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Quandary posted:I'm looking for a good book on the history of the California bay area, or maybe of California more broadly if that's too specific. Any good recommendations? My rec is Los Angeles specific but if you're interested in the history of lefty political and social movements, then Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties by Mike Davis and Jon Weiner is excellent. Just a warning, though, that it's a hard read because this covers the period of the LAPD's golden age of being an openly racist paramilitary force.
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May 29, 2021 20:05
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Thanks for the post-apocalyptic fiction recs everyone, tons of recs that look like exactly what I was looking for!
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May 30, 2021 00:14
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Leibowitz also comes to mind here
Bilirubin fucked around with this message at 06:37 on May 30, 2021 |
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May 30, 2021 06:35
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Kvlt! posted:Looking for a good book or book series in some post-apocalyptic fiction/wasteland fiction. Ideally more of a pulpy, Mad Max/Fallout style stuff, but I'm open to anything that people enjoyed! i really liked The Stand, even read it twice. it's been a while since i read it, but i remember it being really good.
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May 30, 2021 06:37
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More of a yes or no question but if I like a lot of Salinger’s shorter works should I go ahead and read Catcher in the Rye? Never had it assigned in school but I already have a copy someone gave me.
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May 30, 2021 20:36
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It depends on 1) how old you are / your maturity level (the closer to 15 years old either of these are, the more you'll like it on its own merits) or 2) if you're able to approach it on its own terms -- namely, viewing it as the narrative of an angsty teen. If you're 40 years old and looking for something that will speak to you, you'll hate it. If you're older and more mature than its target audience but can go into it expecting a narrative of "the smart but underachieving teenager trope in a setting from 80 years ago" then you'll probably be able to appreciate it on that level, even if it doesn't speak to you on a deep, relatable level.
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May 30, 2021 23:17
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I’m 34, don’t really have much teenage angst but I’m trying to finish the classics I missed. If I have but haven’t read Catch 22 should I just do that instead for now?
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May 31, 2021 05:36
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you should read catch 22, yes
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May 31, 2021 05:48
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There it is then. I’ll be back after I read 22.
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May 31, 2021 06:12
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I am frustrated by the fact that what seems to be the most technical book on the Apollo program is written by Charles loving Murray. Is there any alternative if I'm curious about the rocketry and computing and engineering?
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May 31, 2021 13:08
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It's not about the Apollo program, but Truth, Lies and O-Rings is a pretty good and technical book about the Challenger disaster written by an engineer.
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May 31, 2021 18:27
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FPyat posted:I am frustrated by the fact that what seems to be the most technical book on the Apollo program is written by Charles loving Murray. Is there any alternative if I'm curious about the rocketry and computing and engineering? There's tons of fairly-to-very technical stuff on Apollo and the early space program. Chariots for Apollo is the official NASA history of Apollo. Narrative and not fully technical, but gets into some interesting details of testing and organization, and has a super extensive bibliography. How Apollo flew to the moon by Woods is another narrative that goes into a fair bit of detail on the systems engineering of testing. The Apollo guidance computer: Architecture and operation by O'Brien is super technical -- basically a "fan"-made operating manual and system architecture guide for the on-board Apollo guidance computer. Cool both for Apollo geeks and for old computing geeks. Gateway to the moon and Moon launch! is a two part official history of the Cape Canaveral/Kennedy launch site construction and operation by Benson and Faherty. Gets into the engineering and system design challenges of the support infrastructure for the launches, and also touches on the national and local politics behind building a big-rear end launch center in the middle of a swamp. There's probably more on the actual rocket engineering side of things, but those are the parts I know less about.
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May 31, 2021 20:44
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There's got to be a lot of money in writing a book about the Apollo program aimed directly at fans of Kerbal Space Program.
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May 31, 2021 20:51
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Can someone recommend be a book about a person coming back in to society after a long time away? Something like Count of Monte Cristo, or Cast Away? It doesn't have to be about revenge but I like the theme of a person being thought dead / in prison / forever gone but they somehow make it back.
