Reddit mentions: The best australia & oceania literature books

MFE,

I did like Train Job. I would have still liked the series if it had started with that one, but Serenity seemed to provide the perfect delivery.

>You'd think I would have gotten that down pat over the years.

I think you’re an excellent communicator. I feel like you have a good sense of yourself and are balanced between challenging and accepting yourself. I feel that you are very accepting of me and want the best for me but also understand when I don’t always hit the high notes. If that’s all correct, then I think we’re good. : ) I will generally take you at your word, but if I notice you say something that seems to contradict in any way how I see you being (most especially if you ever express falling short in an area where I see you shine), there’s a good chance I’ll speak up, although I’ll always give you the benefit of the doubt since you know yourself best.

I’m not sure why Take on Me isn’t high on my list. I’m thinking perhaps that it doesn’t have a strong enough hook for me and that I like a more distinctive drum line. I can tell that Vitas is very good, but if we’re going strictly by preferences, I do prefer what I’ve heard of Inva Mula over Vitas. However, I don’t know that I can distinguish my enjoyment of the song and composition from that of the voice. My sense is that for everyday listening, I prefer voices that do not abide in pure notes. Like candlelight, the flickering light thrown is as much or more a part of the ambiance than the flame itself.

I’ll add Gibson in behind Vinge. : ) Reading about cyberpunk made me think of Machine Man by Max Barry. Have you read it? It isn’t cyberpunk, but I liked it for its take on the line between optimizing our use of and actually becoming tools.

I’d never seen that pirating incident. Funny that the line after it goes back to the show is “As far as I can tell, a massive electric shock. He died instantly.” When I first saw pirating I thought of this and then this.

My love for Chicago is solely from my experiences there from business and tourist trips. It is a city I would brave tough winters to live in if called upon, although I prefer to be in the Bay Area and just visit it when I have the opportunity.

As far as what’s safe to share, I’m of the same perspective as you are as far as not divulging all my gnome’s secrets, and I’m also very careful to be respectful of the privacy of those who aren’t a part of the conversation. I’m guessing, though, that it’s fairly safe to say that I came to the Bay Area by way of stork.

Charles Schulz. Hmmm. I was about to wax eloquent about what I’ve heard of his character and went a-searching for some little tidbit about it to share and ran across this instead. : /

Not going to things in our own neighborhoods or extended areas is not that uncommon for Californians, I’ve found. I don’t think I went to Yosemite until I was almost thirty.

>Have I told you that your words make me happy? Well, and laugh a bit too?

I so much like that those things happen. I try very hard to just let what I’m going to say bubble up and flow out and not make any effort at creating a particular effect. I just know that I enjoy talking to you so much, and I want always to be open to having that show.

Were you ahead or behind the spider during the cup-and-paper operation, or did it use a duck-and-weave pattern that was virtually impossible to anticipate?

One word of advice. If you see cougar scat in the web, move.

I’ll send this and then write to your next part. : )

Edit: dusting and vacuuming

I just finished reading Ready Player One by Ernest Cline last night and absolutely loved it. I am definitely putting it on my re-read pile. Of the 25 or so books I've read this year so far, this one is definitely my favorite. So much fun and really fast paced.

I also recently finished reading 11/22/63 by Stephen King. It ends up being more of a beautiful love story journey than a time travel story and it's not horror although there are horrific things that happen in it. Definitely one of his better ones. The paperback is coming out soon but the Hardcover was I think about 849 pages so it will take awhile to get through.

Look into other Stephen King books, there are some monsters. "It". "The Stand", and "Under the Dome" are all over 1000 pages. There is also the Dark Tower series, there is about 7 or 8 books in it. I haven't read it yet but I plan to one day. A lot of people say this series is their favorite King work.

A Series I am still in the process of reading is called The Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness, three books 1. The Knife of Never Letting Go, 2. The Ask and The Answer, 3. Monsters of Men. It's a fun series, I have read the first two. Humans have colonized another planet, there was a war with the indiginous alien population and humans were exposed to a germ that killed the women and made it so the men could all hear each others and all the animals thoughts, which they call The Noise. Todd, the main boy, begins to get into the secrets of his town and must escape, and he comes across a strange pocket of silence, a girl, and more secrets. Lots of fun.

My favorite book that I read in 2011, that I discovered on Reddit when someone made a comment about it, Genesis by Bernard Beckett. Futuristic Sci-fi story. Do not read any spoilers about this book, it will ruin it. Reading the synopsis on Amazon is OK but don't go into any more depth. It works best if you know as little as possible. All I will say is "I did not see that coming." I wish I knew who it was that made the comment I saw, because I would thank them. It's a very short book so you will blast through it in no time.

