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markehed posted:Does anyone have any suggestions along the line of Blink, the Undercover economist, Freakonomics and Mumbo jumbo? Easily digested facts combined with some humour and a lot of interesting examples. A book perfect for a day in the sun and for those of us who doesn't really like fiction. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini. It's a great analysis of modern persuasion and sales techniques and why they work on you, written by a behavioral psychologist who gives the science behind each technique.
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Jul 22, 2009 16:19
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dohminator posted:I'm curious if there are any books that deal with what would happen to a basically super powered character that has something akin to God like powers. However, I wouldn't want it to be some stupid self-insertion, but an actual exploration of what it would be like to be more powerful than anyone that has ever existed. What would happen if we could make all of our fantasies a reality, and what downside this could have as instant gratification can lead to boredom. What could go wrong if we tried to save the world and make it a utopia? How would someone that was an ordinary person struggle with being given these powers and allowed to make these choices? What would it do to that person? Yes. Alan Moore & Neil Gaiman's _Miracleman_ series explored what it would actually be like if the real world got hit with someone who had the powers attributed to golden-age comic book superheroes. It's absolutely brilliant and a better work in many ways that Alan Moore's _Watchmen_ (which also fits your criteria to an extent). Unfortunately it's the subject of a copyright dispute and thus very hard to find in print. Philip Wylie's _Gladiator_ was an early exploration of the theme, but is a huge downer.
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Aug 7, 2009 01:59
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BlueBayou posted:I really want to read a book about time travel that is told in chronological order. Do any decent ones exist? Heinlein's "By His Bootstraps," though it's a short story. Maybe.
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Sep 23, 2009 05:13
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Facial Fracture posted:I really like historical biographies/autobiographies and eyewitness accounts of history either about or written by obnoxious liars, loudmouth windbags, failures, and other people whose lives are invariably more interesting than successful, kindly old dears. Anything that's simultaneously edifying and gossipy, preferably with an author whose bias is evident all over the place. . .. . Similarly, I just finished re-reading Machiavelli's "The Prince" and I'd be really interested in a good, detailed, clear and intelligible history of Italy during that time period -- ideally, something like "The Agony and the Ecstasy," but covering the politics of the era rather than the life of Michaelangelo. And I second the preference for non-umberto-eco, at least not right now. His stuff's great but I'm looking for something more accessible and mass-market right now.
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Nov 6, 2009 20:11
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isoprenaline posted:Anyone? Anywhere, but probably the short story "Call of Cthulhu."
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Nov 21, 2009 16:16
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CommunistMojo posted:So after an unsuccessful trip to the library I'm still looking for a book detailing how other cultures/religions have influenced christianity. It's embarrassing being able to think of things off the top of my head but I can't find a book on it for the life of me. There's always Sir James Frazier's The Golden Bough, but it's more than a bit outdated by now, not to mention being a bit long.
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Apr 3, 2010 16:11
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doctor iono posted:I've read a lot of the "Ask me about being/working in a mental institution" threads, and they were interesting, but what are some good non-fiction works on the subject? From the perspective of patient or worker, it doesn't matter to me, I'm just fascinated by the institutions themselves, and their operations. The best overview of the mental health system in America generally right now is "Crazy: A Father's Search Through America's Mental Health Madness," by Pete Early, though it isn't institution specific. Definitive hard-boiled detective story is The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, but you can't go wrong reading anything by Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler (especially Chandler's Philip Marlowe novels; try The Big Sleep, The Long Goodbye, or Farewell, My Lovely).
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Jun 2, 2010 13:46
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Basic Beater posted:I've got a friend who hardly ever reads books, but I have a problem with her. This is a tougher request than it might sound -- most really good fantasy appeals to a pretty different demographic than Twilight readers. Best bet might be Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere or Stardust. They have strong characters, good settings, well-written and paced, prominent romantic plotlines, and they're both very accessible to general readers. Something with a stronger romance plot would probably be better, though -- sorta depends on why she liked Twilight.
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Jun 2, 2010 14:15
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SRQ posted:Please recommend me Sci-Fi short stories, been watching Dr.Who and loving the writing more then anything. Look up the "Science Fiction Hall of Fame" volumes, the ones from the Science Fiction Writers of America. Should be three volumes -- Vol 1 is short stories, vol 2A and 2b are novellas.
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Jun 6, 2010 15:31
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who cares posted:I just finished college and now finally have time to read again! I'd read Heinlein's citizen of the galaxy and almost anything by Jack Vance.
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Jun 16, 2010 19:41
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Facial Fracture posted:Read Dante. Specifically his Inferno. You could also try Milton's Paradise Lost. Most of the stuff you're referencing isn't from the Bible at all, but from Dante and Milton.
