Reddit mentions: The best political fiction books

Great post OP! I haven't seen the video in question (sorry) but as an anarchist I do feel confident in giving some of my views. First off, there are no right answers to these questions. Even within the same school of anarco-socialism, you'll likely get different answers to these questions from different people (ask 10 anarcho-socialists and you'll get 11 different answers) and in my view, that's a strength, not a weakness. However because I haven't seen the video, I don't know how much of what I'm about to say is addressed by it. I'm sorry!

I personally don't believe that lazy workers are as much a problem as you believe they will be and I base this on my personal experience. I have visited anarco-communes and also "temporary utopias" like climate camps and anti-globalization convergences. And, no, they were by no means perfect. In anarchist households dishes often don't get done to the extent that it's kind of a running joke. But there are lots of reasons for that. Houses aren't designed with communal living in mind. Under capitalism most of us suffer from depression and anxiety and it's hard to be motivated with that kind of thing when you're worried about your next deadline at your unfulfilling job or paying the bills by the end of the month. A more collectivist society could do things like ensuring no one ever has to do menial jobs alone (even by the simple provision of bigger sinks and bigger kitchens--ever notice how classically houses in western society were designed for use by a single-occupancy gendered labour force; my kitchen is barely twice the size of my wardrobe, but the living room, where the man of the house was expected to spend his off-labour time, is huge). And ultimately I would expect that anarchist societies would not only have a good working understanding of the sexism of gendered labour (most menial jobs are traditionally performed by women) but also be more lenient around all labour. Like maybe you can skip the washing up for that day if it's your period or if you're nursing, both of which are labour neglected by capitalism, just to choose a stereotypical and thought-provoking example. Going back to my own experiences, there were plenty of problems with places like the convergences and anarchist camps, but they never actually suffered from not having clean toilets because people understood that cleaning them was as important an activity as any other type of labour which needed to be undertaken. Ultimately, I agree with the point raised by the WNDWU (youtube link--above): "So you're asking me, who will do the dishes when the revolution comes? Well I do my own dishes now and I'll do my own dishes then. Funny that it's always the ones who don't, who ask that fucking question."

There are a lot of different thoughts about how economics can work in anarchist societies at large-scale. Most likely there would be several different economic models, possibly even within the municipal area, but certainly within different ones. In the future, Kim Stanley Robinson describes a system where small consumptive goods are created in situ, then optionally exchanged as gifts with traders. Underlying this, potassium is used as an exchange of hard currency and reserve, regulating the flow of resources throughout for the production of goods the solar system. Meanwhile, Ursula Le Guin envisaged a society organised by collectives (syndicals) where work was undertaken out of a sense of duty. Less speculatively, David Graeber has done a lot of good work documenting the use of gift economies throughout human history and it's hard to believe there's nothing there, given the overwelming preponderance and importance of gift economies to advanced human societies so far.

But I myself am not an advocate of gift economies. Michael Albert and co. have done a lot of writing on how non-gift participatory or democratic economies could be run and I highly recommend checking out his work. Albert's work is pretty much the closest to what I would like to see myself, I think and he also talks a lot about the psychological benefits of job rotation, e.g. a system where doctors also clean toilets. There is also a form of anarchism known as mutualism in which productive work is carried out by coops instead of companies or conglomerates owned by shareholders or an owner or owners. A coop can be structured along purely democratic grounds, where every decision requires a consensus meeting from relevant workers, through the whole gamut to a system with middle managers and bosses basically being like a company except that the workers form and control the board instead of vice versa. After producing goods, they are exchanged through a free-market mechanism as under capitalism. I myself am not a mutualist but really even mutualism would be a huge step forward compared to what we have under the current system, where productive labour is essentially organized by unaccountable and undemocratic corporate oligarchies.

The invention thing is quite interesting, I think. Just as in an anarchist society you might get several economic systems, so today we actually have several economic models under capitalism as well. One which I am quite familiar with as a software engineer is the open-source model of software development. Last year I invented a new and pioneering method for installing Wordpress websites using a fairly obscure collection of deployment software. The mechanism I invented is so niche that even I struggle to develop the enthusiasm to explain its benefits even to people within the same field but I was excited enough to develop it that I spent three months of my free-time doing that, and now that it is done I am still pleased with the effort even though no one uses it. So basically I invented something and released it for free which was the very definition of a project for which I receive no thanks: no economic compensation, no fame within my professional circles, etc. And yet I was still happy to create and distribute it for free, even allowing others to modify it if they found it useful. So I think that when you are very invested in a particular problem field it's actually very easy to develop the enthusiasm to figure out an invention for a better way of doing something, even if you know you'll receive nothing for it but the personal satisfaction of having simplified a particular problem. And of course in an anarchist society you could expect that most techniques and methods are open-source, and able to be modified and improved upon for free by any interested party. Receiving fame among one's professional peer group, being invited to prestigious conferences within your field to talk about your invention, maybe even being interviewed by the news media--these are all extremely good motivations for creating something, arguably a lot stronger than money actually. (Considering most invention these days is IP-protected and ultimately owned by corporations, I'm kind of surprised the myth of the solo inventor made rich by his own success succeeds actually.) And this happens a lot in software. The most common operating system software globally across all devices? By far, Linux. Windows only leads in the desktop, and that only because of entrenched capitalist user lock-in paradigms.

Online fiction:

Pact: I'm enjoying Pact. Not as much overall as Worm, but there are some moments that are pretty awesome like [6.11](#s "not existing when the Behaim's do their thing with perception, and it goes straight from 6.10->6.12. Meta shenanigans are best shenanigans.")

Citadel: It's exactly what would happen if you cross Super Powereds' setting with characters from Worm. Not enough story yet to get a really good feel for how it's going to turn out, and the chapter length leaves something to be desired, although the update rate makes up for it. So far, I'm willing to keep reading it, which is more than I can say for most serials I start.

I second Hard Reset, and its sequels. Entertaining time loop shenanigans, and the characterization is pretty good ([Pinkie Pie](#s " narrator is best narrator.")). It's worth mentioning that I've never watched the show, or had any interest in watching the show, but I still found it fairly entertaining.

While we're on the subject of ponyfic, Fallout Equestria is one of my favorite pieces of fiction. Dark MLP!Fallout, not much else to say.

The Optimalverse, as mentioned elsewhere in this thread, is also pretty good. Satisfying values through ponies and friendship has never been more gratifying. Or terrifying, depending on your viewpoint and whether or not CelestAI's actions creep you the hell out.

Leftover Soup is a webcomic that I enjoy almost as much as the author's comments. There were quite a few times while reading it and thought "Huh, you know, that's a good point. I never thought of it that way."

The SilverClawShift Campaign Archives: What everybody wishes their DnD group was like. Fairly epic campaign.

Old Man Henderson: what every GM is terrified their group will be like.

Inviolate: A DC universe spanning conspiracy. Probably better if you have previous understanding of the universe, but I found it entertaining with just a layman's knowledge base.

Good ol' paperbacks:

Finished up Blood Song and its sequel Tower Lord not too long ago. Really enjoyed Blood Song, had a few issues with Tower Lord, but overall two very good books.

The Red Knight was pretty good as well, although it did have a tendency to get caught up in medieval armor jargon. I have no idea what most of those word were, but understanding is not necessary to enjoy the story.

The Dragon's Path is the first novel in the Dagger and the Coin series, and it looks pretty promising. Some entertaining political/economic maneuvering.

