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This thread is fantastic. I'm looking for some sci-fi/post-apocalyptic lit. in the same breed as Nightfall by Isaac Asimov: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightfall_(Asimov_short_story_and_novel) It is about the fall of a society and I'd love to read something else that deals with the actual crumbling-down of a civilization. Preferably that focuses on more the whole civ rather than the character development of a few protagonists. Kinda like World War Z rather than The Stand.
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Aug 23, 2011 02:35
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dokmo posted:The Keef book is awesome. barkingclam posted:If you're into sports, the ESPN book is a fun read. If you're not, I'd go with Richards' autobio. Thanks to the both of you, but I'm sitting here watching No Reservations and currently reading Man With the Pan and realized that I should read one of Tony's books next. Keef's book is after one of those two, that's for sure.
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Aug 23, 2011 03:22
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screenwritersblues posted:Thanks to the both of you, but I'm sitting here watching No Reservations and currently reading Man With the Pan and realized that I should read one of Tony's books next. Keef's book is after one of those two, that's for sure. I really liked Kitchen Confidential.
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Aug 23, 2011 23:12
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Day Man posted:I really liked Kitchen Confidential. Oh and there's lots of funny stories and stuff too.
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Aug 23, 2011 23:39
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vaginadeathgrip posted:I seem to enjoy books about old Hollywood and that time period -- mostly behind the scenes stuff like in Hollywood Babylon (the amount of actress deaths in the 20's and 30's is kind of astounding). I also read and enjoyed I, Fatty, a fictitious first-person account of Fatty Arbuckle's rise and fall. I guess I am looking for some more behind the scenes non-fiction books from this time period. My favorite of these books (besides the ones you mentioned, which are wonderful) is City of Nets by Otto Friedrich. It's about Hollywood in the 1940's and deals with a lot of the weird behind the scenes info of Golden Age Hollywood, like a more studied and less torrid Hollywood Babylon. There's a lot of interesting and weird info about William Faulkner going to Hollywood to church out wrestling screenplays and Igor Stravinsky similarly heading out there to score films for cash, to say nothing of the divorces and scandals and etc. It's apparently the book that prompted the Coen Brothers to do "Barton Fink," for what it's worth.
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Aug 24, 2011 04:38
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Hedrigall posted:China Miéville is my favourite author and I've been searching for stuff similar to him for ages. I haven't read these yet but I always hear the following recommended: I think that Vandermeer is the closest to Mieville, but Jeff is far more goofy compared to China's general grimness. The Etched City is great and comes across like Stephen King's Gunslinger and China's Bellis getting together for a....tropical vacation!?
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Aug 24, 2011 04:40
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Snuffman posted:I just finished reading The Magician King which I loved, and I'm in the mood for more Sci-fi and/or fantasy. Hedrigall's suggestions are on-point, but I feel that the #1 Mieville inspiration that people overlook is the Gormenghast series by Mervyn Peake. Transistor Rhythm fucked around with this message at 04:56 on Aug 24, 2011 |
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Aug 24, 2011 04:45
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vaginadeathgrip posted:I seem to enjoy books about old Hollywood and that time period -- mostly behind the scenes stuff like in Hollywood Babylon (the amount of actress deaths in the 20's and 30's is kind of astounding). I also read and enjoyed I, Fatty, a fictitious first-person account of Fatty Arbuckle's rise and fall. I guess I am looking for some more behind the scenes non-fiction books from this time period. It's not quite what you're asking for because it's fiction, but you should take a look at What Makes Sammy Run, which is still a dirty word in Hollywood.
