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Dienes posted:I'm looking for sci-fi/fantasy books of any reading level that feature or are from the perspective of a species other than human. Some great examples I've loved include the Yilane from the West of Eden trilogy by Harry Harrison; the Oankali from Lilith's Brood by Octavia Butler; the aliens from A Door Into Ocean, Left Hand of Darkness, and A Woman of the Iron People; werewolves from The Silver Wolf by Alice Borchart; and, heck, even the unicorns from the Firebringer trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce (the plot sucks but she write great non-human characters/culture). If you like The Left Hand of Darkness, you could try the rest of Le Guinn's Hainish cycle, particularly The Dispossessed and The Telling, although these are human windows into alien worlds like Left Hand. On another track, you could try David Brin's Uplift Trilogies. The first book is from a human perspective, but chimps, dolphins, and aliens aplenty take center stage as the series continues. Going back along the lines of Le Guinn, Brin's Glory Season may be to your liking. It does start out a bit more along fantasy lines, but the sci-fi bleeds through as it goes.
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Dec 1, 2009 03:55
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I have 2 requests.. 1) This is really general. I just want to read something nonfiction that can give me knowledge or appreciation for a subject. For example, I read Cosmos and now I have a deep appreciation for why we know what we know about space and how we know it, along with tons of things ordinary people don't know. I could read about anything nonfiction, be it history, a biography, anything, as long as I come out knowing something I didn't know before. 2) I feel like every relationship I get into brings more pain than it should. The break-ups are harsh, I can't read signs and don't communicate well, I don't know when to end it, and on top of it all I might be controlling. Does anyone know of a good self-help relationship book that can address these issues?
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Dec 1, 2009 05:58
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Dienes posted:I'm looking for sci-fi/fantasy books of any reading level that feature or are from the perspective of a species other than human. Some great examples I've loved include the Yilane from the West of Eden trilogy by Harry Harrison; the Oankali from Lilith's Brood by Octavia Butler; the aliens from A Door Into Ocean, Left Hand of Darkness, and A Woman of the Iron People; werewolves from The Silver Wolf by Alice Borchart; and, heck, even the unicorns from the Firebringer trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce (the plot sucks but she write great non-human characters/culture). Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death by James Tiptree, Jr. is one of the better stories told from the perspective of the alien. Edit: also The Narrow Land, a novella by Jack Vance where the characters are amphibian creatures. criptozoid fucked around with this message at 16:06 on Dec 1, 2009 |
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Dec 1, 2009 15:54
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CheerGrrl92 posted:1) This is really general. I just want to read something nonfiction that can give me knowledge or appreciation for a subject. For example, I read Cosmos and now I have a deep appreciation for why we know what we know about space and how we know it, along with tons of things ordinary people don't know. I could read about anything nonfiction, be it history, a biography, anything, as long as I come out knowing something I didn't know before. If you haven't, you should sample Sagan's other books. Goons seem to love Sagan's anit-superstition polemic The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. I liked Pale Blue Dot as well. Stephen Jay Gould's collections of essays wander all over the place, from history to pop culture to geology, but primarily biological evolution. He was a professional scientist and historian, not a Gladwell-esque dilettante, and wrote with authority on all these subjects. He is the closest thing to Carl Sagan that exists, I think. There are a number of his essays online if you want a taste. I loved his early collections, especially Ever Since Darwin and The Flamingo's Smile, but his non-essay books are also great (esp The Mismeasure of Man).
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Dec 1, 2009 16:55
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steiv18 posted:I've been playing Assassin's Creed 2, and it's gotten me in the mood for something similar to the whole "massive ancient conspiracy" thing like the assassins/templars in the game. Bonus points for any wacky alternate-history stuff Henry Ford helped Hitler start WWII?! Any recommendations? The obvious suggestions would be Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose and Foucault's Pendulum. I'm about 100 pages from the end of Foucault's Pendulum and it's fantastic. If you're looking for non-fiction there are numerous books on the Medici family which I believe plays some part in the game.
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Dec 1, 2009 21:36
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Tuxedo Catfish posted:What's a good book on introductory music theory? Assume that I have no previous knowledge of it whatsoever. Bumping from the last page. Anybody?
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Dec 2, 2009 00:19
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I'm about 12% through "My Secret Life", and I really likes it. Does anyone know of other kinda books like that?