For fans of the Dresden Files, Benedict Jacka's Fated and it's sequels have much the same vibe. So far, it's only about as good as the early to mid Dresden Files, but the author has been improving steadily.

I've definitely been intrigued by The Goblin Emperor, but I've bought a ton of great books I need to read first. It seems like a fresh take on common fantasy tropes.

I have The Dragon's Path because it came free when I bought the ebook of Leviathan Wakes, by Abraham & Ty Franck. I haven't read it yet, though I've really been enjoying the Leviathan Wakes series. Together, they are a great writing duo, and that series is currently in production as a TV series for Syfy, premiering next year. :)

I'm a fairly hardcore SF fan, and I've really only started appreciating fantasy in the past couple of years. Most of the genre is unreadable for me (due to elves & crystals), but I've been pleasantly surprised on a few occasions. Blood Song by Anthony Ryan was a well-written, notable 1st novel, but this year's sequel Tower Lord was hands-down outstanding, a remarkable improvement in plotting.

I also love Joe Abercrombie. He's written 6 books in the same universe; you need to start at the beginning with The Blade Itself. Abercrombie's stuff is long on swords & short on sorcery, it's a sort of fantasy noir. I love his dialogue, how he's able to turn a phrase & make it fresh rather than a cliche, and he excels at writing action scenes. He's now working on a new YA series, starting with Half a King. I avoid YA, but he's a favorite of mine, so I read it & loved it. The 1st sequel is out in 6 months.

I (and most of the subreddit, from what I've read) would recommend Brandon Sanderson's Way of Kings (the blurbs are pretty bad descriptions of the book, IMO), if you haven't read it. It's long and it takes a while to build, but it's very different from the standard, cliche fantasy and at the end it is worth the build-up. My husband and I don't often like the same books, but we both agree on that one. I've read all of his books and, while I think a lot of authors tend to decline in quality the more prolific they are, he seems to avoid that. He also writes very quickly, which is a nice change from reading George R.R. Martin. I would honestly and strongly recommend anything he's written except his first trilogy, Mistborn (which, to be fair, is the first thing of his that I read and it encouraged me to read more of his work...it was just my least favorite of everything he's written).

My husband and I both also liked the Death Gate cycle (first one is Dragon Wing). It does have all the standard fantasy races, but they're used in very different ways and they're considered minor, almost disposable races instead of magical and amazing.

I liked Jennifer Fallon's Second Sons trilogy (first is The Lion of Senet). She has another pair of trilogies (The Demon Child and Wolfblade), and I would say that the Wolfblade trilogy is my favorite of all her work, but it's a bit more sword-and-board than the Second Sons trilogy.

If you're okay with young adult-appropriate fare (written in the 40s), John Christopher (who wrote the fairly famous Tripods trilogy) wrote a trilogy that was unlike anything I'd read at the time called the Sword of the Spirits. It's technically Sci-Fi, but it's more of a fantasy-scifi blend (if you've read Anne McCaffrey's Pern series, it sits on the same sort of line). It's out of print until apparently next February, but there are copies available of older editions for a penny plus shipping.

I also really liked Robin Hobb's Assassin trilogy and the books that followed. I think her later books move a little slowly and with too much repetitive internal monologue, but her world-building is amazing and very immersive. The Assassin trilogy is her first (under that pseudonym, at any rate) and moves a lot faster. Since this is in a thread about Robin Hobb and you may have already read her books, I'll also recommend Robin McKinley (different Robin)'s Damar books (The Blue Sword and Hero and the Crown). They're sometimes listed as young adult, but she's another author whose books are listed there because they're age-appropriate and not because they're dumbed down.

Of all of these, I've reread Brandon Sanderson's and Weis and Hickman's (the Death Gate cycle) books the most. They both (or all three of them, I guess) have a really smooth prose that makes fantastical things easy to read about without tons of dry explanation, and I would consider them to be the most creative with their plots, as well.

Anne Bishop (who I mentioned in my earlier post)'s Black Jewels trilogy has a really creative world and a new magic system, but again, it's a lot like Disney taking a crack at a torture porn film like Saw. It's a very unusual style that not everyone is going to enjoy. Her Tir Alainn books are both less violent and less fan-fictiony, but everything she's written after that has been flatly formulaic and based around a straight-up Mary Sue heroine, so I wouldn't bother.

At any rate, I hope something in there sounds interesting to you. Given that almost all of these are trilogies, this is a much longer list than five books, but it's hard to pick :)

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

By women, featuring female protagonists:

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

The Female Man by Joanna Russ

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin

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

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

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

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

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi


By men, featuring female protagonists:

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

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

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

By women, featuring male protagonists

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

Obligatory wiki links: Dystopian Literature. Although, some of the titles listed don't seem to fit (The Dispossessed?). Nuclear holocaust fiction, and your general apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction.

Some of the better/more popular ones:

• Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang Kate Wilhelm.
  
  
• Eternity Road Jack McDevitt. Well written, but not very insightful.
  
  
• The Postman David Brin.
  
  
• Mockingbird Walter Tevis. Great read. Think Idiocracy, with a serious take. Humanity's totally run by robots, everyone's forgotten how to read and think for themselves, and the world population's dropped to almost nothing.
  
  
• We Yevgeny Zamyatin. The inspiration for George Orwell's 1984. Not the best read IMO, but some people claim it's better than 1984. It's possible I read a poor translation.
  
  
• Island Aldous Huxley. It's a utopian island surrounded by a dystopian world. Might not fit in this list, but it's a good read if you like Huxley. I think it was his last novel.
  
  
• 1984 George Orwell. One of my favorite novels. I have a bumper sticker with the quote "War is Peace, Ignorance is Strength, Freedom is Slavery", which is a slogan from the book. (Also, a sticker on my mirror with "Under the spreading chestnut tree, I sold you and you sold me"). The link points to Animal Farm and 1984.
  
  
• Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury. Another must read. Very well written, thought-provoking novel. Is it still required reading in schools?
  
  
• Earth Abides George Stewart.
  
  
• Alas, Babylon Pat Frank. Lucifer's Hammer Larry Niven/Jerry Pournelle. I'm grouping these two together because they're very similar, both in setting and politics. I didn't really enjoy either. The politics were not at all subtle, and the characters fit too neatly into stereotypes, and too obviously the writer's hero fantasy. Still, they're pretty popular, so try them out and feel free to disagree with me.
  
  
• Brave New World Aldous Huxley. Really just a utopia that's rough around the edges, if I'm remembering it correctly (also called an anti-utopia, thank you wikipedia). Another must read.
  
  
• A Canticle for Leibowitz Walter Miller.
  
  
• Memoirs Found in a Bathtub Stanislaw Lem. Another favorite. I once created a text adventure based on this book. It was about as frustrating as that Hitchhiker's Guide game.
  
  
• The Road Cormac McCarthy.
  
  
• Philip K. Dick It's hard to keep track of PKD's novels, but some of them are dystopian, all of them worth reading. Favorites: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (also known as/inspired Blade Runner), Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said, The Man in the High Castle.
  
  
• The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx and Crake Margaret Atwood.
  
  
• Y: The Last Man A graphical novel/comic collection. Decent art, great story.
  
  Zombies: World War Z, Raise the Dead, Marvel Zombies, Zombie Survival Guide, Day By Day Armageddon, I Am Legend.
  
