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General discussion (archive)Recommend me a book, win a GOG(146 posts)(146 posts)
(146 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted May 17, 2011
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Aniketos: Yeah they were great books! Have you read The City & The City yet? Haven't been able to but I hear great things about it. Also did you read The Iron Council?
Dont have The City & The City in my shelf yet.
I personally rate The Iron Council as Mieville's best story from Bas Lag. Too many things to mention actually, dont want to spam here :)

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PhoenixBlade: On the subject of SF: Dan Simmons! Namely "Hyperion", the first book in the Hyperion Cantos and, for me at least, by far the best.
Epic series and the first book is truly the best. I admit I neglected my wife a bit while reading these :)

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Tulivu: OP might not be interested but if you like epic, multiple perspective fantasy it does not get any more epic than The Malazan Book of the Fallen series.
I see another recommendation on this one - I guess I have to buy it now.
Post edited May 17, 2011 by OKRB
Posted May 17, 2011
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keeveek: Thank you. But remember folks, this is a very short novel, not an entire book. But it's worth reading anyway.
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Shiek2005: Is it simply a single independent short story? or party of a bigger series?
I don't read much outside of Fantasy novels, so it might be easier to get into for a reader like me.
Totally independent short story. But the author has several more, as interesting as that one, but this is my favourite.

If you're into "cold war sci-fi" you should like novels made by him.
Post edited May 17, 2011 by keeveek
Posted May 17, 2011
Absolutely love Ursula Le Guin's "Earthsea" Trilogy, specifically the first one, "Wizard of Earthsea". Excellent excellent story of a young wizard's rise to fame and the catastrophes that are caused by his arrogance. Definitely relies on the “wonder” angle of magic, and how it’s a difficult trade and not used quickly. Highly recommended
Posted May 17, 2011
I recommend Ulysses by James Joyce, it's a real "modern classic" and i think that it is worth reading it.
Posted May 17, 2011
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spindown: ... I've recently been reading mostly about... economics, in particular... the recent financial crisis...
In that case, add "The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine" by Michael Lewis to the list.

Astonishing insight into the subject.
Posted May 17, 2011
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Willofield: I recommend Ulysses by James Joyce, it's a real "modern classic" and i think that it is worth reading it.
It took two months to read through the whole book for me. I'm still not sure if I've understood even a half of it.
Posted May 17, 2011
The Scarlet Ibis:

I read this as a kid, It was one of those stories that stuck with me my whole life.

It's about an older brother who has a younger brother with a disability and his desire to both protect and push his little brother to do things.

It's a very heartfelt story that will stick with you. It's down to earth, something that you can feel tugging at your heart strings.

It's not a full book rather a great short story.

http://www.amazon.com/Scarlet-Ibis-Classic-Short-Stories/dp/0886820006/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305668453&sr=1-2

It's a bit hard to find the physical book though, can be expensive so you could get it digitally or google for it.

If you want an actual book might I suggest This Boys Life?

http://www.amazon.com/This-Boys-Life-Tobias-Wolff/dp/0802136680/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305669334&sr=8-1

It's a book that follows a young boy as he follows his mother across country to find a new life. It's a great coming of age back set in the 50's, can be both funny and sad.

The movie they made of it was decent as well actually, it starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro (in one of his best roles imo, though it's one many people don't seem to know of).
Post edited May 17, 2011 by Stiler
Posted May 17, 2011
- "On the Beach" by Nevil Shute.
Not too long (can be read in 1-2 evenings), one of the best books I've ever read. For postapo fans a must-have (althought do not expect mad-max-like-world)

- Cormac McCarthy, The Road
- Anything by George R.R. Martin - do not limit yourself to A song of Ice and Fire. Try: Fevre Dream, Tuf Voyaging or The Armageddon Rag.
- Dark Fantasy: Glen Cook The Black Company, Steven Eriksson: Malazan Book of the Fallen
Post edited May 17, 2011 by tburger
Posted May 17, 2011
Alright, so as promised I just determined the winner of the free GOG! In total, 80 people participated in the thread. Thanks a lot to everyone for sharing their book recommendations. And the winner is:

wlmiv

Congrats! I'll definitely check out "The Rising Sun." An account of the Pacific War from the Japanese perspective sounds like something I would be very interested in.

Let me know which game you would like, and I'll send it your way. If you want the gift certificate from GOG, I will need your email address. Otherwise I'll just PM you the code to redeem the game.

