Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with books

Name That Book!

notcomputersavvy06 — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 20:00:24 -0800

Another "what book is this" query relating to a sci-fi book from the late 80s/early 90s concerning a society wherein the sexes live in different compounds and the males engage in ultra-violent rituals and war-type activities. My memory is quite hazy but the book made a impression on me when I read it sometime in the late 80s/early 90s. It was a sci-fi book set in some alternate reality wherein the men and women live separately except for a certain segment of "neutered" men who live with the women and help raise the children. All male children are turned over to the male compound at a certain age and have to go through a series of violent coming of age rituals which determine whether they will stay in the male compound or return, disgraced, to live with the women. As is revealed later, the women have engineered this arrangement so that violence is gradually "bred" out of society because it's not the aggressive men in the compound impregnating the women, but the peaceful "neutered" males who live with the women.

Help identify this book about traveling on a ship in the antarctic

bleary — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 22:50:06 -0800

I want to read the part about the antarctic ocean so full of life I remember reading a book that was written in the mid 1900's perhaps. It's a memoir by someone--probably some male author who wrote 'classics' of literature.

He has a friendly mein, and I love remembering a section where he talks about the ocean down there so teaming with life. It's almost like the boat is driving through a soup of krill. I want to read that scene again. It's like a song or word I can't quiet remember.

Who is it? arg. I hate tip of the tongue.

Can you recommend Science Fiction novels for me?

tumbleweedjack — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 15:57:52 -0800

The only science fiction novel I've read is "Contact" by Carl Sagan. Can you recommend me more? I like Contact because I feel like it dealt intelligently with humans discovering alien life. I saw that there are other threads about science fiction books, but I am in particular interested in books that explore the theme of 'first contact' between humans and aliens. Outside of that, if there are any absolute must-reads, like a Great Gatsby of Science Fiction, I'm open to that too.

Great Non-Fiction of the past year?

Rocket26 — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 07:15:53 -0800

The best non-fiction books of 2009? I'm in a Christmas coma and need something good. I hope this hasn't been asked before, I'm headed to the bookstore soon so I'm looking for something stat. Thanks!

14 year old girl book choice

occidental — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 10:27:35 -0800

I would like to get a 14 year-old girl an amazing book. Something along the lines of "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" (which I have read) but I hesitate to introduce her to some of the extremely painful events in the book at her age. Would "All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes" be a good book? I have not read this one yet. Any other Angelou books I should look at?

The Origin of the Matrix

madmamasmith — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:30:53 -0800

Origin of the Matrix relating to a Science Fictional setting... I am reading Neuromancer by William Gibson and the main character mentions "the matrix", as something he "jacks in to". Now this is my first foray into sci-fi and I am only about 20 pages in but I was wondering where the term originated. Did The Matrix movie steal this term and its meaning from Gibson or was it already being used in previous sci-fi works? I have only ever heard it used in a sci-fi context so that's why I;m wondering. I'm admitting my lack of knowledge in this area, so please don't make me feel like a ding dong if the answer to this question is blindingly obvious to you! Also, while on the topic of Sci-fi, the last book I read in the genre was Ender's Game in junior high and I loved it, so please suggest any sci-fi reads I should check out.

The right book for a train ride

timory — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:07:43 -0800

What are good books to read on a train? This holiday, for the first time, I'll be taking the train home instead of flying. I'm relishing the thought of being able to read while traveling (airplanes make me queasy), and I'm looking forward to the forced downtime from the internet and other things that distract me from reading even a fraction of what I used to read.

The journey is about 8 hours long, 16 round trip. It seems the perfect amount to read a smaller novel each way, or a longer one I could split half and half on each leg.

Please give me your recommendations. I'm looking for something more literary (not necessarily part of "the canon," but definitely nothing pulpy or best-sellery), and engaging enough to hold my attention for 8 hours straight. I want the perfect thing to read while staring out into snowy Pennsylvania and listening to the tracks chug by. I think the Mountain Goats are the best music to listen to on these long journeys alone, but I want the literary equivalent of that.

Here is a sparse sampling of the kinds of books I'm looking for:
Calvino, If on a Winter's Night a Traveler
Gaarder, The Solitaire Mystery
Updike, Rabbit, Run
Murakami, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

I'm sensing a theme... maybe the theme of journeys, whether fantastical or mundane, seems to fit the mold for me here.

