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Book recommendations
bigpanda
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
With the holidays over I'm finding myself with a little extra time and was thinking about grabbing some books from ye olde library. Posting here in hopes of getting some recommendations on good books.
I currently have Atlas Shrugged and The Power of Myth on hold at the library but it's a pretty long queue and might take a month or so before I get them.
I haven't been as into books in the last 10 years or so as I used to be. During my college years and before I read a lot of Stephen King, sci-fi type fiction (Jurassic Park, Star Wars novels, etc) and a lot of stuff on the civil rights from the 60's and earlier (Malcolm, Martin, and Marcus). In the years since, I've read some stuff like Faust and a little Shakespeare, some stuff on Che and Castro, and some stuff on film production.
Stuff that's currently occupying my time at the moment that isn't book related is getting back to working out after several years of being a couch potato, learning guitar, learning French, and taking some dance lessons. I also play Warhammer 40K about once or twice a month. This is in case someone asks what my other interests are.
I currently have Atlas Shrugged and The Power of Myth on hold at the library but it's a pretty long queue and might take a month or so before I get them.
I haven't been as into books in the last 10 years or so as I used to be. During my college years and before I read a lot of Stephen King, sci-fi type fiction (Jurassic Park, Star Wars novels, etc) and a lot of stuff on the civil rights from the 60's and earlier (Malcolm, Martin, and Marcus). In the years since, I've read some stuff like Faust and a little Shakespeare, some stuff on Che and Castro, and some stuff on film production.
Stuff that's currently occupying my time at the moment that isn't book related is getting back to working out after several years of being a couch potato, learning guitar, learning French, and taking some dance lessons. I also play Warhammer 40K about once or twice a month. This is in case someone asks what my other interests are.
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http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=66693
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=60613
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=61661
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=40253
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=38596
Otherwise, the last really good book I read was Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. And the last terrible book I read was The Steel Remains by Richard Morgan.
And dammit, I forgot about The Steel Remains. Good thing I been hoarding my amazon gift cards
Yeah, shouldn't be a problem. CS degree with heavy math along the way. Lots of sociology classes too which reflects my interest in how societies work and what leads them to do the things they do.
Though its getting hard finding some of his stuff since his death last year.
I'm not a huge fan of Richard Morgan, but I generally at least like what he writes, even if I don't think it's that good. But that book has to be the single worst written book I've ever read in my life.
Richard Morgan is recommendable, but only if you're up for some pulpy action gun-porn stories. They're not terribly intelligent, and the author's politics are all up in your face, but they're engaging reads. Altered Carbon is good to get you started. You can skip Broken Angels because it sucks. Woken Furies and Black Man (or Thirteen, if you're in the US) are good reads. I haven't read The Steel Remains so I can't say much about it.
If you're into weird, urban, complex fantasy, I must recommend China Mieville's books, as well as Neil Gaiman's American Gods. Neal Stephenson's works are also highly recommended.
If you want to read a long fantasy series, there is no one better than Steven Erikson to offer you just that. George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire are fantastic reads, even if the guy is taking forever to write his next book. Stay away from Robert Jordan (it goes on and on and it never ends and the author died so there is no ending) and anything by Terry Brooks (he's boring) or Terry Goodkind (he's offensive and the writing is terrible).
For something more serious and worldly, I'd recommend J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace.
As for your current reading list, you could probably do just fine with an abridge audio edition of Atlas Shrugged. Trust me, you won’t miss much. And don’t waste time reading The Power Of Myth if you haven’t watched the videos; it’s really a study guide that rehashes some of the more important dialogue in the videos. But definitely watch it, it’s some of Bill Moyer’s best TV work.
Just finished this after getting it for christmas. A fantastic and interesting look into the sensation that was Steve Martin during his standup era, and why he quit.
How dare you eschew Thud, Thief of Time, and Night Watch? How dare you?
He's right though, start with the comparatively shitty stuff so you can better appreciate his best work.
i would like to also suggest snow crash and diamond age(sub named a young ladies illustrated primer) by the same
probably my 3 favorite books ever. especially as a cs guy