Book Recommendations?

Has anyone read Margaret Atwood's latest, The Year of the Flood? It's a sequel of sorts to Oryx and Crake. I wasn't crazy about that one (I thought it was a bit too silly and Oryx was a terrible character), but I like her writing enough that I'm considering The Year of the Flood.

I would highly recommend the writings of James Galloway.

You can find them at http://sennadar.com/wp/books/

They are all free, and are, in my opinion, some of the best action writing I have read in a long time.

The Firestaff Chronicles and Pyrosian Chronicles are high-fantasy, and are long. If you get sucked in, say goodbye to a week or two.

The Subjugation Universe is hard sci-fi. They page indicates only two books, but you can get the third, finished book, chapter by chapter in the forums.

Kit is a modern tale, with a twist. No magic or sci-fi in this, just a well-written modern tale.

Spirit walker is fantasy as well. There is also a second (unfinished) book to this series that he is actively working on.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Has anyone read Margaret Atwood's latest, The Year of the Flood? It's a sequel of sorts to Oryx and Crake. I wasn't crazy about that one (I thought it was a bit too silly and Oryx was a terrible character), but I like her writing enough that I'm considering The Year of the Flood.

I read Oryx and Crake and liked it well enough. The mystery of Just What Went Wrong? pulled me along quickly. I thought she did a good job of showing without telling a lot of details about the world.

So then I dove into The Year of the Flood and was bored to death. The mystery is, of course, gone and she doesn't put any kind of plot in its place. I am someone who always finishes books, but I barely made it through to the end. It's filled with more detail about the world and what happened to certain types of people, with a lot of circumstantial connections to people in Oryx and Crake, but I found it tedious and uninteresting.

Oh, I also recommend checking out some China Mieville. I've only read one collection of short stories and "The City & the City" but I really enjoyed those. He writes contemporary fantasy (think more Lovecraft [-annoying prose,] less Tolkien) that centerpieces some pretty cool ideas.

mikeatdtv wrote:

Oh, I also recommend checking out some China Mieville. I've only read one collection of short stories and "The City & the City" but I really enjoyed those. He writes contemporary fantasy (think more Lovecraft [-annoying prose,] less Tolkien) that centerpieces some pretty cool ideas.

You should read his Bas-Lag books (Perdido Street Station, The Scar, Iron Council). They are fantastic. Un Lun Dun is entertaining but definitely aimed at a younger audience, and King Rat has some neat ideas but the execution isn't as good as his later books.

muttonchop wrote:
mikeatdtv wrote:

Oh, I also recommend checking out some China Mieville. I've only read one collection of short stories and "The City & the City" but I really enjoyed those. He writes contemporary fantasy (think more Lovecraft [-annoying prose,] less Tolkien) that centerpieces some pretty cool ideas.

You should read his Bas-Lag books (Perdido Street Station, The Scar, Iron Council). They are fantastic. Un Lun Dun is entertaining but definitely aimed at a younger audience, and King Rat has some neat ideas but the execution isn't as good as his later books.

Though King Rat did get me into Drum & Bass for a while.

Recommend me a book about:
The Seven Years War - European or American(French and Indian War) Theaters, or both.

Here's a tough one: can anyone recommend an impartial, interesting history of the Middle East? Or if not, perhaps possibly-biased, interesting histories from the perspectives of both Jews and Arabs?

I've been listening to a lot of audio books lately, mostly when I'm at the gym. When I talk about a book with someone or bring it up in conversation am I allowed to say "I just read 'A Brief History of Time'" or do I have to let people know that I didn't actually read it but rather listened to it? What's the social standard for discussion when concerning audio-books?

duckilama wrote:

Recommend me a book about:
The Seven Years War - European or American(French and Indian War) Theaters, or both.

The War That Made America: A Short History of the French and Indian War isn't a bad start for the North American theatre. It has more of a focus on the Native American roles and influences in that event than I have seen anywhere else. I believe the same author has other more in-depth and "scholarly" work on the topic as well, though I have yet to read any of it.

ColdForged wrote:

Here's a tough one: can anyone recommend an impartial, interesting history of the Middle East? Or if not, perhaps possibly-biased, interesting histories from the perspectives of both Jews and Arabs?

I think From Beirut to Jerusalem would work pretty well for you.