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Aug 24, 2011 05:20
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I've been in a very Star Wars-y mood lately. Does anyone know any good Star Wars books? I've read a couple, but they were mostly later, main-line stuff, like the Yuuzhan Zong books. Edit: Never mind, I found a goon list of suggested books in GBS. Hiro Protagonist fucked around with this message at 09:23 on Aug 24, 2011 |
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Aug 24, 2011 08:33
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Can anyone recommend a Vonnegut book? I've already got Breakfast of Champions, Slaughterhouse 5, and Cat's Cradle. I'm interested 'cause Amazon's running a sale right now. VVV: I'd totally get them all if I had the money right now. Jigsaw fucked around with this message at 16:25 on Aug 24, 2011 |
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Aug 24, 2011 15:37
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Jigsaw posted:Can anyone recommend a Vonnegut book? I've already got Breakfast of Champions, Slaughterhouse 5, and Cat's Cradle. I'm interested 'cause Amazon's running a sale right now. All of them But seriously, Sirens of Titan
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Aug 24, 2011 15:58
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I just finished -powering- through the A Song of Fire and Ice books, and now there is a huge reading void in my life. I want to take a break from fantasy and get into a good Sci-fi series. I'm trying not to be too vague, but I think something action oriented with humans vs aliens or humans vs robots or something would be great. Seriously, I'm so desperate and bad at finding books that I'm looking at a Starcraft novel and Predator novel sitting on my desk right now. These are going to be so bad. Any recommendations would be much appreciated. Baldbeard fucked around with this message at 22:08 on Aug 24, 2011 |
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Aug 24, 2011 21:05
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:All of them That would be my next choice, too.
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Aug 24, 2011 21:08
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Borges - where do I start?
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Aug 24, 2011 22:43
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I would love to read some dark comedy novels--perhaps in the vein of Coen Bros or Guy Ritchie movies--and, if at all possible, told in the third person. I'm usually a fantasy reader and I think the last/only comedy I've read was Richard Russo's Straight Man so please don't be afraid to state the obvious.
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Aug 24, 2011 23:39
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delicious beef posted:Borges - where do I start? Ficciones! Bohemienne posted:I would love to read some dark comedy novels--perhaps in the vein of Coen Bros or Guy Ritchie movies--and, if at all possible, told in the third person. I'm usually a fantasy reader and I think the last/only comedy I've read was Richard Russo's Straight Man so please don't be afraid to state the obvious. Probably somewhat entry-level suggestion, but Dead Souls is the funniest novel, and probably the best novel. I've never laughed out loud at a novel as much as when I've read that, and would say it could be characterized as "dark" -- tho I wouldn't participate in such a cheap characterization. If I really think about it, tho, every good novel is funny. That is, most canonical works are funny, imo. Or most I've read. Sorry this sounds really dumb. But I mean -- heh, what would a novel be if it wasn't funny? Also the aesthetic equivalent of Guy Ritchie is probably the Fight Club guy but I'm going to treat you like an adult and not suggest that. wevs fucked around with this message at 02:21 on Aug 25, 2011 |
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Aug 25, 2011 02:04
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Beckett, Celine, Bernhard, Krasznahorkai, are the best dark comediennes, excluding Gogol, of course, who's the best, but really nothing like these, except somewhat like them. If you want specific recommendations: Those Three, Death on the Installment Plan, Correction, Melancholy of Resistance, respectively.
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Aug 25, 2011 02:16
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As I Lay Dying, obviously, as well. Duh.
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Aug 25, 2011 02:18
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Bohemienne posted:I would love to read some dark comedy novels--perhaps in the vein of Coen Bros or Guy Ritchie movies--and, if at all possible, told in the third person. I'm usually a fantasy reader and I think the last/only comedy I've read was Richard Russo's Straight Man so please don't be afraid to state the obvious. I think that Lolita is as absolutely gut-busting as it is pitch black.
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Aug 25, 2011 04:08
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Jigsaw posted:Can anyone recommend a Vonnegut book? I've already got Breakfast of Champions, Slaughterhouse 5, and Cat's Cradle. I'm interested 'cause Amazon's running a sale right now. I think that both Deadeye Dick and Hocus Pocus are quite underrated.
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Aug 25, 2011 04:09
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Oh ya! Forgot Knut Hamsun. Also: ignore the Lolita recommendation. It's really not for what you're looking. Like I said, all great canonical works are funny. That doesn't mean they're all 'dark comedies', you know?
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Aug 25, 2011 04:30
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Baldbeard posted:I just finished -powering- through the A Song of Fire and Ice books, and now there is a huge reading void in my life. I want to take a break from fantasy and get into a good Sci-fi series. I'm trying not to be too vague, but I think something action oriented with humans vs aliens or humans vs robots or something would be great. Seriously, I'm so desperate and bad at finding books that I'm looking at a Starcraft novel and Predator novel sitting on my desk right now. These are going to be so bad. Try out Blindsight. It's an awesome hard sci-fi novel about humans having first contact. I loved it. Also, you can get it online for free: http://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm In fact, anyone who likes science fiction should read it.
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Aug 25, 2011 04:56
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Not to get too meta, but can anyone recommend good book blogs or other sites that highlight new and interesting books? Preferably sci-fi/fantasy and nonfiction. I'm tired of Amazon recommending the exact same books and TYPES of books for the past few years and would like to be forced out of a rut.
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Aug 25, 2011 05:04
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Baldbeard posted:I just finished -powering- through the A Song of Fire and Ice books, and now there is a huge reading void in my life. I want to take a break from fantasy and get into a good Sci-fi series. I'm trying not to be too vague, but I think something action oriented with humans vs aliens or humans vs robots or something would be great. Seriously, I'm so desperate and bad at finding books that I'm looking at a Starcraft novel and Predator novel sitting on my desk right now. These are going to be so bad. As far as sci-fi goes I have to recommend Little Lost Robot. Not a novel, but a short story. That said, it's one of the cooler ones I've read and has a pretty mind-bending scope to it. You can read it for free here: http://ttapress.com/557/little-lost-robot-by-paul-mcauley/0/4/ Copernic posted:Not to get too meta, but can anyone recommend good book blogs or other sites that highlight new and interesting books? Preferably sci-fi/fantasy and nonfiction. Don't read blogs much, but the one sci-fi/fantasy blog I check on a daily basis is SF Signal: http://sfsignal.com/
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Aug 25, 2011 05:08
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Bohemienne posted:I would love to read some dark comedy novels--perhaps in the vein of Coen Bros or Guy Ritchie movies--and, if at all possible, told in the third person. I'm usually a fantasy reader and I think the last/only comedy I've read was Richard Russo's Straight Man so please don't be afraid to state the obvious. All of Kurt Vonnegut? delicious beef posted:Borges - where do I start? http://www.amazon.com/Collected-Fictions-Jorge-Luis-Borges/dp/0140286802
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Aug 25, 2011 15:14
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wevs posted:Oh ya! Forgot Knut Hamsun. Also: ignore the Lolita recommendation. It's really not for what you're looking. Like I said, all great canonical works are funny. That doesn't mean they're all 'dark comedies', you know? Thanks so much for all the suggestions. I haven't read Gogol since college, and I think some of the humor was lost in translation (was reading it for Russian class and our professor gutted the experience of all possible joy) so I'll grab that again for sure. In English this time. And yeah, Palahniuk is not really what I'm looking for. Thank you! e: Hieronymous Alloy: Okay, Slaughterhouse V is my all-time favorite book in existence ever amen but I'm terrified of reading any of his other works for fear they won't live up.
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Aug 25, 2011 15:14
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Copernic posted:Not to get too meta, but can anyone recommend good book blogs or other sites that highlight new and interesting books? Preferably sci-fi/fantasy and nonfiction. Google the following blogs: Grasping for the Wind, a Dribble of Ink, SF Signal, Tor.com, Fantasy Cafe. The Book Smugglers are great too, but review a lot of YA/MG in addition to SF/F. Bohemienne fucked around with this message at 15:20 on Aug 25, 2011 |
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Aug 25, 2011 15:18
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Bohemienne posted:Thanks so much for all the suggestions. I haven't read Gogol since college, and I think some of the humor was lost in translation (was reading it for Russian class and our professor gutted the experience of all possible joy) so I'll grab that again for sure. In English this time. Oh! The Pevear and Volokhonsky one was, really, really good. I read some other one.. uh, The Maguire one, which wasn't as funny, or as enjoyable. I don't wanna cheapen Gogol, but I don't know how to put this without doing so: he has a sort of endearing clunkiness to his prose? Pevear and Volokhonsky really 'got' it.
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Aug 25, 2011 15:38
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wevs posted:Oh ya! Forgot Knut Hamsun. Also: ignore the Lolita recommendation. It's really not for what you're looking. Like I said, all great canonical works are funny. That doesn't mean they're all 'dark comedies', you know? "Lolita" is both hilarious and a dark comedy.
