Best contemporary literature & fiction books according to redditors
We found 2,169 Reddit comments discussing the best contemporary literature & fiction books. We ranked the 1,156 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
1. The Road
49 mentions
acclaimed Cormac McCarthy's latest novel The Roadsearing postapocalyptic novel
Here are my personal favorite head-fucks, each one of them did something strange to my whole world when I read them:
But yeah, by far my favorite is the one at the top of the list, The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. There's just so goddamn much going on in that book, it's one helluva wonderful ride.
Stephen Baxter and Arthur C. Clarke collaborated on a phenomenal novel about scientists creating wormhole technology which allowed them to peer through tiny mobile wormholes at any point on the planet. Eventually, the technology is leaked and suddenly, anybody can send a tiny invisible wormhole camera into their neighbors homes, the President's meeting room, the refugee camps of Africa, anywhere. They could have stopped there and it'd have been an awesome read, but eventually it is discovered that the wormholes can allow people to view backwards through time... that's when things get really crazy. Definitely a fantastic read that I would recommend to anybody, it's one of my favorite SF works of recent years.
Law 52 (in my list) : Create your own kingdom
(Because no matter how hard you try, you will never have all your power playing someone else's game in some else's place).
This would have been rather obvious once upon a time, and civilization was built on this law, but the very fact it needs to be stated to a man is concerning.
Ok, no one's asking for a total disruption of modern civilization (it's kind of fucked up as it is), no one's telling you to be a poor team player either (cause no one can do everything in isolation), but a man must have an aspect of his life that he owns, in which he's king, and he pulls his load.
Modern society in that regard behaves like a cult - one defining feature of any destructive cult as per Steven Hassan (https://www.amazon.com/Combatting-Cult-Mind-Control-Best-selling/dp/0892813113/) - is that cults tend to reverse age fully functioning adults back into a childish state of dependency and validation (he calls it reverse aging, we know it as betaization) where they're enslaved to authority and can't think for themselves.
A man is meant to come full circle from a boy.
Start reading Combatting Cult Mind Control to learn more about how groups like the JWs manipulate their followers. It's a devastating organization and treacherous for the soul. Add in extra prayers and personal sacrifices for her. It's probably going to be a rough road.
May be Replay, by Ken Grimwood. Loved that book, and thank you for not spoiling the fun for those who haven't read it.
Yeah, apparently it's the "reader's choice addition", whatever that means. It's like the publisher was annoyed by the ME so they decided to change the name back to what they remembered or something. Amazon
Thursday Next from "The Eyre Affair" by Jasper Fforde (and the five or six other books in the series) is a very well written character.
Brilliant hilarious books, and she's one of the more complicated, conflicted characters around. Plus, she does in fact punch lots of stuff and shoots lots of stuff.
Basically, if you grew up on Harry Potter and then decided to major in English Lit at college but your sense of humor got irreparably warped by all the absurdist British comedies, then Thursday is your gal.
The Eyre Affair is one of those types of books I always carry around a couple of copies to give to anyone who comes across as interesting or funny or smart. Everyone love love loves it. It's the first in a series. All Fforde's other series are great too.
https://www.amazon.com/Eyre-Affair-Thursday-Next-Novel/dp/0142001805/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1499829090&sr=8-1&keywords=the+eyre+affair
Yes. I had a couple come over and do a "Bible study" for a couple of months. They were very nice folks and were knowledgeable about a very narrow slice of the Bible, which was a peculiar interpretation of their New World Translation.
They will not go to Mass with you. If you offer them reading materials, they will gladly accept them (but they are instructed to destroy those materials immediately afterword).
Bible verse ping-pong is a fruitless endeavor with them, though it will give you a chance to further investigate for yourself the solid claims of the Catholic Church and Her authority.
The best results I had with them was after reading up on cults and mind control, especially Stephen Hassan's Combatting Cult Mind Control, which will help you identify the tactics they use on their members and prospective members (such as love bombing).
If you have the skills to engage with them on critical thinking, then do so. I had some success with them on this front. You'll have to do so without bringing up the Bible, for once you get into that they go into JW mode.
If they are converts to JW, ask them about their lives before. This often causes them to snap out of JW mode.
You can also learn about them through the ex-JW subreddit, though you'll have to realize that there are a lot of hurt folks -- many of whom are completely turned off to religion and, especially, organized religion, which is understandable considering the nature of JW and the Watchtower Org.
Know that they are probably more prepared for you than you are for them. They spend hours and hours readying themselves to be a pioneer. And each week they will prepare extensively for your "Bible study."
Be kind. Be patient. Invite them into your home for a safe place to sit and take a load off. I find them to be friendly and trustworthy. I would trust any JW with my wallet, but not my salvation.
Replay by Ken Grimwood.
Pretty dang good book, with pretty much this premise.
The Road has always been recommended to me. It's about a father and son who are travelling to the coast but they don't know what to expect when they arrive. It's about their journey through a burned American landscape while dealing with bandits and the like.
You Are Going To Prison by Jim Hogshire
Link to Book
Small Gods is still, I believe, one of the most amazing treatises on religion and belief anywhere.
Cormac McCarthy's The Road
The Road(2009) is one of the best dystopian movies i have ever seen. A father and son journey in a post apocalyptic world. the movie was adopted from a book under the same title, it is definitely one of the best movie adaptations ever made IMHO.
It was brutal. I wasn't that good. But there were many people who were superb. It was such a pleasure watching them perform.
Here are some sci-fi recommendations (you may have read them already, but I thought I'd offer anyway):
Serious Scifi:
Anathem the "multiverse" (multiple realities) and how all that works
Seveneves feminism meets eugenics—watch out!
The Culture series by Iain Banks, esp Book 2, the Player of Games Banks is dead, but wrote some of the best intellectual scifi ever
Brilliant, Visionary:
Accelerando brilliant and hilarious; and it's not a long book
Snowcrash classic
Neuromancer another classic
Tawdry yet Lyrical (in a good way):
Dhalgren beautiful, poetic, urban, stream of consciousness, and more sex than you can believe
Underrated Classics:
Voyage to Arcturus ignore the reviews and the bad cover of this edition (or buy a diff edition); this is the ONE book that every true scifi and fantasy fan should read before they die
Stress Pattern, by Neal Barrett, Jr. I can't find this on Amazon, but it is a book you should track down. It is possibly the WORST science fiction book ever written, and that is why you must read it. It's a half-assed attempt at a ripoff of Dune without any of the elegance or vision that Herbert had, about a giant worm that eats people on some distant planet. A random sample: "A few days later when I went to the edge of the grove to ride the Bhano I found him dead. I asked Rhamik what could have happened and he told me that life begins, Andrew, and life ends. Well, so it does."
I just wanted to say that anybody who finds this idea interesting might look into the novel The Player of Games by Iain Banks. It's set in the post-scarcity future where the main government for sentient beings, "The Culture," is trying to bring a new alien race into the fold, but they are too incomprehensible to the Culture to figure out because their society is structured around a ridiculously complex game designed to choose their leader and organize their castes. The main character is a master game-player they send to try and figure it out. It's an interesting book.
>I've read the wiki
I think I'm going to cry.
Recommended Reading:
To Be A Jew: A Guide To Jewish Observance In Contemporary Life
On Judaism: Conversations on Being Jewish
Judaism for the Rite Reasons
Becoming a Jew
This Is My God
Eifelheim. Can't recommend this book enough.
The Wanting Seed by Anthony Burgess
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (which is rapidly becoming a nonfiction work about the current state of the U.S.)
Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban
On My Shelf:
Nonfiction:
[where there is no doctor] (https://www.amazon.com/Where-There-No-Doctor-Handbook/dp/0942364155)
[where there is no dentist] (https://www.amazon.com/Where-There-Dentist-Murray-Dickson/dp/0942364058/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0942364058&pd_rd_r=P7QG34TNRGWWJ4VG3CES&pd_rd_w=zUT5r&pd_rd_wg=bQSPa&psc=1&refRID=P7QG34TNRGWWJ4VG3CES)
[emergency war surgery] (https://www.amazon.com/Emergency-War-Surgery-Survivalists-Reference-ebook/dp/B007FH3S8C/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492111178&sr=1-1&keywords=war+surgery)
[Seed to Seed, a seed saving book] (https://www.amazon.com/Seed-Growing-Techniques-Vegetable-Gardeners/dp/1882424581/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492111210&sr=1-1&keywords=seed+saving)
[mini farming] (https://www.amazon.com/Mini-Farming-Self-Sufficiency-Brett-Markham/dp/1602399840/ref=pd_sim_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1602399840&pd_rd_r=QYQGAKY6D2PJX21W5DBC&pd_rd_w=ZSjVd&pd_rd_wg=MKw9N&psc=1&refRID=QYQGAKY6D2PJX21W5DBC)
[square foot gardening] (https://www.amazon.com/All-Square-Foot-Gardening-Revolutionary/dp/1591865484/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1591865484&pd_rd_r=NW7HBPKNFJ2J8JYTR22M&pd_rd_w=kMSVD&pd_rd_wg=v6qzT&psc=1&refRID=NW7HBPKNFJ2J8JYTR22M)
[Ball Canning Guide] (https://www.amazon.com/All-Ball-Book-Canning-Preserving/dp/0848746783/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492111296&sr=1-1&keywords=ball+canning)
[Steve Rinella's Big Game] (https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Hunting-Butchering-Cooking/dp/081299406X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492111322&sr=1-1&keywords=rinella+guide)
[Steve Rinella's Small Game] (https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Hunting-Butchering-Cooking/dp/0812987055/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0812987055&pd_rd_r=HSSM813BSWTXN5Q77P1R&pd_rd_w=j1UjP&pd_rd_wg=OWNY6&psc=1&refRID=HSSM813BSWTXN5Q77P1R)
[root cellaring] (https://www.amazon.com/Root-Cellaring-Natural-Storage-Vegetables/dp/0882667033/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492111429&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=root+cellarig)
[country wisdom and know how] (https://www.amazon.com/Garden-Wisdom-Know-How-Everything-Harvest/dp/1579128378/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492111470&sr=1-3&keywords=country+wisdom)
[timberframe construction] (https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Timber-Frame-Craftsmanship-Simplicity/dp/1612126685/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492111553&sr=1-9&keywords=cabin+construction)
[Ham radio -tech] (https://www.amazon.com/ARRL-Ham-Radio-License-Manual/dp/1625950136/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492111593&sr=1-1&keywords=ham+radio)
[ham radio general] (https://www.amazon.com/General-Class-License-Manual-Amateur/dp/1625950306/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1625950306&pd_rd_r=12TE98J0V80PC5Z8PMNJ&pd_rd_w=EfgM9&pd_rd_wg=jqqg2&psc=1&refRID=12TE98J0V80PC5Z8PMNJ)
[The FoxFire Series ] (https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Collection-Anniversary-Editions-Anniversay/dp/B00MRH3RYU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1492879953&sr=8-4&keywords=foxfire)
Also pickup up books on useful skills: raising rabbits, welding, different random construction books.
Fiction:
[Lucifer's Hammer] (https://www.amazon.com/Lucifers-Hammer-Larry-Niven/dp/0449208133/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492880068&sr=1-1&keywords=lucifers+hammer)
[One second After] (https://www.amazon.com/Second-After-John-Matherson-Novel/dp/0765356864/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492880115&sr=1-1&keywords=one+second+after)
[the martian] (https://www.amazon.com/Martian-Andy-Weir/dp/0553418025/ref=pd_sim_14_41?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0553418025&pd_rd_r=D4JHG0ERDKJXA7NYCZHX&pd_rd_w=vAle5&pd_rd_wg=9wBYx&psc=1&refRID=D4JHG0ERDKJXA7NYCZHX)
[the road] (https://www.amazon.com/Road-Cormac-McCarthy/dp/0307387895/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492880272&sr=1-1&keywords=the+road0)
[alas babylon] (https://www.amazon.com/Alas-Babylon-Pat-Frank/dp/0060741872/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492880316&sr=1-10&keywords=babylon)
As a "social professional" I recommend you read the works of Miss. Manners. You can start with her column, or if you're so interested, her book on wedding etiquette.
The responsibility of a bridesmaid is to help the bride get dressed, throw her some fun pre-wedding parties, talk to her when she's nervous and jittery, and stand by her side when she gets married.
It does not include being an on-call, unpaid servant and going broke in the process. Telling her dear friends that they should be saving for her wedding-- as if they don't have other needs and financial obligations of their own-- is, at best, profoundly insensitive if not horrifically entitled.
Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior is definitive as far as I'm concerned.
Replay by Ken Grimwood.
For the love of your future and mental health, read THIS BOOK If you only do ONE thing after you leave the JWs...read it! It will save you from years of heartache and confusion. You will know why and how you fell for it and how to avoid getting taken advantage of by these groups in the future. Not to mention reconciling that it happened at all. I promise you will not be disappointed. You do not have to do this on your own. There are people who are willing to help.
