Reddit mentions: The best genre literature & fiction books

We found 32,740 Reddit comments discussing the best genre literature & fiction books. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 9,654 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.

1. House of Leaves

    Features:
  • Pantheon Books
House of Leaves
Specs:
ColorBlack
Height9.13 Inches
Length6.93 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateMarch 2000
Weight2.46 Pounds
Width1.41 Inches
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2. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

    Features:
  • William Morrow Company
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
Specs:
Height8 Inches
Length5.31 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateMay 2004
Weight0.85 Pounds
Width0.74 Inches
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3. BioShock: Rapture

    Features:
  • Columbia University Press
BioShock: Rapture
Specs:
Height6.6598292 Inches
Length4.26 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateJune 2012
Weight0.44974301448 Pounds
Width1.03 Inches
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4. The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer (Bantam Spectra Book)

    Features:
  • Spectra Books
The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer (Bantam Spectra Book)
Specs:
ColorMulticolor
Height8.3 Inches
Length5.2 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateMay 2000
Weight0.84 Pounds
Width1.1 Inches
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5. Ship of Theseus

    Features:
  • J..J. Abrams and Doug Dorst, Authors
  • 2013 Mulholland, purchased end of 2013 with 6 in stock.
  • Ship of Theseus
  • 22 Inserts
  • Still in Original Shrinkwrap
Ship of Theseus
Specs:
Height9.75 Inches
Length6.5 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateOctober 2013
Weight2.36 Pounds
Width1.75 Inches
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8. BLINDSIGHT (Firefall (1))

    Features:
  • Tor Books
BLINDSIGHT (Firefall (1))
Specs:
Height8.25 inches
Length5.5 inches
Number of items1
Release dateMarch 2008
Weight0.73634395508 pounds
Width0.96 inches
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9. Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H.P. Lovecraft (Commemorative Edition)

    Features:
  • Gollancz
Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H.P. Lovecraft (Commemorative Edition)
Specs:
Height9.25 Inches
Length6.25 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateMarch 2008
Weight2.57279459754 Pounds
Width2.1 Inches
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10. Penpal

    Features:
  • Used Book in Good Condition
Penpal
Specs:
Height8 Inches
Length5.25 Inches
Number of items1
Weight0.64 Pounds
Width0.63 Inches
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11. Einstein's Dreams

    Features:
  • Explores the connection between science and art
  • Explores the process of creativity
  • Explores the fragility of human existence
Einstein's Dreams
Specs:
ColorOrange
Height7.85 Inches
Length5.17 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateNovember 2004
Weight0.25 Pounds
Width0.38 Inches
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12. Cryptonomicon

Cryptonomicon
Specs:
Height6.75 Inches
Length4.19 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateNovember 2002
Weight1.19 Pounds
Width1.75 Inches
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13. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel

    Features:
  • Tor Books
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel
Specs:
Height6.8401438 Inches
Length4.24 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateAugust 2006
Weight0.88184899041518 Pounds
Width1.629918 Inches
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14. Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H. P. Lovecraft

    Features:
  • Gollancz
Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H. P. Lovecraft
Specs:
Height9.5 Inches
Length6.5 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateMarch 2008
Weight2.85939553814 Pounds
Width2.25 Inches
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15. Ishmael:A Novel

    Features:
  • Bantam Books
Ishmael:A Novel
Specs:
ColorTan
Height8 Inches
Length5.2 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateMay 1995
Weight0.5842249943 Pounds
Width0.9 Inches
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16. A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1)

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1)
Specs:
Release dateJanuary 2003
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17. The Blade Itself (The First Law: Book One)

    Features:
  • Pantheon Books
The Blade Itself (The First Law: Book One)
Specs:
Height8.98 Inches
Length6 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateSeptember 2007
Weight1.61 Pounds
Width1.42 Inches
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18. Day by Day Armageddon

Day by Day Armageddon
Specs:
Height9 Inches
Length6 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateSeptember 2009
Weight0.51 Pounds
Width0.7 Inches
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19. The Alchemist

    Features:
  • Attractive paperback with scene of the desert and hills beyond. In
  • colors of tan, orange and brown.
The Alchemist
Specs:
Height8 Inches
Length5.3125 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateApril 2006
Weight0.45 Pounds
Width0.52 Inches
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🎓 Reddit experts on genre literature & fiction 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 genre literature & fiction 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: 776
Number of comments: 317
Relevant subreddits: 7
Total score: 372
Number of comments: 95
Relevant subreddits: 8
Total score: 324
Number of comments: 123
Relevant subreddits: 21
Total score: 282
Number of comments: 93
Relevant subreddits: 4
Total score: 241
Number of comments: 70
Relevant subreddits: 3
Total score: 230
Number of comments: 71
Relevant subreddits: 6
Total score: 189
Number of comments: 157
Relevant subreddits: 7
Total score: 145
Number of comments: 145
Relevant subreddits: 12
Total score: 122
Number of comments: 76
Relevant subreddits: 7
Total score: 84
Number of comments: 84
Relevant subreddits: 7

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Top Reddit comments about Genre Literature & Fiction:

u/CSMastermind · 4 pointsr/learnprogramming

I've posted this before but I'll repost it here:

Now in terms of the question that you ask in the title - this is what I recommend:

Job Interview Prep


  1. Cracking the Coding Interview: 189 Programming Questions and Solutions
  2. Programming Interviews Exposed: Coding Your Way Through the Interview
  3. Introduction to Algorithms
  4. The Algorithm Design Manual
  5. Effective Java
  6. Concurrent Programming in Java™: Design Principles and Pattern
  7. Modern Operating Systems
  8. Programming Pearls
  9. Discrete Mathematics for Computer Scientists

    Junior Software Engineer Reading List


    Read This First


  10. Pragmatic Thinking and Learning: Refactor Your Wetware

    Fundementals


  11. Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction
  12. Software Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art
  13. Software Engineering: A Practitioner's Approach
  14. Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code
  15. Coder to Developer: Tools and Strategies for Delivering Your Software
  16. Perfect Software: And Other Illusions about Testing
  17. Getting Real: The Smarter, Faster, Easier Way to Build a Successful Web Application

    Understanding Professional Software Environments


  18. Agile Software Development: The Cooperative Game
  19. Software Project Survival Guide
  20. The Best Software Writing I: Selected and Introduced by Joel Spolsky
  21. Debugging the Development Process: Practical Strategies for Staying Focused, Hitting Ship Dates, and Building Solid Teams
  22. Rapid Development: Taming Wild Software Schedules
  23. Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams

    Mentality


  24. Slack: Getting Past Burnout, Busywork, and the Myth of Total Efficiency
  25. Against Method
  26. The Passionate Programmer: Creating a Remarkable Career in Software Development

    History


  27. The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering
  28. Computing Calamities: Lessons Learned from Products, Projects, and Companies That Failed
  29. The Deadline: A Novel About Project Management

    Mid Level Software Engineer Reading List


    Read This First


  30. Personal Development for Smart People: The Conscious Pursuit of Personal Growth

    Fundementals


  31. The Clean Coder: A Code of Conduct for Professional Programmers
  32. Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship
  33. Solid Code
  34. Code Craft: The Practice of Writing Excellent Code
  35. Software Craftsmanship: The New Imperative
  36. Writing Solid Code

    Software Design


  37. Head First Design Patterns: A Brain-Friendly Guide
  38. Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software
  39. Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software
  40. Domain-Driven Design Distilled
  41. Design Patterns Explained: A New Perspective on Object-Oriented Design
  42. Design Patterns in C# - Even though this is specific to C# the pattern can be used in any OO language.
  43. Refactoring to Patterns

    Software Engineering Skill Sets


  44. Building Microservices: Designing Fine-Grained Systems
  45. Software Factories: Assembling Applications with Patterns, Models, Frameworks, and Tools
  46. NoEstimates: How To Measure Project Progress Without Estimating
  47. Object-Oriented Software Construction
  48. The Art of Software Testing
  49. Release It!: Design and Deploy Production-Ready Software
  50. Working Effectively with Legacy Code
  51. Test Driven Development: By Example

    Databases


  52. Database System Concepts
  53. Database Management Systems
  54. Foundation for Object / Relational Databases: The Third Manifesto
  55. Refactoring Databases: Evolutionary Database Design
  56. Data Access Patterns: Database Interactions in Object-Oriented Applications

    User Experience


  57. Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability
  58. The Design of Everyday Things
  59. Programming Collective Intelligence: Building Smart Web 2.0 Applications
  60. User Interface Design for Programmers
  61. GUI Bloopers 2.0: Common User Interface Design Don'ts and Dos

    Mentality


  62. The Productive Programmer
  63. Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change
  64. Coders at Work: Reflections on the Craft of Programming
  65. Facts and Fallacies of Software Engineering

    History


  66. Dreaming in Code: Two Dozen Programmers, Three Years, 4,732 Bugs, and One Quest for Transcendent Software
  67. New Turning Omnibus: 66 Excursions in Computer Science
  68. Hacker's Delight
  69. The Alchemist
  70. Masterminds of Programming: Conversations with the Creators of Major Programming Languages
  71. The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood

    Specialist Skills


    In spite of the fact that many of these won't apply to your specific job I still recommend reading them for the insight, they'll give you into programming language and technology design.

  72. Peter Norton's Assembly Language Book for the IBM PC
  73. Expert C Programming: Deep C Secrets
  74. Enough Rope to Shoot Yourself in the Foot: Rules for C and C++ Programming
  75. The C++ Programming Language
  76. Effective C++: 55 Specific Ways to Improve Your Programs and Designs
  77. More Effective C++: 35 New Ways to Improve Your Programs and Designs
  78. More Effective C#: 50 Specific Ways to Improve Your C#
  79. CLR via C#
  80. Mr. Bunny's Big Cup o' Java
  81. Thinking in Java
  82. JUnit in Action
  83. Functional Programming in Scala
  84. The Art of Prolog: Advanced Programming Techniques
  85. The Craft of Prolog
  86. Programming Perl: Unmatched Power for Text Processing and Scripting
  87. Dive into Python 3
  88. why's (poignant) guide to Ruby
u/ISw3arItWasntM3 · 8 pointsr/asoiaf

Joe Abercrombie. His style and the philosophy of his writing are similar to Martin. There are no good guys and bad guys in the sense that everybody has their own motives and act on them yet there are still clear protagonists and antagonists. They books focus on a smaller cast of characters and the world is less enormous but the characters are very well realized and the entire series is about 1 and a half times the size of a aSoIaF book. What really made it great for me is that Abercrombie is great at writing intrigue as well as humor that doesn't compromise the narrative.

Here is the link to the The Blade Itself, first book in Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy, and for a bonus here's an video of Joe Abercrombie interviewing GRRM about the Game of Thrones TV series.

If you want a longer review here's a pretty good one from Amazon.

>
>I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I read the blurb from the back and nearly turned away after reading only half of the summary. But something made me open it up and try the first few pages--and I was hooked. It starts with an action scene--like most fantasy novels--and it is described so well. It is realistic without splattering gore in your face. I can't think of any other author who treads that line so well as Joe Abercrombie does in The Blade Itself.
>
>I didn't find this a funny book, overall. It's not a comedy at all. But there are several moments where I did laugh out loud as I read some clever description or a reaction of one of the characters. In fact I think I found more to smile at in this book than most other novels that are specifically tagged as being funny or humourous. The humour here isn't forced. I didn't feel like the author was trying to be funny. It was more like the humour you might find in casual conversation with a friend.
>
>This book moves along at a good pace. It is one of those books where you want to keep reading to find out what happens, but, unlike many other page-turners, things actually happen in this one! I hate books that promise action or resolution just over the next page, just another page, one more page, and before you know it you've read half the book and still nothing's happened. This is definitely not a one-trick pony of a book. Each character is well developed and the plots intertwine naturally.
>
>What this book doesn't contain are tired old writing techniques. Well, it's not perfect, but it's as close as I've come across in 15 years. Anyway, there are no stereotypical cliched fantasy characters. The author doesn't end each chapter on a contrived cliff-hanger and then talk about another character's life for ten chapters before returning to the cliff-hanger. He doesn't especially dwell on the gruesome details of battle, but he writes it as realistically as you'd want. Perhaps not super-realistic--this is a fantasy, after all--but it's not nearly as predictable as many.
>
>Something else I noticed about the writing style is that Joe will change his writing a little to suit each character. So each time he changes the perspective to a new character, the way he describes the scenes changes, too. It's like he's letting us look through each of their eyes, rather than just giving us a homogenous narration throughout. They're not jarring transitions by any means, though. For me they really added to the story and made it all the more absorbing.
>
>This is by far the most absorbing novel I have read for many years. And this is the most glowing review I have given any book on Amazon!

u/BrentRTaylor · 3 pointsr/mattcolville

This is an idea that is dear to my heart and I'm looking forward to running a pirate/naval adventure myself. I've got some inspiration ideas for you!

Books


These books should need no introduction. These are the books that will truly inspire your game.

  • Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H. P. Lovecraft
  • Eldritch Tales
  • Conan the Barbarian - The Original, Unabridged Adventures of the World's Greatest Fantasy Hero
  • Grimms Complete Fairy Tales
  • Tales of Norse Mythology
  • Iliad and Odyssey

    TV Shows

  • Crossbones - This is one of the most underrated TV shows I've ever seen. It got canceled late in it's first season and so the finale was rushed, but despite that it's an amazing show. This show has political intrigue and adventure ideas abound. I'd argue it's damn near required viewing for running any sort of pirate campaign.
  • Black Sails - This amazing show is written as a prequel to the novel, "Treasure Island". It follows Captain Flint, and a young John Silver as they attempt to make an "honest" living while preparing to thwart the predicted demise of piracy. Swashbuckling adventures, intrigue and more adventure ideas here than I can count. The show is a hell of a ride and I can guarantee you'll get plenty of ideas watching this one.
  • Vikings - This show is the show that just keeps on giving. The first two or three episodes are a little slow to start, but you'll be on the edge of your seat every episode thereafter. While this show focuses on vikings, there's plenty here to inspire a pirate adventure. It will especially inspire the creation of your villains.
  • The Musketeers - This isn't that terrible (and oh so amazing) Disney movie from the 90's. This show focuses on the Musketeers you know of, and the Musketeers as a military unit during that time period. If you're focusing on adventures during something similar to the golden age of piracy, you need to watch this show. One of my favorites.

    Tabletop Books


  • The 7th Sea - I am not recommending this as the system you should use, I am recommending it strictly as inspiration for your setting. It easily has the most interesting setting I've ever seen and has some amazing ideas for adventures dealing with curses, the sidhe, naval campaigns, city adventures, etc. Whether this will be useful to you depends entirely on your setting. Are you playing D&D on the high seas? If so, this isn't going to be nearly as useful. Are you playing in a setting reminiscent of the golden age of piracy with some light magical touches (eldritch horrors in the deep sea, curses, magical fey creatures and low magic for the players)? If so, good lord is this book (and the Nations of Theah books) going to be useful to you.
  • Razor Coast - If you're playing D&D on the high seas, this is the book for you. It's a sandbox setting with a ton of adventures and adventure seeds. It is expensive, but it's worth every penny. Highly recommended.

    I can't recommend all of this enough. A lot of this will give you ideas and inspiration for all of your campaigns, naval/pirate or otherwise. Have fun!
u/KariQuiteContrary · 4 pointsr/TwoXChromosomes

I know some of these have already been mentioned, so just consider this a second vote for those titles. Also, my list skews heavily towards sci-fi/fantasy, because that is what I tend to read the most of.

By women, featuring female protagonists:

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

The Female Man by Joanna Russ

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Circus in Winter by Cathy Day (It's not entirely fair to characterize this as a book about women; it's really a set of interconnected stories featuring both male and female characters. On the other hand, many of the most memorable characters, IMO, are women, so I'm filing it in this category anyway. So there!)

The Protector of the Small Quartet by Tamora Pierce, beginning with First Test (Really, anything by Tamora Pierce would fit the bill here. They're young adult novels, so they're quick reads, but they're enjoyable and have wonderful, strong, realistic female protagonists.)

These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer (Heyer wrote really fun, enjoyable romances, typically set in the Regency period, though These Old Shades is actually Georgian. This one is probably my favorite, but they're really all quite wonderful. Not super heavy stuff, but don't write her off just because of the subject matter. She was a talented, witty writer, and her female protagonists are almost never the wilting "damsel in distress" type - they're great characters who, while still holding true to their own time and place, are bright and likeable and hold their own against the men in their lives.)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (Another young adult book. And, again, I think it's worth noting that L'Engle's books almost always feature strong and interesting female characters. This one is probably her most famous, and begins a series featuring members of the same family, so it's a good jumping off point.)

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi


By men, featuring female protagonists:

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle (This is another one that is perhaps not a perfect fit for this category; the titular unicorn is female, but the book is as much about Schmendrick the magician as it is about her. However, there's also Molly Grue, so on the strength of those two women, I'm classifying this book as having female protagonists.)

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Coraline by Neil Gaiman (It's a children's book, but there's plenty to enjoy about it as an adult, too.)

By women, featuring male protagonists

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

u/lalalalady22 · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

1.) Something that is grey.

Silver is grey, right? ;)

2.) Something reminiscent of rain.

When I think of rain I think of cuddling up with a good cup of coffee.

3.) Something food related that is unusual.

Coffee chocolate Not that weird... but pretty amazing.

4.) Something on your list that is for someone other than yourself. Tell me who it's for and why. (Yes, pets count!)
Bones for my dog because he hates being alone!

5.) A book I should read! I am an avid reader, so take your best shot and tell me why I need to read it!

I haven't read this yet, but it's supposed to be amazing!

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

This book

7.) Something related to cats. I love cats! (keep this SFW, you know who you are...)

meow.

8.) Something that is not useful, but so beautiful you must have it.

I don't think any nail polish is useful, but I love this color

9.) A movie everyone should watch at least once in their life. Why?

Shawshank Redemption Come on, it's amazing. And sad. And Stephen King.

10.) Something that would be useful when the zombies attack. Explain.

These would be particularly useful because I could keep my hair out of my face so I can see zombies better to kill them!

11.) Something that would have a profound impact on your life and help you to achieve your current goals.

skip for now

12.) One of those pesky Add-On items.
Apparently you can straighten your nose with this interesting little item Ohhhh, China.

13.) The most expensive thing on your list. Your dream item. Why?

This book is the most expensive item on my list. Dream item? Nah. A kindle would be my dream item, but not feasible to have on list right now.


14.) Something bigger than a bread box.

This big enough?

15.) Something smaller than a golf ball.

This ring is itty bitty!


16.) Something that smells wonderful.

This air freshener. Mmmm



17.) A (SFW) toy.

Amazon lists this as a toy, so I'm going to have to go with that!

18.) Something that would be helpful for going back to school.

These would be great to hang papers and reminders up on the fridge.

19.) Something related to your current obsession, whatever that may be.

I'm obsessed with books, so uh... most of my wish list. Or this bookmark that symbolizes all that is books.


20.) Something that is just so amazing and awe-inspiring that I simply must see it. Explain why it is so grand.

I'm sure you've seen this but come on! It's John Snuhhhh!

Bonus! Oregon Fruit

Fear cuts deeper thank swords! Thanks for the contest. =)

u/Eric-R · 2 pointsr/LetsChat

My blue canary,

You were writing your in depth description as I was writing my greeting from Vallejo. :) Oh, your descriptions make me feel like a drive. You may have heard Poe's Hey Pretty at some point but there is a version with her brother (who wrote House Of Leaves ) reading a segment of his book about a woman driving on Mullholland Drive. This will have to be a My Addiction deal. Look it up under "Drive By 2001" Mix If you would like.

>Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.

Delivered just like your "love, love, love", right?

So we parked in the garage at Anchorage shopping center right at Fisherman's Wharf. The professor decided he wanted to be sure of his lunch and chose to stop in at the Subway restaurant to get a picnic sandwich. Every instinct of mine revolted at the very thought of going to a Subway in The City! Couldn't we score countless hard to find treats by tripping over our own feet?! I tried to share this feeling, but it wasn't happening.

Since I was going to see, even a tiny bit, some of the most advanced race boats in the world today out racing and I would be doing so in

SAN

FRAN

CISCO,

where I've not been for far too long,

I'd already decided to go wherever the people with opinions and desires wanted to go for the race view, so instead of trying to locate something else for my own, different, edibles I decided to embrace the adventure, or lack of it as it presented itself. Tuna on "9-grain honey oat" with all the salad went into my backpack and away we went.

