TBB Book Recommendation Superstation !!

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Kerro: Nov 3, 2002; Did you marry a man who married the sea? He looks right through you to the distant grey - calling, calling..

This might be a somewhat vague request, but I've realised that some of my favourite books are centred around characters learning how to adapt and relate to each other and their environment within an unusual (or at least unfamiliar to the characters) and constrained setting. Stuff like Faces in the Water (set in NZ residential psychiatric institutions), The Secret History (set at an elite college), The Poisonwood Bible (a white missionary family in a tiny Congolese village), anything set within a cult/sect/etc. I don't think the specific setting is too important as what I think I enjoy in these stories is the focus on the relationships between characters and their attempts to make sense of and find a way to live within a context that creates strange challenges or limitations. As I said, kinda vague, but does it bring anything to mind? Preferably not too bleak (as Lord of the Flies also came to mind when writing this, but I'm not in the mood to want to read things like that at the moment!) and prefer not sci-fi/fantasy etc.

# ¿ Feb 19, 2021 00:50

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 19:31

Kerro: Nov 3, 2002; Did you marry a man who married the sea? He looks right through you to the distant grey - calling, calling..

Lockback posted:

Don't Sleep, There are Snakes
https://smile.amazon.com/Dont-Sleep-There-Are-Snakes/dp/0307386120?sa-no-redirect=1

Fits the bill. It's a linquist/missionary type guy who went to live with a Piraha, a Brazil tribe with a completely unique language. He went with the idea of converting them to Christianity, but in the process became an atheist due to the tribes influence on him. The religious part is not really a big part of the book (though it's known more for that). It might be a good library get because the 2nd part of the book mostly dives into the technical aspects of the language and isn't really a narrative, so it's forgivable to put it down if that isn't your bag.

Sounds fasincating, I'll definitely check that out.

tuyop posted:

Maybe check out Semiosis or Dragon�s Egg for sci fi that sounds like this.

Thanks - I'm definitely looking for more stuff that's not sci-fi or fantasy, but Dragon's Egg particularly does sound interesting so I might give it a try.

# ¿ Feb 22, 2021 19:13

Kerro: Nov 3, 2002; Did you marry a man who married the sea? He looks right through you to the distant grey - calling, calling..

yaffle posted:

They are non-fiction but Redmond O'Hanlon wrote three books that might appeal, "Into the Heart of Borneo" "In Trouble again" and "No Mercy: A Journey into the heart of the Congo" (this one is a little lord of the flies-y, or Heart of Darkness-y if it come to that...)
The first two are lighter and funnier, he's a somewhat eccentric English professor who occasionally sets himself a mad task (find the bornean rhino, find the confluence of the Amazon and Orinoco etc.) and sets about it with an equally unqualified partner. They always have a terrible time and I enjoy reading about other people having a terrible time.

This sounds amazing and I too greatly enjoy reading about other people having a terrible time (as long as it's not an outright traumatising time)

# ¿ Feb 25, 2021 06:51

Kerro: Nov 3, 2002; Did you marry a man who married the sea? He looks right through you to the distant grey - calling, calling..

kaesarsosei posted:

I have a few requests which might seem all over the place.

As I get older I feel like I enjoy fantasy less and less. The last fantasy series I enjoyed was the First Law trilogy by Joe Abercombie and before/during/after that (lol), A Song of Ice and Fire. I just decided to try Wheel of Time and literally put it down after the prologue in the first book - I just don't know if I can get into it. So, a) is it worth sticking with WoT and, b) are there other fantasy series I should consider?

I am also finding it hard to get into sci-fi and as a result have read very little recently. I really enjoyed most of the Culture series by Banks and Hyperion by Dan Simmons. But I recently tried Revelation Space which I couldn't get into. It feels like I prefer the super-grand scope of Culture books.

Finally, and maybe as I get older this is what I am really after, I would like some suggestions for something like a thriller or detective/crime story. Authors I have my eye on are James Patterson and Michael Connelly. Can anyone recommend stuff like that? For reference, I read a few Jack Reacher books but they are a little too cheesy/over-the-top for what I am really looking for.

I was also in this boat, and tried a whole lot of recommended fantasy authors without finding anything else I enjoyed.

This might be a bit too off track for what you're after (though maybe not) but you might enjoy the Matthew Shardlake series by CJ Sansom. It's historical fiction set in the Tudor period about a lawyer who ends up solving crimes. I found it gave me some of the same satisfaction I got from Abercrombie (interesting, sympathetic characters doing their best in a horrible world) as well as some satisfying mystery/crime-solving like what I've found in some of my favorite authors from that genre. The first book is perhaps weaker than some of the others, but still solid and it's become one of my favourite series.

Speaking of crime fiction, again I've read a ton in that space and my favourite authors I'd recommend checking out are Tana French and Harry Bingham. I found Connelly okay (much preferred his Lincoln Lawyer series) and found a lot of other stuff just a bit too formulaic, and for me French and Bingham nail it when it comes to interesting and engaging characters and generally have fairly satisfying (if not outright 'happy') endings.

# ¿ Feb 25, 2021 07:00

Kerro: Nov 3, 2002; Did you marry a man who married the sea? He looks right through you to the distant grey - calling, calling..

PantsBandit posted:

I'm interested in finding a sci-fi horror book, something in the vein of Alien. It's a surprisingly sparse niche as far as I've been able to tell!