The Road. Watch it (better yet, read it), get depressed and realize that it (or similar) could very well end up being a reality in the not too distant future for a myriad of reasons.
Pretty sure that it's going to be implied that these desparate humans will probably just murder and eat you and kidnap your daughter. People during the apocoalypse are not friendly folk.
I suggest you go and look up "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy it seems to have been a huge inspiration for this game.
Yes, came in to advocate Replay as well. It's definitely one of my favorite books that I read this year.
list of linked fictions in order posted repeats omitted, see my other comments for what EY said about them.
Dungeon Keeper Ami by Pusakuronu As a .docx
Mandragora (HP)
To The Stars (Madoka)
My Little Pony: Friendship is Betrayal (MLP)
Earthfic
Unequally Rational and Emotional(Negima/damn near everything)
The Missing Risk Premium (Non-Fic)
Mahou Sensei Negima manga
Harry Potter and the Natural 20 (HP/DnD)
Naruto: Game of the Year Edition(Naruto)
Big Human on Campus(Ranma/RosarioxVampire)
Friendship is Optimal (MLP)
Myou’ve Gotta Be Kidding Me(MLP)
Prince of the Dark Kingdom (HP)
Fallout Equestria (MLP)
Time Braid(Naruto)
Hybrid Theroy(Mega Crossover)
Luminosity (Twilight)
[Discworld] (http://i.imgur.com/kvqoC1h.jpg)
The Best Night Ever(MLP)
Imperfect Metamorphosis(Touhou)
Sanctum
Friendship is Optimal: Caelum est Conterrens(MLP)
Tales of Mu
Black Cloaks, Red Clouds (Naruto)
Dirty Old Men(Naruto)
The Eyre Affair (first novel in the Thursday Next series)
Postnuptial Disagreements(F/SN / Sekirei)
Saga of Soul
Murasakiiro no Qualia
NGE: Nobody Dies: The Trials of Kirima Harasami(Eva)
Love Lockdown(Naruto)
Worm
MLP Loops(MLP)
City of Angles
The Last Christmas
Branches on the Tree of Time(Terminator)
How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love Lord Voldemort(HP)
Emperor of Zero(Familiar of Zero/Napoleon)
Cenotaph(Worm)
Memoirs of a Human Flashlight(Worm/Exalted)
She Who Skitters in Darkness(Worm/Exalted)
Goblin Queen(Worm/Exalted)
Starry Eyes(Worm/Lovecraft)
Tale of Transmigration(Worm)
Bug on a Wire.(Worm)
Sunshine
Toasterverse(Avengers)
Back Again(LOTR)
Carpetbaggers(Narnia)
A Bluer Shade of White (Frozen)
Metropolitan Man(Superman)
Ra
Homestuck
In Fire Forged(Naruto)
Right Moments(Ranma)
Hitherby Dragons
Nice Dragons Finish Last
The Shadow of What Was Lost
The Unwelcome Warlock
Path of the King (F/SN)
Gate! Thus the JSDF Fought There
Weaver Nine(Worm)
https://www.fanfiction.net/community/Rational-stories/117575/99/4/1/0/0/0/0/
https://www.reddit.com/r/rational
[The Road] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307387895/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0307265439&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1SX7Y4HZP0E5X3D4H2YK) by Cormac McCarthy. I usually love dystopian/apocalyptic fiction, but I couldn't finish reading it because it was so disturbing.
Miss Manners is fun:
https://www.amazon.com/Manners-Excruciatingly-Correct-Behavior-Freshly/dp/0393058743/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1511825439&sr=1-1&keywords=miss+manners+guide+to+excruciatingly+correct+behavior
There's a lot of that. The clarifying beam of light in politics. The only one is internal consistency of the ideology. Through all my phases I really wanted what was the "best" system. AnCom stuff is peachy keen if you have no scarcity (read Player of games ). R & D ideology is totally obscure junk. Its conceit of knowledge at its finest. If you think politicians are qualified to make decisions for anyone or even themselves, you're wrong. I worked in politics and was shocked at how powerfully stupid many of them were. Not "leaders" in the sense that people like to pretend. Just narcissists.
Ultimately, comparing Ds and Rs at this stage of my life seems silly. They're so much alike. My transition between D to R took place after the Kerry campaign (which I worked) and the election season of 08. The Cato Institute and later, The Institute for Justice sold me on the "Right's" civil liberties cred. Obama supported FISA and McCain waffled on torture. That sold me on the anti-establishment part of the Rs, Ron Paul's crowd. To this day I like parts of the Rs much more than the Ds. Democrats have basically no civil liberties "leg" to stand on.
The catch is I don't vote and I don't encourage it. So its all basically sports to me now. Gross sports.
Yup Jewishness passes purely along the maternal line.
Time for you to learn more about your people and heritage. And stick around this sub. Welcome home.
Recommended Reading:
To Be A Jew: A Guide To Jewish Observance In Contemporary Life
On Judaism: Conversations on Being Jewish
Judaism for the Rite Reasons
Becoming a Jew
This Is My God
Check out Torah Mates or Partners in Torah.
Where do you live? Check out your local chabad(they are everywhere) if you don't live in a place with a big Jewish community. Otherwise go to your local shul (synagogue) and talk to the rabbi.
Check out This is my God by Herman Wouk and To Be A Jew by Donin HaLevi.
It's a cult. Don't tell him you think that or criticize the organization in any way. Don't argue doctrine because that is not what this is about.
http://www.amazon.com/Combatting-Cult-Mind-Control-Best-selling/dp/0892813113
Bwahahahaha!
Yahweh is deflating as we speak. Soon he'll be reduced to the size of the little turtle in Small Gods :)
Sort of off the top of my head:
Not Supernatural:
Supernatural:
Often times books about survival don't need to be fiction to be amazingly interesting, so I'll add these:
This was in The Player of Games by Iain Banks.
You might enjoy this book.
https://www.amazon.com/Replay-Ken-Grimwood/dp/068816112X
Good book, too.
I only have one:
Replay by Ken Grimwood. A thoughtful book about a man stuck in a groundhog-dayish temporal loop.
Replay is a bit different, but I love this book.
https://www.amazon.com/Replay-Ken-Grimwood/dp/068816112X
Idk how serious you are about saving her or your relationship. If you are very serious about this I urge you to check this book out.
Many of us can attest to how we royally screwed up by trying to reason with our own JW families and friends in a normal fashion. The vast majority of them are so warped and brainwashed that it really doesn't matter how many facts or logical arguments you launch their way. You will only end up making them even more zealous.
These people use families and common human emotions as weapons against you. The religion may look innocent enough on the outside, don't be fooled. The people are definitely sincere in what they practice and preach, however, many make the mistake of confusing sincerity with "good."
Combating mind control takes A LOT of patience and very careful non threatening questions to get the person to wake themselves. Make no mistake your girl is being brainwashed and the JW doctrine is far from being a harmless joke.
Good luck man.
Small Gods by Terry Pratchet
10/10
Fantasy, Humor, Satire
My favorite book. Satirizes and pokes fun of everything from religion, war, and philosophy, to turtles and little old monks. Imagine the humor of Hitchhiker's Guide for a fantasy audience.
Amazon
The Road by Cormac McCarthy or The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi.
I'd post pics of the covers, but I'd probably be lynched. :)
I enjoy Kage Baker's The Company series. It has an interesting concept where time travel is possible, but so expensive that it is cheaper to make immortal employees then travel back and forth.
The Light of Other Days by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter is excellent. It is sort of time travelly.
I also love the Pern series by Anne McCaffrey, which involves quite a bit of time travel. But it may be considered more fantasy than sci-fi.
Consider Phlebas, The Player of Games, and Use of Weapons
These three were written by Iain M. Banks and they're all sci-fi novels set in a far off future Earth where we live in a post-scarcity, stateless, classless, communist paradise. Banks uses the alien societies we encounter in the future as a means of criticing our actual, modern society today.
I absolutely love those novels. The Culture (what we now call the united humans of earth + their colonies) is fascinating. I won't spoil it for you. But go for it. Read until your eyes bleed.
Also, if you're looking for something fun and innocent. You can't go wrong with The Smurfs. I shit you not, I grew up on these so don't any of you dare insult them >.>
You'll want the comics, of course, not the cartoons.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0316955140/ref=tmm_pap_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=&sr= 6 dollars after shipping
Get her a copy of Miss Manners next time, and highlight the part about gifts always being optional.
Since when? I was raised with very traditional tea etiquette. That is actually quite rude and looks inelegant. I suppose when you stand from the table you also put your napkin beside you plate. Heathen.
http://www.amazon.com/Manners-Excruciatingly-Correct-Behavior-Freshly/dp/0393058743/ref=pd_sim_b_2
Gibson has gone through a bit of a metamorphoses. He came out in the early 80s and became one of the founding writers of "cyberpunk." He has one trilogy written in the eighties, and one written in the 90s with a slightly different feel, and both are squarely in the cyperpunk genre. Then the 2000s happened and Gibson felt that the real world had already gotten so weird that writing speculative fiction was a bit unnecessary, so he started writing books that are closer to modern day reality, and less "cyberpunk."
I recommend you start with his latter stuff, away from the earlier cyberpunk material. The earlier stuff is really good but it seems a little dated in 2016. Start with Pattern Recognition, which is the first book of a trilogy that includes Spook Country and Zero History. These three books are so strange and so interesting, I cannot recommend them enough.
The book I'd like to read this month is "Shades of Grey" by Jasper Fforde. This is not the "50 Shades of Grey" that everybody makes fun of. This is the first book in a new series by the author of the "Thursday Next" series.
Part social satire, part romance, part revolutionary thriller, Shades of Grey tells of a battle against overwhelming odds. In a society where the ability to see the higher end of the color spectrum denotes a better social standing, Eddie Russet belongs to the low-level House of Red and can see his own color—but no other. The sky, the grass, and everything in between are all just shades of grey, and must be colorized by artificial means. ... ... -Amazon.com
So in a world where color reigns supreme, a good-guy cop starts to realize that the world he knows may not be the world as it really is. Sounds a bit like the Phillip K. Dick stories that have become... ahem... enjoyable theatrical thrillers. The "color=prestige" idea is intriguing, and I imagine Fforde manages to work it into the plot in some very cool ways.
What do you think?
Changeling Space Program (My Little Pony) - the changelings are attempting to be the first on the moon. It has realistic depictions of rocket research and the author is basing the characters' progress on his ability to build a rocket on the Kerbal space game. It's a great read and hilarious. But the updates are on the order of months in between.
Replay (Original) - it involves a man repeating his life with the repeats getting closer to his death date each time. It's not what I consider rational in the character's investigation and use of the power, but his emotional struggles were very vivid and well written.
The Red Knight (Harry Potter) - A great story where Ron goes back in time to his birth, but the world he is reborn into is an AU so he has no idea of what to expect from the future.
Forged Destiny (RWBY) - It's a re-imagining of RWBY as an RPG-like world where everyone is a gamer character and the plot of RWBY is dramatically different as a result. I would recommend anything written by Couer Al'aran. He's a brilliant writer.
Auburn (RWBY) - RWBY with Jaune, Weiss, Blake, and Ruby on a team together. The author Super Saiyan Syndaquil has written some other good fanfics, but Auburn's my favorite.
Replay by Ken Grimwood.
https://www.amazon.com/Replay-Ken-Grimwood/dp/068816112X
If you haven't read it, you really shouldn't be here. 😉
Eifelheim is really good. Pretty much anything by Michael Flynn. Similarly, The Book of Feasts & Seasons and anything by John C. Wright.
Edit. Actually now that I think about it the Book of Feasts and Seasons isn't sci-fi at all even though most of what John C. Wright writes is. It is awesome though and very Catholic. For more sci-fi, I'd recommend the Count to a Trillion Series.
The sociological definition is a small religion.
What makes a cult destructive is being a "high demand group," where the organization and leaders have excessive influence and control.
That looks like the one I linked in another thread: https://www.amazon.com/Portrait-Dorian-Gray-Picture-Readers/dp/1450541712
​
It seems to have both titles in the amazon listing.
Have you seen the stuff on Amazon? Are you worse than this?
Gods receive their sustenance from belief and believers. This is what feeds them and gives them life. For more details, I refer you to the book Small Gods. Craftily disguised as a satirical novel (satire is generally invisible to divine beings - which is why they have no sense of humor), it documents and explains deities.
If you're into war novels, you should definitely check out All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. It's hands down my favorite war-related book. And if you're into post-apocalyptic stuff, the easy answer is The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
This is an interesting science fiction book about the concept:
http://www.amazon.com/Light-Other-Days-Arthur-Clarke/dp/0312871996
A company develops faster than light communication through little microscopic wormholes. As the book goes on they learn how to use this to see the past.
