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I've been watching the BBC series Sherlock, and I've gotten the Mystery bug again. I'm in the mood for a mystery where the case is seemingly supernatural (it can be anything: vampires, werewolves, ghosts, etc.), but the conclusion is based in reality, much like The Hound of the Baskervilles. The more literary the better, but pulp is fine. I enjoy Agatha Christie, Sir Arther Conan Doyle, and hard boiled detective stuff like Raymond Chandler, (I'm also planning to get Stephen King's new book Joyland) so I'm really up for anything. I just prefer to be able to try and solve it before the answer is revealed. (I'm not very well-read in the genre, so any general recommendations would be appreciated as well.) I really didn't like the first book Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce series, so nothing like that. Also, what's the verdict on Christopher Fowler's Peculiar Crimes Unit series?
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Jun 2, 2013 08:10
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John Dickson Carr had a nice line in murder mysteries where seemingly supernatural impossibilities are rationally explained (as a kind of subset of his usual locked-room mysteries). He Who Whispers is a classic example, and pretty easy to get hold of either in reprinted paperback or Kindle.
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Jun 2, 2013 16:42
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Franchescanado posted:I've been watching the BBC series Sherlock, and I've gotten the Mystery bug again. Be sure to check out The Butler Did It: Let's Read Mystery Fiction. We read mysteries and try to solve them, and we'll be starting a new book soon, hopefully one you haven't read yet.
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Jun 3, 2013 00:09
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I think I read about this book here, but I need help finding the name of it again. It was a sci fi book with space exploration and stuff, and the craziest thing about it was that it was wrote pretty long ago. Somewhere in the early 1900s. The stretch of imagination was pretty far. I'd know the name of the book title if I saw it, unfortunately I don't know where to look. And while I'm here, i'm a big dumb goof who has only read books because they were required reading in class or straight-up comedy books from The Onion. Are there any short, approachable Sci-Fi books? Something with human and alien races would be cool, I always liked the concept of that.
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Jun 3, 2013 07:45
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The Lensman series by E.E. Doc Smith? The Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon?
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Jun 3, 2013 13:55
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Big "thank you" to whoever recommended Altered Carbon! I read it over the weekend and loved it. I assume the rest of the Kovacs books are pretty much up my alley then?
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Jun 3, 2013 14:25
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I also want to say thanks for all the recommendations for the 20 year old non-reader. He'll be hooked before he knows it. I'm gonna read some of the suggestions I got, too.
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Jun 3, 2013 14:33
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Caustic Chimera posted:I wouldn't be surprised if someone has asked about this before, but I couldn't find anything. Hey, this somehow got missed by everyone. I recently read Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, and I think it actually has good answers to a lot of your questions. You see how normal people can easily find something basically appealing in the teachings, an in the sense of community, and then how the church can use that community to trap people in situations they never would have dreamed of tolerating before. Once the cult dictates your relationship with the people around you, your idea of what's crazy and what isn't can get turned totally upside down. Like in 1984, "Sanity is not statistical..." but it feels like it is, sometimes. It's also a frequesntly hilarious book when it's not actively horrifying you. L. Ron Hubbard was such a huge fuckup all his life, and his early frustrations are sort of comic. Some of his coping techniques are almost sweet, but you can see how even early in his life his kindness and naievete was mixed with misogyny and hatred. Once a person like that becomes insulated it's easy for him to lose the pressure to cultivate the good aspects of himself and give in totally to his most basic desires. And then his replacement, David Miscavige... holy Christ. It's amazing, if that guy didn't have a church to run and a constant stream of new employees to torture he'd almost surely be a serial killer. Anyway though, GREAT BOOK, please let me know what you think if you read it.
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Jun 3, 2013 15:54
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AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 01:19 on Jan 22, 2016 |
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Jun 3, 2013 17:19
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stratdax posted:I also want to say thanks for all the recommendations for the 20 year old non-reader. He'll be hooked before he knows it. I'm gonna read some of the suggestions I got, too. Thought of two more: Don Winslow's Savages (No Country for Old Men meets Nice Dreams) and Josh Bazell's Beat the Reaper (Tarantino mob flick medical drama). MikeDinosaur posted:Hey, this somehow got missed by everyone. Din't miss it, just couldn't think of anything, but, yes, this is a great book.