If you like YA books, I would suggest the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and all the other books written by the author Rick Riordan. The original series is 5 books but there is also a follow-up series called The Heroes of Olympus series with some of the same characters but a whole cast of new ones, so far there are 2 in that series out, the third comes in October. The author also has another series called The Kane Chronicles but instead of Greek mythology it's Egyptian. This one is a trilogy. They are really easy to ready but I find them fun. You can tell the author uses basically the same formula each time though.

You might not like this one but it's a popular YA series right now. The first book is called Divergent by Veronica Roth and the Sequel came out a few months back called Insurgent. It's very reminicient of Hunger Games, same tone, feel, and themes so you might not like it but I've enjoyed it so far. It's a dystopian future and takes place in what used to be known as Chicago.

I also enjoyed The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind (very strange but I really, really enjoyed it).

I read a book earlier this year called Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion and it's been one of favorites so far this year. The premise sounds odd and not good, like a Twilight rip-off or something but I was surprised at how good it was, there are many larger messages in it, than the initial plot synopsis. Zombie apocalypse but the story is told through the perspective of a zombie instead of the human. His name is 'R' and he lives in the airport with a bunch of other zombies. One day he eats the brains of this boy and takes his girlfriend hostage. As he continues to eat his brain, he experiences the memories of this boy and begins to fall for the girl. I know what you're thinking, necrophilia or some shit, but it doesn't actually get to that but it's hard to describe without giving the plot away. It's well written and the resolution to the story is wonderful, with a larger message about life. I really enjoyed this one.

Hope that helps a little.

Some questions and hypotheticals to probe your intuitions:

Someone you deeply care for is scanned and reassembled while sleeping dreamlessly (or under anesthesia, or whatever). Two of them lie side by side before you. Do you kill one without regret? Is it harder to kill one than it is to kill an extremely high fidelity video game model of one?

You say goodnight to your romantic partner of choice and go to sleep beside them. While you both sleep, someone sneaks into your bedroom and painlessly kills them. You wake up to see the intruder standing over their lifeless body. You are angry and upset. The intruder says "it's all good dude, I scanned them before killing them! Here's their saved brainstate (or whatever)". Do you laugh it off? And maybe kick the intruder out for playing such a hilarious practical joke?

Unbeknownst to you, you were copied yesterday and your copy has since slept a dreamless sleep (or is still saved somewhere and hasn't been created yet). Are you more comfortable with killing yourself then and there and being reformed from the save-state, or taking a 24-hour amnestic?

Is the badness of death continuous or discrete? Presume you're entirely, 100% OK with the perfect fidelity copying thing. Now wiggle some of the atoms around. Are you still 100% on board? Wiggle some more atoms. Change your favorite flavor of ice-cream to rum raisin, but leave everything else intact. Make your colon half an inch longer. Tuvan throat singing is now overwhelmingly your favorite sort of music. Etc. Still ok with it? Those things aren't really integral to your identity, are they? Or is the death of the "original", instead of being a neutral act, now 5% as bad as death sans "copy"? Now approach the process of copying from the other direction -- instead of having a perfect copy, you find out that "Sam" exists. Sam's your distant kin, and they sorta like the same things you do. They're willing to step into your shoes when you get vaporized. Are you now slightly reassured at the prospect of death?

-------------

I myself wouldn't step into the copy-destroy-reconstruct machine (except in certain circumstances), but would be inclined to do a piece-by-piece mind upload. I'm not nearly certain enough that copies are meaningfully "me" to risk death in the former manner, but my intuitions don't balk nearly as much at the latter. Perhaps the question's even arbitrary, and you can just as well imagine agents who value their "particular" configuration of matter as well as those who value only the pattern that configuration represents, or those who value both, or those who value neither. That said, in a sci-fi universe, I'd be totally in favor of creating "back-ups" before performing risky activities, if only because a lot of what I value doesn't have to do with me, personally, and the backups could fulfill those goals just as well in the event of my untimely demise (I'd also be in favor of just creating more of me, but that's a separate discussion).

I've another question for those who believe it doesn't matter, or that you don't die in any meaningful respect when you step in the teleporter: how certain of this are you? As in, give me a number, p equals what? Are you 99% certain? That still leaves 1% chance you die meaningfully (and there's still uncertainty about that probability estimate). How great a benefit do you have to receive to gamble on that uncertainty?

As for sci-fi books that investigate the question of personal identity, I recommend Permutation City.

Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra is a wonderful, sweeping epic set in modern day India, but with flashbacks to the sixties, seventies and even partition (in 1948). Taking in organized crime, Bollywood, nuclear terrorism, political and religious fundamentalism, social commentary and more. I loved it.

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth is a huge (huge!) modern classic that beautifully encapsulates the social mores of modern India as it tracks the trials and tribulations of four families and the search for a suitable bride for the heroine. Simply wonderful. Did I mention it was a big book?

A Case of Exploding Mangoes is a fictional account (one hopes!) of the assassination of President Zhia of Pakistan. I know you asked about India, but in many many ways both India and Pakistan are inextricably linked.

Sea of Poppies is the first of a projected trilogy set in 19th century India. Full of wonderfully evocative language.

Many have already recommended Midnight's Children by Rushdie, perhaps the most important work of Anglo-Indian literature so far. Please also consider his Satanic Verses. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy is a lovely short novel.

There are many many more.

Good luck!

The Rosie Project Series

I usually read stuff that is SUPER depressing but these books just pull me right out of that :-) And they're not sappy & stupid, as a bonus.

Description: "The art of love is never a science: Meet Don Tillman, a brilliant yet socially inept professor of genetics, who’s decided it’s time he found a wife. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which Don approaches all things, he designs the Wife Project to find his perfect partner: a sixteen-page, scientifically valid survey to filter out the drinkers, the smokers, the late arrivers.

Rosie Jarman possesses all these qualities. Don easily disqualifies her as a candidate for The Wife Project (even if she is “quite intelligent for a barmaid”). But Don is intrigued by Rosie’s own quest to identify her biological father. When an unlikely relationship develops as they collaborate on The Father Project, Don is forced to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie―and the realization that, despite your best scientific efforts, you don’t find love, it finds you."

edit: added description

Physicalism was just what I was left with when I stopped believing in magic. We physicalists do acknowledge the existence of mathematics, language, emotion, hopes, dreams, etc. For us they're qualities of, or relationships between, or phenomena arising out of or dependent on physical processes, physical reality. "Physical" isn't relegated to what you can poke with a stick.

>If you believe that "you are your brain"

I am not my brain, no more than I am my foot. My sense of "I" comes from processes in my brain, yes, but that's a different statement.

>what happens if I create using some advanced technology a perfect copy of your brain in a different location ?

Then that copy too would have a sense of self. He would be an individual unto himself, and would feel the need for self-preservation and all the rest. We might start off as identical, but since our experiences would be different then we would quickly diverge.

As an aside, I'd recommend the great book Permutation City, which explores these ideas in great depth. Many of Greg Egan's other novels and short stories also explore the same territory.

>Which brain are you ?

"I" is a first-person experience. The other instantiation of "my" brain pattern (which would quickly diverge from the original) would be its own "I".

Wow, that short story was awesome. It's great that there's still so much Greg Egan I haven't encountered.

You're right that this idea feels like a deus ex machina. When I first read "Permutation City" I walked around for a few days in a euphoric haze, imagining simulations running without their substrates. But then reality hit. I was running huge microprocessor simulations in those days, and I remembered that you can't simulate their instructions out of order. There are dependencies that have to be respected[1]. And Egan had glossed past that in a single page, so slickly that I never noticed. This feels similar. It's dangerous to introduce too much fiction into one's worldview.

[1] Though it's possible you can sidestep dependency constraints, using something like maximum entropy to simulate a set of particles at far enough time steps without simulating the intervening steps, simply by estimating the probabilities of different kinds of interactions. It might work better if you have a goal in mind to train for using reinforcement learning. Then you could leave the fundamental laws of the simulated universe open and part of the weights to train, and select the simulation that gives you what you want. But all this is probably like Borges's library[2], or at least way beyond our computational capacity. Or maybe you need to imagine your goal to such depth that.. what's the point of finding a simulation that yields it? The world has never been easy, so better to assume it never will be until one is proven wrong.

[2] When I first read Carl Sagan's "Contact", the final chapter left me in a similar euphoric haze for a few days. Inside the infinite digits of pi in all bases you could find all possible patterns, all truths. Then I discovered the insight of Borges's library for myself.

I don't want to just talk about a book that moved me, I want to talk about one that quite literally altered my personal philosophy, and how I try to view everyday life. Last year I picked up a book called "The Heart of Understanding" by Thich Nhat Hanh. It is a really, really short read that took me all of an hour to read from cover to cover. The first time I read it, I was filled with an emotion that I find so hard to put into words. I want to say happiness, but that doesn't do it justice. I suppose compassionate towards others is pretty close. This small little paperback book had me wearing a smile for the entirety of the day, and brings it back every time that I pick it back up. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have stumbled upon it, and am insistent on spreading the word about it, and the author.

