Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with books and recommendations

Please tell me what to read!

Janta — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:22:54 -0800

Book-recommendation-filter: Can you help me find something to read? Parameters to follow. I'm desperate for new reading material. I typically read SF/Fantasy and some mysteries (innovative and edgy, I know), and lately I've found myself reading more non-fiction, simply because it seems like most of the SF/F out there has a lot of hackneyed, overblown prose and predictable plots. What I'd really like to find is SF/Fantasy that plays with the genre's conventions a little bit, I think -- actually, I'm interested in any book that twists the conventions of its genre. Additionally, I prefer books with a good deal of action, and absolutely love it when the characters engage in "witty banter" (it should be genuinely smart dialog, though). I'm not super-fond of hard/military SF, though if it focuses on the people more than the science and tech, I'll give it a try.

SF/F that I've enjoyed recently: everything by Terry Pratchett, most of Lois Bujold's books, Scott Lynch, John Scalzi, John Varley, Charles Stross, Guy Kay, George Martin, and Ken Scholes.

Bonus-round: I just re-read Soon I WIll Be Invincible; do you know of any books that mess around with the whole superhero/supervillain/metahuman concept?

Thanks, MeFites!

p.s. -- I've done the usual googling, looked at past questions, tried BookSeer and What Should I Read Next, and haven't had much luck.

Recommendations for wounded yet likeable men in books.

beautifulcheese — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:21:09 -0800

Book recommendations: Recently I have discovered that I really enjoy a certain type of flawed character in television shows. Think Gregory House on House or Dr. Cal Lightman on Lie to Me. Wounded inside with a tough smart exterior that push people away with sarcasm or slight jerkish behaviour. Help me find examples in literature so I can continue my current obsession when I shut the tv off. I'm not sure if I'm explaining exactly the type of character that I like but that is the closest that I can get to. I've read a previous thread about bad but good characters but it just referred to tv shows.

Any recommendations? Or a way to better word what character type I'm actually looking for to help me search would also be helpful.

What is a good book to read about late 60s early 70s England?

AbsoluteDestiny — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 09:59:19 -0800

What is a good book to read about late 60s early 70s England? Non-fiction preferred but well-researched fiction is fine too. Extra points for anything that also includes:

- growing up in the working class
- the music scene
- the north

There are no gay people in the future. (Or are there?)

mumble — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 15:55:41 -0800

Looking for book recs about sci-fi, specifically about gender issues and jetpack-related physics. Slowly easing my way into science fiction (classic Star Trek as of right now, with some Blade Runner/Electric Sheep-related thoughts and plans to branch out some more), interested in two aspects of discussion right now. I did some quick Amazon and Google searches (not very helpful) and poked around a bit at AskMe, and was hoping for specific recommendations about these things:

1) Sci-fi as a white, male space </allegation>: Essay collections prefered over single-topic tomes. I'm referring specifically to sci-fi movies and novels and the way women, sexuality and/or race are handled in the narrative and, to a lesser extent, the history and culture of the genre as a whole.

2) Why transwarp teleportation will never be possible </opinion>: Books on the science behind the fiction, preferably written for the layperson without being overly cutesy about it. This sounded pretty ideal, until I read the last paragraph of this review. See 1).

Not looking for actual novel recs, just the meta. Will also take specific essays that can be found online, if you feel like sharing a link. Thanks very much in advance!

Classy, non-amateur erotic literature?

Lush — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:03:53 -0800

Having recently discovered Anais Nin's Delta of Venus and Little Birds, I'm looking for classy, somewhat highbrow, non-amateur, published erotic literature along the same lines. I appreciate the languid, lingering, sensual atmosphere of the stories, and that they provoke thought about bedroom politics.

I tried looking on my own, but it seems I have unearthed a whole new underworld of fiction and the selection is overwhelming! There seems to be a lot of amateur erotic stories designed to quickly and deliberately assist the reader in getting off, sorted by taboo subject, and usually told in crude language. I do not wish to get off on these stories. I'm also not interested in romance novels, fan fiction, or deceptively highbrow-sounding florid prose featuring non-humans. (NOTE: I searched previous AskMe questions about erotica, but the askers' tastes differ from mine.)

I'd like to read more stories like Anais Nin's. Bonus points if they're literary and thought-provoking. Extra bonus points of they're classic, and published, as I will likely be reading them in waiting areas or on the train. Extra extra bonus points if they outdo Nin.

Any recommendations?

