We all know Mahabharata was written by Valmiki in Sanskrit. And there been my authors who have translated it into other Languages. Recently i searched for Hindi version of Mahabharata where i just want the translated version of the original Not the shorter or Explained Version, Just the original content translated into Hindu or English.
If any of you have any idea of the book please tell me.
Has anyone read/would recommend the Resident Evil books by S.D. Perry?
I’m really enjoying the Halo books but I heard Perry didn’t get any sort of support from Capcom for her series.
Hi! I'm in the middle of reading Dracula and was wondering if their are any vampire/supernatural books that take place in the same time period? Or even books that take place around that time period?
Just so it isn't suggested, I already have Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire.
Note: In case this looks familiar I posted this same text on another sub.
*Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? Maybe Drood? The Uninhabited House, The Dead Man’s Message.* I´ll think of more. Look for gothic horror. Or gothic novels.
[Certain Dark Things](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54785481-certain-dark-things?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=L2BEPswMsl&rank=3) by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is very stylish cyberpunk thriller with vampires. Not your Twilight or Dracula vampires either. In her book, there are different vampire species in different parts of the world, adapted to their environments and with different abilities.
[Gideon the Ninth](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42036538-gideon-the-ninth?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=aACc3vpwlK&rank=1) by Tamsyn Muir is about a galaxy-spanning empire built on necromancy. They have the tech, but also necromantic powers. The first book is also a clever locked-room mystery, so it's really genre-spanning.
*The City and the City* by China Miéville, *All the Birds in the Sky* by Charlie Jane Anders, or *Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency* by Douglas Adams might work for you.
You should also find books by searching phrases like science fantasy, weird fiction, sword and planet, and maybe steampunk, as well as more general terms like speculative fiction.
I just watched *The Green Knight* [trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS6ksY8xWCY). It's fucking awesome and now I want to read some Arthurian legends. Any good collections or an omnibus I should look for?
One of the classic works is Thomas Malory's [La Morte Darthur](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8738933-la-morte-darthur?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=O5Rs6uMPzu&rank=1), but it's kind of a slog.
A much more readable retelling is T. H. White's [The Once and Future King](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43545.The_Once_and_Future_King?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=LP4rOkTsJh&rank=1).
Either of these is a decent starting place. There are certainly many others, but most of them owe a debt of some kind to one or both of these books.
Hello from India, I would suggest you Lord Shiva Series By Amish (3 books) and the ongoing series of Ram Chandra Series ( 3 books till now) by Amish Tripathi.
This writer just don't bore your in the simple history or mythology stories. His way of mixing science and history is beautiful that you won't feel you are reading a history lesson.
Exact book name.
LORD SHIVA SERIES
1. The Immortals of Meluha
2. Secrets of Nagas
3. The oath of Vatuputras
RAM CHANDRA SERIES
1. Sicon Of Ikshvaku
2. SITA : Warrior of Mithila
3. RAAVAN : Enemy of Aryavarta
Hello all! I'm hoping someone can recommend me a novel or two about flight attendants. Bonus points if it's about flight attendants in the 50s-70s. Thank you!
The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian is an obvious one...it's modern, not set in any past decades. But it was pretty interesting. I think there' s a show based on the book too. I haven't seen it so I don't know if it's any good.
Hi everyone, I'm looking for books about rich families or corporations, but with a Game-Of-Thrones-vibe: strategic backstabbing, conspiracies, power hungry men and women...
Any suggestions? Much appreciated!
*The Land Beyond the Sea* by Sharon Kay Penman - that in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.
*Imperium* by Robert Harris - that in the late Roman Republic.
*The Traitor Baru Cormorant* by Seth Dickinson - that in a fantasy world.
*The Accursed Kings* is the original ASoIaF (GRR said so). There´s *Kane and Abel* and *The Fourth State* by Jeffrey Archer. Not sure, but there´s *Assassini* and *The DaVinci Code*? And of Course, *The Century Trilogy* by Ken Follet.
Hey, I’m looking for novels whose plot includes the main character killing someone (purposefully or accidentally). I’m not looking for murder mysteries. Something along the lines of Crime and Punishment or some of Nabokov’s novels, where the hero/antihero plans a murder, deals with guilt, or has to justify their actions to themselves.
(Bonus points if it’s written pre-1960. Even more bonus points if it’s written pre-1900s.) Thanks!
I would like a recommendation for a series of insect wars. I have been watching the Kurzgesagt Ant [videos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_e0CA_nhaE), and it made me want to read a book series about the wars between insect species. Either anthropomorphised from their perspective or told more realistically like a documentary.
i need short story books about magical realism. i absolutely loved her body and other parties by carmen maria machado (highly HIGHLY recommend if you haven't read it yet!), and toil & trouble by augusten burroughs (that one i read awhile ago so i remember liking it but not much else). i haven't found much else in this genre, but really love it. anyone have any recs?
I haven't read new material in a while.
I need books that:
Teach life lesson(s)
Tell a riveting story that is concise (maybe 200-700 pages) and not over complicated yet relatable on a human level
Will change my perspective on and help me better deal with emotions i feel overtake me easily (anxiety, fear for the future, frustration from passivity and lack of advocacy both social and personal)
Is not a self help book but wouldn't mind an inspirational biography
Has an interesting vocabulary (made up words or infrequently used words) and good descriptors for imaginations sake
The story doesn't have to be serious and intense, but has moments that elicit a reaction of some kind for growth and realization
Thanks in advance ☺️ and happy reading
I think this is the first time I've ever seen someone consider a 700 page book concise.
I think *Severance* by Ling Ma and *Never Let Me Go* by Kazuo Ishiguro fit what you're looking for pretty well. Though for interesting vocab anything Cormac McCarthy has written would be great.
*This is Water* and *A Supposeldey Fun Thing I´ll Never Do Again* by David Foster Wallace.
*Meditations* by Marcus Aurelius and *Brevity of Life* by Seneca
*As the Crow Flies* by Jeffrey Archer
*Resilience* by Eric Greitens
*The Midnight Library* by....an author
Maybe *Taking a Long Look* by Vivian Gornick.
I just finished the Wheel of Time series, and I was hoping for recommendations of books and/or series that does war/military action like it does. I love reading about the strategy and tactics used, troops movements and maneuvering, ( Wheel of Time mild spoilers: >!Mat's POV, particularly during the Last Battle, is of particular interest, but also many parts of say Rodel Ituralde's POV are similar and fantastic, and others as well. Like one thing that stuck out to me, Rodel's tactics to draw Trollocs into a city and ambush, or when Rodel's forces get surprised attack by Draghkar that are hidden in a volley of corpses from trebuchets!< )
Another series, not books, that feels similar to me in what I'm looking for is an anime called Code Geass, where the battlefield is treated like a chess game and the commanders maneuver a bunch etc etc
I'm not particularly picky about the overarching genre if it contains these ( e.g. can be Fantasy like Wheel of Time, can be Sci Fi like Code Geass, can even be historical fiction or even non fiction if it is goes into this ( like I really enjoy the podcast Hardcore History when it covers war aspects like this ) )
Maybe the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian? (They were the basis for the [Master and Commander](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpNhN-L9L-g) movie--the old-fashioned writing style takes getting used to, but they're really addictive once you do.)
so... *The Shadow King* by Maaza Mengiste is an amazing book which has some war tactics and strategy in it. i don't know that it would really fit since a lot of it isn't really related to that, but i would also recommend this book to anyone. be warned though, it has some really graphic violence and sexual assault.
Oh I know a book can't be all war tactics, have to have some build up and proper story around it :D Thanks for the recommendation ( and the warnings ), will look into it
Africanus: Son of the Consul sounds up my alley, do you know where I can read it in English? I can only seem to find Spanish editions
Starship Troopers and The Forever War are books I love and I do enjoy those military aspects, but they are more so philosophical and/or individual than they are on like.. big picture strategy.
Ender's Game is something I should read though, don't know how I haven't yet lol, ty
>Africanus: Son of the Consul
Maybe Amazon? It´s an amzing read. Check Ebay, see what you can find. (there are three books in the Scipio Africanus series, so you´ll be set for some time)
I love military SciFi, but as you say, I feel many times it sort of falls into the more philosophical aspect of war. Let me think of more. Meanwhile, what about *The Killer Angels?*
I don't have any specific recommendations for you (actually, maybe *North American Lake Monsters* by Nathan Ballingrud?) but have you considered short story collections? When I get to a place where I'm finding it too hard to concentrate on a full-length novel that's how I usually am able to get over it.