Right along Jefferson street realising I'd not done the wharf in many years. We walked through Aquatic park where I saw swimmers (I wonder if Annie has swum there?) and a woman carrying a camera (Annie told me about a day of taking pictures along this route-- oh! don't stare at this woman). Up to Fort Mason with us. I could have walked so much more today....

Anyway, I'm there watching the big cats prepare for the race and check reddit:

>At the end of the AC pier, looking toward you

That I would somehow be able to see the look on my own face when reading that line. Annie, I started and looked that direction! Turned out you'd written an hour before. It seemed unlikely that you would still be standing there.

To share even brief thoughts with you during the race was almost as good as sharing race with you directly. Sometimes I don't know if I let you know how good to me you are. To get your description of your experience over there photographing a boat, sharing your sense of it was another gift of smile for me!

You write while I'm composing this?!

>Okay, heading off into the water!

I've my own happy-overload over you getting out there in the water.

You say you won't be home until really late. Enjoy a gorgeous night drive, just do it defensively. I'm all selfish and want more of your time.

One note, spelled l-i-t-E

Edit: Repeated a reapeat thought thought

u/marmaladeskiiies · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

UGH I JUST REMEMBERED TO FINISH THIS BRB

EDIT: Okay here it izzzz.

These are the items you are looking for... (everything listed is from my wishlists here! )

1.) Something that is grey. – The bike lock on my wishlist (that was already gifted (: ) This one’s grey!

2.) Something reminiscent of rain. These leggings are Doctor Who Cosmic Tardis Leggings are cosmic… as in galaxy… as in the universe… in which there is a water cycle…. Which is reminiscent of rain…. Yup. ;)

3.) Something food related that is unusual. – It’s not every day you get to have jagermeister infused gummy bears....... Freaking nom.

4.) Something on your list that is for someone other than yourself. Tell me who it's for and why. (Yes, pets count!)A dog bed for my puppy!! He really, really needs a new one.

5.) A book I should read! I am an avid reader, so take your best shot and tell me why I need to read it! – YOU NEED TO READ THE HOUSE OF LEAVES IT’S SO CRAZY AND I LOVE IT AND … AT SOME POINTS… YOU READ IT UPSIDE DOWN AND CRAZY AND INSIDE OUT AND OMFG WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING READING THIS GO READ THIS NOW

6.) An item that is less than a dollar, including shipping... that is not jewelry, nail polish, and or hair related! This with the value of 95 cents ;) hehehe I’m sneaky.

7.) Something related to cats. I love cats! (Keep this SFW; you know who you are...) -- This cat bed, even though I don’t have a cat, was on my puppy’s list! My puppy (who’s really a 9 year old dog but I call him puppy cause he looks/acts/is one) is a 6lb pup who’s basically a cat ;)

8.) Something that is not useful, but so beautiful you must have it. – The Chuck Complete Series Collector Blu-ray is not necessarily useful to my life…But the show’s so gorgeous, the cast so beautiful, the plot so delicious…I love it and need it! :P

9.) A movie everyone should watch at least once in their life. Why?TANGLED!! (OK, one of the only movie related pieces on my list :P) But really, Tangled is PERFECT, SO adorable, a real winner.

10.) Something that would be useful when the zombies attack. Explain. – Okay this may seem crazy but stick with me here. these bones would be super helpful once whittled down. You could use it to double tap those stanky ass zombies

11.) Something that would have a profound impact on your life and help you to achieve your current goals. I have lots of stuff for fitness and school and all my goals likes that, but I thought I'd use something a little different for this one. This skin corrective cream would allow me to cover up my stupid little burn marks on my leg that make me really self conscious in skirts and shorts. This would be a good step in my goal of being happy with myself and gaining self confidence for the first time in my life.

12.) One of those pesky Add-On items.– One of those pesky add-ons… The MSC Joie Simply Slice Strawberry Slicer on my WL is one of them pesky add-ons.

13.) The most expensive thing on your list. Your dream item, why?A Bike. Why? Mine was stolen and its extremely hindered my mobility as I need it for transportation to school /:

14.) Something bigger than a bread box. – The puppy bed on my puppy’s wishlist within my own wishlist is most definitely bigger than a breadbox.

15.) Something smaller than a golf ball. -- These cable organizers HOLLAH at me, Tiger Woods.

16.) Something that smells wonderful. -- French Vanilla Green Mountain Coffee Portion Packs for Keurig Mmmmmmmmm, delicious.

17.) A (SFW) toy. -- Crock Pot COOKING IS LIFE AND HAVING A CROCK POT WOULD BE THE BEST OF TOYS. For something more traditional, I have hedgehog toys etc on my puppy's list.

18.) Something that would be helpful for going back to school. -- This beautiful backpack! Mine is shot to hell and I'm dreading buying a new one.

19.) Something related to your current obsession, whatever that may be. This Friends Milkshake Poster Print from my wishlist OMFG I AM OBSESSED WITH FRIENDS RIGHT NOW. IDK WHY BUT I AM. Also with the Chuck DVD on my dreams list xD

20.) Something that is just so amazing and awe-inspiring that I simply must see it. Explain why it is so grand.– The New York Window Print Poster on my wishlist is pretty awe-inspiring. Looking into the city "where dreams are made of" in whatever town your in.... In a place that's essentially the culmination of all your dreams and desires.... At least for me.

-------

BONUS ITEMS

  1. [YOUR NAME IS……]() Amirite?! actually... I've messaged so many people trying to figure it out, and I could've sworn I knew it before, but I absolutely cannot remember it.

  2. And this handwarmer mug – OCEAN TIDE was made in Milton, Oregon! This ones not on my WL however.

    Finally, some people say that fear cuts deeper than swords but does it? Who knows.
u/MeishkaD · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

Points Tally Complete for TheO-ne-ders

4 - So what you are saying, is your boyfriend needs a sippy cup? lol


5 - Have you read Lamb? If not, you should. It is amazing.


6 - Counting this as valid, but not too clever as many people came to the same conclusion. Although I suppose that doesn't negate the original cleverness.


7 - I kid you not, this exact Beany Babie is sitting no less than five feet away from me. :)


11 - I know that feel. For a long time my main goal in life was to be able to fill my cart at the grocery store without have to count every single penny. It took time and effort but we are finally there. Hoping you get there soon as well.


13 - Are you sure you aren't me from the past? I was so excited when we finally got a good HEPA vacuum cleaner.


14 - And it's Prime eligible!


17 - Video Games are absolutely toys! And this one is sooo good!


18 - Hard to argue with a classic.


20 - The only way I grill. :)


Oregon Bonus - Marionberry jam is very tasty. I can vouch for the tastiness of this brand. My parent's get their CSA box from this family.

So glad you had fun filling this out, as I had fun reading your answers. :) I will update the original post as soon as I have a winner.












u/madicienne · 2 pointsr/writing

I think this kind of material is awesome! I'm more of a fantasy reader myself, but the type of immersion content I like to see is stuff like...

  • maps!
  • artwork - like photos of places; drawings of stuff from the novel (swords/whatever); diagrams. I'm not personally into character drawings/photos, but I think a lot of people probably do like that.
  • unpublished artwork and scenes - like original cover concepts, as well as scenes that had to be cut or side-stories about characters who don't get enough time in the main work
  • "making of" content, like early drafts, planning pages, crappy doodles, whatever
  • games/puzzles related to the story
  • recipes! This is kind of a weird one, but a lot of people love descriptions of food and a lot of books (esp scifi and fantasy) have weird food that I think might be fun to try to make yourself
  • other (non-written) media, like songs/music from the book
  • other genre/format material, like comics about the same characters,

    I'm largely unpublished at the moment, but I do a lot of side-projects and I also enjoy developing a story from multiple angles :D I think that's a great way not only to entertain existing fans, but to draw people to your book/product. Despite the fact that my novel is unpublished, I got quite a lot of attention to a "which character are you?" quiz that I made for my blog.

    This is a big unrelated, but you might also like checking out the Raw Shark Texts (allegedly there are real-world places you can travel to to "discover" more things about the book content) and/or The Ship of Theseus (/"Book of S"), which is sold with a bunch of "extraneous" material like newspaper clippings, and the whole book is filled with notes written back and forth from "previous readers"; it's a pretty interesting experience.
u/BigZ7337 · 1 pointr/Fantasy

Hm, here are some recommendations of my favorite Dark/Gritty Fantasies that immediately come to mind:

Joe Abercrombie is one of my favorite new authors, his books are incredibly gritty dark and original, but the characters are simply amazing. The best starting place is The Blade Itself, but you can read his two other books that aren't part of the trilogy and can be read without losing too much, though they are in the same world and there's more to like about it if you already read the First Law Trilogy. Out of his two stand alone books I'd recommend Best Served Cold which is a Fantasy revenge story in the vain of Kill Bill.

One really good book I read recently is Daniel Polansky's Low Town which is a really cool gritty noir fantasy novel. Where the main character is a former detective for a Fantasy city, but at the beginning of the book he's a drug dealer. Then when murders start to occur, he gets drawn back into the politics of the city, resulting in a great story and multiple plot twists and revelations.

One of my favorites books I've read recently has to be Brent Week's Black Prism. It has some really unique world building, where the magic powers are based on light/colors, and the different magic users have different really unique powers based on their color wavelength. His previous work, the Night Angel Trilogy is also great and it's a little more gritty, with the main character being an assassin.

Next I'll go a little indie here, with the author Jon Sprunk's Shadow's Sun. It features an assassin with slight magical powers and the conscience of a beautiful invisible woman (a real imaginary friend) that is always following him around. There's a lot of things to like in this book, even if they are a little shallow.

Two books from different authors (both of which I really loved) that have kind of similar settings featuring thieves running amok in the underbellies of fantasy cities with a decent amount of grit (without being too dark) are The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch and Doug Hulick's Among Thieves.

There's also Ari Marmell's [The Conqueror's Shadow] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Conquerors-Shadow-Ari-Marmell/dp/0553593153/ref=la_B001JSDH98_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=1340785404&sr=1-20), the main character is a former evil warlord who gave it all up to live a mundane life with a woman he kidnapped. He then has to put back on his fear inducing armor, when someone else is out in the world impersonating him. There is no evil force in this book, and there's a lot of interesting stuff here, the guy actually has a demonic amulet as a partner that provides him with magical abilities, and the demon is hilarious.

The next series isn't too gritty but it's awesome, so I'd still recommend the author Michael Sullivan, a DIY author that was so successful Orbit picked up his 6 book series to release as three larger books (he's also done some great AMA's on Reddit), the first of which is Theft of Swords. The characters in his book are absolutely superb. It's about these two master thieves that are brought into the conspiracy that they wanted no part of, but will see it to the end no matter what the cost.

Robin Hobb technically isn't real gritty, but she is one of my favorite authors, and in her books serious and horrible things can happen to the characters at times, but the endings of some of her trilogies are some of my favorite endings I've ever read. You could start with her first book about the bastard son of a king (that can bond with animals) being trained as an assassin, Assassin's Apprentice, or my favorite trilogy of her's set in the same universe but a different continent, Ship of Magic that has some awesome pirate settings, talking ships, and dragons. I also love one of her other trilogies set in a different universe than the rest of her books, Shaman's Crossing, the first book has kind of a Harry Potter-esque academy setting without the magic, and the rest of the trilogy gets into some really interesting stuff that's too weird to attempt to explain.


I think that's all I got, and you wouldn't go wrong reading any of these books, all of the pages I linked to are the book's Amazon page, so you can read further descriptions that I'm sure are better than mine. :)

u/JayRedEye · 6 pointsr/Fantasy

Age: b

M

I think they are quite different for the most part. You can usually tell a genre novel by it's cover.

Aesthetics do not overly influence my choice. I do like some covers more than others, but it will not prevent me from reading it's contents if I was already interested. When I was younger and aimlessly wandering around libraries, I would pick up and read a book if it looked neat. Lately, my tastes have been more defined and I have many recommendations to go off of, from this site and others. I usually have a pretty good idea whether I will like the book or not before I buy it, and the aesthetics are not a factor.

I do most of my shopping online, so the cover is not a big factor. I do like them to be consistent, however. I am sure others can share my frustration when a series changes it's style part way through...

I really like books that have illustrations. One of my all time favorites is Neil Gaiman & Charles Vess' Stardust. I think it would be great if more started adding more artwork as I feel it can enhance the story. At the end of the day though, it is all about the story, so if that is quality, I am content.

I do not know how much improvement there has been. I think there is room for it. I think overall they are a bit too busy. I prefer more a minimalist approach, personally.

Regarding the Movie Covers...is loathe a strong enough word? I am not a fan. However, even they are not a deal breaker. I own a few, and while I would obviously prefer them to look differently, I can and have enjoy the story.

I do not think e-books will affect it too much over all. For the people it matters to, it will continue to matter, no matter the format.

I think they may be, slightly. But I do not know by how much. Personally, I will take my story in whatever format I can get, be it paper, electronic or audio. I prefer physical books though.

For an example of what I personally consider to be an aesthetically pleasing book, take a look at Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. The cover, the footnotes, the chapter titles, the scattered illustrations. All serve to heighten what is already a remarkable book.

u/sapiophile · 2 pointsr/todayilearned

My assertions are axiomatic, and quite obviously so, at that. This is not a wise battle for you to pursue, unless you wish to descend into colonial European notions of manifest destiny and the white man's burden.

>>Those people are just as advanced as any other
>
>No, they're not.

Tell me, then: in a contest of using indigenous medicinal plants, who would prove "more advanced" - you, or these tribespeople? In determining who has superior herding techniques, which party would be the victor? In a comparison of familial kinship and relations? Spearcraft? Long-distance hiking? Animal husbandry?

There simply does not exist any way to declare any of these criteria "unimportant" without making a subjective assertion of your own personal values. And the people we're talking about would most certainly have a different class of values about those things. Why would your values be "more objective" than theirs - or anyone's? The answer is that they cannot be. It is your own opinion, and with any degree of humility, all genuinely reasonable people recoginze that, as I hope that you will, too.

>>Civilization and technology are specific types of advancements, but they are not objectively superior to any others
>
>Yes, they are.

Funny - there sure seem to be a great many very well-reasoned arguments against civilization and technology, even from those who have experienced the very height of their "advancement".

I certainly see no evidence for an objective declaration, even just by examing the meta-issue of the debate itself, which is undeniably still open.

>>to add "culture" in there is frankly just plain racist.
>
>No, it isn't.

Yes, it is. You have virtualy no notions of these people's culture. The very definition of "culture" practically prohibits the very idea of it being declared "advanced" or otherwise. It is simply the collection of common and traditional practices of a given group. I would even go so far as to say that if one were to make judgments of "advancement," surely a culture that has been largely uninterrupted and un-usurped for a period of thousands of years has matured and "advanced" far more than a culture which is ever-shifting and highly dependent on technological advances that didn't even exist a generation prior. But even to make an assertion such as that is meaningless, because the criterion "advancement" simply does not make sense when applied to culture - any culture. The only role that such a declaration can fulfill is to demean and devalue another group of people completely arbitrarily, as to support a racist or otherwise xenophobic worldview.

>By what standard are modern Western civilization, technology, and culture objectively superior to barefoot African tribesmen? By the only objective standard of value: their success at meeting the requirements of human life.

And just what are those "requirements of human life?" These tribespeople might tell you some very different things than what you would tell them. Would either of you be "right?" Absolutely not.

As for the rest of your points, they are all similarly obvious - and highly subjective, though largely incontroversial in our demographic - subjective and personal value judgments. Adding the word "objectively" to your statements does not make it so. Even such criteria as you have mentioned - lifespan, "individualism," property rights (lol), etc., are not objectively "advanced." After all, what are the "objective" benefits of a long lifespan if it is filled with ennui, alienation and oppression? What is the value of "individualism" to a person who cherishes deep bonds and shared struggle with others? How can one declare "property rights" to be an objective good when the very concept of such has only existed for a few hundred years, and has arguably led to the greatest ongoing extinction of species in millions of years?

You see? Value judgments, all of it. And for someone who might call themself a "libertarian," you certainly seem not to understand the true spirit of the credo, "live and let live."

u/alexatd · 1 pointr/writing

Others have covered this well, but I wanted to throw in some thoughts. You absolutely MUST read if you plan on writing a novel. Just... required.

But don't force yourself to read things you don't like. Have you tried graphic novels? They are chock full of story but are more dynamic than your typical novel. Harry Potter may not have clicked for you because you saw the movies, but have you tried other young adult novels that don't have movie tie-ins? A lot of YA is imminently readable because they're usually in first person, fast-paced and very hook driven. There are some fun sci-fi/timey-wimey YA books out there you could try.

On the adult side, have you tried to read Thursday Next by Jasper Fforde? It's surrealist fantasy with a very fun time travel element, though they are very heavily rooted in bibliophilia--it's all tongue-in-cheek love of books stuff (the main character can jump into fiction). But he's my favorite writer on the planet and a great example of having fun with language/writing.

So I haven't actually read it but one of my BFFs loved this book to pieces: S by JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst. http://www.amazon.com/S-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642. It's apparently a very bizarre "book" that is not quite a book and is supposed to be an experience unto itself. Sounds a bit like what you maybe have in mind.

u/furgenhurgen · 2 pointsr/booksuggestions

Among Others by Jo Walton

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

I think the Dark Tower series is a must read. It starts off with The Gunslinger and continues. I think it is the best series I have ever read.

If you want to look other than fantasy/sci-fi...

Lamb by Christopher Moore is very funny, makes you think, and breaks your heart. I love it.

A Prayer for Owen Meany is one of my favorite books ever written. Everyone that I have given this book to has read it and bought it for someone else to read.

Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins is Tom Robbins at his best. It's also one of the most polarizing books I have suggested to friends and people online. You will either love it and buy the rest of Tom Robbins's books or you will hate it and never listen to me again. I hope it's the first reaction.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is an amazing book about life in high school. I haven't seen the movie yet because I enjoy this book so much that I don't want to get pissed off at a director ruining one of my favorite books.

Good Omens by Pratchett/Gaiman is certainly a pretty rockin book.

Hopefully this helps you find some new authors to enjoy!

Edited for: I will never forgive myself if I don't put in what I consider one of the best fantasy coming of age stories ever. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is the first of the series. Read it. Do it!

u/Both_Of_Me · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

Read Good Omens!
READ GOOD OMENS!

R
E
A
D

G
O
O
D

O
M
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N
S

It's lol funny, one of the best satires ever written, and perfect in every way. Coincidentally it has been on my wl since day one!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0060853980/ref=aw_ls_4_3?colid=15LG4DO389H4A&coliid=IW2E51PZ2BYQD

Read Good Omens!
READ GOOD OMENS
Read Good Omens!
READ GOOD OMENS
Read Good Omens!
READ GOOD OMENS
Read Good Omens!
READ GOOD OMENS
Read Good Omens!
READ GOOD OMENS
Read Good Omens!
READ GOOD OMENS
Read Good Omens!
READ GOOD OMENS

A Quote:

She was beautiful, but she was beautiful in the way a forest fire was beautiful: something to be admired from a distance, not up close.

u/silvvy · 6 pointsr/dynastywarriors

After years of playing DW games, I finally did, and really enjoyed it. I read this abridged version (~$30) initially, and it was alright. Some pretty big pieces are cut out, although it does make for a considerably shorter read. However, if you really want the full experience, I'd recommend this 4-book set (~$25) that I picked up later. I can't really say if it's better or worse than others, as it's the only full copy I've read, but it seemed good to me, and I've seen it recommended by other people as well. You could also check out this website, which has the whole thing available to be read. I don't think I could manage that much reading online, though.

If you do start reading, good luck. It can be quite a daunting task, as the scope and style of it can be off-putting. It took me a couple years of off-and-on reading to get through it, and I'm someone who enjoys reading (although I was younger at the time). Have fun with it though, it's a great read, and you'll likely have an easier time than most, as you're already familiar with many of the names.

Hope that helps!

u/graffiti81 · 1 pointr/atheism

[This thought starts with the student explaining our creation myth. It boils down to this: billions of years ago, there was a Big Bang, the universe formed, stars and planets formed, then life appeared on one and eventually man came into being after many millions of years.]

5...

“I told you yesterday that the story the people of your culture are enacting is about the meaning of the world, about divine intentions in the world, and about human destiny.”

“Yes.”

“And according to this first part of the story, what is the meaning of the world?”

I thought about that for a moment. “I don’t quite see how it explains the meaning of the world.”

“Along about the middle of your story, the focus of attention shifted from the universe at large to this one planet. Why?”

“Because this one planet was destined to be the birthplace of man.”