You might find the book 'Player of Games' interesting for some discussions on the topic.
> I apparently have politeness Tourette's or something and I'm incapable of not extending hospitality to people I despise
You can still be polite and say no to people. I recommend Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior as a starting point on how to learn. One of the things she covers is how to politely say 'no' in all sorts of social situations.
Her all-purpose, get-out-of-Hell-free card is "I'm sorry, but it isn't possible" (or such variants as "I'm sorry, but it won't be possible", "I'm sorry, but that evening is impossible for me", and so forth). The trick to making the phase work is not to offer any excuse: “I’m so sorry, but we won’t be able to have you here for supper” should suffice. Should a JNMIL be so audacious as to demand why, Miss Manners recommends saying, “It’s just not convenient" and do not add anything to that statement.
I work in sales. In sales training, I learned about something called overcoming objections*. Basically, a customer comes in, expresses interest in something, but then hesitates. Your goal as a sales person is to find out what the customer's objection to buying is, so you can offer ways to overcome it. So for example, a customer might say: "I can't buy this car." The sales person asks why. "Oh, I can't afford a down payment right now." The sales person then offers a way to overcome the objection: "You're in luck--we're running financing specials with really good interest rates and no down payments. I can walk you through some options and get you in this car today."
When JNMILs and their ilk want something from you and you decline, they'll start probing to find out what your objection is so they can work to overcome it. Your best defense in that situation (and it works against sales people, too) is to not offer your objection at all.
Default to a pleasant 'no' ("I'm sorry, it's not possible"), and don't be afraid to repeat that statement exactly. Repeating the exact same words (aka the Broken Record Technique) engages the pattern recognition in the brain and mentally forces your JNMIL to pay attention to your no instead of blowing past it. Then they have to deal with your no without knowing how to overcome it.
Variations on the above technique include greyrocking and Don't JADE (Justify, Argue, Defend, Explain). Read up on those, experiment, maybe mash them up to meet your needs, and see how it works for you.
If you are curious about something like this, there is a famous sci-fi book called "Glasshouse" (http://www.amazon.com/Glasshouse-Charles-Stross/dp/0441015085/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1417575141&sr=8-14&keywords=glass+house) that pretty much talks about it. Though it is more about how people and machines are at the point where "what is humanity anymore" comes into question. The sections I refer to about this particular question is about how we can save our "current" consciousness, go off and get killed, and revert back to our "saved" consciousness in a new version of our body and not remember what we did originally after that save. It really is interesting and I had to read the book two or three times to fully wrap my head around it.
It makes you freak out about the singularity and how we wont be "human" anymore.
I just looked this up and here was the top result, Ken Grimwood
Here are two of my favorites. both are great reads.
Replay by Ken Grimwood is kinda like Groundhog Day writ large. It's about a guy who relives the 60s, 70s, and 80s over and over again.
11/22/63 by Stephen King is about a guy who finds a portal that takes him from the present to 1958. He decides to live for a few years in the past and try to prevent the JFK assassination.
And if you like the idea of a dinosaur time-travel thriller, look up my book and see if it interests you.
Replay by Ken Grimwood
A bit of an older book, but one of my favorites. Shares similarities with the movies Groundhog Day or Edge of Tomorrow, but published in 1986, this was before either of those.
>Jeff Winston, forty-three, didn't know he was a replayer until he died and woke up twenty-five years younger in his college dorm room; he lived another life. And died again. And lived again and died again -- in a continuous twenty-five-year cycle -- each time starting from scratch at the age of eighteen to reclaim lost loves, remedy past mistakes, or make a fortune in the stock market. A novel of gripping adventure, romance, and fascinating speculation on the nature of time, Replay asks the question: "What if you could live your life over again?"
Replay
Another great book is Combatting Cult Mind Control. You can't tell them how it's wrong, you have to subtly make them see it for themselves. They've already been told that anyone that opposes that religion is working for Satan. If you set yourself against it, you're fulfilling what they've been told and making it more true for them.
Were you Christian previously? If you're familiar with the bible, you may be able to show them scriptures that disagree with what JWs teach. But ask questions only. As in your stepmom explained it this way, but then what does this scripture mean? Never seem like you're disagreeing, you just don't understand and let them explain it. The idea is to get them to see it doesn't make sense. JWs have an answer for almost everything (that's part of their appeal) but a lot of their answers don't make sense when you stop to think about it, and they especially don't if you're familiar with the bible.
Edited: Some of my bookmarks that might help. Check out M.J.'s letter on this one. And this freeminds article has some good questions that might be useful.
Armchair cult studier here.
Brainwashing uses various techniques including making the target get a low self esteem, mixed messages, information control, and an us-vs-them mentality. There are several books on the subject. Some of the most important is "Cults in our midst" by Margaret Thaler Singer, and "Combatting cult mind control" by Steve Hassan..
Not all cults work exactly the same way, but they have similar characteristics. Perhaps the best way to put it is that a person in a cult is similar to a person in an abusive and manipulative relationship. Doubt is interpreted as treason, obedience is seen as love. Little by little, the cult draws you in, moves you away from your loved ones, requires you to ask for permission about every single thing you do with your life. Fear is abused, and imaginary enemies are planted in your mind (the CIA, aliens, the Illuminati, the devil, bad spirits, whatever), and the cult is seen as your only salvation from these dangers. More aggressive cults assign you an "elder" partner to watch "over" you, to keep you under control. It's like getting swallowed by a giant snake: The fangs prevent you from getting out, and draw you in, until escape becomes physically impossible. Expect harsh punishments for trying to escape, often voted in favor by the flock. That's how loyalty is manufactured.
And the more you obey, the more you give away the means for escaping: You give them your money, your time (even your sleep time), your goods, they become your managers, and so on. Most cults also plan your activities to reinforce their morals and to stop you from thinking to much.
Eventually, the morals of the cult become universal, and you'll lie, cheat and commit illegal acts in the name of the cult, or the cult's deity, without realizing that you've become the deceiver, and that had you known all you know now, you wouldn't have joined in the first place.
TIL they made a play out of Wicked. Good book!
Gregory Macquire's "Wicked" also explores the events of the film from the POV of the witch.
Stoner by John Williams (not the composer) is one of the best novels I've ever read. Fantastically well written, just a wonderful story of an ordinary man's life. I've read two of Williams' four novels (the other being Butcher's Crossing, about 19th century buffalo hunting, also phenomenal) and one of the others is Augustus, a national book award winner. I should get on that one...
Also, The Dog of the South by Charles Portis(author of True Grit, also an excellent book) is a hilarious, wonderful book that I would recommend to anyone. Actually all five of his books are great too.
Oh, can't forget Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban, incredible portrait of a post-apocalyptic world written in its own dialect. It takes a while to get used to, but once you do it's well worth it.
No, but The Road came very close.
Don't read The Road, whatever you do.
Have you read the book The Prestige on which the movie was based? They're not the same. The book could never have been adapted as-is. The movie captures much more character and drama in 2 hours than the book does in its nearly 400 pages. It's one of the few movies for which I would make the claim that the movie is better than the book.
I was disappointed with Inception, and I'm not a terribly big fan of the Batman series. But The Prestige is one of my favorite movies ever made, because it's so incredibly compelling.
What did you find dull about the Prestige, and in what way did Nolan have a poor grasp of the characters?
This reminds me of the ending of the book The Light of Other Days by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter.
I would actually page through Miss Manners Guide to Excrutiatingly Correct Behavior(http://www.amazon.com/Manners-Excruciatingly-Correct-Behavior-Freshly/dp/0393058743). You can probably get it from the library. I think she nails the right tone between helpful and scathing and witty. It will also give you some RP ideas for "things you character would do correctly / correct people on."
Jasper Fforde's Shades of Grey - I can't wait to read the rest of the series: http://www.amazon.com/Shades-Grey-Novel-Jasper-Fforde/dp/0670019631
Shades of grey is just shitty literotica, if you want to confuse people I highly recommend Shades of Grey, just finished it yesterday and it was an awesome book.
I'll toss in Replay by Ken Grimwood. Guy dies of a heart attack to find that he's back in college, with all his previous memories. And then it gets weird. Started reading it in bed one night, wound up reading the whole book in one sitting.
Glaxnor, I almost always agree with you, but here we part ways. It may be true of certain types of SciFi, or even the entire Fantasy genre, but not all. Replay and Altered Carbon are two that disprove this, for me.
I'm surprised to see a Witness on a thread like this. Reddit was something that a lot of young people at my hall talked about not using. That was back when /r/atheism was on the front page. I would suggest you do some research about the organization. Not from what they give you, they do enough policing of their own enough as it is with the molestation cases. I would suggest reading Combating Cult Mind Control. In his book he describes what defines a cult and what techniques they use to control your thoughts and behavior. This is also a good read pertaining specifically to Witness's. Now I know you probably wont read these, I sincerely hope you do. What the Witnesses are doing is wrong and damaging to people. You are a fellow human and I care about you, please PLEASE, at least read that. Then you can have a true informed choice.
Also you asked for a book. Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steven Hassan is an excellent book!! The beauty of this book and the author is that Steven is not or was ever a JW. He was associated with the Moonies in the 70's.
JW's believe anyone who was ever a JW and is no longer is an "apostate." JW's view "apostate's" as enemies of "God's Organization" and thus are commanded to never talk to them, read anything the publish, or listen to anything they say. (The reason for the "quotation marks" is that JW's view anyone who is critical of their organization as apostate whether they were a JW or not. Also they are not "God's Organization" they are a CULT by every definition of the word. But please be gentle when using that word with active JW's, they don't realize it yet, and a mental barrier will immediately go up.)
Since Steven doesn't mention JW's it may help your friend to indirectly realize that she is in cult, without ever fully saying so.
Hope this helps!
I think it's awesome that you want to hear from all sides before coming to your own conclusion. That's the sign of a mature person in my opinion. I'm not very familiar with the Mormons so I can't point to specific doctrines but I can recommend a very good book that has helped many Jehovah's Witnesses who have left their religion.
Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steven Hassan
In the book, which was written by an ex-Moonie so it's not specifically about Mormons, he outlines warning signs of dangerous religious groups. It might be helpful to go through the checklist and see if any apply to your situation.
What it all boils down to though, in my opinion, is do you care if your beliefs are true or not? If you do care, then the question is how can someone tell if their beliefs are true? And the answer is verifiable evidence.
Finding out that everything you believed in was a lie is rough. Losing a sense of belonging is also rough. Losing emotional support when you live in a house controlled by a domineering person... well, you get the picture. It's all rough. The question then becomes "is losing any or all of that worth waking up for?" How would she react to it all? What is gained by waking up to TTATT? Personally, I really think life is better without the organization, even if it's taken me a couple of years to begin to build up a new base of friends, and the majority of them are Facebook friends who live thousands of miles from me (I think that might say something about my comfort levels with people being close to me...) There are ways for her to gain more social contacts outside of the organization.
If you choose to try to wake her up, I strongly suggest reading books like
CarlSteve Hassan's Combatting Cult Mind Control. It provides a lot of good advice in trying to help wake up a loved one.Edit: I have no idea where the name Carl popped into my head from, but it's supposed to be Steve Hassan. Thanks, /u/queensvillage1976, for pointing that out to me.
"Frequently purchased together"
This is hilarious. And I thought the Baby Jesus Butt Plug book was the weirdest thing I was going to see on Amazon. The world keeps getting more interesting.
Edit to include link so you know I'm not making this up.
I've read and own that book.
By the publishers who brought you Baby Jesus Butt Plug and The Rampaging Fuckers of Everything on the Crazy Shitting Planet of the Vomit Atmospher
Well, it looks like it is indeed a self-published book, though not necessarily by the author of this post.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Portrait-Dorian-Gray-Picture-Readers/dp/1450541712/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1501858851&sr=8-7&keywords=portrait+of+dorian+gray
Paperback: 228 pages
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform; Reprint edition (3 Feb. 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1450541712
ISBN-13: 978-1450541718
Product Dimensions: 17.8 x 1.3 x 25.4 cm
Some residue:
https://www.amazon.com/Portrait-Dorian-Gray-Picture-Readers/dp/1450541712
"The Portrait of Dorian Gray was first published in 1890 by Oscar Wilde."
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/portrait-of-dorian-gray-oscar-wilde/1008429782
https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-portrait-of-dorian-gray/oscar-wilde/9788124200742
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trials-Oscar-Wilde-Portrait-Dorian/dp/1904605621
http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/wilde/jaffe2.html
http://ia-zak-blog.blogspot.fi/2011/09/portrait-of-dorian-gray-chapter-8-james.html
https://www.kibin.com/essay-examples/tag/the-portrait-of-dorian-gray
http://www.grin.com/en/e-book/282425/the-portrait-of-dorian-gray-from-an-aesthetic-to-a-moral-value
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Portrait-of-Dorian-Gray-The-Picture-of-Dorian-Gray-by-Oscar-Wilde-Readers-/351708945510
This was a real tearjerker for me in grade school. I cried in the middle of class... and man I never heard the end of it until I moved.