Help me drag my uncle out of the literary dark ages!

badmoonrising — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:04:13 -0800

My uncle recently mentioned to me that he's never read any book written by a woman. Apparently this is because he doesn't think they'll be any good - he seems to think women can only write romance novels. I find this both horrific and hard to believe, but he seemed serious. So, Hive Mind, I need your help in drafting a list of the very best books written by female authors. Help me teach him the error of his ways! I've checked out a few previous questions, but I am somewhat hampered in my list-making by the fact that many of the obvious classics (and most of the books that sprang to my mind) are books that I think he will not enjoy, e.g. the works of the Brontë sisters or Jane Austen, or even Toni Morrison.

Specifically, he likes crime novels and thrillers, and fast-paced storylines without too many descriptive passages. (Or, as he put it, books "where it doesn't take the author three pages to describe a table.") So suggestions vaguely along those lines would be especially appreciated. I immediately suggested Agatha Christie and Patricia Cornwall to him, but crime is not generally my preferred genre so I'm having trouble coming up with much else.

The books do not have to be thrillers, but I suspect he will abandon anything too romance/family-orientated. So no Pride and Prejudice or The Thorn Birds, please. We're coming up with a list for a rather conservative, old-fashioned, golf- and rugby-loving Englishman in his late sixties. (So no Tipping the Velvet either!)

So, AskMeFites, please fire away!

(Also, I'm well aware of how sexist and misogynistic my uncle may seem, and I'm not interested in hearing any commentary on that, thank you. I myself want to batter him over the head with something heavy until he sees the error of his ways, but he IS family and I love the guy. So if I can rein in my violent urges, then I hope AskMeFi can too.)

[Book Filter]: Need Recommendations for Summer Reading

finitejest — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 09:44:15 -0800

Recommend me some books like these, please (more after the jump) I'm a voracious reader of all types of genres, but my dirty secret is that I also enjoy (especially during the summer) books with romance and flawed characters who find some kind of redemption.

The best example I can find of this is the movie version of A Good Year (which throws in europe, bonus!); I like the book too, but I actually think the movie is better.

I also enjoyed Proof of Life (yes I know, again with the movies, but I can't find good book examples!)... but the guy doesn't get the girl, which just isn't acceptable.

To give some more guidance, I like the Bridget Jones stuff OK, but not, on the whole, Nicholas Sparks.

Beyond that, I'm hard to put to find too many more examples (hence the question!).

But: Trashy romance novels are out, dept of character in. I don't mind action/adventure mixed with my stories.

Recommend me some good mindless summer reading, please!

Release the Stars!

mrhaydel — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:37:50 -0800

Where might I find a list of Publishers Weekly's starred reviews? I'm not always one to trust PW's judgement of every book I ever buy, but I will say that if I notice a book I'm interested in on Amazon has a starred review from PW, I'm at least a little more intrigued in reading it.

Which lead me to wanting to find a list of the books that PW has given starred reviews to, preferably one that's updated on a regular basis.

However, my Google-fu has failed me. It would seem that I could look through a number of reviews on PW's site, but, manually culling through them doesn't exactly get me what or where I want, not to mention the fact that I don't think they even allow (free) access to their archived reviews.

So, MeFites, does anyone know of a place out there to find such information?

Antiquity is where it's at

so much modern time — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 23:59:03 -0800

Recommend your favourite books about the ancient world. I recently read Peter Ackroyd's The Fall of Troy, a highly fictionalized account of the archeologist behind the excavation of Troy, and as the book progresses, there are fascinating details about the historical city of Troy.

I've also read and loved Jared Diamond's Collapse for the amount of esoteric details he puts in to describe collapsed civilizations.

It got me thinking that I'd definitely enjoy reading more books, fiction or narrative non-fiction, about the ancient world. So, recommendations away!

Sudoku masters, what are your favorite challenging sudoku books?

macguffin — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:00:44 -0800

PuzzleFilter: What books would you recommend for a sudoku addict who's already worked through a "fiendish"/"super fiendish" sudoku collection and would like to try more challenging puzzles? There seem to be a zillion sudoku books that are available. Please help me narrow down the selection, based on a few other things I'm looking for... I'd like to give someone a book of sudoku puzzles, but would appreciate help from sudoku experts since I'm not a sudoku fan myself. Some quick background:

She's mentioned that she enjoys really difficult puzzles, and I know she's finished "New York Post Fiendish Su Doku" by Wayne Gould -- the puzzles in there are labeled "fiendish" or "super fiendish."
She also has "Let's Play Sudoku: Over the Edge" by Will Shortz -- the puzzles in there range from "difficult" to "beware: very challenging" and she's said they're about the same level of difficulty as the other book.
She has tried the difficult-level puzzles from free online sudoku generators and websites, but apparently they are not as hard as the books she has.