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wlmiv: Let's see, for nonfiction I will recommend John Toland's "The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945" It's pretty much exactly what the subtitle makes it sound like it is. I always felt like the history of the World War II era Japanese Empire that I had been exposed to was lacking so it was interesting to read a book focused explicitly on that perspective. It was a Pulitzer Prize winner back in the day, if you put any stock in that.

For a good single volume history of the American Revolution, I really enjoyed Robert Middlekauff's The Glorious Cause.

For fiction I'll second a few suggestions that have already been made: George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series is definitely my favorite fantasy series (first book is A Game of Thrones), Stephen Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen is an interesting fantasy series because of the scope of the world that is imagined. I would personally find the characters and the story of Song of Ice and Fire more compelling than Malazan but I find the Malazan world and back story more compelling. Reading the Malazan books is almost like an archeological dig if that analogy makes sense. I'll also say the Wheel of Time series but the critiques about it booking tedious in the middle books is quite true (although because it was one of the first series I read it will also have a special place in my heart).


Some good science fiction: Asimov's Foundation Trilogy (read the original 3 first, he wrote prequels and later books but the original three should be the first you read). Also Asimov's Robot trilogy is quite good, each novel is basically a detective novel set in the future. I cannot recommend Robert Heinlein highly enough. Stranger in a Strange Land is my favorite of his, but many are great. I especially enjoyed The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Farnham's Freehold, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, Starship Troopers, and Time Enough for Love. Frank Herbet's Dune is another classic very worth reading (the first book can be read and enjoyed whether or not you ever read the sequels. Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game is another great science fiction book about children who are trained in war games to prepare for a coming war with an alien race. Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End is another great one about mankind's first encounter with an alien race.
Posted May 17, 2011
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Shiek2005: Is it simply a single independent short story? or party of a bigger series?
I don't read much outside of Fantasy novels, so it might be easier to get into for a reader like me.
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keeveek: Totally independent short story. But the author has several more, as interesting as that one, but this is my favourite.

If you're into "cold war sci-fi" you should like novels made by him.
Never read anything on that topic, but thanks for the suggestion :)
Posted May 17, 2011
I do not really have a non-fiction as a recommendation, but how about a true story? This book, The Cuckoo's Egg, was recommended by my professor back in the university for a reading material in UNIX class. It accounts for Clifford Stoll's story to hunt a computer hacker when he was working at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

The story is quite interesting, and I must say Mr. Stoll wrote it well, especially about his experience with various government agencies like FBI, CIA, NSA, and Air Force OSI. His humor about these agents are also funny (at least for me).

The book was adapted into an episode in the 1990 Nova television series titled "The KGB, The Computer, and Me".

You know what, I can't really make a good persuasion for you to read this book, but I hope you will at least check it out. And even if this is not a GOG competition, even if you only want a book recommendation, I'd still recommend this book. Chances are you won't regret it.
Posted May 17, 2011
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spindown: Alright, so as promised I just determined the winner of the free GOG! In total, 80 people participated in the thread. Thanks a lot to everyone for sharing their book recommendations. And the winner is:

wlmiv

Congrats! I'll definitely check out "The Rising Sun." An account of the Pacific War from the Japanese perspective sounds like something I would be very interested in.

Let me know which game you would like, and I'll send it your way. If you want the gift certificate from GOG, I will need your email address. Otherwise I'll just PM you the code to redeem the game.
"The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945" is not a bad book, that he suggested, but it's fairly general.
Try mine, too! http://www.gog.com/en/forum/general/recommend_me_a_book_win_a_gog/post22
Also, Prange did one about Midway, but the name escapes me...Miracle at Midway? Something like that.

One of the better books about the American side was Homer Wallin's "PEARL HARBOR: Why, How, Fleet Salvage, Final Appraisal" - he led the salvage efforts on the damaged fleet. He does a fairly good, in-depth review of the attack, and the aftermath for the Americans.
Posted May 17, 2011
Since you are a gamer and a non-fiction fan, I am going to suggest that you read Masters of Doom.
I finished it in under a day. I couldn't put it down.
Posted May 17, 2011
There were definitely some interesting recommendations in this thread. I'm going to check some out myself. Here's another couple for kicks:

Jonanathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. Charming read. Gave my copy to my mother, wich I could get it back.

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. To get all that fantasy washed out of your mind.
Posted May 17, 2011
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strixo: There were definitely some interesting recommendations in this thread. I'm going to check some out myself.
Oh for sure, my to read list definitely needs an updating after this thread.

Also, does anyone know any good Lovecraft books or collections I should check out. I've been meaning to read some of his work (mainly the Cthulhu stuff) but I never know where to start.
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General discussion (archive)Recommend me a book, win a GOG(146 posts)(146 posts)
(146 posts)