Hmm, yeah that's a bit trickier. Some ideas:

1. You can find some TedX talks on youtube with both English and German subtitles. Some are auto-generated, but some are done by an actual translator.
   
   
2. Assimil has a French based advanced German course. If you speak French that's the easiest option, but the audio and German text might do you some good on its own if you don't need much help understanding it.
   
   
3. German language podcasts with transcriptions might be available - I haven't looked personally, but it seems like a thing that might exist.
   
   
4. Other materials for German learners. While I haven't used any of them personally, this list looks like it might have some good options for you: https://www.fluentu.com/blog/german/intermediate-german-podcast/ . There are also German short story books with accompanying audio:
   
   

• https://www.amazon.com/German-Stories-Beginners-Improve-listening/dp/1974292207/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526402562&sr=8-1&keywords=german+listening
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/German-Short-Stories-Beginners-Learn/dp/1978477392/ref=pd_bxgy_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1978477392&pd_rd_r=JSQS71E11AZGVZM1CQG9&pd_rd_w=5j5pz&pd_rd_wg=d8LVy&psc=1&refRID=JSQS71E11AZGVZM1CQG9
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Learn-German-Stories-Berlin-Beginners/dp/1492399493/ref=pd_bxgy_14_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1492399493&pd_rd_r=JSQS71E11AZGVZM1CQG9&pd_rd_w=5j5pz&pd_rd_wg=d8LVy&psc=1&refRID=JSQS71E11AZGVZM1CQG9&dpID=61MmYtO4euL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=detail (there's a bunch more in this series, but it looks like it might only have the audio available as an audiobook instead of a cd/download, which might make it less useful.)
  
  

5. Keeping with your TV idea might be the most entertaining option. If you're at the level where you can understand a fair bit of material meant for native speakers then I'd suggest just using that or the audiobook/kindle thing and highlight any sentences you want, then copy them from your kindle homepage into your SRS (though that might be unwieldy if you want both the English and German versions - still possible with two versions of the e-book, but it sounds like a hassle).
   
   Not sure if any of these will be helpful - I wish I had something better to suggest! If only the world had more Assimil lol.
   
   Edit: formatting and comment on last link.
   

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At least for Anarchists or other left-libertarians it should also be important to actually read up on some basic or even fundamental ethical texts given most political views and arguments are fundamentally rooted in morality (unless you're a orthodox Marxist or Monarchist). I'm sadly not familiar enough with applied ethics to link collections of arguments for specific ethical problems, but it's very important to know what broad system you're using to evaluate what's right or wrong to not contradict yourself.

At least a few very old texts will also be available for free somewhere on the internet like The Anarchist Library.

Some good intro books:

• The Fundamentals of Ethics by Russ Shafer-Landau
  
• The Elements of Moral Philosophy by James and Stuart Rachels
  
• Ethics: A Very Short Introduction by Simon Blackburn
  
  Some foundational texts and contemporary authors of every main view within normative ethics:
  
  
• Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotles for Classic Virtue-Ethics. Martha Nussbaum would be a contemporary left-wing Virtue-Ethicist who has used Marx account of alienation to argue for Global Justice.
  
• Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals by Immanuel (or Emmanuel) Kant for Classic Deontology. Kantianism is a popular system to argue for anti-statism I believe even though Kant himself was a classical liberal. Christine Korsgaard would be an example of a contemporary Kantian.
  
• The Methods of Ethics by Henry Sidgwick for Classic Utilitarianism. People usually recommend Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill, but most contemporary Ethicists believe his arguments for Utilitarianism suck. 2 other important writers have been R. M. Hare and G. E. Moore with very unique deviations from classic Utilitarianism. A contemporary writer would be Peter Singer. Utilitarianism is sometimes seemingly leading people away from Socialism, but this isn't necessarily the case.
  
• Between Facts and Norms and other works by the contemporary Critical Theorist Jürgen Habermas may be particularly interesting to Neo-Marxists.
  
• A Theory of Justice by John Rawls. I know Rawls is a famous liberal, but his work can still be interpreted to support further left Ideologies. In his later works like Justice as Fairness: A Restatement you can see him tending closer to Democratic Socialism.
  
• Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche for... Nietzsche's very odd type of Egoism. His ethical work was especially influential to Anarchists such as Max Stirner, Emma Goldman or Murray Bookchin and also Accelerationists like Jean Baudrillard.
  
• In case you think moralism and ethics is just bourgeois propaganda maybe read something on subjectivism like Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong by J. L. Mackie
  
• Or if you want to hear a strong defense of objective morality read Moral Realism: A Defense by Russ Shafer-Landau orc

Friesian genealogy is its own animal. A part that many non-Friesians struggle with is that from a certain timeframe on the surnames are patronymic.

Some sources that might be useful for you:

• http://meta.genealogy.net/ and https://www.grabsteine-ostfriesland.de/suche.php - the second is a sort-of "find a grave" specifically for East Frisia, only that instead of recording graves they record removed gravestones. In Germany graves are removed after 30 years, we simply don't have the space in the cemeteries to let the graves sit there for all eternity. The scope of the site is very limited, there are only a handful of volunteers working on it, so don't be dissappointed if your ancestors aren't on there.
  
  The first link is the main website and database for genealogy purposes in Germany, all volunteer-driven. Consider uploading your tree to gedbas.genealogy.net in the hope of connecting with others who research the same family.
  
