Best self-help & psychology humor books according to redditors
We found 645 Reddit comments discussing the best self-help & psychology humor books. We ranked the 221 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 645 Reddit comments discussing the best self-help & psychology humor books. We ranked the 221 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Here are my personal favorite head-fucks, each one of them did something strange to my whole world when I read them:
But yeah, by far my favorite is the one at the top of the list, The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. There's just so goddamn much going on in that book, it's one helluva wonderful ride.
You need to read this.
Illuminatus!
You might be interested in this book if you haven't seen it already. I read it for my sociology of gender class in undergrad and (think that I) remember the author talking about how she tried to raise her daughter outside of the "pink everything" and how quickly her daughter started wanting pink everything anyways.
I recommend every one who is interested in writing Star Wars fanfic to read Orson Scott Card's How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/dp/158297103X
The following are some of my favorite books that I could think of off the top of my head. Hopefully you dig the list.
> Should I leave my current city out of respect for the people I've hurt? Is it okay if I try to stick around and improve myself
Only consider leaving if it's what you really want or for better opportunities. But don't leave to run away from your problems. Make sure you're doing this for the right reasons. Moving to a new place can be a great, cathartic experience.
I've been down this road of self loathing and self hate before. You've recognized your damaging, self destructive behavior. That's the first step. Forget your ex, but don't forget the lesson. Burn her number, email, etc. Burn all pictures. Delete any link to her on your phone. Delete your facebook, and all social media. Unplug. Re-connect with the real world. Exercise. Hit the gym, focus on 5x5's, now is time for you to heal.....you need to work on you. Your mind and your body. Forget all that shit in the past. Read more books. Read this, then this and then this. These books are warnings and advice all young men should get in their teens but don't. We all make these damn same mistakes, sometimes over and over again, we don't learn for some reason. You need to face your past, own it, learn from it - and move on. Why must all men be trapped like Jay Gatsby? Fight it. Good luck brother.
Only after disaster can we be resurrected. It's only after you've lost everything that you're free to do anything. Nothing is static, everything is evolving, everything is falling apart. - Tyler Durden, Fight Club
Fight Club. Human fat based soap. His name was Robert Paulson. Need I say more?
The movie is also great.
Some of those themes are examined in the book The Magicians.
I would describe it as if Hogwarts sent you your acceptance letter after high school instead of when you're 11. It is a fantastic book that was introduced to me as Harry Potter grown up.
I recommend every one who is interested in writing Star Wars fanfic to read Orson Scott Card's How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/dp/158297103X
The Dick Show.
Even though it's not as good as it used to be, and is going somewhat down the hole of shitty internet drama, it is still one of my favourite things on the internet.
ELEVATOR PITCH FOR TDS because I realize that just saying "go watch this" without watching the three years of backstory might not make sense.
The Dick Show is the podcast of internet comedian Dick Masterson, whose original claim to fame was LARPing the world's most misogynistic man and getting on Dr Phil to promote his comedy book, Men Are Better Than Women
Fast forward a few years, he is friends with internet comedy legend Maddox, and they start a podcast, The Biggest Problem In The Universe. This podcast is also very good, worth listening to. The premise of the show is that each of them would bring in a problem, argue for why it's the biggest problem in the universe, and then present these problems to the listeners to vote on. But the actual charm was that it was basically the virgin maddox vs the chad dick.
A year and change into the show, Dick meets one of Maddox's old ex girlfriends at a wedding, and hooks up with her. Maddox took this poorly, and when he eventually found out that they had in fact hooked up, he abruptly ended the show.
People were really bummed about it, because they love Dick, so he started a new podcast, The Dick Show. At first people kept asking him, why'd TBPITU end. And he said "creative differences" and left it at that. But, a few months in, the lolsuit saga begun.
Maddox posted a video about why the biggest problem ended (I can't find it offhand). In this video, he accused Dick of being a "Rape apologist", intentionally misinterpreting some comments to support this accusation. This resulted in Dick getting kicked out of UCB, which he had been a regular at for a while, it resulted in almost all of his friends cutting contact with him, and it resulted in a bunch of them trying to sabotage and blackball him.
So he came out and told his side of the story. Which was, basically, a) Maddox is an autistic asshole and here's my laundry list of five thousand things he did; and b) I slept with his ex and it made him mad
This eventually escalated into an internet feud that reached its apex when Maddox sued Dick, Asterios (a mutual friend of theirs), and a handful of other people to the tune of $380,000,000, for making fun of him on the internet. This spawned a million memes and served as a never ending source of content for the show as Dick would talk about what was going on.
Incidentally, the judge threw the case out within 10 minutes of hearing it, and was so mad at how ridiculous it was that he threatened to arrest maddox's lawyer on the spot for contempt. I think the exact phrase was "I'll have you taken out of here in chains"
Since then, Dick's been doing his show, which is really just his show, there's no other way to describe it. He's hobnobbed a bunch with youtube edgelords like ethan ralph, andrew warski, and the like. He flirts with things that people would accuse of being alt-right, and occasionally gets accused of it himself, but he's pretty good about walking the line carefully enough that he never draws any serious flak.
Overall, he's pretty funny
I have suspected that for a long time, or the more nefarious option: it's some other group that's trying to radicalize young men to do things like that Austin Bomber.
Seriously kids, watch out. You're being set up and played. Read a few books. If you really want to know what's going on in the world, try this one.
Edit: Stop going on somebody else's trip and go on your own.
Ironically, Fight Club is a book.
The Illuminatus Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson
So You're Going To Be a Dad https://www.amazon.com/dp/1555612415/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_R7J9AbKG9N6WV
I actually enjoyed reading this one
Peter F. Hamilton's Night's Dawn Trilogy is a must read. Also, try The Illuminatus Trilogy not sure if it's considered SciFi, but it's a good read once you get into it.
this book will blow your mind
The Magicians by Lev Grossman has been fairly popular on this sub.
Your girlfriend might also be surprised to learn that The Giver is actually part of a four-part series. :)
Maybe he was exiled there, like the guy in The Magicians.
I am currently reading the book: Cinderella Ate My Daughter. Very good read that talks about this subject. I'd recommend it.
http://www.amazon.com/Cinderella-Ate-Daughter-Dispatches-Girlie-Girl/dp/0061711535
I'm not huge on posting to Reddit, but I might be able to help elaborate on Palahniuk's thoughts on Fight Club. For reference, I own this version of the book: http://www.amazon.com/Fight-Club-Novel-Chuck-Palahniuk/dp/0393327345/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1393912583&sr=8-2&keywords=Fight+Club .
Palahniuk states on page 213 (the afterword):
>It [the book Fight Club] was just an experiment to kill a slow afternoon at work. Instead of walking a character from scene to scene in a story, there had to be some way to just--cut, cut, cut. To jump. From scene to scene. Without losing the reader. To show every aspect of a story, but only the kernel of each aspect. The core moment. Then, another.
>There had to be some kind of chorus. Something bland that wouldn't hold the reader's attention, but would act to signal a jump to a new angle or aspect of the story. A bland kind of buffer that would be the touchstone or landmark a reader would need not to feel lost. A kind of neutral sorbet, like something served between courses in a fancy dinner. A signal, like buffer music in radio broadcasts, to announce the next topic. The next jump.
>A kind of glue or mortar that would hold together a mosaic of different moments and details. Giving them all the continuity and yet showcasing each moment by not ramming it up against the next moment.
>Think of the movie Citizen Kane, and how the faceless, nameless newsreel reporters create the framework for telling the story from a lot of different sources.
>That's what I wanted to do. That one, boring afternoon at work.
>So for that chorus--that "transitional device"--I wrote eight rules. The whole idea of fight club wasn't important [my emphasis]. It was arbitrary. But the eight rules had to apply to something so why not a club where you could ask someone to fight? The way you'd ask for a dance at a disco. Or challenge someone to a game of pool or darts. The fighting wasn't the important part of the story. What I needed were the rules. Those bland landmarks that would allow me to describe this club from the past, the present, up close or far away, the beginning and evolution, to cram together a lot of details and moments--all within seven pages--and NOT lose the reader.
Take from that as you will. However, I don't really think that Palahniuk's initial motivation for Fight Club was to create a satire. Instead, I believe that he wanted to create a unique story, with a unique style and feel to it.
Edit: Missed a "not" and replaced "lost" with "lose" at the end. Also, I'd recommend anyone who enjoys Fight Club to grab the book, and also read the entire afterword. It's very interesting!
Edit: Another mistake correction: "withing" to "within".
Edit: Hopefully by using the quote formatting, I've made quote easier to read. Just to clarify, all of the italicized text is Palahniuk's emphasis not mine.
Now read The Magicians by Lev Grossman, if you haven't already.
It's a lot more interesting if the reference material is fresh in your head.
People who haven't bought Men Are Better Than Women in hard copy already.
Currently F*ck Whales is sitting at ~33,000 ranked, MABTW at ~40,000 ranked, allegedly a difference of about twenty monthly sales. It would be hysterical is Fasterix got beat by a decade old book.
Great answers so far! I should add another couple of suggestions myself: The Athenian Murders, by Jose Carlos Somoza, which is about Platonic ideas and the notion of translation; Sum, by David Eagleman, which is a set of vignettes about possible afterlives; works by Irish Murdoch (e.g. The Bell and The Black Prince); and works by Rebecca Goldstein (e.g. The Mind-Body Problem).
For anyone who would like to know, the following books I've read are my favorite and I'd really recommend them to anyone: The Martian by Andy Weir, Gerald's Game by Stephen King, The Panther by Nelson DeMille, Unflinching by Jodi Mitic, American Sniper by Chris Kyle, and Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
EDIT: Oh, and Blackwater - The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army by Jeremy Scahill.
