Reddit mentions: The best dramas & plays books

We found 953 Reddit comments discussing the best dramas & plays books. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 371 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.

1. Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters

    Features:
  • Great product!
Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters
Specs:
ColorCream
Height7.97 Inches
Length5.16 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateSeptember 2002
Weight0.45 Pounds
Width0.59 Inches
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2. Plot & Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot That Grips Readers from Start to Finish

Writer's Digest Books
Plot & Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot That Grips Readers from Start to Finish
Specs:
ColorRed
Height8.94 Inches
Length6.06 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateOctober 2004
Weight0.8708259349 Pounds
Width0.64 Inches
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3. The Klingon Hamlet

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  • Used Book in Good Condition
The Klingon Hamlet
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Height9.25 Inches
Length6.125 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateFebruary 2000
Weight0.59965735264 Pounds
Width0.7 Inches
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4. Shakespeare Set Free: Teaching Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth & Midsummer Night (Folger Shakespeare Library)

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  • O Reilly Media
Shakespeare Set Free: Teaching Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth & Midsummer Night (Folger Shakespeare Library)
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Height10.875 Inches
Length8.5 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateAugust 2006
Weight1.8 Pounds
Width0.7 Inches
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5. High Fidelity

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  • Riverhead Books
High Fidelity
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ColorRed
Height8 Inches
Length5.15 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateAugust 1996
Weight0.6 Pounds
Width0.95 Inches
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6. The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance

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The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance
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Height1.7 Inches
Length9 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateOctober 1995
Weight1.55 Pounds
Width6.1 Inches
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8. The Norton Shakespeare

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The Norton Shakespeare
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Height9.6 Inches
Length6.5 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateFebruary 2008
Weight5.32636824992 Pounds
Width3.2 Inches
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9. The Queue (New York Review Books Classics)

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  • Used Book in Good Condition
The Queue (New York Review Books Classics)
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Height7.98 Inches
Length5.01 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateOctober 2008
Weight0.6393405598 Pounds
Width0.6 Inches
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10. The Three Theban Plays: Antigone; Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus

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  • Penguin Books
The Three Theban Plays: Antigone; Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus
Specs:
ColorBlack
Height0.77 Inches
Length7.76 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateFebruary 1984
Weight0.66579603124 Pounds
Width5.11 Inches
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13. The Family Fang: A Novel

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  • Ecco Press
The Family Fang: A Novel
Specs:
Height8.02 Inches
Length5.44 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateApril 2012
Weight0.54 Pounds
Width0.82 Inches
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14. The Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd Edition

Books pages are in excellent condition. No rips or water damage. Outside of book looks very nice as well!
The Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd Edition
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Length8 Inches
Number of items1
Weight5.89516088588 Pounds
Width2.5 Inches
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15. T.S. Eliot: The Complete Poems and Plays, 1909-1950

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  • Factory sealed DVD
T.S. Eliot: The Complete Poems and Plays, 1909-1950
Specs:
Height9.25 Inches
Length6.125 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateNovember 1952
Weight1.56 Pounds
Width1.431 Inches
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16. Scorched (Revised Edition)

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  • Used Book in Good Condition
Scorched (Revised Edition)
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Height7.56 Inches
Length5.12 Inches
Number of items1
Weight0.4 Pounds
Width0.39 Inches
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17. High Fidelity

High Fidelity
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Release dateAugust 1996
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18. The Complete Improviser: Concepts, Techniques, and Exercises for Long Form Improvisation (1)

    Features:
  • THE #1 BESTSELLING SEWING KIT ON AMAZON! – The Craftster’s Premium, compact sewing kit is perfect for everyday, travel or emergency fixes. Filled with premium sewing accessories. Store it in your desk drawer, purse, car, RV or suitcase ready for any emergency
  • MADE TO LAST WITH RIPSTOP NYLON! Will not break like other mending or stitching kits with cheap plastic cases. Sewing kit includes highest-quality stainless steel scissors, measuring tape, seam ripper, 30 needles, thimble, 2 premium threaders, 10 pins, 6 shirt buttons, 12 spools of thread in the most popular colors + bonus B&W Thread spools. Elastic holders keep everything organized, neat & tidy and permanently in place
  • FREE BONUS EBOOK - Get sewing in minutes withs, Rips and Holes. Read Instantly on Any Device or Print Out A Copy For Easy Referenc your Free Bonus Ebook: "The Hand Sewing Survival Guide" – ($19.99 value) - Over 30 Pages of In-Depth, Step-by-Step Illustrated Instructions Help You Master Essential Hand-Sewing Skills to Repair All Clothing, Buttons, Seame
  • MAKES A PERFECT GIFT for Beginning Sewers, College Students, Campers, Crafters, Kids and Teens. Add to your Emergency Preparedness Kit
  • CONVENIENCE WHEN YOU NEED IT - Stylish CD size case, with secure zipper, is compact yet loaded with everything you will ever need to fix and mend any garment. The entire kit opens up flat for your every convenience
The Complete Improviser: Concepts, Techniques, and Exercises for Long Form Improvisation (1)
Specs:
Height8.5 Inches
Length5.5 Inches
Number of items1
Weight0.45 Pounds
Width0.5 Inches
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19. All in the Timing: Fourteen Plays

    Features:
  • Caterpillar incorporates their professional-grade standards into a sleek, relaxed style.
All in the Timing: Fourteen Plays
Specs:
ColorNavy
Height7.99 Inches
Length5.1 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateNovember 1994
Weight0.59965735264 Pounds
Width0.76 Inches
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20. Dear Committee Members

Anchor Books
Dear Committee Members
Specs:
ColorWhite
Height7.96 Inches
Length5.18 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateJune 2015
Weight0.45 Pounds
Width0.58 Inches
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🎓 Reddit experts on dramas & plays books

The comments and opinions expressed on this page are written exclusively by redditors. To provide you with the most relevant data, we sourced opinions from the most knowledgeable Reddit users based the total number of upvotes and downvotes received across comments on subreddits where dramas & plays books are discussed. For your reference and for the sake of transparency, here are the specialists whose opinions mattered the most in our ranking.
Total score: 67
Number of comments: 6
Relevant subreddits: 2
Total score: 26
Number of comments: 8
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Number of comments: 5
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Number of comments: 5
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Total score: 7
Number of comments: 5
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Total score: 6
Number of comments: 5
Relevant subreddits: 1
Total score: 6
Number of comments: 5
Relevant subreddits: 1
Total score: 6
Number of comments: 5
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Total score: 5
Number of comments: 4
Relevant subreddits: 1
Total score: 5
Number of comments: 4
Relevant subreddits: 2

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Top Reddit comments about Dramas & Plays:

