Book Recommendations
6Oh hi. Remember me?
A big part of my personal focus in 2020 has been to consume more books. I’ve made it through a lot of audiobooks this year, and I’m ready for some new recommendations.
Leave me a book recommendations and leave me why you like it and why you think I’ll like it. Hopefully I’ll be able to get through a handful of them before the year is out.
Thanks!
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The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
It’s a trip to read and one of my favorite novels.
ANYTHING THAT IS NOT POLITICAL! (This is pretty funny coming from a poli sci major.)
Perhaps I can find you a nice, “IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD AND WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!” book.
@Barney Stephen King, The Stand
@Barney @RiotDemon The Cabin at the End of the World
@Barney You know it’s The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham. Come for the killer alien plants, stay for the survivalism!
@mossygreen I loved The Day of the Triffids. I even kinda liked that tacky movie they made of it back in the 60’s.
So the other day we were discussing my infatuation (obsession?) with end of the world books. I believe it started with my first (and still my favorite) end of the world book, Farnham’s Freehold, by Robert Heinlein.
I still have a paperback copy of it (yes, I’ve read it quite a few times), although it is falling apart. I’m hoping that one day I will find it in digital form, but until then, I should probably find a used copy of it because they are becoming kind of scarce.
I read so slowly because I use it, very successfully, to help me fall asleep. So I’m years in to Harry Potter and finally about to start Book Seven.
These aren’t obscure but if you haven’t read them and enjoy sf, they’re great:
SevenEves by Neal Stephenson
The Martian by Andy Weir
Daemon by Daniel Suarez
Oh, and of course:
The Heap by @dseanadams
(I recommend the audio book, too)
If anyone else has read and enjoyed those, I’d love to have further recommendations along those lines. (Counternote: I thought Ready Player One was awful and couldn’t even finish it. The movie was fine.)
@dave maybe Wool, by Hugh Howey.
It’s the first of a series of novellas. Can’t vouch for it too strongly, for vague memory, but I do remember liking it, and I liked the rest of your list.
I need to finish, or maybe restart, Seveneves. I’m in the middle of … a lot of books, but most relevantly, Fall, same author.
Ready Player One set off my “eh, ok then” response. Kinda neutral, seemed fine for a YA VR fantasy.
@dave reading to fall asleep is great except when I wake to a book falling and hitting me in the face. A Harry Potter tome would be a rude awakening indeed.
I can second the Silo series recommended above as I also remember liking it. And the Ender series I posted down lower (Orson Scott Card) may be something you’d enjoy in the SF realm.
I still need to check out The Heap.
@dave @djslack I’ve taken a kindle to the teeth many nights. I probably shouldn’t read so late in the bathtub.
Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch. It’s a series so if you like it there are a bunch more. Series are great that way.
The War For All The Oceans
by Adkins
Basically the history of naval wars and ship tactics. It is brilliantly written engaging and if you get it on audible very well narrated. I have listened to it over and over and read it more then once and that is saying a ton as it is a super long book over 500 pages.
Highly recommend
If you’ve accumulated a lot of
crapstuff from Meh, and maybe that other site, I highly recommend “Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff” by Dana White.Eon and it’s sequel Eona.
They were marketed as a young adult series here in the states, but in Europe it was classified as adult fiction.
One of my all-time favorites and I’ve been meaning to pick up another copy since the last person I loaned it to never gave it back.
Major Mulan vibes.
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara. It’s about some kids who live in a slum neighborhood in an Indian city who decide to do some detecting when a kid from the area goes missing. It manages to describe life in an extremely poor community without being depressing. But it doesn’t dodge the difficulties of being poor. The story gets more serious as more children go missing but the main characters remain vivid and interesting. It’s a very good book.
I’ve been on a sci-fi kick lately. I think it’s been mentioned in the forums before, but the Sprawl Trilogy is a pretty cool piece of fiction. Each book is a separate story, but they all have intertwining characters. In the universe of the trilogy, it’s not uncommon for people to have technology body modifications and SD card ports in their head to gain information instantly. The characters are sort of hackers that navigate the internet in a VR/3D/Matrix style setup. The author’s writing style was a bit confusing at first, but the audiobook version might make it easier.
I’m currently reading the Expanse series. With seven books and a bunch of mini-novels, there’s a ton of material. The gist is that humans reached out into the solar system and found a… thing. And because we’re human, everyone wants to personally own it as well as turn it into a weapon. Amazon made the series into a TV show and it’s getting great reviews.
If you’re looking for something quick and easy, High Fidelity by Nick Hornby, John Dies At The End by David Wong, or Deadeye Dick by Vonnegut are all really good options. (Actually… I suggest everything by Vonnegut. He’s hilarious, cynical, and real all at the same time.)
Oh, and Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen is a good detective novel that dumbs things down to my level.
@Willijs3 Man I love Gibson’s writing style. One of my favorite authors.
I have always enjoyed what is often labeled alternative history - I just read:
The Trial and Execution of the Traitor George Washington
by Charles Rosenberg
Drawing inspiration from a rumored kidnapping plot hatched in 1776 by a member of Washington’s own Commander-in-Chief Guard, Charles Rosenberg has written a compelling novel that envisions what would take place if the leader of America’s fledgling rebellion were taken from the nation at the height of the war, imperiling any chance of victory.
The Drift Wars by Brett James
A day in the life of a space marine, but not at all what you expect. Twisty-turny fun.
I really, really love The Crooked Hinge by John Dickson Carr. He wrote innumerable “locked room” mysteries from the '20’s through the '50’s, but this and The Three Coffins are generally considered his best. I give The Crooked Hinge the edge because in addition to an impossible murder it has an isolated country house! A spooky automaton! Rumors of witchcraft! An alchemical text! Plot twists involving the Titanic! The Three Coffins does have vengeance from beyond the grave, Guy Fawkes masks, and a man being shot dead at close range in the middle of an empty street in front of witnesses. But it has no spooky automaton.
I really, really love The Crooked Hinge by John Dickson Carr. He wrote innumerable “locked room” mysteries from the '20’s through the '50’s, but this and The Three Coffins are generally considered his best. I give The Crooked Hinge the edge because in addition to an impossible murder it has an isolated country house! A spooky automaton! Rumors of witchcraft! An alchemical text! Plot twists involving the Titanic! The Three Coffins does have vengeance from beyond the grave, Guy Fawkes masks, and a man being shot dead at close range in the middle of an empty street in front of witnesses. But it has no spooky automaton.
I don’t know if there are audiobooks, but they’re both quick reads.
hey Chad let’s turn this around, what book do you recommend to the meh community?
Here are some books I’ve read this year that I really recommend.
In the Heart of the Sea - Nathaniel Philbrick
To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
Talking to Strangers - Malcolm Gladwell
Dare to Lead - Brene Brown
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark - Michelle Macnamara
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor - Hank Green
I’m Still Here - Austin Channing Brown
@ChadP a very nice list.
@CaptAmehrican Thanks! Maybe I’ll post the full list of what I’ve read at the end of the year.
They’ve been around a while but I enjoyed what I read of the Ender series by Orson Scott Card. I read Ender’s Game, Speaker for the Dead, and Ender’s Shadow but I think there are at least a dozen more novels in that universe.
Apparently it’s been a few years since I read them. I see a movie came out like seven years ago. It must not have been awesome, as all I had was the inkling “hey, weren’t they going to make a movie out of this?”
OWLS! TOWELS! JOWLS! AWESOME!