Reddit mentions: The best occult fiction books

If you are still looking for books to read, I have recently started a series known colloquially as "The Alphabet Mysteries" by Sue Grafton. It is a murder mystery series set in California and the main character is a woman PI in her 30s. She's very independent and I love to find longer series - I think she's up to V right now, so it's a pretty good series. Even if you don't normally like the mystery genre, just give it a shot. The first book in the series is 'A is for Alibi' and was really good.

http://www.amazon.com/Is-Alibi-Kinsey-Millhone-Mystery/dp/0553279912


Second, I'd like to recommend author Laurell K. Hamilton. She is famous for two series, both with strong female characters. Her more popular series is "Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter" and is a fantastic alternative to the twilight-esque tween romanticized version of vampire novels. It is pretty graphic and has a lot of sex, so be warned in advance. It has some really great thought-provoking themes and I think it's well written. Also there is some pretty graphic sex especially later on in the series but I find it a turn-on. The first book is "Guilty Pleasures." (I also read that they've started making a color "graphic novel" out of the series, which looks really cool if you prefer comics).

http://www.amazon.com/Guilty-Pleasures-Anita-Vampire-Hunter/dp/0425197549/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343582698&sr=1-1&keywords=guilty+pleasures


Her second series is the "Merry Gentry" series which is a fantasy style book with faerie and elves and the modern day world as well. This one is very smutty and chock full of sex and to be honest, even to me the sex started to get overpowering, but I still really enjoyed the series. However a new one hasn't come out in a few years and I have to say I am a little disappointed in that. The first one is "A Kiss of Shadows."

http://www.amazon.com/Kiss-Shadows-Meredith-Gentry-Book/dp/0345423399


Thirdly, my all-time favorite author is Mercedes Lackey. Her series are mixed with female and male characters but one of the most well-known and popular books she wrote early in her career is the "Arrows of the Queen" trilogy introducing the world of Valdemar. The entire Valdemar series is fantastic, and Arrows specifically focuses on a woman.

http://www.amazon.com/Arrows-Queen-Heralds-Valdemar-Book/dp/0886773784/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343582295&sr=1-1&keywords=arrows+of+the+queen


There are other trilogies in the series about women, as well as men. I am also very fond of her "Elemental Masters" series, which typically has one female and one male protagonist. It's a fantastic series. The first book in this series is "The Serpent's Shadow." I love everything she writes, really!!

http://www.amazon.com/Serpents-Shadow-Elemental-Masters-Book/dp/0756400619/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343582580&sr=1-2&keywords=elemental+masters

EDIT: formatting

Among Others by Jo Walton

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hopefully this helps you find some new authors to enjoy!

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

Read Good Omens!
READ GOOD OMENS!

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

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

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

A Quote:

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

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

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

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

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

Book:

Blindsight + Echopraxia by Peter Watts!

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

Snippet from amazon:

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

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

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

or...

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

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

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

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

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Anime:

Shinsekai Yori (From the new world)

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

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Music:

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

This looks pretty entertaining for only $2.99!

I read a bit further down that you love Stephen King. Have you ever read anything by Robert R. McCammon? Swan Song is one of my favorite books of all time. I haven't read the The Stand yet, but a lot of people say Swan Song is very similar. I was completely wrapped up in the characters and their stories when I read it in high school. I've been thinking I need to re-read it soon!

Also, if you like mysteries I strong recommend Harlan Coben. My favorites by him are The Woods and Tell No One.

Thanks for the contest! I love participating in anything that is responsible for spreading book love!

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

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

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

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

(You can read more on this subject here.)

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

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

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

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

Most of this is copypasta from another reply on this thread, since it seemed silly to just rephrase all the things. Please note the last paragraph if none of these seem fun. I read a lot, mostly exclusively SF/F (both adult and YA), and boy do I have opinions on it. And if you're not a reader starting with YA is a thought. There's a lot of fun, intelligent YA out there now as publishers realize teens don't actually want to be treated like they're stupid.

For a low commitment (i.e. not part of a series), humorous start there's Terry Pratchett/Neil Gaiman's Good Omens. I like a lot of Gaiman's work, which ranges from the strange and humorous (see: GO) to the strange and creepy (Anasazi Boys), but what I'd recommend from him depends on what you're looking for.

In the funny but harder scifi range I'd rec the beloved classic Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. This is seriously one of the wittiest books I've ever read besides being an action-packed scifi romp.

If you're interested in urban fantasy I have all the recs. Everything from Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series Book 1: Storm Front, for the grown-up wizard, to Seanan McGuire's October Daye series Book 1: Rosemary and Rue, if you're more into fae.

For the dark and more sexual (seriously, there is sex in these books) I highly recommend the Fever Series by Karen Moning, Book 1: Darkfever.

If you like SF/F books (like Discworld, Animorphs, etc.) let me know what subgenres (e.g. hard scifi, urban fantasy, urban scifi, fantasy romance, young adult _____ ) you think you might like and I guarantee you I have a recommendation or two. I read a lot.

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

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

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

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

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

Hope you enjoy some of these! :)

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

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

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

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

Good Omens by Pratchett and Gaiman is both hilarious and really uplifting.

Chistopher Moore is also often both of those things, and I'd really recommend Lamb: the Gospel According to Bif, Christ's Childhood Friend. Again, very hilarious but also surprisingly touching.

I'm not sure why I went with two satirical books about religion, but those are the first that come to mind. For something a little different, the Princess Bride is really light and funny, though it may seem a little too familiar if you've seen the movie recently (it's pretty faithful to the book.) If you're into fantasy, the Riyria Revelations are really fun, light reads, with some great characters and terrific dialogue.

