Reddit mentions: The best literary fiction books

I'm reposting something I posted a couple of years ago:

Well, perhaps the most famous recent post-apocalyptic novel was McCarthy's The Road. Quite a bleak book, and very characteristic of McCarthy's spartan prose, this became a huge international best seller and a successful Hollywood movie. I certainly recommend it, but it's not really an uplifting book and has several confronting scenes. Still, very good.

The other obvious recent "literary" PA novels would be Margaret Atwood's "Oryx and Crake" trilogy. They start with Oryx and Crake, are followed by Year of the Flood and conclude with MaddAddam. These are very good books with strong feminist and ecological themes (a good thing!). Highly recommended.

The Dog Stars is yet another recent PA novel which garnered a fair bit of praise (I picked it up after hearing a segment on the novel on NPR's Fresh Air). I enjoyed it, despite the cliched "Survivalist" aspects and occasional far-fetched coincidences. A good, fun read; especially if you're a dog lover. :)

Other recommended titles (which I won't link to directly for time reasons) include Justin Cronin's The Passage trilogy (kind of a mash up between post apocalypse and horror), Stephen King's The Stand (ditto), A Canticle for Leibowitz, Earth Abides and Alas Babylon (the triptych of classics of the genre).

Good luck. I love these books even though I'm a positive optimistic guy! :)

EDIT: I overlooked Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven (fun, action packed but accused by some of racist undertones), The Postman by David Brin (so so so very much better than the movie it spawned. So much better), The Year of the Plague by someone I forgot (rather original PA novel with nano-technology rearing its head) and even Blood Music by Greg Bear (though most people consider this full on science fiction, it does feature an apocalypse... or a sort. :)





 



 




 



Since then, I've thought of (or read) a few more. Perhaps one of the most famous is Station Eleven. It garnered a fair bit of media attention and mainstream critical acclaim a couple of years ago. It's a bit of a slow burner, and whilst it's not my favourite post-apocalyptic novel, it's certainly worth picking up. The Girl with All the Gifts was a recent hit. Set in the UK, it tells the story of a band of British scientists and soldiers searching for remaining survivors, as they bring along a very strange and very dangerous survivor of the recent plague. It's great fun and was made into a movie recently. I believe the author recently published a sequel (The Boy on the Bridge?), but I haven't read this.

Wastelands is a collection of short-stories. Some really good stuff here, and if you're not feeling up to a full length novel or comptemplating the end of humanity, it's well worth a look.


Let me know if you want more. It's a favourite genre of mine. :)

Hey! Not a problem at all; I'm happy to rec stuff for you, especially on a subject I know quite well.

In terms of fiction, there are several fairy tale and mythology-based works. Most of these are going to be fairy tales because that's what I tend to read, but there are some mythology and folklore-based ones scattered around in here too:

Books:

• Anything written by Rick Riordan, including the Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus books and the Kane Chronicles (of course he was going to be at the top of the stack, no real surprise there)
  
• Anything written by Gail Carson Levine (especially Ella Enchanted, Fairest, The Two Princesses of Bamarre, Ever, and the Fairy Dust trilogy)
  
• Pretty much anything by Diana Wynne Jones fits loosely into this category, though only the Howl's Moving Castle trilogy, Fire and Hemlock, and Dogsbody make any real, genuine use of fairy tales and folklore. The HMC trilogy uses a lot of fairy tale tropes, Fire and Hemlock is a loose retelling of Tam Lin, and Dogsbody is more cosmology than mythology but still applies.
  
• East/North Child, Edith Pattou, a novelized version of 'East of the Sun and West of the Moon'
  
• The Lunar Chronicles, Marissa Meyer: the first one is a futuristic steampunk variation on Cinderella, while the rest bring in various other fairy tale characters (notably Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White)
  
• The Dark is Rising Sequence, Susan Cooper: Arthurian legend and folklore, considered to be part of the basic YA fantasy canon
  
• Peter and the Starcatchers series, Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson: Childrens'/YA series chronicling how Peter Pan became Peter Pan
  
• Book of a Thousand Days, Shannon Hale: Based on the Brothers Grimm tale of Maid Maleen
  
• The Books of Bayern (including The Goose Girl), Shannon Hale: based on various fairy tales, including 'The Goose Girl'.
  
• basically anything written by Robin McKinley, who's famous for writing novels based on fairy tales (honestly she's probably the most famous writer of fairy tale-based stories for adults). I especially recommend The Hero and the Crown, Beauty, and Deerskin.
  
• Most books by Neil Gaiman have some sort of mythological or folkloric elements to them. American Gods, Anansi Boys, and Neverwhere are most indicative of this, but most of his books deal in some way with fairy tales or mythology.
  
• Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin, based on Chinese mythology and folklore
  
• The Golem and the Jinni, Helene Wecker
  
• The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden: based on the Russian tale of Vasilisa the Beautiful
  
• The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley: pretty much one of the most well-known Arthurian legend-related books of all time. The plot is basically Arthurian legend as told through the eyes of the women who would come to be known as Morgana Le Fay and Guinevere.
  
• Uprooted, Naomi Novak: so while there's no...explicit fairy tales or folklore in this one, it's pretty obviously rooted in Eastern European/Russian fairy tales and folklore
  
• The Book of Kells, RA MacAvoy
  
• The Raven Cycle, Maggie Stiefvater
  
• The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller
  
• Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series, Michael Scott (literally folklore and mythology for days)
  
• The Penelopeiad, Margaret Atwood: The Odyssey as told by Odysseus' wife Penelope
  
• special shout-out to Norse Mythology, Neil Gaiman's beautiful rendition of all of the Norse tales. Not quite straight-up Norse mythology, not quite fictionalized/expanded versions of the tales, it's a beautiful work of art.
  
  Also if you're looking for something that's obvious but totally not at the same time: Tolkien. You want Tolkien. If you haven't read the Silmarillion, read the Silmarillion.
  
  Comic Books and Webcomics:
  
  
• Fables, Bill Willingham (aka, what Once Upon a Time should have been...yeah I'm not bitter at all)
  
• I mean....any and all Wonder Woman and Thor comics will inevitably be this because of their context as being based in Greek/Norse mythology. I can happily recommend specific comics for you (given that I read quite a few), but that would be an entirely separate post tbh
  
• The Sleeper and the Spindle, Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell
  
• Sandman, Neil Gaiman
  
• The Books of Magic, Neil Gaiman
  
• Namesake, an absolutely fantastic webcomic based on a variety of fairy tales and fairy tale fantasy (most notably the Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland, at the moment)
  
• Monstress, Marjorie Liu
  
• The Wicked+The Divine, Kieron Gillen
  
  TV Shows/Animation:
  
  
• Once Upon a Time: sighs but also knows I have to put this up here. Seasons 1 and 2 are cheesy but actually really good, and the first half of Season 3 is great, but honestly I would just...stop watching after Season 3 ends. After that it just becomes a soap opera starring fairy tale characters and just goes downhill.
  
• Grimm
  
• Princess Tutu: listen there are so many fairy-tale and folkloric references in this show it's ridiculous, and it also brings in a ton of concepts that I am totally about (a story within a story, characters trying to avoid their tragic fates, etc). It's...essentially a combination of the Ugly Ducking and a dramatized Swan Lake where the characters are trying to avoid their fates, but it's so much more than that too.
  
• Alice (2009): great miniseries, A++. First ten minutes is...weird, then it picks up. Also is the only Alice in Wonderland-based piece of media I've ever seen that manages to make the Alice/Hatter relationship work and not seem weird at all
  
• Snow White with the Red Hair: listen this anime is cute as all hell and I'm not afraid to rec it despite it basically revolving around the romance. I have no shame. Anyway it's cute and you should watch it.
  
• I mean...Sailor Moon? It's an obvious choice but still relevant. All kinds of mythology and folklore wrapped up in this one
  
• Galavant (hilarious, well-acted, and with songs written by Alan Menken as a huge bonus)
  
• BBC's Merlin
  
• Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra: not explicitly mythology/folklore-based, but contains a lot of East Asian folklore and philosophy
  
• Miraculous Ladybug: listen I know it's a kids show, but it's cute af. It's basically what you would get if you crossed a magical girl show and a superhero show.
  
• BBC's Being Human: a vampire, a ghost, and a werewolf share an apartment...this is not the start of a bad joke, but it is the basic plot premise of this show
  
• Stargate (the movie) and all related shows
  
  Movies:
  
  
• Big shout-out to Stardust (2007), which remains one of the few movies based on a book that I believe is actually better than the book (Neil Gaiman's book is wonderful, but the movie is just this wonderfully bizarre mix of A-list actors, a fantastic script, and beautiful cinematography)
  
• Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
  
• Labyrinth (1986)
  
• Ever After (1998)
  
• The Neverending Story (1984)
  
• Hook (1991)
  
• Ladyhawke (1985)
  
• Spirited Away (2001) (honestly can't recommend this one enough...it's really good)
  
• On that note, basically anything ever produced by Studio Ghibli is going to be steeped in Japanese mythology and folklore (excepting Howl's Moving Castle and Wizard of Earthsea, both of which are based on British children's books). Princess Mononoke, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, and My Neighbor Totoro are probably the best and most relevant examples after Spirited Away.
  
• Listen I don't usually recommend Disney stuff on fairy tales lists because it's like...you know, obvious, but honestly the live-action Cinderella (2015) is too good, too pure for this world and everyone should watch it.
  
  Anyway, after blowing through all of those recs and still having plenty more, I'm coming to the realization that I read/watch entirely too many fairy tale/mythology/folklore-based media. Lol.

You're welcome. Having my own history of social anxiety and being hurt, I can see a little of myself in both of you which is why I want to help as well as I can.

Regarding the virtual hug thing, I'd say you're definitely overreacting. It might just be that he didn't want to just exactly copy you, as that might imply him not having his own personality. It might be that he does not really feel such virtual signs affection are that important, since they are nothing like the real thing but just pixels on a screen. What is a virtual hug, anyway? And don't you think him reciprocating a virtual kiss far outweighs him not reciprocating a virtual hug? How is a virtual kiss a way of holding back?

Don't focus on little things that might be missing (the virtual hug), but on the big things you do actually have. You two are in touch everyday. You are one of only very few people he confided his childhood trauma to (that he had for a very long time not even talked about to his mother) and he sought your emotional support when he had a bad day. Plus he actively reached out to you for that. Don't you think these are huge signs he feels really close to you, that you very likely already are the most important person to him? I see his opening up as a big step forward. Telling you how "fucked up" his life is already requires a lot of trust and your continued support and affection following his confessions will boost his trust in you even further. Do you also confide in him? That will show him that you trust him as well. I think it is important that he knows that he also is an important source of support to you.

About whether his feelings for you are of a growing and romantic nature: Of course you never "know", but as your relationship already has a physical intimacy component to it, I highly doubt he sees you as "just a friend". And I wouldn't share deep feelings with someone I don't feel very close to and also see being close to in the future, so I'd also rule out that he still sees you as a temporary dating partner. Maybe he is just as anxious to "seal the deal" with you but thinks he might seem too desperate coming forward too early. Maybe he first wants to make sure you know about his flaws before he's comfortable to do so, so that you know what you are "getting yourself into" and will not get the feeling of being tricked into something. I can imagine he would be just as destroyed if he was left by you, as you would be if you were left by him. So don't be afraid, but patient. Patient with him, patient with yourself. Take the time to reflect on your own feelings for him. What exactly are they enforced by? Is it genuine happiness you feel when being together, or is it only alleviation of pain? Do you want a relationship with him (and why him) or do you rather need it (a need that could just as well be fulfilled by someone else)? The better you understand your own feelings, the better you can deal with and act on them.

Of course you can't see the future, nobody can, and you might fear that one day he might not need you any more. Remember that he might fear the same about you (he probably does). And the only way out of this fear is to work on your relationship and, to that end, on yourselves. As I said, the most stable relationships are those that both partners don't absolutely need, but want anyway. That's what you (and anyone else, for that matter) should strive for. Right now you both desperately need each other and that is okay, but in the long term you need to think about the question: If we were both happy about ourselves and didn't need permanent validation and emotional support from each other, what would make us want to be together anyway? At the latest when you have helped each other to defeat your self-esteem issues your relationship cannot simply be based on helping each other in bad times, but will have to thrive on the good times: the fun you have together, the compliments for achievements, the interesting conversations. For that to happen, you need to know yourselves. Know what brings you fun, know your goals and work towards them, know your interests. And as I already said, as long as you do it for yourself and not for anyone else, working on yourself will pay off in any case. It will help you with relationships and it will help you when being rejected. You said that you already have great conversations with your partner, that you both have similar goals in life, and that you try to work on yourself in therapy. That's great! You're moving in the right direction.

Do you think philosophy might be something that could interest you? You seem to worry a lot about the feeling of being worthless, especially upon being rejected. For a long time, I thought it would be impossible to see my life as intrinsically valuable; I thought that I would always need validation by others to be able to enjoy life in the first place. Learning about philosophy has helped me with that. I'm not yet where I want to be, but I'm definitely less anxious. If you feel like you could be interested, you might give this playlist a try and/or read Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder, a book written for young adults as an introduction to Western Philosophy. Another book I can recommend is Anne Frank's diary. Learning about her dreams and interests, her love of life and nature, and on the other hand her fears and her loneliness, and the sheer fact that she didn't get the chance to live the life she dreamed of, this all made my own problems seem somehow... less severe.

In any case: Chin up! I'm optimistic things will work out for you!

Here's a list of books I've read that have had a big impact on my journey.