EDDIT 2: Oh, and Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card which is so much better than the movie. The movie does not do this novel justice. And Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly.
It's from Fight Club
Ok. You don't really like books. You're a kind man with a nice marriage. You live in a hip part of Philly. You travel a lot.
Here's an opposite book about all those things.
https://www.amazon.com/Post-Office-Novel-Charles-Bukowski/dp/0061177571
> I equate my agnosticism to a monkey (or an ant) trying to understand an atomic bomb.
Fantastic analogy.
> There is only the search for more understanding in the hope that the future will be able to comprehend a little more than we do.
Or, perhaps all answers will be revealed after our death. Or, maybe not, and we won't care about it anymore. Or maybe we'll somehow move to another plane of existence, forgetting all past lives, etc.
I know it's somewhat futile to comprehend, but I sometimes enjoy the mystery. Kind of like what David Eagleman ponders in his book, "Sum"
Eco is one of my favorite fiction and non-fiction writer, but if you enjoy conspiracies, I recommend The Illuminatus! Trilogy.
https://www.amazon.com/Living-Japanese-Diversity-Lifestyles-Conversations/dp/030010958X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1469162331&sr=8-2&keywords=living+japanese
I think that is an amazing recourse. Natural, REAL conversations with people of all ages and topics. Its really good for getting exposure you can learn from easily to native speaking that isn't "dramatized" or too over the top like most anime and Japanese TV acting in general.
LingQ.com (is also a great recourse. and its free if you don't use the in site word marking tools)
https://www.amazon.com/Read-Real-Japanese-Fiction-Contemporary/dp/1568365292/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469162459&sr=8-1&keywords=read+real+japanese
https://www.amazon.com/Read-Real-Japanese-Essays-Contemporary/dp/1568364148/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1469162459&sr=8-2&keywords=read+real+japanese
https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-into-Japanese-Literature-Classics/dp/1568364156/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1469162459&sr=8-3&keywords=read+real+japanese
the last three are good for written japanese, which is more polished and different than real "spoken" japanese (like any language). But they all 3 come with audio, grammar and vocab explanations and are an amazing recourse IMO.
> Since you are learning you may also want to check out Read Real Japanese
Also Exploring Japanese Literature and Breaking Into Japanese Literature
If you're looking for a book that's actually about writing science fiction, Orson Scott Card's is honestly pretty decent: https://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/dp/158297103X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2X9WQG8RJGZU3&keywords=how+to+write+science+fiction+and+fantasy+by+orson+scott+card&qid=1563984476&s=gateway&sprefix=how+to+write+sci%2Caps%2C125&sr=8-1
He's also written a few others on writing in general, the "Elements of Fiction" series.
How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/dp/158297103X
Thanks Jagabond, really appreciate that. I’m relatively new to hosting the show, having taken over in June, around episode 209. Shaun Farrell created the show and deserves all the credit. I was a huge fan and when I saw the distance between episodes spreading out, I offered to help provide interviews. Shortly after he offered me the job. I’ve tried to keep it close to the original feel.
That’s not your question though. As for the most important factor, I guess I’d say that while the industry is shifting, you never know if you’ll be successful until you try, and one of the most favorable factors to this industry is the abundance of resources to help you get started. Finishing a book should be your first goal, because that already puts you into the minority.
When you say “shifting industry” I assume you mean the effect of ebooks on pricing, revenues and whether we should self-publish or traditional publish. The good news—depending on how you look at it—is that none of this matters to someone getting started writing, because all you need to worry about is how to tell a good story, and that advice doesn’t change. Are you referring to getting started writing or getting started selling?
For someone getting started writing, a very important factor to be aware of is that you probably have a story worth telling. Writing resources can show you how to start a story. As much as I try, I’m an organic writer, so I don’t use any systems any more except for a notepad and pen and just start asking myself questions about the characters I want to be in the story, what kind of conflict they’ll encounter, how this conflict will cause them to grow or fail. If it’s science fiction, I start researching main technologies to the plot, far enough to make sure the concept is plausible. If it is Fantasy, I essentially just talk to myself about the magic system, how it started, what powers it has, what limitations (costs) using the magic has, etc.
Here are some resources I’ve enjoyed:
The Craft of Writing Science Fiction That Sells by Ben Bova – I loved how well this taught character arc. (Character arc is the emotional progress/failure that your character goes through from start to finish.) In the brainstorming stage, he says to find a character that has to choose between two emotions, such as love vs. hate. He gives a very helpful list of questions to ask yourself that essentially brainstormed my novel for me.
Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card – great breakdown of the types of story (M.I.C.E.) and I believe has a section on how to ask yourself questions to make the story unique from genre tropes (The One finds The Sword to save The Girl).
How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card is also very helpful. I like how he says that you don’t have a story until you have at least two separate ideas, maybe three, and then you try to combine them.
Lane Diamond offers paid coaching. He’s the head guy at Evolved Publishing, which puts out some very well written books, no doubt a credit to his editing skills. He also edited the first 5k of my novel, so I know from experience he’s good.
Another couple editors I’ve worked with are C.L. Dyck and Joshua Essoe, if you’re at the stage of finding an editor. This could bring up the topic of when to search for beta readers (readers who read your story after you’ve cleaned it up) and when to hire an editor. My novel had such complicated technology weaving through the plot, that I didn’t know how to clean it up enough to give it to beta readers, so that’s why I hired C.L., and she helped me break down how the technology worked and where it didn’t. I suppose a good beta reader could do that, but I’ve not been fortunate enough to find ones that will stick around (i.e. finish reading and give me feedback).
Free resources:
The Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson – I’ve started this, but never finished. I’m just not an outliner. Plot evolves out of each progressing scene as I write them. He has a lot of writing tips on his site beyond just the Snowflake.
StoryFix by Larry Brooks – never used this, but hear great things about it.
And of course, podcasts. I love hearing authors tell us their story of how they got started and found success. Their advice never gets old, and often I hear just what I need. For example, I have an upcoming interview with Ronald Malfi, where he says: "The characters and their problems come first. If you've got really good characters and really good problems with those characters from the get-go then the stories build themselves around them."
Did by “getting started,” you mean being at a point where you have a story ready to sell? I’ll answer that when I get back in a few hours, if that was your question.
Hiya.
Some questions come to mind. Two factions, are they at war? Will your group get caught up in that? If so, why are they fighting? Will your group play an unexpected yet decisive role in the outcome of said war?
How does FTL (Faster Than Light) technology work in your universe? Warp, Hyperspace, Worm Holes, etc? Who owns the USS Funboat VII? Did they steal it, and if so, why wasn't it locked? Is that why they need to escape from the Republic? Will they be chased? Can they expect the Crystal Brotherhood to protect them?
You'll need to ask yourself lots of questions like these and starting getting more specifics figured out so that you can start figuring out your characters and plot.
Sounds like you're wanting to write Space Opera with either aBadass Crew or a Ragtag Bunch of Misfits.
If you want to get started writing Science Fiction I can think of nothing that would be more help than this book by Orson Scott Card, author of Ender's Game. Some people don't like his political and moral views but the man knows about writing. It has been invaluable to me.
Cheers
My wife noticed that Q's cover there is the current cover for Book 1 (US Kindle ed.) and Julia's is like a full saturation version of the cover for Book 2.
Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:
Amazon Smile Link: this book will blow your mind
|Country|Link|
|:-----------|:------------|
|UK|amazon.co.uk|
|Spain|amazon.es|
|France|amazon.fr|
|Germany|amazon.de|
|Japan|amazon.co.jp|
|Canada|amazon.ca|
|Italy|amazon.it|
|China|amazon.cn|
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.
Found it! Looks like a good read :)
http://www.amazon.com/Sum-Forty-Afterlives-David-Eagleman/dp/0307389936
Hello!
So, firstly, I should admit that I'm haven't been published that much - I only have one book out. However, as a college freshman, I believe I'm in a unique position to give you advice. I'd just say to do what feels right, you know? I don't deliberate over my decisions, I merely perform actions after utilizing my brain for a nanosecond, and look where I am! Hell, the only thing I've put a singular iota of effort into is my verbose style of communication, and I don't even have to make an effort anymore!
Actually, you may not have realized this, but your first two questions are inextricably bound! Cannabis is a wonderful tool for the young writer. It can inspire awe, promote brilliance, and just take the edge off when it necessitates removal. I must confess, I only smoke marijuana in cigarette form approximately thrice (hint - thrice:twice::three:two) a week, although I must say my usage spikes whenever I desire to fully utilize my vast writing prowess (I just partook in a joint three sixtieth-hours ago, if you are incapable of ascertaining that information from my gargantuan vocabulary).
Thanks for the questions!
Edit: Although I'd like for future questioners to try harder to stick to the script. As a cinephile, I know a lot about scripts! ;)
Jesus, now I have 40-year-old books in my cart.
You're really fucking up my reading list, Reddit.
For what it's worth, a few Jewish fantasy authors, off the top of my head:
I'm sure there are more but those are the ones I can think of just now.
if you want a book like that, you should read The Magicians the author basically takes an adult look at harry potter and Narnia as worlds and as ideas.
Can't say I've ever been scared by a book, but the most disturbing and compelling thing I've ever read was probably The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks.
In my post about reading strategies I suggested starting with translations of books you are familiar with, particularly those aimed at children and adolescents (primarily for the extensive furigana).
While I agree that good translation requires you to understand all the nuances of the text, translation is a completely different skill from comprehension. I also wonder if too much translation actually hinders the second language acquisition process. Isn't the goal to understand it in the target language, as is, rather than making sure you understand it in a language you already know?
Some suggestions for authors and books:
乙一（おついち）: He writes horror and light novels and was first published at age 16. It's not classic literature my any means but it's easy and most of the stories are short. I particularly liked "Seven Rooms" which was in one of the Zoo collections.
