Books!

I'm in tears. I dunno why I find it quite so funny, probably related to me being really tired, but oh dear god

I think its sweet, so sweet in its naivety

Back in college, I had a crush on a young woman. On Valentine's day I picked out a small perfectly formed red cabbage - with its translucent white veins twisting through the tightly coiled curvaceous purple leaves, I thought it was a perfect little miracle that symbolized my esteem.

She just saw it as a vegetable and ate it.

Pickled or, unpickled

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/07/the-six-main-arcs-in-storytelling-identified-by-a-computer/490733/

1. Rags to Riches (rise)

2. Riches to Rags (fall)

3. Man in a Hole (fall then rise)

4. Icarus (rise then fall)

5. Cinderella (rise then fall then rise)

6. Oedipus (fall then rise then fall)

Blue, I presume you heard that they are doing a TV series of The Wheel Of Time?

http://screenrant.com/wheel-time-books-tv-show/

Never read the series, but I've been thinking about giving The Eye Of The World a shot...

The copyright trolling WoT pilot from a couple years ago sure was ... something.

A real TV adaptation could be interesting, though I've never been able to get into it (The Eye of the World).

just read, They came to Baghdad, by Agatha Christie. really enjoyed it, it was written in the 50s and its weird how much things have changed but haven't really changed in Baghdad. Its sad to know what would become of the Marsh Arabs and the city itself. For all that its quite a charming book and probably one of my favourite Christie books. its a lively thriller spy story rather than the usual detective story and she based it on her trips to Iraq and you can tell she really went there the details are lovely.

oo, will have to look that one up.

yeah do Halfy, its one of those books nice to read in bed when you feel like something comfy and delightful.

just finished the last of the Agatha Christie books. got to say they are a million miles away from the tired stodgy 'one of you is the murderer' thingie. its probably because I saw too many naff films from the 70s and 80s where this tends to happen at the end of each story and it put me off reading Agatha Christie until now, but happily the books are nothing like the yawnsome detective films of the 80s. and sometimes there isn't even a detective in the book. some of my favourites don't have Marple or Poirot in them.
my favourites are,
1. They came to Baghdad
2. Why didn't they ask Evans
3. The ABC murders
4. The 4.50 from Paddington
5. Dumb Witness
6. Death in the Clouds
7. The big four
8. The man in the brown suit
9. At Bertrams hotel
10. The mystery of the blue train

all these can be bought for about 2p on Amazon and are perfect for cold Winters nights cozily tucked up in bed.

{{My mums a huge Christie fan, and she has the entire collection. I've only ever read the big name ones- Murder on the Orient Express ect. The only one Ive read that wasnt Poirot or Marple was the one they had to change the name of for pc reasons, Ten Little Niggers (now And Then There Were None) which is brilliant and surprisingly dark. I'll dig out the ones you list Figg and give them a go. }}}

great stuff Petty. please let us know what you think of them. I cant believe I ignored them for so long. I love the ones written in the 30s and 40s, her world building is so atmospheric.

Have Barnes and Noble gift card. Need book recommendations. Help.

Spend it on food in the cafe; it's actually really good. Or, if your local B&N has a music and DVD department (as most of them do), check out their stock of Criterion Collection releases. They have really good Criterion sales on a fairly regular basis, too.

If you have your heart set on books then maybe peruse the manga section? Manga and graphic novels got a huge expansion in 2015 so the selection there is really good these days IMO. The Evangelion manga (which began before the show as a way to build hype for it) finally concluded just a few years ago though it diverges from both the TV and movie endings of the story. There are always interesting titles in the biography and history sections if you're into that sort of thing; can't really get too specific without knowing what kind of books you're interested in but this is one of my favorites:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/atrocities-matthew-white/1113025412?ean=9780393345230

Atrocities: The 100 Deadliest Episodes in Human History
by Matthew White, Steven Pinker (Foreword by)

Evangelists of human progress meet their opposite in Matthew White’s epic examination of history’s one hundred most violent events, or, in White’s piquant phrasing, “the numbers that people want to argue about.” Reaching back to the Second Persian War in 480 BCE and moving chronologically through history, White surrounds hard facts (time and place) and succinct takeaways (who usually gets the blame?) with lively military, social, and political histories.

You can check out the dude's website below as well as get a preview of the top 29 atrocities listed:

http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/20centry.htm
http://www.bookofhorriblethings.com/ax02.html

for history I'd recommend Ghengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford. Puts him in a new light, sort of like what Scott Adams does for Trump.

Many people here would recommend the Discworld series for humorous reading. I'd suggest starting at the beginning with the Color of Magic. For some reason Americans aren't quite as familiar with Pratchett. I wasn't. Reading him is like watching a Warner Brothers cartoon.

For popular science/math try Chaos by James Gleick, or anything by Steven Jay Gould. If we could force-feed Gould to some of the Southern school boards the world would be a better place.

JRR Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator goes deeply into autobiography and is very enjoyable.

And if you haven't purchased the whole set of Game of Thrones, what are you waiting for?

Deadly atrocities doesn't sound very uplifting. Couldn't even finish A Game of Thrones. I don't know about Discworld. The humor wouldn't go over my head would it. Rarely do I read a book and laugh at a humorous part. For me it's more like "huh, funny."

Eldo, I'm looking for something lighter, not too heavy, that I can get lost in. If that makes sense.

