Author Topic: Book recommendations (Read 22315 times)

Kinzo the Astro Curious · « **Reply #30 on:** January 04, 2012, 04:20:35 PM »

Why hasn't the Red Dwarf Omnibus been suggested yet?

Thats the only fiction I have ever read all the way through (tend to keep my reading to textbooks and webpages lol) and I loved every minute of it.

Thinking of reading the book this video is based off sometime Steven Baxter's Voyage But I don't know anything about it yet aside from its based on an alternate set of events after Apollo and a long trip to Mars. If the Orbiter forum made a video about it though, its probably worth a look.

I like Space. :V

Menorah Jams, Pham · « **Reply #31 on:** January 04, 2012, 04:29:02 PM »

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower - I know it's not SF but it's definitely awesome if you want to Read Literature without needing a Cliff Notes guide.

Reamde, Ready Player One, Cryptonomicon, The Diamond Age, Red Storm Rising.

So long free time!

Zil · « **Reply #32 on:** January 04, 2012, 06:05:19 PM »

Dude. Anything by Jack Vance or Gene Wolfe. I love Science Fantasy and those guys are masters. My all time favorite is Gene Wolfe's "Shadow of the Torturer" and its sequels. So that's what I reccomend.

Or if you want something shorter Jack Vance's books tend to be short and sweet. "To Live Forever," "The Dying Earth," "The Men Return," etc.

♛ Apher-Forte · « **Reply #33 on:** January 04, 2012, 06:49:59 PM »

if you don't like Anne Rice and her endlessly long vampire porn that predates Meyer, then you probably won't like Interview with a Vampire, but it is classier than Meyer at least, so that is worthy of reading if you are Remilia fan, I read those to work on my fiction and writing style so it is very good, was engaged up till book 6 or something called Blood and Gold of the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice.

Alma Katsu is a writer I been reading from recently, similiar style, but not too bright.

There is a unique writer of modern day dark fiction, Maekatsu or something, can't quite remember, I would recommend a few titles by this guy when I have time.

Hello Purvis · « **Reply #34 on:** January 04, 2012, 09:52:35 PM »

Quote from: Menorah Johnson, Private eye on January 04, 2012, 04:29:02 PM

The Diamond Age

Diamond Age is at once an awesome and terrible book. The first half sets up an intricate and highly fascinating setting with largely cool characters. The second half is devoted to systematically ripping it all down and destroying anything and everything that made it interesting. I got about forty pages from the end of the book, with is 600-800 pages long, saw

Spoiler:

Also, as the book goes on, it gets more laden with Inscrutable Orientals bullshit and how they are fundamentally different. So do tread carefully in that one,

I've personally vowed that if I ever meet Neal Stephenson I'm going to punch him in the face for it. In fact, Neal Stephenson tends to have a real problem with not knowing how to end his books, so you have a tendency toward wonderful settings and rising actions, then wet fart conclusions.

But, he did a fine job with Zodiac. It's kinda more for a modern thriller, but it's a pretty good one. So I'd recommend Zodiac. Also, I'd recommend William Gibson's Pattern Recognition, it's also pretty neat. Though as a warning it was written as a 9/11 catharsis. I would not recommend anything else by Gibson at this time.

NegaZero · « **Reply #35 on:** January 07, 2012, 06:24:05 AM »

My recommendations are:

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
Faust, First Part by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlow
1984 by George Orwell
The Divine Comedy (or at least Inferno) by Dante Alighieri
Dracula by Bram Stoker
The Odyssey and The Iliad, both by Homer
The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku

Quote from: I have no name on January 04, 2012, 12:05:15 AM

The Hunger Games. Just got them, they're really good books. I definitely suggest them.

Seconding this suggestion.

Kinzo the Astro Curious · « **Reply #36 on:** January 07, 2012, 04:03:59 PM »

Quote from: NegaZero on January 07, 2012, 06:24:05 AM

Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku

Ahh Michio Kaku. The scientific tv shows favirote fruitcake.

