(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best horror literature & fiction books

Most of these recommendations are sort of peripherally queer, so they may not be exactly what you're looking for, but I figured I'd throw them out there in case you're interested.

I admit I'm not a big fan of it, but Virginia Woolf's Orlando is definitely a queer text. The titular character changes from male to female, and the book itself is often read as a love letter to Vita Sackville-West, the woman with whom Woolf had a love affair. I had trouble getting engaged in it myself, but your mileage may vary.

Santa Olivia (and the sequel, Saints Astray) by Jacqueline Carey features a lesbian romance. Not super heavy, but they're fairly quick, fun reads. Carey's Kushiel series (beginning with Kushiel's Dart) might qualify as queer, in that it embraces and celebrates all types of relationships and sexualities (they are set in a society where the gods' most sacred precept is "Love as thou wilt," and bisexuality and open relationships are typical). The primary love stories are heterosexual, but the characters also often engage in same-sex relationships (both sexually and emotionally), and there are supporting characters of various sexual persuasions.

The Tamir Trilogy by Lynn Flewelling is about the rightful heir to the throne in a troubled kingdom. Born female, she was magically disguised as a boy in order to protect her (the usurper king has been making noblewomen disappear in order to protect the succession of his own son). It maybe doesn't explore the consequences of Tobin/Tamir being essentially transgendered as deeply as it could, but it's an interesting and enjoyable read.

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin is a sci-fi classic that plays with gender and sexuality. The basic concept is that, on the planet of Winter, everyone is hermaphroditic. Le Guin's thoughtful exploration of this world was incredibly groundbreaking at the time it was written, and it remains a really enjoyable and thought-provoking read.

Octavia Butler's work also often embraces feminist and queer themes, playing with sexuality and gender. Fledgling and the Xenogenesis Trilogy are some you might find interesting.

The Female Man by Joanna Russ is an explicitly feminist book with some queer themes. It follows women from four alternate realities (one of which is a utopia populated entirely by women) as they cross over into each others' worlds. It's not always an easy read--it can be very fragmetary--but it's totally worth it.

I also just stumbled across this self-proclaimed Gay Fiction Booklist That Doesn't Suck. Some of the above books are listed, and there are a bunch more sci-fi/fantasy titles that might be of interest.

Happy reading!

Adult Dystopian Recommendations:

• Oryx and Crake – Jimmy/Snowman coasts through life fueled mainly by ennui. His only rebellion is to be mediocre when his advantages in society (white, upper (maybe middle) class, Western male) have him poised for success. Glenn/Crake deliberately turns himself into the Big Bad in order to correct the wrongs he sees in society. Whether his main issue is with human nature, sucking the planet dry, socially stratified capitalist society, willful ignorance, or insatiety and curiosity is unclear. Oryx sees it all and accepts them all, knowing that she’s too unimportant to do anything except pick up the pieces and provide comfort in the meantime.
  
  
• The Year of the Flood – The world and especially capitalist society is stacked against you, but resourcefulness and an open mind will serve you well.
  
  
• The Handmaid’s Tale – Quiet rebellions like memory and record-keeping can be subversive also. But it’s only actions that set the stage for change. And the people you (maybe?) save will interpret everything differently from your intentions anyways.
  
  
• Never Let Me Go – Is it truly a dystopia when only a small group is affected? If you’re thinking of reading this, do not under any circumstances watch the movie trailer. The slow build to “something is not quite right” is part of the charm.
  
  
• Into the Forest – Literary fiction. More about acceptance and regression to a [“natural”](#s "and feminist, which apparently means incestuous but Deep! and Thematically! incestuous") state.
  
  
• Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress – Historical fiction about Chinese reeducation camps, but still pretty dystopian. Bourgeois teenage boy questions his educated, upper-class roots and teaches peasant love interest about Western literature. [She](#s "abandons him for a capitalist dream because the lesson she took from it was that love was worthless. Basically, they both take away the worst parts of each other’s starting philosophies and smash them together.")
  
  
• Wild Ginger – If historical fiction is happening, why not another Cultural Revolution one? If you keep your head down, you might just survive long enough to grow up and really see the hypocrisy – stuff even greater than what you saw as a kid.
  
  
• 1984 – Isn’t this more about how the system will break you and leave you a husk of your former self if you trust anyone completely? So you should be smart and skeptical and never assume things are in your best interest just because someone’s telling you so.
  
  
• Brave New World – Have to admit, at 12 this had me thinking that maybe fascism wasn’t such a bad idea after all. The despair and existential crisis aspects weren’t hitting me then: I just noticed how happy almost everyone else was.
  
  
• The Road – All about bleakness and futility and carrying on because the hope of family’s the only good thing left?
  
  
• Fahrenheit 451, where the people in charge are corrupt specifically concerning that thing you're fighting against.
  
  
• World War Z – I’m almost hesitant to call this dystopian, because even though it’s about a freaking zombie apocalypse, it’s uplifting to hear all the stories of human resourcefulness and ingenuity and the mental strength you didn’t think was there. Of course, some of the stories covered are “logical responses” gone bad.
  
  YA-ish Dystopian Recommendations:
  
  
• Feed – It doesn’t work out for the only [person](#s "(Violet)") who truly fought the system (she’s beaten down so horribly that it’s heartbreaking that even the reader wants to look away), but she does technically inspire one other person to at least notice what’s going on in the world, even if it’s probably too late.
  
  
• Hunger Games – Katniss is really only involved because she has nowhere else to go. Side characters have real motivations for being involved, but she really is a figurehead along for the ride and that’s OK. The story is about that and how she copes.
  
  
• The Selection – cough Popcorn cough. America is highly motivated by money (For her struggling family, of course). Ignoring the love triangle stuff, her ideal is to move from serfdom to literally any other [political system.](#s "And this never happens. The political buildup you see in The Selection and The Elite is stomped all over in the vapid cheesecake of the love hexagon finale.")
  
  
• Incarceron & Sapphique – Finn’s rebellion is that he just wants out to someplace that must be better. Claudia lives in artificial luxury and rebels mostly just for personal rebellion, not anyone else’s sake.
  
  
• The Giver – Probably more MG, but how did running away from one collective society automatically become “capitalism is best?” Jonah runs away because he’s learned enough to make his own moral decisions about one of the helpless members of his society (and artificial protection sounds socialist to me). I can’t remember reading the sequels.
  
  
• The Book Thief – Again, MG and historical fiction about a bombed out German town in WWII, but I think a setting like that qualifies it as dystopian. Technically, Liesl fights the system by stealing (possibly forbidden) books from the wealthy and by not reporting the Jew in the basement, but that last one is just showing loyalty to her new family. Her entire upbringing predisposed her to not trust the System, especially a War System, anyways.
  
  Other Dystopias:
  
  
• Matched and Delirium will be considered together because they are the same damn book, right down to the Boy-Who-Could-Have-Been-Chosen-If-Not-For-Rebellion! and the protagonist’s government-approved hobby. Delirium has better writing. Matched is easier to read and has more likable characters. We get it, teenagers should be allowed to date who they like and mommy and daddy non-biological guardians shouldn’t say no. Also, it sucks to have a guidance counselor Make A Schedule for you in order to prepare you for an office job equivalent that’s full of busywork but one of the few respectable positions left. The horror! Seriously, in what world is that rebelling against socialism? You know, that thing that promotes trade schools and equal rights for everyone, even the people you don’t personally like?
  
  
• Divergent – I’m going to let someone else handle that one because urgh. I know a lot of people like it, and it’s YA, so someone else, please support, qualify, or refute.
  
  I’d also be curious to hear what /u/bethrevis has to say about the societies on Godspeed and elsewhere and where they fit into this opinion piece.
  
  Guys, I think I just wrote an English essay. And probably put more work into it than I did in high school. And I won’t even get an A because it’s the internet and we deal solely in lolcats.
  
  But tl;dr: Adult dystopias (that I’ve read) tend to be about the futility of existence or the necessity of self-sacrifice to get a result. The YA dystopias I liked were a little more hopeful (usually) and didn’t support this opinion piece’s thesis. The ones I didn’t like made me understand the hate for dystopias.

For (currently) free Kindle books, David Weber's On Basilisk Station is the first book in the space-opera Honor Harrington series. The second book The Honor of the Queen, is one of my favorites in the entire series. Eric Flint's 1632 turned into a massive and awesome alternate-history series. If you'd like to delve into Alaskan-based murder mysteries, give Dana Stabenow's A Cold Day For Murder a try as the first in the some eighteen book Kate Shugak series.

For paid Kindle books, there's Hugh Howey's Wool Omnibus is the beginning of the dystopian Silo series; the followup Shift Omnibus is actually a prequel trilogy that I haven't gotten yet but is very readable. Naomi Novik's first novel in the alt-history Temeraire series, His Majesty's Dragon, is currently $.99.