A Discovery of Witches was a really good book. Harkness is a history professor at USC and seems an unlikely author of a vamp & witches book, but imo she did a hell of a job with it. It could so easily have gone all wrong ala Twilight, but luckily it went another way. It is hard to pin down exactly why it was good, but there was a lot of wonderful in this book. From academia & alchemy, to genetics & lovely doses of history, Harkness created a world that you really wanted to stay in for a good long time. I love the UF genre, but often you have to wade through some really appalling authors to find ones worth reading. Harkness is one of the authors you can respect and still be entertained by.

Edit- Wow the sequel is out, I was thinking it would not be released til the 15th, I know what I'll be reading next!! !

I agree 11/22/64 is a brick and can easily become overwhelming and discouraging, though I did enjoy it immensely.

If you are specifically into Stephen King’s thriller sort of content, he does have collections of short stories. I’d recommend Everything’s Eventual. It’s 14 short stories, some of which may really get you going and others may not be your taste but totally achievable if you’re short on time or enjoy taking your time absorbing a story.

I’d also recommend the Harry Potter series. The first few are relatively short with captivating world building and compelling plot points. The characters are relatable and the language is pretty straight forward.

I’d recommend any of John Green’s books for the same reason, they’re popular so most libraries or used bookstores should have a copy and they’re not a million pages long so finishing them is totally achievable.

would love this book name is aimee. i like the book actually love the book for different reasons. had a best friend. he brought the book over and left it. always talked about it and told everyone how great it was. fast foward a few years... he past away and i finally read it, and it was amazing! earlier this year we had to move and ended up having to leave alot behind. and donating alot of what was not going to be coming with us to goodwill.... sadly this book was one of the things i havent been able to find. i read it every year. would be awesome to have it again. =D

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oh, you're in for a treat. I'm not sure where you can get them these days, if they've been completely translated yet or not (I've read bootleg translations, pretty good), but I'd recommend these two:

The Monogatari series - just an awesome mix of action, silly, sexy and surreal:
http://www.amazon.com/KIZUMONOGATARI-Wound-Tale-NISIOISIN/dp/1941220975/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1454151508&sr=1-1&keywords=nishio+ishin

Haruhi Suzumiya - starts as light fun, ends up as hard SF. I think the best time-travel sf series I've read, among other things.
http://www.amazon.com/Melancholy-Haruhi-Suzumiya-Nagaru-Tanigawa/dp/0316039020

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other fun notes:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have I got some books for you:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I think I'd have to say Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins. It's a novel about a search for immortality, beets, and the perfect taco. I love the way he takes several different storylines and weaves them together. I also really enjoy his sense of humor.

And because I can never have just one favorite, I'll also add Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. It's a story about the end of the world and it's absolutely fabulous! <3

My Favorite Book!

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

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

One thing that makes me happy is Cinderella III This is the greatest Disney Direct-to-DVD movie in existence. I really feel like it finally took Cinderella back to its action-movie roots. When your new niece or nephew is old enough, I would highly recommend getting her/him this movie - it is fun for kids but even better for adults, and it doesn't take itself seriously at all.

As for books, I would highly recommend Agyar by Steven Brust and Good Omens by Neil Gaiman

I ain't birthed no babies! and Happy Birfday

This list needs more Neil Gaiman.


Children/YA books: Coraline, The Graveyard Book, and Stardust are my favs. Do yourself a favor and read the version illustrated by Charles Vess, it is far superior to the (non-illustrated) mass-market paperback. I would link to it, but I can't seem to find it on Amazon. Sorry.

Now, at no point did you ask for short-fiction, though I would think it fits your criteria of being able to pick up and set down at a moment's notice, so I'm gonna rec some fine short fiction as well. Smoke and Mirrors is quite good, as is Fragile Things.

Now as long as I'm here I would be remiss if I did not at least mention The Princess Bride and the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett. I linked to the first one in the series, but it has been my experience that you can read them in just about any order you want with very little trouble. I usually just go to my local library and grab whichever one strikes my fancy. Terry Pratchett is an amazing storyteller and he also made a sword out of metal ore mined from a meteor after being knighted. That is a true thing that happened. I kid you not. Read his books. They will make your life better. Also to bring this comment full circle, he co-authored a book with Neil Gaiman called Good Omens that is just fantastic.

Have you looked at Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series? Kind of fits the bill, and the sex content increases a lot as the series goes on. Pretty much all of the paranormal romances I've read feature a strong, seductive male love interest, but I can't say I'd really recommend any of them.

Fifty Shades of Grey was pretty extreme? Maybe someone will know of a good self-pub erotica author?

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

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

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

I hope you enjoy those two series! They're really two of my favorites. I've read The Wayfarer Redemption like four times through. I need to buy the first two Newsflesh books so I can do another readthrough. If you like zombies, Hugh Howey's I, Zombie is another really, really good one. It's told mostly through the perspective of the zombies.

I have heard a lot of good things about NV, so I really should give it a try. Right now I'm focused on getting Batman Origins and the new Dragon Age game. Perhaps once I've caught up on those I'll look into it.

Hi everyone,

I’m J. Speziale. I have only been writing for a few months, but I have really enjoyed all of the positive feedback from the /r/nosleep community. I’m still in shock from my 2017 series award. I have a dream of one day transitioning to writing screenplays. Feel free to say hi!

I just launched a webpage, and learning how to build it.

Jspeziale.com

Facebook

I also got to be a part of this anthology

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Discovery of Witches is the first in the All Souls trilogy, which is written by a historian named Deborah Harkness. She integrates a lot of history and alchemy into it, which is cool. I don't think it's anywhere near as well-written as Lord of the Rings, but it is interesting. However, it is a love story, so if you're not into romance, then steer clear.

I liked The Magicians a lot better; the series is kind of like Harry Potter but more serious and literary. It's not that fantastical, and kind of plays off Harry Potter/fantasy stereotypes, but it's a cool series nonetheless.