“Of course. As you tell it, the birth of man was a central event—indeed the central event—in the history of the cosmos itself. From the birth of man on, the rest of the universe ceases to be of interest, ceases to participate in the unfolding drama. For this, the earth alone is sufficient; it is the birthplace and home of man, and that’s its meaning. The Takers regard the world as a sort of human life–support system, as a machine designed to produce and sustain human life.”

“Yes, that’s so.”

“In your telling of the story, you naturally left out any mention of the gods, because you didn’t want it to be tainted with mythology. Since its mythological character is now established, you no longer have to worry about that. Supposing there is a divine agency behind creation, what can you tell me about the gods’ intentions?”

“Well, basically, what they had in mind when they started out was man. They made the universe so that our galaxy could be in it. They made the galaxy so that our solar system could be in it. They made our solar system so that our planet could be in it. And they made our planet so that we could be in it. The whole thing was made so that man would have a hunk of dirt to stand on.”

“And this is generally how it’s understood in your culture—at least by those who assume that the universe is an expression of divine intentions.”

“Yes.”

“Obviously, since the entire universe was made so that man could be made, man must be a creature of enormous importance to the gods. But this part of the story gives no hint of their intentions toward him. They must have some special destiny in mind for him, but that’s not revealed here.”

“True.”

6.

“The story being enacted in the world by the Takers also has a premise, which is embodied in the part of the story you told me today. See if you can figure out what it is.”

I closed my eyes and pretended I was working hard, when in fact I knew I didn’t stand a chance. “I’m afraid I don’t see it.”

“The story the Leavers have enacted in the world has an entirely different premise, and it would be impossible for you to discover it at this point. But you should be able to discover the premise of your own story. It’s a very simple notion and the most powerful in all of human history. Not necessarily the most beneficial but certainly the most powerful. Your entire history, with all its marvels and catastrophes, is a working out of this premise.”

“Truthfully, I can’t even imagine what you’re getting at.”

“Think. . . . Look, the world wasn’t made for jellyfish, was it?”

“No.”

“It wasn’t made for frogs or lizards or rabbits.”

“No.”

“Of course not. The world was made for man.”

. . .

“Think of the consequences of taking that as your premise: If the world was made for you, then what?”

“Okay, I see what you mean. I think. If the world was made for us, then it belongs to us and we can do what we damn well please with it.”

“Exactly. That’s what’s been happening here for the past ten thousand years: You’ve been doing what you damn well please with the world. And of course you mean to go right on doing what you damn well please with it, because the whole damn thing belongs to you.”

“Yes,” I said, and thought for a second. “Actually, that’s pretty amazing. I mean, you hear this fifty times a day. People talk about our environment, our seas, our solar system. I’ve even heard people talk about our wildlife.”

“And just yesterday you assured me with complete confidence that there was nothing in your culture remotely resembling mythology.”

-Source

u/androidchrist · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

My go to recommendation is typically either "Machine of Death: A Collection of Stories About People Who Know How They Will Die" or "This Is How You Die: Stories of the Inscrutable, Infallible, Inescapable Machine of Death". They are both collections of short stories with one simple premise in common. There is a machine that exists that will without fail tell you with 100% accuracy how you are going to die. However, the machine can be cryptic, vague or anything in between. It could say "Old Age" and you'd assume that you, a 22 year old person, are good to do whatever you want danger wise until you're super old. But that same 22 year old could be walking down the sidewalk after getting their diagnosis from the machine and be hit a by car... being driven by a very old person. THEIR old age is what killed you. Or maybe you survive the accident but are left brain dead and your family refuses to pull the plug, so you outlive all of them and end up dying naturally of old age, having spent the last seventy years of your life trapped inside your own body. They are an incredibly varied series, ranging from sci-fi to horror to comedy to mystery. They are some of my favorite books.

​

So that's two. Let's think of three more.

​

Next up is "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal" by Christopher Moore. It's a new (clearly fictionalized) testament that chronicles the early life of the Son of God that are missing from the Bible. Who tells it? Why none other than Biff, Christ's childhood best friend who was purposely omitted from said good book for being a bit of a jerk. He has been resurrected by some angels and tasked with telling the world about the lost years of his best buddy's life. Biff and Josh get into all sorts of foibles, from reanimating dead bugs as children to scare the bullies in their village to learning martial arts from monks to teaching an elephant yoga to falling in love with the same woman. It's hilarious, and beautiful. Be you a believer or not, it's a great read. I'm an atheist and I was recommended the book by my best friend who is a minister more than a decade ago.

​

Now let's talk about "Lucky Bastard" by S.G. Browne. This book is about a private detective with a special ability: he can steal another person's luck, good or bad. He then can quite literally bottle and sell this to the highest bidder. He's been out of the Luck Poaching game for some time, but his past has finally caught up with him. He's offered a huge payday to steal back the mayor's stolen luck, and he's hurting for the cash. Our detective friend spends a lot of time and money at Starbucks, and $100,000 will buy a lot of lattes. Not to mention the job is offered to him by a beautiful, mysterious woman who he might just want to take the job in order to be closer to. The book is very funny, extremely tense and has tons of twists and turns. I discovered the author by accident when I picked up another book by him at the airport nearly ten years just to have something to read during a delay. I loved it so much that I wrote to him and he sent me an advanced copy of his (then) upcoming novel, and we've become casual friends online. He's a great guy and his stuff is a lot of fun.

​

The last book on my list is "House of Leaves" by Mark Z. Danielewski. There is almost no way to explain this book because it's so many different stories wrapped in a ton of layers, but I'll give it a go. At it's core, a man who was loosely acquainted with a blind older gentlemen checks out his apartment after the old man's death and finds endless notebooks, manuscripts and stories. These stories are all related to a video tape that is the stuff of legends. In that video tape is footage of a videographer who was filming his new home and family for months. He slowly starts to realize that his house is very slightly larger on the inside than it is on the outside. Then a tiny room appears between the master bedroom and his child's bedroom. Then a door appears on his living room wall, which when opened leads to an entirely black room with a spiral staircase leading down. He puts a team together and leads an expedition into this black room to figure out what's going on. Now, those are the BASICS of this book. It's a really trippy experience. There are some pages with only one word on them, some pages where the text is oriented in different directions, some pages just contain sheet music. The book is full of source notes and references, but none of them notate or reference anything that actually exists. In fact, Mark Z. Danielweski doesn't even exist. It's a pen name, a character in itself. The whole experience is insane. I've bought so many copies of this book for people. It's probably the gift I've given most often in my life, other than the gift of laughter.

u/cuthman99 · 1 pointr/booksuggestions

Huh... well, I'll take a few shots at this, although I doubt I have any better idea what he means than you do. Still, support the troops...

The ultimate would be S., J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst but only if you can get him the printed copy, not the ebook. The print version is just a phenomenal experience. It is definitely high-concept: in fact, it's best just to read the description in the link. It's a mystery/thriller/geopolitical/surrealist experience, but the object itself is just amazing. Check out the images of the book on Amazon-- normally I don't link to Amazon, but the images give you a sense of it. It's not just that one of the two major parallel stories unfolds in the margin-notes of the other novel; it's that the other novel is stuffed full of odds-and-ends of things the two correspondents shared with each other-- maps written on hotel napkins (and damn if they don't print the thing on an actual napkin), postcards from other countries, etc. It's just amazing.


How to Live Safely in a Science-Fictional Universe, Charles Yu, is the epitome of a high-concept novel. It's 'meta' to the core-- the execution doesn't quite live up to the concept, but it's still a decent read, and it might be what he's after. The premise is that the son of the man who invented the first time-travel machine, but was screwed out of the credit for it, works as a time-machine repairman and travels the... well, multiverse? multi-time?... looking for his father, who eventually disappeared. In the end it's as much a family drama as a sci-fi novel, but I found the premise irresistible.


Another idea would be You Shall Know Our Velocity!, Dave Eggers, It's certainly another "meta" or "high concept" novel; at first it seems like it'll be a standard travelogue, but then it takes a decidedly Eggers-ish turn. Not a lot to say about it without disclosing spoilers. As with How to Live Safely... I don't know that the execution lived up to the concept... or maybe the concept didn't live up to the execution, I'm never sure how I feel about Eggers.

u/cknap · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

I had the most wonderful time at school! This is a super random memory that just came to me. I'm not sure what grade I was in, but during math one day we all had to solve a math problem individually. After everyone finished, the teacher gave us a few choices and asked us to raise our hands when she read off the answer that we got. When she said my answer I was literally the only person that raised my hand. Guess who got that question right - me! Seriously my greatest achievement during a math class. :)

Good luck with your next year of school and have fun!!

I would love a copy of House of Leaves if I win! You have to read textbooks at school, but you can read fun books at home!

u/-Skadi · 1 pointr/Wishlist

Happy birthday! I hope you've been having a fantastic day!

I have so many books on my wish lists, it's hard for me to pick just one, but I can narrow it down to the top 3 I've really been wanting to read:

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

I love Norse mythology, history, language, religion and learning more about it, and from what I've read of Gaiman's, I enjoy his writing style.

S. / Ship of Theseus by Doug Dorst and J.J. Abrams

From the reviews it seems like a great book. There's the book Ship of Theseus, but in the margins and inserts there's a whole different story between two people trying discover the identity of the author of Ship of Theseus. It just looks like a fun book.

House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski

Another book I've heard great things about. I've heard it can be a difficult read with the unconventional format and footnotes etc.. But that just makes me want to read it even more.

All 3 are on my Most Wanted list.


Thanks for the contest!

u/poetniknowit · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon
  1. Blue Because this is all I could think about after reading #1

  1. Summer Accessories bc this would be Awesome at the beach, and I hear they work great!

  2. Weird food related items items. Not sure I'd be able to actually consume these without vomiting lol.

  3. Id gift this for my daughter, bc she is the ultimate FNAF fan and 6 years old, and it's one of the only 3 she doesn't own for her plush collection.

  4. House of Leavess my ultimate favorite book, and I push it on everyone I know that loves reading. Although intimidating, the format is awesome and original, and mimics the way we Google and use the internet for constant reference. Plus the codes are siiiick.

  5. This is less than a dollar and ADORABLE

  6. This looks like a rad dog toy, whilst simultaneously resembling a sexy toy too lol

  7. This is so expensive and impractical but I would live in this thing!

  8. Vanilla Skywas a movie that really spoke to me as a teenager. If you don't like your reality, change it- just, errrr, mayne not the way Tom Cruise does. Also the mostly Radiohead soundtrack kicks ass.

  9. A katana would obviously trump guns in the zombie apocalypse- you'd eventually run out of bullets, and this baby is the most expensive Amazon's got, so I'd hope youd get quality.

  10. Microsoft Office would help me out. I'm an aspiring writer, but using an offbrand, free version that doesn't work makes writing a nit more tedious and difficult-even spellcheck doesn't work!

  11. Annoying add-on bc a girl can never have too many of these, amirite?

  12. FNAF is as close to fandom as I get. My kid is obsessed, therefore I am obsessed, and I'm not into sports :(

  13. This watch popped up after seeking the most expensive item on Amazon, although it doesn't seem justified lol.

  14. I Chose BOTH a shark & unicorn !

  15. Thierry Mugler Angel smells great- I had to ask a customer what she used bc I wanted to eat her flesh when she walked past me.

  16. Teddy Ruxpin was so 90's- we put our fave cassettes in and hed seemingly sing along

  17. The Artist's Way
    by Julia Cameron is one of my favorite books on creative unblocking for both writers AND artists! I go back to it whenever Im in a slump!

  18. This tote file would be totes cool bc Im obsessed with organizing!

  19. This coloring book about farts? Ridiculous and fun. Id likely make ea fart a different color lol.
u/starzphalling · 3 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

I cheated and picked three...I couldn't stop I'm sorry, please forgive me.

  1. Dr. Sleep - I picked this one because it is on your wishlist and I have been dying to read it, so I decided you must be also

  2. John Dies at the End - Another one from your wishlist. This one I picked because it is odd, wonky, weird, and wonderful. After stalking you a little, mostly I mean looking at what you have on your wishlists and seeing that we have a lot of common interests I really think you would like this one.

  3. Fooling Houdini - This one was not on your wishlist, but like I said above we do have a fair number of common interests I believe. I have been recommending this book since I read it because I loved it. It is a fantastic mix of psychology, magic, logic, awesomeness, and humor. It was a fast read for me and I found it thoroughly enjoyable and made me want to research more into things he mentioned.

    Have fun on your trip! Hope you find a fantastic book to get you through the flight!
u/kylco · 3 pointsr/printSF

Snow Crash and Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson talk about it some, but it's not the libertarianism that most libertarians are familiar with. It's more a "freedom to choose your own society and its rules" than a "government does not interfere with choices" liberty. The Common Economic Protocol of SC/DA is technically a government, but the only thing it regulates are the formation of new phyles (societies, etc) and the use of nanorobots for warfare (Nell's foster father, at one point, has to go off to combat against some rebels that violate the terms of the Protocol, IIRC).

Diamond Age has a lot of what you're looking for, though in a very high-technology environment that enables the lifestyle, and with different implementations of libertarianism. Sea-steading is not done by building a colony and floating off into the sunset, but by building new landmasses off the coast of Shanghai and connecting them to the mainland with a large bridge. The phyles with the expertise to do this (Neo-Victorians (stuffy Brits), Japanese engineers, and the Germans Hindus, IIRC) are fabulously wealthy for their ability to create new housing zones, commercial areas, and industrial zones more-or-less on demand for the overpopulated cities of China. On the other hand, in the American Southwest you have small (in population) phyles that dominate the landscape: homesteaders whose only duty to the phyle is to mind their own land, and provide for the common defense. There are plenty of other systems described however: a Zulu phyle that protects its own by hunting down and bringing to justice anyone who harms one of theirs, a communist phyle that requires you to give up your possessions and live as if you're in a reeducation camp 24/7, a Hidu phyle that is mostly a bank for anyone who wants to borrow, with collection policies in the form of indentured service, etc, etc.

It's an excellent character study for societies: you see the good and the bad of every one of them, where they work and they don't, and why. It's all enabled by technology that makes it possible (more or less) to provide everything to the masses at little or no cost, with money being exchanged only for premium design, service, or honest-to-god handmade goods (which are astonishingly expensive - entire phyles live a pastoral existence and create them for wealthier societies - the "Amish"/Luddites are billionaires). People do what they want to: become hackers, live in drum circles, homestead, work for Software Kahns, join theatrical troupes, work as scenario writers for a bordello, or in the semi-feudal administrative system of the Middle Kingdom. Most of this is implied, not explicit, which only makes it better reading, if you ask me: Stephenson may hit you over the head with the details of nanotechnology and ponderously describe encryption services (which personally I like anyway), but the wonder and cleverness of how the whole society works is rarely stated directly, meaning you can tease it out slowly and marvel at the way it all fits together.

TL;DR Yeah, Snow Crash. Also the Diamond Age. And I probably should write some sort of critical analysis of the Diamond Age to get something out of my system.
*edited for clarity and accuracy.

u/mementomary · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

This is my intro. I have gifted :)

I have two fave books! My first is House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski. I can't really do it justice in a summary. It is about a guy named Johnny who finds a trunk full of paper scraps that belonged to an old man that died, and puts them together into a book. That book is about a family who moves into a new house, which is bigger on the inside (like the tardis, but scary). As the people explore the mysterious hallways in the house, Johnny reads/edits the book, and everyone goes a bit crazy. As you read the book, the actual text makes you feel like you're going crazy with them. It's a hard read, but it's great! The only book that has ever creeped me out. :)

My other fave is Pride and Prejudice. I imagine I don't have to summarize it, but I will. Elizabeth Bennet is the second of 5 sisters who aren't rich. Since respectable women could only make lives for themselves by marrying well, that is the obsession of their mother, Mrs. Bennet. A rich young man named Bingley moves into town, and with him comes his proud, disagreeable, and even more rich friend Darcy. Elizabeth, who thinks pretty highly of herself as well, decides she hates Darcy right away because he is such a jerk, and hijinx ensue. Jane Austen is the master of poking fun at the social interactions of the time, and the dialogue makes me laugh out loud each time I read it (especially Mr Collins).

I really hope your Gram's surgery is quick and painless, and she has a quick recovery. <3

u/UWillAlwaysBALoser · 3 pointsr/booksuggestions

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. I just finished this book, and it is probably the funniest book I've ever read (and I'm saying this after having read Hitchhikers, a lot of Vonnegut and Confederacy of Dunces).

I don't know your religious background, but I have confidence that whether you are a Jew, Christian, or atheist/agnostic, you will really enjoy this book (if you're none of those, you may miss some references). It's like Hitchhiker's Guide for the ancient world, with a little of Herman Hesse's Siddhartha (also a good read) mixed in.

Also, John Dies at the End by David Wong is great if you like action/sci-fi/horror but want a lot of comedy mixed in. It was the first comedy book I've read that really felt like it was written by someone from my generation (I'm in my early 20s). Wong is one of the editors of cracked and definitely has the internet-age nerdy pop-culture sense of humor that pervades reddit.

u/Anticode · 1 pointr/INTP

Book:

Blindsight + Echopraxia by Peter Watts!

Deep, dark, Sci-fi. The only two books that I've ever read more than once in a year. (Re-reading the two for a 4th time currently).

Snippet from amazon:

>^^Send ^^a ^^linguist ^^with ^^multiple-personality ^^disorder ^^and ^^a ^^biologist ^^so ^^spliced ^^with ^^machinery ^^that ^^he ^^can't ^^feel ^^his ^^own ^^flesh. ^^Send ^^a ^^pacifist ^^warrior ^^and ^^a ^^vampire ^^recalled ^^from ^^the ^^grave ^^by ^^the ^^voodoo ^^of ^^paleogenetics. ^^Send ^^a ^^man ^^with ^^half ^^his ^^mind ^^gone ^^since ^^childhood. ^^Send ^^them ^^to ^^the ^^edge ^^of ^^the ^^solar ^^system, ^^praying ^^you ^^can ^^trust ^^such ^^freaks ^^and ^^monsters ^^with ^^the ^^fate ^^of ^^a ^^world. ^^You ^^fear ^^they ^^may ^^be ^^more ^^alien ^^than ^^the ^^thing ^^they've ^^been ^^sent ^^to ^^find―but ^^you'd ^^give ^^anything ^^for ^^that ^^to ^^be ^^true, ^^if ^^you ^^knew ^^what ^^was ^^waiting ^^for ^^them. ^^. ^^. ^^.

They contain tons of memorable (and quotable) quotes, such as:

>^“Not ^even ^the ^most ^heavily-armed ^police ^state ^can ^exert ^brute ^force ^to ^all ^of ^its ^citizens ^all ^of ^the ^time. ^Meme ^management ^is ^so ^much ^subtler; ^the ^rose-tinted ^refraction ^of ^perceived ^reality, ^the ^contagious ^fear ^of ^threatening ^alternatives.”
^― ^Peter ^Watts, ^Blindsight

or...

>^“Fifty ^thousand ^years ^ago ^there ^were ^these ^three ^guys ^spread ^out ^across ^the ^plain ^and ^they ^each ^heard ^something ^rustling ^in ^the ^grass. ^The ^first ^one ^thought ^it ^was ^a ^tiger, ^and ^he ^ran ^like ^hell, ^and ^it ^was ^a ^tiger ^but ^the ^guy ^got ^away. ^The ^second ^one ^thought ^the ^rustling ^was ^a ^tiger ^and ^he ^ran ^like ^hell, ^but ^it ^was ^only ^the ^wind ^and ^his ^friends ^all ^laughed ^at ^him ^for ^being ^such ^a ^chickenshit. ^But ^the ^third ^guy ^thought ^it ^was ^only ^the ^wind, ^so ^he ^shrugged ^it ^off ^and ^the ^tiger ^had ^him ^for ^dinner. ^And ^the ^same ^thing ^happened ^a ^million ^times ^across ^ten ^thousand ^generations ^- ^and ^after ^a ^while ^everyone ^was ^seeing ^tigers ^in ^the ^grass ^even ^when ^there ^were`t ^any ^tigers, ^because ^even ^chickenshits ^have ^more ^kids ^than ^corpses ^do. ^And ^from ^those ^humble ^beginnings ^we ^learn ^to ^see ^faces ^in ^the ^clouds ^and ^portents ^in ^the ^stars, ^to ^see ^agency ^in ^randomness, ^because ^natural ^selection ^favours ^the ^paranoid. ^Even ^here ^in ^the ^21st ^century ^we ^can ^make ^people ^more ^honest ^just ^by ^scribbling ^a ^pair ^of ^eyes ^on ^the ^wall ^with ^a ^Sharpie. ^Even ^now ^we ^are ^wired ^to ^believe ^that ^unseen ^things ^are ^watching ^us.”
^― ^Peter ^Watts, ^Echopraxia

Or perhaps one that might resonate with many INTPs...

