I'm looking for recommendations for contemporary(ish) literary fiction written by folks who are not white men.
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posted by shakespeherian
on May 7, 2013 -
55 answers
I commute to and from work, which involves busses and trains transfers and other general distractions, and while I really enjoy reading on this commute, I can't sink my teeth into heavier books that require a ton of concentration to comprehend and follow (I save those for the weekends). I have found that lighter books with shorter chapters and engaging storylines are easiest to read in this atmosphere. What are your recommendations?
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posted by wordsmith
on May 3, 2013 -
20 answers
I've recently discovered that I love reading non-fiction about the Great Outdoors and the things that happen there. I'm talking about books like 'Touching the Void' by Joe Simpson, and Jon Krakauer's books 'Into Thin Air' and 'Into the Wild'. It doesn't necessarily have to be about disasters and tragedies: I really loved
this recent FPP about the Alaskan Iditarod. I want to read (but haven't yet) 'Into the Silence: the Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest'. Please recommend me other books in this vein?
posted by meronym
on May 2, 2013 -
35 answers
I am leaving for Africa in less than 12 hours. I will be spending the next three months doing fieldwork. I am bringing a Kindle. What reading material should I bring for entertainment? What's gotten you through some long spells away from civilization? Looking for recommendations for books that really make you think.
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posted by Scientist
on May 1, 2013 -
33 answers
If I were to choose 10 fiction and 10 non-fiction books to read within the next year to make me a better, more well-rounded conversationalist (for argument's sake, let's say within a college-educated professional audience), what books would give me the most bang for my buck?
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posted by dynamiiiite
on Apr 23, 2013 -
37 answers
My kids (a boy and a girl) are now five years old, and my wife or I read to them every night before bed. I'd like to start reading larger books to them which we can stretch out throughout a week or more, by reading them a chapter a night. Please help me put together a great reading list of age-appropriate books that will capture their imaginations and inspire happy dreams.
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posted by zarq
on Apr 2, 2013 -
61 answers
Last week I read David Foster Wallace's "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again" (thanks to
this FPP), while in the middle of reading Moby Dick. I found them resonating together so well: the high tragedy mixed with low comedy, the elaborate descriptive asides, the playing with formatting, the casual authorial self-hatred, the obsession with morality, to say nothing of the mechanics of the ship and the sea. All this without a single over reference back to Melville.
What are some other great co-reads (or movies/TV/opera/album/etc.) to get that enriching resonance? Subtle is good: think tone, theme, shape more than plot or character. If you've caught Laurence Weschler's McSweeney's series of Convergences (published in book form
here), that's more what I mean. The reader/viewer makes the connections without being led by the author (So, for instance, King Lear & Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres are too overtly linked).
Bonus points for something that goes well with Cloud Atlas (the book, not the movie).
posted by rikschell
on Feb 18, 2013 -
17 answers
What publications give solid advantages in which lines of work when read regularly? A few examples might be
McKinsey when read by HR managers,
A List Apart when read by designers,
Hacker News when read by programmers, and
Poynter when read by journalists. What else is there in these fields and in others that puts a person ahead?
posted by michaelh
on Feb 17, 2013 -
16 answers
Just too late for Valentine's Day, recommend me some awesome fantasy novels with satisfying romances.
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posted by WidgetAlley
on Feb 15, 2013 -
18 answers
Name that young adult fantasy novel: Two boys who are enemies at school are transported to some magical scenario where they have to work together.
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posted by latkes
on Feb 13, 2013 -
4 answers
An adult friend needs help becoming a faster reader. She's not interested in speed-reading classes because she doesn't want to learn how to skim: she wants to learn how to read more fluently. How does she learn to do that?
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posted by colfax
on Feb 12, 2013 -
21 answers
Seeking recommendations for fiction that features matriarchy / female led societies.
posted by travelwithcats
on Feb 4, 2013 -
36 answers
Can you recommend short, easy-to-understand math writing I can read before bed?
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posted by kristi
on Jan 29, 2013 -
12 answers
Help me find a decent set of books for an 8-yr old niece who is heavily into reading (touch wood). Harry Potter, The Hobbit and some other books are not for her at this point.