First and foremost tho, you should learn to meditate. That's the most instrumental part of any spiritual path.

 Ram Dass – “Be Here Now” - https://www.amazon.com/Be-Here-Now-Ram-Dass/dp/0517543052 - Possibly the most important book in the list – was the biggest impact in my life.  Fuses Western and Eastern religions/ideas. Kinda whacky to read, but definitely #1

Ram Dass - “Journey Of Awakening” - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006L7R2EI - Another Ram Dass book - once I got more into Transcendental Meditation and wanted to learn other ways/types of meditation, this helped out.

 Clifford Pickover – “Sex, Drugs, Einstein & Elves…” - https://www.amazon.com/Sex-Drugs-Einstein-Elves-Transcendence/dp/1890572179/ - Somewhat random, frantic book – explores lots of ideas – planted a lot of seeds in my head that I followed up on in most of the books below

 Daniel Pinchbeck – “Breaking Open the Head” - https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Open-Head-Psychedelic-Contemporary/dp/0767907434 - First book I read to explore impact of psychedelics on our brains

 Jeremy Narby – “Cosmic Serpent” - https://www.amazon.com/Cosmic-Serpent-DNA-Origins-Knowledge/dp/0874779642/ - Got into this book from the above, explores Ayahuasca deeper and relevancy of serpent symbolism in our society and DNA

 Robert Forte – “Entheogens and the Future of Religion” - https://www.amazon.com/Entheogens-Future-Religion-Robert-Forte/dp/1594774382 - Collection of essays and speeches from scientists, religious leaders, etc., about the use of psychedelics (referred to as Entheogens) as the catalyst for religion/spirituality

 Clark Strand – “Waking up to the Dark” - https://www.amazon.com/Waking-Up-Dark-Ancient-Sleepless/dp/0812997727 - Explores human’s addiction to artificial light, also gets into femininity of religion as balance to masculine ideas in our society

 Lee Bolman – “Leading with Soul” - https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Soul-Uncommon-Journey-Spirit/dp/0470619007 - Discusses using spirituality to foster a better, more supportive and creative workplace – pivotal in my honesty/openness approach when chatting about life with coworkers

 Eben Alexander – “Proof of Heaven” - https://www.amazon.com/Proof-Heaven-Neurosurgeons-Journey-Afterlife/dp/1451695195 - A neurophysicist discusses his near death experience and his transformation from non-believer to believer (title is a little click-baity, but very insightful book.  His descriptions of his experience align very similarly to deep meditations I’ve had)

 Indries Shah – “Thinkers of the East” - https://www.amazon.com/Thinkers-East-Idries-Shah/dp/178479063X/ - A collection of parables and stories from Islamic scholars.  Got turned onto Islamic writings after my trip through Pakistan, this book is great for structure around our whole spiritual “journey”

 Whitley Strieber – “The Key: A True Encounter” - https://www.amazon.com/Key-True-Encounter-Whitley-Strieber/dp/1585428698 - A man’s recollection of a conversation with a spiritual creature visiting him in a hotel room.  Sort of out there, easy to dismiss, but the topics are pretty solid

 Mary Scott – “Kundalini in the Physical World” - https://www.amazon.com/Kundalini-Physical-World-Mary-Scott/dp/0710094175/ - Very dense, very difficult scientific book exploring Hinduism and metaphysics (wouldn’t recommend this for light reading, definitely something you’d want to save for later in your “journey”)

 Hermann Hesse – “Siddartha” - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/siddhartha-hermann-hesse/1116718450? – Short novel about a spiritual journey, coming of age type book.  Beautifully written, very enjoyable.

Reza Aslan - “Zealot” - https://www.amazon.com/ZEALOT-Life-Times-Jesus-Nazareth/dp/140006922X - Talks about the historical Jesus - helped me reconnect with Christianity in a way I didn’t have before

Reza Aslan - “No god but God” - https://www.amazon.com/god-but-God-Updated-Evolution/dp/0812982444 - Same as above, but in terms of Mohammad and Islam.  I’m starting to try to integrate the “truths” of our religions to try and form my own understanding

Thich Nhat Hanh - “Silence” - https://www.amazon.com/Silence-Power-Quiet-World-Noise-ebook/dp/B00MEIMCVG - Hanh’s a Vietnamese Buddhist monk - in this book he writes a lot about finding the beauty in silence, turning off the voice in our heads and lives, and living in peace.

Paulo Coelho - “The Alchemist” - https://www.amazon.com/Alchemist-Paulo-Coelho/dp/0062315005/ - Sort of a modern day exploration of “the path” similar to “Siddhartha.”  Very easy and a joy to read, good concepts of what it means to be on a “path”

Carlos Castaneda - "The Teachings of Don Juan" - The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge https://www.amazon.com/dp/0671600419 - Started exploring more into shamanism and indigenous spiritual work; this book was a great intro and written in an entertaining and accessible way. 

Jean-Yves Leloup - “The Gospel of Mary” - https://www.amazon.com/Gospel-Mary-Magdalene-Jean-Yves-Leloup/dp/0892819111/ - The book that finally opened my eyes to the potentiality of the teachings of Christ.  This book, combined with the one below, have been truly transformative in my belief system and accepting humanity and the power of love beyond what I’ve found so far in my journey.

Jean-Yves Leloup - “The Gospel of Philip” - https://www.amazon.com/Gospel-Philip-Magdalene-Gnosis-Sacred/dp/1594770220 - Really begins to dissect and dive into the metaphysical teachings of Christ, exploring the concept of marriage, human union and sexuality, and the power contained within.  This book, combined with the one above, have radically changed my perception of The Church as dissimilar and antithetical to what Christ actually taught.

Ram Dass - “Be Love Now” - https://www.amazon.com/Be-Love-Now-Path-Heart/dp/0061961388 - A follow-up to “Be Here Now” - gets more into the esoteric side of things, his relationship with his Guru, enlightenment, enlightened beings, etc.

Riane Eisler - “The Chalice and the Blade” - https://www.amazon.com/Chalice-Blade-Our-History-Future/dp/0062502891 - An anthropoligical book analyzing the dominative vs cooperative models in the history and pre-history of society and how our roots have been co-opted and rewritten by the dominative model to entrap society into accepting a false truth of violence and dominance as “the way it is”

The book I always recommend people start out with is Sophie's World, not because it's the most in-depth, but because it's the most accessible for a newcomer. It's also the most entertaining I've read. If you want something more in-depth, Russell's History of Western Philosophy is generally this subreddit's big recommendation, although I personally wouldn't say it's a great starting point. His reading of some thinkers is not great, and he's not quite as good at dumbing down certain ideas to an introductory level.

A good summary of philosophy will help you for a couple reasons. One, it will give you enough information to find out what thinkers and ideas interest you. If you're interested in a particular question or thinker, then that's obviously where you should go. Philosophy of religion? Logic? Aesthetics and art? Language? There's plenty written on all these topics, but it can be a bit overwhelming to try and just attack all of philosophy at once. Like any other field, there will be parts of it that click with you, and parts that don't really seem all that appealing. Find your niche, and pursue it. In addition to giving you an idea of where to go, a good overview will put ideas in context. Understanding Augustine and Aquinas will make more sense if you know that they're working with a foundation of the Greek thought of Plato and Aristotle. Descartes wrote his meditations during the enlightenment, and was a major contributor to much of the emphasis on reason that defined that era. Nietzsche and Kierkegaard's existentialist ideas become more powerful when you realize they're critiquing and challenging the technicality of Kant and Hegel. Ideas don't exist in a vacuum, and while you can't be expected to know all the details of everything, your niche area of interest will make more sense if you understand it's context.

As for easier texts that I'd recommend trying out (once you find an area of interest), here's a few that are pretty important and also fairly accessible. These are texts that are generally read by all philosophy students, due to their importance, but if you're just into this for personal interest, you can pick and choose a bit. Still, these are important works, so they'll be very good to read anyways.

Plato - Apology: not terribly dense, but an accessible text in which Socrates basically defends his pursuing philosophical thought. I'd recommend this as an accessible introduction that will get you to feel like philosophy matters; think of it as pump-up music before a big game.

Plato - The Republic: this is arguably Plato's most important work. In it, he talks about the nature of men, politics, education and art.

Aristotle - Nichomachean Ethics: a text that deals with leading a life in accordance with virtue. Aristotle's style is a bit dry and technical, but he's also very important.

Augustine - On Free Choice of the Will: a dialogue similar to Plato's in which Augustine argues that the existence of God does not conflict with man having free will.

Aquinas - Selected Excerpts: he wrote a lot, so you don't wanna try reading a whole one of his works. This selects his key ideas and puts them in bite-sized chunks. He's a big Christian thinker, arguing for the existence and goodness of God and related theological concepts.

Descartes - Meditations on First Philosophy: Descartes uses reason to prove he exists, along with some other things. Pretty easy to read, although it sparked a revolution in thought, making epistemology a central problem of philosophy.

Kant - Grounding for Metaphysics of Morals: one of his easier works, but it's still one of the more technical works I'm recommending, in which Kant demonstrates that morals are a priori.

Kierkegaard - Fear and Trembling: one of my favorite books, Kierkegaard writes about the nature of faith using the story of Abraham and Isaac as his starting point. A huge critic of Kant's obsession with pure reason, he is generally considered to be the first existential thinker.

Nietzsche - Beyond Good & Evil: Nietzsche is one of the more controversial thinkers in history. Also a critic of Kant, he is one of the most profound critics of religion. This book is one of his more important, in which he talks about his problems of religion, the culture around him, and at times points us in the direction he wants us to go. Know that he doesn't write in a terribly direct manner, so if you choose to read him, come here for assistance. He's a bit different to read, and can be challenging if you're not ready.

This list is by no means exhaustive, and having a good reference to help you along will be very helpful.

The existentialism is real in the wake of losing your worldview. All the pep-talks in the world about "go live your life, the world is amazing!" meant nothing to me. I didn't know how to move forward. For some of us, the loss is huge and the existential dread (with its accompanying anxiety and depression) is absolutely consuming.

Ultimately, the study of philosophy and the nature of existence was the way out and the door to a meaningful post-Mormon life for me. I read and studied a bunch of stuff, but the below list was some of the most helpful. I ultimately chose to go with a personalized form of stoicism to fill the void left by Mormonism. Others prefer secular Buddhism, etc. If you still like Jesus as a moral guide (like I do in a lot of ways), this is a great short podcast about Jesus as a moral philosopher.

Anyway, I found the below very helpful in my transition:

• Philosphize This! podcast. Start with episode 1 and just listen all the way through. It's great and he even mentions Mormonism a few times.
  
  
• The Power of Now by Tolle.
  
  
• The Happiness Trap by Harris.
  
  
• Man's Search for Meaning by Frankl.
  
  
• Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning (A follow-on of above--focus on the later chapters in this book.)
  
  
• The Alchemist by Coelho.
  
  
• A New Earth by Tolle.
  
  
• A Confession by Tolstoy. Free download.
  
  
• What I Believe, also by Tolstoy and a follow-on to the above Tolstoy book. Free download at link if you look for it. Auido book here.
  
  If you're interested in stoic philosophy as a replacement for Mormonism:
  
  
• Start with this easy article for a nice overview. The rest of this blog can be helpful, too. For example, here's a great recent article.
  
  
• This book. It can be a bit long in places, but it's an easy read and gives an awesome overview.
  
  
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. The Audible version of this is really good, too, if you have a daily commute, etc.
  
   
  
  Finally, it gets better! Take it a day (or a month) at a time and keep searching and you'll eventually land in a good spot! Good luck, and stick with it!

Over the past several years I've personally gravitated toward a blend of stoicism and "secular Christianity." I know many others go the route of secular Buddhism (Noah Rasheta, who is also an exMo runs secularbuddhism.com which you might want to check out) and others (most?) simply go the route of ethical hedonism.

I personally gravitated toward stoicism because it isn't a religion and has no real religious underpinning. Instead, it's normally referred to as just a "philosophy of life." It has worked well for me as a backfill to religion. You'll also find that different people have different views of what it means to "practice" stoicism, so it's nice in that you can kind of adapt it to fit your personal preferences.

Here are some recommendations if you want to look into it:

• Start with this easy article for a nice overview. Then continue to read other articles on the How to be a Stoic blog. It's a great resource.
  
  
• I'd recommend this book as well. It can be a bit long in places, but it's an easy read and gives an awesome overview.
  
  
• Finally, you should also read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. I have an audio version from Audible that's excellent and I enjoyed listening to it much more than reading it, but there are free copies all over the place to download and read in Kindle if you just Google it.
  
  Aside from stoicism, studying and learning about philosophy in general has been a huge cushion for me in dealing with the existential crisis that often follows losing belief in Mormonism. Google the Philosophize This! podcast and start at episode 1 if you're interested. It's great. I also really enjoy the Philosophy Bites podcast. Other than the above, the following were also very helpful to me in finding a approach to life without "God" and without religion:
  
  
• The Power of Now by Tolle.
  
  
• The Happiness Trap by Harris.
  
  
• Man's Search for Meaning by Frankl.
  
  
• Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning (A follow-on of above--focus on the later chapters in this book.)
  
  
• The Alchemist by Coelho.
  
  
• A New Earth by Tolle.
  
  
• A Confession by Tolstoy. Free download.
  
  
• What I Believe, also by Tolstoy and a follow-on to the above Tolstoy book. Free download at link if you look for it. Auido book here.
  
  All of the above combined with a few long years of figuring things out got me to a good place. But everyone's journey is different, so do what you think will work best for you...and good luck!
  