Now, as an adult I read this and it was probably one of the more emotional experiences I've had reading a book.
Also, "Shantaram" by Gregory David Roberts, "I Know This Much is True" by Wally Lamb, and the graphic novel, and "Maus" by Art Spiegelman all elicited more than enough tears to fill a bucket.
Octavia Butler's novel, "Kindred" is more like watching a speeding truck start to wobble left and right. There's this impending disaster that's looming ahead and you can only watch as it unfolds.
Umm... I read a lot of sad stuff, it seems.
A Fine Balance - this is a novel about the class system in India in the 70s. It was really well written, but really depressing, especially at the end.
There's [this book.] (http://www.amazon.com/Portrait-Dorian-Gray-Picture-Readers/dp/1450541712) I don't know if that helps much.
Ah, isn't he the guy who wrote "Baby Jesus Butt Plug"???
Yes..Yes he is: http://www.amazon.com/The-Baby-Jesus-Butt-Plug/dp/0972959823/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1ZX79FXS51VWB9A64DYJ
I got to that point - they weren't there. So I was then convinced they would wait until I got into the rumpus. Nope - it would be when I got into the smoking room. Nope - it would be when I got into the smoking room and told them about it, and then they'd laugh at me and THEN kill me. All the while I was unable to do anything but keep moving forward, even though I was convinced it was going to happen.
I told them, they laughed, and they handed me the bong. That made me feel better. Crisis averted! I know it's not anything like your situation, but it was a big moment for me :p
Uh, you just described a cult. That's classic brainwashing. You need to get these people out, and start adopting deprogramming techniques. I would recommend Combatting Cult Mind Control and releasing the bonds for techinques in helping these people, because they are in a dangerous controlling situation.
Remember that they will actually believe what they are being told. Given advanced brainwashing techniques you can make your followers believe anything you wish, even crap like Xenu. These people WILL believe what they are taught because of this, and being intelligent doesn't make you immune from brainwashing.
The key tactic here is to make them think. Ask them a tough question and let them do as much talking as possible. You cannot confront their beliefs directly, or you become the devil to them, instead you must guide them to the answer on their own.
To be honest, these people really need you. Cults are so damaging. I'd know, I've been in one. Mormonism is a cult.
Good luck.
That's a tough situation to be in. I'm sorry to hear that you are stuck "inbetween" worlds- but it must feel great. What's your plan with the fam? I suggest reading "combating cult mind control" by Steven Hassan. His second book might be helpful as well. They outline what to avoid and give suggestions on how to plan an "intervention" carefully and methodically in order to have the highest chance of success in freeing someones mind from a destructive cult.
I'm not "after" anything. But if he wants to confirm himself to Christianity, he shouldn't be looked down upon. 14 is old enough to know what you believe (at least for the moment). You could have chosen a more subtle book, like Small Gods by Terry Pratchett.
If you enjoy religion/atheism as a topic, you should really enjoy this one!
Have you read Jasper Fforde? If you like Douglas Adams, you'll love him. He's got a few series, including the Thursday Next series that starts with The Eyre Affair. Or if you want something slightly less lighthearted, there's Shades of Grey.
For some reason, I'm a total Jasper Fforde evangelical lately, but he's fantastic.
Perhaps introduce her to Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series by giving her The Eyre Affair. Or to Sandra Gulland's Josephine Bonaparte Trilogy by giving her The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.
I'm currently reading (and almost finished with) The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde which I'm finding really fun. I'm enjoying it due to the fact it's a bit humorous like Terry Pratchett plus there's the possibilities that books are realities you can enter which I've always wanted to do when I was younger. Definitely a fun read.
Jasper Fforde actually uses this as a means of transport in his alternate timeline series of books about Thursday Next, which, by the way, I highly recommend.
Amazon link
We do know that religious people are far more likely to condone torture.
Also, if you haven't done so, go read Jasper Fforde's "The Eyre Affair". It's like if Douglas Adams was a fan of classic literature and decided to write in that context instead of about space ships, aliens, and robots.
1. The Eyre Affair: A Thursday Next Novel The first in a series, it's hilarious and FUN to read, it's about a detective who has to enter into the actual pages of Jane Eyre to prevent Jane from being murdered by a literary terrorist. It's great for the absurdists. If you like Terry Pratchett or Monty Python.
2. In the Realms of the Unreal: Insane Writings writings by schizophrenics in asylums in the early 20th century. Amazing, poetry that is heartbreaking and shows that even the least of us are human.
Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats Memphis white boy here who knows you do. not. ever. touch a black lady's hat.
3. David A Man Of Passion And Destiny Chuck Swindoll's whole Great Lives series is amazing. as an aside, I really like Chuck Swindoll's writing, but not a huge fan of his preaching. His preaching is never finished, he's in the pulpit and he's still mentally compiling things. But his books have this well researched "finished" flawlessness to them.
4a. I'd give an E-bible. I might app card for the NIV which is under copyright, but I'd most likely recommend the free ESV. I recommend having several, at least three bibles on each digital device you own - phone, ipad, backup phone, laptop. On the hard drive, not on the cloud, so if you are stuck in the desert without internet.
4b. Not sure of this, but I have an old old "Family" bible with pictures and maps that I was given by a preacher when I was 10 or 11. It's in large print, has maps (I am a sucker for maps) and there's plenty of space to write in it.
Anyways, that's my list.
The Thursday Next series has a bit of time travel.
I've just downloaded "The Jane Eyre Affair" for something fun to read over the weekend. It looks fantasy/sci-fi-ish and has been highly recommended by a couple of friends. Wanna read a book together?
Might I suggest Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor, and The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde.
Both deal with magical realism/urban fantasy, and I really enjoyed both of them.
Riddley Walker by Russel Hoban is a wonderful post-apocalyptic book written in an unmatchable idiom. It takes a while getting used to the language--but it is really a wonderful story.
And if you want to get the DayZ-Lonewolf-feeling, read (or watch) The Road
I'm noticing more and more sci-fi elements in "serious" classical-style fiction. Here are some examples:
Earlier, user xmashamm wrote:
> If you set out to write a badass sci fi story, it's going to be bad. If you set out to write a deeply human story, and it happens to be set in space, you're probably on to something.
In all of the examples I gave, the sci-fi element itself is peripheral to the story of the people involved. There is little or no time devoted to explaining how the sci-fi element came about or how it works. In all three examples, the characters are three-dimensional[1] and the prose is top-notch. Blindness won the 1998 Nobel Prize for literature. So I do think the line is melting. I think that now it's more of a continuum, with placement depending on how much time is devoted to talking about the science and technology itself. I'd place Larry Niven's stuff waaaay on the sci-fi end, and the three authors above much farther toward the classical end.
The funny thing about this use of sci-fi elements by classical-style authors is that these skillful writers sometimes make rookie science mistakes that their core audiences don't seem to be bothered by. My biology training made me find the premise of The Road internally inconsistent and largely unbelievable, for example.
____
[1] Possible exception of the one by Nicole Krauss, who doesn't write male characters well.
Zombies: A Record of the Year of Infection
Don Roff, Chris Lane
Day by Day Armageddon
J. L. Bourne
Day by Day Armageddon: Beyond Exile
J. L. Bourne
Earth Abides
George R. Stewart
Swan Song
Robert McCammon
The Road
Cormac McCarthy
edit: This covers a good array of subjects on different ways the world might perish. All fiction also.
Try the book it's from - Pulitzer winner for 2007.
Strangely, as terribly bleak and harsh as it is, it is uplifting yet still when taken as a whole. They carry the fire still.
There are two books specifically about the Metro series.
http://www.amazon.com/Metro-2033-English-Dmitry-Glukhovsky/dp/1481845705
http://www.amazon.com/Metro-2034-Dmitry-Glukhovsky/dp/1473204305/
Also, try out The Road by Cormac McCarthy http://www.amazon.com/Road-Cormac-McCarthy/dp/0307387895/
Hi OP! Hope that everything's alright with you. I resonated deeply with Worm and Taylor's struggle during a hard period in my life. Here are some stories from that time in my life that I think might be interesting for you:
The Road (novel) - "A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark." Honestly one of the most depressing things I've ever read. The entire time it feels like the father's struggling against impossible odds, and this story doesn't pull its punches at all.
Human Moments in World War III (free short story) - this story is about people drifting from their humanity as they pilot a weaponized space station in orbit. The writing style is very distant, which I think is appropriate for the theme of dissociation vs. brief moments of genuine connection that runs throughout this work.
Chrysalis (free webnovel) - about a human-built AI and its war of vengeance for the burnt-out remains of Earth. The AI's internal struggle in resolving its hurt with its anger and drive for justice is a big part of this story.
Malak (free short story) - another AI story. This one's about an experimental US military drone in the Middle East struggling to figure out its code-imposed morality. A reconstruction of a lot of rationalist tropes that's ultimately hopeful. (Or at least I think so.)
Gonna Reach Out and Grab Ya (short story that's free on Google Books) - a depressed and overworked surgeon finds a corpse from the future. One of those bright-moments-in-a-shitty-life stories.
Dredging Up Memories (novel) - a story about a man trying to find his family in the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse. Everyone's dead, so he has to deal with his crumbling psyche on his own even as he kills the undead. This one's really beautifully written, and such a poignant illustration of struggling through mental illness.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0312858868/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_dMtaCbM5400G0
Well... You could start with The Prestige.
At least you know the plot won't disappoint you.
This immediately brings to mind Ian Banks' Culture series à la The Player of Games. If you haven't, I definitely suggest a check out. The whole Culture series is a post-singularity exposition, though some books more than others definitively explore specific ideas such as leisure and play.
Have you read Jewish Literacy? Also, while this is written by an Orthodox Rabbi, Rabbi Aryeh Moshen's Gerus Guide may be helpful. This is my God is a popular suggestion. Here's a reading list suggested by Orthodox courts. Given your interest in Conservative Judaism, you may find Rabbinic Authority interesting, although it's a little advanced. I found Maimonides' introduction to the Talmud to be a great intro to the idea of the Oral Law.
Also, check out /r/Giyur if you need help/support.
Indeed I can. I especially enjoy Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior.
Edit: I recommend looking inside. Miss Manners will fuck a bitch up. It's great.
We're reading Rule 34 this month in r/SF_Book_Club. I'm, reading Halting State at the moment which is set before the events in Rule 34 and I'm really enjoying it.
My favourite Stross book is probably Glasshouse which is set in the same universe and some time after the events in Accelerando; I'd definitely recommend it.
Not traditional time travel I guess, but one I've read half a dozen times, Replay by Ken Grimwood. A guy lives his whole life, dies, wakes up back in college, lives another life, wakes up back in college, etc., with a whole over arching story about why and how it's. happening.
Apparently the author had a sequel planned, but he died before it was written. Still a really great read.
Edit: added link once I got back to a keyboard.
For interesting time travel concepts that are like the Butterfly Effect or Inception....then:
I thoroughly enjoyed Eifelheim, about aliens in medieval Europe. It looks at the collision between alien creatures and local religion, and was a great read.
Im ex Jehovah's witness. I found out by total accident my religion was a satanic mind control cult. So I researched all groups. Turns out the mormons are a cult as well. You will only win your mormon family over with Love. If you attack their faith all your going to do is further implant their "persecution complex" (which is what all cults teach their members)
You need this book
https://www.amazon.ca/Combatting-Cult-Mind-Control-Best-selling/dp/0892813113
> Just what happens to a deity once people stop believing?
Terry Pratchett answers this question in a most enjoyable way in his book Small Gods.
Check out the "Thursday Next" series of books by Jasper Fforde.
First book here. The climax takes place inside the book "Jane Eyre"
I cannot recommend this series enough. The first book is The Eyre Affair.
The series is nearly impossible to explain. But I'm going to try. It takes place in an alternate London in 1985 and literature is taken very seriously. Thursday is a literary detective who has to save Jane Eyre from being murdered from her own book. One of the books is even about stopping the end of the world.
I vouch so hard for this book you should put it on your WL
The first one is the Eyre Affair
I'd love to see someone's take on Russell Hoban, like Ridley Walker
Seconding Riddley Walker.
Hoban is mainly known as a children's author, but he wrote quite a different kind of book with Riddley Walker. I won't spoil it, but I will say you need to be prepared to learn how to read English all over again, much more so than any of the others listed so far.
If you enjoy more apocalyptic literature, I'd highly suggest you read Riddley Walker. Don't look up too much about it though since it'd be a crime to ruin the plot. It's written in broken dialect, since most of civilization was destroyed and only traces of it remain.
As an example, the opening sentence of the book...
