If you can find them all together in one binding. I'd say check out Dashiell Hammet's novels. Red Harvest, Dain Curse, The Glass Key and The Thin Man. They are all pretty short, fast paced and just an interesting look into the past as he's one of the pioneers of the hardboiled fiction. He's not as literary in terms of writing skill like say Chandler. But its some good stuff and a lot of films have been inspired by his work. My favorite was The Glass Key. Also read All Quiet on The Western Front but I'm sure everybody knows that one but still its a high recommend, it shows the horrors of the first World War and war in general how it changes you, molds you and just all sorts of interesting effects on your mental state. Sad. But yeah Hammets collected novels and All Quiet on The Western Front
I've recently read Jodi Picoult's new book, Leaving Time, which I enjoyed and I also really liked Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Just finished No one belongs here more than you, Miranda July's short story collection. It's strange but so well written; she has you learning to love road-kill, examining the iridescent shimmer on the flies. I'm going through a process that basically has me buying books I'd normally never read every few weeks. This has been by far the best one yet.
What should I read? I am huge fan of Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See and Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.
Sorry, Lemex, I reached chapter 4 of Stewart's Earth Abides last night and the only positive I can give the book is that it serves as a great cure for insomnia. I like a post-apocalyptic setting, and I love a road novel, so combine the two and you surely onto a winner, but man this book is dull! Not only that, but his writing style has dated to an incredible extent. Compare it to, for instance, Orwell's 1984, written in the same year which, conversely, could have been written today. I even question whether Stewart is a 'good writer', as I'm finding a lot of it amateurish and clumsy. Yes, it's heaped in praise, but I'm at a loss as to why. 1949 it might have been, but the man was clearly a bigot, too. The scene where the MC comes across the group of 'Negroes' is so unbelievably xenophobic, I read the whole passage with my mouth agape. After suggesting the little boy has head lice (because he's scratching his head) and that they're tending a little cotton field (because that's what their type do) the writer comes out with this claptrap, just as he's about to leave the area: Unbelievable!! Hardy endears the modern reader to the MC, does it??
It was written in the 1940s I think, and at the time there was a lot of very despicable opinions that were socially accepted. Earth Abides is actually quite progressive compared to some of the other stuff coming out at the time. I guess I didn't think about it all that much, but you are right.
Seeking recommendations for novels featuring dystopia, apocalypse, sci-fi settings. Strictly no fantasy. The key here, is that they are modern works (last 30 years or so) and set on earth (or at least a planet that resembles earth) rather than in space. The classics are all well and good, but I'm growing a little tired of reading future-set books that were written so long ago that they're now - rather ironically - set in the past. Thanks in advance.
Yes. I rarely recommended it to people because almost everyone I've recommended it to has disliked it (usually dismissing it as boring). But it's the one book that I revisit time and time again and it never dissapoints.
Picked up Life of Pi in a charity shop... not read it/seen it. Q. Is it going to make me sad? Not feeling up to anything existential or feely but I don't have much else in. My other option is to go and raid my partner's bookshelf: he's been nagging me to read something by Rothfuss or Abercrombie (I think?).
Willy Vlautin's The Motel Life. This is meant very much as a compliment, but I don't think any other book has inspired me to write more than this. The author demonstrates just how beautifully and simply a story can be told.
Yes. That's book one of Abercrombie's first trilogy. Also his first published novel (as far as I know) and his weakest. Some people who have started with that have given up on it and later come to like him through his later books. That's why I often recommend BSC as a starting point (also, it is a stand alone novel, not the first of three). But overall The Blade Itself is good.
Found it! Thank you. You have a good point about it being stand alone. One of the reasons I stopped pinching off his bookshelf was that everything meant at least a three book commitment and I've not got the brain space for that when I'm writing.
I recommend pretty much all the books written by Patricia Cornwell. They are like the television CSI, but with a little more excitement. Postmortem (1990) ISBN 0-684-19141-5 Body of Evidence (1991) ISBN 0-684-19240-3 All That Remains (1992) ISBN 0-684-19395-7 Cruel and Unusual (1993) ISBN 0-684-19530- The Body Farm (1994) ISBN 0-684-19597-6 From Potter’s Field (1995) ISBN 0-684-19598-4 Cause of Death (1996) ISBN 0-399-14146-4 Unnatural Exposure (1997) ISBN 0-399-14285-1 Point of Origin (1998) ISBN 0-399-14394-7 Black Notice (1999) ISBN 0-399-14508-7 The Last Precinct (2000) ISBN 0-399-14625-3 Blow Fly (2003) ISBN 0-399-15089-7 Trace (2004) ISBN 0-399-15219-9 Predator (2005) ISBN 0-399-15283-0 Book of the Dead (2007) ISBN 0-399-15393-4 Scarpetta (2008) ISBN 0-316-73314-8 The Scarpetta Factor (2009) ISBN 0-399-15639-9 Port Mortuary (2010) ISBN 0-399-15721-2 Red Mist (2011) ISBN 0-399-15802-5 The Bone Bed (2012) ISBN 0-425-26136-0 Dust (2013) ISBN 0-399-15757-3 Flesh And Blood (2014) ISBN 978-0062325341 Depraved Heart (2015) ISBN 978-0062325402 Andy Brazil/Judy Hammer series: Hornet’s Nest (1997) ISBN 0-399-14228-2 Southern Cross (1999) ISBN 0-399-14465-X Isle of Dogs (2001) ISBN 0-399-14739-X I've read 13 of them so far.
Some of the novels I love: "Sometimes A Great Notion," Ken Kesey; "The High Divide," Lin Enger; "Ordinary Grace," Kent Krueger; "The Prince of Tides," Pat Conroy (even if you hated the movie); "Even Cowgirls Get The Blues," Tom Robbins; "The Call of The Wild," Jack London, and "To Kill A Mockingbird," Harper Lee. A diverse list, I know, and I have a list of favorite non-fiction books as well, but what these novels share in common is amazing writing spanning decades. These are all incredible writers and storytellers. Each one of these books I wished did not end.
The name of the wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I greatly admire his writing style - I love all of his books.
just finished Moscow-Petushki or Moscow Stations or Moscow to the End of the Line (depends on the translation) by venedikt yerofeyev, truly amazing work of postmodern prose. hilarious, heartbreaking, and pretty short; i knocked it out in a day, would recommend to anyone (especially if you drink, it's about an alcoholic)
Abercombie is a great recommendation. I started reading The Heroes having never heard of Abercombie... What a fantastic surprise was I in for. And that comes from one who is usually not very keen on the fantasy-genre. Personnaly, I liked Best Served Cold less than The First Law trilogy. I would recommend reading the Firts Law trilogy: The Blade Itself - Before They Are Hanged - Last Argument of Kings and then go on with the Heroes, which is kind of a spin off on the trilogy. It has some of the best characters and most cynical quotes I ever encountered in books. The last chapter of the Heroes is one of the very few chapters of any book that I reread on a regular basis and every time again it amazes me. By the way, nice thread this one. Will certainly come back when in need of ideas for a good read. Tom
If you like recent American history, I recommend that you read Charlie Wilson's War. It's about the proxy war that the USA fought against Russia. Good stuff!
There are so many good books to read! If you like reading about the US Intelligence Community, I strongly recommend The CIA's Black OPS. There are so many good topics in that book. One that stands out is assassination as a policy tool.