In print, Elizabeth Moon's military fantasy The Deed of Paksenarrion is available used for a very affordable price and is an epic series. The Cage was my introduction to a fantasy universe written by SM Stirling, Shirley Meier, and Karen Wehrstein. Diana Gabaldon's Outlander is a sort of alternate history/light romance series set in Scotland that I've thoroughly enjoyed. Brent Weeks' assassin-based (excuse me, wetboy) fantasy Night Angel Trilogy was recently released as an omnibus edition. Empire from the Ashes collects Weber's Dahak sci-fi trilogy into an omnibus edition. Weber and John Ringo co-wrote March Upcountry and the other three novels in the sci-fi Prince Roger quadrilogy. If you haven't tried Harry Turtledove's alt-history sci-fi WW2 'Worldwar' series, In the Balance starts off a little slow plot-wise but picks up good speed. EE Knight's sci-fi/futuristic fantasy Vampire Earth starts off with Way of the Wolf. Mercedes Lackey wrote the modern-fantasy Born to Run with Larry Dixon, and the rest of the SERRAted Edge books with various other authors. Neal Stephenson's cyberpunk and slightly dystopian Snow Crash is hilarious and awesome. Maggie Furey's Aurian is the first of a fantasy quadrilogy that I enjoyed many years ago.

If you're at all familiar with the Warhammer 40k universe, the Eisenhorn Omnibus is Dan Abnett's wonderful look into the life of an Imperial Inquisitor. He's also written a popular series about the Tanith First-and-Only Imperial Guard regiment starting with The Founding Omnibus. He also wrote the first book in the Horus Heresy series, Horus Rising (I highly recommend reading the first three novels together as a trilogy and then cherry-picking the rest).

... and if you've read all that already, I'll be impressed.

Edit: Why yes, I do read a lot. Why do you ask?

Here's some novels with some very interesting themes: Timothy Findley's Pilgrim (about a man that cannot die, about the nature of man and, to some extent, divinity and religion), David Adams Richards' The Friends of Meager Fortune (about sin/evil and gossip in the context of a small lumber town), Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum (the nature of truth and the power of text wrapped up in a massive, world-changing conspiracy involving the Knights Templar), George Orwell's 1984 (totalitarianism, language, and politics in general? this was very formative to my grade 7 self), Ayn Rand's Anthem (think of it as the anti-Animal Farm, except even less subtle and Rand is never a very strong writer or [IMO] political thinker, still offers a relevant counter-balance and much more readable than Atlas Shrugged due to this books shorter length and less ambitious scope).

As a theology graduate, I recommend these books on modern Christian thought: Stanley Hauerwas' and William Willimon's Resident Aliens and Where Resident Aliens Live (calls for the Church to view itself as a colony living within the nations of the world -- a big part of the call is for Christians to disentangle themselves from secular politics), Stanley Hauerwas' After Christendom (he calls this a "prequel" to Resident Aliens, it lays a lot of groundwork that Resident Aliens assumes -- Hauerwas is, strictly speaking, an ethical thinker but this book covers topics ranging from the how justice to the language we use, but ends on a note knowing that for all the ground he'll cover, Hauerwas' own thought on these topics is incomplete and is part of an ongoing discussion with other thinkers). Reinhold Neibuhr's The Nature and Destiny of Man (Neibuhr is probably the most influential American ethicist -- his influence is felt wide even if his name isn't credited so often. Last election both Obama and McCain referred to him as their favourite American political thinker, his approach to understanding justice has shaped how American Christianity views politics; Hauerwas [who I have obvious sympathies for] views this influence in a negative light, while simultaneously admitting some level of indebtedness to him; these two volumes are Neibuhr's attempt to consolidate the entire history of philosophy). Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Discipleship (aka The Cost of Discipleship) is an important text to see the roots of discontent with Neibuhr's own political theology and Bonhoeffer offers a very different, very radical version (Bonhoeffer was a student of Neibuhr but found more comfort in the politics of Islam and the black churches of Detroit than Neibuhr; Bonhoeffer tried to organize a peaceful, church based resistance to German's Nazi regime, this book advocates pacifism. The German Church was unwilling to offer any to resistance to the evils of Hitler's regime so he famously was executed after getting involved in a plot to bomb Hitler); Bonhoeffer's book is an interpretation of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and uses the ethics found within to argue that the Lutheran Church had a bad view of God's grace that didn't involve Christian ethics. Of these I'd consider Discipleship and Resident Aliens to be must reads as Discipleship is a pretty traditional book on ethics while Resident Aliens is a call to live by these sorts of ethics (Hauerwas and Willimon are both Bonhoeffer fans).

For some classic texts, I suggest Plato's Republic (I'm a bit of a Platonist in my weaker moments, and Republic is such a comprehensive text; Plato covers everything from the nature of art, education, family, and the soul), St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans (some theologians consider this particular epistle to be THE primary Pauline text, a book which provides the tools for the Gentile community to interpret Jewish scriptures truthfully; in the history of European thought Paul's writings in Romans have been important. A lot of Luther's political thought comes from his interpretation of Romans and Luther's political theology has had a lasting impression on the direction of European thought. I suggest the NIV translation [not my favourite but it's pretty accessible while not prone to over simplify some of the grammatical ambiguities of the Koine Greek text]), St. Augustine's Confessions (Augustine's autobiography, it presents his thoughts on the nature of God's love, the human condition, and evil; it's much less dense than City of God which covers his political thought [if you ever soldier through that, I suggest an abridged version]). Of these I'd consider the epistle to the Romans to be essential (it's so short yet pretty dense, as the history of interpretation shows) and Republic (extremely important to the history of political thought).

Also, if you want some good books on spirituality I recommend Khalil Gibran's The Prophet (a poem about his thoughts on various topics: he was a Christian deeply influenced by his Arabic roots and a universalist) and Henri Nouwen's The Return of the Prodigal Son (Nouwen was a Catholic priest who struggled with his vows of celibacy and his need for intimacy, and [as it was later revealed when he died] his homosexuality; this book is an extended commentary on the parable of the prodigal son using Rembrandt's painting of it as a lens through which to understand the themes Nouwen seeks to talk about, it's a deeply personal book). Both are easy reads (The Prophet is easily read in one sitting, The Return of the Prodigal Son easily read in two or three). Nouwen's books have been very important to me as of late in understanding my own spiritual position in relation to my own work and volunteering. He's moved me and given me the resources to understand how I can deal with the pain another shares with me as they seek to understand the pain in their lives.

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!

You are such an amazing person for this!

I would like it because it would be a great way to pass time. Now that its summer, and I will be home pretty much every day twiddling my thumbs and occasionally on reddit when I have enough data. This would be great because then I would have something to do, and itll give me a chance to start reading more :D oh and not to mention I'll love you forever if I win XD.

Oh and heres a link to favorite ebook

>How do video games help you? They improve your hand-eye coordination. They improve your reflexes. You can learn new vocabulary in video games too through the story. If you're playing multiplayer, it can be an opportunity to meet new people and socialize.

True.


>How does reading help you? Well, it can increase your vocabulary. That's a small improvement, but it's an improvement.

That's a gross oversimplification. Books at their finest give us insights into the human condition. They can tell us more about the world around us, and other people's perspective on things, or they can challenge our most firmly held convictions. That's not just nonfiction books either, even a simple vampire story can shock you with a new perspective on things.

Video games typically just aren't this mature. Few games have meaningful content beyond just being "fun." Partially because it's a newer medium, and partially because of the industry's fixation on selling games to teenage boys.

>So obviously, video games are better for you than reading.

Not obvious to me.

> And when the people that were around when video games were invented die out, video games won't be seen as "taboo" anymore. They won't be something that a parent needs to limit a child's time on.

You haven't made that argument. Children should be able to play games for 20 hours straight at the expense of other things in their life... why? Because it might improve their hand-eye coordination? Depending on the type of game even that's arguable. After 200 hours of grinding in a JRPG you stop getting anything really useful out of the experience. What about Farmville or any of those crappy iOS games that are explicitly designed to be time sucks with IAP's? It's like eating 50 cans of Pringles. You might want to, and it might taste good, but there's better things you could be doing.

I can concede to your overall point though, depending on what you're playing and what you're reading. Are you playing "Papers, Please", and reading Twilight? Yeah, the video game is a meaningful experience and the book is trash.

Let's start with the obvious. You seem to enjoy the Warcraft universe. Did you know that fantasy novels have been released for that universe? See here for more details.


Maybe you want something new, though. I can't vouch for the quality of Warcraft novels, but a lot of the Warhammer Fantasy novels out there have had positive reviews, and take place in a similar (but more grimdark, because Warhammer) world. You can find more information about Warhammer Fantasy novels at Black Library, here.


Okay, so far, so good. But maybe you want something older and unrelated to a game franchise. Instead of mindlessly bleating TOLKIEN TOLKIEN TOLKIEN over and over at you, I'm going to suggest you avoid him. He's one of those fantasy authors that people like to tell everyone to read when they have no better suggestions, or because he's old and somehow a "father of the genre." Instead, try Tad Williams with his Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy. It tells the same sort of story, but with more character development and less time spent on epic feasting.


Alternatively, if you enjoy gritty military tales, give The Black Company a whirl - easily one of my favourites in the genre, and a book that inspired another awesome series, Malazan Book of the Fallen. (Note: Malazan is sort of like A Song of Ice and Fire in that it has a ton of characters, frequently jumps around, and can leave you disengaged from one novel to another.)


Edit: I should add that Brandon Sanderson is a good bet, and I'd recommend his Stormlight Archives series (aka, The Way of Kings) over his Mistborn stuff, but that's personal preference. I didn't mention him originally because he'd already been mentioned everywhere else in this thread, and repetition isn't helpful.