u/yellowking · -6 pointsr/reddit.com

Selected Works of Nigel Tomm (2006/2007) (Shakespeare's Sonnets Remixed 2006 / Shakespeare's Hamlet Remixed 2007 / Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Remixed 2007 / Including Previously Unpublished Elvis Presley's Love Me Tender Remix 2007) Nigel Tomm is The Winner of The Anonymous Writers Club Award 2006 for The Best Anonymous Writer / Deconstructed Poetry Award 2006 for Innovations and Teamwork in Poetry / Decadence Prize 2007 for The Lifestyle / Flashy Rococo Coco Award 2006 for Flashy Thoughts / Baby Boomers Award 2006 for The Best Marketing / Anonymous Artists Prize 2007 for The Best Anonymous Artist / Life Academy Award 2006 for Ignorance of Some Aspects of Life / Graphomania Award 2007 for Writing / Formal English Institute Award 2006 for English Grammar Improvements / House of Original Remixes Award 2006 for Creativity / WordKillers Award 2006 for Killing Some Words Sometimes in Some Books / iStyle Award 2006 for Being Unnamed Style Icon / Librarians Under Sixty Award 2007 for Staying Young / Comedy Association Award 2007 for The Best Drama / Happy Dramatists Award 2006 for The Realest Reality Show / New Forms Award 2006 for Rediscovering Something Old / Best of The Best Award 2007 for Being The Best of The Bests / Alaska Lifetime Achievement Prize 2006 for Bringing The Sun to Canada / Flaming Unisex Award 2007 for Coming to Flaming Unisex Awards / Random Books Award 2006 for Random Words Which Sometimes Sell / Happy Housekeepers Award 2007 for Being an Example to Follow / Wild Foresters Award 2006 for Saving Trees from Book Lovers / Writing Bodybuilders Award 2007 for Keeping Nice Forms / Life Coaching Without Words Award 2006 for Bringing New Life to Some Words / Writing for Writing Foundation Award 2007 for Rewriting Some Writings / Speaking Parrots Award 2007 for Some Fresh Phrases / CopyPasters Award 2007 for Recopying Shakespeare / Silent People Award 2006 for Talking about Silence / Strange Books Award 2006 for The Best Back Cover Text / I Don't Care Award 2006 for Something We All Don't Care / Happy Clowns Award 2006 for The Biggest Sad Smile / Nonexistence Award 2007 for Trying to Believe in Existence / MTV eBooks Award 2007 for The Best Male Reader / Bicycle Fans Award 2006 for not Writing About Bicycles / Cool Firemen Award 2006 for New Flames in Literature / Penguin Lovers Prize 2007 for Being Vegetarian / Green Grass Award 2006 for Frustrated Ecology in Hamlet Remixed / Vintage Love Award 2006 for Writing About Old School Love / New Letters Award 2006 for Some Useless Innovations / Retired Encyclopedists Award 2007 for Universality in Rewriting / Nice Web Developers Award 2007 for Fresh Look / Space Lovers Award 2006 for Exploration of Literary Cosmos / Monotony Award 2006 for The Best Performance / Homemade Video Award 2007 for The Best Home Interior / Illusory Zoo Committee Prize 2007 for The Best Animal Character / Degenerated Politicians Award 2006 for Belief in Moral Norms / F***ing Teenagers Award 2007 for The Best Kiss / Tomorrow Morning's Fragrances Association Award 2006 for Smelling Words / London Punks Foundation Award 2007 for Ultra Cool Book with Hip Ending / Pessimistic Bankers Prize 2007 for Fresh Ideas on Pessimism / Soft-Hardcore Erotica Award 2006 for Remixed Feelings / Slow Talking Runners Award 2007 for Some Sweet Chats about Nothing / Honest Jet-Setters Prize 2006 for Being Honest to Honest People / Good Looking Pop Stars Award 2006 for The Best Interview Act / Disorientated Literary Agents Award 2006 for Trusting Nobody / Archaic Victorian Baroque Award 2007 for Crossing Borders Between Borders / Multicultural Context Prize 2006 for Multiculturalism in Books / Two Happy People Award 2007 for Mixed Palette of Happiness / Fragile Machines Prize 2007 for The Best Text on Robotic Psychology / Passionate Red Cherries Award 2006 for Dynamic Use of The Word 'Cool' / Late 1950s Award 2007 for Neutrality on Some Remixed Questions / Classical Counterculture Award 2006 for Development of Remix Cult

u/Mr_Optimist · 0 pointsr/reddit.com

Selected Works of Nigel Tomm (2006/2007) (Shakespeare's Sonnets Remixed 2006 / Shakespeare's Hamlet Remixed 2007 / Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Remixed 2007 / Including Previously Unpublished Elvis Presley's Love Me Tender Remix 2007) Nigel Tomm is The Winner of The Anonymous Writers Club Award 2006 for The Best Anonymous Writer / Deconstructed Poetry Award 2006 for Innovations and Teamwork in Poetry / Decadence Prize 2007 for The Lifestyle / Flashy Rococo Coco Award 2006 for Flashy Thoughts / Baby Boomers Award 2006 for The Best Marketing / Anonymous Artists Prize 2007 for The Best Anonymous Artist / Life Academy Award 2006 for Ignorance of Some Aspects of Life / Graphomania Award 2007 for Writing / Formal English Institute Award 2006 for English Grammar Improvements / House of Original Remixes Award 2006 for Creativity / WordKillers Award 2006 for Killing Some Words Sometimes in Some Books / iStyle Award 2006 for Being Unnamed Style Icon / Librarians Under Sixty Award 2007 for Staying Young / Comedy Association Award 2007 for The Best Drama / Happy Dramatists Award 2006 for The Realest Reality Show / New Forms Award 2006 for Rediscovering Something Old / Best of The Best Award 2007 for Being The Best of The Bests / Alaska Lifetime Achievement Prize 2006 for Bringing The Sun to Canada / Flaming Unisex Award 2007 for Coming to Flaming Unisex Awards / Random Books Award 2006 for Random Words Which Sometimes Sell / Happy Housekeepers Award 2007 for Being an Example to Follow / Wild Foresters Award 2006 for Saving Trees from Book Lovers / Writing Bodybuilders Award 2007 for Keeping Nice Forms / Life Coaching Without Words Award 2006 for Bringing New Life to Some Words / Writing for Writing Foundation Award 2007 for Rewriting Some Writings / Speaking Parrots Award 2007 for Some Fresh Phrases / CopyPasters Award 2007 for Recopying Shakespeare / Silent People Award 2006 for Talking about Silence / Strange Books Award 2006 for The Best Back Cover Text / I Don't Care Award 2006 for Something We All Don't Care / Happy Clowns Award 2006 for The Biggest Sad Smile / Nonexistence Award 2007 for Trying to Believe in Existence / MTV eBooks Award 2007 for The Best Male Reader / Bicycle Fans Award 2006 for not Writing About Bicycles / Cool Firemen Award 2006 for New Flames in Literature / Penguin Lovers Prize 2007 for Being Vegetarian / Green Grass Award 2006 for Frustrated Ecology in Hamlet Remixed / Vintage Love Award 2006 for Writing About Old School Love / New Letters Award 2006 for Some Useless Innovations / Retired Encyclopedists Award 2007 for Universality in Rewriting / Nice Web Developers Award 2007 for Fresh Look / Space Lovers Award 2006 for Exploration of Literary Cosmos / Monotony Award 2006 for The Best Performance / Homemade Video Award 2007 for The Best Home Interior / Illusory Zoo Committee Prize 2007 for The Best Animal Character / Degenerated Politicians Award 2006 for Belief in Moral Norms / F***ing Teenagers Award 2007 for The Best Kiss / Tomorrow Morning's Fragrances Association Award 2006 for Smelling Words / London Punks Foundation Award 2007 for Ultra Cool Book with Hip Ending / Pessimistic Bankers Prize 2007 for Fresh Ideas on Pessimism / Soft-Hardcore Erotica Award 2006 for Remixed Feelings / Slow Talking Runners Award 2007 for Some Sweet Chats about Nothing / Honest Jet-Setters Prize 2006 for Being Honest to Honest People / Good Looking Pop Stars Award 2006 for The Best Interview Act / Disorientated Literary Agents Award 2006 for Trusting Nobody / Archaic Victorian Baroque Award 2007 for Crossing Borders Between Borders / Multicultural Context Prize 2006 for Multiculturalism in Books / Two Happy People Award 2007 for Mixed Palette of Happiness / Fragile Machines Prize 2007 for The Best Text on Robotic Psychology / Passionate Red Cherries Award 2006 for Dynamic Use of The Word 'Cool' / Late 1950s Award 2007 for Neutrality on Some Remixed Questions / Classical Counterculture Award 2006 for Development of Remix Cult

u/AllThatJazz · 9 pointsr/SpaceXLounge

Wow! Like you, I have a fascination with SciFi, and I'm actually writing a SciFi novel!

It's great to see others so inspired with the genre.

And certainly everything that's been happening lately in rocket science and astronomy certainly seems more and more like we are increasingly living in a SciFi story!

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

But yes, I was just curious: is this going to be your first short story?

Do you happen to have any favorite authors in the SciFi genre (and outside of it)?

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

ALSO...

in terms of your questions above, I was noticing that many of them seem to overlap with ideas explored in this amazing youtube channel by Isaac Arthur.

I think all aspiring SciFi writers will gain a lot of insights into the possibilities (mostly according to known laws of physics) about the future.

So that channel has helped me a lot in shaping out some of my own SciFi ideas.

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

ALSO... just to address one of your questions above... (since you asked!)...

For the price per KG to LEO, that's a pretty intense specific and intricate detail to put into a short story.

Of course, for your story to work well, you don't actually need to have any highly intricate facts/figures measured out that specifically.

A lot of great SciFi stories and novels don't.

BUT... then again, a lot of great SciFi stories and novels do!

I am thinking of Andy Weir's amazing SciFi novel "The Martian", and he certainly put a lot of mathematical and intensely intricate figures like that in his novel, and he made it work well!

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

But keep in mind...

If you do decide to put highly specific and intricate figures in your story, and see if that works... then you're going to increase the research levels of your workload, and ideally, it would be nice if you could talk with someone who knows a lot about it, here in subreddits like this one.

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

NOTE: one solution for you in terms of dealing with an intricately accurate SciFi story, is to simply write a lot of the story first...

Then after that, you do your research.

(And then you do a lot of rewriting of your story!)

So for example, for the KG to LEO, you just pick a semi-educated number yourself (without researching it initially), and then when the story's done you can really pin it down more accurately.

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

I mention that because sometimes even great authors admit they can get carried away with too much research at the beginning... neglecting the story/characters/plot development, which of course are the most important elements of the story!

But then again... some authors say they become greatly inspired when immersing themselves into research... and the research actually suggests story and character ideas...

So I guess it's a balance, and also knowing what is your own best way of working...

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

NEXT...

I noticed based upon all your questions, that's quite a vast world/universe you are building there!

