Recent comments in /f/books

Alundra828 t1_jef3zul wrote

Reply to Deep, well-written sci-fi sagas by perky_blossom

Although there are a lot of misses, and annoyances, and can be a bit hoaky and juvenile at times...

Wade through the Warhammer 40k books, starting with the Horus Heresy series. Which in summary is the prelude to the 40k series as a whole. The Horus Heresy saga lead into the Siege of Terra books. Of which there are 54 books, and 9 books (more to come) respectively.

There is a lot to read. And a lot of perspectives, motivations, and plotlines that all collapse into a pretty epic story of what essentially is a sci-fi civil war between the forces of "good" and "evil".

And once you've read those (which is already an incredibly challenging task), you've basically completed the introduction to a universe that currently has over 460 books, telling all sorts of stories in the backdrop the Horus Heresy created.

It's pretty wild, and it's got countless great moments and excellent sci-fi.

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rowdygoudey t1_jef3qct wrote

Reply to Deep, well-written sci-fi sagas by perky_blossom

The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu. As a westerner, I really enjoyed reading this epic that was written from a different cultural perspective. The translations are also really well done. That third book is crazy omg

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no_one_canoe t1_jef3d77 wrote

Reply to Deep, well-written sci-fi sagas by perky_blossom

Dan Simmons’s Hyperion novels are probably exactly what you want. But just in case you want a bunch more recs…

Ursula Le Guin’s Hainish cycle (The Dispossessed, The Left Hand of Darkness, etc.) are more loosely connected, not a continuous saga, but some of the greatest of all time.

William Gibson’s Sprawl trilogy is near-future, not epic space opera, but should definitely be on your radar.

I know you’ve been reading Wolfe already, but if you haven’t read the New Sun books yet, be sure to put those on the list too.

And…again maybe not the exact genre you had in mind, and it’s only two books, but Walter Miller’s Leibowitz novels are fantastic.

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Unionstate195 t1_jef2zol wrote

Reply to Grant by Ron Chernow, other books that that will scratch this itch? by osotimson

Oh man once you get into this era it’s hard to get back out. I’ve been reading and listening to audiobooks about or from 1870-1920 for several years now. There is so much going on in the whole world. Everyone is heading towards WW1 in their own way. The US has reconstruction, progressives, massive westward expansion and industrialization. Germany has unification. Russia is a god awful mess. Queen Victoria’s kids and grandkids are ruling all over the world.

The Edmund Morris books on Teddy Roosevelt are pretty good and accessible.
Titan by Chernow.
Nature’s Metropolis by William Cronan.
A Fierce Discontent by Micheal McGerr.
Woodrow Wilson by John Milton Cooper.

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lilac_mascara t1_jef2p4h wrote

Reply to comment by madmagazines in What crime / thriller book has the most frustrating ending in your opinion? by FormerFruit

Actually I can see how a 10yo could lure in the victims (i don't really remember the specifics of it in the book anymore so i could be wrong with how I'm picturing it now), helping dispose of the bodies is far fetched tough I'll admit.

The serial killer in the third book has the same mo as the duct tape killer. I can't vent my frustration with that whole storyline properly without spoiling the entire book, but it gets so far fetched it made the second book look realistic

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rume7453 t1_jef2hhd wrote

Reply to Complete silence by d_brasse

If you are always reading at home (and therefore tips like try reading in the library aren't relevant), then give reading a go with the TV on low in the background when people are asleep/out as an initial experiment and go from there. Essentially, you want to expose yourself to a bit more noise as time goes on. Effectively white noise but not as 'loud' and with a bit of difference in the sound. Work your way towards regular white noise.

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UnspentTx t1_jef1y0z wrote

Reply to comment by HauntedReader in Complete silence by d_brasse

I'll add to this that there are lots of colors of noise: white, pink, brown, etc... OP and anyone else looking for a solution should try a wide range of colored noise to see what works best for them (if any)... I personally like something closer to brown, as true white noise is too high-pitched / staticky for me...

FWIW I use a LectroFan machine set on "Chestnut"... And it also has fan sounds too... Here's a pic from their website, with the 20 different settings (10 fan & 10 white-to-brown noise)

https://www.soundofsleep.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/B00E6D6LQY.PT04.jpg

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Raindrops_On-Roses t1_jef1l0d wrote

Reply to comment by TunaLaguna in Do you skip or skim when reading fiction? by GraniteGeekNH

Whatever you say, buddy. I like to debate. It's fun. That doesn't mean that it has a heavy impact on me, lmao. But the fun thing about you being a stranger on the internet is that you can think whatever you want about me and it doesn't have any potential to change anything in my life. But sure. Keep talking about the made-up internet points in your pretentious echo chamber.

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Sumtimesagr8notion t1_jef1gg1 wrote

Reply to comment by Griffen_07 in Why do some books/authors get away with "purple prose" by [deleted]

Ulysses is made to be enjoyed lol. I get what you're trying to say though. I've just never came across a book that I didn't enjoy because the prose was too complicated.

Where do you draw the line between books that are for standard entertainment and books that aren't? Should all genre fiction be written as plain as possible?

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