  
• The websites and databases of the Oldenburg Society for Genealogy, see https://www.familienkunde-oldenburg.de/ogf-datenbanken/ and particularily
  http://www.auswanderer-oldenburg.de/
  
  I did a quick search, is this person part of your tree?
  
  http://www.auswanderer-oldenburg.de/getperson.php?personID=I24087&tree=Auswanderer
  
  And this is Hermine Carls nee Tapken: http://www.auswanderer-oldenburg.de/getperson.php?personID=I91851&tree=Auswanderer
  
  Other emigrants from the parish of Bockhorn: http://www.auswanderer-oldenburg.de/showsource.php?sourceID=S746&tree=Auswanderer
  
  
• Above mentioned Oldenburg Society for Genealogy is working on creating a database of one-place studies extracted from the churchbooks. Only members have access. Consider joining and or contacting one of the volunteers working on the area you are interested in.
  
  
• http://www.akvz.de/index.html
  
  It is a website of volunteers who transcribe information of the few surviving census records in Germany and especially Northern Germany along the coast. As a non-member you have to wait 15 seconds before you can start a search, you can see the countdown in the screen. (Datenbank = database) The transcription is not complete and won't be for many years, but records get added frequently, so check back regularily. They also have a forum where you can post and ask whether records exist for the places you are looking at and whether anybody is working on it. (Again, it is all done by volunteers.)
  
  
• Another thing you could do is contact the town archive of Leer, maybe they have records regarding people who emigrated like old passport applications and stuff.
  
  https://www.leer.de/Bildung-Kultur/Kultur/Stadtarchiv
  
  Snail-mail adress
  
  Stadtarchiv
  
  Rathausstraße 1
  
  26789 Leer (Ostfriesland)
  
  Germany
  
  
• A some-what important event you should know about:
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jade_Treaty
  
  The construction of Wilhelmshaven led to lots of upheaval in the general area. Farmers who used to live in the area that became Wilhelmshaven moved away, often using the money they got for buying farms within a 30 mile radius. This was a major push factor for emigration from the general area, those who wanted to sell their farms and hop on a ship overseas or move east suddenly had solvent buyers. At the same time the construction site drew a lot of workers from all over Prussia, many of them male and single. The construction site was a bit like a wild-west gold mining town, really rattling things up in this area where things had a habit of changing very slowly.
  
  
• Finally, have you read the literary classic "Der Schimmelreiter" by Theodor Storm?
  
  It is "the" book to read if you are interested in Northern Germany, similarily to reading Gone With the Wind, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn as well as Uncle Tom's Hut when you are interested in the Old South of the USA.
  
  There are two translations of this book available in English. I've been told the Denis Jackson translation from 1996 is better, this translation is titled "The Dykemaster".
  
  https://www.amazon.com/Dykemaster-Angel-Classics-Theodor-Storm/dp/0946162549/
  
  But the kindle version of the other translation named "The Rider on the White Horse" is only 2 USD, so if you don't care for a few spelling errors you could get this.
  
  https://www.amazon.com/Rider-White-Horse-Review-Classics/dp/1590173015/
  
  However if you love to read for fun I would recommend picking up this collection of stories by Theodor Storm:
  
  https://www.amazon.com/Rider-White-Horse-Theodor-Storm/dp/1604597410
  
  
  

Great! I'm happy you like the book suggestion; if you are a book person you should love it. Just don't hate me when you get to the... porridge part. Only the first book really takes place in Sweden (in the others they've crossed into America), so from a strict preparation perspective you would only need to read that. But if you should happen to like the series and read it all, then know that it has been made into both a movie and a musical.

Since you seem interested in this kind of stuff, here's a few more readings you could do:

• One about vikings; this is much more loosely connected to reality, but it's a great and raucous tale and surely there's something about Swedish mentality in there.
  
  
• One that was actually comissioned to be a children's geography book; this will maybe feel a little dated, but if you read it with a map on your coffee-table you will get a colorful view of the land.
  
  
• One about poor, hardworking people in early industrial Stockholm. This is set some 50-75 years after The Emigrants, when Sweden is industrialising, and written in maybe something of the same "earthy epic" style. If you should like it then you can go on with a whole series. There are walks and sites for this in Stockholm as well.
  
  Do come back and talk to us when you know where the wedding is.
  
  And thanks for the US advice offer, though we've pretty much done our year of research on that. About half finished reading this by now. =)

Submission Statement: Universality fairly easily leads to the conclusion that humans anywhere out of the left tail are fundamentally the same, mentally speaking.

>In computation, universality simply means a process that can simulate all processes — including itself. By simulation, we mean copying the behavior of a process to as much fidelity as we would like. At some point, if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and walks like a duck, we stop, and consider it a duck for all practical purposes. (There, I wrapped the Turing test for artificial general intelligence in a nutshell for you.) Replace “processes” with “machines,” and you roughly see how computers work: a universal machine is a machine that can simulate all machines, including itself. You can think of a machine simply as a process that transforms an input to an output following a fixed set of rules.
>
>...
>
>Think about it: if the human species depended on exceptional geniuses who nevertheless could never communicate their exceptional thoughts to another human being, then either they are intellectual con-artists (like postmodernist “philosophers”), or we would have been doomed a long time ago. Although a few critical individuals clearly hit upon the right ideas at the right place at the right time, many other individuals need to be able to independently verify and improve upon these ideas. The real intelligence lies in human cooperation. There is no such thing as an exponentially smarter human being for the same reason as there is no such thing as an exponentially taller human being. A genius who cannot communicate his thoughts to another human is, in fact, not a genius!
>
>...
>
>As an individual, what matters much, much more than your alleged IQ is what you do with your precious, limited time on Earth. Remember, universality says that we are all capable of exactly the same ideas. That is why even differences in human languages don’t really matter. (Whether or not the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is true, we get for free the result that it is ultimately irrelevant.) Remember, the insidious thing about IQ — as Nassim astutely observed with his owl eye— is that there are people who fancy “their” people genetically smarter than yours, and only want to “help” you. (They are often the same people who like to mistakenly think that the “West” discovered all civilization, and that the “West” is Nordic / North Atlantic / North Europe.) At best, they are overeducated idiots; at worst, they are racialists. No matter what anyone tells you, you can learn about anything you like. Go out, and find out what you are good at, what Nature put you here to discover, and teach the rest of us.
>
>So, who should care about IQ? Nobody! Why? Because we are universal!