I don't know about Discworld. The humor wouldn't go over my head would it. - Bungo

{{No, I shouldn't think so, its very broad, broader than say Douglas Adams. They are easy to read too, fast reads, you can go through a Pratchett in a few sittings.

Small Gods is a favourite of mine and is stand alone- being about religion in general- you can always give a listen to the audiobook to see if you think you will like his style- though with humour I always find them better read yourself than listened to, but maybe thats just me) }}

I think Color of Magic was funnier than Small Gods, which was a bit deeper. In either case, they really are like watching a Bugs Bunny cartoon, the same sly humor, the same visuals but in print. It may not sound like much of a recommendation, but it's actually a high complement to be able to put visual humor into words.

If you've enjoyed some of Petty's writing, that's a decent taste of what Pratchett is like. But more universal since Pratchett has to take more time to introduce characters to a world audience. Blue often quotes Pratchett - lessee if I can dig out a few good samples. Death and destruction, yes; but not at all in the vein of Game of Thrones:

"Now I want you to listen very carefully to what I am about to say" said the Patrician amiably, "otherwise you will die. In an interesting manner. Over a period. Stop fidgeting like that."

The president of the Assassin's guild strolled down the stairs....when he was directly in front of Ymor he said "I've come for the tourist." ...
"Who is your client, may I ask?" said Ymor.
Zlorf held up a hand. "Please!" he protested. "Professional courtesy!"
"Of course, by the way - "
"Yes?"
"I believe I have a couple of guards outside -"
"Had."
"And some others in the doorway across the street -"
"Formerly."
"And a couple of bowmen on the roof."
A flicker of doubt crossed Zlorf's face, like the last shaft of sunlight across a badly ploughed field.

"So" she said at last, "you pass the first test. What is your name, barbarian?"
"Who are you calling a barbarian?" snarled Hrun.
"That is what I want to know."
Hrun counted the bowmen slowly, and seemed to make some sort of calculation. His shoulders relaxed.
"I am Hrun of Chimeria. And you?"
"Liessa Dragonlady."
"You are Lord of this place?"
"That remains to be seen. You have the looks about you of a hired sword, Hrun of Chimeria. I could use you - if you pass the tests, of course. There are three of them. You passed the first one."
"What are the other -" Hrun paused, his lips moved soundlessly then he hazarded, "two?"

what genre do you like? I am a bit of a classic kids/adult fantasy cross-over expert. well not expert but enthusiast lets say.

btw You cant go wrong with Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman if you want to get lost in something amazing.

I like reading either non fiction, true life stories, history, true life crimes, murders in your local area that sort of thing or, I swing right round & read Tom Sharpe or Terry Pratchett, mainly to forget real life & all the shit it entails With Tom Sharpe my favourite is "Grantchester Grind", I like the scheming that goes on in that story. " Small Gods" by Pratchett is very funny, Going Postal,Men At Arms & any other book containing Sam Vines of "The Watch".

bungobaggins wrote:Deadly atrocities doesn't sound very uplifting. Couldn't even finish A Game of Thrones. I don't know about Discworld. The humor wouldn't go over my head would it. Rarely do I read a book and laugh at a humorous part. For me it's more like "huh, funny."

Eldo, I'm looking for something lighter, not too heavy, that I can get lost in. If that makes sense.

For what it's worth, the book is actually written in a pretty funny way. Still, the subject matter is heavy, and the author does try to keep the human cost of various events in mind, so I get if it's not your thing.

I can't comment on Discworld but have you ever read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? There are layers to the humor there but even the immediately obvious stuff is hilarious. I read it for the first time when I was ~10 and while a lot went over my head I was still laughing out loud more frequently than I have with just about any other book.

I did read the H2G2 books when I was very young. Don't really remember what I thought and I'd probably "get" them better as an adult. Could be worth revisiting. I think I'll give Discworld a shot. There's also a book of short stories by Charles Beaumont, Perchance to Dream, that I'm looking at getting too.

@Figg I like mostly short stories, sci-fi, fantasy, horror. Ray Bradbury is my favorite author.

{{Horror wise have you tried anything by Clive Barker? If not The Great and Secret Show is a long and weird read but if you'd rather short stories then his Books of Blood is a good place to start for a collection.
James Herbert is worth a read too- favourites of mine there are the Jonah, The Fog and the Dark.

If your going the Discworld route you have some choices as it were- you can read them in order as Halfy suggests, some are connected some are not, and the writing and world mature and change quite drastically between first book and later books, or you can read one of the 'collections' such as the Witches or Guards collections- which contain all the Discworld books in order pertaining to those groups (for example if you want to treads the guards books you start with Guards, Guards, Guards! and then Men at Arms and so on through all the Discworld books skipping all the stand alones or those concerning non guard characters.

In a sort of similar vein I also like the first few Robert Asprin Myth series of books, not so keen on later ones though- but I'd recommend the first two certainly for fun light reading with neat ideas and concepts.

Scifi wise have you reads HG Wells? In the Days of the Comet is an odd quirky little sci-fi read, and of course WoW. Or Wyndham- Day of the Triffids or the Chrysilids. Or some Orwell- 1984 is very appropriate in these days of 'alternative facts'!
I also really like the Heechi saga, Gateway ect from Pohl- good solid old fashioned sci-fi concepts. }}}

HG Wells can be surprisingly humorous. Food of the Gods demonstrates this nicely - I think his comic gifts have been missed entirely in the fanfare over his father of science fiction designation.