Synopsis
From Beirut to Jerusalem, winner of the 1989 National Book Award for nonfiction, is the startling, intense and thought–provoking account of Thomas L. Friedman's decade of reporting in the strife–ridden Middle East.
Thomas L. Friedman has won two Pulitzer Prizes – one for his reporting in Beirut and one for reporting in Jerusalem, the two cities at the center of the Arab–Israeli conflict. No two cities have received more headline coverage, nor been more hotly debated, and no reporter has covered them more in depth than Friedman. in his journey from Beirut to Jerusalem, Friedman gives us a panoramic view of both the political and personal conflicts.
As a reporter for UPI and The New York Times, he was stationed in Beirut from 1979 to 1984, and in Lebanon from 1984 to 1989. He describes with intense vividness the sometimes horrifying, sometimes wondrous cities, for which, he says, nothing in his life had prepared him.
Friedman brings alive his journey from Beirut to Jerusalem through anecdotes, history, analysis and self–examination – and puts all the currents into perspective with inimitable detail, clarity and remarkable insight. This is a much–needed framework for understanding the psychology and politics of the Middle East, and for understanding the future of this unique region.

I've got a few recommendations...

For pure cheese, I'd like to toss Dan Abnet of Warhammer into the mix. I've personally read his Eisenhorn Trilogy, the Ravenor Omnibus, and the Felix & Gotrex series, he's great for some relaxing brain down-time. Crushin' the heretics ain't never been so fun!

For some deeper, darker fantasy, I'd like to recommend The Prince of Nothing Series by R. Scott Bakker. Be forewarned that it is dark, brutal, and nasty at times with lots of sex, but it was such a change from all of the other fantasy that I have ever read that I absolutely was enthralled.

I've not seen anybody mention but I'd also like to recommend short audio fiction. Perfect for the workout with the mp3 player, short fiction is a great, quick way to "get in/get out" with some good fiction. In particular, I'd recommend EscapePod (Sci/Fi), PsuedoPod (Horror), and PodCastle (Fantasy). All the stories are read by various authors or contributors, and have all been previously published or won awards. They also rate most of the stories (at least on EscapePod and PodCastle) to since some are very kid-friendly, while others definitely are not.

Also, I've read both Guns, Germs, and Steel as well as Collapse. I thought they were well written books but I am somewhat unsure about the actual theories proposed. Knowning next to nothing about anthropology though, I'm reduced to a very timid skepticism. It all SOUNDS plausible, to be sure...

Oh! I also have to recommend Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicron. One of my all-time favorite books. A dual, interweaving timeline involving WW2, Cryptography, the early internet, Nazi Gold, Turing devices, and the like. A must read, I'd say.

Jayhawker wrote:
ColdForged wrote:

Here's a tough one: can anyone recommend an impartial, interesting history of the Middle East? Or if not, perhaps possibly-biased, interesting histories from the perspectives of both Jews and Arabs?

I think From Beirut to Jerusalem would work pretty well for you.

I remember that was a really good book.

On a totally unrelated note, I'm currently reading "Working IX to V: Orgy Planners, Funeral Clowns, and Other Prized Professions of the Ancient World" which is a pretty entertaining look at what the average Roman or Greek did for a day's work.

In the realm of pop fiction, I just finished The Lovely Bones, which was actually pretty good. My wife and I had a good conversation after we'd both read it. An interesting depiction of heaven and a story about letting to and recovery, I think.

We just got the new Audrey Niffenegger book from the library, so we're both pretty excited about that. The Time Traveler's Wife was one of the better books I've read over the last few years.

Per John Scalzi's recommendation, I'm reading "The User's Guide to the Universe" now. It's a really nice, gently nerdy introduction to some of the weirder stuff going on in physics, with lots of nerd-culture references to enliven things. I knew a lot of the basics that the authors were talking about, but the more in depth discussions of quantum mechanics, dark matter and string theory are all new to me.

I'll warn readers away from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. The first two books, The Golden Compass (Northern Lights in the UK) and The Subtle Knife, are good, but the final book, The Amber Spyglass, is lousy and undermines its predecessors.

ColdForged wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:

After finishing The Name of the Rose, I moved on to A Canticle for Leibowitz. It was not my intention to read two consecutive books about Catholic monks, it was simply coincidence.

Let me know how that goes for you, that's the next one on my list.

So Canticle reads more like a series of snapshots into hard times rather than a cohesive story. It doesn't follow the dramatic structure we've come to expect from novels, even within each of the 3 parts. However, it does tell an interesting story with some insightful thoughts on a post-apoc setting.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

I'll warn readers away from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. The first two books, The Golden Compass (Northern Lights in the UK) and The Subtle Knife, are good, but the final book, The Amber Spyglass, is lousy and undermines its predecessors.

Really? I thought the first one was lousy, and the other two were good. In fact, the other two seemed like a different series after the first one, to me.

Quintin_Stone wrote:
ColdForged wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:

After finishing The Name of the Rose, I moved on to A Canticle for Leibowitz. It was not my intention to read two consecutive books about Catholic monks, it was simply coincidence.

