Best humor & satire fiction books according to redditors
We found 3,199 Reddit comments discussing the best humor & satire fiction books. We ranked the 685 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 3,199 Reddit comments discussing the best humor & satire fiction books. We ranked the 685 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
![Off to Be the Wizard [Kindle in Motion] (Magic 2.0 Book 1)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/510eo29nzOL.jpg)
Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy series. Either the 2nd or 3rd book I believe? They're all fairly short, I bought ultimate edition on Amazon and get all like 5 of them together.
Edit: for everyone asking, here's the book I got
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0345453743/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_8nOngEkZkw2tO
So ein fantastisches Buch.
/r/all: If you're looking for a fantastic book, especially if you liked The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, read The 13 1/2 lives of Captain Bluebear.
It's seriously amazing, great as a childrens book but adults will definitely enjoy it aswell. Here, check out the editorial reviews. It's great.
Bizarro Fiction is hilariously awesome. Ass Goblins was an alright story IMO. Other books in this particular genre include:
and so much more. more info
EDIT: Spacing
You know. In case you were wondering. Plot:
> Lizbreath Salamander is young and beautiful. Her scales have an iridescent sheen, her wings arch proudly, her breath has a tang of sulfur. And on her back a tattoo of a mythical creature: a girl. But when Lizbreath is drawn into a dark conspiracy she will have to rely on more than her beauty and her vicious claws the size of sabres ...A dragon has disappeared, one of a secretive clan. As Lizbreath delves deeper into their history she realises that these dragons will do anything to defend their secrets. Welcome to the world of The Dragon With The Girl Tattoo. A world of gloomy Nordic dragons leading lives uncannily like our own (despite their size, despite the need for extensive fireproofing of home furnishings), a world of money hoarded, a world of darkness and corruption. A world where people are the fantasy.
http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Girl-Tattoo-Adam-Roberts/dp/0575100915
The 4th Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off has a winner!
And that winner with the joint highest score we've seen in 4 years & ~1200 books is....
ORCONOMICS!
Buy it: https://www.amazon.com/Orconomics-Satire-Dark-Profit-Saga-ebook/dp/B00O2NDJ2M/ref=sr_1_1 …?
See the score board: https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/2018/11/spfbo-2018-finals.html …
See the Official SPFBO page for results of all 4 years.
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-official-self-published-fantasy.html
And if you retweet the announcement … you might win a signed copy.
https://twitter.com/Mark__Lawrence/status/1131517883501162496
If you're at all interested in learning about Daoism I highly suggest you check out this book. It's really easy to read plus the cartoon drawings are quite cute and fun.
You mean Haunted Vagina?
Every Russian learner needs a copy of this textbook. I don't study the language any more, but it is a fantastic resource that somehow makes sense of the ridiculously complicated Russian grammar.
"Being the best that you can be" is a better goal than "being better than everyone else", because it results in better outcomes.
For the vast majority of people being better than everyone else is simply not going to happen for any one thing. In order to be better than everyone else at a particular task you effectively need to dedicate your entire life to that one task. Most people are not going to be happy doing that, and so they're not going to be as effective at it as the people who are happy doing that. Because of that, having the goal of being better than everyone else leads to the things that you've noticed: an inferiority complex, stealing work (an act which adds no value to the world), giving up because you won't succeed, etc.
For the few people who are going to be world class at something, the goal of "being better than everyone else" may lead to underachieving. If the best in the world simply wants to be the best in the world, then there's no need for them to strive to improve themselves any more than necessary to keep up with their competition.
Having the goal of "being the best that you can be" deals with both of these problems. Doing the best you can is always an achievable goal, so it won't put you in the "my goals are impossible" funk, and if you're going to be the best in the world at something, it encourages you to keep getting better no matter what.
Now, an important thing about this is the value of contribution. Implicit in your view is that contribution has no value unless it's the best contribution. This shows up in your line:
> Why be the best you if there's someone out there who can run laps around your best?
The answer is that your best can still improve the world and your life. For example, I really enjoy the Magic 2.0 book series. It is definitely not the best writing out there. It's not even the best entertainment-focused fantasy fiction out there. But I'm glad that it exists. I find it fun. If the author decided it was unimportant to be their best, because other people write better, then that book series wouldn't exist.
My friend, if you enjoy this tidbit, you shall love the series. There should be a few good deals if you need it.
Link
Good luck. I've definitely got a bunch more tricks, so just send me a message if you want them. These are just some good beginning ones.
Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. Best if the entire series is read (you can get all 5 books in one hardcover on Amazon for about $13: http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy/dp/0345453743/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323379697&sr=1-1 )
Ah, and I just finished http://www.amazon.com/HELP-Bear-Eating-Mykle-Hansen/dp/1933929693
For kumo https://www.novelupdates.com/series/kumo-desu-ga-nani-ka/?pg=2
Start with the blastron translations and then switch over when they stop. Sorry it is not more straight forward but there were a number of different translations of various qualities who worked on this one.
For ELLC there is the e-book here https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076NSQ6JT/ref=series_dp_rw_ca_1 which is a more polished version of the content with a few new additions and less nsfw content but you have to pay for it or here https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/8894/everybody-loves-large-chests which is less polished but free. Only somewhere between 1/10 to 1/5 has been published though so you will have to switch over anyway if you want to keep reading.
For general fantasy I've enjoyed Gentleman Bastard, The Kingkiller Chronicle, and The Broken Empire. I listen to Kingkiller Chronicle fairly often due to the amount of commuting I do where I live.
For more urban/fantasy maybe try Lives of Tao, Iron Druid Chronicles, or anything by Neil Gaiman. The anniversary edition of American Gods was really excellent on audio-book. Not sure if the others have audio editions or not.
I've also really enjoyed stuff by Drew Hayes (a webnovelist). His banner series is SuperPowereds. But I though NPCs was a great take on an old fantasy trope. Neither come in audio formats unfortunately.
Good luck.
Former employee, linguist, and guy-who-is-pretty-ok-at-russian checking in:
It is decent, but you'll want to make sure you actually understand the concept of grammatical case, and how it works and is marked in Russian.
I would highly recommend pairing it with the New Penguin Russian Course.
Definitely use studio as much as possible, and take notes case endings. RS will show you something like на невысоком мужчине черный костюм, and it will help to know that невысоком is declined for the prepositional/locative case. Well, really, it will help to know that that form is not the "default," and how to 1)figure out what the default is and 2)transform the word as you need to when speaking.
A friend of mine did just RS, and she has a problem with basically just saying a word in whatever case she first heard it in...so she might say невысоком when trying to say невысокый, or what have you.
Finally, evaluate after 5 months, and if you're not using it, it's not working, or whatever, send it back and get a refund. Mark it on your calendar, and decide before you miss the deadline.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Ultimate-Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy/dp/0345453743/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1397525423&sr=8-2&keywords=the+hitchhikers+guide+to+the+galaxy
You can get the complete collection (that's 5 books + a short story) from Amazon for only $13 -- do yourself a favor and check it out. It's the funniest, most insanely clever and entertaining book I've ever read.
Off to Be the Wizard (Magic 2.0) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1612184715/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_6HElDbAQ230Z0
https://www.amazon.com/New-Penguin-Russian-Course-Beginners/dp/0140120416
I'm shocked that Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams hasn't been mentioned yet. 5 books for $11, the most fun I've had reading something in a long time.
It's difficult to love a woman whose vagina is a gateway to the world of the dead...
For online resources, I'd strongly recommend the RT course over Duolingo. For books, Nicholas Brown's New Penguin Russian Course is very good. And Irina Sapegina, an experienced teacher, gives some very good advice here on the three worst tips for learning Russian that you'll probably hear!
I would go to a small café in Rickmansworth, England, order some drink, and write on a napkin something like...
>I've suddenly realized what it is that has been going wrong all this time. I finally know how the world can be a good and happy place. This time it is right, it will work, and no one will have to get nailed to anything! It's really quite simple and obvious, once you get it. You just have to understand this:
>
I'd leave exactly 42 bucks on my wallet and, if possible, be wearing a shirt with dolphings and/or mice drawing. Works better if it's on a Thursday.
Too Long : Didn't Get It? Check page 5 here.
Grunts
Confessions of a D list Supervillian
How to succeed in evil
Secret Six
Forty Millenia of Cultivation is basically my favorite web serial to follow right now. Possibly my favorite book I'm reading, period, and I've got Orconomics and Inventing the Future for it to compete with!
IT IS THE FORTY-FIRST MILLENIUM, AND MANKIND LIVES AMONG THE STARS, CULTIVATING QI.
Here's a full list:
I think a lot of the best resources can be found online for free but if you really want to buy her something physical as a gift the new penguin Russian course seems to get a lot of good reviews.
http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Penguin-Russian-Course/dp/0140120416
wait, you noticed this and you really don't know. go down to the library and pick up a copy of the hitch hikers guide to the galaxy
Sounds like the book Off to be the Wizard by Scott Meyer of Basic Instructions fame.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18616975-off-to-be-the-wizard
> Martin Banks is just a normal guy who has made an abnormal discovery: he can manipulate reality, thanks to reality being nothing more than a computer program. With every use of this ability, though, Martin finds his little “tweaks” have not escaped notice. Rather than face prosecution, he decides instead to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and pose as a wizard.
> What could possibly go wrong?
> An American hacker in King Arthur’s court, Martin must now train to become a full-fledged master of his powers, discover the truth behind the ancient wizard Merlin…and not, y’know, die or anything.
https://www.amazon.com/Off-Be-Wizard-Magic-2-0/dp/1612184715
Sounds a bit Matrix-y for kids.
You are one lucky person who is about to discover The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Share and Enjoy! Share and Enjoy!
Sounds similar to events in Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams. http://amzn.com/0671746723
I can't believe no one has said this one yet:
Off to Be the Wizard
Description:
>
Martin Banks is just a normal guy who has made an abnormal discovery: he can manipulate reality, thanks to reality being nothing more than a computer program. With every use of this ability, though, Martin finds his little “tweaks” have not escaped notice. Rather than face prosecution, he decides instead to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and pose as a wizard.
>What could possibly go wrong?
>An American hacker in King Arthur’s court, Martin must now train to become a full-fledged master of his powers, discover the truth behind the ancient wizard Merlin…and not, y’know, die or anything.
It was a great read and there are two more books after (with the next in production now). The sequels are not as good as the first but I still enjoyed them very much. :)
It's been done. Three book series actually.
https://www.amazon.com/Off-Be-Wizard-Magic-2-0/dp/1612184715
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/20451/who-says-this-ol-cant-become-a-splendid-slime
Office Lady reincarnated as a slime. A little worried that the author's slowing down is turning into the author stopping this series.
​
https://www.amazon.com/That-Reincarnated-Slime-light-novel-ebook/dp/B076H132D2/ref=pd_cp_351_1/131-0686409-1127854?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B076H132D2&pd_rd_r=1040ec8c-2170-481c-b955-6b04dc76527e&pd_rd_w=glHS3&pd_rd_wg=hzJUj&pf_rd_p=ef4dc990-a9ca-4945-ae0b-f8d549198ed6&pf_rd_r=N3XZPC8B5H02AJQ4705Q&psc=1&refRID=N3XZPC8B5H02AJQ4705Q
Office Worker reincarnated as a slime. Really fun series, Eventually City management/politics with big battles.
​
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/20568/tree-of-aeons-an-isekai-story
Guy reincarnates as a sentient tree. Slow paced skill growth into city building/unit management.
​
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CQMYQT5/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title
Reincarnated as a Lovecraftian horror: Yuri princess edition
​
Oh, just noticed you also said born as a monster....
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/8894/everybody-loves-large-chests
MC is a monster, one of the best litrpg monster series I've read, HOWEVER, it does have lots of raunchy NSFW content mixed in there. The Amazon versions (starting with https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076NSQ6JT/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title ) toned down the sex scenes but it does still have a lot of them.
​
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NNWZT9M/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i3
A skeleton from an world set up like an RPG gets teleported in space and begins a Sci-Fi adventure on an abandoned spaceport.
​
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078KGS4V4?notRedirectToSDP=1&ref_=dbs_pwh_calw_0&storeType=ebooks
Toy Golem leveling up and fighting to rescue his owner.
​
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071LHHY85/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title
A goblin joins a camp of bandits.
​
So, so many reincarnated as a dungeon core novels, but not sure if that fits in with your "monster" request.
The first ebook of Dante's Immortality was recently published, and should fit your criteria. Dante basically distrusts everyone all the time, but because he genuinely doesn't know a lot he ends up committing some believably naive mistakes.
You might also like Threadbare - the main character isn't naive so much as innocent, given that he's a newborn golem for most of the novel. The combat system is all about skills and skill synergies, and the dialog is great (even though the main character can't speak).
There's also Everybody Loves Large Chests. Again the main character starts out a little naive, but that's largely because it starts from more or less zero Int. It doesn't become an asshole so much as a completely amoral monster, because that's what it is.
If you're willing to read serials that aren't published as complete books, you can try out the bifecta of combat LitRPGs on Royal Road: The New World and The Legend of Randidly Ghosthound are both great.
It's part of the website Critical Hits where the author loves to imagine how the economics of a DnD setting would work.
There's also the book, Orconomics, which is about a similar topic.
Here's the review of the book that was posted to this subreddit.
There are so many more options like this, but I don’t want to overwhelm you! These may not all be your cup of tea. But they are some of my favorites for a somewhat reasonable price.
That sounds incredible. I love stories that revolve around the ordinary people while all of the crazy shit is happening around them. This book is a great example of that kind of thing.
I just read Changing Faces: New Game Minus, and the MC is a former NPC that becomes a "player", but doesn't know it's a game world. So he's dealing with nonsensical game mechanics (getting exp, getting stronger at a level up, etc.) and fully aware of how ridiculous it would be in a realistic world.
Definitely not clueless or stupid/bashful.
Link: https://www.amazon.com/Changing-Faces-Game-Minus-Book-ebook/dp/B07KMMT9TX
Some other recs:
Drew Hayes' series: Spells, Swords, & Stealth - "NPCs" in a Dungeons and Dragons-esque world have to become adventurers. The main characters definitely are aware of D&D tropes and aren't stupid. This is a really good series, and it's a good time to get into it as the next book is coming out next month.
https://www.amazon.ca/NPCs-Spells-Swords-Stealth-Book-ebook/dp/B00KB2RLKO
Hero of Thera: The MC gets sucked into a new world with game-like mechanics (leveling up, picking classes, new skills, new gear, etc.). So that I guess is an Isekai book. What sets it apart is the great writing and worldbuilding.