Mushy Snugglebites is my main squeeze!

I love collecting books! IMO, they're one of the greatest things to collect! =D They're fantastic entertainment, you can always share books with friends, and they're awesome for camping, roadtrips, or the beach. Best of all, they're reusable. I love reading books over again! You can always catch something you've never caught before!

If I win, I'd really like this book! I love mysteries, but more unique ones rather than the regular grizzly murder stories. This one looks promising! Thanks for the fun contest! =D

Walter Moers

Given the massive success of Adams, Pratchett and others, the rave reviews of everything in Moers' ever-expanding Zamonia series, the fantastic illustrations and the riotous and creative writing I cannot believe so few people have read these books.

These books have some deep social and psychological analysis alongside absurdity, humor, violence, love and adventure.

Reference books, chronologically:

• The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear
  
  
• Rumo
  
  
• The City of Dreaming Books
  
  
• Alchemaster's [sic] Apprentice
  
  Editorial reviews:
  
  
  >“Cheerfully insane. . . . Remains lively and inventive right through the final heroic battle between good and evil.”
  
  —The New York Times Book Review
  
  
  >“Moers’s creative mind is like J.K. Rowling’s on ecstasy; his book reads like a collision between The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and the Brothers Grimm…. What a delightful book.”
  
  —Detroit News and Free Press
  
  >“An overstuffed confection… Cross The Lord of the Rings with Yellow Submarine, throw in dashes of Monty Python, Douglas Adams, Shrek, and The Princess Bride…That’s the sort of alchemy in which this sprawling novel trades.”
  
  —Kirkus
  

Michel Houellebecq wrote a pretty funny novel called Submission about how France becomes a Muslim controlled country in 2022. Parts of it seem incredibly likely, such as the Islamic party partnering with the Socialist to seize political power.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submission_(novel)

>Ben-Abbes wins the election, and becomes President of France. He pacifies the country and enacts sweeping changes to French laws, privatizing the Sorbonne, thereby making François redundant with full pension as only Muslims are now allowed to teach there. He also ends gender equality, allowing polygamy. Several of François' intellectually-inferior colleagues, having converted to Islam, get good jobs and make arranged marriages with attractive young wives. The new president campaigns to enlarge the European Union to include North Africa, with the aim of making it a new Roman Empire, with France at its lead.

https://www.amazon.com/Submission-Novel-Michel-Houellebecq/dp/0374271577

A controversial, intelligent, and mordantly funny new novel from France's most famous living literary figure

It's 2022. François is bored. He's a middle-aged lecturer at the New Sorbonne University and an expert on J. K. Huysmans, the famous nineteenth-century Decadent author. But François's own decadence is considerably smaller in scale. He sleeps with his students, eats microwave dinners, rereads Huysmans, queues up YouPorn.

Meanwhile, it's election season. And although Francois feels "about as political as a bath towel," things are getting pretty interesting. In an alliance with the Socialists, France's new Islamic party sweeps to power. Islamic law comes into force. Women are veiled, polygamy is encouraged, and François is offered an irresistible academic advancement--on the condition that he convert to Islam.

Adam Gopnik in The New Yorker has said of Submission that "Houellebecq is not merely a satirist but--more unusually--a sincere satirist, genuinely saddened by the absurdities of history and the madnesses of mankind." Michel Houellebecq's new book may be satirical and melancholic, but it is also hilarious, a comic masterpiece by one of France's great novelists.

Ah yeah. I would continue research the neuroscience stuff for the layperson. Really fascinating stuff that can be of great help. Especially the stuff relating to stroke victims and their before/afters. Really helps to put the brain into perspective.

And the existential/nihilistic stuff... It seems that there are two separate mindsets when it comes to being an existentialist, and they are almost polar opposites in their effect upon the individual. I think the difference stems from a misinterpretation of existentialism's heavily nuanced response to the root question of all philosophy: "What is the point?"/"What does it all mean?".

Existentialism is not, in practice at least, nihilistic. When asked, what is the point, an existentialist will respond in this manner, "The point is what you decide it to be. Meaning is derived from what you decide to find meaning in." The nihilism comes from the notion that, yes, an existentialist does not believe there is any intrinsic or knowable 'meaning' within the workings of the universe, or even a man's place within it. BUT, the fact that you exist, coupled with the ability to make conscious decisions, means that you can insert meaning into a void that previously had none. Once this is understood, this is an extremely empowering notion. So in this sense, there is intrinsic meaning within the universe, as man is indeed an intrinsic part of the universe, and it is the individual that creates meaning. Outside of man, yes, nihilistic tendencies should reign supreme. But there is no outside of man, for you, me, or anyone else for that matter.

Sartre for example, thought of Che Guevera as the epitome of mankind. Here was a man who was leading a revolution, not because he was forced to, and not because he was brought up to do so. He made the conscious and willing decision to take responsibility for something which he did not need to. He inserted his own meaning into the void - through his actions he stated clearly his existence and intention to carry it out to its greatest extent. Needlessly to say, suicide was the furthest thing from his mind. *Just a note here - whether or not you agree with Guevera's actions is irrelevant. The point here is that he did act, and the he lived for the causes of his own choosing, and affected his environment in a large way.

You should read Sartre's Existentialism and Human Emotions: http://www.amazon.com/Existentialism-Human-Emotions-Philosophical-Library/dp/0806509023

It is not a difficult book to read, and I think it would be well worth it.