EDIT: Apparently there is a 30min short film adaptation of "Seven Rooms".
奥田英朗（おくたひでお）: His Irabu-sensei series of short stories is fun and fairly accessible. Although they are all connected through the eponymous doctor, the main character(s) of each vignette are different and the language varies accordingly.
夏目漱石（なつめそうせき）: While most of his work is incredibly difficult, 夢十夜 is an excellent collection of short stories made better by the free audio released by the publishers of Breaking into Japanese Literature.
I also studied Japanese in college. I had a lacuna of about 10 years before restarting my Japanese studies. After about two or so years of study, I now have my N1. Here are some things I did:
Start with something basic, then try to work your way up any way you can.
I wouldn't go for something like Murakami to practice translation because, as atgm points out, the translators wouldn't be translating 1:1.
Why not try one of the "Breaking into Japanese Literature" or "Read Real Japanese" books (any kind of reader really)? They usually come with a direct translation and a more artistic translation. The texts are shorter which should keep your interest up for longer but there's still enough stories for you to have enough to do.
There's plenty of others but a few examples would be:
Breaking into Japanese Literature: Seven Modern Classics in Parallel Text
Exploring Japanese Literature: Read Mishima, Tanizaki, and Kawabata in the Original
Read Real Japanese Fiction: Short Stories by Contemporary Writers
Read Real Japanese: All You Need to Enjoy Eight Contemporary Writers
Read Real Japanese Essays: Contemporary Writings by Popular Authors
I think all of those had the "look inside" enabled so you can decide which style of translation you prefer.
If translation is something that interests you, I recommend heading over to /r/translationstudies to get a few tips on good books on translation studies.
Robert Anton Wilson's Illuminatus! trilogy.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000SEFDP0/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Edit: Illuminatus! is a work of fiction but the work is a tapestry of actual conspiracy theories. It's also thoroughly dated.
Disclaimers:
With all that said:
Post Office
by Charles Bukowski
I have the same fear. I don't really have any advice or anything to offer other than that you are her strongest female role model. I was gifted a really great book about the princess phenomenon by my MIL though (she's a pretty hard core feminist) it's called Cinderella Ate My Daughter . It's really entertaining and full of all sorts of useless trivia (like the pink was originally considered a boy's color because it was a washed out red, like blood, and blue was worn by girls because it was more peaceful, etc.)
I've tried to fight Disney (and Barbie) and sometimes its just not worth the fight. I have two daughters, and all of their friends have those things, and so denying those things make them even more desirable - so I try to keep it to a minimum and instead try to engage my kids with other toys and games when I'm playing with them.
Here's a great book on the topic, btw. Cinderella Ate My Daughter.
You might also be interested in the book
I'm still planning on reading this: http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Jokes-Using-Humor-Reverse-Engineer/dp/026201582X
You might be interested in a book that Dan Dennett just co-wrote with a couple other people on humor. I have not read it, and, given the origins, it will be very cog sci-y and less "traditional" philosophy, which will probably make most people think it is more difficult. It also is more about what makes something funny than anything else.
Speaking of Dennet, I think his (and Hurley's and Adams's) theory of humor is promising. That book also introduced me to the concept of "epistemic emotions," which seems ready-made for Rationalists to adopt. (The citation was to Alison Gopnik's Explanation as Orgasm, which is pretty on-the-nose for people who talk about "insight porn.")
Inside Jokes by Daniel Dennett, Matthew M. Hurley, and Reginald B. Adams
Also, from a research standpoint, do some googling on "Benign Violation Theory" and see where the rabbit hole takes you
There's a whole book full of this stuff. You should give it a read ;)
That is NOT my experience in shopping for ebooks.
Chosen at random from my recommendations on amazon.com:
Breathless, same price as paperback
Full Dark, No Stars, Same price as paperback
Daniel X, -$1 from hardcover
The Art of Fielding: A Novel, +$1.88 over paperback
Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever. = to hardcover
The Heroes of Olympus, Book Two: The Son of Neptune, -$1.41 over hardcover
Hell House, -$0.18 over paperback
Fight Club, -$2.57 over paperback
Prices are only slightly lower, if at all over physical books. Obviously this is a small sample, but whenever I go looking it is typically what I find.
Your overhead arguments are mostly false as well:
edit: formatting
Have you read Survivor: A Novel by by Chuck Palahnuick? A lot of people loved it and if you liked American Psycho you'd like this I think. I read it and did not particularly enjoy it but it wasn't really up my ally so don't take my opinion in to account.
Wasn't that the entire premise of a Chuck Palahniuk novel?
edit Indeed, it is his novel Survivor.
Some are true; some are not true.
Trying to figure out which is which is very entertaining.
If you want to really get a handle on conspiracy theories, read this:
The Illuminatus! Trilogy
Kinda hard to read at the beginning, but if you get through a hundred pages you won't put it down.
It was a great book.
Illuminatus!
>Seeing the fnords
http://www.amazon.com/The-Illuminatus-Trilogy-Pyramid-Leviathan/dp/0440539811
Illuminatus! by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson
You must read these two books:
The Illuminatus Trilogy
Foucault's Pendulum.
Both are amazing books near to the topic - the first is a huge spoof that's hilarious and heavily popularized Discordianism (All hail Eris!). The second is a seminal piece of literature by one of the best living authors and everybody should read it...it's about some publishers who put together 'the grand conspiracy' of the Illuminati and suddenly are embroiled in what they created.
I wish the Illuminati was real...the world would be a heck of a lot cooler place!
ok, but let's say I respect the flying spaggeti monster religion. I am polite to Pastafarians and I leave them wearing their spaggeti drainers on their head. Or, I respect that Erisians partake of a hotdog every Friday.
Suppose, someone starts to harass me about how I am a bad person because I do not eat spaggeti and meatballs all the time. Or that I am a bad person because I believe what is written and Fernando Po is really Not Really[tm] the Greatest Conspiracy on Earth(c).
And they do it in Public. All the time. Especially when I am in proximity to Lebanese women.
What then?
----
Insert Mandatory Dawkins quote about Religion.
Bicycle/Tricycle, Hodge/Pogde, All Hail Discord, Five Tons of Flax
You have not read the Illuminatus Trilogy and Principia Discordia and that is why you do not understand. Sinner.
It's not for everyone, but the Illuminatus! Trilogy certainly meets those criteria.
The Magicians - Lev Grossman. It's a polarizing book for fantasy fans I suppose. I thought it was bloody brilliant.
The Magicians
There's a sequel too, called the Magician King.
I would recommend giving the Magicians series by Lev Grossman a read. It is a pretty cool and dark take on a wizarding ivy league-esq college in upstate New York.
The magicians by Lev Grossman springs to mind.
A little off-topic to this conversation but there is a book called 'The Magicians' and it has to do with a college of Magic. It's more adult than Harry Potter but it's interesting. Link!
Back to the topic. Love the thoughts that went into this. I've thought of what the american version of the Harry Potter wizarding world would be like but I've never gone into so much detail. Great work! :)
The Magicians, by Lev Grossman. Imagine Harry Potter at College, but quite dark and bleak (like ASoIaF). I think you'll love it.
Try http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartimaeus_Trilogy and http://www.amazon.com/Magicians-Novel-Lev-Grossman/dp/0670020559 (though prepare to be annoyed at the main character).
Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
COWS by Mathew Stokoe amazon
Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk amazon
The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks amazon
Contingency Cannibalism: Superhardcore Survivalism's Dirty Little Secret by Shiguru Takada amazon
Apocalypse Culture by Adam Parfrey amazon
Eat Thy Neighbor by Daniel Diehl and Mark P. Donnelly amazon
We So Seldom Look On Love by Barbara Gowdy amazon
Those are just a few of my favorites.. by far COWS is the worst on the list.. You feel like you need a shower after finishing it, but at the same time if you're as into morbid stuff as I am, it's oddly cathartic in that you'll feel no need to scour the depths of the interwebs for nastiness for days (maybe weeks) afterwards..
Another demonstration of this
Men Are Better than Women.
I own a few beginner books like this. If you like folk tales, this is exactly what you're asking for: Treasury of Japanese Folk Tales - the stories are in English on the first half of the page, and on the bottom half in mostly kana with furigana over any kanji. It's a nice hardcover book with color illustrations on each page, so I think it's worth the price.
Clay and Yumi Boutwell have written Japanese readers that are very similar- furigana and kana text with definitions for each kanji/vocabulary on the bottom half of the page, followed by a full English summary afterwards. I own Hikoichi, Momotaro, and Inch High Samurai. I think the Boutwells' readers are good learning material but way overpriced considering how small each reader is. Since the Treasury of Japanese Folk Tales also contains many of the stories covered by each of the Boutwells' readers, it's a better bang for the buck (though missing the 1-1 definitions for each kanji/vocabulary).
I also own the red Giles Murray Breaking into Japanese Literature, but it's a bit above my current skill level since many of the kanji don't have furigana.
I have also looked into Kodansha's bilingual series, but since it's aimed at Japanese readers trying to learn English- manga have speech bubbles in English with no furigana kanji on the sides, but regular Japanese manga + English translated counterpart is more helpful since regular Japanese manga aimed for children have furigana.
There's three great books out there that I can think of off the top of my head.
[Read Real Japanese: Short Stories by Contemporary Writers] (http://www.amazon.co.jp/Read-Real-Japanese-Fiction-Contemporary/dp/1568365292)
and
[Read Real Japanese Essays: Contemporary Writings by Popular Authors] (http://www.amazon.co.jp/Read-Real-Japanese-Essays-Contemporary/dp/1568364148)
and
[Breaking into Japanese literature: Seven Modern Classics in Parallel Text] (http://www.amazon.co.jp/Breaking-into-Japanese-Literature-Classics/dp/1568364156)
PS: if you are "fresh out of Genki 2" level, I'd say these books may be fairly advanced for you, but to each their own. Some people don't mind. There are english translations after all.
A hint from Orson Scott Card on language, from his book "How to write science fiction and fantasy":
> If "megusabala" means "bread", type "bread"!
He goes on ranting about amateurs who create so many words because they think it's cool. He has a whole chapter on language, you should read it.
Anyway, one thing is to take language origins into account, another thing it's to use a language so foreign that it alienates your readers.
From my personal viewpoint, if you use a known language, you'll end up using the same words. For example, IIRC, Canaan means "home"; the Egyptian word for Nile is Iteru, which means "River". So there you have it, a country whose name is called " home", and another whose river is called "river". Bahamas comes from "The low seas". Geographic names are stupidly simple, but you get my point.
If you need to create a new language for every culture in your world, you'll end up requiring the reader to use a goddamn dictionary!
Spare the reader from the gory etymological details, and use invented words sparingly.
Three things:
of course this is assuming from your use of the word creatively you are looking to do genre fiction. There is two pieces advice that all three sources will repeat endlessly
Edit: Also see if your favorite author keeps a blog, as they will usually give writing advice in those as well. I know Card, Rothfus, Sanderson, and Wells all do.
I found Orson Scott Card's book on writing science fiction and fantasy to be illuminating.
http://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/dp/158297103X
He has a chapter on world building and devotes a chapters to key aspects of writing within an established world. It's a quick read.
Orson Scott Card's book How to write Science Fiction & Fantasy is a great reference.
In terms of fantasy books, some of my favorites include:
You should try something less confusing.
I'm a pretty big Vinge fan. Rainbows End and A Deepness in the Sky are both great. Just finished the first book of the Magicians trilogy and was not a fan of it at all.
Post Office by Bukowski is a great choice. Short, raunchy, deep, weird and engaging. You'll wanna read it multiple times.
Read contemporary fiction imo. Knowing only the classics will get you only so far:
https://www.amazon.com/Post-Office-Novel-Charles-Bukowski/dp/0061177571/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535917754&sr=8-1&keywords=the+post+office+bukowski
https://www.amazon.com/We-Run-Bad-John-Curry-ebook/dp/B07DDL22LZ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535913480&sr=8-1&keywords=we+run+bad
https://www.amazon.com/Chump-Change-Novel-Dan-Fante/dp/0061779245/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1535916000&sr=1-1&keywords=chump+change+fante
https://www.amazon.com/Fans-Notes-Frederick-Exley/dp/0679720766
https://www.amazon.com/Confederacy-Dunces-John-Kennedy-Toole/dp/0802130208/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535934892&sr=8-1&keywords=confederacy+of+dunces
​
​
​
​
Read this and it will prepare you
https://www.amazon.com/Post-Office-Novel-Charles-Bukowski/dp/0061177571/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525989192&sr=8-1&keywords=post+office+bukowski
Frankly, no one knows what really defines 'funny' and why such a concept exists. There is little more than speculation having to do with defying expectations, as mentioned. But why this is pleasurable is very mysterious.
Here is a fairly new book on the topic
I recommend the book Inside Jokes by Matt Hurley on this very concept.
Nice lecture here by Dennett who cowrote the book on the issue.
The other lecture on youtube is not complete
Thanks! Added to my reading list:
http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Jokes-Using-Humor-Reverse-Engineer/dp/026201582X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332584216&sr=8-1
I like Possibilianism.
Here's David Eagleman, a neuro scientist and an authentic genius of our times introducing the concept of Possibilianism: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS0b4QCpFGc .
Highly recommended video! Must see for every /r/atheism breed atheist.
Edit: I also highly recommend the book Sum, a collection of short stories by David Eagleman.
1.) Blue: a classic, blue jeans. Need I say more?
2.) Summer: what says summer more than memories of being a kid and making sandcastles? Exactly .
3.) Food related: okay, so this is personal. I am Italian and no one I have ever met has this in their homes. We make our pizzas in normal ovens or just go down the street to one of the many takeaway restaurants. What is a pizza oven and why does anyone need one!
4.) Someone else: I decided to go random wishlist on this and what better way to learn something new about someone that go through their lists?! So I got /u/krispykremedonuts and her wishlists are full of amazing things. And a lot of socks. Someone get this girl some socks! I would get her socks. 😂
5.) Book: you need to read Sum: 40 tales from the afterlives. I recommend this to anyone who would listen. It's 'speculative fiction,' whatever that means, but essentially it's 40 short stories about what may happen after we die. It may sound weird, but seriously, trust me. Read the wiki page of it if you need to be convinced or the Amazon product description. It really makes you think and sticks with you!
6.) Under $1: This was hard! But I found the cutest mini-pens. One dollar, free shipping, AND adorable. BAM!
7.) Dogs: I've been considering getting this fancy brush. It's supposed to be super good for dogs with long hair!
8.) Not useful but awesome: Okay, so I have been obsessed with the idea of being able to print photos from my phone since forever. Useful? Most definitely not, awesome...HECK YES! Check this out!!!
9.) Movie: Life is Beautiful. It's about selfless love. It's beautiful and I can't speak more about it without bursting into tears. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't seen it, WATCH IT. It's incredibly beautiful and moving.
10.) Zombies: You definitely need a machete to defend yourself. This is even sharp on both sides!!!
11.) Needs and current goals: At this moment in my life, any sort of clothing would change my life because there is only so much sewing you can do before your clothes start looking very sad. BUT, since it has to do with current goals, a pair of workout leggings would really help in my workout goals! I've lost 3kg in the past 3 months! It's not a lot, but damn I'm SO happy :D :D :D
12.) Add-On item: Oh, add-ons...groans
13.) Fandom: CAW!
14.) So expensive: $11,703.38 carpet cleaner. I don't even know. But at least it has free shipping!
15.) Sharks: temporary tattoos!
16.) Good smells: I adore the smell of rosemary.
17.) Toy: I absolutely loved my jump rope. I had the red one! I got super good at it and my friends and I would jump rope together around the neighborhood like a bunch of weirdos. Such good memories though :D
18.) Writers: never underestimate the need of coffee in any job you may have.
19.) Current obsession: so it's almost summer and I am obsessing over which ankle bracelet I want. I feel naked without them. It's a problem 😂
20.) Random: this is what I got one of my last contest winners. I saw it on one of their wishlists and couldn't resist!!!
I really enjoyed the book Sum by David Eagleman. It's been praised by both religious and non-religious alike. It's essentially 40 meditations on possibilities of the afterlife.
Sum
I'm sorry for your loss. The book might not help if you're looking for answers, but it's great stuff to think about and an easy read.
Relevant
Mine
Yours
It's the weekend! AND I MISSED YOU. I AM SO HAPPY YOU ARE BACK. This book would be nice! I have really gotten into this Author and would love to read more BY him!
Glamorama, by Bret Easton Ellis. It's a complete mind-fuck. It starts out as a portrait of the shallowness of celebrity culture, and then the protagonist gets involved with a Zoolander-esque group of model-terrorists, and then the book gets really, really weird. (The Zoolander reference probably isn't fair, since Ellis did it first.) Bombings, body doubles, black vans. You start questioning whether the protagonist is just going crazy.
You also might enjoy some Chuck Palahniuk. Fight Club (of course) or Rant.
Oh boy a scavenger hunt
Thank you for the contest
http://www.amazon.com/Survivor-Novel-Chuck-Palahniuk/dp/039333807X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346905591&sr=1-1&keywords=survivor+chuck+palahniuk
I'd add Palahniuk's SURVIVOR too - it's written like a diary, as a man uses the cockpit recorder to explain why he's hijacked a plane and is about to crash it...:
>Tender Branson—last surviving member of the Creedish Death Cult—is dictating his life story into Flight 2039’s recorder. He is all alone in the airplane, which will crash shortly into the vast Australian outback. But before it does, he will unfold the tale of his journey from an obedient Creedish child to an ultra-buffed, steroid- and collagen-packed media messiah. Unpredictable and unforgettable.
(ETA: It's in Italian! )
Oh, and of course DIARY!
>Misty Wilmot has had it. Once a promising young artist, she’s now stuck on an island ruined by tourism, drinking too much and working as a waitress in a hotel. Her husband, a contractor, is in a coma after a suicide attempt, but that doesn’t stop his clients from threatening Misty with lawsuits over a series of vile messages they’ve found on the walls of houses he remodeled.
>Suddenly, though, Misty finds her artistic talent returning as she begins a period of compulsive painting. Inspired but confused by this burst of creativity, she soon finds herself a pawn in a larger conspiracy that threatens to cost hundreds of lives. What unfolds is a dark, hilarious story from America’s most inventive nihilist, and Palahniuk’s most impressive work to date.
It is called the Eye of Providence and has been used/attributed to a group knows as the Illuminati. A behind the scenes group of rulers bent on world domination and the quest for immortality. A good fiction to read is the Illuminatus Trilogy. Hope this helps out a little.
The Illuminatus Trilogy? Or one of its 3 books, The Eye in the Pyramid, the Golden Apple, Leviathan?
http://www.amazon.com/The-Illuminatus-Trilogy-Pyramid-Leviathan/dp/0440539811
Well obviously there's a physical version as well.
can you see the fnords?
American Gods by Neil Gaiman and The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson.