Machine of Death is a really interesting anthology series. The premise is based on a machine that can predict how one will die but in cryptic and often ironic ways. :)

Good Omens is also a good book if you like Neil Gaiman

Unnatural creatures is also a really lovely anthology with stories chosen by Neil Gaiman. I tend to like anthologies just because they can explore multiple worlds without getting too bogged down on the environment and just letting the plot drive it

You must read these two books:

The Illuminatus Trilogy

Foucault's Pendulum.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You should definitely read Gaiman's comic book series Sandman, too. It is both the best thing Gaiman's ever written and one of the best comic books ever written.

After that, you should read Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett. Amazon is adapting it as a mini series set to debut sometime 2019.

As an aside, after Gaiman, you may want to give Brom a try. Lost Gods features many of the same themes with a slightly different tone. The Library at Mount Char also has a great blend of the weird and fantastical.

I'd say get in at least a few young adult fiction, as they're full of saccharine and angst ridden metaphor:

• The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

• Looking For Alaska

A few historical fictions:

• Wolf Hall

• Memoirs Of A Geisha

Comedy:

• The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy

• Good Omens

Stephen king (just because he's a favorite)

• 11/22/63

• IT

And finally, some objectively "bad" books, to learn what not to do.

• Wild Animus: A Novel

• The Da Vinci Code

• Moon People


All of these books are personal favorites for one reason or another, and some may fit into multiple categories (see: looking for Alaska under YA fiction and "bad,").

That said, this should at least keep you busy for a bit.

Happy reading, and good luck on your novel!

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

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

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

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


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

Without exaggerating the slightest little bit, these books changed my life. Btw. I'm sure a gentleman of such high caliber as yourself will have read it already, but if you have not, might I humbly suggest Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. It is one of the most entertaining books I've read, and positively oozes with inspiration from Adams. Oh, and it's about the apocalypse.

Try some Laurell K. Hamilton with Guilty Pleasures. It has vampires and werewolves in it, so it's in the neighborhood of what she likes. However, the female protagonist is powerful and well-drawn, so it's a step up from Twilight in that regard. It's basically a hard-boiled detective novel, with vampires and zombies. It's the first book in a long series, and while the series does take a nose-dive in quality down the road, the first six books or so are very solid, and are pretty fun reads.

Someone already said to garden, so I'll suggest two similar (but different!) things!

Start a beehive. Not as hard as it seems, if you have enough money for the supplies (usually only a couple hundred dollars for the actual hive, maybe one hundred for the bees). Have no land? No problem! Find someone who does, maybe they'll let you set up camp there in exchange for honey and awesome pollinators for their garden. :) This book is actually really good at explaining. I have it, and I researched the hell out of all the amazon books before buying one.

If you don't want to do that (and if you have space somewhere): Plant a tree! Or a bush. Specifically, the kind that bear fruit. Think of all the fun things you can do with even one apple tree! Because I'm boring, here's another book! I have it on my wishlist, too. ;)

I hope your birthday! is excellent!! :)

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

I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates who said, "I drank what?"

I like gift cards, but if you want to buy a thing Good Omens is a great choice.

Thank you for the contest!

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

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

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

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

Links:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Well that assistant dude is super sketchy... He either did it or helped with it... I mean it was clear from the moment he got off the phone... She'd never say something like that about her work(I think).

Don't forget that Decapitation: Kubikiri Cycle get's released on January by Vertical. If it's as good as the Kizumonogatari translation should be quite a good read. Which is just a few days after Bakemonogatari part 1 comes out I believe :3 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1945054212

Bakemonogatari part 1 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1942993889/

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

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

As for paranormal interesting..

• Hunt for the skinwalker
  
  
  hope those help :D

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

I just finished Good Omens, coauthored by Pratchett and Gaiman; it was a lot of fun.

Do you read any graphic novels? The League of Extraordinary Gentleman is a great set.

I also highly recommend the novel Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.

• Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, about an angel and demon dealing with the apocalypse when the Antichrist is accidentally raised as a perfectly normal 10-year old human.
  
• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, which gets fairly philosophical.
  
• A Barrel of Laughs, A Vale of Tears by Jukes Feiffer, the illustrator for The Phantom Tollbooth, about a prince who makes everyone around him burst out laughing.
  
  Would also second David Sedaris' humorous essay collections.

I would highly recommend a book I'm currently reading, Echopraxia
Even though it's 2nd in a series to another (equally great) book of Peter Watts' called BlindSight

some of the best Hard Science Fiction in recent decades, IMHO..
and it goes into precisely those speculations that stimulated your post.

If you like SciFi, do yourself a favor and pick it up right now..
If you're not that into SciFi, this might just get you into it more.

Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds

or

Blindsight by Peter Watts

Depends on what sort of stuff you like, Blindsight is darker and pretty philosophical, focusing especially on consciousness and perception, while Pushing Ice is more classical sci-fi on a grander scale with a good helping of technical stuff and character drama/politics.

Thanks for posting this!

For anyone who might be interested, the Kindle version is also $0.23 on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Swan-Song-Robert-R-McCammon-ebook/dp/B005T54IAY/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1485723431&sr=8-1

Update: looks like the $0.23 offer has expired on both Google Play Store and Amazon.

Reaper Man is my absolute favorite.
The Hogfather is up there as well.

One of the best books of all time, in this genre, is "Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch", it's a collaboration between Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Imagine the book of revelations as written by monty python.

A foundation-less hive will allow you to collect more wax as well as honey. Most people would then tend to focus on a top bar hive or a warre hive, but you can also do foundation-less in a traditional langstroth.

We may not have a flushed out beginner's section in the sidebar, but the search feature works pretty well. Beyond that, grab a copy of Beekeeping for Dummies (it is actually a very good book to get started with.)

JUST finished American Gods. Great read. If you like it, and enjoy the bits of humor, read Good Omens By Gaiman and Pratchett.

I, Zombie by Hugh Howey...

