Fellow fan of series here! Let me see...

Young Adult
Percy Jackson series is fun (and finished, too, I think).
Artemis Fowl series isn't quite as good as Percy Jackson IMHO, but it's got a following.

Fantasy
Harry Dresden series This is one of my favorites. Harry is Chicago's only professional wizard. There are a ton of these books and they are still going strong.
Game of Thrones These are great...but unfinished. If you watch the show, reading the books does help you get even more out of the story, I think.
Wheel of Time Another good series. There is a LOT of this series and it's finished. (Thank you, Brandon Sanderson!)
Mistborn Speaking of Brandon Sanderson... This one is very good. I highly recommend reading the Mistborn books before trying the Stormlight Archive, but only because as good as Mistborn is, Stormlight Archive is even better.
Stormlight Archive Amazing. Man, these are good. The series isn't finished, but the two books that are available are some of my favorites ever.
Kingkiller Chronicles I loved the first book. I could not freakin' believe I enjoyed the second one even more. The third one is still pending.
Temeraire Dragons in Napoleonic times. Super cool premise! This one is not finished (I don't think, anyway).
Gentlemen Bastards Con men in a fantasy realm. It's pretty light on the fantasy elements. Very light, I'd say. I'd also say that it has some of the very best swearing that I've ever come across. :D

Scifi
Old Man's War I'm almost finished this one--it's amazing!

Horror/Thriller
Passage Trilogy I've heard these described as vampire books...maybe zombie books... It's apocalyptic for sure. Great books!

Mysteries
Amelia Peabody Egyptology + murder mysteries. Super fun, but trust me...go with the audiobooks for these. They are best when they are performed.
Stephanie Plum Total popcorn reads. If that's your thing, shut off your brain and just enjoy.
Walt Longmire These get particularly good as it goes along. The main character is a sheriff in modern day Wyoming. (Side note: The TV show is also great--just don't expect them to stick to the books.)

Graphic Novels (Everything recommended can be gotten in a "book" format instead of only in comic form, in case that matters. I've gotten most of these from my local library.)
Locke & Key Eerie as crap. Love the art! This one is on-going.
Y: The Last Man All the men on the planet drop dead in a day...except for Yorrick. REALLY good. This is the series that got me reading graphic novels. Plus, it's finished!
Walking Dead I am not a zombie fan...but I like these. They're not done, but I've read up through volume 22 and am still enjoying them.

Other
OutlanderI have no idea how to categorize these or even give a description that does them justice. I refused to pick it up for AGES because it sounded like a bodice-ripper romance and that's not my bag. But these are good!

I hope there's something in there that'll do for you. Have fun and read on!

Edit: Apparently, I need to practice formatting. :/
Edit 2: I forgot to add the Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentlemen Bastards #1).

Since you actually put a modicum of thought into your post I'll return the favor and maybe learn something. As a disclaimer, I'll note that many of my opinions and views, while not verbatim, are sourced from Noam Chomsky who himself draws from libertarian socialism and what he calls Enlightenment ideals or values. I'd be the first one to say that I rigorously scrutinize every belief, but whether I meet the burden of proof is for you to decide, not me. As such if you find the ideas behind my post at least interesting, then you should check out a few resources I'll put at the bottom of this post.

It's quite amusing to me that when you referenced the "George Zimmermann trial," I was quite unaware. Ever since I ascertained the true nature of television, I avoid it as much as possible. I take the fact that I didn't follow the reference, given that it was the "primary thing [on tv]," as a sign of my success at completely disconnecting from that medium in favor of others — dominantly reddit and Hacker News supplemented with various online newspapers. I'll characterize the forms of media later to elucidate why I choose reddit over T.V., but the reason is probably as plainly apparent to you as me.

I would like to return to the proposition I questioned you reaffirmed — that it is government that is the locus of political power — and deconstruct it a bit.

As I see it, there exists a metaphysical political space or field in which all of what we call "politics" takes place. I'll consider only domestic politics to simplify things. In the political space, there are a number of metaphysical actors, each with interests that they act in the space to preserve, and each with views. An actor isn't necessarily a single person — it's a metaphysical entity. It becomes clearer if you try to isolate individual actors like government, press, etc. Where is the government? In some sense we are all part of civil society and government, though some more than others. There's no one physical place, no one or many physical entities that clearly delineates government from non-government. In certain contexts for example, ordinary citizens can be considered legal actors of the government, like in Ferguson v. City of Charleston where doctors and nurses administering drug tests on behalf of the government were considered government actors and thus the object of their search is protected by the Fourth Amendment.

So a few actors in this space are clearly the press and the government as we've been talking about. Recall the question "What are the press?" If we look carefully we'll find that all major media organizations are corporations, and quite large ones at that. The New York Times Company had 2.4 billion dollars in revenue in 2009. It's dwarfed by Time Warner (47 billion), Walt Disney (38 billion), News Corp. (33 billion), and so on. In fact, Time Warner is the 159^th biggest corporation by revenue... period. If the press are corporations, and the press are actors in the political space, then what reason do we have to say that it's corporations that are actors in the space rather than just the press? None, and with this realization unlocks the next step of analysis.

Each actor in the political space behaves according to its own interests and has its own views, but we already know from what happened on Meet the Press with Glenn Greenwald that it's not the case that the press always act cohesively. If we analyze our concept of a political actor a bit more, we can see that even though, say, the New York Times is an individual actor, its journalists are as well. It would seem that the New York Times's political behaviors emerge at least partially from its smaller parts. By analogy to a vector space, we can explain the New York Times partially by saying that it is the result after adding up all of the forces of the individual journalists. Conflicts happen when those resultant vectors clash. So this model can explain the fact that the Guardian, while still a member of the press, can act in a way contrary to the press as a whole.

A quote I find is instructive at this point, is that "politics is the shadow cast by ... business over society," and that "attenuation of the shadow will not change its substance," by John Dewey. For Dewey, as for Chomsky, government is the result when you combine the views and actions of literally all the people. The next dimension to incorporate to the space would be a magnitude — the degree to which the actor cares, or the opposite of the level of apathy. For some actors, indeed many as you know yourself, care very little. Since government is the result of all the people in the space, if most of the people don't care, then the policies and actions and views of the government are going to reflect the ones of those who do care, and if we examine the policies of the government we can find very quickly the source of the disease.

You identify the disease as "money," as does Lawrence Lessig in the book "Republic, Lost". I don't think that's quite right. Money isn't an actor in the political space. What is money's opinion on the drug war? We need to distinguish a few things here. First, it's certainly true that political and economic power (money) are tightly linked. You don't need to look ^(source-pdf) very far to see that. Again, it's not a one way relationship either. Economic power leads "reflexively" to political power, to borrow some words from Chomsky. Political power obviously entrenches economic power. Money is certainly an externality, transmitting forces here and there through individual actors in the political space, but it's not a "force" per se.

I am at once amazed but unsurprised that you think that it's the press that is being bludgeoned by the government when to me it is so clear that the roles are reversed. To be sure there is some coercion in both directions, but recall the fact that the New York Times prevailed in the Pentagon Papers case. Recall that the Washington Post, a newspaper owned and operated in the jurisdiction of the United States, had no trouble publishing the leaks. In fact, when the government coerces the press they tend to get really pissed off about it. Notice that previous article is by the editorial board of the New York Times. The New York Times and others are hitting back hard on the government in the way intellectuals do best — shockingly harsh criticism — and it's quite a sight to watch sometimes.

Well, I have more to say but I'll just cut this short so you can respond if you wish. As promised, here are a few related things that would be easy to pick up:

• • *
    
    

1. The documentary "Manufacturing Consent" focusing on Noam Chomsky goes over a lot of this. Also see the book by the same name.
   
2. The lecture given by Chomsky in 1993 entitled "Apathy and Anarchy."
   
3. The lecture given by Chomsky in 1970 entitled "[Government in the Future]
   (http://tangibleinfo.blogspot.com/2006/11/noam-chomsky-lecture-from-1970-full.html)."
   