Well, here goes. Recently, my phone went into a pool and I used my phone for a variety of things beyond a phone. I used it for classes, alarms, messaging (not just texting), keeping up with emails on the go, and so on. I've also very much been looking into getting a tablet for class, so I would be free to not take my laptop everywhere. Bad encounter with rain caused my laptop to become unusable and I ended up getting an entirely new one. It would be much easier to carry a tablet to certain classes instead of my whole laptop.

Aside from that, I actually haven't been reading a whole lot. I would really love to get into comics and graphic novels.. and I'm sure the Kindle Fire would be fantastic for that!

An eBook that I would want is: Penpal--I read the nosleep parts and would enjoy reading the actual book!

Thank you 186394 for such a great contest! Your generosity is amazing.

My name is Matt :D I think my favorite ebook would probably be Ender's Game but I already have that! So I'll pick John Dies at the End even though I've never read it. I watched the movie a couple weeks ago and I liked it even though it was pretty weird, and I've heard and read that the book is much better, so I'd love to read it!

Thanks for doing the contest, it's amazing that everyone on here is so willing to give :D One of the reasons I love it here :D

In her defense, I hated "The Great Gatsby" too, and I consider reading/literature to be my number 1 hobby. Not every book is for every person.

If she likes horror stories/movies, my top suggestion is Stephen King. All very creepy, minimal to no sexuality in most stories, and the best part is that he has numerous short story collections for the attention impaired. I actually prefer his shorts to his novels. I'd start with Night Shift, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, or Skeleton Crew, as these are all classic creepy King. A slightly newer but also excellent collection is Everything's Eventual.

If she doesn't want to try King, maybe something like The Forest Of Hands And Teeth would catch her interest. It's 'The Village' meets '28 Days Later' in a way, a teen novel and the first in a trilogy.

If she likes graphic novels, there are graphic novelizations of many popular fiction books out there. This HuffPo list has classics like Dante's Inferno and Farenheit 451. Campfire Graphic Novels has tons of classics and nonfiction graphic novels. They are usually for a younger set, but that just means she'd read them faster.

I feel like a broken record with how much I recommend this book, but I feel like I have to share it with the whole world. I really loved Boy's Life by Robert McCammon. The Amazon blurb doesn't do it justice, but it perfectly captures the magic of being a kid and growing up. Plus there's dinosaurs, voodoo magic and pretty much the best coming of age story I've ever read. It strikes you deep man.

yes, definitely
Shaft stay pretty faithful the the novel, like really really faithful. But they still have to cut down contents since there is a limit, these mostly include conversations or monologues that can be reason out with contexts. So the novel will give you a much deeper understanding of what happen without you having to going over the anime and think about it
The one novel that I'd recommend the most is Kizu, since Shaft gave themselves quite a bit of creative freedom and deviate from the novel slightly.
Also, I highly recommend the boxset, the price fluctuate recently, at lowest it's $43, that's a steal imo

Apophenia: The human tendency to see patterns in things. We find come correspondance and we (people) want to put meaning into it.

Have I got some books for you:

A discussion, via a novel, of coincidences, and how we can find connections to everything: Foucaults Pendulum
https://www.amazon.com/Foucaults-Pendulum-Umberto-Eco/dp/015603297X
Best related scene: The Comte De Saint Germain (sort of) points to a magazine kiosk, and points out all the connections between its design and the solar system at large. Also points out you can find something connected to something else everywhere. Most of the book revolves and resolves around this concept (as well as a few others).

A more humorous, but very cool take, on "kabballistic" thought and correspondences: Unsongbook.com
Best related scene: The main character Aaron, is challenged by someone one to defend a kabbalist's ability to find connections when looking at completed events, and in ability to predict future events.

The correspondence of Pi and the number of seconds in a year can be looked at through both these lenses. Sure... the number isn't exact. But you could go forward or backward in time (the earth's orbital velocity changes through the aeons), to find a moment when these numbers do correspond, maybe you could make some additional connections to that period.

Bonus connection: A pendulum that swings at exactly once a second is exactly one yard long at the equator. (I.e. one of the old definitions of a yard.)

Two books I've read this month that I can't recommend highly enough:

First, The Sociopath Next Door by Dr. Martha Stout. Really illuminating and, to coin a phrase, might just save your life. The book is a great read and gets into a lot more detail and examples from the author's practice, but here's a quick summary:

• 4% of people are sociopaths. That means you probably know a sociopath and don't know it.
  
• Sociopathy is a fairly well studied clinical phenomenon. They are people who simply lack the capacity for higher human emotions like love and empathy, and therefore conscience.
  
• Conscience is the cornerstone of all moral behavior among the 96% of us who aren't sociopaths, not abstract codes or religion or laws or rational self-interest, but rather that it is emotionally impossible for us to seriously harm another human being (absent a very specific regimin of military or other training and even that has severe limits).
  
• Because they are not caught up in their own emotions (they don't have any), sociopaths are very effective liars and manipulators, and have no compunction whatsoever about harming you (emotionally, financially, or even physically) to get what they want. This makes them extremely dangerous.
  
• The best giveaway of a sociopath is the "pity play". Being pitied is very advantageous: it can cause people to forgive almost any transgression and feel compelled to help the pitied to an unreasonable extent. However, almost all non-sociopaths hate to actively request pity; even if they secretly want or expect it, they almost never explicitly say "you should feel sorry for me" or the like. Fortunately sociopaths seem not to understand this second part, this is the one common way their mask of being human slips.
  
• There is no winning with a sociopath: they will always be better than you at the game they play. Your only good option is to protect yourself and cut them out of your life.
  
  Second, World War Z by Max Brooks (well, re-read actually; I guess I have a morbid sense of humor). Intelligent multidisciplinary writing is my favorite approach to speculative fiction and this is a master class in it. The choice to approach it as a post-war oral history à la the late Studs Terkel was truly inspired.
  
  But what I was absolutely blown away by is, after a month of reporting on the real-world Ebola epidemic, how astonishingly spot-on Brooks' writing is in regards to the tone and terminology of media reports in the early days of the outbreak. He predicted, almost verbatim, phrases that I'm hearing on the radio on a daily basis today. The verisimilitude is just jaw-dropping, that's real talent.
  
  EDIT: For those who didn't care for the WWZ movie, you might like the audiobook. Obviously it's non-visual but they have an incredible voice cast. A few examples: Mark Hamill, Alan Alda, Simon Pegg, Carl Reiner, Jeri Ryan, Parminder Nagra, F. Murray Abraham, John Turturro ... and that's just the start.

I got into the RR trilogy as a means of coming off my hangover from reading the Night Angel trilogy.

It's a fantasy book, not sci-fi, but it's very similar in other ways. It follows the journey of a young hero from zero to powerful hero, and the books tend to take a step back in scope each time just like RR.

I would say Night Angel is certainly more dark and has less of a "young adults" feel that RR does.

Both are excellent books.

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).

I'm not an expert on merch but I imagine Amazon gets it from an official wholesaler of the products and the puts them up for retail. Amazon it pretty good about having official products sold there, and It'd probably be pretty clear if it wasn't official (with a lack of the products info and what not).

I actually just purchased my first LN collection from Amazon earlier today, and they listed the publisher on the page. So I hope my money went to the creator's sales.

I'm very interested in your copies of Your Inner Fish, Anatomy of an Epidemic, and Evil Genes. I would love to be able to take all three off your hands. I have several books that I can offer you in exchange, all of which I've read and highly recommend! What I have that might match your interests are:

• Mutants: On Genetic Variety and the Human Body, Armand Leroi
  
  
• We, Yevgeny Zamyatin
  
• Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
  
  
• Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
  
  
• Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes
  
• I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
  
  And seeing that you had a Steve Berry novel up for trade, I also have these two excellent Brad Meltzer thriller novels:
  
  
• The Book of Fate, Brad Meltzer
  
  
• The Millionaires, Brad Meltzer
  
  If any of my books peak your interests, I'd love to make a trade!

Alright lets do this.

Fantasy:

You like friendship and grimdark? You get the Slayer series:
http://www.amazon.com/Gotrek-Felix-First-Omnibus-Novels/dp/1844163741/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426257019&sr=1-1&keywords=gotrek+and+felix+omnibus

You like malice and conniving and plot twists? You get the Darkblade Series:
http://www.amazon.com/Chronicle-Malus-Darkblade-Warhammer-Anthology/dp/1844165639/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426257058&sr=1-1&keywords=darkblade+omnibus

You like the Empire n shit? They did a whole series about every "part" of the army:
http://www.amazon.com/Empire-Omnibus-Warhammer-Chris-Wraight/dp/1849705879/ref=pd_sim_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=15PKR46KZZN2847VPRMN

The omnibus contains the arty, pikemen, and 2handed swords companies. There is also a Reiksguard book and some others.


