Beyond readers... Give me book recommendations!

[tirebob]

Being a voracious reader, I am always on the lookout for something new and awesome to try, so I would love to hear what you are all into these days!

I read pretty much anything, but for this thread I am more interested in fiction specifically. I like pretty much everything from old classics to dystopian worlds to science fiction to fantasy to crime to spy thrillers and so on. Something simply for escapism!

Lay it on me... What am I missing out on, new or old?

[ExtraSlow]

"A day in the life of Ivan denisovic". Not a long read, but pretty worthwhile from a guy who did win the novel prize for literature.

If you need a change of pace, try reading some biographies. I find the story behind famous people endlessly fascinating. I just roll into the library and look for the yellow biography stickers.

[SJW]

Empire of the summer moon.

[tirebob]

"A day in the life of Ivan denisovic". Not a long read, but pretty worthwhile from a guy who did win the novel prize for literature.

If you need a change of pace, try reading some biographies. I find the story behind famous people endlessly fascinating. I just roll into the library and look for the yellow biography stickers.

Definitely have read my share of biographies over the years! Reading one about Winston Churchill as we speak. :)


Empire of the summer moon.

That does look interesting... Is it written as a story or more as an accounting more like a history book?

[vengie]

I just started reading the "Mistborn" Series and so far so good, I'm about 150pages into the second book.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistborn

Its been a great step change from my normal business/ leadership/ finance related books

[JustinL]

Ender's Game is pretty classic Sci-Fi if you haven't read it.

[tirebob]

I just started reading the "Mistborn" Series and so far so good, I'm about 150pages into the second book.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistborn

Its been a great step change from my normal business/ leadership/ finance related books

Does it draw you in pretty fast? When stories take forever to get going I tend to lose interest unless the writing is spectacular. Reading the Wiki synopsis it seems like a heck of a lot going on and might take some dedication to get into, but I may be totally wrong of course...


Ender's Game is pretty classic Sci-Fi if you haven't read it.Did it... :thumbsup:

[A790]

+ Dune
+ Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
+ Ringworld
+ Red / Green / Blue Mars (excellent trilogy)
+ The Forever War
+ Old Mans War
+ 2001 A Space Odyssey
+ Foundation Series (well, books 1-3)

EDIT:

+ Hyperion trilogy (THE SHRIKE!!!)
+ Expanse (I got a bit tired of the universe after I read the last one, but I am going to give the series a re-read soon)
+ The Bobiverse trilogy (this is a fun read that explores how interesting a von Neumann probe could be)
+ Rendezvous with Rama

[Tik-Tok]

+ Dune
+ Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
+ Ringworld
+ Red / Green / Blue Mars (excellent triology)
+ The Forever War
+ Old Mans War
+ 2001 A Space Odyssey
+ Foundation Series (well, books 1-3)

Old man's war was great, along with Red Shirts by the same author. It's a real quick read though.

Also The Expanse series.

[ExtraSlow]

+ Dune
+ Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
+ Ringworld
+ Red / Green / Blue Mars (excellent triology)
+ The Forever War
+ Old Mans War
+ 2001 A Space Odyssey
+ Foundation Series (well, books 1-3)

Nice. Arthur C Clarke is a legend, and someone I need to revisit. Been a decade but I remember loving everything he wrote.

[Darell_n]

If you are open to audiobooks, the Bobiverse series are pretty entertaining hard sci-fi books. Just commuting to work I bang off 30-40 books per year.

[Buster]

Being a voracious reader, I am always on the lookout for something new and awesome to try, so I would love to hear what you are all into these days!

I read pretty much anything, but for this thread I am more interested in fiction specifically. I like pretty much everything from old classics to dystopian worlds to science fiction to fantasy to crime to spy thrillers and so on. Something simply for escapism!

Lay it on me... What am I missing out on, new or old?

My recents:

The Strangest Man (biography of Paul Dirac)
Salt: A World History
The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors (book about battle of Samar)

Sorry I rarely read fiction.

[tirebob]

If you are open to audiobooks, the Bobiverse series are pretty entertaining hard sci-fi books. Just commuting to work I bang off 30-40 books per year.

I listen to audio books when I drive all the time too, but now working from home more I don’t get them in as often.

[A790]

Old man's war was great, along with Red Shirts by the same author. It's a real quick read though.

Also The Expanse series.

Yes, added the expanse to my list. Scalzi is not bad from time to time but his latest series seems a bit phoned in. The first two books were quite short, though fun to read. But short.