For less messy amazon links you can extract the part after "/dp/" in
https://www.amazon.com/Magicians-Novel-Trilogy/dp/0452296293/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1484216430&sr=8-2&keywords=magicians
and make it:
https://amzn.com/0452296293
BEEP BOP
Plz send any recommendations via PM
The Magicians by Lev Grossman, and the sequel The Magician King.
http://www.amazon.com/Magicians-Novel-Lev-Grossman/dp/0452296293/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324348733&sr=8-1
If you liked The Chronicles of Narnia/Harry Potter/The Lord of the Rings/any Terry Pratchett books/any books regarding other worlds and magical lands/schools, you'll love this book. It takes all of those stories (some, admittedly, written for a younger generation) and pulls them into the real world, the adult world. The Magicians is like Harry Potter/Narnia with drugs, sex, and murder. It's full of gritty realism, but also fantastical magic, and it's amazingly written. :)
I hope you'll enjoy it! ^_^ Also, I'm quite hungry, and my paycheck's account didn't have the funds available to be deposited today, so here's hoping you'll pick me. :)
I always recommend, The Magicians by Lev Grossman. It is my favorite book/trilogy. I loved The War Against the Assholes by Sam Munson, but in a different way. It is always my go to rec for obscure books.
Books not mentioned so far that I like:
Lev Grossman's Magicians Trilogy (not 1st-person, otherwise follows your criteria, Harry Potter-esque, some people dislike the protagonist but he's intentionally kind of a tool), starting with The Magicians.
R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing trilogy (not 1st-person, magic is seriously powerful and the protagonist is an already-accomplished practitioner, mythology is complex, I don't recall it having a huge amount of characters), starting with The Darkness That Comes Before.
If you're willing to step outside of prose works, I like The Books of Magic a lot; it's a comic book miniseries.
who cares, hogwarts is stuffy anyways. it doesnt matter what you do in highschool only what you do in college.
The Magicians
I enjoyed Grossman's The Magicians, though it's not as epic.
...and honestly, this looks kinda idiotic when I spell it out like that... I'm not sure I want that kind of insight into my psyche.:-/
try Less Than Zero and then if you just want a fun book to read with laughs and excitement, give Black Dogs: The Possibly True Story of Rock & Roll's Greatest Robbery a shot.(it's one of my favs, and not just because I'm a Zeppelin fan)
Iain Banks - "The Wasp Factory" eat your heart out!
The Wasp Factory by Ian Banks is just an incredible, incredible book.
Not trying to push anyone's book, but this made me feel a lot more comfortable about the whole deal. It's a nice fun read.
Not like this, no. Still, you can put in the work, build your own, and share it with others if you're feeling generous.
The closest example would be to get some of the Japanese readers out there like "Read Real Japanese", "Breaking Into Japanese Literature", and "Exploring Japanese Literature". These are aimed at people still learning so they're chosen to be notable, but still easy to read. More relevantly they typically have vocabulary at the bottom of each page to help you. Admittedly, there are other features present (full parallel text in English, Japanese audio for each, etc.), but that's why they're specifically sold as teaching tools.
I found this some time ago and it looked like a great idea so I bought it (or actually, I bought this one, not really sure what's different). I haven't actually looked closer at it since I bought it though, so I can't say how good it actually is.
It has short Japanese stories with the Japanese text on the left and English translation on the right, with vocabulary at the bottom. I'm not sure the content is as simple as you want though, it seems like there's only furigana for harder words, but they seem to have translation and reading at the bottom for all words.
Also, I don't think they have translation for the same word more than once - so if a word appears with translation on the first page, there won't be a translation for the word if it appears on later pages (though you still have the full English translation that includes the word).
The amazon link for the red book lets you look at the first few pages so you can see what it looks like.
Iam not manga fan, so i try this book https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-into-Japanese-Literature-Classics/dp/1568364156 and iam happy with it :)
One tactic I'll suggest from my personal experience: comparative reading.
It's no replacement or shortcut for the tried-and-true method of studying grammar and basic alphabet, but it accelerated my learning by leaps and bounds. Grab one volume of a manga you like (English and Japanese) and that'll be a good start. Alternatively, a Kodansha bilingual comic (which exists for Chihayafuru, for instance) or parallel text volumes for classic Japanese short stories (example) are also great resources.
I studied for 3 years, then stopped for the last 4...I can happily say that I've started practicing again.
I highly recommend purchasing books like these: Book 1 Book 2
You'll learn history/culture, familiarize yourself with relevant authors, be able to analyze how sentences generally translate, as well as learn words and practice reading! They give you kanji furigana, definitions, everything.
Edit: also, start learning your joyo kanji whenever you want to go above and beyond. It's from the Japanese department of education, the most commonly used/found japanese words. Often japanese newspapers are restricted to these, ~ 2150 kanji
As someone that has much of this problem as well all I can say is reading books or following courses on writing fantasy.
Personally I really appreaciated the two books from Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game if anyone does not know him) which are: How to write science fiction and fantasy and Characters and viewpoint.
There are also uploaded on Youtube the lectures held by Brandon Sanderson (MIstborn) which are free to watch and great to get abearing on writing. Here's the most recent one.
How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy by Orson Scott Card.
Two of my favorites, from two of the all-time best science fiction writers:
How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card
World-Building by Stephen L. Gillett and Ben Bova
Both look at it from more of a writing standpoint, but they're great resources for RPGers or hobbyists too.
the magicians is like a older, more cynical version of harry potter. book two is out, and book three comes out later this year. they're quite good, and much more realistic about both the mechanics of magic and the psychology of finding out you can do magic. they also parody the chronicles of narnia in some points.
Intuition is about cancer researchers and postdocs.
If you don't mind fantasy, The Magicians is supposed to be "Harry Potter in college."
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002AU7MJU/
I'm kind of joking by posting this, because obviously it's a published novel and not a fanfic, but it truly is exactly what you're looking for.
Aha - got it!
Post Office: A Novel by Charles Bukowski
One of the most truthful funny novels I've ever read. 208 pages.
I think you should get a bottle of wine and read post office by Charles Bukowski if you haven't.
He's a wonderful drunken dirty old man who hates everything and yet works at the post office for over fifteen years during two stints.
Post Office was his first novel and anything big outside of a few poems and his column "Notes of a Dirty Old Man", he was able to get a bit of national fame and ran with it.
He's a great binge read, but a shit man to emulate.
I'd suggest the short novel "Post Office" by Charles Bukowski and if you love the dark humor and grittiness of that you'll love Bukowski's book "Ham on Rye."
It isn't that teachers or parents are telling girls to put down the chemistry set and play with Barbie, but there are a lot of articles like this that show there is unconscious bias.
Parents also play a part in how girls interact wit their world and how they view themselves and their abilities. The book Cinderella Ate My Daughter should be handed to parents when the sonogram shows you're having a girl.
Also, confidence has a lot to do with whether or not a person gets into a science field. Girls, generally, do not have the confidence of boys in STEM fields - this is actually reflected in the linked article.
Furthermore, in STEM fields, Stanford found that just changing the name on a resume from Jennifer to John had an impact on how the applicant was perceived. Most notably..
> Over one hundred biologists, chemists, and physicists at academic institutions agreed to do so. Each scientist was randomly assigned to review either Jennifer or John's resume. The results were surprising—they show that the decision makers did not evaluate the resume purely on its merits. Despite having the exact same qualifications and experience as John, Jennifer was perceived as significantly less competent. As a result, Jenifer experienced a number of disadvantages that would have hindered her career advancement if she were a real applicant. Because they perceived the female candidate as less competent, the scientists in the study were less willing to mentor Jennifer or to hire her as a lab manager. They also recommended paying her a lower salary. Jennifer was offered, on average, $4,000 per year (13%) less than John.
Those of use who hate the princess culture: book recommendation
The author is very insightful. She points out, for example, that on any official princess material, none of the girls ever interact with or even acknowledge the existence of each other. Like this
Hey, you might find something like this book a good start.
dennett published a book recently about this topic: http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Jokes-Using-Humor-Reverse-Engineer/dp/0262518694
I'm reading this: Inside Jokes - Using Humor to Reverse Engineer the Mind. It's about exactly this and it's very good (Dennett is one authors). Highly recommended.
The Amazon blurb:
>Some things are funny -- jokes, puns, sitcoms, Charlie Chaplin, The Far Side, Malvolio with his yellow garters crossed -- but why? Why does humor exist in the first place? Why do we spend so much of our time passing on amusing anecdotes, making wisecracks, watching The Simpsons? In Inside Jokes, Matthew Hurley, Daniel Dennett, and Reginald Adams offer an evolutionary and cognitive perspective. Humor, they propose, evolved out of a computational problem that arose when our long-ago ancestors were furnished with open-ended thinking. Mother Nature -- aka natural selection -- cannot just order the brain to find and fix all our time-pressured misleaps and near-misses. She has to bribe the brain with pleasure. So we find them funny. This wired-in source of pleasure has been tickled relentlessly by humorists over the centuries, and we have become addicted to the endogenous mind candy that is humor.
From a science-y point of view, I'm reading a book about this now. From the description:
>Some things are funny -- jokes, puns, sitcoms, Charlie Chaplin, The Far Side, Malvolio with his yellow garters crossed -- but why? Why does humor exist in the first place? Why do we spend so much of our time passing on amusing anecdotes, making wisecracks, watching The Simpsons? In Inside Jokes, Matthew Hurley, Daniel Dennett, and Reginald Adams offer an evolutionary and cognitive perspective. Humor, they propose, evolved out of a computational problem that arose when our long-ago ancestors were furnished with open-ended thinking. Mother Nature -- aka natural selection -- cannot just order the brain to find and fix all our time-pressured misleaps and near-misses. She has to bribe the brain with pleasure. So we find them funny. This wired-in source of pleasure has been tickled relentlessly by humorists over the centuries, and we have become addicted to the endogenous mind candy that is humor.
Essentially, non-obvious information makes something funny, whether that be a non sequitur or a clever pun or an unexpected turn in a story.
This?
I recall a podcast where they mention that story in to this book.