4. Yet another Chomsky lecture: "Lessons of Vietnam," from 1985.
   
5. Yet another Chomsky lecture: "Columbia Vive" on the drug war.

Scavenger hunts are too much fun! I should be working! RAWR! Thanks for the fun break =]


1.) Something that is grey. My name is makeup and I am grey! WL

2.) Something reminiscent of rain. This color is called "Naughty Nautical". Nautical = water, water = rain. =D?? WL

3.) Something food related that is unusual. Pretty sure most people don't have teeney shaped veggie cutters. WL

4.) Something on your list that is for someone other than yourself. Tell me who it's for and why. (Yes, pets count!) This is for my two parrots! My quaker especially loves dried papaya. I'm teaching her how to fly right now and have been using food as a reward, but we ran out of papaya a couple of weeks ago, and our local bird store has been out of stock for a long time. Turns out that Whole Foods doesn't carry dried papaya either. Rawr! WL


5.) A book I should read! I am an avid reader, so take your best shot and tell me why I need to read it! The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I had heard about this when the movie came out in English. I liked the movie and then moved on with my life. Come this spring, I found myself facing a LOT LOT LOT of driving by myself, so I started borrowing audiobooks from the library. I borrowed all three of these books and REALLY enjoyed them. It wasn't at all what I expected. They're murder mysteries with a lot of themes about violence against women. When I learned about the author, it became that much more interesting. The author wrote these books with the intention of making 10, but died after the third one. They found them after he died. The themes about sexual violence stem from a gang rape he witnessed as a teenager. He never forgave himself for not being able to help her, so he channeled all those emotions into his writing later in life. Anyway.....interesting stuff. Good books. I recommend them :)


6.) An item that is less than a dollar, including shipping... that is not jewelry, nail polish, and or hair related! Pfft.


7.) Something related to cats. I love cats! (keep this SFW, you know who you are...) If I was a cat, this would be my JAM!


8.) Something that is not useful, but so beautiful you must have it. Dresses are admittedly useful for avoiding public indecency charges, but not really useful beyond that. BUT LOOK AT THE RAINBOWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WL


9.) A movie everyone should watch at least once in their life. Why? Not on my wishlist (it's on American Netflix though!), but everyone should be aware of the impact of plastic on the environment and our bodies. Education is everything. Plus, there's a newborn baby at the end.


10.) Something that would be useful when the zombies attack. Explain. 1. Stab zombie in the skull. 2. ??? 3. Profit. The reviews rave that it's super sharp and doesn't stick so it probably wouldn't get stuck in their skull like other knives. WL


11.) Something that would have a profound impact on your life and help you to achieve your current goals. I don't know if I'd use the word profound, but it would sure help me out. A big passion of mine is learning to ID birds. I'm pretty good at most birds, but finding information on juveniles is VERY difficult sometimes. I've used this book before to help identify birds in hand, but I think the information regarding juvenile plumage would help me identify young birds from afar. It's even part of my job to identify birds! WL


12.) One of those pesky Add-On items. This is an Add-On item, but it's also a hair addon =P Not on my WL, but I'm losing my hair like crazy so I might have to look into these >.>


13.) The most expensive thing on your list. Your dream item. Why? This isn't the most expensive item on my list (that was #8), but it's the one that would help me the most! When I do field work, I tend to have a lot of gear on me at once, and the extra strain of binoculars around my neck tends to give me some really freaking sore muscles. A harness would be MUCH easier on my shoulders/neck/back. I start field work again in October, so I plan on buying it for myself by then anyway =] WL


14.) Something bigger than a bread box. EDIT A bread box is typically similar in size to a microwave. This is larger than the average bread box.

15.) Something smaller than a golf ball. I am smaller than a golf ball! WL

16.) Something that smells wonderful. This smells amazing!!! I'm infatuated with cinnamon, but had to stop using cinnamon Crest YEARS ago because I developed a bad reaction to it. This stuff is expensive, but the company is very environmentally responsible and I feel good giving my business to them. WL


17.) A (SFW) toy. This seems pretty SFW unless you're playing Cards Against Humanity. evil grin WL


18.) Something that would be helpful for going back to school. I used sticky notes all the time in school! WL


19.) Something related to your current obsession, whatever that may be. I've obsessed with birds since I was 11. I've been obsessed with rainbows forever. I'm currently obsessed with sushi. THIS IS ALL THREE! WL


20.) Something that is just so amazing and awe-inspiring that I simply must see it. Explain why it is so grand. Hear me out! This baby can keep ice for DAYS. Sitting out in the sun for hours on end? NO PROBLEM! YOU'LL HAVE ICE AT THE END OF THE DAY!! Seriously, Thermos needs to pay me for how much I rave about their stuff. My water bottle has still had ice in it after three days AND being refilled twice. No joke.

BONUS
This beauty was made in OR.


fear cuts deeper than swords. She is my favorite character by far :)

I plot out the major arcs of both the story and the characters. I make sure to nail down the essentials of what is happening when, as well as developing a good understanding of my character motivations.

For me, a lot of planning involves just taking the time to mull over the themes I want to work with, or explore questions I want to raise. This involves asking a lot of questions to everyone I know, everyone I meet. It makes for great party conversations!

It takes a few months, during which time I'll also explore what's already been written/said about what I'm hoping to do. I look at similar movies and books, anything at all that's already been produced that has themes or topics similar to what I'm developing.

I watch a lot of movies and read a lot of books.

As a concrete example, my most recent novel is about what would happen if everyone in the world stopped sleeping.

I spent months asking everyone I knew what the longest was that they stayed awake. I also read pretty much the only comparable thing on the topic, a fictional novel called "Sleepless" by Charlie Huston. I also read articles on sleep and neuroscience, as well as watched TED talks and other related videos.

Then I conducted a sleep-deprivation experiment on myself. I wanted to know what it would be like to not sleep. (I am a wuss and didn't make it that long- I need sleep more than the average bear apparently!)

This novel is in the style of World War Z (early title: World War ZZZ, huehuehue) and so it involved a lot of characters. Too many to keep track of in my brain, unaided.

I had index cards for each one, as well as drafts notes (using Scrivener- hurrah!). I got really comfortable with character creation. I read Stephen King's On Writing and O.S. Card's Characters and Viewpoint.

I was able to craft an overarching narrative by determining which characters would inject the story with which elements, and placing them where they needed to be. They got moved around a bit as I went on, but throughout I was very aware of the overall flow of the work.

Through careful planning, the actual writing (80,000 words) only took about seven weeks. I am a machine when it comes to word output, if I've done my (months and months of) homework. A second draft saw a lot of that cut, and more added in to bring it up to 86,000 words in three weeks of the hardest work of my life.

For me, planning is super important. If I don't plan well enough, I waste days. Days where my story goes off the rails, or my characters do things which don't make sense.

It's wonderful to see some things happen more fluidly, and I've had lovely surprises this way, but I always stop and think about if that is really what I want to be doing before I proceed.

I hope this long winded reply answers your question. I do enjoy sharing this sort of thing, and I hope it helps other writers do what they love to do.

Full disclosure: I've talked about these books before. It's hard not to talk about them again, because I love reading books!

The dated but still fun modern-fantasy SERRAted Edge series written by Mercedes Lackey and others starts with Born to Run. They tackle some serious issues and have serious moments, but they're generally a nice light read.

Dana Stabenow's Alaskan murder mystery Kate Shugak series starts off with A Cold Day For Murder -- and it's free if you have a Kindle/other e-reader. The main character Kate and her half-wolf Mutt have a lot of suspenseful, yet occasionally hilarious, moments. There's even a bit of romance thrown in here and there.

David Weber writes a space-opera series that's on its ... twentieth? novel. It all started off with On Basilisk Station and The Honor of the Queen -- both of which are free as well through the Kindle store! (HotQ is probably my favorite in the entire series.) This series is less humor and a little more cerebral (especially once you get to 'recent events' and end up re-reading the entire series to spot the plot setups...) but honestly, how can you argue with a main character whose primary companion is a six-limbed, arboreal, prehensile-tailed, thumb-wielding, telepathic cat?