I was thinking of getting a book that includes a few puzzles in the "super fiendish"/"beware: very challenging" difficulty range and a lot of harder puzzles that she could really dig into.

Some additional criteria for an ideal book, based on what I remember about her preferences:

Doesn't have tiny print and has room inside the puzzle grid boxes for pencil marks.
Has relatively decent paper quality that can withstand pencil marks and erasures with a plastic eraser without becoming messy. e.g. the Will Shortz "Over the Edge" paperback has fairly rough paper that isn't too suitable for this sort of thing, while the "New York Post Fiendish" book has paper that's thin but has a smoother surface.
Puzzles are logical and don't require guessing.
Only contains difficult puzzles (i.e. not a mix of easy, medium, hard).
Doesn't have to be super lightweight and portable, but ideally it shouldn't be something you have to lug around (not heavy, and not too big).

I noticed the "Mensa Absolutely Nasty Sudoku" series (ranging from levels 1 through 4) by Frank Longo, and "Second-Degree Black Belt Sudoku" also by Longo. Based on the reviews I've read, it sounds like the level 3 and 4 books are maybe the toughest books out there -- would you agree? Still, I'm not sure which of the four levels would be most appropriate. It would be really helpful to know where all of these Longo books (or any other books you can recommend) fall on the general difficulty scale when compared to Gould's "super fiendish" or Shortz' "beware: very challenging" puzzles.

(The "Mensa Absolutely Nasty Sudoku" books also sound pretty nice in quality, with more puzzles than a typical paperback, plus spiral binding and slightly larger pages, albeit with two puzzles per page instead of one. However, my local bookstore didn't have the Longo books so I couldn't tell if the puzzle boxes were smaller than the Gould book.)

I'd really like to avoid giving a book that might be too easy or too hard and have it turn out to be something that she won't enjoy. Also, it would be nice to know about the really tough books for future gifts. Thanks for your help!

Finding new books

TrashyRambo — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 10:53:48 -0800

How do you discover new books and authors? Netflix tells me what I'd enjoy watching and Pandora helps me find new music. But beyond the slightly random "Amazon Recommends..." I depend on word of mouth to pick my next read. This is slow and unsatisfactory. What's a better way?

Is that a textbook in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

shaun uh — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 10:18:21 -0800

What small, easy-to-carry-around books provide a satisfying introduction to mathematic and scientific fields, topics and/or concepts? I'm a voracious reader who would rather spend my subway rides with my nose in a book instead of an ipod in my ear. Unfortunately, a lot of the types of things I've been reading lately are not easy to carry around with me for whenever I've got ten minutes to spare. Think textbooks - neuroeconomics, artificial intelligence, statistics, and oh, I picked up Roger Penrose's Road to Reality recently, it's great but too heavy to leave my room. Anyway, as much as I've been enjoying my textbooks, it's hard to make much headway, whereas I speed through anything I can carry around with me.

I would really love to be able to read textbook-like books (or at least pop sci books that can function as serious introductions to a topic or field) while sitting on the subway or while waiting somewhere for a friend. Something roughly novel-sized I could stuff into my handbag or keep in my backpack without killing my back. Any recommendations?

(I'm especially interested in learning more about statistics, probability theory, artificial intelligence, computational models, and various maths, but my interests are pretty vast so if you know a good book on a different topic feel free to recommend.)

Tell me your fantasy football experiences

TravellingCari — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 20:39:30 -0800

I'm not looking for how-tos, but rather books about people's experiences playing fantasy sports. Any recommendations? I've read Mark St. Amant's Committed, which is a wonderful recount of his 2002 season, coupled with interviews of other fantasy "notables". Any recommendations for other books in the same vein? Football or baseball preferred but I'll take any recommendations.

I've read other reading recommendations that come up in the search results(no not all, yet, but most) and they seem to be how-tos and other strategy books. I'm not looking for strategy -- but experiences and/or anecdotes.

Not looking especially for blogs, but I'll take those recs too.

Thanks all!

Little gems

amethysts — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 14:21:24 -0800

What are some small, short books that are easy to read on the train? I really enjoyed Charlotte Bronte's "The Green Dwarf" because it was a small format and a well-written, entertaining and engaging little yarn and it lasted for one trip from my house and the resulting trip back to my house. Do you know of anything else like this? I also enjoyed "The Pirates!" series and The Little Prince.