It's disturbing, told from the point of view of zombies, and presents the idea that they can all still think, feel, taste and everything else as they go along but just can't control themselves. It's really graphic and disturbing, but a GREAT zombie book and an interesting take...

Apocalypse Z by Manel Loureiro

He goes for realism here and hits pretty true... Solid book and the 2nd one was just translated to English

I was pretty hyped for it since I read the book beforehand. The best is yet to come :)

Now go back and watch the first minute and a half of Bakemonogatari episode 1 and prepare to have your mind blown.

Good Omens, Gaiman and Pratchett. Hilarious book. One of the few books that actually had me laughing out loud. Made me look like an absolute nut on the airplane.

Edit: http://www.amazon.com/Good-Omens-Accurate-Prophecies-Nutter/dp/0060853972/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1289934177&sr=1-1

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

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

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

Yes, the author has a well defined eccentric style loaded which can at times be hard to translate, but both the quality of writing and translation is excellent.

Vertical is releasing the volumes in English. They are paperbacks with original artwork on the cover and VOFAN's cover is on the page after the cover on a coated page with higher GSM/thickness.

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

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


Thank you!

Grab yourself a copy of Good Omens. One of the running jokes is that any cassette in the demon's car for more than a fortnight will turn into Queen.

>Somewhere around Chiswick, Aziraphale scrabbled vaguely in the scree of tapes in the glove compartment.

>“What’s a Velvet Underground?” he said.

>“You wouldn’t like it,” said Crowley.

>“Oh,” said the angel dismissively. “Be-bop.”

>“Do you know, Aziraphale, that probably if a million human beings were asked to describe modern music, they wouldn’t use the term ‘be-bop’?” said Crowley.

>“Ah, this is more like it. Tchaikovsky,” said Aziraphale, opening a case and slotting its cassette into the Blaupunkt.

>“You won’t enjoy it,” sighed Crowley. “It’s been in the car for more than a fortnight.”

>A heavy bass beat began to thump the Bentley as they sped past Heathrow.

>Aziraphale’s brow furrowed.

>“I don’t recognize this,” he said. “What is it?”

>“It’s Tchaikovsky’s ‘Another One Bites the Dust,'” said Crowley, closing his eyes as they went through Slough.

>To while away the time as they crossed the sleeping Chilterns, they also listened to William Byrd’s “We Are the Champions” and Beethoven’s “I Want To Break Free.” Neither were as good as Vaughan Williams’s “Fat-Bottomed Girls.”

A little offtopic, but you might find the book Blindsight, by Peter Watts, interesting. It mostly features augmented humans, and engages with their different though processes. There are also just a bunch of really interesting ideas in the book.

I'm not a huge Pratchett fan, but his collaboration with Neil Gaiman is still one of my favorite books.

Good Omens, wonderful book.

Hey! Super cool to hear that you want to read our book :D Unfortunately, the free offer was only before the real book was published to get early reviews on Amazon. The book is for sale now: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079CS1TK2 but the good news is that it's only $2.95 on kindle!

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

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

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

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

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

Remember to click on New and choose amazon as seller.

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

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

Hello, I'm J.P. Carver you probably don't know my name and if you search for it on Amazon you get HP Chargers instead... but I've written stories such as 'I fell in love with my best friend', and 'We don't do Halloween'.

I've got a novel out [here] (https://www.amazon.com/Seer-Dark-Shadows-Light-Book-ebook/dp/B017CCI2LC) - quick and dirty description: Supernatural meets Silent Hill. I also write cyberpunk and my novella is [here] (https://www.amazon.com/DataTrigger-Ragdoll-Sequence-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00TNS855M). No quick and dirty, just lots of cool tech.

I also appeared in this anthology with lots of other cooler nosleep authors, so I got that going for me.

Website [here] (http://jpcarverauthor.com/)

For the bees..maybe this..like in a joking way? http://amzn.com/0470430656
& for the parrot I would say
http://amzn.com/B000K8V4W0 because its tasty & pretty! Hahaha
& for the chicken! http://amzn.com/B005IG2XGU

If any of these have been posted already..I'm sorry..didn't look at everyone's posts yet.

What very interesting questions you ask. Fascinating, truly! If we are to take the scientific view, logic dictates that all the personalities are equal. The problem is that human societies also have instincts, emotions, and other irrational things for which logic can’t always account for.

As for myself, I tend to be a logical person. The problem is logic doesn't work very well with evolution. What I mean to say is, new things happen all the time, unknown things, unknown until the time of learning that is. Until then logic cannot account for them. Maybe multiple-personality disorders will play a part in our evolution and will be heralded as the next big adaptation to our environment in the next 100,000 years, maybe not. But one thing we do know is: We do not know. Until we figure it out we must remain open to any possibilities and tweak our behavior as needed.

I can't help but give a knowing smile at the last paragraph, because it is something most humans share. Or at least I feel we do. An irrational thought as to how we see people. Science has well thought of positions on these matters (most of the time), because of the imperatives of science. Humans on the other hand tend to be more sentimental about it. I'll try to explain how I see a person in front of me.

A person is a body, but a body is only a tool of the mind. It has tugs and pulls, no doubt about it. But with a sufficiently trained mind (and I don't know many people which do not share the capability of this affliction) one can control his/her body within reasonable limits. A person is his/her actions, feelings, and thoughts (the body never comes into view unless the relationship requires it: a touch of skin to increase bonding and feelings of warmth, etc.) So what happens when the new set of actions/feelings/thoughts intrude as a new persona? If my friend were to die in a similar fashion which you've described, I'd probably mourn my friend, and feel loss. A selfish personality interrupted the growth of another one. I would probably feel sad for my friend too if (s)he had to watch another personality do that to him/her. Alas, I think such consequences can only be dealt emotionally, because logic sees nothing wrong with an individual dying and the species continuing. The selfish gene is with all of us, and most likely everyone has their own semi-unique way in which they handle such situations.