All this being said, I don't necessarily consider myself an existentialist. I'm still working on it, give me a few more hours to let it settle, haha. Hopefully this might give you something to chew on in the meantime though.

And btw, your 'friends' sound like assholes based your account. Not everyone is like that.


edit: I realize you are probably aware of most of this... I am just making sure...Would love to hear your perspective on it regardless.

We had a group class about Scrivener and I didn't go. Sometimes social anxiety really gets in the way. Is it easy to learn on one's own?

For Nothomb, try these to start: Sulphuric Acid and Hygiene and the Assassin for her fiction side and the wonderful-but-still-fucked-up The life of hunger for her autobiographical/autofiction side (fuck I love her)

And I recently made specific category-oriented wishlists and I love it! I love the look of it (or my OCD does) and it much easier to keep tabs and much more fun to browse from a gift-giver's perspective! You should do it!

I also agree about paper books. I have a kobo (like a kindle) and I opened it once. Seriously. ONCE. I just can't get into it! I need my paper books!

I'm also obsessed with obsessions! mmmm obsessionssssss..... I have a feeling we'll get along great.

Given your feedback you might be interested in The Secret Footballer's Guide to the Modern Game.

Inverting the Pyramid is a great overview of football tactics from the beginning of the game until the 2000s, but the book stars before the 1900s IIRC so if you're not super into history or what formations were popular in like 1920, the first half of the book is quite a slog.

In terms of literary value, Soccer in Sun and Shadow is your best bet. It's beautifully written and easy to read but focuses on South America

Hey, don't forget that free action still requires justification. Actually, your freedom comes with immense responsibility. I know tons of people have commented already, but I'm taking a semester of existentialism right now and you're channeling Sartre and de Beauvoir - at least these two books of theirs which I read over the weekend. I'd recommend de Beauvoir's more, but Sartre's is very clear and concise.


By the way, in my opinion, this is something which all people need to realize, so big kudos to you my friend. Now, go out in the worlds and do something positive with it! Teach someone else about their freedom!

Bertrand Russell Conquest of Happiness.

Some of the language is a bit dated but the philosophical aspects are rather timeless and well presented. Edit: excuse me Russell won a nobel Peace prize for lit and this book was a part of his doing so. Maybe not the only book you should read but a good must read.

https://www.amazon.com/Conquest-Happiness-Bertrand-Russell/dp/087140673X

None of my suggestions will provide much in terms of facts. Other redditors have dealt with that admirably. Mine are artsy-fartsy items that paint a partial picture of the social fabric of Spain during and immediately after the Civil War.

Belle Epoque. Don't let the French name deter you. It's a weird, funny film about a Spanish youth falling in love with 3 sisters, set against the initial rumblings of the Spanish Civil War. Also, Penelope Cruz.

Pan's Labyrinth is an obligatory reference here, despite taking place just after the Civil War. Watch The Devil's Backbone first, as Slippy-Toad suggested. Both films were directed by Guillermo del Toro, who is from my hometown (Guadalajara, Mexico).

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is an excellent novel about Barcelona. The story spans several decades, but it begins just as the Civil War is beginning. I've read it in English and Spanish, and I must say that the English translation is one of the best I've ever encountered.

Finally, you should try to read translations of Federico Garcia Lorca's poems and plays. He was a Spanish poet who was the most famous member of the Generación del '27. His death in 1936 is still shrouded in a lot of mystery. He was gay, eccentric, and incredibly prolific. A lot of his plays deal with the plight of women in a rural, machista (misogynistic), Catholic society. They are darkly humorous, richly scathing and heartbreaking in their depiction of a people ruled by authoritarianism. I will recommend three.

• Yerma. His best play. I read it in high school, and even then I liked it.
  
  
• Bodas de sangre.
  
  
• La casa de Bernarda Alba.
  
  Hope this helps.

Submission: A Novel Hardcover – October 20, 2015 by Michel Houellebecq (Author), Lorin Stein (Translator)

>It's 2022. François is bored. He's a middle-aged lecturer at the New Sorbonne University and an expert on J. K. Huysmans, the famous nineteenth-century Decadent author. But François's own decadence is considerably smaller in scale. He sleeps with his students, eats microwave dinners, rereads Huysmans, queues up YouPorn.

>Meanwhile, it's election season. And although Francois feels "about as political as a bath towel," things are getting pretty interesting. In an alliance with the Socialists, France's new Islamic party sweeps to power. Islamic law comes into force. Women are veiled, polygamy is encouraged, and François is offered an irresistible academic advancement--on the condition that he convert to Islam.

>Adam Gopnik in The New Yorker has said of Submission that "Houellebecq is not merely a satirist but--more unusually--a sincere satirist, genuinely saddened by the absurdities of history and the madnesses of mankind." Michel Houellebecq's new book may be satirical and melancholic, but it is also hilarious, a comic masterpiece by one of France's great novelists.

i've ordered Herr Pep and Boquita. really pumped to read those. on the internet, Marti Perarnau has interesting guides to various European leagues.

the best soccer book of ALL time though is by Eduardo Galeano, El futbol a sol y sombra, also known as Soccer in Sun and Shadow.

Inverting the Pyramid is Great, How Soccer Explains the World is awesome, and Alex Bellos' book, Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life is also really, really great.

Most of what's on here is fairly classic straightforward detective stuff, which is great, but I've always been a sucker for mysteries that merge with other genres or do unusual things. A good handful if that's your bag:

• The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster - 3 short novels packaged together and vaguely related. Also a pretty great mindfuck book
  
• Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem - detective novel whose narrator has Tourette Syndrome
  
• The Alienist by Caleb Carr or In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff - Historical fiction/mystery taking place around the turn of the century and during the dawns of forensics/criminal psychology/criminology
  
• Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan - Sci-fi/hardboiled detective novel in a future where the human mind can be digitized and backed up off-site, rendering murder irrelevant. Terrific book, I find myself compelled to reread it and its sequels every year or so.
  