Also a good time to get into this, as book 2 should be coming out next month.
https://www.amazon.ca/Hero-Thera-LitRPG-Eric-Nylund-ebook/dp/B0719CYNCG
Full disclosure - I edited book 4 of Spells, Swords & Stealth and book 2 of Hero of Thera. But I'd recommend them even if I hadn't.
It's kind of telling how hard it is to think of any. Fantasy/Romance hybrids tend to be very "retro" and often are used as excuses to retell the story of Cinderella or Pride & Prejudice...or to have your Big Strong Man bigger and stronger then a real human can be. Men tend to not fantasize about the strength and wealth of their lovers, and all but the most progressive women seem disconcerted by the idea of a man weaker then them.
The closest thing I can think of is the The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred. Fred is an accountant who is turned into a vampire, and falls for a badass member of a secret supernatural law enforcement agency.
The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells has a male lead from a matriarchal species where women are bigger and stronger. The love interest is a Queen.
Street Cultivation is teasing a possible future relationship with a women richer and stronger then the hero. Somehow I suspect the relationship will never materialize or will materialize after the hero becomes richer and stronger. (Which interestingly are the same thing in this universe)
Glory Road by Robert A. Heinlein sort of qualifies. The ending is a little bitter sweet, though.
The Matt Richter Series involves a zombie dating a vampire. It is a running joke that vampires are faster then a normal human while zombies are slower. There are scenes where he attempts to rescue someone vastly more physically powerful then him. Totally a comedy.
It's quite common in LitRPG to have female love interests who start out much stronger then the male protagonist but are later surpassed by the male lead. I can think of several if that is good enough.
Here's my list,
free online courses incl audio
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free srs / vocab practice
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speaking practice
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books and audio courses (library / search online)
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etc.
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Best Android app I've found yet: Russian in a Month. Best online site (for pocasts when you are driving: RussianPod101.com. Best book I've found: New Penguin Russian Course
Other then that, read children's articles, watch Cheburaska, follow the Russian subreddits /r/Russianlessons, /r/Russian101, and /r/Russian, read Russian wherever you can, and listen to Russian music. If you want any other tips or tricks I've used, just let me know. Good luck!
Relevant: Help! A Bear Is Eating Me! (Amazon link to book)
Shatnerquake. Calling it a book is charitable but technically correct.
I'm just starting to learn Russian myself. I'm using this website and this book which supposedly gets you up to an A-Level grade. I think it's a great book but found it a little tough for an absolute beginner so I also got this book which is just basic phrases really, doesn't go into grammar in any real detail but it gives you a lot more confidence to be able to speak something rather than getting completely bogged down in grammar as soon as you've learnt the alphabet imo. As soon as a got a couple of chapters into the phrase book, I started using the Russian course book I linked above to understand the grammar and handwriting better. Can't recommend the penguin one highly enough and I'm sure it will be a great help that you will have a teacher to help you with the grammar.
You're correct in thinking that the alphabet is the most important beginning. DON'T try learning a language using English phonetics, that'll just confuse you (which i can confirm) and give you a weird accent (according to my Russian speaking ex-girlfriend). Next up is where the stress goes on words, how changing stress can change the meaning of a sentence, and how some letters can change sound depending on where they are (called [un-]voicing) but this will come after you have the alphabet and some phrases under your belt.
I also found it good to listen to a few songs to pick up how words flow together, and music helps me think anyway, personal favourites of mine are traditional songs such as Kalinka, Ochi Chernye and Katyusha. Just look on youtube and you will find plenty of them even some with the lyrics in English and Russian.
This is the alphabet, the kids version for when you're more confident and want to learn it in order, and this video has some starter words and phrases.
I hope some of that helps you out, but I'm just a beginner myself so hoping to pick up some more advice myself by watching this thread closely!
Honestly DuoLingo is a meme. If you're serious about learning Russian (or any language) doing flashcards isn't going to get the job done. What you need to do is pick up The New Penguin Russian Course and read about the structure and theory of the language. Read Russian news/articles and literature/poetry. Look up all the words you can't understand (there will be plenty) and keep a journal of new words and phrases that are important to your goals. Then you can use DuoLingo to help supplement your vocabulary if you need to.
I found DuoLingo to be insulting and overpriced for its zero dollar price tag.
The New Penguin Russian Course
Super Easy Russian
Sé varios, de mejor a peor: español, inglés, faroés, esperanto, francés, chino. También se algo alguito de ruso (hice muy poco tiempo pero me acuerdo como leer el alfabeto y decir cosas como gracias y qué se yo, igual no cuenta como saber) y toki pona.
Los únicos que hablo bien bien bien son español e inglés. Con esos dos me puedo manejar en cualquier situación sin problemas. Español nativo, inglés aprendí relativamente bien en el colegio pero lo más importante son las horas boludeando en internet, películas, libros, etc.
Faroés porque fui de intercambio a las islas faroe y aprendí ahí. Es un idioma raro pero que tiene su encanto.
Esperanto lo hablo, escribo y leo bastante bien (ayuda que sea muy regular y la pronunciación se corresponda con la escritura en un cien por ciento). Aprendí por internet, ponele dos meses estudiando de verdad, después leyendo y hablando con gente. Es un idioma fácil y simpático. De vez en cuando me junto con la comunidad en esperanto de acá a hablar pavadas. Es un submundo curioso.
Francés estudié un tiempo y me quedó más o menos. Conversacionalmente "zafo" (pude hacer de traductor una vez en Berlin entre un grupo de estudiantes franceses que se querían levantar a las intercambistas con las que estaba y las intercambistas en sí que solo querían saber dónde podían tomar una cerveza). Leer se puede leer bastante bien mientras no sea una novela. Escribir es un quilombo, nunca me salió.
Chino quería aprender porque me daba miedo quedar como mi mamá ahora: sin acceso a gran parte de la cultura por no saber el idioma dominante bien. Me tiré a aprender en el programa de Lenguas Vivas de CABA. Está buenísimo, super bien organizado y es gratis. Estudié un año y medio y aprendí lo suficiente como para rogar por mi vida si alguna vez los chinos me capturan. También aprendimos a escribir (de lejos lo maś difícil). Tuve que dejar por la facultad.
Ruso quedó como un sueño, estudié solo (bah, con una amiga) por un tiempo de un libro (excelente, era el curso de ruso de Penguin, si alguien quiere el escaneado lo tengo). Después comencé en una academia. La academía me pareció bastante mala, cara y desorganizada, así que elegí seguir con chino y dejar ruso porque estaba haciendo demasiadas cosas y no me daba el tiempo.
Toki pona, bueno, fue una nerdeada como el esperanto, pasa que es más difícil tenerlo presente porque muy poca gente lo habla y además es muy difícil formar conceptos porque hay tan pocas palabras.
Eso. Me quedó re largo el texto. En fin. Igual para lo que más me sirvió aprender tantos idiomas es para desconfiar mucho de la gente que te dice que sabe 5 idiomas y los habla fluído. Salvo que hayas vivido en un lugar donde se hable y le hayas puesto mucha bola, es muy difícil. No digo imposible. Pero sí muy muy muy difícil.
https://www.amazon.com/New-Penguin-Russian-Course-Beginners/dp/0140120416
Full beginner starter guide which includes grammar.
Ive had some help from an old friend of mine from when I was a kid. His name was Douglas Adams and basically he says that if something out of the ordinary happens, no matter how inconceivable, all you have to do is remember these words "DON'T PANIC"
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy link here
It's really light, but it's one of my favorite books. There is a series of 5 in the Trilogy (yes, i know there are only 3 in a trilogy, but that's a little insight into the humor of Douglas Adams). You can purchase them all as one edition (link above. highly recommend).
not off the top of my head, and most of my experience is with anger and insecurity management (stemming from relationship stresses).
while knowing how to deal with disruptive brain chemicals like this (or with depression, or insecurity, or whatever) is important, as is 'thinking' about it and doing other mental processing, doing it is a whole other ballgame. It takes a lot of consistent practice. the feelings won't go away (usually), and it's always hard, but you do get better at dealing with them and making them go away faster. Humans learn best by doing.
set a goal (more control over that fight or flight response). learn about the problem, dissect it, and find the source (basic biological trigger to 'threat' situations). make a plan to fix it (meditate, join a combat sport, etc), then when a trigger situation comes up, slowly work on not letting it control you (find ways to keep your head on).
be patient, be persistent. expect setbacks and failures, because they just happen, and learn from those negative experiences instead of beating yourself up over it.
perhaps reading up on the Dao De Ching might help. I found The Tao Speaks (among others) to be very helpful. I recently got on some ADD meds, and that helped tone down the emotions.
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The Haunted Vagina
Anybody else notice the book, "The Haunted Vagina," on the shelf behind Dick?
Looks like an interesting read.
https://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Vagina-Carlton-Mellick-III/dp/097624988X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1500427769&sr=1-1&keywords=the+haunted+vagina
The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear
I feel like A Practical Guide to Evil would hands-down be number one on this list if more people agree'd with me that it was a litrpg piece. The main character class development and abilities are straight out of the genre in my opinion, but there is no overt acknowledgement of this in the text. I can't recommend all four of these enough. Worth the Candle and a Practical Guide are both available free via the author's websites, so they have that going for them also.
Random thoughts on stuff I've read or listened to in the sale:
The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien - It's The Hobbit, and Rob Inglis is the perfect narrator for it. Worth every penny.
Off to Be the Wizard, Scott Meyer - Lighthearted and highly entertaining. The only caveat I'd offer is that independent of the sale, you can get the full Whispersync combo for $6, which includes what appears to be a fancy, multi-media Kindle version as well as the audio.
The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle - I've been slowly working my way through this one story at a time and loving it. 60 hours of Holmes with an incredible narrator for $5 is just insane.
The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley - I'm super conflicted about this one. I thought the book was phenomenal... and then I looked up MZB on wikipedia. Saying she was a horrific human being would be a gross understatement. It significantly recolored my feelings about the book, but maybe others have an easier time separating the art from the artist.
Farewell My Lovely, Raymond Chandler - Not my favorite of the Philip Marlowe detective novels I've read, but still good. Ray Porter is great. It's the second book in the series, but I've yet to find any reason why you need to read them in order. They're all pretty self-contained.
Iliad & Odyssey box set, Homer & Rouse (translator) - I've seen a lot of "Which translation of Homer should I read?" discussions and Rouse is never anyone's top pick, but Anthony Heald does a fantastic job narrating and it's $5 for the pair.
Beyond that, I've got my eye on Masters of Doom (literally the first thing I ever added to my Audible wishlist, and yet for some reason I've never gotten around to grabbing it before) and the Great Course on the Medieval World (mostly because I thought Dorsey Armstrong did a fantastic job with the King Arthur GC).
I just finished The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant which was a lot of fun. If you buy it on kindle with added audible narration, it's only $9.
Amazon.co.uk too: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00O2NDJ2M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_3PkRDbQYWFYAF
amazon.ca: https://www.amazon.ca/Orconomics-Satire-Dark-Profit-Saga-ebook/dp/B00O2NDJ2M/
If you like this concept check out the Off to Be the Wizard book and series.
Definitely stick with only the Cyrillic alphabet. The transliterations used on Duolingo don't really convey the sounds very accurately. To practice Cyrillic reading I used to go on a Wikipedia page with lots of celebrities' names (e.g. Best Actor Winners ) and change it to Russian and go through reading the names.
I had a look at the Duolingo course when it came out and I found that it was really lacking in explanation of grammar (cases in particular). I would strongly recommend getting a decent book to follow along with to teach you the grammar. I have found that this has quite a nice progression and explanation. YMMV but, for Russian, I have only found Duolingo helpful for practicing putting sentences together, nothing else.
> Sometimes the words end in one way and then another, but make the same sound
I'm not sure what this is referring to, could you give an example?
I started learning russian because my ex bf was Rusian.
I bought this book, which is absolutely perfect for beginners.
I also met a Russian penpal who I help with English in exchange for Russian on penpalworld.com
The Cyrillic alphabet crash course videos by Mark Thomson (there's also iOS and Android apps if you prefer)
Russian Made Easy podcast / video series also by Mark Thomson
The New Penguin Russian Course by Nicholas Brown
These three materials will give you a super solid start and come out to a grand total of like $20. I suggest starting with the Cyrillic alphabet videos then going through Ch2 of the Penguin book, which teaches Cyrillic cursive. It will be best to do all writing in cursive as you practice. I'd then go through Russian Made Easy then the rest of the Penguin book. This method has been working out very well for me so far. I tried starting with the Penguin book and it's just a little dense to be a good beginner material imo. I also push the Mark Thomson materials pretty hard because he harps on contextual learning which is very important for efficiently learning a new language, yet many resources don't focus on it.
Many people like Duolingo. I wasn't super fond of it because the audio is compressed to hell and it doesn't give a good intro to the alphabet. This led to me having trouble knowing whether I pronounced something right because the example speech sounded like garbage and also taking guesses at what sounds letters made (a few of which turned out to be wrong when I changed my methods and actually learned the alphabet). I talked to a polyglot I know and he advised me that Rosetta Stone was most useful when you have a decent foundation in a language, not quite as great if you're totally new to it (and very expensive). All of this is just my two cents of course. There's many ways to go about it. Either way, welcome to the super fun hellscape that is the Russian language, and good luck getting started :)
It becomes easier once you get used to the concept of cases & case endings in general. Basically, this concept forces you to think grammatically -- which is actually a good thing. In English, we don't really think this way except when using certain pronouns (me, him, her, etc.). In English, we could say "Who are you talking to?" and sound perfectly normal, while the more proper "To whom are you talking?" sounds stilted and weird.
I studied Latin for many years (two decades, in fact) before picking up Russian; so the concept was already familiar. That was a huge help.
Anyway, stick with it, man. Repetition and drills will get you there; just be patient with yourself. At some point, this concept will "click", and you'll find yourself looking back over earlier exercises and breezing right through them. It looks like you're using the New Penguin Russian Course (like I am); so whatever answers don't appear in the key at the back of the book can be posed here in this helpful forum. ))
Yes, but it takes a long time, so I'll copy paste all my past comments here for you to trawl through yourself.
>/r/russian and /r/LANL_Russian are both good subreddits. Someone recommended http://learnrussian.rt.com/ which is great for beginners. http://www.russianlessons.net is good for lots of information, but is kind of incomplete. Definitely worth using regardless. Memrise is really good for vocab, but the courses are user-made and not perfect.
Note: LANL_Russian in particular has some great links in the sidebar.
Memrise:
>Interesting, there seems to be an influx of Russian learners lately. Take note, because I'm writing a lot, and I wouldn't do it if I didn't think that every bit was extremely important.