  
  

Well, /u/colbaltLion, /u/thawed_caveman and others have hit all the main points but I'll add my two cents as well.

 

Regarding outlining/planning:

Everybody is going to approach this differently, but there are generally two schools of thought on this: Highly detailed and planned out stories, or less planned and more organic. I am of the latter type.

I suspect my story is somewhat unique as it didn't start out any anything more that little throw away blurb of some 2000 words plus or minus, and was never intended to go any farther. Somehow I'm now writing one of the most popular fics in the fandom.
SO - I had to come up with a plot when it became clear I was passing my beer and saying "Here, hold this..."

I don't outline in normal sense. HOW you do this is going to very much depend on you and what kind of person you are, and what the story is about. Are you someone who is detail oriented and likes to plan everything out first or do you like to just go with the flow and see where things lead? Is your story a fast paced action/drama with lots of characters, places and events or a fluffy pastel thing with lots of humor and canoodling? All of these things lead to a different style or story and writing. There is no set rule on this, but do what is right for you AND the story.

Personally I don't outline, not in any physical sense, at least for this current story - the next is another matter. Everything is in my head. I know where the story is going, I know the major plot points and events but how long it takes to get to each point is up in the air and things constantly shift. There are whole scenes that were absolutely amazing in my head, but simply don't have a place anymore in the story now, or have been chopped up/altered into something different.

I write in the very organic way that I mentioned. Each chapter starts out with key point, or points, that I want to hit. I set up those parameters then wind up Nick and Judy and let them go, watching what they do and who they interact with. I know to some that sounds odd but that's just how I work. I have said before that I follow them in my minds eye and record what happens. New characters pop up all the time, new ideas or scenes pop up all time as well. This is great for a given amount of 'great'. However, this method leads to what I call "Robert Jordan Syndrome" which I am most certainly guilty of. Since I don't have a tight solid outline, and just like to let things unfold as I go, this leads to a very long and long winded story. I have packed a half an hour of events into 10K+ words. I've started referring to my story as a Soap Opera because at this point that is what it is. It's 95% fluff right now. It's not some gritty crime drama, it's not some depressing story chalked full of OCs etc... it's just a continuation of the movie. It's all about Nick and Judy's relationship unfolding, along with all the sad and hilarious things that happen in between. The long winded works well as it provides lots of room for dialogue, thoughts, feelings etc.. and apparently a lot of people seem to like that. What I have done is timeskip where it fits in. That is to say I don't need to spend 15k words about every conversation Nick and Judy have with Judy's family when they do a meet and greet in BunnyBurrow - I summed it all up in a few paragraphs.

It all boils down to what the point of the story is. My story is almost completely pointless... as I often joke "I just want to see the fox and rabbit kiss." I do have a story arc going on, and there will be a bit of action around the climax that sets ground work for the next, much more serious, story, but right now it's one long "Nick and Judy's Adventures in Dating." so the glacial pacing and long windiness fit well with that. People like their WildeHopps, myself included, so I have no problem with providing plenty of it.

 

POV

I've not see anybody comment specifically about this yet but it's one of those things you'll see people screw up a lot. There are two main story POVs in use: First Person where we are seeing through a characters eyes and hearing their thoughts, as if they are dictating to you. It can be one of the more difficult POvs to pull off. The second one is Third Person, which is the more common. There IS Second Person as well, but nobody uses that ouside of poetry and such.

For example:

1st:

I turned, seeing Judy coming out of the elevator doors. "Hey! Judy!" I called.

3rd

Nick turned, and seeing Judy stepping from the elevator called out to her.

"Hey, Judy!"

Now there are actually several different TYPES of POV within each main POV too, it can be bloody confusing. There's First Person Peripheral, Third Person Limited, Third Person Omniscient etc., the list goes on. Point is pick one and stick with it. It usually boils down to personal preference as to which you use. Here is a good write up on them.

 

POV shifting

This is another common gotchya. When your POV shifts you start a new paragraph - this is linked to the type of POV you are using as well. In First Person the POV never really shifts from the character who's eyes you're seeing out of. Third Person is different as POV shifts based on who is talking or doing some action.

Bad POV shift example:

Nick turned, and seeing Judy stepping from the elevator called out to her. "Hey, Judy!" he called. Judy turned her head and and raised a paw to him. "Hey!"

So... Was it Judy saying "Hey!" back or was it Nick saying "Hey!" again? This is a simplistic example, but incorrect POV shifting can cause confusion as to who is talking or doing what. There is a certain amount of nebulousness regarding when to start a new line when Dialogue is involved as well. You usually want to start a new paragraph each time the speaker switches or is speaking for the first time etc..

As a side note you also will want to start a new line even when the POV shift from the character but the subject of what is going on shifts. I.E. The paragraph starts out about Nick thinking about X but then there is a shift to thinking about or doing Y - you would want to put Y in it's own paragraph.

Anyway, as long as you stay within the general POV guidelines where to start a new paragraph is often left up to the writer. You don't necessarily need to start a new paragraph when the character is speaking for the first time, but should if the preceding text is long. You don't want a big paragraph from the POV of a character then tack on some dialog at the end, it's generally better to let the dialogue start it's own line in that instance.

For example the following could be written a couple could of different ways:

Nick turned, and seeing Judy stepping from the elevator called out to her.

"Hey, Judy!"

Judy turned her head and and raised a paw.

"Hey!" she called back

Or

Nick turned, and seeing Judy stepping from the elevator called out to her. "Hey, Judy!"

Judy turned her head and and raised a paw. "Hey!" she called back.*

How ever you do it; be consistent. Again there are plenty of resources out on the net about all of this.

 

Editing

This is been pointed out already by Colbalt and Caveman's detailed posts but it really does need to be stressed. I'm sure we've all seem some really bad stories that seem like they have been put together by people who have never picked up a book, let alone the metaphorical pen, in their life - if you're one of those people do your homework before whipping something up and throwing it out there. Edit and edit some more. If you don't you'll be ignored at best, at worst you'll become a punching bag and laughed at. When I started I had not written anything in nearly 20 years and was extremely rusty. When I was a few chapters in and starting to get some interest from editors I pulled everything back and revamped it after going through tons of pages and videos about things I was screwing up. It was a case of known unknowns. I knew I had something special from the response I got, but I quickly realized I was not to hot in the actual mechanics of writing anymore (Punctuation, POV etc.) It's 2017 folks, we have Google, we have Youtube. There are countless videos, blogs, forums dedicated to writing. /u/thawed_caveman pointed out an excellent series on screenwriting, also highly reccomend Brandon Sandersons lectures.


 

Two last things

Firstly - I push this a lot when ever I get someone asking me for help or advice about writing in general: Stephen Kings 'On Writing. A Memoir of the Craft.' I highly recommend getting the [audiobook](http://www.audible.com/pd/Bios-Memoirs/On-Writing- Audiobook/B002V1A0WE/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1487958580&sr=1-1) - it is half life story, often very funny, and half advice on writing narrated by King himself.

Secondly - It would be a very good idea to read: The Elements of Style - I really need to re-read this myself as it's been a long while, but every writer should have a copy.

First and foremost, don't be ashamed of what you love. Tale of Two Cities is considered one of the greatest books ever because it is. It's a masterwork. And you shouldn't be ashamed of recognizing that.

Other people have suggested some great classics. You can't go wrong with those. But it sounds (to me) like you might be looking for something a bit more modern, and perhaps a bit more niche. So I'll make some suggestions along those lines:

The Thousand Autums of Jacob de Zoet, by David Mitchell

Let me admit this up front. I've been immediately buying everything this guy writes. I'm a fan. But dangit, he's been nominated for two Man Booker prizes. He can write.

The Thousand Autumns is set in 1800 in a small town in Japan, where Westerners are permitted to stay, but are forbidden to enter the rest of Japan. Jacob is a trader with the Dutch East India Company who comes to make his fortune so that he can marry his Dutch fiancee. When he arrives, he meets a Japanese midwife named Orito with a scar on her face. Jacob falls in love. But this book is not just a love story. Every character is richly drawn, and each has their own arc. Politics and culture feature prominently. It really is a beautiful book. And it shares some of the epic reach of Tale of Two Cities.

Having said that, I would heartily recommend anything by David Mitchell. Cloud Atlas is probably his best known book, and it's a wonderful group of inter-connected stories from different genres tied together by a central theme and with a unique structure. I've recommended that one to friends, and they all praised it.

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, by Haruki Murakami

This one is a bit different, and definitely a bit more niche. Murakami is a Japanese writer who became sort of hip here in the U.S. a few years back. He writes with a style that I've heard described as "magical realism." It's is utterly realistic in its presentation, but then it will have a talking cat or an alternate dimension. His stories sort of feel like modern fables. And there's a sense of loneliness and fatalism in his books.

I'm not sure that any plot description is going to do a Murakami book justice, but I'll give a short one anyway. Toru loses his job, and wife his orders him to find their cat before disappearing herself. Wind Up Bird is mostly about the cast of characters and events in the subsequent journey.

I almost suggested 1Q84 instead of Wind Up Bird because it felt (to me) more similar to Tale of Two Cities. But 1Q84 is a very long book, and a very slow burn. When I was about 500 pages in, a friend asked me whether I was enjoying it, and I ended up talking about Murakami's style, and not this story. Because the story hadn't grabbed me yet. While I ended up enjoying 1Q84 more than Wind Up Bird, I'm not sure I can recommend that you slog through 1,000+ pages without being pretty sure you're going to enjoy his style. Wind Up Bird is a better -- and shorter -- introduction to Murakami, and it's considered his classic anyway.

1. A mug! How is this cake related? Because you can make microwavable cake in a mug!
   
2. So, I didn't even know who Simon Pegg was. Apparently he starred in Shaun of the Dead, which I haven't seen, but it's apparently a romantic zombie movie!
   
3. J.K. Rowling's new book. DYING TO READ IT
   
4. You could totally use the sticks from these lollipops as chopsticks!
   
5. Animal print animal costume!
   
6. Purple!
   
7. My favorite game!
   
8. Nerdy fantasy books are my guilty pleasure
   
9. Lots of tools!
   
10. The Lion King!
    
11. Cascading hangers! My closet would be so compact and organized!
    
12. Dorky as it may be, coloring is my hobby!
    
13. SO MANY OPTIONS. I'm an art history nerd, a Disney nerd, a cat lady, an X-Files nerd, and a history dork--there are so many options for nerdy hahaha.
    
14. Organic extra virgin coconut oil!
    
15. Water bottle!
    
16. You wear a necklace!
    
17. Murder by Death is hilarious!
    
18. "Pearl" beads!
    
19. Willow. Because what do you find in a garden? Plants! Trees are plants. And what is a willow? A tree! This is totally, 100% gardening related. Promise.
    
20. This isn't the thing I want the most, but it's seriously one of the coolest, dorkiest, most amazing items on my wishlist. It's something I could never justify buying for myself, but I REALLY love it--one day it will be mine!
    
    You're going to buy yourself this super interesting book!
    
    Happy happy cake day :D
    
    If I win, anything I linked OR anything from my wishlist would be an amazingggg prize :) I love everything on my wishlists!

Welcome welcome! As this other fella pointed out the longship is great but there are some other books you could get as well. Here's my recommendations for starting material.

This book is mainly about Saxton Pagans. It's a great introduction to alot if the general ideas of Norse Mythology. It's also short, and very easily worded. Super light and easy read.

Travels Through Middle Earth. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0738715360?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

This book is quite a bit of fiction. Neil is an outstanding an accomplished writer and as such even if he makes some stuff up reading the myths through his eyes is amazing and a great way to get your feet wet.

Norse Mythology https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393356183?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Now some people hate McCoy. He sometimes likes to assert his personal opinions as fact. I happen to agree with alot of what he says. This is a more scholarly approach to the myths. Once you have the basic ideas down this can be a great introduction to archaeology and the actual historical fact.

The Viking Spirit: An... https://www.amazon.com/dp/1533393036?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Taxes- Once you start filing them, file them every year, even if you’re not obligated to. It makes your life sooo much easier. Please just trust me on this. Also, very few people really know how taxes work. The tax code is confusing on purpose. Like probably CPAs and Tax Attorneys and some people who work at the IRS, but that’s about it.

r/tax is a thing that is occasionally helpful. r/Insurance also may be of some use to you. And hopefully you won’t need it, but r/LegalAdvice.

The top comment was right. Focus on your education. I learned most of the stuff you’re talking about at college. Make friends with lots of different kinds of people. All ages. Older/non-traditional students are great because they’re really serious and they have a lot of life experiences. Age cohort students are great because they’re fun, you have similar ideas and philosophies, and someone will def take notes for you when you’re sick (especially if you buy them a coffee for being so diligent later).

You’ll gain work experience as you go and get older. If you can, get a job at the school you go to. They’re usually much better than off campus. They work around your class schedule and will pay at least minimum wage, if not more. The number of hours aren’t always the best, but are almost always steady.

This is just a tip for school - get Strunk and White’s “The Elements of Style” - I prefer the illustrated edition which is what I’ve linked. I always thought I was a good writer and then I got to college and realized I was wholly mediocre. This helped immensely. I tell everyone just starting school to get this. If I’d had this my freshman year, it would have been a totally different game.

TL;DR: No one knows how taxes work. Specialized subs can be your friend! Focus on education. You’ll gain knowledge, experience, lots of things, as it comes. Strunk and White to make essays easier.

Edit: I don’t know the name of things apparently. r/tax not r/Taxes

Oh my, big passive voice fan? Let’s see, where to start?

