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LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#426: Jan 5th 2014 at 7:48:48 PM

It's been entirely too long since I've read a good book and that makes me sad.

Anything decent to recommend? Genre or any of that doesn't really matter much, I'm that starved for decent literature.

Something funny would be nice though.

Oh really when?
BokhuraBurnes Radical Moderate from Inside the Bug Pit Since: Jan, 2001
Radical Moderate
#427: Jan 5th 2014 at 8:09:11 PM

A Confederacy Of Dunces is the funniest book I've ever read. Well worth a look.

First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.
LoniJay from Australia Since: Dec, 2009 Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
#428: Jan 6th 2014 at 4:13:51 AM

[up][up] Anything by Brandon Sanderson or Terry Pratchett, if you haven't already tried them. Brandon Sanderson has a book available for free on his website.

Assuming you haven't already read Pratchett, of course.

Also amusing and quite short is Nine Goblins by Ursula Vernon.

edited 6th Jan '14 4:14:44 AM by LoniJay

Be not afraid...
whimsyful Since: Sep, 2010
#429: Jan 6th 2014 at 6:14:07 AM

[up][up][up] Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

If you don't mind children's/YA lit, Frances Hardinge is a fantastic writer and criminally underrated. Try A Face Like Glass or Fly By Night.

C0mraid from Here and there Since: Aug, 2010
#430: Jan 10th 2014 at 1:59:47 PM

What is the third George Orwell novel I should read? I read the obvious two years ago, and a bunch of his essays since, so what the best novel of the remaining four?

Am I a good man or a bad man?
lonelylion from A Baoa Qu Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Singularity
#431: Jan 11th 2014 at 6:55:46 PM

[up] Personally, I've always been fond of Burmese Days. I read it right after reading Down and Out in Paris and London.

I'm currently looking for a nice paperback to pad out my Amazon order. I'd like something:

1 - City based, but not urban fantasy.

2 - That contains magic.

3 - Has likeable characters.

4 - Has monsters, preferably weird ones.

5 - That's not written by Jeff Vander Meer, Mieville, or Sanderson since I've read their books already.

edited 11th Jan '14 7:30:25 PM by lonelylion

supergod Walking the Earth from the big city Since: Jun, 2012
Walking the Earth
#432: Jan 12th 2014 at 2:45:51 AM

@kjnoren and MH Mhasf 1998: This is extremely late, but thanks.

[up] By definition, "city based" is urban fantasy, but I think I understand what you mean. I asked for a similar thing earlier and this is what I got from kjnoren. I don't know if it fits all of your criteria, since I have't read them, apart from the Pratchett ones:

Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner.

City of Bones by Martha Wells, as well as several more books by her that I haven't read.

Pratchett's later books set in Ankh-Morpork has toyed with this as well, like Going Postal and The Truth. (The earlier city watch books also had elements of this, but not as strong.)

Several of Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos books, like Jhereg (the first one published).

The first book in PC Hodgell's Chronicles of the Kencyrath series, God Stalk.

The first book in the The Heirs of Alexandria series, The Shadow Of The Lion.

edited 12th Jan '14 2:48:28 AM by supergod

For we shall slay evil with logic...
lonelylion from A Baoa Qu Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Singularity
#433: Jan 12th 2014 at 4:29:04 AM

[up] Yeah. I guess I should have said "not contemporary" instead of not urban fantasy.

I've never read a single Discworld novel. How lost would I be if I started with a book that wasn't the first one?

LoniJay from Australia Since: Dec, 2009 Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
#434: Jan 12th 2014 at 4:44:39 AM

Not too lost, I think. They're designed to be read on their own, even though the character herds carry through.

I read Night Watch before I read any of the other Watch books and it was fine. Didn't get some of the references, but I kind of expect that anyway.

Be not afraid...
Yuanchosaan antic disposition from Australia Since: Jan, 2010
antic disposition
#435: Jan 15th 2014 at 8:30:39 PM

What is the third George Orwell novel I should read? I read the obvious two years ago, and a bunch of his essays since, so what the best novel of the remaining four?

Keep the Aspidistra Flying would be my recommendation. Burmese Days is a good book, but it's very different from Orwell's usual writing - he described it as being the sort of book he always wanted to write when he was younger, the sort with "unhappy endings, full of detailed descriptions and arresting similes, and also full of purple passages in which words were used partly for the sake of their own sound."