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Jun 3, 2013 17:41
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Do Not Resuscitate posted:I hope you're still around; any fan of Western fiction really ought to read Warlock by Oakley Hall. It is hands down the best novel in the genre I've ever read, but a fair portion of its appeal relies upon (and plays off of) the readers' familiarity with the cliched tropes and motifs of The Western. This is a really great book. Love it.
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Jun 3, 2013 17:51
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A Spotless Domain posted:Big "thank you" to whoever recommended Altered Carbon! I read it over the weekend and loved it. I assume the rest of the Kovacs books are pretty much up my alley then? If you're looking for more cyberpunk noir, not really. The second one is a weird Indiana Jones in space type of thing, the third one is all out space mercenary action, as far as I can recall. Maybe you should try Alistair Reynold's Chasm City. It takes place in his Revelation Space universe, but it works rather well as a stand-alone novel. The badass main character and the overall noirish plot have a lot in common with Altered Carbon.
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Jun 3, 2013 23:41
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Can anyone help me find a book for my father who is going on vacation in a couple of days? He's a more conservative stubborn type, and I'm not really looking to throw anything controversial at him or to try and make an argument. I think he'd like some kind of historical novel, maybe something about earlier America (Wild West or Robber Barons?). That's just an idea though, any recommendations would be welcome. Neat Machine fucked around with this message at 04:53 on Jun 4, 2013 |
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Jun 4, 2013 04:36
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I'm looking for a First Contact themed book but with the twist that Aliens discover us, decide we're all a bunch of violent lunatics, and actively try to quarantine us from the rest of the Universe. Anyone know of a book that roughly follows that theme? EDIT: Actually, any First Contact novel with Humans as the antagonists will do. I'm just tired of all the novels I've read having the humans as the underdog heroes defending against "evil" aliens. Just once I'd like to read about the more probable outcome of us wrecking their poo poo out of spite at the earliest opportunity. Esroc fucked around with this message at 10:06 on Jun 4, 2013 |
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Jun 4, 2013 09:24
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Avocados posted:And while I'm here, i'm a big dumb goof who has only read books because they were required reading in class or straight-up comedy books from The Onion. Are there any short, approachable Sci-Fi books? Something with human and alien races would be cool, I always liked the concept of that. Hmm. Short, approachable, sci-fi. Choose two! But seriously, if you want truly weird aliens and an exploration of their interactions with humans, I would suggest Ring by Stephen Baxter and his other Xeelee Sequence books. Aliens include dark matter "photino birds" that eat stars, the Qax that travel in living starships, and the Xeelee called the "Baryonic Overlords" that build solar system-sized megastructures. Esroc posted:I'm looking for a First Contact themed book but with the twist that Aliens discover us, decide we're all a bunch of violent lunatics, and actively try to quarantine us from the rest of the Universe. Anyone know of a book that roughly follows that theme? You pretty much exactly want the Time Odyssey books by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter (A Time Odyssey, Sunstorm, and Firstborn). A malevolent alien species wishes to smite humanity as a threat to the stability of the galaxy, while quarantining a sample of it on a patchwork world pulled out of time and space. Also will suggest this if you want to see Alexander the Great command an army wielding matchlock rifles against the hordes of Ghenghis Khan.
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Jun 4, 2013 19:43
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bowmore posted:500 Essential Cult Books is a really good list book on Cult Classics, get this and you are set for recommendations for the next 5 to 10 years. Also it's only $4! The Erland posted:The standard response to this kind of thing here is to recommend Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. And for good reason, it's really good, and has quite a big following around the internet. It also has a really unconventional structure (endnotes ahooy!), earning it some comparisons to House of Leaves. I've never read HOL though, so I can't really comment on that. Not an easy read, though, and clocking in at over a 1000 pages, you should know what you're getting yourself into. ~ You guys are the poo poo!!! Thanks a ton
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Jun 4, 2013 23:43
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I really enjoyed Who's Looking at Euclid by Alex Bellos, and am currently reading and also really enjoying The Code Book by Simon Singh. Can anyone recommend some other pop-sci books like them? Especially anything astronomy-related.