40k:

You like comedy? You get Ciaphus Cain (currently 2 omnibus, books getting a bit stale now but the early ones are good):
http://www.amazon.com/Ciaphas-Cain-Hero-Imperium-Novels/dp/1844164667

You like philosophy (kinda)? You get the Night Lords series:
http://www.amazon.com/Night-Lords-Aaron-Dembski-Bowden/dp/184970676X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426256834&sr=1-1&keywords=night+lords+omnibus

You like pure bloody action? You get any of the Gaunts Ghosts:
http://www.amazon.com/Gaunts-Ghosts-Founding-Dan-Abnett/dp/1844163695/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426256866&sr=1-2&keywords=gaunts+ghost+omnibus

You like the movie The Dirty Dozen? You get The Last Chancers:
http://www.amazon.com/Last-Chancers-Warhammer-000-Novels/dp/1844163008/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426256913&sr=1-1&keywords=last+chancers+omnibus

You want all the pre-lore in the game? You start collecting the Horus Heresy books (up to like 30 of em):
http://www.amazon.com/Horus-Heresy-Box-Volumes-1-12/dp/1849708290/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426256963&sr=1-2&keywords=horus+heresy



I got plenty more. But these are good places to start. If you like one race in particular over others, let me know and I can recommend some race specific books for you.

Happy birthday u/justjess316 and welcome to the greatest Reddit sub ever.

Since I haven't had the chance to get to know you yet, I picked a few items from my WL that I think anyone would love

1. Birthday Cake BUBBLE Bath Bomb
   
   
2. A Dirty Job: A Novel
   
   
3. Mermaid Leggings
   
   
4. Les Miserables
   
   I hope you have a great birthday, and I look forward to knowing exactly what you would like next year! 🎂

I would first echo most people here and say Sanderson's anything- Elantris comes to mind as a good recommendation.

When you say in the same calibre, are you talking in terms of story, in terms of being high fiction, in terms of length or in terms of moments that make you go, "ohhh... well DAMN!"

I would recommend a lot of things I saw below, so I'm going to try to not do that any more than I already have. The Conan Chronicles by Robert Howard are fun and a much unappreciated classic of Low Fantasy. Orcs by Stan Nicholls is a great series, somewhere in the middle ground between high and low fantasy, and does an interesting twist on the classical fantasy story. The Gentleman Bastards series is another interesting take, but it is more of an Ocean's 11 in a fantasy world. I only saw one mention, but anything Tolkien is a must read if for nothing else than to pay respect to the godfather. The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks is another good story, and it uses a lot of the ideas Jordan uses in terms of who knows what, why and when to progress the story. Finally, for a more Eastern themed book, Tales of the Otori by Liam Hearn is a good trilogy with a lot of political twists.

EDIT: added a link for Elantris

1. Even though there's a fight, there's also love in hockey! (I saw this earlier on /r/hockey and it made me smile)
   
2. You'll realize in your second and subsequent relationships that you're completely right for wanting the things that you want. I know it's hard now, but there will come a day when it will click (either while still with this guy or after) that you'll be better off either on your own, or that a new person you've met will truly make you feel special and won't make you feel hurt for having valid feelings. It sounds like this guy doesn't really want that. Good luck!
   
   Diary of a Madman
   
   I'd like to finally read World War Z, thanks for the contest! :D

you mentioned being a fangirl; i've been reading some amazing, recent sci fi works written by women authors lately, maybe you'd find them interesting? all 3 of these are among the absolute best sci fi i've ever read:

the time traveller's wife by audrey niffenegger

^ forget about the movie, the book is fantastic

oryx and crake by margaret atwood

^ nice and dark

lilith's brood by octavia e. butler

^ amazon reviews calls it "profoundly evocative, sensual -- and disturbing", which sums it up pretty well

This is incredibly generous of you! :)

I'm generally a book purist since I love the way that the pages feel when you turn them and the way old books smell (which is totally not creepy at all!) But I realized that the books that I do have are big and bulky and I have to commute 1.5-2 hours to the city and another 1.5-2 hours back home. I like to bring more than one book with me when I commute but since most of them are big fatty's, it's starting to weigh me down. The book that I've been dying to read for some time would be World War Z since I generally like to read the book first before seeing the movie. Plus, zombies are hip and cool now :P

Thank you so much for running this contest! Congratulations in advance to the winner :)

I only have one project going right now that I'm actually paying attention to, and that's Morrígan :) I've kind of been ambling my way through it, so I'm only halfway through the third repeat (I want to do 6 and a half before starting the edging) but it's a really easy pattern!

This is actually my first laceweight lace project, and it's going well :)

And if you like book recs with your knitting, I started knitting this because of the Morrigan characters in one of my favorite books.

I've been struggling a bit the last week or so- I'm a huge fan of history, and I've been in the mood to read it lately. I started The Borgias: The Hidden History by G.J. Meyer as I've always known that I should read more about the Borgias, and got about 2/3 of the way through it before finally acknowledging that I'm just not that interested in historical Italian politics. Lots of fun facts about the early modern papacy, and its politics, as well as some very interesting personages, but I just couldn't get into it for some reason.

Then I read Serving Queen Victoria: Life in the Royal Household, which is very well done- great, original research and sources, wonderful individual personalities, and a very different look at Queen Victoria. But it's a bit excruciating to read- you've got all of these wonderful personalities, living incredibly boring lives, centred around a self-absorbed, uneducated, fairly crazy, ultimately 'bad' queen. It was a very good book, but damn, am I glad that I wasn't born in Victorian England.

I think that I'll go for something a bit different for the moment- right now it's between This Book is Full of Spiders, Sacre Bleu, or starting The Culture series.

The Library of America one is a nice hardcover with a great collection and some decent contextual biographical information. They do good work, and it gives Lovecraft legitimacy that they did an edition for him.

http://www.amazon.com/H-P-Lovecraft-Library-America/dp/1931082723

I also HIGHLY recommend audio versions. Talented reader + Lovecraft = amazing.

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.

You must read these two books:

The Illuminatus Trilogy

Foucault's Pendulum.

Both are amazing books near to the topic - the first is a huge spoof that's hilarious and heavily popularized Discordianism (All hail Eris!). The second is a seminal piece of literature by one of the best living authors and everybody should read it...it's about some publishers who put together 'the grand conspiracy' of the Illuminati and suddenly are embroiled in what they created.

I wish the Illuminati was real...the world would be a heck of a lot cooler place!

If you spend time in the webcomics part of the internet you probably heard of Machine of Death when it was published a couple years back. If you don't, you probably never heard of it, unless you heard Glenn Beck complaining that this book kept one of his books from debuting at #1.


The book is a collection of short stories that were inspired by a Dinosaur Comics webcomic that fans wanted the author to make happen. Notable figures from across the internet, as well as some random authors, each wrote a short story based only on that comic (essentially, that a machine somehow existed that would tell you in very few words how you would die, but not when or where). Every story is accompanied by a single amazing illustration from a different artist.

What is so cool about the book is that every author worked from the same original but with no communication, so you get these amazingly unique interpretations. Many are sad, but some are happy and a few are laugh out loud funny. I read it during a cross country trip and absolutely lost myself in it for the better part of the trip.


(On a side note, a few people are recommending Chuck Pahalniuk. His style will engross you, hold you tight, and then hold your head underwater until you can't breath. He regularly has people pass out at the line "corn and peanuts" when he reads a particular short story to groups. If you pick one of his books, go with one where the characters do a lot of the story telling, it adds so many layers of depth and gives you some needed diversity in prose. Rant or Haunted I would say are hands down his best books, despite the fact that Fightclub and Choke were made into movies.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

If you like short stories, I'd recommend Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk. It's quite twisted, and not for the faint-of-heart, or churny-of-stomach. It's loosely based off of the structure of the Canterbury Tales, which is interesting, ,but the characters and the stories they tell while trapped together are all very Palahniuk-style gritty and dark.

If you like graphic novels and the more fantastic, I would recommend The Darkness series - it is about a young man who inherits the power of darkness and demons. He is a fantastic anti-hero who wants to be self-serving, but finds himself battling the forces of actual evil. FABULOUS art, and great stories.

Helpful term for you: bildungsroman, which is the "making of the man," and is often applied to training the hero stories.

Some fantasy bildungsromans you haven't named:

• Eragon by Christopher Paolini (farm boy finds a dragon, takes on evil empire). Gets a lot of hate for being so derivative, but obviously some people liked the escapism and easy reading.
  
• Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson (abused orphan finds out she has all the rare powers, gets involved in a coup). This one either fits your list perfectly or you'll hate it. I had trouble keeping the secondary characters straight and one of the later arcs is purely political.
  
• Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks (abused orphan trains to be an assassin)
  
• Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan (boy trains to be a ranger). These are more like children's books.
  
• Protector of the Small series by Tamora Pierce, where a girl trains to be a knight. It's marketed for girls, but every boy I've made read these books has loved them. (Inching towards children's books also.)
  
• Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb, about a king's bastard trained to be an assassin. Probably the best on this list for writing mechanics.

theres a raoa discussion going on about books right now

mind if i just copy paste what i wrote there?

the shining

Ive seen the movie and wanted to try reading the book, it was soooo good that i read it in 10 days. easy to read, great original story, its a best seller


/u/Morthy [+28][2] you shall be now dubbed Dr. Morthy-o. Let's play a pill version of Tetris.

Finished Lilith's Brood by Octavia Butler from last week. I felt quite a bit more invested in the last two books than the first one. I did feel a little embarrassed carrying the library copy around because of the cover (this one). Especially when I got to some of the sex scenes later on while I was riding the bus. I wasn't expecting that from sci-fi, although maybe I should have.