>Stop just trying to memorise by reading. Long story short, you're using a pretty ineffective technique. The good news is there are far better ways of doing it. Studies show that recollection, not repetition is a far effective teacher.
>As I've said to many, I can fully recommend Memrise (www.memrise.com) and the top rated Russian course there. It's great at using recollection to get you memorising a lot of words fast using mnemonics. Other than that, Anki is a useful flashcard program that does a similar thing.
>some tips for Memrise: don't use it passively; really try and think about and focus on the word you're learning. Secondly, make sure you've got a mem (their term for mnemonic) that works for you. Getting a word without a mem is harder. Memrise will really solidify your Russian-English, but if you are worried about the English-Russian part, just go though each level with a strip of paper covering the Russian words on the screen and work your way down. You will find it's really easy anyway, because Memrise has solidified the connection in your mind.
>Make use you check the course page and water all your plants EVERY DAY.
>Take note of how Memrise get's you recollecting as soon as possible after giving you a word, and then gradually spreads out the intervals at which you are prompted to recall a word, and in groups of 5 words at a time. Take this technique and use it to make yourself some flash cards. Write the English on one side and Russian on the other (you might like to include the pronunciation too). Now you can take these around with you day by day (I have some on my desk by me right now), memorising other words you've read whenever you have a spare moment. You can even have your own personal mems for them. I'd recommend buying some cards to use, because just cutting up printing paper is pretty flimsy and easy to mess up.
>I personally find I memorise better when focusing at my desk, because I'm a lot less distracted. If Memrise is done then feel free to use your flash cards at your desk. It is still more effective.
>If you ever do go back to word lists, don't just look at them, cover one side up and do a few at a time, really relying on recollection.
An extract from what I'd consider my best writeup:
>What galaxyrocker said is just as true for me. My interest in the language led me to try learning it, as opposed to wanting to learn a language and then finding one. I always thought the Cyrillic alphabet looked awesome and the Russian language sounded awesome, so I decided to try it and I've been going ever since. I was always interested in the history of eastern Europe and socialism so I guess that in some way led to it. Along the way I've discovered a completely different and interesting culture and now I am learning a way to interact with it.
>One bit of advice would be to find a buddy who is a native of your target language and get in regular contact. If you're doing this online, there are plenty of resources, but I found mine on the Skype forum. The time spent teaching him the more precise aspects of English and in turn getting a more interactive source of knowledge has been invaluable to both of us, and at the same time I've been prompted to think a little about my own language, especially regarding grammar. It helps only a small bit if you share interests, because the two languages provide such a huge range of topics and conversation. Since you're going to be a beginner, look for someone experienced but looking for regular practice, to them, teaching you WILL be the practice, and any insight into English you can offer a bonus.
>Secondly, relate your studies to subjects that interest you. No doubt you'll be different, but DotA 2 has a large scene in eastern Europe, so I often tune in there just to immerse myself. Find resources to attempt to read that are about a topic of your interest. If you don't enjoy the benefits somewhere, you'll lose interest. If you surround yourself with media relating to your language, you'll always be motivated to go back to the books and continue learning.
>Also, always go back and go over words you learned, otherwise you forget them fast. Recollection is a far better teacher than repetition, so make flash cards or use Memrise (it's amazing).
Now especially for you; Resources:
Pimsleur has an audio only course that teaches you basic conversational Russian using spaced repetition and simulated conversations. It's good for getting you speaking and pronouncing Russian, but I got bored pretty fast and didn't really have the opportunities to use it. The course itself is huge, split up into many lessons. This one does cost a lot of money, you you should PM me for a "sample" first.
Penguin Russian is like a giant grammar book. It will teach you the basics as well as the advanced. While not interesting or engaging, it does have everything you could ever need to know, and so is a good resource if you have the patience. This is another one you'll have to buy, but I have the PDF form if you'd like to "sample" that too.
Lastly, trying to read Russian books is a good way to learn once you have some words down. A heads up though, unless you have more than 1000 you'll be running into a lot of words you will be unfamiliar with, at least to begin with. One staple of language learners is Harry Potter, since its been translated to pretty much every language there is. That's the last "sample" you'll be needing to PM me about.
If you want to speak, the best way is to find a Skype (or real life) buddy who speaks both. There are huge amounts of Russians online who speak passable English who could help in return for some English help.
If you're not doing it that way, you'll need to practice speech to yourself while studying.
This book is incredible for learning Russian grammar and some vocab.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0140120416/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy includes all 5 that were written by Douglas Adams. The one I have on my shelf has a different cover than what Amazon currently shows, but it looks like it's all there. There is another Hitchhiker's book by Eoin Colfer working on Douglas Adams' notes called And Another Thing... you might also want to check out. Though you're probably better off switching to Dirk Gently before you get to that one.
You should get the whole series. The link is for American Amazon; I don't know if there's a British version of Amazon or not...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0345453743?pc_redir=1411929427&robot_redir=1
Adams also wrote Dirk Gentley's Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul.
The first book there has aliens, robots and time-travellers, but it's low-key. The story's not dripping with sci-fi elements the way the Hitchhiker books are.
By the way, have you tried Terry Prattchet? Most Douglas Adams fans I know like his writing too.
the Abarat books by Clive Barker, make sure you get the illustrated editions!
The Thirteen and a Half Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers
Crusade in Jeans by Thea Beckman One of my all time favourites, the old translated editions weren't as good but a new version will be published in november.
The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
Walter Moers
Given the massive success of Adams, Pratchett and others, the rave reviews of everything in Moers' ever-expanding Zamonia series, the fantastic illustrations and the riotous and creative writing I cannot believe so few people have read these books.
These books have some deep social and psychological analysis alongside absurdity, humor, violence, love and adventure.
Reference books, chronologically:
Editorial reviews:
>“Cheerfully insane. . . . Remains lively and inventive right through the final heroic battle between good and evil.”
—The New York Times Book Review
>“Moers’s creative mind is like J.K. Rowling’s on ecstasy; his book reads like a collision between The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and the Brothers Grimm…. What a delightful book.”
—Detroit News and Free Press
>“An overstuffed confection… Cross The Lord of the Rings with Yellow Submarine, throw in dashes of Monty Python, Douglas Adams, Shrek, and The Princess Bride…That’s the sort of alchemy in which this sprawling novel trades.”
—Kirkus
Shatnerquake
A book that will Shater your expectations
This is one of the greatest books for a beginner to start learning Russian with. It's easy to understand and well organized. Starts from ground zero, so you don't need to worry about not knowing where to start.
https://www.amazon.com/New-Penguin-Russian-Course-Beginners/dp/0140120416
This book helped me the most to understand grammar.
And this is the best Russian-English dictionary I've found.
You'll want to carry this around with you to learn the case endings.
Speaking as in holding a conversation, or speaking as in pronouncing the words correctly?
If it is about pronunciation:
Russian is quite good in that it is mostly say-it-as-you-see-it. In English we have lots of letter combinations to remember, like "Sch", "th" and even "ough", which are rare in Russian. In English we also change the vowel sound by putting an "e" at the end of the word, like "run" and "rune".
The worst thing about Russian is the vowel stress. In each word, you have to stress the correct vowel. Stressing the wrong vowel can sometimes change the meaning of the word. It brings with it a whole word of annoying rules, such as an unstressed "o" has an "a" sound.
Duolingo doesn't help with any of these fundamentals (worst of all not even telling us where the stress falls). I used Penguin Russian Course to help learn the alphabet and exception rules, but others have talked about using Youtube videos.
Once you have those fundamentals, it should become increasingly say-it-as-you-see-it.
My current list:
You would love this book. The Dragon with the Girl Tattoo.
I think you might enjoy this
I have a few things like that, that I love to spread the word on.
The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear was originally in German, and Wikipedia says that it was successful there and in the UK when it was translated into English, but never really made it in the US. The humor definitely has a British flavor to me, so I get that.
https://www.amazon.com/Lives-Captain-Bluebear-Walter-Moers/dp/1585678449/
Hiero's Journey is another that I don't know anyone else who's read. I really like its depiction of his struggles as a telepath.
https://www.amazon.com/Hieros-Journey-Sterling-Lanier/dp/0345308417
The Wild Cards series is one I'm always surprised that people haven't heard of, because they have made quite a few books. It's edited by George R. R. Martin, but not written by him. It's set in a version of our world where aliens who were very similar to humans genetically came here to test a biological weapon.
Of those who were exposed to the virus, 90% weren't affected. Of those who were affected, 90% died. Of those who didn't die, 90% ended up like the Morlocks from X-Men comics - mutated in ways that made them "unacceptable" in society. But that 0.1% of people left (if I'm remembering my numbers correctly) got honest to goodness superpowers.
The real strength of the series is in its creative superpowers. If you've read Worm and enjoyed that aspect of it, check out Wild Cards.
If you haven't read Worm (sometimes aka Parahumans), I definitely recommend that one as well.
Off to Be the Wizard by Seth Meyer is my favorite comfort food book. It's very light, but engaging, and presents an intriguing premise that's fun to think about.
I listened to the audio versions of the series read by Luke Daniels, who was a great match for the material, I thought.
I want to read print if I'm sitting and relaxing, but if I have to be up and active, doing tasks like laundry or driving that leave my mind free to ruminate, audio books really save me from myself.
This is a great deal: http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy-ebook/dp/B0043M4ZH0
But, as someone else has already said, maybe it is not being sold in Australia. Perhaps you could change your country in the "Manage my kindle" section and buy it.
Eats, Shoots & Leaves The no nonsense guide to punctuation.
The Craft of Research
Craft of Scientific Presentations
Edward Tufte I've never read anything of his, but I see this recommendation from time to time.
Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy Because sometimes you need a vacation. :)
The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant.
https://www.amazon.com/Utterly-Uninteresting-Unadventurous-Vampire-Accountant-ebook/dp/B00M6AM6Q8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474915607&sr=8-1&keywords=uninteresting+vampire
Thanks! For me it seems that book #1 has the same special:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EF8Z32I/ref=series_rw_dp_sw
How are these books? Is it worth picking up all 3?
Locke's life does get more crazy but there is a lot more humor later on. I can see how coming from Brandon's books though, how other books might appear darker in concept or tone.
The Shadow Of What Was Lost - This is very influenced by the Wheel Of Time. It only has one book so far, and it is not as slow paced or descriptive as Jordan. However I am very very much enjoying it. I think if you loved WoT you would enjoy this.
Eye Of The moonrat - So far there is 6 Books in this Series. It is a little Y.A and the Hero is a little too good at everything but it is a good pulpy read and more light hearted.
Off To Be The Wizard - A Nerdy IT Programmer discovers that nothing is real and his entire existence and everyone elses is governed by a secret file he finds on the Internet. So of course he sends himself back to Medieval Times to become a powerful wizard, just like every other nerd who found the file to his dismay. Hilarity ensues.
The Iron Druid Chronicles - A 2000 year old Druid, the last of his kind runs a Bookshop. Urban Fantasy. Very enjoayble. Lots of Irish/Celctic/Norse/Greek/Christian Mythology woven in. Has a cool dog sidekick.
NPCs (Spells, Swords, & Stealth Book 1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KB2RLKO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_pOeKxbT3BQWAM
What happens when the haggling is done and the shops are closed? When the quest has been given, the steeds saddled, and the adventurers are off to their next encounter? They keep the world running, the food cooked, and the horses shoed, yet what adventurer has ever spared a thought or concern for the Non-Player Characters?
In the town of Maplebark, four such NPCs settle in for a night of actively ignoring the adventurers drinking in the tavern when things go quickly and fatally awry. Once the dust settles, these four find themselves faced with an impossible choice: pretend to be adventurers undertaking a task of near-certain death or see their town and loved ones destroyed. Armed only with salvaged equipment, second-hand knowledge, and a secret that could get them killed, it will take all manner of miracles if they hope to pull off their charade.
And even if they succeed, the deadliest part of their journey may well be what awaits them at its end.
So, given the recent kerfluffle about people entering contests too much, feel free to disregard this one but my books are my prized possessions and I had to write this.
I love love LOVE this!
I was a rare and antique book dealer, many moons ago, and am happily wrapped in a sever case of bibliophilia so I can't agree more that books are something to be treasured.
When I was a child, back when dirt was the latest and greatest thing, I made a promise to myself that I would read at least an hour a day. For pleasure! Not just the newspaper or the like. I'm still proud to say that since the age of 12 I have done just that. I will go without sleep for an hour just so that I can read.
Good on you for this one. Good on you tea.
---
The books that I want EVERY child to read are a bit. . . different.
I recently fell in love with Pat Rothfuss and have devoured his books as soon as they come out. His latest release is something of a departure. A small novela called The Slow Regard of Silent Things in which a minor character from his main series is spotlit in a unique way.
This book, in my opinion, can (and does) help children to understand that different isn't always bad. That feelings are both important and personal. That sometimes having things be just right is the right thing to do. The language isn't difficult, it's a BLAST to read out loud with someone, and can be enjoyed by just about every genre reader of any age!
My next choice is a more traditional choice for children. But not for the traditional reasons!
Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland!
This is one that I think is so overlooked by people of every age. And that's so sad for me. Carroll may, well. . . let's be honest here he DID, have some issues but something that I think he got spot on was his ability to make both the absurd and silly MEANINGFUL though his words and stories!
Through all the adventures and the creatures and the characters something that is telling throughout the whole of the story. . . Being a child is fun! It should be fun! Because if you're not having fun, you're doing it wrong!
I have personally read these stories dozens of times. For myself, for my nieces and nephews, and more again for me!
Last choice is one that I may have to defend here.
The greatest introduction to space, sci-fi, fantasy, and. . . towels!
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Gude to the Galaxy by the amazing Douglas Adams!
In my opinion the story alone is broad enough to engage children, as well as young adults, as well as teens, due to the simplicity of characters and the variety of situations.
But!
The more often you read these books the better they get! The more you learn about the world at large the funnier the books get!
When I first read Hitchhiker's I was a mere lad of 10 and thought it was a cute book. When I read it again at age 16 I thought it was hysterical! At 21 it was a thought provoking comedy in the vein of Shakespeare! At 25 I thought 21 year old me was a tool, but thought the books were great!
The more you read them, or have them read to you, the better they get!
---
I also wanted to point out this article on the front page of /r/books from the NYT that talk about one of the best things you can do for a child is to own books. Shelves full of books!
So thank you for doing this. Thank you very much.
Well I don't listen to litrpg audiobooks much, however I can recommend a few. Orconomics is great. Currently I'm listening to Into the abyss and it's pretty good as well.