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Dec 2, 2009 03:43
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keyframe posted:Guys I am looking for fiction\real books on: I didn't see anybody say it, but Stephen King's The Stand pretty much fits the bill here. It's also one of his best books, too.
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Dec 2, 2009 04:52
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gewfaewaf
hehehewwwwwww fucked around with this message at 06:37 on Dec 18, 2019 |
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Dec 2, 2009 08:56
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Can anyone give me a recommendation for books about the Afghanistan war? A little more detail: I've gotten into books that are accounts from a group of people directly involved in armed conflicts. Cornelius Ryan's The Longest Day is my favourite book of that type. A collection of first and secondhand accounts of what happened on D-Day regarding very specific people. I'm going through HBO's Generation Kill right now and I plan on reading the book in a month or two after the miniseries has settled in my mind. PBS Frontline's reports from Iraq and Afghanistan are among my favourite topics for the show. I'm looking for something similar. Entirely non-fiction. It can be anything that isn't a direct conversation about the foibles or ethics surrounding the war or administrations dealing with it. I poked around Amazon for a little bit trying to find what I want and ended up with a list ten miles long of books it thinks I should read.
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Dec 2, 2009 18:58
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I'm looking for a new fantasy series to get into. That is, swords and sorcery, not space opera. Honestly, I'm up for anything. It can be literate or pulpy. I'd prefer something that's more or less a "page-turner" with good characters. The problem is I think I've read most of what's out there: 1. Song of Ice and Fire 2. Wheel of Time 3. Memory Sorrow and Thorn 4. Farseer Trilogy 5. Thomas Covenant Books 6. Xanth Books (1st 3 or so were ok...then ugh!) 7. Lord of the Rings 8. His Dark Materials 9. Narnia 10. Sword of Truth -- ugh. 11. Riftwar books by Raymond Feist 12. Elric Saga 13. Guardians of the Flame series 14. The seventh sword series by Dave Duncan 15. The King's Blades series by Dave Duncan 16. Mordant's Need series (ugh) 17. Chalion books by Lois McMaster Bujold I think that's it...
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Dec 2, 2009 21:22
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keyframe posted:Guys I am looking for fiction\real books on: My favorite zombie books are the Brian Keene ones: The Risen and City of the Dead. Simon Clark has some page turners like Stranger and Blood Crazy. As far as viruses and Germ Warfare go: The Andromeda Strain if you can stand Michael Crichton's writing and The Hot Zone by Richard Preston for a more alarming real-life look at viruses.
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Dec 2, 2009 21:31
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Death Hamster posted:Honestly, I'm up for anything. It can be literate or pulpy. I'd prefer something that's more or less a "page-turner" with good characters. The problem is I think I've read most of what's out there: Jack Vance's "Lyonesse" trilogy is pretty good, only it has a somewhat slow start. Anyway, if you don't mind waiting a little, this offer of the complete trilogy in one volume at The Book Depository is a steal.
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Dec 2, 2009 22:51
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Death Hamster posted:I'm looking for a new fantasy series to get into. That is, swords and sorcery, not space opera. The Black Company by Glen Cook was one heck of a page turner for me.
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Dec 2, 2009 22:58
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steiv18 posted:I've been playing Assassin's Creed 2, and it's gotten me in the mood for something similar to the whole "massive ancient conspiracy" thing like the assassins/templars in the game. Bonus points for any wacky alternate-history stuff Henry Ford helped Hitler start WWII?! Any recommendations? Philip Roth, The Plot against Amercia might suit your needs. Not my personal recommendation as I haven't read it , yet.
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Dec 3, 2009 01:30
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buildmyrigdotcom posted:I just recently read this article: A great read. I have Robert Fisk, also at the Independent but these days probably with a duller edge than before, on my firefox bar. I find the Independent's list of commentators astonishingly good and while Johann Hari might be odd from time to time this was very, very interesting. Book suggestions extending that line of thought - demasking a society and describing what it really is in essence? Modern USA, ancient societies, Europe, I'll consider anything.
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Dec 3, 2009 01:34
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I am looking for some light hearted story to read, preferable a story with some nice humor. Any genre is fine. I think I would like some more modern books, and not classics or anything.
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Dec 3, 2009 04:33
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Femur posted:I am looking for some light hearted story to read, preferable a story with some nice humor. Any genre is fine. I think I would like some more modern books, and not classics or anything. I think Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys might be right up your alley.
