.e., a major, recent historical event and the stories of people surrounding it)? I'm looking for something not too many people would be aware of (for instance, everybody's aware of the atomic bomb but not the people behind it). I've got some thoughts but if anybody can think of something like this off the top of their heads I'd appreciate it. Hopefully I'm not too confusing here.
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Mar 16, 2012 20:56
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panascope posted:I gave my dad American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, and he says it's the best book he's ever read. He's even talking about taking classes in physics to learn more about what exactly they were working on during the Manhattan Project. Does anybody have a recommendation for a similar book (i.e., a major, recent historical event and the stories of people surrounding it)? I'm looking for something not too many people would be aware of (for instance, everybody's aware of the atomic bomb but not the people behind it). I've got some thoughts but if anybody can think of something like this off the top of their heads I'd appreciate it. Hopefully I'm not too confusing here. Hard call. If he likes books about physicists, I would really recommend the books written by Feynman -- esp, _Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman_, etc.
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Mar 17, 2012 00:27
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Speaking of, I asked this in the history book thread but got nothin, are there any good books on the history of US atomic bomb testing after Trinity? Or including Trinity - I just don't want a book on the Manhatten Project.
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Mar 17, 2012 02:05
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I'm embarrassed about how little I know about World War II. Any books that can rectify this? When I go to bookstores, most of the WW2 stuff is very specific and doesnt give a broad overview. Also, any book on the history of science that isn't Thomas Kuhn. Kindle versions are a plus. Thanks!
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Mar 17, 2012 04:52
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I'm really curious about the history of the soviet union. Can anyone recommend anything for me that isn't basically either a) soviet propaganda, nor b) american anti-soviet propaganda? I don't care if it's specific or overview, just so long as it's interesting.
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Mar 17, 2012 05:48
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Dorepoll posted:I'm embarrassed about how little I know about World War II. Any books that can rectify this? When I go to bookstores, most of the WW2 stuff is very specific and doesnt give a broad overview. I'm slowly making my way through The Storm of War by Andrew Roberts and it's awesome. I also have Max Hastings' new book All Hell Let Loose (called Inferno in the US) which is also meant to be good. Both are complete overviews of the entire war, in every theatre, covering battles and causes and politics and the effects of it on society worldwide. Reading them on Kindle might not be a good idea though, because you'll want to flip back to the multiple maps quite often. Also, when I started the book I wrote this about it in another thread: Hedrigall posted:The book is, however, light on illustrations (mainly just has photos of the leaders involved) and definitions, so I'm complementing the narrative with this fat tome that I picked up for 25% of RRP when Borders was dying: That book is an amazing coffee-table sized book which covers everything with tons of maps, photos, timelines and so much more. Absolutely worth it if you can find it. Hedrigall fucked around with this message at 06:21 on Mar 17, 2012 |
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Mar 17, 2012 06:16
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I'm interested in reading some fiction based in feudal era Japan. You know, warring clans, samurai, evil lords etc. This stemmed from me watching some samurai films and starting to wish I could get that in book form. Any ideas?
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Mar 17, 2012 11:50
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Dorepoll posted:I'm embarrassed about how little I know about World War II. Any books that can rectify this? When I go to bookstores, most of the WW2 stuff is very specific and doesnt give a broad overview. I don't know if this can be done. Richard Evans's three-volume history of WWII (mostly from the German perspective) is the best history I've read. I don't know any single volume books that can really cover the multiple players and theatres involved. I suppose Richard Overy's 1939: Countdown to War is a good intro to the topic: it looks at how the war was started, taking each player's perspective and motivation into account, and stresses the contingencies of the war itself, how things—had they gone slightly differently—would not have led to a war. quote:Also, any book on the history of science that isn't Thomas Kuhn. Another broad topic, hard to cover in a single volume. There is a very good annotated list here. My favorite is Alfred Crosby's The Measure of Reality which traces the development of quantification, to me the central idea in science.
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Mar 17, 2012 16:38
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Dr Scoofles posted:I'm interested in reading some fiction based in feudal era Japan. You know, warring clans, samurai, evil lords etc. This stemmed from me watching some samurai films and starting to wish I could get that in book form. Any ideas? Maybe something by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa? I have a Penguin collection of some of his stories, they might fit the bill.
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Mar 17, 2012 17:06
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If you want a "white guy comes to Japan and all the samurai think he is super awesome" you could always read James Clavell's "Shogun." The politicking between the various factions is pretty good, but the main character is the worst. The Portuguese guy is awesome though. I wanna say it's set somewhere in 1600s-era Japan.
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Mar 17, 2012 18:37
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Dr Scoofles posted:I'm interested in reading some fiction based in feudal era Japan. You know, warring clans, samurai, evil lords etc. This stemmed from me watching some samurai films and starting to wish I could get that in book form. Any ideas? When I asked a week or two ago, I was recommended the works of Eiji Yoshikawa, and have since read some excerpts of his historical novel Mushashi that I really enjoyed in my East Asian Humanities class, so you might want to look into that. I was also recommended Shogun, though I haven't had much time to read the books I have, much less any new ones, so I can't personally speak for its quality, just passing on my recommendation from Epic Mount. Thanks to everyone who recommended me the stuff about samurai and Napoleon when I last asked, by the way, it's all on my Amazon wishlist, waiting until I have some free time open up. 