  Also, just for kicks, some of my favorite dystopian movies:
  Brazil, Soylent Green, 12 Monkeys, Blade Runner, Akira, Children of Men, Dark City, A Boy and His Dog, Logan's Run, Idiocracy, Equillibrium.

I am cutting and pasting from a HelloGiggles interview i did because this is not a short list:

EG: I love Gail Collins. She’s a New York Times journalist. She wrote a book called America’s Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines. It’s the feminist history book you never had. It’s a book you cannot put down. It’s so jam packed with information, and you just can’t believe you don’t know this stuff. She has a whole thing about how pioneer women basically built San Francisco. Because when the gold rush happened, there was no one to cook for the men. So women would come out, set up shop, and make tons of money. They were business owners and had autonomy and control of their finances for the first time. Stuff like that. I mean, Bear Grylls would look like Tom Brokaw compared to these pioneer women. That’s not even a good analogy. But these women would like, crawl up mountains while giving birth. Their skirts would catch on fire all the time. The shit that they went through was insane. So you’re reading this, and [Collins is] just giving you all of it. It’s the most fascinating book I’ve ever read.

Of course, all of Roxane Gay’s books. She’s necessary reading. I just read In Her Words, the Eleanor Roosevelt book. That was uplifting, and also so sad to see this woman with this knowledge and access to power whom, if she had been given the chance…god, the things she could have done. You should read Susan Faludi’s Backlash. That’s super necessary feminist reading. I also like this book called White Trash. It’s about America’s history of poverty and how it explains a lot of what’s happening today. But because it’s written by a woman — it’s written by Nancy Isenberg — it has a feminist slant to it. It’s fantastic.

Oh, and Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Penelope Bagieu. It’s a graphic novel of incredible women. It’s gorgeous and informative and great. And it’s a great book for a teen, or an adult who likes graphic novels like me. Also Bitch Planet. It’s a graphic novel that’s The Handmaid’s Tale of space. That’s great. And of course, The Handmaid’s Tale. Read Margaret Atwood. And not just The Handmaid’s Tale. She’s written tons of other books that are thematically similar and just as depressing.

Also, Samantha Irby. Her books…I don’t know what to say about her books. I have a really loud laugh, and when something tickles me and gets me really hard, I laugh really loudly. And I do it like, every other page with her.

I'm a language professor, my wife's focus is on bilingualism and we are raising two bilingual children (now 6 and 8) who are high functioning in both languages (90+ percentile in native verbal assessments in English and above average in Japanese). We are also surrounded by dual language families who are taking a variety of approaches.

The simple answer is that out of around 20 families all with fathers (the reality in Japan is that the English speaking parent is almost always the father) who are highly engaged with parenting, the families whose children have become bilingual are those whose mothers (native Japanese speakers) also speak to them in English. So, generally, One Parent One Language does not work here. The exception is with kids who are also going to English language schools.

Here's what we did. Our home language is English. That includes 90% media, which we intentionally included in their day (one hour). Since both of us work, we put them in Japanese daycare at two years old. Also, we have a network of friends with kids the same age who speak only Japanese and we got together occasionally. This was their early exposure to Japanese.

As they got closer to kindergarten age (Japanese kindergarten starts at year 3 and ends at year 5), we increased my wife's use of Japanese to about 20%. They entered kindergarten with weak Japanese and came out at age 5 pretty much the same as monolingual Japanese kids. Also, a policy that we adopted is that after coming home from kindergarten, the conversation about what they did that day was entirely in Japanese. Through kindergarten we kept the target of 20% Japanese with my wife, and increased and decreased that depending according to the individual kid's needs.

Once entering Japanese elementary school, our first kid was fully bilingual in both languages, so we kept up the 20% Japanese at home, but the second child appeared a bit weaker in expressing herself in English, so we dropped the 20% (aside from talking about school immediately after school) and speak only English with her at home. So how much Japanese my wife uses is our tool to tweak things if we think it's needed.

We read to our kids every day and make books available to them all the time. We do not watch broadcast television at all, so the only video that they have experienced is nearly all English. We do allow them one Japanese TV show they can watch regularly, so they share some culture with the kids at school, but after Pretty Cure and Yokai Watch, they pretty much lost interest in Japanese shows. They have decades worth of great shows in English that are more attractive than the popular show of the season in Japanese. It may be a Japanese thing, but Manga is the thing that they all read and talk about at school, so at home video is all in English.

We also taught them to read in English from a young age and they continue using Raz-Kids.com, reading about one book from there a day, which will take them to grade 5. They also usually spend at least an additional hour or more a day reading books we have around the house in either English or Japanese. We have a pretty extensive children's book and video collection.

I don't recommend Krashen. It is rather outdated and has not been shown to translate into the real world. Individual elements of his model are good, but production and interaction is far more important than he claims. If you are looking for a theoretical model I'd recommend looking at Vygotsky's Social Development Theory. Here is a simple introduction. It is not about bilingualism, but the ideas of scaffolding and and the zone of proximal development have guided most all of my interactions while teaching my kids.

A book my wife recommends to her friends is Raising a Bilingual Child, Barbara Zurer Pearson. It is written for non-linguists.

It was a difficult and interesting time. First of all, when people complain about food shortages it is because they are too young to remember the 80s, rationing coupons and Gorbachev's ban of alcohol (near total ban, prohibition, they tore up historic wineyards etc).

Suddenly the shelves were full of stuff, but it was often weird stuff. For instance, in Yekaterinsburg (Soviet Sverdlovsk) where I was growing up, we had endemic shortages of eggs and meat. Well, chicken eggs and beef/pork/chicken meat, so the stores sold quail (?) eggs and whale meat. We got chicken from America and concluded it tasted like chicken. These were nicknamed "Bush legs" because Bush arranged the trade deal or whatever. We also got a banana and cut it up into a bunch of slices and shared them among us as an exotic delicacy. In a few years bananas were as common as they are in the West. Lest you imagine us as vitamin starved: we grew apples and strawberries and tons of other stuff at the dacha, picked mushrooms and got imported persimmons, apricots, oranges and pomegranates from southern Soviet republics. Bananas were new though. As were Snickers, Twix etc. bars: not as good as Russian candy, but neat.

Kiosks appeared everywhere. These were a proud take on free enterprise: rickety shacks with small access windows (robbers had a proud take on free enterprise too). These kiosks sold candy bars, magazines, porn all the stuff you'd expect in the West, but for Russians (especially Russian children like me) this was exciting, exciting stuff.

I still remember the evening walk with my dad and the dog to the kiosk at the big bus station. We would buy me gum with a fold-in wrapper with a picture on it (I collected these: usually pictures of motorcycles and cars, sometimes scary, out-of-context stills from the Godfather or porn), and some fireworks and set them off in the empty lots between apartment buildings on the way back. The lady that worked the kiosk always disapproved, telling us that people normally buy fireworks for holidays. This is pretty indicative of the old-guard mentality in the post Soviet era: the notion of working for profit didn't quite sink in, and for all I know she was working for some local mafioso.

Which bring us to the proper name for the era: Bespredel or "no limits". Crime exploded. The mafiosi that sank to the top and became respectable classy Oligarchs were at this era riding around town in their Mercedes Benz, purple Armani suits, and so much jewelery that the term "raspal'tsovka" (now means "showing off in an unreasonable way") appeared to describe the peculiar contortion of the fingers the gangsters experienced from wearing so many heavy rings. In an odd way, Russian gangsters actually lived out the image of wealth depicted in 90s Hip hop: perhaps it has something to do with fantasies born from dire poverty. Yeketerinsburg has a gangster cemetary, complete with statues of the dead depicted in suits and holding the keys to their (heavenly?) Mercedes.

