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Doomboy911 Since: Mar, 2010
#1: Jan 11th 2012 at 6:10:08 PM

(Before you go leaping down to the comments to recommend George R.R Martin bear in mind I'm sure it's dandy but I ain't after that.)

What I'm looking for is a book to cover most subjects such as; chemistry, animal behavior, mythology (including getting into certain areas general history of their mythology), electronics. I'm looking to learn a great deal about these subjects and recommendation from experienced readers would be very helpful.

Deboss I see the Awesomeness. from Awesomeville Texas Since: Aug, 2009
I see the Awesomeness.
#2: Jan 11th 2012 at 6:14:56 PM

That's not really what we do. At least not in this section to my knowledge. The media sections are primarily about fiction. You're more likely to get some luck in Writers Block or possibly Yack Fest/OTC.

Fight smart, not fair.
zerky Since: Jan, 2001
#3: Jan 11th 2012 at 8:46:36 PM

If you are looking for a book that goes into depth about one or two of those things:

If you want chemistry, give The Periodic Table by Primo Levi a gander. The Periodic Table is a collection of nonfiction autobiographical short stories. It would probably be good to mention that, although chemistry is pretty much the main focus of the book, it is still an autobiography. The author is Jewish and many of the events take place in Italy during World War Two; he gets sent to Auschwitz at a certain point. Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks might also be good - also autobiography. If you're specifically looking for fiction, maybe Gravitys Rainbow.

For animal behavior zerky would suggest many of the books on the Xenofictional Literature index, such as The Call Of The Wild, Julie of the Wolves, Raptor Red, etcetera.

If you want a good mythology book, one of zerky's personal favourites is American Gods. You'll also learn a fair bit about coin tricks and con artists. "Mythology" is a very broad topic, though. Most books will only focus on the myths of only a couple of cultures. Rather iffy on the topic would be Celestial Matters, which is very in-depth about alchemy. Although, whether or not you see alchemy as a kind of mythology is up in the air.

Fiction about electronics is somewhat hard to find, but if you want a good one about cybernetics, Isaac Asimov's I, Robot is the traditional place to start.

If you are looking for all those things in one fiction book, or in one series, then you are possibly insane and/or have insanely high expectations. If you're not picky about fiction/nonfiction, zerky would suggest Encyclopedia Britannica. If that fails, try wikipedia.

edited 11th Jan '12 8:51:42 PM by zerky

NoirGrimoir Rabid Fujoshi from San Diego, CA Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
Rabid Fujoshi
#4: Jan 11th 2012 at 8:53:55 PM

The Chronicles Of Chaos by John C Wright. A cool mix of in-depth science and philosophy and mythology. Also pretty much awesome.

SPATULA, Supporters of Page Altering To Urgently Lead to Amelioration (supports not going through TRS for tweaks and minor improvements.)
MrShine Since: Jun, 2011 Relationship Status: Hoping Senpai notices me
#5: Jan 11th 2012 at 9:33:51 PM

The Areas of My Expertise, an Almanac of Complete World Knowledge by John Hodgman contains information on all the topics you are asking about. It has extensive chapters on animals such as the furry old lobster and on mythology, such as the Actuaries' Ragnarok.

edited 11th Jan '12 9:35:16 PM by MrShine

ryzvonusef ryzvonusef from Pakistan Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Is that a kind of food?
ryzvonusef
#6: Jan 12th 2012 at 1:22:45 AM

According to the rules, there is only one Literature Recommendation thread allowed; Kindly utilise that, and do not create more.

Herald of the Literature Sub-Forum. Share me your favourite book/series/author!
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