I won't be doing any sort of weekly recommendations because I'll probably run out too quickly. Here's one I might do an audible thing for later though https://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Kindle-Motion-Magic-Book-ebook/dp/B00EF8Z32I
I'm mostly into litRPG so that's what my recommendations will focus on.
everybody loves large chests was already a great webnovel but the author also published on amazon. you can still read it for free on royal road if you want. it features a truly evil monster as primary character who was never human to begin with, so it's quite a different take on the litRPG genre.
life reset is a VR based litRPG with the focus on the MC having been turned into a monster character against his will and ending up stuck in the VR world, with emphasis on city building.
Awaken Online is also a VR based litRPG but the main character kinda turns into a big villain. sort of.
Dodge Tank combines an interesting post-apocalytpical but very futuristic 'real' world combined with a VR world.
The Land/Chaos Seeds transportation litRPG with a bit of a contentious author who has a tendency to shove every fun idea he has into the story at the expense of actual story progression, but if you like the idea of city building litRPG I'd certainly still recommend it. there are plenty of other aspects that make up for it.
Paraphrased
'There were two wizards who chose to live in france, when martin asked them why France they said "French girls" in a way that it was obvious they had no idea what they were talking about. There was a burly wizard who lived in russia who when asked said "Russian girls" in a way that suggested that he knew exactly what he was talking about'
Off to be the wizard
Magic 2.0 series by Scott Meyer (great book series)
https://www.amazon.com.au/Wizard-Kindle-Motion-Magic-Book-ebook/dp/B00EF8Z32I/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1573717349&sr=1-1
Mogworld by Yahtzee Crosshaw
I will never stop recommending this. From the bitingly sarcastic game critic of "Zero Punctuation", this story is equal parts funny, and dramatic. It focuses more on MMORPGs than traditional tabletop games, but even as a non-WOW player I understood and loved every minute of it.
NPCs by Drew Hayes This story focuses more on the aspect of traditional tabletop roleplaying, such as Dungeons and Dragons. It's about a group of NPCs - such as a bartender, a reluctant damsel in distress, and a former minion - who have to take up the roles as fake heroes in order to save their town. It starts off a little bit slow, and at first I was rolling my eyes thinking "okay, I know where this is going" but then it went off in a completely different direction. Highly recommended.
Critical Failures by Robert Bevan
I didn't like this one personally as much as the others - it was a bit too vulgar for my tastes. However, it got some really good critical feedback (heh) and it definitely is an interesting concept. It's basically about a group of players who get trapped in a tabletop game by a sadistic GM. If you play a lot of tabletop games, you can probably see a lot of your group members in the characters. It's part of a series too, (I think there's at least 3) so this one should keep you occupied for a while.
Game Night
The Merchant Adventurer
I haven't read either of these two myself, but they are both on my list, and seem somewhat similar to the kind of thing you're looking for.
I've liked the Fred series by Drew Hayes . Though that could be because I’m an accountant. It’s not quite as reality tv type, but fun and I think unique in its own way.
I have a humorous LitRPG called Level Up, but just a heads up the humour is slightly different to Critical Failures. It's a bit more satirical in nature, along the lines of Terry Pratchett or Monty Python (at least according to some of the reviews)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079JFM67F
I'd also recommend Orcanomics (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O2NDJ2M/) It isn't strictly speaking LitRPG, but there are more than enough gaming references to consider it GameLit. It's friggin hilarious!
If we go with Scott Meyer's interpretation of *Magic, then yes.
At which point they would be able to edit the universe directly and be unstoppable.
I liked NPCs by Drew Hayes.
A group of NPCs from your usual inn in a village are forced to take on the role of heroic adventurers, which they surely are not.
Geeky hilarity ensues.
NPCs
Have you read Orconomics ?
https://www.amazon.com/Orconomics-Satire-Dark-Profit-Saga-ebook/dp/B00O2NDJ2M
Give it a try it's amazing, easy to read and might scratch your itch for
A few guys with powers, a rogue, and a warrior. Maybe throw in some condescending elves and a quest to save a city from an evil dragon.I would like to add a few more things since you stated the following, as it could very well be a response you say to your parents.
>Thanks for assuming I have no self control when it comes to drugs. It's not like I'm surrounded by potheads and crack addicts all day at HS.
It is a hard argument to sell, to say that you're interested in vaping to combat urges to try drugs. Using this logic, you may eventually find yourself saying that marijuana is safer than heroin, especially if you ingest it by way of eating brownies. You might even be convinced by your friends, and their shaky evidence, that driving while drunk or high is something you can handle.
Truth of the matter is, if you're fine right now, you'll be fine without any of the other stuff. If you get into vaping, even if sanctioned by your parents, you'll still be spending money. And money, since you haven't had the full responsibilities of being an independent and self-sustaining adult thrust at you by life as of yet, is a thing that is easy to waste.
Outside of the health unkowns in vaping, we do know of one serious side effect. G.A.S. - Gear Acquisition Syndrome. You'll chase after the biggest clouds and the best flavor all at the expense of your pocket book. And as a young person nearing the point in life where you will consider getting an apartment vs buying a house, considering a gas guzzling supersweet ride or an economical hybrid, and choosing whether or not to bring your girlfriend/boyfriend on a date to a really nice restaurant where etiquette is required or bring them to Applebee's for the 2 for $20 deal... G.A.S. can wreck your daily, monthly and/or quarterly budget.
In your position, with the world as your oyster, your health in good standing, and your financial future unstarted... vaping is not the best option.
Perhaps I could suggest a good book about life, the universe and everything, like The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
No matter what though, I wish you well in your endeavor to live clean.
edit: Changed "vaping is not a good option" to "vaping is not the best option".
There is actually!
https://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Kindle-Motion-Magic-Book-ebook/dp/B00EF8Z32I
Magic meets Programing
Amusingly enough the first spell the protagonist casts in the book is a height spell.
I'm working my way through this very, very, very slowly. The only thing harder than my dick is learning a 2nd language as an adult.
https://www.amazon.com/New-Penguin-Russian-Course-Beginners/dp/0140120416/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1537562572&sr=8-1&keywords=russian+penguin
This was my personal favorite as a beginner book, but I used this book along with other beginner texts. It's definitely worth checking out though.
In order to get anywhere with Russian, you need a invest in a good grammar book. For complete beginners, I always recommend Nicholas Brown's New Penguin Russian Course which is dirt cheap on amazon.
To help you get comfortable with the language in terms of reading, listening, and pronunciation, I'm a big fan of the Assimil series. If you're not familiar with Assimil, you can read up on their method. The Assimil Russian is a nice complement to the Penguin course and I'm actually half-way through it myself (for review purposes).
You can find lots of good learning materials on ilearnrussian.com. I've found that some of the best learning materials are made by Russians for foreigners, but those are generally more advanced.
Immerse yourself in the language as much as you can outside of your formal lessons (i.e. Penguin, Assimil, whatever). You can find tons of Russian music on youtube. If you prefer to stream music online, check out moskva.fm. Many of the Russian stations play English music, so if you just want Russian-language music, try the Russian Radio station.
You can watch tons of old Russian movies with English subtitles on Mosfilm's website for free. If you know where to look online, you can find all the latest movies for free (pretty easy to find with google). One of my favorite things to do is find a Hollywood movie that I know really well, and then watch it dubbed in Russian. The quality of Russian dubbing is generally pretty high, and the advantage to watching a movie you're already familiar with is that you can focus on the language. Once you get to a higher level, it's interesting to compare the English dialogue to the Russian translation.
Do you have an ipod? One way to tune your ear to a language is to listen to the rapid-fire delivery on news broadcasts or opinion programs. I like to listen to podcasts from the Echo of Moscow radio station. Here's an example program you could subscribe to Culture Shock with rss link.
As difficult as the alphabet and grammar seem at first, I can assure you that it's nothing compared to acquiring a good vocabulary. Everyone has their own method for learning vocabulary, but my advice is to make some flash cards and carry a stack around with you wherever you go. In any odd, spare moment that you have, review them. You should aim to get to 1000 words as quickly as possible. As others have said, that's a key threshold. If you do the Penguin Course and/or Assimil, be diligent about learning the vocabulary for each lesson.
Anyway, good luck! Удачи!
If you use the website version of Duolingo and click on the Lightbulb icon for each section, it breaks down grammar rules used in that course. The online forums also has a lot of helpful explanations for each answer.
Unfortunately the App version completely disregards this feature and isn't included for some reason. Duolingo and Memrise combined should get you pretty good understanding, maybe up to a B1 level. You can also pick up some grammar books such as the New Penguin Russian Course that goes over almost all grammar rules and is pretty easy to read compared to other grammar books.
A lot of learning is through practice and using additional resources to reinforce how to think in another language. Check out some YouTube channels or movies that are in Russian and try to follow along. Tarkovsky films are really good for this as they're really slow pacing, Stalker and Solaris being some of my favorite movies of all time.
I'd suggest reading Penguin's Complete Russian Course for Beginners and then moving on to Modern Russian. But really, books can only help you understand concepts of the language on not to listen and speak the language conversationally. I'm an American, but I lived in Russia for a couple of years in my late teens to early twenties. I'd study Penguin's Complete Russian Course (and later Modern Russian) for an hour every morning and make mental notes of phrases I wanted to use and how to construct sentences and then I'd go out and talk with people. I'd be listening for what I was learning. It's so important to listen natives speak the language and you have to try to speak and make mistakes and have them correct you. I'd listen to native Russian podcast type programs as well and watch Russian movies. I started to be able to understand almost everything within the six to nine months. After a year, I could speak quite freely and then by 18 months I could understand the nuances of the language, make jokes, and almost always get my point across. So if you have the chance to speak with Russians, do so as often as possible. And make mistakes. Then learn from them. Study everyday. Practice everyday.
This is an oft-recommended book on Russian grammar, from what I've seen.
Order that, then get on this site and learn the alphabet. It's not too difficult to get it down on a basic level.
From there, get used to some basic vocabulary using a resource like Memrise (vocabulary practice site). Sign up on Livemocha.com and start with the basic Russian course. You'll learn some beginning phrases, get used to reading, eventually the alphabet will become second nature.
After some time with these resources (maybe a couple hours, maybe a couple of days), start listening to Russian music. You need to practice listening early and often to get the ear for words and how they sound together. Go on a Russian radio streaming site that lists the track currently playing (you can do this using a phone app, TuneIn Radio, which may also have an online site), then look up songs you like the sound of and listen to them over and over again with the lyrics in front of you. Try to sing along, even if you're sort of just mumbling Russian-sounding noises along with the singer.
At this point, start watching movies with subtitles. Search Mosfilm on Youtube. All of this studio's movies are free online, and most of them have English subtitles available.
Keep practicing like this, study the grammar using your Penguin book, and then find a penpal or something via Livemocha. It'll be scary at first, trying to communicate with someone in a language you're still making a lot of mistakes in, but people who study languages understand each other and are generally patient.
TL;DR:
Good luck! If you need any other help, PM me! I absolutely love Russian and would gladly help out anyone else who's interested.
I'm not sure what you mean when you say "the same way Latin is taught", I guess you mean without the speaking aspect? But if you're starting from scratch, I'm just going to suggest what I suggest to everyone, the New Penguin Russian Course. It doesn't have any audio CDs, but that's not a problem in your case. It teaches all the basic grammar and starting vocab to get you going.
Then, learn some of the most common words. I would perhaps suggest using Memrise because as well as the most common words, you can find various courses on there for Harry Potter, or the Bookbox series course and they'll teach you the language you need to know to understand a simple story, which will help you get started.
Read a lot, find some native text and analyse the grammar and the vocabulary, learn what you don't know and so on.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy! Carson McCuller's The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is one of my all time favorite books. If you want something more lighthearted, check out any book in P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves series. The Code of the Woosters is probably my favorite one.
Some of the best books I've read came from people recommending them to me. Please don't ever feel terrible for asking.
It might be a good idea to start with some fun books:
http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy/dp/0345453743/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325104122&sr=8-1
> that movie
Hm. If you haven't - check out the books.
The film may be cute but the books are otherworldly. Then you can make yourself sad about Adams' passing with The Salmon of Doubt.
I can't pick a favorite book, 2 that come to mind though for me are both Satire
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Source
Hmmm… I need to create a "Taoist Starter Kit" article…
As far as translations go… one I like is Red Pine's translation because it has commentary and the Chinese. The nice thing about the commentary is it lets you see all of the different ways each chapter can be interpreted. Political strategists see strategy and alchemists see instructions for spiritual immortality. :)
https://www.amazon.com/Lao-tzus-Taoteching-Lao-Tzu-ebook/dp/B00APD9VP2
If you want something chill and direct. I like these comics:
https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Speaks-Lao-Tzus-Whispers-Wisdom/dp/0385472595/
https://www.amazon.com/Zhuangzi-Speaks-Nature-Chih-chung-Tsai/dp/0691008825
If you wanna compare a bunch of translations…
https://ttc.tasuki.org/
I don't really think you can go "wrong" with any translation/interpretation if you're planning on reading more than one. If it was just the one, I'd go with Red Pine's.
As for meditation, I would look into Zen or Chan Buddhism close to where you are. You can also get started right away by just closing your eyes and breathing for a minute a day and build up to more as you do more research (via videos, books, seminars, teachers, etc.)
More important than any technique is developing the habit of doing it every day.
This app is awesome and it comes with a bunch of free guided meditations. I just use it for the timer. :)
https://insighttimer.com/
If you start getting serious I'd look for a teacher of some kind, but good teachers for Taoism seem kind of elusive. I think that's from the nature of the practice and it's history.
Google searches, reading reviews, talking to people, etc will take you where you want to go although in the beginning it's hard to tell the difference between "good" and "bad", but there's no way around that other than to start doing stuff and getting some experience under your belt. :) Also "bad" for you might be "good" for someone else. :P ;)
There are probably some good books for beginners as well, but I'm not familiar with those yet. I'm gonna start ordering and reading through them… (I haven't been a beginner for a long time… that said… I'm still a beginner… lol)
Oh! There's a cool Eva Wong book on Taoism that gives you a nice historical overview and breakdown of the different styles.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1590308824/ref=dbs_a_w_dp_1590308824
Hopefully you'll get some other recommendations! :)
Its The Tao Speaks is a comic by a Taiwanese author, it's here if you want to spend some money
https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Speaks-Lao-Tzus-Whispers-Wisdom/dp/0385472595
Not set in the Warhammer universe but you may be interested in this...
It's a fun book! Grunts by Mary Gentle has some similar themes.