Reading Perfume by Patrick Suskind now, about a young boy who gets involved in the essential oil business. Ok, he's actually an orphan with an excellent sense of smell in 18th-century France, but the book does get into the technicalities of perfumes and essential oils. The main character is so odd and unrelatable, but so far it's a great book. I was impressed by the author's prose, and then I found out that it was originally written in German and I'm reading a translation, so now I'm impressed by the author and by the translator.

Thanks man. Glad you liked it. If it interests you, I've actually written a full novel. It's called Demon's Plague. It's a zombie apocalypse book, but unlike every other one it takes place in Medieval England instead of a modern / military setting. The zombies are heavily inspired by Max Brooks, no runners. I also did my best to avoid common tropes for the genre. Characters are intelligent, learn quickly how to handle the infected. And best of all, the story focuses on exactly zero children or babies.

It's available on Amazon now in digital and paperback.

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.

Maybe start with his Gaunt's Ghosts series, it's pretty easy to read and awesome! :D

There are anthologies available now like this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Founding-Warhammer-40-000/dp/1844163695

which I think includes the first three books.

EDIT - Sorry Wappba, I didn't see you'd already replied with the same info. I agree, the Horus Heresy is also a must read! A selection of warhammer authors take it in turns to write the books so it makes for interestingly contrasting styles, I should go back and re-read that series!

https://www.amazon.com/Shining-Stephen-King/dp/0307743659#immersive-view_1540304841518

For example:
The copy of the Shining I bought that had this cover started to deteriorate very easily while I read it.

I do like the larger print like you mentioned. And the cover art is often more aesthetically pleasing for sure.

These editions (that I posted a reference to) all had the same layout. I liked that in general for some reason. Even though the art wasn’t nearly as nice maybe.

Favorite books include the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. No one turns classic fantasy tropes on their ear and makes me consistently laugh out loud like he does. Particular highlights of that series include any books featuring Death and his granddaughter Susan, and the men of Ankh-Morpork's City Watch. I use the term "men" loosely. Good Omens, the book he co-authored with Neil Gaiman, is one of my all-time favorites. As far as other fantasy goes, I'm a big fan of Michael Moorcock's work, in particular the Elric series and the Books of Corum. Stephen Lawhead's Song of Albion trilogy is a favorite as well. It's about two Oxford students who discover a magic portal to an ancient version of the British Isles. Focuses on Celtic mythology a great deal. Very different from your typical Tolkien-inspired contemporary fantasy. Though yes... of course, I'm also a fan of George R.R. Martin. It's almost a chore to mention these days that I love his Song of Ice & Fire, because basically everybody does. Guess there's a reason for that though.

Outside of fantasy, I like a few sci-fi authors, but not too many. I enjoy storytelling that focuses on character far more than it does on technology, so hard sci-fi isn't really my thing. Though I fucking love cyberpunk. Gibson and Stephenson especially. The purists would say Stephenson is post-cyberpunk, but seriously, fuck purists. IMO, Snow Crash is the pinnacle of the genre, and one of the very best books I've ever read. It's got a main character named Hiro Protagonist (really) who's a genius hacker and programmer/swordsman, who delivers pizza for the mafia. He's one of the architects of the Metaverse, basically the Matrix before the Matrix. There's also a big huge Aluet dude who uses glass knives that can cut through anything. And he's got a nuclear bomb strapped to his motorcycle that will go off if he's ever killed. There's just so much crazy shit in that book, like rocket-powered cyberdogs and a massive floating shantytown hitched to a derelict aircraft carrier, and so much more I really don't have time to get into. But it's completely awesome from beginning to end. Currently reading The Diamond Age by Stephenson, which could be considered a follow-up to Snow Crash set in that world's future. Not a sequel though.

Another of my favorite books is World War Z. Even if you're not the horror aficionado I am, or you're sick of zombies, this book is kind of amazing. It discusses the effects of a zombie apocalypse in so many ways most people would never think of. It's easy to see why it was so hard to adapt into a movie. They basically didn't even bother adapting it. The movie is an entirely different animal, so even if you've seen it, you're spoiling nothing of the book.

And I can't mention horror without bringing up H.P. Lovecraft, one of my all-time favorite authors. He invented cosmic horror, and you can see his influence in so many other works out there today. Get yourself a collection of his stuff and just enjoy the trip. Also, House of Leaves is a pretty fantastic horror novel that I finally just got around to finishing recently.

http://www.amazon.com/Stress-Buster-Desktop-Punching-Ball/dp/B0051V68DQ/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1398180747&sr=8-15&keywords=stress+relief

This could help you relax and smile :)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008WVVKCQ/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1OCYQBIQB0HKN&coliid=IQ4I0AF0BXFIX

If I win I'd like to read this or surprise me.

I can't stop procrastinating :-p I really can't I should be cleaning.

I would suggest buying H.P. Lovecraft: Tales and just starting from the first story. It begins with "The Statement of Randolph Carter" which is a quick and interesting read. Some of the earlier ones are "The Outsider" and "The Music of Erich Zann" (which used to be my personal favorite) and they are a good introduction to his style. Then you'll be ready for things like "The Call of Cthulhu," "The Shadow Over Innsmouth," "The Shadow Out of Time," and then "At the Mountains of Madness." I would not suggest reading The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. It's his only full-length novel and it's just...not his best, at all.

World War Z, by Max Brooks

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter Miller

I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson -- fair warning: it's actually more of a short story/novelette. But even if you've seen the Will Smith movie, the book is different (and, in my opinion, better) so you'll still want to read this one.

The Last Policeman, by Ben Winters -- sort of fits. It's not exactly post-apocalyptic. It's more pre-apocalyptic. It's a sort of noir detective novel, except the government has announced that an asteroid is going to collide with the earth, probably ending life as we know it. So it's kind of a murder mystery while the world breaks down around the hero. The first book in this trilogy won an Edgar Award in 2013 for Best Paperback Original.

Parasites Like Us, by Adam Johnson -- This one's more light-hearted. The hero is a 2nd rate anthropologist working at a 2nd rate university. He illegally conducts a dig at the site of an early American settlement, and gets thrown in jail. Turns out that the dig unleashed a virus that threatens to wipe out civilization. It focuses more on the human elements of the story -- life, love, etc. -- and less on the apocalypse, and it's filled with dark humor and satire.

1. Check.
   
2. A physical book of The Shining, a classic, and while the movie was good, wasn't as good as the book. Never is. And used is totally okay. <3
   
3. Who hasn't? If you haven't, go read the book and watch the movie, like now. But I haven't read the book in forever and a half, so I would seriously love to again.
   
4. the books are always better than the movies!
   
5. Okay.

I have thought about doing the same thing. I started thinking about this after I read the first three books in the "Black Company" series by Glen Cook. I would suggest checking it out. Very good read. Might give you a lot of ideas.

In thinking about the campaign that I wanted to make, I also thought about using the tales of the yawning portal book. This would give me something to use as a kind of filler. Just kind of re-flavor some of the mobs/bosses/feel of the dungeon to fit my needs.

I was also thinking of having my players be the "special ops" component of the military. This would give an easy explanation to why they always needed to sneak off or why they have such better toys than the rest.

In case you are interested. Here is a link for the first three books. https://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Black-Company-Glen-Cook/dp/0765319233/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1497121270&sr=8-3&keywords=the+black+company.

I would like a copy of The Shining to add to my Stephen King collection

The dog ate my homework!

Heres a phot if you want to see it:

http://i.imgur.com/rkJ4CTS.jpg

It's a fairly new collection, and I love reading, and I wold love to grow my collection a bit more!

Thank you so much for the giveaway Op!

Buying a book is not about obtaining a possession, but about securing a portal.

I sit in a corner and stare at the wall everyday at work. Books help my day pass so much quicker. I need a new series and [this] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0316033677/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2FW4CC4RC9SM5&coliid=I2VQ9SUF6IPRF4) looks interesting. Thanks!

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

• David Wong - John Dies at the End; This Book is Full of Spiders
  
  
• Daniel O'Brien - How to Fight Presidents
  
  
• Kathy Benjamin - Funerals to Die For
  
  
• Gladstone Notes from the Internet Apocalypse
  
  
• Jacopo della Quercia The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy
  
  
• Robert Brockway Everything Is Going to Kill Everybody: The Terrifyingly Real Ways the World Wants You Dead
  
  
• Asher Cantrell - The Book of Word Records
  
  
• Shelby Fero - Writer for @midnight
  
  In addition, if you go into the Lounge section of the forum you will find threads about other sites that pay and offer other types of writing. I wrote for Playboy's The Smoking Jacket for a while.
  
  Overall Cracked has made me a much better writer and prepared me for receiving feedback, collaborating with other authors and building credentials. It's not the end all, be all of crafting great writers, but it is a rare gem that it is a site that allows anyone to sign up, contribute whatever weird or obscure knowledge and get an article before hundreds of thousands to millions of readers, all while giving far more attention to developing writing far more than other sites.

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

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

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

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

Links:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It's a matter of the audience. Some Taliban fighters are heroes to those who support their cause. The 9/11 hijackers are heroes to AQ and Daesh types.

One man's monster is another man's glorious savior.

If you're intrigued by that concept, I'd suggest this (it's the book, not the terrible movie): I Am Legend

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Oh neat! Seems fun. Fear cuts deeper than swords.