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Jun 1, 2021 03:52
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Hughmoris posted:Can someone recommend be a book about a person coming back in to society after a long time away? The Return of Martin Guerre.
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Jun 1, 2021 20:06
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The second Tarzan book is kind of like that
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Jun 1, 2021 20:59
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There are an absolute fuckload of books about J. Edgar Hoover. I am kind of embarrassed by how little I know about this part of U.S. history and want to get into the red meat of it. Maybe not a straight biography per se, more about his time at the FBI? Thanks!!
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Jun 7, 2021 04:10
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KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD posted:There are an absolute fuckload of books about J. Edgar Hoover. I am kind of embarrassed by how little I know about this part of U.S. history and want to get into the red meat of it. Maybe not a straight biography per se, more about his time at the FBI? Thanks!! The classic is The FBI Nobody Knows as referenced in the Nero Wolfe book we read as botm a year or two back. I recommend The Burglary about the robbery of the cointelpro files.
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Jun 7, 2021 15:02
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Hughmoris posted:Can someone recommend be a book about a person coming back in to society after a long time away? Have you heard about a little book called the Odyssey?
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Jun 8, 2021 03:29
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Or the BIBLE?
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Jun 8, 2021 03:32
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Looking for a good overview of Ancient Greek philosophy. Been reading Bertrand Russell’s big ol history of philosophy book and would like another viewpoint. Ideally one that looks at how every idea and philosopher built upon one another and the links and contradictions between them. Thanks x
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Jun 10, 2021 17:41
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Idaholy Roller posted:Looking for a good overview of Ancient Greek philosophy. Been reading Bertrand Russell’s big ol history of philosophy book and would like another viewpoint. Ideally one that looks at how every idea and philosopher built upon one another and the links and contradictions between them. Thanks x Not a book, but the podcast "History of philosophy without any gaps" is very good precisely for filling in gaps (and ancient greece is all done since a number of years), and there very much works through things by the influence philosophers had on each other. Cybernetic Vermin fucked around with this message at 18:53 on Jun 10, 2021 |
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Jun 10, 2021 18:48
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I finally want to start getting good at reading Italian. My comprehension is, at this point, elementary at best. What are some good Italian books for kids/dullards?
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Jun 12, 2021 17:12
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Carly Gay Dead Son posted:I finally want to start getting good at reading Italian. My comprehension is, at this point, elementary at best. What are some good Italian books for kids/dullards? I don't know about kids and dullards but I'd love to be able to read Giovanni Guareschi's Don Camilo books in the original.
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Jun 13, 2021 04:31
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Carly Gay Dead Son posted:I finally want to start getting good at reading Italian. My comprehension is, at this point, elementary at best. What are some good Italian books for kids/dullards? Calvino's Marcovaldo?
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Jun 13, 2021 23:20
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I'd appreciate recommendations for gripping fantasy or the like books I can listen to while running. I generally am more motivated when I have a book and narrator that can draw me in. G I generally like Sanderson and my most recent listen, which wasn't bad, was Harrow the Ninth.
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Jun 15, 2021 03:13
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Time Trial posted:I'd appreciate recommendations for gripping fantasy or the like books I can listen to while running. I generally am more motivated when I have a book and narrator that can draw me in. G The First Law audio books are quite good and would probably be a good match for running since there's a lot of running.
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Jun 15, 2021 03:25
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Stringent posted:The First Law audio books are quite good and would probably be a good match for running since there's a lot of running. Agreed. I actually listened to them all... while running.
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Jun 15, 2021 03:33
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I read them long enough ago that I don't remember much, so sure!