Now, let us meld society irrationalities with logical thought. A “sufferer” of MPD will be given two options if his/her personalities have been deemed disruptive (this concept is so fucked up it sickens me sometimes). They can choose to live with it, or try to merge the personalities into the dominant one. I don’t know if the dominant one is the original, but I assume (big if) that if one can pinpoint the “original” personality they will, and consider it “original”, and the others insignificant byproducts. I put original in quotations because I have no idea how you’d make such a judgment. Also, society will react as it sees things best for it. If one of the personalities threatens to kill itself, doctors will take steps to stop this: Suicide watch. Any threat which is perceived from this entity will be dealt with in the best interest of the tribe. The word has significance because we delve deep into our survival instinct to make these decisions.

Notice how my own thought patterns change. It is no longer a single person acting under a single will. We must change our approach to that entity in a way to take account for the extra unknowns. Maybe that entity is never human the way we understand humans: Predictable from the high viewpoint but individually unpredictable. What happens when you increase the unpredictability factor? A new theory of the mind will have to be developed to account for the new psyches present in the same physical space? One second’s ally can be the next second’s enemy. How would you know? I think this might go beyond the realm of human. My own feel for it. I couldn’t bring any convincing arguments to bypass our first instinct: looks like a person, talks like a person but isn’t a single person. I must be weary of that one. Unless you’ve come to appreciate each person and there is a finite number of them.

Some of these questions are put in a sci-fi book called Blindsight. In it we had a character which had multiple personalities that were in contact with each other and had a sort of consensus as to how they shared the body. Never going beyond the metaphor of 4 distinct people having to share the same body.

I must admit, reading the above paragraphs again, it feels like I’m trying to grip something with oil on my hands. Very slippery. Sorry for the wall of text.

My Books

---
Here are the books I have:

Beekeeping

• The Backyard Beekeeper by Kim Flottum
  
• The Beekeeper's Bible by Richard A. Jones & Sharon Sweeney-Lynch
  
  

  History and Biology
  

  
  

• _Letters from the Hive_ by Stephen Buchmann
  
• _Biology of the Honey Bee_ by Mark L. Winston
  
  

  Gardening
  

  
  

• Attracting Native Pollinators by [The Xerces Society](
  https://xerces.org/mission/)
  
• Garden Plants for Honey Bees by Peter Lindtner
  
  
  

  The Wiki
  

  
  ---
  
  Here is the recommended list linked to in the wiki:
  
  

• Beekeeping for Dummies, by Howland Blackiston
  
• The Beekeeper's Handbook, by Diana Sammataro
  
• The Beekeeper's Bible: Bees, Honey, Recipes & Other Home Uses, by Richard Jones
  
• Backyard Beekeeper: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden, by Kim Flottum
  
• Better Beekeeping: The Ultimate Guide to Keeping Stronger Colonies and Healthier, More Productive Bees, by Kim Flottum
  
• The Backyard Beekeeper's Honey Handbook: A Guide to Creating, Harvesting, and Baking with Natural Honeys, by Kim Flottum
  
• Attracting Native Pollinators: The Xerces Society Guide, Protecting North America's Bees and Butterflies, by the Xerces Society
  
  
  If you had to just pick one I would choose between The Backyard Beekeeper and The Beekeeper's Bible.
  
  I also highly suggest doing the following:
  
  
• look to see if beekeeping courses are offered by your state university or local community college and attend a basics beekeeping course
  
• find a local beekeeping club and regularly attend meetings (this will be important not just to learn, but also to be kept up to date about pesticide sprays, diseases to anticipate, and access to expensive machinery like honey extractors)
  
• read all your local laws about beekeeping and follow them

I'm in the same place as you are. My thought is to start with 2 hives so that if I suffer a loss, I might have a way of discerning whether or not its my fault.

I hate the title, but many people I have talked to said that Beekeeping for Dummies is a great book. I think it is great too.

Worst: Discovery of Witches. I think part of the reason I was so appalled by this book was it's heavy marketing and high ratings on Amazon (4.5 stars). It's shit. The protagonist is this super-smart tenured professor at Oxford that gets her hands on a legendary book that every supernatural wants for some reason. She also discovers that she is an epically powerful witch. And then she meets a highly attractive vampire man and the protagonist is replaced with an Adult Bella Swan personality (= empty shell personality). They fall instantly in love and from there on he just carries her around physically, they drink wine and go to vampire yoga. Maybe something happens plotwise afterwards, but after 300 pages of nothing I gave up halfway through the book.

As for the best book. There is one book I keep buying over and over, as I always lose my copy: "Good Omens" by T. Pratchett and N. Gaiman.

Really? Literally the first two links when I googled "Kizumonogatari Light Novel Amazon":

https://www.amazon.de/KIZUMONOGATARI-Wound-Tale-NISIOISIN/dp/1941220975/

https://www.amazon.de/BAKEMONOGATARI-Part-1-Monster-Tale/dp/1942993889/

If you are a foreigner like I am, it's useful to set your Language Google Search settings to include English results.

EDIT: I guess you mean that Amazon shipping is kind of rough. In that case, I can't really help you, as I don't know any German shops or sites that sort shops.

I have the old (bad) translations of Hitagi Crab and Mayoi Snail from Baka-Tsuki if you want, and I'm sure that with enough digging there are some other sites that people exploit to upload those translations.

A Discovery of Witches
Good read, I'm on the third (final) book and can't put it down. Not the best read ever, more like a "movie in your mind", but great vacation/plane read.

