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AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 01:18 on Jan 22, 2016 |
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Nov 11, 2012 17:24
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wheatpuppy posted:If you liked Tinker, Tailor the obvious suggestion would be more John le Carre. Frederick Forsyth might be up your alley too. I would second Le Carre, and also recommend Eric Ambler.
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Nov 12, 2012 00:16
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Nick Cage posted:Thanks to you guys as well! So much stuff and it all looks good I'm def glad I asked in here. I'd like to add Paul H. Fry's Yale course to the pile. You can listen to them for free on iTunes you and he explains literary theory and the movements within in a very comprehensible manner. They're perfect for the daily commute. https://itunes.apple.com/itunes-u/literary-theory-video/id341652697?mt=10
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Nov 12, 2012 19:15
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I'm getting back into fiction after many years of being "too busy" to read. I am almost finished with Michael Crichton's Pirate Latitudes, which I am enjoying for it's quick drama and interesting historical footnotes. Can anyone recommend some similar period action / adventure books? They don't need to be nautical/colonial in theme (though I wouldn't rule that out), anything historical and fun would suit me.
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Nov 13, 2012 03:51
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Lockback posted:Anyone have any good suggestions on post-war spy stories? Like early 50s-70s stuff, not as interested in the Clancy Reagan-era fantasy. Just watched Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and thought I could use more in the genre, so I guess British spy stuff would be a preference. Similar question. Just watched SKYFALL, and while I've got the 007 novels to satisfy my fantasy yearnings, I really want to know the real stories of the Cold War. Any recommendations for Cold War espionage non-fiction? Not really looking for dry academic tomes, something a bit more fun.
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Nov 13, 2012 07:57
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wheatpuppy posted:If you liked Tinker, Tailor the obvious suggestion would be more John le Carre. Frederick Forsyth might be up your alley too. For more le Carre, start with his masterpiece, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Another recommendation would be Alistair Maclean. Some of his best works (Where Eagles Dare, The Guns of Navarone, HMS Ulysses) are set during the war, but the post-war Ice Station Zebra is also very good.
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Nov 14, 2012 00:28
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I've been reading Neal Stephenson's Reamde and it has piqued my interest in the Russian Mafia. Can anyone recommend some good books on the Russian Mafia - history of, current operations in Europe or America, stuff like that?
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Nov 14, 2012 20:10
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Hatter106 posted:Similar question. Just watched SKYFALL, and while I've got the 007 novels to satisfy my fantasy yearnings, I really want to know the real stories of the Cold War. Any recommendations for Cold War espionage non-fiction? Not really looking for dry academic tomes, something a bit more fun. Richelson's A Century Of Spies is written for Academics but it basically covers almost everything that happened in the espionage world after 1900 in the USA, Europe, Russia, Isreal, Japan and occasionally in other parts. It has (in my opinion) enough anecdotes to keep it fun. Certainly not light stuff though. Could anyone recommend me any historical books in the vein of Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty by Bradley Martin about some of the other dictators in the world? Of particular interest to me is Josip Broz Tito or Fidel Castro. Dictators who aren't completely generically evil but went wrong somewhere. Ideally it includes some of the stuff Martin's book did like a short history of the country, oral witnesses and such. Davincie fucked around with this message at 00:08 on Nov 15, 2012 |
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Nov 15, 2012 00:05
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Davincie posted:Could anyone recommend me any historical books in the vein of Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty by Bradley Martin about some of the other dictators in the world? Of particular interest to me is Josip Broz Tito or Fidel Castro. Dictators who aren't completely generically evil but went wrong somewhere. Ideally it includes some of the stuff Martin's book did like a short history of the country, oral witnesses and such. I read Shah of Shahs a little while ago and really enjoyed it. It's more about the Iranian Revolution than a biography, but there's a lot about the rise of the Shah and how he increasingly used SAVAK to stay in power.