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Jun 16, 2021 01:08
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Looking for more recommendations of books/series with extremely competent, everything-goes-right protagonists. Ideally well written. Use the list below to judge what I mean when I say that. Books I've tried and liked Jack Reacher Andy Weir's Hail Mary and The Martian Sherlock Holmes John Rain Jack Vance's Demon Princes Miles Vorkosigan Richard Stark's Parker The Name of the Wind John D. Macdonald's Travis McGee Frederick Forsythe Gentleman Bastard Books I've yet to try Spenser Books I've tried that didn't grab me Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser Stainless Steel Rat Greg Rucka's Atticus Kodiak ahobday fucked around with this message at 10:54 on Jun 19, 2021 |
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Jun 18, 2021 20:18
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ahobday posted:Looking for more recommendations of books/series with extremely competent, everything-goes-right protagonists. Ideally well written. Use the list below to judge what I mean when I say that. Tom Clancy wrote competence porn and I'd put it on par with Jack Reacher. I'd also follow Dune rules and stop once you start to get bored since the writing quality after a certain point decreases over time. That recommendation also depends on your alignment with/tolerance for his politics which got incoherent after the Cold War ended and bugfuck after 9/11.
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Jun 18, 2021 20:51
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I usually recommend Greg Rucka's Atticus Kodiak books to folks who like Reacher, so consider that yet another recommendation. You'd probably also enjoy Peter O'Donnell's Modesty Blaise.
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Jun 18, 2021 22:12
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Forsythe's "Day of the Jackal" fits the bill. Cat and mouse with both sides generally being very competent at what they do. It's a bit dated but I found it to be very readable.
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Jun 18, 2021 23:37
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The Gentleman Bastard series starting with the Lies of Locke Lamora. I enjoyed the early Dirk Pitt novels but Cussler's series definitely fall into the "get shittier as time goes on" category Any of Bernard Cornwell's stuff, especially the Sharpe and Lost Kingdom series. e: Comedy option, the Destroyer series by Warren Murphy. There's 153 of them. Azhais fucked around with this message at 00:44 on Jun 19, 2021 |
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Jun 19, 2021 00:40
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It doesn't always go completely smoothly but if you like "Cool and clever detective just rolls a bunch of people dumber than him" then I'd recommend Red Harvest by Dashiel Hammet. Watch an investigator get to the bottom of a mystery by playing every side against each other.
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Jun 19, 2021 06:27
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Thanks all. It turns out I've read some of these and forgot so I'll add them to my original post.
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Jun 19, 2021 10:53
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Carly Gay Dead Son posted:I finally want to start getting good at reading Italian. My comprehension is, at this point, elementary at best. What are some good Italian books for kids/dullards? There is a series of books by Olly Richards called “Short Stories in…” that offer short stories in various languages aimed at beginner language learners. Haven’t read one myself but grabbing the Italian book might be a good start for you.
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Jun 19, 2021 12:48
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tuyop posted:The clearest quality recs I can think of in that vein are Octavia E. Butler’s Sower’s Trilogy and Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake Trilogy. I picked up A Boy and His Dog At The End Of The World. Let's give that a spin. I really haven't dipped my toes in the book barn, might be high time I read more.
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Jun 19, 2021 18:09
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Good point keep talkin posted:It doesn't always go completely smoothly but if you like "Cool and clever detective just rolls a bunch of people dumber than him" then I'd recommend Red Harvest by Dashiel Hammet. Watch an investigator get to the bottom of a mystery by playing every side against each other. This one is (a) a classic and (b) similar to Yojimbo and Fistful of Dollars.
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Jun 20, 2021 00:10
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ahobday posted:Looking for more recommendations of books/series with extremely competent, everything-goes-right protagonists. Ideally well written. Use the list below to judge what I mean when I say that. Did someone recommend Erle Stanley Gardner yet? Maybe not "everything" goes right but the stories are basically about running circles around the opposition, and if it fails, running with it failing and still winning. (Not the ones originally published under the name A.A. Fair; Donald Lam gets slapped around a lot before setting things right.) e: Also it's been a decade since I last read them so I might be very wrong on this but possibly Joe Lansdale's Hap & Leonard books? I remember them being pretty invincible. Maybe someone else can comment on whether or not I remember right at all. 3D Megadoodoo fucked around with this message at 01:16 on Jun 20, 2021 |
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Jun 20, 2021 01:13
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