He can make some good points now and then, but some of his ideas fire so far off into fantasy its untrue lol

Athrel · « **Reply #37 on:** January 07, 2012, 07:09:56 PM »

The Pendragon series is a pretty good set of fantasy/sci-fi novels. (Note: has nothing to do with king Arthur)

NegaZero · « **Reply #38 on:** January 07, 2012, 07:34:30 PM »

Quote from: Kinzo the Astro Curious on January 07, 2012, 04:03:59 PM

Ahh Michio Kaku. The scientific tv shows favirote fruitcake.

He can make some good points now and then, but some of his ideas fire so far off into fantasy its untrue lol

True, true. Most of what he says makes absolutely no sense (even with his "explanations"), it's just fun to think about.

Tengukami · « **Reply #39 on:** January 07, 2012, 07:50:02 PM »

Quote from: NegaZero on January 07, 2012, 06:24:05 AM

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

This is indeed a great book, but also a very misunderstood one. Despite what the term "lolita" means today - a young seductress - the book Lolita is actually about a deeply deluded and disturbed man who believes the young girl he wants also lusts for him, when nothing could be further from the truth. This is not a spoiler; it's the story Nabakov intended that somehow got lost on critics and readers over the years. Keep in mind that Humbert Humbert is completely wrong about Lolita's feelings for him, and the book will be a much richer and more enjoyable read.

HakureiSM · « **Reply #40 on:** January 08, 2012, 12:31:13 AM »

Quote from: Tengukami on January 07, 2012, 07:50:02 PM

P much. It's the story of a mad pedophile, no less. It's a great read.

Someone mentioned Crichton, which forces me to mention Sphere.
It's sci-fi, but it's so damn worth it.

Tengukami · « **Reply #41 on:** January 08, 2012, 12:35:32 PM »

Just got IQ84, the latest novel by Haruki Murakami, and I can't recommend it highly enough. I haven't read it, but it's Murakami. The worst he does is "pretty good". I think if he tried to write a terrible novel, it would still end up better than anything on the shelves right now.

Tamer Anode/Cathode · « **Reply #42 on:** January 08, 2012, 05:54:42 PM »

If you're into the harder types of science fiction, I'd recommend the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson (Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars). It's a pretty thorough look at what the colonization and development of a settlement/society on the planet would look like, while still having pretty engaging characters in the meantime.

Paper Conan · « **Reply #43 on:** January 08, 2012, 09:43:11 PM »

Quote from: I have no name on January 04, 2012, 12:05:15 AM

The Hunger Games. Just got them, they're really good books. I definitely suggest them.

:3

Thirded.

Alfred F. Jones · « **Reply #44 on:** January 09, 2012, 10:49:32 PM »

Ammy, out of curiousity, have you read Haruki Murakami's Underground? If you've talked about it before, I can't recall. If you have, would you recommend it? Why or why not?

Tengukami · « **Reply #45 on:** January 09, 2012, 10:54:16 PM »

Quote from: Akemi Homururo on January 09, 2012, 10:49:32 PM

Ammy, out of curiousity, have you read Haruki Murakami's Underground? If you've talked about it before, I can't recall. If you have, would you recommend it? Why or why not?

I would recommend it. It's entirely interviews - in the first half, interviews with victims of the sarin gas attack; in the second half, former and current members of the Aum cult. It might be a good idea to start with some basic reading of what happened on the day in question first, but once you have, he creates a really human picture of the event, in the words of the people who were there. It's very stark, raw and excellent journalism.

Alfred F. Jones · « **Reply #46 on:** January 09, 2012, 10:57:28 PM »

Wonderful. I'll pick it up on my next trip to the library.

Phoenix_lostarr · « **Reply #47 on:** January 20, 2012, 03:20:26 PM »

Bumping to say that I'm thinking of getting a Lovecraft book or two... oh, and some Charles Dickens.

theshirn · « **Reply #48 on:** January 20, 2012, 03:26:25 PM »

Quote from: Fujiwara_no_Zuko on January 20, 2012, 03:20:26 PM

... oh, and some Charles Dickens.

excuse me while I rip my brains out through my eyes

Phoenix_lostarr · « **Reply #49 on:** January 20, 2012, 03:49:08 PM »

Hard Times is required reading for my English course... it was just hypothetical that I@d get any more.