>On my naming day when I come 12 I gone front spear and kilt a wyld boar he parbly ben the las wyld pig on the Bundel Downs any how there hadnt ben none for a long time befor him nor I aint looking to see none agen.
This seems like a good one. Here's an amazon link if anyone is interested.
If I had this then I could read it, and I've been told it's a wonderful book. If I were a book, I hope that I'd be a great one.
Are you looking for pulse pounding, believable-but-still-inventive enough, hardcore mercenary action? Well look no further.
Direct Action - Written by a former Ranger/SF guy, this is the first in a set of (so far) 3 books featuring Deckard as the main character. Deckard is a former SF and CIA SAD guy who ends up getting contracted by a shady cabal to form a PMC for them to use in their attempt to bring about a NWO. He says "fuck that." This is honestly some of the best in the genre of military fiction. Written by a dude who has been there and done that, it's well written and believable enough, and the action...gritty, hardcore, doorkicking, operating action. It does not stop once it starts, and neither do the sequels, Target Deck and Direct Action. They're a blast to read and I can't recommend them enough.
Task Force Desperate - America's dollar has collapsed. The military is incredibly underfunded and no longer has the ability to project power. This all comes to a head when an American military base in Djibouti is attacked and taken over. With the US no longer able to respond to events such as these, Jeff's PMC, Praetorians, are contracted to handle the situation. The guy that wrote it is a former Recon Marine, so similar to Jack Murphy, he's been there, done that, and it shows. If you want hardcore action, this is another solid book for you. The plot is a bit out there, but hey, fuck it, it's fun.
Moving away from fiction...
Level Zero Heroes - Written by one of the first MARSOC dudes that went into Afghanistan when MARSOC was first stood up. He's his MSOC's forward air controller, and it's just a pretty cool and interesting look into the special operations world from a new (at the time) SOF unit.
Horse Soldiers - About the first ODA that went into Afghanistan within weeks of 9/11. They worked really closely with CIA SAD, and it's an incredibly interesting write up on what these guys managed to do in incredibly austere conditions. They rolled around the country on horseback. That's bad ass.
First In - Similar to Horse Soldiers, but written by one of the CIA paramilitary officers that coordinated with the Northern Alliance and the SF ODAs when they first came in country. A bit dry, but if you're interested in this sort of thing, it's one of the best (and only, from its perspective) accounts of the early parts of the Global War On Terror.
Now for some non military stuff.
Dune - The best sci-fi novel ever written, bar none. It has political intrigue, an oppressed people against an overwhelmingly larger force, oh, and giant sandworms. It's hard to describe just how rich the world of Dune is in a simple paragraph, so I won't even try. If you're into sci-fi and you haven't read Dune, you owe it to yourself. You're in for a treat.
The Road - The bleakest thing I've ever read. It takes place after some type of apocalyptic event in the US (which is never detailed), and is the story of a father and his young son attempting to survive in the wasteland amongst cannibals that keep their "livestock," chained in a basement, roving bands of marauders, and other horrors. It's written in an incredibly minimalist style which adds to the tone and atmosphere so much. If you want something heavy, this is your book.
I'll probably add more but here are my recommendations for now.
i would throw cormac mccarthy's name into your selection, too. both "the road" and "no country for old men" are great introductions to his style. If you get a taste for his writing, definitely pick up "blood meridian." it's my favorite work of his. he's got a good sized catalog of 10 books if you get a taste for his style.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
https://www.amazon.com/Road-Cormac-McCarthy/dp/0307387895
any Fallout merchandise. like this lunchbox
https://www.amazon.com/FanWraps-Fallout-Nuka-Cola-Collectible/dp/B01M6D3C1D/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1498082853&sr=8-5&keywords=nuka+cola
terminator blu ray
walking dead comic
I had a bunch of friends recommend The Road by Cormac McCarthy. They described reading it as an almost religious experience. I had people tell me that it gave them hope for humanity etc. So I kind of approached it with that in mind.
I started it and got hooked, finished it in one sitting, but it was a different kind of fixation for me. It was super depressing; I couldn't clear the mental images out of my head. I kept thinking to myself, "it could really end like this" and I just dwelled on that. I thought about what would become of my family and friends in an end of days situation like the one described in the book. I walked around in a dark stupor for days. My wife and my coworkers kept asking me what was wrong and trying to find out what my problem was. It just fucked me up. Its one of the only books I have ever read that I have simultaneously hated and thought was a good book.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Road-Cormac-McCarthy/dp/0307387895
World War Z, by Max Brooks
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter Miller
I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson -- fair warning: it's actually more of a short story/novelette. But even if you've seen the Will Smith movie, the book is different (and, in my opinion, better) so you'll still want to read this one.
The Last Policeman, by Ben Winters -- sort of fits. It's not exactly post-apocalyptic. It's more pre-apocalyptic. It's a sort of noir detective novel, except the government has announced that an asteroid is going to collide with the earth, probably ending life as we know it. So it's kind of a murder mystery while the world breaks down around the hero. The first book in this trilogy won an Edgar Award in 2013 for Best Paperback Original.
Parasites Like Us, by Adam Johnson -- This one's more light-hearted. The hero is a 2nd rate anthropologist working at a 2nd rate university. He illegally conducts a dig at the site of an early American settlement, and gets thrown in jail. Turns out that the dig unleashed a virus that threatens to wipe out civilization. It focuses more on the human elements of the story -- life, love, etc. -- and less on the apocalypse, and it's filled with dark humor and satire.
I've never been able to pick a best anything, but here are a few of my favorites where "respectable literature" is concerned:
Okay! Sure it's this one! I'm right above you! :P Have you by chance heard of the band The Classic Crime? Or Vocal Few?
Amazing author. Amazing book.
This is a hysterical review though... http://www.amazon.com/Road-Oprahs-Book-Club/product-reviews/0307387895/ref=cm_cr_dp_hist_1?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addOneStar
I just read The Road and it was pretty good. Would make a great movie.
For those who are interested in the book:
The Prestige by Christopher Priest
I just read The Prestige, and it was intense! I don't think the genres are related at all. [This is actually the copy I have of it, but...support local bookstores!] (http://www.amazon.com/Prestige-Christopher-Priest/dp/0312858868/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345667278&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Prestige+christopher+priest)
This question reminds me of "The Light of Other Days" By Arthur Clarke and Stephen Baxter. Great book, btw.
The Light of Other Days, by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter - http://www.amazon.com/Light-Other-Days-Arthur-Clarke/dp/0312871996
Good sci-fi concept (wormhole technology lets us see into the past), weak character development, but overall a good story. And then a totally weird out of the blue last chapter. Just don't read the last chapter (it's like 4 pages long anyway) and the book is just fine.
If you like sci-fi, you should try the Culture books by Iain M. Banks. There's been no romance plots in the ones I've read, and they're really imaginative about the possibilities of far future tech and cultural development. And they're really good, engaging, and there's quite a few of them (though they're not really a series, just a shared universe).
Maybe try The Player of Games first.
OP doesn't mention the best-known Culture book
The Player of Games (Culture) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0316005401/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ErJpxb3QP2HKJ
Which is awesome.
Also H. Beam Piper, if he doesn't ring a bell, you can thank me later. How's "Space Viking" for a title?
It's called a post-scarcity society. The best examples of this I've seen are in The Culture novels of Iain M. Banks, a science fiction author. The Culture is a galactic society more or less run by a collection of AIs called Minds. I recommend starting with The Player of Games.
Great series of books. You do not need to read them in order; I read book 4 first, and it spoils nothing.
Supposedly, Amazon Prime wants to do a miniseries of this, or at least the first book, to the level of quality of Game of Thrones. I'll... believe it when I see it.
Anyway here are Amazon/Audible links! (Or hit up your local library, etc.)
I really like this stuff as space opera type stuff. It's usually not "hard" sci-fi like Asimov or even Philip K. Dick or anything, but I rather hope humanity heads in the direction of the Federation, and then ultimately to The Culture.
Fun fact!! Elon Musk named the autonomous drone barge ships (the ones that SpaceX rockets land on) after some Culture ships. Namely the Of Course I Still Love You, and the Just Read The Instructions. I also rather like the full name of the ship Mistake Not… (Don't Google it! It's a spoiler!!!)
"The Algebraist" by Iain M. Banks.
Banks is better known by the Culture series. The most accessible book in the series may be "The Player of Games" and others have mentioned "Consider Phlebas". I did not like "Matter" very much but YMMV.
edit: I usually link to the Amazon's page because it is a quite good place to see reviews and get a general idea about if the book is any good. As others have said it is a good idea to get the book from a library.
This one! This is My God - Herman Wouk
I apologize if anyone is coming off as rude. The mention of kabbalah just touches a lot of nerves around here. Here are a few books that I think most of us here would agree are good places to start:
Being socially awkward isn't something you have to live with. You don't say what age you are, but I started off that way and got much, much better with practice. Use your obsessive qualities and study how to interact with people:
https://www.amazon.com/Manners-Excruciatingly-Correct-Behavior-Freshly/dp/0393058743
I've basically developed a list of topics that cover just about anyone you might meet and need to interact with that serve as placeholders until you find out if there's anything more interesting you can talk about. You just have to carefully watch people's body language and vocal inflections to figure out how they are reacting.
The larger question is what's the point? Live your life doing the things you love and you'll find people with common interests. You want to find your own tribe where you don't have to pretend. Using language like "geeky/nerdy" and "socially awkward" just stigmatizes people for being their normal selves based on an arbitrary scale.
For example, I hang out at a Maker Space several times a week, and the place is littered with people who fit your description. I'm sure the group that hangs out at the country club bar has better social skills, but who the hell cares? Hell, I even got a date after a couple of months with someone who's much better looking than I'd ever have a shot at online.
I wish I could take credit; the quote is an excerpt from a review which was included in my copy of Pattern Recognition
Adblock got rid of that one for me... sorry about that.
Read Pattern Recognition by William Gibson. It is about something similar to your scary future and a good book to boot.
I can't see Bibendum's name in writing without thinking of Cayce Pollard's phobia regarding him
William Gibson's newer stuff, namely Zero History, Pattern Recognition, and Spook Country. I think Gibson tends to stumble on little-known and very under-appreciated trivia when he's writing, and he'll pack his stories absolutely full of little references and clues that almost compel you to go learn things.
If your so inclined you could read Shades of Grey, by Jasper Fforde. Its a fiction novel about the life of a young man in a strange future earth where the people have developed selectively sensitive eyes where, for the most part, everyone can only see one color. The social structure is based around the spectrum of light with the Reds being the most common (actually the greys are but they are kind of treated in an "untouchable", from the old Indian caste system, kind of way) and the Ultra-Violets being the most powerful. Awesome book, I completely recommend it (and most anything else by Fforde too)
Jasper Fforde, Shades of Grey. A book about living in a colortocracy.
http://www.amazon.com/Shades-Grey-Novel-Jasper-Fforde/dp/0670019631
> “Fifty Shades of Grey,” the X-rated fan-fiction novel based around the “Twilight” films, will soon be arriving in bookstores.
Nooooo. It's detracting from the fantastic book Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde.
Reminds me of a book I read... Unfortunately it's title is now close to an awful book's title, so it's hard talking about it without everyone thinking about the awful thing. But here go buy it.
At a 24-hour-long party that my friends throw every year, a gorgeous woman walks in on crutches and I'm thinking "holy crap, she'd never be in my league if she didn't walk funny". I offer to bring her a plate of food and we start talking. She wants to teach French and learn Basque; my BA was in linguistics. She has more favorite books than favorite movies; we discover we have a mutual top-ten favorite other than HHGTTG. We talk all night, crash on adjacent parts of the living room (if anyone stayed up past 3am, they were quieter than our exhaustion would wake us to), continue the conversation during breakfast, and I blurt out something like "You're smart, you love languages, you love books... this may be a bit premature but will you marry me?" >><<recordscratch>><<
...a pin drops and everyone hears it... and the living room was carpeted...
She handles it like a champ, says "Well, we just met, you should probably wait at least a year."
We keep in touch by email. I drive a few hours across the state to pick her up for a weekend (because she doesn't know how to drive) and show her my city. Within a few months she moves in and we're loving it.
At the same party, one year later... well, would YOU have waited any longer than necessary?
TLDR: Later this month we'll celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary. If I can afford it, her anniversary present is going to be hand controls for our car so that she can learn to drive. Life is sweet.
There's a great book called Replay that explores these ideas from a first-person perspective.
In a nutshell, the main character dies at 43 years old (not a spoiler; it happens on the first page) but then "wakes up" and he's 19 again, with all the knowledge he accumulated over the next 24 years.
So he basically gets to live his life again but make different decisions.
Not only that, but it happens multiple times and he makes different decisions each time.
As an older guy, it really made me think about my own history.