I don't have room in my bag to lug around a big, tall, fat book, nor do I like to use up lots of arm space. And I just don't have the attention span for books that take too many sessions to finish. I don't use my ipod on mass transit so audio books are out. The dimensions of my planner book are 5.4 x 3.6 x 0.5 inches to give you some idea of what I'm going for.

I wandered around two different bookstores today and didn't see anything that seemed right so I was wondering if you guys have anything to suggest. Is there a service that prints out interesting things from the internet onto little booklets and mails them to me.

Help me achieve catharsis through reading

brandnew — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 08:11:47 -0800

Fiction or film recommendations with characters that undergo serious catharsis I've been having some rough times lately, emotionally. My life has suddenly become very strange and foreign after years of stability. I'm doubting all kinds of things and solid relationships are being turned upside down. I want to read my pain away. Are there any novels or films where the protagonist suddenly questions everything in their life and finds that they're not living the life they were meant to live? I'm looking for books highly character-driven, relationship-oriented,with difficult life-changing decisions to be made (or not made). modern, if possible. A lot of books these days seem to be highly clever, which is ok, but I'm more interested in empathy and emotional resonance. Surrealism and magical realism ok, but I'm looking to identify in realistic ways. Something that will hit me harder than a dose of MDMA

Caribbean book filter

the christopher hundreds — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 16:43:14 -0800

Can you recommend books about the Caribbean? I'm looking for fiction or non-fiction, though preferably not pirates or tourist tales. I'm familiar with Don't Stop the Carnival and am pretty sure it will be arriving next week via the chimney, but am looking for more to get me through the next 3 months of snow and ice. Regional or island specific books are OK.

Books with just two (or something like that) people?

Xere — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:23:03 -0800

Are there any books out there that are basically just two people having a conversation and going about their business? Sort of a book version of Before Sunset, or My Dinner with Andre?

Help me choose a book to travel with.

mosessis — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:38:48 -0800

I need a longish, interesting, well-written book (fiction) to read on an upcoming trip. Any suggestions? I'm going on a trip where I'll have plenty of time to read and not much space to pack books. I need to find a good novel-type book that could last me at least a couple of weeks. My trip is for a couple of months in non-English speaking countries, and I want something captivating to fall into as a respite from journeying.

I have read both Portrait of a Lady by Henry James and Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder in this same situation, and those worked perfectly for my purposes. I wish I could just bring one of these again, because they were so perfect - dense, interesting, thought-provoking, lend themselves to rereading passages - but I'd really like to find something new.

My general tastes run towards late 18th Century (Burney Lennox, Austen, etc) and turn of the twentieth century (James, Wharton, Wilde, etc). I generally steer away from serializations that have been turned into novels (Dickens, Forster, etc) and overly romanticized, gothic, heroic, dramatic love type stories (Les Miserables, Goethe, etc). But of course I am completely open to trying new genres and authors that I might not yet know I love.

What book was in your backpack that kept you going through the lonely times? What's the best longish novel you've read that you wish you had had the time to just sit and read? To slightly complicate this, I'm leaving in 36 hours and will have to find this on the shelf at one of my (luckily many) local book stores.

Recommend some non-white kids' books

featherboa — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:24:41 -0800

Can you recommend some children's picture books that don't just feature white faces? I run a kids' bookshop and it's been bugging me that almost none of the picture books we stock feature a non-white child as the main character. I'm trying to remedy that.

I'll probably be getting My Two Grannies, but ideally the storyline wouldn't be particularly about race. I do stock Rastamouse and that's probably closer to what I'm looking for, except it's about a mouse.

The shop's in London, and I try to keep the books skewed more British than American, but if you have a favourite from anywhere in the world, please let me know.

Similarly if you want to recommend a kids' book without pictures that fits the theme, I'd love to know about that too.

Recommendations for SF/Fantasy books that deal with "lost civilizations"

papercake — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 09:44:37 -0800

Recommend me some SF/Fantasy books that deal with "lost civilizations" I'm a sucker for stories with mysterious lost civilizations as the focus, or the backdrop. Can't get enough of 'em. I know that's a pretty general requirement and that they've become a kind of a SF/Fantasy cliché at this point, but what are people's favorite books that deal with lost civs?

For instance, I love Richard Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs novels with the Martian technology strewn around all over the place. (Although am frustrated that we never find out more than we do about the Martians.)

Elantris was an interesting idea that, ultimately, fizzled to me.

Love the LOTR's deep history and, yes, have read the Silmarillion and love it as well.

So, Mefites, any suggestions?