Seriously, if you are ever in a low point that just won't go away, in need of a pick me up, get a copy of this book. It's not a blind faith cure-all, it will help you understand just why you are feeling what you are feeling. The answer, the remedy, comes naturally afterwards. And if not for the purpose of entering into a contest, let's at least have a conversation about this book. This applies to anybody who has read or would be interested in reading the work.

Hossain is absolutely terrific. Djinn City is his latest - I've started it already and it is great.

His first book, Escape from Baghdad! is like Tim Powers meets Catch-22. Or Elmore Leonard meets Three Kings meets Neil Gaiman meets... I dunno. It is a brilliant urban fantasy/mystery/dark comedy set in Iraq, with some seriously awesome fantasy elements.

His short story, "Bring Your Own Spoon" is about djinn and fast food. [nb. I helped edit that, so tangential self-promo]

(Links because holiday season, and if you're looking for unusual, very good, and underappreciated fantasy books to give to friends...)

If you want a good start on the feeling of Buddhism from a textual level, I'd start with Buddhism Plain and Simple by Steve Hagen. It's about as straightforward as you can get, covers the history and the basics of Buddhist thought and is pretty thorough.

If you are more interested in Buddhism from a personal perspective, read literally anything by Pema Chodron or Thich Nhat Hanh. Especially Thich Nhat Hanh. He is one of the leading thinkers of these times, and beautifully eloquent.

In fact if you're going to, start with The Heart of Understanding. Its short (60 pages), beautifully profound and powerfully motivating.

Fantasy is my usual choice, but my book club recently read The Show Child and I really enjoyed it. It's a nice mix of realism and fairy tale set in 1920s Alaska.

We also read The Rosie Project which was surprisingly entertaining and sweet. I didn't expect to enjoy it but I did. I just saw there's a sequel to that one I'll be checking out.

I'm also a huge fan of M.R. Carey's post-apocalyptic The Girl with all the Gifts.

UPDATE: As amazing as this deal was, all the ebooks are now regularly priced. (Original email is below)

Deal highlights from the 2nd link. I downloaded a lot more than appears here, but these struck me as winners.

first, here's a URL showing some of the Angus and robertson classics (some are public domain, not all). Here's a link to the ABC Books.

• 40 Stories: New Writing from Harper Perennial
  
• A lasting record (biography) by Stephen downes
  
• Spiral Road: Novelby Adib Khan
  
• Legend of Beau Baxter by Ivan Dunn
  
• Here's Luckby Lennie Lower ("one of Australia's funniest books")
  
• Soldier's Tale by MK Joseph
  
• Kenneth Slesser's Collected Poems
  
• Pea Pickers by Eve Langley
  
• Luigi's Freedom Ride By Alan Murray
  
• Cleansing of Mahommed by Chris McCourt
  
• Sam Hunt: Off the Road (biography).
  
• Good Gut Cookbook Surprisingly interesting and informative...
  
• Timeless Land Trilogy by Eleanor Dark (Timeless Land, Storm of Time, No Barrier). All are free.
  
• Entertain Us: Rise and Fall of Alternative Rock in the 1990s. by Craig Schuftan.
  
  ​

If you like Slaughterhouse-Five, read Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre.

The plot and subject matter are a bit different than Slaughterhouse but Vernon God Little is great book with a vivid first-person narrator and a mood drenched in dark, sardonic humor. An accessible novel that aims to be the drunken conversation had by Salinger, Vonnegut and Palahniuk.

I hope I didn't upsell too much. So if you hate the novel, at least you'll still enjoy the coffee and pipe tobacco.

Edit: Vernon God Little

Lotus Sutra: I've only read the Watson translation, which is very good, but I've also heard good things about JC Cleary's translation, although that appears to only be available as an e-book.

Heart Sutra: I have read, and recommend, Karl Brunnholzl's The Heart Attack Sutra, Red Pine's translation, and TNH's Heart of Understanding. I've also got a copy of Kaz Tanahashi's exigesis on the shelf, which people speak very highly of.

For anyone that wants to read an awesome book largely about this topic, I highly recommend "Permutation City" by Greg Egan. It's really good.

Some of the ideas explored with this concept is shit like rich dudes utilizing this tech to basically become immortal and continue to run their corporations after their real world self dies with their digital clones taking over. Basically also as a way to wait until real word robotics and cyborg tech and whatnot is advanced enough to host their consciousness in the real world again.