This is basically the plot of Ken Grimwood's "Replay"
http://www.amazon.com/Replay-Ken-Grimwood/dp/068816112X
(Though I don't think the protagonist ever went quite that far back into childhood)
If this thread interested you, I'd highly recommend reading Replay
This is a really good book on the theme
First thing he does is bet on horses in a big way!
We can never anticipate the consequences of what we do today.
But I know what you mean. It would be strange returning to the present and discovering things have drastically changed. A past you don't remember. I'd prefer to live from that past moment forward, ala Grimwood's Replay.
I second the Ready Player One rec, and I also strongly suggest Replay by Ken Grimwood.
I'm a Stephen King fanatic, and I do agree that the endings are generally disappointing. The thing about King is that his style is incredibly engaging. The short stories have much better endings than the longer works. If you're going to try King, as a tech addict - I suggest you start out with the short story UR.
“For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons.”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
And on a more serious note: “Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta. She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita. Did she have a precursor? She did, indeed she did. In point of fact, there might have been no Lolita at all had I not loved, one summer, an initial girl-child. In a princedom by the sea. Oh when? About as many years before Lolita was born as my age was that summer. You can always count on a murderer for a fancy prose style. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, exhibit number one is what the seraphs, the misinformed, simple, noble-winged seraphs, envied. Look at this tangle of thorns.”
― Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita
It's just such a creepy yet beautiful (very long) quote.
READ
this book please
It's on the under five list
Eifelheim by Michael Flynn.
Great from a science-fiction perspective and really shows the author knows his stuff about medieval and church life.
There was a book called Eifelheim, where there were creatures similar to this.
The premise is aliens land in Medieval Europe, and the aliens looked like grasshoppers
I highly suggest this book: Steven Hassan Combatting Cult Mind Control
I just finished reading it recently. It's an incredible and very well researched book on the subject. In short: the LDS church is simply put: "just like the other cults" -- probably a bit less intense generally, but the methodology it uses is no different really.
No, this isn't wrong. We certainly have all been there. Truth doesn't require you to not read certain things to remain true. While some things can be confusing, and some require a serious study to get to the bottom of, you should never be afraid of questioning something to prove whether it is true or not. If it's true, you don't have to worry about questioning it.
I was really uncomfortable with the idea of "apostates" myself for a long time; it's been hammered into you from a young age, of course it's scary to think that you might be tricked. But for one thing, there is no trick. You'll have to figure that out for yourself, but I'd encourage you to start trying to figure it out.
Combatting Cult Mind Control was written by Steven Hassan, who had no exposure to the Witnesses prior to writing this book. He writes about his experiences as a Moonie, and the techniques the Unification Church (and others) used to attract people to their organization and keep them in it. You don't have to worry about it being an "apostate" book, since he certainly wasn't affiliated with the witnesses, and didn't even know about them.
The similarities between the Unification Church, and his experience in it, along with the analysis of various other high control groups will help you see that many groups rely on the idea that speaking to former members is one of the worst sins imaginable. It isn't, of course, but it makes an effective tool to keep people tied in to an organization.
If you can, pick up a copy and read it. Visit Hassan's site for a quick overview, this is a good place to start: BITE Model
This isn't an effort to convince you that the organization is a cult, it's just a presentation of how many cults work. Take a look and see if you see any of these elements in the way the organization works.
Let us know how you're doing, though, if you would. We have a pretty caring community here, and it includes some worriers - myself included, I suppose. When people pop on, especially when they're in tough spots, we want to hear that they're doing ok. I hope you are.
Your post was removed by Reddit probably because it was a URL shortner website for Amazon with a referral code. The actual link without a code is https://www.amazon.com/dp/0892813113/
Steve Hassan has written a book that might help. http://www.amazon.com/Combatting-Cult-Mind-Control-Best-selling/dp/0892813113
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. Link to Amazon description below.A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
http://www.amazon.com/Fine-Balance-Rohinton-Mistry/dp/140003065X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1421846437&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=a+fine+balance
I really enjoyed the book A Fine Balance. It's fiction, of course, and I'm not sure how much is historically accurate, but it was an excellent read about that times period.
It's not controlling to tell your girlfriend to keep her wits about her. I highly, highly recommend Steven Hassan's book.
http://www.amazon.com/Combatting-Cult-Mind-Control-Best-selling/dp/0892813113
Your girlfriend is going into an environment that may make her feel special and understood, BUT, if the environment is what's controlling her rather than teaching her to control herself, then it's a cult.
Tell her to keep her eyes open and to remain appropriately skeptical. Good luck!
Two nonfiction books I have recently read that are beautifully written and on important topics most of us are not generally aware of:
Family Properties: Race, Real Estate, and the Exploitation of Black Urban America
Enough: Why the World's Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty
Fiction:
Confederacy of Dunces
A Fine Balance
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Tough call! I'd say Grunt by Mary Roach. My wife will probably say A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry.
I have been reading a lot of Philip K. Dick lately, and I really like his writing style. Even though it's not sci-fi, I'd like to suggest reading A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. Besides having a great storyline, it's a fascinating look at another culture and another time.
...or perhaps more accurately, a cult. For which a trained exit councillor is probably the best approach. See Steve Hassan's book on the subject.
I don't really know if it is nsfw but the title might make it so? :') The Baby Jesus Butt Plug? :'D
I must have had some Felix Felicis, because I think I'm about to get lucky. (Only works if you're familiar with Harry Potter...!)
You're purdy :3
/r/morbidreality if that counts as a nsfw :)
Having your church tell you who to marry is NOT liberal or open-minded. It's what is more commonly called a "cult", in both a sociological and negative sense.
http://www.amazon.com/Combatting-Cult-Mind-Control-Best-selling/dp/0892813113
Anyone who thinks they or someone they love might be in a cult should read this book. You might find out you're fine, but at the very least it will make you avoid the more destructive elements of New Religious Movements.
> Maybe someone needs a book but really most people dont " need" a book about Jehovas witneses ( maybe 100 Best Door Slaming Techniques) See what I mean
I DO see what you mean, and I agree completely! I mean, I've got this library of SGI books and out-of-print books about the SGI, and there's only ONE that I've found anyone to have any independent interest in - Hirotatsu Fujiwara's "I Denounce Soka Gakkai" - and that was simply whether I thought it was the authors siggy inside the front cover! I'll pull out a few paragraphs from these, maybe, but I certainly don't expect anyone else to go to the investment of time and energy to read the damn things!
Reading entire books is the stuff of college courses and grad school, not an anti-cult activism/cult escapee support site!
>the question what is sgi is misleading any way as sure the cult itself love to have a neat little introductory book So dont give the culties ideas
They've already got that O_O
>101 uses for A Dead Ikeda
OMG! YAAAS!! Or at least some scenes reminiscent of "Weekend at Bernie's"! I think I could actually do that - I'll need to brush up on my Photoshop skillz. Stay tuned - probably not today, but perhaps this week.
>I am kind of thinking getting a UK British ex sgi facebook page or something I would like to meet other ex sgi and exchange thoughts / support other people escaping
Well, over here, there's a "Meetup" site where you can advertise for people to get together, and they contact you through that site and confirm so you can get it all set up - that's a pretty easy way to do it, I suppose. wisetaiten back in the day tried, but there was only one person who responded and wasn't close enough, so she didn't try again. Facebook's a good resource, though - why not? And I don't think there's any worry about copyright or anything - don't worry, they'll let you know if there is, but there's plenty of SGI stuff on Facebook. wisetaiten even set up an SGIWhistleblowers Facebook page, but I can't get into it now...
>You do that Brilliantly here on whistle blowers
With YOUR help!
>I do also think some Drs mental health psychologist are needed for some explanations for some people .
"Religious trauma syndrome" is a pretty new definition; I believe the field of psychology is still in catching-up mode as far as cult damage goes. I don't know of any book about cult effects from the medical perspective; for now, Steve Hassan's "Combatting Cult Mind Control" (updated 2015) remains the gold standard; I'd follow that up with Margaret Thaler Singer's "Cults in Our Midst: The Continuing Fight Against Their Hidden Menace" - while I have not read either of these (prolly should, yo), I've used excerpts from them that I've found online and I believe wisetaiten read the Steve Hassan book and posted here about it. The Thaler Singer book is from 2003 and while it includes some cult specifics (Aum, Moonies, among others) it doesn't seem to identify SGI specifically - the Ikeda cult is just that irrelevant. That's another reason that writing such a book is an unappealing prospect - there just isn't much demand for it outside of this little group. Look at our subscriptions - thus far, we're less than 900. There are pages on reddit with millions of subscribers! THEY should write books!
>its deadly serious shit the mental fuck up sgi produces
It certainly is. I know people are often flippant, even silly, around here, but I hope we demonstrate how seriously we take the effects and communicate that appropriately to our visitors.
>like you cant actualy be real unless you go over to hall 1 and bang out load of chanting for 30 minutes before you start activity
Gotta get you in that compliant, gullible, obedient, cooperative trance state first!
>spend 10-20-30 years beliving that stuff and then find out its all a crock of shit if that dont mess ya mind up what will ?
I know. Some say we should just forget all about it, leave it behind like used toilet paper and not give it any more thought than that wad of used toilet paper, but people's minds don't work that way. Of course our SGI critics want us to shut up and they try everything, like shaming us for "focusing on what's in the past, maaaan".
>what is sgi ?
>buncha money grabbing croocks A organised crime syndicate a slick propaganda machine Its just horible organisation
And THERE ya have it, folks!
Not that things are this point in your situation, but if they become so or are for someone else, please check out Combatting Cult Mind Control. It's an excellent book on why cults are successful, what tactics they employ, and how loved ones can work against them to help get their family members back. In general it's an interesting read and great for keeping you aware of what to look out for if you are investigating a religion to join, and may be useful in conversations with your mother if she's flirting with the idea of joining Scientology.
I was told that this book is a great start.
http://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Going-Prison-Hogshire/dp/1559501197
You Are Going to Prison
Snapshots:
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From a cursory search I found: The Baby Jesus Butt Plug.
Never read the book, but interesting title.
That sucks I am sorry your parents have been joined the MAGA cult. There is a book by a former cult member called Combatting Cult Mind Control that might prove helpful. Same author also wrote one specifically on cult MAGA followers.
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/portrait-of-dorian-gray-oscar-wilde/1008429782/2661810303040?st=PLA&sid=BNB_ADL+Marketplace+Good+Used+Books+-+Desktop+Low&sourceId=PLAGoNA&dpid=tdtve346c&2sid=Google_c&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiILsBRCGARIsAHKQWLM3b-RH2JCuGXv0Qpm3meLfRa4EQi6mFmtKQEnvDyXlrmZzFNfiJjwaAkxJEALw_wcB
https://www.amazon.com/Portrait-Dorian-Gray-Picture-Readers/dp/1450541712/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=portrait+of+dorian&qid=1569323531&sr=8-6
I actually have the book and think it changed the name - like interview with a vampire - I even asked one of the moderators of a local horror club about the vampire thing (for this one I am sure too it changed, because I bought some anthologies that had this book title as recommended other books by the same publishers on some of the back pages).
Yup! Read the book called "Combatting Cult Mind Control" by steve Hassan. Its a fascinating read and although written about his experience in the Moonie cult it gives you insight into how cults work whether religious, secular, political or any other, the methods the leaders use to control, the logic they employ and how they manipulate people are all the same. It is SPOT ON how trump speaks to his base and the methods he uses to distort the truth
I understand you're asking about Scientology as primarily, but you mentioned why the Catholic Church isn't being considered a cult because of actions they've committed in the past.
As for the FBI, there is some precedent to believe that Scientology are under investigation currently. That precedent being that there have been multiple investigations in the past, increased recent public scrutiny (Louis Theroux, Leah Remini) and a recent suspicious death of a Scientology member, it's kinda unlikely to believe that they aren't under investigation, albeit not publicly.
For the longest time they weren't classified as a religion until they wore down the IRS to give them the tax-exempt status of a religion. Until there is video evidence of SeaOrg members torturing and imprisoning members in which those same tortured members are willing to testify against Scientology in court and say they were held against their will, then it's going to take a domestic terror situation to make the government do something about this cult (as is the case in many countries that have their own unique cults).
Obviously you're curious for a real in depth look into Scientology and how it relates to organized religion and whatnot so here's a few book recommendations so you can go beyond Reddit where you definitely won't get the detailed look you might yearn for (BUT WITH BOOKS YOU CAN :D).
Going Clear
Bare-faced Messiah
Combatting Cult Mind Control
I didn't know this was an ME, but Amazon has both listed, and a 3rd:
https://www.amazon.com/Picture-Dorian-Dover-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486278077/
https://www.amazon.com/Portrait-Dorian-Gray-Picture-Readers/dp/1450541712/
https://www.amazon.com/Portrait-Dorian-Gray-Oscar-Wilde/dp/1468012541/
So one just "picture" one is "The Portrait" and one is "a Picture".