1. Something that is grey. - Wishful Thinking list
   
2. Something reminiscent of rain. - Priority Items list
   
3. Something food related that is unusual. - Health/Beauty list
   
4. Something on your list that is for someone other than yourself. - Priority Items list. For my cat Little because she gets urinary tract infections so I am always trying to find ways to keep her well hydrated.
   
5. A book I should read! - DVDs/Books list. I've wanted to read it since it came out, just haven't gotten the chance to. The movie was fabulous too.
   
6. An item that is less than a dollar, including shipping... that is not jewelry, nail polish, and or hair related! - Not on any of my lists
   
7. Something related to cats. - Priority Items list.
   
8. Something that is not useful, but so beautiful you must have it. - On a Private wishlist because the price is ridiculous.
   
9. A movie everyone should watch at least once in their life. - Already Owned. Because it's my favorite movie.
   
10. Something that would be useful when the zombies attack. - Wishful Thinking list. Because I could throw it at their faces.
    
11. Something that would have a profound impact on your life and help you to achieve your current goals. - Health/Beauty list. Because I get bad back pain and muscle knots from my scoliosis and they can sometimes prevent me from doing what I need to do properly. Alternate from a Private wishlist because I may have to quit my job due to respiratory irritation from the chemicals.
    
12. One of those pesky Add-On items. - Health/Beauty list. I hate Add-on Items.
    
13. The most expensive thing on your list. - On a Private wishlist simply because it is so expensive. It's my dream item because I want to replace my gram's old one which I accidentally shattered the bowl for. /:
    
14. Something bigger than a bread box. - Priority Items list
    
15. Something smaller than a golf ball. - Health/Beauty list
    
16. Something that smells wonderful. - Priority Items list
    
17. A (SFW) toy. - Miscellaneous list. SFW to look at, not necessarily to play haha.
    
18. Something that would be helpful for going back to school. - Wishful Thinking list
    
19. Something related to your current obsession, whatever that may be. - Miscellaneous list. I have always been obsessed with writing lists. I have these markers and I love them but a lot of them are dried out/won't write. I haven't thrown them away because it makes me sad.
    
20. Something that is just so amazing and awe-inspiring that I simply must see it. - Priority Items list. A bag that I absolutely crave with every fiber of my being. I want it soooo bad. It's pretty and comes in other pretty colors and looks cute and comfy and wonderful.
    
    BONUS
    
    
21. Anything that has my real name on it. I don't know your real name, sadly. ): Maybe someday!
    
22. Anything made in Oregon. - Filmed in Oregon.
    
    
    Any of the things I have noted being on Private lists I would be happy to send you the link to for proof can be seen here. :) Also your wishlist names made me chuckle. :D
    
    Also also Happy Birthday to my dad! <3

King is a great writer, his short story books are great, Night Shift Nightmares and Dreamscapes Skeleton Crew Everything's Eventual

And for something paranormal by Koontz The Taking 77 Shadow Street Watchers Phantoms Not quite paranormal but highly entertaining.. Intensity

As for paranormal interesting..

• Hunt for the skinwalker
  
  
  hope those help :D

If you're looking for something really dark I'd suggest Harry Connolly's Twenty Palaces series. The first one is Child of Fire. I really enjoyed it and Jim Butcher has also recommend it. Keep in mind there are only 3 books and 1 prequel that Harry self published due to his publisher dropping him.

If you're looking for something stupid and funny I recommend John Dies at the End and it's sequel This Books is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don't Touch It. I have to admit I'm a bit biased on those though, I won a free signed copy of TBiFoS by participating in an alternate reality game around the time of its release.

These are my must-see episodes of the 1980s Twilight Zone series, in no particular order. Some are classic.

Season 1.
Children's Zoo.
Nightcrawlers -- based on the classic short story by Robert M. McCammon, available in Blue World, the Complete Collection.
Examination Day.
Paladin of the Last Hour -- based on a story by Harlan Ellison.
One Life, Furnished in Early Poverty -- based on Harlan Ellison's short story.
Her Pilgrim Soul.
I of Newton -- based on Joe Haldeman's short story, available in Cosmic Laughter, Science Fiction for the Fun of It.
But She Can Type?.
The Star -- based on Arthur C. Clarke's excellent story, available in The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke.
The Misfortune Cookie.
A Small Talent for War.
A Matter of Minutes.
To See the Invisible Man.
Gramma -- based on the classic short story by Stephen King, available in Skeleton Crew.
Dead Run -- based on Greg Bear's short story, available in The Collected Stories of Greg Bear.
The Last Defender of Camelot, based on a short story by Roger Zelazny and teleplay by George R. R. Martin, available in Last Defender of Camelot short story collection.

Season 2.
A Saucer of Loneliness -- based on Theodore Sturgeon's excellent short story, available in The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon, Volume VII.
The Storyteller.
Toys of Caliban -- Teleplay by George R. R. Martin.
The Road Less Traveled -- by George R. R. Martin; memories of Martin's experience working on the Twilight Zone writing staff, and two teleplays, this one and an unproduced one, are available in Dreamsongs: Volume II.

Season 3 -- This season is worth a look, but none of them are my favorites.

--edited for formatting--

I have a lot of books that I have really enjoyed but the one that pops out in my head is The Outsiders.

I would really love [The shining] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0307743659/ref=aw_wl_ov_dp_1_1?colid=3JZMG8TYD5160&coliid=IHY9ET7LIPNED)

Thank you for this contest :)

37

I recently bought the Library of America collection of Lovecraft's tales. I've been told it is an excellent entry point, although I've also been warned that it will leave me hungry for more! Nevertheless, it contains what are most popularly considered the "major" works of Lovecraft, including the Cthulu cycle. I am quite happy with it :)

Eisenhorn is probably the best possible place to start in 40k. You get every possible angle of 40k explored in this omnibus as well as a some fantastic characters. Add Ravenor for flavor.

After that, dive into the military side of things with Gaunt's Ghosts. This covers primarily the Imperium vs Chaos side of the conflict, but also the internal conflicts the Imperium suffers from.

Now that you're thoroughly acquainted with the human side, view the universe through the eyes of the super-human Space Marines in The Ultramarines Omnibus. This series shows the strengths (and weaknesses) of the Space Marines as well as introducing the terrifying Chaos Space Marines more thoroughly.

Cry for death to the False Emperor with Soul Hunter. Follow up with the sequels in Void Stalker and Blood Reaver to get a very interesting perspectives from the Renegades.

Finally, finish your introductory odyssey with The Horus Heresy. You'll be reading how the modern universe came to be.

This is a "fuck-ton" of reading and will keep you busy for 6 months to a year or more before you finish. These series are the best of the best in the novel side of things. There are huge amounts more in the Army Codexes ^^that ^^you ^^should ^^be ^^able ^^to ^^find ^^for ^^$0 ^^on ^^"sharing" ^^sites and other excellent novels. PM me anytime and I'll happily answer questions/suggestions.

Well if you're in to horror/ sci-fi, you need to check out a book called John Dies at the End. Best book I've ever read. Horror, sci-fi, comedy, action, all executed perfectly. The sequel is even better.

Hey, welcome to this subreddit! I just joined a few days ago myself. I've been on that turntable thing like all day every day since I joined. haha
My least favorite thing about the day is my dog is getting over a bee sting that covered his body in hives and made him swell up like crazy. :(
My favorite part about today is that I'm going to a concert in a few hours for The Killers! SO EXCITED! :)

If possible this book used of course, (only .49!) would be cool. If not, I still love you anyways for doing this! :)

Gaunt's Ghosts. An amazing book series. It showcases the universe from the perspective of a group of ordinary humans (in the sense that the group has a core that is similar to what a space-age sealteam 6 would be). It helps make it much more relatable by putting the other races in perspective, and benefits from some amazing writing.

http://www.amazon.com/Gaunts-Ghosts-Founding-Dan-Abnett/dp/1844163695

Can't recommend it enough.

I had the opposite experience. I knew it would be substantially different than the book, but I couldn't help but be annoyed that they didn't keep some key concepts (like the zombie characteristics that jojoko mentioned). So, compared to the book, the movie is like a monkey banging on a piano – entertaining, but painful. Compared to other zombie movies, it's among the best. I'd say it's on par with 28 Day Later, but it's not as good as Shawn of the Dead. ...but, really, what is? Zombieland, maybe? Okay, I like comedies. Anyway, compared to other newish movies, it's way, way better than the ridiculousness that was Live Free Die Hard, but it's not really as good as say, the new Star Trek. But, on my Movie-Awesomness-O-Meter, it's certainly closer to ST than LFDH..

I suppose what it boils down to is this: If you're debating between spending your last $10 on a 12 pack or WWZ, go to the movie. BUT, you're better off spending that $10 bucks on the book.

If you're a fan of when CK2 bleeds a bit into the fantasy/supernatural world, I can heartily recommend The Black Company by Glen Cook. Follows a mercenary company in dark fantasy world, and is a damn good read.

And then if that takes you, then maybe give Battle Brothers a try. You run a mercenary band in dark fantasy world. It's sort of like Mount and Blade mixed with XCom, in a good way. Best of all, it's just about to leave Early Access, so no waiting 3 years for it to be complete!

All spiders can fly.

They just hide the ability really well. They can also fit through tiny tiny places.