  Those are all more or less "detective fiction" style mystery, if you're looking at the broader genre I cannot recommend The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon any more highly. I haven't been sucked into writing like that in a long long time.
  

Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe) has already been recommended, but I'd second that recommendation. I didn't enjoy reading it, but it was an amazing glimpse into a dying culture and a masterpiece of literature. I appreciated it more after I finished reading it than while I was reading it.

Wolf Totem (Jiang Rong) - ditto. For me it was not quite as emotionally difficult to read as Things Fall Apart.

My new contributions are:
Silence (Shusaku Endo) - A young Portuguese Jesuit missionary goes to Japan during the 17th century during intense persecution of Christians.

Try something by Arturo Perez-Reverte. Captain Alatriste is swashbuckling fun and danger, kind of like The Three Musketeers but a quicker read. It's set in 17th century Spain. The Queen of the South is about drug trafficking in Mexico (modern) and a bit slower and darker, but still not a difficult read at all.

I also really like Sharon Kay Penman and Edith Pargeter. Most of the books are set in England or Wales though, so I don't know if that will work for your assignment.

It's a bit of a younger read, I think the target audience is young adults or teenagers.

There are great little sketches littered throughout it which I've always enjoyed.

A great book with sketches in it is Rumo by Walter Mooers. He's a German cartoonist and wrote several great reads. They're light hearted, but still insightful. Less illustrated than the Edge Chronicles, but a bit better quality I would argue.

If you're interested in checking them out, here's some quick info I pulled up!

The Edge Chronicles

Example: http://theedgechronicles.wikia.com/wiki/Sky_Ships?file=Skyshipmapgalerider.png

Walter Moers

Rumo

Sorry about the excessive response, I just have always loved these books to death, easily some of my favorite reads of all time. That's coming from a huge fantasy fanatic that actually read through the entire Silmarillion like it was a damn history text.

Check out Drood by Dan Simmons. I picked it up on a whim, and couldn't be happier that I gave it a chance. It's a total trip, and suspenseful in a laid-back / behind-the-scenes sort of way.

Also, I find anything by Michael Chrichton to be utterly "un-put-downable". I'd recommend starting with Congo or Prey, but definitely give Sphere a shot before you move on.

Edit: Sorry I meant Micro instead of Prey. Prey was "meh" but Micro is great. Also definitely check out Timeline! (Sorry, I'm basically obsessed with Chrichton)

Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, is another favorite of mine. But, it's been so long since I last read it that I can't really remember why. I'm going to be rereading that one again soon.

Woo! I have this myself, only by now it's been so well-loved that it looks like an antique that you need gloves to handle, lol! Glad I could steer you towards something I hope you love. :D

I did a search on this recently as well - and I ended up checking out Polish Folklore and Myth by Joanne Asala from my library's interlibrary-loan program. The stories were short but I enjoyed them - Asala included a wide breadth of tales - they weren't all childish or chivalrous either - which I enjoyed.
I'm still investigating other books...but I do recommend the one I listed above - it's a good starting point.

Its funny because I actually came here to suggest another Bryson book called In a Sunburned Country which chronicles Bryson's visit to Australia- thought this was relevant as OP's love interest is either en route to or already in Australia I figured she'd get a kick out of it.



If you want something that has a mix of love/romance, action, thrill, check out The Shadow of the Wind. I thought this was a good book and is very well written. Zafon is able to paint images with his words in a way that puts you in the story like no other author i've encountered.

I could certainly use this sort of humor in my life

Also, welcome to RaoA! And good on your for choosing subjectively. I love to see contests that don't rely on reddit raffle. :)

I know you said choose two, but I'm gonna go ahead and do three ;)

1 - It's a children's book but my favorite book ever is Mandy by Julie Andrews. It's about a little girl who finds a cottage in a field behind the orphanage where she lives and makes it her own. When I was little I read that book over and over wishing I could find an abandoned cottage somewhere near my house.
2 - Least favorite is hands down, Bleak House, by Charles Dickens. I had to read it my first year of college and while the other books we read were great, that one was just painful to get through. I didn't even get close to finishing it.
3 - Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist was my favorite book to movie just because the book was so bad but the movie was excellent.

e-books:
Divergent
And then all kinds of French readers
1
2
3
4

That's just for 2008 though... I'd open it up to other years.

First up is anything by Umberto Eco. He's the guy who wrote "Name of the Rose", but his other books are phenomenal. If you hated "The DaVinci Code" then check out "Foucalt's Pendulum". He makes Dan Brown look mildly retarded. His novels are so heavy and serious that I was surprised by his tiny book of essays "How To Travel With a Salmon" which is hilarious.

Let's see... what else... "Shadow of the Wind" is excellent. The Musashi novels are fun to read. Scaramouche, which was turned into an OK movie. Classics like Cyrano de Bergerac should be required reading.

I had a hard time hunting down all the volumes to "Journey to the West" and it's not a task that should be taken on lightly, but I think I'm a better person for having muscled through them.

Links:

http://www.amazon.com/Name-Rose-Everymans-Library-Cloth/dp/0307264890/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637805&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Foucaults-Pendulum-Umberto-Eco/dp/015603297X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637841&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Travel-Salmon-Other-Essays-Harvest/dp/015600125X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637864&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Wind-Carlos-Ruiz-Zaf%C3%B3n/dp/0143034901/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637894&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Musashi-Eiji-Yoshikawa/dp/4770019572/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637921&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Scaramouche-Rafael-Sabatini/dp/0554360268/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637963&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Cyrano-Bergerac-Edmond-Rostand/dp/0451528921/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637993&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Journey-West-4-Boxed-Set/dp/7119016636/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637756&sr=8-1

The authros are bnot in an specific order, but the books under each one are in suggested reading order for leisure maximization:

Douglas Adams

• The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy (I recommend The ultimate edition which contains the 5 books plus the short story)
  
  Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels
  
  
• The Colour of Magic
  
• The Light Fantastic (sequel of the above)
  
• Mort
  
• Try to follow the advice from this image about reading order
  
  Aldous Huxley
  
  
• Brave New World
  
  I would also add to deltatag's choir about George Orwell's 1984.