Punished Chuck fucked around with this message at 00:27 on Mar 18, 2012 |
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Mar 17, 2012 19:45
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Dr Scoofles posted:I'm interested in reading some fiction based in feudal era Japan. You know, warring clans, samurai, evil lords etc. This stemmed from me watching some samurai films and starting to wish I could get that in book form. Any ideas? The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet actually sorta fits this description because it's set in a still-largely-feudal Japan that is having to adapt to the existence modern European powers. It's told partly from the perspective of a Dutch fellow, however. It's not the entire book, but there really are samurai and evil lords, and even some beliefs in dark magic. No warring clans, though. And the samurai/evil lords aren't really the "point" of the story, even if it takes up significant chunks of the book. If you're looking for more traditional action/adventure/fantasy but in feudal Japan, it's probably not your best bet. But it's still perhaps David Mitchell's best book, I think.
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Mar 17, 2012 20:12
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I want to read the books the cthulhu mythos came from. What books should I read to get a good grasp on the old gods and all that fun?
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Mar 17, 2012 21:38
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Vander posted:I want to read the books the cthulhu mythos came from. What books should I read to get a good grasp on the old gods and all that fun? The Call of Cthulhu is the first place to start. Then At the Mountains of Madness is the next big one, and then The Dunwich Horror, The Shadow Over Innsmouth and The Shadow Out of Time all have elements of the Great Old Ones or Outer Gods or something related. Nyarlathotep is one of the Outer Gods apparently but it's stated after the actual story Nyarlathotep and I don't think the story talks about any of the "Cthulhu Mythos" stuff but it's still good so whatever. Most of his stuff is short stories or novellas so I'm sure you can buy a collection of his works that's all Cthulhu Mythos stuff. I'll leave looking for one up to you though!
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Mar 17, 2012 22:15
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Vander posted:I want to read the books the cthulhu mythos came from. What books should I read to get a good grasp on the old gods and all that fun? You can get the Complete Works of H.P Lovecraft for free (courtesy of the public/free book thread here) For followup reading someone recommended That Which Should Not Be by Brett J. Talley which is really, really good.
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Mar 17, 2012 23:06
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Transistor Rhythm posted:I was recently captivated by the chapter in Bob Mould's autobiography about the time he spent writing for WCW Wrestling in the late nineties. I've never even watched a single wrestling match, but it was interesting to get a peek into the behind-the-scenes world of planning the story arcs and fights, the business side, and the way that real life interacts with the kayfabe. Have A Nice Day is the best of the autobiographies and does a good enough job of explaining how things work. Honestly the best writing about real life interacting with story is the Wrestling Observer issue about Montreal. It's well short of a book, but it's a very thorough explanation of the business and personal issues that led to the WWF champion being run out of the company.
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Mar 18, 2012 03:09
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Thanks guys! I've got me some Ryūnosuke Akutagawa on it's way to me. I'm not that interested in white guy 'fish out of water' stories, rather stories written by Japanese about their own culture and history.
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Mar 18, 2012 12:59
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Dr Scoofles posted:I'm not that interested in white guy 'fish out of water' stories, rather stories written by Japanese about their own culture and history. You're in luck, there's quite a bit of good historical fiction by Japanese authors that has been translated into English. I'm the one who mentioned Eiji Yoshikawa before. He was a prolific writer, but only a few of his books have been translated: The Heike Story This is a novel of the Gempei wars of the 12th century, mainly focused on the life of Kiyomori of the Heike, the son of a warrior clan who rose through the ranks to wield a lot of power in the government, and who was mainly responsible for raising the status of samurai. He was a pretty interesting dude, a visionary, and way ahead of his time, which is kind of a theme with this author. I think a lot of people don't like this one as much as the others, and I think it might have something to do with the translation; the original Japanese novel was serialized and then published in something like 16 volumes, but the translation is one 500 page novel, so a lot was cut out, and sometimes you get the sense that something is missing. It is still a very readable and enjoyable book, though, and it's about a very interesting time period about which not much has been written in English. Taiko This is about Toyotomi Hideyoshi, another historical figure that came from lowly beginnings to wield great power. He was a servant from a poor family who went on to become a warlord and eventually ruled the whole country. I like this one best myself, but Yoshikawa's most popular novel is probably: Musashi This is the story of Miyamoto Musashi, a famous samurai in the 17th century. It's been a long time since I read this book so I don't remember it that well, but I think you can get a pretty good idea of it from the Amazon reviews. If you decide you like Yoshikawa, I also highly recommend his autobiography Fragments of a Past. For a kind of interesting take on the era there are a few books written by Japanese authors from the point of view of Western narrators. These are both great books: The Signore by Kunio Tsuji This is about Oda Nobunaga, the warlord who preceded Hideyoshi, told from the point of view of a visiting Italian. Nobunaga was known for being interested in foreign cultures and for inviting foreign traders and missionaries into the country. His interest was mostly in foreign weapons to gain an advantage over his enemies and in foreign religions as a way to disrupt the influence of Buddhism, since at the time Buddhist monks had their own armies and held a lot of political power. The severity with which later rulers cut off all contact with foreign countries and religions was partly a backlash against Nobunaga. Silence by Shusaku Endo This is about a Portuguese missionary who sneaks into Japan after Christianity has been outlawed to see how the Christians are doing. This doesn't really count as a book about samurai and warlords, although they are there as the villains, while every other book I've mentioned casts them as the heroes. I just wanted to mention it anyway because I love this author, and this is a great book. There is another book by Endo called The Samurai which I haven't yet read, about a mission by some samurai to Mexico in the 17th century in an attempt to open up trade. That's all I can think of for now. The Tales of the Otori books by Lian Hearn might interest you, although they're not strictly historical and have some elements of fantasy. Also if anybody is interested in WWII novels by Japanese authors I've got a few good ones.
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Mar 18, 2012 15:47
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