I will warn you that Keep the Aspidistra Flying is vicious and highly depressing. Imagine a dark comedy written by Orwell. You've got it.

"Doctor Who means never having to say you're kidding." - Bocaj
SKJAM Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Baby don't hurt me!
#436: Feb 20th 2014 at 8:00:50 PM

@lonelylion—you're probably better off not starting with the first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic, as it has some Early-Installment Weirdness and isn't as polished as the later ones. I'd go with Wyrd Sisters or Guards! Guards! If you like those, you can go back and fill in the earlier volumes.

Got a slightly odd request from an acquaintance, romance novels involving "dwarves." She did not specify if she meant fantasy dwarves or realistic people with dwarfism. For the widest net, let's say either, and include books where the "dwarf" is in a romance that ends well, even if it isn't the main focus.

Noaqiyeum we must dissent (it/they) from across the gulf of space (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
we must dissent (it/they)
#437: Mar 24th 2014 at 7:57:24 PM

Unusually Specific Request:

I'm not sure exactly how to describe this... are there many characters, in Earth-set fantasy stories, who are artists who illustrate the fantastic but are otherwise mundane? That is, they may paint faeries or vampires or shapeless things from beyond, but they don't have visions of the future or create art that comes to life. (Annoyingly, this eliminates most of the examples on Mad Artist and Spooky Painting.) The only good example I can think of off of a very short list is Richard Pickman... note  Characters like him. Are there others?

ERROR: The current state of the world is unacceptable. Save anyway? YES/NO
BokhuraBurnes Radical Moderate from Inside the Bug Pit Since: Jan, 2001
Radical Moderate
#438: Mar 24th 2014 at 8:19:06 PM

[up] See my response to your post on the 'media in general' tab.

First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.
JHM Apparition in the Woods from Niemandswasser Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hounds of love are hunting
Apparition in the Woods
#439: Apr 19th 2014 at 2:39:48 PM

[up][up] You mentioned Caitlin Kiernan, so you are in my good books twice as awesome as I had previously assumed. (Didn't notice it was you, Noa!)

Hmm. There are a couple of borderline examples in the works of Thomas Ligotti, of which "Severini" comes the closest. It is, simply, about a fellow on the periphery of a circle of artists obsessed with a shapeshifter that lives in a shack in a nearby swamp. Very strange and utterly delirious. "The Bungalow House" might be even closer in spirit, although the artist in question is a kind of spoken word performer rather than a painter.

edited 19th Apr '14 10:11:06 PM by JHM

I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.
Noaqiyeum we must dissent (it/they) from across the gulf of space (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
we must dissent (it/they)
#440: May 1st 2014 at 3:53:30 PM

[up] How could I resist a title like To Charles Fort, With Love? :D

Danke! My local library seems to be a little short on Ligotti, but against all odds I found excerpts from Teatro Grotesco on Google Books. I'll be sure to read both of those. :)

ERROR: The current state of the world is unacceptable. Save anyway? YES/NO
PacalII Since: Jan, 2013
#441: May 12th 2014 at 7:12:06 AM

So, I came to a certain realization recently. My favorite movie is Memento, my favorite computer game is Planescape: Torment and my favorite anime series is Kaiba. All of those concern memories to a bigger or smaller degree and all of them feature a character with some type of amnesia. So I'm basically looking for good books with which focus on those themes. On the side I generally like books that are "darker" and ones with dystopian settings. I like stories with both fantasy or sci-fi elements though I'm not a fan of the more standard fantasy settings (middle ages, elves, dwarves and stuff like that), I like the more weird ones though, like bas-lag for example. Of course books without those elements are fine, as long as they feature the the themes I mentioned at the beginning and are just a good read.

BokhuraBurnes Radical Moderate from Inside the Bug Pit Since: Jan, 2001
Radical Moderate
#442: May 12th 2014 at 7:29:57 AM

Reccing The Chronicles Of Amber oh so hard, as it seems to have everything you're looking for. Also possibly Tigana as well, for its plotline of an entire country suffering from memory loss.

edited 12th May '14 7:31:47 AM by BokhuraBurnes

First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.
Noaqiyeum we must dissent (it/they) from across the gulf of space (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
we must dissent (it/they)
#443: May 12th 2014 at 11:25:39 AM

I second The Chronicles of Amber, and also add Hexwood.