Maggie Furey wrote a magic-fantasy quadrilogy that I discovered years ago when I read Aurian. It's actually been long enough since I've read it that I don't remember tons of the details, but it's currently very high on my to-read (again) list.

Naomi Novik writes an alternate history Napoleonic-era Britain (with dragons!) that starts with His Majesty's Dragon. I highly recommend the first three. It's sort of sea-and-sky-opera with some lighthearted fun thrown in.

A new addition to my recommended list is the modern-fantasy Dresden Files, written by Jim Butcher and starting with Storm Front. Private investigation meets spellslinging, with sometimes unpredictable and often hilarious results.

IF men call you cute and adorable, it means they're NICE guys, not crude gross pigs. But never, never, never never think that doesn't secretly include "extremely fuckable" and "sexy" too. They are just smart enough not to blurt out their very real pervy thoughts of you because any guy who really shares what a lusting horndog he is inside his own head that to a modern, intelligent woman such as yourself figures he will probably get tasered and maced.

Being around N's your whole life has left deep scars about your beauty, your confidence, even just making a single mistake in you. Does your university have a counseling office? go talk to them about finding a good therapist you can work with while you are getting your PhD. Being 5'1, looking young, AND having this headtrip from your N's means that part of your preparation for your CAREER you need to battle these demons asap. When you get out into your field, you are going to need to have the self confidence to be assertive and to function as the well educated, competent professional you will be.... you will need to command respect. The good news is a PhD takes years, so you have the time and space to do this as a "personal learning and growth project" before you are out there in the workforce. But you can do this.

Tell me how you like Mama Gena once you read her. :)

Edited to add: Oh, and if you like reading fiction... The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest by Stieg Larsson... Lisabeth Salander is the heroine of this trilogy, and she is magnificent... and she has exactly your build.

Do you like mysteries?? I hope you do! Because I'm about to tell you about my favorite mystery series ever! =D

Check out The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. It's the first in an absolutely amazing mystery series. Mysteries are my favorite books, but I'm weird and I'm really picky about them. So I promise this one is good!

To sum it up, the stories follow an 11-year-old girl who lives in a small village in 1950s England. She is very clever for her age and is very talented at chemistry. In particular, she is very fond of poisons. Long story short, a murder occurs and she helps solve it!

They're SO GOOD. I haven't heard many people IRL talk about these books, but according to the first couple of pages or so, they win awards and such. Anyway, I'd highly recommend this book and the whole series!

Thank you so much for this contest! =D

Most of this is copypasta from another reply on this thread, since it seemed silly to just rephrase all the things. Please note the last paragraph if none of these seem fun. I read a lot, mostly exclusively SF/F (both adult and YA), and boy do I have opinions on it. And if you're not a reader starting with YA is a thought. There's a lot of fun, intelligent YA out there now as publishers realize teens don't actually want to be treated like they're stupid.

For a low commitment (i.e. not part of a series), humorous start there's Terry Pratchett/Neil Gaiman's Good Omens. I like a lot of Gaiman's work, which ranges from the strange and humorous (see: GO) to the strange and creepy (Anasazi Boys), but what I'd recommend from him depends on what you're looking for.

In the funny but harder scifi range I'd rec the beloved classic Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. This is seriously one of the wittiest books I've ever read besides being an action-packed scifi romp.

If you're interested in urban fantasy I have all the recs. Everything from Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series Book 1: Storm Front, for the grown-up wizard, to Seanan McGuire's October Daye series Book 1: Rosemary and Rue, if you're more into fae.

For the dark and more sexual (seriously, there is sex in these books) I highly recommend the Fever Series by Karen Moning, Book 1: Darkfever.

If you like SF/F books (like Discworld, Animorphs, etc.) let me know what subgenres (e.g. hard scifi, urban fantasy, urban scifi, fantasy romance, young adult _____ ) you think you might like and I guarantee you I have a recommendation or two. I read a lot.

I think someone already mentioned Julian by Gore Vidal. This would be an interesting topic, as the novel concerns Julian the Apostate. You could have a very interesting debate on the birth of the modern Christian faith. You could also include episodes 3, 4 and 5 of Twelve Byzantine Rulers, a very popular podcast and quite a good introduction to the "Eastern Roman Empire"; a topic sadly much overlooked in most history schooling.

The Cicero books of Robert Harris (author of excellent "What if Germany won WWII" novel Fatherland, itself a great potential for discussing what "could have been"), would make a good start for discussing the fall of the Roman Republic. There are two books in a triology currently published; Imperium and Conspirata, also published as Lustrum.

Apart from Ancient history, if you want to consider American history, you could try the wonderful novels of E. L. Doctorow. His Ragtime is often included in lists of "best American novels" and deals with racism, the early years of Jazz, includes many famous American persons and of course fictional characters. Another one of his is The March which might be rather topical at the moment, as it deals with Sherman's March to the Sea during the American Civil War. Very good reading (as most of Doctorow is) and not too long either.

I'd like to give you an unbiased view of his books but I'm afraid when it comes Alastair Reynolds I suffer from a blatent case of fanboyism; he's the only good scifi writer novelist us Welsh have (nearly insulted all the Doctor Who fans there), it still amazes me how many great scifi writers Scotland produces in comparison.

I believe his characterisation improves, this was after all his first novel.

His biggest strength IMHO is his worldbuilding, I can't get enough of his Revelation Space universe. His second novel set in the Revelation Space universe (although can be read as stand-alone) Chasm City is my favourite as it started me on my journey through his universe and generally got me hooked on all his writing.

The last one The Prefect set before the melding plague was also excellent, I'm hoping he writes a few more over this time period after finishing 'Poseidons Children'.

TLDR; I'd recommend to keep on reading, you will be rewarded.

I'm really surprised that nobody has mentioned this one yet, but you should check out the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. Storm Front is the first book in the series. Don't quit after only reading the first one! The series gets better as you go!

Also, I just finished reading Fahrenheit 451 and loved it :)

EDIT: If you read a lot, I would really recommend using PaperBack Swap! (gotta be honest, this is a referral link through me!) They have a ton of great books available for around $3.45 per book (with shipping) at the most, and that's if you actually purchase credits.

I love Tana French! She writes a good, complex mystery that really sucks you in. She started with In the Woods. This is also the start of her Dublin Murder Squad books - all of them great.

Gillian Flynn, who wrote Gone Girl, also has another book out - Dark Places.

Also some of my favorites are Nicholas Evans (Horse Whisperer, among others). I've read most of Jodi Picoult's books (Leaving Time is pretty recent, and one of my favorites).

I find many of my books by keying in favorites on Amazon, and seeing what other people also buy. If you are a Prime member, you also get 2 free advanced books every month, and with a Kindle, you have the lending library as well. My Kindle library is out of control - I've been using Kindle Unlimited to keep that more manageable & it's easy for me.

The Hunger Games / Divergent / Ender's Game / Maze Runner series are great also, are fun reads, and give you a bit more time with the characters as part of a series.

It is. Plus the author has a great sense of humor and lets it color his writing. I've turned quite a few people on to the series with no complaints. To be fair, all of those people did enjoy books of a similar nature. Good luck and let me know what you think if you read them. The first book is Storm Front. They're pretty expensive right now on Kindle so I linked the paperback edition for you. My local library always has the books available, so I'd check there as well - free is a great price as well :).

1. Natural Capitalism - Creating the Next Industrial Revolution. Most businesses still operate according to a world view that hasn't changed since the start of the Industrial Revolution. Then, natural resources were abundant and labor was the limiting factor of production. But now, there's a surplus of people, while natural capital natural resources and the ecological systems that provide vital life-support services is scarce and relatively expensive. In this groundbreaking blueprint for a new economy, three leading business visionaries explain how the world is on the verge of a new industrial revolution.
   