Also how like digital clones can mentally crack from the realization that the real them is not them etc etc.

https://www.amazon.com/Permutation-City-Novel-Greg-Egan/dp/1597805394#mediaMatrix_secondary_view_div_1562315580921

It might be The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion.

>The art of love is never a science: Meet Don Tillman, a brilliant yet socially inept professor of genetics, who’s decided it’s time he found a wife. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which Don approaches all things, he designs the Wife Project to find his perfect partner: a sixteen-page, scientifically valid survey to filter out the drinkers, the smokers, the late arrivers.
>
>Rosie Jarman possesses all these qualities. Don easily disqualifies her as a candidate for The Wife Project (even if she is “quite intelligent for a barmaid”). But Don is intrigued by Rosie’s own quest to identify her biological father. When an unlikely relationship develops as they collaborate on The Father Project, Don is forced to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie―and the realization that, despite your best scientific efforts, you don’t find love, it finds you.

According to Wikipedia,

>In September 2014 it was confirmed that Sony Pictures optioned film rights to The Rosie Project.[3] Simsion penned the first draft of the script and screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber were later brought on to work on the final script, with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller set to potentially direct.[3] Jennifer Lawrence was cast as the female lead for the film in July 2015.[4] In October 2015, Lawrence dropped out to star in the film mother! by Darren Aronofsky, director of the Oscar-winning movie Black Swan.[5] In July 2015, Richard Linklater was in talks to direct after Lord and Miller dropped out to do other projects.[6] However, after Lawrence dropped out of the film, so did Linklater.[7] In 2017, TriStar Pictures announced that Ben Taylor would direct the film.[8]

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion, read by Dan O'Grady. I really enjoyed this one - the story of Don, a genetics professor (who falls somewhere on the autism spectrum) and his project to find a wife. It's a mix of romantic comedy and also a mystery. I found the character of Don very endearing, especially his logical approach to problems and complete lack of embarrassment to any social faux pas. The narrator did a great job of embodying his optimism and enthusiasm, and it was also neat to hear it read with an Australian accent. I'm excited to follow it up with the next book The Rosie Effect.

It was also fun to catch instances of Australian slang I was unfamiliar with (Rosie at 3AM says 'I'm stuffed' which I learned means 'I'm tired'). There was only one problem when the author tried to write dialogue for an American Yankees fan: ‘If he bats in both of these guys, he’ll be heading the league on RBI.' I blame the American editors for letting this slip past - I gave the author a hard time about it on Twitter and he replied that they're fixing it on the re-print.

I highly recommend many of the books already mentioned here. Haven't seen a bad one really in the bunch. My recommendation though is to remember all these, then go walk around Borders(or whatever book store you have near by) and see what grabs your eye. I could spend an hour+ easy walking the fantasy section over and over until I find that book that begs to be taken home. This is how I found The King's Bastard, the first in the King Rolen's Kin trilogy(finished already) and a damn good read. I recommend the trilogy to all the fantasy enthusiasts here that have never heard of it or have and were curious. I would put the series around an 8 on Sanderson's grit scale.

Happy reading.

Last year only one book made me happy through and through, and that book was "The Rosie Project" by Graeme Simsion. It's a romantic comedy, but seen through the eyes of a Biology professor with Asperger's named Don Tillman, who decides it's about time he got married and so starts his "Wife Project".

Think "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime" crossed with "When Harry Met Sally". It's very funny, very sweet, and very uplifting.

Weirdly, I picked it up because it was on Bill Gates' recommended list.

Somewhere between here and here today.

If I won this would be great :)

Thanks for the contest!

http://www.amazon.com/Word-Bearers-Omnibus-Warhammer-000/dp/1849701059 yeah thankfully it is cheap on amazon; you'll definitely like the space wolves since its by william king and I dunno, I really like his writing style for Gotrek and Felix and it translates well

From Socrates to Sartre: A Philosophic Quest Its a pretty good starting point. Its basically just an overview of major philosophers. Also for some fiction try Genesis by Bernard Beckett. Its a pretty easy read and deals with what it means to be human.

Totally different genre from Sherlock Holmes, but I found myself picturing the protagonist as Benedict Cumberbatch/Sherlock as I was reading "The Rosie Project." It's silly and lighthearted, but a fun and worthwhile read.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1476729093

I am a really big fan of The Last Stormlord by Glenda Larke and am eagerly awaiting the third book in the series.

edit: wow, thanks for making me look that up, it's out already

Not sure if these are appropriate, or if she's read these already but here's a few off the top of my head:

• The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
  
  
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
  
  
• The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom
  
  
• Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
  
  
• Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
  
  
• The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
  
  Am I on the right track?