>^“I ^really ^wanted ^to ^talk ^to ^her.
^I ^just ^couldn't ^find ^an ^algorithm ^that ^fit.”
^― ^Peter ^Watts, ^Blindsight

In fact... Here is a repository of some fun Watts quotes. I have this page bookmarked since I read it so often. If any of these appeal to you, read the books! Blindsight is even free on his website.

_

Anime:

Shinsekai Yori (From the new world)

The link has a nice description, but the entry into this universe was a strange one for me. It starts as so calm and Utopian, but everyone has cool powers (which is based on science so advanced that it appears as magic)! More is revealed about the world, interesting details and insights, but eventually something dark is slowly realized. My favorite anime series of all time - With art design as beautiful as any Miyazaki film and a storyline as fascinating as a science fiction novel, I would recommend this to anyone.

_


Music:

Dryft - No vocals, but rich stories. Complex but ambient, like relaxing by a waterfall on an artificial habitat in outer space as you watch the stars through the dome above you.

u/alsoathrowaway · 2 pointsr/fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu

Gender Identity Disorder is still listed in the DSM as a mental disorder. I think there are arguments to be made both ways about whether that's more a good thing or more a bad thing (realistically it's probably some of both).

As far as I understand, it's not at all a disorder in the sense that most psychological disorders are. The issue is that the "disorder" (the dysphoria - a sense of overwhelming wrongness and badness, contrast with "euphoria") is generally caused by a mismatch between a psychological property (the individual's gender) and a set of physical properties (the individual primary and/or secondary sex characteristics) as well as a social property (how the individual is seen and treated by society at large).

So, there is a disorder in the sense that, and to the extent that, this mismatch causes a great deal of suffering in someone's life. But let's take a hypothetical person who was assigned male at birth, who has a penis and male secondary sex characteristics, but who has a female gender. Again, the psychological component of this "disorder" is the female gender - but can we really call having a female gender a mental illness? (Of course, as sexist as our culture can be, perhaps some would like to.. but that's sort of tangential.) And the difference between this "disorder" and at least the vast majority of psychological disorders is that it is, I believe, largely fixable - my understanding is that most trans folks who transition experience are much, much happier afterward; the "disorder" is pretty much solved. And it's important to note that the fix for this is a physical fix, not a mental one - from what I've seen, if you asked most trans people "Hey, if you had a magic wand that would allow you to live your life comfortably as the gender you were assigned at birth, would you use it?" the most common answer would probably be something like "No - why would I want to change who I am?".

Further factors of course include the fact that "mental disorder" is a pretty stigmatizing term, and has a set of connotations that don't really make sense for this issue, and the history of access to hormones and surgery being contingent on the diagnoses of psychologists, some of whom would (and in some places still do) dick people around if they don't hear exactly the narrative they're expecting to hear. On the other hand, I've heard concerns voiced that were it removed from the DSM, it might be harder for trans individuals to get the treatments that they needed, for insurance reasons.

(You can read more on this subject here.)

> Anyway, I was hoping maybe someone could shed a light on what exactly it means to be a "girl" or a "boy"? Is it based on likes/interests/personality/tendencies? I mean, personhood is pretty hard to define already, so how do you define a female person?

That's a tough one to get at, because I think you pretty much have to rely on people's own self-reported experiences, and nobody can get at what other people's experiences are. I can't really answer this one clearly (shit, I'm struggling with my own gender identity as it is), but I can highly recommend to you, if you're interested in reading further on the subject, the book Whipping Girl by Julia Serano. It gets into a lot of stuff about trans issues, the way our culture defines and interacts with gender, the "scapegoating of femininity" (as she puts it), etc. It's also available in Kindle form if you want to pay a little bit less or if you're worried about people asking awkward questions about what you're reading (I read it on my phone, personally, for that reason).

> Will we eventually be recognizing people with multiple personality disorder as multiple people stuck in one body in society?

I doubt it. As far as I've heard, psychology in general isn't even really sure that Dissociative Identity Disorder is a thing at all - it's sort of elusive and hard to demonstrate, and some (maybe a lot?) of people who ostensibly had it turned out to be faking it (see Wikipedia).. On the other hand, if it is a legit thing? Yeah, I think that would be a fair way to treat it. (If that's a subject that interests you, and if you're into hard, gritty sci-fi, allow me to recommend Peter Watts's excellent book Blindsight, which features among other things a character who does indeed have multiple personalities, who are pretty much distinct people.)

u/b3antse · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

I love my Kindle 3. The keyboard is super handy. I'm extremely prone to migraines, so while I still love physical copies of books, I can't read them in bright light or in the sun. The reflection triggers migraines 75% of the time.

It's nice to have options.

Every month Amazon lists 100 ebooks for 3.99 or less. Pretty much every month you can find winners there. This month there's "I Am Legend," "The Sirens of Titan," and "John Dies at the End" among others (I heartily recommend them ALL).

A great non-Kindle book is House of Leaves. Creepy and satisfying, that one.

Good luck with your Kindle endeavor!

u/serenityunlimited · 6 pointsr/booksuggestions

Is there anything in particular you're leaning to?

Author Cherie Priest has a couple excellent books.

  • Boneshaker, first book in her Clockwork Century series. It's a steampunk setting with zombies and all sorts of wonderful stuff. This book is actually on sale through the end of the month for $2.99.
  • Bloodshot, first book in her Cheshire Red Reports series. It's about a vampire gal who is a thief-for-hire.

    The Dresden Files series, by Jim Butcher, is a wonderful series. It's about a wizard-for-hire in the modern world, and delves into the wonderful magic environment that Jim has created. Jim likes to put his characters through trouble and turmoil, and it's good for character development! The series starts off with Storm Front.

    The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is another great series. It's a post-apocalyptic/oppressed setting, centering around something called 'The Hunger Games' - an annual battle that captivates the capitol and all twelve remaining districts. There is a movie releasing next year, as well.

    The Name of the Wind is a terrific book by Patrick Rothfuss, the first entry into his series The Kingkiller Chronicles. It's a fantasy setting, and is about a character named Kvothe recounting his life. The writing style has an absolutely artistic writing style that is captivating to read, and such interesting and progressing events that make you eagerly turn the page. I have not yet read the sequel, The Wise Man's Fear, but I'm told it's even better in every way.

    Terry Pratchett is an amazing and renowned author. He has been knighted, an event for which he created his own sword for by hand, battles against Alzheimer's in a most respectable and commendable way, and has created such an interesting and provoking world that provides a lot of laughs and curious perspectives on matters. Where you start is a more difficult choice. A couple choice options might be as follows (I haven't read others yet, so I can't attest to others, but there are many!).

  • Guards! Guards! which is the first installment to the City Watch sequence.
  • The Reaper Man trails after Death, after he has been fired from his job.

    I haven't started this book yet, nor looked into it, but I have heard terrific reviews. The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch, is his first book in his Gentleman Bastard Sequence series.

    And of course, if you haven't entered George RR Martin's world of Westeros, the series A Song of Ice and Fire could be a wonderful read. It's very complex and very long and not yet complete (five books so far). It starts off with Game of Thrones, which is what the recently-aired HBO series was based upon.

    In the science fiction sphere, I would recommend Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. It's the first in his Ender's series, and there are quite a few books set in the world. I have only read the first one, and it was an excellent read, insightful and thought-provoking.

    ...anyway, that should be a few to peek at!
u/SaintSorryass · 1 pointr/booksuggestions

The King in Yellow was arguable Lovecraft's biggest influence.

Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast books might be a good fit.

Haruki Murakami in my opinion does "dreamlike" better then anyone else I have read. The Wind up Bird Chronicles, might be a good start.

For something like Stardust, I would recommend John Crowly, particularly Little Big, Winters Tale, and maybe Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

I think Clive Barker hits the tone you are looking for sometimes, but not in all of his work, maybe someone who has read him more can give a better recommendation.

If you have not read China Miéville Perdido Street Station would be a good start.

I just started The Drowning Girl so can't really give a full review, but so far it seems like it would also be a good fit.

For something that is not really what you asked for, but is a fun read for a Lovecraft fan I would recommend Charles Stross' The Laundry Files Series, Starting with The Atrocity Archive A semi comic story about the bureaucratic side of the secret agency that deals with the impending lovecraftian nightmare apocalypse, a little pulpy, but lots of fun.

u/nomoremermaids · 1 pointr/booksuggestions

China Miéville's Un Lun Dun. It's a kids' book, but it's fantastic. Miéville turns a lot of the standard fantasy tropes on their heads, with thoroughly enjoyable results.

Dathan Auerbach's Penpal. Horror/suspense, written by a redditor, and debuted on reddit. The Kindle version is less than $4. Seriously creepy but totally worth it.

Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's Good Omens. I have never laughed so much while reading. It's phenomenal.

Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age. What happens to poor people once nanotechnology can be used to make anything? It's my favorite of the Stephensons I've read, but it still ends like a Neal Stephenson novel. :|

Cory Doctorow's Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town. It's about the first-born son of a mountain and a washing machine. It's also about setting up wireless networks. Also: it's FREE.

Hope you enjoy some of these! :)

u/Barl0we · 28 pointsr/PNWS

Incoming wall of text! Sorry in advance, look at the bolded words to kind of do a TLDR of my reply :P

Read "Annihilation", the first book in the Southern Reach Trilogy, by Jeff VanderMeer. It'll ruin Tanis for you, because you'll see where they got a lot of their content from (to put it nicely).

The two last books in that series are okay, but I wasn't completely on board for them. Loved the first one, though. You could also just watch the movie version that's on Netflix, but know this: while well-made in some aspects, the director chose not to re-read the book OR read its sequels, so it diverges from the original book / book series quite a lot in some unfortunate ways.

I'm currently (still) trying to get through [House of Leaves](https://www.amazon.com/House-Leaves-Mark-Z-Danielewski/dp/0375703764/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1536787331&sr=1-1&keywords=House+of+LEaves) by Mark Z. Danielewski. It's a fantastically weird story about a house...And about other things. It's probably the weirdest book I've ever read, in that it plays a lot with the format. There's at least two stories being told simultaneously most of the time, which can get kind of overwhelming. Think of it like if a regular horror movie and a found footage horror movie had a bastard child together. And that bastard child was this book.

If you're looking for weird fiction in the form of podcasts, I'd direct your attention to Archive 81. For my money, it's the absolute BEST in weird fiction podcasts. It's currently 3 seasons, and each season the podcast changes. It's still the same overarching story / world, but the settings are way different.

Other notable podcasts include King Falls AM which has sort of a goofy x-files-if-they-were-a-radio-station vibe to it, featuring both a lot of good comedy, good songs (when they happen) and the occasional gutwrenching drama. The writing is good, the performance is amazing. You could also go for Darkest Night if you're into the idea of podcasts as a horror medium. They do excellent stuff, and their new season starts this October! They feature a few cameos from Michelle Visage and RuPaul if that's your thing (and these two amazing people feature more heavily in the other podcast by this company, Deadly Manners.

Going back to books, I suggest Laird Barron to anyone who likes horror and short stories. He has mixes of gritty noir and cosmic horror, and he's an absolute blast. The Imago Sequence is my favorite collection of his, but The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All is great as well. Laird Barron has also appeared in compilations outside his own, and was part of compiling the excellent modern Cthulhu short story collection, Autumn Cthulhu. This book is great if you like the idea of cosmic H.P. Lovecraft-esque horror, but don't so much like the gross racism that HPL had (and showed in his work).

If you like Slenderman and have time to burn, I'd suggest looking at Marble Hornets on YouTube. It has 87 "main" entries of varying (but mostly short) length, with a bunch of cryptic in-between shorts. It's one of the first Slenderman pieces of media, though they don't call him that. In Marble Hornets, he's called "The Operator". TBH it's sort of varying in quality (especially in the beginning), as I'm fairly sure the people who made it were film students at the time. As they go along, they have some amazing moments where they show off some really, really great editing skills. Of course, you could also buy the whole series on BluRay if that's your thing, but it's available for free on their YouTube channel.

u/AllOfTimeAndSpace · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

Hmm. Tough question. The Alchemist is the first one I ever read and it is very good. It's the one that most people have heard of and is all about following your dreams and how if you want something badly enough that the entire universe conspires in helping you to get it, so long as you aren't afraid of it when it comes. It's really quite extraordinary and I think the message and inspiration from that one is my favorite. But just for the sake of reading its not my favorite. There is a short description in that link.

I think my favorite is either Eleven Minutes or By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept. Eleven Minutes is about sex and love and its the setting is wondrous and the characters are fascinating. The story is a bit more modern than the story in the Alchemist so its a bit more fun to read, just to read. I think my favorite might be By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept though. It is a story about forgiveness and the writing is beautiful and the places he takes you are beautiful and the characters are all likeable most of the time and the story is interesting. I'd highly reccommend any of those. But they're all good.

Despite being more religious than most of his, I actually really loved The Fifth Mountain. Its one I bought without knowing anything about it and the story is almost biblical (still not preachy though) but it was more about choices and duty and honor and I really liked it. Not my favorite, but very good.

Sorry, I'm long winded when talking about his books lol.

u/Impudence · 3 pointsr/AskWomen

I really, really like Company by Max Barry about the absurdity that comes from internal beauracracy. his Jennifer Government is also excellent, but I didn't laugh quite so often.

Most of Terry Pratchett's discworld series is awesome. Some books are stronger than others and some people will like different character/storyline focuses than other ones. For example, I'm not huge on the Watch stuff, but I love so many others.

In the same vein, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaimen combine to make the super book Good Omens Which I think most everyone should give a read at least once.

Finally, author A. Lee Martinez has a very Pratchett like voice in his fantasy-esque novels which are always humorous and enjoyable

u/getElephantById · 2 pointsr/booksuggestions

If you want a straightforward page-turner, try The Descent by Jeff Long. Turns out, a species of hominid diverged from homo sapiens a long time ago, and continued to evolve deep below the earth, in underground caves and tunnels. All of a sudden they seem to be coming to the surface to attack people, and we've got to stop 'em. To paraphrase one of the characters, "we've declared war on hell".

If you want something more challenging, how about House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. It's hard to describe this book, but if you get a chance to pick it up in the bookstore, flip through the pages and look at how it's laid out. The fonts and layout change, some pages only have a couple of words on them, some pages are printed diagonally, others reversed. The book itself is a mystery about a mystery. It may be a horror story, or it may not be, but it will definitely give you an uneasy feeling when you're out there in the woods.

If you want a book that may inspire you while you're out there, pretty much anything by John Muir would do, but how about The Wild Muir: Twenty-Two of John Muir's Greatest Adventures. I haven't read this book, but it's a compilation of his writing and I'm sure I've read many of the stories that go into it. Muir is a great lover of and writer about nature, and had a lot of adventures to draw from.

Have fun on your trip!

u/G0ATLY · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

That canvas! If I had access to the rest of the needed supplies, that would definitely be something I'd want. Though I don't...

I have so many lists.. But here goes:

Super Sculpey is on my artsy list because I found you can alter vinyl figures with it and boil or lightly bake it! Further customizing, which I find neat.

Bravely Default is on my list because the demo got me hooked. I use to hate JRPG type games and turn-based games, but this one seems fun with a lot of extra's. (Like extra things to do.)

Purple bed set.. SO DARN ELEGANT.. I mean shhh. Basically purple and black go together so wonderfully and my bed is a mess of colors right now. xD Tiger stripes with green bedding and flowery and black pillow cases. Also a big purple pillow and a leopard print.

African Violet perfume oil is on my list because back when I would go to the flea market there was a man and lady who sold essential oils. African violet was such a mesmerizing scent. I had it all over my room, the house.. Basically anywhere it would smell divine at.

Hard choice between House Of Leaves and I Am Legend. Both are books I want to read because I love the reviews. I generally go for non-fiction, horror books. Both seem to be right for the reading. I want to be scared or intrigued! Hooked into a story.

Coloring book... because I am a kid at heart!

Magnetic cubes! I want these because the original circular buckyballs/neocubes are always WAY to high priced. It's an alternative, and I love magnetic things.

Nubian goat light switch cover because.. goats! I love nubian goats and that's, that! (Also love just about any type of goats..)

Daemon tarot cards because I am fascinated with anything to do with demons, or entities. Generally anything tarot card or fortune related also. More so things that are evil, because people tend to shy away.. While I go towards them.

Last but not least...

I'm such a sucker for Norman Reedus... I want it to hang on my wall. I even have a frame waiting for it. (Thank's WalMart.) Got 2 frames for the price of one!

u/snarktastic_snowfox · 1 pointr/gameofthrones

I personally love GRRM's writing, repetitive phrases and all (and I wouldn't call myself an inexperienced reader at all). I am absolutely absorbed in the world he's created and I can safely say it's my second favorite series of all time.

But if it's recommendations you're after, I just started Joe Abercrombie's first book, "The Blade Itself." Very interesting so far in that you really aren't sure that you're cheering for any of the protagonists, and I hear the character development is sublime as the books progress.

Also, the Dresden Files (Jim Butcher) are my absolute favorite series. Talk about character development! He does a great job blending sci-fi and fantasy from all over and adds in some really likeable (and snarky!) characters.

And cheers to Redwall! I miss those books. :)

u/supra621 · 1 pointr/django

For HTML/CSS/JavaScript/jQuery, Jon Duckett's books are pretty good. I linked the set because individually they're about $23, and together it's $28. His is the only JavaScript book in my library. I found his books to be well-ordered, and he describes things in really simple ways, though the book layout feels like reading House of Leaves until you get used to it. Both books have made for great references, though free HTML/CSS tutorials are quite abundant, and I leaned on Google more than the book for learning those.

I can't recommend the Django book that I started with, "Mastering Django: Core" by Nigel George, as much of the advanced topics were no better explained than the official documentation. If you're using Django 2.0, forget it. This, and other Django books I've looked at, don't go into any front-end details, seemingly from a belief that "writing Python code and designing HTML are two different disciplines" (quoted straight from the book I linked). The official docs and web tutorials have served me better for bringing Django to the browser.

Aside from d3.js, I'm only using basic JS and jQuery. d3.js was a very specific use-case for the data I'm working with, as it excels at making graphs and charts using SVG. If that sounds like something you're doing, Interactive Data Visualization for the Web was pretty clear for d3.js. Note that d3.js only uses a minimal amount of traditional JavaScript, so do consider your project needs before dropping $40 on it.

The basics of JS and jQuery will go a long way, even without react/angular/vue.js. Just like my first statement about HTML/CSS, I'd say learn the other frameworks when you can no longer do what you want with JS/jQuery, or when a framework is going to save you time.

Sorry for the wall of text - hope that helps!

u/malakhgabriel · 7 pointsr/Catacombs

What other reddits do you surf?
I moderate /r/RATS, /r/Louisiana and /r/OpenChristian. I also read a lot in /r/SquaredCircle, /r/SRSBusiness, /r/SRSDiscussion, /r/polyamory, /r/woahdude and I've been dipping back into /r/Christianity a bit lately as well.

What do you do in your free time?
I read. I reddit. I smoke my pipe and drink my cocktails. I watch pro wrestling. I cuddle. I toy around with making jewelry (trying hammered wire recently) or playing with polymer clay. I'm considering this thing they call "ex ur size" or some such. It involves riding on a bike that goes nowhere. I understand I can read or watch TV while I do it, so I figured what the heck.


What do you read?
Right now I'm going back and forth between The History of White People and A Canticle for Leibowitz. Before that I read Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. the most powerful book I've read in the last few months was Silence by Shusaku Endo. You should read it. And then you should read Lamb because you'll need something a bit more jovial. But not until after you've sat with it a while.

What do you watch?
Ring of Honor Wrestling, WWE, Leverage, Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother.

Do you Blog?
Yup, though not regularly enough to develop any sort of readership.

Do you game?
I just got my first console since the original NES when I was in junior high. It's a Wii. Every once in a while I'll play Mario Kart of do something on the Wii Fit.

Do you play a musical instrument/sing?
I make noise periodically. I want to do more.

What are your favorite movies?
Absolute number one favorite? Hedwig And the Angry Inch. The only tattoo I have is from that movie. Other favorites include The Big Lebowski, Pump Up The Volume, The Wrestler, Shortbus, Dangerous Beauty, Walk The Line.

