Book recommendations

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Someone in a Tree said:
My favorites are Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut, Something Happened by Joseph Heller, and Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon. Also highly recommended are The Yiddish Policeman’s Union by Michael Chabon, Continental Drift by Russell Banks, and The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
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It's a pity Rushdie is such a shit human because he is a magnificent writer. One of the great magical realists of the 20th century.

His first work, Grimus received pretty scathing reviews when it debuted, but I think it's one of his best. If you like magical reality, then it's up your alley.

Another in my Pantheon of faves I recommend to anyone is The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (the Diana Burgin, Katherine Tiernan O'Connor translation). It's an absolute masterpiece of satire, fantasy, and political criticism. It was variously censored and banned by the Soviets. It had some popularity in the west during the 1960s, but isn't widely read today. One of the greatest novels ever written, in my opinion.

Letters From the Earth by Mark Twain- parts of which that were also heavily censored and/or banned in its day. It's the most laugh out loud, caustic, moving, passionate, aching, thoughtful work ever compiled. It's everything genius that was Twain, and it's forever timeless.

I have more, but that's enough lit sperging from me for now.
 
Any dystopian recommendations? (Apart from the usual classics, I want something fresh.)
 
theshep said:
Any dystopian recommendations? (Apart from the usual classics, I want something fresh.)
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The Iron Heel by Jack London. About a socialist revolution written before any had happened. Violent as all Hell but London, though a socialist himself, knew how violent a revolution would have to be to come about. Orwell said that London understood these things unlike more "intellectual" socialists because he had sense of animal instinct.
 
Revolt Against The Modern World by Julius Evola gets more timely as the days go by.

and no, it’s not because of Sargon or the other “political” e-celebs, nor is it because of Antifa.
 
theshep said:
Any dystopian recommendations? (Apart from the usual classics, I want something fresh.)
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I'd like to recommend you one of the progenitors of cyberpunk. John Brunner's Stand on Zanzibar is a piece of speculative fiction set in the far flung future of 2010.
 
Harassment Architecture by Mike Ma
Mike Ma HA.jpg
 
Any one have any book recommendations specifically on the culture and/or society of Feudal Japan (that is before the Meiji era and not specifically dealing with historical events)?
 
verissimus said:
Any one have any book recommendations specifically on the culture and/or society of Feudal Japan (that is before the Meiji era and not specifically dealing with historical events)?
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First time on the Farms, so hopefully I'm marking all of this right to not take up too much space. Sorry if not in advance!
But in regards to your requesting of any pre-Meiji-era Japanese stories/literature:
Well, the obligatory first suggestion would be the well-renowned "Shōgun", by James Clavell. Probably one of the most popular books to ever be written that's set before and during the 1600s in Japan. Older, but still holds up to this day, and gives some interesting perspectives to the Battle of Sekigahara.

Another popular pick of that sort of fiction would be "47 Ronin", by John Allyn. Or alternatively, there's "The Tokaido Road", by Lucia St. Clair Robson, which is essentially just another take of the very same Japanese legend. I personally like "The Tokaido Road" just a little more, but both stand very well on their own.

But, if you want something from that era that's a little more different, I would highly suggest "The Tales of Otori", a series of five books (includes the actual trilogy, a one-off sequel, and then a prequel) written by Lian Hearn. They're classified as 'Fantasy', and take place in "a fictional world inspired by Feudal Japan", but still carries the same thematic ties, realistic societal structure, and appropriate culture to associate it with Sengoku era Japan. Plus the story is just all around interesting, always a plus.

"Taiko", by Eiji Yoshikawa, is another really good option, especially if you're into the inner-workings and nuances of war of the times. Kind of old (published in the 1960's, I think?), definitely more on the historical side, but I found it an interesting read.

Some of the more eh titles that relate to this category are things like "Sisters Of The Sword" series by Helen Hart (not too terrible or anything, just a bit on the basic side), "Death At The Crossroads" by Dale Furutani (great mystery story, tbh), the long as fuck "Sano Ichiro" series by Laura Joh Rowland if you get desperate enough (I only made it through a couple of them before I got bored, but that could just be me.) Other than that, there are quite a few different stories inspired by the 47 Ronin legend out there, some more interesting than others.

Oh, and there was a somewhat recent (as in, published in 2017) YA novel called "Flame In The Mist", by Renee Ahdieh, that's set in Feudal Japan. Haven't read it myself, but it has a lot of good reviews regarding both the prose and the choice in setting, so that could be something of interest for you.

And then, for just some general book suggestions for anyone else:
- "House of Leaves" by Mark Z. Danielewski: By far one of the most unique books I've ever read, both in actual story and just overall formatting. Typically classified as horror, but does have some inkling of romance and funny hahas in there. Just all around interesting.
- "The Whalestoe Letters" by Mark Z. Danielewski: The sadly lesser-known companion novella/sequel to "House of Leaves". Mostly just contains some letters from one character to another to expand on the character development and aspects of the story. Not necessarily a *must-read*, but still an interesting companion piece.
- "Battle Royale" by Koushun Takami: A true and genuine classic. The closest thing to "The Perfect Dystopian Book" in existence (imo).
- "Overlord" by Kugane Maruyama: Series of light novels that inspired the anime, not just for the weebs. Great choice if you love a villain protagonist. Also takes great care to actually explain the MC's tactics and strategies in every battle.
 
Hmm. Maybe I should have also included looking for a sort of "who is who" or "encyclopedia" kind of book about what I described above. That is something a bit comprehensive that talks about say the difference between geishas and (...I just talked to my brother about the other type of courtesan/female entertainer), metsuke and other local officials, the sword hunts (though that's more historical I suppose), and so forth. Essentially a lot of the mundane things.
 
verissimus said:
That is something a bit comprehensive that talks about say the difference between geishas and (...I just talked to my brother about the other type of courtesan/female entertainer)
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It's a bit later than your target time period, but you might want to check out J. E. de Becker's "The Nightless City" for an account of the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters written in 1899. It does have a fair amount of the local color and mundanities that you seem to be after.

EDIT: and if you can get a hold of it, how about:
徳川幕府刑事図譜本編 - or roughly, "Illustrated Catalogue of Crime in the Tokugawa Shogunate". Features illustrations of the gruesome punishments inflicted on criminals before the Meiji reforms.
 
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Zadie Smith has good stuff. White Teeth was good.

I'm kinda wanting to read her two essays collections.

I also plan on reading:

You'll Never Eat Lunch In This Town Again by Julia Phillip's
Jeffrey Toobins book on the Clinton scandal
 
I'm looking for book recommendations, preferably books that I can purchase digitally or audiobooks.

I am finishing reading Brent Weeks "Lightbringer" series right now. It's an epic fantasy series involving magic set in a 17th century environment.
I also have recently read books by Joe Abercrombie and "The Dwarves" series by Markus Heitz, a medieval fantasy series focusing on the Dwarven race in a Tolkien style world.
I'm not exclusively looking for fantasy, I also recently read the autobiography of Jackie Chan and several scholarly books about Norse mythology written by Rasmus B. Anderson.
I enjoy a good philosophical book every so often and I'm pretty open to exploring new literature.
Let me know what you enjoy reading and what you suggest I should read next.
 
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