Oh, have you read This Book is Full of Spiders? It's a great book, it contains spiders that normal people can not see. And take over your body by crawling into your mouth and replacing your tongue. It's really cool.

pecksniffian

It is pretty hard to shop for parents. My sister and I got ours some $50 sneakers to which he deemed too nice to wear to work and thus wears some $10 pair he got himself from walmart O_o. I already have a e-ink reader to which I love, but my sister keeps "borrowing" it, figured this might be great for her.

Ebook

I love reading books! :D

Did you like Owen Meany? I hated it, but I had to read it over the summer for my senior year of high school. I also didn't like Ender's Game. :( Boo, I know.

Anyway, I would suggest White Oleander by Janet Fitch, for some reason it sort of reminds me of the subject matter in John Green's books but it's quite different. I would also suggest The Gates by John Connolly, I thought it was quite good. :D

I would like dis book, mass market paperback is fine. :D

Thanks for the contest!

I say name the little kitten, "Boo" like Boo from the Nintendo games. Boo is just an adorable name anyways and isn't gender specific, so if kitten turns out to be a female when he goes to get his yarbles removed, you can keep the name! WIN!

Been itching to get this book, and its available for $5 used!

Hey thanks, I will give Skeleton Crew a read. I really enjoyed The Mist as well.
Cheers.

Edit: Link to the Skeleton Crew-
http://www.amazon.ca/Skeleton-Crew-Stephen-King/dp/0451168615

I'd like to suggest A Dirty Job - Christopher Moore http://www.amazon.com/A-Dirty-Job-Novel/dp/0060590289

I was trying to branch out from my usual sci-fi/fantasy genre and a friend recommended this. I found it fantastic.

While I don't think it compares to some of the, obvious, more popular choices.

Kizunaiver and Death Parade look quite interesting. I'll definitely give Nisioisin's other works a look, too.

I also went a head and bought the [MONOGATARI Series Box Set Limited Edition] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1947194399/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) from amazon today. I was a little hesitant because I'm not sure how well the translations turned out, but it seems most people rate em pretty well. Looking forward to getting a deeper look into Monogatari.


Thank you!

I would suggest The Music of Erich Zann. (you might guess that's one of my faves.)

Also: Beyond the Wall of Sleep is a good one that I don't see mentioned enough.

There are a bunch of his works here. Read at your leisure.


Here are some print collections of his work that you might like if you prefer reading paper instead of a screen.


(and as you noted, the ones in the sidebar are indeed a perfect place to start, they are some of the best.)

Book! This!

Thanks for the contest and hooray for /u/ilikesleep /headbob :)

Boy's Life By Robert McCammon. I would recommend it to anyone. It's blurb is a bit misleading making it out to be a thriller novel, but it's definitely a lot more than that. Well worth a read.

Here's one.

Here's another.

Here's one of my favorites.

This one is pretty freaking sweet.

I'm pretty sure this one qualifies...

Don't read this one before bed.

Here's an interesting read.

This one is a compilation of several of the above.

War40k is a pretty intense universe.

I enjoy the books a lot, and there are a lot out there.

I recommend an omnibus to start off, like this one or Gaunts Ghosts if you want to read up on it from a different perspective.

I live in Poland so nothing either but I just ordered it from Amazon US and it will arrive on friday or next week.

You can also order it from Amazon UK/DE but they're more expensive options thanks to sale.

https://www.amazon.com/MONOGATARI-Box-Set-Limited-NISIOISIN/dp/1947194399

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Monogatari-Box-Set-Limited-NisiOisiN/dp/1947194399

https://www.amazon.de/MONOGATARI-Box-Set-Limited-NISIOISIN/dp/1947194399

Remember to click on New and choose amazon as seller.

You are very generous indeed,

I would like to request - Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook in physical

I have always heard this is such a great series but my local library doesn't have it, and I have blown my next 3 months book budget already.. Thanks Sanderson Leatherbounds

I'm going to recommend two based on the books you've read:

1. Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore. by Robin Sloan
   
   I'm a big fan of books about cryptography, codes, etc. This one is fun, smart, and a good read. Based on your interests (Cryptonomicon, Millenium series, etc.) I think you'll really enjoy it.
   
   
2. Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
   
   This is the ultimate conspiracy book. The first 100 pages are hard to get through, but it's amazingly worth it.

Read Lilith's Brood - best sci-fi I've ever read exploring this subject (actually one of the best sci-fi trilogies I've ever read). It was years ahead of its time, and really holds up in the light of what we know today about genetic transfer.

You are awesome for having a contest like this. Thanks for doing it:)

This is a book I have been wanting to read. My name is Amber and I would love to have a Kindle Fire so I can read more. It would make it so much easier than carrying books around with me to the kids games and doctors appointments and stuff.

I always recommend Dan Abnett's Gaunt's Ghost series. It's set in the Warhammer universe and it is pretty much all action. The good part too, is that they're fairly easy to read in short spurts.

http://www.amazon.com/Gaunts-Ghosts-The-Founding-Novels/dp/1844163695/ref=pd_sim_b_1

You can pre-order it on Amazon already. But it isn't coming out for a while:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/This-Book-Full-Spiders-Seriously/dp/0312546343/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331068219&sr=8-1

And yes, the book is really great. I could read it again every few weeks, it just never gets boring.

Summerfuntime!

I would love I am Legend. I loved the movie and I have yet to find a movie made from a book where the book wasn't better!

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore. Hilarious, a great story, and all his books tie into one another in some way, shape or form. He really is an amazing storyteller.

I'll post links so you can get an idea of what they're about. Apologies, I'm a bit tired, otherwise I would give you a rough synopsis myself

If you're looking for some good fantasy books I'd highly recommend the following:
1.) The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - http://www.amazon.com/Name-Wind-Kingkiller-Chronicle/dp/0756404746

2.) Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence - http://www.amazon.com/Prince-Thorns-Broken-Empire-Lawrence/dp/1937007685

3.) Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson - http://www.amazon.com/Gardens-Moon-Malazan-Book-Fallen/dp/0765348780/ref=pd_sim_14_12?ie=UTF8&dpID=51pDraZRUIL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR99%2C160_&refRID=1H0ZZ7MYMYZGKGQMEKTW

This next one has some fantasy elements, however, it's hard to pigeonhole into an exact genre (low fantasy adventure?), nonetheless, it's one of the better books that I've read recently.

4.) The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastards) by Scott Lynch
http://www.amazon.com/Lies-Locke-Lamora-Gentleman-Bastards/dp/055358894X/ref=pd_sim_14_5?ie=UTF8&dpID=51tpIK8K%2BtL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR98%2C160_&refRID=1H0ZZ7MYMYZGKGQMEKTW

5.) The Way of Shadows: The Night Angel Trilogy: Book 1 by Brent Weeks -
http://www.amazon.com/Way-Shadows-Night-Angel-Trilogy/dp/0316033677/ref=pd_sim_14_4?ie=UTF8&dpID=51tPZPp5dsL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR93%2C160_&refRID=1WERAT21ARWMVZN12V2P

(All books mentioned are the 1st novel of a larger series. If you're already aware and/or read these already than disregard, trying to pass along some great books for anyone who might come across my post)

It's from his book Haunted. It's filled with other great short stories tied together by an overarching plot. Definitely worth checking out.

Lilith's Brood, by Octavia Butler, previously published as The Xenogenesis Trilogy. Excellent sf!

ETA: The Sparrow and its sequel Children of God, by Mary Doria Russell. I know I keep mentioning this book, but it's that good!

His name is Dathan Auerbach, and he actually compiled all six of those stories, plus some extra details and touch-ups, into a physical paperback book. I highly recommend it, the story he wrote is probably one of the best I've ever read. Here's an Amazon link.

This would be my gift one choice. I love all things Kindgom Hearts, and I still have the first game, but my PS2 was lost when my house burned down so I have no way to play it anymore. I almost peed myself when I found out this game was coming out.

For the second gift, C'mon...gimme. This books sounds so interesting!!

This Book! because it's got great reviews, it's under $4 and I just finished my last e-book so I need a new one.

Thanks for the contest!

Miskatonic University

I suggest reading Phillp K.Dick's We Can Remember It for You Wholesale instead; this is the short story that turned into Total Recall, and if you need a work of fiction involving drugs and saving the world this one is much better written.

For a comedic novel-length story, John Dies at the End is absolutely hilarious. (The book, not the movie.)

I'm a defender of my genre, so here's my two recent picks:

John Dies @ the End

And, even though I've only gotten through the first fourth of this, the beginning was so intense and cinematic that it's the most excited I've been while reading in a great while (and I'm psyched to finish it!): American Elsewhere

Pick up H.P. Lovecraft: Tales and read "Call of Cthulhu" first. While not his absolute best short story, it's the ideal starting point. My favorite is "The Shadow Out of Time", which is also included in that collection.

The thing about Lovecraft is that you'll probably love him or hate him. It all comes down to whether or not you like his writing style. "Call of Cthulhu" will give you a good introduction.

Might not be exactly what you are looking for, but Haunted: A Novel by Chuck Palahniuk is pretty good. It's a novel built around a series of short stories written by characters in the over-arching story. I found it to be a quick read, as is most of Palahniuk's writing which I attribute to his minimalist prose style.

Sidenote: don't under any circumstances read his book Pygmy. It's a stinker. Anything from Fight Club up to and including Rant, I would recommend. Just not Pygmy. Never Pygmy.