And that's a great thing! It means you're greatly inspired by this story you want to tell, and so that's a good sign that your story is going to be a good one.

BUT... for a short story, that might be a lot of subplots and locations. Maybe too many?

If all of those locations figure as key scenes in your story, intricately described (I mean you've got Moon bases, Mars bases, and space stations going on here!) then that's certainly a lot of topics to cover in a short story.

To me, it seems that your world building is approaching the level of an actual SciFi novel, rather than just a short story.

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

So one way to handle this... might be for you to write a novel instead!

(NOTE: if you want to make a living as a writer ultimately, then you'll have to do it with full length novels, rather than short stories anyways. Novels are where the money is! There are some exceptions to that rule... but not many.)

But ya, in your novel, you could develop a lead character, that has adventures or journeys from Earth, to the moon, to Mars, and beyond.

Of course your character will need to be driven by something... a desire to find something... or to avert a disaster, or whatever...

Initially your main character might not even consciously know he or she is being driven to achieve something, and avert something... but gradually comes to realize it... or maybe your character knows right from the beginning and is one a determined quest and mission...

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

NOTE: Just because I'm of the opinion that you might have too much territory to cover in a short story, and you may want to consider an actual novel instead...

doesn't mean I'm right!

There are indeed some short stories that have a huge scope of the Universe as the background landscape, and a character races through a vast universe... or through a vast time-scape...

and it's achieved all in one compact nice short story!

So... ultimately... don't listen to me if you disagree with any of my tips!

(I'm just throwing tips and ideas at you because you asked!)

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

EDIT: FINALLY...

I would highly HIGHLY recommend this book to you, since you seem very serious about writing this story of yours:

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

Plot and Structure (by James Scott Bell).

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

NOTE: as a writer, you don't have to agree with everything he says. (In fact you shouldn't!)

BUT, if you read this book, then it will give you a strong edge, to be able to push a "good story" or "good novel" into becoming "a GREAT story" or "GREAT novel"!

Reading this book, could be the edge you need to become a best selling author!

It will give you great insights into the psychology of your readers, and w
hat compels them to become obsessed by your story, making them not want to stop reading... and keep turning those pages late into the night!

u/[deleted] · 3 pointsr/acting

Understand Shakespeare

The writing of the time is essentially a different language than Modern English, and you'll want to learn that language.

While reading, should you not understand a word, you must look it up. The internet usually has the definitions of such words, but just in case: Shakespearean Lexicons Volume I & Volume II

Learn iambic pentameter.

Learn how to spot operative words. How I do it is to look at a sentence, find the most important words, and see if you can maintain the basic meaning of that statement whilst only using the operative words. As a rule of thumb, operative words are generally not negatives (e.g. never, not, etc.)

Learn how to perform scansion. Scansion is essentially writing out the iambic pentameter and underlining the operative words.

Shakespeare was a poet and was very lyrically gifted, but his stories are often weighed down with non-existent fluffy interpretations. For example, the famous "TO BE... OR... NOT... TO BE!" monologue from Hamlet is too-often used in auditions and is too-often made overly dramatic. A writer/casting director friend of mine said he has only been impressed by one audition of it. The actor walked in, and casually delivered the monologue, hitting the operatives, paying attention to real iambic pentameter, and not over-dramaticizing it. tl;dr Shakespeare may sound like music, but it's not always music... sometimes it is. Be honest with intention.

Audition

Auditioning is a subject in and of itself, but I'll attempt a "quick" guide:

Stay calm and concentrate on the story.

Have monologues with variety, but make sure they are characters you could fit in.

Remember, the people casting the show want you to succeed. They are cheering for you, whether you know it or not.

GOTE or Goals Obstacles Tactics Expectations, and for good measure S for Stakes. What are the character's life goals, play goals, scene goals, and moment goals? What are the obstacles for every goal? What are the tactics used and how often do they change? What do they expect to happen and how do they react?

Most importantly, I am one person. One actor. I can defend my expertise, but still... I am only one opinion. There are no rules in Acting, it is an art. There are good pieces of advice... but that's about it.

Also, everyone loves it when someone usually on the outside of Theatre participates with us! :D I am in love with science, but I pursued my art. We love it, so don't be afraid of us. My only note is that you must treat it with absolute respect. Many of these people are risking absolute destitution, psychological despair, and never-ending passion for a very lofty goal. We have to study as much as anyone else (even those who seem to have the mysterious talent.)

As long as you care about your performance, I'm sure you'll do just fine.

Break legs. :)

EDIT: I seem to have formatted incorrectly earlier. I believe I've fixed it. Sorry. :P
EDIT II: Fixed The Scottish Play*

u/CatieO · 1 pointr/shakespeare

Welcome to the cool-kids club.

I agree with much of what has already been said. Try to see them live, if you can't, a great "introductory" course is to watch videos while reading. Youtube, [PBS Great Performances}(http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/), Digital Theatreand even cheap used DVDs on Amazon offer a host of free and low-cost options for viewing them at home. It can also be a great tool to start understanding the difference between reading the lines as written and hearing how they rhythmically change in performance.

You will, to be honest, miss some things without reading annotations, but it's also important to note that Shakespeare is incredibly complex-- I've been studying Shakespeare for about 9 years now seriously, and there are STILL days where I open up a script I've read a million times and go "Wait...that's TOTALLY a play on words!"

If you're really serious about getting into references aspect, I would recommend picking up a Lexicon. It's an amazing resource for learning words and references, organized in about every fashion you can think of. You can get them for pretty cheap-- I think I picked both of mine up for around $5 in the "used" section. They usually come in a two volume set, so make sure you get both!

There are all sorts of great reference books available-- a really rare one (but fantastic) is called "Playing Bit Parts in Shakespeare". I tracked down a copy at a used bookstore for about $60, but it's brilliant. It breaks down all of the plays by the smaller roles and gives an explanation of why they are significant and what purpose they serve in the show.
There's also this one. I am unashamed to say I proudly display this on my bookshelf.

You will also find that every Shakespeare scholar has a STRONG opinion on what versions of texts they prefer. I personally hate the versions Penguin publishes and really prefer the Folger Library editions, but much of it has to do with personal preference.

Good luck, new Shakespeare friend!

u/ambut · 2 pointsr/ELATeachers

We do a Folgers unit for Romeo and Juliet that has been super successful. It is all performance-based assessments and gets kids out of their seats multiple times a week. We mix the Folgers lessons and assessments with a few more traditional things (an essay and a test, for example), and we take out some of the less useful or interesting lessons (there's one where they just dance...? It's weird.). But we more or less do the unit as written and it's really enjoyable for us and for the kids. You can get all the lessons in this book. It takes us about two months to do the whole unit but it's worth it. I'm happy to send a sample pacing map that we used this past semester for this unit if you're interested. Two other things that tend to work well:

  • Start the year with "The Most Dangerous Game", which is a relatively quick read but deep enough to study things like character, theme, and other terms that freshmen might need a refresher on.
  • Things Fall Apart unit. Teaching it now for the third time to freshmen (I've also done it with older grades). The novel itself is easy save for the names, and it's a flexible sort of unit timing-wise. You can do it in like 3-4 weeks or you can stretch it to almost 2 months if you want. There's tons of room for history stuff, and Common Lit has great suggestions for paired readings. Hope this helps! I have lots of curricula so let me know if you want any materials, pacing maps, or other info.
u/marewmanew · 4 pointsr/literature

There was a post about this on either /r/books or here a couple months ago. Goodreads made this interesting infographic.

One of the reasons for stopping—"extremely stupid"—cracked me up.

I wish I could find the reddit post on this, but one commenter remembered an interesting "rule" someone had told them: "subtract your age from a 100, and the remainder is the number of pages you should read before dropping the book." I like the idea that the older you are, the more precious your time is, and the better sense you have of your taste and books…therefore, it's cool to drop books a little sooner. But the younger your years and the less your experience? Gotta read a little more before you shut the experience down.

For my two cents—and since your discussion interests me and perhaps mine will interest you—I rarely stop reading books. It's rare to dislike a book so much I won't give it a full run. However, I also note that when deciding what to read, I have a pretty good sense of what books I'll like. But I don't know…is that because I decide in advance that I'm gonna like a book? In which case, I'm a bit of a fraud? Ha, it's something I think about.

A book has to fail in a pretty spectacular way before I give up. I'd have to reach a subjective determination that the whole premise fails or that it lacks thorough inspiration. As an example, this is the last book I gave up on (almost two years ago). I don't read the one-line critic blurbs before I'm done with a book, so after "finishing" my read of this book, I checked out what others thought, and one of the top positive comments summed up the failure for me: "It’s The Royal Tenenbaums meets Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? I’d call The Family Fang a guilty pleasure, but it’s too damn smart….A total blast." In my opinion, that was all the book was—it felt like a failed mock-up of a Wes Anderson narrative. All quirk but no character. And this was its only benefit from my discernment—if you really dig Wes Anderson, this would satisfy your craving like a guilty pleasure.