SOLVED! You’ve unknowingly helped me make the connection I’ve been trying to make for months. The book is Rumo: and his miraculous adventures, by Walter Moers. Link for the curious:

Rumo: And His Miraculous Adventures https://www.amazon.com/dp/1585679364/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_hnooDbARCWXWS

Thank you so much for the help everyone

Perhaps it's not a very bluntly atheistic text, but Existentialism and Human Emotions by Jean-Paul Sartre is one that I thoroughly enjoyed and found to be a good stepping stone in terms of agreeableness.

http://www.amazon.com/Existentialism-Human-Emotion-Philosophical-Library/dp/0806509023

Read the Zamonia novels by Walter Moers.

Rumo is an especially thrilling read. Gory, funny, self-aware and just brilliant.

Moers writes like a micture between J.K. Rowling and Douglas Adams. Read the reviews on amazon. I know some people who actually rediscovered reading for themselves because of these books.

Actually, even though menstruation taboos were found in other ancient cultures, the Greeks did not include it under miasma, as far as we can tell. Parker discusses this in his seminal book Miasma, and there's also a good, thorough blog post about the topic here. Unfortunately there are a lot of misconceptions about miasma out there, especially on the internet - which is why it is still best to get your information from academic books (although of course even scholars are not exempt from misunderstanding or mistaking things).

Also good to keep in mind that while some things were considered miasma across the board, a lot of the specific rules for purity applied to particular cults and temples (meaning that they could even be different for the same god in different places). And there was a much less stringent standard applied outside of the temples (which were the homes of the gods). Depending on whether you consider and treat your home shrine as a temple space, or worship outdoors, changes how you deal with miasma too.

The Doom Brigade, by Weiss and Perrin (link below for cover photo).

It was my first Dragonlance book, and one of the very first fantasy books I had ever read. It has gone on to become one of my favourite and most cherished books, and it sparked a lifelong love of reading scifi and fantasy. I still go back and re-read it every few years and it takes me right back to 12yr old me poking around in the shelves of a bookstore and suddenly being carried away on an amazing (and ongoing) journey at first glance... Now that I think about that again, I realize that it sounds very similar to the opening section of The Shadow of the Wind (Zafon) in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, which incidentally is another favourite book that played a foundational role in my love of reading.

The Doom Brigade
The Shadow of the Wind

Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures, by Walter Moers. Available in the original German too. Absolutely one of the most startlingly creative and fun stories I've ever read.

Read a few others by him too, The City of Dreaming Books is similarly fantastic, as was The Alchemaster's Apprentice.

Strong recommendation for David Mitchell's The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (Dutch clerk in late 18th/early 19th century Dejima, lots of depth, gorgeous prose) and for Walter Moers's Rumo and his Miraculous Adventures (fantastical but oddly profound; I'd pick it up even if it doesn't sound like something you'd enjoy). I finished both of these very recently and they were amazing. They hopped right on my list of favourite books, if I'm honest.

Otherwise, I'd very much recommend my all-time favourites: Le Petit Prince (in French or English), Under Milk Wood, Cloud Atlas, and To Kill a Mockingbird (which is always worth a re-read, too).

I included Amazon links so that you know exactly which books I'm talking about, but please consider buying from local bookshops!

Noooo! My books are still packed because we're mid-move. Thanks for hosting, Lady!

edit: Here is what's left. The rest of our books are at the new place with our furniture. Moving Pro Tip: Only pack 1/3 of the box with books and put clothes on top. Otherwise the box is waaaay too heavy! The book I recommend for you is The Shadow of the Wind. One of my favorites!! Bibliophile

Utilitarianism says that the best action is one that increases the overall good. Rioting reduces "good" for lots of people (especially those who have their stuff destroyed or stolen) by reducing the overall "good" in society.

Some basic reading:
Utilitarianism and Other Essays.
On Liberty and Other Essays.
A Theory of Justice.

Utilitarianism is one of the major philosophies behind human/animal rights and abolition (of slavery). John Stuart Mill's writings have had a large impact on various political philosphies as well as science.

I always loved Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. That book is some of his best work; I became entraced, just utterly enamored with this book the moment I picked it up in the "New and Noteworthy" section of Barnes and Nobles.
Here is the cover- Even it is evocative of the entire mood of the book.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0143034901?cache=4d86abfaae77a4a6df90f3ab8702937a&pi=SY200_QL40&qid=1408808620&sr=1-2#ref=mp_s_a_1_2

Thank you so much. I don't know which book you mean, so I'll link both and let you pick. Please buy used, as there's no need to spend extra on a new copy if I'm going to re-cover it, so obviously the condition doesn't matter.

HGtG:
http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Hitchhikers-Guide-Unabridged-published/dp/B00E6T900M/ Here's the second version that I owned.

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Hitchhikers-Guide-Douglas-Adams/dp/0517149257/ Here's is a cheaper version, but should have all of the same content.

Story of Mankind: http://www.amazon.com/Story-Mankind-Complete-Unabridged-Illustrations/dp/B00589YDDS/ This is the version I had from 1921, I think.

I'll PM you my address. I remember you from sending me "Thank You for Smoking" when you offered it a while back so I definitely owe you something good.