Actually, my real recommendation is that you find one of Amy Hempel's short story collection and give that a try. Palahniuk is a big fan and is very persuasive as to why you should read her. Although, fair warning: She Breaks Your Heart.

Goddammit I love CRACKED so goddamn much and I don't care what anybody else says about it.

You should all use your bonus $100 to pick up David Wong's This Book Is Full of Spiders if you haven't already!

Amusing! This book is supposed to be really funny. The list price is $14 CAD, but there are other options from $2 CAD :)

I loved Last Picture Show. Boy's Life is also one of my very favorite books, and fits your description.

1. List of all novels published/announced so far in Japan: https://www.reddit.com/r/araragi/wiki/order#wiki_book_order. Everything up to Zoku Owarimonogatari has been animated.
   
2. Everything up to Koimonogatari has been officially translated into English by Vertical.
   
3. Each novel is $10-$15, but you can buy the First Season Box Set (the first 7 English novels) for $60-$70 and save some money.
   
4. That's Musubimonogatari, which won't be officially translated for another 1-2 years. So far, there's been no word on any anime adaptations past Zoku Owarimonogatari, but the chief director (Akiyuki Shinbou) has expressed interest in animating the rest of the novels.

Definently the Oankali from the Lilith's Brood books by Octavia Butler. Rather hard to describe (and the Wikipedia article doesn't do them justice. It makes them seem more like a stereotypical alien species), so i'd suggest that next time you're in a library you should do yourself a favor and check the books out. Fantastic set of books, too.

If you do plan on checking out, skip the spoileriffic "constructs" section in the article. It's really a book series better suited for coming in with a tabula rasa mindset about it.

Edit: no kindle version, sadly, according to this

Edit 2: Oh hey! A Google Books preview!

If you're a fan of Watchmen, I'd definitely suggest checking out some of Alan Moore's other work such as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. As a fellow fan of The Last of Us, I'd recommend something along the lines of World War Z. In both these cases, the books are completely different from (and better than) the films!

Um, holy shit. Thank you for this super generous contest!

I'm Kim, and right now I'm right keen to read John Dies in the End. It has been recommended to me so many times I feel it's only right to get on with it.

Seriously, amazing. Thank you.

Are you a book guy? This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don't Touch It comes out in 3 days. Its predecessor, John Dies at the End, is hands-down the funniest book I have ever read, and it's solidly in my top 5 favorite books of all time.

I recommend you read "Chronicles of the Black Company" (Aka The Books of the North) by Glen Cook.

That will give you a good idea of what grimdark fantasy about men intended for men is supposed to be like.

It's based on the book of the same name. It's awesome and I would highly recommend buying and reading the book.

http://www.amazon.com/John-Dies-End-David-Wong/dp/0312659148

the novel box set is special edition and comes with the nice box not just the novels
it is much cheaper on spanish amazon tho

Anyone that likes Welcome to Night Vale NEEDS to read John Dies at the End. Seriously.

http://www.amazon.com/John-Dies-End-David-Wong-ebook/dp/B002Q7H7JC/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1

Do yourself a favor.

Maybe John Dies at the End?

It's not litrpg, but it's the first book I'll think of when I hear Comedic Lovecraft and I think people here would like it.

Look up Penpal. I read it in longform as a Kindle book and a lot of it was so eerily similar to my childhood that it freaked me right out.

And this video of top 10 best creepypastas keeps getting recommended to me on YouTube. Might be worth a gander?

ETA: Just watching that video right now & it's entirely spoileriffic. Proceed with caution if you actually want to experience the stories firsthand.

The Crying of Lot 49 is pretty amazing.

I'm also a big fan of both Gravity's Rainbow and Foucalt's Pendulum.

If you like his comics work then you are going to love his WH40K novels. Start here

He also does the Inquisitor Eisenhorn series too.

> I used to intern at a place that got tons of crazy mail, and you'd get these long winded, eloquent, yet delousinal ranting letters. It was amazing, it created in me some weird love of well written paranoid bunk, or well written literature based off of conspiracy ideas.

Then I'm guessing you're one of the characters in this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Foucaults-Pendulum-Umberto-Eco/dp/015603297X/

(absolutely worth a read BTW, especially in your case)

There's a sequel to "John dies at the end" called "This book is full of spiders". Both are great horror/dark comedy reads.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0312546343

I adore this book. Another favorite of mine is Haunted.

Ok, if you liked this video and you like books, you really should read (not watch) John Dies at the End.

Chronicles of the Black Company - Only a 30 pages into it But it's good so far, written sort of Journal like. Not much Fluff, which i like.

Just Finished The Wise Man's Fear Really enjoying that series, but not looking forward to wait times on the next novel....

It's more like a series of short stories put together by a researcher. It's been years since I read it so I don't recall all the specifics, but it was basically a guy who was tasked with going all over the world as the zombie menace had been mostly resolved and documenting how different groups dealt with it in different ways. It was very creative in that it covered how zombies behaved in extreme environments like way up north during the winter months, and even under the oceans since they obviously don't need to breathe and can walk just about anywhere.

https://smile.amazon.com/World-War-Oral-History-Zombie-ebook/dp/B000JMKQX0/

If you want a faster paced fantasy novel, then The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks might be for you. I've only read the first book so far, but it was quite enjoyable.

Will Keith doesn't give a fuck. If you wanna support this man (and why wouldn't you), he just published a book that is available on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01CKIUICE/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1458656838&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=will+keith&dpPl=1&dpID=41wdEITcbAL&ref=plSrch. Sorry about the crazy long link. This is his book, just a fantasy novel, nothing groundbreaking. He's living his dream, which is writing books and fucking up milk jugs. All hail the King of /r/mallninjashit

The Library of America collection (it's called "Tales") is, apparently, the definitive collection of his short stories. It's hard back and written on papery-thin bible-esque pages (which I find mildly annoying), but it has all of his essential stories. If you're into short horror fiction, you will not be disappointed - he is my absolute favorite. (http://www.amazon.com/H-P-Lovecraft-Library-America/dp/1931082723/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t/184-6430677-0677735) If you're not sure whether or not you want to drop the $25 outright, his writings have all fallen into the public domain, and are available for free online. (http://www.hplovecraft.com/)

Potentially off-topic, but there's also a game by the name of "Call of Cthulhu" for the original Xbox system. The game is based upon his story, "The Nightmare at Innsmouth," and it's a lot of fun. If you dig Lovecraft, it's an essential play-through.

Boy's Life has some elements in common with ST (just watched the first episode yesterday!). But if I remember correctly, it focuses a lot on the relationship between the young protagonist and his dad, not much on groups of young friends banding toghether to fight 'the monsters'. Other than that, there's supernatural events in small town America with mostly young characters.

I second Summer of Night, by Dan Simmons. I remember not liking it too much, but it 100% falls under your request.

Finally, if you're open to other mediums and you like videogames, there's Oxenfree, a spooky, trippy game about a group of high-schoolers who spend the night on an island and by mistake awaken some dark forces. It's a nice mix of teen drama and horror and it has probably the best system of dialogue I've seen in a videogame.

John Dies at the End by David Wong is a very funny, light-hearted book. Might be right down your alley. If you end up liking it, there's also a sequel titled This Book is Full of Spiders, which carries the same tone and writing style.

The Black Company Series by Glenn Cook first three books found here

Really good read, no real similarites between them and NoTW, WMF, except for a certain irreverence. But could be my favorite fantasy series.

My name is Daniel and I'm a pretty big fan of this book right here.

It's from this book and it's a great read!

1. Skeleton Crew the best collection of short stories by Stephen King, it contains the short story The Mist my favorite Stephen King story, later made into a kick ass movie. Read this before seeing the movie, you won't be disappointed.

The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. One of the better fantasy books to come out for a while in my opinion.
http://www.amazon.com/Wise-Mans-Fear-Kingkiller-Chronicles/dp/0756404738

EDIT: also recommend the Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks
http://www.amazon.com/Way-Shadows-Night-Angel-Trilogy/dp/0316033677/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_c

For those interested, you can buy the paperback on amazon or the e-book here and if you want to read the original series he posted on /r/nosleep, here's the first part.

Not exactly what you're describing but you may enjoy Penpal by Dathan Auerbach, aka 1000vultures from nosleep, if you haven't already read it.

Bitch, you best be joking.

Recently, I read Boy's Life, and it really brought back a sense of youth. One of the best books I have read since The Lion

I seriously want World War Z. I read Brooks's other books and loved them and allegedly this one is the best. The Movie has got me super excited and cautiously optimistic. I hear it's really different from the source material but hey, A mental mind fuck can be nice.

Here you go...this series covers this ground nicely...

http://www.amazon.com/Liliths-Brood-Octavia-E-Butler/dp/0446676101/

Not a naturally evolved third sex but it should fulfill your curiosity!

I'll read damn near anything I can get my hands on, but I prefer fiction.


Some non-fiction books that I'm currently enjoying though are Godel, Escher, Bach and A Short History of Nearly Everything

On the fiction list right now are Foucault's Pendulum and The Broom of the System.

Skeleton Crew by Stephen King is a great collection of short stories.

Boy's Life. Just a great read all around.
http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Life-Robert-McCammon/dp/0671743058/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413155666&sr=8-1&keywords=A+boys+life