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Dec 3, 2009 04:37
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CheerGrrl92 posted:I have 2 requests.. I read Daniel J. Boorstin's The Discoverers a few years ago; it's interesting and a good read but it's not remotely challenging. As an example, the first section is on time: it deals with water clocks, the evolution of calendars, etc. There are two other books that comprise something called "The Knowledge Series," I think? I haven't read the other two.
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Dec 3, 2009 05:05
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Facial Fracture posted:I read Daniel J. Boorstin's The Discoverers a few years ago; it's interesting and a good read but it's not remotely challenging. As an example, the first section is on time: it deals with water clocks, the evolution of calendars, etc. There are two other books that comprise something called "The Knowledge Series," I think? I haven't read the other two. Yeah, The Discoverers is really good. I just re-read my copy of it recently and while it is geared towards the layman, it's got a shitpile of fascinating information about the various topics Boorstin covers, so you'll definitely learn something from it.
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Dec 3, 2009 06:49
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Since getting my kindle I have been running through several books from the guttenberg project and other free sources. I was wondering if I could get some recommendations on some classics. For reference: Sherlock Holmes series (which I love) Alice in Wonderland (Which was I thought was quite good) Lovecraft (which was hit or miss, but Mountains of Madness was excellent) F Scott Fitzgerald Short Stories (Which I thought were decent) Philip K Dick Short Stories (This one I bought, and I thought they were fantastic) Some books that I have on my list Mutiny on the Bounty (Any other nautical books would be nice) Stephen King IT and The Stand (Both I bought) I guess this boils down to enjoying well written, plot heavy books and a penchant for short stories. Long books are fine, but hard to get through or dense is a negative. Hrrm, didn't mean for this to be such a long recommendation request....
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Dec 3, 2009 22:02
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Lockback posted:Sherlock Holmes series (which I love) Poe's Murders In The Rue Morgue. Jules Verne.
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Dec 3, 2009 22:09
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Death Hamster posted:I'm looking for a new fantasy series to get into. That is, swords and sorcery, not space opera. I'm a fan of Mercedes Lackey's "Last Herald-Mage" trilogy starts with Magic's Pawn- though all her Valdemar books are good, I started with those and have become a huge fan since then. David Eddings has a bunch of good series - The Belgariad (starts with Pawn of Prophecy and goes for 5 books) and The Elenium (starts with The Diamond Throne and goes for 3.. (well, 6 if you count the second series, the Tamuli which is 3 more). If you want something silly, and fast-reading, Robert Aspirin's "MYTH" series is very punny.  (starts with Another Fine Myth and goes on forever.)
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Dec 3, 2009 22:25
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Death Hamster posted:I'm looking for a new fantasy series to get into. That is, swords and sorcery, not space opera. If you haven't yet, check out the Coldfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman. It's a fantasy trilogy about a world where peoples' hopes and fears become manifested through a force called the fae. It starts a little slow but it's very character-driven and has one of the best endings in any fantasy trilogy I've read. The first book is titled Black Sun Rising. If you're looking for a really good, very entertaining page-turner series, definitely check out the Vlad Taltos series by Steven Brust. The books are told from the perspective of Vlad Taltos, an assassin and sorcerer who lives as a minority in a city full of the much longer-lived Dragaerans, and works for a Mafia-like organization. The books are published out of chronological order so you can either read them in publication order or chronological order. I'd recommend going with publication, so start with Jhereg.
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Dec 3, 2009 22:43
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Lockback posted:
Death Hamster posted:I'm looking for a new fantasy series to get into. That is, swords and sorcery, not space opera.
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Dec 4, 2009 07:10
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Death Hamster posted:The problem is I think I've read most of what's out there: quote:(1-17) dude  There are literally hundreds of new books published in the genre every year. Fellas upthread already mentioned Brust and Cook, get yourself some Erikson or Pratchett or GENE WOLFE or find a used book store and get some Hugh Cook; Kate Elliot just finished a series and there's also her previous one, Kerr's Deverry books are finally done and yea the last couple stunk but the first few are great and there's like a million of them; I see you mentioned Dave Duncan, Lawrence Watt Evans is kind of like him. For these vague kind of genre recommendations you shouldn't listen to some jackass like me on the somethingawful.com forums you should GO TO THE LIBRARY and GET A LIBRARY CARD and FIND THE GENRE SECTION and GRAB SOME BOOKS AT RANDOM TO SEE IF THEY ARE GOOD because what's the worst that can happen?