   
2. The Information Diet. The modern human animal spends upwards of 11 hours out of every 24 in a state of constant consumption. Not eating, but gorging on information ceaselessly spewed from the screens and speakers we hold dear. We're all battling a storm of distractions, buffeted with notifications and tempted by tasty tidbits of information. And just as too much junk food can lead to obesity, too much junk information can lead to cluelessness.
   
   
3. Republic, Lost. With heartfelt urgency and a keen desire for righting wrongs, Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig takes a clear-eyed look at how fundamentally good people, with good intentions, have allowed our democracy to be co-opted by outside interests, and how this exploitation has become entrenched in the system. Rejecting simple labels and reductive logic - and instead using examples that resonate as powerfully on the Right as on the Left - Lessig seeks out the root causes of our situation. He plumbs the issues of campaign financing and corporate lobbying, revealing the human faces and follies that have allowed corruption to take such a foothold in our system.
   
   
4. Free: How Today's Smartest Businesses Profit by Giving Something for Nothing. A generational and global shift is at play—those below 30 won't pay for information, knowing it will be available somewhere for free, and in China, piracy accounts for about 95% of music consumption. Anderson provides a thorough overview of the history of pricing and commerce, the mental transaction costs that differentiate zero and any other price into two entirely different markets, the psychology of digital piracy and the open-source war between Microsoft and Linux. Although Chris Anderson puts forward an intriguing argument in this cheerful, optimistic book, many critics remained unconvinced.

When you design a multiplayer game, you're trying to design incentives and rules to channel players' competitive energy and aggression into an experience that's fun and fair for everyone. That's true of a community-based site as well.

Back in the 90s me and my friend and CounterPAC cofounder, Zack Booth Simpson, were working on a game called Netstorm. At that time John McCain and Russ Feingold were just starting their campaign finance reform effort. We got to thinking - it's great that they're doing that, but there's a paradox in the government trying to regulate itself. The guys with money are always going to react faster than the legislators and regulators.

That made us wonder whether you could have a private organization that would be on the "good guy" side. We had various ideas, but no time or money to make it happen.

Now I do have the money, and I stepped back from Kongregate to make the time.

> Also as a British reader - where can I find more info on PACs and the American political system?

I love this essay Lessig wrote last month: https://medium.com/@lessig/whats-so-bad-about-a-superpac-c7cbcf617b58.

His book is great too: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0446576433/

I thought I would go through my Audible library and pick some books to recommend.

A Borrowed Man by Gene Wolfe

I remember thinking at the time of reading this that it felt a bit like one of the Robot stories from Asimov. Released in 2015, it's maybe one of the most classic-sci-fi feeling books that I've read in a while.

Pattern Recognition by William Gibson

Fairly unique feel to this one. I'm not a die-hard Gibson fan, and this one isn't future science fiction but very worth a read in my opinion.

The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu

This one is admittedly hard to follow at times, though this may be a matter of the translation more than anything else.

Three novels by Peter Clines: 14, The Fold, and Paradox Bound

Peter Clines is one of those that is capable of capturing some of the feeling of classic sci-fi, especially with The Fold. He also sometimes mixes in a bit of Lovecraft for good measure.

Snapshot by Brandon Sanderson

Very short listen / read, but pretty good. I wouldn't put this on the same level as The Emperor's Soul, but it's enjoyable.

Two books by Rob Reid: Year Zero, and After On

Definitely not future sci-fi, they are still science fiction though they also serve as commentary on Silicon Valley.

Hey thanks!!

Some of them are really really cheesy. Then others are wildly entertaining.

Here are some romance novels that still free on Amazon and I've enjoyed:

Dragonfly

Babysitting the Baumgartners. (SUPER SMUTTY)

[A Cold Dark Place]
(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IR4J6RY?redirect=true&ref_=kinw_myk_ro_title)

Carrots Only free with Kindle Unlimited right now. And not a romance novel. But was quite good.

• The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is the first book of the Flavia De Luce mystery series. I quickly fell in love with the heroine and the authors writing style draws you in easily.
  
  
• Note to self: don't read sad books while you're on an airplane
  
  *Done
  
  Thanks for passing on the literary enjoyment!

Bruce Sterling's Zeitgeist is right up modern reference alley.

Other people have mentioned William Giibson's early cyberpunk work, but frankly his more recent novels like Idoru, Pattern Recognition, and Virtual Light are every bit as good.

In depth travel through fictional (though not VR) worlds is well handled in L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt's Compleat Enchanter series.

Lastly, John Myers Myers' Silverlock is pretty much the literary reference motherload.

Saying there's no hope is just an excuse for apathy imo. It just takes the right creative solution and the public will to support it. I don't know nearly enough to argue Citizen's United, but I have heard some good ideas that don't conflict with the court ruling. If you have the time/inclination I strongly recommend Republic Lost by Lawrence Lessig. He also has some great Youtube videos.

Edited Spelling

Ok, you like a lot of the authors I do so Imma try and throw a couple out there.
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi Set in future Thailand where global warming has run rampant, the oceans have risen, and gene companies produce food seed continuously to keep ahead of genetic plagues that destroy anything edible. It's some solid hard scifi and if you like Gibson and Dick it should do ya well.

Red Thunder by John Varley Set in the near future the Chinese are clearly going to win the spacerace to Mars and a small group decides to build a ship to beat em. This is the first in a three part series (which I just learned had a third part lookin up that link) and I enjoyed it.

As for fantasy...

The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher In the world of The Dresden Files, magic is real, along with ghouls, vampires, demons, spirits, faeries, werewolves, zombies and other mythical monsters. Harry Dresden works to protect the general public, who are ignorant of magic and the dark forces conspiring against them. This makes it difficult for Harry to get by as a working wizard and private eye. The Chicago PD's Special Investigation unit, when led by Karrin Murphy, regularly employs Dresden as a consultant to help solve cases of a supernatural nature. I love this series, whenever a new book comes out (and hes up to 14 not counting a few short story collections and such) I read it almost nonstop.

I haven't read anything good in years and the things I have read are usually due to finding new books for my kids or reading the books that have been adapted to tv/film.

One of my all time favorite series was from Robin Hobb. Starting with Assassin's Apprentice. This was a difficult read for me at the time, but I loved the story behind the characters.

I started reading less fantasy after reading Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Millennial Series. I read these after watching the original films. It is fantastic. Just don't buy the fourth book, it wasn't even written by him as he has been dead for a while now.

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. I didn't start reading those until Game of Thrones premiered on HBO.

Now for some really old school, Dragonlance by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. The fourth book came out years later and was fantastic. I have read more than a few of the side stories, but the main books are the best in my opinion, probably would not hold up well today.

Currently, I have The Martian by Andy Weir and Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan waiting for me to read.

The Five People You meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom is a book that I consider a must read. I don't consider it a spiritual book, but it did change my perspective on how I view my life in this world.

Gillian Flynn is one of my favorites, and I group her with Denise Mina, Tana French, Sara Gran, and Elizabeth Hand. These are the books that I recommend to start each writer:

• Elizabeth Hand - Generation Loss
  
• Denise Mina - Garnethill
  
• Tana French - In the Woods
  
• Sara Gran - Dope or Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead
  
  I HIGHLY recommend all of these -- they're all biting and well written and thrilling in different ways.

If you liked Dan Brown, you could give Umberto Eco a try with Foucault's Pendulum or In the Name of the Rose - His books are more intelligent and were written before Brown was around.

I read a lot of historical fiction, if that is of interest you could start with The Gates of Fire by Pressfield or The Last Kingdom by Cornwell

Mystery, action, and fantasy all rolled into one - Dresden Files might be of interest to you - it is kind of a detective noir mixed with fantasy. Also, the series vastly improves as it progresses.

If you would like a coming of age story, The Power of One follows a boy in turn-of-the-century South Africa and examines class and race relations in a very accessible way.

If you want to try reading some of what are considered "The Classics" I would recommend All Quiet on the Western Front and To Kill a Mockingbird

Tried to think of some of my favorites across several very different genres...If any of these appeal, I can expand on them with more similar suggestions.