ERROR: The current state of the world is unacceptable. Save anyway? YES/NO
PacalII Since: Jan, 2013
#444: May 28th 2014 at 5:35:56 AM

[up][up]

Came here to say I've just gotten a hand of Chronicles of Amber and read the first book. It's to bad I didn't read this book when I was younger. It does seem to be a bit silly at times. I never understood Corwin's motivation for taking over Amber. I can't really root for a hero who would just start a war on a whim and sacrifice so many lives, just to gain some throne without having much reason besides "I'm the king's son". The action also happened so fast that it felt really artificial. He meets Random one moment, they go to Amber which they haven't seen for centuries a couple minutes later. He decides it would be a good reason to defeat Eric even before he gets back his conciousness. He breaks into amber, almost beats Eric and runs away. He meets Bleys and they mention he god a quarter million warriors in a month... and so on. So I'd like to ask how are the later books. Do you think I might like them a bit more, based on my concerns up until now?

edited 28th May '14 5:37:39 AM by PacalII

Mars444 Since: May, 2013
#445: May 30th 2014 at 8:00:17 AM

So here's a tough one.

I'm looking for a book (or several) that's spy fiction, with a female protagonist or major supporting character who's an intelligence officer/spook/direct action type. Modern era would be preferable, although future would also work (I'm a little burned out on historical/fantasy fiction at the moment). And if it's possible, it'd be great if it's written half decently.

Oh, and it can't be Greg Rucka's Queen and Country books or Chris Pavone's "The Expats". I've already read those.

GabrieltheThird Anvilicious Since: Apr, 2012
Anvilicious
#446: May 30th 2014 at 12:11:35 PM

[up][up] I had some of the same complaints when it came to Chronicles of Amber and I remember feeling that the books didn't get any better the further I read and eventually dropped the series without finishing it. This was years and years back though and now I remember basically nothing of the contents of the books, so maybe someone with a fresher impression can give better advice.

[up] The only thing sorta fitting that pops into mind is The Rook, mostly because I read that fairly recently so it's fresh in my mind. It doesn't fit perfectly since it has fiction elements (superpowered people in a contemporary setting) but it was fairly decently written and I enjoyed it.

jamier Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#447: Jun 2nd 2014 at 7:24:06 AM

I'm looking for a book which captures the fear, nostalgia and sentimentality of leaving secondary (high school) and going to university, since I'm nearing that point in my life haha, getting all weepy about it. One which I feel I'd relate to would be one which reflects on mortality - it's a period of your life that is gone forever, you can never re-visit it and one that captures the fear: the fear of leaving your friends, the fear of leaving the world you've known all your life (school) and the fear of progressing in to the real world and having to grow up (start thinking about a career, putting your dreams behind you in favour of pragmatism, having to be responsible and no longer having a safety net who always try to help you - eg. Teachers and parents).

Sorry for rambling, but I hope someone gets what I mean.

Edit: something which would make it even more magical is a homosexual character who has a nice bit of self-discovery. Although of course this isn't essential - I realise I'm already asking for quite a lot haha. Thanks for reading all this - would be very grateful if anyone knew anything close to what I'm looking for :).

edited 2nd Jun '14 8:19:30 AM by jamier

War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.
JHM Apparition in the Woods from Niemandswasser Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hounds of love are hunting
Apparition in the Woods
#448: Jun 2nd 2014 at 9:00:51 PM

Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei seems like it would foot the bill surprisingly well, but I have only seen the adaptation which, while quite faithful if I am not mistaken, seems insufficient to recommend the novel itself—although I definitely recommend said adaptation without reservation.

I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.
Jamier Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#449: Jun 3rd 2014 at 6:09:03 AM

[up] Thank you very much for recommending this - it looks interesting. I'm finding it very difficult to find an English-language version of the novel (there's certainly not one at my local library haha and even google struggles to come up with results), so I'll be sure to check out the series. Hey, I've never seen an anime before - should be interesting.

War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.
JHM Apparition in the Woods from Niemandswasser Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hounds of love are hunting
Apparition in the Woods
#450: Jun 3rd 2014 at 4:33:48 PM

It is a very unusual anime. It is a very unusual television show in general.

I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.

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