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barkingclam
Jun 20, 2007

Pudgygiant posted:

I have everything from The Kite Runner to Vonnegut books to Tucker Max on my Kindle. I'm a huge fan of the Bill Bryson, David Sedaris, Jeremy Clarkson style of humorous travel anecdotes as well. Right now I'm in the middle of The Gamble and I have Too Big to Fail and Fiasco queued up. I'm leaving for Afghanistan in about a week for a year and I'd really like to add 5 or 6 more books before I head out. Any ideas?

Either of PJ O'Rourke's two travel books are good (and hilarious). I especially like All the Trouble in the World, myself.

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Ballsworthy
Apr 30, 2008

yup

Pudgygiant posted:

I have everything from The Kite Runner to Vonnegut books to Tucker Max on my Kindle. I'm a huge fan of the Bill Bryson, David Sedaris, Jeremy Clarkson style of humorous travel anecdotes as well. Right now I'm in the middle of The Gamble and I have Too Big to Fail and Fiasco queued up. I'm leaving for Afghanistan in about a week for a year and I'd really like to add 5 or 6 more books before I head out. Any ideas?

Best travel humor: The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain. It's about a trip he took to Europe and the Middle East with some religious pilgrims, iirc it's the first book he published and is a large part of why he was famous in his time, and for good reason because it is goddamned hilarious.

Rabbit Hill
Mar 11, 2009

God knows what lives in me in place of me.
Grimey Drawer
What would you guys recommend if I'm looking for books that are similar in theme/tone/atmosphere to the HBO series Carnivale?

I've already read Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes -- which I loving love and would recommend in turn to anybody interested in a tale of good and evil played out against a carnival backdrop in a small town in the 1950s -- and I've got Carl-Johan Vallgren's Horrific Sufferings of the Mind-Reading Monster Hercules Barefoot: His Wonderful Love and His Terrible Hatred ordered from Inter-Library Loan (more old time carnival/freakshow doings).

Any more books like this, or (even better) dealing with the "evil preacher who quotes the Bible while being evil" side of the Carnivale story? I'm really interested in stories that treat this kind of character seriously (not cartoonishly). Like, a good example would be in Faulkner's Light in August: Joe Christmas' foster father, who was extremely ascetic, stern, abusive, and uses the Bible to justify his mistreatment of Joe. He's not a minister, but that's all right...he's got the "scary religious zealot" part down cold.

(I've already read The Hunchback of Notre Dame, but a character like Claude Frollo would also fit the bill...just as long as he's not treated comically.)

Thanks!

Did That on Television
Nov 8, 2004
lemonparties with wippersnapper
Anyone?

Did That on Television posted:

Does anyone know of a good, comprehensive book on Alan Lomax? At its best, it would cover both his folklorist and ethnomusicological pursuits as well as biographical details. Or alternatively, two separate books -- one on his musicological pursuits and one for biography -- that are detailed would be fine too.

rasser
Jul 2, 2003

Pudgygiant posted:

I have everything from The Kite Runner to Vonnegut books to Tucker Max on my Kindle. I'm a huge fan of the Bill Bryson, David Sedaris, Jeremy Clarkson style of humorous travel anecdotes as well. Right now I'm in the middle of The Gamble and I have Too Big to Fail and Fiasco queued up. I'm leaving for Afghanistan in about a week for a year and I'd really like to add 5 or 6 more books before I head out. Any ideas?

These are obiously bad suggestions since you light humorous stories. But still - they're excellent travel writers:
Bruce Chatwin, Songlines
Paul Theroux, probably anything
Mark Twain - several travel descriptions and he can be really funny

Also:
Alex Garland, The Beach
Chris Stewart, Driving over lemons - an optimist in Andalucia
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
John Steinbeck, Travels with Charlie (read this when I was 12, apparently good for adults too?)