I've read the preview of this book and it looks pretty good, especially since I love well done urban fantasy story's. You'd probably really enjoy the Dresden Series... about a badass wizard detective living in Chicago.

Here's a link to the first book if you want to check it out:
http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Front-Dresden-Files-Book/dp/0451457811

Ya know, I'll order a paperback edition of a Madness of Angels from amazon right now if you promise to take a look at the Dresden Series. Deal?

Hitler wanted to control Europe and establish the 1,000 Year Reich, which was his idea of a modern version of the Roman Empire. Before the US began to help England and Russia with Lend/Lease and other programs, he didn't give a lot of thought to North America or Asia.

Specifically, Hitler wanted to create a homeland for his idea of the Aryan people, which would include western Europe, eastern Europe and a significant slice of the western Soviet Union. Much of the new, eastern lands were to exist almost entirely to provide raw materials and slave labor for the citizens of greater Germany. The existing populations of the newly conquered lands deemed to be not Aryan enough were either to be eliminated, or moved to the new lands and forcibly settled so they could be exploited.

As someone has already suggested, you can read about Generalplan Ost (General Plan East) to see the broad outlines of what he had in mind. Hitler also had plans to redesign Berlin to be the new capital, and do things like build the Führermuseum in Linz, his hometown.

If you want an entertaining alternate history novel about what might have happened had Hitler won, Fatherland, by Robert Harris gives a good idea of what might have been.

What sort of fantasy do you think you would like? High fantasy, modern day real world fantasy, steam punk, romance, adventure, coming of age?

If you are looking at staying with a Young Adult fantasy theme, I would suggest Cassandra Clare's series, [The Mortal Instruments] (https://www.amazon.com/Bones-Mortal-Instruments-Cassandra-Clare/dp/1481455923/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1478740289&sr=8-3&keywords=the+mortal+instruments) and it's prequel series, [The Infernal Devices] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1481456024/ref=pd_sim_14_6?ie=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1481456024&pd_rd_r=H6XGB69FAEC3097ZA851&pd_rd_w=lLXM8&pd_rd_wg=MOvOs&psc=1&refRID=H6XGB69FAEC3097ZA851) . The prequel series is actually my favorite of the two. It is steam punk fantasy while the other is not. I also would recommend [The Dresden Files] (https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Front-Dresden-Files-Butcher/dp/0451457811/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1478740351&sr=1-1&keywords=dresden+files), by Jim Butcher even though they are not Young Adult. They contain every type of fantasy creature and setting you could imagine. It's a series about a private detective in modern day Chicago who also happens to be a wizard.

If you want to delve into a zombie genre, I have enjoyed [The Forest of Hands and Teeth] (https://www.amazon.com/Forest-Hands-Teeth-Carrie-Ryan/dp/0385736827/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478740244&sr=8-1&keywords=forest+of+hands+and+teeth) series by Carrie Ryan as well as [The Enemy] (https://www.amazon.com/Enemy-new-cover-Novel/dp/1484721462/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478740190&sr=8-1&keywords=the+enemy+charlie+higson) series by Charlie Higson.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle is Higgin's best and an undisputed classic but he did a ton of other great books as well.

I'd also recommend the Spenser books by RBP.

Yeah, if it was free to play I'd push a lot harder for people to try it, but I can understand not wanting to plop down thirty bucks for a game you're not sure you'd want.

However, I really love modern day/supernatural settings. Some of my favorite book series are The Nightside books by Simon R. Green, The Hollows series by Kim Harrison (especially so because I actually live near Cincinnati, which is where the books take place), The Hellboy graphic novel series, and so on.

So yeah, a game with a modern day setting where I get to spend hours fighting zombies, insane cultists, bloodthirsty vampires, and elder gods? Sign me up! :D

Perhaps Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn would be something for your Grandmother.

As to Murder Mystery's I can recommen Scandinavian crime literature(I'm Scandinavian myself, so I might be a little biased). First I can recommend a series by Jo Nesbø, it's a link to the first book in his series about inspector Harry Hole.

I can also recommend Jussi Alder-Olsens series about Department Q It's also a link to the first book in the series. It's about a cop, who is not following the rules of the murder department and as a result gets put in the basement and have to work on old cases. It's quite good and surprisingly funny.

Somwhat of a classic series in Scandinavian Crime literature is The Millennium by Steig Larsson Series Series, which has a pretty damm good story. The first book is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

As to Horror The Shining by Stephen King is always a good read, maybe not gory, but it freaked me out, when I read the first time.

You can check them out and see if anything would fit to what your Grandmother enjoys. I hope you find something good.

^(Note: these are all books I've read and can recommend from experience.)

David Brin's Sundiver is a detective mystery. Likewise his Existence is a mystery about a recently discovered artifact, though its presentation with multiple perspectives lacks the singular detective tone of Sundiver. It's not as much of a mystery/thriller more of a mystery/adventure. It is also one of the overall best science fiction novels I've ever read; the writing is top notch, the characters superbly lifelike, the tone excellent, and the overall reading experience enjoyable and filled with a realistic optimism.

Gregory Benford's Artifact is an investigative mystery about a strange artifact. His Timescape is about a strange phenomenon.

Jack McDevitt's The Engines of God is an investigative mystery about a strange artifact.

Asimov's The End of Eternity is a classic mystery/thriller.

Alastair Reynolds' The Prefect and Chasm City are both standalone detective mysteries. His Revelation Space is similar, but does not have the same classic mystery tone.

Greg Bear's Queen of Angels and Slant are both standalone detective mysteries.

I seem to recall the Second Foundation (Foundation's Fear, Foundation and Chaos, Foundation's Triumph) trilogy by Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, and David Brin having some mystery aspects. I think one of them at least is a detective mystery, but I can't remember which right now.

Dan Simmons' Ilium/Olympos is a sort of detective mystery, but its tone is much more action/adventure despite the protagonist's undertakings to determine what in the world is going on.

Joan D. Vinge's Cat Trilogy (Psion, Catspaw, and Dreamfall) are detective mysteries.

Julian May's Perseus Spur is a detective mystery. It's pretty light-hearted and a lot of fun to read. Something you would pick up at an airport bookstore and not be at all disappointed with. I can't speak for the other two books in the trilogy, haven't read them yet. Just ordered them off Amazon for $4 a piece.

I could go on, but I think that should keep you busy for a while.

 

^(Edited to clarify the tone of some suggestions. Some are more traditional mystery/thriller, while others are more adventure/mystery, more alike to Indiana Jones than a noir detective.)

Tell us a little bit more about yourself. What entertainment genres do you like? Are there any subjects you want to learn more about?

Here's a few good books I've read recently:

• 1491; about cultures in the Americas before Columbus arrived. There was a lot more going on than you'd think.
  
  
• The Tipping Point: about looking at big trends and processes and finding the place where you can make a difference.
  
  
• Storm Front: Book 1 of the Dresden Files: One of my favorite fiction series. Urban fantasy about a wizard who works as a private detective in Chicago. Phillip Marlowe/film noir sort of attitude with a lot of insight and humor.

One of the biggest reasons I loved the Millennium trilogy was Larsson's use of Sweden itself as a character. Everything from the weather to Scandinavian minimalism helped make the story so much more real.

Following those, I ended up reading and loving Tana French's trilogy. The stories follow three Irish police officers (though the stories are more loosely connected than Millennium) and her use of Ireland itself is absolutely brilliant. Give the first one In the Woods a shot and see what you think.

Edit: My mistake. It looks like a fourth book was just published in July.

> But at least have enough class not to advertise that you did it.

Hey, Jim. Long time fan of the Dresden books; I usually use them as a case example of showing people what it's like for an author to improve over time, because I think it's very clear to the reader how consistently you get better as a writer from book to book (although you rely on the word 'literally' far too often for my taste). I understand your point of view on people sharing your books for free, but I cannot support your attitude that there is anything remotely shameful about it, any more than there is shame in lending or giving a book to a friend - it is simply a fact that a digital book can be given away without the giver no longer having it, which shouldn't have any impact on the morality in question.