That said, I didn't think along the lines that the book was bad or poorly written—it just failed at that initial and critical level with me. Sure that's fickle and I'm using the academic criticism equivalent of the nuclear option in chalking something up to mere druthers. But, like I said, it's rare. And in life, I feel there's rare but occasional room for an unexplained subjective "didn't work for me." I hated giving up on this book in this way, because I can't enter thorough discussion or defense on my decision. And I know a team of people worked really hard to make that book, and I don't doubt others could've loved the book. I just felt like reading something else.

u/erissays · 1 pointr/Fantasy

For fairy tales, I recommend the following:

u/Emberwake · 2 pointsr/gamernews

Happily. Here a few few quick resources I found for you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plot_(narrative)

http://www.storymastery.com/articles/34-ten-simple-keys-to-plot-structure

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/how-to-structure-a-story-the-eight-point-arc/


And here a couple references that might interest you if you want more detail on what we generally expect from fiction:

http://www.amazon.com/Plot-Structure-Techniques-Exercises-Crafting/dp/158297294X

http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Fiction-Guide-Narrative-Edition/dp/0205750346


Now, I hope you don't mind if I assume you may feel that I have attacked your opinion of ME3 with my comments. It wasn't my intention to say that you can't enjoy it. Hell, I'm happy for you if you did. But there is a real difference between enjoying something and believing it is good.

In the case of ME3, we can see that some of the most well established principles of writing, thematic and structural elements which are integral to the crafting of a quality narrative, have been abandoned.

If you honestly want to know more, I'd encourage you to take a course in creative writing, or even better, in literary history. With a little background and perspective, you can start to understand why some books, films and games seem to be lacking and why others have a stronger appeal.

EDIT: As I look at your post again, I wonder why you are asking me for specific examples at all, when I have clearly outlined a major structural failing of the narrative in my last post. Oh well, maybe this additional information will be of use to you anyway.

u/awkwardlittleturtle · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

I just finished reading Ella Minnow Pea

> Ella Minnow Pea is a girl living happily on the fictional island of Nollop off the coast of South Carolina. Nollop was named after Nevin Nollop, author of the immortal pangram,* “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” Now Ella finds herself acting to save her friends, family, and fellow citizens from the encroaching totalitarianism of the island’s Council, which has banned the use of certain letters of the alphabet as they fall from a memorial statue of Nevin Nollop. As the letters progressively drop from the statue they also disappear from the novel. The result is both a hilarious and moving story of one girl’s fight for freedom of expression, as well as a linguistic tour de force sure to delight word lovers everywhere.


I loved it so much, I started reading it, and 'accidentally' finished it all in one sitting! Very captivating and interesting, without being overly complicated (so great for reading while being semi-distracted by other passengers, etc.)

u/jordanlund · 7 pointsr/books

I'm going to fall back on a couple of non-fiction books that are mind-blowing, although not necessarily on the same scale you're talking about.

On germs, plagues and bio-containment:

The Hot Zone by Richard Preston:

http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Zone-Terrifying-True-Story/dp/0385495226/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266864059&sr=8-1

The Coming Plague by Laurie Garrett:

http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Plague-Emerging-Diseases-Balance/dp/0140250913/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266864094&sr=1-1

I read both of these books back to back and it's like reading the same story first covered by the National Enquirer (Hot Zone) and then again by the New York Times (Coming Plague). It's a fascinating look at disease distribution and protection. The Hot Zone is a light easy read that's more sensationalist than scientific, the Coming Plague is the polar opposite, but both are good reads.

Road Fever by Tim Cahill:

http://www.amazon.com/Road-Fever-Tim-Cahill/dp/0394758374/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266864207&sr=1-1

Guy is hired by GM for a promotional stunt. Drive their new truck from the tip of Argentina to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska as fast as he can. The problems he has getting through South and Central America are amazing, and not just culturally, politically.

Into the Heart of Borneo by Redmond O'Hanlon:

http://www.amazon.com/Into-Heart-Borneo-Redmond-OHanlon/dp/0394755405/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266864285&sr=1-1

Take your average academic natural history book reviewer and throw him in the jungle for a month! It will be great!

u/dont_pm_me_cupcakes · 2 pointsr/OkCupid

Im just gonna suggest my favorite french and french canadian books :

  • A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali by Gil Courtemanche

    >Set in Kigali, Rwanda, the novel deals with a love affair between an elder Canadian expatriate and a young Rwandan, AIDS and the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.

    (Amazon link : https://www.amazon.com/Sunday-at-Pool-Kigali/dp/1400034345/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1475200692&sr=1-1&keywords=a+sunday+at+the+pool+in+kigali)

    Theres a movie named "A Sunday in Kigali" that was made about it but I prefer the book.

  • Scorched by Wajdi Mouawad

    >Incendies follows the journey of twins Jeanne and Simon, as they attempt to unravel the mystery of their mother's life.[1] When Jeanne and Simon Marwan lose their mother, Nawal, they are instead left with a difficult mission that sends them on a journey to the Middle East in pursuit of their tangled roots and a long-lost brother.

    It's a very hard and crude book but it's also excellent. There's a good movie about it too. Won multiples prize, I think the movie is as good as the play.


    (Amazon link : https://www.amazon.com/Scorched-Revised-Wajdi-Mouawad/dp/0887549268)

  • Dieu et nous seuls pouvons - Michel Folco (but its not translated :( so I guess you need to know french)

    >Pour échapper à la galère, Justinien Pibrac devient bourreau officiel du seigneur de Bellerocaille. Le jour de sa première exécution, après quelques maladresses rocambolesques, il parvient finalement à briser les os du condamné. Ainsi début la saga trépidante des Pibrac, qui deviendront de génération en génération les plus grands bourreaux de tous les temps.

    It's really really well written and it's filled with black humour. I dont want to spoil anything at all but it's a sure pick-up if you search a book in french.

  • Empire of the Ants - Bernard Werber

    Science fiction book about a machine that allows communication between ants and human. I think it stands out from other science fiction book by having a more litteral approach to the philosophical themes it talks about.
u/mattymillhouse · 13 pointsr/suggestmeabook

High Fidelity or About a Boy, by Nick Hornby

Every single one of my guy friends who reads loves these books. High Fidelity tends to be more celebrated. But they're both fantastic and funny.

The Book of Joe and Plan B, by Jonathan Tropper

If I'm being cynical, I'd say that Tropper and Hornby tend to write chick books for guys. But that's not going to give you a real idea of what these books are. They're mainly about finding your way as a man, but it often turns out that finding the right woman -- or figuring out that you've already got the right woman -- is part of that process. The male protagonists tend to be meandering in their lives. Love just helps them get on the right track. And they're written from a male point of view, so you're not going to get a lot of purple prose about beating hearts and sweaty abs.

Killing Yourself to Live, by Chuck Klosterman -- This is a different type of book than the others I've listed. Klosterman is a guy who is best known for his non-fiction. And the subtitle of this book is "85% of a true story." So it's sort of based on real events. Basically, he's writing a column for Rolling Stone magazine where he travels to all these places where famous musicians died. Along the way, 3 relationships end. So he does some deep thinking -- I've never read anyone who digs deeper into pop culture than Klosterman -- about the meaning of life and death, and about relationships and love. The book features some discussion about relationships, but it also dissects Kiss's solo albums and talks about Mtv's The Real World. (Hmm, now that I think about it, I wonder if those references are going to be a little dated?)

u/pantherwest · 1 pointr/booksuggestions

The Best of Roald Dahl - a great collection of short stories.

The Portable Door by Tom Holt - funny & a good story.

Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich - fast-paced, entertaining non-fiction.

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby - better than the movie. Easy read, funny.

u/Epistimi · 1 pointr/books

Cheers! Well, thanks to everyone, but I won't reply just to say thank you. Y'all know I appreciate your helpfulness.

This Norton anthology of yours; well, I found a few on Amazon (which is undoubtedly where I'm going to get it), and there is a "regular" edition and an "International Student Edition". However I am unable to discern any difference between the two as the latter lacks a description. Would any of these two be the one you own? Either one sounds brilliant, but there is quite a price difference.

u/ascii_genitalia · 2 pointsr/AskReddit

Grab a copy of The Riverside Shakespeare.

It's a complete volume, with plenty of background on each of the works, and plenty of footnotes to help you get up to speed on the language. Really, with Elizabethan/Jacobean literature in general, developing a familiarity for the linguistic style is probably the most difficult part for modern readers. Once you get the hang of it though (after a bit of slogging) the reading becomes much more enjoyable.

As for the order, there's nothing wrong with starting with the most popular/famous works first, as others have suggested. As you become more familiar with the style, you will find it easier to move to other works where you may be less familiar with the overall storyline.