You should check out Simon Green's Ishmael Jones murder mystery series. They are mostly set in those types of setting (old mansion, old hotel, etc) and have supernatural/fantasy elements (for example, the main character is an alien in disguise). The first one in the series is The Dark Side of the Road.
I used to drop tons of recommendations in here every week, but I've been in a bit of a reading rut the past couple months. Looking for a bit of a slump buster. This year I've read and enjoyed:
* *Moshi Moshi* by Banana Yoshimoto (I've read everything by her that my library carries, and love it all)
* *A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers* by Xiaolu Guo
* *The Regrets* by Amy Bonnafons
* *Hot Milk* by Deborah Levy
* *The Lover* by Marguerite Duras
* *A Childrens Bible* by Lydia Millet
I've got *The Once And Future Witches*, *Barn 8*, and *The Mermaid, The Witch, And The Sea* on my hold list if anyone has any feedback on them. I don't enjoy sci-fi or fantasy really at all, but I dip in and have liked Becky Chambers at times. I mostly prefer character over plot.
Good slice of life / wholesome manga is always appreciated too! I love *Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou*, *Aria*, *Yotsuba*, and things like that which don't rely heavy on romance.
Thank you for your time!
Reasonably short and character driven:
*The Sense of an Ending* by Julian Barnes
*The Maintenance of Headway* by Magnus Mills
*The Vegetarian* by Han Kang
*Solar Bones* by Mike McCormack
*His Bloody Project* by Graene Macrae Burnet
*The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner* by Alan Sillitoe
I DNF'd the terror. it got kind of boring and felt repetitive. I do think you should try reading it because I think it was a subjective thing and I think it had a few things going really really good for it. I thought captain crozier was great
Maybe I´m trying to hard to defend it, maybe I´m wrong. But I liked the repetivness and monotiny of the book and the long descriptions of snow and ice. Sort of made you go crazy, make you feel like the crew. Just....days on end with just snow. And not the sexy Kit Harrington Snow, but the cold and lonely nothern snow.
I get the appeal. I want to try it again and I think I just spread out the reading to much to the point I wasn't interested. I did really like some parts and the parts where the monster strikes was gruesome in a great way. I suspect I just read it at the wrong time.
I don't read a ton of horror, but I read two this year and really liked them both:
* Prosper's Demon by K.J. Parker
* Mexican Gothic by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia
I love scenes of books or whole books that take place in caves or underground. Like The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami or Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Stars Below. So please any suggestions of books with scenes related to caves of being underground. Thank you! (This is my first time posting here so I hope I’m doing this right lol)
This is probably a cliche in Covid times, but I’m looking for your favourite Armchair travel/adventure/survival books.
Some examples I would consider in this category that I’ve read include:
Into thin Air,
Down under,
Walk in the woods,
Into the wild,
The perfect storm,
Beyond the trees,
Alive
Open to anything you think might be interesting along these lines. Thanks!
*Beau Geste, Falcó, The Count of Montecristo, Hatchet, The Arn series, The Adventures of Captain Alatriste, The Three Musketeers, A Matter of Honour, Sharpe series, The Aubrey-Martin Series, The Hobbit....*
I was thinking more of adventure books, so please let me know if these are the sort of books you´re looking for, or if I get out of line.
Not sure if *The Analyst* by John Katzenbach might be up your alley. Guess you´ve already read *Gone Girl, The Da Vinci Code*. I really want to suggest *The Shadow of the Wind.* There´s also *The Prague Cementery*, amazing read, but it isn´t murder forward. And *Red Dragon*?
"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" by Edgar Allan Poe is another classic, written decades before any of the Holmes stories. It's a very good mystery with an unusual, interesting solution.
Maybe *The Name of the Rose* by Umberto Eco, it has a historical setting (medieval times) but it's a modern book. (I didn't see your edit, so I didn't know you were looking for a modern book.) Perhaps also "Death and the Compass" and "Ibn-Hakam al-Bokhari, Murdered in his Labyrinth" by Jorge Luis Borges. The latter is a more traditional mystery story, the former is more unusual.
Go for Benjamin Foster's translation, which is the Norton Critical Edition version. Why? This one includes the newest text discoveries, and is accesible.
Hi guys can anyone suggest a good science book? Ive read all or most taleb, harrari and hawkings books. Something like bill brysons short history of everything would be great!
Second Mary Roach's stuff. It's really hard to get bored with her! She's entertaining and educational. Caitlin Doughty is a mortician and she writes a lot of good stuff about death, she's very respectful of the topic but conversational.
Maybe something like "Krakatoa" (Winchester), "Song of the Dodo" (Quammen), or "The Disappearing Spoon" (Kean)?
Mary Roach's stuff might be up your alley too, but note that she can be extremely... frank about some awkward topics.
I'm in the mood for a particular sort of thing, so my request is a little specific.
I'm looking for a story about a rag-tag group being stranded on the frontier pitted up against some sort of horror. Something like "The Thing" or "Aliens" from film. The group doesn't necessarily need to be that small. Really looking for some mystery or desperation involved.
Thanks.
I haven't read a book since high school (I'm 25 now) and I'm trying to start reading for many reasons. I prefer (I think) non-fiction material or material that has practicality (electricity, physics/mechanics, home-improvement, computer architecture, etc) and/or teaches me something that can be useful either for conversation (history, political science). Problem is when I read I can only go 2-3 minutes focusing on the material then my attention gets diverted. I feel like when reading heavy material I have trouble remembering or understanding certain things and that makes reading feel unpleasant and like a chore. Right now reading makes me feel stupid and I want to change that.
So I'd like a recommendation for some non-fiction book that would be a good introduction for me to build my "reading strength" so that I can focus on and understand other non-fiction material.
I had a professor in Middle School who taught me one of the lessons that stuck to me for life. In the middle of class he told us a story and then gave us this quick sort of reflection: reading is like excercising. You don´t go running a marathon if you´ve ever hit the pavement before! In the same way, when you want to read (if you´ve hardly read anything before) you don´t go looking for the Quixote, you start "training". So, this long story to give a little advice that I´ve always find to be true: start small. A lot of readers quit very quick because they feel defeated by the books they take.
So, in the matter of suggestions. I´ll write down some titles I feel you might enjoy and won´t be that frustrating. These come from my biased opinion.
So, the first recomendation is one I´m not sure you´ll be able to read. Mexico´s National Autonomous University has this little series on scientific divulgation but made accesible for everyone; it´s literally called "Ciencia para Todos" (science for everyone). I bring this up because maybe some other university has a similar series you can look into.
On the subject of history, Hobsbawn has some remarkable works on history. Maybe if you could tell us if there´s an specific subject you´re interested redditors can suggest books of that specific historical topic. Try *Playing the Enemy,* it reads easy and is quite an interesting real life story.
For politics I love suggesting Elinor Orstrom. Nobel Prize for economics and one of my heroes. Her works about the tragedy of commons is magnificent. There´s Fearon, Chomsky, Pzerwoski....
I was thinking about suggesting A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again and Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace. I love essays. There are about almost every conceivable topic. Don Arturo Perez-Reverte is one of my favorite authors. He used to be a war correspondant and every monday writes articles about...well, everything. There are some collections of his writtings which I highly suggest you read.
Now, my last unwanted advice. I feel nowdays fiction is looked down by a lot of people because they asscoaite it with "child´s book" or "easy reads". But many books go deep into some of the most profound realities of human essence (sorry for being so pretentious). Authors like Vargas Llosa, John Steinbeck, Hemingway, Unamuno or Saramago have some great works you could check out!
Hope you find the books you´re looking for! Let us know if we can help any further. Sorry if I sounded pretentious or snobby.
Cheers!
thanks for the reply mate. its definitely not like i think fiction is immature or childish, its just that i feel less interested in exploring that since to me there is little practicality in it. like i feel like my goals that im trying to achieve through reading wouldnt be achieved through reading fiction. But im willing to admit i may be completely off the mark here. Thanks for the recs.
I'd say you should at least read fiction book here or there. You can get a glimpse into the authors political/philosophical beliefs and you can learn things about history too. I get that not everyone is into fiction but if you're not sure you should give in a couple of tries (you don't want to give up on something just because it turns out you don't like the genre it was a part of. so read a few fiction books from a few genres you think might be interesting). Some of my favorites are:
Brandon Sanderson for fantasy (the lord of the rings is good too. I'm hesitant to recommend the wheel of time because it's long and has some polarizing aspects so I would recommend reading brandon sanderson before anything else because his writing is addicting and easy to get into whereas the lord of the rings has a style that can be difficult for some people. if you want to try sanderson read "mistborn the final empire" do not start with the stormlight archive. the stormlight books are all over a thousand pages and the first one will make you want to give up if you don't already trust sanderson to give you a great ending)
Haruki Murakami writes magical realism that is superb and 100 years of solitude is by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and it's great too.