Currently reading, and would like to finish:

1. Interaction Ritual Chains by Randal Collins
   
   Started in 2014, put down, would like to finish in 2015:
   
   
2. Aztecs by Inga Clendinnen
   
   
3. The Ego Tunnel by Thomas Metzinger
   
   Would like to re-read in 2015:
   
   
4. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
   
   
5. White Noise by Don DeLillo
   
   
6. Anathem by Neal Stephenson
   
   Would like to read in 2015:
   
   
7. The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro
   
   
8. A couple of books for /r/SF_Book_Club
   
   
9. Blindsight and Echopraxia by Peter Watts, back-to-back
   
   
10. At least one or two books on Buddhist philosophy / practice
    
    
11. At least one or two books on philosophy, either philo of mind or more cultural studies / anthro / sociology type stuff.

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

yea the book is also calles good omens, here's a link to the amazon page if you wanna buy it https://www.amazon.com/dp/0060853980/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_w4phDb6THWTH8

its a great book id recomend both the book and the show!
edit:grammar

Juliet becomes a very important character.

And yeah Hugh Howey writes really deep characters. I picked up a few of his other books (I'm looking forward to reading I, Zombie when I have time). The world he creates in Wool is fascinating. Just so fucking creative.

That's a pretty good guide. I think I read in a similar order, but mostly by chance.

I would also add that if you like Neil Gaiman, you can read the book that they collaborated on, called Good Omens. It's not the same universe, but the style is there. That's how I started, too.

I recommend you start with reading Kizumonogatari as it is the only translated volume that the anime hasn't covered yet(At least the bluray isn't out yet). It has an audiobook on audible as well. Great music and voice-acting.

The debate lies mainly in what you consider consciousness. If you describe it as being consciously aware of your stream of thought, then you are actually not conscious throughout lots of your day (we slip into flow-like states all the time).

But there isn't much of a debate anymore about "where" consciousness is in the brain. This used to be a big deal in neuroscience, but we've learned it's not really how consciousness probably comes about, because even centers of the brain that are integral to who your are, your memories, your personality--even if those are shut down selectively, you are still going to be conscious, even if just altered, unable to recall certain things, or having a vastly different personality.

Here is a Ted Talk Dan Dennett gives about it. Dennett is a much more science-based philosopher, and his take on this isn't super controversial any more I don't think (speaking strictly about consciousness as an emergent property--his whole "free will" stuff I think is totally up for debate and depends on interpretation). I have heard Dr. Steve Novella (Skeptics Guide to the Universe host, practicing neuroscientist, and president of the New England Skeptical Society) say pretty much verbatim the things Dan Dennett says about our modern understanding of what consciousness is and isn't.

Fascinating stuff. If you're into hard sci-fi, I recommend Blindsight by Peter Watts, a first-contact story that really gets to the bones of what is and isn't consciousness. A weird, fascinating sci-fi story that will change the way you think about consciousness forever, probably.

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.

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

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

Your life is complete shit, Maya. Just accept it. that said, things do eventually turn around. there are good people and good things in the world, and there is joy in small moments, you just have to be willing to see that joy when it happens. life is hard, and shitty things happen, but overall things are good. keep your chin up. ebook

I ain't birthed no babies! This would make me happy because I get through lip balm at a shocking rate, and I'm on my last one.

Happy Birfday - The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub. Not a typical horror, I adore it and find it very moving.

And congratulations! :D

Definitely it shows available on Amazon.co.uk, but you should look in the one that matches your country (or closest):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kizumonogatari-Wound-Tale-Nishio-Ishin/dp/1941220975
> £12.08 [Prime]

> Get it by Wednesday, Aug 2

> Eligible for FREE UK Delivery

To give color to the other side of the Kizu order argument, watching Kizu right after Bake capitalizes on peak curiosity for what happened over spring break. Yeah the style is totally different from the rest of the show, but that doesn't mean you have to watch it separately. At the end of the day, the author intended Kizu to be where it was - in between Bake and Nise - and he revealed information based on that fact.

Additionally, because the movies omit some really good bits I would personally recommend also reading the translated Kizumonogatari light novel

1. A Discovery of Witches --By Deborah Harkness
   
2. 9/10
   
3. Fantasy/Romance-ish
   
4. Intelligently written, kept me wanting to read more (sequel is just as good), and I fell in love with the characters
   
5. Amazon

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

I am a first year beekeeper. I became intensely interested in this back in Feb of this year. So, I got a book...this was a great start for me. I also joined a local beekeeping association. I now have two hives running marvelously...should be getting about 30-40 quarts in a few weeks.

Sounds like you might enjoy reading Watts' Blindsight. It's a sci-fi novel whose plot-driver is humanity trying to decide how to interact with an extra-solar alien species, evaluate their intentions, etc., after aliens make unexpected first contact with Earth.

I'm TheJesseClark! You may know me by my pen names, Stephen King, Edgar Allen Poe, and u/Hayong. None of that is true. But this is: Subscribe to both my Facebook and my subreddit, or I'll find you.

Also, I'm featured in a book that has tons of other authors you might recognize, who are almost as great as me

Book: Good Omens

Film (old): Blazing Saddles

Film (new): Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Sitcom (American): Arrested Development

Sitcom (British): Green Wing (Though I will confess: this one's an acquired taste, if you don't like it, pretend I said Fawlty Towers.)

Televised Panel Game: QI although I really do like Never Mind the Buzzcocks (especially seasons 19-22)

Funniest memory? Your mom asking me to have sex with her last night. She was so desperate!

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

The Crying of Lot 49 is pretty amazing.

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

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

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

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

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

How about some good books?:

Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey - First in the series.

Something from the Nightside by Simon R. Green - First in the series.

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett - Hilarious

Sounds like you’d like A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (first in The All Souls Trilogy). It’s a vampire/witch romance, but demons are part of the world as well. It has all of the elements you’re looking for, but with witches thrown in.

I'm in the middle of 5 different books because I am a bit of a moody reader (sometimes I'm in the mood to read something funny, other times I want something mysterious, something informative, something that will give me second hand embarrassment, etc.)