[XylathaneGTR]

to dystopian worlds

I picked up William Gibson's "Neuromancer" (specifically because the cover looked cool) to read when flying to Spain last year. Pretty much a classic as far as dystopian cyber punk goes (there are also two loosely tied "sequels" set in the same realm) - it'd be worth a flip.
Also enjoyed King's "The Outsider" on the flight back. Went in a direction you weren't expecting within the first 80 pages or so and that hooked me. Ending wasn't what I wanted, but oh well, can't win 'em all.
If you haven't read them yet, King's "The Dark Tower" series is worth a read - by book 3 I was in deep...reading on the train, during my lunch breaks at work - any minute I could get.

House of Leaves by Mark Daneilewski - a bunch of literary nerds raved about it so I gave it a shot. I found it too disjointed for my liking and honestly a bit exhausting - so I didn't enjoy it and wouldn't recommend it, but it was definitely something different.

[zipdoa]

- Guns, germs and steel
- A little life
- Heartbreaking work of staggering genius
- The violent bear it away
- Meditations
- The final question
- Gulag archipelago

[ExtraSlow]

-- Gulag archipelago I found that one really hard to enjoynas a complete work. I mean, it's not intended to be light reading, but man, it's relentless. A day in the life is so much more manageable.

[mazdavirgin]

It's worth reading the whole Dune series if you've only read the first book. Stop once you're done the books by Frank Herbert though...

Other things I consider worth reading:

The Black Company - Glen Cook
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Company

The First Law - Joe Abercrombie
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_First_Law

Coldfire - Celia S. Friedman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coldfire_Trilogy

The Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne - Brian Staveley
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Staveley#The_Chronicles_of_the_Unhewn_Throne

Malazan Book of the Fallen - Steven Erickson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malazan_Book_of_the_Fallen

The Witcher - Andrzej Sapkowski
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Witcher#Saga

[BigDL]

Does it draw you in pretty fast? When stories take forever to get going I tend to lose interest unless the writing is spectacular. Reading the Wiki synopsis it seems like a heck of a lot going on and might take some dedication to get into, but I may be totally wrong of course...


I personally love everything by Brandon Sanderson, the stormlight archives though is a very long read but I enjoy it. The Reckoners is a nice fun series.

[vengie]

Does it draw you in pretty fast? When stories take forever to get going I tend to lose interest unless the writing is spectacular. Reading the Wiki synopsis it seems like a heck of a lot going on and might take some dedication to get into, but I may be totally wrong of course...


It wasn't too bad, the only gripe I have with the first book is the amount of characters they need to develop while simultaneously having you understand their source and type of power.

The first 100 pages felt a little convoluted due to this but once that was done the book was really good.

Second book picks up right where the first one ends (~6 month timeline gap, right into the action)

[Darkane]

Sanderson is basically the man when it comes to fantasy.

+2 for Mistborn. It’s not epic high fantasy, more of an anti hero piece.

Very good, draws you in fast.

Another recommendation is Patrick Rothruss’ Kingkiller chronicles.

Rumours are he’s finishing the third book this year.

And speaking of storm light archives, those are sandersons masterpieces. His game of thrones. Book four this year, and it’ll likely be a 10-12 book series. One book every 3-4 years.

[Buster]

thats not what I would call a tight plot.

[tirebob]

A lot of stuff to start checking out. We seem to have a huge amount of Beyonders big into the fantasy genre!

Currently I am finishing the G.O.T. series which took me forever to finally start but I am enjoying the books quite a bit more than I was expecting. Makes me wish they did the TV series quite a bit differently as it progressed.

Does anyone have any good mystery/detective/crime/spy type reads they have come across lately? I have been feeling the itch to get into a new one lately. One crime/fiction series I have surprisingly gotten drawn into is the Cormoran Strike books penned under the pseudonym "Robert Galbraith" who is actually JK Rowling. Four books out to date with a 5th one due to be released in just a couple days. I am looking forward to that one!

[dirtsniffer]

Nice. Arthur C Clarke is a legend, and someone I need to revisit. Been a decade but I remember loving everything he wrote.

Haven't read it, but apparently Liu Cixin is the chinese Arthur C Clarke and he wrote some good trilogy called the three body problem... Coming to netflix from the guys who made game of thrones.

[vengie]

This is a great thread.

A lot of good books and ideas in here... Better get reading!