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Nov 15, 2012 02:31
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marshmonkey posted:I'm getting back into fiction after many years of being "too busy" to read. I'm assuming you've read the obligatory Flashman, Hornblower, Sharpe, Master and Commander books. If you haven't, go read them. Not as good as those, but Wilbur Smith has written a lot of historical adventure stories. There is a pirate one Birds of Prey, and some of his Courtney and Ballantyne books about colonial Africa, like The Triumph of the Sun (about the siege of Khartoum) are good for a long afternoon. For some really good short stories read Arthur Conan Doyle's non-Sherlock stuff.
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Nov 15, 2012 02:42
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V for Vegas posted:I'm assuming you've read the obligatory Flashman, Hornblower, Sharpe, Master and Commander books. If you haven't, go read them. Haven't read any of those (though I have watched the Hornblower miniseries which was excellent) Time to load up on some books! Thanks!
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Nov 15, 2012 18:55
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Does anyone know any good books (non-fiction) about the history of West Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries? Preferably focusing on both British and French territories, the interplay between the two empires, but without ignoring the indiginous cultures and power structures that laid behind the colonial layer. Also: not multi-volume thousands of pages works, it at all possible.
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Nov 15, 2012 22:50
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EricBauman posted:Does anyone know any good books (non-fiction) about the history of West Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries? Preferably focusing on both British and French territories, the interplay between the two empires, but without ignoring the indiginous cultures and power structures that laid behind the colonial layer. Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World has a decent section on Africa and India both. Not terribly dense text and a pretty slim volume overall, but quite interesting.
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Nov 15, 2012 23:24
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For once, I'm actually looking for some literature that gives good insight into the human condition. Can anyone recommend novels that examine extraordinarily selfish characters?
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Nov 16, 2012 02:17
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EricBauman posted:Does anyone know any good books (non-fiction) about the history of West Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries? Preferably focusing on both British and French territories, the interplay between the two empires, but without ignoring the indiginous cultures and power structures that laid behind the colonial layer. Very good book on this topic is 'The Race To Fashoda' which details the trek of the French Captain Marchand from the Congo coast to a small outpost on the Nile River upstream from Khartoum. It discusses the political and historical context of why this extraordinary trek (it took over 18 months, hauling a steamboat that was dismantled and put back together again) took place. It is very alive to the effect all this had on Africans, and their role in rebelling against colonialism.
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Nov 16, 2012 07:08
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EricBauman posted:Does anyone know any good books (non-fiction) about the history of West Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries? Red Crown posted:For once, I'm actually looking for some literature that gives good insight into the human condition. Can anyone recommend novels that examine extraordinarily selfish characters? Edit: Amazon link
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Nov 16, 2012 10:21
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Hatter106 posted:Similar question. Just watched SKYFALL, and while I've got the 007 novels to satisfy my fantasy yearnings, I really want to know the real stories of the Cold War. Any recommendations for Cold War espionage non-fiction? Not really looking for dry academic tomes, something a bit more fun.
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Nov 16, 2012 11:26
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Valkyn posted:Anyone recommend some gritty, dark fantasy/fiction? Something along the lines of GRRM and the better hosed up stuff by Stephen King. Late to this, but The Steel Remains and The Cold Commands by Richard Morgan fit the bill.
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Nov 16, 2012 11:28
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Red Crown posted:For once, I'm actually looking for some literature that gives good insight into the human condition. Can anyone recommend novels that examine extraordinarily selfish characters? Not a novel, but you might try David Foster Wallace's story collection Brief Interviews with Hideous Men.
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Nov 16, 2012 15:12
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Red Crown posted:For once, I'm actually looking for some literature that gives good insight into the human condition. Can anyone recommend novels that examine extraordinarily selfish characters? Can I suggest Iris Murdoch's Under the Net? I remember the protagonist being an utterly selfish bastard.