Some of your pirates truly can't afford your books, and you should not consider them a loss of sales in any way. Many, like thefran has strongly implied he is, struggle with inadequate service - information in the digital age is always in competition with free, and sellers who do not realize this make poor decisions that cause piracy. theFran has straight-up admitted that he had to buy a bootleg because, for no good reason, he could not buy your product when it released, as it was delayed in his country. In the internet age, that is straight-up inexcusable. This is your publisher's fault, not yours, but you should understand that he was out to enjoy your work, not hurt you, and as a group, the people involved in selling him the book dropped the ball collectively.

If you're serious about wanting to sell more books to internet denizens, 1) make absolutely sure digital copies of your book release no later than the physical book does, 2) in every format used by a digital reader, 3) on widely accessible markets, 4) for a reasonable price (this means less than the physical copy; 5 dollars is about right). This shit, where the digital copy costs MORE than the paper copy, is just going to lose you sales. http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Front-Book-Dresden-Files/dp/0451457811

I realise you're the author, but you're big enough to tell your publishers to stop being idiots. Get on the phone with them and start making yourself more money and your internet readers happier.

https://www.amazon.com/Lies-Damn-Vampire-Rock-Star-ebook/dp/B07CXCZ7N3

This is my book. The blurb:

>On the eve of Firelight's last concert of their world tour, their vampire bassist is accused of assaulting a human. The other band members have their own secrets. Can they keep the lucky (and naive) fan who won the chance to spend the day with them from finding out the truth? In a satire of boybands and their fans and a look at what it's really like to be a vampire in the 21st century, the only thing that sparkles is fool's gold.

Free e-books today!

r/https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H764YSS- "Detective Wings", a story about a special detective cases and his target of 100% solved cases

r/https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GTRY25Z- "Sam's Theory", a short story about a woman who loses everything and starts questioning her past relationships

r/https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HHM6W4T- "Mousetrapped", a story about an immortal woman who faces childbirth and motherhood and a special relationship with her immortal husband

I liked Snow Crash a lot, but I never thought that any of his other stuff was as good. Not to say I don't like other Stephenson, just not crazy good like Snow Crash.

Daemon was awesome, IMHO. You have my upvote for mentioning it.

I haven't seen anyone mention Halting State by Charles Stross. Once I got over the Scottishness of the writer's voice, I thoroughly enjoyed that one.

I knew him when his first novel came out, before all the fame.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/sxsw-watch-the-trailer-for-adaptation-of-anthony-bourdains-bone-in-the-throad-with-ed-westwick-tom-wilkinson-20150313
His favorite comic book series of all time is ''The Spirit''.
http://www.willeisner.com/spirit/index.html
He had the meanest cat ever seen by man, and gigantic oscar fish.
He told me that this was his favorite book:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Friends-Eddie-Coyle-Novel/dp/031242969X
That is all.

I'd look into Girl with the Dragon Tattoo if you haven't already. It definitely strikes the mood you seem to be looking for, and it does a great job balancing the case itself with the development of the characters involved. I actually haven't continued the trilogy yet myself, but I've been told many times that the later books are even better than the first. I enjoyed the first one quite a bit, though, and it's not usually by genre.

Are you looking for straight comedy or just things with comedic elements? Do you have any specific genre preferences?

For example, Steven Brust's Jhereg series has a very snarky protagonist, but it's not a comedy.

Same would be true for the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, if you like urban fantasy.

I'll add this thematically similar recommendation: Sleepless, by Charlie Huston.

It takes place in LA instead of New York, but it's about what happens when the city falls apart due to an incurable plague. In the novel, it's insomnia. The story bounces between a detective and an assassin. I love the book for its atmosphere and world-building, as well as for the way it answers the question of what systems and power structures emerge when urban civilization collapses.

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

I can almost guarantee that you will enjoy the Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher. The protagonist is a wizard who works with Chicago PD on magic related and other supernatural cases. There are some strong female characters, a sort of Scooby gang eventually, lots of vampire intrigue, and while the sense of humor isn't exactly the same, I find it to be in the same neighborhood, just a little geekier. Here is a link to the first book in the series.

You should definitely check out Dresden Files. Please dont base it on the horrible TV series they made the books are fantastic.
http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Front-Dresden-Files-Book/dp/0451457811/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291817709&sr=8-1
also the audio books are great, read by James Marsters.

Here are some of my favorites that you may enjoy. Some of these are split genre books (horror/suspense, sci-fi/police procedural, etc.), but they all fit in the general thriller genre, and are all really excellent books available through the Kindle store.

• Graverobbers Wanted (No Experience Necessary) by Jeff Starnd
  https://www.amazon.com/Graverobbers-Wanted-Experience-Necessary-Thriller-ebook/dp/B0065558GU/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=graverobbers+wanted&qid=1569589129&s=gateway&sr=8-1
  
  
• Kop by Warren Hammond
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07PNWNHCH/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr=
  
  
• Whiskey Sour by J.A. Konrath
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BBE4BFE/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
  
  
• A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003GYEH2E/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
  
  
• 13 Bullets by David Wellington
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QUCNZO/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Those books are insanely awesome!!

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Lawrence Lessig has done some excellent work on describing how exactly we got here and how, perhaps, we might get out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw2z9lV3W1g

BTW, his book "Republic Lost" is amazing!

Wake up Reddit! Don't let the American Anti-Corruption Act die...

The American Anti-Corruption Act (AACA) was published in Nov 2012. It reached 300,000 citizen co-sponsors by January 2013 but since then has slowed to a crawl. As of writing this there are only about 400,000 signatures. If this sluggish pace continues, support for the AACA will be too weak to pressure congress into making it law.

What's most disappointing is that the internet communities the AACA was most depending on for its success have practically ignored it. There's hardly been any attention generated for the AACA on Reddit over these past 6 months, yet I'm constantly reading comments from Redditors complaining about the excessive influence of money in American democracy and expressing frustration at not knowing how to solve the problem. Meanwhile, well-known activists Lawrence Lessig and Trevor Potter have collaborated to publish a comprehensive solution (the AACA) and a plan for making it law, and Reddit barely notices. I know Reddit can do better because of the strong opposition it showed to SOPA.

So what gives Reddit? Let's wake up already and get the AACA the exposure it needs.

Link to become a citizen co-sponsor of the American Anti-Corruption Act and learn more about it (becoming a citizen co-sponsor just means adding your name to the petition):
http://anticorruptionact.org


Other informative links:

American Anti-Corruption Act: full text and details

American Anti-Corruption Act: analysis of how well individual act provisions will hold up in the Supreme Court (summary: most should be fine)

Lawrence Lessig AMA

Lawrence Lessig TED Talk

Lawrence Lessig Book: Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress--and a Plan to Stop It

Trevor Potter AMA

OpenSecrets.org: tracks the political money trail

OpenCongress.org: tracks the political money trail, the life cycle of congressional bills, and representative's voting records

EDIT: It appears the link to the video might be down right now. It's basically just a clever commercial highlighting how our senators are practically whoring themselves for political money.

If you like fantasy, check in with the folks over at r/fantasy. That being said, Patrick Rothfuss' Name of the Wind is phenomenal epic fantasy with beautifully crafted storytelling. If you want fast paced urban fantasy, check out Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files, which is about a magic wielding private detective with an irreverent sense of humor.

I love some of the Amazon comments about Crossroads of Twilight. They're hilarious!

I really loved Ender's Game, but I know its not everyone's cup of tea. You should read The Dresden Files. It is a really good mix of fantasy/magic and detective/action types.

I suppose the obvious choice would be The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and its sequels. I'd also recommend The Carla Trilogy by John LeCarre (though these novels take place in the 1970s, they are some of the best thriller/spy novels ever written and don't think your wife will mind.

How about some good books?:

Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey - First in the series.

Something from the Nightside by Simon R. Green - First in the series.