Also, when in Afghanistan you should read Kipling - Kim especially, perhaps other titles. I also think Joseph Conrad wrote about The Great Game, Russia and England's war for control over Afghanistan.
Personally I would buy a gazillion books on the 'new great game' with taleban, oil exports, neo-colonialism, drugs etc etc in it, and read everything Robert Fisk had written on Afghanistan. One of his major pieces is a chapter in The Great War for Civilization, which is a very interesting read.

Bummey
May 26, 2004

you are a filth wizard, friend only to the grumpig and the rattata
Over in the worst thread of The Book Barn I was reminded of Atlas Shrugged. For all its flaws and horrible preaching philosophy, it is a story about the fall of society. I like stories about the fall of society. Can anyone recommend some books that deal with this subject? Preferably not ones that come about because of some sort of mutually assured destruction war, but internal strife and sabotage, general incompetence, etc.

Electric Pez
May 12, 2008
I am trying to find a nice and credible biography on Shakespeare. There are so many rumors and speculations out there and I was wondering where a good place was to start. I want to know more about who this person really is, so any book discussing him that is worth recommending would be nice.

Thank you.

Electric Pez
May 12, 2008

Ez posted:

I'm looking for a light sci fi sort of book. Something that's fairly easy to read, not too long, and preferably part of a trilogy or short series. A fun Sci-Fi space adventure with well written characters and an engaging plot. Also, hopefully something that doesn't require prior knowledge of a franchise (Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.)

Also, hopefully something that I can pick up for less than 10 bucks on Amazon.

Bio of a Space Tyrant by Piers Anthony is a wonderful light Sci-Fi series that is five books long. Six if you consider the one added to the series much later on, but I don't.

The characters are amazing and it was such an engaging fun, but I do not know that you could call it fun. It is a bit of a dark series, but well worth the read.

Ballsworthy
Apr 30, 2008

yup

Electric Pez posted:

Bio of a Space Tyrant by Piers Anthony is a wonderful light Sci-Fi series that is five books long. Six if you consider the one added to the series much later on, but I don't.

The characters are amazing and it was such an engaging fun, but I do not know that you could call it fun. It is a bit of a dark series, but well worth the read.

You aren't serious.

Two
Mar 4, 2006

The best things in life cost the least but they don't come for free.
I was just wondering if anybody knew of a good fantasy series? I havent come across any good fantasy books since I was in high school and the poo poo I used to read back then is not appealing to me any more. I am not incredibly picky but I will say that vampires are not my favorite subject. So whatever you can think of, throw some suggestions at me if you have any. Thanks!

Bohemienne
May 15, 2007

Two posted:

I was just wondering if anybody knew of a good fantasy series? I havent come across any good fantasy books since I was in high school and the poo poo I used to read back then is not appealing to me any more. I am not incredibly picky but I will say that vampires are not my favorite subject. So whatever you can think of, throw some suggestions at me if you have any. Thanks!

I don't read a lot of fantasy and am only one or two books deep into each of these series but I enjoyed them all:

The Bone Doll's Twin
Kushiel's Dart
The Book of the New Sun

I want to like fantasy but so many of the writers out there want to actively dissuade me from it. These books do not. Convincing characters, rewarding writing, great settings, and women who aren't scenery.

King Plum the Nth
Oct 16, 2008

Jan 2018: I've been rereading my post history and realized that I can be a moronic bloviating asshole. FWIW, I apologize for most of everything I've ever written on the internet. In future, if I can't say something functional or funny, I won't say anything at all.

Ballsworthy posted:

You aren't serious.

Piers writes very realistic female characters. :colbert: To be fair, I haven't read Bio of a Space Tyrant but, if I hadn't read the first nine Xanth novels, I wouldn't know how to touch my wife.

Now. There was this post in my beloved corps Doctor Who thread:

Doctor Zero posted:

...
2000AD Comics (which Judge Dredd comes from) is more of an off-shoot from Heavy Metal magazine in style (although I can't find a direct connection between the two) and "pulp" sci-fi of the 70s.
...