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Jun 17, 2010 19:42
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AN ANGRY MOTHER posted:Well I'm definitely going to hunt down the suggestions I've gotten so far, but I should have been clearer in my post that I was looking for an encyclopedia type book. So far I've only found Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, but it's a bit out of my price range. Actually, I'm finding some cool stuff in the "people who bought this also bought" on amazon. Ah, ok. The only thing I've seen like that would be some of the AD&D monster manuals / manual of the planes / Deities and Demigods - type stuff. If you do find a good reference work, let me know :P Seriously, though, for a lot of what you're talking about, just going straight to the Inferno or Paradise Lost will be your best bet. A lot of what we consider "standard mythology" today -- like the circles of hell, or the war in heaven and Lucifer being a cast-out fallen angel, or Eve eating an apple -- actually come from one or the other of those two works, at least as far as anyone today is concerned (Milton, for example, drew on thousands of vaguely canonical, vaguely heretical medieval sources and synthesized them into an essentially brand-new whole). Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 05:43 on Jun 18, 2010 |
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Jun 18, 2010 05:40
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appropriatemetaphor posted:^^^ Depends, did you like the movie? The comic's the same thing, essentially, just in more depth. If you liked the movie you'll probably like the book, too, but you might want to wait a while in between to let the movie fade a bit.
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Jul 7, 2010 14:00
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omnibobb posted:I just got a Kindle and I'm looking to try some new things. Traditionally, I've just read fantasy stuff (WoT, Forgetten Realms, etc) and I'm looking for some good horror novels, maybe some post-apocolyptic stuff? You should be able to find all of Lovecraft's works for free on the Kindle. For post-apocalyptic horror. . . I'd recommend William Hope Hodgson's _The Night Land_. It's got some weak spots but it was a big influence *on* lovecraft, and basically started the "dying/dead earth" genre. Apart from the frame narrative, it's set so far in the future that the Sun has gone out.
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Jul 20, 2010 03:16
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gos_jim posted:I am looking for some fantasy fiction in a desert type setting. It's totally goony but I'm getting pumped for some Dark Sun D&D when it comes out in less than a month, and looking for inspiration. I just finished reading The Warded Man and The Desert Spear by Peter V Brett and enjoyed them immensely. Guy Gavriel Kay's The Lions of Al-Rassan might work; it's set in a fantasy version of Reconquista-era spain, so deserts are involved at various points, although it's not 100% blowing sands by any means. There's also Frank Herbert's Dune, though that's sci-fi. inktvis posted:You could try Hawkwood: Diabolical Englishman which is a pop history look at one of the major mercenary captains. After he died Ucello was commissioned to paint a fresco of him in the Duomo, alongside those of other popular figures like Jesus, God, the Virgin Mary and Dante, so you know he was legit. Have to say thank you for this recommendation. I grabbed a copy and it's definitely worth it, exactly the type of general audience history I enjoy reading -- very detailed, "life and times" approach, informative and entertaining. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 20:11 on Jul 28, 2010 |
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Jul 28, 2010 20:05
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barkingclam posted:If you're interested just reading anything about history, there's some really good Greek and Roman stuff put out by Penguin. I enjoyed Herodotus' Histories and Suetonius' The Twelve Casears and I've been meaning to read Livy's books on Rome. If you're into Herodotus, there's a GREAT edition out fairly recently :The Landmark Herodotus. It's MASSIVELY annotated, with maps on almost every page, etc. Pretty much unbeatable.
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Jul 29, 2010 20:41
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Doggy Howser M.D posted:Can anyone recommend any mature contemporary fantasy or sci-fi? Something set in the present where magic exist, but in secret, or involving some powerful science/discoveries. It would be even better if the story involved secret history, or espionage. Charles Stross' laundry files series. Think cold war era espionage thrillers + impending lovecraftian "stars coming right" apocalypse instead of impending nuclear apocalypse. VERY geeky, though: magic basically works by IT Nerd principles. The Dresden Files books are also modern fantasy, and also have an ongoing thread; they're basically noir detective who is also a wizard.
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Jul 30, 2010 01:12
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teacup posted:I was more thinking modern history on ancient subjects (I've read a looooooot of old timey Roman/Greek translated stuff, just got through Homer last year and am a bit burnt out on that) but by massively annotated is it somewhat like... this is probably horrible phrasing, but 'fun' to read? I'm not looking for dry textbooks, something with even a slight narrative throughout each chapter would be nice but I'm probably describing this awfully Herodotus has a sort of overall narrative -- it's technically tracing the causes of the Persian invasion of Greece -- but it's so discursive (egypt is mentioned; we get the entire known geography and history of Egypt) that you might want something more modern. For modern history I tend to read biographies. The Hawkwood: Diabolical Englishman, mentioned above, is what I'm reading now and it's pretty interesting; the main theme is more "wow, Hawkwood was an opportunistic bastard", at least so far, than there is an overarching "story", but the author does a good job of depicting the era *generally*, not just Hawkwood particularly. My favorite modern biography is probably Edmund Morris' Theodore Roosevelt biographies, which do tell a fairly coherent story (Roosevelt's rise to and execution of the Presidency). If you're looking for something more general, you might try _A World Lit Only By Fire_ or Terry Jone's _Medieval Lives_ for general depictions of the high medieval era.