Since we're picking favorites, my personal favorite is Measure for Measure.

I think the process of studying Shakespeare offers great possibilities for personal growth. Remember, as the fine Duke Vincentio said:

Heaven doth with us as we with torches do,

Not light them for themselves; for if our virtues

Did not go forth of us, 'twere all alike

As if we had them not.

u/rh1noceros · 7 pointsr/Screenwriting

Is Tarantino a "great writer of dialogue?" Personally, I don't think so. I think that he is a very talented director who has mastered the understanding of the "bomb under the table" technique of building suspense.

For example, Inglorious Basterds opens with a scene of Col. Hans Landa sitting down for a smoke and a chat with a dairy farmer. There's nothing particularly interesting about this dialogue. Nothing at all. It's very ordinary.

What makes the scene compelling, though, is the fact that the audience is aware that the dairy farmer is hiding a Jewish family and that Landa is a Nazi. Additionally, Landa explicitly tells the farmer of his "Jew Hunter" nickname.

As per Hitchcock, we have two men having a conversation for five minutes while sitting at the kitchen table. A Jewish family is literally under the table. One of the men is hiding that family and the other man is hunting that family. They could talk about anything at all. Milk. Tobacco. Baseball. It doesn't matter what. The audience will be in suspense for the duration of that scene because we know that something is going to happen at the end of it.

The scene isn't memorable because of any specific lines of dialogue that the characters speak. It's memorable because the situation is dramatic.

Credit to Tarantino, of course, for writing this scene in a dramatic way. A lesser writer might have had the Nazis storm into the cabin and interrogate the farmer. Instead, Tarantino has created a character in Landa who is unsettlingly civil with a penchant for pageantry. And yes, the dialogue reveals Lando's character and raises the stakes of the plot, so it certainly is "good" in that it does what dialogue is supposed to do.

What's great about this scene, though, is that it builds tension in other scenes throughout the movie.

Later in the film, Landa sits down at a cafe with Shoshanna, the lone survivor of the previous scene. Tarantino has firmly established that Landa knows where Jews are hiding. And Tarantino has firmly established that Landa prefers to indulge in a bit of theater and pomp before unleashing his violence.

So when he sits down at the table with Shoshanna, the audience feels as though there is a bomb under the table once again, and we're confident -- if not certain -- that this scene will end the same as the earlier scene. So it's excruciating to watch Landa order pie and engage in small talk because of the suspense the film has earned by showing us nearly the exact same scene.

Of course, this time the scene ends differently. Landa really just wanted some pie and has no idea that Shoshanna is Jewish. This comes as a pretty big surprise to the audience. It also furthers to build suspense throughout the rest of the film because now we can't be sure if any conversation is going to end in an explosion of violence or a polite parting.

The dialogue in these scenes, though, is only ancillary. Anybody could have written the dialogue in these scenes and the scenes still would have played out with the same sense of suspense and urgency thanks to Tarantino's excellent direction and Christolph Waltz's fantastic characterization.

Before I sat down to right this mini-essay, I simply thought, "Tarantino isn't a great writer of dialogue." Writing this analysis, though, forced me to think about what Tarantino does as a writer and why it works within the context of his scripts ... and these insights will help me in my writing in the future.

So I suppose that this is ultimately a rather long-winded way of saying that I think it's more important to analyze why we enjoy and remember the dialogue of our favorite films than it is to simply list our favorites.

---

tl;dr ... David Mamet, David Ives, Billy Wilder, Tom Stoppard, William Goldman and John Hughes

u/steel-panther · 1 pointr/writing

You mention commanders, that invokes images of the military, if you ever plan to do anything with your work and you are in the military, check into things because I recall even personal work on private time, if not written off by a general automaticly is owned by the military.

As for just writing, I copy pasted my reponse to another post like this. Doing, and reading are your best friends and picking up some writing help books are a good idea.

There are plenty of books like this. https://smile.amazon.com/Plot-Structure-Techniques-Exercises-Crafting/dp/158297294X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1538987966&sr=8-4&keywords=James+Scott+Bell

My main recommendations revolve around self help books like that above, and actually reading other people's fiction. I believe that will be the biggest help to you based on my own experiences.

u/Coloradical27 · 1 pointr/ELATeachers

Hi, your research projects sound like a good start. I would change the project about "tragic hero" to "tragic flaw" or "tragic act." I worked with some Shakespeare scholars this summer and they said the idea of the tragic hero came about recently and it is anachronistic with Shakespeare.

Also, I don't know if you've already planned your whole unit, but I strongly recommend using the [Shakespeare Set Free] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743288505/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1535523722&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0671760467&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1KZKD0PM2A0Z50Y71C31) curriculum from the Folger Shakespeare library to help you with your lessons. It is all about close reading and making Shakespeare fun. I cannot recommend it enough. Good luck!



u/danceswithronin · 29 pointsr/writing

[All of these.] (http://www.amazon.com/20-Master-Plots-Build-Them/dp/1599635372)

Here they are, broken out:

> Quest: A character-driven story that has a hero go on a journey for something that changes him in some way.

> Adventure: A plot-driven story that focuses on reaching a series of goals.

> Pursuit: The Chase plot, very action oriented.

> Rescue: A Rescue Arc as the main story, also very action oriented.

> Escape: A Great Escape plot, similar to the Rescue, except the captive rescues himself/herself.

> The Riddle: Basic Mystery plot revolving around a Driving Question.

> Rivalry: Character-oriented story based on the interactions of two opposing characters, The Hero and The Rival.

> Underdog: A story where the Underdogs Never Lose. Revolves around an underdog (maybe they are underprivileged, poor, disabled, etc.) who triumphs despite overwhelming odds.

> Temptation: The story revolves around whether or not to give into a temptation and the consequences, Pandora Box-like.

> Metamorphosis: A story revolving around a physical transformation of some kind, generally a true Metamorphosis is a one-way street.

> Transformation: A story revolving around an inner-change, rather than a physical one.

> Maturation: A Coming of Age Story, where the a character matures physically, emotionally or spiritually.

> Love: Your basic Boy Meets Girl Romance Arc, with two characters falling in love as the main story.

> Forbidden Love: Star-Crossed Lovers who spend most of the plot trying to be together despite the world trying to tear them apart.

> Sacrifice: Revolves around a characters and their sacrifices, lethal or otherwise.

> Discovery: A story that unearths those skeletons in a character's Mysterious Past.

> Wretched Excess: Story where the character is in a downward spiral from drugs, greed, depression, insanity, etc.

> Vengeance: Your basic Revenge story, very character-driven.

> Ascension: Follows a character's rise to power.

> Descension: Like-wise to Ascension, follows a character fall from power.

u/adrianaflowers · 1 pointr/shakespeare

You should purchase The Riverside Shakespeare, which is a large book filled with the complete collection of Shakespeare's plays and poems from the best folios. It also has accompanying literature for each play and poem. My copy is very precious to me so if you love studying Shakespeare, I would highly recommend purchasing this collection in particular.

u/Treesclera · 1 pointr/Unity3D

I know you mean this as a joke, but with some interesting narrative and the right setting you could make this a very serious and involving game. You could learn about the characters around you, become endeared by their stories, even create a mystery as to what, if anything, everyone is queueing for. Here is some inspiration, both in form of Russian novels, The Concert Ticket by Olga Grushin and The Queue by Vladmir Sorokin

I always thought this type of thing would make an engaging game. Create my dream!

u/teacher94085 · 2 pointsr/ELATeachers

I'm not sure if you mean Shakespeare Set Free (which is published by Folger), but I would highly recommend/second this resource. There are great activities to help students engage with the language and it goes at a pretty quick pace.

u/SpeakeasyImprov · 7 pointsr/improv

Those are good books to get started. Also, for beginners, I recommend The Complete Improviser by our very own /u/btarnett!

Do whatever kind of show you want.

I took classes way in Cleveland back in 2001 when there used to be a Second City there. After shows we hung out at Becky's Bar. I think Something Dada is still doing shows. Looks like there may be sporadic shows at the Beck Center.

Good luck! Have fun!

u/rorixx · 11 pointsr/AskLiteraryStudies

It is generally believed that the plot of Othello, devoid racial issues, was derived from Giovanbatitista Giraldi Cinthio's De glib hecatommithi ("Hundred Tales," third decade, seventh story, 1565), also known as Un Capitano Moro ("A Moorish Captain").

The racial tension present in the play is thought to be drawn primarily from the 1600 translation of A Geographical Historie of Africa written by Leo Africanus, a Moroccan Muslim captured by Christian pirates and brought to Rome, where he converted to Catholicism.

His constructions of Venetian-Turkish affairs is thought to have been taken from Richard Knolle's General History of the Turkes (1603).

Since you are doing a presentation you probability looking for sources. I would recommend The Norton Shakespeare it has a great overview of the history of Shakespeare and his influences. It is quite common and should be found in most libraries, although it might be in the reference section.