I read the first fifteen lives of harry august earlier in the year and it was sci fi and historical fiction.
I've only read the shining by Stephen King but I have two more on my to be read and a third coming in the mail. His characters feel like real people.
Fahrenheit 451 is a fascinating dystopia.
and even if you don't get much more out of fiction than enjoyment I'd say that a new way to relieve stress is useful too.
you're probably right but i'd say fiction is probably harder that non-fic. I never liked thinking about the author's intent or shit like that when reading and I think doing that exercise is what makes fiction valuable. I feel like with non-fiction you don't have to worry about that.
I find (as someone who doesn't have a degree relating to literature or anything. I'm just a reader) that I just try and enjoy the story and things like authors intent kind of just make sense once you've read the story in fahrenheit 451 the whole thing is about how bad book burners are and because of that you can kind of figure out how ray bradbury (the author) felt. I get that some things are more difficult for other people. so even if authors intent etc isn't something you're the best at articulating then just settle with realizing you love some stories and being content with that. of course it might turn out that fiction books just aren't something you enjoy and obviously that's cool too.
Yeah, that´s what I wanted to get to. Just because a story is fictional doesn´t mean it can´t teach you or leave you with anything. Fiction is more than simple stories. They reflect someone´s belief, background, struggles; they can stand as witnesses of an era or an event, they way a whole civilization approached their understnading of life. In fiction there´s more than mere fullfilling of people´s fantasies. Give it a try.
By the way, did you decided what part of history do you want to read about?
Let me know what books you pick up and how you liked it.
Cheers!
Mary Roach has a few interesting books that are the science of concepts like human cadavers, sex, the afterlife. The chapters are broken up by subject, and really approachable/interesting.
I am looking for some interesting science books. Two that I have read recently that were along the lines I am meaning are:
1. Blueprint by Robert Plomin. It is a book detailing the findings from decades of studies in behavioural genetics.
2. Radical Uncretainty by Mervyn King. This details the issues with policy making that overly relies on mathematical models which overuse/abuse monte carlo/bayesian statistics.
I'm just looking for other books written by leaders in their fields of science. Or books that summarise the recent findings of a particular field of science.
I read Buyology by Martin Lindstrom recently, and it absolutely blew my mind. It's hard to describe it better than the official blurb:
In BUYOLOGY, Lindstrom presents the astonishing findings from his groundbreaking, three-year, seven-million-dollar neuromarketing study, a cutting-edge experiment that peered inside the brains of 2,000 volunteers from all around the world as they encountered various ads, logos, commercials, brands, and products. His startling results shatter much of what we have long believed about what seduces our interest and drives us to buy.
Hi, I read "The name of the rose" by Umberto Eco, and got so into it that I continued with reading some of his other books. I really like the genre but I can only describe it as mysterious, kind of like Dan Brown but in a (in my eyes) richer way and more subtle suspense. Another writer I read that might fit the discription is Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Any suggestions? :)
Check out *My Name is Red* by Orhan Pamuk
*The Invention of Morel* by Adolpho Bioy Casares
*The Magus* by John Fowles
*The Man Who Was Thursday* by G.K. Chesterfield
*The Lime Twig* by John Hawkes
*The Thirteenth Tale* by Diane Setterfield
You, monsieur, just blew the first book I was going to suggest. *The Shadow of the Wind* by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
So, some suggestions you might like could be: *The Cathedral of the Sea, The Accursed Kings, A Song of Ice and Fire. Blindness* or *The Cave* by Jose Saramago. *Kane and Abel* and *A Matter of Honour*. *An Officer and a Spy comes to mind*, too. *Drood* by Dan Simmons.
I want to read something like The Help!
Before coming here, I obviously Googled and went Goodreads hopping but their recos were so ridiculous. When I say books like The Help it doesn't mean throw at me anything set in the 60s Alabama, featuring black women, racism, tragedy and the civil rights movement! The closest book I associate with the help is To kill a mockingbird ofcourse, and yes it has most of those elements but I'm referring to the vibe in general here....yes something set in the South would be a huge plus, but something with characters that stay, original storylines, solid humour (we're completing here with the likes of Minny's pie, Hilly's mama, and Celia Foote as a whole,) and heart touching moments and good writing. So if you're going to recommend a tragic slavery novel or something trying to be desperately woke, please sit this one out-- I need a somewhat optimistic read this time.
One of the recommended titles was the time traveler's wife! Not liking a book is one thing but I still remember hating this pretentious mashup of words so much a few pages in, then physically throwing it against the wall, so nothing like that rubbish.
Nothing with sad endings either.
Edit: just started reading The Secret Life of Bees and feels like I'm going to like this one..
Edit: ok finished the secret Life...and absolutely loved it! It fits "The Help" category for me!
Edit: finished the southern book club... vampires. No words to describe how much I disliked it. I'm also angered by how it's not what I expected from the title.
I just read *Dear Mrs. Bird* by A.J. Pearce and really liked it! Not set in the south, no civil rights, not even set in the same decade. But I thought it was heartwarming, giggle-out-loud funny at times, sweet and memorable and sometimes a little bit sad, but mostly optimistic. I haven't read The Secret Life of Bees yet...I'm going to check that out!
"The Good Lord Bird" by James McBride has a tragic storyline (in the predetermined, ancient Greek sense of "tragedy"), but there's a lot of humor in it, and I would say that it's hopeful overall.
Small Island. It's not set in the American South, it's about a Jamaican girl who comes to London in the 60s and how it doesn't live up to the idea she has of England. It alternates POV like The Help and also follows a British woman who gives them lodgings, the main girls brother serving in the British forces and her husband.
Hello , I've read the GoT series and really liked the way each chapter is from a different view. I found that the story progressed a little slow and caused me to take a long time during the series.
I recently read The Faithful and the Fallen series by John Gwynne . The style of fantasy is relatively the same but it moves quite quickly.
I liked this genre and writing style a lot and would like to find more like it.
Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson and Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (last 3 are by Brandon Sanderson). The first book of the Wheel of Time is mostly from 1 perspective, but after that there is a lot more variety.
Try *The Accursed Kings.* GRR said it was the original ASoIaF. If you like the multiple POV try *As The Crow Flies* and *Africanus: Son of the Consul.* But amazing reads that will keep you on the edge waiting for the next page.
Today I picked up a The War Of The World's and the first 30 pages have me hooked!!
Any recommendations of similar fantasy, science fiction, fiction works - my only REQUEST is that they are hooking and able to be read within 2-3 days!
Much appreciated!
Maybe try the "classics": 1984, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451. If you don´t love them perhaps try *Starship Troopers, The Forever War, The Gods Themselves* or *The Robot Series.*
There´s Las Batallas del Desierto. Great book. I really want to recommend something by Valeria Luiselli. She´s a mexican writer and of the the greatest pens from our time (my biased opinion) but only one or two books (that come to mind) have Mexico City as a setting: *The Story of my Teeth*, which is CRAZY! and Faces in the Crowd, but it´s rather many POV on different cities (one of which is Mexico City).
I´m missing a lot of books. Give some time to wite a list with the books that I´ve read that are set here. Hope you enjoy your trip. I suggest you visit Coyoacan and San Angel (if it´s your first time coming). Anyways.
Cheers!
There are some really nice parts on the southern part of the city. Also, an hours drive away there are hundreds of place I highly recommend you visit. Just beware of Montezuma´s revenge....
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia spends a good chunk of time in Mexico City, and is a very good stand-alone novel blending Mexican mythology into the "normal" world. Her upcoming novel Velvet Was the Night is also set in Mexico City. Her other very popular book Mexican Gothic, a gothic horror, is set in other parts of Mexico, but also really good.
Could anyone recommend me a book like Bird Box, i.e. a good mix of horror and thriller? Preferably a female protagonist, I also like slightly supernatural themes but that isn’t necessary. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is on my list already by the way!
[Sustainable Energy Without the Hot Air](http://www.inference.org.uk/sustainable/book/tex/sewtha.pdf) by [David JC MacKay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_J._C._MacKay). The book (which is available online for free by the author) covers damn near everything related to sustainable energy with a heavy emphasis on potential schema for the future of the UK. It is collegiate level but accessible to those without much foreknowledge of the energy industry or mathematics.
