TBB Book Recommendation Superstation !!

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

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

F_Shit_Fitzgerald posted:

I'm looking to learn more about socialism and socialist history. Maybe a comprehensive history of labor movements or socialism in America, but from a sympathetic point of view.

I'm currently reading American Populism: A Social History and it's good, but apparently there's other more popular ones around. Google around for progressive era and I think they'd come out. They're usually surveys of the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era it seems.

# ¿ Apr 6, 2018 14:16

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# ¿ Apr 25, 2024 21:56

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Franchescanado posted:

The Jungle Book
Jack London stories like The Call of the Wild and To Build a Fire
Charlotte's Web, too, of course.
If you're into a light murder mystery, there's Three Bags Full, which is about a flock of sheep trying to find out who murdered their farmer.

Also, check out The Peregrine and see if that interests you:

Seconding Jack London. If you haven't read them they're really good.

# ¿ Aug 16, 2018 04:16

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Karamazov, hands down. It's an incredible book, you won't walk away from it the same person you were going in.

# ¿ Aug 21, 2018 08:49

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Rolo posted:

Which translation did you read? I�m bugging the literary thread about it because they seem to hate P+V. I liked their version of C&P but I guess I�m now shopping around before tackling the Brothers K.

I had the penguin one so Magarshack.

# ¿ Aug 22, 2018 01:37

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Empress Brosephine posted:

I really like Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy are there any other �funny� series out there worth reading

Discworld

# ¿ Aug 23, 2018 04:01

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Inapropos to anything, I just finished the first Earthsea book and it was really good and I just started the second book.

# ¿ Aug 30, 2018 04:10

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The Shining is av good horror novel.

# ¿ Sep 25, 2018 03:25

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American Psycho is legit horrifying.

# ¿ Sep 25, 2018 12:14

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Junkie Disease posted:

I feel bad for never reading Tom sawyer and Huckleberry Finn...until now and its the perfect season for it.
Becky and Tom in school slays me.

Mark Twain is good.

His books on river boat piloting and travel are where he really shines imo

# ¿ Oct 8, 2018 09:03

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Meldonox posted:

Can someone recommend me some good downers? I'm looking for something bleak and lonely, preferably in an everyday modern setting.

The Pale King

# ¿ Oct 12, 2018 06:52

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

spandexcajun posted:

If modern is not so much a requirement Journey to the end of the night - C�line is about as bleak as a book gets and it's awesome.

Also seconding this.

# ¿ Oct 12, 2018 06:56

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

You're trying too hard?

# ¿ Oct 12, 2018 09:00

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Lawen posted:

I, Cladius is one of the grandaddies of the genre and it holds up well.

I read this not too long ago and wasn't impressed. Wasn't bad, but it never really went anywhere.

# ¿ Oct 14, 2018 02:18

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Stringent posted:

The Pale King

# ¿ Oct 14, 2018 14:54

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tuyop posted:

Well, poo poo, I've run out of my queue of sci fi.

Recently, I read: House of Suns (pretty good), Dragon's Egg (very good), A World Out of Time (good, but obviously dated), All Systems Red (surprisingly good), Use of Weapons (maybe good as a book but poo poo as an audiobook), The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (poo poo, I actually stopped reading this one because life is too short).

I'm looking for good hard SF, FTL and dumb dogfighty space battles are pretty much right out for me. I loved Chasing Ice, Children of Time, and Rendezvous With Rama, among others.

Any ideas?

The audio book for Player of Games is quite good.

# ¿ Oct 20, 2018 04:28

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

StrixNebulosa posted:

I get squeamish if I have to spend more than 5$ on a book so hmmm no thanks

(Squeamish as in do I really, really need to own a given book? Am I sure? etc)

Books are one thing it's totally ok to splurge on, as long as you read them.

# ¿ Dec 9, 2018 11:25

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

The First Law trilogy audiobooks ready by Stephen Pacey are top notch.

As are the Sanderson Stormlight Archive audiobooks, can't remember the readers' names though.