> There are also times when passive voice is preferred

I did say that, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s usually not preferred. It’s preferred when there is no known actor or when the main subject is not the actor.

> Non-psychologists tend to ignore the American Psychological Association’s style guide, yes.

APA is used for a lot more fields than just psychology, including scientific ones. Besides, most style guides say the same thing. AP does, and I’m pretty sure Chicago does.


>And are you seriously citing style guides to make a point about natural language? Yes, prescriptivists tend to dislike passive voice in English. How is that at all relevant?

AP and APA actually cite natural usage as a reason for proscribing against passive voice. The active voice is more natural in most cases and is the way we tend to talk. Therefore, using active voice is better for clarity. Clear writing is good writing.

But this isn’t a subreddit on writing. This is a sub about learning Japanese. The meme we’re commenting on is about things that are difficult for Japanese learners whose native language is English. Passive voice in Japanese is difficult for many English-speaking learners for all the reasons I mentioned. If you want to keep using it in your English writing anyway, I mean, whatever floats your boat. I do recommend picking up On Writing Well, though, and maybe also The Elements of Style. They’re excellent books that I think can explain better than I can why some of these kinds of things that seem “prescriptivist” are actually ways to make your writing clearer, more succinct, and, ultimately, more successful.

Stranger in a Strange Land - Heinlein

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Heinlein

The Gods Themselves - Asimov

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card


I know that these are science fiction books, but these authors are well known for writing excellent fiction that explores philosophy, science, politics, society, and human interaction. I assure you that these books will force you to explore an entirely new way of looking at the world. Each one is refreshing, fascinating and an incredibly good read. I love and personally recommend each one (as well as others, if you are looking for further material).


If you are instead looking for a text that has inspired people in a particular field of study, I'd recommend you look at "One Two Three . . . Infinity: Facts and Speculations of Science". Thousands of scientists and aspiring scientists have to thank this book for getting them interested in mathematics and science. It is written in an engaging, easy-to-understand way that has all of the class and poetry of a classic text.

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

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

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

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

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

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

House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski

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

All 3 are on my Most Wanted list.


Thanks for the contest!

Okay - then to start, I will recommend Oryx and Crake and Year of the Flood, both by Margaret Atwood. They're part of a trilogy, the third book is due out this fall. Atwood defines them as speculative fiction; they're set in the not-to-distant future, and follow the downfall of civilization. I like Year of the Flood better, but both are pretty awesome.

For fantasy, I really like The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay. It's a blend of celtic mythology, fantasy, and arthurian legend. Some people don't like that it's basically an homage to LOTR, but it's one of my absolutely alll-time favourites.

For YA dystopian fiction, I'd suggest Divergent and Insurgent - also a trilogy, not sure when the third one is due out, off-hand.

One of my favourite sci-fi series is Phule's Company and the following books, by Robert Asprin. I also love Time Scout by him and Linda Evans. His writing is ridiculously clever and witty, and he's one of last century's greatest writers, in my opinion.

And finally, I love anything by Terry Pratchett - his Discworld series is amazing. So very very British and hilarious.

Your Writing;

Some good writing in your details and solid word images. You have a good sense of humor, I would have enjoyed more of your dry timing. The story and characters, that was very difficult for me to follow. The paragraphs seemed to dance, move to one thing or another, almost like it didn't need to connect. They did connect but It felt to me I had to work hard to get it.

I stopped when Owen got to Lake Tahoe.

I found it hard to understand when it's the Mc thinking, or a dream, or something else. It didn't feel very real to me. I didn't get a any sense of a 'when', no sense of time passing, nor a viewpoint that let me understand what I was reading.

I thought Owen was a type of kid I wouldn't much like to hang out with. The red haired girl, not sure. Good world building, a firm start.

Other ways to get better feedback;

If you want to avoid bad habits before starting, be clear about how much help you can get here. Ask specific questions about areas you think don't work. Post a small intro, maybe just a scene or two from a chapter. Start a bit smaller. Build up from there.

The best help I see comes from very specific questions about your work.

More detailed critiques can be found at the link shown below. There they will read all of it and give very detailed responses, however there is a catch. You have to do a 1:1 ratio of other works in order to receive the same. So you'd have to complete a high level critique of a 2,500 plus story, then you would get the same.

If you don’t follow this rule, your post will be marked as a leech post. And if your leech post has been up for 24 hours without any new critiques from you, it will be removed.

[Destructive Readers](https://www.reddit.com/r/DestructiveReaders/ "The goal: to improve writing and maintain the highest standard of critique excellence anywhere on Reddit. DestructiveReaders isn't about writers being nice to writers; it's about readers being honest with writers. We deconstruct writing to construct better writers." )

Sharing the writing process;

A lot of us here are working and struggling with becoming better writers. So you are not alone in this painful process.

I myself find the task of becoming a good writer very daunting. I only keep going because I create a belief in myself. After that I go through the slow hard swim in the deep dark oceans of the unknown. I have no directions, no compass, only fear which if allowed becomes an anchor.

It would be good to know something about your skill level, things you've already read to improve crafting stories, classes you've taken, daily exercises or how much you write each day.

Myself; I do a daily poem, then write from 5/6 am to 9 am, that will be either my current novel or on a short I plan to submit to a magazine. I listen to Podcasts and do exercises from Writing Excuses

Books I use as my reference on writing;

• Song Writing Without Boundaries by Pat Pattison
  
  
• Characters & Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card
  
  
• On Writing by Steven King
  
  
• The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr and E.B. White
  
  end
  
  
  
  
  

I love books I love books I love books.

My all time favorite book is The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver. I first read it in high school for my AP Lit class and I've probably read it a dozen more times since then. My copy is worn and dog eared and full of little notes in the margins and underlined phrases. It's gorgeous writing and the protagonist makes my chest ache and the story-telling is magical. It is the best book I've ever read and the best book I will ever read.

Another one of Barbara Kingsolver's books is also my favorite. It's her first one--called The Bean Trees.

A recent author I've found that I'm completely infatuated with is Alice Hoffman. My favorites of hers are The Museum of Extraordinary Things, Faithful, The Marriage of Opposites, and The Story Sisters. Her story telling is luminous, exquisite. She has a profound grasp on both understanding words and understanding people, and the two gifts together make magic.

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped In An Ikea Wardrobe is probably the smartest, funniest, charming, insightful, and heartwarming/terribly saddening novel I've ever, ever read. It's spectacular.

I'm also a huge fan of Liane Moriarty's work. Her books are so real and they're so funny, so beautiful, so good.

Also the Harry Potter series. At the beginning of the summer, right after I graduated college, I seriously sat down and reread all seven books in a week. It was great. I did nothing but read all day for seven days and it was perfect.

edit: forgot Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel! This book combines my favorite literary genre, magical realism, with apocalyptic fiction and OH MY GOD it's fantastic.

Ohh I got some goodies for ya, Hermann Hesse is amazing and opened me up to many books.

1. Just buy it right now..seriously. The Book of Mirdad by Mikhail Naimy
   
   
2. Another Classic by Herman Hesse Demian
   
   3)Another with a similar feel as Siddhartha The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
   
   So these top 3 are the "closest" to Siddartha that I've read. You will defintely like the top 3, they are amazing books with such fundamental truths told through a story. All easy to read and similiar in length.
   
   These next 4 are just suggested for anyone that is into these types of books, I would almost guarantee that you will love them! They are just less "story" like. The Autobiography is an amazing read, and is indeed a story but it's non-fiction. The Way of Zen is just a beautiful book, but is not a fiction along with the Bhagavad and The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari (The author actually suggests Siddhartha in it!)
   
   
3. If you liked Siddhartha heavily for it's spiritual aspects and the effect it left on you, this book has changed me deeply (they all have but this book is a little different) The Autobiography of a Yogi by
   Paramahansa Yogananda
   
   5)And his translation of The Bhagavad Gita
   
   6)Good ol' Allan Watts The Way of Zen
   
   
4. Another highly suggested book The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma
   
   Enjoy my friend!

Aight so from the looks of it reddit doesn't read Cormoran Strike. So let me do a basic pitch.

I think JK Rowling doesn't want to do really high class stuff. I think Casual Vacancy was her attempt to do something that felt "artistically meaningful" and it left her drained, and I don't think it was just the audience reactions. I think she quite literally did not enjoy writing Casual Vacancy the way she did Harry Potter.

Which is where Cormoran Strike comes from. I don't think the pseudonym JK Rowling decided to use was specifically to temper expectations (nor as an experiment to see if she "still had it"), I just think the idea was for her to be able to write a novel that didn't think too highly of itself and release it for the right environment. Somehow I don't think "JK Rowling Presents... A Mary Higgins Clark Novel!" would go well with most people.

So let's talk Cormoran.

Cormoran Strike is not Harry Potter. It's not even Sherlock (the tv series). Cormoran Strike is the most simple and straight forward detective novel JK Rowling could have produced. It has no ongoing mystery. It has no suspense or drama that originates from the detective part of its story (with some exceptions, like the climax to book 3).

Instead, it's literally just cases where a detective solves murder mysteries in the most realistic way possible. There's no moment where Cormoran goes "That ink in her shoulder indicates that...", or any moment where Cormoran anticipates the killer's thoughts. He quite simply gets the most obvious clues into his note book, then goes around interrogating people until the story he has been accumulating through every testimony points to a likely suspect, at which point he'll solve the case.

Where Cormoran Strike completely deserves your read is in that it's a straight forward detective novel... written by JK Rowling.

So yes, the cast is amazing. Yes, the dialogue and prose are witty and easy to read and yet rich with details, in that tough balance act that almost no one these days seems capable of. Yes, everyone relates to each other in realistic fashion and people behave like people, sometimes to their own detriment, because people are dumb, people are private, people are skeptical. Yes, there's drama involving the characters as they begin to grow closer and then figure out what they are to each other, and how the development of that relationship changes their lives and their work.

And it's fun. It's a heck of a lot of fun. The fact that Cormoran isn't following a Moriarty, or that he isn't solving cases involving super tricky methods that only a master detective would put together, or that there's no agency to the mysteries except that Cormoran is a detective investigating them, leaves the door open for all of the things JK Rowling does best to shine.

No, you won't look back on Cormoran Strike and think "man that sure defined a generation of literature and influenced tons of people to try and capture that same lightning in a bottle". You may not even remember half of what happens to them.

But you'll have a hell of a ride, one that is written by a master of her craft who is doing the one thing it feels like she wants to do.

Enjoying that ride as much as her readers.

Here's the first book.

For future reference, /r/askphilosophy exists for these kinds of questions.

Now, if you're looking for something more narrative that will allow you to get your feet wet, you have a few different options.

Sophie's World is really quite enjoyable, though I suppose its intended audience is probably younger than yourself.

If you're looking for something more mature, you might try philosophical fiction like Camus' The Stranger or Sartre's Nausea. Both are a great way to get into something philosophical without having to worry too much about terminology or technical language.

If you're looking for something more analytic (logic, phil math, phil science, etc.), you might try something like Russell's The Problems of Philosophy. It's a pretty good read and it's short.

If you're looking for a general introduction to philosophy, something more mature than Sophie's World but focused on the history of philosophy as opposed to a particular area, you might want to look at something like Russell's The History of Western Philosophy. If you do get more involved in philosophy, you'll discover that the book has its flaws, and Russell was wrong about several of the philosophers that he discusses, but it's a good introduction to the history of philosophy that is easily accessible if you have the time to sit down and read it.

In terms of which one's are more fun to read, I'd say the philosophical fiction and Sophie's World are at the top, as the other two books are a bit more dry, but if you're looking for something substantive and not too technical, then all of these might serve your purposes.

I hope that helped in some way, and in future, if you have any philosophy related questions, don't hesitate to ask over in /r/askphilosophy.

I guess I mostly figured Nomi would be there because he was already such a weird and wonderful character when he was alive.

I missed Woodring when he came to a signing in Norway (Norwegian here) not too long ago. I didn't find out about it until a week or so later. I was rather annoyed after that. You're lucky you got to draw with him! That he even manages to draw with that large of a pen is insane. Oh and your op art pic is very nice. It's also really making my head hurt. Very Escher like in that sense.

And it's funny you should say you don't get lost in books like you used to; Murakami is usually my go-to solution when I need some delicious escapism that still manages to provoke some thoughts. This was the book that got me into him to begin with. A strange and curious journey centered around an even curiouser metaphysical farm animal!

And at least sf cover art is usually at least slightly more tasteful than fantasy covers. I still remember hiding Wheel Of Time covers on the bus because they looked more like kiosk romance novel covers starring Fabio than anything else. Urgh. Rockets and space tentacleoids are helvetica in comparison to Darrel K. Sweets atrocious comic sans.

I looked at the tarot deck, and it looks very intriguing. The cards are very beautiful. Is it an actual actual standard tarot deck you can use for readings and whatnot? Although I have a pathological lack of belief in anything supernatural I still find the artistry and aesthetics behind tarot decks quite fascinating.

Oh and lastly, you really do seem to be as cool as I previously suspected. Wanna be friends? :D

> I have been changing, every part of myself and every facet of my life that I possibly can.

Do you realize how amazing this is! Do you realize that most would rather blame external forces than do the hard work of looking in the mirror and within that you have taken on! I applaud you. And I want you to know that nothing goes unnoticed by the universe. Do not stop. Do not give in. Don't bend, don't break. Believe me when I say things get better. Trying to be better or a higher vibration then before, attracts more and more higher vibrational things to you.