I say "heavenly" only because it was just around this time that the Russian Orthodox church started selling indulgences by letting gangsters donate to/construct churches and thus legitimizing and laundering their wealth for them(for the uneducated, an indulgence is a fee set to absolve a sin: murder a person=10,000$ or a new gold vestment/scepter for the Patriarch to be sin-free. For all I know, the fuckers introduced bulk rates, looking at the Patriarch vsya Rusi's fat mug and 30,000$ watch (and vow of poverty, mind you), I wouldn't be surprised).

In any case, the crime exploded, and not in the casual efforts to beat up my father and grandfather for being Jewish put forth by our more degraded drunk neighbors (who sometimes lived in the staircase and sometimes died there too). These were part and parcel of Soviet life.

Crime exploded in a macro way, such as that the Local crime syndicate, started a D.A.R.E.-type program in town to push out the Roma syndicate, which then ran all the drugs, and then shut down the program as soon as they came to an agreement. Then the Moscow gangs moved in leading to a shoot-out between the local police and the Swat team (which owed allegiance to Moscow) this was on the news~ I looked for the link but my searches bring nothing: too many shootouts, too many involving cops or spetnaz in my dear town, if anyone remembers better I'd appreciate the link. Everyone knew all this because all the papers talked about it.

Media: the tale of the Russian media after the Perestroika is exemplified by the magazine SpeedInfo. Now rather minor, SpeedInfo was hugely popular, almost as hugely as the pyramid scheme MMM. SpidInfo or "Aidsinfo", as it was originally called, was supposed to be a journal for Russians starved for relevant information about safe sex (for reference the main Soviet manual for young couple, which sadly is not at hand but which I've read from cover to cover a few years ago had, on the cover, a woman's hand handing an apple to a man (this is in an atheist country), had a chapter on "frigidity", a chapter on homosexual men (lesbians don't exist), and was generally a piece of work)). Very quickly Aidsinfo became a kind of penthouse forum, publishing increasingly unlikely sexual anecdotes and erotic drawings, but never actually porn. Later it was renamed Speedinfo, to push off the highly unsexy issue of AIDS off. As far as I can tell, this is a telling example of what happened to much of the energy and enthusiasm of Perestroika media: that and part of it went online, where Russians have their own power foci (e.g. we bought out Livejournal and took over it).

My personal recollection of the time is fixated on the movie Jurassic Park. I was at the age obsessed with dinosaurs and this movie was the embodiment of pure desire. It was rumored about. The local theater advertised showing it, and when I excitedly went with my grandmother it was actually "Godzilla vs Mothra" or whatever, which is a fine movie, but I was damn sure at whatever age this was, that dinosaurs did not get that big or breathe fire, so the young paleontologist in me felt let down and thought Jurrasic park would be more accurate. I was also let down when the local news paper published a comic book version of Jurassic Park. There the artists also clearly hadn't seen the movie, so the premise was that the dinosaurs broke out due to endemic power shortages and the mafia. In hindsight, it might have been political commentary.

Literature: stays fucking awesome. Sorokin & Pelevin are must reads you will never read anything more fucked up and brilliant at once (this is more about Sorokin, as true of his work today as it was in the 80s when he was starting out: start with Day of the Opritchnik and work backwards), Pelevin is hit or miss, but the early years after the Perestroika are his best work, and when he hits, it is like a clever revelation from good bong hit. The movie version of Generation P is pretty good, and that is maybe his best novel and most accessible to a Western audience, it has a good translation under the title Homo Zapiens (Chapaev and Emptiness, his other great is all inside jokes for Russians). Take that as you will. For a sweet detective novel series you can't go wrong with Boris Akunin's Fandorin epic (available in Andrew Bromfield's awful translation!)

Religion: in the absence of the pseudo-religion that Communism was for the remaining idealists everyone goes nuts on the New Age and the Orthodox Church, stays nuts, invents current fascistic theocratic bullshit with a Dictator-King and stays with it until this very day.

Government: Desperate idealism followed by... see: Religion

I studied this in college as it was related to my major. From what I know, bilingual children tend to be more creative, have more mental flexibility, develop metalinguistic awareness, and have bigger vocabularies.

Speaking to your child 100% in your respective second langauges is pretty much the best way for them to learn those second langauges.

Note that it's not super common for a child to have equal command of all their languages. Your children might prefer French over German or vice versa.

I'm not sure how advanced you and your husband are in your L2s, but one thing to watch out for is transferring your language mistakes to your children. They would learn to correct those mistakes eventually, but it's something to be aware of. There's also a lot of nuance they might not understand if you don't understand them--taking them to those countries for any period of time so they're fully immersed in the langauge, while they're young, will do them a world of good.

In terms of speaking, children tend to learn the langauge they experience in school as they grow up. There's a certain age when friends become more important than parents, and children usually don't want to seem too different from their peers. As they grow, you would want to encourage your kids to speak your respective languages with you, or else your children will understand French and German but won't really be able to speak it.

As far as reading goes, it might be beneficial to stick with one langauge at first. When your child is a fluent reader in one langauge, they will (subconsciously) transfer reading skills to the other langauge. It's easier for them to read in a second langauge if they're a fluent reader in their first. At any rate, read to them often and encourage them to be good readers. This helps develop language skills anyway. Invest in books that are written in multiple languages if you can!

Study up on some linguistics if you haven't already as well as language development for children. It will really help you understand what langauge is, how it works, and how children acquire langauge.

Reading:

Raising a Bilingual Child by Barbara Pearson

Bilingual By Choice: Raising Kids in Two (or More!) Languages by Virginie Raguenaud

A Parent's and Teacher's Guide to Bilingualism by Colin Baker

7 Steps to Raising a Bilingual Child by Naomi Steiner

If you have a few minutes, I'd encourage you to have a look at the opening of I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes. You can read it in Amazon's "Look Inside" preview. This is an international spy thriller, so it's not in our field, but it's one of the best genre fiction books I've read recently. I think this novel should be studied for its excellent pacing; even the slow parts are interesting.

Hayes utilizes a gruesome murder in the opening of his story. However, he actually opens on his main character. In fact, we become introduced to his main character through his behavior and thoughts while the murder scene is being revealed. By the end of the opening, we've got a pretty good idea what sort of person the main character is; at least, we know them well enough that we've begun to empathize with them. We are hooked, engaged emotionally, and want to keep reading.

My very long winded point in all this is that I think you want to view your opening from this perspective: You've got maybe 200 words in which to hook your reader, somehow, anyhow. If you can't manage this, you risk your potential reader putting your book back on the shelf. So you don't have too much time to waste on secondary considerations such as beautiful scenery. You need to hook your reader, and one of the best ways to do this is to get them to empathize with your main character, to create an emotional bond. You want to somehow figure out a way to make an emotional connection with your reader in the first 200 words.

If you can do this with a terrorist attack or a pack of rabid wolverines, go for it.

If you can write any sort of good beginning, you need to do it. What I mean by good is, you would hand it to someone to read, and they would say, "Wow, this is good." If you can manage to write anything that does that...you win. We aren't for the most part geniuses of litritchaw, we're genre fiction writers. If you can write a whole book and find a publisher that says, "Wow, this is good," I don't think we can really quibble over how many imaginary buckets of blood you had to splash around to do it.