A few good books:

Pali suttas:
http://www.amazon.com/Buddhas-Words-Anthology-Discourses-Teachings/dp/0861714911

Overview of the Mahayana:
http://www.amazon.com/An-Open-Heart-Practicing-Compassion/dp/0316930938

Bodhicitta:
http://www.amazon.com/How-Expand-Love-Widening-Relationships/dp/0743269691

Shunyata:
http://www.amazon.com/How-See-Yourself-You-Really/dp/0743290461

Perfection of wisdom sutras: Heart Sutra:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Heart-Understanding-Commentaries-Prajnaparamita/dp/1888375922

Diamond Cutter sutra:
http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-That-Cuts-Through-Illusion/dp/1935209442

3 principle aspects of the path:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Three-Principal-Aspects-Path/dp/1559393505

Zen:
http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Mind-Beginners-Shunryu-Suzuki/dp/1590308492

Hm, most of my favorites have been mentioned, but there's some interesting weather magic in the series by Karen Miller with the first book The Innocent Mage and the series by Glenda Larke with the first book The Last Stormlord.

Also, the magic isn't too in depth, but I think there's a lot of things to like about it in the book White Fire Crossing by Courtney Schafer.

True, it is quite advanced. Nonetheless, it represents the essence of Mahayana.

A beginner alternative might be The Heart Sutra.

>As a futuristic side note, they would now be able to add a cool mechanical hand to their body that would be able to shoot lasers and play the banjo.

A fun read on this premise
Machine Man (Vintage Contemporaries) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004J4X9YW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ttYhzbVFGVJMH

It's nowhere to be found in the Charlotte area according to the online library sites. Not surprising. UNC Charlotte has it. Maybe it's time to get some student loans! Probably totally worth it.

It will come around, the book I mean. You know that Gudo Nishijima and Brad Warner just released a translation of Nagarjuna's Fundamental Wisdom Of The Middle Way too? It might be interesting. Gudo has a slightly different take on a lot of things.

edit: Link to that book.

I have similar issues with "typical" romance books.

I enjoyed The Rosie Project. It's from the male perspective and he's certainly not Mr. Perfect.

I liked the book Thinking In Pictures , the movie Temple Grandin , the documentary Dad's in Heaven with Nixon and this novel The Rosie Progect . I don't recommend the books Socially Curious and Curiously Social or Look Me in the Eye .

That is one of the most inspiring videos I've watched. Why are companies and governments not throwing money at this guy !??!

(Also, reminds me vary much of a book called Machine Man - which is worth a read http://www.amazon.com/Machine-Man-Vintage-Contemporaries-Original/dp/0307476898)

Play.com used book section or amazon ( where i got all the Nightlords books from )

http://www.amazon.com/Word-Bearers-Omnibus-Warhammer-Novels/dp/1849701059

http://www.amazon.com/Night-Lords-Aaron-Dembski-Bowden/dp/184970676X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412257566&sr=1-1&keywords=nightlords+omnibus

http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Iron-Warhammer-000-Novels/dp/184416571X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412257607&sr=1-1&keywords=storm+of+iron


or your local nerd-hobby store will most likely have most of the books.

TLDR: Buy used and be happy and wealthy.

Genesis by Bernard Beckett. Not your typical dystopian book, like the ones you listed, but still really interesting.

Only Daughter by Anna Snoekstra is by far the creepiest, but maybe not scariest book I've ever read. It's pretty suspenseful.


Or I Am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll is about the same.

A couple of the best

Iain M Banks : Excession

Greg Egan : Permutation City

Machine Man, by Max Barry? Max Barry's awesome.

For an excellent, concise summary of the Tibetan view of death, I recommend the Dalai Lama's Mind of Clear Light. For the Heart Sutra, I recommend the Dalai Lama's Essence of the Heart Sutra which contains an extensive commentary and overview of Buddhism. Thich Nhat Han also has a nice short commentary on the Heart Sutra, but personally, I prefer Tibetan Buddhism over Zen. The only translation I've read of the Tibetan Book of the Dead is Thurman's and I would not recommend it in general.

Machine Man is a lovely satire.

This is based on Randamoozham, a Malayalam novel written by MT Vasudevan Nair. Its a retelling of Mahabharatha from the perspective of Bhima. Completely humanizes the characters and no magic is involved.