I happen to have two different translations of this very book right next to me.

On this amazon listing for the book, it lists the translator right next to the author near the top of the page "Thomas Common (Translator) "

I found Walter Kauffman on amazon, and you can get his translation of "TSZ" through The Portable Nietzsche right there on Amazon in paperback, kindle or library binding formats.

Enjoy! As I have.

Fortunately, miasma is one of those topics for which there is a goodly amount of academic research available if you want to dig into the topic deeper.

A very good book dedicated to the subject is "Miasma: Pollution & Purification in Early Greek Religion" by Robert Parker

Edit: the price is steep for many but if you have a good local library it'll be there; or if you scour eBay, you should be able to find it at a more affordable price.

I would recommend the Zamonia series by Walter Moers; Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures, The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear and The City of Dreaming Books. It's incredibly imaginative and great story-telling.

I've never seen that cover before! I read the first book - Heinemann version back in 2000. The rest were from Pan Books. I got myself an omnibus edition last year. but the new edition's cover of the individual books looks good as well. kinda reminds me of the Jetsons.

edit : found the UK 2009 versions - and totally want.

Ok so just try this book its my favorite book and is like tolkien if he were on LSD

https://www.amazon.com/Rumo-Miraculous-Adventures-Walter-

The Shadow of the Wind is one of my all-time favorites. It's magical realism set in a gothic Barcelona, and it's amazing.

Not quite new, and not quite yellow, but an amazing book nonetheless. The Shadow of the Wind

People should read this book, by a French author. I can actually see this story line playing out now.

It's a novel about the total Islamic takeover of France. Pretty good book, in a sad, sardonic kind of way.

https://www.amazon.com/Submission-Novel-Michel-Houellebecq/dp/0374271577

Totally. I liked Rumo: And His Miraculous Adventures even better.

I think this is probably the greatest book ever written in the kind of style and genre you've described.

https://www.amazon.com/Conquest-Happiness-Bertrand-Russell/dp/087140673X

Shadow of the Wind and Angel's Game, both by Carlos Ruiz Safon:

https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Wind-Cemetery-Forgotten-Book-ebook/dp/B000OVLINI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498238020&sr=8-1&keywords=Shadow+of+the+Wind

https://www.amazon.com/Angels-Game-Cemetery-Forgotten-Book-ebook/dp/B001NLKZLE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498238029&sr=8-1&keywords=Angels+Game


Kushiel's Dart and pretty much all the books that followed, by Jacqueline Carey:

https://www.amazon.com/Kushiels-Dart-Legacy-Book-ebook/dp/B0055DLCAY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498238161&sr=8-1&keywords=kushiel%27s+dart


Right now, I can't think of anything that I keep going back to over and over.

> What Europeans dont realize yet is that this is dangerous because with democratic institutions demographics matter a lot. Different religious and ethnic groups do have different values to some degree and I think a lot of Europeans don't recognize that. Most know that if you imported 500k rural Poles to your city they'll start to vote for banning abortion, but for some reason people are afraid to extrapolate that to other groups such as say North Africans. They prefer to live a fantasy where you will 'enlighten' these groups to give up previous in-group values en masse and integrate but if their demographics don't pressure it because they are a plurality or even a majority they will have more in-group pressure to retain than out-group pressure to change.

We don't realise it because we never really experienced true multiculturalism before, and many are still in denial about its effect. Now that demographics are rapidly changing, my point of view is Europe is going to start experiencing something similar to the 60s-70s in USA where there were massive civil rights protest movements. Tough with major differences due to the ethnic populations being different than what the US experienced (no hispanics, mostly Arabs/Muslims in France for instance).

USA being pretty much the blueprint for a nation becoming multicultural. We will see this play out in Europe over the next decades. Here is an interesting bestseller fiction book for what might happen to France over the next years: https://www.amazon.com/Submission-Novel-Michel-Houellebecq/dp/0374271577

The Shadow of the Wind was quite good story telling.

Seconding /u/ivanthecurious 's suggestion of Manin's Principles of Representative Government, its a really readable historical account of the rise of consent and representation in democracy.

I'm reading JS Mill's 'On Representative Government' and it seems like it might be exactly what you're looking for, not contemporary by any means, but a thorough defence of the principles of representation

A few of my favorites from over the years...
A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

The Secret History

The Shadow of the Wind

This was the version I borrowed from my local library. I couldn't tell you if it's the most accurate translation, but I was certainly able to understand what was being written.

Existentialism and Human Emotions, by Sartre, is only 96 pages and quite an easy read. {ISBN-13: 978-0806509020} Existentialism and the Philosophical Tradition, [Raymond], gives a broad selection of thinkers throughout history, but it is pricey. {ISBN-13: 978-0132957755} Another approach would be texts that are not strictly philosophical yet present some existential points such as: The Plague, The Stranger, and The Rebel, all by Camus, Nausea by Sartre, Notes From Underground, by Dostoevsky, or Waiting For Godot by Beckett

Also, this might be helpful: http://www.amazon.com/Voyage-France-Beginners-Edition-ebook/dp/B00DNWZEC6/ref=pd_typ_k_sp_1_4_p?ie=UTF8&refRID=1RDETWBY5D3JQ7PDA2X3

Check Barnes and Noble. A couple years back I got the complete hardcover for less than $3.

It was this version, apparently not the newest edition, not sure how anything could have changed though.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0517149257/

It's the last move before the cross that's impressive. Otherwise, this only shows Shipp's horrific MLS touch -- put the ball into space and chase it.

He's good and he's got potential, make no mistake, and he's excellent on set pieces.

And there's nothing wrong with him cutting inside from a wide position; in fact, that's what he should be doing.