What is some favorite music?
My absolute favorite band is Over the Rhine. Behind them, tied for second place, you'll find Boris, the Cure, Leonard Cohen and Johnny Cash. Also up there are Kris Kristofferson, Mischief Brew, the CrimethInc band called Requiem (there are lots of bands called Requiem), The New Orleans Bingo Show. The list goes on for days.

u/reveurenchante · 1 pointr/SuicideWatch

I totally understand the fear of the unknown after death. I was raised atheist so I often battle with those fears. It led to anxiety, which I now take medication for, but I also found a few things to help me. I love cats and animals, so I read icanhascheezburger.com and cuteoverload.com every day, or when I feel like I need a pick me up, I also read a lot and do crafts, which can help my mood. It sounds all very cheesy, but honestly these things help me when I'm feeling anxious.

If you want a humorous book to read, I highly recommend "The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal".... it's pretty hilarious, and thought provoking. find it here

u/randomneopian · 20 pointsr/nosleep

You have so many good stories on your list, I'm excited to read the ones I haven't heard of! May I also recommend a few stories? /r/nosleep was my first subreddit and I spent a long time here before making a reddit account. These are just a few off the top of my head. Not sure if this is appropriate for this post (maybe you're trying to bring attention to posts which others may not have read, some in my list were/are very popular) but these stories are just amazing imo. I don't remember enough details from each to do a good job summarizing them (it's been years for the first two), but all these stories left lasting impressions on me and I would definitely read each one again.

u/robdizzledeets · 1 pointr/gameofthrones

I also hear The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie is pretty genre breaking and similar to the "grittiness" of ASOIAF. I read the first chapter of Best Served Cold (not from the trilogy but same world) and liked it so far.



EDIT: (added link to Amazon) I would also like to plug The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. I enjoyed the political maneuvering of Dalinar and his son, the 'fuck yeah' moments of Kaladin, the worldbuilding of Shallan's sketches and various interludes, the neat stormlight Lashing/soulcasting magic system, interesting pace, and overall excellent quality of the book. I don't think it had the same tone as Martin but I enjoyed it far more than Dance. Just my $.02!

u/ChuckDeezNuts · 4 pointsr/Psychonaut

I feel you. I'm twenty and in college and often wonder what I'm doing in life. Don't worry though, it's completely normal to feel this way. Here are a few suggestions that have helped me:

  • Try not to smoke weed everyday. I can't tell from your post how often you smoke, but when I smoke everyday, especially multiple times a day everyday, I get depressed, and lose my ambitious nature. I never realize it has happened until I take a break for a week. I know sometimes it feels like the only good part of the day, but if you withhold from it you will find other things that interest you. I don't know if this even applies to you, but just give only smoking on the weekends a shot.

  • Read the book Ishmael by Daniel Quinn Seriously man, even if you only read a book every 5 years, make it this one. The author feels the exact same sentiment as you and I, and is able to articulate feelings that have lingered inside me since I was a boy into beautifully worded thoughts. It's amazingly entertaining too. Give it a shot.

    Whether you take those two points to heart or not, (I really hope you read the book,) just try to remember this: the fact that you were born was an astronomically unlikely event. That being said, why waste it doing anything that doesn't, in the short or long run, make you happy? Look at everyday as a gift; I know, it is easier to say that than to do it. Don't be too worried about the stage you are in right now, you're just questioning, just remember that you're looking for answers, and when you find the answers to your questions, use them.
u/Salanmander · 4 pointsr/OpenChristian

I recommended this over on /r/Chrsitianity the other day, but I think it's more universally appropriate for this crowd. If you're interested in something non-traditional, I would whole-heartedly recommend Lamb: the Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. It's a fiction that imagines Jesus left Israel during the years we don't have many stories about to go find the wise men that found him when he was young, and try to figure out what the heck it means to be the son of God. It shows him interacting with other religious traditions, and learning about God through them. It's a fun read, and enjoys imagining various Bible stories in ways that match the original text, but not what we assume about them.

It is fiction, and doesn't make any claims to truth, but it's thought-provoking. I highly recommend it to any Christian who can stand to not take the religion too seriously.

u/JustHereForTheTips · 1 pointr/cigars

'Einstein's Dreams' by Alan Lightman.

It's a fictional book that itemizes Einstein's dreams leading up to his creation of the theory of relativity. It's a really fun read and gets your head thinking about time and what time is. It's short, with each "dream" lasting only a handful of pages. It's been one of my favorite books to come back to anytime I can.

You can read reviews on Amazon as well as read the first few pages. Clicky for Amazon.

Once you read this you'll probably find that you want to read more of Lightman's books in the hopes of finding other really enjoyable reads. While his other books are good, they're not the same. I haven't found anything that's quite like this book so far, which is a shame. Would love to hear suggestions from folks who have read this and found other books similarly enjoyable.

u/Ilsensine · 1 pointr/zombies

Here are some off the top of my head I can remember liking:

Day by Day Armageddon: The first book is amazing and it trails from there.

The Stain Trilogy: Again the first one is awesome, then they fall fast to the point I stopped reading the third one for a couple weeks, before I finished.

The Passage: A Novel This is a huge book, that spans a large timeline. Like most modern "huge" books there is some slow reading and some boring parts but over all I liked it, there is a second one, but I haven't started it yet.

I know some will think the Stain and Passage don't belong here due to the fact they are not zombies, but if you want stories about monsters that eat people and society collapses, then that's what they offer.

LZR-1143: Within, and LZR-1143: Perspectives are two free short stories that are intros (bait) for the real series of LZR-1143 books. I just finished Within last night and after reading the two free books, the rest of the LZR series will be next.

Sawkill Stories: The Silver Tower This is another free intro book, I liked the story and the writing style, and will get around to reading the main book, I hesitate because there are plenty of typos in the free book, and the reviews of the main state the same thing.

u/Cdresden · 4 pointsr/printSF

You can't go wrong with Frederik Pohl's Gateway. It's an older classic that won all the best novel awards.

For more recent SF, Hugh Howey's Wool Omnibus is outstanding.

In fantasy, I've really enjoyed Joe Abercrombie this past year. Good characters, good plots, and good action scenes. The Blade Itself is the first of his series...all his books take place in the same fantasy world.

u/at-night_mostly · 1 pointr/suggestmeabook

Bit late, but seems we have similar taste, so here are some things I really love:

House of Leaves - not a straightforward read, but it's worth sticking with it; the labyrinthine structure of the narrative mirrors that of the house, and is an overwhelming presence, a character in its own right. The story itself is ambiguous, fragmented, ultimately unresolved, and stubbornly avoids any traditional narrative satisfaction, an exercise in open-ended uncertainty, so if you crave narrative closure, this probably isn't for you. But if you can tolerate the ambiguity, it's a book you can get thoroughly lost in.

Good Omens - since you're a Pratchett fan, you've probably read this collaboration with Neil Gaiman. If you haven't, you're in for a real treat - one of his best.

Anything by Phil Rickman. The Merrily Watkins books are essentially supernatural detective stories, based on the traditional folklore of the borderlands between England and Wales, with a little exorcism on the side. My favourites are his early books, especially The Man in the Moss and December.

Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury classic evoking the fears and freedoms of childhood. Wonderfully and weirdly atmospheric. If you like it, you should also read Dandelion Wine - not genre, but in Dandelion Wine he perfects his evocation of childhood, and personally, I think it's his best book. The realities of life, death and mortality, along with its wonder and mystery, seen with the clarity of childhood. And none of the usual rose-tinted 'innocence'.


u/dharmabum28 · 9 pointsr/infp

Start here for some cool entry-level stuff. There are many more sites like it. Do some research on what skills you need to also score some jobs that are work from home, or that give you lots of free time, or that generally just seem like a "wow I can get paid to do that?" type job. And just assign yourself homework. Even if it takes years, eventually you'll be competent enough to apply to some things from self education, or otherwise maybe find a more traditional educational path the get you where you want to be. You have your entire life to find a niche to fill in this thing we call society, and you may find some niches where people are just like you--doing what they do, but living for life more than anything. It's about the journey, and maybe you'll find that niche at age 59, but between now and then you'll have some awesome memories about all the trial and error, experimentation, exploration, and realizations. Just poke around, see what happens!

EDIT: I'd totally recommend some fun, INFP fitting books also--not work related, but more "how to fit into the world related". The first one I finished last week and it makes me think about how society can be all a game, and extremely hard to escape from, even if you go to the fringe. The second two I read one summer, 8 years ago, and they completely shaped my worldview and decision-making about who I want to be.

My suggestions:

u/trexinanf14 · 1 pointr/Christianity

I would absolutely agree on the NIV as a good general purpose bible, however there are some alternatives out there depending on what you are looking for. I would highly recommend either The Book of God by Walter Wangerin or The Message by Eugene Peterson, both of which are a re-imagining (read: they should not be used as a reference!) of the biblical stories, the former as a novel and the latter as a bible where the stories are told using language you or I would.

I also greatly support using a study bible, the good ones will give helpful context or reference to the stories you read, or you can just go all the way academic and grab a copy of the Oxford Annotated Bible (but from the sounds of it you wouldn't want that).

Although workingmouse, I would disagree that the KJV is the go-to bible these days for protestants, largely for the reasons you gave. Speaking of definitely not kosher, has anyone read the book Lamb? It's a pretty humorous read, but you really need to be ready to hold nothing sacred for a few hundred pages. =)

Good luck in your search OP!

u/hAND_OUT · 7 pointsr/ChapoTrapHouse

I'll add my two cents since this is something I've put some thought into, and will point to some other works you can check out.

I'll go a step beyond McCarthy here by saying I'm a fan of Zapffe's idea that self-awareness might be a mistake, a evolutionary trap:

>Such a ‘feeling of cosmic panic’ is pivotal to every human mind. Indeed, the race appears destined to perish in so far as any effective preservation and continuation of life is ruled out when all of the individual’s attention and energy goes to endure, or relay, the catastrophic high tension within.

>The tragedy of a species becoming unfit for life by overevolving one ability is not confined to humankind. Thus it is thought, for instance, that certain deer in paleontological times succumbed as they acquired overly-heavy horns. The mutations must be considered blind, they work, are thrown forth, without any contact of interest with their environment.

>In depressive states, the mind may be seen in the image of such an antler, in all its fantastic splendour pinning its bearer to the ground.

I am very interested in the historical cases of feral children, and the reports of the attempts to re-integrate them after years away from other people. It seems there is a age past which the mind loses a certain plasticity of infancy and learning speech is no longer possible. Though of course the cases are rare and the reports often hobbled by the perceptions of their time, it is also of great interest to me that these children appear to stay at about the same general level of intelligence as the animals that raised them for the rest of their lives (if they were rescued after a certain developmental period). I wonder about the relationship between language and self-awareness and to what degree they depend upon each other. You could learn so much with just a handful of EXTREMELY UNETHICAL experiments.

Other fun notes:

Peter Watt's Blindsight is a recent sci-fi novel with aliens who work entirely "subconsciously" (without self-awareness) and are able to be much more efficient as a result.

People who speak languages with more colors are able to distingush more colors

There is a ton of interesting work out there that has been done about the ways that limited language can lead to limited thought, if you're interested.

I also recommend The Spell Of The Sensuous if this is interesting to you. One of my favorite books. Hopefully we can get to it in the book club some day.

u/Naish23 · 2 pointsr/promos

I'm not getting any presents this year, but if you want to give something. Then i'd like something like this. But thats just selfish thinking of me expecting that 1. You'd wanna pay so much. and 2. That you're going to choose me over that Clean water well idea. But if you don't want to buy me a wacom, i'd also be happy with just a good book or something. I heard House of leaves is good.

Even if you dont pick me or something, I just want to say you are a great guy and props to you for this kind of christmas spirit. This song is for you.

u/cyanicenine · 2 pointsr/childfree

Glad you liked it. Echopraxia is the sequal to his book Blindsight, which is a story about aliens, vampires and post singularity humans. Because Peter Watts is a biologist and only a somewhat recent author his sci fi writings reflect that. His perspective as a biologist yields impressive insights, and surprisingly beautiful prose, often philosophical in nature yet somehow not preachy.

Starfish is also highly enjoyable if you like deep ocean stuff. Peter Watts does what great sci fi authors are capable of, they take known concepts turn them on their head and allow you to look at them from a completely new perspective.

u/neje · 1 pointr/books

When the Lights go out Tanith Lee was a book that made a very strong impression on me.

The tombs of Atuan by LeGuin was another book I kept on rereading as a teen.

The Woman who Loved Reindeer by M.A. Pierce I only read once as it got knicked from my library. Over 15 years later I still carry it with me, or at least the feeling I got from from it.

I'm also slightly thinking The Darkangel trilogy by Pierce as well. Another series that got read, re-read and re-re-read.

Come to think of it, I think a lot of the books that really got to me as a teen were the fantasy starring alienated but strong teens and women.

Nowadays I think one of my favourite books are The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson, which, aside from being absolutely awesome scifi, I guess also touches on the topic of strong but misfitted women.

u/tombibim · 2 pointsr/zombies

World War Z was good, but I found Day by Day Armageddon (and its sequel) and Ex-Heroes to draw me in a bit more. I don't read very often at all, but I could not put down those last two books.

I liked Day by Day because it was somewhat of a first person, diary type book. The second was pretty good too.

Ex-Heroes was good because it was a bit different. It revolved around super heroes trying to deal with the zombie apocalypse and protecting the last of the normal people. Of course, not all super heroes are immune to the zombie disease. A new one called Ex-Patriots just came out, which I'm going to start soon.

u/bitassassin · 1 pointr/books

Books that changed the way I look at things, and thus changed my life:

Light by M. John Harrison Helped me understand that my feelings of smallness and impotence were pointless. In the greater scheme of things there is always two things: Someone better-off than you, and Someone worse-off than you. Whining about it helps no one.

Crank by Ellen Hopkins Helped me understand my mother's drug abuse. Not condone it of course, but understand it. Within six months of me reading this book, my Mother actually started to get clean. Maybe she found it in my room or something.

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski Through this I learned the true power of fiction. This book makes movies look bad. It is the biggest must-read on my list.

Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking by CHristopher Hadnagy taught me how better to interpret my actions and the actions of others, and in general made me a more observant person. Barring the manipulative side of things, (which it helps you notice as other people do it or you do subconsciously) it helps you understand social interaction on a deeper level than just words.

A Child's First Book of Virtues by Emily Hunter

I'd have to say that this was one of the single most important books of my childhood. It taught me all the important bits. This book was gifted to me right after I learned to read, and I am quite frankly a better person because of it. It helped form the model by which I judged my own character.

And of course a set of the Encyclopedia Britannica and Compton's interactive encyclopedia.

Buh I like reading.

u/everythingswan · 3 pointsr/GetMotivated

The Road Less Traveled
I think parents would find more useful information here, but I read it when I was 20(no kids) and found it pretty interesting.

The Alchemist
A quick read, I have felt more at ease and optimistic about life since I read it. Both actually have religious themes--didn't bother a godless man such as myself though.

Motivation to be more creative? Poke the Box by Seth Godin
I have quite a few business-related recommendations, but watching or reading Seth gets my brain going everytime.

u/Callicles-On-Fire · 7 pointsr/printSF

Interesting - but a "strong sign" of what? A strong sign that it is not a good book, or worthy of award recognition? There is a strong horror element to the book that would turn off those who dislike disturbing reading. Maybe 20%? Regardless, whatever we might suppose "worthy" to be, I think we can agree that it means something other than popular.

For comparison, Blindsight by Peter Watts is often trotted out as one of the best in the sci-fi horror genre. It has a similar profile - arguably slightly less positive, with 29% at 3 stars or fewer.

I'd say they are somewhat similar novels - well written, imaginative, original takes, genre-bending, and just not everyone's cup of tea.

u/whole-hearted · 1 pointr/Christianity

I think this is why i asked in the beginning what you're expecting. Especially if you're comparing yourself to others, you may be expecting more than is reality. Just because people say they have a relationship, doesn't mean it's anything more than their own feelings or imagination playing tricks on them. So, don't rely too heavily on 'mountaintop moments' or the right 'feeling' to come along.

Do you like to read? If so, I know an awesome book that goes through a man's experience as he begins to unlearn all he'd learned about what life is truly 'all about'. It's sharing a Taoist, or Buddhist thought of seeing the trip, the present moment, as what's important rather than the destination. A relationship with God looks much the same. If you focus on the feelings or the enlightened moments, you'll miss the whole experience of going through life with Him!

The book is called "The Way of the Peaceful Warrior" by Dan Millman It's kind of an autobiography of sorts.

If that doesn't tickle your fancy, another book that helped me quite a bit with my relationship with God was a rather popular one: "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho

u/WinterBlastard · 3 pointsr/gamingsuggestions

I personally consider the Bioshock series my favorite, and I absolutely loved Metro 2033 and Last Light, and I recommend you play both. The game isn't all that similar to Bioshock, but it shares a claustrophobic feel and the constant dangers that lurk around each corner. Metro 2033 does have a stealth element to it, while Bioshock doesn't really, so if you don't like stealth to some extent, I would stay away. Either way, both of the metro games are amazing and have good stories.

Also, you said you wanted to learn more about Bioshock. If you haven't already, I highly recommend the book Bioshock: Rapture. It gives some more insight to what went into building Rapture, and I found it very interesting because I also wanted to learn more about the games.

EDIT: I also would recommend Singularity to people who like the Bioshock games. It is heavily inspired by it and is in a very similar vein.

u/RealityApologist · 4 pointsr/askphilosophy

Peter Watts' Blindsight and *Echopraxia are among the best philosophically-oriented novels I've ever read. As long as you're comfortable with fairly hard-core science fiction, they're very worth reading. They touch on issues in everything from ethics and political philosophy to artificial intelligence and philosophy of mind. They're great fun, and very, very smartly written. Blindsight is up for free here.

u/danielvmoore · 2 pointsr/MGTOW

> I'm wrestling with finding meaning in my life and I know there's no one solution like traveling, but for some reason I feel like if I don't try this now I never will. Any advice is appreciated.

If you're MGTOW, there's really no reason you can't travel a year or ten years from now. If you're just looking to support yourself, you can live obscenely cheap for the rest of your life. Money should never be a problem.

My two cents - meaning is internal, not external. It doesn't matter where you go or what people say to you if you don't grapple with hard questions and take the time to think. So my suggestion is to get a few books, ignore everything job-related for a while (if your field's in-demand, getting back on the grind is easy, especially if you've worked internships), live cheap, and get reading.

Not sure where to start? I think a great, accessible introduction to philosophy and thinking about important issues is George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones. Of course, if there's books you've been meaning to read, start with those.

I wish you well on your journey, brother.

u/JustTerrific · 3 pointsr/suggestmeabook

Despite the fact that it's got comedic elements, there are plenty of parts in John Dies At The End that are pretty wonderfully creepy.

House of Leaves always needs mentioning, it works its magic on numerous levels.

The absolute scariest ghost story I've ever read, and I never hear anyone talking about it, is Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel.

You can't go wrong with Stephen King, but if you haven't cracked into his books yet it can be a daunting task, he has a huge bibliography. For me, IT, The Shining, Salem's Lot, and Pet Sematary are some of the scariest, plus pretty much any of his short story collections are golden. In fact, any one of his short story collections might be the best place to start with King, I would recommend Skeleton Crew.

And while I wouldn't necessarily categorize it as strict "horror", one of the books that's scared me the most is Alan Moore's graphic novel From Hell. It's an absolute beast (and it's pretty much nothing like the film adaptation with Johnny Depp, so don't let that color your perceptions).

u/_brendan_ · 6 pointsr/Fantasy

Well since you've read the Night Angel Trilogy you should definately read Brent Weeks next book 'The Black Prism'. I Absolutely loved it! Its the first book in the Lightbringer Series, only catch is he's only written one so far.
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Prism-Lightbringer-Brent-Weeks/dp/0316068136/ref=pd_sim_b_3

Another awesome series is Peter Bretts Demon Cycle series, check out book 1 'The Warded Man' again awesome read.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Warded-Man-Peter-Brett/dp/0345518705/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331693550&sr=8-1

And lastly since
both the series ive suggested so far are incomplete thought id at least suggest a completed trilogy for you to check out, Joe Abercrombie's First Law series are an excellent read as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Blade-Itself-First-Law-Book/dp/159102594X/ref=pd_sim_b_5

hope that helps

u/leafyhouse · 2 pointsr/Lovecraft

Like other people said, Call of Cthulhu is the only one with Cthulhu. It's a great read, but kinda fun to save for when you've read more.

The first story I read was Shadow over Innsmouth, which is fantastic but long. The Hound isn't his best, but it's my favorite. /u/Zaldarr said Dagon, which I agree with. I'd wait a while before Mountains of Madness, as it does kind of take some of the mystery out.

His most famous, outside of CoC, is The Music of Eric Zann and Pickman's Model.

