You asking for fiction or nonfiction, bud?
survival of the tight-lippednonfiction.
I'm currently reading a very good book about Asian history called "East Asia at the Center," by Warren Cohen. It covers the highlights of Asian history from 1000 BC until the late 90s. It gives a good perspective on the region that China is a major part of, which will help you understand some of the events it has been involved in.
Then I would get a general history of China, like Keay's China: A History.
From there, it really depends on what period catches your interest. I'm really interested in the modern period (after 1840), so I know titles like The Boxer Rebellion by Preston or the Hungry Ghosts by Becker. Jonathan Spence worked a lot on the Ming and Qing eras, and while I haven't read them, he's considered one of the best Chinese historians of recent memory.
China itself has presented so many faces to the world, and has such a rich and complex history and culture that digging into the literature about it is mostly about picking a place to start. Go to a library, start borrowing book that interest you. Read the bibliographies, find the titles in there that interest you. Repeat.
Dang. I was totally going to recommend Bridge Of Birds.
Fanfiction I hate.I'm looking for:
- A medieval fantasy story in the vein of A Song Of Ice And Fire
- Any books on literary criticism, preferably introductory ones
- Any books on game design and theory, preferably focusing on player-game interaction (or whatever the term is)
edited 14th Jun '11 8:11:42 AM by Wicked223
You can't even write racist abuse in excrement on somebody's car without the politically correct brigade jumping down your throat!1. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen
"You want to see how a human dies? At ramming speed." - Emily Wong.I'm looking for a Young Adult book where the protagonists are ghost hunters, or at least fight spirits.
The Last Apprentice might fit the bill. Not much ghost-hunting in the first book, but there's elements of it, and the second book is a bit more ghost-centric (or at least so the synopsis will have me believe)
Liveblog | DeadblogIn lieu of the lengthier and scarily specific request I posted in a different thread... <_<
...do you have any Thirty Xanatos Pile Ups with a Guile Hero or some and an Earn Your Happy Ending?
The Revolution Will Not Be Tropeable@Wicked:
1. The Stormlight Archive, Crown Of Stars
2. This is a difficult request. The majority of literary criticism published nowadays assumes you already have knowledge of X movements prior. My suggestion is to buy an anthology of literary criticism essays from different periods, but I have no idea how much you already know about lit. crit.
edited 17th Jun '11 6:37:44 PM by Yuanchosaan
"Doctor Who means never having to say you're kidding." - BocajAny good books about clones?
The Protomen enhanced my life.Finishing off The Trial tonight. I would like to read something happier than Kafka. Please recommend something joyous, tropers.
"Doctor Who means never having to say you're kidding." - Bocaj
PG Wodehouse is the definition of light and enjoyable. Complete opposite of Kafka. What I turned to after finishing the harrowing Catch-22.
"You want to see how a human dies? At ramming speed." - Emily Wong.Ah! Of course. I was rereading The Little Prince, but I do think I have some Wodehouse lying around.
"Doctor Who means never having to say you're kidding." - Bocaj@Wicked: For a really basic book on literary criticism (like, stuff they make high school kids read) you could try How To Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster. His tone is a bit annoying (like your 50-year-old uncle desperately trying to be "hip") but the content is a good, basic introduction to critical reading.
"War doesn't prove who's right, only who's left." "Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future."Does anybody have any recommendations for the following:
- Socialist teachings that aren't by Marx or Engels
- Chinese literature
- Zombie books
- War books, especially the World Wars or the Cold War
- Anything that has twins
By war books, do you mean non-fiction books about the war, or literature set during the war? For the latter, I recommend Catch-22 and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.
"Doctor Who means never having to say you're kidding." - BocajThe second one and thank you.
"Dr. Strangeloid, or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Cleanlink" - thespacephantomWhere can I find literature that has similar composition, emotional resonance and form as Death Metal? I'm thinking that Perfume The Story Of A Murderer might be one of these.
And where can I find more books that are as bizarre as arthouse movies?
Hell Hasn't Earned My TearsLook up the Oulipo. I'm certain they'll have exactly what you're looking for.
Also, still waiting for a response on this...
The Revolution Will Not Be TropeableWith regards to war novels- as well as Catch-22, try All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, The Thin Red Line by James Jones and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut.
edited 25th Jun '11 10:09:01 AM by Falco
"You want to see how a human dies? At ramming speed." - Emily Wong.@post 18:
Zombie books: World War Z is pretty good, also, the Newsflesh series, or at least the first book, Feed, was pretty good. Can't speak for the second one, yet.
Liveblog | DeadblogNoaq: Hm...I haven't read it myself, but The Lies Of Locke Lamora might fit. I feel like I'm missing something obvious, though, so I'll try to think of something else.
Geek Philosopher: Taking a glance at my bookshelf for general "weird stuff": The Master And Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, anything by Borges, a lot of Italo Calvino's work - look for Invisible Cities in particular, Foucaults Pendulum by Umberto Eco, Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar (best book I've ever read), One Hundred Years Of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez (though I wasn't a huge fan of it), The Trial, Life Of Pi by Yann Martel.
I'm not a fan of death metal, so I don't really know what you mean by that request. I wouldn't say Perfume is like it, though, but it's a good book nonetheless.
"Doctor Who means never having to say you're kidding." - Bocaj
Any good books on:
History of china, especially early. The development of horror films over the years. A history of literature movements.