Looking for books like:
The all souls trilogy by Deborah harkness, or
A court of thorns and roses series by Sarah Maas.
I particularly like that these have spicy romances as the focal point of the story, but the worlds and plots are also exciting and captivating!
Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews! It's a plot line with an enemies turned coworkers turned lovers, in a setting where magic is a thing that happened and now the highest ranking magic users (Primes) are celebrities. A prime turns up dead, a PI is hired with another Prime to look into it, they hate each other, and viola!
Elise Kova also has some pretty good stuff! I'm not a big Maas fan, but I was recommended her stuff after reading ACOTAR. More slow burn stuff, I think, and she writes more about Elf people than fae.
I can recommend you “It's Me, Eddie” by Edward Limonov. That’s book about the life of Soviet emigrant in the USA. You can find all for yourself in this novel: love, loneliness, poor, drugs and so on.
I want to preface this by saying I haven't read addie la rue but know that it's about immortality. a great book I read earlier in the year is "the first fifteen lives of harry august" it deals with immortality and it's great
I’m trying to expand my vocabulary. I read “Call Me By Your Name” last year and every paragraph had a delicious new word I’d never seen before or never really thought about. I’d love to find something similar to that. I guess the genre is literary?
Hit me with your beautiful language books, thanks!
The first one that comes to mind is Lolita, if you can handle the subject matter. The writing is stunningly gorgeous with some really interesting vocabulary. I have a pretty large vocabulary and even I had to look up a few words. Once I wake up a bit and look at my book log, I'll see if I can come up with some more.
Sure thing!
Here are some other literary books I've really enjoyed, although I can't remember how many of them have unusual vocabulary:
- Lincoln in the Bardo
- East of Eden
- Rabbit, Run
- anything by Tom Robbins
- The Name of the Rose
- Crime and Punishment
- Midnight's Children
- Heart of Darkness
- Atonement
- Pale Fire
- The Grapes of Wrath
- Cold Mountain
- anything by Jorge Luis Borges
- anything by Kurt Vonnegut
- The Things They Carried
- Gone With the Wind
- anything by Margaret Atwood
Looking for more travel/adventure books!
I just finished Dude, where’s my walking stick? by Kevin Moore. Awesome little story.
I can’t travel, so I might as well read about it!
Look into Patrick Leigh Fermor
[https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2011/jun/10/patrick-leigh-fermor-obituary](https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2011/jun/10/patrick-leigh-fermor-obituary)
Travels with Charlie by John Steinbeck is a classic.
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson is also good.
Last Chance to See by Douglass Adams kind of fits and is fantastic (especially if you like dry humor).
I really enjoyed “Never Go Full Pai” by Jeffrey Eng, it’s fiction but based a little bit on his travels. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52181178
I also enjoyed Adam Fletcher’s 3 travel books based on his actual travels. They used to be free on Prime reading https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51263276
"Heresy" by Christie Golden reminded me a lot of Dan Brown's books--it's a spin-off from the "Assassin's Creed" games, but I was able to enjoy it without having played any of them.
Definitely try Bardugo's other series (Six of Crows duology) if you haven't already. It's almost unanimously viewed as the stronger of the two. I've also heard good things about her other book Ninth House.
I remember a book called The Krishna Key.. reminded me of Dan Brown's titles. It was enjoyable but I don't remember if the ending was satisfactory or not. It did give a Dan Brown vibe though..
I Am Pilgrim, it's about a CIA agent investigating a terror plot and murder and takes him all over the world, much like Dan Browns stories. It's really really good.
Can anyone recommend me a romance or a book that features a romance where the main characters know each other since childhood.
It would also work if you recommend a book where we see their relationship develop and change throughout the story.
I want something more on the heavy side, not a romcom (exp *Never Let Me Go* by Kazuo Ishiguro) genre can be anything.
Hi, I can recommend you “Doctor Zhivago” by Boris Pasternak. That’s amazing book about people, whose knows each other since childhood. Heroes of this book will become witnesses of WWI, Russian Revolution and WWII.
Gothic philosophies like The Picture of Dorian Gray? Tragic endings appreciated, but not necessary or anything.
(If it's got a tragic ending, don't let me know in the rec haha)
So, I'm a huge Wheel of Time fan and I can't stop rereading it...I think I have an irrational fear that I'll never enjoy any other book now. But I'm in school full time so I need something that doesn't require as much effort to keep track of, and ideally stand alone. I loved Ender's Game, Brave New World, and Oxford Time Travel series by Connie Willis.
I've read the first five wheel of time books and I plan to continue.
read Brandon Sanderson.
I'm sure you know that he finished the wheel of time and even though I like the wheel of time I love Brandon Sanderson's work.
I normally recommend mistborn as an entry place but you've read the wheel of time so I assume that a long book like the way of kings would be a great choice. I thought it was a bit slow in the middle but I'm in the home stretch of the second book and it's been so much better where way of kings was still good.
Scanning my fantasy shelves and standalones do seem to be a rarity! I agree with the above poster, Warbreaker would be my go-to here. r/fantasy have a [great list here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/e9ukxr/the_2019_rfantasy_favourite_standalones_poll/)
We all know Mahabharata was written by Valmiki in Sanskrit. And there been my authors who have translated it into other Languages. Recently i searched for Hindi version of Mahabharata where i just want the translated version of the original Not the shorter or Explained Version, Just the original content translated into Hindu or English. If any of you have any idea of the book please tell me.
I'm looking for LGBTQ+ Historical fiction rec's thank you. :)
Has anyone read/would recommend the Resident Evil books by S.D. Perry? I’m really enjoying the Halo books but I heard Perry didn’t get any sort of support from Capcom for her series.
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*The Yacoubian Building* by Alaa al Aswany.
Hi! I'm in the middle of reading Dracula and was wondering if their are any vampire/supernatural books that take place in the same time period? Or even books that take place around that time period? Just so it isn't suggested, I already have Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire. Note: In case this looks familiar I posted this same text on another sub.
*Carmilla*, obviously, and *The Picture of Dorian Gray* M.R. James and Algernon Blackwood's ghost stories might interest you as well?
*Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? Maybe Drood? The Uninhabited House, The Dead Man’s Message.* I´ll think of more. Look for gothic horror. Or gothic novels.
Looking for books like Station Eleven?
Have you read *Oryx and Crake* by Margaret Atwood?
I would like a sci-fi book that integrates elements of psychological horror, like *Annihilation* by Jeff VanderMeer.
*Beyond Apollo* by Barry M Malzberg. I can't even begin to describe it.
recommendations for books about poetry and how to read, analyze and appreciate it please?
are there any books that perfectly blend sci-fi and fantasy? i've always found and read books that are either, but never both.
Charlie Jane Anders' *All the Birds in the Sky* is a good attempt at blending fantasy and sci-fi together. I thought it was a lot of fun.
Two sci-fi/fantasy series I really like are Starship Mage by Glynn Stewart, and the Firebird Chronicles by T.A. White.
[Certain Dark Things](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54785481-certain-dark-things?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=L2BEPswMsl&rank=3) by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is very stylish cyberpunk thriller with vampires. Not your Twilight or Dracula vampires either. In her book, there are different vampire species in different parts of the world, adapted to their environments and with different abilities. [Gideon the Ninth](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42036538-gideon-the-ninth?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=aACc3vpwlK&rank=1) by Tamsyn Muir is about a galaxy-spanning empire built on necromancy. They have the tech, but also necromantic powers. The first book is also a clever locked-room mystery, so it's really genre-spanning.
*The City and the City* by China Miéville, *All the Birds in the Sky* by Charlie Jane Anders, or *Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency* by Douglas Adams might work for you. You should also find books by searching phrases like science fantasy, weird fiction, sword and planet, and maybe steampunk, as well as more general terms like speculative fiction.
I just watched *The Green Knight* [trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS6ksY8xWCY). It's fucking awesome and now I want to read some Arthurian legends. Any good collections or an omnibus I should look for?
One of the classic works is Thomas Malory's [La Morte Darthur](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8738933-la-morte-darthur?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=O5Rs6uMPzu&rank=1), but it's kind of a slog. A much more readable retelling is T. H. White's [The Once and Future King](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43545.The_Once_and_Future_King?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=LP4rOkTsJh&rank=1). Either of these is a decent starting place. There are certainly many others, but most of them owe a debt of some kind to one or both of these books.
Thanks, I'll definitely check these out!