This edition of his short stories is neat because it has a lot of his stories and just looks cool. I use it as a coffee table book.

u/ANGARRC · 1 pointr/KingkillerChronicle

I recommend the book Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell to anyone who likes deep fantasy. This book, however, is really not for you if you love action scenes, or descriptive violence. This book has a big, big weird world. It's influenced by "faerie" stuff and lore. It's not a black and white morality book like a lot of fantasy.

Mostly, it's totally interesting, and weird, and funny, British dry-humoury. I recommend it if you like fantasy, but not necessarily traditional tropes of sword-carrying, dragon-slaying heroes.

EDIT: Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jonathan-Strange-Mr-Norrell-Novel/dp/0765356155
The first review is pretty helpful to get a gauge on how you'll like it (or not!).

u/FarmerGiles_ · 5 pointsr/Lovecraft

Yep, I enjoy looking for unique editions -especially for horror and weird fiction. Here are some cool editions in the basic price range shown above:

  1. The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Nice cheap edition. Honestly, this is the best thing about Lovecraft and Weird Fiction anthologies -there are sooo many. And many cheap editions.

  2. Great Tales of Horror Edition A bit more expensive, but sweet looking book.

  3. Necronomicon Edition. Again way expensive... but, there is a paperback that also looks nice for around 18$

  4. The Mammoth book of Cthulhu This is a collection of Lovecraft inspired stories, and is not authored by your Faithful Uncle Theobald (HPL). However. there is no need for cannon purity, in my opinion. And what a gorgeous, very cheap book

  5. I'm adding this anthology: Awaiting Strange Gods to my book self. Though it is more non-Lovecraft Lovecraft.

  6. For no reason, other than pure random wonderful weirdness, check out wilum pugmire on Youtube.


    Edit: trying to get format correct.

u/specialk16 · 0 pointsr/gaming

This is precisely with I think places like /v/ have much better conversations than /r/gaming in general. Whenever a movie-videogame thread appears nobody goes into this "better-than-thou" attitude. Everybody knows it's a joke, everyone does it for fun. Nobody is trying to appear all smart and intellectual because they are repeating what's already obvious.

It really is fun to see people speculate about which actors would play which characters, for example.

Also, Bioshock:Rapture is proof enough that quality adaptions are possible as long as you have talented people behind it.

u/brijjen · 1 pointr/books

Start with shorter stories - much like running or anything else, there's an element of having to build yourself up to reading something longer like a novel. You could also try reading books that connect to the video games/movies/shows/etc that you like. It can be hard to get into a book if you don't care about the characters - but if they're from something you're already familiar with, it can be easier. If you're a fan of Bioshock, for example, there's a great book about how Rapture came to be.

Good luck! :)

u/prim3y · 1 pointr/everymanshouldknow

I got your list right here:

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - great story about finding your way in life, destiny, etc. One of my personal favorites and a real life changer for me personally (read it when I was 14, very impressionable)

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominigue Bauby - memoirs of a magazine editor who has a stroke and goes from being a hot shot playboy to being paralyzed. He loses all motor function and the whole book is written by him blinking out the letters. Despite it all he has a razor wit and such a positive outlook it really makes you think about your own life and what is important to appreciate.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig - kind of an interesting book that gives you a historical breakdown of philosophy all through a somewhat biographical story about a motorcycle trip with his son. Has some really insightful views on what is quality and what is the point of education. Highly recommend for anyone just starting college.

Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman by Richard P Feynman - Autobiography/memoir of one of the greatest minds to ever live. From learning how to pick locks while working on the manhattan project, experimenting with acid, and learning the bongos. Dr. Feynman has such a passion for life, science, and learning it's contagious. Seriously, just see how excited he gets about rubberbands.

u/megaanmaarie · 3 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

C'mon...gimme. I've wanted this book for a while now, haha.

As for the dream gift, these would be pretty awesome.

You two look absolutely amazing! :D But really, you two are just simply amazing anyways!

u/devianaut · 7 pointsr/gaming

might I recommend the excellent bioshock rapture by john shirley?! believe it or not, the audiobook is quite good as well; narrator seems to shift his accent to mold to each decade the chapters take place in. i truly enjoyed both mediums. great prequel story to jump into, as long as you've played some of the games.

u/johnnyboy182 · 1 pointr/PS4

Many people have already answered but I’ll just chime in that the Necronomicon is what I have and it’s great. Haven’t read all the stories yet though. Also Barnes and Noble have multiple (faux) leather bound Lovecraft collections.

Someone elsewhere in the thread recommended Uzumaki by Junji Ito. I’d also recommend Tomie by the same author. It’s not necessarily cosmic horror but it’s definitely an interesting take on horror and it was his first work. Both Uzumaki and Tomie can be found on amazon in a full hardback collection as well as some of his other works.

u/lacisghost · 2 pointsr/books

How about Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. The birth of Jesus has been well chronicled, as have his glorious teachings, acts, and divine sacrifice after his thirtieth birthday. But no one knows about the early life of the Son of God, the missing years -- except Biff, the Messiah's best bud, who has been resurrected to tell the story in the divinely hilarious yet heartfelt work "reminiscent of Vonnegut and Douglas Adams"

http://www.amazon.com/Lamb-Gospel-According-Christs-Childhood/dp/0380813815

u/sumdr · 2 pointsr/exmuslim

So the main problem is that these arguments are just bullshit. Islam isn't true. None of the apologetics are correct, it's all just a way that people rationalize an irrational belief to themselves and sanitize its flaws for others.

> The first argument was that Islam is misinterpreted by the majority of Muslims, because the Quran is being taken literally and out of context.

Bruv, that's what the Qur'an tells you to do. This is the Book about which there is no doubt and such. It is correct that not every verse can be taken at face value -- for example, most of the "kill the disbelievers" verses actually do have "but also seek terms of peace" clauses nearby, and where they don't, it's an honest reading of the text to say that they were speaking only to specific battles conducted in Muhammad's lifetime. For the most part, though, the Qur'an intends itself to be read literally.

> The second was that there are many laws that cannot be practiced in a modern society (i.e. cutting hands of thieves, killing apostates, women's testimonial's being half of a man), and that they were only meant for their time.

Total bullshit. The cutting hands verse is followed immediately by "and if you don't actually use this, you are a disbeliever". The occasion of revelation for the "those who don't judge by what Allah has revealed" verses was a time when the Jews decided to "adapt to the times" by not stoning adulterers anymore. Muhammad got mad at them for not taking the Torah literally enough and made them stone her. That story is in Muslim (previous reference) and in Bukhari. Also, 'Umar says that he fears a day when Muslims will quit stoning. Hell yes, Muslims are supposed to support that stuff, according to the Qur'an and the sunnah. Unambiguously.

> The third argument was that the Quran has been preserved and we still have a full copy of the first ever Quran, and it's the same as a modern Quran with the exception of the addition of diacritics.

Not really. There was disagreement between Abu Bakr and 'Umar about whether the Qur'an should be collected at all. Muhammad himself used to forget some verses, so it's unlikely that the verbal transmission of Qur'an (and hadith, for that matter) was as solid as Muslims would like to think. There were many differences among the early copies, so 'Uthman fixed it by standardizing to one language and burning the rest of them. Perhaps the Arabic Qur'an hasn't changed since then, but it's most unlikely that that revision was actually exact.

> The fourth arguments was that the Quran had many scientific facts that could never have been realized by people back then (i.e. water gives life to beings, the earth is round), and this proves that the Quran was written by something divine.

This is the bullest of all the shit. The Qur'an also says that God uses shooting stars to fight space demons. Mountains don't keep the earth from shaking, they are just the earth lumping up when the plates collide -- Muhammad's people thought the earth was flat (like a carpet!) so it needed mountains to keep it from blowing away. While there's not a smoking gun of a scientific statement that's like... only wrong, these "scientific miracles" are always super vague, and if God wanted to prove Himself correct, He could have.

None of these scientific statements were unknown at the time -- they were either (1) immediately observable (2) repeated from the knowledge of ancient Greeks or (3) "written in" by later people. Like "oh man, the Qur'an says iron was 'sent down!' And iron can only come from nuclear fusion in stars! It's a miracle!" Nah. They didn't know about nuclear fusion.

If you think about how a man who did believe in a flat earth with the sun revolving around it would explain things... He'd explain things the way they're explained in the Qur'an. This guy breaks it down pretty well -- I started it at a point where he discusses a hysterical pair of commentaries on the "rising-place of the sun" verse.

> The fifth argument was the Quran was written in such a way that no way a human (the prophet specifically, since he was illiterate) could have done it, only a modern computer would have been able to make in its structure.

This is really dumb. First off, poetry battles between illiterates was like. A big thing that the Arabs of the time did around campfires and stuff. Think about how much beautiful gospel music (and lyrics) was written by American slaves during the 1800's.

Even then, any author's style is mostly inimitable, and these stylistic fingerprints are fairly precise. This is how biblical scholars have cast doubt on the authorship of books of the bible traditionally attributed to the apostle Paul. So whether the Qur'an was written by God or Muhammad, it would be hard to convincingly reconstruct its style...

...Not to mention that this is such a subjective claim. What the hell does it mean to "produce something like" the Qur'an? What would it mean to produce something like Shakespeare? Who would measure it?

This is an untestable hypothesis, and can't be given real consideration. Either way, I've roundly disproved this claim with my own construction.

Also... I'd argue that William Faulkner's writings show a brilliance of composition far beyond that of the Qur'an. House of Leaves, by Mark Danielewski, is also a masterpiece of form far more sophisticated than the Qur'an.

Like yeah... The Qur'an has poetic bits, interesting arguments, some chunks of good moral teaching, but... Overall, it just doesn't get the Nobel Prize for literature. Thousands of people have memorized the Qur'an, either because they were forced to or because they thought it would get them mad pussy in heaven. How many more thousands have memorized Shakespeare's works purely because they thought it was well-written and interesting? I like Abdullah Sameer's reflection on this.

u/Sleep45 · 1 pointr/books

I am glad I am able to expose many of you to these as I have been. If I had to briefly describe them I would have to say satisfyingly dark, plenty of violence and great fight scenes. The characters is what makes this stand out though. Hate them or love them they are truly unique and greatly enjoyable, the perspectives change from chapter to chapter so you never get bored. Everyone is out for themselves and there are no good guys, many betrayals and twists. This is truly the most entertaining books I have read.

Here is the amazon link for those interested in more reviews.

After the trilogy takes place there are 2 stand alone novels taking place in the same world. The first roughly 4 years after the trilogy titled Best Served Cold, the second roughly 8 years after the trilogy is The Heroes.


If you are someone that has been searching for that truly violent epic that doesn't hold back, with a cast of amazing characters and a non stop energy that just flows through the entire set then check these out, It will not disappoint!

u/Straightouttaangmar · 5 pointsr/harrypotter

i mean, i say give the books another shot because i can't imagine enjoying the movies but not the books. but to each their own. if you don't want to go down that road, what do you mean things that might interest you? do you mean in the harry potter universe? if so, the other stuff is fun but the original seven are her magnum opus IMO and to get my fix, i had to go outside the Harry Potter universe.

some books that I just inhaled and read in one sitting will sound super corny, but...

  • The Sookie Stackhouse novels. Wow. I am embarrassed at how fast I read these books. Edward Cullen can screw off. Eric is way hotter.
  • the Da Vinci Code. Not the best writing. not the most factual history. don't care I blasted through that book.
  • Ready Player One

    If you just want some good fantasy that isn't just Lord of the Rings rip offs, these are the ones I like.

  • Gormenghast
  • King Killer Chronicles
  • Wheel of Time
  • Game of Thrones
  • The Blade Itself
  • The Crystal Cave
u/cphuntington97 · 1 pointr/trumpet

I have so many complicated emotions reading your post. I've been trying to think of what to write, and I don't know what.

I went to school to be a music teacher, and tried teaching several times, and never got positive feedback. I even took some graduate school classes. I'll never forget one of my instructors saying, "that was a great lesson, but I could never see you actually doing this..." Whatever sort of demeanor or manner teachers have, I don't have it. Education is a very passionate matter for me, so it's really tough to just let it go, but I don't know how else to handle it. I've never had a positive review, it feels really stressful to work in a classroom environment... I guess it's just not my thing. I feel really sad when I think about teaching. It sounds like you've been a lot more successful as a musician than I have been as a teacher, but maybe I can empathize somewhat; in the way you find the industry intimidating, and the work environment uninviting, I feel very similarly about the education industry. But your sentiment that it's not for me but I wish it was - that's exactly how I feel about teaching.

So I decided I want to be a singer/songwriter, as crazy as that sounds, because music is the only thing that means anything to me, and I know I'd regret pursuing anything else, even if it means taking a vow of poverty.

While I'm working toward that, though, I've been working at my aunt's law firm, and I have the luxury of a single family home, which is a great place for an acoustic musician to live. Tax breaks are in your favor (even though I don't actually think this is a good social policy...). If you're really serious about playing more, consider a cheap single family home on the fringes of town.

If it's any consolation about playing, I feel like I can pick up my horn and play with nearly my best tone quality, even if I haven't touched it in months. I really swear by Jim Thompson's Buzzing Book. You could at least do the exercises in your car with the mouthpiece or in a park with an ipod.

But life just takes us all kinds of places whether we expected to go there or not. And you can choose what you want to be a part of your life, and how much of your time you want that thing to take up. Perhaps not without sacrifices, it's certainly possible for you to play as much or as little as you like, and take it as seriously or not as you like.

Two books that come to mind are Centering by M.C. Richards and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

u/MrCompassion · 129 pointsr/books

Use of Weapons and, everything else by Iain M. Banks. Amazing stuff. Trust me.

The Blade Itself and the rest of that series by Joe Abercrombie.

Altered Carbon and the rest of that series as well as Thirteen and The Steel Remains, and it's sequel (still waiting on book 3) by Richard K. Morgan. He's pretty amazing.

That would keep you busy for a long time and are all pretty amazing. Seconding Dune, which is amazing, and the Name of the Wind which is great but very popcorn.

But really, if you were to read everything by Iain M. Banks you would be a better person.

Edit: The Sparrow

u/karthurneil · 2 pointsr/books
  • House of Leaves. It won't really teach you anything, but you'll get a sense of accomplishment from finishing it.
  • A Confederacy of Dunces. If you feel like you have no direction in life, this might make you feel better about yourself. If nothing else, its a good laugh.
  • Catch-22. Mentioned here already, but really, it might be the best book of the 20th century.

  • EDIT The French Laundry Cookbook. It's a must for foodies, it's a phenomenal coffee table book, and it's inspiring to read the perspective of someone with so much passion for their craft.
u/rarelyserious · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

Oh geez, I don't know your interests so here's a variety pack:

Lamb, by Christopher Moore - A comedic look at the years not covered in the new testament. Moore in general is a good read as he provides a comedic take to some well traveled ground.

Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman - The funniest book about the apocalypse ever written. Pratchett primarily writes the Disc World novels, also a good read if you're into fantasy. They satire both fantasy as a genre and out world. Gaiman, on the otherhand, writes gritty urban fantasy with a philosophical twist.

She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb - Lamb writes with emotion. If you're looking for a tear jerker this is it.

The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein - Told from the perspective of a dog, this is a book that will make your appreciate your furry friends even more. Also have tissues handy for this one.

u/marinafanatic · 6 pointsr/dynastywarriors

This translation seems to be a bit awkward personally. Although this is good if you just want to get the basics of the story, if you want to own and truly enjoy the book I strongly recommend buying a Moss Roberts unabridged translation. Absolutely stellar, flows and reads as if it was in English originally. My version also came with citations and a large section of notes at the back of each book that has a lot of helpful information to understanding the many obscure references the character's make, among other helpful information. It also includes maps and other illustrations throughout the book which makes it a lot more easy to understand and just enjoy.

u/ItsAConspiracy · 2 pointsr/Futurology

My favorite post-singularity fiction is the Golden Age trilogy by John C. Wright. Superintelligent AI, virtual reality, and mind uploading, and he still manages a deeply human tale of epic heroism. It's a little hard to get into for the first three or four chapters, but then it really takes off. I've read it three times.

Greg Egan's work is pretty interesting, eg. Permutation City, which is mainly about uploading etc.

For more of the near-future speculation side of Accelerando, Cory Doctorow writes a lot of good stuff. And there's Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom which is post-singularity.

Neal Stephenson's Diamond Age is pretty much a classic, covering nanotech, AI-based education, and all sorts of craziness. One of my favorites.

u/sakuratsuji · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

123

My goal is to find the proper doctors so I can fix my depression. I'm doing my best to keep my head up (even bought myself a mala to meditate and keep positive) but it's a day to day thing. I'd like to feel normal for once sometime in the future :)

Forgot to link amazon items, derp! This or [this](http://www.amazon.com/Saga-Vol-Brian-K-Vaughan/dp/1607066017/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2WSLHM9JYNVDB&coliid=I2YG8R3KXF2ZDR] or this would be lovely :)

u/921ren · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

[House of Leaves] (http://www.amazon.com/House-Leaves-Mark-Z-Danielewski/dp/0375703764/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=39G0LIUE1FX5T&coliid=I2D1S143PFIFLR) I am in love with this book. I took the time to read every last footnote and word of it. I loved it so much that I lent it to a friend, but that friend unfortuantely destroyed it (unintentionally.)


It's not an e-read type of book. It's something you need to read paperback in order to get the true experience of reading this book. It's unique and doesn't even have a format per page. It's disjointed and insane and I LOVE IT. The more you read the more you know.

Thanks for the contest :)

u/stuckintheanimus · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

Great contest!

I want to get into reading the game of thrones books . I hear such great things about the show, and everyone tells me I should definitely read the books. I've been meaning to find a good series to get into now that I've finished school and have time to read for fun lol.

u/tallginger89 · 1 pointr/Bioshock

Hey OP, for an awesome back story, Play bioshock 1 first, then get a hold of the book Bioshock: Rapture by John Shirleyhttps://www.amazon.com/BioShock-Rapture-John-Shirley/dp/0765367351










its an amazing 430 page book I just finished yesterday. It gives you an awesome back story to bioshock 1, and makes some references to Bioshock 2. But it has spoilers in it so play 1 first! Welcome to Rapture!

u/Khumalo_Neurochem · 2 pointsr/asoiaf

Richard K. Morgan: A land fit for heroes

It's a pretty damn good fantasy series. I got into it because his cyberpunk noir novels were so damn good. Altered Carbon and the rest of the Takeshi Kovacs novels were excellent.

Also, I was lucky enough to have friends immediately recommend Joe Abercrombie post asoiaf. The First Law Trilogy is absolutely gripping. Personally, I think it's better than asoiaf.

u/MesozoicMan · 1 pointr/books

This is the collection I ended up with. It doesn't have everything, but it has all of the best stuff. EDIT: plus these Gollancz collections are the prettiest. There are a couple of Conan ones that I highly recommend.

This is another good one. It's a collection of stuff that edited, reworked or completely rewrote for other authors, so there's a lot of his voice in it, only with a wider range of styles and themes.

u/RC_Colada · 2 pointsr/movies

House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski.

I read this book years ago and it still haunts me. I love it but I still don't have it all figured out.I would really love to see a film adaptation, as difficult as that sounds, because of how nontraditional the narrative/film would be. In the right hands it could be pulled off really well (like say, Fincher, Aronofsky or maybe Lynch could really turn up the horrific/suspenseful elements). I wish someone would adapt it because it is such an intense mindfuck of a story.

I would also really love to see Haunted by Chuck Palahnuik made into a movie.

u/creepykirk · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

S. by J.J. Abrams is a wonderful book with a bit of a cult following.

It's actually a book-within-a-book, but is filled with handwritten conversations between readers in the margins, as well as mementos and inserts that go along with the multiple storylines and mysteries being solved. It's thrilling, fun, and very interesting.

u/myddrn · 3 pointsr/netsec

Since searching wikipedia turned up the Timeline of Non-Sexual Social Nudity(TIL) I'm just going to guess you're you're looking for a more techie true to life rendition of the hacker archetype based on the amazon synopsis.

Based on that I'd recommend:

Cryptonomicon

just.go.read.it.right.now.

It may take a little effort to get into, damn thing is a tomb, but give it a chance. You will not be disappoint.

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

Stealing the Network Series

How to Own a Box

How to Own a Continent

How to Own an Identity

How to Own a Shadow

comments

These are told in a chapter/viewpoint style, each chapter is usually written by a different knowledgeable, and sometimes security famous, security dude. Out of those I've only read How to Own an Identity so far, but it was pretty good and and my guess is that the rest hold up to that standard, so dive in. They are a series from what I understand so reading them in order is probably a good idea, but not completely necessary.