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Dec 4, 2009 07:30
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Death Hamster posted:13. Guardians of the Flame series I could have sworn I was the only person who'd ever read these. Anyway, you have read the Discworld series, right?
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Dec 4, 2009 14:27
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I would like some suggestions about good narrative history books. I like history, but I like the ones that tell it like a story and try to get into the heads of the participants and explain what they were thinking and why they did those things. I've got Cicero and Augustus by Anthony Everitt, Rubicon and Persian Fire by Tom Holland, The Grand Inquisitor's Manual by Jonathan Kirsch, April 1865 by Jay Winik, American Brutus by Michael W. Kauffman, and a book each on the founding of America and the pre-reign life of Elizabeth I, which I can't remember the names of. Of all of those, Rubicon is my favorite. I think I'm pretty good on Rome up through Augustus, but would like stuff on its later emperors and eventual fall, and then pretty much any other time period would be great too. It'd be nice if there was one book that tried to narratively cover all of World War II or some other recent war, but that doesn't seem to exist. Things get more piecemeal the closer to the present you get.
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Dec 4, 2009 17:05
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freebooter posted:I could have sworn I was the only person who'd ever read these. Ooh. I missed that. I've read Guardians of the Flame and Discworld. (At least the first 20 books or so.)
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Dec 4, 2009 17:15
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CapnAndy posted:I think I'm pretty good on Rome up through Augustus, but would like stuff on its later emperors and eventual fall, and then pretty much any other time period would be great too. It'd be nice if there was one book that tried to narratively cover all of World War II or some other recent war, but that doesn't seem to exist. Things get more piecemeal the closer to the present you get. You could try to find a copy of "The Fall of Rome" by R. A. Lafferty, centered around the characters of Alaric and Stilicho. It's a weird book and the scholarship is... eccentric, to say the least. Sometimes Lafferty outright invents stuff without telling you so, and it's you job to sort out what's actually historical and what's Lafferty filling in the gaps. Despite (or because of) that, it's a very intriguing book. It also contains a particularly thrilling description of the Battle of the Frigidus river.
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Dec 4, 2009 17:50
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CapnAndy posted:I would like some suggestions about good narrative history books. I like history, but I like the ones that tell it like a story and try to get into the heads of the participants and explain what they were thinking and why they did those things. I've got Cicero and Augustus by Anthony Everitt, Rubicon and Persian Fire by Tom Holland, The Grand Inquisitor's Manual by Jonathan Kirsch, April 1865 by Jay Winik, American Brutus by Michael W. Kauffman, and a book each on the founding of America and the pre-reign life of Elizabeth I, which I can't remember the names of. Of all of those, Rubicon is my favorite. 1776 by David McCullough is really good - it chronicles a period from King George's speech to Parliament at the end of 1775 to Washington crossing the Delaware in Christmas 1776. It reads a bit more like a novel than a straight history book, and there's a ton of excerpts from letters and writings on both sides of the conflict to really give you a sense of what both sides were thinking.
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Dec 4, 2009 19:01
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fritz posted:... I have read (and love) Gene Wolfe, but I figured his New Sun/Long Sun/Short Sun books were counted as Science Fiction/Dying Earth genre and not Fantasy...although I can see how they would be. Thanks for the other recommendations, though.
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Dec 4, 2009 21:18
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Death Hamster posted:I have read (and love) Gene Wolfe, but I figured his New Sun/Long Sun/Short Sun books were counted as Science Fiction/Dying Earth genre and not Fantasy...although I can see how they would be. Man, you can't split hairs that fine, New Sun's got a dude with a sword going around having adventures and in any case I was thinking more along the lines of the Latro books or Wizard/Knight. You're also a Duncan guy and you didn't mention his older stuff like /The Cursed/ or /West of January/ (yeah maybe this one's /technically/ on the sf side but you can just sort of pretend you didn't see that part).
