What Should I Read Next? (catch-all thread)

[spezzy]

THIS THREAD IS MEANT AS A CATCH ALL THREAD.  AS IN, WE ALL GET RECOMMENDATIONS ON WHAT TO READ NEXT

 

HOW IT WORKS:

1) Post recent books and/or books you've really enjoyed

2) Get/Give recommendations from others

 

So, I'll start!

 

Nerds! I need help.

 

Last two things I read and enjoyed:

Ham on Rye (Bukowski)

Lolita (Nabokov)

 

favorite all time author is Vonnegut.

 

Recommendations?

Considering House of Leaves, Jitterbug Perfume, or Something Wicked This Way Comes. I've read Bradbury before so I know I'll enjoy Something Wicked, though looking for something new.

[sailsgoboom]

I *adored* House of Leaves.  It's weird, creative, complicated... In fact, the next book on my shelf to read is his new book "The Familiar". 

 

Something Wicked This Way Comes is okay... Bradbury sure has a way with words, incredible prose, but I think it would have been way better as a short story rather than a short novel.

 

I'm currently reading "All the Light We Cannot See" for a book club.  It's okay and I'm enjoying, but I don't have anything to say about it.

[Maj. Bloodnok]

I've recommended Daniel Pinkwater in other threads, especially if you appreciate absurdist or surreal humor.  I would also recommend Thomas Pynchon's "Crying of Lot 49". 

 

I'm currently reading a biography of Richard Pryor called "Furious Cool", and Ann Leckie's "Ancillary Sword".  Her world-building is really intriguing: she creates a language with no gender distinctions (everyone is referred to as 'she' regardless of gender), a galactic empire ruled by an immortal AI-augmented queen literally at war with herself, and a society in which family connections are everything and bare hands are considered risqué (everyone wears gloves in public).

 

Gonna have to try House of Leaves; I like weird stuff.

[LesDesgats]

House of Leaves is incredible! It was a chore for me to get through, but by the end I was so happy I did. At times it is hilarious and at times completely unnerving (or downright terrifying). I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

 

Right now I'm working on Journey to the End of the Night by Celine. He influenced Vonnegut fairly heavily, which is especially evident in Slaughterhouse-5. So far so good- highly recommend!

[AliTheDrugDealer]

I just got done reading 'The Book of Life', the last book in the All Souls trilogy by Deborah Harkness.  Interesting mix of scholarly research and witches/vampires.  I thoroughly enjoyed the series and will probably read it again.

[Evermist]

Nnnmph. I rather enjoyed Praetorian by Simon Scarrow, so I think that one's worth a go! For those of you who enjoy plays, I think Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan and Arthur Miller's All My Sons are worth a read too.

[Princess Pineapple]

I never finished House of Leaves. It was too laborious with all the foot notes. I might give it another go soon though.

[MariahSnow]

House of Leaves was great, strange, and definitely kind of a chore to get through. But worth it, especially if you like weird stuff.

 

Jitterbug Perfume? Have you read any other Tom Robbins? If not, I'd say start with Another Roadside Attraction or Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.

 

I just finished A Memory of Light, the last book in The Wheel of Time series. I'm currently reading New Spring which is the prequel to that series but it's short.

 

Next up? Probably Gone Girl since it's been sitting on my shelf since Christmas.

[Gnarth]

The last two were The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins and The Martian by Andy Weir, but I want to focus on the latter.

The Martian was SO good! It is perfect for this community (I'm new here but this is a story written for Us). Weir stunningly weaves daring-adventure, technical specs of space travel, MacGyver-esque problem solving, and perfect nerd-humor into something I wanted to read my entire life and didn't know it yet. It is being made a movie so go read it first! I bought it at the airport and could barely put it down. 

 

Now I'm reading Factotum by Bukowski. It's interesting, I like it, but I have no idea where it's going.

[Styx]

Just read:

Darth Bane Trilogy

Star Wars: Annihilation

What should I read next?

Would love a cyberpunk-ish theme with a character like Theron Shan

or anything with the main character a wizard/mage/sorcerer (already read Harry potter)

Thank you fellow nerds!