I really loved Heavy Metal (film). I like the 70's (in fiction). I like the spirit (if not always the letter) of Sci-Fi, and I'm fascinated by the glut of sci-fi that seemed to happen (in film, at least) in the late 70's.

Could TBB please recommend me some "'pulp' sci-fi of the 70s"? I can't say why, but that sounds really fun to me now. (Really, focus on the film Heavy Metal here -- I would love to read something with that same vibe.)

King Plum the Nth fucked around with this message at 21:57 on Feb 11, 2010

Bummey
May 26, 2004

you are a filth wizard, friend only to the grumpig and the rattata

Two posted:

I was just wondering if anybody knew of a good fantasy series?

What kind of fantasy are you looking for? Tolkien fantasy (orcs and elves and wizards) or other alternate fantasy settings? I'll recommend the latter because Tolkien destroyed the fantasy genre and I'm sick of orcs and elves and wizards!

My strongest recommendation is the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. It's one of the best stories I've ever read. Game of Thrones is the first in the series. It's sort of historical fiction in a medieval setting with some ambiguous fantasy bits thrown in. There are a few dragons, but it's mostly a story about political intrigue and warring noble houses. Stay out of the Book Barn thread. You can read this post for an introduction to the series, but do not stray past the picture of the fat beardly author! They will ruthlessly spoil major plot points for you. You have been warned.

The Gentlemen Bastard Sequence by Scott Lynch is also pretty good. It's another sort of historical fiction and alchemy series. The Lies of Locke Lamora is the first book. Set in a canal city not unlike an old Venice, Italy built on the glass structured ruins of an unexplained prior civilization. It begins with an old man called the Thiefmaker buying up orphaned plague survivors from corrupt city guards and training them to become petty thieves. The main character, Locke Lamora is later sold to a new thiefmaster who trains a small band for the big time heists. The writing can be a bit rough in the beginning but Scott Lynch tells of a really good setting, likable characters and wild plots. The third book, Republic of Thieves, has been delayed a bit but should be out "soon".

China Mieville's Bas Lag series is another to look into. Perdido Street Station, Iron Council and The Scar. Humans, cactus people, ladies with bright red skin and beetles for heads, garuda and other bizarre species in an interesting steampunk/alchemical city with an extremely oppressive government. Personally I think his descriptions of the city are extremely long-winded (you really get a feeling for how dirty this city is), his characters in Iron Council are the most unsympathetic bunch I've ever read and he takes about 300 pages to get to the book's plot in Perdido. Not exactly a glowing review from me, but more often than not people will vehemently disagree with me on this. I really liked the smash the state insurgent sub-plots, however.



vvvv

Dead Ken posted:

contradiction in terms

poo poo in post

Bummey fucked around with this message at 21:51 on Feb 11, 2010

Dead Ken
May 30, 2009

by Fistgrrl

Two posted:

good fantasy series

contradiction in terms

(USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)

appropriatemetaphor
Jan 26, 2006

Two posted:

I was just wondering if anybody knew of a good fantasy series? I havent come across any good fantasy books since I was in high school and the poo poo I used to read back then is not appealing to me any more. I am not incredibly picky but I will say that vampires are not my favorite subject. So whatever you can think of, throw some suggestions at me if you have any. Thanks!

I recall Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay being pretty good. If you haven't read LotR, I'd say give that a go since it's a classic.

Encryptic
May 3, 2007

appropriatemetaphor posted:

I recall Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay being pretty good.

Yeah, definitely read Tigana. His later stuff that diverges more into pseudo-historical fiction with a dash of fantasy is really good as well (the Sarantine Mosaic, Lions of Al-Rassan, Song for Arbonne, etc.).