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Jul 30, 2010 02:56
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End Of Worlds posted:I'd like to read more about Daoism, but all I've got is an unannotated Tao te Ching and the Tao of Pooh. Any suggestions as to where I should go next? Annotated Taos especially preferred. Chuang Tzu.
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Aug 2, 2010 14:25
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King Plum the Nth posted:
I would strongly recommend Steinbeck's Cannery Row and Thursday Next. I know, upbeat Steinbeck! Crazy! You could also try Kerouac's On the Road, maybe Dicken's David Copperfield. Almost anything Mark Twain wrote before his wife died -- Huckleberry Finn, etc. If you don't mind girlier stuff, try Jane Austen; the writing's excellent and everybody gets married at the end. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 18:15 on Aug 20, 2010 |
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Aug 20, 2010 14:36
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Mr Darcy posted:I'd love to find out more about the myths of various cultures. especially Greek & Norse. But pretty much anything would be of interest. The Sagas of the Icelanders Mythology by Edith Hamilton For Norse mythology it's a bit harder. This might be a good starting place, though it's kid-oriented: D'auliares book of Norse myths
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Aug 20, 2010 18:18
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Bloodbath posted:I pretty much read fantasy exclusively but I'm currently playing Mass Effect 2 and now I want to try some Sci Fi. Can any one recommend me a bit space adventure novel/series with lots of depth? Something like lotr/asoiaf/robin hobb but in space would be great. Check out the "Space Opera" thread. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3149277&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1
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Aug 23, 2010 13:46
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Wiley360 posted:
The Nature of Alexander by Mary Renault.
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Aug 24, 2010 10:52
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rasser posted:I have a colleague who spent years in Africa and claims that there have been African civilizations with classical metropoli of a million citizen and every bit as magnificent as those in Mesoamerica, Mesopotamia, Asia. And I mean, black sub-Sahran Africa not Carthage, Egypt, Nubia etc. He's not completely making poo poo up, but he might be overstating a bit. See, e.g., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinguetti , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Zimbabwe . Books on the subject, I'd like to read those too.
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Aug 24, 2010 16:52
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You could try Camus' The Plague, though it isn't a man-made disaster.
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Aug 25, 2010 15:48
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starless posted:I'm into intelligent sci-fi and fantasy along the lines of Gene Wolfe and Jack Vance. What else should I read? Stanislaw Lem.
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Aug 30, 2010 04:51
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Valkyn posted:I have read tons of fantasy, but I'm looking to start reading some sci-fi. The Stars My Destination and The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One.
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Oct 6, 2010 13:17
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TangibleKnowledge posted:I'm looking for a sci-fi where you focus on developers, programming or the like. You could try the Laundry Files series by Charles Stross. It's sortof a weird mix of techno-geekery, 1980's spy thrillers, and Lovecraft (magic is real; it works via advanced mathematics/computers; there's a british spy agency staffed by geeks charged with keeping the magical poo poo under control). It's not wildly technical -- I could still read it as a nonprogrammer -- but it might appeal to programmers.
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Oct 7, 2010 17:06
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Flannelette posted:I got around to reading Dune and I liked it question is: are the rest of the books worth reading too? Depends on why you liked it and how willing you are to read books that are "interesting" rather than "good," if that distinction makes sense. You can certainly stop where you are without missing anything that's going to change your life. My personal favorite in the series is God Emperor, but more because it's such a well-executed work of bizarre characterization than because it's a good story in and of itself.
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Oct 14, 2010 14:13
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Maxwell K. posted:Franz Kafka! What's good? Where does one start? The Metamorphosis? Some short stories? I turn to the devotees of this science, the SA literary elite, for help. http://www.amazon.com/Introducing-Kafka-David-Zane-Mairowitz/dp/1874166099 for beginners, or http://www.amazon.com/R-Crumbs-Kafka-Robert-Crumb/dp/0743493443 Actually somewhat serious response. Crumb's illustrations are brilliant.
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Oct 14, 2010 23:14
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Citizen Insane posted:I wish I knew what to ask for in here. I've recently been having so much trouble finding fiction I want to read I'm beginning to just think my brain is broken. And it's not like I've got refined loving tastes, either. My favourite novel ever is Watership Down. I like Gaiman and Beagle and Tolkien and Dickens and enjoyed a good chunk (up to book IV) of the Dark Tower series. The last books not by any of those guys I read and really enjoyed were The Orphan's Tales by Catherynne M. Valente. I've also developed a mad read-on for Cormac McCarthy when previously the only straight westerny novel I'd favourited was Lonesome Dove. Try Pratchett if you haven't. Also Dianna Wynne Jones. If you like Dickens, try Wilkie Collin's The Moonstone. If you didn't find Mieville appealing you probably won't like the Ghormenghast books either, they've got the same kind of intellectualism going on. My best standing universal recommendation is Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart. It's perfect and everyone who has read it loves it.
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Nov 3, 2010 17:09
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Citizen Insane posted:Pratchett's fantastic. My problem with Mieville isn't really the intellectualism (if I didn't have trouble with Blood Meridian I sure as poo poo shouldn't be having trouble with Perdido Street Station, in this regard), it's ... I don't loving know. It's not even really a problem with ANY of it, I just find it hard to crack, interest-wise. LeGuin's great. Definitely if you like Beagle read her Earthsea trilogy. The later Earthsea books didn't do it for me, but you may like them. Have you tried, this may go without saying, but have you tried Lord Dunsany?
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Nov 3, 2010 19:47
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Fatty Patty posted:trying to find a good book for my SO for a present. He loves nautical fiction, and has read all the Patrick O'Brian Aubrey series and C.S. Forester's Hornblower series. I'm looking for something similar. Definitely nautical fiction, and preferably something I can find in my local B&N. I looked at Alexander Kent stuff, but the first book isn't at my local B&N (sold out). I also looked at Julian Stockwin, his stuff is sold out too. The only nautical fiction book that I could find was Dudley Pope's Ramage, but I don't know anything about it. Does it relate to the O'Brian or Forester books at all? Any suggestions would be very helpful. You might want to try nautical nonfiction. There are a number of good books out there about Nelson, etc. Cochrane wrote an autobiography though I haven't read it. Two Years Before the Mast is a contemporary (1834) account of a voyage in a whaling ship (written by a Harvard student who decides to go to work at sea for two years for his health).
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Nov 5, 2010 14:37
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Admiral101 posted:Anyone have any recommendations for quality historical fiction? Something along the lines of Shogun or The Lions of Al-Rassan would be preferred, since authors/books like Bernard Cornwell and Pillars of Earth I can't stand. I don't get why historical fiction seems to attract such terrible writing. These may be too obvious, but Mary Renault's Last of the Wine, Fire from Heaven, and The King Must Die are pretty much the gold standard for Classical-Era historical fiction. Along similar lines, Robert Graves' I, Claudius. For Napoleonic/Regency era, try Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series. If you want something more fantasy-oriented in the same era, try Susannah Clarke's "Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norell". Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Nov 11, 2010 |
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Nov 11, 2010 17:20
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Modal Auxiliary posted:I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but Seeing would probably be the next thing to read, logically speaking. The only other one I've read is Death With Interruptions, which was fun, but you really have to like his rambling, stream of consciousness type stuff to get through it. Maybe try Flowers for Algernon.
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Nov 14, 2010 22:34
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Modal Auxiliary posted:Read it and loved it. This is exactly the sort of thing I'm talking about. Any more where this came from? Hrm. Anything by Rad Bradbury should be good. You could also try The Cold Equations. Maybe A Rose for Ecclesiastes by Roger Zelazny or The Nine Billion Names of God by Clarke. If you like that kind of Golden Age sci-fi, try this collection: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Science_Fiction_Hall_of_Fame,_Volume_One,_1929%E2%80%931964
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Nov 15, 2010 02:58
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Mahoning posted:I have just finished reading a collection of Isaac Asimov's short stories and am looking for something in the same category. I cannot stomach too much sci fi in long form but I love it when I can pick up a book and read 4 or 5 cool short stories per night. Larry Niven's shorts might be a good place to go next. But if you really like Asimove there are something like 400 anthologies of Asimov stories out there, so you've got plenty of reading still do do with him. More generally, if you want a broader sci-fi recommendation, get The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume 1.
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Dec 7, 2010 16:43
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For Kipling on british imperialism, grab his short story collection "Plain Tales from the Hills," and for a kid's book on the Great Game, grab Kipling's Kim. I'd also recommend Orwell's On Shooting an Elephant.
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Dec 13, 2010 03:04
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Centipeed posted:Perhaps too wide a net to cast, but if I enjoyed Harry Potter and Narnia, and want to read more fantastical adventures spanning multiple books, is there something I should keep an eye out for? Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain would be a good next step.
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Dec 15, 2010 20:45
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Centipeed posted:Thank you, this seems to fit the bill precisely. Although I suppose it's missing that element of discovering an unknown world that Harry Potter and Narnia had in droves? Well, you don't know anything about Prydain! You could also try Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series, the Redwall series, or, hell, Tolkien. Start with The Hobbit. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 21:36 on Dec 15, 2010 |
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Dec 15, 2010 21:34
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