It's an actual book :P
http://www.amazon.ca/The-Dragon-With-Girl-Tattoo/dp/0575100915
Wrong book. He's asking about http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0575100915/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1BQX9KW33DCPSW3GMPHJ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846
obvious choice if you haven't already read them:
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
The Long, Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
The biggest difference between his style in the Dirk Gently books vs. HHGTG is that the Dirk Gently books were written and concieved as novels, whereas the HHGTG was adapted from myriad radio plays, notes, short stories and comedy sketches. This results in a bit less zaniness and a bit more continuity, but it's still Douglas Adams.
I cannot recommend these books highly enough.
The Haunted Vagina (via Amazon)
I am going to submit this, dunno if it already has been tho
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Haunted-Vagina-Carlton-Mellick-III/dp/097624988X
That sounds vaguely like the timeless classic, "The Haunted Vagina".
This is probably the best definition I can give you.
As an example, see the plot description of Carlton Mellick III's "The Haunted Vagina".
Yeah, I have at least two copies. https://www.amazon.com/Lives-Captain-Bluebear-Walter-Moers/dp/1585678449
Man, wasn't it so good?! I just found out it's turning into a movie, but idk how well that would work. I got the audiobook for it, and Wil Wheaton narrating it was goddamn perfect! I think that's the best medium for a story like this that's heavy on internal narration.
Also, I'm currently reading/listening to Off to be the Wizard, by Scott Meyers. Somewhat similar, but extremely enjoyable, and the narrator on this audiobook is damn good too! http://www.amazon.com/Off-Be-Wizard-Magic-2-0/dp/1612184715
There was a book that reminds me of this called Off to be the Wizard. I really enjoyed it, there's a few sequels as well which I haven't read yet but the first one at least was great, it's worth a look, seems like you'd enjoy it if you have thoughts like this!
Heh sounds kind of like the plot to "Off to be the Wizard" by Scott Meyer
I'll post a link later, but check out Off to Be the Wizard. It's literally a whole book series about this.
Edit link, as promised, and Wikipedia article
Here's a really good find that not a lot of people have heard of (I think). Scott Meyer--the comedian behind the web comic Basic Instructions--started a fantasy book series called Magic 2.0 that starts with Off to Be the Wizard.
The premise is that the hero lives in a computer simulation and have found a file that allows them to change the parameters of their world. By editing the file, they can change their location, the money in their bank account, the time that they are living in, etc.
I laughed out loud at many passages. I actually listened to the audio version of the book that you can get on Audible. The narrator Luke Daniels does a tremendous job of reading the book.
Anyways, I cannot recommend this series enough. There's only two books out now, but a new one should be published in early 2015.
Off to Be the Wizard by Scott Meyer.
I read this a few years ago and really enjoyed it. It's on the lighter side of things.
Amazon description: Martin Banks is just a normal guy who has made an abnormal discovery: he can manipulate reality, thanks to reality being nothing more than a computer program. With every use of this ability, though, Martin finds his little “tweaks” have not escaped notice. Rather than face prosecution, he decides instead to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and pose as a wizard.
There's also [Off to be a wizard] (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Off-Be-Wizard-Magic-2-0/dp/1612184715). Anybody knows other series in similar spirit? (techno-geek-magic thing)
Slightly relevant quick read.
Why have just three when you can have every Shatner incarnation ever?
My. God.
Yes Please, by Amy Poehler
The Ultimate Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Defining the New Normal: A Guide to Becoming More Than Your Diagnosis by Colleen Brunetti
Grammar books, for a start. At university, we used NPRC and Ruslan which both had easy to follow structure. Ruslan was more fun, but with a decent amount of grammar. Our professor told us it was the text that the US Nasa astronauts used to learn Russian. NPRC was more serious, with more comprehensive grammar.
I learned to read the Cyrillic alphabet in about 3 hours thanks to this book. It breaks down the letters for English speakers in a way that makes more sense than merely learning them in order.
www.babbel.com is a great paid service.
"The New Penguin Russian Course" is a little older and not the best order for learning imo but it's a solid book - https://www.amazon.com/dp/0140120416/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_RuoFDbMQ0YFF5
LiveLingua also has a ton of materials, including some produced by the government.
https://www.amazon.com/New-Penguin-Russian-Course-Beginners/dp/0140120416/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1540842986&sr=8-5&keywords=Russian+language&dpID=51mscieyoQL&preST=_SY344_BO1,204,203,200_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
I've been waiting as well. It's the one language, along with Swedish, that I've had an interest in. If you want to try and learn some on your own, I'd suggest Memrise.com along with their app. I've also heard this book is fantastic and I plan on getting it soon. Hope this helps!
This is the one that gets recommended every time this question is asked: https://www.amazon.com/New-Penguin-Russian-Course-Beginners/dp/0140120416
I don't think it's in the Books link yet.
I super-duper recommend this book
The reviews give a good idea of why this book is so fantastic. I started using this book casually in high school and it concisely gets a ton of vital information.
It's not afraid to mention exceptions and weird things that a lot of beginner books would let you ignore and sound stupid later. It also has accent marks on all of the words past the first few chapters.
The pronunciation guide is priceless, as well. It's clear but comprehensive. I've seen tons of pronunciation aides for Russian but so far following this book's guide on it has yielded the best accent that I know of.
It's definitely better than Rosetta Stone.
I think paired with something to really cement the grammar will be pretty effective.
Use it with the New Penguin book. (only $15 on Amazon)
https://www.amazon.com/New-Penguin-Russian-Course-Beginners/dp/0140120416
The New Penguin Russian Course is amazing and includes everything you need to know about Russian grammar. A book I am reading right now for beginners is First Reader in Russian. It is a very basic Russian book that has exercises and a dictionary in the back. The only bad thing about it is the dictionary doesn't include all of the words from the book so I usually have to go to my Russian-English English-Russian Dictionary. This dictionary also lacks many important words, but it hasn't given me any problems. Another good Russian reading source is Russian Stories: A Dual-Language Book. If you just look around on amazon you will find many good resources.
Learn the pronunciation of the letters. Learn the difference between soft and hard consonants. Use youtube videos and various descriptions for it. This video is a good start, for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsL8ZBDBNts Russian is very often pronounced just like it is spelled. You just need to know a few simple rules, and on which vowel the stress is.
The New Penguin Russian Course that covers a lot of stuff: grammar, words, idioms, phrases, culture, pronunciation, etc. and is intended for beginners. I'd say start with that and pronunciation, as I said above.
But maybe skip some words from the book that you don't think you will need, and learn words that are more useful to you instead.
The channel #russkij on FreeNode is helpful. If you don't know how to access it, this is probably the easiest way.
You may want to check out this tool I made for reading.
You probably want to use Anki for flashcards. Flashcards are very useful.
You might like this youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/vanilla167333/videos?view=0&shelf_id=0&sort=dd
Finally, try to focus on content that is relevant to you, i.e. reading about things that you like, talking about things that interest you, etc.
you'd be better of just searching for it yourself, but here's a thing for it on amazon and google books
http://www.amazon.com/New-Penguin-Russian-Course-Beginners/dp/0140120416
http://books.google.com/books/about/The_New_Penguin_Russian_Course.html?id=DpAmYOS15RAC
I recommend you just search for it yourself, you might find something cool below those two links :P
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0140120416?pc_redir=1405490871&robot_redir=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140120416/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
That one, the New Penguin Russian Course. I don't really think it was the "best" one I could buy, but it was a well-reviewed book and had recommendations from several websites I found. Plus it was only 13 bucks, so I didn't feel too bad about buying it if it happened to not be a great book.
So far the book has been pretty good. It's got exercises for handwriting and pronunciation, and thoroughly explains things that need explaining.
Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!
Here are your smile-ified links:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0140120416/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00
---
^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot
Hey! I've never been an avid reader, but I wouldn't mind starting. Here's a book that I've been wanting to read.
I know I do not qualify for the contest (I got here from /r/personalfinance of all places =) but in honor of towel day I would suggest:
Douglas Adams - Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy
or, and this one is ever better
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide
I have this http://www.amazon.com/The-Ultimate-Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy/dp/0345453743 $13 for all in a convenient package is hard to turn down.
You can thank me in advance.
OP my only suggestion would be : DON'T PANIC
If you enjoyed the first three, I would wager that you will enjoy the remaining books. I would agree that they are not as amazing as the first few but they are still very funny.
You can grab the complete edition for under $15 on Amazon. I would also recommend Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and the Salmon of Doubt. It's a half completed Dirk Gently book with additional writings of Adams what was put together after he passed away.
Terry Pratchett - all of them, but in particular, Night Watch
Daniel Keyes - Flowers for Algernon I've linked to a book with the short story rather than the novel as I think the former is better.
Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series
Bonsai
Cactus Dish Garden
Classic Dish Garden
Non-living options
Book
Digital Photo Frame filled with photos (of course)
Whatever the hell this thing is
Hm, well if you haven't read Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy it's FANTASTIC and you should read it. It's especially good since you haven't read in a while and it doesn't really have boring moments where you would get disinterested.
I really need a new book
I absolutely love to sing and I know I have a good voice.. I'm absolutely terrified to sing in front of anyone though.
Happy birthday!!!! <3
Birthday Bot
Or worse, five.
Yes, I would recommend this if you aren't looking for anything too serious. Adams' presentation method is definitely comedic, but that just makes it more enjoyable. Adams is a genius when it comes to irony and he also does a pretty good job of getting his science right(when he is being serious). But like I said, if you want super serious, don't go for this. If you do go for it, I recommend getting The Ultimate Guide, which is all five books plus a bonus story.
Here is an illustrated (cartoon!) version translated and illustrated by Tsai Chih Chung. I recommend it greatly! You have to admit, taoism explained through cartoons is completely inappropriate.
It's the plot of the epic send-up of Tolkien pastiches (with a dash of Warhammer 40k at the end), Mary Gentle's Grunts.
Grunts, by Mary Gentle?
https://www.amazon.com/Grunts-Mary-Gentle/dp/0451454537
My username is from the book Grunts by Mary Gentle. It has served me well since I've found very few people go for it. Wheel of Time names are harder to pin down even though there are so many of them.
You should, now.
I can't deny that it's a pleasure to watch Hugh Laurie act like an asshole. Just as an aside, he has also authored a truly excellent and hilarious spy novel called The Gun Seller that you should check out if you enjoy reading.
I like the Inspector Morse series (Colin Dexter) and I'll second matts2 Nero Wolfe mysteries. Also, Hugh Lurie's The Gun Seller was good in a fun with wordplay sort of way.
Hugh Laurie wrote The Gunseller which is about the military industrial complex in the west. It's a fun book and well written.
I really enjoyed Hugh Laurie's The Gun Seller.
He also wrote an awesome (and hilarious) spy thriller.
Not really in the same tone but very well written and entertaining (some mild melancholy) is The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie. I loved it.
I think the age/gender span is kind of awesome so far! Will be interesting to get such varied perspectives, and see what a ragtag band of book readers have to say to each other haha.
I didn't know Hugh Laurie was a writer, but that book sounds great.
I have been wanting to READ this for years!
Entertainment via escapism! Make me smile, Rasta!
Many people will probably recommend "Hitchhiker's Guide" to you, but I'd like to suggest another series by Adams: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. It is somewhat of a science fiction/murder mystery with plenty of British humor thrown in.
My favorite book of all time is Apathy and Other Small Victories
But what did you think about the second, stranger part of the Coleridge poem?
[Relevant?] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Haunted-Vagina-Carlton-Mellick/dp/097624988X)
I'll just leave this here.
you should probably read http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Haunted-Vagina-Carlton-Mellick/dp/097624988X
I hope that it's the film version of this novel.
IAE reminded by this comment of the Haunted Vagina story?
Not sure about authors race, but The Haunted Vagina was pretty weird. The author has a bunch of other books as well.
I didn't know you were an author! http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/097624988X/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/185-5872856-7087259?ref_=pd_sim_b_2
https://www.amazon.com/Lives-Captain-Bluebear-Walter-Moers/dp/1585678449
definitely check out the 13.5 lives of captain bluebear, or anything else by Walter Moers. The only reason they aren't really childrens books is because the vocabulary is so large and the epic is so long.
If you're in the UK, there's a CD box-set for £40.
If you're in the US, the whole set is nearly $87.
But "season one" (Guide and Restaurant) are on CD for about $20.
Off To Be The Wizard by Scott Meyer?
(Normally I link to Goodreads instead of Amazon, but Goodreads is throwing up a certificate error for me right now.)
'Off to be the Wizard' also uses Esperanto, as the words they use for magic spells. It's not very good Esperanto, though.
It would be awesome if you could make it possible to have DLC like living through scenarios from "Help! A Bear is Eating Me!" - probably the book with the greatest opening to the second chapter ever.
http://www.amazon.com/HELP-A-Bear-Eating-Me/dp/1933929693
Read this book as it may help you through the tough times ahead.
Much too early for your purposes, but kind of interesting- There was an unofficial follow-up to Don Quixote, written by someone called Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda.
Cervantes was not amused, and when the actual second part came out, it featured Avellaneda's work as a plot point- Quixote is outraged that people were publishing slander about him, and actually encounters one of the characters from the spurious work and makes him recant his testimony. A few hundred years later, Borges would take Quixotic metatextuality and authorship questions to another level entirely in his short story "Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote".
Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton series, both weave bewildering arrays of fictional works together.
Gregory Maguire's Wicked is fairly well known, but probably more for the musical adaptation than the original novel. Dunno about the public domain status of the Oz works when it was published, though.
There's an entire genre of Sherlock Holmes pastiche, and has been since the thirties or forties at least- and there are related genres devoted to Nero Wolfe and other fictional detectives from the first half of the 20th century.
There's also a book called Shatnerquake, which is exactly what it says on the tin.
I can't help you with regards to the legal status of that sort of work, or what you'd need to go through to get it published.
Shatnerquake is the most ridiculous book I've ever read.
Anyone else notice the book is Shatner Quake? by active redditor Jeff Burk /u/jeffburk https://imgur.com/a/SmVsXCJ
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shatnerquake-Jeff-Burk/dp/1933929820
"I'm sick of these Motherfucking Polish stealing these Motherfucking jobs!"
^(please don't post to r/nocontext)
-----
Starring (à la Shatner Quake):
a bit like Shatnerquake in reverse.
After a reality bomb goes off at the first ever ShatnerCon, all of the characters ever played by William Shatner are suddenly sucked into our world. Their mission: hunt down and destroy the real William Shatner. Featuring: Captain Kirk, TJ Hooker, Denny Crane, Priceline Shatner, Cartoon Kirk, Rescue 9-1-1 Shatner, singer Shatner, and many more.
Has anyone read the novel Shatnerquake?
