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anybody got any recommendations for non fiction about Mexican drug cartels? Investigative journalism, memoir, anything really. I'm curious both as a voyeur interested in the grizzlier aspects of the business and as an amateur anthropologist/student of culture. I guess I want something that'll either scratch my itch for the grim or give me insights into the cartel's effects on Mexican government/military/police. But really, almost anything will do.
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May 26, 2013 02:42
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Thanks for this. Bought it and am reading it. It looks great!
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May 26, 2013 04:06
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So all this talk of westerns dovetails with something I've been looking for. I just finished up Shadow by K. J. Parker and while I'm planning on finishing up the Scavenger trilogy, I want to step away from the detached tone of Parker's work. But there are some particular elements that I'm looking for in a recommendation. Shadow has an amnesiac protagonist who, in order to discover his sorted past, starts a kind of nomadic and aimless journey. Along the way he picks up details about his history, and while that mystery in and of itself interests me, it's not what I'm looking for. What I'm after is a sort of episodic series of incidents. Think wanderer, series of vignettes, that sort of thing. Bonus points if the places the protagonist visits are given particular focus and character... I want to get a strong sense of the qualities that sum up each stop on the protagonist's journey. So what we've got is like a wandering Samurai thing, or a western, or whatever. I'm not even picky about genre. I just love the aesthetic of a wandering individual impacting the places he/she visits with focus given to the character and uniqueness of those places. I don't care about the tone of the work so much as the structure, if that makes sense. Red Country by Abercrombie and Bridge of Birds by Hughart have a little of this baked in, and I know Bridge is a favorite around here, but I've read both of those already.
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Mar 27, 2015 09:19
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Hedrigall posted:Hey guys I really want to read exciting books about spies in Nazi-occupied territory during WW2! I love tense and exciting stuff like that scene in the bar during Inglourious Basterds. Actually, all of that movie. Declare by Tim Powers has some of what you're looking for, but it's got major fantasy overtones too, so as long as you're okay with that I would highly recommend it. Powers' shtick is that he takes unanswered questions in history and gives them fantastical answers via the supernatural. This particular book takes place over a few decades, but the first couple segments are based in and around WWII. The very first is a prolonged cat-and-mouse game in Nazi occupied France, and the fantasy elements are seriously downplayed for that segment. It gets crazier later on, but it's great. I can't speak to other espionage fiction. Not really in my wheelhouse. Hopefully that helps though.
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Mar 30, 2015 13:16
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Hey goons. I'm looking for educational works on the fundamentals of journalism. I'm specifically after anything focusing on interview technique and research methodologies. I think I'm a pretty good researcher already, but a buddy and I are working on a podcast that will require a lot of people finding and interviewing, so any foundational texts that might help me self teach would be real helpful. Bonus points for both educational and entertaining, but I'm not real picky. Thanks.
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Feb 23, 2018 00:49
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Something along a similar line might be American Rust by Philipp Meyer. I am not from the rust belt but I am reading it. It's mostly accessible and begs to be discussed. Though I don't know if it's too politically loaded. Never done botm here so I am not sure if that's not encouraged. It's fiction, but the subject matter could generate that sort of talk.
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Aug 28, 2018 17:45
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:I've been making a conscious effort to pick more upbeat titles recently Ah yes then may I recommend my other current read? Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty? In all seriousness that's commendable. We definitely need more of that.
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Aug 28, 2018 18:58
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Mel Mudkiper posted:Art is truth Warranted or not, you are my favorite person right now, fellow bleak literature buddy.
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Aug 28, 2018 19:24
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I'll second Shogun and The Magus for sure. Actually found out about Magus through this very thread several years ago,.
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Aug 30, 2018 04:39
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Mel Mudkiper posted:hold the presses Well two people think it's good. They are the bravest two among us.
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Aug 31, 2018 18:21
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I just finished reading Warlock and Butcher's Crossing in quick succession. Any other cynical Western novels y'all can recommend? I'll get around to Blood Meridian eventually, but not just now, FYI.
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Oct 13, 2019 21:46
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AARP LARPer posted:Those are both great novels -- I loved them both. Thought that Butcher's Crossing was the "Walden" take on the western and I found Blood Meridian to be the "Apocalypse Now" of westerns, when you get around to that one. Ox Bow Incident looks like exactly what I'm after. I was recommended In The Rogue Blood and Angle of Repose as well. Anyone have thoughts on these?
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Oct 14, 2019 22:49
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Just got laid off. I’m wondering if there are any actually good books about determining a career path besides What Color Is Your Parachute. I’d really like to avoid corny self-helpy bullshit, and an author that can clearly explain how to figure out a way to find a job that doesn’t make you want to play in traffic. I find myself at a career crossroads and am fortunate enough to have a little less pressure in determining my next move, so anything that could help me organize my thoughts to that end would be really helpful.
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Jun 22, 2020 23:22
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I just finished Day of The Jackal and loved it. Anything in a similar vein? To be more specific, I really loved how meticulous the basics of procedure were described. Everything from rifle construction to getting a fake passport to choosing a sniper’s nest were detailed so exquisitely that you had no choice to believe it. It grounded the fiction in a way less plausible thrillers just can’t manage. Assassin stuff would be ideal, but any kind of intricate planning with excruciating detail given to the smallest elements would probably do the trick. I didn’t like The Martian, but that kind of high degree of competency is what Day of The Jackal did, and so much better. To draw another comparison if it helps... anyone who ever watched Mike do any ordinary thing in Better Call Saul knows exactly what I’m looking for.
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Aug 26, 2020 07:11
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Cool. Thanks. I had a feeling. How’s Dogs of War? I’m far less interested in his modern output because it seems maybe he went all brexit lunatic in his later years? Nervous about weird paranoid political poo poo sneaking its way into my books. If that’s not an issue, then so be it and I’ll check them out. But Dogs seems interested in weird colonial exploitation poo poo, which is super my jam because it intersects with a writing project I’m workin on thematically.
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Aug 26, 2020 17:58
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Oh yeah I read a bunch of Stark/Westlake poo poo some years back, but the formula wore itself out pretty quick. I tried some of le Carre’s work, but found it painfully drab. Though, I’m thinking fresh off of Jackal and in a totally different headspace I’d probably have a different experience. Thanks for the suggestions guys. I’ll do Dogs and give le Carre another shot. Where to start with le Carre always seems to be a point of contention though. What do the different entry points have to recommend them?
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Aug 26, 2020 21:52
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Read The Passage and did not enjoy it. I can't remember why i dropped it because it's been like eight years. Thanks for the additional recommendations though.
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Aug 28, 2020 00:13
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Where would one go next with Ishiguro after Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day?
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Feb 28, 2021 20:00
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Nonfiction: Will second this. It’ll also teach you a thing or two in the process. Great book.
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Jul 1, 2021 19:23
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