I know this was from a while ago, but I also have wanted to find more books in this vein without much success but two of the best I've come across are Ship of Fools (Russo) and Obscura (Hart).

Also Salvation Day and Six Wakes but I didn't enjoy those as much and they don't fit the bill quite as closely imo as they felt a bit more thriller than horror unlike the first two.

# ¿ Apr 3, 2022 10:26

Kerro: Nov 3, 2002; Did you marry a man who married the sea? He looks right through you to the distant grey - calling, calling..

Any character-driven novels (or I guess non-fiction, if they are still primarily following a small number of characters) that have a significant focus on online communities/connections between people? Don't really care what kind of online community (could be forums, chat rooms, MMO, whatever), I'm more interested in stories exploring people's experiences of engaging with them.

# ¿ Sep 7, 2022 01:45

Kerro: Nov 3, 2002; Did you marry a man who married the sea? He looks right through you to the distant grey - calling, calling..

Azhais posted:

You mean like... Ready player one?

I don't know if it heads more in the direction of what I was thinking of cos I couldn't get through the first chapter of Ready Player One, just wasn't for me.

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I'm more looking for books set in the present or recent past (so not so much sci fi or fantasy themes) and focusing on people's real life experiences e.g with stuff like relationships, trauma, grief, loneliness, family etc.

The setting is not what I've described but the sort of books I love in this vein are stuff like Liz Moore's 'Heft' and 'The Unseen World'.

# ¿ Sep 7, 2022 03:36

Kerro: Nov 3, 2002; Did you marry a man who married the sea? He looks right through you to the distant grey - calling, calling..

Teach posted:

It's a short read, and not particularly straightforward, but No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood. It's extremely online, but (especially in the second half) I found it sometimes absurdly touching. There's a good write-up here -
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/feb/12/no-one-is-talking-about-this-by-patricia-lockwood-review-life-in-the-twittersphere

This sounds bizarre and kinda fun, I'll definitely give this a shot thanks!

tuyop posted:

The B plot of A Deepness in the Sky kind of takes place on space SA and that book kicks rear end so I recommend you check that out.

Space SA? I'm intrigued. Do I need to read the first book in the series to appreciate this one? Given it's a prequel set long before the first book I'm guessing I wouldn't miss too much?

# ¿ Sep 7, 2022 22:23

Kerro: Nov 3, 2002; Did you marry a man who married the sea? He looks right through you to the distant grey - calling, calling..

Maybe try Ronald Malfi's December Park since it's basically 100% that and a fairly decent read.

Edit: Except for perhaps the supernatural part, kinda.

# ¿ Sep 21, 2022 07:08

Kerro: Nov 3, 2002; Did you marry a man who married the sea? He looks right through you to the distant grey - calling, calling..

regulargonzalez posted:

I'm looking for non-Lovecraft cosmic horror that is available on Audible por favor

I've only read them so dunno what the narration quality is like, but a few of my favourites that are on audible:

John Langan - The Fisherman
Laird Barron - The Croning
Brian Hodge - The Immaculate Void

# ¿ Sep 27, 2022 00:06

Kerro: Nov 3, 2002; Did you marry a man who married the sea? He looks right through you to the distant grey - calling, calling..

regulargonzalez posted:

Thanks! Are these listed in order of your rankings of them?

For me, yes though the first two are very closely tied. The Croning and The Fisherman are two of my favourite horror novels of any kind.

# ¿ Sep 27, 2022 04:43

Kerro: Nov 3, 2002; Did you marry a man who married the sea? He looks right through you to the distant grey - calling, calling..

Kvlt! posted:

i'm looking for a rec for a Christmas present for my brother. His favorite book is Between Two Fires, he's a big fan of fantasy but less traditional wizards and elves and dragons style and more "realistic" style (though that doesn't mean it can't have magic or creatures etc). He also likes the Black Company series if that helps.

Bonus points if it's a series but one-off books are great too.

It kinda seems too obvious, but Joe Abercrombie's First Law series seems to be exactly what you want, but it's so well known I'm guessing maybe he's already read all that?

# ¿ Dec 8, 2022 03:41

Kerro: Nov 3, 2002; Did you marry a man who married the sea? He looks right through you to the distant grey - calling, calling..

I really enjoyed Abir Mukherjee's series of novels set in India from about 1920 onwards. The setting absolutely plays a significant role in many of the stories, and they're just overall well written and fun mysteries.

# ¿ Dec 9, 2022 04:28

Kerro: Nov 3, 2002; Did you marry a man who married the sea? He looks right through you to the distant grey - calling, calling..

I would be keen to know too cos I've had similar experience of being disappointed by many of those other authors you name. A few you could try that I've loved and feel similar enough in terms of the reading experience even if not strictly in terms of genre: Tana French 'The Searcher', Dan Simmons 'Song of Kali', Catriona Ward 'Sundial', Iain Reid 'I'm Thinking of Ending Things'.

# ¿ Apr 23, 2023 09:25

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 19:31

Kerro: Nov 3, 2002; Did you marry a man who married the sea? He looks right through you to the distant grey - calling, calling..

Oh man I know this one. You should check out Graham Brack's Josef Slonsky series. It ticks pretty much every one of those boxes.

# ¿ Aug 20, 2023 05:43

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > TBB Book Recommendation Superstation !!