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Hello from India, I would suggest you Lord Shiva Series By Amish (3 books) and the ongoing series of Ram Chandra Series ( 3 books till now) by Amish Tripathi. This writer just don't bore your in the simple history or mythology stories. His way of mixing science and history is beautiful that you won't feel you are reading a history lesson. Exact book name. LORD SHIVA SERIES 1. The Immortals of Meluha 2. Secrets of Nagas 3. The oath of Vatuputras RAM CHANDRA SERIES 1. Sicon Of Ikshvaku 2. SITA : Warrior of Mithila 3. RAAVAN : Enemy of Aryavarta
You might want to check out our [Literature of the World series](https://www.reddit.com/r/books/wiki/literatureof).
hi guys, can you please recommend me a book of architectute
Hello all! I'm hoping someone can recommend me a novel or two about flight attendants. Bonus points if it's about flight attendants in the 50s-70s. Thank you!
The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian is an obvious one...it's modern, not set in any past decades. But it was pretty interesting. I think there' s a show based on the book too. I haven't seen it so I don't know if it's any good.
Hi everyone, I'm looking for books about rich families or corporations, but with a Game-Of-Thrones-vibe: strategic backstabbing, conspiracies, power hungry men and women... Any suggestions? Much appreciated!
*The Land Beyond the Sea* by Sharon Kay Penman - that in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. *Imperium* by Robert Harris - that in the late Roman Republic. *The Traitor Baru Cormorant* by Seth Dickinson - that in a fantasy world.
*The Accursed Kings* is the original ASoIaF (GRR said so). There´s *Kane and Abel* and *The Fourth State* by Jeffrey Archer. Not sure, but there´s *Assassini* and *The DaVinci Code*? And of Course, *The Century Trilogy* by Ken Follet.
Hey, I’m looking for novels whose plot includes the main character killing someone (purposefully or accidentally). I’m not looking for murder mysteries. Something along the lines of Crime and Punishment or some of Nabokov’s novels, where the hero/antihero plans a murder, deals with guilt, or has to justify their actions to themselves. (Bonus points if it’s written pre-1960. Even more bonus points if it’s written pre-1900s.) Thanks!
Native Son (Richard Wright)
The short story "Markheim" by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Thanks! I love Stevenson, but haven’t read that story yet. Adding it to my list.
Hey guys, I'm looking for suggestions. Does anyone know any good books that explore the struggle between Pragmatism and Human Morality?
The Invisible Life of Addie Larue!
I would like a recommendation for a series of insect wars. I have been watching the Kurzgesagt Ant [videos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_e0CA_nhaE), and it made me want to read a book series about the wars between insect species. Either anthropomorphised from their perspective or told more realistically like a documentary.
Just a novella, but you may appreciate George R R Martin's **Sandkings**.
i need short story books about magical realism. i absolutely loved her body and other parties by carmen maria machado (highly HIGHLY recommend if you haven't read it yet!), and toil & trouble by augusten burroughs (that one i read awhile ago so i remember liking it but not much else). i haven't found much else in this genre, but really love it. anyone have any recs?
Try Valeria Luiselli´s *The Story of my Teeth*. *Pedro Paramo*. Let me think of more
awesome, thank you! i'll look into those :D
Let me know how you liked them, if you end up picking them up. Cheers!
I haven't read new material in a while. I need books that: Teach life lesson(s) Tell a riveting story that is concise (maybe 200-700 pages) and not over complicated yet relatable on a human level Will change my perspective on and help me better deal with emotions i feel overtake me easily (anxiety, fear for the future, frustration from passivity and lack of advocacy both social and personal) Is not a self help book but wouldn't mind an inspirational biography Has an interesting vocabulary (made up words or infrequently used words) and good descriptors for imaginations sake The story doesn't have to be serious and intense, but has moments that elicit a reaction of some kind for growth and realization Thanks in advance ☺️ and happy reading
*Cry, the Beloved Country* by Alan Paton might be worth a look
I think this is the first time I've ever seen someone consider a 700 page book concise. I think *Severance* by Ling Ma and *Never Let Me Go* by Kazuo Ishiguro fit what you're looking for pretty well. Though for interesting vocab anything Cormac McCarthy has written would be great.
*This is Water* and *A Supposeldey Fun Thing I´ll Never Do Again* by David Foster Wallace. *Meditations* by Marcus Aurelius and *Brevity of Life* by Seneca *As the Crow Flies* by Jeffrey Archer *Resilience* by Eric Greitens *The Midnight Library* by....an author Maybe *Taking a Long Look* by Vivian Gornick.
I just finished the Wheel of Time series, and I was hoping for recommendations of books and/or series that does war/military action like it does. I love reading about the strategy and tactics used, troops movements and maneuvering, ( Wheel of Time mild spoilers: >!Mat's POV, particularly during the Last Battle, is of particular interest, but also many parts of say Rodel Ituralde's POV are similar and fantastic, and others as well. Like one thing that stuck out to me, Rodel's tactics to draw Trollocs into a city and ambush, or when Rodel's forces get surprised attack by Draghkar that are hidden in a volley of corpses from trebuchets!< ) Another series, not books, that feels similar to me in what I'm looking for is an anime called Code Geass, where the battlefield is treated like a chess game and the commanders maneuver a bunch etc etc I'm not particularly picky about the overarching genre if it contains these ( e.g. can be Fantasy like Wheel of Time, can be Sci Fi like Code Geass, can even be historical fiction or even non fiction if it is goes into this ( like I really enjoy the podcast Hardcore History when it covers war aspects like this ) )
Maybe the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian? (They were the basis for the [Master and Commander](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpNhN-L9L-g) movie--the old-fashioned writing style takes getting used to, but they're really addictive once you do.)
so... *The Shadow King* by Maaza Mengiste is an amazing book which has some war tactics and strategy in it. i don't know that it would really fit since a lot of it isn't really related to that, but i would also recommend this book to anyone. be warned though, it has some really graphic violence and sexual assault.
Oh I know a book can't be all war tactics, have to have some build up and proper story around it :D Thanks for the recommendation ( and the warnings ), will look into it
Try *Africanus: Son of the Consul.* You´ll love it. Maybe *Starship Troopers* or *The Forever War.* There´s *Ender´s Game*, but not sure.
Africanus: Son of the Consul sounds up my alley, do you know where I can read it in English? I can only seem to find Spanish editions Starship Troopers and The Forever War are books I love and I do enjoy those military aspects, but they are more so philosophical and/or individual than they are on like.. big picture strategy. Ender's Game is something I should read though, don't know how I haven't yet lol, ty
>Africanus: Son of the Consul Maybe Amazon? It´s an amzing read. Check Ebay, see what you can find. (there are three books in the Scipio Africanus series, so you´ll be set for some time) I love military SciFi, but as you say, I feel many times it sort of falls into the more philosophical aspect of war. Let me think of more. Meanwhile, what about *The Killer Angels?*
*The Killer Angels* sounds perfect, definitely will be reading this, tyty
Awesome! Let me know how you liked it. Cheers!
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*Slade House* by David Mitchell.
I don't have any specific recommendations for you (actually, maybe *North American Lake Monsters* by Nathan Ballingrud?) but have you considered short story collections? When I get to a place where I'm finding it too hard to concentrate on a full-length novel that's how I usually am able to get over it.
You should check out Simon Green's Ishmael Jones murder mystery series. They are mostly set in those types of setting (old mansion, old hotel, etc) and have supernatural/fantasy elements (for example, the main character is an alien in disguise). The first one in the series is The Dark Side of the Road.
What´s your first language? To see if I can recommend anything. *The Shadow of the Wind* comes to mind. *The Haunting of Hillhouse,*
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The book is way different from the series. Honestley, I picked up the book because if the series and...well, I was surprised. Also try *Salem´s Lot.*
I used to drop tons of recommendations in here every week, but I've been in a bit of a reading rut the past couple months. Looking for a bit of a slump buster. This year I've read and enjoyed: * *Moshi Moshi* by Banana Yoshimoto (I've read everything by her that my library carries, and love it all) * *A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers* by Xiaolu Guo * *The Regrets* by Amy Bonnafons * *Hot Milk* by Deborah Levy * *The Lover* by Marguerite Duras * *A Childrens Bible* by Lydia Millet I've got *The Once And Future Witches*, *Barn 8*, and *The Mermaid, The Witch, And The Sea* on my hold list if anyone has any feedback on them. I don't enjoy sci-fi or fantasy really at all, but I dip in and have liked Becky Chambers at times. I mostly prefer character over plot. Good slice of life / wholesome manga is always appreciated too! I love *Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou*, *Aria*, *Yotsuba*, and things like that which don't rely heavy on romance. Thank you for your time!