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett - Hilarious

Check out the Flavia de Luce mysteries by Alan Bradley. While they do feature murder they're light, humorous, and quick reads. There are only 4 currently in print, but I think there'll be something like 7 in total. Bradley is pushing them out pretty quick.

The American Anti-Corruption Act (AACA) was published in Nov 2012. It reached 300,000 citizen co-sponsors by January 2013 but since then has slowed to a crawl. As of writing this there are only 365,906 signatures. If this sluggish pace continues, support for the AACA will be too weak to pressure congress into making it law.

What's most disappointing is that the internet communities the AACA was most depending on for its success have practically ignored it. There's hardly been any attention generated for the AACA on Reddit over these past 6 months, yet I'm constantly reading comments from Redditors complaining about the excessive influence of money in American democracy and expressing frustration for not knowing how to solve the problem. Meanwhile, well-known activists Lawrence Lessig and Trevor Potter have collaborated to publish a comprehensive solution (the AACA) and a plan for making it law, and Reddit barely notices. It's this type of apathetic laziness that has been the greatest impediment to fixing politics in America, and I know Reddit can do better because of how active we were in opposing SOPA.

So what gives Reddit? Let's wake up already and get the AACA the exposure it needs.

Link to become a citizen co-sponsor of the American Anti-Corruption Act and learn more about it (becoming a citizen co-sponsor just means adding your name to the petition):
http://anticorruptionact.org


Other informative links:

American Anti-Corruption Act: full text and details

American Anti-Corruption Act: analysis of how well individual act provisions will hold up in the Supreme Court (summary: most should be fine)

Lawrence Lessig AMA

Lawrence Lessig TED Talk

Lawrence Lessig Book: Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress--and a Plan to Stop It

Trevor Potter AMA

OpenSecrets.org: tracks the political money trail

OpenCongress.org: tracks the political money trail, the life cycle of congressional bills, and representative's voting records

For a great book on the subject of how current campaign financing laws indeed completely corrupt law-makers, I suggest Lawrence Lessig's Republic, Lost (and here's his video). He founded the rootstriker movement to make it his current life mission to overhaul campaign financing laws -- it won't be easy, but it's not a crazy idea at all, and you can help: http://mayday.us

I published my book on Amazon and it's free for the next few days.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CXCZ7N3/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525834496&sr

Lies, Damn Lies, and a Vampire Rock Star

>On the eve of Firelight's last concert of their world tour, their vampire bassist is accused of assaulting a human. The other band members have their own secrets. Can they keep the lucky (and naive) fan who won the chance to spend the day with them from finding out the truth?

Pluses: It's short, easy to read, the grammar and spelling are good, it's occasionally funny, and the vampires are somewhat different than usual - they're not teenagers and they don't sparkle. They're not even especially sexy. They're actually kind of surly and weird.

Minuses: I started out with an A plot and a B plot and unfortunately the A plot is more interesting but the B plot gets more pages.

I have two books for you to read:

Influence: Science and Practice

Republic Lost

They both lay out very good reasons for why downplaying the potential sway that dinners, parties, or other favors have on your behavior is not a good idea.

The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher is one of my favorite series. It's less scifi and a bit more on the fantasy genre, but still really good. It's much less high fantasy than the Game of Thrones series and set in Chicago in today's time. Plus the main guy gets to ride a zombie t-rex.

The Wheel of Time Book 10 of the series.

Loved the first 6 in the series, but Robert Jordan started mailing them in after that. I feel invested in the characters and just want to see this one through. It's taken 2 months so far with something like 6-7 other books read every time I bog down.

Your fix could be even swifter. Drop points 1 and 3 until 2 is implemented. Fix the dependence that politicians have on corporate money, and actual democratic reform becomes possible. So long as congressmen have to campaign, and so long as it costs money, and so long as they can get that money from big donors, the big donors will have much more power than little donors or mere voters. The big donors don't like progressive taxes, equal representation, or big government programs that they can't profiteer. They won't allow reform so long as they have the power.

Issues of free speech make it hard to convince everybody we can limit money spent on political speech. The Citizens United decision illustrates this. We can definitely limit politicians' campaigns, contributions thereto, and gifts, but the Koch brothers can make their own ads and Fox can keep a big portion of voters uninformed. We probably have to come up with a plan to fund political campaigns publicly and democratically. I'm a big fan of Lawrence Lessig's work on this.

The Nightside series (12 books) by Simon R Green was pretty good. While not being specifically YA, I don't remember it having overly objectionable content.

I'm not very far yet but I've heard such great things about 'Sleepless' by Charlie Huston. Everyone has told me it's hard to put down.

A zombie-ish disease is widespread, but nothing like the normal kind. This disease makes it so that people cannot sleep. Without sleep your brain cannot function and you basically turn zombie-ish. There's also some kind of drug element that makes it so you shouldn't sleep, or something. So if you read this book at night you just want to stay up reading, but you're also terrified to fall asleep in case shit goes down.

It gives me some Philip K Dick vibes, too, which is always a good thing.

EDIT: Here's a link to the amazon descriptions, because I'm pretty sure I butchered my own description. Hopefully this interests you more!

This is true. That said, one can always introduce the magic into the mundane - a passing reference to a spell in the opening paragrah or page and you're good.

Or read the first two pages of the first book of Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series for another, more direct approach:

http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/0451457811

I just realized there is a series you will ADORE. The Nightside series by Simon R. Green! 12 books out so far and #13 due next year.

The problem goes beyond "influencing those gullible voters with TV ads!". It affects whose issues get discussed in the legislature, who has direct access to discussing issues with elected officials, and what elected officials consider before taking a position on an issue.

Try this: you're a back-bencher in the majority party from a rural district. You support conservation and protecting the environment for future generations. Your election is coming up later this year, and you have a viable opponent.

A bill comes before the legislature that would legalize a risky & unproven (note: not taking a side on fracking here, just establishing that a controversy exists) method of extracting energy from the ground, and your district happens to contain lots of that potential energy.

You have usually opposed bills like this in the past- once making a speech that made national news. That particular bill failed on a close vote.

A company or industry PAC makes it known that it will spend up to $1m US attacking any candidate that opposes the above-mentioned bill. This is a credible threat from a wealthy, well-connected group. They also make it known privately that they will endorse and heavily fund your opponent should you be outspoken in your opposition

Knowing all of this, how do you vote? Even better, do you do another speech that makes national news? would you still be as outspoken as you were in the past?

edit- Much of this example is shamelessly lifted from Prof. Lawrence Lessig's excellent Republic Lost. Read it and decide for yourself!

The next book is certainly an improvement, but it doesn't really make up for having grain weevils as the main villain of book 10 (The reviews on Amazon are a great read).

In the Woods by Tana French maybe? The main character, Rob, becomes a homicide detective as an adult after having two of his friends murdered when they were kids (he was with them but lived and has no memory of the events). There is something with a shovel later on. It doesn't exactly fit, but it was a pretty popular book a few years back and I thought it was worth a try.

Unfortunately while 1 vote is indeed 1 vote, the people we get to choose with our votes are not willing/able to act in our best interest. Campaign finance law in the USA effectively creates a "shadow election" in which only those who can raise a lot of money for their campaigns are able to run for office. This means that the people we can choose with our votes have already been pre-selected -- not by their ability to represent our interests, but by their connections to wealthy donors that enabled their campaigns. Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress--and a Plan to Stop It by Lawrence Lessig is a great read about the corruption stemming from bad campaign finance laws and how they disempower voters.

Lessig just released a book about how money corrupts politics, including his ideas about how we can change that. It's on my reading list for winter break for sure, and it sounds exactly like what you're looking for. Check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Lost-Money-Corrupts-Congress/dp/0446576433

And if you want a preview, check out this awesome talk Lessig gave: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik1AK56FtVc

You sound like you know a bit about this stuff. You might like this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Sleepless-Novel-Charlie-Huston/dp/0345501144/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372710495&sr=1-13

A Song Called Youth by John Shirley

Halting State by Charles Stross

Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan

Have fun!