Currently I'm reading:

• Everything's Eventual by Stephen King
  
• Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman
  
• Paddle Your Own Canoe by Nick Offerman
  
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
  
• The Food Truck Handbook by David Weber
  
  On my "next to read" list:
  
  
• The Little Friend by Donna Tartt
  
• Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham

Pippinacious checking in! You can find and follow me in the following places:


Tumblr: Pippinacious.tumblr.com


Twitter: MsPippinacious


Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/pippinacious/


Amazon anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Corpse-Garden-Collection-Horror-Stories/dp/1520186509


Amazon group anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Love-Death-Other-Inconveniences-Stories-ebook/dp/B079CS1TK2


I’m on my phone, so no proper formatting just yet. Will edit tonight with real links when I’m on my PC. Enjoy the purge!

Practical Demonkeeping is pretty witty and entertaining.

If you wanted to stay in the Dark Tower World a while longer, and who doesn't, I can't suggest strongly enough The Talisman & its sequel Black House. The Talisman is a great read and will give you that Tower vibe and I straight up consider Black House book 5.5 or 6.5 of the Dark Tower.

Try Peter Watts' Blindsight. It's fairly short but an excellent read. Also the next book in the series Echopraxia just came out in october.

http://www.amazon.com/Blindsight-Peter-Watts/dp/0765319640

http://www.amazon.com/Echopraxia-Peter-Watts/dp/076532802X

I recently finished an oddball of an audiobook:

KIZUMONOGATARI

That one is not quite a full-cast, since different characters have same narrator. And it has background music and even some ambient sounds (so not quite a dramatization/drama).

Story wise its quite a convoluted tale of an adaptation from the japanese visual novel, but thats only a prequel to a bigger series BAKEMONOGATARI (that was published/written first, because why not) and gathered quite a cult following over there. (trying to write a synopsis broke my brain, if anyone can do any better, be my guest) ...its a prequel

...Needless to say, i'm eagerly awaiting a sequel!

One of my current favorite books is Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (two favorite authors of mine).

Thanks, I've read the first and now I've ordered the sequels.

Try http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Demonkeeping-Pine-Cove-Series/dp/0060735422. That was a good one.

If you read hard scifi at all I HIGHLY recommend Peter Watt's Blindsight.

It dives deep into ideas of self identity and consciousness and would be very topical to your post. Can't recommend it enough if you enjoy the genre.

If you liked it, you should also check out Good Omens also by Neil Gaiman (And Terry Pratchett).

My username is named after a character in Good Omens

Under the Dome, Stephen King

The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood

Good Omens, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Beloved, Toni Morrison

The World is Flat, Thomas L. Friedman

I've heard great things about Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. I want to read it during my summerfuntime!

Little Britain!
Mr. Doggy

Although I like a lot of the REAL UK Little Britain ones better, I can't get a good quality one at work (stupid firewalls).

Something really cheap because I'm in the US. Or, if you want to wing me some Maynard's Winegums, you'll be my hero forever.

Nudge nudge, wink wink

EDITS: Sorry about the ugly link, something's amiss

Mustn't forget Good Omens by Pratchett & Neil Gaiman.

One of the best books I've ever read.

so apparently Bakemonogatari in the original language is more expensive than the translated version. To get all of Bakemonogatari in Japanese will cost me slightly more than it does to get all of it in English apparently? I get that there's import/shipping costs and stuff, but usually with manga the translation costs more than make up for it...

but idk about this Kodansha Box series. They're softcover right? I handled the latest Monogatari at Kinokuniya and that's what it seemed like to me, it just came in a box.

Blindsight by Peter Watts is the best.

Yep, all available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble if you prefer to buy physical

This would be nice, but I'm saving up for a 3DS XL, so a gift card would be preferred. like butter

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


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

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

Ahhh, well.. if you're a Pratchett fan than the obvious starting point is Good Omens which is co-authored by the both of them. If you like that I would either go to American Gods if you like the reworking old myths angle or Neverwhere if that 'london' writing feel does more for you. Any way around it you can't go wrong really. I've read everything he's written outside of a few short stories and not a word has been bad.

Amazon one-star reviews. There you go.

But it really is a fantastic book, so give it a shot.

Blood On The Page Part 1


Patient Zero


Everything's Eventual


And because I couldn't post a list of books without a plug...


So Long And Thanks For All The Brains

I go to Lost River State Park, WV and stay in one if their cabins. I bring this with me to put my stuff in, but I might bring this too, so I have something to read. I bring the husband with me.

Thanks for the contest. I could use a vacation!

14, by Peter Clines is pretty great, although it's more on the weird side rather than ghosts or demons. He is really influenced by HP Lovecraft...

http://www.amazon.com/14-Peter-Clines-ebook/dp/B00898J9IE/ref=asap_B0039LGSLW_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417358921&sr=1-1

Origin by JA Konrath: http://www.amazon.com/Origin-J-Konrath-ebook/dp/B00264FT0Y/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417372387&sr=1-7&keywords=Origins

Haunted House (JA Konrath and Jack Killborn): http://www.amazon.com/Haunted-House-Terror-Jack-Kilborn-ebook/dp/B00BOWPZUS/ref=la_B000BCH4EM_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417372438&sr=1-3

At Book Depository the set costs $94 or €84, which includes free shipping worldwide. This is my to-go place for ordering light novels.

https://www.bookdepository.com/Monogatari-Series-Box-Set-Limited-Edition/9781947194397

On Amazon right now it's 59 pounds, which is roughly €69, shipping not included.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Monogatari-Box-Set-Limited-NisiOisiN/dp/1947194399/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2LRZK7EVSXO8D&keywords=monogatari+series+box+set&qid=1557335837&s=gateway&sprefix=monogatari+s%2Caps%2C154&sr=8-1

Hope this helps!

whatchu talkin' about with the end of monogatari. Owari's still got two more seasons (I think) and then there's zoku owari. Kizu, on the other hand, is literally the beginning. (a beginning, by the way, that you can purchase legally in english in just a few days)