If you are looking for something a little more substantive I would recommend:

u/alpine_chough · 2 pointsr/booksuggestions

Huge disclaimer: I haven't read any of these yet! But I somewhat obsessively keep a list of books I'd like to read, and these are all on there, with the "dysfunctional family" theme in common.

The Middlesteins

The Corrections

The Family Fang

I own the last two, but haven't quite worked down the book pile far enough to reach them :)

I have a few other titles in mind, but these seem to fit your request the best.

u/_the_credible_hulk_ · 2 pointsr/ELATeachers

A great place to start is the Folger Shakespeare Library's Shakespeare Set Free series. It's day by day lesson plans, some of which are great, some of which are so-so, focusing on performance. Here's a link: https://www.amazon.com/Shakespeare-Set-Free-Teaching-Midsummer/dp/0743288505/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3M92XFXTGYFZY4NJKWV6

It's the best teaching resource I've ever owned.

u/TummyCrunches · 5 pointsr/suggestmeabook

Tolstoy's great-grandniece has a good post apocalyptic book called The Slynx.

Day of the Oprichnik and The Queue by Vladimir Sorokin are both good. The Queue is written in all dialogue though, which can be off-putting to some.

Omon Ra by Victor Pelevin is pretty damn funny.

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin is considered a precursor to 1984 and is worth a read.

Yuri Olesha's Envy is another funny one. Short, too.

Petersburg by Andrei Bely is generally considered the Russian Ulysses.

The Foundation Pit by Andrey Platonov is a biting look at Stalin's collectivization.

The Golovlyov Family by Shchedrin is about a family so awful they wouldn't be out of place in a Faulkner book.

Autobiography of a Corpse by Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky is my favorite of his story collections. Pretty trippy stuff.

u/Cdresden · 2 pointsr/WritersGroup

Sure. But writing is a craft, just like any other craft. Most of it is just learning a complicated set of mechanics. What one person can do, another can do. What makes the difference is drive more than genius.

Read a good, fun book on writing that will get you pumped. Maybe How to Write a Damn good Novel by James Frey, or Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell. Or better yet, if you can, take a class in fiction writing, or join a real world fiction writing group in your town.

u/makesureimjewish · 2 pointsr/writing

i read these two books, hugely helpful:


link 1

link 2

i know everyone has their opinions about the best books but i really enjoyed both and they're very motivating

u/legalpothead · 5 pointsr/scifiwriting

Good on you for stepping into it. There are lots of would-be SF/fantasy writers who spend years and years on worldbuilding, but somehow never quite get around to the actual writing of the novels.

As it turns out, worldbuilding is the fun, easy part of writing. The actual writing is the terribly hard part. Because when a person starts writing, their writing is shit. When you read back over what you've written, it's full of awkward phrases and boring cliches, and the dialog is so bad it's unreadable. Lots of new writers look at their output and get depressed, and then because they have no idea how to improve their writing, they retreat back into more worldbuilding.

The solution is you have to keep pushing it out, every day. Your output gets better with experience.

If there's one book that inspired me to write better, it's James Scott Bell's Plot and Structure. The ebook is $10. Put that on your phone and take a week to read it through. This book is part of a writer's tools series. I also have Characters, Emotions and Viewpoint by Nancy Kress and it is also good. You might do well to look at that entire series.

Then there's a book by Mary Buckham I think is indispensable, Writing Active Hooks. Learning how to use hooks is a critical part of a fiction writer's skill set, but no other book I know of tackles the subject head on. You set a hook to keep your reader interested, and before that one times out you can set another one, pulling your reader deeper and deeper into your book. It's the secret weapon you have to have.

u/shaynoodle · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

Can't tell if contest is finished or not, but I'll bite.

Ella Minnow Pea

I haven't read this book yet, but a friend of mine who is an English teacher just finished it and she said it's really good. It's a series of letters, where as the book progresses the use of certain letters in the alphabet becomes banned. At the end of the novel, I believe LMNOP are the only letters left. If you want to, we could read it together!

I like big books and I cannot lie

u/idrumgood · 4 pointsr/goodyearwelt

WSAYWT: Canada West. Top down.

AOTD: I'm a pretty slow reader, maybe do like 6 novels in a year (most of my reading is focused on comic books). But I got a new book for xmas based off a reddit post I saw, Ella Minnow Pea. It's pretty fun so far, a light read.

GD: Had to have the plumber come out for the second time since moving into this place in August of last year. Sounds like we're going to have a reoccurring problem with the main kitchen sink drain line, which is common for our whole building (3 flat).

At $325 to roto the drain, I think I may just buy one myself and do it every now and then.

u/Hubris2 · 2 pointsr/newzealand

Need to have Hamlet translated to truly be making progress. That's when we knew the Klingon language had truly gained worldwide acceptance.

u/_AuFish · 4 pointsr/askscience

So just a little more detail on this, especially in regards to Ebola virus and how the US dealt with it. Also, to preface, I'm about to begin my PhD and will be working in high containment - as I am completely fascinated by these pathogens, especially filoviruses, and had the pleasure of meeting one of the head physicians who tended to the Ebola cases at Emory University.

So despite the fact that Ebola will likely never reach epidemic proportions in the US as it did in Africa due to cultural differences that ultimately led to quick dissemination through the region - the US swiftly put precautionary measures into place. The most notable is how quickly they turned a wing of the hospital at Emory into a BSL4 containment facility. Utilizing the NEIDL at Boston University as an upsetting example of how many set backs there are to establishing BSL4 facilities - I believe there's less than 20 in the US (the exact number escapes me at this hour), yet another illustration of the difficulties of establishing high containment facilities. Yet When emory began getting over crowded and needed more BSL4 space - they were able to (with the help of their CDC neighbors) create a fully functional BSL4 in 48hrs. In addition to the Emory isolation unit, after the 'Ebola scare' the government and/or state health departments issued high containment bio safety suits to the major hospitals in each state (even if they didn't have quarantine units), in case they ever had to deal with an outbreak. (Source: a few friends of mine are head of their departments in major cities and informed me because they knew I would get a kick out of it. lol)

I could go on and on (because I am a super big nerd about infectious pathogens), but I will give you some cool resources for you to check out if you'd like to read about it more.

Emory Ebola isolation unit

My absolute favorite book, which explains how a lot of the worlds most deadly pathogens first emerged and how they were discovered - The Coming Plague

u/Y_pestis · 3 pointsr/booksuggestions

Not quite the same as your examples, but some of my favorite non-fiction science are...

The Coming Plague

And The Band Played On

The Disappearing Spoon

The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat

I could probably come up with a few others if any of these seem to be what interests you.

u/Triplanetary · 364 pointsr/thatHappened

I suspect that the number of Trekkies who would have you believe that they're fluent in Klingon is much higher than the actual number of Trekkies who are fluent in Klingon.

I mean, the media seems really fascinated by the notion that there are a bunch of nerds running around speaking some fictional nerd language (hence the portrayal of such in shows like The Big Bang Theory), but it just doesn't make any sense. Yes, Klingon is a fully realized language constructed by a real-ass linguist and all that, but all that means is that it takes just as much time and effort to learn as a real language, and without the benefit of being able to find any real level of immersion (the snippets of Klingon in the show certainly aren't enough, so you're pretty much stuck with reading Hamlet in Klingon). And anyone who's devoting all those hundreds or thousands of hours to learning a fictional language, as opposed to the many actual useful skills or languages that a nerd could learn in that same amount of time, probably isn't getting outside enough for you to ever actually meet them.

u/Alcoheroic · 1 pointr/improv

You'll make your lives a lot easier if you get a coach ASAP (even if it's just a temporary guest coach).

Player's attempting to direct each other (even for very experienced troupes) can lead to all sorts of drama down the line. I've been a part of teams where each week (or month) we rotated who was leading rehearsals. Some worked out great (the two where we all had at least a decade of performing/teaching experience and went into it with that plan) and others quickly became a dumpster fire.

My best advice while you're waiting for a coach is probably to pick up a book on improv theory or a book on on acting:

Mick Napier's - Improvise: Scene from the inside out, Bill Arnett's - The Complete Improviser, Viola Spolin's - Improvisation for the Theater, or something like Marina Caldarone's - Action: The Actor's Thesaurus are good places to start.

Then read it together outside of rehearsal and discuss the ideas in various chapters when you meet up - maybe try out a few exercises, but be wary of trying to direct each other: that's not your job, your job is to support each other on stage.

Heck, just reading a few acting books and really discussing them will put you guys leaps and bounds ahead of most improvisers.

u/BorisGuzo · 2 pointsr/writing

There's no easy answer. Here are a few starting points.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxDwieKpawg
Pixar's Stanton on story

http://www.amazon.com/Plot-Structure-Techniques-Exercises-Crafting/dp/158297294X
Great book by James Scott Bell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcmiqQ9NpPE
Part 1/5 of series by Dan Wells, you can find the rest, all are good.