Recommendations for (simpler) novellas in Russian or Spanish are also welcome, because I could very much stand to brush up on those languages. Bonus points for magically guessing and suggesting books I already own but haven't yet read. Thank you!

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.

Help me find a good exercise book to listen to on my trip.

whoaali — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 22:00:54 -0800

My exercise routine is not yielding me results. I want a book (preferably one that I can download on audible) that will fill in the many gaps in my excercise/fitness knowledge. For about the past nine months I have been attempting to lose about 15 - 20 pounds and tone up. I'm a 27 year old female. BMI hovers around 25, but basically healthy weight.

I initially did a lot of power yoga (very intense classes which worked me harder than I've ever worked before). They left me starving and sore. After about 4 months of this I had lost no weight and could only see minimal results. I switched to going to the gym and doing primarily cardioand this has been more successful. My appetite is under control and I've lost about 7-9 pounds, but I feel as flabby as ever.

A month and a half ago I sprained my ankle really badly and couldn't exercise at all, however the weight loss continued at the same (possibly faster?) pace as when I was going to the gym. This leads me to believe my current exercise regime is doing nothing for me (I've been losing weight by counting calories) and I want to learn what I'm doing wrong and how I can have a more effective workout. Granted I am not naturally athletic at all, but I still think I could be getting some tangible results from all the hours of exercise I've put in.

I'll be driving about 15 hours over the next week and want to download a book or 2 that will help fill in my exercise knowledge. Here is a rough idea of what I'm hoping to learn.

- How to exercise efficiently.
- Cardio vs Weight Lifting
- Supplements, are they even worth it?
- Eating before and after exercise (and how does this mesh with a low calorie diet approx. 1500 calories a day)
- Is there any point in building muscle if it's covered in fat?
- Weight lifting - reps, weight etc

I'm particularly interested in books that have a practical approach and are aimed at beginners. I'm not looking to become a weight lifter or a world class athlete, I just want to jiggle less!

Blog gimmick ahoy!

schmichael — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:30:12 -0800

Help me with a gimmick for a blog! After hearing about the movie Julie & Julia, I had an idea for a blog along similar lines. My idea: read every (X) book in a year. Maybe I could do every Book prize winner, or every Pulitzer. I would have to read about 50 books in one year. Not a huge amount of books, but on top of a busy life I think it's a good challenge. I calculate that 50 books would average out to about 3/4 of an hour of reading a day, 365 days a year.

My first question: does that sound like an interesting blog to you? To be honest, I'm kind of mining for opinions and ideas here. Maybe reading is just too boring to make for a captivating blog, maybe it's all depends on how you present it. Maybe there are enough literature-lovers out there that it would find an audience.

And maybe the theme could be improved on - maybe the Pulitzer and Man Booker are too well-known to be interesting. Maybe there's some really really weird way of theming 50 books to read - bizarro literary prizes, weird genres, something like that.

I would be aiming to do something more interesting than just reviewing the books. Partly because I am not a literary critic, and partly because that would be just boring. I'd be researching the books, the authors, looking into the story behind whichever theme I choose, looking into the whole why-we-read thing.

I'm fairly excited by this idea. But there is a lot to think about in a really short space of time (if I want to be rolling on this by New Year's Day, that is). One thing is that I've never really done any proper blogging before. I know that there's a difference between Tumblr and Wordpress, but not much more than that. I would not know how to make a custom template or do any deep work other than pasting on a pre-made skin.

And I also don't know much about the blogging world in general. What are the good literature and books blogs out there? How do you go about building an audience and making connections? What sort of things are possible with blogs?

All input appreciated!

"Wanting to fail" book ?

southof40 — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:31:04 -0800

Book about "wanting to fail" ? Sometime ago in a previous ask.metafilter thread a book was referenced about people who "want to fail" in things they try to do (or perhaps "feel they should fail") and so arrange things so that they do.

I realise this is the sub-text of many pysch/self-help books but my recollection is that this was a specific book on just this subject and that more than one person in the tread cited it (so perhaps therefore it's fairly well known).

Would welcome suggestions as to what it might have been. Thanks.