I haven't really played Gears or Mass Effect much and so am in no place to comment but here's what I'd suggest for the other two.

As a series Assassins Creed is amazing but be warned the first game, while inventive and exciting gets a bit repetitive towards the later third. But after that ACII and its counterparts 'Brotherhood' & 'Revelations' are astounding and with the news on ACIII the series is going to pan out/close on a real high.

For a revelation and in-depth story Bioshock is my personal go-to on all cylinders. The first game dig deep into Randian objectivism and once you read the blogs and opinions you realise that it is a game about the very nature of gaming. I would suggest reading 'Atlas Shrugged' as you play through to get the full depth of the first game.
The sequel is good if you really get into the story of the city of Rapture but doesn't come with the depth of philosophy that the first does.
But if Rapture is your thing it's worth a play to see how it panned out, also get hold of John Shirley's adaptation of the story Bioshock: Rapture.
Again the upcoming Bioshock: Infinite is going to take the series to new heights (pun intended!) and will be a worthy addition to the franchise.

> If you knew me, you would know that I lived in many more countries and varied conditions than you did

Let me just state the same: If you knew me, you would know that I lived in many more countries and varied conditions than you did

> Anyway, there are much worse places than where you live, even in France.

One thing I know for sure is that you've never been to Russia. Otherwise you wouldn't be spouting such nonsense.

> whether you stay in Russia or decide to move to place you deem better. May be you are right, may be it does exist.

Oh, I'm not moving anywhere, I'm gonna stay here and try to change things. One good thing about Russia is that intersectionality and political correctness (in it's Western, "your-breathing-is-offensive-misogynic-and-oppressing" sense) are completely alien concepts here. And unlike their Western counterparts who glorify Marx and Lenin, the majority of our hipsters adore Ayn Rand and libertarianism.

> Here's some first class reading for you. It provides excellent background on the west.

I will read it. And since we're doing book suggestions here are mine:

https://www.amazon.com/Winter-Coming-Vladimir-Enemies-Stopped/dp/1610397193/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

https://www.amazon.com/Man-Without-Face-Unlikely-Vladimir/dp/1594486514/ref=la_B001H6MBXK_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1525652656&sr=1-2

https://www.amazon.com/Day-Oprichnik-Novel-Vladimir-Sorokin/dp/0374533105/ref=la_B001JOLA4G_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1525652758&sr=1-1

The first two are political/historical nonfiction books, written by people who had first-hand experience with Putin's regime.

The third one is a novel, but many of the things and ideas depicted there has come/are coming to life in Russia right now, unfortunately. Orwell's 1984 and Burgess' 1985 (read it too, by the way, great book) are good descriptions of what's going on in the West and where it is headed with its leftist ideology. And this Vladimir Sorokin's book does the same for Russia.

So do me a favor and read these three books (and do check out "1985", I'll say it again - great book). And I'll read your book as soon as I finish "Journey to the End of the Night".

I think the question is not how many languages you can speak to the child, but how many languages child will be able to speak when it's say 18 years old.
All depends on the goal. I suspect you actually want your child to speak few languages decently and not just be exposed to many languages to flex mind and that's it.
Also, I assume active command of language, not just passive one (reading, listening). Research says child needs to spent min 10% of its time to be exposed to a language to obtain passive knowledge. Min 20% for active command of a language. Research source is in the book mentioned below.
I'm glad you mentioned OPOL, as from what I noticed not many people talk about it here - I also might be wrong as I'm new to this subreddit tbh 😜. Coming to the pointb, I fell you try to apply OPOL only to you, whereas what's important is family context ie how many languages you speak, your partner and child's grandparents. What's more, it's crucial to know your native language and country where you live atm. Perhaps ML@H (minority language at home) might be a better option for you. There is not enough data to judge at this point. However, what you can do is to read below book. It contains pretty much an outcome of 20+ years of research of a PhD lady, who focused exclusively on children language acquisition.
I read it 2 times before my first child was born. I did family capability analysis and have chosen languages most useful in my geocultural context, which was separate challenge. Then I planned a hybrid strategy to teach chosen languages. It's not trivial, but with a bit of inclination everything is feasible. Also it's not too difficult once your go through that process.

Book I was referring to:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1400023343/ref=dbs_a_w_dp_1400023343

OH MY GOODNESS they are so cute!!! :3 I have a little chihuahua/rat terrior mix named Pookie :)

Young Adult is great! I really enjoy dystopias as well! If you're interested in trekking down that path, a few good Young Adult/Dystopias are The Hunger Games, Divergent, and The Giver. I also highly recommend Ready Player One and The Handmaids Tale :D

Radio Free Albemuth very good book.

Radio Free Albemuth pretty mediocre movie (unless you love PKD the way I do in which case it's awesome).

But yes, communism is at heart authoritarian.

Sounds like you've already had some informative answers but just for fun, and in honor of Tom Clancy's passing, I'd recommend Red Storm Rising for a fictionalized but realistic description of your scenario. Great coverage is given to defending carriers against air to surface missiles, protecting convoys from subs, and ground campaigns with close air support.

It's a bit dated but gives you a sense of what's possible.

Don't judge me on this one...but I have a special fondness for the Blue Sword by Robin McKinley. The story and writing style are rather simple but it was the first fantasy book I picked up on my own and started reading. It was really what got me interested in the genre as a kid.

I think a close second is the entire Dragon Prince/Dragon Star series (I think there are 2 for a total of 6 connected books) by Melanie Rawn. The first one is Dragon Prince and it is very good. She did a wonderful job of creating an intricate world and keeping it consistent over the entire series.

This is off the top of my head and are just my opinion,but some books from a woman's pov that have really stuck with by are:

For little girls the Flavia de Luce mystery series is really cute and a fun read. Set in the years following WWII, a 12 year old girl solves mysteries in her small English village.

As a teenager I loved the book Witch Child where a girl who is just beginning to realize she is a witch is forced to cross to colonial America with a group of Puritans and must hide what she is. I still love this book but it has more of a teenage heroine: Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca is about a young insecure woman who becomes the second wife of a rich aristocrat, but as she tries to settle into her new life the memory of the first wife haunts her (shocking twist at the end).

Two creepy social commentary pieces that I love are: The Handmaid's Tale where a women struggles with her role in a dystopian religious extremist society. And The Yellow Wallpaper is an amazing short story told from the pov of a woman (I think in the early to mid 20th century) who is taking a 'rest cure' after having a baby. It will give you chills!

There are probably more but those are just the ones I remember at the moment.

It is in your best interest and mine that we continue to support the establishment clause in the constitution and the generations of case law that supports separation of church and state.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

This means that although you have the right to unimpeded religious worship, our government remains neutral and separate.

The best argument I generally present to theists is to ask them to think really hard about the consequences if this provision were not in place. Suppose we allowed the government to establish religion. We would pay for a state church with our taxes. We would allow politicians to interpret religion for us and pass laws accordingly.

It would be an utter disaster. Take Rick Santorum as an example. He is advocating a theocracy in the US. It is utterly illegal under the constitution. You cannot impose your religious beliefs on someone else. If you legislate religious belief, you are violating the Establishment clause of the constitution.