I hear you, don't give up.

u/Fergette · 2 pointsr/subredditoftheday

If you like that you'd really like this book.

Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters https://www.amazon.com/dp/0385722435/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_fKr5xbKR8TD5R

Edit: Not sure why I've been down voted for this. Perhaps by offering the Amazon link? It's not an affiliate link or anything. I'm not getting anything from it. Just a good book along the same topic.

u/macbezz · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

I'm Matt and the book would be without a doubt be High Fidelity by Nick Hornby. This is my favorite book of all time. It connects with me on some level. I can understand the desire to quantify everything, put it on some sort of best of, all time, desert island type list. The idea that listening to too much music can make you simultaneously feel too much and not feel enough. The characters and their constant need to relate something that's happening with a song, or a book, or a film. The songs that are a part of your life. I feel like I could have written this. There are some songs that I can't help but associate with people or with a moment. Music and films that take me to a certain place emotionally. And a basic inability to relate with actual people on the most fundamental level. Whether that's because of the music, and movies, and books, or whether I have those because of that inability. This book is like an old friend. Something that's comfortable, that I can always turn to. I've read it over twenty times. I'm on my third copy, the second being left with someone in India (read it twice on the trip). There really was no other choice for this. I can't recommend it enough.

u/mistermajik2000 · 2 pointsr/ELATeachers

Which play?

The Folger Shakespeare Library website has tons of lessons which are interactive, “on your feet” style.

And, I can’t recommend this enough:
Buy this book! - I used it for MacBeth last year, and gave it to my neighbor this year for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s a serious game-changer with loads of lessons (entire unit plan) that are interactive and actually fun!

u/kintexu2 · 3 pointsr/techtheatre

David Ive's one acts are generally a simple set. Most of them might be too short for what you're wanting though. They are utterly hilarious though and a lot of fun to do in my opinion. You can get a collection of 14 of his one acts pretty cheap in his "All in the Timing" collection.

u/voxhavoc · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

I would recommend my two of my favourite books

Ready Player One By Ernest Cline

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

I hope that you find a book you enjoy. Because Bookworms rule!

u/ahare63 · 1 pointr/ancientgreece

If you like Fagles (and I do), he also translated Aeschylus' The Oresteia (Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides) as well as Sophocles' The Three Theban Plays (Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone). I haven't actually read either of these, although his translation of Aeschylus is on my bookshelf, and I can't speak to their popularity but I'd imagine they're somewhat similar to his translations of epic poetry. I don't think he translated Euripides though. Hope this helps!

u/serenityveritas · 1 pointr/books

The Coming Plague by Laurie Garrett

It's my favorite non-fiction book and it pushed me into being pre-med in college. Obviously not about the Cold War (although some of it takes places during then) but it's really well researched and fascinating.

u/ShaunTheWorldBuilder · 1 pointr/writing

This was really helpful, thank you. When you say 'pick a story', have you ever come across a comprehensive list of stories? I've read 20 Master Plots by Ronald Tobias but they seem to be more generic and keywordy like 'underdog' rather than the phrasing you've given which I find sparks more of an image, "sometimes sacrifice is necessary".

u/-Shaxberd- · 1 pointr/CasualConversation

I saw the complete works of Willm Shaxberd in an edition I didn't have, which would have intriguing supplementary material, but I DIDN'T buy it for complex, brain-fart reasons.

It was a five-dollar-to-fill-a-bag library sale. Early on I found a book I KIND OF wanted, and quickly realized that was all I wanted. I became biased against filling my bag at all and just walking out. Well into doing this, I saw The Wonton Chronicles of One Willm Shaxberd, 3rd Ed. I decided NOT to get it for two reasons: 1) mainly, the bias established by the situation, and 2) I already had the third edition, and didn't realize how much I'd like to have the second as well. I could have bought that one book for fifty cents, but my brain didn't fully digest that option.

The decision was mainly situational and brain-fart related. Now I totally regret it.

u/webnrrd2k · 2 pointsr/biology

If you like The Hot Zone, you'll love The Coming Plague.

u/admorobo · 5 pointsr/suggestmeabook

You may enjoy the fiction of Nick Hornby. He's light, funny, and yet manages to tell very real, human stories. Some of his best-known works include High Fidelity, About A Boy and A Long Way Down

u/pegstrom · 1 pointr/books

Neither of these are thrillers but I was literally transfixed in place when I started reading the Black Hawk Down book. Knelt awkwardly on the floor where I'd picked the book up for hours till I was done. Almost felt like it would have been a betrayal to walk away from those guys before they got a resolution.

And, on a lighter note, Ella Minnow Pea is a super sweet book about what happens when successive letters of the alphabet are ruled illegal. The book itself follows the same rules, chapter by chapter, and the sense of growing claustrophobia and desperation as the letters disappear is really powerful. You, as a reader, have a vested interest in the outcome of these characters in a way i've never felt before.

u/cavelioness · 2 pointsr/Fantasy

aw, I think it's just a human thing. Everyone wants to pick their favorite everything, "What's your favorite color? Fruit? Ice cream flavor? Book? TV show? Movie?" Seems like children are the only thing that's exempt, you aren't supposed to have a favorite if you have multiple kids. Guess we could add lovers to the list if one is poly. Although I think everyone agrees that Nathaniel, JC, and Micah are special to Anita?

Hey, if you read this far I wanted to bring up something I once saw you write. I don't expect a reply, I understand that you're through with the AMA, but think it's natural that you might still read responses and maybe see this. Your books were really a big part of my life for several years and I feel thrilled to have the chance to be writing something you might read.

If I'm remembering correctly at one point you were upset that people wanted more plot, because you felt that meant more death, blood, and gore for Anita, who's already experienced quite enough. That really made me think. And what I came up with was, you're right, business as usual is too bloody and gory and I understand your wanting out of having to write and research so much death as well.

But, here's the thing, I think you've already proven that you can do whatever you want with this series and your publishers won't give you too much flack. Most of the plots in Anita involve someone turning up dead and then police work to solve the mystery, but what if you tried out a completely different sort of plot, just threw Anita and cohorts into some strange situation and then watch how they reacted?

I mean, I write myself and one year for my birthday I got a book called 20 Master Plots and How to Build Them and sometimes I find it really fun to imagine my characters in some of those situations. It helps me get to know them better too. There are so many other plots out there where no one has to die.

u/upallday_allen · 9 pointsr/conlangs

I know Hamlet and Gilgamesh have been translated into Klingon. There's also been quite a bit translated into Esperanto. Besides that, I do not know.

I would love to write some full works of fiction in my conlang. It will be hard work, and only maybe four people will appreciate it, but it'd be fun, I think.

u/Ebriate · 1 pointr/worldnews

Oh this epidemic is in the infant stage. It's simple math. He will understand when the hot zone is Africa.
Ebola is a ping pong ball the closer people are compacted population wise

Read this book if you want some truth and not current population concentrations of an infant epidemic
Thanks sponsz for getting it.

u/s_mcc · 2 pointsr/rpg

The 20 Master Plots and How to Build Them

If you want to get better at roleplaying games, try reading something that is about creating stories interspersed with more game content.

u/drunkonwine · 1 pointr/AskReddit

This grabbed from a library and randomly thumbed through. You'll get a good series of stuff. Also, read this by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I like classics, especially now that I am old enough to have experiences these literary gods talked about.

u/RestIsForTheWeary · 2 pointsr/AmItheAsshole

NTA

Now, go read Dear Committee Members for a smile!

https://www.amazon.com/Dear-Committee-Members-Julie-Schumacher/dp/0345807332

u/WhirledWorld · 2 pointsr/AskReddit

I did my thesis on him. You can find a lot of his major works online, but there are two standard compilations of his oeuvre.

This one skips his later works, but that's okay because once he finished Four Quartets he basically decided he could never write something better, and so he didn't write for the next 15 years of his life or so. It also includes his plays, as he was a major playwright as well.

This one includes more poetry, but not the plays.

u/matts2 · 3 pointsr/booksuggestions

By far The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance. Makes The Hot Zone seem like a carefree weekend.

u/AidenJDrake · 1 pointr/writing

Plot and Structure By James Scott Bell: Far and away one of the best book I've ever read on writing.
http://www.amazon.com/Plot-Structure-Techniques-Exercises-Crafting/dp/158297294X

I actually just started Techniques of the Selling Writer by Swain, which I have heard great things about but I haven't read far enough to give my own opinion.
http://www.amazon.com/Techniques-Selling-Writer-Dwight-Swain/dp/0806111917

u/travelersoul · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

happy birthday

have you read TS Elliot

u/PatricioINTP · 1 pointr/books

Not quite as hard core as you have done, but I actually do like it when an author forces you to learn a language as the story goes on. Shogun is an example of this, where both you and the British protagonist have to learn Japanese to get by. The mini-series did this too a bit.