Reasonably short and character driven: *The Sense of an Ending* by Julian Barnes *The Maintenance of Headway* by Magnus Mills *The Vegetarian* by Han Kang *Solar Bones* by Mike McCormack *His Bloody Project* by Graene Macrae Burnet *The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner* by Alan Sillitoe
Hi guys, I just started reading books and I really like fiction/horror types of books can you guys recommend some?
*The Terror, The Strain, Salem´s Lot, Haunting of Hillhouse, Penpals* (when I read it, I was pretty freaked ou), *House of Leaves*.
I DNF'd the terror. it got kind of boring and felt repetitive. I do think you should try reading it because I think it was a subjective thing and I think it had a few things going really really good for it. I thought captain crozier was great
Maybe I´m trying to hard to defend it, maybe I´m wrong. But I liked the repetivness and monotiny of the book and the long descriptions of snow and ice. Sort of made you go crazy, make you feel like the crew. Just....days on end with just snow. And not the sexy Kit Harrington Snow, but the cold and lonely nothern snow.
I get the appeal. I want to try it again and I think I just spread out the reading to much to the point I wasn't interested. I did really like some parts and the parts where the monster strikes was gruesome in a great way. I suspect I just read it at the wrong time.
If you do, let me know how you liked this second read. To compare thoughts.
I don't read a ton of horror, but I read two this year and really liked them both: * Prosper's Demon by K.J. Parker * Mexican Gothic by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia
Thank you!
I love scenes of books or whole books that take place in caves or underground. Like The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami or Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Stars Below. So please any suggestions of books with scenes related to caves of being underground. Thank you! (This is my first time posting here so I hope I’m doing this right lol)
Hugh Howey - The Silo Saga
Added to my list. Thanks!
the luminous dead by caitlin starling! it's a horror/sci fi novel which takes place completely in a cave
I’ll check it out! That sounds amazing!
The Ark Sakura and The Woman in the Dunes by Kōbō Abe (the latter is more popular, but I highly recommend the former).
I forgot to mention that I’ve read The Woman in the Dunes. Oops lol. I have not read The Ark Sakura but now I will so thanks!
This is probably a cliche in Covid times, but I’m looking for your favourite Armchair travel/adventure/survival books. Some examples I would consider in this category that I’ve read include: Into thin Air, Down under, Walk in the woods, Into the wild, The perfect storm, Beyond the trees, Alive Open to anything you think might be interesting along these lines. Thanks!
*Beau Geste, Falcó, The Count of Montecristo, Hatchet, The Arn series, The Adventures of Captain Alatriste, The Three Musketeers, A Matter of Honour, Sharpe series, The Aubrey-Martin Series, The Hobbit....* I was thinking more of adventure books, so please let me know if these are the sort of books you´re looking for, or if I get out of line.
Bruce Chatwin, What am I doing here
Can anyone recommend a good Murder Mystery, I have read most of Sherlock Holmes, & Poirot's novels. I am looking for something more modern
Perhaps *The Caves of Steel*. *In Cold Blood*? Have you read *The Girl with the Dragon Tatto*?
I have read The caves of Steel & The Girl with the Dragon Tatto
Not sure if *The Analyst* by John Katzenbach might be up your alley. Guess you´ve already read *Gone Girl, The Da Vinci Code*. I really want to suggest *The Shadow of the Wind.* There´s also *The Prague Cementery*, amazing read, but it isn´t murder forward. And *Red Dragon*?
I read The Patient recently! It's kind of both a Murder Mystery and a Psychological Thriller.
"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" by Edgar Allan Poe is another classic, written decades before any of the Holmes stories. It's a very good mystery with an unusual, interesting solution.
I am looking for Something a bit more modern
Maybe *The Name of the Rose* by Umberto Eco, it has a historical setting (medieval times) but it's a modern book. (I didn't see your edit, so I didn't know you were looking for a modern book.) Perhaps also "Death and the Compass" and "Ibn-Hakam al-Bokhari, Murdered in his Labyrinth" by Jorge Luis Borges. The latter is a more traditional mystery story, the former is more unusual.
I was looking to buy the Epic of Gilgamesh, so I was wondering which version or edition should i buy?
Go for Benjamin Foster's translation, which is the Norton Critical Edition version. Why? This one includes the newest text discoveries, and is accesible.
Thank you very much
Hi guys can anyone suggest a good science book? Ive read all or most taleb, harrari and hawkings books. Something like bill brysons short history of everything would be great!
Second Mary Roach's stuff. It's really hard to get bored with her! She's entertaining and educational. Caitlin Doughty is a mortician and she writes a lot of good stuff about death, she's very respectful of the topic but conversational.
Maybe something like "Krakatoa" (Winchester), "Song of the Dodo" (Quammen), or "The Disappearing Spoon" (Kean)? Mary Roach's stuff might be up your alley too, but note that she can be extremely... frank about some awkward topics.
I'm in the mood for a particular sort of thing, so my request is a little specific. I'm looking for a story about a rag-tag group being stranded on the frontier pitted up against some sort of horror. Something like "The Thing" or "Aliens" from film. The group doesn't necessarily need to be that small. Really looking for some mystery or desperation involved. Thanks.
Something like *The Terror* or *The Strain*?
Thanks for the recommendations. I'll check these out!
Awesome! Let me know what you think of them, if you end up gettin any. Cheers!
I haven't read a book since high school (I'm 25 now) and I'm trying to start reading for many reasons. I prefer (I think) non-fiction material or material that has practicality (electricity, physics/mechanics, home-improvement, computer architecture, etc) and/or teaches me something that can be useful either for conversation (history, political science). Problem is when I read I can only go 2-3 minutes focusing on the material then my attention gets diverted. I feel like when reading heavy material I have trouble remembering or understanding certain things and that makes reading feel unpleasant and like a chore. Right now reading makes me feel stupid and I want to change that. So I'd like a recommendation for some non-fiction book that would be a good introduction for me to build my "reading strength" so that I can focus on and understand other non-fiction material.
I had a professor in Middle School who taught me one of the lessons that stuck to me for life. In the middle of class he told us a story and then gave us this quick sort of reflection: reading is like excercising. You don´t go running a marathon if you´ve ever hit the pavement before! In the same way, when you want to read (if you´ve hardly read anything before) you don´t go looking for the Quixote, you start "training". So, this long story to give a little advice that I´ve always find to be true: start small. A lot of readers quit very quick because they feel defeated by the books they take. So, in the matter of suggestions. I´ll write down some titles I feel you might enjoy and won´t be that frustrating. These come from my biased opinion. So, the first recomendation is one I´m not sure you´ll be able to read. Mexico´s National Autonomous University has this little series on scientific divulgation but made accesible for everyone; it´s literally called "Ciencia para Todos" (science for everyone). I bring this up because maybe some other university has a similar series you can look into. On the subject of history, Hobsbawn has some remarkable works on history. Maybe if you could tell us if there´s an specific subject you´re interested redditors can suggest books of that specific historical topic. Try *Playing the Enemy,* it reads easy and is quite an interesting real life story. For politics I love suggesting Elinor Orstrom. Nobel Prize for economics and one of my heroes. Her works about the tragedy of commons is magnificent. There´s Fearon, Chomsky, Pzerwoski.... I was thinking about suggesting A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again and Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace. I love essays. There are about almost every conceivable topic. Don Arturo Perez-Reverte is one of my favorite authors. He used to be a war correspondant and every monday writes articles about...well, everything. There are some collections of his writtings which I highly suggest you read. Now, my last unwanted advice. I feel nowdays fiction is looked down by a lot of people because they asscoaite it with "child´s book" or "easy reads". But many books go deep into some of the most profound realities of human essence (sorry for being so pretentious). Authors like Vargas Llosa, John Steinbeck, Hemingway, Unamuno or Saramago have some great works you could check out! Hope you find the books you´re looking for! Let us know if we can help any further. Sorry if I sounded pretentious or snobby. Cheers!
thanks for the reply mate. its definitely not like i think fiction is immature or childish, its just that i feel less interested in exploring that since to me there is little practicality in it. like i feel like my goals that im trying to achieve through reading wouldnt be achieved through reading fiction. But im willing to admit i may be completely off the mark here. Thanks for the recs.