But I am unclear on what this ME is claiming as both versions exist, did only one exist before?
On the misspell. Yes I picked but I could find no way to edit in here. Was really in a state of shock on finding picture instead of portrait.
I was doing a post on a completely different thing...... Fav old movies when I came across it.
SunsetGrr posted a link to the Amazon book
http://www.amazon.com/Portrait-Dorian-Gray-Picture-Readers/dp/1450541712
You will see in the title on the side it has both picture and portrait.
The picture of the book has only portrait. And in the description of it has portrait.
I know UK, Ireland well. Not even today would you call a painting a picture. Try googling it. A painting is always a panting. It might be a panting of a landscape, an interior etc.
A painting of someone is always referred as a portrait. Whether that be a panting or a professional photograph portrait. Thought the latter in more modern times often will be referred to others as a picture.
Just as an example in the Victorian era when Dorian Gray was written a photograph was referred to as a Portriat. Here is one example https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-mortem_photography
Which mentions portraiture of a photograph and a painted portrait.
I also went to art school and do paint portraits. When I tell people I paint they will often ask what I do, portraits, still life's or landscape.
Though it may look like it's a parody because of the informal look, it's a pretty real look at the situation on the ground, and it isn't pretty.
http://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Going-Prison-Hogshire/dp/1559501197
It just seems logical
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Baby-Jesus-Butt-Plug/dp/0972959823
I believe this book might be the physical version of the weird shit I read moons ago. So I wasn't tripping lol
This. http://www.kaboodle.com/hi/img/2/0/0/1c/f/AAAAAs9FtNMAAAAAABzzCg.jpg?v=1166647436000
Or This. http://www.amazon.com/The-Baby-Jesus-Butt-Plug/dp/0972959823/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y
There's also a book. It's very strange.
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0972959823
He probably read this and messed up his brain.
https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Jesus-Butt-Plug/dp/0972959823
I've read that actually.
For my personal blaspheming (Is that even a word?) I do prefer the Jackhammer Jesus.
link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Baby-Jesus-Butt-Plug/dp/0972959823/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_y/279-7227800-4971029
This one is cooler: https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Jesus-Butt-Plug/dp/0972959823
http://www.amazon.com/The-Baby-Jesus-Butt-Plug/dp/0972959823
It is
Portrait of Dorian Gray, on amazon :https://www.amazon.com/Portrait-Dorian-Gray-Picture-Readers/dp/1450541712?ie=UTF8&amp;*Version*=1&amp;*entries*=0
So apparently there are many other good reads.
Why would you want to abort the baby jesus?
Well for me it's the classic, [the baby jesus butt plug] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0972959823/ref=pd_aw_sim_14_2?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=98VBSDYSCK8F19QJRYNW&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=41ZJSP2RTTL) thats on top of the list.
Best book I read this year: A Fine Balance
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. It's so good, but it destroyed me. Fiction, but based in a real place and a real crisis. I've never read a book with characters so fully realized, that I rooted for so much. As you read you're just thinking "Oh God, please, just let this character catch a break, please..." but then they don't, and you want to cry. I think about it regularly to this day, 12 years after I read it. The suffering and pain and dread that many people in the world live with on a daily basis is almost impossible for most 1st world residents to comprehend. I'm literally scared to read another book like this again - I don't know if I can handle it.
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. Do not be put off by the fact that it's an Oprah's Book Club book. It is one of the singularly most devastating things I've ever read.
LOL, it's time to read Wicked!
Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
Well, in that case!
This is my favorite book of all time. It draws you in and makes you feel like the characters are family. I also really enjoy the underlying themes of ethics in TV and new technology contrasted against small-town America. Sad and funny and heartwarming.
The autobiographical comic of a teenage boy and his overbearing parents, his relationship with his little brother and his first love. It perfectly captures the confusion of growing up and dealing with the lot life gives you.
Wickedly funny, but also a melancholy look at racial tension and prejudice. The audiobook is fantastic!
Dark, very wtf, confusing at times, but overall a really cool take on the Wizard of Oz universe. Dark City meets Heat meets Wizard of Oz.
A fun, whimsical story about spoiled children being terrible. Ibbotson's books are all really great in that bad people aren't just misunderstood or lonely. They are also assholes. And everyone calls them on it. It is really refreshing in children's/YA books.
This book changed my teenage existence. It's very simple, yet beautifully crafted. It's everything Alice in Wonderland fans have built that mythos into, without any of the pretentiousness/needing to be zany for zaniness' sake.
This is my favorite dark fairy tale. The beginning gets into some heavy stuff, but it has everything that I love: a strong lady protagonist, excellent character growth, and dogs. SO MANY DOGS. Dogs are the real love story.
I stole this from my high school library because I didn't know where to get my own copy. It's a really excellent look at disability in the middle ages, couched in a very sweet romance.
This is the ultimate vicarious experience book. The protagonist goes from mousy and trod-upon to "I don't care what you think, I'm gonna run away with misfits and unemployables and have a grand time, thankyouverymuch". It's everything you want to happen in a non-contrived, excellently paced way.
The first of a classic series! They're short, which is nice, and very dated but still so much fun. Tarzan is the ultimate early 20th century Mary-Sue but it works for him.
I really enjoyed the world built in this book. It's silly at times without trying to be, but it's a cool horse-flavored dystopian coming-of-age story.
The first quartet focuses on a young girl who pretends to be a boy so she can become a knight. The second is about an orphaned country girl who discovers she can communicate with animals just in time to help with a war between humans and immortal monsters. The third is about the first girl allowed to train as a knight and a non-magical war.
The duo is about a spymaster's daughter stuck in a civil war based on the British occupation of India.
The trilogy is set in the past and is a series of intense mysteries/police dramas. Pidgeons are carriers of the dead in this mythos and the main character can hear their voices.
I just went and stared at my bookshelves and realized that there was a distinct paucity of minority characters.
However, some general recommendations:
feed for the teenager uninterested in the world at large or the dystopian fiction fan.
My Date with Satan Short stories, usually from a female perspective. High schoolers would probably delight in the bad language and messed up characters.
Trickster's Choice; A young adult girl-power fantasy/spy novel with a lot to say about colonialism. My strongest recommendation on this list. Lots of major minority characters also.
Infidel; A heavy-handed memoir about triumph by a woman who "escaped" Somalia and is now a European politician. Controversial for a multitude of reasons and has nothing nice to say about Islam, but you know your students better than I do.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks for the scientifically inclined.
Wicked for modern classic fans who'd appreciate deeper meanings.
Small Gods is good too. The main Yahweh parallel god is mostly forgotten, people are worshiping the religion, but not the god. They are preforming the acts of ritual, but focused on the priests and the action of it rather then the Deity. So he's become a weak spirit, and the only boy left who truly worships him is a bit slow. But he believes in him with every fiber.
Well now that opens up an interesting little wormcan, doesn't it?
It would seem to suggest that the details of your religion aren't particularly true - they're just a PR package tailored for your culture, to ensure maximal uptake.
That's actually kind of cynical, when it comes down to it.
So now take a look across all the religions that exist, and tell me what features they all have in common.
Not an afterlife (hello, judaism), not loving your fellow man, (hey there, Odin)
So what's left?
Have you read Small Gods by Terry Pratchett?
If you're as big a bibliophile as you sound, you need to read the Thursday Next Novels, by Jasper Fforde. The Eyre Affair is the first one. You're going to love Bookworld.
If you like classical literature you might want to try out the Thursday Next Series.
Lot's of... 'insider jokes' for people who know themselves around in the classics and really entertaining and witty to read.
If you already tried American Gods, try Stardust from the same author. Albeit shorter,the world is rich and wonderful while the story is quite clever.
If you are looking for something totally different, try the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. The first book is Eyre Affair. It is a book about people who love to read book. It has fantasy, sci-fi, crime thriller all mashed up together perfectly. It's funny and have several meta-references to some famous title which could encourage you to read even more.
Also add The Eyre Affair to your list, if you haven't read it already. It's a hilarious combination of magic and investigation. It's the first in a series, but the only one I've read. (I was reading it while my father was dying, as - coincidentally - was my brother. I just need to wait a while before reading the rest.)
Edited to add link.
The Thursday Next books could be interesting,
I'd give anything to see this series made into films or a mini-series, but it's probably not feasible. But these might work.
Awesome lists. I'll add to those the book Riddley Walker. Among other things, it's like seeing English fast-forwarded a few thousand years.
Riddley Walker is one of my top five. Written in an argot that is a melange of religious imagery, science, slang and cockney working out the language becomes half the fun. Once you;ve got the hang of it, the story comes to life with an amazingly vivid power. Set in a tribal culture in the midst of England after a nuclear war, it tells the story of Riddley's coming of age. It's a searingly powerful wildly evocative work that stays with you years after you've read it. Popular in the eighties, no one ever speaks of it now. I think, perhaps because the language is a little difficult to begin with. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Here's the amazon link
http://www.amazon.com/Riddley-Walker-Expanded-Russell-Hoban/dp/0253212340/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1323858223&amp;sr=8-1
Riddley Walker is set about two thousand years after a nuclear war has devastated world civilizations. The main action of the story begins when the young narrator, Riddley, stumbles upon efforts to recreate a weapon of the ancient world.
The novel's characters live a harsh life in a small area which is presently the English county of Kent, and know nothing of the world outside of "Inland" (England). Their level of civilization is similar to England's prehistoric Iron Age, although they do not produce their own iron but salvage it from ancient machinery. Church and state have combined into one secretive institution, whose mythology, based on misinterpreted stories of the war and an old Catholic saint (Eustace), is enacted in puppet shows.
http://www.amazon.com/Riddley-Walker-Expanded-Edition-Russell/dp/0253212340
:P
Sorry, ang malilibre ko sayo ay eto. I could not care less if it costs more than twice that of a Mortal Instruments or Kirsten White or Maggie Stiefvater or Roshani Chokshi book, eto lang kaya kong bilhin. :D
Note to self: don't read sad books while you're on an airplane.
If you haven't read The Road, you definitely should! It's about a father and son coping with the aftermath of the end of the world.
The Road. It's such an engaging read, not the best thing I've ever read but definitely one of the most captivating, a real page turner. It's hard to put it down before you finish it.
Swan Song by Robert McCammon
Earth Abides by George Stewart
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
Z for Zachariah Robert O'Brien
Deathlands series 116 books so far.
The Last Ranger by Craig Sargent. "Good" is debatable
The Road Cormac McCarthy
The Postman David Brin
The End is Nigh Ed. by John Joseph Adams. This just came out.
"The Dog Stars" by Peter Heller and "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy are both part of the modern canon, IMO.
This, this, or this probably. If that worries you, head over to r/collapse.
If you're concerned about how to prepare for the future... here's your new bible and survival guide: The Road.
This is from The Road. It is a sub par movie about an AMAZING book that takes place after the apocalypse of a man and his son trying to survive. The book is less than 300 pages with largeish font and is less than $10 on Amazon. You all should read it.
I've been to a number of climatology scientific conferences and a decade ago the general feeling was, we've gone from being able to do anything to now we're just documenting the collapse.
I keep telling my non-scientific friends and family that the reason they don't hear the real story on commercial news is that it's...commercial. They're selling advertising minutes not truth. If people get scared, they'll stop consuming at their current rate.
Perhaps the most tellingly scary thing for me has been the utter rejection and denial of the situation from people I know who I thought were rational and science-minded. They want to cover their ears and LALALALALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU....
And we can lay all the blame on capitalism and human greed. The scientific community (and fossil fuel companies, in particular) knew about this in the 1970s and did nothing because of profit$.
Cormac McCarthy is going to look like a prophet for writing The Road.
The Fuckup by Arthur Nersesian;
The Road by Cormac McCarthy;
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver
The Essays of David Foster Wallace, especially his social commentary
I am interested in The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and any apocalyptic books you may have.
Here are the apocalyptic books that I have remember having on my shelf.
[The Eleventh Plague](http://www.amazon.com/The-Eleventh-Plague-Jeff-Hirsch/dp/0545290155
/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345558472&sr=8-1&keywords=eleventh+plague)
The Compound
Children of Men
A Canticle for Leibowitz
The Road
The Road by Cormac McCarthy!