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Jun 5, 2013 03:28
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Have you read Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time or his The Universe in a Nutshell? As for myself, I'm looking for books on the practice of law or medicine with a particular kind of presentation. The book should contain many examples of specific, interesting, cases whether experienced by the author or compiled from other sources, and also present a philosophy or ideal for the fields' practioners. I'd like to get a feel for what the typical professional life is like and how strange it can get, and maybe a bit of historical context. Bill James's Popular Crime is an example of the feel I'd like. If there's not a single book that does it for either law or medicine I'm open to multiples.
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Jun 5, 2013 04:20
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I haven't, no, but those are right up my alley, thank you. Copy of A Brief History of Time has just been purchased. 
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Jun 5, 2013 04:35
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thatdarnedbob posted:As for myself, I'm looking for books on the practice of law or medicine with a particular kind of presentation. The book should contain many examples of specific, interesting, cases whether experienced by the author or compiled from other sources, and also present a philosophy or ideal for the fields' practioners. I'd like to get a feel for what the typical professional life is like and how strange it can get, and maybe a bit of historical context. Bill James's Popular Crime is an example of the feel I'd like. If there's not a single book that does it for either law or medicine I'm open to multiples. Sounds like you might enjoy The Poisoner's Handbook (full title: The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York) by Deborah Blum. Wikipedia Synopsis: In 1918, New York City appointed Charles Norris, Bellevue Hospital's chief pathologist, as its first scientifically trained medical examiner. The book, about Norris and Alexander Gettler, the city's first toxicologist, describes Jazz Age's poisoning cases. Before the two began working in the coroner's office, Blum pointed out in her book, poisoners could get away with murder. The book covers the years from 1915 to 1936, which Blum described as a "coming-of-age" for forensic toxicology. "Under (Norris's) direction, the New York City medical examiner's office would become a department that set forensic standards for the rest of the country," Blum wrote. Wikipedia also claims it's a "New York Times best-selling non-fiction book" and that it got really good reviews.
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Jun 5, 2013 14:45
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MikeDinosaur posted:Hey, this somehow got missed by everyone. This sounds exactly like what I was looking for. The library doesn't seem to have it on its shelf right now, but if it's in next week, I'll start it then. Thank you very much!
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Jun 5, 2013 15:00
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Hey, I haven't read any China Miéville yet, but I've seen a number of his books recommended here. What would be a good one to start with?
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Jun 5, 2013 18:22
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Zola posted:Hey, I haven't read any China Miéville yet, but I've seen a number of his books recommended here. What would be a good one to start with? I'd say just start with Perdido Street Station. Be aware, he's a great writer, even brilliant, but he really loves him some big intellectual sounding words and he's as bad (or as good, if you swing that way) about injecting Marxism into his stories as Heinlein was about libertarianism. To Mieville's credit the whole steampunk fantasy setting works *really* well with themes of class warfare and exploitation, so it's all well done, but it's a Big Theme so if you read his stuff be prepared. All in all he's probably one of the ten or so best living fantasy writers. He'd be even better if he hadn't taken so many critical theory classes (imho).
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Jun 5, 2013 18:34
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Seconding PSS. It's easily the fantasy book I've recommended to the most friends.Walh Hara posted:Sounds like you might enjoy The Poisoner's Handbook (full title: The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York) by Deborah Blum. Thanks for the recommendation, that's going on my short list for sure. The medical examiner point of view seems pretty interesting. Though I am still looking for books that share the experience of a modern doctor or lawyer.
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Jun 5, 2013 23:39
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I've read, with varying levels of like but not really any dislike, most of William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, every Shadowrun novel (I've had a love with them since childhood), the Bioshock books, Jennifer Government, and I book I can't remember the title of where promotions/contracts were earned via Twisted Metal/Death Race style matches. Any recommendations for dystopian science fiction? I guess what I'm looking for are some books where governments have gave way to corporations or people with money and things have gone to poo poo or anti-libertarian dystopia settings. I'd prefer gritty/cyberpunk type, but I'll settle for anything decent.
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Jun 6, 2013 00:30
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Obsoletely Fabulous posted:I've read, with varying levels of like but not really any dislike, most of William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, every Shadowrun novel (I've had a love with them since childhood), the Bioshock books, Jennifer Government, and I book I can't remember the title of where promotions/contracts were earned via Twisted Metal/Death Race style matches. The Petrovitch trilogy. It's a very good time, and the fourth book, The Curve of the Earth, is excellent as well.