But his touch is still typically American -- that is, heavy and clumsy. It's not his fault. He's learned how to kick the ball, but he's just now learning how to dance with her.

(Note: before you all jump on me for calling the ball "her", you need to realize than in most gendered languages, "ball" is feminine. Also, you need to read Soccer in Sun and Shadow. Don't argue before you've read that book.)

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. It takes place in Spain in the 20's and 30's. It's a cool mystery.

You're probably already familiar with it, but that description reminded me immediately of The Shadow of the Wind.
Different stories, for sure, but something of the feeling beyond the descriptions struck me as similar.

https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Wind-Carlos-Ruiz-Zafón/dp/0143034901

Does have a detective like element but is more about a son’s quest to discover the author of a mysterious book and his relationships.

I found a translation on amazon

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/0374271577/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1450128708&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=submission&dpPl=1&dpID=41YjMnlq0CL&ref=plSrch

If you want to cover British Liberalism you can't beat a bit of John Stuart Mill:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Liberty-Essays-Oxford-Worlds-Classics/dp/0199535736/ref=pd_cp_14_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1EGJQE3D5XCWHW5QBQTM

Try The Shadow of the Wind: https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Wind-Carlos-Ruiz-Zaf%C3%B3n/dp/0143034901

http://www.amazon.com/Spake-Zarathustra-Dover-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486406636

Here's all the guides you'll ever need!

Last summer I read Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Zafon. It will always remind me of this time of the year.

The Shadow of the Wind

http://www.amazon.com/Spake-Zarathustra-Dover-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486406636

Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfus (fantasy-ish)

[The Shadow of the Wind] (http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Wind-Carlos-Ruiz-Zaf%C3%B3n/dp/0143034901/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374006329&sr=1-1&keywords=shadow+of+the+wind) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (hard to describe, but really engaging)

Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson (cool historical fiction)

Try The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

That was basically the plot of Submission.

The Shadow of the Wind
http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Wind-Carlos-Ruiz-Zaf%C3%B3n/dp/0143034901

Try the other books of Walter Moers, if you haven't yet!

Rumo is my favourite:

https://www.amazon.com/Rumo-Miraculous-Adventures-Walter-Moers/dp/1585679364/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481039638&sr=8-1&keywords=rumo

football (soccer) in sun and shadows. Looks at many sides of the sport

Is it Rumo - http://www.amazon.com/Rumo-And-His-Miraculous-Adventures/dp/1585679364

This book is quite applicable to the current situation.

It could be Shadow of the Wind. I read it around 2003 but I think I had a different cover image.

https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Wind-Carlos-Ruiz-Zafón/dp/0143034901

Bertrand Russell's The Conquest of Happiness?

Here's a worthwhile read: https://www.amazon.com/Submission-Novel-Michel-Houellebecq/dp/0374271577

It's about a French literature professor as he confronts a rapidly Islamifying France. The main character, Francois, drinks heavily, sleeps with his students and focuses on the writing of the now obscure French writer, J.K. Huysmans. Detached from politics, he watches as his native country divides between Muslims and the traditional French right led by the National Front’s Marine Le Pen.

Read this, I just started it and it has a really shockingly interesting perspective on modern ennui (which is what you're going through):

https://www.amazon.com/Conquest-Happiness-Bertrand-Russell/dp/087140673X

The Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime by Mark Haddon. You're welcome... about Shadow.. It's mystery someones burning copies of a book and the kid in the bookstore tries to figure out who's behind it. It's soooo goooood. For the other request maybe Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

About mystery in the Spanish civil war period you could read any of the Carlos Ruiz Zafón's books, like The shadow of the wind, The angel's game or Marina.

Actually, those books are a 'book book' genre. ;)

The Zamonia Books by Walter Moers. Seriously.
Start with either
Rumo,
City of Dreaming Books
or
Captain Bluebear

Don't let the cover illustrations fool you: these are seriously entertaining, thrilling, funny and sometimes brutal reads (check the commentaries on amazon).

There's a local historical area I go to often with my family. There are always some morons out there preaching as this is a pretty big tourist spot. I am always tempted to take my copy of HHG2G and just start reading it.

Oops, I just noticed this. >.> Also, no, there's really not much difference, cept that the Ultimate edition is all 5 books in a collection. Amazon link - look at the cover, it lists all the books within. If that's not what you were asking about, whoops, sorry. @.@

The Golem and the Jinni

Winter's Tale

And as someone else mentioned The Shadow of the Wind and the follow-ups Angel's Game and The Prisoner of Heaven - they're basically Guillermo del Toro movies waiting to happen.

It's the 90s edition of the Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It normally has an ugly dust jacket on it. Back to the Future 2 lied. We still don't have dust repellent paper.

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Hitchhikers-Guide-Douglas-Adams/dp/0517149257

Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

The Shadow of the Wind is a 2001 novel by Spanish writer Carlos Ruiz Zafón, and a worldwide bestseller. The book was translated into English in 2004 by Lucia Graves.

The novel, set in post- Spanish Civil War Barcelona, concerns a young boy, Daniel. Just after the war, Daniel's father takes him to the secret Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a huge library of old, forgotten titles lovingly preserved by a select few initiates. According to tradition, everyone initiated to this secret place is allowed to take one book from it, and must protect it for life. Daniel selects a book called The Shadow of the Wind by Julián Carax. That night he takes the book home and reads it, completely engrossed. Daniel then attempts to look for other books by this unknown author, but can find none. All he comes across are stories of a strange man - calling himself Laín Coubert, after a character in the book who happens to be the Devil - who has been seeking out Carax's books for decades, buying them all and burning them. In time this mysterious figure confronts and threatens Daniel. Terrified, Daniel returns the book to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books but continues to seek out the story of the elusive author.

I just happened to pick this book up one day and it is now one of my favorites. I have re-read it many times.