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Nov 16, 2012 20:09
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Soulcleaver posted:One answer to both of these questions could be "King Leopold's Ghost", possibly the most harrowing look at some of the most repugnant, greedy bastards in human history. I felt ill reading that book, but it's a pretty accurate summary of the cruelty we can inflict on our fellow man. I wonder what 21st century Africa would be like had Leopold and others not been such horrible assholes to the whole continent. No poo poo, I finished that last week. Great read, highly recommend it. I'm thinking more along the lines of fiction novels, or at least books that focus on more "average" people.
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Nov 17, 2012 02:58
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Red Crown posted:No poo poo, I finished that last week. Great read, highly recommend it. I'm thinking more along the lines of fiction novels, or at least books that focus on more "average" people. Have you read Lolita? I mean Humbert's not just selfish, but that's certainly part of it. Oh! The Talented Mr. Ripley! I don't know, most people are really selfish, so any good book would probably meet your request. Hemingway; really pretty selfish dude, but most of his books (OK, the first couple) are really good.
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Nov 17, 2012 06:02
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Does anyone have recommendations along the lines of Sphere? It's hard to put into words of specifically what I am looking for when I say Sphere; I think what I'm looking for is for a story that plays upon the introduction of a unknown macguffin and how people deal with it.
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Nov 17, 2012 07:35
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BetterToRuleInHell posted:Does anyone have recommendations along the lines of Sphere? Rendezvous With Rama is Sphere-ish, I'd say, though I read it in high school so who knows if it's actually something I'd still recommend. Broken Angels is a sequel (to Altered Carbon), but I think it could stand on its own. It's more alien-archaeology stuff with sci-noir military/mercenary backdrop. Altered Carbon is one of my favorite sci-fi books, so if you haven't read it yet you should probably do that anyway.
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Nov 17, 2012 08:24
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Soulcleaver posted:One answer to both of these questions could be "King Leopold's Ghost", possibly the most harrowing look at some of the most repugnant, greedy bastards in human history. I felt ill reading that book, but it's a pretty accurate summary of the cruelty we can inflict on our fellow man. I wonder what 21st century Africa would be like had Leopold and others not been such horrible assholes to the whole continent. I actually finished this last week too. It was a good book, but very focused on the Congo. Because I'm going to be working with some West-African governments in the near future, I was looking for something specifically about these countries. mirthdefect posted:Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World has a decent section on Africa and India both. Not terribly dense text and a pretty slim volume overall, but quite interesting. Do Ferguson's right wing views shine through a lot in this book? Judging from the title I'm going to guess that they do. I'm not a big fan of his. V for Vegas posted:Very good book on this topic is 'The Race To Fashoda' which details the trek of the French Captain Marchand from the Congo coast to a small outpost on the Nile River upstream from Khartoum. It discusses the political and historical context of why this extraordinary trek (it took over 18 months, hauling a steamboat that was dismantled and put back together again) took place. It is very alive to the effect all this had on Africans, and their role in rebelling against colonialism. This seems interesting, I'm going to take a look at this, because I've read enough about British expeditions (whether in the service of Leopold or not) that I think it's time to read about a French equivalent. I'm reading Barr's A Line in the Sand now, about the split up of the Middle East between the two powers, and the ghost of Fashoda still haunts the pages even in the sections about the post-WWII wrap up.
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Nov 17, 2012 11:29
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BetterToRuleInHell posted:Does anyone have recommendations along the lines of Sphere? Have you read The Andromeda Strain? Solaris, 2001, and goon-favorite Blindsight sound like they might work, too.
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Nov 17, 2012 12:19
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Red Crown posted:No poo poo, I finished that last week. Great read, highly recommend it. I'm thinking more along the lines of fiction novels, or at least books that focus on more "average" people. I'm not even making GBS threads you but J.K. Rowling's new book is exactly what you're looking for -- her narrator gets into the heads of all sorts of selfish, petty, squabbling people. Only, she has sympathy for these (often despicable) characters despite all that, which allows her to actually understand them. Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray might also be up your alley. Julian Barnes' Love, etc. might work, or some of Martin Amis' stuff. Well, this turned out the most British post ever.