Let me know how that goes for you, that's the next one on my list.

So Canticle reads more like a series of snapshots into hard times rather than a cohesive story. It doesn't follow the dramatic structure we've come to expect from novels, even within each of the 3 parts. However, it does tell an interesting story with some insightful thoughts on a post-apoc setting.

Yeah, I finished it Monday night as well. That final part was quite harrowing. I admit to being really confused when part 1 ended because I was digging our little monk and was amazed that our time with him was all done.

I'm about halfway through Charles Stross' Accelerando, and it's turning out to be one of the best technological-singularity/posthuman/cyberpunk bits of fiction I've read in a long time. Chock full of hard sci-fi and technobabble-jargon, as well as a bunch of sci-fi ideas that are explored in novel ways (self-aware corporations ftw!)

ClockworkHouse wrote:

I'll warn readers away from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. The first two books, The Golden Compass (Northern Lights in the UK) and The Subtle Knife, are good, but the final book, The Amber Spyglass, is lousy and undermines its predecessors.

Completely disagree. Thought all three books were great and the series got more complex and interesting as it went along.

Re: The Amber Spyglass

I'll just post my review for Goodreads; it summarizes my problems with the book. Others, of course, will have different opinions.

Spoiler:

With The Amber Spyglass, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy limps to an overwrought, pedantic conclusion.

The books begins exactly where the previous entry, The Subtle Knife, ended: with Will searching for Lyra, who was captured by her villainous mother, Mrs. Coulter. However, don't expect a pulse-pounding rescue any time soon. Gone is the earlier books' focus on the small handful of characters readers have become familiar with. The bulk of the narrative in The Amber Spyglass is devoted instead to a grand rebellion against Heaven itself.

Striving for an epic resolution to his trilogy, Pullman opts to dramatically increase the scale of his work by infusing it with a mish-mash of new characters, none of whom are particularly well-developed, but all of whom allow Pullman to focus on the sweeping details of the rebellion rather than on Will and Lyra themselves.

Where the previous books deftly interwove theology and narrative, The Amber Spyglass becomes a cudgel for Pullman to beat his readers about the head with his views of faith and religion. The third act, in particular, becomes a slog as every conversation, scene, and set piece is bent to this end. At times the novel reads more like tracts from a pamphlet than anything else.

Ultimately, one is left with the impression that the battle against Heaven is not Will and Lyra's, or the reader's, but the author's, and that the book as a work of fiction suffered for it.

ColdForged wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:
ColdForged wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:

After finishing The Name of the Rose, I moved on to A Canticle for Leibowitz. It was not my intention to read two consecutive books about Catholic monks, it was simply coincidence.

Let me know how that goes for you, that's the next one on my list.

So Canticle reads more like a series of snapshots into hard times rather than a cohesive story. It doesn't follow the dramatic structure we've come to expect from novels, even within each of the 3 parts. However, it does tell an interesting story with some insightful thoughts on a post-apoc setting.

Yeah, I finished it Monday night as well. That final part was quite harrowing. I admit to being really confused when part 1 ended because I was digging our little monk and was amazed that our time with him was all done.

His skull makes a brief cameo later on (in the second section I think, it has been a long, long time since I've read this).

Jonman wrote:

I'm about halfway through Charles Stross' Accelerando, and it's turning out to be one of the best technological-singularity/posthuman/cyberpunk bits of fiction I've read in a long time. Chock full of hard sci-fi and technobabble-jargon, as well as a bunch of sci-fi ideas that are explored in novel ways (self-aware corporations ftw!)

I really enjoyed that one, too.

Nightmare wrote:

His skull makes a brief cameo later on (in the second section I think, it has been a long, long time since I've read this).

Third section, I believe.

I just started reading Bauchelain and Korbal Broach by Stephen Erikson. It's three dark, comedic novellas in the Malazan setting. I'm about 40 pages in, and it's great! Erikson's writing with a really dry wit, with somewhat absurd situations. It's not at all like Pratchett or Adams, but it's just as funny.

I just reread World War Z. Goddam that is a good book.

Superfreakonomics is definitely great. It's surprisingly very scientific and rigorous in its research and really makes you think and look at data (and political talk) more carefully and critically.

Unfortunately, it's treatment of climate science is deeply flawed. Reader beware.

I just finished The Name of the Wind. It was pretty good, but a bit over-hyped. I am excited for the next book.

SallyNasty wrote:

I just finished The Name of the Wind. It was pretty good, but a bit over-hyped. I am excited for the next book.

Yeah, it's not like it's an entirely new story. The first book was the usual fantasy arc — told in a slightly baroque way — but well done.