I grew up poor in the ghetto. I grew up with abuse. I grew up believing that I was damaged, traumatized, going crazy, or just crazy, with lack and less than feelings. (which was all bullshit limiting beliefs). Sometimes I was to scared to leave my house. I couldn't handle life at any level. I was depressed and despondent. Just writing that feels so weird to me because it's miles away from me and my present realty. I feel whole and connected and amazing. I feel like the fucking king of the jungle. Nothing can touch me because my vibration is to high. I have everything I want and more because thats what I want . I live in peace, abundance and without fear and just for the enjoyment of living.

To get to this point was not an easy road. It was years and years of work. It was set backs and some giving up because "nothings changing'. Things will not change with just a snap of the fingers. There is lifetimes of conditioning to undue. Thought patterns to rewire. And changing your very DNA. You have to raise your energy, frequency and vibration. And these lower beings will not be able to attack you. When you change yourself you are also changing reality itself. You have to know and believe that things will get/are better. Even if the world and your circumstance are the same you have to know that you have changed and change how you react to the same situations. Be gentle with yourself. You will have ups and downs. But know that you are perfect because you are made from source/god and are source/god. Trust that you are always where you should be.



These things have greatly aided in raising my vibration and changing my life for the better.

Find an energy healer you can trust or learn techniques to heal yourself.

Eat proper food. Organic if possible. Fruits, veg, whole grains. Live food, not processed dead shit. Try fasting.

get in tune with nature. Touch trees. Know the stars. The moon phase. The seasons.


Exercise. Strong body = strong mind. Even if its just walking somewhere when you would usually drive. Yoga and stretching will not only improve flexibility of the body but the mind as well. Learn how to breathe. Learn how to harness energy; reiki, qigong , tai chi.

Meditate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX6-Qv2AB3E

Turn off corporate media. No news, mags, newspaper, no r/news etc. Feed your mind good stuff.

Practise gratitude. Don't look at and compare with others.

*Watch your thoughts and emotions. You have to police yourself and not give in to fear. Learn some mantras that mean something to you and repeat them . You know how corporations fill our head with slogans and jingles, well put some positive shit in your head. This is from Bashar, "circumstances don't matter, only state of being matters "

Some sources that have helped me.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiDZy_rfSodwFaVL_imGWgQ

https://www.facebook.com/quantumactivism

https://www.eckharttolle.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ucn3Xswv4Q

http://mas-sajady.com/podcast/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvPzsixYIH0


https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Said-Conversation-Collection-Incarnation/dp/1886940312?SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-d-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1886940312

https://www.amazon.com/Alchemist-Paulo-Coelho/dp/0062315005/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1515827363&sr=1-1&keywords=the+alchemist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7B4QzntjcU

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_9?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+four+agreements&sprefix=the+four+%2Cstripbooks%2C188&crid=2VD2RLQSCBXXK

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=abraham+hicks

Have fun! Stay dedicated and determined.

to me, the most interesting mathematical history books are those with a targeted goal, meaning they cover the historical aspect of a specific topic, time period, person or group of people, etc. these, at least in my opinion, provide the most insight, as some of the more general books, particular those written for the general public, are too overarching to get much out of. also, another suggestion is to find biographies of mathematicians or physicists. i personally do not find any math history prior to the 1500-1600s or so that interesting, so all of my suggestions are appropriately biased.

a few suggestions are:

• a history of vector analysis by michael j. crowe
  
• isaac newton by james gleick
  
• isaac newton by gale e. christianson
  
• the clockwork universe: isaac newton, the royal society, and the birth of the modern world
  
• gravity by george gamow
  
• one two three ... infinity by george gamow
  
• the mactutor history of mathematics archive - the biographies index is really pretty good and is often a starting point for me.
  
• ams notices - great for finding expository articles and interviews
  
  i don't know of many books that follow the history of a certain subject that are any good. most of my historical knowledge regarding a certain subject is taken from multiple sources. a good method is to read articles, track down the books and/or papers that are referenced by a certain book or paper you like, find biographies of the mathematicians involved, etc. for instance, interviews with mathematicians (like those in the ams notices and the one i posted the other day) are fantastic troves of information regarding the history of certain topics, because the story is being told by a direct participant.

First, you're not alone. I was in my early 30's when I lost my faith and it took me 2 years to get over the depression and existential vacuum that Joe's lies left behind.

I was able to eventually work my way through it without meds or any serious counseling, but it was a grueling couple of years. Everyone has to figure out their own path, but what helped me most was reading from others who had faced the same existential vacuum and found a way to navigate it. A few titles that I would highly recommend are:

• The Power of Now by Tolle.
  
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Best on audiobook.
  
• Man's Search for Meaning by Frankl.
  
• Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning (A follow-on of above--focus on the later chapters in this book.)
  
• The Alchemist by Coelho.
  
• A New Earth by Tolle.
  
• A Confession by Tolstoy. Free download.
  
• What I Believe, also by Tolstoy and a follow-on to the above Tolstoy book. Free download at link if you look for it.
  
  The above, coupled with a lot of patience, exercise, sleep, and proper diet got me through my deep existential crisis. The existentialism still shows up now and then, but it's totally manageable. Good luck to you! You'll have good days and worse days, but stick with it!--I promise it gets better!

My profile is http://steamcommunity.com/id/headwound79/.

I'd like to get Car Mechanic Simulator 2015. I was thinking about getting the bundle it was in, but ended up waiting too long.

For post-apocalyptic stuff, do you want my favorite or something you haven't seen? The two could be very different. :)

Movie: Children of Men is very good, but that's too mainstream. So try [Hell Comes to Frogtown]
(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093171/) starring "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. It's hilarious. (Extra tip: listen to the How Did This Get Made? podcast about the movie)

TV: I surprisingly like The 100, despite it being a CW show. The first 2 seasons are great. The end of season 2 was particularly gripping. Season 3 hasn't grabbed me yet, but I'm only 3 episodes in.

Book: Robopocalypse. The cheesy name turned me off at first, but it is a interesting take on a robot uprising from several points of view. It kind of reminds me of World War Z (the book, of course).

For The Hobbit I really like this edition which I am reading to my nephew's (6, 8):

The Hobbit: Illustrated Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/0544174224/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_QutVCb81QG4V6

If she is precocious and loves to read I think a set of the Lord of the Rings trillogy in hardcover would be great. You should be able to find a standard Houghton Mifflin edition 3 part boxed set for a reasonable price.

The Lord of the Rings https://www.amazon.com/dp/0395489326/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_lztVCbDEWDXYP

I own both of the above and they are perfectly serviceable.

If she falls in love with the story, then maybe a nicer edition or collectors set could make sense to own. Perhaps even Folio Society if you win the bloody lottery or something (they are beautiful though).

I hope it's not too late, but I heartily recommend The Nights Dawn Trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton. It starts with The Reality Dysfunction. And although the tag-line may not scream "realistic technology" it is does have very, very well thought out tech with in universe uses other than "sounding kick-ass". It also features a great story, well paced action and memorable settings. It's my favorite series and I do hope you give it a go.

Others have suggested Haruki Murakami, but if he digs cult fiction then have him read the other great Murakami, Ryu Murakami. Coin Locker Babies and Almost Transparent Blue are his absolute best. Kobo Abe was also mentioned and I recommend his novel The Box Man. Then there is the whole realm of bizarro fiction like my favorite Satan Burger. From the recommendations I've seen here, you should have a damn fine list to give him.

Most "oh god, I would never be seen with this in public" looking item: Spectra Specs

Most phallic looking item: Salt & Pepper shakers They're not super phallic looking, but it's the closest I've got on my list.

Most geeky item: Time Turner Necklace

Item which would most help you achieve a goal: Mickey Mouse balloon It would help me achieve the goal of planning my son's birthday party.

Best item to bring to a deserted island: Book for entertainment.

All items are on my main wishlist. :)

I think you are on the right track. Take Physics C AP and Calculus BC your senior year and maybe continue taking programming. These classes will help you get ahead of your peers in College, especially Physics C which covers a great deal of material for a high school physics course. Also, apart from taking the right curriculum, I think the most important aspect of majoring in any field is having an interest in it. If your high school offers scientific research, like my high school did, I would enroll in the class. If you are lucky, you may be able to do some research in a nearby college, something that will definitely boost your college app and give you important experience. Also, I have some physics book recommendations that I highly recommend that you read at your age.

Check out these three books written by George Gamow. He has a talent in explaining difficult physics concepts to those who may not have that advanced of a scientific background.
One Two Three...Infinity, Thirty Years That Shook Physics,
Gravity

These are not so much popular, light reading books, but they are well written, thoughtful and enjoyable without being too heavy. A good step from the deeper classics but not all the way down.

• The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
  
  
• Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
  
  
• When You Went Away by Michel Baron
  
  
• The Notice by Sean Chandler.
  
  If you're looking for something more mainstream, these popular authors are more Reiner than Zemeckis:
  
  
• Mitch Albom (light hearted and well written inspirational stories)
  
• Jodi Picoult (sometimes dark, but still very popular)
  
• Jill Mansell (light hearted, romantic fluff; a summer beach favourite)
  
• Edward P. Jones (start with The Known World)
  
• James Patterson (mystery, police procedurals, etc...)
  
  and of course,
  
  
• Stephen King, the most prolific and one of the highest selling authors of mystery and horror. Not my thing, but with over 350 million books sold, he has to be doing something right.

What about checking out some of Arthur C. Clarke's stuff? Rendezvous with Rama and 2001 spring immediately to mind, although I'm quite partial to A Fall of Moondust. It doesn't have any aliens, but it is one of the most intense sci-fi books I've ever read.

Maybe check out Leviathan Wakes by a couple of writers going under the pseudonym James S. A. Corey. It's pretty good with the science, is set in our solar system in the near future, and features a weird alien attack. It also has a bit of a Firefly vibe, I thought, so if that's your thing I'd heartily recommend it.

There's always the Night's Dawn trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton, starting with The Reality Dysfunction. They're big space opera books, although it's obvious Hamilton knows a bit about physics, and they can get very creepy. Probably one of the best written and enjoyable series I've ever read, although the ending is a bit flat.

Finally, I'd look at Midshipman's Hope by David Feintuch. It's been a while since I've read it and it's basically a Napoleonic era battleship setting transferred onto a spaceship, buy I recall that the second half of the book was one of the most exciting and nail-biting examples of trying to save a damaged spaceship all alone in space that I'd ever read. Anyway, give it a go, I suppose.

If he is into STEM, I think this book is the best possible guidebook to get him started. The book is titled "One Two Three... Infinity: Facts and Speculations of Science" by George Gamow

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Two_Three..._Infinity

Your local lib shoudl have it, or you can buy it on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/One-Two-Three-Infinity-Speculations/dp/0486256642

The book is not just math, but all sorts of ideas of thinking.

I read it when I was in 6th grade and it definitely dramatically increased my interests in anything science especially Physics and especially discrete Math and logic (Computer Science).

EDIT: I have met such kids in my immediate social circles, all of them without exception, liked three things when in elem school (1) play chess (2) play Wii games, find the title "Wii Play" it has several logic and pattern recognition games that requires fast reaction time, such as, find two identical faces from a screen of 50 faces (3) any sort of memorizing games. They are usually much better than adults.

It's pretty much the exact plotline of at least one novel (Robopocolypse comes to mind, but I'm almost certain there's others)... but the condensed nature of it and super quick escalation makes it a pretty cool watch.

Hell, the long-winded nature of Robopacolypse was sorta annoying (granted, most of the best stuff happens in the first 10% of the book)... so, in a way, this is a superior way of sharing ideas about what exactly will happen at that moment in time when AI's become truly self-aware and enter into a dialogue with their creators.

I'm upvoting you because I don't think you deserve to be downvoted into oblivion. But, c'mon. Compassion. Link is a cool name stand-alone and it's a good reference. Especially to all us Zelda fans in this subreddit. So now you get a story about names.

When my wife was pregnant, and we were thinking about names, I wanted to have a story behind the name. I wanted some meaning and eventually, I would like my child to ask me why I named them what I named them and I would like that to start an adventure of learning. I chose philosophy because I feel it is important. So I went after all my favorite philosophers and chose 2 names that I liked, Soren and Hobbes. Sure I like other guys, but I didn't like any names I could have chose from St Thomas Aquinas. (Tom never hit me as a good name)

My wife balked. She said we would never name our child after a comic strip. Though I am a big fan of Calvin and Hobbes, that's not the origin of the name and I really do like Hobbes as a name.

It ended up being a moot point because we had a girl. We named her Sophia after another philosophical reference. It's a very informative book that I read for a college philosophy course. I guess I figured that if I couldn't name her after a philosopher, I would name her after ALL THE PHILOSOPHERS.

Point of the story is this. Link's a cool name. We threw a lot of names out there all the while when she was pregnant. Another boy's name I considered was Nathan Jr as a reference to Raising Arizona (my name isn't Nathan)

> Goblins

Actually, I think they'd be more likely to strike as soon as the party makes themselves comfortable - as in, they settle down for the night - after clearing a large infestation.

> Recruiting soldiers at different cities

1. Don't forget to implement Charisma checks (Diplomacy) for recruiting soldiers. A well-spoken, seemingly good leader will be more efficient at recruiting than a completely uncharismatic Wizard.
   
   
2. Keep in mind you can hire a dozen spearmen at any village for a barrel of mead and a gold coin, but given enough time you'll train them up to elite levels. Provided they don't skip fortress (which seems realistic). Recruiting experienced soldiers at cities will save time, but not gold in that case.
   