Blindsight:
> Blindsight is the Hugo Award–nominated novel by Peter Watts, "a hard science fiction writer through and through and one of the very best alive" (The Globe and Mail).
>
> Two months have past since a myriad of alien objects clenched about the Earth, screaming as they burned. The heavens have been silent since―until a derelict space probe hears whispers from a distant comet. Something talks out there: but not to us. Who should we send to meet the alien, when the alien doesn't want to meet?
>
> Send a linguist with multiple-personality disorder and a biologist so spliced with machinery that he can't feel his own flesh. Send a pacifist warrior and a vampire recalled from the grave by the voodoo of paleogenetics. Send a man with half his mind gone since childhood. Send them to the edge of the solar system, praying you can trust such freaks and monsters with the fate of a world. You fear they may be more alien than the thing they've been sent to find―but you'd give anything for that to be true, if you knew what was waiting for them. . . .

Thanks!

https://www.amazon.com/KIZUMONOGATARI-Wound-Tale-NISIOISIN/dp/1941220975

Are you talking about this ? This covers parts 1 thru 3 or just part 2 ?

Search this url on the internet wayback machine. There's also an older PDF version on readfag's wordpress. Those are both variations of Baka-Tsuki's translations though. From what I hear Vertical's official translation is superior.

If it even exists, I don't know where one could acquire a digital download of Vertical's official translation. You can find the official paperback and audio book on Amazon and the audio book is possible to find online if you know where to look.

edit: I found the EPUB version of Vertical's translations released by Ozymandias that was referenced above.

I've been good I swear!!

PSA:

If you haven't read it yet, Game of Thrones is down to $2.99 on Kindle... that's the lowest I've ever seen!

EDIT: Also great prices on:

The Princess Bride -- $2.99

and

Discovery of Witches -- $2.99

The Talisman-by Stephen King and Peter Straub. The authors then continued the story with a second book called Black House. http://www.amazon.com/The-Talisman-Novel-Stephen-King/dp/145169721X
An amazing fantasy adventure for any age. A good bridge for you as well. Other adventure fantasy type books that I felt were ageless, A Boys life- by Robert McCammon. http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Life-Robert-McCammon/dp/0671743058 Anything and everything Jack London. Read Stephen King short stories then move onto Edgar Allen Poe. To kill a mocking bird- by Harper Lee http://www.amazon.com/To-Kill-Mockingbird-Harper-Lee/dp/0446310786 A Watership Down- By Richard Adams http://www.amazon.com/Watership-Down-Novel-Richard-Adams/dp/0743277708 Of Mice And Men- by John Steinbeck http://www.amazon.com/Of-Mice-Men-John-Steinbeck/dp/0140177396
Then you may want to move on to another type of adventure.
Into the Wild- by Jon Krakauer. http://www.amazon.com/Into-Wild-Jon-Krakauer/dp/0385486804 Every book is a bridge to another and so on. I could name so many more, but each book will lead you to them.

drama llama

I have nothing against used books

Thanks for the contest!

A Discovery of Witches was a really good book and it's part of a trilogy.

Another very good book addressing this topic is Blindsight by Peter Watts.

Kizumonogatari's the only one in English so far. It's really easy to order off [Amazon] (https://www.amazon.com/KIZUMONOGATARI-Wound-Tale-NISIOISIN/dp/1941220975) or pick up at [Barnes & Nobel] (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kizumonogatari-nisioisin/1122858310)

It's an official one. Thank you for your recommendation! Any links? Is it BAKEMONOGATARI?

Richmond ☺

Island of the Sequined Love Nun. A pilot in the tropics crash lands on an island to find out a doctor and his wife have used the natives' belief in a cargo cult to sell the natives' body parts in Japan's black market organ transplant trade. The part that got me was the pilot seeing a young boy with bandages over his eyes.

Ps. Christopher Moore writes absurdist fiction, my favorite if his is A Dirty Job

Good Omens Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett http://www.amazon.com/Good-Omens-Accurate-Prophecies-Nutter/dp/0060853980

"Good Omens" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett: http://www.amazon.com/Good-Omens-Accurate-Prophecies-Nutter/dp/0060853980

If you've not read Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch you should. It was my first Terry Pratchett. <3

I would highly recommend "Good Omens."

Amazon France or Book Depository (free shipping) for Kizumonogatari, the rest of the series hasn't been confirmed for official release just yet. However it seems they are currently out of stock at the moment due to the high demand of the book so you'll have to wait till they re-stock again.

There is also a wiki in the sidebar for future enquirers like this else any light novels you'll be able to find on Amazon or Book Depository.

The official English translation of Kizu is due on December 15th. I only wish it was available digitally.

A special box set with 7 books included released today.

Yes, here's the link https://www.amazon.com/MONOGATARI-Box-Set-Limited-NISIOISIN/dp/1947194399

Please tell me you've read Good Omens. If not, may I suggest that you read it between now and November 1st as NaNo homework? I think you'll dig it!

Try A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. It has vampires, witches, demons, etc. I really enjoyed it, and the sequel is solid too. The third one just came out, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

Blindsight by Peter Watts

http://www.amazon.com/Blindsight-Peter-Watts/dp/0765319640/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1407747083&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=Blindsight+by+Peter+Watts

Awesome first-contact story, a small crew in deep space, all heavily-modded with augmentations, captained by a DNA-reconstructed vampire...making contact with an alien species that's even more bizarre.

If you like the theme of Consciousness try 'Blindsight' by Peter Watts

https://www.amazon.com/Blindsight-Peter-Watts/dp/0765319640

Well, my automatic response is to say Good Omens.

Recently I read The Fault in Our Stars and despite the subject matter, I was surprised to find myself guffawing at many points. Craziness!

Both are winners, I think.