Books on impact of miracles on Latin American politics?

Joakim Ziegler — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:59:21 -0800

I'm looking for recommendations on books on purported (modern) religious miracles in Latin America, and their impact on society and politics. For instance, the Virgin of Cuapa appeared to a man in Nicaragua during the civil war, and ordered him to "burn bad books", which was done, with "bad books" interpreted to mean Marxist literature.

In general, I'm interested in purported miracles leading to mass movements, political change, and societal impact. Additionally, if there are some really good books out there on the influence and impact of the Catholic Church on modern Latin American politics (big subject, I know), specifically as it relates to the Latin American right wing, and possibly the various "dirty wars", I'd also be interested.

Academic works are preferred, but more popular reporting works too. Prefereably books I can get on Amazon.

Books that take place in Knoxville/East Tennessee?

timetoevolve — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:39:59 -0800

I'm looking for books, either fiction or non-fiction, that take place in Knoxville, Tennessee or other nearby places in East Tennessee. As happens every summer, I am missing my Southern homeland something fierce, and I would like to pepper my reading list with books that are set in Tennessee, preferably in Knoxville.

Some notes:

-I read A Death in the Family in high school, and Suttree is already on the list.
-I have no preference in genre, but I especially like memoirs, travel literature, and creative nonfiction (of the John McPhee variety).
-Since my tastes run more to non-fiction these days, some more fiction would be lovely.

Any recommendations?

Romantic books that aren't necessarily romance or chick lit?

Xere — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:56:21 -0800

Recommend to me books with romantic relationships (not necessarily romance or chick lit) that I can sigh happily, wistfully over? Chick lit has this as a staple, BUT. The endings I've come across recently don't leave me with the weeklong glow of "Ah, excellent!" Also, most chick lit I've come across strikes me as mostly about designer shopping, or retellings of Bridget Jones.

Please, not paperbacks from the Romance Novels section with Fabio & Friends on the cover. Not VC Andrews getting me all hot and bothered and feeling dirty. Fresh stuff that isn't Danielle Steele, Barbara McCartland, and Co. If it's a physics textbook, then hey, let me know the ISBN.

Help me immerse myself into romance by proxy. (I know, I know, I'm lame and should just go out and date, forget all this book stuff. But this is all post-breakup and I don't care for real men right now.)

Thanks all!

Engrossing books that make you think until it hurts a little bit.

takeyourmedicine — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:18:03 -0800

What books have transported you to another place, and occupied your thoughts for days whilst you read them? When I read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance for the first time last summer I got really caught up in it, and was for reading 3 or 4 times the amount of time I could usually bear doing anything. The Road was similar. I couldn't put The Life of Pi down, but it didn't effect me in such a similar way.

I don't just want to know "books you couldn't put down" but the books you read which then continued to spin about through your head until you had finished them, or at least until you had done some research and understood it a little better.

I was reminded of this phenomenon after reading a post at mp3 blog Motel De Moka:

"Lately I get bored of my friends easily and I have an increasingly disgust for my family and my city. For the past few days I’ve been avoiding going out and I’ve spent most of my time alone at home trying to understand this book"

From the books description "there are plenty of reasons not to read Peter Weiss’s monumental novel The Aesthetics of Resistance. It is long and difficult, filled with obscure references and intractable ideas. Few of its characters can easily be imagined or identified with. Its byzantine paragraphs stretch on for pages a time, sometimes containing only a single unrelenting sentence... In spite and because of all this, the book gives a rich reward. There are many novels which convey the bitter experience of Europe’s twentieth century, but few which range so widely or reflect so deeply on that history."

I like the sound of that and would love some suggestions.

Non-Fiction or Fiction is fine. Out-of-copyright/ free librivox audiobooks are a big plus.

It can be a difficult book, but one that is ultimately rewarding which might just occupy all of my thoughts for a whole - books that make you think really hard, in a very differenct way for all the time you've been reading them for. The opposite of a summer read may be pushing it to far - Zen &... was fairly easy to read and enjoyable - but totally engrossing.

I've got infinite jest and gravity's rainbow but I've yet to venture into them...

Sci-Fi easy readers?

Janta — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:46:32 -0800

Book-rec-filter time! Looking for sci-fi themed books for a young child. Can you suggest any? My son, who is not quite 5, is hugely interested in space, rockets, the planets, robots, etc. He's also just becoming comfortable with reading to himself. I'm looking for picture books and/or easy readers that have a scientific or sci-fi feel to them; do any of you have recommendations to share? Fiction or non-fiction -- he loves both.