   And, IIRC, pay for a trained soldier is between 1 silver and 1 gold coin (1 gp = 10 sp)... at least in 3.5.
   
   ----------------
   
   No idea what edition are you playing, but Stronghold Builder's Guide has plenty of material not restricted by editions. Book of Challenges also has a pile on info for making in-built castle and dungeon protection mechanisms (read: traps).
   
   Finally, take a look at Stirling Castle, Scotland. I came across it fairly recently, been drooling ever since. It looks amazing. Only needs some adjustments for a fantasy setting - for example, protection against flying enemies.
   
   Happy DMing! :)

Fair enough. I had to go check as I wasn't sure if that comment was me reading into their comparison to Orwell's 1984, or something that had been implicitly stated. It turns out the publisher describes it as a dystopian novel and if memory serves Powell's in Portland, OR (where I purchased it) also had a description up saying something similar. Here is part of what amazon says and what I assume was provided to them by Murakami's North American publishing house:

"A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell’s—1Q84 is Haruki Murakami’s most ambitious undertaking yet: an instant best seller in his native Japan, and a tremendous feat of imagination from one of our most revered contemporary writers."

Sorry to say it but based on what you've written here, you're not a good enough writer at the moment. I'd start with learning spelling, punctuation and grammar (you can probably do that online, or read Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynn Truss) then move on to a more general writing course. Also read great literature and pay attention to what makes it great. An instructional book like Elements of Style is also a great place to start. Many writers absolutely rave about that book and you'll learn things you never realised you didn't know.

Sorry Pede. I was trying to help you access the book downloads. My life has been enlarged gloriously by libraries like this one online. I'm sorry it didn't work for you. I'm part of the Braille Library of Congress BARD project. I've never seen a FEDERAL program that actually works like BARD does!

HELLO, I wish I could gift these jewels/pearls to every Pede! I love you guys; here are the book titles and authors I've posted. See if you can check them out at your local library, that's where I got my mind BLOWN.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/education-of-a-coach-david-halberstam/1100554726?ean=9781401308797

https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Style-William-Strunk-Jr/dp/194564401X

Sophie's World

Not only does it have TWO strong female characters, but it contains a huge fantasy element. Oh and not to mention a nearly complete history of philosophy disguised as a fantasy novel. One of my favorite books of ALL time.

ETA: A post-apocalyptic short story that is AMAZING and guess what? It's online so you don't even have to buy it. I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison. Enjoy!

Why on earth would you send him to a therapist? Seems like a perfectly reasonable question to me, and I'm sure many kids would think about it at one point or another. Philosophers have been thinking about the nature of reality for thousands of years. Have you seen The Matrix? :)

A thought provoking question like that ought to start an interesting conversation and should be encouraged.

Can I recommend Sophie's World, which is a great book all about philosphy? It'll be too old for your son, but perhaps you'd like to read it yourself and in a few years, if he's still interested, pass it on to him.

Plenty of writers started late. You're fine. Do NOT let bullshit like this slow you down. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Have a place where you can easily focus. Whether it be your room, the library, or in the middle of nowhere, just find somewhere you can be without distractions.
   
   
2. Read. Read a lot, and read deeply and critically. Underline parts you like, and try to think about the author's process. Want to write thrillers? Read a bunch of thrillers, learn what's been done, try to think of what hasn't. If there's a story you want to read and it hasn't been written, it's up to you to write it. And you don't have to break the bank buying books to read. The library should be your first resource, as well as any places in your area where people drop off unwanted books. Used book stores if you want to buy something, and there are plenty of places online to get cheap E-books. Project Gutenberg is a good place to start for classics. You may even want to try reading poetry. In my opinion reading and writing poetry is excellent for when it comes time to write some prose that isn't just functional. Here's a good place to start
   
   
3. Write. For fuck's sake just WRITE. Don't spend days just thinking about your story, write it. Or at least write down all your ideas and compose an outline. Outlines are very useful for determining what goes where, and doing macro-level thinking about the overall story. If you feel like you're stuck, make an outline. If you're not stuck and are being lazy, stop being lazy. Write the damn story, and don't stop. Do not stop after 3 paragraphs and start editting. Just write, even if it's shit. Especially if it's shit. Often it's the only way to advance your ideas. It is fine if your first draft is dogshit. What is not fine is not having a first draft after six months.
   
   Here are a few youtube channels about writing, and links to some books on writing.
   
   Lessons from the Screenplay This one is focused on scripts, but the concepts translate well when it comes to the overall story.
   
   Terrible Writing Advice These are all examples of what NOT to do.
   
   Just Write Similar to LFTS, but of lesser quality.
   
   Stephen King talking about writing
   
   The Elements of Style The OG writing book.
   
   Style: the art of writing well
   
   Stephen King: On Writing Part memoir and part writing guide. Well worth reading.
   
   
   These are good, but always be on the lookout for more resources.
   
   
   
   My last bit of advice, and probably the most important, is be authentic. It's your story. Write what you want to read, not just what other people want. Say what you want to say, even if it's uncomfortable, even if it's not profitable. Don't be a pussy, and you'll be ok.

> Could you recommend something covering the history of earth in general.

I recommend Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. It's a great read, easy to follow, and gives a pretty decent overview of, well, everything. If you want details on the math and physics, look elsewhere as this is not a textbook. But it's a nice intro.

I think of it as the Sophie's World of science. (Another great book i'd highly recommend.)

Bill Bryson also has some other books covering various topics (mostly travel and history). I haven't read them all, but the ones i have are excellent.

One of the best books I've found for introducing people to philosphy is Sophie's World. There is a lot of justifiable criticism of this book, mostly because it tries to be a novel and does just an ok job and it tries to be a philosophy text and also does an ok job at that too. However, it's easily digestible and does a pretty good job of giving you a really brief introduction to a lot of classical philosophy.

For beginners?

Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World-- Time, Duality, Left Brain/Right Brain Dillema

Norwegian Wood-- Memory, death (and therefore life), music

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle-- Surrealism, Defilement, Water (if you didn't like Kafka, you might not like this. It's like two steps back on the weirdness scale but twice as long).

He is easily one of my favorite authors of all time and I personally think every single one of his books is fantastic. Granted, Kafka was the last one I read, and I had read so many others before it that I wasn't phased by all the weird shit that goes down.

In my opinion, Murakami is the type of author that everyone will find at least one of his books enjoyable. It might be Norweigian Wood for some, 1Q84 for others, and maybe even A Wild Sheep Chase or Dance, Dance, Dance for a someone else.

I think there are certain works of his that are basically you either "get" them or you don't. This isn't an intellegence/educational thing, it's more like you're in a different place emotionally. That's okay, though, because his body of work is so large, complex, and thought provoking that it touches upon a lot of variable subjects.

She is writing books, actually. There's no huge, in-your-face marketing push about it -- because she doesn't seem to want there to be -- but she is writing.

She released a new story under her own name called "The Casual Vacancy" in 2012, and has since begun writing another new set of books under the pen name Robert Galbraith. Crime/mystery sort of detective story, which is actually nice, because she's always had a certain love for that whole genre.

First book came out last year, and the second book is due out this June!

I just looked it up (I was in bed last night when I posted the previous message) and it seems Birthday Girl is in the Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman collection. So if you want more short fiction that's probably the best route to go.

If you're interested in jumping right into a novel, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is one of his most generally well received novels and a good place to start for some of the signature Murakami weirdness. Kafka on the Shore would be a great choice as well, and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is many Murakami readers' favorite novel of his, but I haven't read either of those yet so I'm more hesitant to recommend them.

I'd suggest reading the blurb of each and picking the story that sounds like it'd appeal to you most.

I'm going to recommend something perhaps lighter and easier than the other posters so far (who have recommended great stuff): Sophie's World. It's a fiction novel that will also give you a crash course in the history of Western philosophy. I always recommend it to people who are just getting into philosophy but don't want to read the dense stuff. It's a wonderful book and it's fast and easy to read.

Definitley Wind-Up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami. Its about a dude who's wife leaves him and he has to find her. There is even a talking cat and some dream state scenes. some of it is a retelling of different histories and it has a lot of branching narratives. Kafka On The Shore is another great one by Murakami.

For Vonnegut,you're likely looking for Sirens of Titan, a retelling of Jonah and the Whale through an Alice and Wonderland lens. It's got a character who is very much representative of the Cheshire Cat. He has three different phases. His early books are the best. After (or even during) Breakfast of Champions he start writing a little more autobiographically (Slapstick is about his late sister and Hocus Pocus is about his brief tenure at Rollins college) and it's not as poignant (I don't think). And then later with stuff like Galapagos, he goes back to more philosophical lit, but it doesn't pack the same punch as his first phase.

Finally, House of Leaves is an amazing haunted house book that dramatically alters how you read a book. His other work is good too, but I haven't given any of it enough attention.

Edit: If you want to get meta, check out Lost in the Funhouse by John Barth or If On a Winter's Night a Traveler... by Italo Calvino.

Hemsworth, so dreamy... Ragnarok looks amazing.

But yes, been a fan of Norse mythology and Thor since childhood. I do recommend Neil Gaimans retelling of Norse Mythology if you're a fan. It's fun to see where it all came from.

I'd love (a new or used copy of) The Cuckoo's Calling by J.K. Rowling. I heard it was great, and also my genre! I'm really excited to read it.

I just finished re-reading the Dragon Tattoo series. I can't get enough of that badass, Lizbeth.

I'm currently re-reading Twilight (sad!), but will be soon re-reading Harry Potter (a little less sad!). My friend lent me the City of Bones series (I really like Young Adult Lit), but I'm not sure I'm totally into it, so I might give up on that. Haven't decided.

so it goes!

I don't want to sound like a jerk but maybe take a creative writing class or something?? Writing good isn't easy, and I feel like there's too much to go over to put in a reddit post.

edit:
or read this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Writing-Memoir-Craft-Stephen-King/dp/1444723251

or this https://www.amazon.com/Stein-Writing-Successful-Techniques-Strategies/dp/0312254210

very helpful books.

The UK Deluxe Edition is my favorite, I only wish it had Tolkien's original dust jacket.

The edition illustrated by Jemima Catlin is also really cool; I love her illustrations.

I got $75 in Amazon gift cards yesterday, so I went and bought some books! (Shocking, I know)

First off is Fire & Blood. I do not need to say anything about that.

The Hanged Man: A Story of Miracle, Memory, and Colonialism in the Middle Ages looks to be a really interesting book examinging how a hanged man's supposed resurrection examines the crossover between Medieval religion, colonialism, and cultural exchange.

I mostly just read medieval fantasy, so Promise of Blood looks like a good way for me to see the other type of fantasy out there.

Oh, and Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology looks like a hell lot of fun.

No idea when I will get to reading any of this. I have just started on Chronicles of the Black Company, and I have a small pile of unfinished books I need to get through. Ah well, the reader's life.

Try Coin Locker Babies by Ryu Murakami. It's a lesser-known book, one of my all-time favorites, and surreal without being pretentious. I don't know if I'd call the prose traditionally beautiful, but it's definitely evocative and memorable.

Oh, and try Smoke and Mirrors, one of Neil Gaiman's short story collections. The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories is one of the most gorgeous pieces of fiction I've ever read, and plenty of the others come close.

http://www.amazon.com/Sophies-World-History-Philosophy-Classics/dp/0374530718/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1314657462&sr=8-1

From Publishers Weekly
This long, dense novel, a bestseller in the author's native Norway, offers a summary history of philosophy embedded in a philosophical mystery disguised as a children's book--but only sophisticated young adults would be remotely interested. Sophie Amundsen is about to turn 15 when she receives a letter from one Alberto Knox, a philosopher who undertakes to educate her in his craft. Sections in which we read the text of Knox's lessons to Sophie about the pre-Socratics, Plato and St. Augustine alternate with those in which we find out about Sophie's life with her well-meaning mother. Soon, though, Sophie begins receiving other, stranger missives addressed to one Hilde Moller Knag from her absent father, Albert. [...] Norwegian philosophy professor Gaarder's notion of making a history of philosophy accessible is a good one. Unfortunately, it's occasionally undermined by the dry language he uses to describe the works of various thinkers and by an idiosyncratic bias that gives one paragraph to Nietzsche but dozens to Sartre, breezing right by Wittgenstein and the most influential philosophy of this century, logical positivism. Many readers, regardless of their age, may be tempted to skip over the lessons, which aren't well integrated with the more interesting and unusual metafictional story line.

If you enjoyed or otherwise appreciated this essay, let me suggest King's "On Writing." It is the story of how he became a published author and continues to write. But it reads like one of his novels.

The best 25¢ I ever spent at a yard sale!

Playing Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth. Almost at the end on Chapter 19, but I'm doing the Great Challenge cases to unlock [spoiler](#s "the royal knights"). Even if some evolution conditions for Megas are a bit annoying to satisfy, I've been enjoying these past few chapters.

I ordered Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman earlier this week so I'll be reading that next week or the week after that.

For a Kindle book I would LOVE to get this one

For a real book I can hold in my hands this would be the best Used is fine :)

Thanks for the contest!

Not sure if they qualify as "beautifully written", but I've got two that are such good reads that I love to go back to them from time to time:

• One Two Three . . . Infinity
  
• Div, Grad, Curl, and All That

I have yet to finish anything, but two well-known "epilogue" endings come to my mind that had entirely different effects on me: The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.

Reading the "end story" for Arwen and Aragorn was... devastating. I don't think I've read anything else that was so depressing, even in crapsack worlds like The Road.