_____

And then for flair (these are more scifi/cyberpunk-ish; so if that's not your thing avoid):

Snowcrash

comments

The main character's name is Hiro Protagonist. No seriously. He's a ninja, he's a hacker, he lives in a U-Store-it container, and he delivers pizza for the Mob in a post-collapse USA, can you really not read this book now?

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

The Diamond Age

comments

All about the practical social implications of nanotechnolgy told through the eyes of a young girl, her father, and an assortment of disposable associates.

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

The Sprawl Trilogy

Neuromancer

Count Zero

Mona Lisa Overdrive

comments

I've only read Neuromancer and Mona Lisa Overdrive, which were both great, so I'm guessing Count Zero is probably good too.

Similar to Snowcrash in the lone gun hacker sense, except with more drugs a little bit more of a scattered tone.


And if all else fails there's always the DEF CON reading list.

ninja edits because I suck at markdown

u/slightlyoffki · 1 pointr/kungfu

Oh man, I could recommend so many.

Kung Fu and Taoism:

The Making of a Butterfly is one of my favorite books. It is about a white kid who starts learning Kung Fu out of a Chinese master's basement back in the 70s, well before Kung Fu was popularized in the West.

Chronicles of Tao by Deng Ming Dao is excellent, a narrative perspective of how Taoism intertwines with the life of a Kung Fu practitioner.

American Shaolin by Matthew Polly is an entertaining and illuminating story that disseminates a lot of the mysticism surrounding the Shaolin Temple.

The Crocodile and the Crane is a fun fictional book that is basically about Tai Chi saving the world from a zombie apocalypse.

My next goal is to tackle The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Of course, I highly recommend the Tao Te Ching and the Art of War as well.

Buddhism: I highly recommend anything Thich Nhat Hanh. Anger and Peace is Every Step are two of my favorites.

Karate and Japanese Arts:

Moving Toward Stillness by Dave Lowry is one of my favorite books, taken from his columns in Black Belt Magazine over the years. A really excellent study on Japanese arts and philosophy.

Miyamoto Musashi: His Life and Writings by Kenji Tokitsu is wonderful. It includes the Book of Five Rings as well as some of Musashi's other works, including many of his paintings.

The 47 Ronin, by John Allyn, a dramatization of the Genroku Ako Incident, is still quite poignant in 2016.

u/haloshade · 2 pointsr/CasualConversation

Favorite book? As of recently it would have to be Blindsight by Peter Watts. It's a fictional book, but the author, Watts, uses the situation of fist contact to explore many ideas of philosophy of mind, such as what makes a conscious being conscious? And the impact of transhumanism upon our culture/ lifestyle.

Series: The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. I've never read a book series so fun and adventerous, with the story taking the reader along with the characters into strange twists right when you think you've begun to follow the story. It's a story about a gunslinger named Roland, and his quest to get to an ominous tower known as The Dark Tower, or simply The Tower. Along the way he has to jump universes, save small towns from mysterious robots on mechanical horses, and encounter the god of their worlds himself. It's a fun adventure series that never gets boring, and if you ask me the opening line of the first book, The Gunslinger, is the best opening line of all times: "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."

u/[deleted] · 4 pointsr/MLPLounge
  1. Ereaders cost more to produce than books. Unless a larger body (Amazon, Government, school) subsidises them, it's still easier for people with little to no money to buy books.
  2. Books are more hardy. I've tried to bend my Kindle.
  3. It's easier to control the layout with a book than with a Kindle. Something like House of Leaves couldn't come out on an ereader. This is something that will get fixed (hopefully) as different people come out with different ebook formats, but while mobi/epub are fine for "standard" novels, they're not so great for illustrations and/or people who're playing with the book as medium.
  4. It's a lot easier to scrawl and doodle in the margins of books. Some people consider this heresy, some consider it necessity. But even with highlighting and commenting on mobi files via Kindle, it's not quite as easy to do on ereaders.
  5. They never ask you to turn off your novel as the aircraft is landing grumble.

    However, there are counter-points. I like indexable/searchable notes + books, and it's so much easier to carry my Kindle than three novels.

    I think in the long run you'll see a split between "standard format" novels being consumed mainly via ereading devices (especially as they continue to saturate the market) and larger, illustrated, or more avant-garde works being put out as dead-tree books. It'll be interesting to see if books become "old-fashioned", or a symbol of luxury, or both.
u/SandSword · 19 pointsr/Fantasy

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill is pretty creepy. Also, Horns - it's not really scary, but it is slightly disturbing, and very good to boot.

I think The Painted Man by Peter V Brett might actually be a pretty great book for reading around Halloween time.

Obviously, Stephen King must be mentioned: one of his lesser knowns, From a Buick 8, certainly had its moments for me. Probably, Pet Cemetary is scarier, but I haven't read that one yet.

HP Lovecraft's Necronomicon has some weird and disturbing stuff in it.

I haven't read it myself, but the TV show is turning out pretty good: Guillermo del Toro's The Strain.

And of course Mary Shelley's Frankenstein or Bram Stoker's Dracula, the classics. Perhaps something from Edgar Allen Poe (The Raven?), or Charles Dickens' Ghost Stories.

u/The0therWhiteMeat · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

Hi! My name is Dillon, awesome contest, thank you for doing this! George R.R. Mofoing Martin ( I didn't wanna swear) his first Game of Thrones book. I've wanted to read the rest of the books so bad but haven't had the money for them which is okay because I can watch the show but I have had a huge lust and love for medieval scifi and I have lost touch with reading books and I would love to start again so bad.

u/Pawsie · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

Aww this is very sweet of you! Thank you for the opportunity.

For me I would really like one because well, i'm a broke college student. I live on campus in a very small dorm room and have little room to store my actual books. I always thought an e-reader would solve that problem though. I've just never had the money to buy one. I've heard good things about both the Kindle and Nook from family members who own them! An e-reader would work perfectly because I could finally begin to read again! The lack of space prevents me from being able to purchase new books and find that little piece of happiness i've been missing.

A book I would really like to read is: A Game of Thrones - I'm dying to read this series before I dive into the television series. Because as readers know ... BOOKS ARE ALWAYS BETTER <3 Unfortunately the lack of space and cash prevents me from buying the collection.

u/DangerDarth · 1 pointr/booksuggestions

American Gods by Neil Gaiman... gawsh just anything by him is really good, but this book is the best match that I've read at least. You know he does good graphic novels, but his books are excellent as well. Stardust, in constrast, takes a more light hearted, fantasy side.

Greywalker by Kat Richardson is about a modern day private investigator who gets dragged into the world of the bizarre. Well written and suspenseful, I think it'd keep you on the edge of your seat.

If you like absurd, check out John Dies at the End by David Wong... before a movie ruins it.

If you want a classic, check out Ferenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I was skeptical of reading sci fi in high school. Well, this book changed my mind.

u/nir-vash · 3 pointsr/Blackfellas

YES!!! I cannot stress Christopher Moore's books enough. Lamb is the greatest book of all time! I re-read it annually.

Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins (which probably inspired Lamb) is also great as well.

u/loojit · 1 pointr/AskReddit

Jules Verne - The Mysterious Island -> It's amazing how well the author is able to keep your attention throughout the book, when it's just 4 people trapped on a uninhabited island.

Daniel Quinn - Ishmael -> It raises some incredible viewpoints and questions. Very recommended.

Michael Crichton - Sphere -> A very entertaining read.

Clive Cussler - Atlantis Found -> I enjoyed his NUMA series a lot. It got me into reading.

Ira Levin - The Boys from Brazil -> This is kind of a historical fiction. I liked this book because I've always enjoyed reading about the WWII era.

Douglas Adams - The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy -> Very fun read

u/G-Riz · 1 pointr/creepy

There used to be some great ones, but a lot of them were removed when the authors decided to get them published.

This was probably the best one I read on there, and it looks like the guy has done pretty well for himself

u/BlueSquirl · 2 pointsr/lost

It's the book "S." , which was conceived by JJ Abrams and written by Doug Dorst. Haven't gotten to open it yet, but it looks like a library book titled "Book of Thesus" , and it's 2 stories involving the actual book and someone who I think buys/rents the book. It is a mystery that you solve as you go, it is supposed to have clues and such in it. People who've read it say it's super fun, as long as you go into believing the book is real. I may be making this up, but I think there may be other things in the book that tie in to Lost, like the numbers, but again, I haven't read it. Can't wait to get home and give it a whirl. Here's the Amazon link.

http://www.amazon.com/S-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642

u/oblique63 · 7 pointsr/INTP

Ishmael - If you ever wondered what it would be like to be a telepathic gorilla, this will probably give you the closest answer.

The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking - The INTP Toolbox.

The Willpower Instinct - Because we all know we could use a bit more of it around here...

Emotional Vampires - A survival guide to protect your Fe

How To Create A Mind - Since it's ultimately the only thing we really seem to care about, it's interesting to think how we could theoretically create a 'backup' for it eventually

The Talent Code - In case you haven't quite figured out how to go about mastering skills yet.

u/Empty_Jester · 1 pointr/booksuggestions

I think the best book that breaks down the nitty gritty details of surviving a zombie apocalypse is Day by Day Armageddon.

It's written as the journal of an retired veteran of the most recent gulf wars. He already lives a bit off the grid, so he's better able to survive than most when the crisis hits. His pragmatic approach to everything is what keeps him alive, through all of his choices of where to go, where to get supplies, and what shelters to seek. He also meets and helps other survivors on his way, some of whom choose to shelter and travel through different methods, so you are exposed to other people's survival choices as well.

The journal format it is presented in is perfectly done. Despite all events having already occurred when a journal entry is written, it still makes for incredible tension at various points.

The only complaint I've heard against this book is that some people feel that the main character is too prepared, or too perfectly fit to the challenge of surviving the zombie apocalypse. My response to this is that if the character wasn't "prepared" and capable in the same manner, they would die early on and the story would be over. We are reading THIS story because out of all the people that tried to survive, THIS character has the skills and supplies that has allowed them to stay alive. His preparedness is well within a reasonable level of suspension of disbelief. But to each their own.

Anyways, if you try it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

u/boar-kid · 1 pointr/Futurology

If you want to get really frustrated with this idea of "forward progress", read The Big Ratchet.

If you want to read something more insightful and interesting, you might want to check out Daniel Quinn's books: Ishmael, My Ishmael and The Story of B. All 3 books contain the same ideas but within a slightly different story. I think my favorite is My Ishmael but they're all great.

Thanks for this exchange. This made my morning a little brighter.

u/saroka · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

I ain't birthed no babies! XD

Pokemon and video games in general make me so happy and help me destress. :)

I recommend trying the Game of Thrones series. Happy Birfday!!!!!

u/Sieberella · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

Hi there! I'm Sierra and welcome to RAoA! I just learned how to sew so I would love any of the sewing patterns I have on my wishlist, you can only have so many of the same skirt in different fabrics lol. I also love Bioshock and Fallout 3 and if you haven't read Rapture by John Shirley you should! It gives you an awesome insight into what Rapture was like before the fall.

u/avenirweiss · 7 pointsr/books

I know I must be missing some, but these are all that I can think of at the moment.

Fiction:

Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges

The Stranger by Albert Camus

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

White Noise by Don Delilo

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot

Everything that Rises Must Converge by Flannery O'Connor

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by DFW

Infinite Jest by DFW

Of these, you can't go wrong with Infinite Jest and the Collected Fictions of Borges. His Dark Materials is an easy and classic read, probably the lightest fare on this list.

Non-Fiction:

The Music of the Primes by Marcus du Sautoy

Chaos by James Gleick

How to be Gay by David Halperin

Barrel Fever by David Sedaris

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris

Secret Historian by Justin Spring

Of these, Secret Historian was definitely the most interesting, though How to be Gay was a good intro to queer theory.

u/Adam-O · 3 pointsr/TheDarkTower

You should check out Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. It's got magicians, but more in a real life sense. Has been described to me as a more sophisticated and grown up version of Harry Potter. It's long, has great characters, and the epic cranks out more and more as the book progresses. I loved it.

u/bradle · 3 pointsr/books

Yes, Diamond Age is such a great spiritual successor to Snow Crash. Where Snow Crash has that frantic pace and hyper compressed events, Diamond Age takes its time and describes every molecule of the beauty in the book's events. These two works are such great testaments to Stephenson's skill because it's obvious he worked really hard to make them describe similar themes, but also compliment each other.

Have you seen the new covers? I like them, they do a good job of presenting them as companion pieces.

Snow Crash

Diamond Age

u/are_you_slow · 2 pointsr/AskReddit

Not sure about series, but Christopher Moore's stuff is really good if you like Satire.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal - Is an amazing book.

A Dirty Job: A Novel - was pretty good too.

u/TheWizardsVengeance · 3 pointsr/AskHistorians

Just want to give a little bit more detail!

> Lu Bu was considered a good warrior, although I don't remember reading about him slaying 1000 people per battle.

While Lu Bu's actual legacy does not include killing thousands or defeating multiple generals in duels, he was still known as incredibly strong, with especial prowess in archery and horseback riding.

>Cao Cao was not viewed, as I read it, as particularly more evil than anyone else.

Definitely not, the only truly evil thing Cao Cao did was the slaughtering of Xuzhou citizens when he was seeking revenge for his father. Arguably you could say Cao Cao controlling the emperor was "evil" but the Emperor was fair game during these times.

>Sima family (Sima Yi being most prominent in the game and the novel) eventually replaces the Cao family and creates their own dynasty, Jin.

More specifically, Jin wasn't founded until well after Sima Yi's death, when his grandson Sima Yan founded Jin just before conquering Wu.

>I highly recommend both Records and Romance of the Three Kingdoms if you're into that era.

If anyone is interested in reading ROTK, I highly recommend the Robert Moss translation. People tend to read the free version online which is not translated as well.

u/RhinoWithaGun · 2 pointsr/aznidentity

Outlaws of the Marsh (This was a very fun read back when I was in highschool, there's a bit of dark humor too. Of the books listed here Outlaws of the Marsh is the funniest and very epic)

https://www.amazon.com/Outlaws-Chinese-Classics-Classic-Volumes/dp/7119016628/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=outlaws+of+the+marsh&qid=1558135198&s=gateway&sr=8-1

​

Romance of the Three Kingdoms (The novel is intriguing and epic but might get too confusing depending on the age and person reading it- lots of characters and politics both personal and national)

https://www.amazon.com/Three-Kingdoms-Chinese-Classics-Volumes/dp/7119005901/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3Q6KP7GL4E200&keywords=romance+of+the+three+kingdoms&qid=1558135222&s=gateway&sprefix=Romance+of+the+three%2Caps%2C205&sr=8-3

​

Journey to the West (The Monkey King. I admit I personally don't like the Monk & Su Wu Kong chapters and mostly enjoyed the Su Wukong's creation, desk job in heaven chapters and his rebellion. My man Su Wukong should've rebelled again, screw working for a living in heaven and their stupid workplace bureaucracy)

https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Chinese-Classics-Classic-Volumes/dp/7119016636/ref=sr_1_4?crid=C0DF58D83YS3&keywords=journey+to+the+west&qid=1558135303&s=gateway&sprefix=Journey+to+the+west%2Caps%2C201&sr=8-4

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There's also Dreams of the Red Mansion but I never finished it so can't really recommend it.

u/JDRSuperman · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

I've read that The Thinking's Woman's Guide to Real Magic is like an adult oriented Harry Potter book.

The Night Circus is a fantasy romance novel involving magic and a circus. This is set in the late 1800s or early 1900s.

Monstrumologist and its' sequels are really interesting monster hunting novels. This is set in the late 1800s.

Have you read the Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman yet?

Jonathan Strange & Mr.Norrell was a great read. It's another book about magic. I have a copy and I really like it.

u/MrXlVii · 2 pointsr/tabc

Going to try and post books that are related, but not actually "atheist".

Cosmos by Carl Sagan

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

The first one for obvious reasons. Sagan is the secular Jesus, and I'd say the second is an interesting read for anyone religious or otherwise, but I feel like it would be better received if you don't actually believe in Christianity. It's a great read though

u/gloryday23 · -7 pointsr/books

If by all the credit you mean JJ's name above Doug's on everything about the book including the book itself.

http://www.amazon.com/S-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642

JJ loves to have his name on shit, always has, and he loves taking the shared glory when it succeeds.

u/dungeoned_dragon · 1 pointr/suggestmeabook

Good Omens is a book that was co-written by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. It's kind of in a similar vein of a humorous fantasy novel with a bit of social commentary, only with angels and demons. Very good, I highly recommend it.


I keep saying this one over and over, but Mogworld by Yahtzee Croshaw is another novel in a similar vein I simply can't put down. It takes place in a World of Warcraft-style MMORPG, but it builds a really interesting world with it's own lore, so even if you're not into games, I think you could really enjoy it.

u/sourgrap3s · 2 pointsr/books

If he enjoys comedy books then you should definitely go with Lamb, the Gospel According to Biff by Christopher Moore.

Else, Ender's Game and The Dresden Files were already mentioned. If he likes zombies go with Day by Day Armageddon. Try out Storm of Iron if he likes Warhammer 40k or in general awesome fantasy warfare in the distance and wicked future.

My ultimate vote goes to The Dresden Files. Harry Dresden is an awesome character.

u/Plainjays · 2 pointsr/Bioshock

Definitely, after playing the whole series its nice to see it all come together as a whole! Don't worry I got you on the book info! Here's a actual link and what not : [Rapture the book] ( http://www.amazon.com/BioShock-Rapture-John-Shirley/dp/0765367351 ) its fantastic book during the creation of rapture with all your favourite characters. You get to see alot of the universe in the book, also it uses alot of the dialogue that was used audio diaries within it. All of it is in written from Bill McDonagh's pov from the creation of rapture as a city to the fall of rapture as a city.

u/OhShitItsSam · 2 pointsr/suggestmeabook

I can't stress this enough, This entire book is pure satire. Again, satire. That being said it is also very well informed and rather witty.

You've asked for basically something akin to a bible textbook it sounds like and not an entertaining story, I'm only suggesting this because it's the book responsible for me actually going on and finally reading the bible. Much like you said, I also found the bible itself to be a pretty difficult read by today's standards.

Anyways. If you'd like something light and honestly really good to read in your downtime check out Lamb, by Christopher Moore.

u/litttleowl · 1 pointr/CasualConversation

Oh wow that's crazy tounread that in fourth grade! I don't know if I could handled that so young. i could barely do it at 15!



I love them too! I love that you get to play through the second game as a Big Dadsy and get to interact with the Little Sisters more. It's really cool to explore Rapture from a different perspective. Is it this book. I have this book and have yet to read it. Did you not like the second one? Doesn't seem like many people do.



It is a lot, and a World History class should be broken down into like 5 classes or so cause that's a ridiculous amount of history to know. I also get mixed uo on differenr battles.-. There really is too much too remember, but finding one or two things that makes it fascinating or ar least stands out, always helped me remember the rest of the "story." Haha I've heard of that, I definitelt have the english/history brain. I can compehend most math, but science goes right over my head. I've always been envious of people who can actuallt understand science. High school does cram a lot way too fast. Going to college I was surprised at the difference in how there was less of a rush to learn it all.

u/FLYBOY611 · 1 pointr/Games

I found myself asking the same question not too long ago! His best writing is the series of short stories he wrote for magazines that we collectively know as the Cthulu Mythos. You'll want to check out Necronomicon, which is the compilation of the best and most famous stories.

https://www.amazon.com/Necronomicon-Best-Weird-Tales-Lovecraft/dp/0575081562/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1537458514&sr=8-1&keywords=necronomicon&dpID=51We1j8PEkL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

​

Personally, I got myself the audio book version which is fantastic if you love scary stories. I listen to it in my kitchen while doing dishes. Great stuff. :)

https://www.audible.com/pd/Necronomicon-Audiobook/B00MNQKYNC

​

Oh.....and fair warning. H.P. Lovecraft was kinda racist and it shows in some of his writing. =/

u/vllewella · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

I've never read the books but would love to. I'd like the Kindle book.

Awwe your kids are so precious! Just adorable!!

u/Bizkitgto · 10 pointsr/INTP

I spend more time trying to figure out what to read than reading. I have been addicted to amazon reviews for over a decade. I love reading book reviews and people's opinions. If I ever buy a book, and I lose interest after one or two chapter's - I ditch it. If I like it....I'll devour the book and read reviews as I go along.

After reading the first few chapter's if The Diamond Age, I wanted to throw it away...I was so bored, but since Neil Stephenson wrote it I pushed on. One of the best books I've ever read.