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Aug 25, 2011 16:09
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Transistor Rhythm posted:"Lolita" is both hilarious and a dark comedy. Everything from Ulysses to Anna Karenina is as funny and as dark as Lolita. Most great works, are unsurprisingly, about the hilarious futility of life! That doesn't meant I'd categorize them as "dark comedies". Geeze. I mean, even Invitation to a Beheading is more a dark comedy than Lolita, if you were hellbent on recommending a Nabokov.
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Aug 25, 2011 16:34
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Bohemienne posted:
Grow a pair (j/k, I understand your reluctance completely) and read Cat's Cradle at least. You probably won't regret it. Slaughterhouse V is undoubtedly his best work but the ones mentioned right above are all comparably good. If they aren't all Hamlet, they're at least Othello. He did write some relatively bad books, so I wouldn't recommend reading everything he's written, but there's plenty more to work through before you hit the crap (well, relative crap).
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Aug 25, 2011 16:43
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:All of Kurt Vonnegut? Ficciones has better translations. iirc Borges assisted with most of them. The collected works is worth buying eventually, though. The poster was just asking for a "where to start" book, and Ficciones is definitely a better book with which to start.
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Aug 25, 2011 16:57
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Bohemienne posted:e: Hieronymous Alloy: Okay, Slaughterhouse V is my all-time favorite book in existence ever amen but I'm terrified of reading any of his other works for fear they won't live up. While there are plenty of authors who wrote one great book and a bunch of crap, Vonnegut is not one of them.
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Aug 25, 2011 17:43
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Thanks guys, checking out the recommendations now.
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Aug 26, 2011 03:16
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I might have better luck asking in D&D but I need a <500 pages introduction to macroecenomics for the not totally stupid. I did some courses in college on economics and politology so I remember some basics, but I basically want to be able to call bullshit whenever somebody pulls out Laffer of his magician's hat and tells me it's the cureall for all problems in the world. On the other end of the present spectrum (as a European at least) I want to be able to see through the pitfalls of Keynesianism and be able to have a fairly informed opinion on zero-growth 'social' economics. Ideally it would be readable on my 25 minutes train rides twice daily, humorous and deprived of marxist language. e: thanks for the comments guys. Actually I like Harpo better. rasser fucked around with this message at 17:18 on Aug 26, 2011 |
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Aug 26, 2011 10:20
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rasser posted:I might have better luck asking in D&D but I need a <500 pages introduction to macroecenomics for the not totally stupid. I did some courses in college on economics and politology so I remember some basics, but I basically want to be able to call bullshit whenever somebody pulls out Laffer of his magician's hat and tells me it's the cureall for all problems in the world. On the other end of the present spectrum (as a European at least) I want to be able to see through the pitfalls of Keynesianism and be able to have a fairly informed opinion on zero-growth 'social' economics. Derived or deprived?
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Aug 26, 2011 13:46
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Bob Nudd posted:Derived or deprived? Derived- he's a big fan of Groucho.
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Aug 26, 2011 14:33
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I did a quick search, but couldn't find what I'm looking for. I read The Gone-Away World and loved it. Can someone recommend me something that is somewhat like that? I really enjoyed everything about it, the world, the humour, the twists and turns in the story.
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Aug 26, 2011 14:42
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rasser posted:I might have better luck asking in D&D but I need a <500 pages introduction to macroecenomics for the not totally stupid. I did some courses in college on economics and politology so I remember some basics, but I basically want to be able to call bullshit whenever somebody pulls out Laffer of his magician's hat and tells me it's the cureall for all problems in the world. On the other end of the present spectrum (as a European at least) I want to be able to see through the pitfalls of Keynesianism and be able to have a fairly informed opinion on zero-growth 'social' economics. ABC's of Political Economy, which, if you're feeling, heh, criminal, can, or may be able to, be found (trying not to implicate myself here), in pdf form, somewhere, on the web. But, ya: You should really just read Marx at some point. Dave Harvey's lectures are so helpful! wevs fucked around with this message at 17:52 on Aug 26, 2011 |
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Aug 26, 2011 17:49
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wevs posted:ABC's of Political Economy, which, if you're feeling, heh, criminal, can, or may be able to, be found (trying not to implicate myself here), in pdf form, somewhere, on the web. Thanks a lot. It seems you're a libertarian? Took me seconds to find. Will check out Dave Harvey later, I'm so scared from being raised in the European 70's that I'll save it for later.
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Aug 26, 2011 22:37
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