If you like this quote, you may like this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Sum-Forty-Afterlives-David-Eagleman/dp/0307389936
Have you read Sum by David Eagleman? There's a story in there called Subjunctive that's basically this.
David Eagleman, a neuroscientist, wrote Sum, a really interesting book of short stories about hypothetical afterworlds.
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
Amazing short stories - He starts with a premis about what the afterlife is like, then follows it through to its conclusion. The author is mostly a scientist, but also has dome some writing.
Very good stories that make you think. Although, some of them made my wife "too sad".
Oh gosh, I'm actually kind of horrible about reading! Some of my favorite little books are:
I can't tell if you're making a reference or not. If you're not then I heartily recommend this book.
Rant Casey nods approval.
Read Rant by Chuck Palahniuk - you won't want to ask this question ever again...
http://www.amazon.com/Rant-Oral-Biography-Buster-Casey/dp/0385517874
It's better than the alternative.
A reading list...
The Myth of Sisyphus
Fight Club
The 7 habits of Highly Effective People
The games people play
>They're referencing scenes from Fight Club
FTFY
"Darkly Dreaming Dexter" was an awesome read. Loved the tv show so I read the book inspired by it, they're pretty different though especially after the first book. Also, Fight Club was really good as well.
May I suggest Fight Club?
http://www.amazon.com/Fight-Club-Novel-Chuck-Palahniuk/dp/0393327345
Unfortunately not, my copy of Fight Club is a paperback edition published in the early 2000s, but it's not a movie tie-in edition. Thanks for your interest.
I haven't read any of the five that made the list, but I absolutely recommend Fight Club and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. They're both very good for anyone - man or woman - to read.
Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk. Broken, first person narrator plus some excellent cleaning tips.
Survivor: A Novel https://www.amazon.com/dp/039333807X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_eMWGxbV9B4H4W
I'm going to recommend the books of chuck palahniuk Preferably Survivor and choke
Pretty sure he is talking about this. FYI
If I recall, Survivor: A Novel, by Chuck Palahniuk counts down, so that as you read your page numbers get lower.
edit : nope, different book.
Read 1984 for the dystopian aspect, for sci-fi pick up Isaac Asimov as mentioned by the_thinker.. And if you want a good, fun and captivating read, pick up Chuck Palahniuk's works, I'm a big fan of those. Try Survivor, Lullaby, Choke, any of those are amazing
http://www.amazon.com/The-Illuminatus-Trilogy-Pyramid-Leviathan/dp/0440539811
seriously.. READ THIS.
I think there is some validity to this even though he is mostly known for his fiction. Something like Sex and Drugs may be of interest. The Illuminatus! Trillogy might appeal to those interested in 70's culture as I think several concepts in there could be considered commentary on it. I'm not sure, though, that one would get much practical occult value out of it unless one were a Discordian.
My wife is the perfect book detective. I was once browsing a book store and was interested in a book. We left without me buying it. She only remembered two things: The book was blue, and the title was "somehow Latin". And she found it.
Illuminatus Trilogy.
Rarely has so much happened in the first 25 pages of any book, and it is a work of beauty.
Let me enlighten you.
No, you need to go deeper. Once you've questioned enough, USE OCCAMS RAZOR and find the history of these information movements you'll start to see through the fnords. All of this has already happened several times. https://www.amazon.com/Illuminatus-Trilogy-Pyramid-Golden-Leviathan/dp/0440539811
I hear The Illuminatus! Trilogy does that.
Illuminatus!
F N O R D
Very nice,'' I said.But why did you bring me up here?''It's time for you to see the fnords,'' he replied.<br /> <br /> Then I woke up in bed and it was the next morning. I made breakfast in a pretty nasty mood, wondering if I'd seen the fnords, whatever the hell they were, in the hours he had blacked out, or if I would see them as soon as I went out into the street. I had some pretty gruesome ideas about them, I must admit. Creatures with three eyes and tentacles, survivors from Atlantis, who walked among us, invisible due to some form of mind shield, and did hideous work for the Illuminati. It was unnerving to contemplate, and I finally gave in to my fears and peeked out the window, thinking it might be better to see them from a distance first. Nothing. Just ordinary sleepy people, heading for their busses and subways. That calmed me a little, so I set out the toast and coffee and fetched the New York Times from the hallway. I turned the radio to WBAI and caught some good Vivaldi, sat down, grabbed a piece of toast and started skimming the first page.<br /> <br /> Then I saw the fnords.<br /> <br /> The feature story involved another of the endless squabbles between Russia and the U.S. in the UN General Assembly, and after each direct quote from the Russian delegate I read a quite distinctFnord!'' The second lead was about a debate in congress on getting the troops out of costa Rica; every argument presented by Senator Bacon was followed by anotherFnord!'' At the bottom of the page was a Times depth-type study of the growing pollution problem and the increasing use of gas masks among New Yorkers; the most distressing chemical facts were interpolated with moreFnords.''Suddenly I saw Hagbard's eyes burning into me and heard his voice:
Your heart will remain calm. Your adrenalin gland will remain calm. Calm, all-over calm. You will not panic. you will look at the fnord and see the it. You will not evade it or black it out. you will stay calm and face it.'' And further back, way back: my first-grade teacher writing FNORD on the blackboard, while a wheel with a spiral design turned and turned on his desk, turned and turned, and his voice droned on, IF YOU DON'T SEE THE FNORD IT CAN'T EAT YOU, DON'T SEE THE FNORD, DON'T SEE THE FNORD . . .<br /> <br /> I looked back at the paper and still saw the fnords. This was one step beyond Pavlov, I realized. The first conditioned reflex was to experience the panic reaction (the activation syndrome, it's technically called) whenever encountering the wordfnord.'' The second conditioned reflex was to black out what happened, including the word itself, and just to feel a general low-grade emergency without knowing why. And the third step, of course, was to attribute this anxiety to the news stories, which were bad enough in themselves anyway. Of course, the essence of control is fear. The fnords produced a whole population walking around in chronic low-grade emergency, tormented by ulcers, dizzy spells, nightmares, heart palpitations and all the other symptoms of too much adrenalin. All my left-wing arrogance and contempt for my countrymen melted, and I felt a genuine pity. No wonder the poor bastards believe anything they're told, walk through pollution and overcrowding without complaining, watch their son hauled off to endless wars and butchered, never protest, never fight back, never show much happiness or eroticism or curiosity or normal human emotion, live with perpetual tunnel vision, walk past a slum without seeing either the human misery it contains or the potential threat it poses to their security . . .Then I got a hunch, and turned quickly to the advertisements. it was as I expected: no fnords. That was part of the gimmick, too: only in consumption, endless consumption, could they escape the amorphous threat of the invisible fnords. I kept thinking about it on my way to the office. If I pointed out a fnord to somebody who hadn't been deconditioned, as Hagbard deconditioned me, what would he or she say? They'd probably read the word before or after it. ``No this word,'' I'd say. And they would again read an adjacent word. But would their panic level rise as the threat came closer to consciousness? I preferred not to try the experiment; it might have ended with a psychotic fugue in the subject. The conditioning, after all, went back to grade school. No wonder we all hate those teachers so much: we have a dim, masked memory of what they've done to us in converting us into good and faithful servants for the Illuminati.
Thanks! Is this what you meant with Illuminatus? I haven't heard of it before: http://www.amazon.com/The-Illuminatus-Trilogy-Pyramid-Leviathan/dp/0440539811
Ok, here's the thing... he has fiction and essays. Both are equally mind blowing but in different ways. The essays are easier to read, I think.
Fiction series:
Illuminatus Trilogy
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0440539811/therobertantonwi
Schrodinger's Cat Trilogy
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0440500702/therobertantonwi
Historical Illuminatus Trilogy (I think these are the easiest to read of the novels):
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1561841625/therobertantonwi
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1561841633/therobertantonwi
http://www.amazon.com/Natures-God-Historical-Illuminatus-Chronicles/dp/1561841641/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1236806921&amp;sr=1-15
Essays:
Everything else. I'd start with the book that I linked to here "Illuminati Papers" then "Right Where You Are Sitting Now" and Cosmic Trigger 1, 2 and 3.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1579510027/therobertantonwi
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0914171453/therobertantonwi
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1561840033/therobertantonwi
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1561840114/therobertantonwi
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1561841129/therobertantonwi
Cosmic Trigger 3 is subtitled "My Life After Death", it was written after it was rumored that he died...
Unfortunately he did pass away in 2007.
How about something from the 70's?
Illuminatus
dreamslaughter: ^^original ^^reddit ^^link
Don't give up on it.
The Illuminatus! Trilogy: The Eye in the Pyramid, The Golden Apple, Leviathan
Not horror, but this one is brilliant:
The Illuminatus! Trilogy: The Eye in the Pyramid, The Golden Apple, Leviathan.
Also very good: Cryptonomicon.
I enjoyed this at your age.
The Illuminatus! Trilogy: The Eye in the Pyramid, The Golden Apple, Leviathan
>Filled with sex and violence--in and out of time and space--the three books of The Illuminatus are only partly works of the imagination. They tackle all the coverups of our time--from who really shot the Kennedys to why there's a pyramid on a one-dollar bill.
Fnord.
You must own the illuminatus! trilogy.
edit: This book may be described as science fiction inspired, but it is one of the best books (omnibus edition) I have ever read. A used copy is definitely worth checking out.
So I see that you've already shot down ASOIAF-- however, based on your description it sounds exactly like what you're looking for. Haha.
On the slightly more campy/satirical side of things, The Magicians and The Magician King by Lev Grossman are two of my all-time favorite fantasy books. Grossman is an author and writer for Time Magazine, and his knowledge of pop culture really shines through. The books are an adult-level satire of The Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter.