This is a huge and real concern in todays politics. Many states are not only walking the line, they are jumping over it with both feet. Declaring the year of the bible, repealing womens rights, and denying homosexuals their civil rights, are all examples of religion overcoming a secular nation.

If allowed to stand, these intrusions into church and state are a dangerous precedent. Say some time in the future forced prayer in schools is allowed. Imagine how you would feel if your children's teacher was a Wiccan or a Muslim? Would it then be ok to allow preaching in schools?

Would it be a great idea to break the wall of church and state if the government was allowed to decide which churches have the right to exist and which ones are heretical ? Suppose the age old war between catholics and protestants was allowed to infiltrate our government. It would be a massive civil war if one group decided to get rid of the other group. Without the separation of church and state the one group could even use the military and police to rid themselves of the other group.

Read The Handmaids Tale. Atwood paints a great example of what a theocracy would look like.

You may try the Sunrunner series by Melanie Rawn Linky to first book it sounds like it might be close to what you are after. I haven't read them since the early nineties and they tend towards the YA side but were pleasantly original. I liked the first trilogy a bit better than the second set of 4.

Its part of the game, and the recordings, but a good source is the book "Rapture, by John Shirley" which covers a lot of the pre-1959 story on Rapture and how it was built, catalogs the event between "Atlas" and Andrew Ryan, the story of Frank Fontaine of Fontaines Fisheries and how everything started to crumble.

Its a great read if you enjoy the Bioshock series and delves into the civil war beneath the sea quite a bit, i've recommended it to many people who've played the games.

[1. Water Bottle](https://www.amazon.com/CamelBak-53863-Vacuum-Insulated-Stainless/dp/B015DKY552/ref=sr_1_9?s=sports-and-fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1527750520&sr=1-9&keywords=insulated+water+bottle)

[2. I'd be wearing this coverup](https://www.amazon.com/BLENCOT-Crochet-Chiffon-Swimsuit-Swimwear/dp/B07BKQB8XF/ref=sr_1_10?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1527750774&sr=1-10&nodeID=1040660&psd=1&keywords=beach%2Bcoverups%2Bfor%2Bwomen&th=1) with [this](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076GZK2ZJ/?coliid=I2OMEM72SSI92W&colid=3IFPU88IRMKM2&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it) bathing suit.

[3. Beach Towel](https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Design-Beautiful-Amazing-Flamingo/dp/B01ILLVTRW/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1527750845&sr=8-10&keywords=beach+towel+flamingo)

[4. Floatie](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M0KIW54/ref=twister_B07CBN2P3R?_encoding=UTF8&th=1)

[5. Sunscreen](https://www.amazon.com/Banana-Boat-Sunscreen-Family-Spectrum/dp/B004CDV7EY/ref=sr_1_12_s_it?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1527751529&sr=1-12&keywords=Sunscreen)

[6. Beach Bag](https://www.amazon.com/Beach-Insulated-Picnic-Cooler-Zipper/dp/B01GUFGKNE/ref=sr_1_62?ie=UTF8&qid=1527751672&sr=8-62&keywords=beach+bag)

[7. Book](https://www.amazon.com/Handmaids-Tale-Margaret-Atwood/dp/038549081X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1527751797&sr=8-2&keywords=the+handmaid%27s+tale)

[8. Summer-themed Movie](https://www.amazon.com/Jaws-Roy-Scheider/dp/B009CG9CXO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1527751989&sr=8-3&keywords=jaws)

[9. Treat](https://www.amazon.com/FroZip-Disposable-Popsicle-Freezer-Smoothies/dp/B01MDUDWHH/ref=lp_3737191_1_11?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1527752143&sr=1-11)

[10. Outdoor Decor](https://www.amazon.com/Mark-Margot-Mischievous-Figurine-Outdoor/dp/B01JV40GSQ/ref=sr_1_68?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1527752371&sr=1-68&keywords=outdoor+decor)

[11. Father's Day](https://www.amazon.com/How-Babysit-Grandpa-Jean-Reagan/dp/0375867139/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1527752509&sr=8-18&keywords=grandpa) - A gift from my daughter. He enjoys spending time with her any chance he can get. I think he would love being able to read this with her.

[12. 'Murican](https://www.amazon.com/Your-Hearts-Delight-Patriotic-Decoration/dp/B072HJ54HX/ref=sr_1_7?s=furniture&ie=UTF8&qid=1527752733&sr=1-7&keywords=patriotic+decorations)

[13. Thunder Buddy](https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Harts-Weighted-Blanket-Comforter/dp/B07BFGV757/ref=sr_1_6?s=bedbath&ie=UTF8&qid=1527752850&sr=1-6&keywords=weighted+blanket)

[14. Doodling](https://www.amazon.com/Moodles-Happy-Parragon-Books/dp/1474804306/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1527752937&sr=8-2&keywords=moodles)

[15. CD](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000CF35G/ref=s9_acsd_zwish_hd_bw_bHTw_c_x_1_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-20&pf_rd_r=92XST8CNC19E1WJGER44&pf_rd_r=92XST8CNC19E1WJGER44&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=3309eeee-cb0e-40d4-8619-55fa8f63f651&pf_rd_p=3309eeee-cb0e-40d4-8619-55fa8f63f651&pf_rd_i=67204)

[16. Forgot](https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Adapter-Sync-Charging-Cable/dp/B00CQS0S7E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1527753241&sr=8-2&keywords=charger+samsung+galaxy+s4)

[17. Pineapples](https://www.amazon.com/Artificial-Succulent-Pineapple-Home-Decoration/dp/B0748JVW8P/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&qid=1527753341&sr=8-17&keywords=pineapple+decor)

[18. Planting](https://www.amazon.com/Outsidepride-Lemon-Grass-1000-Seeds/dp/B006NOGWZ4/ref=sr_1_5?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1527754042&sr=1-5&keywords=lemongrass+seeds) - to help keep mosquitoes away.

[19. Outside Activity](https://www.amazon.com/Banzai-Triple-Racer-Water-Slide/dp/B072133ZSC/ref=sr_1_31?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1527753769&sr=1-31&keywords=water+game

[20. Shark](https://www.amazon.com/Prime-Time-Toys-Sharkpedo-Underwater/dp/B01FFF8U92/ref=sr_1_59?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1527753695&sr=1-59&keywords=shark)

Tolstoy's great-grandniece has a good post apocalyptic book called The Slynx.

Day of the Oprichnik and The Queue by Vladimir Sorokin are both good. The Queue is written in all dialogue though, which can be off-putting to some.

Omon Ra by Victor Pelevin is pretty damn funny.

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin is considered a precursor to 1984 and is worth a read.

Yuri Olesha's Envy is another funny one. Short, too.

Petersburg by Andrei Bely is generally considered the Russian Ulysses.

The Foundation Pit by Andrey Platonov is a biting look at Stalin's collectivization.

The Golovlyov Family by Shchedrin is about a family so awful they wouldn't be out of place in a Faulkner book.

Autobiography of a Corpse by Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky is my favorite of his story collections. Pretty trippy stuff.

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.

Why does Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince series never seem to get any love on here?

Maybe you guys just haven't heard of it. It's a bit old school now, it's giant, it's complex and has a well thought out magic system and a cool story with lots of mysteries. Also, IIRC, had some sex scenes that my teenage self thought were great.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0030CHERW/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1

• DARION
  
  ah, so Darion is an established character, and not a clever excuse devised by Bill ! didn't realise that \^_\^ looking over some of the other posts again, I think the extracts from their work are fairly consistent and academic in tone, and then comparing that to the more expressive personality in their personal correspondence is kinda a fun !
  