I've been dying to read this on my Kindle because everyone talks about it all the time! I've heard it's just great.
And for a real book? I'd say this because it's one of my absolute favorites and I hate having to wait to check out a copy from the library every time I want to re-read it.
If I were a book, I hope that I'd be a great one !!
I think this is a lovely contest idea :) I'm always a big fan of anything book-related!! Thanks!
$9.99, actually, for the Kindle version, or $13.35 for the paperback.
At 800+ pages for all 5.1 books, if you could read it in eight hours I'd be extraordinarily impressed. You could easily bust through the first one in an evening, though.
If you're hankering for reading materials then Orconomics is a good book about the subject.
https://www.amazon.com/Orconomics-Satire-Dark-Profit-Saga-ebook/dp/B00O2NDJ2M
One way of ensuring a level of appropriate conduct from your adventurers is by making adventuring a very official thing with its own guild, rules, and enforcing membership. Adventuring would then be an actual job, with actual pay with its own rules and expectations. There would be officials who assess say the hoard at the end of a quest. Taxes, evaluations, and rankings with competing groups and bidding on quests.
Seals with party hats! Cake! Item!
1: Honey/Mori/Kyouya/Hikaru/Kaoru from Ouran High School Host Club!
3: Jackson from Hannah Montana!
4: Sayuri from Memoirs of a Geisha
5: Ben and Mary from The Secret Garden!
10: Nicolo from Excess Baggage - Be Careful With My Heart - Their Proposal!
I assume you mean https://www.amazon.com/NPCs-Spells-Swords-Stealth-Book-ebook/dp/B00KB2RLKO, which I agree is an excellent book (as is nearly everything else by that author).
There's a rather silly book with a Mimic as it's main character. https://www.amazon.com/Morningwood-Everybody-Loves-Large-Chests-ebook/dp/B076NSQ6JT
Yes, of course
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Utterly-Uninteresting-Unadventurous-Vampire-Accountant-ebook/dp/B00M6AM6Q8
The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant.
Fred honestly likes his job, and really wishes that people would leave him alone to do his work. Of course, the story conspires to shake up his very mundane (for a vampire) life. It's very much a young-adult fiction book and may be a bit childish for more adult tastes, but it can be entertaining with the right point of view.
You sound like you'd like this book.
https://www.amazon.com/Orconomics-Satire-Dark-Profit-Saga-ebook/dp/B00O2NDJ2M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1492181885&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=orkonomics
Drew Hayes. He is just amazing. He writes his books in a sort of tongue-in-cheek-yet-serious kind of way.
One of his book series is called Super Powereds, and it's better than the title might make it sound. It's set in a world where some people are born with superhuman abilities, and then some are born with superhuman abilities that they can't control. There are also humans. It's a school for those wanting to be a hero. It's full of subplots and twists and the books are quite long as well. They're also cheap in Amazon Kindle. This book is awesome.
He also has another book series called
Spells, Swords, & Stealth. It is set in a Tabletop RPG world and follows some NPCs that are forced to deal with the dead adventurers that had just appeared at their door. Great for people who love TTRPGs and great for people who don't! Seriously, it's amazing and you will love it. You will love either book!
The Magic 2.0 series.
The first book is Off to be the Wizard.
Seconding Off to Be the Wizard (by Scott Meyer). Fantastic book, there's two out right now with a third on the way.
Amazon and Goodreads
It's two bucks for the kindle version right now. I'm not affiliated with the author in any way, just seriously love the series and want to spread the love!
I used to listen to a whole lot of Joe Rogan when I was working a temp job several years ago. He talked about simulation theory a lot.
If you're really nerdy about it like I am, there's a great fantasy series called Magic 2.0 that has a hilarious take on it.
"Martin Banks is just a normal guy who has made an abnormal discovery: he can manipulate reality, thanks to reality being nothing more than a computer program. With every use of this ability, though, Martin finds his little “tweaks” have not escaped notice. Rather than face prosecution, he decides instead to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and pose as a wizard.
"What could possibly go wrong?
"An American hacker in King Arthur’s court, Martin must now train to become a full-fledged master of his powers, discover the truth behind the ancient wizard Merlin…and not, y’know, die or anything"
https://www.amazon.com/Off-Wizard-Magic-2-0-Book-ebook/dp/B00EF8Z32I#nav-subnav
You'd probably like this book based on that shower thought.
You should check out this book. I listened to it on audible. It's sort of a sci-fi/fantasy comedy book and I really enjoyed it.
>Martin Banks is just a normal guy who has made an abnormal discovery: he can manipulate reality, thanks to reality being nothing more than a computer program.
http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy-ebook/dp/B0043M4ZH0
NPCs by Drew Hayes - it's here and fun!
There is also a book series called "Spells, Swords, & Stealth" First book in the series called "NPCs"
I've only read the first so far but it was fantastic. Basically the same premise, except with Dungeons and Dragons.
Synopsis:
A group of adventurers die in a tavern because of some poisoned mushrooms that they ate. Several people in the tavern realize they have to take the adventurer's place in the quest they were given, or else the king will destroy their town. So a group of NPCs pretend to be a party of adventurers and go on a quest.
ninja edit:
https://www.amazon.com/NPCs-Spells-Swords-Stealth-Book-ebook/dp/B00KB2RLKO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1538162573&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=npcs
Scott Meyer did it!
https://amzn.com/B00EF8Z32I
Reading. Obviously, if you get too high, you won't be able to read well. The secret is staying low dose, getting just high enough. Check out the Amazon "Look Inside" previews to see if any of these is right for you.
-
Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett.
Tuf Voyaging by George RR Martin.
Into the Storm by Taylor Anderson.
Off to Be the Wizard by Scott Meyer.
The Remaining by DJ Molles.
It was actually a light novel that was later adapted into a manga and then an anime, but it obviously draws inspiration from JRPGs and such. Slime enemies are really common in JRPGs, though those usually play the adventurer story straight, with slimes just being minor enemies. The anime you are asking about is unique because it subverts that common trope in a unique way.
[Tales of Symphonia], [Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book], [Recettear: an item shop's tale] and [The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky] are all good starting points for JRPG beginners. Those play the slime enemy straight, but have interesting spins on the fantasy genre in their own rights. Recettear for example is from the perspective of an item shop owner, while Ateier Sophie has you play as an Alchemist crafting items.
As for unusually wobbly protagonists, maybe look at [Snake Pass]. It's a platformer where you play a snake.
And for unusual recommendation, check out this book. It merges fantasy storytelling with RPG-style stats and character levels to form a devilishly delightful romp. Don't be fooled by the weird name and generic description, just trust me.
Oh, and watch KonoSuba.
I don't know if I'd recommend Game of Thrones for your first audiobook unless you're already familiar with the material. It can be hard to keep track of all the names and stuff when you're listening...
For a first foray into audio I'd recommend something lighter and shorter, and since you like fantasy I recommend Off to be the Wizard. You can get the audiobook and kindle eBook for $6 with the whispersync bundle ($3.99 for kindle, $1.99 for audio).
The narrator is amazing, the characters have recognizable names and voices, the story has some good humor, and if you decide that audiobooks aren't your thing you still have the kindle version to read.
If this is the kind of thing that often turns up in your D&D campaigns, you should definitely read this book.
Its basically this scenario turned into a terrific D&D-inspired novel.
http://www.amazon.com/Orconomics-Satire-Dark-Profit-Saga-ebook/dp/B00O2NDJ2M
Note: I am neither the author, nor the publisher of this book, nor do I derive any benefit from its sales.
Maybe Daft Punk for $9.49 and a book for $3.99 to total $198.87?
NPCs by Drew Hayes is more like Pencil and Paper LitRPG (LitPnPRPG?)
Orcanomics: A Satire is, as advertised, a parody of P&P RPG tropes. Not LitRPG, though. Hilarious!
I'm enjoying the magic 2.0 series a lot. It's not exactly deep and complex but it's a FUN read and has lots of nerdy references.
The Dark Profit Saga
Check it out on Amazon. He is releasing an editted version on there.
It fixes some plot holes and edits out some of the more extreme rapey stuff, and I think the story is better for it.
https://www.amazon.com/Morningwood-Everybody-Loves-Large-Chests-ebook/dp/B076NSQ6JT
something like this: Everybody Loves Large Chests
This one may be a little out there, but you might enjoy [Off to Be the Wizard] (http://www.amazon.com/Off-Wizard-Magic-2-0-Book-ebook/dp/B00EF8Z32I).
It's about a hacker who comes across a file which, when altered, allows reality to be altered correspondingly. I don't necessarily want to give all the details of the premise away but he ends up sending himself to the Middle Ages, where he uses his newfound access to the reality-altering file to pose as a wizard to the locals. That's sort of the "unusual occupation" part, and the book parodies a lot of the tropes of the medieval wizardry fantasy genre. It's a pretty light read, at 276 pages. It's really quite a funny and charming book.
Off to Be the Wizard (Magic 2.0 series) by Scott Meyer is a really quirky story where the MC discovers the world is really a computer program so he decides to go to the middle ages and portray his computer hacking as magic and be a wizard there. I highly recommend the audible version since the narrator Luke Daniels is hilarious with his voices. Not litRPG at all but is fairly geeky so some litRPG readers would like it.
https://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Kindle-Motion-Magic-Book-ebook/dp/B00EF8Z32I/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=&amp;sr=
Everybody loves large chests
and
The Legend of Randidly Ghosthound are fun reads.
I just read them last year as well, as an middle-aged adult. Being a late comer to D&D, I really enjoyed the setting and fantastical adventure, but seek something more sophisticated and for an older audience. Still searching, but in the meantime have been really enjoying the Spells,Swords and Stealth books.
NPCs by Drew Hayes comes to mind and is recommended.
Probably all away reading NPCs (Spells, Swords, & Stealth Book 1)
https://www.amazon.com/NPCs-Spells-Swords-Stealth-Book-ebook/dp/B00KB2RLKO/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1484000775&amp;sr=1-1-fkmr0&amp;keywords=litrpg+npc+fiction
You may want to read "An Unwelcome Quest" by Scott Meyer. It is unfortunately the third and weakest book of his Magic 2.0 trilogy. The first book is very entertaining, the second one is pretty good, and the third one is kinda meh. But it's the third one that might provide you with the inspiration you are looking for. Without reading the first two, though, you won't get it.
I actually recommend the first one. I like it a lot. And, having read it, you'll be inexorably drawn to read the second one. Under normal circumstances you might then give the third one a pass since the second one disappointed. But if somebody wants to run a "trapped in a video game" style campaign, then that third one is a must-read.
Here's all three:
I just started "Off to be a Wizard" by Scott Meyer and am really liking it. It's about a modern day programmer discovering magic (essentially) and traveling back to the Middle Ages to be a wizard. Only $2 on a kindle.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00EF8Z32I/
There are some audiobooks with graphics "Kindle in motion" like this https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00EF8Z32I/ref=pd_aw_sim_351_2?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=MS57FVNWG0AEPJNWJS28&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=91In9gKXiCL
Would be really cool if they make some VR option to listen/watch the books with graphics, videos, animations in 360.
Sorry about that. I don't have a good way of figuring out whether any price is honored in any other territory. I don't think that there are nearly as many UK Whispersync for Voice deals overall -- 90% of the titles I just checked around on didn't offer it, and some that did the combined price was actually more than the audiobook alone, e.g. Ben Winter's The Last Policeman. Did see one, Andy Weir's The Martian, for £3.49 + £3.99 which is only a little less than the £9.20 audiobook alone price, which is actually more than the £7.99 you guys pay per credit over there. The credit price rules out other titles like The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August (£2.99 plus £5.99).
One area where you guys can I think still make out really well is with self-published Kindle/Podium Publishing audiobook titles, e.g.:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Harbinger-Fates-Forsaken-Book-1-ebook/dp/B008RCI29Y/
Another of my usual "go to" deal strategies only offers a small discount, that being Amazon's 47North/Brilliance Audio titles, e.g.:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Off-Wizard-Magic-2-0-Book-ebook/dp/B00EF8Z32I/
The £3.49 plus £3.49 is less than the monthly credit price, but not by too much.
Hope some of that is helpful and takes a bit of the sting of "US only? rageface!!" out of the post!
I bought a book called Orconomics off of the $5 Audible sale. Looks like an interesting take on a WOW type World. Haven't listened yet though.
https://www.amazon.com/Orconomics-Satire-Dark-Profit-Saga-ebook/dp/B00O2NDJ2M
I really enjoyed Scott Meyer's Magic 2.0 books.
I have the same complaint when I go to the humor section!
Here are some of my favorites that I haven't seen in the other comments:
Mercury Falls Series (and really almost anything by Robert Kroese). This one probably gave me the most laugh-out-loud moments.
>While on assignment in Utah, Christine Temetri isn’t surprised when yet another prophesied Apocalypse fails to occur. After three years of reporting on End Times cults for a religious news magazine, Christine is seriously questioning her career choice. But then she meets Mercury, a cult leader whose knowledge of the impending Apocalypse is decidedly more solid than most: he is an angel, sent from heaven to prepare for the Second Coming but distracted by beer, ping pong, and other earthly delights. After Christine and Mercury inadvertently save Karl Grissom—a film-school dropout and the newly appointed Antichrist—from assassination, she realizes the three of them are all that stand in the way of mankind’s utter annihilation. They are a motley crew compared to the heavenly host bent on earth’s destruction, but Christine figures they’ll just have to do. Full of memorable characters, Mercury Falls is an absurdly funny tale about unlikely heroes on a quest to save the world.
Peter and the Monsters--It initially reads like a kids book, but don't let that put you off. The first volume is free.
>When ten-year-old Peter moves into his grandfather’s creepy old mansion in a small town, bad, baaaaad things start to happen.
A family of charred boogeymen who haunt the garden decide they don't like trespassers...
A classmate with a crush comes back from the grave and decides to make Peter her Undead Prince Charming...
A creature from Fairieland changes place with Peter's two-year-old sister, leading to a VERY strange babysitting job...
A prehistoric predator snatches children from the town lake, forcing Peter to literally dive into the belly of the beast...
With his troublemaking neighbor Dill, his grumpy grandfather, and only his courage and wit to guide him, Peter has to survive all these things, plus the Greatest Horror Of All:
Fourth grade.
Magic 2.0 starting with Off to be the Wizard. To be honest, the series goes slowly downhill after the first one.
>Martin Banks is just a normal guy who has made an abnormal discovery: he can manipulate reality, thanks to reality being nothing more than a computer program. With every use of this ability, though, Martin finds his little “tweaks” have not escaped notice. Rather than face prosecution, he decides instead to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and pose as a wizard.