Edit: The English translation is available in Amazon - http://www.amazon.in/Bhim-Warrior-M-T-Vasudevan-Nair/dp/9350297590/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

The director is making a fantasy movie with Mohanlal this year. That will be the test of whether this project would take off under his helm or not. He is an accomplished ad film director.

lol dude, the Mulamadhyamakakarika was written in the 2nd century in Sanskrit. The translation I am reading (arguably the most user friendly version) is tough as shit to digest. Each verse has a translation, and then that translation has a translation, and then THAT has the final "in other words" summary written by the authors of the physical book.

Here is the translation I am reading.

Keep in mind, this is pretty "advanced" Buddhism. Over the past year I've read about 8-10 books on Buddhism and Zen and Taoism, and have listened to hundreds of hours of lectures on the subject, and I have been practicing zazen. And in reading this translation of the Mulamadhyamakakarika, I feel that everything I have learned thus far is just giving me a glimpse of comprehension.

back to the beginning

---

Current Selection#####

• Echopraxia by Peter Watts [Echopraxia]. Began September 3rd.
  
  
  ---
  

  Past Selections#####
  

  
  

  2014######
  

  
  

• The Songs of Distant Earth by Arthur C. Clarke [Songs]. Began August 6th.
  
  
• 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson [2312]. Began July 7th.
  
  
• The Crystal World by J. G. Ballard [crystal]. Began June 4th.
  
  
• The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon [Lot49]. Began May 7th.
  
  
• The Lilith's Brood Trilogy by Octavia Butler [lilith]. Began April 7th.
  
  
• Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie [Justice]. Began March 6th.
  
  
• [Invisible Cities] (http://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Cities-Italo-Calvino/dp/0156453800) by Italo Calvino [Invisible]. Began February 5th.
  
  
• Machine Man by Max Barry [Machine]. Began January 1st.
  
  

  2013######
  

  
  

• House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds [suns]. Began December 5th.
  
  
• Singularity Sky by Charles Stross [singularity]. Began November 4th.
  
  
• Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood [Oryx and Crake]. Began October 7th.
  
  
• The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway [gone-away]. Began September 3rd.
  
  
• The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin [dispossessed]. Began August 2nd.
  
  
• The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M. Banks [sonata]. Began July 3rd.
  
  
• Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clark [rama]. Began June 3rd.
  
  
• Jack Glass by Adam Roberts [glass]. Began May 3rd.
  
  
• Of Men and Monsters by William Tenn [monsters]. Began April 3rd.
  
  
• Solaris by Stanisław Lem [solaris]. Began March 3rd.
  
  
• Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan [carbon]. Began February 1.
  
  
• The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson [diamond]. Began January 4th.
  
  

  2012######
  

  
  

• Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke [childhood]. Began December 1st.
  
  
• Ship of Fools by Richard Paul Russo (aka Unto Leviathan) [fools]. Began November 3rd.
  
  
• Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg [dying]. Began October 4th.
  
  
• China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh [china]. Began September 4th.
  
  
• Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges [labyrinths]. Began August 4th.
  
  
• The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury [martian]. Began July 2nd.
  
  
• The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle [mote]. Began June 1st.
  
  
• Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky [picnic]. Began May 2nd.
  
  
• The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester [Destination]. Began April 2nd.
  
  
• Diaspora by Greg Egan [diaspora]. Began March 5th.
  
  
• Stories by Ted Chiang [Chiang]. Began February 3rd.
  
  
• Grass by Sheri S. Tepper [grass]. Began January 2nd.
  
  

  2011######
  

  
  

• Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny [lord]. Began December 5th.
  
  
• Zones of Thought Trilogy by Vernor Vinge [zones], [fire], [deepness], [children]. Began October 28th.
  
  
• Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami [Wonderland]. Began October 3rd.
  
  
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline [rp1]. Began September 1st.
  
  
• Rule 34 by Charles Stross [Rule 34]. Began August 2nd.
  
  
• The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi [quantum]. Began July 1st.
  
  
• Embassytown by China Miéville [Embassytown]. Began June 1st.
  
  
• The Dervish House by Ian McDonald [dervish]. Began May 2nd.
  
  
• The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin [LHoD]. Began April 5th.
  
  
• A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. [canticle]. Began March 1st.
  
  
• Inverted World by Christopher Priest [inverted world]. Began February 1st.
  
  
• The City & the City by China Miéville [the city]. Began January 1st.
  
  

  2010######
  

  
  

• Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks [surface]. Began December 3rd.
  