Dancingthroughlife
Dec 15, 2009

Will dance for cupcakes
Blurred wrote:

quote:

I couldn't tell exactly what it is you're looking for (something eye-opening but not contrary?), but perhaps John Shelby Spong is the kind of author you're after? He writes on a wide variety of topics within the Christian faith, so I'm sure there'd be something there to appeal to you.
You misunderstand me. I would now like my eyes opened and am looking for any books on Christianity, religion and atheism. Recently watched Julia Sweeney's showtime special and am amped to learn more.

TheKingPuuChuu
Oct 13, 2005

Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.
So I'm trying to remember a name of a book(and I've checked the entire forum, and I couldn't find a thread for this, but if there is one, I'm sorry), it was a book from middle school where a disease strikes the world which makes the adults in the world vanish/die, and the children in the story set up their own "tribes", where one group is good and on a farm, and the other group is "bad".

Thanks!

dokmo
Aug 27, 2006

:stat:man

Dancingthroughlife posted:

You misunderstand me. I would now like my eyes opened and am looking for any books on Christianity, religion and atheism. Recently watched Julia Sweeney's showtime special and am amped to learn more.

It seems like you're looking for books on Christian apologetics and replies to apologetics? There are probably thousands of books like that -- you may want to start with one of the classics in the genre, Bertrand Russell's Why I Am Not A Christian. On the sociology of religion and religious people, try Michael Shermer's How We Believe. On the psychology of religion, try William James's classic The Varieties of Religious Experience.

wheatpuppy
Apr 25, 2008

YOU HAVE MY POST!

TheKingPuuChuu posted:

So I'm trying to remember a name of a book(and I've checked the entire forum, and I couldn't find a thread for this, but if there is one, I'm sorry), it was a book from middle school where a disease strikes the world which makes the adults in the world vanish/die, and the children in the story set up their own "tribes", where one group is good and on a farm, and the other group is "bad".

Thanks!

The thread you're looking for is the identify this book thread. I'm going to throw a wild guess here anyway and say maybe The Girl Who Owned a City?

HaroldofTheRock
Jun 3, 2003

Pillbug
I'm in the mood for a book where the protagonist lives in a very unfriendly world where he/she needs to eke out an existence while there is an oppressing society that will kill you on sight. Something like I Am Legend, with a sense of isolation as the main character skulks around like a mouse trying to survive.

appropriatemetaphor
Jan 26, 2006

HaroldofTheRock posted:

I'm in the mood for a book where the protagonist lives in a very unfriendly world where he/she needs to eke out an existence while there is an oppressing society that will kill you on sight. Something like I Am Legend, with a sense of isolation as the main character skulks around like a mouse trying to survive.

The Road.

Vormav
Jan 28, 2005

HaroldofTheRock posted:

I'm in the mood for a book where the protagonist lives in a very unfriendly world where he/she needs to eke out an existence while there is an oppressing society that will kill you on sight. Something like I Am Legend, with a sense of isolation as the main character skulks around like a mouse trying to survive.

Seconding The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Fits your description perfectly.

miniskirts
Aug 24, 2005

CheerGrrl92 posted:

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.



Try Devil in the White City by Eric Larson. Read it and loved it. Bought Thunderstruck (also by Larson) because of it, but have yet to read it.

Currently, I'm reading The Alchemy of Air by Thomas Hager. so far, wonderful and interesting and falls into this category.

miniskirts
Aug 24, 2005
Looking for:

1. Books on Architecture: Fiction, non-fiction, textbook, anything and everything. This is a budding interest for me and I'm looking for information (technical and theory). If fiction, I prefer something where architecture is a main part of the plot (much like The Fountainhead by Rand, which I've already read). If it's non-fiction or a textbook, I prefer something relatively simple and basic, as I'm new to this. But, if there's a really good technical or theory book that delves deeper, I'm willing to give it a try.