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Jun 6, 2013 01:18
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Zola posted:The Petrovitch trilogy. I second this suggestion. Fast, fun, and pretty funny at times.
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Jun 6, 2013 14:15
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I'm looking for recommendations of Australian apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic science fiction (set in Australia, not just written by Australians). I seem to remember the stuff being everywhere when I was a kid - no doubt in school libraries stocked with a mandated quota of Australian YA novels - but now all I can remember is Nevil Shute's On the Beach. And Mad Max, obviously.
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Jun 7, 2013 13:05
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Would The Quiet Earth be close enough?
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Jun 7, 2013 13:32
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freebooter posted:I'm looking for recommendations of Australian apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic science fiction (set in Australia, not just written by Australians). I seem to remember the stuff being everywhere when I was a kid - no doubt in school libraries stocked with a mandated quota of Australian YA novels - but now all I can remember is Nevil Shute's On the Beach. And Mad Max, obviously. Taronga by Victor Kelleher is a pretty cool YA novel set in Sydney after a nuclear war. Basically a group of survivors are holed up in Taronga Zoo where they use the big cats as protection against roving bands of survivors. There's a fantasy element too, the main character has a psychic link with animals. It was written in the 80s though, the zoo back then was nothing like it is today.
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Jun 7, 2013 14:21
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Zola posted:The Petrovitch trilogy. Thanks. I'll check it out.
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Jun 7, 2013 14:27
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AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 01:19 on Jan 22, 2016 |
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Jun 7, 2013 19:51
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Somebody had an Ask/Tell about working for Lucasfilm (as an IT guy, but he had some insight into structure) not too long ago, maybe look for that.
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Jun 7, 2013 20:23
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Obsoletely Fabulous posted:I've read, with varying levels of like but not really any dislike, most of William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, every Shadowrun novel (I've had a love with them since childhood), the Bioshock books, Jennifer Government, and I book I can't remember the title of where promotions/contracts were earned via Twisted Metal/Death Race style matches. You might want to check out Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge. I think he is more known for his space opera stuff that happens way in the future but rainbows end only takes place about 100 years from now and I would classify it as cyberpunk. It covers surveillance, privatization of security, virtual reality and the whole information is power idea really well, and Vinge was a math and computer science professor so the tech is all pretty feasible seeming.
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Jun 7, 2013 21:55
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AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 01:19 on Jan 22, 2016 |
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Jun 7, 2013 22:37
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I'm trying to find a book I read in high school but I can't remember anything about it except there was a nuclear war and it's about trying to survive after the bombs have hit. The main character may have been a teenage girl and it may be YA fiction. Any ideas? Sorry it's so vague but it's been more than 10 years since I read it.
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Jun 8, 2013 14:01
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bowmore posted:I'm trying to find a book I read in high school but I can't remember anything about it except there was a nuclear war and it's about trying to survive after the bombs have hit. The main character may have been a teenage girl and it may be YA fiction. Sounds like Z for Zachariah, I read it at school too.
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Jun 8, 2013 17:47
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jax posted:Sounds like Z for Zachariah, I read it at school too. Still on the search!
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Jun 9, 2013 00:46
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[edit]I see there's a thread specifically for recommendations, I'll post this there.
Blatherskite fucked around with this message at 02:59 on Jun 9, 2013 |
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Jun 9, 2013 01:55
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KingAsmo posted:You might want to check out Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge. I think he is more known for his space opera stuff that happens way in the future but rainbows end only takes place about 100 years from now and I would classify it as cyberpunk. It covers surveillance, privatization of security, virtual reality and the whole information is power idea really well, and Vinge was a math and computer science professor so the tech is all pretty feasible seeming. Following on from a different poster, but does anyone have recommendations for someone who really liked Rainbow's End and wants more in a very similar vein? I.e., like Vinge, but set not *that* far in the future? EDIT: Also, need not be obviously dystopian. I mean here the cyberpunk Neuromancer / Blade Runner visual tone or aesthetic, if that makes sense. I'd be more interested in dystopias more elaborately cloaked in a utopia, or even in a work that ignores the dystopia/utopia paradigm (on a surface level) but still engages with issues of e.g. privacy and access to information or whatever. DirtyRobot fucked around with this message at 20:41 on Jun 9, 2013 |
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Jun 9, 2013 17:37
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