Contemporary Israeli Fiction Filter: Recommendations?

devilsbrigade — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:39:39 -0800

Contemporary Israeli Fiction Filter: recommendations? I'm almost done reading Shammas' Arabesques, which I like, but isn't quite what I was after (the main characters are Christian Arab Israeli, and kind of deal with Israeli culture by, well.. ignoring it). I've already read a lot of Palestinian & Egyptian lit, and no other Israeli lit; I'd like something that focuses more on modern Israel, rather than other groups in Israel.

The only two other Israeli authors I know of are Meir Shalev & A.B. Yehoshua, which are my only leads at the moment. Any recommendations for particular books, or other authors? Modern, post-modern, whatever doesn't bother me.

For bonus points: any recent books from Levantine or Egyptian authors that aren't, er, very heavy? Not that it has to be cheerful, exactly, but the trend seems to be to write about impoverished, repressed, marginalized groups, oppressive or corrupt governments, etc., and after > 5 books like this I'd like to read something a bit different.

Looking for books where a person or people are searching for a long lost person.

reenum — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 08:41:37 -0800

Looking for books where a person or people are searching for a long lost person. I loved Hunting Eichmann and would like to read more books about a person or a group of people banding together to find a long lost person.

I'd prefer nonfiction, but well written fiction will work too.

Thanks!

How to tell children about death book suggestions for a single dad

spec80 — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:15:12 -0800

A friend's father passed away suddenly and he is having difficulty formulating a way to tell his daughter. What books would you recommend? I have no experience with the death of a parent or being a parent. I don't know how to help other than lending a sympathetic ear.

Friend was pretty close with his dad and is using work to distract himself. He is a single dad and his two daughters live with their mom. He is concerned about how to tell his eldest daughter (ten years old) and help her cope/mourn because she knew and had a close relationship with her grandfather. She is aware of the concept of death and knows people that have died, but Friend says she's never had a relationship with those people. (Her mother lives in an area of NYC where violence is still prevalent.)

I searched previous questions and I am thinking of printing out this thread and maybe getting this book? Googling gives an overwhelming result and I was hoping someone could personally suggest a book. I cannot give a website, only printouts of a website because they don't have an internet/computer at home. Daughter might have access to one at school, but I am presuming.

Good translations of Zhuangzi?

Arturus — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:38:48 -0800

I'm interested in getting a print copy of Zhuangzi to read. What's a good translation or edition?

Book recommendations, please!

otters walk among us — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 15:26:47 -0800

What book(s) should I buy for my mom for Christmas? She has recently really liked the following: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
Timbuktu by Paul Auster
The Bear Went Over the Mountain by William Kotzwinkle
The Loop by Joe Coomer
and so on. I think of her reading tastes as stories that remind you what's important, but are also interesting and perhaps a little quirky, but not overly sappy.

I'm usually successful at giving her something that I read recently that I liked, but I've sadly read very little this year, so I'm at a bit of a loss. Any recommendations?

Great texts on pop culture?

mediocritease — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 15:08:00 -0800

Can anyone recommend a good text on pop culture history/studies? I'd love to take a college course on the subject, but I'm not currently enrolled anywhere. I'm also impatient and I want to get right on it. I did a brief search for any similar questions on AskMeFi and didn't find anything. Nor do I check this site daily, so if it's been asked before then I've missed it and I apologize. Your help will be greatly appreciated.

Good books / Documentaries on the Middle East?

happydude123 — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:09:58 -0800

Good books or documentaries about the middle east Hi all,

I am planning to do an independant research project for my political science class on the middle east. I need a topic and a general direction so that I can start researching for a thesis. I was wondering if you guys could recommend any good documentaries, books, or anything that would help me get started. I would like to talk about some aspect of the effects of US presence / policy in the region. Maybe some clash of civilizations, but any suggestions would be helpful

Thanks

Another bookfilter question

osloheart — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:18:12 -0800

Book recommendations for my slightly depressed mom.. My mom has experienced mild depression since her fight with cancer last year. She went through some painful complications and also found out she has some other health issues since then. I live far away and can't visit her often. Im going home for the holidays, and am formulating a little plan to spend a couple weeks of real quality time with her, take her out, try to cheer her up, and just be there for her. She is really really excited to see me, we have always been best friends and she says she feels lonely when Im away.
I have been trying to come up with some books I might get her for Christmas to help her stay positive when I am leave for school again. She has never been much of a reader and she lives a very simple life, but lately she has expressed some interest in reading. Im happy about this, I think it could help.