2. Books about the Manhattan Project

3. Books/biographies about Kaiser Wilhelm I and II


Thanks in advance!

dokmo
Aug 27, 2006

:stat:man

miniskirts posted:

1. Books on Architecture: Fiction, non-fiction, textbook, anything and everything. This is a budding interest for me and I'm looking for information (technical and theory). If fiction, I prefer something where architecture is a main part of the plot (much like The Fountainhead by Rand, which I've already read). If it's non-fiction or a textbook, I prefer something relatively simple and basic, as I'm new to this. But, if there's a really good technical or theory book that delves deeper, I'm willing to give it a try.

I recently read and loved Why Buildings Stand Up.

quote:

Here is a clear and enthusiastic introduction to building methods from ancient time to the present day, illustrated throughout with line drawings. In addition, Mr. Salvadori discusses recent advances in science and technology that have had important effects on the planning and construction of buildings.

miniskirts posted:

3. Books/biographies about Kaiser Wilhelm I and II
There don't appear to be too many books on Wilhelm I. On II, I enjoyed Balfour's The Kaiser and His Times, which has the bonus of being pretty cheap. An amazon review:

quote:

A tad on the dry side for the average reader, this scholarly account of the Kaiser clearly explains the influences that came to bear on the man--his family history, his personality and the society in which he lived. Just as his grandmother, Queen Victoria, embodied 19th century Britain, Kaiser Wilhelm II was Germany at the turn of the century. His behavior was in keeping with the beliefs and expectations of the Prussian upper class. Although he is not fully responsible for World War I, his flaws were the flaws that lead his country into World War I. This book is a good account of one of history's great failures.

7 y.o. bitch
Mar 24, 2009

:derp:

Name 7 yob
Age 55 years young
Posts OVER 9000 XD
Title BOOK BARN SUPERSTAR
Motto Might I quote the incomparable Frederick Douglas? To wit: :drum:ONE TWO THREE TIMES TWO TO THE SIX/JONESING FOR YOUR FIX OF THAT LIMP BIZKIT MIX:drum:XD
Hi guys, I'm looking for a book that takes on misogyny and patriarchal oppression from a Tolkienien standpoint, it's so hard to find good fantasy that doesn't silence women's voices and remove their autonomy! I'm sure you know what I'm "Tolkien" about ;)

Bohemienne
May 15, 2007

7 y.o. bitch posted:

Hi guys, I'm looking for a book that takes on misogyny and patriarchal oppression from a Tolkienien standpoint, it's so hard to find good fantasy that doesn't silence women's voices and remove their autonomy! I'm sure you know what I'm "Tolkien" about ;)

Because saying that most fantasy writers can't convincingly portray female characters to save their lives is totally the same thing as saying they're cogs in the patriarchal oppressive machinery.

Bohemienne fucked around with this message at 20:28 on Feb 14, 2010

Kestral
Nov 24, 2000

Forum Veteran
I'm looking for some speculative fiction in which people or humanity as a whole confronts the profoundly, nigh-incomprehensibly alien and tries to understand it. This was specifically inspired by my love for Peter Watts' Blindsight and Robert Charles Wilson's Spin; Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama would probably fit the bill as well if I could stand his writing style and utter lack of characterization. No Lovecraft, please.

Alternately, I'd be interested in something in which a significant portion of the narrative is seen through non-human eyes ala the Minds in Banks' Excession. Peter Watts' short story The Things also qualifies, and deserves some pimping here: it's a retelling of the movie The Thing from the perspective of the monster, and does a fantastic job of making humanity seem very alien and hostile.

Finally, anything in the vein of Clavell's Noble House or Tai-Pan where the drama revolves around warring corporations and the families and individuals behind them. "High Finance Fiction," for lack of a better term, but with emphasis on the fiction.

Tropicana
Oct 29, 2008
Does anyone have any good books on Haiti or Japan? I need these books for an assignment that I am doing on Japan's response and I want to find out how the Japanese government reacts to foreign crisis's.

gey muckle mowser
Aug 5, 2003

Do you know anything about...
witches?