Sent from a Jedi Holocron

[Maj. Bloodnok]

Well, seeing as how nobody's answered, let me put in my 2 credits:

 

If you're into cyberpunk, it's hard to go wrong with William Gibson. He pretty much defined the genre in the 1980s. Neuromancer, Count Zero, and Mona Lisa Overdrive are the most cyberpunk of his books, though his latest "The Peripheral" is something of a return to form. His short story collection "Burning Chrome" is also worth reading.

 

Definitely read Charles Stross' "Halting State" and "Rule 34". It's "ten minutes into the future" stuff; lots of computer hacking, obscure financial crimes, and snappy one-liners.

 

Straddling the line between cyberpunk and wizard fiction (and often stomping all over it) is his Laundry Files series.  Very funny, highly dramatic, and full of hat tips to Cold War spy novels and, H. P. Lovecraft.

 

For wizard/mage/sorcerer stuff, check out Richard Kadrey's "Sandman Slim" novels.  Imagine John Constantine as a pit-fighting biker, and you'll get a general sense of the books.

[Styx]

Thanks a lot! Sounds really interesting. I think I'll check out Sandman Slim first, since I love Constantine. Thank you very much!

Sent from a Jedi Holocron

[Bart_be]

No more Mr nice guy. Dr Robert Glover

[CajunHufflepuff]

For low fantasy YA lovers... Red Queen was amazing.

[Luds]

Currently reading through the Shattered Sea trilogy by Joe Abercombie; a smooth, entertaining, read. Set in a post-apocalyptic (i think...?) scandinavia that's been bombed back into the viking-age. Unlikely heroes, politics, nicely evolving characters, easily digestible without being dumb. 

 

Was surprised at how "tame" it was compared to his other stuff and how his writing style changed until I learned that it's aimed at young adults. 

 

Good buy; first read it yourself, then hand it over to the younglings and score brownie points.

[obax]

 

Recommendations?

Considering House of Leaves, Jitterbug Perfume, or Something Wicked This Way Comes. I've read Bradbury before so I know I'll enjoy Something Wicked, though looking for something new.

 

This is so way after the fact, but I absolutely recommend Jitterbug Perfume. I haven't read all of his books, but that is by far my favourite of the ones I have read. It's such a beautiful book (I know the word beautiful gets tossed around a lot sometimes, but it's not a word I personally use often, and that the best one I have to describe it). I have a thing about smells (which sounds weird when I type it out), so the premise was incredibly intriguing for me. Smells, for a lot of people, can invoke powerful memories, especially emotional memories, and he managed to capture the vividness and intensity of a smell memory in a bunch of words on a page. And now I think I will find my copy and read it again.

 

Also, if you like Tom Robbins in general, I will also throw out a suggestion of Tex and Molly in the Afterlife by Richard Grant. It's a book I've read many times over and I get something new from it each time. His writing has a similar vibe as Tom Robbins' (in fact, I first discovered Tom Robbins by typing 'Tex and Molly in the Afterlife' into a 'if you like this, you'll also like ____' thingy).

[obax]

If anyone is looking for a book that will grab you by the throat and just yank you along, read 'The Gone-Away World' by Nick Harkaway. It's post-apocolyptic, with a most imaginative premise, and a twist that hits you like a tonne of bricks (I usually see it coming, even if I'm not sure I'm right, but this one came out of nowhere, and it was visceral experience to read it).

 

The only downside is, knowing the end could make for less re-readability. Then again, now that I know the end, I am kind of curious how differently it might read, so maybe that's not the case after all....

 

I also recommend Angelmaker by the same author. It's very different, more steam-punky-ish (sort of, but not really, but kinda), but equally as good. I have Tigerman waiting in the wings, and that'll will make a full set (thus far).

[Gwyd]

I read quite a few great books this year. I think my top 2 would be Work Rules! by Laszlo Bock and The Martian, by Andy Weir.