>
>What could possibly go wrong?
>
>An American hacker in King Arthur's court, Martin must now train to become a full-fledged master of his powers, discover the truth behind the ancient wizard Merlin…and not, y'know, die or anything.
Clovenhoof Probably not as good as others in this list, but there are still some good laughs. It's more British humor (or humour, I suppose).
>Charged with gross incompetence, Satan is fired from his job as Prince of Hell and exiled to that most terrible of places: English suburbia. Forced to live as a human under the name of Jeremy Clovenhoof, the dark lord not only has to contend with the fact that no one recognises him or gives him the credit he deserves but also has to put up with the bookish wargamer next door and the voracious man-eater upstairs.
>
>Heaven, Hell and the city of Birmingham collide in a story that features murder, heavy metal, cannibalism, armed robbers, devious old ladies, Satanists who live with their mums, gentlemen of limited stature, dead vicars, petty archangels, flamethrowers, sex dolls, a blood-soaked school assembly and way too much alcohol.
Clovenhoof is outrageous and irreverent (and laugh out loud funny!) but it is also filled with huge warmth and humanity. Written by first-time collaborators Heide Goody and Iain Grant, Clovenhoof will have you rooting for the bad guy like never before.
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) This is the first in a series of 3. I would say it's a sci-fi book first with a lot of humor.
>Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street.
>
>Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets. The stakes are high: no less than the first claim to entire worlds. If he declines the honor, he'll be switched off, and they'll try again with someone else. If he accepts, he becomes a prime target. There are at least three other countries trying to get their own probes launched first, and they play dirty.
>
>The safest place for Bob is in space, heading away from Earth at top speed. Or so he thinks. Because the universe is full of nasties, and trespassers make them mad - very mad.
The Henchmen's Book Club I read this one quite a few years ago, so I don't remember the specifics other than I thought it was funny at that time.
>Mark Jones is a henchman for hire. He guards bunkers, patrols perimeters and stands around in a boiler suit waiting to get knocked out by Ninjas. This is his job.
>
>He’s worked for some of the most notorious super villains the world has ever known – Doctor Thalassocrat, Victor Soliman, Polonius Crump; Mark was with each of them when they met their makers at the hands of British Secret Service super-spy, Jack Tempest and lived to tell the tale – if not pay the bills.
>
>Still for ever hour under gunfire there are weeks if not months of sitting around on monorails so Jones starts a book club with his fellow henchmen to help pass the time.
>
>It was only meant to be a bit of fun.
>
>It was never meant to save the world.
Everything else I was going to suggest is already in the comments. Good Luck!
Don't Use That Link! Use This Link HERE.
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My local library's website has the Mango Language program for free, and it has very easy to use and what I can only assume is accurate Russian phrases that would be used, so maybe that option is available for you to check out. http://www.russianlessons.net/ this is another website that proved mighty useful. While the book I have been using for my Russian studies, is the Penguin Russian Course: http://www.amazon.com/New-Penguin-Russian-Course-Beginners/dp/0140120416/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1372041401&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=penguin+russian
The New Penguin Russian Course is quite good. The textbook I've used is Russian for Everybody (there's also an accompanying workbook that I highly recommend). Once you start getting a hang of things, Shaum's Outline of Russian Grammar is a good, clear reference for grammar.
As for free websites? I'm not very familiar with them... MasterRussian.com is a popular one. From my experience with free internet lessons, they tend to be lacking in explanations of grammar, and more about giving you "useful" phrases. Everybody learns differently, of course, but I personally find that the more grammar lessons you can integrate, the better off you'll be in the long run.
Other than all that, I definitely recommend finding an easy to read book/article/text/something to work towards understanding -- children's books are good for this. Provides more motivation that way, and it's a way to apply what you're learning. Always keep a goal in mind. :)
Here is the desktop version of your link
In my opinion, apps and software don't tend to be of much use; they don't let you advance quickly enough and don't expose you to enough material. If you're serious about learning Russian, grab a good book and study each text or dialogue until you understand it both in reading and aurally. There's Teach Yourself Russian, Routledge's Colloquial Russian, the FSI FAST (Familiarization and Short-Term Training) Russian, Assimil Russian (if you speak French), and I've heard good things about the New Penguin Russian Course. In all cases, be sure you get audio along with the book, or have a native speaker who is willing to help you learn. Good luck!
No no. Its prolly not the fastest way. But if your learning and having fun then by all means.
Ya know on second thought there isn't as many as I thought at first.
You can ignore my statement.
I 100% say get this though. I've bought it twice it was so good.
https://www.amazon.com/New-Penguin-Russian-Course-Beginners/dp/0140120416/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=New+penguin+russian+course&amp;qid=1564251934&amp;s=gateway&amp;sr=8-1
well... according to my textbook, that would be called "partitive genitive".
Here's what the Russian Penguin Course has to say about this:
A minor use of the genitive case is to express the meaning 'some' with food and drink nouns:
дайте мне воды/вина/хлеба
дайте хлеб corresponds to "Give me bread" or "Give me the bread"
A small number of nouns have a special у/ю ending for the partitive. You may hear the question:
вы хотите чаю?
чаю with a special genitive ending ю (an alternative to -я is the pratitive genitve of чай. Other nouns which may have this -у ending are сахар, мёд, сыр
I've heard good things about The New Penguin Russian Course. I also like to have plenty of reading material, like readers and parallel texts to help build my vocabulary and work on comprehension.
As others have said, there's plenty of free and usually legal stuff out there, so give those a shot too. While materials can help or hurt your motivation, the specific brand or program isn't as important as doing something every day to improve your Russian.
I'm in the same boat as you. I've been working through The New Penguin Russian Course and have found it very helpful and easy to follow.
The New Penguin Russian Course: A Complete Course for Beginners (Penguin Handbooks) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0140120416/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_MvtaCbFKB31BV
There was a workbook called Сила that I used to get off the ground, but I can't find it anywhere on line. I used it in conjunction with
http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Penguin-Russian-Course/dp/0140120416
I'll tell you what you don't want to do though. Don't get a book that has a bunch of phrases that you need to memorize. Get a book that focuses on grammar principles and vocab.
EDIT: Join us in /r/russian as well! There is most likely more beginners there as well.
Just buy this book and use RS to supplement it.
Or get the Assimil course(s).
http://www.russianforeveryone.com/
Not the most visually attractive site, but pretty good in regard of its contents and explanations.
They say this book is also pretty good: https://www.amazon.es/New-Penguin-Russian-Course-Beginners/dp/0140120416
Because you'd already be subjugated through propaganda :^)
Do something productive instead of crying about your next president. Here... https://www.amazon.com/New-Penguin-Russian-Course-Beginners/dp/0140120416/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1481656596&amp;sr=1-1
Multi qui linguae Russicae periti esse videntur hunc librum probant. Ipse tamen, qui modo huius linguae elementa disco, iudicare non possum. Si sermone Latino uti placet ad colloquendum vel ad scribendum, nihil obstat quin nobiscum aliquando in /r/latin Latine scribas.
The mother learned russian at school back in the day, i'm trying to follow in her footsteps, mainly by means of a teacher.
But this is the one book my mother recommends from back then. I bought it, and it is excellent. No stone is left unturned.
This is a good intro book, and /r/russian's a pretty good sub.
This is how I've been learning.
http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Penguin-Russian-Course/dp/0140120416/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1348021896&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=penguin+russian
Thanks. I've found a New Penguin one from Amazon that I am ready to order.
&#x200B;
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0140120416/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1
http://learnrussian.rt.com/ ist sehr nützlich für Anfänger.
Die beste Buchkurs ist "The New Penguin Russian Course for Beginners.
Ich finde es ziemlich leicht und einfach.
Ich wünsche dein Mitarbeiter viel Glück mit Russisch! Es ist ein faszinierend Sprach!
A tutor is probably the best way and is mostly how I learned, though Duolingo is quite good.
This is the best resource I've found on the Russian language: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0140120416/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1521760943&amp;sr=8-1&amp;pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&amp;keywords=russian+course+book
Here is the mobile version of your link
Basically what everyone else has said...YES! I would recommend The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide--it has all 5 of the books in one, and is much more cost effective than getting them individually.
If you want something a bit emotionally draining at points, Blindness by Saramago is a good one. It's about a sudden epidemic of blindness, and how the world reacts. And they don't react well. Very much worth your time, but just a forewarning, there is a part that's a bit... rapey.
If you want something very character driven, I liked Ender's Game and the following two branches. The branch that follows Ender (Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind) get a bit philosophical and more and more sci-fi, so I don't know how much I'd recommend it. I kept through it for the characters though. The other branch follows a character named "Bean" from the first book (Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Giant) and is a lot more military focused, talking about interactions between world powers and military groups. I liked that branch a bit more.
I only ask that if you read those, you get them from the library so that you don't purchase them. I don't like where he sends his money, but that's your choice. I usually don't recommend him to people solely because of that.
Last but not least, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the rest of the series (The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Life the Universe and Everything, So Long and Thanks for All the Fish, Mostly Harmless, And Another Thing...) is FANTASTIC. I recommend this to EVERYONE. Funny, witty, clever, and well written and the guy who wrote it was a good guy too. I'd say buy the complete edition where all the books are in one. I'm not a huge book guy, but I was able to soar through this with no problem. I'm not even gonna say what it's about, but I will say the part about sandwiches is basically my life advice to anyone who asks for some.
Happy reading!
> 1. the world exists
refer to the one book that has the ultimate answer, it has all the answers on why the world(earth) exists.
points 2-5 are hence pre-empted.
Nope. I wasn't that lucky. But as I mentioned, I bought it in a thrift shop. It was 2 or 3 bucks, used.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Ultimate-Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy/dp/0345453743/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1395037957&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=hitchhikers+guide+to+the+galaxy+omnibus
Redditing at work is AWESOME
I don't know you, but you are too!
This! Or surprise me!
Read the excerpt it will leave you wanting more.
Get what I got wayyy cheaper
I've had a kindle for a month or so but have been too busy to do much reading. Anyway here's what I have (I tend to enjoy science fiction / satire)
I would recommend getting the Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide which has all the books in the series, instead of just the second one.
Always good to know the events of the last 100 years, I think.
Douglas Adams is one of the finest examples of british humor I could possible recommend, and I do so often.
Science Fiction and Mark Twain? Sign me up.
I got The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as a gift and it's awesome. Has all 5 books plus a short story ("Young Zaphod Plays it Safe"). I've re-read the whole thing cover to cover a few times.
The fifth book is a little depressing, but still good. The author's life had turned to shit, and it shows in his writing. Still, it's a hell of a good way to wrap up the stories.
Have fun!
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams
>"Dave saves the universe"
That's a trilogy right there.
Boringly named man has space adventure is indeed a trilogy.
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
It's not particularly about being less depressed and all that, but I guarantee it will make you feel better.
There are a few different printings of the full series.
Here's a link to the first one I found on Amazon The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/its_more_than_a_job
Read that.
Now read it again, and focus on the significance of the essays.
Being well-read gives you a common connection or foundation with others who are similarly well-read.
Being well-read helps you develop stronger language context skills, and a more broad vocabulary which will be useful to you when you have to describe deeply meaningful topics about yourself and your dreams in 400 words or less.
Search A2C for how many interviewers or application essays asked the applicant to discuss their favorite book, or something they recently read. It's a common theme.
Ask Google how many books Bill Gates and James Mattis read in an average month.
You say you're interested in STEM. Ok, here are two books IMMENSLY popular with the nerd-crowd:
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Dune
Please, don't say or think "But, I've already seen those movies..."
No movie has ever been as detailed in conveying a story as the book.
And if robots & robotics are seriously among your interests, Asimov is pretty much required reading.
I, Robot
Not in base 11. Anyway, here, read this and you'll be all better dear.
Absolute favorite book is A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller Jr. It's everything I love about sci-fi. Book series that I grew up with and still love are Dangerous Angels by Francesca Lia Block, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, and The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis.
Thanks for doing this! Pretty sure I haven't been gifted. If I'm wrong, somebody correct me.
Here's my link: http://www.amazon.com/The-Ultimate-Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy/dp/0345453743/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&amp;colid=3BV6ORTEG1H7I&amp;coliid=I2VKFBD1WLM9QG
Used is fine, so it should be under the $10 limit, Sexy Rexy. Just make sure you unleash the dragon.
Edit: woops, forgot my intro, here it is:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon/comments/1jbcw4/intro_and_gifted_hello_there/
Oh crud I've been wanting to read this. I's the end of the month though and my library does a used book sale on the last week, maybe I will get lucky and find it, but just in caAaaaASsseeEee. (I also have Nook which I think lets you lend a book for a week if anyone wants to share with me lol!)
How about the alien from most of the book's covers? This guy. Might be good for the top bar as well.
The Tao Speaks?
is minimalism something you are trying to achieve? if so, why?
do you think minimalism will make you happy? i think it will make you less distracted, but probably has nothing to do with happiness.
rather than achieving minimalism, as if it is a race, perhaps try instead to understand your motivations - and yourself.
forget about learning from web pages. you want to be or become minimal, let me suggest a few printed books. don't get an ebook. get paper. hold it in your hands, with no tv on, no cell phone on, no radio. start with an authentic, non-digital experience. i suggest a few books:
"The Tao Speaks" by Tsai Chi Chung
"Zhuangzi Speaks" also by Tsai Chi Chung
And "The Tao of Pooh" by Benjamin Hoff
Those books are a good start. I gave them to my mom about 10-15 years ago when she was going through a patch, and she told me after she read them, they made her feel peaceful.
they are just the tip of the iceberg in the topic of daoism, which is largely similar, but not identical, to minimalism. once you understand, there will be no need to explain. and it won't matter since the dao cannot be explained. yet, the thing which minimalism tries to achieve, is in the dao.
I highly recommend https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Speaks-Lao-Tzus-Whispers-Wisdom/dp/0385472595 It reads like a comic book with great illustrations. It follows the TTC chapter by chapter.
Grunts! by Mary Gentle is a fantasy comedy about Orcs who find a cache of modern military weaponry.
Slightly different genre, but you may appreciated Grunts. [Spoilers](#s "A bunch of Orcs with an anti-gravity attack elephant and and a pegasus formation with wing mounted rocket launchers").
scotch tape...
or to badly paraphrase Mary Gentle's novel 'Grunts'
'pass me another Ewok, this ones split...'
Grunts is a kind of special forces fantasy novel. A bunch of orcs get their hands on American combat gear in advance of the final battle between good and evil. Things do not quite work out as planned. :)
http://www.amazon.com/Grunts-Mary-Gentle/dp/0451454537
It's like two bucks on Kindle.