  I've also remembered (another) example of worldbuilding told through a title page and contents : Too like the Lightning by Ada Palmer. the titlepage should be available through the Amazon preview or here on Google books. this isn't, like, some post-modern literature so the narrative actually happens in the novel, but nevertheless I thought the titlepage was constructed really interestingly. (and is perhaps a subtle way for worldbuilders to info-dump without interrupting the plot (although Palmer info-dumps throughout the book anyway but that's besides the point))
  
  
• OA TRANSCRIPTION OF 'ARTIFEXIAN'
  
  since Oa lacks the /ɛ~e/ vowel, which is in the stressed syllable of "Artifexian", the transcriptions needed to find a workaround. I transcribed and syllabified Artifexian thus : [ar.tə.fik.sian], while /u/Yottaphy went with [ar.ti.fə.k͡sian]. it would be interesting to see how a herald working from the blazon alone would go about it !
  
  hope you get over the cold soon, Bill !

Read this: Only the Superrich Can Save Us! by one of my personal heroes, Ralph Nader (disastrous 2000 election notwithstanding). It will give you the ideas and inspiration you need to do something meaningful with your ample resources. I heard him discussing this subject on the Cambridge Forum recently, and his passion and insight blew me away, plus the argument he makes is ridiculously compelling. Read the book and pass it along to everyone you know.

There is actually a hilarious book about Taft. Basically, he somehow gets to the future and kicks everyone's ass in gear and finally gets to be a Supreme Court Justice. It's pretty funny: It's called Taft 2012

Duck! A were-duck romance. I thought it was going to be a comedy. Instead, it was hard-core BDSM fiction. Involving a were-duck. I did NOT see that one coming.


Radio Free Albemuth was pretty strange, as was Perelandra.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid. It's short, lyrically written, compelling, and thought-provoking. And don't be mislead, it isn't about terrorism. If I told you anything more, I would be giving too much away.

Glance at the reviews on Amazon. I have recommended this book to 5 different people and have had them read it. Each one thought it was terrific, and everyone -- including me -- mentioned that they would someday like to read it again.

My favorite book in the world is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I have read it probably eight times since I first got it when I was 15.

It's really very sad, but I found great comfort in it. The main character struggles a lot with her relationship with her mother, which I did a lot growing up. Even though it isn't a "happy" story, it was so wonderful for me to find that there wasn't something wrong with me for not getting along with my mother! It also reminded me that no matter how bad my life was (or how bad I perceived it to be), I could always draw love from sources other than my mother. It really really really contributed to the person I am today!

Here is a penny book I would like - Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins :). Thank you for the contest <3

and.... Bought. Thanks /u/kaiser_soze I love these kinds of books. Historical, enthralling, and sheds light on current world history and politics. another good book; Power of the dog

Anthony Ryan's Blood Song does this also. Fun read with a lot of positive reviews. The sequel Tower Lord just came out. I haven't read it yet but but I really liked the first one and will definitely be getting to the sequel soon.

Ahh, there's where we disagree then.

Have you read The Dispossessed? Amazing fiction book about an anarchist society.

I was sympathetic with anarchism for a long time, but my sympathies were broken when I read about the starvation in Somalia. There was no national government to organise buying food from other countries or redistribution and rationing as other countries do.

Absolute freedom means freedom to starve, and sometimes it's good to have a 'paternal' state. It's now my opinion that a social democratic state government is superior to anarchism. Of course, that form of government has a whole load of failings as well, but starvation due to a lack of coordination tends not to be one of them.

Dada: Zurich, Berlin, Hanover, Cologne, New York, Paris
This book is an incredible history and thoughtful critique of the Dada movement. If you think you don't like Dada, maybe a closer look is in order.

Skinny Legs and All
Wonderful wonderful fiction starring art!

I really like Anthony Ryan. The first two of the Blood Song trilogy are out. They are his first two books so if he keeps pulling me in like those two have then he has great potential.

Here is his first book [Blood Song](http://www.amazon.com/Ravens-Shadow-Book-One-Blood-ebook/dp/B0070NSPCU
) and his second book Tower Lord.

My top long fics:

Hermione Granger and the Boy Who Lived: 660k words long canon rewrite in a non-magic AU. It's so good I like it more than the original series.

Emperor, linkffn(5904185): 680k words and still in progress, a great war epic that rivals Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising in quality.

Divided and Entwined, linkffn(11910994): Voldemort was a lot scarier in this 640k words long story, and canon Horcrux Hunt would have completely failed. But Hermione and Dumbledore were up to the challenge. It's another great war epic and polit thriller.

The Accidental Animagus, linkffn(9863146): 700k words long and generally lots of fun, but Years 1 and 2 followed canon stations a little too close. Its sequel Animagus at War, linkffn(12088294), is even more fun, but the author has her priority set on another fic at moment.

This isn't too far off, but it's a fictional book, and nobody reads books anymore. It was pretty entertaining, though.

a copy of ralph nader's masterpiece, only the super-rich can save us!

My husband teaches high school English, and one of his favorite books to share with his class is The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. It's a very cool story about a future society where women are only important in society because they can have babies.

Well, even in Harry Potter, there are several people who could've been sorted into different houses. Example, Hermione (Ravenclaw, Slytherin). The series puts Miguel's deeds in a limited scope. My point is, Miguel is ambitious, but he was also smart. See The Power of the Dog. Miguel was very smart. You asked who our favorites are, and I told you Miguel and that Narcos didn't show how smart he was. I didn't say Miguel wasn't ambitious. Being smart and ambitious are not mutually exclusive traits (See Gilberto). Miguel made very few mistakes, and was only captured after the Mexican government turned on him after constant pressure from the U.S.

GoT had been recommended to me as being not just another WoT-style epic fantasy series. So when I read that first chapter about the Wights attacking the Night's Watchmen, I was disappointed because it indicated to me that it would, in fact, be just another cookie-cutter series in the end. A great evil is coming threatening the world, a hero has to rise and save it, etc. And indeed, it's quickly becoming that.

You might want to check out the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series by Tad Williams, who Martin was heavily influenced by. Though it has some of the same tropes as more familiar fantasy, it approaches the genre in a unique way.

Also, if you like "lighter" fantasy, I'd recommend The Lion of Senet by Jennifer Fallon. The writing is good without having that self-imposed sense of "seriousness" that epic works like GoT or WoT do, and the story is very creative.

You may enjoy Too Like the Lightening by Ada Palmer. Has a cast of engaging characters, with major themes on enlightenment philosophy, science fiction, global politics, ethics, metaphysics, service, humanism and redemption. Quite the combination.

Otherwise, characters with long-term plans and wit can be seen in Sherlock Holmes and Luther by the BBC.

Reminds me of Ralph Nader's New Book, Only The Rich Can Save Us.

Me too. I loved The Kite Runner. One of the reasons was that it showed a different point-of-view from what I got out of the media. I thought it really humanized the Muslim community.

Another book I found interesting for similar reasons is The Reluctant Fundamentalist. I wouldn't say it's a page-turner, but it's very interesting to me.

Cooperatives like this can be awesome but require trust and transparency to work. I am down if you want to talk further about this.