Thanks tirebob :thumbsup:

[tonytiger55]

Longitude by David Sobel. A good read about how this problem(Longitude) was solved by a watchmaker.
Ghost Map - Steven Johnson. Good read about Jon Snow and his efforts to map a Cholera outbreak in 1854. Leading to what we know as geomatics and very relevant to the mapping of Corona.
Animal Farm - George Orwell. Very relevant today.
Wasp Factory - Ian Banks
Vernon God Little - DBC Pierre. It won the booker prize in 2003. It hilarious(my ex girlfriend said the main character is pretty much me).
Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson. One of my favourite books.
The Damage Done - Warren Fellows. True Crime. Author write about his experience in a Thai Prison. I found this book hard to put down.
Marching Powder - Rusty Young. True Crime. Stories of a guy getting caught trafficking cocaine and sent to a south American Prison. He details what really goes on. Crazy read.
Dracula - Bram Stoker.

[SJW]

Definitely have read my share of biographies over the years! Reading one about Winston Churchill as we speak. :)



That does look interesting... Is it written as a story or more as an accounting more like a history book?

Its non fiction and all about history. It's quite gruesome but very very interesting to know how the states took shape.

[BigDL]

And speaking of storm light archives, those are sandersons masterpieces. His game of thrones. Book four this year, and it’ll likely be a 10-12 book series. One book every 3-4 years.

And he has been pretty solid in his pace in writing all his books. He keeps everyone up to date on his progress and how he is doing for his books.

Have you see the kickstarted Leather bound book for Way of the Kings. Damm that book looks so nice, but $200US for it is so expensive. To be fair though it is pretty much the size as 2 regular sized hard covers.

[shakalaka]

Anything by John Grisham. Pretty much one of the reasons I went into law. lol

[Darkane]

And he has been pretty solid in his pace in writing all his books. He keeps everyone up to date on his progress and how he is doing for his books.

Have you see the kickstarted Leather bound book for Way of the Kings. Damm that book looks so nice, but $200US for it is so expensive. To be fair though it is pretty much the size as 2 regular sized hard covers.

No! Didn’t know there was anything like that.

But yes, massive books. It’s not your kid’s fantasy story lol.

[tirebob]

Longitude by David Sobel. A good read about how this problem(Longitude) was solved by a watchmaker.
Ghost Map - Steven Johnson. Good read about Jon Snow and his efforts to map a Cholera outbreak in 1854. Leading to what we know as geomatics and very relevant to the mapping of Corona.
Animal Farm - George Orwell. Very relevant today.
Wasp Factory - Ian Banks
Vernon God Little - DBC Pierre. It won the booker prize in 2003. It hilarious(my ex girlfriend said the main character is pretty much me).
Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson. One of my favourite books.
The Damage Done - Warren Fellows. True Crime. Author write about his experience in a Thai Prison. I found this book hard to put down.
Marching Powder - Rusty Young. True Crime. Stories of a guy getting caught trafficking cocaine and sent to a south American Prison. He details what really goes on. Crazy read.
Dracula - Bram Stoker.

Read all those... I love the classics! John Steinbeck and Ernest Hemingway are probably my two favourite all time authours, but so many of those guys were way ahead of their time! People could learn a lot today by reading the old classics and their societal observations of the day.

[XylathaneGTR]

Does anyone have any good mystery/detective/crime/spy type reads they have come across lately?

I read "The Big Sleep" by Raymond Chandler a few years ago (another one I bought because of the cover design). Chandler basically defined the old-timey gumshoe noir genre, so worth a read if you're into the classics.

[The Cosworth]

I just finished "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art Hardcover" by James Nestor. Got it on a friday, literally carried it around the house. Finished it within the week. Very good book.

[tonytiger55]

Read all those... I love the classics! John Steinbeck and Ernest Hemingway are probably my two favourite all time authours, but so many of those guys were way ahead of their time! People could learn a lot today by reading the old classics and their societal observations of the day.

Ive not read any by Hemingway. He has been on my list for a long time.

Buster Salt is on my list too.

[ExtraSlow]

Hemingway is my favourite writer, but he's not for everyone. There's generally not much plot movement. The guy can describe a lunch for several chapters.

[statick]

Hemingway is my favourite writer, but he's not for everyone. There's generally not much plot movement. The guy can describe a lunch for several chapters.

That's actually one of the things about Hemingway that I really love... He can make the details delectable to read, but, in the right context, he can say so much in just a few sentences... "Green Hills of Africa" comes to mind. In contrast, Tolkien seemingly always NEEDS to take several chapters to go through song, dance & the meal, but that's also great reading!


There are definitely some great recommendations here. I only ever read the first "Dune" entry, but I might need to re-read it and carry on with some of the sequels.

No love for Olaf Stapledon? I read "Last and First Men" long ago, but I didn't get into "Star Maker" or any of the others... The one was actually pretty dense in itself, but definitely worthwhile.

"Shadow & Claw" and "Sword & Citadel" by Gene Wolf are also pretty damn solid.

[birdman86]

+ Dune
+ Hyperion trilogy (THE SHRIKE!!!)


The five greatest books ever written

I never read the other Dune books though, the first one ended well enough and everyone I talk to says the series just goes downhill after the masterpiece first book. Somebody convince me I'm wrong???

[zieg]

Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds is a great sci-fi book, and if you like it you could go on to read Revelation Space and any of the other books from that series.

Another good one is Artemis by Andy Weir (The Martian).

I like scifi books that tend to have some kind of scientific grounding and everything above qualifies. All of it is available as audiobook or in print.

[1pac]

"Lying" by Sam Harris

Very short book, but it's like a software upgrade for your brain. It completely changed the way I think and act when it comes to telling the truth in all situations.

[Nufy]

"We'll all be burnt in our beds some night..."

Joel Thomas Hynes.

Let me now what you think of the hot tub incident...

https://www.harpercollins.ca/9781443447836/well-all-be-burnt-in-our-beds-some-night/

[legendboy]

Slash & Anthony Bozza + It's So Easy: And Other Lies by Duff McKagan are a good read if you are into Rock and Roll

[Gman.45]

+1 for"Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" - I read that a few years ago as well, excellent.



+3 or however many others recommended it - "Empire of the Summer Moon" - saw this on one of Joe Rogan's podcast, very interesting, good take on the Comanche and other tribes, who actually didn't live in a peaceful utopia with rivers of chocolate and flowers, and gardens tended by happy children, all ruined by the arrival of the evil white man.


"Dune" as well, the first book is great, I read further into the series but it kind of lost me along the way.

+3/4 for "Leviathan Wakes", James SA Corey. (Sci-Fi book as requested, by many others in the thread as well). The first book in the series the TV show "The Expanse" is based on. 2 Authors, one writes one group/location, one writes the other. Works out very well IMO, seamless perspective changes in the book.

I agree as well with the many nods to "Old Man's War" in the thread too. I can't stand the author, but he wrote a couple fantastic books.

Books nobody else I saw in the thread recommend yet.

In the same US Navy theme as Tin Can Sailors, "Six Frigates" by Ian Toll, is another great book about the US Navy, specifically its inception and the first 6 frigates they built, which were pound for pound the best warships of their era, for non "ship of the line" types. The film "Master and Commander", the enemy French vessel is actually American in the book, and is based on one of these 6 frigates.

"Azincourt" by Bernard Cornwell. Historical fiction book about the battle of Agincourt, where a vastly outnumbered English force under Henry V pretty much wiped out most of the French nobility/chivalric knights/etc in a single afternoon battle, with 6000 archers launching over a million arrows into piles of French heavy infantry and cavalry all stuck in a muddy quagmire. Great book, lots of humor where I laughed out loud as well.

"Red Storm Rising" Tom Clancy. I re read this book every year, I was 13 when it came out and I must have read it dozens of times back then. I had the latest "Stealth Fighter" game and the "Red Storm Rising" game among others for my Commodore 64 at that age, and it at least somewhat helped to launch a lifetime interest and also steered my career path into the aviation and defense/etc fields. Clancy's best book, period - It's outside of the "Jack Ryan" universe, the characters and whatnot are only in this one single book about a conventional war between Nato and the Soviets in the mid/late 80s right before the wall in Berlin came down and the Soviet union dissolved.

"Black Tulip" by Erik Schmidt. Biography of Eric Hartmann, the world's highest scoring fighter ace, in World War 2 in 1400 missions he shot down 352 enemy aircraft, and never had his wingman get killed. Hartmann was captured by the Russians at the end of the war, and withstood nearly a decade of torture and brutal conditions in a prison camp until he was released/traded.



"The Evelyn Wood Seven-Day Speed Reading and Learning Program". This is an easy to pick up speed reading system, where you can learn some simple techniques for greatly increasing your reading rate. There is several levels and methods, you don't need to progress to the higher levels, just learning the first few methods is more than enough IMO, without missing any retention or enjoyment of the material you read.


TIREBOB - I've been on disability for years now, which = a lot of time to read, and my need for reading material is insatiable as well. I have thousands of books, fiction, non fiction, manuals, etc. I'm happy to lend you anything you want, shoot me a PM if you're interested.

I love threads like this, I'm always surprised to see others have read and recommend some of the books I too have read recently. Plus, every time I pick up a bunch of recommendations in the thread for myself. Good times.

[cam_wmh]

Red Notice
I Am Zlatan
Tyson, Undisputed Truth
Confessions of an Economic Hitman
Open, Andre Agassi
The Dirt. (I’ve read this like 5 times, over the last 15 yrs, a bible of sorts)
Sean Avery, Offside
Joey Barton, No Nonsense


I just can’t do fiction much anymore.

[ricosuave]

Just about anything from Bill Bryson

[ExtraSlow]

Just about anything from Bill Bryson

Nice call.

[ricosuave]

Just about anything from Bill Bryson

But my favorites are The Body, and A Short History of Nearly Everything

[ThePenIsMightier]

Not a book, per se, but still something I could not stop reading as fast as I could.
Search for "the untold story of the silk road" to find the two articles from Wired Magazine. It's something like 20,000 words, so not a novel.

I found it to be gripping.

[ryuen]

I've been getting into some of Neal Stephenson's books. Snow Crash is a good sci-fi/cyberpunk novel.

[asp integra]

Anything by Vince Flynn, his main character is a CIA operative, Mitch Rapp. Read the whole series, there are several books and they are all great

[tirebob]

TIREBOB - I've been on disability for years now, which = a lot of time to read, and my need for reading material is insatiable as well. I have thousands of books, fiction, non fiction, manuals, etc. I'm happy to lend you anything you want, shoot me a PM if you're interested.

I love threads like this, I'm always surprised to see others have read and recommend some of the books I too have read recently. Plus, every time I pick up a bunch of recommendations in the thread for myself. Good times.Cheers man! When I get through my latest acquisitions I may take you up on it!

[JohnnyHockey13]

I've recently started reading books as a hobby, both to combat years of digital eye strain and also to try something new...just wondering if any of Beyonders read and if so, what do you like to read? I'm looking for things to read...

So far I've read:
-Playing with Fire
-Cujo
-some Kevin Hart autobiography (pretty good)
-American Radical (also good)
-a couple books my wife lent me (one written by a Buddhist monk, and The Tattooist of Aushwitz)

I like a variety of stuff but tend to enjoy non-fiction, biography type stuff, I like reading about other people's fascinating lives.

I'm also wanting to buy the new Jerry Seinfeld book full of all his best jokes over the decades...looks awesome.

Also, what's a good E Reader to buy that won't strain my eyes?

[roopi]

Just finished 'The Gift of Our Wounds: A Sikh and a Former White Supremacist Find Forgiveness After' about a week ago. Interesting story and quick easy read. Not the best writing/story telling.

Just started 'Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents' yesterday. Only on chapter two and seems very well written and interesting.

As for ebook reader my wife uses a kindle and loves it. I still buy books.

[nismodrifter]

Roopi thanks for posting. Sound like interesting reads.

Ive read the Bosch series from Michael Connoly, really enjoy those. Also, "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari".

For self improvement... The Greatness Guide by RobIn Sharma. I am re reading it right now.

[SKR]

I like a variety of stuff but tend to enjoy non-fiction, biography type stuff, I like reading about other people's fascinating lives.

I finished Michael Dunlop's autobiography a while back. It was pretty good up to 2008, and then after that it was less good. It might not be as good a read for someone who doesn't know who he is but I liked it.

95319

[legendboy]

Nikki Sixx Heroin Diaries ~ crazy!

Flea - Acid for the Children. Written more like poetry than a regular book

[Darkane]

Nikki Sixx Heroin Diaries ~ crazy!

Flea - Acid for the Children. Written more like poetry than a regular book

+1 on Heroin diaries.

What a read

[vengie]

Just finished book #3 of the Mistborn series.
Now starting “principles” by Ray Dalio

[Darkane]

Just finished book #3 of the Mistborn series.
Now starting “principles” by Ray Dalio

How did you enjoy Mistborn? I thought it was fantastic for the genre.

Storm light book four is out Tuesday I think. Gonna be a mammoth read.

[vengie]

How did you enjoy Mistborn? I thought it was fantastic for the genre.

Storm light book four is out Tuesday I think. Gonna be a mammoth read.

Big fan of the Mistborn series, I thought the author did a great job with character development.
I still have a few more to read to finish the series

[Darkane]

Big fan of the Mistborn series, I thought the author did a great job with character development.
I still have a few more to read to finish the series

The wax and Wayne series are really good too. They go another direction however.