# ¿ Dec 14, 2018 08:44

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spandexcajun posted:

Steve Pacey is the best narrator of any audio book ever

Word.

# ¿ Dec 15, 2018 12:33

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Bilirubin posted:

(which then led to admission to the top law schools in our country, if you ever wondered what someone does with one of those)

Actually I'd wonder what one did with the law degree.

# ¿ Dec 29, 2018 07:54

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Bilirubin posted:

sorry, have heard too many jokes in the past

Lawschool or women's studies? (both)

# ¿ Dec 29, 2018 09:25

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Good Will Hrunting posted:

I'm attempting to read Catch-22 for the second time and not really enjoying it. Should I... stick with it? I'm about 20% in but it seems incredibly disjointed and I don't care about any of the characters or "storylines" thus far.

Definitely would like a recommendation for something spy/techno-thriller/political. I'm craving something unhinged but slightly believable, along the lines of (for lack of a better description) Metal Gear Solid in book form

Or I could wait out Catch-22!

Straight up judging the hell out of you right now.

# ¿ Jan 3, 2019 11:17

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

learnincurve posted:

There is an audiobook version narrated by Trevor White which is a billion percent easier to get into.

I weep for the future.

# ¿ Jan 3, 2019 14:04

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learnincurve posted:

A lot of catch 22 revolves around punctuation and flow, lots of people find it a struggle for that reason, and there is no shame at all in having a professional help you out with it.

Good Will Hrunting posted:

Let me clarify. It's not that I don't "get" it or find it humorous - I've laughed out loud quite a few time - or see the parallels in the subject matter to the writing style. I suffer from pretty bad ADHD and find it hard to commit time to novels where I'm not gripped by a fairly linear storyline. I've been leaning more towards short stories lately. Coupled with the fact that 95% of my reading is pre-bed when I'm already exhausted, I'm finding it hard to become gripped to Catch-22.

Stringent posted:

I weep for the future.

# ¿ Jan 3, 2019 15:00

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Sorry, I'm glad you're reading it, I'm just showing my age is all.

# ¿ Jan 3, 2019 15:01

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learnincurve posted:

I bet I�m older than you. I love audiobooks, means I get to listen to books while doing dull boring adult things like ironing school shirts for my four teenagers. It�s easy to get uppity over them when you can sit down and read for long periods of time without having to stop every 5 to do stuff like feed people or break up arguments over shoes.

Oh, I love audiobooks too, but I wouldn't listen to Catch-22. I usually stick to fantasy, sci-fi or podcasts. To each their own I guess.

# ¿ Jan 4, 2019 00:59

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Cybernetic Vermin posted:

I prefer to listen to stuff I'd too easily put down as audio books, as it forces me to keep pace. Catch-22 works well for that, Umberto Eco I would have consistently failed without going to the audio books.

To each his own indeed.

That is interesting, I always end up zoning out on audiobooks and missing big chunks. I gotta actually read to actually absorb the whole thing, so I only audiobook stuff I've read before.

# ¿ Jan 5, 2019 09:02

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

funkybottoms posted:

Le Guin's Hainish Cycle

tuyop posted:

The culture series by Ian M. Banks

Seconding both of these.

# ¿ Feb 25, 2019 12:47

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

I like how assiduously nobody is mentioning that Lean In book.

# ¿ Feb 27, 2019 05:32

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Iambic Pentameter posted:

Been meaning to get into the Southern Gothic subgenre, any good recommendations?

Already read To Kill a Mockingbird in high school

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

# ¿ Mar 20, 2019 05:47

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Franchescanado posted:

A Southern Gothic novel I enjoy that doesn't get any attention is John Kennedy Toole's The Neon Bible, which he wrote when he was 15. It's a short meditation on the toxicity of small town hypocrisy when preachers have the power.

Also, read Carson McCuller's Ballad of the Sad Cafe & Other Stories.

I disagree, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is still the best place to start, and the best place to end. The genre doesn't deserve too much of your time. And if you haven't read A Confederacy of Dunces that should be your Toole entry.