Tengukami · « **Reply #50 on:** January 21, 2012, 04:41:29 AM »

Quote from: Fujiwara_no_Zuko on January 20, 2012, 03:49:08 PM

Hard Times is required reading for my English course... it was just hypothetical that I@d get any more.

Dickens isn't one of my favorites, but A Tale Of Two Cities is actually pretty good.

noire · « **Reply #51 on:** February 11, 2012, 11:12:36 PM »

I find the work of the Japanese writer, Haruki Murakami very compelling.

I have read several of his novels and am now reading his short stories. A lot of his writing raises more questions than gives answers and I am often left in a state of anxiety about how that story will 'really' end. A lot is left unsaid and the reader is left to draw her own conclusions.

A very good read if you don't mind being a little or a lot, unsatisfied when you're finished.

noodles · « **Reply #52 on:** February 13, 2012, 12:32:30 AM »

Eifelheim by Michael Flynn. Give it a chance and it will not disappoint.

Amraphenson · « **Reply #53 on:** February 13, 2012, 02:33:17 AM »

Jim Butcher has some good stuff; I like Dresden more than his other series though.

theshirn · « **Reply #54 on:** February 13, 2012, 02:30:23 PM »

Quote from: Amra on February 13, 2012, 02:33:17 AM

Jim Butcher has some good stuff; I like Dresden more than his other series though.

Codex Alera is author-admitted going for a more classic fantasy feel, but it's still very character-centric like his Dresden books. But it works better with Dresden, I have to agree.

♛ Apher-Forte · « **Reply #55 on:** February 13, 2012, 04:13:11 PM »

Quote from: Tengukami on January 08, 2012, 12:35:32 PM

Just got IQ84, the latest novel by Haruki Murakami, and I can't recommend it highly enough. I haven't read it, but it's Murakami. The worst he does is "pretty good". I think if he tried to write a terrible novel, it would still end up better than anything on the shelves right now.

He always write stuff that seemed overly pretentious imo.

Tengukami · « **Reply #56 on:** February 13, 2012, 04:25:01 PM »

Quote from: ♛ 少女の醜態るるる~~夢~天国 on February 13, 2012, 04:13:11 PM

He always write stuff that seemed overly pretentious imo.

You're joking, right? The male protagonist of every Murakami novel is always some totally average guy - he likes beer, likes baseball, enjoys casual affairs, but isn't remarkable in any particular way. Moreover, Murakami uses a very precise, clear, ground-level language to tell his stories. I think there are fewer less pretentious writers than Murakami. He's the genuine article.

♛ Apher-Forte · « **Reply #57 on:** February 13, 2012, 04:51:09 PM »

In my opinion following the description above, I would prefer Khaled Hosseini. You may have heard of Kite Runner.

I guess it depends, it is a matter of preference, I just don't sit well with Murakami.

Unassuming Squid · « **Reply #58 on:** February 13, 2012, 04:52:08 PM »

I cannot stress enough my support for getting the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Possibly my favorite author ever.

Edgar Allan Poe is also great if you haven't read much of his stuff.

Other than them, I don't have a lot of recommendations. I haven't read much of anything lately, but off the top of my head I can recommend:

The Divine Comedy. Inferno especially. My mother actually translated it in a very readable and enjoyable format for ebook just last year. The title for that is Dante's Inferno: A Wanderer in Hell, published by Double Dragon. I'd really, really recommend it, and not just because my mom did it.

Sheppard Lee, Written by Himself
The Hermaphrodite
War of the Worlds
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
The Island of Dr. Moreau
Beowulf

Tengukami · « **Reply #59 on:** February 13, 2012, 05:24:27 PM »

A-F, is it possible you're thinking of Ryu Murakami; not Haruki? I'm not saying you MUST like Haruki, just that he's never pretended to be anything.

Author Topic: Book recommendations (Read 22315 times)

Zil