  
• Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell [cloud atlas]. Began November 3rd.
  
  
• Anathem by Neal Stephenson [anathem]. Began October 1st.
  
  
• Blindsight by Peter Watts [blindsight]. Began September 1st.
  
  
• The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi [windup]. Began August 1st.
  
  
• The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect by Roger Williams [MoPI]. Began July 15th.

Have you read Machine Man? :)

The Elemental Mysteries series is not really smutty. It's a fantasy series, though...

The Rosie Project might interest you.

http://www.amazon.com/Machine-Man-Vintage-Contemporaries-Original/dp/0307476898

Pretty short read.

There's a book called the Last Stormlord where they ride giant centipedes sometimes. These are marked in their shells, similar to tattoos, by etching. They go just deep enough to show up. You could even fill it in with paint or ink to make it stand out more (kind of like old school dice!).

It can take a little more time if the patient is hysterical and flailing around haha!

I never understand why police say they have to wait weeks for tox reports. At my hospital you can literally have those results in less than an hour. Maybe some tests take longer? But we test for all the most common stuff so I still don't get it.

I still wonder if she refused any tests. Can the police require the tests since she wasn't a suspect? I'm sure the hospital people wouldn't have wanted to put her through any extra stress since she was a victim (hahaha).

Someone on one of the subs mentioned this book that I highly recommend as a great read. In it, a girl is able to get away with pretending to be a kidnapping vicim. While it is fiction, it paints a picture of how it is possible to fake some things and get away with it.

For those that are unaware of this, here is a link to 1 star reviews on the Amazon page. A number of the posters there (and commenters in those posts) are translators themselves. They explain pretty clearly how embarrassing the Warner/Nishijima translation is.

1. Randamoozham by MT Vasudevan Nair
   
   a: Official Translation - https://www.amazon.in/Bhima-Lone-Warrior-Vasudevan-Nair/dp/9350297590
   
   b: Unofficial Transcreation (Kind of like cover of a song) https://thinkerviews.com/books/english-books/bhimsen-by-prem-panicker-mahabharata-as-bhim-view-it-book-reviews/
   
   
2. Oru Desathinte Katha - https://www.amazon.in/Oru-Desathinte-Katha-S-K-Pottekkatt/dp/8171305709/
   Translation: https://www.amazon.in/Tales-Athiranippadam-Sreedevi-K-Nair/dp/8125051279
   
   
3. Yayati - https://www.amazon.in/Yayati-Classic-Tale-Lust-Khandekar-ebook/dp/B007RXFCI8

I think you would like Greg Egan's Permutation City

If you're an anxious flyer (like me!), remember to bring something made of paper for takeoff and descent. Silly FAA rules.

Most of what I've read recently is post-apocalyptic-y and has planes falling out of the sky...oh! I just finished Machine Man and quite liked it!

There is a a book called Machine Man that explores this idea.

You guys should read Machine Man by Max barry.

Looks at bionic limbs & enhancements etc in a very Black Mirror way. When I see this gif I feel uneasy...

You should read Machine Man by Max Barry.

Have you read Machine Man by Max Barry?

Here you go

This book may be relevant to your interests

Non-mobile: The Rosie Project

^That's ^why ^I'm ^here, ^I ^don't ^judge ^you. ^PM ^/u/xl0 ^if ^I'm ^causing ^any ^trouble. ^WUT?

Have you read the book Machine Man?

That's kind of how the book starts

Check out Genesis by Bernarnd Beckett. It's a short read that goes fairly deep on modern views of AIs without getting too bogged down in character back stories or relationships.

This quartet by Rowena Corry Daniells fits the bill, the last book came out (in the US) last fall:

http://www.amazon.com/Kings-Bastard-King-Rolens-Book/dp/1907519017

You should probably read Max Barry's "Machine Man"

http://www.amazon.com/Machine-Man-Vintage-Contemporaries-Original/dp/0307476898

Have you read Machine Man, by Max Barry?

It's that. And so much more.

Machine Man by Max Barry.

Permutation City by Greg Egan
https://www.amazon.com/Permutation-City-Novel-Greg-Egan/dp/1597805394

... dust theory is very intriguing!

Wasn't something like that a plot point in the book The Rosie Project? Of course that character had undiagnosised Asperger's sydrome and found out the person that worked for him was one that didn't fit into his checklist at all.

> Permutation City

Thats the hard cover. I got the kindle for $3 which is a steal, but can find the paperback for cheap: http://smile.amazon.com/Permutation-City-Novel-Greg-Egan/dp/1597805394/ref=tmm_pap_title_0