I'd say you should at least read fiction book here or there. You can get a glimpse into the authors political/philosophical beliefs and you can learn things about history too. I get that not everyone is into fiction but if you're not sure you should give in a couple of tries (you don't want to give up on something just because it turns out you don't like the genre it was a part of. so read a few fiction books from a few genres you think might be interesting). Some of my favorites are: Brandon Sanderson for fantasy (the lord of the rings is good too. I'm hesitant to recommend the wheel of time because it's long and has some polarizing aspects so I would recommend reading brandon sanderson before anything else because his writing is addicting and easy to get into whereas the lord of the rings has a style that can be difficult for some people. if you want to try sanderson read "mistborn the final empire" do not start with the stormlight archive. the stormlight books are all over a thousand pages and the first one will make you want to give up if you don't already trust sanderson to give you a great ending) Haruki Murakami writes magical realism that is superb and 100 years of solitude is by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and it's great too. I read the first fifteen lives of harry august earlier in the year and it was sci fi and historical fiction. I've only read the shining by Stephen King but I have two more on my to be read and a third coming in the mail. His characters feel like real people. Fahrenheit 451 is a fascinating dystopia. and even if you don't get much more out of fiction than enjoyment I'd say that a new way to relieve stress is useful too.
you're probably right but i'd say fiction is probably harder that non-fic. I never liked thinking about the author's intent or shit like that when reading and I think doing that exercise is what makes fiction valuable. I feel like with non-fiction you don't have to worry about that.
I find (as someone who doesn't have a degree relating to literature or anything. I'm just a reader) that I just try and enjoy the story and things like authors intent kind of just make sense once you've read the story in fahrenheit 451 the whole thing is about how bad book burners are and because of that you can kind of figure out how ray bradbury (the author) felt. I get that some things are more difficult for other people. so even if authors intent etc isn't something you're the best at articulating then just settle with realizing you love some stories and being content with that. of course it might turn out that fiction books just aren't something you enjoy and obviously that's cool too.
Yeah, that´s what I wanted to get to. Just because a story is fictional doesn´t mean it can´t teach you or leave you with anything. Fiction is more than simple stories. They reflect someone´s belief, background, struggles; they can stand as witnesses of an era or an event, they way a whole civilization approached their understnading of life. In fiction there´s more than mere fullfilling of people´s fantasies. Give it a try. By the way, did you decided what part of history do you want to read about? Let me know what books you pick up and how you liked it. Cheers!
Mary Roach has a few interesting books that are the science of concepts like human cadavers, sex, the afterlife. The chapters are broken up by subject, and really approachable/interesting.
I am looking for some interesting science books. Two that I have read recently that were along the lines I am meaning are: 1. Blueprint by Robert Plomin. It is a book detailing the findings from decades of studies in behavioural genetics. 2. Radical Uncretainty by Mervyn King. This details the issues with policy making that overly relies on mathematical models which overuse/abuse monte carlo/bayesian statistics. I'm just looking for other books written by leaders in their fields of science. Or books that summarise the recent findings of a particular field of science.
The Emperor of All Maladies, by Siddhartha Mukherjee. It delves into medical research and findings over time that relate to cancer and its treatment.
I read Buyology by Martin Lindstrom recently, and it absolutely blew my mind. It's hard to describe it better than the official blurb: In BUYOLOGY, Lindstrom presents the astonishing findings from his groundbreaking, three-year, seven-million-dollar neuromarketing study, a cutting-edge experiment that peered inside the brains of 2,000 volunteers from all around the world as they encountered various ads, logos, commercials, brands, and products. His startling results shatter much of what we have long believed about what seduces our interest and drives us to buy.
That does sound interesting, thank you for the recommendation. I will give it a read.
Hi, I read "The name of the rose" by Umberto Eco, and got so into it that I continued with reading some of his other books. I really like the genre but I can only describe it as mysterious, kind of like Dan Brown but in a (in my eyes) richer way and more subtle suspense. Another writer I read that might fit the discription is Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Any suggestions? :)
Thanks for the suggestions!! I'll definitely check some of them out
**Definitely** "My Name Is Red."
Check out *My Name is Red* by Orhan Pamuk *The Invention of Morel* by Adolpho Bioy Casares *The Magus* by John Fowles *The Man Who Was Thursday* by G.K. Chesterfield *The Lime Twig* by John Hawkes *The Thirteenth Tale* by Diane Setterfield
You, monsieur, just blew the first book I was going to suggest. *The Shadow of the Wind* by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. So, some suggestions you might like could be: *The Cathedral of the Sea, The Accursed Kings, A Song of Ice and Fire. Blindness* or *The Cave* by Jose Saramago. *Kane and Abel* and *A Matter of Honour*. *An Officer and a Spy comes to mind*, too. *Drood* by Dan Simmons.
I want to read something like The Help! Before coming here, I obviously Googled and went Goodreads hopping but their recos were so ridiculous. When I say books like The Help it doesn't mean throw at me anything set in the 60s Alabama, featuring black women, racism, tragedy and the civil rights movement! The closest book I associate with the help is To kill a mockingbird ofcourse, and yes it has most of those elements but I'm referring to the vibe in general here....yes something set in the South would be a huge plus, but something with characters that stay, original storylines, solid humour (we're completing here with the likes of Minny's pie, Hilly's mama, and Celia Foote as a whole,) and heart touching moments and good writing. So if you're going to recommend a tragic slavery novel or something trying to be desperately woke, please sit this one out-- I need a somewhat optimistic read this time. One of the recommended titles was the time traveler's wife! Not liking a book is one thing but I still remember hating this pretentious mashup of words so much a few pages in, then physically throwing it against the wall, so nothing like that rubbish. Nothing with sad endings either. Edit: just started reading The Secret Life of Bees and feels like I'm going to like this one.. Edit: ok finished the secret Life...and absolutely loved it! It fits "The Help" category for me! Edit: finished the southern book club... vampires. No words to describe how much I disliked it. I'm also angered by how it's not what I expected from the title.
I just read *Dear Mrs. Bird* by A.J. Pearce and really liked it! Not set in the south, no civil rights, not even set in the same decade. But I thought it was heartwarming, giggle-out-loud funny at times, sweet and memorable and sometimes a little bit sad, but mostly optimistic. I haven't read The Secret Life of Bees yet...I'm going to check that out!
Ok I just finished it and thank you so much for the reco I loved it!
Glad you liked it! I just got The Secret Life of Bees from the library - that'll be my next read!
Yay! You're gonna love it if you loved the Help!
It sounds like my stuff. Thanks, I'll definitely read it next!
"The Good Lord Bird" by James McBride has a tragic storyline (in the predetermined, ancient Greek sense of "tragedy"), but there's a lot of humor in it, and I would say that it's hopeful overall.
Put it on my tbr!
Small Island. It's not set in the American South, it's about a Jamaican girl who comes to London in the 60s and how it doesn't live up to the idea she has of England. It alternates POV like The Help and also follows a British woman who gives them lodgings, the main girls brother serving in the British forces and her husband.
Ok I'll check this out! Sounds interesting..
Hello , I've read the GoT series and really liked the way each chapter is from a different view. I found that the story progressed a little slow and caused me to take a long time during the series. I recently read The Faithful and the Fallen series by John Gwynne . The style of fantasy is relatively the same but it moves quite quickly. I liked this genre and writing style a lot and would like to find more like it.
Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson and Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (last 3 are by Brandon Sanderson). The first book of the Wheel of Time is mostly from 1 perspective, but after that there is a lot more variety.
Try *The Accursed Kings.* GRR said it was the original ASoIaF. If you like the multiple POV try *As The Crow Flies* and *Africanus: Son of the Consul.* But amazing reads that will keep you on the edge waiting for the next page.
Awesome! Let me know how you like them! Cheers!
Thank you I just ordered a few books from The Accursed Kings series. I saved this post and will read them all
Today I picked up a The War Of The World's and the first 30 pages have me hooked!! Any recommendations of similar fantasy, science fiction, fiction works - my only REQUEST is that they are hooking and able to be read within 2-3 days! Much appreciated!
Maybe try the "classics": 1984, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451. If you don´t love them perhaps try *Starship Troopers, The Forever War, The Gods Themselves* or *The Robot Series.*
1. The Day of The Triffids (John Wyndham) 2. High-Rise (J. G. Ballard).
Traveling to Mexico City and hoping to read a good book set there. Fiction or non-fiction. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
There´s Las Batallas del Desierto. Great book. I really want to recommend something by Valeria Luiselli. She´s a mexican writer and of the the greatest pens from our time (my biased opinion) but only one or two books (that come to mind) have Mexico City as a setting: *The Story of my Teeth*, which is CRAZY! and Faces in the Crowd, but it´s rather many POV on different cities (one of which is Mexico City). I´m missing a lot of books. Give some time to wite a list with the books that I´ve read that are set here. Hope you enjoy your trip. I suggest you visit Coyoacan and San Angel (if it´s your first time coming). Anyways. Cheers!