The books deal with teenage and young-adult wizards at a wizarding college who discover a secret world (like Narnia) and discover the cost of their powers. Sounds campy, and it soooooort of is, but it's also really dark. I'm pretty sure the first book is one of the darkest books I've read. They deal with sex, drug abuse, depression, violence, power, lethargy, and meaning in a meaningless world. I highly recommend them, and the best part is there's a third book coming in August!
The Magicians: http://www.amazon.com/Magicians-Novel-Lev-Grossman/dp/0452296293/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1404262765&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=the+magicians
The Magician King: http://www.amazon.com/Magician-King-Novel-Magicians/dp/0452298016/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1404262750&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=the+magician+king
The Magician's Land: http://www.amazon.com/The-Magicians-Land-Novel-Trilogy/dp/0670015679
I feel a little like I'm cheating since it's only 10:34pm here in Hawaii right now! Haha! But I'm awake darnit, and contests are fun. :D
Oh goodness, I could never pick a favorite song I don't think, but I've been listening to The Blanks' cover of Hey Ya! constantly lately. It's just wonderful.
As for an item?? Hm...Would it be taboo to ask for a gift card toward my Wii U? If you'd rather not do a gift card I'd be thrilled to have a new book to read!
The Book of Lost Things maybe?
I'm in the middle of The Magicians. It seems pretty good.
Haven't read them yet but just caught up with The Magicians TV series and am on the waiting list to read the trilogy of books the show is based on. Might be a bit more campy than you're looking for (think Harry Potter for adults) but I've found it entertaining and there's definitely strong elements of time travel / time looping.
Fantasy:
The Magicians Trilogy by Lev Grossman
If mediums count, try There Is No Lovely End by Patty Templeton
Non-fiction:
The Life and Times of Augustus Rapp
A Discovery of Witches is the first in the All Souls trilogy, which is written by a historian named Deborah Harkness. She integrates a lot of history and alchemy into it, which is cool. I don't think it's anywhere near as well-written as Lord of the Rings, but it is interesting. However, it is a love story, so if you're not into romance, then steer clear.
I liked The Magicians a lot better; the series is kind of like Harry Potter but more serious and literary. It's not that fantastical, and kind of plays off Harry Potter/fantasy stereotypes, but it's a cool series nonetheless.
The Magicians is a little heavier than some of the other suggestions but is also a good mind expanding read.
It starts off as a fairly typical Harry Potter type story (loser kid finds out he has special powers, must learn to control them, etc...) but with a very deep story.
The Magicians.
Thought it sounded cool, wizards and stuff.
Let's just say it involved turning into ferrets and raping each other in a remote base in the middle of a frozen tundra. Fascinating....
What about A Short History of Nearly Everything? Or Seal Team Six? Or The Magicians? What about American Gods, Hyperspace and The Grand Design
What I'm saying is 18 is too few. Get cracking.
The Magicians by Lev Grossman is fantastic. I highly recommend it.
Anyone interested in joining a bookclub for the Lev Grossman novel 'The Magicians' can meet at the address provided.
The Magicians: A Novel by Lev Grossman
The way I described it to my wife was this: imagine Harry Potter, but magic is a tedious, miserable thing to practice and perform. Also, if Harry had depression and was on the Autism Spectrum. It went pretty fast and was the sort of book that afterward I wasn't sure if I liked it or not, but was glad to have read it.
Onward to summer book adventures !
If anyone likes "urban fantasy" I recommend The Magicians. It's like an extremely grown up Harry Potter. Scyfy is making a miniseries starting in late Jan, I am terrified they are going to do a terrible job. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0452296293/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1452606908&amp;sr=8-1&amp;pi=SY200_QL40&amp;keywords=the+magicians&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=51Omgf4bBkL&amp;ref=plSrch
https://amzn.com/0452296293
Try "The Magicians" by Lev Grossman.
http://www.amazon.com/Magicians-Novel-Lev-Grossman/dp/0670020559
Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis should be up your alley. Not my cup of tea, but Ellis is a divisive author, haha
This is Bret Easton Ellis’ first book and was written while he was still a student. He got the book published at the age of 21. Less Than Zero really illuminates the origins of many of the stylistic quirks found in American Psycho and it reads with a similar cynical tone. The way he writes seems very conversational but not dull or dumbed down. It follows a teen who’s returned to LA for the holidays, begrudgingly, and is faced with the vapid and transient nature of Hollywood culture. Highly recommend.
“Disappear here”
Less Than Zero https://www.amazon.com/dp/0679781498/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_miC8Bb4DZVM77
This is Bret Easton Ellis’ first book and was written while he was still a student. He got the book published at the age of 21. Less Than Zero really illuminates the origins of many of the stylistic quirks found in American Psycho and it reads with a similar cynical tone. The way he writes seems very conversational but not dull or dumbed down. It follows a teen who’s returned to LA for the holidays, begrudgingly, and is faced with the vapid and transient nature of Hollywood culture. Highly recommend.
“Disappear here”
Less Than Zero https://www.amazon.com/dp/0679781498/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_miC8Bb4DZVM77
great read
Hope I still make it under the time limit!! I'd LOVE to see this in the mail! And there's third party options for less than $2!
The Wasp Factory.
The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
We So Seldom Look on Love by Barabara Gowdy (more unnerving than the title suggests).
If you haven't you really should read this book: http://www.amazon.com/WASP-FACTORY-NOVEL-Iain-Banks/dp/0684853159/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1312998689&amp;sr=8-1
> killed at least three people by that age.
Is that you, Frank? Hows ya brother holding up? Burned any dogs lately?
Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra is a wonderful, sweeping epic set in modern day India, but with flashbacks to the sixties, seventies and even partition (in 1948). Taking in organized crime, Bollywood, nuclear terrorism, political and religious fundamentalism, social commentary and more. I loved it.
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth is a huge (huge!) modern classic that beautifully encapsulates the social mores of modern India as it tracks the trials and tribulations of four families and the search for a suitable bride for the heroine. Simply wonderful. Did I mention it was a big book?
A Case of Exploding Mangoes is a fictional account (one hopes!) of the assassination of President Zhia of Pakistan. I know you asked about India, but in many many ways both India and Pakistan are inextricably linked.
Sea of Poppies is the first of a projected trilogy set in 19th century India. Full of wonderfully evocative language.
Many have already recommended Midnight's Children by Rushdie, perhaps the most important work of Anglo-Indian literature so far. Please also consider his Satanic Verses. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy is a lovely short novel.
There are many many more.
Good luck!
>where does religion end and mental illness begin?
If this interests you, you should definitely read this.
"Hello r/Islam I would like to recommend The Satanic Verses for your consideration as a representation of Islam."
"What? What's the matter? I understand Islam just as much as you guys! I read the book so I get it! Won't you just please read it? Why is everyone hating on me???"
https://www.amazon.com/Satanic-Verses-Novel-Salman-Rushdie/dp/0812976711
Learn facts before believing everything.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Men-Are-Better-Than-Women/dp/1416953817
no u read this book
If you're going this route, go with this one too.
I got "So You're Going to be a Dad" as a gift and I loved it. It was hysterical to read, but insightful and useful as well. However, for the more serious stuff, I agree with someone else who suggested "Be Prepared". You've got a lot of good advice in this thread.
This book was my favorite. Funny and honest.
So You're Going To Be a Dad
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1555612415/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_08Ylub1XP2F3J
Congratulations! I remember that... like... what do I do! Oh yeah! Jump up and down, kiss her, hug her... cry a little... and then realize have NO IDEA what to do next.
I found this hilarious and helpful. https://www.amazon.com/So-Youre-Going-Be-Dad/dp/1555612415
Buy this book. http://www.amazon.com/So-Youre-Going-Be-Dad/dp/1555612415 it's written by a guy, and provides great perspective.
Discipline is a tough thing, indeed.
Kanji/vocab are something you learn over time, not at once. If I were you, given the problems you mention with "sticking to it", I'd do the following.
Once you get confident with working your way through sentences, find yourself a copy of Read Real Japanese: Contemporary Fiction and [Read Real Japanese: Comtemporary Writings). The book is natural Japanese -- as would appear in a normal Japanese rendition -- on the right side, then the left side is a gloss translation into English. In the back is a running grammar dictionary that gives good quality of literally every grammar point that doesn't appear until towards the end of Genki II or isn't in Genki (around that difficulty). This is gold to me because (a) you're reading real Japanese, and (b) 100% of what you learn while reading these books is in context and will be directly useful for understanding the story you're reading, and the slightly more difficult ones that come in succession. Expect to need to read these more than once; I read the fiction one 3 times before I read a normal book, and I want to read them again even though I've now read several books in Japanese .
Once you get confident with these books, you have two options.
Good luck!
On the internet no one knows I'm a bird.
I made a new post if you're interested. I already gave up here. You with 3 - 4 other people are getting the wrong idea.
edit: THIS is what I wanted thanks to someone on /r/japaneseresources .
This little book has side by side translations of classic Japanese literature. It orders them easiest to hardest.
I bought this book and really found it readable, but be warned that the stories are incredibly dark.
Okay, so I'm not home so these are the few off the top of my head that I can remember I've read and loved.
I hope one of these can help out!
Sure anytime
Try checking this book out it has some great tips
https://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/dp/158297103X
There were three indispensable tools for me as a DM:
Dungon Master for Dummies -- Seriously, this is a fantastic book. It was written for 3rd Edition, but most of the book's advice is relevant for any RPG. Both authors have a long pedigree in designing and writing for D&D.
Sly Flourish's The Lazy Dungeon Master -- This book is now on its second edition ("The Return of...") and is amazing. It basically distills a lot of conventional wisdom related to running your game with the least amount of effort. That sounds bad, but when you get into DM'ing you will find yourself burning out quickly if you don't find a way to reduce the amount of boilerplate planning you have to do.