This specific one
It doesn't mention the carnivorous house, but it's definitely part of the plot in book 1.

Step 1: Purge the TV show from your memory.

Step 2: Pick up Storm Front and enjoy!

In all honesty, the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings are pretty tough to get into, since they are practically the ur-examples of fantasy, written back when a lot of commercial fiction methodology was still being developed.

When i read a book, I worry first and foremost if I'm entertained, if I am, I'll give it my recommendation, regardless of the flaws. These are the ones I think you'd find best for jumping in with.

YA/Middle Grade Books

• The Maze Runner Trilogy by James Dashner (post-apocalypse)
  
  
• Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan (modern kid finds he's the son of Poseidon)
  
  
• Leviathan/Behemoth/Goliath by Scott Westerfeld] (World war 1 with mechs and genetically engineered animals)
  
  
• Eragon by Christopher Paolini (a kid finds a dragon egg and fights the big bad guy. As a warning, it uses the exact same monomyth structure as Star Wars so the similarities are... apt.)
  
  
  Fantasy
  
  
• Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson (a gang of thieves try to rob the evil overlord)
  
  
• Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (a brutal war between about a half different factions over who gets the crown. Gets really complex fast so it might not be a great one to start with.)
  
  
• Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch (I always say it's Oceans 11 written in the Game of Thrones world)
  Discworld by Terry Pratchet (I'd recommend not starting at the beginning.)
  
  
  Sci-Fi
  
  
• Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (it's Ender's Game. You must read this)
  
  
• Old Man's War by John Scalzi (Not sure how to pitch this. It's space marines fighting everyone)
  
  
• The Sector General Series by James White (It's like House, but in space with aliens. Not without flaws but very underrated in my view)
  
  
  Urban Fantasy
  
  
• The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (a hard boiled private eye who is also a wizard)
  
  
• Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia (Band of mercenaries hunt monsters. The author is very libertarian/right wing so if you can't stand that, you might not like the books. The kindle edition has to be bought from the baen.com bookstore)
  
  
• Grimnoire Chronicles by Larry Correia (1930's with magic, zeppelins, etc Same warning as above, but it's more subdued here.)
  
  
  Thrillers/Suspense
  
  
• Da Vinci Code/Angels and Demons by Dan Brown (even though I think Brown really needs to improve his writing style, he still can get the books going pretty intensely)
  
  
• Jurassic Park, Timeline, Congo, etc by Michael Crichton (a bit tougher reads since they're pretty scientific, but still good stuff)
  
  
• John Grisham's early work such as A Time to Kill, The Firm, Runaway Jury, etc. (legal thrillers but not hard to get into. I'm not a huge fan of his later stuff)

A quick note of a book - although I'm giving away a ton of plot here - is Fatherland by Robert Harris. Even knowing doesn't stop the chilling effect of this book.

http://www.amazon.com/Fatherland-Novel-Robert-Harris/dp/0812977211/ref=la_B000APBPA4_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425472562&sr=1-2

EDIT: Downvotes about a book regarding the holocaust?

If you are looking for an action-packed easy-read then try out the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Almost ideal for reading when not quite up to 100% in recovery.

Lately, Bruce Bartlett's The Benefit and the Burden and Lawrence Lessig's Republic Lost. Mostly issue politics and future of country type of stuff. That said, I have a bachelor's in poli sci and went to grad school for political theory (ad then went to law school), so my choice materials may be a bit different than most. But you should still read both of those (especially Republic Lost).

Dresden Files by Jim Butcher is your thing if you like a character who would die for the principles. It's hard to explain it without spoilers, but several times he choose principles over the easy way out.


Start with Storm Front.

i didn't know it was my job to take seriously people who can't understand the complexities of campaign finance and democratic government. if you want to read an enlightening book, i would suggest this: http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Lost-Money-Corrupts-Congress--/dp/0446576433/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334193301&sr=8-1

This is an interesting read.

Something from the Nightside by Simon R. Green. It's not really "period" but the series does have a dark and quirky sense of humor and they're mysteries, mainly.

There were a lot of words, but nothing happened. Book 10 is almost universally panned by critics and series fans alike. 1,600 one-star reviews on Amazon (and the top one is hilarious).

If the first book were written like book 10, the series never would have found a publisher.

wiki
amazon .
This is the book that does the most explanation of the author's concept of demarchy which, in many ways, is like what you wrote.

There's actually a book with this very concept. Halting State by Charles Stross isn't exactly a good read (I'd put it in the 'bad' column, actually), but the idea behind it is very interesting. It brings up a rather compelling scenario with the government fronting role playing games as a spy operative.

edit: also I'm 'privileged' enough to live in the town that gave him the key to the city. It's a horrible thing.

You've got the top post on reddit at the moment and you mention Dr. Lessig, give a shout out to his book!

You should all read it!

Gut reaction: Off with their heads.

Sensible reaction: What can we do, as a reasonable, rational group of concerned citizens, to end this problem?

I'm in the middle of reading Lessig's Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress--and a Plan to Stop It in the hopes of finding a sensible answer.

Here's what I'm talking about...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m1EYX10ERN0GN1/ref=ent_fb_link

Here's a good place to start:
http://vimeo.com/rootstrikers/anti-corruption-pledge

This is well documented. Lessig has written about it in a very accessible way.

The one I've heard recommended the most is "Fatherland" by Richard Harris.

Tana French is excellent.

I would fully recommend any of her Dublin Murder Squad series. My personal favourites are In The Woods and Broken Harbour.

Two really big topics I have started to get very interested in, a lot in part due to reddit actually.

[The Healing of America by T.R Reid] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Healing-America-Global-Cheaper/dp/0143118218)

[Republic Lost by Lawrence Lessig] (http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Lost-Money-Corrupts-Congress/dp/0446576433/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=)

My first thought was this but the cover isn't similar. I'll keep thinking on it.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Its true crime. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo can be considered a crime novel though it is more suspense. I can't really think of anything else to add.

https://www.amazon.com/Girl-Dragon-Tattoo-Millennium/dp/0307949486/ref=nodl_

Sleepless by Charlie Huston.

Simone R Green's series about the NightSide http://www.amazon.com/Something-Nightside-Book-1/dp/0441010652

Private Investigator in a "second London" filled with supernatural things.

Read Halting State by Charles Stross for a really believable look into how this sort of technology could be utilised in the very near future.

The Prefect by Alastair Reynolds explores this concept.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0441017223/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483490567&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=the+prefect+alastair+reynolds&dpPl=1&dpID=51iQJzpWbDL&ref=plSrch

http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Lost-Money-Corrupts-Congress/dp/0446576433/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

How do you feel about this book? http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Lost-Money-Corrupts-Congress/dp/0446576433

Republic Lost - Lawrence Lessig

Any relation to The Dresden Files ?

The Dresden Files Book 1

The Iron Druid Chronicles Book 1

I have lots more, just ask for a genre.

Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series. The first book is called Storm Front.

There are more books in this series than I can remember so it'd keep her busy for the forseeable future.

http://www.amazon.com/Gardens-Moon-Malazan-Book-Fallen/dp/0765348780

http://www.amazon.com/Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy-Douglas-Adams/dp/0345391802/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376093747&sr=1-2&keywords=hitchhikers+guide+to+the+galaxy

http://www.amazon.com/Mistborn-Final-Empire-Book-No/dp/0765350386/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376093807&sr=1-1&keywords=mistborn

http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Front-Book-Dresden-Files/dp/0451457811/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376093895&sr=1-1&keywords=storm+front+jim+butcher

A Wizard of Earthsea

Dresden files

Crossbow, bolts, and the first book of the Dresden Files.

Fatherland by Robert Harris.

The Baroque Cycle trilogy by Neal Stephenson, starting with Quicksilver. Science fiction history set during the Age of Enlightenment.

There's another book based on the same premise called Fatherland

http://amzn.com/0812977211 That's a link to the book, in case anyone else was intrigued.