I tend to enjoy non-fiction more, and even science/text based books I tend to use for self-study. I guess you could say I'm on some kind of quest for knowledge...what kind of knowledge, I'm still looking. I guess I'm still searching for something.

u/VIJoe · 2 pointsr/history

Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium by Bart Ehrman

It's been a few years but I recall it being pretty enlightening at the time. I never really bought most of the critisism of Aslan's book. It might be because both this book and Aslan's had kind of the same take - Jesus as a figure far outside of the mainstream and more a Revolutionary than a Shepherd. (Speaking of Shepherds - if you want to enjoy a completely non-Historical but insanely funny story of Jesus, try Christopher Moore's Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal.)

u/_Captain_ · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

I LOVE your penny book contests!!! Cryptonomicon is the book I'll choose for this one. Looks super interesting. Thanks so much for the contest! Gimme a book, Pancakes!

u/Santa_ · 3 pointsr/TreesFortress2

I am currently reading the Necronomicon and plan on following it up with Dune (as per thecutout's suggestion :D)

Favorite smokespot? Probably my room since I haven't smoked outdoors in months. The ideal would be a cabin in the middle of nowhere next to a lake surrounded by redwoods, looking up would leave you speechless, the lack of light pollution alone could get you high ;o)

Best advice I have gotten: Probably something along the lines of the work you put in will be the work you get out; it's like conservation of energy but with life and shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitt

Advice I have to give? Adults don't know everything, the younger you are at heart, the further you will go in life. The ability to suspend yourself in a plane of illimitable creativity, the way a 5 year old can, not only opens your mind to more obscure possibilities, but flexes it in a manner few other activities can.

u/emalf31 · 3 pointsr/suggestmeabook

Have a look at this

There is a collection of Lovecraft Stories called Necronomicon. I nearly bought it myself, it's a great looking tome. I actually have the Conan Books in the same series.

​

This is the one I ended up buying I found it was a more complete collection and in chronological order of when they were written.

​

Amazing stories from an amazing writer. Enjoy!

u/Parrk · 1 pointr/AskReddit

Michio Kaku does a great job of explaining advanced concepts of physics in layman's terms. He describes 14 dimensions in the book.

read this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Hyperspace-Scientific-Odyssey-Parallel-Universes/dp/0385477058/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1291998866&sr=8-3


DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON!
get it elsewhere please.


edit: OOH! since you mentioned time. This will help you learn to conceive alternate states of such....and is a really kick-ass book.


http://www.amazon.com/Einsteins-Dreams-Alan-Lightman/dp/140007780X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291999070&sr=1-1

DON'T BUY THIS ONE FROM AMAZON EITHER! plz.

u/beeblez · 2 pointsr/reddit.com

In the modern literature category

Dave Eggers - What is the What. Or A Heart Breaking Work of Staggering Genius by him is also pretty good.

A.S. Byatt - Possession

Also, someone else mentioned Neal Stephenson, I cannot second this recommendation strongly enough! Very fun reads that don't shy away from intellectual engagement. I read Cryptonomicon by him recently and loved it.

I also note you don't mention Don DeLillo although you mention many of his contemporaries. Check out White Noise by him and go from there.

I could probably make some more suggestions, but it depends what genre's and styles you're really into? Do you want hugely post-modern? Do you enjoy the classics? (I notice your list had no Shakespeare, his tragedies are as famous as they are for good reason)

u/jaydoors · 5 pointsr/crypto

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson is a classic. Takes in Bletchley Park, among much more. It is a novel, not a text book, so it won't actually teach you anything as such - but crypto is running through the book, along with much other tech stuff, plus it is a brilliant story. Not really "light" but I wish it took me longer to read I enjoyed it so much.

u/finalremix · 1 pointr/truegaming

Oh, my, very bad... Don't try that in Morrowind or Oblivion...

I had guides for both... ... somewhere... along with notebooks detailing where I put things, or where some quest things and people were located, etc. The guides were thick. I'm talking House Of Leaves thick. The side quests in the first several Elder Scrolls games (I can't vouch for Skyrim) were fun and engaging, if you knew how to blow through them properly, and could multitask, and had strength to carry whatever peeps wanted, etc... It was great fun, but I couldn't be arsed to complete Oblivion. I had too much fun living as a Nord Knightblade doing whatever I wanted. I don't care about finding the replacement king to save everything. I'm gonna venture into Oblivion through the gaes, and sell artifacts and buy mansions.

u/st3v3n · 2 pointsr/AndroidGaming

Well, fair warning I did read them 12-13 years ago when I was 14-15, so I've forgotten quite a bit, not to mention a lot went over my head at that age.

I loved them. They were truely an epic, and the ebb and flow of the kingdom over the years was great to follow. Also, seeing where a lot of the stages and characters from DW "started" was fantastic.

This is the one I bought, if you are interested.

u/spikey666 · 2 pointsr/AskReddit

My favorite zombie book is-Day by Day Armageddon by J. L. Bourne

and, of course, the films of George Romero. Night of the Living Dead, which can be seen for free online now. legally! and the best- Dawn of the Dead. and finally Day of the Dead.

u/BrokenClockwerk · 1 pointr/todayilearned

It's hard. I would probably compare it to the Iliad and the Odyssey, but those books together cover about 20 years with a few hundred characters. Three Kingdoms spans about 110 years and has a few thousand characters. There are parts where the writing is dry, the ridiculous attention to detail means that every significant event from history (as well as folk stories that didn't actually happen) is described and contextualized in great detail, and it totally loses steam at the end when the most interesting people are basically all dead.

That said, I'm clearly a huge fan and would recommend it to anyone who has the patience to get through it and an interest in the subject matter. Although there is a more recent translation by a different translator, to my knowledge, this is still the gold standard for the English translation, and it's not super expensive. You could probably also find a copy at your library, although you might have to settle for an abridged version.

u/PrincesssBubblegumm · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

A few weeks ago my text messages weren't sending and I was having just a bunch of texting problems so I decided to restore my phone. I lost all of my pictures, all of my contacts all of my everything. About 10 minutes after the restore I realized my phone wasn't working because at&t was down and I restored my phone for no reason. Why on earth did I do that...?

I don't know how to do the fancy link think so I'll just link what I want like this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0375703764/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1O0XRVYITTYGN&coliid=I2SWTQUCGLVMWB

I want that because I'm a big reader and that book sounds amazing. I could always read the ebook but the way that book is formatted fascinates me.

Thank you for the contest! :)

u/vondahl · 1 pointr/AskWomen

Oh gosh, I'm actually kind of horrible about reading! Some of my favorite little books are:

  • Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman. It's a bunch of short stories about different universes based on some of Einstein's theories. For example, one of them is kind of like, "In this universe, time flows backwards. A woman picks a moldy peach out of her trashcan, puts it on her counter to ripen..." They're really interesting! It's a quick and wonderful read.

  • Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman is similar to the aforementioned book. Short stories about different afterlives. It's not a religious thing though. I was actually rereading it this afternoon! Really interesting ideas, some romantic, some ironic, cute, sad, etc. I think it could spark some great conversation.
u/CobaltMoon98 · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

I would love [this Bioshock book] (http://www.amazon.com/BioShock-Rapture-John-Shirley/dp/0765367351/ref=wl_it_dp_v_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2HTHRVKNRES31&coliid=I3H35UJVT4H98X) because I have played the games and I love the environment. I want to get the city better and this book will allow me to do so.

So it goes.

u/workpuppy · 2 pointsr/booksuggestions

You might enjoy The Golem and the Jinni...It's set in turn of the century New York, and has strong cultural and religious overtones. The magical aspects of it are quite secondary to everything else.

A Winters Tale...the movie apparently sucked, but the book has stuck with me for quite some time. It's a lyrical piece of magic realism, much stronger on the realism. Another book on turn of the century New York.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell may be a bit more magic than you'd like, but it's astonishingly good. It's what Jane Austen would have produced if she'd decided to write a fantasy novel.

The Night Circus is good.

u/thrilljockey · 1 pointr/AskEngineers

I'm not an ME, but these are some of my (more computery-ish) favorites that might have general engineering appeal:

The Difference Engine - proto-steampunk!

Gödel, Escher, Bach - essays on logicians' wet dreams.

Anathem - mathy and fantastic.

House of Leaves - you'll either love it or it will just piss you off...

Also, anything by Phillip K Dick or Kurt Vonnegut. And Feynman's (first) autobiography is definitely a must.

u/Javaman74 · 1 pointr/books

If you're into zombie books, try this series. It has zombies, action, and an easy to read style.


edit: Oh yeah, and for action, the Joe Ledger series is not bad. It starts here.


edit 2: AND, for another series with good action and pretty fun, check out Sandman Slim.

u/soulofgranola · 3 pointsr/books

Oh! I love that. Rapture by John Shirley is a really neat read into the rise and demise of an underwater utopia-turned-dystopia. It really hits the nail on the head for your genre, and, you're right, I'd love to read more like it.

u/DrMnhttn · 1 pointr/movies

It's based on a Neil Gaiman book. He's an amazing author. If you like the movie, you'd probably love a lot of his work. He's well known for the Sandman comics and books like American Gods and Good Omens, which he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett.

u/JimmehGeebs · 1 pointr/suggestmeabook

If you're into weird/gimmicky/out-there writing styles, Mark Z. Danielewski (author of House of Leaves) is writing a 27 volume series called The Familiar. He'll be releasing a novel every 6 months for the next 13.5 years. I'm most of the way through One Rainy Day In May, and while it's definitely got his writing style, it's actually really enjoyable to read. So give those a shot if you're interested in a very long series, lol. They even have their own subreddit for those curious to learn more!

u/brotorious · 1 pointr/booksuggestions

One of my favorite books is The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson.

I've read it twice now since 2008; the first time I was captivated by the world he created. The second time, I began to understand what he was trying to explore with culture and what it means to "belong" to something or to subscribe to a belief system.

An entertaining read set in a fantastic world that you will not forget :)

u/PhilipMoon · 39 pointsr/writing

Hello, Cracked writer here.

I understand some of the frustration you feel, but I don't fully agree with your conclusions. I have done the Cracked list and it is a great launching off point for writing.

The format may be similar, but because it is popular and smarter than Buzzfeed or the many Buzzfeed knock-offs, it opens a lot of doors. I used my Cracked resume to get into contact with Fox Studios, and as a result I have had two seasons of a college sports web series called Suit Up, the second season now airing on DirecTV's Audience Channel.

There are several writers for the site who have gone on to be published. Among them

u/Kariolization · 1 pointr/AskScienceFiction

Awesome! If it's your first Lovecraft story you're in for a treat. No one captures the fear of the unknown like Lovecraft did. He writes of entities unnameable and indescribable, hidden horrors so far beyond our comprehension that we are left to imagine (if we even can) what grotesque forms they could take. Expect to encounter ancient forgotten civilizations, cosmic monstrosities, alternative planes of existence, extradimensional deities, all of the above.

Lovecraft never wrote any novels, mostly poems, short stories and a novella. A great thing about them is that they are all interconnected. You would be best off buying an anthology. I highly recommend these two:

Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H.P. Lovecraft

Eldritch Tales: A Miscellany of the Macabre

u/yeropinionman · 1 pointr/collapse

Neal Stephenson's [The Diamond Age](http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Age-Illustrated-Primer-Spectra/dp/0553380966/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314797352&sr=8-1 "fuckin great book") has an interesting situation. It's not a post-collapse world, but it is a semi-anarchic "not-so-far-future" world where governments don't have very much power. In this world, people have separated into "philes" (same root as in "audiophiles like sound equipment"), some of which are based on religion, or ideology, others are based on habits, values and aesthetics (for example some groups choose to live like Victorian-era Britons with steam-punk technology).

u/abplayer · 2 pointsr/books

Tam Lin by Pamela Dean is really good and set very much in the modern day (ignore the crappy cover). I am pretty sure it was part of the whole Terri Windling gang.

Also, it's not a fairy tale exactly, but Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susannah Clarke is one of the best books I've read in the last several years. It's awesome.

u/akristacat · 1 pointr/RandomActsOfPolish

Books! I feel like this is my element! Can I suggest multiple books or does that not count?

You can never go wrong with A Song of Ice and Fire (which starts with the book, A Game of Thrones) if you haven't read it yet.

These next two I got for free from Amazon as part of the Kindle First program, and I really liked both of them! They're both the first books in their respective series, so I haven't got around to reading the rest of the books in each series but they have potential.

The Paper Magician is about a girl who has just graduated from Magician School, and has been sent off to do her apprenticeship with a paper magician, who only works magic through paper. The girl is a little miffed as she doesn't think paper magic has any worth.

The Line is about a girl who is the only non-magical member in her family of extremely powerful witches who live in Savannah, GA.

u/beastgp · 3 pointsr/DnDBehindTheScreen

This immediately made me think of the fantastic novel by Susanna Clarke Jonathan Strange & Mr Norell wiki
I don't want to go into detail because spoilers. I think I can get away with saying that someone is half-given to a faerie who transports the person magically every night - they end up sleep deprived and no-one can understand why they are so tired and lose all strength to live with. You could certainly spin it around some similarly dark invisible drawback.
I HIGHLY recommend the book. It's also available in a well regarded TV series
Perhaps the pixie might even pass on her 'ownership' as a gift to a higher ranking and more powerful fae Lord or Lady?

u/spoonerwilkins · 2 pointsr/tifu

Good Omens! Good for quite a few laughs if you like a more satirical touch to your comedy and take someone poking fun at religion:)

u/iamhaen · 2 pointsr/books

I'm going to second, House Of Leaves (Goodreads). It's a challenging read, but it tells such a fantastic story. You can get lost in it. It took me about a month and I spent that month completely paranoid, afraid of the dark and nervous about opening doors. If you go with this one make sure you get the physical book the eBook version does not cut it.

John Dies At The End (Goodreads) is a comedy horror book that's also really great. It's not terribly heavy on the disgusting side but it's worth checking out none the less. The sequel is coming out in a month or so.

I haven't read Misery (Goodreads) but it's a King novel that's been recommended to me for all the reasons you've mentioned above. It's on my list and I hope to get around to it soon.

u/aducknamedjoe · 1 pointr/Anarcho_Capitalism

Yeah, I don't think he's all that libertarian/AnCap (see his novel "Scratch Monkey") but a couple good sci-fi/singularity writers that are would be Vernor Vinge, (Marooned in Realtime and The Ungoverned being prime examples) and Neal Stephenson (with his Cryptonomicon and The Diamond Age).

Highly recommend both of them.

u/Maxterchief99 · 1 pointr/CasualConversation

If you like video games and delving into backstories...

Bioshock: Rapture by John Shirley

Sci-Fi / Horror(?)

I particularly like it because it was able to capture the feel of the Bioshock series - dark, mysterious, dramatic and sometimes creepy. I love the fact that radical political ideologies come into play, and the story line is much deeper than most common video games out there. It enriches your experience for the series, and John's writing is easy to read.

u/chrisrobweeks · 2 pointsr/farcry

Cool, thanks! I wish more games had book companions. I read Bioshock: Rapture and thought it was very well written. And of course there's the F:NV graphic novel and the Witcher series. Are there any other good examples of books expanding on a VG universe?

u/mx_hazelnut · 6 pointsr/books

I haven't read much of it, but I bet you'd like the Dresden Files series. The plot and characters are compelling and evocative, but the series doesn't take itself too seriously. There are lighthearted moments, and humor that doesn't break your immersion or seem out of place. I hear similarly good things about John Dies at the End.

u/MarquisDesMoines · 1 pointr/read_more

Your milage may vary in terms of what you find "weird," but off the top of my head here's a few that fall all over the weird spectrum

1)The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea. Deals with drugs, conspiracy theories, and the occult blended with a strong sense of wit and cynicism. Imagine Dan Brown but with a much stronger sense of humor.

2) VALIS by Philip K. Dick. Really anything by Dick could deserve a place on here but VALIS is my personal favorite. A group of misfit adults all struggle to piece together a series of odd occurrences that just may be a message from the god of the Gnostics.

3) Spacetime Donuts by Rudy Rucker. If the above are a bit too heady for you, then this might be more up your ally. Weird theoretical math is explored through the travels of an elderly, weed and acid loving guy who lives in a world controlled by a mostly benevolent supercomputer.

Edit: Forgot a couple!

4) John Dies at the End by David Wong. A great story about two slacker guys who stumble upon a "drug" known as Soy Sauce that opens up other words both literally and figuratively. A wonderful combination of dick & fart humor and deep meditations on the horrors of our universe.

5) The Time Machine Did It by John Swartzwelder. I have never laughed so hard, so consistently at a book. John is a writer from the golden age of the Simpsons and his unique sense of humor is on display here. He's got a bunch of books out and I admittedly have only read this one so far, but based on it the rest of his works are definitely on my must-read list.

u/aahe42 · 2 pointsr/totalwar

For more about the time period read the book romance of the three kingdom https://www.amazon.com/Three-Kingdoms-Chinese-Classics-Volumes/dp/7119005901/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 or try watching the 2010 tv show Romance of the three kingdoms its really good if you can deal with subtitles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcZ2zq82ebA&list=PLQgby8Rb0ImEP4108x04Feg2dBvuDADJG, there is also some youtube videos from kings and generals https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOGkH_8K_xg, Three kingdoms oversimplified by Oversimplified https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=26EivpCPHnQ. Cody Bonds channel has overview of all the starting characters in the game with some historical context heres one of them https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZOfQAAnSKU I'm sure there is a lot more other could suggest.

u/kimmature · 2 pointsr/books

The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. I'm a fan of time-travel, and history, and I was completely sucked into it. She's got a number of books in the same universe- some comedic, some very dramatic, but The Doomsday Book is my favourite.

If you're at all interested in high fantasy, I'd recommend either Tigana or The Fionovar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay. You either love his prose style or hate it, but if you love it, it will definitely take you away.

If you like SF and haven't read them, I'd try either Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos, or David Brin's Uplift Series (I'd skip Sundiver until later, and start with Startide Rising.)

If you're looking for more light-hearted/quirky, I'd try Christopher Moore- either Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal , or The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror. If you're into a mix of horror/sf/comedy, try John Dies at the End. They're not deep, but they're fun.

Non-fiction- if you haven't read it yet, Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air is very difficult to put down. If you're travelling with someone who doesn't mind you looking up every few pages and saying "did you know this, this is awesome, wow-how interesting", I'd go for Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants or Bill Bryson's At Home: A Short History of Private Life. They're all very informative, fun, interesting books, but they're even better if you can share them while you're reading them.



u/kijo524 · 2 pointsr/movies

That promo was for a book entitled S. It's a book that JJ Abrams co-wrote with Doug Dorst. Really, really great multi-layered experience beyond just a great read.

http://www.amazon.com/S-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409957588&sr=8-1&keywords=s

u/ZangTumbTumb · 1 pointr/books

Necronomicon: the Weird Tales of H.P. Lovecraft was probably my best buy, ever. It's a beautiful book with all the best stories (in my opinion). If I were you I'd start with that. You can't go wrong!

u/AmusementPork · 1 pointr/NoMansSkyTheGame

Definitely "Blindsight" by Peter Watts. It's about as hard as sci-fi can get, but it's one of those rare books that can completely blow your mind. It's a First Contact story with a really fascinating take on the evolution of consciousness, with profound implications for human cognition. Watts just released a sequel, "Echopraxia," which is equally great.

u/browneyedgirl79 · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

I'm sorry your husband upset you this morning. Guys have a tendency to do that on occasion. :hugs:

My husband and I are rewatching the seasons of Game of Thrones again in preparation for the next season, and we were talking about how great the show is, and how we haven't read the books.

  • I suppose since we haven't read them yet, the most logical place to start would be with the first book, right?

  • e~book or physical book is fine. Used is great! Either way, my husband and I will read it together. I have a Kindle, my husband prefers physical books because he doesn't have a Kindle, but we can read aloud to each other with either format.

  • Your kids are adorable!! I'd say that anyway, even without a contest. <3

    Thank you for the contest. :)
u/MicahCastle · 6 pointsr/horrorlit

Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H.P. Lovecraft (Commemorative Edition)

I've read it a few times through, and it's still great every read. As a bonus, the book looks cool too.

u/purexul · 12 pointsr/todayilearned

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff

It's more fictionalized (and satirical) than precisely what you're describing, but it's one of the best books I've ever read, as well as one of the most hilarious.

u/P1h3r1e3d13 · 3 pointsr/Christianity

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, by Christopher Moore

Yes, it's comedy; yes, it's heresy, but it inspired more thinking and discussions about the personhood, divinity, and life of Christ than a lot of the serious books.