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Nov 17, 2012 17:36
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EricBauman posted:
I can't really comment, I'm sorry. It seems relatively balanced to me, but I know nothing else about the material he covers. The tone seems to be "the world would be a worse place than it is, but they did some really lovely things to get here". I read it in sections over a long time period, and just as a gap filler rather than with any kind of analysis.
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Nov 17, 2012 19:56
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Red Crown posted:No poo poo, I finished that last week. Great read, highly recommend it. I'm thinking more along the lines of fiction novels, or at least books that focus on more "average" people.
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Nov 17, 2012 21:11
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How many books out there deal with the concept of transhumanism that arent by Ray Kurzweil? I think the subject is interesting to read about. Can be fiction or non-fiction.
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Nov 17, 2012 23:48
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Chiba City Blues posted:How many books out there deal with the concept of transhumanism that arent by Ray Kurzweil? I think the subject is interesting to read about. Can be fiction or non-fiction. The Revelation Space series by Alistair Reynolds has a bunch of cool trans-human concepts.
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Nov 18, 2012 05:18
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Chiba City Blues posted:How many books out there deal with the concept of transhumanism that arent by Ray Kurzweil? I think the subject is interesting to read about. Can be fiction or non-fiction.
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Nov 18, 2012 07:31
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I am re-reading 'The Great Train Robbery' and I was wondering if you gewns could recommend any heist books. I've heard that Mistborn is a take on the genre, but Goodreads has been useless in this search.
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Nov 18, 2012 18:10
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Chiba City Blues posted:How many books out there deal with the concept of transhumanism that arent by Ray Kurzweil? I think the subject is interesting to read about. Can be fiction or non-fiction. A lot of Vernor Vinge's novels that are set in the near future do this. They're fiction, but fun.
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Nov 18, 2012 18:19
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Hi there, im looking for a instructional book on massages can anyone reccomend one? Thanks!
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Nov 18, 2012 18:57
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Thanks guys! The Revelation Space series and Diaspora were already on my "to-read" list, conveniently enough. I'll check out Vernor Vinge.
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Nov 18, 2012 19:26
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bollig posted:I am re-reading 'The Great Train Robbery' and I was wondering if you gewns could recommend any heist books. I've heard that Mistborn is a take on the genre, but Goodreads has been useless in this search.
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Nov 18, 2012 22:44
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bollig posted:I am re-reading 'The Great Train Robbery' and I was wondering if you gewns could recommend any heist books. Nonfiction: Gentleman Train Robber: The Daring Escapades Of Bill Miner by Stan Sauerwein Heist: The True Story of the World's Biggest Cash Robbery by Howard Sounes Flawless_ Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History by Scott Andrew Selby & Greg Campbell Superthief: A Master Burglar, the Mafia And the Biggest Bank Heist in U.S. History by Rick Porrello Fiction: Donald Westlake had two classic crime fiction series featuring heisters: the Dortmunder series, starting with The Hot Rock; and his Parker books (written as Richard Stark). The Dortmunder books are comic in tone while the Parker books are as hardboiled as it gets.
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Nov 18, 2012 23:11
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man
I want a book about a post alien invasion earth, with a little post apocalyptic vibe. Like Half Life 2 or something in similar in book form. Anything good like that goons?Chiba City Blues posted:How many books out there deal with the concept of transhumanism that arent by Ray Kurzweil? I think the subject is interesting to read about. Can be fiction or non-fiction. Check out 2312 (and to a lesser extent the Mars books, which 2312 is not exactly a sequel to) by Kim Stanley Robinson. Not the only thing the book is about, there is also a lot about AI and terraforming, but it's in there.
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Nov 19, 2012 04:58
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A couple of months ago I read Patrick DeWitt's The Sisters Brothers which I really enjoyed. Can anyone recommend something similar in setting? It doesn't have to be set during the gold rush specifically, I'd even love to read something set in a place like Fallout New Vegas. I guess I'm looking for a good western, but I don't know where to begin looking. I tried Goodreads but its recommendation system makes no sense.
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Nov 19, 2012 05:10
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