How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy -- By Orson Scott Card. This book is recommended because of its world-building chapters. The way he thinks about and approaches world-building has influenced many other amazing writers, such as Brandon Sanderson, his protege and successor as creative writing professor at BYU. This is worth reading, again and again.
--EDIT: I hit "Post Reply" instead of "Insert Link". Whoops.
Here are some other bits of advice that I hope are helpful:
Know the rules
Seriously; read the PHB, know the PHB, love the PHB. 90% of you disagreements with players will be covered by the PHB. Do your due diligence so you can make trustworthy and authoritative rulings. If they players know they can trust your rulings, they will question you less.
As a newbie DM, I failed to do this, and the result was that my players did not trust me or my story. Engagement is hard to come by in that situation.
Also, read your DMG cover-to-cover. But I do find myself referencing that book quite infrequently (I make my own magic items, so I don't really consult the loot table, either). What the DMG has, and is worth reading for, is its advice on running games. This is also true of the 4E DMG, which is worth a read even if you never run that system (no one will ever ask you to).
Embrace Rule Zero
If you know the rules, and the players trust you, you are ready to employ Rule Zero: "The DM is always right." This is absolutely necessary. Many a time I've had a player attempt to use the RAW to create situational advantages that did not square with what I believed was common sense. The rules aren't running your game: you are.
Now, having said that...
Always Say "Yes"^H^H^H^H^H"But"
In 4E, the designers of D&D distilled a common and effective "design pattern" of DM'ing, and called it, "Just Say Yes." The idea was that you could maximize player buy-in and investment (and therefore, engagement) by giving them the most possible creative control over your story. Taken to its extreme, however, this proves disastrous; players are not uniformly interested in advancing your story, and I have some players that often need to be constrained a bit from taking every license possible.
The modern incarnation of this philosophy is "Always Say 'But'." "Yes, but..." and "no, but..." are incredible tools that help you keep control of the narrative while mitigating player frustration.
"Yes, you can run up to the BBEG in the middle of his monologue and bunch him in the face... (hidden bogus roll a couple times) ...but with a casual wave of his hand, you are thrown back 30 feet." (aside: this scenario requires maximum player trust, as well as Rule Zero4)
"No, you cannot by any means use deception to convince the king that he's a potted plant, but you can convince that dimwitted guard over there."
In short, be lenient, but don't be too lenient.
A word on voice acting: DM's that are good at it are amazing; the best DM I know is a veteran stage actor and drama teacher. It helps that he is a great storyteller. But it is absolutely not necessary to have an immersive, compelling game. In fact, done badly, it can be awful. I ran a 1E Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil game, and I wanted to play up the village of Hommlet by giving them all Irish accents. After two hours my players asked me to stop. Faking a voice that is wildly different than your own here and there is fine, but if you absolutely cannot pull it off (through no fault of your own), your game is best served by not trying. Speak in your own voice, and add adverbs like a book would. Don't try to lower your voice; describe his voice before you speak for him, and then speak naturally.
Caveat: joke characters or comedic relief situations you should totally ham up voices.
I have some but depends on what you want
About planets:
http://www.amazon.com/Planet-Construction-Kit-Mark-Rosenfelder/dp/0984470034/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1286906911&amp;sr=1-2
About languages:
http://www.amazon.com/Language-Construction-Kit-Mark-Rosenfelder/dp/098447000X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1268637297&amp;sr=1-1
i dont know about it too much but heard its good:
http://www.amazon.com/Maps-Imagination-The-Writer-Cartographer/dp/1595340416
This is THE deal:
http://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/dp/158297103X
Another helpfull thingy:
http://www.amazon.com/Strata-Terry-Pratchett-ebook/dp/B003NX6Y6U/
I quote Orson Scott Card on this matter "[writers] imagine their poor reader won't be able to understand what's going on if they don't begin with a prologue showing the 'world situation.' Alas, these prologues always fail." This is from the book [How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy] (http://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/dp/158297103X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1382479922&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=how+to+write+science+fiction+%26+fantasy+by+orson+scott+card). It's a book I'd suggest you read, if you haven't.
Orson Scott Card's How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy.
I don't, sorry, but I'm talking about like actual anthropological or historical textbooks. I'd start by asking her about the world she wants to write about, whether it's your standard medieval European fantasy or something else, and what kind of story she wants to tell.
Like if she wants to tell a story about a rise to the throne it might help her to have the biography of a famous king or queen or ascended to the throne despite the odds being stacked against them.
But something that talks about the daily lives and customs of the people who lived during that time is usually a safe bet/interesting read too.
Of course, you could always fall back on actual writing books too.
Orson Scott Card's book on how to write science fiction and fanasy is the only actual book about writing/world building I've ever read. It was pretty good from what I remember, but I read it years ago.
I know he is not popular in some circles, but I have found How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card to be extremely helpful not only with practical advice, but with avoiding common tropes, or putting my own spin on them.
It looks like a great start! :) Once your book is out you'll want some really clear information on a dedicated page describing what the book is about and how to buy it.
Check out the Amazon.com Associates program. Ever listen to a podcast and they ask you to visit their page and click through if you're going to shop Amazon.com? Well Amazon gives a small percentage of each sale when the shopper comes from a referral partner. Since some of your sales will come directly from your author platform, why not take advantage?
For example, I really liked How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy (referral link) by Orson Scott Card. I read it in college and it really gave me some insight on the topic, and I highly recommend it for new authors.
Now if you click on that link and buy the book, I get 3% of the sale price, and if you wander off in the same session and buy other stuff, I think I get 1%. I don't remember the details, since I haven't really used the referral link stuff. But that's how it works. You can read up on the program yourself.
This made a big difference in my life.
Indeed, thanks. I had assumed Magician King was book 1.
The Magicians $2.99
The Magician King (book 2) $2.99
I've just recommended The Magicians to someone in the simple questions thread, but I think it might fit your criteria even better:
>You may enjoy The Magicians by Lev Grossman. It is a character-driven fantasy trilogy that follows a depressed young man as he navigates late adolescence and adult life.
>I will warn you that it is a polarizing series (see its dreadful goodreads rating) and explores extremely dark subject matter; depression, addiction, and the struggle to find purpose in life once college is over. It is also open in its portrayal of sexual themes, which some find off-putting but I thought was well done.
>Lev Grossman is an extremely talented writer in my opinion, one of the most underrated authors in the genre. He has a knack for imagery, simile, and character. He's worth checking out.
>Before buying, you might want to look through a writing sample (e.g. on Amazon), though I don't know if the first few chapters do Grossman justice.
The real draw of The Magicians its depiction of how someone who suffers from depression and persistent dissatisfaction with life would really react when their wildest dreams come true.
In most fantasy fiction, magic is what saves the protagonist from a dreary and bleak existence (e.g. Harry Potter, Narnia). But for the severely depressed Quentin Coldwater, depression isn't something that can be erased with a magic spell.
Just wanted to say it's awesome you're encouraging your daughter in this so aggressively. Too often girls aren't encouraged in more male dominated pursuits. It's a shame. (See Cinderella Ate My Daughter if you have an interest in this stuff)
One idea might be contacting your local Explorers' post. It's a branch of Boy Scouts that allows boys to shadow in areas they're interested in. It's pretty cool. A friend of mine got to ride in cop cars and see some crazy stuff in high school. I rotated in the emergency department. (And became a doctor.) I would call them up and see if they have any contacts with local architects. Then I'd contact the architect and see if they'd be willing to let your daughter shadow too. If they let Boy Scouts come by then I'd be willing to bet they're good people and wouldn't mind having your daughter come too.
I recommend reading the book Lessons From the FatOSphere by Kate Harding and Marianne Kirby. That's my body acceptance bible. it's the first FA book I read and it saved me.
as far as your daughter goes.. unfortunately she's going to be surrounded by the idea that her worth is tied in with her appearance. For me, with my nieces. i don't tell them how beautiful or cute they are, i tell them how strong, brave, and smart they are. With my son I make sure he knows there's nothing wrong with my body. I'm not ashamed of my belly- when he was a little younger he used to like to play the drums on it and I let him. He would even do it in public.. no problem at all! I've never criticized my looks or my weight.
If I were you I'd also read up on princess culture- try Cinderella Ate My Daughter as a starter.
Medal of Honor, Crysis 2, Dead Space
Even though there are phenomenal chances you've seen the corresponding movie, my choice is "Fight Club" by Chuck Palahniuk. The book gives a greater view of what exactly is going through the narrator's head in his exchanges with Marla, Tyler, and others. You can learn so much more about Project Mayhem than you would in the movie. It is truly a great read if you can get past how confusing the nature of the narrator's mind is.
http://www.amazon.com/Fight-Club-Novel-Chuck-Palahniuk/dp/0393327345
Does #36 ► Fight Club (1999) have the same story as Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club book?
I thought Islam was the religion of peace? they would never kill you or maim you for something stupid like [this book would they?](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812976711?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=cc8384-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0812976711
Last year I gave my brother's girlfriend, whom I hated, a copy of Men Are Better Than Women.
You're absolutely right. But you know what's missing here? Context. We have no idea whether or not those tweets were meant to be taken seriously or not.
Personal anecdote: when I was 23, I had this book prominently displayed for anyone to see. The book was satire, but the title was sexist and easily offensive. I did it to get a rise out of people. It was "edgy."
My point is we don't know the story behind the tweets. If that's how he really felt and still feels, then the man is detestable. But if he was just posting edgy comments for shiggles between him and his friends? Well, that would be regrettable, but at least it's understandable, and I certainly wouldn't hold it against him now that he's in his 30's. Let's not forget that development and maturity does continue typically into the mid-20's.
TL/DR: Being "edgy" is still pretty common in early 20's.
Not really.