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Dec 4, 2009 22:18
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I'm looking for techno thrillers- read a Lot of Clancy, Dan brown etc etc. Preferrably stuff without a big Christian slant and something that doesn't involve the slimy liberal rat senator as the most evil character. Edit: I think I meant Dale brown... Edit2: also just finished red storm rising which is what ignited my recent investigation into the genre. I'm interested in stuff along those lines- especially a realistic approach to how a war with Iran would play out thesurlyspringKAA fucked around with this message at 17:04 on Dec 19, 2009 |
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Dec 5, 2009 07:33
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I have three requests: -A book or books on the 6 Day War. I'm not too interested in the political side of things, more of the military tactics used by all sides. -A book or books on the Civil War from the soldiers' perspective. First hand accounts would be great, but not statistics, battlefield maps, and other dry things. -I had a childrens' version of Count of Monte Cristo and it was one of my favorite books as a child. I finally read the real version a couple of years ago, and towards the end the revelation that was made about the baby was the only time in my life of reading that I actually said "Oh... poo poo" out loud. I completely didn't see it coming, though maybe I should have. Any recommendations for good reads with surprises that are difficult to see coming?
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Dec 6, 2009 02:01
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wldmn13 posted:
The further reading section of the wikipedia page looks like it has a few potentially useful titles: Aloni, Shlomo (2001). Arab-Israeli Air Wars 1947–1982. Osprey Aviation. ISBN 1-84176-294-6 Bar-On, Mordechai, Never-Ending Conflict: Israeli Military History, ISBN 0275981584 Bowen, Jeremy (2003). Six Days: How the 1967 War Shaped the Middle East. London: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-3095-7 Hammel, Eric (1992). Six Days in June: How Israel Won the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7434-7535-6 Herzog, Chaim (1982). The Arab-Israeli Wars; Arms & Armour Press. Morris, Benny (1997). Israel's Border Wars, 1949–1956. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-829262-7 Oren, Michael (2002). Six Days of War. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515174-7 Pollack, Kenneth (2004). Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness, 1948–1991. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-8783-6 Segev, Tom (2005). Israel in 1967. Keter. ISBN 965-07-1370-0. quote:-A book or books on the Civil War from the soldiers' perspective. First hand accounts would be great, but not statistics, battlefield maps, and other dry things. I liked Joseph Glatthaar's General Lee's Army: From Victory to Collapse, which focuses on the confederate side. I includes many excerpts from soldier's letters and such (not my favourite aspect of any military history), but also makes liberal use of your dry things that put these into perspective.
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Dec 6, 2009 03:09
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Please recommend me fiction/semi-fiction books about cats, narrated by a cat or something of that sort. I don't really have any point of reference other than I Am A Cat by Natsume Souseki, but I was thinking of something that is more contemporary and lighter, yet still reasonably intelligent and not nauseatingly cutesy or infantile.
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Dec 6, 2009 10:20
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I was watching In the Name of the Father the other night and realized that I know next to nothing about The Troubles in Northern Ireland except that there were a lot of bombings and religion was involved. So what's a good book to educate me a little? Preferably not too dry.
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Dec 6, 2009 15:49
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poronty posted:Please recommend me fiction/semi-fiction books about cats, narrated by a cat or something of that sort. I don't really have any point of reference other than I Am A Cat by Natsume Souseki, but I was thinking of something that is more contemporary and lighter, yet still reasonably intelligent and not nauseatingly cutesy or infantile. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felidae_%28novel%29 I didn't know it was a series until just now, actually, but I read the first one and thought it was alright.
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Dec 6, 2009 18:43
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Loofa08 posted:I read High Fidelity by Nick Hornby and absolutely adored it. I was in the bookstore the other day and I was checking out his books. If I loved High Fidelity, will I like his other books? Recommendations? A Long Way Down was pretty decent. It was also a very quick read. Encryptic posted:What are some other good books that tackle the same subject that Guns, Germs and Steel does? I remember reading on here that GG&S was pretty flawed and someone recommended a couple other books that they considered to be better-written and not logically unsound, but I didn't write them down and I can't remember for the life of me what they were called. Ecological Imperialism is something close. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_Imperialism:_The_Biological_Expansion_of_Europe,_900-1900 I quite enjoyed it. Probably more so than GG&S. Zedlic posted:I was watching In the Name of the Father the other night and realized that I know next to nothing about The Troubles in Northern Ireland except that there were a lot of bombings and religion was involved. If you're looking for bang for your buck, Marc Mulholland's Northern Ireland, A Very Short Introduction has you set. It's $9, 150 pages and it'll learn you good.
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Dec 6, 2009 19:20
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