Harry Potter, on the other hand, seemed like an appropriate send-off to that type of series. Yes, it was very neat and tidy and fluffy and cliched, but it accomplished several aims:

• It left it open to another series
  
• It reiterated themes from the novels
  
• It gave hardcore fans new fanfiction fodder that was canon
  
  In another vein, I dove into The Year of the Flood expecting either an epilogue or prequel to Oryx and Crake and was extremely disappointed because it wasn't nearly as awesome. Still Atwood so well-written, but not the same brand of magic. From that, I'd take away that if you write an epilogue/alternate companion, make it clear which one it is.

Margaret Atwood has two companion books, both of a dystopian nature. I prefer Oryx and Crake, but The Year of the Flood is a nice afterword. The Handmaid's Tale is her most popular work. She calls it speculative fiction instead of science fiction.

She's one of my favorites, obviously.

Yes, Bryson's is a good one. I'd also recommend some classic books: 1. The Universe and Dr. Einstein. 2. About any book written by George Gamow, like One Two Three . . . Infinity. 3. Thinking Physics. I think all these books are quite motivating.

I am late to the game here but.

https://www.amazon.com/Stronghold-Builders-Guidebook-Dungeons-Roleplaying/dp/0786926554

There was a 2nd edition version of this book as well. Building settlements has been part of D&D for ages. Surviving after the fall of civilization will require some sort of shelter.

The actual mechanics of this can be debated, but having an option where you can put down roots and do more than just survive is a nice and good thing.

He has a new collection of Norse Myths. It is his newest project and from what I hear it is great. Here is a link if you wanna get yourself a copy! https://www.amazon.com/Norse-Mythology-Neil-Gaiman/dp/039360909X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1486572491&sr=8-1

I am gonna start with American Gods since I am gonna reread what I have. I wish I had the anniversary, Ive never been able to read the changes He made either. Trigger Warning is good. His short stories are great!

Thanks. I found it in Barnes and noble. The illustrations look pretty cool. Another cool thing is that it's a lot more reasonably priced than the anniversary editions they carry.
https://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-Illustrated-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0544174224

The book list just keeps growing in so many different directions that it's hard to identify which I want to tackle next (I also have a tendency to take meticulous notes while I read and that slows the process down even further!). Some of the topics I intend to read about once I'm done with the books mentioned:

• God: A Human History
  
• Why We Believe in God(s): A Concise Guide to the Science of Faith
  
• The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World
  
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
  
• Occult America
  
• When Prophecy Fails
  
• Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
  
• Cosmos
  
• Norse Mythology
  
• Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water
  
• Guns, Germs, and Steel
  
• Misquoting Jesus
  
• On Bullshit
  
• The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe
  
• Why People Believe Weird Things
  
  Plus a bunch of books by Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, Carl Sagan, and others. There are way too many. And all the fiction books I want to read too! It's not that I didn't read books before, but my faith transition has sparked an intense desire to study and learn far greater than I ever experienced before.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami.

Had to stop myself in multiple parts for different reasons. Either “I feel odd” or “that was oddly uncomfortable” or at one specific part “I might vomit holy shit” (but in a good way).

Haruki Murakami is like the Stephen King of being surreal as fuck. If you have never read one of his books I would recommend reading another one before you read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. It's easily the most surreal thing I have ever read.

I recommend starting with either
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of The World
or
A Wild Sheep Chase

then follow with The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle


They are all very surreal and weird and fun to read.

This would appear to be relevant to your interests, but you need the DnD insider subscription thing. I don't have it, so I can't tell you how good/bad it is.

The Stronghold Builder's Guidebook could be helpful, but it's for 3.0, not 4e. Could be useful as guidelines/inspiration though.

I think it would work better to keep the castle related stuff plot-driven, as 4e's mechanics don't really mesh well with the kind of gameplay that having a castle implies.

I also enjoyed The Passion Of The Western Mind by Richard Tarnas. Personally, I think that Tarnas did of better job than Russel at giving context to the philosophical frameworks that these guys were working within, but that's just my opinion (I've read both books). Russell comes across like a professor giving you his specific interpretation - hence the bias slant - where as Tanas seems able to give you a little more perspective - not that I'm attempting to claim that he is completely without bias, himself.

You might also what to look into Sophie's World.

Haruki Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle ties a VERY metaphysical story to the Japanese invasion and occupation of Manchuria. It isn't logically consistent by any means, but it is a fascinating and beautiful read.

I'm enamored with it all. Its the perfect amount of creativity and awe, because there was never a "bible" for Norse stuff, its literally a collection of tales and stories that have been recovered, translated (sometimes), and really just open to interpretation in a few cases. Its structured enough to define the characters and environments, but missing enough to leave enough room for creative stories.

If you are interested, I'd highly recommend Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

The newest J.K. Rowling book has been getting great reviews and the story really does seem amazing. Everyone has been talking about it, so I just have to read it. It comes in Hardcover and Paperback, and for some reason it is more complicated and more money to buy the paperback than hardcover, so I linked to the hardcover one. Hardcover books are better than paperback anyway.
so it goes

Sci-fi! Love sci-fi. 2/3 of our scripts are sci-fi, but upon viewing them you wouldn't think to characterize them as such; i.e. they have nothing to do with space. Mind sharing a basic idea of what it's about? Is it better than this:

http://www.amazon.com/Reality-Dysfunction-Nights-Dawn/dp/0316021806/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1303248239&sr=8-1

?

Labor day!!!](http://www.amazon.com/The-Cuckoos-Calling-Robert-Galbraith/dp/0316206849/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2ECIJJQQ9NLB8&coliid=I2MQKLRXAFDHT8). Kindle please ($6350)!!

Favorite book quote... I'll dumbledore it. "To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure"

Perhaps you'd enjoy the book Robopocalypse... I couldn't set it down once I started on it.

Edit: Oh cool! Sounds like they're starting filming of the movie adaptation this year too, bonus.

Books are typically cheaper in India and that is why some books have a writing that it is only meant to be sold in India or something like that.

Rs120 is about 1.873 US Dollar

While books cost $9 to $30 range in developed countries.

The alchemist, paperback - Rs165 in Amazon India and I believe I have seen it for Rs70 during offer time.

The alchemist, paperback - $11.36 - Rs728 in Amazon US

That is kindof 10X cheaper cost if you buy with offer.

Now, if you look at books which do not have Indian edition, then those books are imported from these countries and thus have a high cost. You can always buy second hand or get from libraries for nearly free.

It's from this edition of the book.

It's fantastic, by the way. Very nicely illustrated throughout in a beautiful hardcover. I bought it to read aloud with my young kids and they're eating it up.

I just finished reading a SciFi trilogy that was amazing beyond words. It was The Night's Dawn trilogy by Peter F Hamilton. First book is called The Reality Dysfunction.

Really, I think I bought the books just because I liked the titles, and started reading them without even reading the synopsis. Each book is over 1000 pages and I fully expected 100s of pages of boredom with a few action points after immeasurable buildups. To my surprise, the books were as fast-paced and action-packed as what you'd expect from a 300p Michael Crichton book. Now, obviously, when you've got a 3500 page epic, there will be a few slow parts, but these were relatively few and far between.

All in all, the technology and universe depicted in this series is incredibly comprehensive and believable. The story takes some wild twists if you don't know what to expect. The cast of characters is huge and likable (or despicable in regards to the villians.) Highly recommended.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is the place to start. (generally accepted as his first "great" book, winning the Yomiuri Prize).

I would NOT recommend starting with Norwegian Wood. Murakami explicitly attempted to write a book outside of his own style. It is a fine book, but not at all representative of his work in general. NW is best read once you have a solid reference point for his work.
EDIT: Spellings.

I think I understand how you feel. Looking past Mormonism, it's easy to question the existence of God. I think we need to examine everything in a critical manner. I believe that God gave me some direct answers to direct questions that happened to conflict with things being taught by the LDS church. I felt that I'd had an epiphany of sorts and understood that God just wants us to help and love others. I think you do need to study, but more of the classic philosophers and less of the scriptures. I think you would really enjoy this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Sophies-World-History-Philosophy-Classics/dp/0374530718

[classic choice] (http://www.amazon.com/East-Eden-Penguin-Modern-Classics-ebook/dp/B001BC5HXG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397074271&sr=8-1&keywords=east+of+eden)

[New fiction] (http://www.amazon.com/Middlesex-Novel-Jeffrey-Eugenides-ebook/dp/B002HHPVPS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397074374&sr=8-1&keywords=middlesex)

[Light Nonfiction read] (http://www.amazon.com/Pluto-Files-Americas-Favorite-Planet-ebook/dp/B001NLKXF2/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397074425&sr=1-8&keywords=neil+degrasse+tyson)

[Not light nonfiction read] (http://www.amazon.com/Prize-Winner-Defiance-Ohio-Mother-ebook/dp/B000FC0T18/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397074469&sr=1-1&keywords=prizewinner+of+defiance+ohio)

[Biography. If you love your mom, you'll love this book.] (http://www.amazon.com/Prize-Winner-Defiance-Ohio-Mother-ebook/dp/B000FC0T18/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397074469&sr=1-1&keywords=prizewinner+of+defiance+ohio)

[Audio Book option.] (http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Stephen-King-ebook/dp/B000FC0SIM/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397074772&sr=1-1&keywords=on+writing+stephen+king)

For sheer 'play in the virtual world' stuff, you MUST read Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. You'll blaze through that, so follow it up with Stephenson's The Diamond Age


Good YA dystopic future stuff:
The Windup Girl

Station Eleven


Finally, get into Neuromancer, by William Gibson. It's a fantastic--some would say genre-defining--cyberpunk novel.

Then go devour everything Stephenson and Gibson put out there. That should get you through at least the first half of the summer. Happy reading!

Have you read Confucius and confucianism? That's really where this stuff gets treated philosophically.

If you want a philosophical idea of childhood and consent rooted in Western philosophy, then you've got to read diverse thinkers of the past three centuries. John Locke has a lot to say about children, so maybe start there.

Also, I might be presumptuous, in which case I apologize--but are you a teenager? If so, you might benefit from reading a good introduction to philosophy. You can find several if you use the search bar, but I always recommend the novel Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder. It is a story designed to introduce philosophy to teenagers.

Sophie's World is a novel about philosophy, great place to start

>A page-turning novel that is also an exploration of the great philosophical concepts of Western thought, Sophie's World has fired the imagination of readers all over the world, with more than twenty million copies in print.

http://www.amazon.com/Sophies-World-History-Philosophy-Classics/dp/0374530718/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324856789&sr=8-1

I'm not sure about what questions you could ask a coach, but any information i'd ever want to learn about writing can be found in the following books:

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1444723251

Stein on Writing
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0312254210

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0060545690

Maybe some questions you can answer for us? Why have you sought out a writing coach? What kind of writing do you do? How long have you been writing and at what level?

You may get some better responses after these questions. :)

I'm not sure of what my favourite book is, I've enjoyed so many! 14 is my number and if a bit of change over 5 is okay I'd love to have The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle!

Middlesex by Jeffrey Euginides won a Pulitzer. It's protagonist is queer - don't want to put a finer point on it than that so I don't give away any plot.

Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg - main character is a butch lesbian in the 1950s.

The Passionate Mistakes and Intricate Corruption of One Girl in America and Valencia both by Michelle Tea.

Beebo Brinker by Ann Bannon is a classic of Lesbian Pulp fiction.

RubyFruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown is another classic.

And as others have mentioned, Sarah Waters (highly recommend Tipping the Velvet), Alison Bechdel, and Jeanette Winterson.

Korea-Young-Ha Kim

Japan:

Kawabata Yasunari

Murakami Ryu (I assume you meant no Murakami HARUKI, yes?)

Banana Yoshimoto

a truly terrific collection of Japanese short fiction: Monkey Brain Sushi, edited by the brilliant translator Alfred Birnbaum

Happy birthday!!!

"Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light." - Albus Dumbledore

This is the only HP related item I have on my wishlist at the moment.

I also have this JK Rowling book (written under a pseudonym!) on my list.

Thanks for the contest... Imperio!

I read 1Q84 last and enjoyed it so much, I bought some other Murakami books so I could stay a little longer in the world he had created.
1Q84 is about a woman in Tokio who finds herself in a universe where some subtle things are slightly different from the one she knows. Also it is an epic love story. It is so well written (Or at least so well translated from japanese) that it really drew me in and kept me in, as mentioned before.

I would truly love to give this little beauty a good home. Kindle on my smartphone is not working like I hoped it would.

Dirty Parts of the Bible is on my to be read list. You know, cause I'm a pecksniffian. I think. Maybe?

https://www.amazon.com/Norse-Mythology-Neil-Gaiman/dp/0393356183/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524737733&sr=8-1&keywords=norse+mythology

This one is on norse mythology, haven't read it myself, but i have heard that it's supposed to be pretty good. Otherwise you could read Prose Edda or some of the many Sagas that exist.

This book as well as the sequel was really good! Very much like World War Z - I actually liked it better.

https://www.amazon.com/Robopocalypse-Contemporaries-Daniel-H-Wilson/dp/0307740803

There's an illustrated edition of Watership Down that is absolutely gorgeous. Something on nearly every page, even if it's just a sprig of heather in the margin. I bought it for my husband for his birthday a few years ago (it's an old favorite of his) and he cried because he loved it so much.

Edit: I also own this edition of The Hobbit and it's beautiful, again, something lovely on nearly every page.

The Folio Society edition of The Wind in the Willows is spendy but it's one of the loveliest things I own.

One time I did an interview with him for an MMA site I had back in the day. After the interview he sends me a random email that I should read the book The Wind Up Bird Chronicle. It was an awesome book.