Thing is, I don't want to give her books that are obviously self-help type, I dont want to give her something that says "there's something wrong with you, here's another attempt at medication/therapy..." She struggles with weight and eating healthy and I dont want to add to her feelings of frustration with self-improvement. She knows I love to read, so its natural that I would encourage her to, too.

I would like some recommendations for easy reading literature with a happy, positive message. Maybe you have read something lately that was simple and nice and just lifted your spirits/ made you feel optimistic about life? Maybe a story with a mother-daughter theme?

I am grateful for your help :)

Deviant psychology books?

stinkycheese — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:56:42 -0800

I'm interested in suggestions for books on psychology, particularly deviant psychology. I'm not taking a degree, and I don't have access to an academic library, but I am looking for fairly academic works.

The perfect novel?

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:28:34 -0800

Help me find that perfect novel for a Christmas present. Sorry to post this anonymously, but someone close to the recipient is one my contacts!

Now, I spent a good part of yesterday perusing book stores, eventually walking away empty handed.

The person receiving this book is a mid-fifties male who is an avid reader of good popular fiction. E.g. really likes Frank McCourt; really dislikes Dan Brown.

I considered Netherland by O'Neill but decided against it because I haven't read it and thought it might be too political. (Is it?) So if you need a gage to go by then it'd be McCourt.

The suggestion needn't be a heavy story, for well-written, humorous, insightful prose works just as well. What I want is a story that will stick with this person for time to come.

Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

How to sell a rare and possibly valuable manuscript?

broadway bill — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:08:56 -0800

I have come into possession of a handwritten manuscript by Cecil Day-Lewis, noted British author and poet (and father of Daniel Day Lewis). I have been asked to determine the value of the manuscript, and sell it. It was inherited by a family friend, who wants rid of it. Aside from contacting rare book people (which I have done/am still doing) do any mefites have ideas on how to get the most for it?? The manuscript is handwritten, in amazing condition, and appears to be complete. It is apparently the manuscript to his young adult novel titled The Otterbury Incident, which was published in 1948. I myself am the progeny of a noted literary talent, and can not help but think that if I were Daniel Day-Lewis, I might be interested in the thing myself. Is that an insane idea? Is it even more insane to attempt to contact DDL about all of this? And, if one were to attempt to contact someone in his position, how would it be done? Will I come off as a horrible, leeching vampire if I do that?

Interacting with university presses at a huge conference to our mutual benefit

anonyme — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:24:04 -0800

I'm an author, and I have a great job helping my fellow faculty members publish their books with university presses. Through this job I visit presses one-on-one sometimes, but that is expensive and involves major travel. A huge conference is coming up with 20 of our target presses in attendance, each at a booth. What is the best way to contact them pre-conference to arrange intelligent, mutually meaningful interaction? Should I write to the directors themselves, or is there a more grassroots way to poll university press staffs to get a feel for who wants to meet and discuss their take on scholarly publishing? And what's in this for them, other than the fact that my university is reasonably high on the prestige scale? Any other benefit to them?

Are there any great book recommendation engines/websites out there?

ShootTheMoon — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:38:04 -0800

Are there any great book recommendation engines/websites out there? Something like how Netflix will look at your past rentals and recommend movies to watch next. Bonus points if it can integrate with GoodReads reviews, as I already have a list of books read and rated on that site.

I did see a previous Askme question, but it was a few years old. Was hoping something new has come along.

Please recommend books similar to Bill Simmons' Book of Basketball

reenum — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:44:05 -0800

I love Bill Simmons' "The Book of Basketball". What should I read next? I'm in the middle of Simmons NBA opus, and it fascinates as to how he's able to pack in so much info, yet have the book remain accessible. I especially love how he makes fun of and injects humor into the various characters and events in the NBA's history.

Are there other books that are basically all encompassing, sprawling accounts of a particular entity, field, event, etc., yet remain fun to read?

I know some folks might suggest Mary Roach, but I just couldn't get into her stuff.

I prefer nonfiction, but well written fiction would work too.

Thanks!