I have done what you did though with this book. Prepare to roll your eyes!

http://www.amazon.com/The-Klingon-Hamlet-William-Shakespeare/dp/0671035789

u/librariowan · 1 pointr/suggestmeabook

I really enjoyed Dear Committee Members. It's quite snarky.

u/OrangePyromancer · 1 pointr/IAmA

Hi, Micheal! What was it like working with Bing for HIDY?

Also, have you ever read this book?

u/noahpoah · 2 pointsr/suggestmeabook

Dear Committee Members is a very funny epistolary novel. It's about an academic dealing with absurd job-related frustrations and his ridiculous social life. It's got serious moments, too. All around a very good read.

u/lekanto · 3 pointsr/NoStupidQuestions

One of my favorite books, Ella Minnow Pea, involves a search for that very thing.

u/chelsrei · 2 pointsr/books

The next Thursday book comes out next week! In the meantime, Shades of Grey is good as well as his Nursery Crime books and The Last Dragonslayer. If you're looking for something different try Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn.

u/cool_colors · 2 pointsr/biology

The Coming Plague is a good read.

u/the_sleep_of_reason · 2 pointsr/DebateAnAtheist

Are we playing the "is X real" game now? What are you stumped about?

The rule is easy. If it corresponds to a real phenomena/event/behavior etc. it is real.

So for example the Klingon language is real. It has been codified, there are real people who can speak said language. So is Tolkien's form of elvish - Quenya. It does not get any more real for a language than two people meeting face to face and being able to communicate in said language does it?

If it is just a "name" in a book without any structure or without means for real people to actually use the language to communicate, I would argue that they are not "real languages". They are "real" in the context that someone has written them down and they can be referenced in reality by different people. They are not real languages though because you are unable to do any actual communication with them.

u/newtonslogic · 1 pointr/worldnews

I think everyone in this thread would be well served to read Laurie Garrett's "The Coming Plague" and Robert Preston's "The Hot Zone".

u/k3rn3 · 3 pointsr/startrek

Unfortunately, it's super impractical since it was designed for Star Trek and most words have to do with battle and space/technology. The Klingon Language Institute (apparently this is a real thing) might be helpful. Here's a cd, but there's also The Klingon Hamlet, Klingon for the Galactic Traveler, and The Klingon Dictionary

u/blackstar9000 · 4 pointsr/books

I like to tailor my recommendations to what I know about people, so a request like this leaves me a little at a disadvantage. Basically, I believe that there may be no such thing as a universally applicable book, and to that end, whether or not a book is really a "must-read" for any given person depends on the circumstances of that person's life. So what I'm going to give you instead is this: a list of the ten books that I've read that I think (at the moment) have the best chance of having an impact on any random English-speakers life. Make of it what you will.

Ahem. In no particular order:

  1. The Bridge at San Luis Rey, by Thornton Wilder

  2. Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad

  3. The Spirit Catches You and You Fell Down, by Anne Fadiman

  4. The Consolation of Philosophy, by Boethius

  5. We With to Inform You that Tomorrow We Well Be Killed With Our Families, by Philip Gourevitch.

  6. The Theban Plays of Sophocles.

  7. The Bell, by Iris Murdoch.

  8. The Book of J, by Harold Bloom and David Rosenberg.

  9. Gilgamesh: A Verse Narrative, by Herbert Mason.

  10. The Street of Crocodiles, by Bruno Schulz.
u/bookchaser · 2 pointsr/childrensbooks

I'm not familiar with that story, but for yourself (e.g., an adult), you might enjoy Ella Minnow Pea. The people in the book are forbidden to use certain letters as the letters fall off a memorial statue in the town, and the letters also disappear from the book as the story progresses.

u/ExxieEssex · 14 pointsr/UnresolvedMysteries

This is a good, long book about the origins and discovery of some of the newer, more confusing diseases. The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance
The title is more clickbait-y than the actual work.

u/pier25 · 1 pointr/writing

The problem is plot. Ideas are cheap. Read books about plot to understand what ingredients are needed to sustain tension and interest.

This is a good one, but there are plenty of others.

u/sambalaya · 4 pointsr/improv

The Complete Improviser by Bill Arnett aka /u/btarnett

u/sanchopancho13 · 2 pointsr/news

This is basically how Ella Minnow Pea starts.

u/utterdamnnonsense · 5 pointsr/funny

Reminds me of Ella Minnow Pea.

u/Finie · 1 pointr/politics

There's a book along these lines: Ella Minnow Pea.

u/23times23 · 2 pointsr/suggestmeabook

not totally sure what you're getting at with "the disappearance of words," but Ella Minnow Pea came to mind.
https://www.amazon.com/Ella-Minnow-Pea-Novel-Letters/dp/0385722435

u/ATX_tulip_craze · 2 pointsr/suggestmeabook

First one that comes to my mind is High Fidelity - http://www.amazon.com/High-Fidelity-Nick-Hornby/dp/1573225517

It would be a bit dated and not some great work of literature or anything but it would qualify I suppose.

u/Legia · 3 pointsr/explainlikeimfive

The diseases are actually quite old. They're both zoonoses, or diseases transmitted from animals to people. In the case of HIV from chimps, and in the case of Ebola we don't know the reservoir species. Maybe bats. From there, these diseases are able to transmit directly from human to human. HIV turned out to be quite well adapted for this, perhaps because SIV was in chimps for so long and also because unlike Ebola, HIV takes awhile to cause symptoms, and symptoms aren't as scary at least for awhile.

It's new patterns of population and travel that have amplified them (and a bit of bad luck). A great book on this for HIV is [Jacques Pepin's The Origin of AIDS] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Origins-AIDS-Jacques-Pepin/dp/0521186374). Essentially we can see based on historic biological samples and the pace of genetic viral mutation that HIV has crossed into humans from chimps multiple times and among primates as well. What changed was that HIV managed to infect a bush meat hunter then make it into a city with a lot of men and few women and then perhaps into a sex worker and . . . away we go. Whereas infecting one bush hunter who then infects his wife and she goes on to have an infected baby - well they all just die out, end of "epidemic."

[Laurie Garrett's The Coming Plague] (http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Plague-Emerging-Diseases-Balance/dp/0140250913/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407301527&sr=1-1&keywords=the+coming+plague) and [David Quammen's Spillover] (http://www.amazon.com/Spillover-Animal-Infections-Human-Pandemic/dp/0393346617/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407301582&sr=1-3&keywords=the+coming+plague) also address this question well.

u/sahdu · 1 pointr/AskReddit

There's actually a very clever little book called Ella Minnow Pea about a town who begins to ban certain letters. As they ban each letter, the author will no longer write with it throughout the book. It's a really quick and interesting read. Amazon link here.

u/MattieShoes · 1 pointr/AskEurope

I followed that one with The Coming Plague. It's a bit more heavy, less of a narrative. Man, I was paranoid for MONTHS after reading those two!

u/BeatrixVonBourbon · 129 pointsr/books

I have always been a bit grimly obsessed by Ebola, and my friend gave me this to read a few years ago. It was terrifying and riveting. Plus, not long after, said friend went on Honeymoon very near to supposed Ebola cave... he wasn't keen.

Incidentally, a good follow-up read to this is The Coming Plague

u/hugemuffin · 3 pointsr/writing

Here's the deal, you don't know what you don't know about your story.

Maybe you're an outliner, maybe you don't know how to build a scene, maybe you don't know your character's motivations.

Writers block is not a lack of a muse, it's your brain realizing that it is short of something and needs some knowledge to press on.

Depending on how you want to approach this, you have to know the basic unit of storytelling which is the scene. Research it, practice it, do it. From there, build your scenes into plot. Or do that in reverse and build your plot and fill it with scenes. Learn how to make characters into people.

I also like wired for story since it fills the gap between plot and scene by focusing on characters and how they fit into story.

Sitting in a chair, putting sentences in front of you is good, doing so with a bit of knowledge is better. Without knowing how to build scenes, make characters, and plot out a story (even as a pantser or discovery writer), you will get discouraged and flail around in the dark.

Listen to the writing excuses podcast and try out their various tips on novel writing, they have a three act structure that is good but their talk on it is crap. This is better.

You can't place up walls well without blueprints, you can't build walls without carpentry skills, and you can't finish a house without effort. Writing a novel is similar.

TL:DR Educate yo-sef. Keep writing while you're learning. Your first draft will be crap, but it will be worse crap if you go into it blind.

u/jarrettwold · 7 pointsr/science

I always point people to this book when they blow off vaccinations or contagious diseases:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Coming-Plague-Emerging-Diseases/dp/0140250913

The other book? Preston's The Hot Zone.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Hot-Zone-Terrifying-Story/dp/0385479565

Both of those scared the ever living shit out of me, and they're also why I hate Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy.