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Captain Q posted:I really like Sci-fi, but only when it doesn't take itself seriously, a la The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The same way with fantasy. Any writers you guys can recommend? A. Lee Martinez does this with both sci-fi (The Automatic Detective) and fantasy (Too Many Curses); Charles Stross' Bob Howard series; Tim Scott's two books; some people may not agree with me putting this here but Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson is pretty funny; definitely the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett; the Myth series by Robert Aspirin; and one of my favorites, Jim C. Hines' Jig the Goblin trilogy.
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Aug 24, 2009 04:08
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Thanks Morlock, A Nation of Laws, and Fritz!FortCastle posted:I know this is pretty broad but it's a cool topic to me as a whole so any recommendations on Pirate books, and no I'm not 12 and I'm not looking for children books, fiction or non-fiction. You've probably heard of this one already but the only book on pirates I've read is Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates by David Cordingly. I thought it was pretty interesting, but it was a bit dry at times and I wished it had gone into more detail about certain subjects. I haven't read it yet but I have a friend who loves The Real Story of the Pirate by Hyatt Verrill so that one should be worth a look too.
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Aug 24, 2009 10:09
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I just finished Red Mars and I'm looking to read something else in a similar vein before I continue on with Blue Mars and Green Mars. Is there any more good, hard science fiction that isn't space opera? On a similar note, I loved Solaris for its creepy, uneasy atmosphere, and for its realistic portrayal of an alien organism as something completely... alien. I'd love some more science fiction that has that same sense of dread. Not necessarily horror, but that would be fine too.
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Aug 25, 2009 02:00
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Green Mars is actually the second book, so read that next. Blue Mars comes last. They're the hardest sci-fi I've ever read so I can't reccomend anything else. edit: missed your part about Solaris, which I have been looking for a copy of for aaaages. If you're looking for reasonably hard sci-fi which has a huge amount of eerie dread, try Christopher Priest's Inverted World. If you're interested I wrote a spoiler-free review of it here, and I reccomend that you avoid looking up anything else about it because a lot of reviews drop huge spoilers (and if you get a modern edition, don't read the blurb). freebooter fucked around with this message at 03:42 on Aug 25, 2009 |
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Aug 25, 2009 03:36
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freebooter posted:Green Mars is actually the second book, so read that next. Blue Mars comes last. I always confuse the order of the other two Mars books. Thanks for the recommendation. I'll definitely be picking that one up.
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Aug 25, 2009 04:35
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As cliché as this may sound, I really want to break into Thomas Pynchon's stuff - but I don't really know where to start. I own Against the Day, and I got about 50 pages into it before I became a little lost and gave up, but of course, I wasn't reading into it as much as I should of been. I was thinking of giving The Crying of Lot 49 a spin, since that's his shortest, and seemingly least complex book. I've also heard that V. is a good entry point for Pynchon, so what do you people suggest?
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Aug 25, 2009 21:53
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Anybody know a good book about Gamelan? I'm just an interested layman, but most of the stuff on Amazon seems to be expensive textbooks. I don't want anything technical; maybe something describing the history, regional styles, and a bit of theory on the music. The closest I've ever gotten is a book on Javanese shadowplays I found used.
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Aug 26, 2009 02:01
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I saw in Barnes and Noble today a book called "The Child Thief" by Gerald Brom. From its jacket its basicaly a darker version of Peter Pan. I was wondering if anyone bought it and if its worth the 20 dollars.
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Aug 26, 2009 04:31
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sexual rickshaw posted:As cliché as this may sound, I really want to break into Thomas Pynchon's stuff - but I don't really know where to start. I own Against the Day, and I got about 50 pages into it before I became a little lost and gave up, but of course, I wasn't reading into it as much as I should of been. I was thinking of giving The Crying of Lot 49 a spin, since that's his shortest, and seemingly least complex book. I've also heard that V. is a good entry point for Pynchon, so what do you people suggest? Haven't read V. yet, but yes, Crying of Lot 49 is really short and easy to follow.
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Aug 26, 2009 05:11
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I'm looking for books about Africa, specifically books set during different civil wars of political upheaval. I've read The Poinsonwood Bible, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, and a few others. I would also be interested in books about life and culture in different African countries or memoirs of African people.
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Aug 26, 2009 23:47
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What is the What is pretty good.
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Aug 27, 2009 04:48
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Kapucinski's Another Day of Life is non-fiction set in the Angolan civil war, very evocative and I think gives a really strong sense of what it is like to be present for decolonization. Many of his other books cover revolutions and coups. Michener is sort of a grocery-store paper back writer, but some of his stuff has real merit as far as giving you the general sense of the history of a place. His book Covenant covers pretty much all of South African history through fictional accounts of various families. Not great writing by any stretch but useful in learning something about South Africa without slogging through history books.
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Aug 27, 2009 14:40
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I want to read most of the books that comprise the Cthulhu mythos, I know it starts with Call of Cthulhu, but I can't find any list that has anything relating to the mythos, or specifically what books to read by Lovecraft that explain and have Cthulhu in them. I know some other authors have used Lovecrafts universe but really just want to read as much about Cthulhu as I can, please recommend books. Thanks.
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Aug 28, 2009 17:07
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Flaggy posted:I want to read most of the books that comprise the Cthulhu mythos, I know it starts with Call of Cthulhu, but I can't find any list that has anything relating to the mythos, or specifically what books to read by Lovecraft that explain and have Cthulhu in them. I know some other authors have used Lovecrafts universe but really just want to read as much about Cthulhu as I can, please recommend books. Thanks. I just requested The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath off of bookmooch, I think I heard that that one is supposedly a good starting point.
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Aug 28, 2009 21:46
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But it is almost completely unrelated to the Cthulhu mythos, and is in fact the major work of the Dream Cycle. I think about the only connecting element is that Nyarlathotep shows up at the end to give the reader a taste of Lovecraft's complete inability to write dialogue.
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Aug 28, 2009 23:48
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Ponuh posted:This might be a bit too esoteric a request for this thread but I'm looking for a good, substantial although sub-monstrous history of the Soviet Union, or a few. Thanks kindly. In response to this, does anyone have any recommendations that aren't text books that cover the history of the SU? I'm looking for something a little more portable and little more readable. Something roughly on the level of Beevor's Stalingrad would be great.
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Aug 29, 2009 03:07
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Kosmo Kat posted:I'm looking for books about Africa, specifically books set during different civil wars of political upheaval. I've read The Poinsonwood Bible, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, and a few others. I would also be interested in books about life and culture in different African countries or memoirs of African people. Gods and Soldiers: The Penguin Anthology of Contemporary African Writing is pretty fantastic. It's mostly short fiction with nonfiction introducing each section of the book. Really good variations between regions.
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Aug 29, 2009 09:46
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Archyduke posted:What is the What is pretty good. It's an amazing book.
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Aug 30, 2009 22:55
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Archyduke posted:Chuck Klosterman is pretty funny but his tone can be sort of grating. Personally I like him more than Sedaris. David Foster Wallace's nonfiction is usually at least a little bit funny if not hilarious, and is quite meaty in terms of subject matter too. For some more classic stuff, Hazlitt can be funny and Mencken can be a riot if you can stomach some of his more odious opinions. Klosterman's Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story, which details his trip cross-country to visit places where rock stars have died, is a surprisingly good book. Picked it up on a whim at the library.
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Aug 30, 2009 22:59
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Just started an Eastern Asian History class, and one of the assignments is to read a non-fiction book that has anything to do with Eastern Asia pre-19th century, that's 250-300 pages long. Anyone have any recommendations for a book that isn't so boring it makes you want to gouge your eyes out? I asked her if I could do Vlad the Impaler, but he's not Asian.
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Sep 2, 2009 04:26
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Anunnaki posted:Just started an Eastern Asian History class, and one of the assignments is to read a non-fiction book that has anything to do with Eastern Asia pre-19th century, that's 250-300 pages long. Anyone have any recommendations for a book that isn't so boring it makes you want to gouge your eyes out? I think we're all aware of who Vlad is. Pre-19th century east asia is pretty vague...just read something about the samurai? Everyone likes them. The Taming of the Samurai by Eiko Ikegami and Legends of the Samurai by Hiroaki Sato were both pretty good. The second was less dry if I recall correctly.
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Sep 2, 2009 10:26
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On a similar note to Anunnaki, I've read a whole stack of books on 19th and 20th century Chinese politics, economics and history, but only one or two 'general' histories of the preceding period. Can anyone give me some recommendations? I'm really after anything (aside from Romance of the Three Kingdoms) ... the more academic the better, but I have no preference for scope/subject matter/time period. Just as long as it's (a) about China, (b) non-fiction, (c) pre-19th century and (d) any good.
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Sep 2, 2009 16:22
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I was never into romance novels as I feel the steamy sex scenes are a bit silly and aimed at unfulfilled housewives. Then I picked up a book called The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer for a laugh because it was three for one at a used book kiosk. Based on the cover (I know, I know  ) I thought it was going to be the kind of book described above but it ended up being quite tasteful. It's about a group of nobles during the Regency period and there is a love story, but the "steamiest" it ever gets is when the hero finally proclaims his love for the heroineat the end. The characters are deep and interesting, and the author is witty and clever. Surprisingly, I most enjoyed the prudishness of the love story. It was wonderfully excruciating just waiting for these characters to get together as they slowly and subtly flirted.I will definitely be picking up more of Heyer's books but I was wondering if anyone who has read her stuff (or at least this post) can suggest other authors like her or stories like this one.
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Sep 3, 2009 04:13
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Heyer pretty much invented the Regency romance novel genre. She started writing in the early 20th century so she's quite a bit more genteel and less explicit than most modern romance novelists. Recently a lot of her books have been re-issued, but you can still find tons of them much cheaper at used book stores and online. She also wrote several mysteries and some books set in a (I think) medieval setting. If you're looking for that general type of romance novel, keep your eye out for "Regency" as the genre, as opposed to "Regency Historical" which are often longer and more explicit. Signet was a major publisher of Regencies until the last 3 or 4 years. Barbara Cartland wrote approximately a gazillion books, many of which are regencies. Quality is very much hit-and-miss, though, as she wrote literally dozens of books per year. For a more authentic flair, you might try Jane Austen if you haven't already.
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Sep 3, 2009 08:13
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Can someone recommend me a good book about dinosaurs? Looking for something relatively in depth, which covers theories about their evolution and biology etc. rather than just a book with pretty pictures. Most of the dinosaur books I can find on Amazon seem geared towards children. 
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Sep 3, 2009 19:09
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Blurred posted:Can someone recommend me a good book about dinosaurs? Looking for something relatively in depth, which covers theories about their evolution and biology etc. rather than just a book with pretty pictures. Most of the dinosaur books I can find on Amazon seem geared towards children. My hubby keeps recommending Raptor Red to me. Here's a quick Wiki quote: quote:Raptor Red is a 1995 fiction novel by paleontologist Robert T. Bakker. The book is a third-person account of dinosaurs during the Cretaceous Period, told from the point of view of Raptor Red, a female Utahraptor. Raptor Red features many of Bakker's theories regarding dinosaurs' social habits, intelligence, and the world in which they lived. It's not necessarily about the evolution and science, but kind of a world-building thing. I have it on my reading list but I just haven't picked it up yet. It sounds really fascinating though. Let me know how it is if you get it.
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Sep 3, 2009 20:53
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Blurred posted:Can someone recommend me a good book about dinosaurs? Looking for something relatively in depth, which covers theories about their evolution and biology etc. rather than just a book with pretty pictures. Most of the dinosaur books I can find on Amazon seem geared towards children. I think the guys over at 'Saurpod Vertebra Picture of the Week' had some posts about dinosaur books a while ago, and even if they didn't there's in-depth talk about (some kinds of) dinosaurs http://svpow.wordpress.com/
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Sep 4, 2009 00:40
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I'm interested in the various cultures of the Middle East before the end of the Middle Ages and after the birth of Islam, can anyone recommend some decent non-fiction on this time period?
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Sep 4, 2009 11:15
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I'm trying to stretch my genre boundaries here, and want to know some of the better authors in Mystery/Thriller books. I've always loved detective shows/movies, but always considered novels to be too formulaic. But I also admit I don't really know any good writers in those areas either, so any suggestions?
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Sep 4, 2009 19:43
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SaviourX posted:I'm trying to stretch my genre boundaries here, and want to know some of the better authors in Mystery/Thriller books. James Muthafuckin Crumley, a Montana cowboy poet that wrote the best goddamn PI novels in existence, imo, particularly The Last Good Kiss and Dancing Bear. More country-fried than your standard mysteries, but sure not formulaic. His prose reflects his poetry background, and there's a wistful, regretful theme running through all his stuff that really makes it stand out.
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Sep 4, 2009 21:03
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I'm looking for books like The Automatic Detective, The Sterling Inheritance, and The Eyre Affair--detective novels that aren't in traditional detective settings. That said, I read Altered Carbon and didn't like it, I read those Brass/Copper/etc books [Author's last name=Cook?] and wasn't really into them. So I'm looking for some sense of humor, but probably not a Piers Anthony kind of fantasy setting. Oh, and I have read Lethem's stuff in this category and liked it. edit: Know that there are other Thursday Next books already, have them on the list. 
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Sep 4, 2009 21:12
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Susan B. Antimony posted:I'm looking for books like The Automatic Detective, The Sterling Inheritance, and The Eyre Affair I haven't read any of those, but an unconventional detective book is The City and the City. There's an exerpt here: http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780345497512&view=excerpt
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Sep 4, 2009 22:12
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SaviourX posted:I haven't read any of those, but an unconventional detective book is The City and the City. This is on my list already, but just because I love his books--hadn't actually read up on it. So thank you!
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Sep 5, 2009 00:08
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I know there've been multiple mentions already of Atwood's Oryx and Crake, which I just finished and found to be very, very much to my taste, but what I'm looking for as a next read would be not so much just any book with the same general theme or tone (make no mistake, post-apocalyptic and speculative/science fiction is pretty close to my heart, but there are whole separate threads about those already), but specifically something else from Margaret Atwood. So far my only other Atwood experience has been the film adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale, which I also plan on reading sometime. But let's stick to stuff I don't know anything about yet - how about, for instance, her Booker-winning one, The Blind Assassin? Any Atwood aficionados here who have read that one, or any of her other novels?
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Sep 5, 2009 15:25
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I need a break from work related materials and have a few weeks of down time. Please recommend some Zombie killing action.
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Sep 5, 2009 16:18
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sewermancer posted:I'm interested in the various cultures of the Middle East before the end of the Middle Ages and after the birth of Islam, can anyone recommend some decent non-fiction on this time period?
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Sep 5, 2009 23:42
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Charlie Mopps posted:An excellent starter would be Ira Lapidus' A History of Islamic Societies. While the book is about 1000 pages and covers the whole history of Islam from it's rise until the beginning of the 21st century, the first 250-300 pages are about the time period requested and the book has an excellent bibliography to delve further into it. I'm reading it for a MA course right now, so i guess it might be a bit too daunting for the amateur reader though. A History of the Arab Peoples by Albert Hourani was pretty good, if a bit dry.
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Sep 6, 2009 09:26
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Fleedar posted:I just finished Red Mars and I'm looking to read something else in a similar vein before I continue on with Blue Mars and Green Mars. Is there any more good, hard science fiction that isn't space opera? Maybe Schild's Ladder could be what you're looking for. It's even harder science fiction than the Mars Trilogy, but plays in a largely unexplored setting in the far future when humans have pretty much transcended physical existence. sewermancer posted:I'm interested in the various cultures of the Middle East before the end of the Middle Ages and after the birth of Islam, can anyone recommend some decent non-fiction on this time period? One book I really enjoyed was Reisebeschreibung nach Arabien that a german explorer wrote in the 18th century. It's quite fascinating when he writes down even trivialities about the difficulties of travel and diplomacy as it gives insights into the culture a good hundred years before anyone else but the ottomans cared about that region of the world. There's apparently an english version here http://www.amazon.com/Travels-Through-Arabia-Other-Countries/dp/B002MH3UE2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252407657&sr=1-1 The german book is pretty well done, with the text left alone in the original language, but updated to modern typesetting, and all the original figures left as they were. I don't know how the english translation handled that.
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Sep 8, 2009 12:08
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RonaldMcDonald posted:One book I really enjoyed was Reisebeschreibung nach Arabien that a german explorer wrote in the 18th century. It's quite fascinating when he writes down even trivialities about the difficulties of travel and diplomacy as it gives insights into the culture a good hundred years before anyone else but the ottomans cared about that region of the world. There's apparently an english version here http://www.amazon.com/Travels-Through-Arabia-Other-Countries/dp/B002MH3UE2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252407657&sr=1-1 Wow, thanks! I'm always on the lookout for old travelogues, and didn't knew about this one. It appears that the english version is available at the Internet Archive: Travels through Arabia and other countries in the East (1792).
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Sep 8, 2009 22:05
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I really liked the Illuminatus! trilogy and am looking for something in the same vain. I would love to read another of Robert anton wilson's books, but I dont know if they're any good or if so which one. Any advice on Wilson books or some other trashy yet slightly intellectual sci-fi conspiracy etc. etc.
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Sep 9, 2009 19:56
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