Totally random story but fits Genki Sudo perfectly.

PS - I have all kinds of random stories with fighters if there is a place I can post them.

I usually prefer to get people interested in reading philosophy obliquely, through pop. philosophy or fiction with philosophical themes. So much depends on what you are interested in...

Fiction:
A good overview like Sophie's World

Military Ethics / Social Responsibility Starship Troopers

Science and Faith Contact

Somewhat easy philosophy

Ethics: The Basic Writings of John Stuart Mill

Mind: Consciousness Explained

War: Just and Unjust Wars

>There's always the Night's Dawn trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton, starting with The Reality Dysfunction. They're big space opera books, although it's obvious Hamilton knows a bit about physics, and they can get very creepy. Probably one of the best written and enjoyable series I've ever read, although the ending is a bit flat.

This is a lot like saying that Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson's books were ok. That ending sucked.

I know this is not what you asked for but i highly recommend reading this book to learn more about Norse mythology :)

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

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

The Wind-up Bird Chronicles

The Raw Shark Texts - BONUS: Tilda Swinton Reading an Excerpt

Those are a good place to start.

I would highly recommend Neil Gaiman's adaptations of Norse Mythology!! It's not entirely about Freya, but there are a number of stories about her, and it's a very enjoyable read!

I'm currently reading 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (which comes close to fulfilling the "more than 500 pages" challenge twice over), but I'm not far enough in to really recommend it yet.

However, I've previously read Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami and do highly recommend this one.

I like this version. Not abridged but the illustrations are great: ilustrated Hobbit

so not music, and for obscure reasons, this book is associated with the people who turned me on to Moxy Fruvous :)

https://www.amazon.com/Sophies-World-History-Philosophy-Classics/dp/0374530718

it's a great read!

A great place to start is Elements of Style.

As u/kellax said, take a class — the many writing assignments and merciless critique are what bring improvement! If in-person classes aren't an option, you can probably find something online (maybe even a sub-reddit).

I read Jemima Catlin's illustrated version to a very clever 3 year old who was beyond excited for every reading session. As far as I know there is no child version as in an alternative text but that illustrated version is wonderful.

https://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-Illustrated-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0544174224

Sure!!!

Great reference to have: https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Style-William-Strunk-Jr/dp/194564401X

Don't know what you like to read so I'm going to go a few ways, but these are good ''stuck in bed'' books. By Author (because thats how i like to read):


Haruki Murakami:

• Kafka on the Shore **
  
• The Wind-up Bird Chronicle
  
• After Dark
  
  Hunter S Thompson (and related):*
  
  
• The Rum Diary
  
• Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72
  
• Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo
  
  Manuel Puig (these are shorter):
  
  
• Eternal Curse on the Reader of these Pages*
  
• Kiss of the Spider Woman
  
• Boquitas Pintadas
  
  Not by same authors, but would be good together:
  
  
• The Tin Drum- Gunter Grass*
  
• House of Leaves
  
• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
  
• Earthly Powers- Anthony Burgess **
  
  Favorites
  
  Feel Better!
  
  

It sounds all very nice to inherit a castle, but have you thought about the maintenance? A castle costs like a goddamn fortune. Just the maintenance is something between 1 and 2% of the total stronghold cost (see [1] page 90).

But you didn't think about that, did you? Nooooooooo. You frikkin' youngsters all go on adventuring, not taking any responsibilities whatsoever.

You've got staff to pay, young man. Like the guards, the cook, the stable hand, a handyman, the groundskeeper, a scullery maid, and so on. And then there's the occasional hire, like a rogue to keep your traps up to snuff, plus a dwarven engineer if the stronghold is partially underground (see [1] page 89).

But you say, I'm not going to pay that! Them peasants gotta pay taxes. Well yeah, captain Obvious. The most obvious way is of course taxing the common people. But they don't pay for nothing. You have to provide good service for them, like taking care of the occasional rampant ogre, hungry wolves, or some weird evil sect that's digging up skeletons in the local church' graveyard. And nowadays the peasants expect to be educated, as well. Gotta pay the local hedge wizard to educate them damned kids.

Of course, if the peasants aren't happy with your services, accidents could happen. Maybe you'll step into a bear trap that someone forgot. Or maybe during hunting whoopsie somehow an arrow came your way! Or maybe you wake up one day stricken blind for one year, because some goddamned Harper thought you needed to be taught a lesson.

The Castle Lord's life ain't easy, son.

[1] Stronghold Builder's Guidebook http://amzn.com/0786926554

If you want to read about Norse mythology and about the sagas too I'd wait a couple of days and get Neil Gaimans new book!

https://www.amazon.com/Norse-Mythology-Neil-Gaiman/dp/039360909X

I'm super excited to read it

If you're at all interested in philosophy, I highly recommend Sophie's World. It's fiction but it really gives you a nice grounding in the subject.

I would love the new book by JK Rowling: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0316206849/ref=aw_ls__1?colid=35J01820YVBVW&coliid=I3IG7GQXL2TQOO

"Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides is by far one of my top five favorite books of all time. It's a novel with some really bizarre themes, but so incredibly compelling. If you've already read it, let me know and I'll find something else!

Edited to add: don't go reading reviews because spoilers. But I will tell you... incest and hermaphrodites and family drama. Yet most of the characters are compelling and likable. Same author who wrote "The Virgin Suicides." Seriously, I've read this book maybe seven or eight times. It is THAT good.

This is my favorite illustrated version. The artwork is beautifully done. It came out a couple years ago I think.

For the body: Hiking. Yoga. Mindfulness meditation.

For the mind: Sam Harris. Haruki Murakami. Mr. Robot.

For the heart: ... Project Runway. :-)

If you like apocalyptic/sci fi type stuff, I'd recommend Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. It's a fairly quick read, and admittedly it can be slow at times, but it flips through different points of view as a disease rapidly spreads globally and then in the aftermath. It was incredibly beautiful and I read it more than a year ago but I still think about it maybe once every month; it really stuck with me. A lot of focus on performance, both on stage, for an audience, and even in our own personal lives. It's a deeply personal look at the apocalypse.

The Year of the Flood is another Margaret Atwood one that focuses a bit more on the God's Gardeners from Oryx and Crake. You should probably read Oryx and Crake first though.

The Scarlet Letter should also count - looks like it's a free ebook for kindle or from Project Gutenberg.

Have you heard of "Sophie's World"? It gives a decent overview of the history of philosophy (edit: Western philosophy/thought, I should clarify), is good for young adults and also tells a story. I read it a decade ago and still remember parts of it extremely clearly.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374530718/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1574530011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=037H7MED8TZ67V0HYKRA

btw, quick and fun read if anybody is interested in a lot of the ship names and the background.

https://www.amazon.com/Norse-Mythology-Neil-Gaiman/dp/039360909X

Murakami is one of my all time favorite authors. My favorite work of his is The Wind Up Bird Chronicle (amazon link).

Some historical fiction: [Saturday Night and Sunday Morning] (http://www.amazon.com/Saturday-Night-Sunday-Morning-Sillitoe/dp/0007205023)

[Armageddon] (http://www.amazon.com/Armageddon-Novel-Berlin-Leon-Uris/dp/1453258396)

[Mila 18] (http://www.amazon.com/Mila-18-Leon-Uris/dp/0553241605)

[Russian Hide and Seek] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0091420504/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr=)

[The Man in the High Castle] (http://www.amazon.com/The-High-Castle-Philip-Dick/dp/0547572484) There's also a TV show based on this book. Haven't gotten around to watching it all, but watched the first episode and really enjoyed it.

[In the Garden of Beasts] (http://www.amazon.com/In-Garden-Beasts-American-Hitlers/dp/030740885X)


Other books: [Something Wicked This Way Comes] (http://www.amazon.com/Something-Wicked-This-Way-Comes/dp/0380729407)

[The Girl With All the Gifts] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Girl-With-All-Gifts/dp/0316278157)

[1Q84] (http://www.amazon.com/1Q84-Vintage-International-Haruki-Murakami/dp/0307476464)

Edit: I like to read!

Edit2: Added more books and included amazon links to all of them. Would add more, but don't want to overload you with recommendations :p

Congrats on graduating! It's hard to choose just one book so here are two of my favorite recent reads. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell and 1Q84. Oski

Throw in Sophie's World, arguably the best education fiction philosophy book for an intro. Essentially reads as a History of Philosophy 101 textbook framed in a narrative that has it's own philosophical twist and turns, which helps drive home the material.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie%27s_World
http://www.amazon.com/Sophies-World-History-Philosophy-Classics/dp/0374530718

If you (or someone else) really gets your head around the notion of "different sizes of infinity", and can give the proof that the set of reals is fundamentally "larger" than the integers, people will love it. I remember absorbing that argument (from the first chapter of Gamow's classic One Two Three... Infinity) at age 14, and showing it to freshman classmates, and they really liked it.

The Dirty Parts of the Bible is a pretty cool 'coming of age' story with kind of a supernatural slant. No, not like 'Twilight'. I cannot recommend this one highly enough.

Concrete Underground is an odd, paranoid, thriller type. It's more enjoyable than the Amazon synopsis would lead you to believe.

Wow, I've misled you. When I bought 'Dirty Parts of the Bible' it was only .99, but double-checking the page just now I see it's $2.99. Damn price fluctuations. Anyway, still a really good read and I'd recommend it at $9.99.

Some of my favorites:

• Noir - K.W. Jeter
  
• Macroscope - Piers Anthony
  
• Armor - John Steakley
  
• Protector - Larry Niven
  
• I Robot - Isaac Asimov
  
• Neuromancer - William Gibson
  
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick
  
• The Fall of Reach (Halo) - Eric Nylund
  
• Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert Heinlein
  
• Cachalot - Alan Dean Foster
  
• Islands in the Net - Bruce Sterling
  
• Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
  
• Reality Dysfunction - Peter F. Hamilton
  
  I tried to get as many different authors as possible in there. Many of those authors have plenty of really good books you shouldn't miss.

Feed: The Newsflesh Trilogy, Book 1
by Mira Grant

I haven't read the sequels yet but the first book is good.

Also in the same post-apocalyptic vibe but without zombies are Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson and Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

If you’re interested in reading more, I recommend checking our Neil Gaiman’s “Norse Mythology”.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393356183/

Discrete mathematics with ducks!

Contemporary Abstract Algebra

An Illustrated Theory of Numbers

Visual Complex Analysis

Number-Crunching

The Magic of Math: Solving for x and Figuring Out Why
The Princeton Companion to Mathematics
The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure

Professor Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid

One Two Three . . . Infinity: Facts and Speculations of Science

Recently made a move and these are a few books on my shelf that stand out more.

There are so many beautiful mathematical images that could be chosen though and I do wish more publishers would have more creative book covers also.

Agree with Plato’s Republic as a good book to start with real philosophers. For an even more beginner kind of approach though, you can try Sophie’s World.

Without knowing the system you are using, I'll just go with the ones I use (3.5 & Pathfinder).

The Stronghold Builder's Guide is a great reasource that focuses on castles, buildings, and how to incorporate it into a campaign. I have a couple of characters that used this rulebook to build a massive stronghold in a lawless area of a kingdom they protect. One character built a tree suspended mansion with staff to retreat to. Another has a family bakery and tavern in a small town.

Pathfinder's PRD on Kingdoms and War has a good set of rules on dealing with full on kingdom building placing the PC's in positions such as king or queen, minister of war, etc. I haven't got my players to this point yet and I intend on using it when their current set of characters gets to retirement level.

As u/KynElwynn says, reading horror fiction would probably be a good starting point. One quick tip I can offer is: don't go overboard. If you adorn every sentence with dozens of adjectives they'll quickly lose their power. The same goes for trying to make every scene strange or grotesque. A simple description of something uncanny or disturbing - deployed at the right moment - can have far more impact than an excess of lurid description.

You might find the [trajectory of fear] (https://img.fireden.net/tg/image/1453/84/1453840962349.pdf) useful. Another worthwhile read, depending on how deep you want to go with this, is Stephen King's [On Writing] (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Writing-Stephen-King-x/dp/1444723251).

Good luck!

For that age group, the hive mind usually recommends Gaarder's Sophie's World. I prefer Scruton's An Intelligent Person's Guide to Philosophy.

The Alchemist I think checks most of the boxes. Your kids will love it.

https://www.amazon.com/Alchemist-Paulo-Coelho/dp/0062315005/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

Margaret Atwood already did it in two of her books.

But I'd also love to see different renditions of the same kind of scenario.

I personally love this book. There's also a sequel: Amazon.

Apparently, she's writing them as a trilogy...but this is hearsay.

I just got finished with Robopocalypse, would definitely recommend to Sci-fi fans

Not totally related, but Neil Gaiman's new book Norse Mythology is fantastic and makes the movies even more enjoyable for me. You pick up lots of little stuff like why Odin has one eye and why Mjolnir has a short handle. You can also see where the movies get shit wrong (or maybe I could say "take artistic license"), which can be kind of fun, too.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Murakami. Didn't know anything about it. Just saw the cover, read the description and bought it. Great book.

Peter F. Hamilton's Night's Dawn Trilogy is a must read. Also, try The Illuminatus Trilogy not sure if it's considered SciFi, but it's a good read once you get into it.

I know it's a little off-topic, but I enjoyed One Two Three ... Infinity by George Gamow.

Read Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson. Outstanding book set in basically the exact situation you're requesting.

Station Eleven!! Fabulous read.

I really enjoyed Sophie's World!

Your post made me think of this excellent book.