# ¿ Mar 20, 2019 16:02

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Franchescanado posted:

Dunno why you're flexing at me for recommending a lesser-known book and one of the greatest short story collections in American lit.

Dunno why you consider me expressing my opinion as, "flexing at you", but it sounds like a personal issue.

# ¿ Mar 21, 2019 14:09

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

I finally got around to reading Robinson's Mars trilogy, just finished the first book, and it's really good.

# ¿ Apr 5, 2019 04:03

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Lockback posted:

Looking for suggestions to read to my 8 year old daughter. She reads some stuff on her own but bedtime has been a bit higher level reading, so feel free to go above the regular 2nd grade reading level. So far we've done the first 3 Harry Potters, most of Dahl's books, Phantom Toolbooth, Charlotte's web, Jungle Book. She prefers things that have big worlds around them, so her favorites have been Harry Potter, Phantom Toolbooth and Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.

I'm thinking of doing Rats of Nimh or Howl's Moving Castle. Maybe Redwall, but that seems like it'd maybe not lend itself to reading outloud as much yet. Any other ideas?

Sounds like you could get away with LeGuin's Earthsea books?

# ¿ May 1, 2019 01:58

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Meyers-Briggs Testicle posted:

I'm looking for a fairly upbeat / mildly comical adventure book set before 1800. Not sure why. Swashbuckling or mystery or anything, really, as long as people go on an adventure and it isnt going to be grimdark violent

Three Musketeers would seem to fit the bill.

# ¿ Jul 2, 2019 14:11

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

j5mello posted:

For the jeeves books do I start at the beginning of the series with #1? When I searched goodreads, #6 matched the title search.

They're all completely self-contained and Right Ho is particularly good so you can just go with that.

# ¿ Oct 16, 2019 09:05

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Sham bam bamina! posted:

Journey to the End of the Night.

Je suis d'accord.

# ¿ Jan 16, 2020 11:56

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

REMEMBER SPONGE MONKEYS posted:

Any other sort of grand fantasy series worth diving into? Just about to finish The Black Company series (enjoyed it quite a bit), read The Malazan Book of the Fallen prior to that (took forever, really didn�t enjoy it all as much as I�d hoped). May swap to historical fiction since I�d asked about that before, but any completed series recommendations are appreciated.

If you you don't go with Patrick O'Brian (you should), maybe give the First Law trilogy a go?

# ¿ Jan 16, 2020 12:01

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Blistex posted:

Looking for some good 1950-1970's science fiction, or some modern stuff that's in the same spirit. I've been googling lists of recommended stuff, and it's usually the same 20 results over and over.

Stuff I like:
Asimov (all)
Niven (when it's NOT interspecies sex)
Forever War
Ender's Game
Arthur C Clarke
Dune

Basically I'd like some manner of epic sci-fi in the spirit of the aforementioned, and avoid the more modern stuff that tends to really date itself, "the super-hacker took control of the server...".

Le Guin?

# ¿ Jan 16, 2020 12:01

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Ubiquitus posted:

I just finished The Light Brigade (Kameron Hurley), A Memory Called Empire (Arkady Martine), and A Little Hatred (Joe Abercrombie).

I love sci-fi and fantasy, and I'm on a kick of gritty stuff. Please suggest me something. . . some popular things I've already read are the Three body series, MBotF, Black Company, Perdido Street Station, and most of Joe Abercrombie's other stuff.

How was the Abercrombie?

# ¿ Feb 27, 2020 11:13

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# ¿ Apr 25, 2024 21:56

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Ubiquitus posted:

It's been a while since I've read his earlier books, so I'll shy away from detail about them.

I read 'A Little Hatred' recently, and all the exposition in the book takes place by dogmatically exploring odious characters. The pacing and intent revolves around characters' sense of self being unassailable, only to have them experience rapid change through environmental factors outside of their control. It's a raw critique of narcissism (and capitalism). I remember his earlier books being similar, but not nearly as well written as his most recent book.

Cool, well I'm a huge fan of the original trilogy so I'll check it out, thanks!

# ¿ Feb 28, 2020 12:41

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