It sounds kind of fun. Czech it out.
Not if there's already a book about it.
Now that is a wonderful idea!
Dirk Gently IRL.
Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:
Amazon Smile Link: Dirk Gently
|Country|Link|Charity Links|
|:-----------|:------------|:------------|
|USA|smile.amazon.com|EFF|
|UK|www.amazon.co.uk|Macmillan|
|Spain|www.amazon.es||
|France|www.amazon.fr||
|Germany|www.amazon.de||
|Japan|www.amazon.co.jp||
|Canada|www.amazon.ca||
|Italy|www.amazon.it||
|India|www.amazon.in||
|China|www.amazon.cn||
To help add charity links, please have a look at this thread.
This bot is currently in testing so let me know what you think by voting (or commenting). The thread for feature requests can be found here.
You weren't wrong to think that - I think this is the only time I've ever heard someone use it in its not-bullshit sense, outside of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (sort of).
About spoilers: please tag spoilers, especially significant ones. This includes spoilers associated with any source material for series that have been adapted from another work, as well as related series. (In the case of this Weekly Watch, that includes the Douglas Adams novel of the same title.) See the "On spoilers" section of the sidebar for details about how to use spoiler tags in this subreddit.
---
Ordinarily, I'd conclude with something like
but that's a bit unseemly. First, it would be insufferably self-congratulatory. And more to the point, this week's nomination was unopposed. Who am I, Homer Simpson?
Here ya go http://www.amazon.com/Dirk-Gentlys-Holistic-Detective-Agency/dp/0671746723
Crazy stuff man, crazy stuff http://www.amazon.com/The-Haunted-Vagina-Carlton-Mellick/dp/097624988X
The Haunted Vagina
It's difficult to love a woman whose vagina is a gateway to the world of the dead...
Steve is madly in love with his eccentric girlfriend, Stacy. Unfortunately, their sex life has been suffering as of late, because Steve is worried about the odd noises that have been coming from Stacy's pubic region. She says that her vagina is haunted. She doesn't think it's that big of a deal. Steve, on the other hand, completely disagrees.
When a living corpse climbs out of her during an awkward night of sex, Stacy learns that her vagina is actually a doorway to another world. She persuades Steve to climb inside of her to explore this strange new place. But once inside, Steve finds it difficult to return... especially once he meets an oddly attractive woman named Fig, who lives within the lonely haunted world between Stacy's legs.
Snapshots:
^(I am a bot.) ^([Info](/r/SnapshillBot) ^/ ^[Contact](/message/compose?to=\/r\/SnapshillBot))
Like this?
http://www.amazon.com/The-Haunted-Vagina-Carlton-Mellick/dp/097624988X
http://www.amazon.com/The-Haunted-Vagina-Carlton-Mellick/dp/097624988X
My first thought was The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers. It's silly and strange and awesome fantasty stuffs, but nothing that's going to make you really delve into deep thought. I definitely enjoyed it, anyway. Hope this helps!
The Zamonia Books by Walter Moers. Seriously.
Start with either
Rumo,
City of Dreaming Books
or
Captain Bluebear
Don't let the cover illustrations fool you: these are seriously entertaining, thrilling, funny and sometimes brutal reads (check the commentaries on amazon).
13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear. Pretty funny book and it has pictures.
I was always a big reader, but Madelein L'Engle started me on my passion of reading with A Wrinkle In Time and A Wind In The Door
As a grown-up, I can enjoy books for children with a better eye.... If you ever find a copy of Walter Moers' The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear pick it up and devour it! It is endlessly entertaining, and endearingly sweet. Good as a fantastical children's book, but adults will enjoy the quick wit and humor. I've given away three copies as gifts!
The Zamonia-Novels by Walter Moers:
1
2
3
4
They are funny, gruesome, surreal and simply brilliant. Look at the reviews on amazon. Especially Rumo and The City of the Dreaming Books were unputdownable.
Although it clocks in at a little over 700 pages, the 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear seems to go by too fast.
The Thirteen and a Half Lives of Captain Bluebear, by Walter Moers.
I was 14, and fairly depressed (laugh all you want, but it was horrible) with little to do. Some family friends (honorary aunt and uncle) gave it to me to read, and it was wonderful. I laughed, I cried, but most of all, I realized that I did not have to become a boring old person living a boring life and doing boring things with my years. It sounds cliché, and painfully so, but I began to realize if I rolled with the punches and took chances, things, I might have some interesting stories to tell.
I can't describe the book - it has hints of The Hobbit told with a reflective, knowledgeable voice. I've often considered re-reading it, but it's one of those books you can only read once.
Shame on you! How could you mention BBC Radio comedy and fail to mention the original Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?
You are NOT a hoopy frood, and have no clue where your towel is, sir.
This is the one I listened to :D
https://www.amazon.com/Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy-Primary-Original/dp/160283511X
The original
Audio Books:
Steve Martin has written some poignant stories and he narrates them himself which is quite soothing.
Podcasts
Radio Series
http://www.amazon.com/Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy-Primary-Original/dp/160283511X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1304184101&amp;sr=8-1
Ugh. It frustrates me when people tell others to read the book, when it was written to be a radio play. The books came later.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy-Original/dp/160283511X
Oh, and Hitchhikers guide. https://www.amazon.com/Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy-Primary-Original/dp/160283511X
Pity she didn't have a Kindle instead.. very easy to gift books to people via that just have to send it to their email and it will appear in there library ready to sync to the device.
Perhaps consider getting her the radio series
on iTunesSadly it is only on Amazon.Oh well I am fresh out of idea save setting up an iTunes server on a NAS for her.
If you'd like some variety of medium or want the pick-me-up in a situation where reading a physical book isn't so easy, try listening to the original BBC radio series (first broadcast 1978, available on CD, Audible or YouTube). The radio series existed before the books, and the full-cast dramatisation is a pillar of radio comedy and drama.
The Primary and Secondary phases (first and second series, six episodes each) are from the 70s, the third through fifth were adapted from the later books in the early 2000s with the surviving cast.
Opening a permanent portal to an alternate dimension that resembles the past of our own dimension isn't really opening a portal to the past. It is opening a portal to a different dimension that resembles, but is not, our own.
This resembles "Off to be the Wizard" by Scott Mayer.
So it doesn't really affect our past. What the time travelers find is that whatever they do in the past, it has no affect on the future, since the past and the future are different dimensions.
https://www.amazon.com/Off-Be-Wizard-Magic-2-0/dp/1612184715
Martin Banks is just a normal guy who has made an abnormal discovery: he can manipulate reality, thanks to reality being nothing more than a computer program. With every use of this ability, though, Martin finds his little “tweaks” have not escaped notice. Rather than face prosecution, he decides instead to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and pose as a wizard.
What could possibly go wrong?
An American hacker in King Arthur’s court, Martin must now train to become a full-fledged master of his powers, discover the truth behind the ancient wizard Merlin…and not, y’know, die or anything.
I'd like to see the Magic 2.0 series from Scott Meyer or Spellsinger from Alan Dean Foster, but the latter would take a ton of CGI. I've always thought Thieves World would make an interesting translation to TV, a shared world, but each director gets to do their episode from a different viewpoint.
One book that i didnt see mentioned in a casual skim of the posts is Off to be the Wizard
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Off-Be-Wizard-Magic-2-0/dp/1612184715
A very silly series where a modern day guy ends up in an alternate dimension where he can do magic/control the world via programming. Super light reads, fun and funny, and pulls in your computer interest. If you enjoy the first one, you can pick up the others.
If you want something a bit meatier, check out some Douglas Hofstadter.
Le Ton Beau de Marot (it's in English) is about the process and problems of translating languages, and makes surprisingly good bathroom reading because the chapters are short. He starts the scope small, talking about whether to focus on literal meaning or the spirit of the words, and then brings in more concepts like artificial constraints (poetry, or even writing without certain letters, for one example). It is philosophical, informative, and amusing. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B012HVQ1R0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_L2sgAbDYFK1XK
He also wrote Godel Escher Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0465026567/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_b3sgAbQ79TTGS better writers than I have written reviews (this one is from Amazon)
>Twenty years after it topped the bestseller charts, Douglas R Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid is still something of a marvel. Besides being a profound and entertaining meditation on human thought and creativity, this book looks at the surprising points of contact between the music of Bach, the artwork of Escher, and the mathematics of Gödel. It also looks at the prospects for computers and artificial intelligence (AI) for mimicking human thought. For the general reader and the computer techie alike, this book still sets a standard for thinking about the future of computers and their relation to the way we think.
The Magic 2.0 series is definitely in the YA heap, but I thought all of the books were pretty entertaining. First is the best - "Off to Be the Wizard" - and it's on kindle unlimited.
I like the Kindle in Motion version of Off to be the Wizard
Here is the link to the kindle version - https://www.amazon.com/Magic-2-0-3-Book-Series/dp/B00TP1RYO0/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1487251391&amp;sr=1-5&amp;keywords=magic+2.0
Here is the link to the first book in physical form - https://www.amazon.com/Off-Be-Wizard-Magic-2-0/dp/1612184715/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1487251391&amp;sr=1-3&amp;keywords=magic+2.0
No, I'm talking about this one.
>Martin Banks is just a normal guy who has made an abnormal discovery: he can manipulate reality, thanks to reality being nothing more than a computer program. With every use of this ability, though, Martin finds his little “tweaks” have not escaped notice. Rather than face prosecution, he decides instead to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and pose as a wizard. What could possibly go wrong? An American hacker in King Arthur’s court, Martin must now train to become a full-fledged master of his powers, discover the truth behind the ancient wizard Merlin…and not, y’know, die or anything.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Off-Be-Wizard-Magic-2-0/dp/1612184715
I really enjoyed it - I wont spoil it
Off to be the Wizard & Magic 2.0 series might fit the bill for you. It'll be a little different take on medieval wizardry, but it is a real entertaining read.
This looks exactly like something out of the Magic 2.0 series by Scott Meyer.
I have to agree with The End of All Things by Scalzi. Surprisingly good series.
Also, don't judge me, but I have one that is a bit more in the Fantasy side of things. It's admittedly a guilty pleasure, but I'm really excited for An Unwelcome Quest by Scott Meyer. It's the 3rd book in the "Magic 2.0" series that begins with Off to be the Wizard
Did you find "the" database?
http://www.amazon.com/Off-Be-Wizard-Magic-2-0/dp/1612184715
Or just the plot of a novel...
Have you ever read Off to Be the Wizard? Magic and programming is awesome! haha
Reminds me of "Off To Be The Wizard"
https://www.amazon.com/Off-Be-Wizard-Magic-2-0/dp/1612184715
I highly recommend Off to be the Wizard, about a kid who basically discovers life is a computer simulation, and goes back to medieval times to try and pass himself off as a wizard. Much better than it sounds.
I am still trying to wrap my brain around the ending. the significance etc... The writing was always good. The further you read and the older the main character gets the cleaning and easier it is to interpret. Chapter 7 where Eiji gets a job in the pizza shoppe and Yakuza's interaction with him are a bit over the top. If you think about it. Why would they spend that much time and energy bothering him and trying to make him pay his debts.
Eiji's relationship with Ai is sweet and they should of let that develop more. My faveroite character is Buntaro his landlord. But he plays such a minor role. On my goodreads I gave it 4 stars.
My next book "Off to be the Wizard" is totally random amazon buy. Hopefully it is good
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1612184715/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1
Help! A Bear is Eating Me! by Mykle Hansen.
Relevant
Relevant
"Help! A Bear is Eating Me!" was a pretty good book.
Help! A bear is eating me!
It's short, cheap, has a few spelling errors, but man is it funny.
Possibly the Sandman Slim novels, kind of a noir LA gumshoe that escaped from Hell, also authors like Charles De Lint or Joe Hill would be worth checking out.
*edit accidentaly posted Help a Bear is Eating Me in this thread instead of another, hahaha
Relevant book:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1933929693
Kind of like this book.
Shatnerquake.
Not even kidding.
Sounds kind of like a reverse Shatnerquake.
vaguely related
Sex sells. You know? The books feel like some cross between a Troma film fan fiction.
In fact, Bizarro Central describes Bizarro as:
Other great Bizarro authors include Jeff Burk, Mykle Hansen, and Cameron Pierce.
It's really fun stuff, in the way that art house films and dropping acid are really fun stuff.
It reminds me of a Jeff Burk novel called "Shatnerquake", where all the characters played by William Shatner are out to get the real William Shatner.
Link
This has sorta kinda been done, only with characters and not with actors.
Hi! this is a great contest thanks for holding it.
my name is kurt and my favorite book is The [Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy] (http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy-ebook/dp/B0043M4ZH0/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_kin?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1370560569&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=the+hitchhiker%27s+guide+to+the+galaxy) it hilarious and confusing and i love it. its been forever since i read it but id love to again. id love the kindle since Ive always wanted one and every book i want i can find the e-book form but not an actual copy
Ask and ye shall reveice ;)
http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy-ebook/dp/B0043M4ZH0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1331579832&amp;sr=8-2
YAY! I love being an aunt! Congratulations to you and your family.
I ain't birthed no babies! But I do have stretch marks that need to be gone before my tropical vacation, and that would make me super happy. :D
Happy Birfday! I would certainly have to recommend A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy! The series is super awesome. :)
Have fun at school!
Try Chuck Palahniuk's Invisible Monsters, Survivor or Lullaby. They aren't super long and are gory enough to keep most people grotesquely attentive. If you don't read much they might help you get back into it. Palahniuk has really gone downhill in his recent books (haven't read the newest one because the last few were so bad) but his old stuff is phenominal.
I agree that the Harry Potter books are good but they don't really capture you until the third book. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series is a good choice- you can usually get all the books in one bound edition for cheap at Barnes and Noble or amazon.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Haunted-Vagina-Carlton-Mellick-III/dp/097624988X
Check out Drew Hayes' The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant ant its sequels.
Four random books from my nearest shelf: Underground Bases and Tunnels, Man's Search for Meaning, The Millennium Whole Earth Catalog, Amberville.
Can't say I have read the five books you listed, but based on what I've heard about them... Amberville would probably be something you'd enjoy. :)
Edit: Have to throw this in: The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. ;)
Edit: /r/taoism hates Tao of Pooh, who knew?
If you are a westerner, do it like how many of us did and read "Tao of Pooh."
It's not the ancient text, it's not anything but one man's take on Taoism through a certain lens.
As far as introductions are concerned, it's the most accessible.
Then go find your favorite translation of the tao teh ching.
Also, this book is cool.
https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Speaks-Lao-Tzus-Whispers-Wisdom/dp/0385472595