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So I'm looking for recommendations for a partner here. They have particularly enjoyed A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. More specifically, they enjoyed the way both books took very plausible life stories, examined them from multiple angles and produced interesting and gripping (if depressing) stories. Anything in a similar vein I could buy? Disclaimer: Not Christmas shopping on 23rd December
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Dec 23, 2020 00:12
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| # ¿ Apr 16, 2024 14:53 |
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buffalo all day posted:Girl, Woman, Other won the Man Booker prize last year and may fit what you are looking for. The book starts at a play and afterparty in London, but the book is structured as a series of character studies of various people at the play who are interrelated in different ways - sometimes obviously and sometimes not - often examining the same character from different angles. For example, the first three chapters are the playwright, her daughter, and her best friend who moved to America, each of whom has a very different perspective on the other. Another couple of chapters involve a woman who immigrated to England from Africa and her daughter, who is embarassed by her mother - you see why the mother acts the way she does but also understand the daughter's point of view. It builds in a very satisfying way and each of the characters is quite beautifully treated. Thanks for the recommendation, and to others for echoing, and to the other suggestions. Not entirely coincidentally (it came from a thread in TBB) I bought this book for my mother for Christmas, only to find that she recently read it and enjoyed it (she was the only one in her book club to do so). It is now officially a recycled Christmas present to my partner.
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Dec 24, 2020 00:40
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So as part of my personal book challenge for 2021 I'm looking to read some books written by authors indigenous to the Americans. Does anyone have any recommendations, either fiction or non-fiction? I'm thinking of Red Earth, White Lies for one. I've read a number of books written by white historians on the topic and I'm currently reading 1491. I'd be particularly interested in any good SF/F
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Feb 21, 2021 09:45
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Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll pick one nonfiction and one fiction for now. Incidentally, I do recommend Charles C. Mann's 1491. I bought it after a couple of indigenous podcast people I listen to said it was the best book they'd read by a white author on the topic. It's basically a challenge to the ideas that the native populations of the 'Americas' were both few in number and primitive in technology. Mann himself is not an anthropologist or historian, as such, but writes a good survey of some of the debates.
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Feb 22, 2021 09:37
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FPyat posted:What are some good prison books in non-totalitarian societies? I have no idea if this is what you're going for, as they're all non-fiction, but I 'enjoyed' all of the following: - Live from Death Row by Mumia Abu-Jamal (been in prison for 40 years, a good chunk of that on death row, Black Panther activist) - Are prisons obsolete? by Angela Davis (think this speaks for itself?) - Bang up and Smash by Anonymous (sort of a survival guide for women's prisons in the UK, but worth reading even if you're not a) a woman b) in the UK or c) likely to go to prison) On a different note, I'm looking for some of those fun, reference-style hardback books about unexplained mysteries (UFOs, Mary Celeste, crytpids etc.) for children-ish. For my son, who loves books like this: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59709608-monsters?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_34 because they are engaging and informative and about folklore and weirdness. The kind that might talk about the same stuff as an episode of Lore but a bit more accessible for children without being too dumbed down. Any suggestions?
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Jan 8, 2023 20:20
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| # ¿ Apr 16, 2024 14:53 |
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yaffle posted:"After Man" by Dougal Dixon, of course. My son was utterly obsessed with it for a number of years, I had to read the whole thing aloud at least three times. This looks great! Thank you. I've seen an early 2000s National Geographic (I think?) mini-series on this, but hadn't heard of this book. It's on the list, cheers.
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Jan 9, 2023 20:12
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