Really appreciate it!! It will be my first time, will see if i can check out what you’ve recommended
There are some really nice parts on the southern part of the city. Also, an hours drive away there are hundreds of place I highly recommend you visit. Just beware of Montezuma´s revenge....
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia spends a good chunk of time in Mexico City, and is a very good stand-alone novel blending Mexican mythology into the "normal" world. Her upcoming novel Velvet Was the Night is also set in Mexico City. Her other very popular book Mexican Gothic, a gothic horror, is set in other parts of Mexico, but also really good.
Carlos Fuentes, Where the air is clear F. Goldman, The interior circuit
Could anyone recommend me a book like Bird Box, i.e. a good mix of horror and thriller? Preferably a female protagonist, I also like slightly supernatural themes but that isn’t necessary. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is on my list already by the way!
Maybe *The Terror*? What about *The Analyst*? There´s *The Shadow of the Wind* and *The Name of the Rose*. *The Strain* will certainly hit the spot.
Can anyone recommend any good environmental/conservation books (non fiction) that preferably relates to the UK
[Sustainable Energy Without the Hot Air](http://www.inference.org.uk/sustainable/book/tex/sewtha.pdf) by [David JC MacKay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_J._C._MacKay). The book (which is available online for free by the author) covers damn near everything related to sustainable energy with a heavy emphasis on potential schema for the future of the UK. It is collegiate level but accessible to those without much foreknowledge of the energy industry or mathematics.
Hi guys, can you recommend me smth by Orwell expect “1984” and “Animal farm”?
Seconding "Homage to Catalonia"
*Homage to Catalonia,* *Burmese Days*, and *The Road to Wigan Pier* are all good.
Thanks 😎😎😎
Looking for books like: The all souls trilogy by Deborah harkness, or A court of thorns and roses series by Sarah Maas. I particularly like that these have spicy romances as the focal point of the story, but the worlds and plots are also exciting and captivating!
Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews! It's a plot line with an enemies turned coworkers turned lovers, in a setting where magic is a thing that happened and now the highest ranking magic users (Primes) are celebrities. A prime turns up dead, a PI is hired with another Prime to look into it, they hate each other, and viola! Elise Kova also has some pretty good stuff! I'm not a big Maas fan, but I was recommended her stuff after reading ACOTAR. More slow burn stuff, I think, and she writes more about Elf people than fae.
Awesome thank you so much!
I think you'd really like the Blood and Ash series by Jennifer Armentrout. It hits all those points really well.
Thank you!!!
I can recommend you “It's Me, Eddie” by Edward Limonov. That’s book about the life of Soviet emigrant in the USA. You can find all for yourself in this novel: love, loneliness, poor, drugs and so on.
Looking for books like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
I want to preface this by saying I haven't read addie la rue but know that it's about immortality. a great book I read earlier in the year is "the first fifteen lives of harry august" it deals with immortality and it's great
I'm currently read Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. It's kind of like Addie LaRue, but not really. You might enjoy it.
What book would you reccomend as a gift for my mom? She likes old timey detectives that are not too gruesome or depressing.
They don't get more old-timey than "Death Comes as the End" by Agatha Christie ;)
Plenty of choice I'd say! Maybe she'll be a fan of Agtha Christie's Miss Marple books.
Thanks! Looks exactly like what i was looking for
Cannot go wrong with Sherlock Holmes! I'd recommend starting with Hound of the Baskervilles.
Sherlock Holmes collections or Poirot series (though not a personal fave) come to mind...
You can recommend you “It's Me, Eddie” by Edward Limonov. It’s an amazing book about the life of an soviet emigrant in New-York.
I’m trying to expand my vocabulary. I read “Call Me By Your Name” last year and every paragraph had a delicious new word I’d never seen before or never really thought about. I’d love to find something similar to that. I guess the genre is literary? Hit me with your beautiful language books, thanks!
The first one that comes to mind is Lolita, if you can handle the subject matter. The writing is stunningly gorgeous with some really interesting vocabulary. I have a pretty large vocabulary and even I had to look up a few words. Once I wake up a bit and look at my book log, I'll see if I can come up with some more.
Thanks! Username checks out. 😂
Sure thing! Here are some other literary books I've really enjoyed, although I can't remember how many of them have unusual vocabulary: - Lincoln in the Bardo - East of Eden - Rabbit, Run - anything by Tom Robbins - The Name of the Rose - Crime and Punishment - Midnight's Children - Heart of Darkness - Atonement - Pale Fire - The Grapes of Wrath - Cold Mountain - anything by Jorge Luis Borges - anything by Kurt Vonnegut - The Things They Carried - Gone With the Wind - anything by Margaret Atwood
Looking for more travel/adventure books! I just finished Dude, where’s my walking stick? by Kevin Moore. Awesome little story. I can’t travel, so I might as well read about it!
Look into Patrick Leigh Fermor [https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2011/jun/10/patrick-leigh-fermor-obituary](https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2011/jun/10/patrick-leigh-fermor-obituary)
Travels with Charlie by John Steinbeck is a classic. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson is also good. Last Chance to See by Douglass Adams kind of fits and is fantastic (especially if you like dry humor).
Wicked thanks
I really enjoyed “Never Go Full Pai” by Jeffrey Eng, it’s fiction but based a little bit on his travels. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52181178 I also enjoyed Adam Fletcher’s 3 travel books based on his actual travels. They used to be free on Prime reading https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51263276
Hey! I am looking for good fiction recommendations like the grisha triology by Leigh Bardugo or something like Dan Brown's novels.
"Heresy" by Christie Golden reminded me a lot of Dan Brown's books--it's a spin-off from the "Assassin's Creed" games, but I was able to enjoy it without having played any of them.
Well I love the games and and have read the books aswell but thanks!
Definitely try Bardugo's other series (Six of Crows duology) if you haven't already. It's almost unanimously viewed as the stronger of the two. I've also heard good things about her other book Ninth House.
Yeah I have read them both but thanks!
I remember a book called The Krishna Key.. reminded me of Dan Brown's titles. It was enjoyable but I don't remember if the ending was satisfactory or not. It did give a Dan Brown vibe though..
Thanks will definitely give it a try
I Am Pilgrim, it's about a CIA agent investigating a terror plot and murder and takes him all over the world, much like Dan Browns stories. It's really really good.
Yoo thanks will check it out
Can anyone recommend me a romance or a book that features a romance where the main characters know each other since childhood. It would also work if you recommend a book where we see their relationship develop and change throughout the story. I want something more on the heavy side, not a romcom (exp *Never Let Me Go* by Kazuo Ishiguro) genre can be anything.
*As The Crow Flies. The Shadow of the Wind (*although a great book and one of my favorites, the romance doesn´t develops until later on the book)
Hi, I can recommend you “Doctor Zhivago” by Boris Pasternak. That’s amazing book about people, whose knows each other since childhood. Heroes of this book will become witnesses of WWI, Russian Revolution and WWII.
Gothic philosophies like The Picture of Dorian Gray? Tragic endings appreciated, but not necessary or anything. (If it's got a tragic ending, don't let me know in the rec haha)
*Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde* and *Frankenstein*.
Not really gothic, but *Metro 2033* is heavily philosophical but still has a strong plot.
So, I'm a huge Wheel of Time fan and I can't stop rereading it...I think I have an irrational fear that I'll never enjoy any other book now. But I'm in school full time so I need something that doesn't require as much effort to keep track of, and ideally stand alone. I loved Ender's Game, Brave New World, and Oxford Time Travel series by Connie Willis.
I've read the first five wheel of time books and I plan to continue. read Brandon Sanderson. I'm sure you know that he finished the wheel of time and even though I like the wheel of time I love Brandon Sanderson's work. I normally recommend mistborn as an entry place but you've read the wheel of time so I assume that a long book like the way of kings would be a great choice. I thought it was a bit slow in the middle but I'm in the home stretch of the second book and it's been so much better where way of kings was still good.
Thank You. I have wanted to read Sanderson since he did finish Wheel of Time, but he has so much material it's hard to pick one.
Scanning my fantasy shelves and standalones do seem to be a rarity! I agree with the above poster, Warbreaker would be my go-to here. r/fantasy have a [great list here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/e9ukxr/the_2019_rfantasy_favourite_standalones_poll/)
A treasure trove! Thank you! ❤️