Random Book Suggestions - Page 2

wayspooled · 10-15-2015, 01:04 PM

Sure

I checked, they're all listed for Kindle. And most should be available from a library.

Travel - In A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

Science - Beyond Words by Carl Safina (Highly recommended)

Science - The Great Ocean Conveyor: Discovering the Trigger for Abrupt Climate Change
by Wally Broecker

History - One Summer by Bill Bryson

Humor - Blandings Castle by P. G. Wodehouse

Short Stories - Future On Ice edited by Orson Scott Card (Sci-Fi Short Stories)

HomeInMyShoes · 10-15-2015, 01:13 PM

Nice, I've seen Beyond Words and it looks very interesting.

wayspooled · 10-15-2015, 04:43 PM

Also in Kindle and popular enough to be at the library -

Science - The Stuff of Thought or The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker (or anything of his that looks interesting to you.)

Science - On Human Nature by Edward O. Wilson

Business - The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M. Goldratt (This is a business book about Theory of Constraints based Process Improvement, written as a romance novel)

History - The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour by James D. Hornfischer

---------
Not in Kindle, but you might find them (below) in the library, they are fine reads:

Opinion/Autobiography - Strength To Love by Martin Luther King Jr.
Travel/History - anything by Charles Kuralt, particularly "On The Road" or "Discovering America"
Short Stories (sci-fi) - Women of Wonder: The Contemporary Years edited by Pamela Sargent
Short Stories (sci-fi) - The Hugo Winners, Volume 4: 1976-1979 edited by Isaac Asimov

Snowfox · 10-15-2015, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

I haven't read a Stephen King novel in about twenty-five years. It sounds like a decent option and maybe I should read a newer Stephen King book.

Hyperion has been on my potential read list for ages. It just keeps coming back.

I don't like zombies - I found World War Z trite, The Walking Dead comics are poorly scripted and the show manages to be both bland and gory at the same time, and Left 4 Dead isn't a particularly creative game... I really don't like zombies. Cell has a fairly unique spin on them, and I loved it.

Hyperion is one of my favourite books. There's no closure at the end, though, so you need to read Fall Of Hyperion to come to the end of the story arc. (Endymion and Rise Of Endymion aren't really necessary; same universe, set far in the future.)

FizzyWater · 10-15-2015, 06:51 PM

You could try to combine a couple:

Finders Keepers or Command Performance by Linnea Sinclair would cover both romance and space opera

The Disappeared by Kristine Katherine Rusch would cover by mystery and science fiction

HomeInMyShoes · 10-16-2015, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowfox

I don't like zombies - I found World War Z trite, The Walking Dead comics are poorly scripted and the show manages to be both bland and gory at the same time, and Left 4 Dead isn't a particularly creative game... I really don't like zombies. Cell has a fairly unique spin on them, and I loved it.

Hyperion is one of my favourite books. There's no closure at the end, though, so you need to read Fall Of Hyperion to come to the end of the story arc. (Endymion and Rise Of Endymion aren't really necessary; same universe, set far in the future.)

Space Opera is going to be a hard one to find a standalone book. I'm okay if I don't finish the series or get closure or end up reading the other parts much later. I'm not fussy in that respect.

I appreciate the information and the background to what works for you. That's most helpful in figuring out recommendations.

Does anyone have comments on Joe McKinney's Dead World series?

AlbertaCowboy · 10-16-2015, 12:26 PM

Alright, just for fun, I'm going to try to fill out every catagory with books I've not only read, but would also recommend:

historical fiction: The Walking Drum by Louis L'Amour

horror: The Sallie House Haunting: A True Story by Debra Pickman

science fiction: Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

banned:

history: Himmler's Crusade: The Story of the Nazi Expedition to Find the Origins of the Aryan Race by Christopher Hale

science: Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science by Dr. Jeff Meldrun

literary fiction: The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

short stories: The Spell of the Yukon by Robert Service

biography / memoir: Smuggler's Blues: The Saga of a Marijuana Importer by Jay Carter Brown

fantasy: The Belgariad by David Eddings

magical realism: The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

dystopia: Wool by Hugh Howey

chick-lit: N/A

mystery: Knots & Crosses by Ian Rankin

romance: N/A

steampunk: N/A

humor: Oh Myyy!: There Goes the Internet by George Takei

folklore / mythology: The Children of Odin: The Book of Northern Myths by Paidric Colum

gothic: N/A

thriller: Congo by Micheal Crichton

crime: Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker by Kevin Mitnick

zombies: Zombie Night in Canada: First Period by Jamie Friesen

western: The Entire Sackett Series by Louis L'Amour

travel / adventure: The Lost City of Z by David Grann

space opera: N/A

pulp fiction: N/A

Okay, that was harder than it looks.

wayspooled · 10-16-2015, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

Space Opera is going to be a hard one to find a standalone book. I'm okay if I don't finish the series or get closure or end up reading the other parts much later. I'm not fussy in that respect.

Space Opera?
The Pride of Chanur by C.J. Cherryh (There's a follow-up trilogy but the first Chanur book is standalone.) This is one of my favorite sci-fi novels, as it tells the story of an encounter between humans and aliens, from the alien's point of view. The human "is the alien" so to speak. It's space opera'ish, not hard sci-fi like some folks characterize her stuff.

Kindle on Amazon shows 5.99

HarryT · 10-16-2015, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

Space Opera is going to be a hard one to find a standalone book.

Try L. Ron Hubbard's "Battlefield Earth". I know the guy did a lot of weird stuff, but this is, IMHO, a really good and fun standalone space opera novel.

HomeInMyShoes · 10-16-2015, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlbertaCowboy

Alright, just for fun, I'm going to try to fill out every catagory with books I've not only read, but would also recommend:
...

Sasquatches, Norse mythology, the Yukon, George Takei, zombies in Edmonton, El Dorado. A fine list of randomness. Much approved and appreciated. I'll have some hard decisions when I start reading.

HomeInMyShoes · 10-16-2015, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Try L. Ron Hubbard's "Battlefield Earth". I know the guy did a lot of weird stuff, but this is, IMHO, a really good and fun standalone space opera novel.

1,050 pages?!? I am trying to read about 50 books here.

At least the blurb says fast-paced.

Catlady · 10-16-2015, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlbertaCowboy

Alright, just for fun, I'm going to try to fill out every catagory with books I've not only read, but would also recommend:

Sounds like fun! Here are mine, off the top of my head:

historical fiction: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
horror: Dracula by Bram Stoker
science fiction: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
banned: Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
history: The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan
science:
literary fiction: The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck
short stories: The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
biography / memoir: Frank: The Voice by James Kaplan
fantasy: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
magical realism:
dystopia:
chick-lit:
mystery: Gaslight series by Victoria Thompson
romance: The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
steampunk:
humor: Life Among the Savages and Raising Demons by Shirley Jackson
folklore / mythology:
gothic: Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart
thriller: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
crime: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
zombies: I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
western: Shane by Jack Schaefer
travel / adventure:
space opera:
pulp fiction: I Married a Dead Man by Cornell Woolrich

artifact · 10-16-2015, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wayspooled

Space Opera?
The Pride of Chanur by C.J. Cherryh.

Space Opera/SciFi: Ooh....The Cuckoo's Egg by Cherryh. 100% stand alone. (Pride and most other suggestions have sequels.) I don't see an ebook version with a quick search

.

Magical Realism: Not sure what this is. Is it modern/urban Fantasy-ish? The Dresden Files suggestion gives a hint.

Mythology/Folklore: . Don't forget the New World. The Popol Vuh, the Mayan creation myth. There was a really nice (and accurate) animated version using native art on PBS some years back. I was told by experts 20 or so years ago the Tedlock version is the best and I see Amazon has that only in print.

HomeInMyShoes · 10-16-2015, 03:32 PM

Magical Realism. Not the easiest category to define because magic isn't always part of it. It is a heightened sense of realism where the ordinary becomes odd. It often has things that are 'magic' in that they are not normal or can be dreamlike or alternate reality. Haruki Murakami's Hard-Boilded Wonderland and the End of the World is my favorite read in that genre.

Mayan sounds pretty good to me. I've loved my reads from countries in Central and South America.

Where are all the chick-lit and romance suggestions?

HarryT · 10-16-2015, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by artifact

Magical Realism: Not sure what this is. Is it modern/urban Fantasy-ish? The Dresden Files suggestion gives a hint.

No, it's not. See:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_realism

10-15-2015, 01:04 PM	#16
wayspooled Crab In The Dark Posts: 486 Karma: 2328180 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Virginia Device: Tablet PC until a 10" comes out that I like	Sure I checked, they're all listed for Kindle. And most should be available from a library. Travel - In A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson Science - Beyond Words by Carl Safina (Highly recommended) Science - The Great Ocean Conveyor: Discovering the Trigger for Abrupt Climate Change by Wally Broecker History - One Summer by Bill Bryson Humor - Blandings Castle by P. G. Wodehouse Short Stories - Future On Ice edited by Orson Scott Card (Sci-Fi Short Stories) Last edited by wayspooled; 10-15-2015 at 01:32 PM.

10-15-2015, 04:43 PM	#18
wayspooled Crab In The Dark Posts: 486 Karma: 2328180 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Virginia Device: Tablet PC until a 10" comes out that I like	Also in Kindle and popular enough to be at the library - Science - The Stuff of Thought or The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker (or anything of his that looks interesting to you.) Science - On Human Nature by Edward O. Wilson Business - The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M. Goldratt (This is a business book about Theory of Constraints based Process Improvement, written as a romance novel) History - The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour by James D. Hornfischer --------- Not in Kindle, but you might find them (below) in the library, they are fine reads: Opinion/Autobiography - Strength To Love by Martin Luther King Jr. Travel/History - anything by Charles Kuralt, particularly "On The Road" or "Discovering America" Short Stories (sci-fi) - Women of Wonder: The Contemporary Years edited by Pamela Sargent Short Stories (sci-fi) - The Hugo Winners, Volume 4: 1976-1979 edited by Isaac Asimov Last edited by wayspooled; 10-15-2015 at 08:35 PM.

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10-15-2015, 01:13 PM	#17
HomeInMyShoes Grand Sorcerer Posts: 19,226 Karma: 67780237 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: none	Nice, I've seen Beyond Words and it looks very interesting.

10-15-2015, 06:51 PM	#20
FizzyWater You kids get off my lawn! Posts: 4,220 Karma: 73492664 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Columbus, Ohio Device: Oasis 2 and Libra H2O and half a dozen older models I can't let go of	You could try to combine a couple: Finders Keepers or Command Performance by Linnea Sinclair would cover both romance and space opera The Disappeared by Kristine Katherine Rusch would cover by mystery and science fiction

10-16-2015, 12:26 PM	#22
AlbertaCowboy Guru Posts: 819 Karma: 171672846 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Alberta, Canada Device: PRS-350, PRS-650, iPhone 6, NVIDIA Shield K1	Alright, just for fun, I'm going to try to fill out every catagory with books I've not only read, but would also recommend: historical fiction: The Walking Drum by Louis L'Amour horror: The Sallie House Haunting: A True Story by Debra Pickman science fiction: Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein banned: history: Himmler's Crusade: The Story of the Nazi Expedition to Find the Origins of the Aryan Race by Christopher Hale science: Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science by Dr. Jeff Meldrun literary fiction: The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle short stories: The Spell of the Yukon by Robert Service biography / memoir: Smuggler's Blues: The Saga of a Marijuana Importer by Jay Carter Brown fantasy: The Belgariad by David Eddings magical realism: The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher dystopia: Wool by Hugh Howey chick-lit: N/A mystery: Knots & Crosses by Ian Rankin romance: N/A steampunk: N/A humor: Oh Myyy!: There Goes the Internet by George Takei folklore / mythology: The Children of Odin: The Book of Northern Myths by Paidric Colum gothic: N/A thriller: Congo by Micheal Crichton crime: Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker by Kevin Mitnick zombies: Zombie Night in Canada: First Period by Jamie Friesen western: The Entire Sackett Series by Louis L'Amour travel / adventure: The Lost City of Z by David Grann space opera: N/A pulp fiction: N/A Okay, that was harder than it looks.

10-16-2015, 03:32 PM	#29
HomeInMyShoes Grand Sorcerer Posts: 19,226 Karma: 67780237 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: none	Magical Realism. Not the easiest category to define because magic isn't always part of it. It is a heightened sense of realism where the ordinary becomes odd. It often has things that are 'magic' in that they are not normal or can be dreamlike or alternate reality. Haruki Murakami's Hard-Boilded Wonderland and the End of the World is my favorite read in that genre. Mayan sounds pretty good to me. I've loved my reads from countries in Central and South America. Where are all the chick-lit and romance suggestions?

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