Other favorites:

Colin Powell: It Worked for Me, In Life and Leadership

The Ashfall series, by Mike Mullin

The Safehold series, by David Weber

I'm currently working on the Jason Wander series, by Robert Buettner

https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2015/28766857

Sent from my SM-G925T using Tapatalk

[Gwyd]

[Deleted duplicate post]

[BitterCrow]

I really miss used book stores.  The internet makes it so to find not just a book you want, but the exact edition, and have it shipped to you.

 

It's missing the experience of browsing through stacks of old books and finding weird and lovely treasures.  A lot of times is just piles of books with great cover illustrations and flaws to match.  On the other hand a lot of those not-so-awesome books had some great ideas that I've cherished.

 

Anyway, I wanted to suggest a few that I stumbled across that I still re-read.

 

The True Game trilogy - Sheri S. Tepper - Fun world building, and a great read.  There are two other trilogies that serve as a prequel and a sequel.

 

Face in the Frost - John Bellairs - It was in the suggested reading list in the AD&D dungeon master's guide, so I was actually looking for this one.

 

Lud in the Mist - Hope Mirrlees - written in the 1920's, and not a typical fantasy novel.  It's one of those books that feels different every time I re-read it.

 

Last and First Men - Olaf Stapledon - This one are Star Maker don't really have anything else like them.  Future history novels with a framing story and a hard to grasp timescale.  These are good whenever I need a different perspective.

 

Hiero's Journey/Unforsaken Hiero - Sterling Lanier - This one is a blast, plus I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic books.

[Roamer]

Currently reading: Clockwork Lives by Kevin J. Anderson and Neil Peart

 

Recommendations: Clockwork Angels also by Kevin J. Anderson and Neil Peart -This is a really amazing book. It's based on the concept album "Clockwork Angels" by the band Rush and is very enticing to anyone who enjoys adventure, allegorical philosophy, drama, and magic steampunk. The one I'm currently reading is a sequel of sorts. At any rate I would highly recommend this book if you are having trouble finding something to read.

[Bookish Badger]

A few of my favorite recommendations:

 

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan is about secret societies, hidden codes, an epic quest, and a famous wizards' campus (no, not Hogwarts; this one is in Mountain View, CA). You'll never look at fonts the same way again.

 

Among Others by Jo Walton should be required reading for any science fiction and/or fantasy fan. The protagonist is a 15-year-old who believes that magic and fairies are real. She was sent to a girls' boarding school after she was injured, and her sister killed, in what was either a tragic accident or an attempt by their mother to murder them with sorcery. Mori is obsessed with science fiction and fantasy in a way that only a teenager can be and recounts the books she reads within the narrative. The book is worth reading for the literary references alone.

 

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan is the first memoir by Lady Trent, the world's foremost dragon expert. Set in an alternate-Victorian Age of Exploration, this first memoir recounts her inauspicious start as a daughter of minor nobility, her first Season (during which she had extremely specific qualifications for potential suitors), and her first dragon-hunting expeditions. Includes much artwork from that journey drawn by Lady Trent herself.

[Jane Eyre Is My Patronus]

I'm currently reading House of Leaves and it's so much fun! I think I"m going to read John Dies at the End by David Wong next... unless my book club makes me read Carrie. In the same vein, I'm also reading Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffery Cranor.

 

I should probably bite the bullet and borrow a copy of Dracula from someone. I have it as an audio book, but I never listen to audio books.

 

CajunHufflepuff, I liked Red Queen but Glass Sword disappointed me. Without giving anything away, Aveyard has a tendency to pull plot points or characters from the Hunger Games sometimes. When she doesn't do this, I think she's a fantastic author, but she tended to do it a lot in Glass Sword. If you like that series, I think you'll like the Lunar Chronicles, as well. I also really loved The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black and The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh.

[Kvedulf]

Currently reading Hagakure. Have read Bushido and the next on the list is the Book of Five Rings. Anyone have any other recommendations for "Feudal period" Japanese philosophy?

[Solacin83]

This morning I just finish reading " How to Survive a Horror Movie" by Seth Gramame-Smith. same author of "Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer".

 

I recommend this to the Fitness group due that it reminds me or "Level up your life" and this is the Halloween season so it is themely

 

Audible has it and it is very entertaining. Makes me want to write a couple challenges for October