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posted by theobserver
on Jan 24, 2013 -
68 answers
How do you decide what books to read? Recommendations? Reviews? Go to the bookstore and read a chapter? I often find myself overwhelmed with the zillions of choices. How do you narrow it down?
posted by SampleSize
on Jan 9, 2013 -
40 answers
I'm especially interested in films about writers of color and writers from the global south. Any kind of film is fine - need not be a documentary. But a progressive/radical/critical outlook is appreciated! Particularly looking for films that will appeal to an intelligent but not super-theorized audience - ie, that documentary about Derrida is
not what we're looking for, and even the recent one about Zizek is an edge case.
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posted by Frowner
on Jan 9, 2013 -
4 answers
What are the legal rights and obligations of someone reading aloud in public from a published book?
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posted by anonymous
on Dec 24, 2012 -
5 answers
I just started watching Fringe. I'm only about three-quarters of the way through Season 2, so please no spoilers. What I'm looking for is companion reading material.
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posted by duckus
on Dec 14, 2012 -
14 answers
Looking for good, critical books and resources on martial arts and fighting. I prefer them to be academic enough to have survived peer review, but will take what I can get. Anything martial arts related would do, I'm interested in understanding martial arts and fighting in a more general sense.
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posted by Stagger Lee
on Dec 8, 2012 -
10 answers
I'm looking for specific book recommendations for high school exchange students.
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posted by trueluk
on Dec 4, 2012 -
3 answers
So, I would like to start reading some books lying down in my bed at night. The biggest problem I have with it is holding the book properly. I usually hold it in one hand using my fingers to constantly to hold the pages from collapsing or applying pressure to sides of the book to keep it open. It is super annoying as some of you traditional book readers must have faced. I am not sure if this is a problem for e-book readers but I can imagine it to be lot more convenient. So I am looking for a small light weight book stand that is operated with ONE HAND. Please suggest any. Thanks!
posted by SoltanG
on Nov 20, 2012 -
13 answers
Beach reading. 2012 edition. Difficulty - Must be available for purchase for Kindle in Australia.
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posted by arha
on Oct 28, 2012 -
15 answers
I used to like reading until about fourth grade. That's when books started getting more intricate with more characters and multiple plotlines etc. I'm pretty sure I have ADD and/or a terrible capacity for that kind of thing. What books might I enjoy now? (I'm 21/F)
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posted by lhude sing cuccu
on Sep 28, 2012 -
34 answers
I just finished
Gone Girl the other day and am looking for similar reads. Without spoiling anything this book features intelligent and unpredictable characters with twisty plotting, including a significant script flip halfway through. Would love similar page turners that keep you guessing without being too formulaic or lowest common denominator!
posted by yellowbinder
on Sep 24, 2012 -
26 answers
Please recommend books that are similar to 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' (not just ones about autism).
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posted by fix
on Aug 29, 2012 -
22 answers
Students of art, lovers of philosophy, can you recommend a book I can buy as a gift for a friend?
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posted by Chichibio
on Jul 25, 2012 -
17 answers
Looking for ideas of Books that would be relatively fast reads and entertaining for group readings. I got the opportunity to participate in a reading of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas this past weekend in Aspen in celebration of the Good Doctor's 75th. It was a blast and would love to recreate that without doing the same book, but that book is perfect. A friend recommended my favorite book Confederacy of Dunces, but I think that book works because of the Character of Ignatius which may be hard to pull off in an aloud reading. But anyways, any ideas?
posted by kenaldo
on Jul 18, 2012 -
11 answers
Help me pick out what books to check out from the library next. (Snowflake details inside.)
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posted by emilynoa
on Jul 2, 2012 -
18 answers
Help me optimize my vacation reading! I’m headed out to the Outer Banks next month, and there’s nothing on the agenda but reading and relaxing. I’m having trouble coming up with a week’s worth of new reading material that won’t take up significant space in our truck, though. Can you recommend me lengthy or dense books--in other words, books that will give me maximum entertainment minutes per page--that are still fun vacation reading?
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posted by House of Leaves of Grass
on May 4, 2012 -
34 answers
Akashic Books Noir Series. Which are your favorites?
Each book is an anthology of original short stories. It looks like they've published over fifty volumes. I find they differ greatly in style and overall quality of writing. It makes sense... each anthology has its own editor.
I'd like to read the volumes that have the best quality writing, and are the most fun. Here's what I've read so far, in most favored order:
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posted by valannc
on Apr 21, 2012 -
3 answers
Book recommendations please! I need fiction about difficult or complicated relationships.
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posted by gursky
on Apr 17, 2012 -
38 answers