I really enjoyed it. Post-apocalyptic fiction but felt a lot more realistic. It’s not zombies or mad max, it’s just about a man and his kid trying to survive. Try a chapter or two...
https://www.amazon.com/Road-Cormac-McCarthy/dp/0307387895
book; movie
Oh that's awesome! I wanna see both of those so bad! I loved Despicable Me, it was so cute and such a fun concept anyways! I also watch a lot of superhero and fantasy adventure stuff, but only in the past few years have been getting into scifi/fantasy and it's been so great, I don't know why I let myself miss out on so much gold! My favorites are Total Recall and The 5th Element. I even hadn't seen it when I had hair just like Leeloo's! *Doh!! :)
I'd recommend the GoT books if you ever want a good series or just something to take up a lot of time. It's far more interesting than the tv series can even begin to cover! But I'm not huge into reading that type of stuff so it's been a bit of challenge for me too. Definitely not for the faint of heart hehe. And the 3rd season is just... INSANE. BUT SO GOOD. I never thought I'd get super into GoT like I have been, especially after I saw the first season, but...ohmigosh I kinda freak about it now, haha!! There's a website that has pretty good quality collections of shows for streaming, just google project free tv, it should be fairly obvious which link it is, and they have all the GoT seasons on there and you don't have to do the risky torrenting. Although you sound pretty busy so I'm sure you might not even have time for more tv, hehe!
The Road is actually a 2006 novel, you're correct, I think my friends just qualified it as a "classic" because they were super into the genre when it came out, and I even had a few friends say they read it in school, so perhaps it'll be one for the "newer classics" haha.
Also, I absolutely adore that you like the videogames movies, Mortal Kombat and SMB are great, haha! I didn't realize they had made a DnD movie though!!! Is it actually good!?!?!!! <insert mindblown.gif here>
And yeah I love Bastion!! It's so pretty yet so fun and I can only WISH someone followed me around to narrate my life in the awesome way Rukus does it!! :D
Protip: read the book.
You don't have to worry about spoilers since all the big secrets from the movie are pretty up-front in the book. But the ending... is different. And will also fuck with you.
This is a wonderful book. Hard to beat the movie, but it does!
A great light read
Also any of the Sookie Stackhouse books!
I love reading books!
Maybe The Prestige
I might get wacked on the side of the head for this, but I will anyway....
http://www.amazon.com/Inception-Shooting-Script-Christopher-Nolan/dp/1608870154
… along with this, though the movie left out one major element of the book.
http://www.amazon.com/Prestige-Christopher-Priest/dp/0312858868/
As for some less 'duh' recommendations that might result in me getting a beating, The Golden Age deals with a amnesiac trying to figure out why everybody took away his memories (along with everybody else on something he did) while trying to solve a mystery... but its sci-fi elements are CRUNCHY HARD, and least 'Nolen like'. Read some reviews before tackling it, but the plot twists never stop to take a break.
Frank Herbert's Dosadi Experiment is another sci-fi one, but it isn't as... bad?... as Golden Age. It is a gambit pileup, where the protagonist is placed between two rival antagonists, each trying to out-gambit each other in a massive conspiracy for each, with a seemingly impossible task. It is a sequal to Whipping Star, but is not required. (The ending is spoiled in the introduction)
Both have fiendishly complex plots that require you to pay attention, which reminds me of Nolen a lot, though neither are exactly neo-noir.
I read that short story when I was a kid. You should read The Light of Other Days by Arthur C Clarke and Stephen Baxter. It's an excellent book on the same themes.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0312871996/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_0bRgAb8JJ7KWT
there was a book written about this
>The Light of Other Days
Very, very good book, quite impressive as a look at what the true social consequences of wormholes might be. Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter are the wombo combo of science fiction imo!
Amazon link if anyone wants to check it out.
There's an interesting novel that plays out as a sort of thought experiment on a topic similar to this. It's called The Light of Other Days by Arthur C. Clarke.
Link - Amazon
I'd recommend Player of Games by Iain M Banks. I loved the Dune series and would urge you to read and make up your mind for yourself.
The Player of Games by Ian M. Banks. Part of the classic Culture sci-fi series and a great starting point for that series.
It is really good, and you're quite welcome. Though, if this is your first Culture novel, I'd advise reading The Player of Games first. It's a more straightforward novel, so you get a good intro to the Culture without having to deal with unraveling two simultaneous stories. It also has a decent twist, but that's less "Darth Vader is Luke's father" than a infodump at the end explaining everything that happened, including the stuff the protagonist wasn't told.
Incidentally, check out this collection of Le Guin's Hainish novels. (Totally worth it by the way.)
Otherwise, here are some suggestions for other authors:
Gillion years: Player of Games - Iain M Banks
you should read the culture series of novels by Ian Banks ...
Have you read Player of Games by Iain Banks? If not, firstly shame on you, and secondly I'd really recommend it. While his isn't exactly a bed time story he does employ a similar technique that uses an outside narrator to tell the story but he gives a couple of small segments where the narrator has his own voice aside from the action of the story. It was a really great effect for me because it made me aware that the story was being related to me and meshed those moments of broken action because I knew where it was coming from.
It's also one of my absolute favorite scifi novels.
And you are welcome.
https://www.amazon.com/Manners-Excruciatingly-Correct-Behavior-Freshly/dp/0393058743
>Books have given me much wisdom, my eloquence, my patience, and so much more.
Not ENOUGH eloquence and patience, I see.
Oh, hey, I thought of something for you: http://www.amazon.com/Manners-Excruciatingly-Correct-Behavior-Freshly/dp/0393058743/
Much of the military and military tradition has it's basis in the south, and in the south, you take your hat off when indoors. Also when the national anthem is played.
http://www.amazon.com/Manners-Excruciatingly-Correct-Behavior-Freshly/dp/0393058743
I'm pretty sure this is the one you want, but it's always a good idea to shop around all formats and editions.
http://www.amazon.com/Pattern-Recognition-William-Gibson/dp/0425198685/
Anyway, good book!
I have a friend that looks a lot like her. I'm not sure how creepy it is that my friend is what my favorite fictional character, Cayce Pollard, looks like in my head.
Incredibly late to the party... but right now I'm reading The Atrocity Archives - by Charles Stross. If you like well written sci-fi, Lovecraftian interdimensional horrors, and computer science, this is the book for you.
One of his other novels, Glasshouse, might be my all time favorite book. It's pretty easy to read sci-fi, has some awesome new concepts, and surprisingly really delves deep into gender issues. The last part kinda threw me but it's really well done and a very well presented.
The Glasshouse - Charles Stross.
Really hard sci-fi and great read.
Upvoted for Glasshouse. Charlie Stross's best work, IMHO.
Glasshouse.
This one?
One of my favorite books deals with this topic. (Not going all the way back to a newborn, but in his college years)
Replay by Ken Grimwood
Just read a book about this (written back in the 80s) called "Replay." Basically, a guy has a heart attack at 40 and gets put back in his 18 year-old body with all knowledge of the next decades. Really good read, check it out: http://www.amazon.com/Replay-Ken-Grimwood/dp/068816112X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1302060545&amp;sr=8-1
Lately I've been loaning out Replay a lot. It's a page turner that really makes you think about what you're doing with your life.
You should read the book Replay. It's basically some guy's fantasy about re-doing his own life multiple times.
I really enjoyed it, and based on its high ratings (4.5 stars with over 700 reviews) so did many others:
https://www.amazon.com/Replay-Ken-Grimwood/dp/068816112X
Hope you enjoy it!
Replay by Ken Grimwood. I mostly read sci-fi and this is one of my favorites.
Replay It's like a cross between Back to the Future and Groundhog Day. One of my favorite books!
There's this great book by Ken Grimwood called "Replay" that is like, this exact same scenario.
http://www.amazon.com/Replay-Ken-Grimwood/dp/068816112X
Basically, I'd just try to correct past mistakes and try to get a high paying tech job way earlier using my existing skillset and not squander everything.
although, doing that stuff would be harder without the google. hmmm...
Anyone interested in this kind of concept should read the utterly fantastic Replay by Ken Grimwood.
Short version: Middle-aged guy has heart attack, then all of a sudden he wakes up and holy shit he's back in college. He gets to relive everything over again, from betting on the World Series to how he met his wife. And it gets much more interesting -- and thought-provoking -- from there.
You would enjoy the book Replay. It's essentially that story.
Agent Washington.
That said, you'd like this: http://www.amazon.com/Replay-Ken-Grimwood/dp/068816112X
It's awesome.
Replay by Ken Grimwood. Science Fiction (time travel) with more emotional content than teenage me could handle. Not all Sci-Fi communicates emotion very effectively, but Replay absolutely nails it. No other Sci-Fi story I've read since even comes close.
This is the plot of "Replay' by Ken Grimwood. Wonderful book, also served as the inspiration for Groundhogs Day.
http://www.amazon.com/Replay-Ken-Grimwood/dp/068816112X
This book is exactly that story, in multiple threads of time. I thought it a good read, although it hovers between Sci-Fi and romance, it was an amazing thought experiment.
Basically, he takes one life and becomes an amazing investor and gambler-millionaire (a la "Grey's sports almanac-style prediction). He ends up repeating another life and swoons the girl that got away. In his third life he retires to the farms of Oregon and lives in solitude. Then, he begins to notice that the history he remembers is not what seems to be happening, someone else is changing history alongside him - and that's when it becomes really fascinating.
Replay by Ken Grimwood.
I really enjoy time travel movies in general, and this book has a fairly interesting twist on that premise. I definitely recommend the book, and would love to see it as a movie.
One of the best books I have read on the topic Combatting Cult Mind Control: The #1 Best-selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults
Autogenerated.
Discussion Megathread: Leah Remini A&E Special + AMA Announcement for Cedars and Steve Hassan!
The long-awaited special will be airing at 9PM ET/PT on Tuesday November 13th, 2018. It will air on the cable channel A&E in the US.
We'll be trying to keep this post up to date with links/details on how to watch Leah's A&E expose as we get them in, so please comment below if you know of a way to watch that isn't listed.
Do you want to Thank Leah? Do that here! A few Folks are organizing a Twitter Storm to thank Leah on November 14, which you can read all about here, or see u/patlynnw:
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Watch in Canada on Optik/Teleus
How to Watch in the UK Sun Nov 18th, 7pm
(Possibly) Watch Online, after the fact:
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Special AMA Details!!
To ease your cult expose hangover, we will also be hosting TWO Special AMAs. Please give a massive thanks to both Cedars and Steve Hassan who have reached out and accepted our AMA invitations! Here is when all that is going down:
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Cedars, AKA the inimitable Lloyd Evans- Friday November 16th, 2018. Starting 8AMEST for appx. 24 hours.
Guys, it's Cedars!! Join us as we offer the chance to Q&A one of the most prominent activists in the EXJW community. Lloyd is best known as the Founder of JW Survey and the John Cedars Channel He has also recently authored a book, which is part of a greater wave that is making public the struggles of those in the EXJW community. Lloyd, if I've missed anything (as I am sure I have), let me know. :) For the rest of you, watch this space for the sticky, where you will be able to ask your quesetions!
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Steve Hassan- Monday November 19th, 2018. 9AM EST, for appx 24 Hours.
Let's have a round of applause for everyone's favorite cult deprogramming expert! Steve Hassan is the founder of Freedom of Mind, and a leading figure in the movement to define how cults operate and combat their effects. His book "Combating Cult Mind Control" is a cult favorite (no pun intended) among EXJWs and will be having its 30th anniversary this week. Here is an excerpt from his website, with more information:
>"Steven has helped thousands of former cult members and their families, clergy, psychologists and fellow cult experts over the years. He co-developed “Ending the Game”, a non-coercive curriculum designed to educate and empower commercial sex trafficking victims, and has spoken out about the effects, mechanisms, and signs of undue influence in its many forms on 60 Minutes, CNN, NPR, Good Morning America, The Today Show, Larry King Live, Oprah, and many other programs, as well as being featured in People Magazine, USA Today, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, The Guardian, and dozens of other major publications and websites."
Watch "Hot" sort for the sticky next Monday where you can ask Steve whatever you'd like! You won't want to miss this chance.
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PS- Sorry we had to clump it all together. Reddit only gives us two stickys.
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Updated at 2018-11-12 08:24:51.091331
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The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I read it in a single day (into the night) because I couldn't put it down. http://www.amazon.com/The-Road-Cormac-McCarthy/dp/0307387895/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1405051311&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=the+road
It's been awarded many many awards, so you don't just have to take some random redditor's word for its greatness. It's an easy read, too, so even if you don't love it you can get through it and get it over with quickly.
site book
so you are going to prison by jim hogshire -already been done
Eh, the book was better.
https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Jesus-Butt-Plug/dp/0972959823
I'm sure having read Old Yeller I wouldn't think the dog's name was Yellow even though that's obviously what the dog's name was, without the dialect.
And if "picture" were the correct word, "portrait" shouldn't show up anywhere.
https://www.amazon.com/Portrait-Dorian-Gray-Picture-Readers/dp/1450541712/ref=pd_sbs_14_3?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_i=1450541712&amp;pd_rd_r=K4HMBHYKGZ3Z2W7P9B2X&amp;pd_rd_w=NkAjW&amp;pd_rd_wg=KRfsj&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=K4HMBHYKGZ3Z2W7P9B2X
And in this video, go to 2:45...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNzdj5tS4kg
This book exists. With this title. Not just in my memory.