Melanie Rawn's first series. Same general flavor as ASOIAF, but not quite as complex in terms of characters and world building (but then, what is). Haven't kept up with her newer series, if she's improved with age/experience those might also be worth a look.

If you want to read a fun fictional book of exactly this playing out, I recommend Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising.

Maybe Nader had it right -only the super rich could save us. I have not read his book, but the premise looks sound.

Read Red Storm Rising, Hunt for Red October, Submarine, and maybe Fighter Wing, then walk away and never read another of "his" books.

Amazing author.

Larry Bond was co-author and shares the copyright. I could have sworn the first copy I saw credited him on the cover with Clancy, but all the images of covers I've seen since just have Clancy. (The current paperback calls it a Jack Ryan novel, which, no.)

You should read Molon Labe, you'd love it.

Don Winslow has a couple novels dealing with the cartels, and the efforts to fight them. While they are fictional, they do track pretty closely with reality, and go into a lot of the politics, corruption, and economics involved. It's a lot easier to understand when you have a full picture of what exactly is involved.

They are definitely worth checking out. They are fairly graphic, but nothing that will shock someone who just looked at that album.

• The Power of the Dog
  
• The Cartel
  
  The two books are a series, but they don't strictly need to be read in order. I read The Cartel first, and didn't feel like I missed out on anything.

The more new laws get shoved up my uterus, the more I am positive that we are moving towards the misogynistic dystopian society Margaret Atwood wrote of in The Handmaid's Tale.

I will search. If I only remembered. I would have said. Maybe the one with the characters Beet Bowl and Stick..

edit- gotcha. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0553377884/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

It is mentioned under "Description" on the page so this is The One. Title is Skinny Legs and All.
His description of the parallel mind process of being an artist is right-on amazing.

Get startup money from the rich. That's what Nader says in his new work of fiction

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

These are all books I read and thoroughly enjoyed in my late teens/early 20s.

You might want to read this book. It's pretty close to your life (as mentioned above) with a bit of politics mixed in.
http://www.amazon.com/Boomsday-Christopher-Buckley/dp/0446579815

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see an update to the Bible within the next year. The Heller Update edition followed the case fairly quickly, and there might be a McDonald update- especially considering all the changes in state laws that have happened in the past few years (lots more Constitutional Carry and other sorts of things). Plus, there's a fair amount of equipment in the past few years that warrants a look from BTP.

If you haven't read Molon Labe!, you fucking should.

Books I've loved over the past recent years (and haven't seen mentioned a lot on reddit):

• 1 The Orphan Master's Son;
  
• 2 Flex;
  
• 3 The Power of the Dog;
  
• 4 The Cartel (incredible sequel to the above);
  
• 5 The Scar (and everything by the Dyachenkos).
  
  I guess I could go on, but those are a start.
  
  

I'm going to be honest, that's a bit outside my wheelhouse. I did a bit of research though, the timing of this comment tells you how much, and I found this site.

My personal recommendation for you is The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood.

Reading rainbow

The Handmaid's Tale

I've been wanting this book for awhile :) I don't mind used!

You're pretty close

I actually read this, was decent.

https://www.amazon.com/Taft-2012-Novel-Jason-Heller/dp/1594745501

Can you ask her what she likes about the Hunger Games series? Is it the dystopian element, the strong female protagonist, the focus on action?

No matter what, I'd recommend The Handmaid's Tale to her. It's a favorite of mine, and it has a lot in common with the Hunger Games books, but she might not like it if she wants a lot of action. The main character isn't the fighter, for the most part.

Taft really is an underrated President. He broke up more trusts than TR and was probably the more progressive President. TR stabbed the poor guy in the back when he ran against him in 1912, which Taft never recovered from.

There's a short and funny read called Taft 2012 I recommend for anyone interested.

There's an official novel:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rapture-Bioshock-John-Shirley/dp/1848567049

Read Molon Labe! and dream about what could have been if it were Wyoming instead.

The Power of the Dog by Don Winslow. It's a brutal but extremely engaging book.

Unfortunatly, it's a published book, so posting here would be breaking laws an' stuff.
Link to amazon though:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rapture-Bioshock-John-Shirley/dp/1848567049

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is a crucial piece of literature. There are many layers that add to the pragmatism, an intricate dystopian piece of what has been hailed as speculative fiction, mostly for it's semblance to reality. The glimpses the narrator has before she was a enslaved to bear children mirrors our own.

You really need to read The Dispossessed.

Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

The Power of the Dog

The Handmaid's Tale

http://www.amazon.com/Only-Super-Rich-Can-Save-Us/dp/1583229035

Right now, I think I’d say “The Power of the Dog” by Don Winslow. The Power of the Dog https://www.amazon.com/dp/1400096936/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Rv5xCbE4D5YQ8

It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes

The Gray Man by Mark Greaney

In roughly recommendish order:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Name-Wind-Kingkiller-Chronicle/dp/0756404746

http://www.amazon.com/Mistborn-Trilogy-Boxed-Hero-Ascension/dp/076536543X/

http://www.amazon.com/American-Gods-Neil-Gaiman/dp/0380789035

http://www.amazon.com/Assassins-Apprentice-Farseer-Trilogy-Book/dp/055357339X/

http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Prince-Book-Melanie-Rawn/dp/0886774500/

http://www.amazon.com/The-Way-Shadows-Night-Trilogy/dp/0316033677

http://www.amazon.com/Red-Storm-Rising-Tom-Clancy/dp/042510107X

http://www.amazon.com/Boomsday-Christopher-Buckley/dp/0446579815

Just found it for a fiver on AmazonUK, might get one...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/038549081X/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

The Handmaid's Tale. I'm reading this right now, and it's really, really freaky. It feels like it could possible happen right now with everything going on.

Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn
It's part of the Dragon Prince trilogy and is continued by the Dragon Star trilogy. The whole series is pretty close to how Game of Thrones is but still very different, hits more on morals and politics rather than fighting.
The books are just...amazing.
Link: Amazon link

Edit: added description and link

Yeah, the pedophilia thing is the most disturbing. It makes The The Handmaid's Tale and Future Home of the Living God seem plausible.

Secession by a fundamental christian or conservative group of states would make the most sense, and it's a terrifying thought. Anyone ever read The Handmaid's Tale?

There is a history of data systems technician online, which explains how the Navy changed it's way of operations in tracking enemy ships and planes up to the modern aegis system. Gives you an idea of how the Navy transformed from guns to missiles.

http://ethw.org/First-Hand:No_Damned_Computer_is_Going_to_Tell_Me_What_to_DO_-_The_Story_of_the_Naval_Tactical_Data_System,_NTDS

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Man%27s_Bluff:_The_Untold_Story_of_American_Submarine_Espionage

Hunt for Red October
https://www.amazon.com/Hunt-October-Jack-Ryan-Novel/dp/0425240339/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1475178085&sr=8-3&keywords=hunt+for+red+october

Red Storm Rising
A book about a hypothetical war between the US and USSR, a lot of Navy stuff in this book.

https://www.amazon.com/Red-Storm-Rising-Tom-Clancy/dp/042510107X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1475178124&sr=8-1&keywords=red+storm+rising

Red November

• Gives you an idea of what the CT's and Intel is all about. He could never have released this book in the 90's as a lot of the stuff was classified top secret.
  
  https://www.amazon.com/Red-November-Inside-U-S--Soviet-Submarine/dp/0061806773/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1475178190&sr=8-2&keywords=Red+November