Buglord

Kestral posted:

I'm looking for some speculative fiction in which people or humanity as a whole confronts the profoundly, nigh-incomprehensibly alien and tries to understand it.

I just recently read and enjoyed Stanislaw Lem's Solaris, which fits that description perfectly.

7 y.o. bitch
Mar 24, 2009

:derp:

Name 7 yob
Age 55 years young
Posts OVER 9000 XD
Title BOOK BARN SUPERSTAR
Motto Might I quote the incomparable Frederick Douglas? To wit: :drum:ONE TWO THREE TIMES TWO TO THE SIX/JONESING FOR YOUR FIX OF THAT LIMP BIZKIT MIX:drum:XD

Bohemienne posted:

Because saying that most fantasy writers can't convincingly portray female characters to save their lives is totally the same thing as saying they're cogs in the patriarchal oppressive machinery.

So do you have a recommendation of a fantasy book that has psychologically convincing female characters? Like, I'm hoping for something that's at least Avatar good on the convincing scale.

HaroldofTheRock
Jun 3, 2003

Pillbug

appropriatemetaphor posted:

The Road.

Vormav posted:

Seconding The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Fits your description perfectly.

Thanks for the suggestion, guys, that book really is exactly what I'm looking for...

Maybe I should've mentioned that I've already read it :doh:

Vormav
Jan 28, 2005

HaroldofTheRock posted:

Thanks for the suggestion, guys, that book really is exactly what I'm looking for...

Maybe I should've mentioned that I've already read it :doh:

Well, I was going to recommend David Brin's The Postman, but it doesn't match your description quite as well. I mean, the first part is pretty close, but then it gets more into a Fallout type scenario in the second part (i.e. less of a "lone wolf struggling to survive" story and more of a "rebuild society in the aftermath of an apocalypse" story). But since you've already read The Road, I'll throw it out there. It's a good yarn and worth a read.

Don't watch the movie, though.

The one true heezy
Mar 23, 2004

fadam posted:

Does anyone have any suggestions for contemporary detective stories? I just finished Dennis Lehane's Kenzie/Gennaro series and I'd like more stuff in that vein if possible.

James Crumley - The Last Good Kiss

Its a little outside the norm for private dick novels but it's a hell of a book and the author is a badass.


I just finished Confessions of an Economic Hitman. I thought it was a great inside look at how screwed up the US is with foreign policy but I wasn't totally blown away like I expected to be. I think because the guy didn't want to get killed in a freak escalator accident a week after it was published :tinfoil:. Anyone know a book thats really going to expose the dirty secrets in American politics for me? Or just a book with a different view on politics that will blow me away? I'm interested...

Team Black Zion
Aug 26, 2006

Next time you play chess, be sure to replace your queens and knights with pawns!
If you haven't already read a Peoples History of the United States by Howard Zinn, it's the most important critical look at American history and politics (with an emphasis on greed and corruption) that you will probably ever read. It doesn't start in the contemporary era, though, it builds from the birth of America and then works its way upwards. If you want a book where every page will make you mad as hell at capitalism then that would be it.

Psexpean
Apr 29, 2009
Any recommendations for good 'psychic' stories, in particular those dealing with psychic children?

Charlie Thunder
Oct 20, 2006

Goodbye Horses
I'm looking for a science fiction book. Specifically, I'm interested in something like where mankind has colonized the solar system (via asteroid mining and space stations) and is looking to reach nearby stars. No faster than light travel or any science voodoo, just basing the science on what we know is possible.

unleash the unicorn
Dec 23, 2004

If this boat were sinking, I'd give my life to save you. Only because I like you, for reasons and standards of my own. But I couldn't and wouldn't live for you.
What are good Star Wars books for someone who has never read any before?

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Encryptic
May 3, 2007

unleash the unicorn posted:

What are good Star Wars books for someone who has never read any before?

Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy (Heir To The Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command) is probably your best bet. I've read a number of others and they were all pretty sub-par by comparison.

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