Book Suggestions

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MorningCoffee
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Book Suggestions

Post by MorningCoffee »

Hi, I decided this would be a good topic to make, because BOOKS ARE FUN :D


also i really need book suggestions

so a good suggestion would be the lunar chronicles by marissa meyer, basically the characters are kind of from fairy tales, but it has a sci-fi twist to them, and UCHHH ITS SO GOOD

also if you don't want to go to your local library to get books but still want books use libby if your library supports, its ebooks but you check them out

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Re: Book Suggestions

Post by gz839918 »

If you're looking for nonfiction recommendations, I can't emphasize enough how influential the books Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman and The Drunkard's Walk by Leonard Mlodinow have been on me. They're about how people interpret statistics according to gut feelings, which leads to unscientific thinking, especially among Important Famous People. I'm a big believer in the importance of statistical reasoning, and books like these teach statistics in a lucid digestible manner, and are must-reads for scientists of any field. Both books offer a rich variety of stories and anecdotes to make the science feel alive, and Mlodinow's book is always at the top of my list when it comes to book recommendations. I honestly can't praise these books highly enough.

If you're looking for fiction, I would suggest Jennifer A. Nielsen's Ascendance Trilogy, which combines humor, politics, and war within a group of medieval kingdoms in a far off land. It's not exactly light reading, but despite its focus on war, it's actually not heavy reading either.
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Re: Book Suggestions

Post by Booknerd »

With my username being book-related, it's about time that I made a post here.

One of my all-time favorites is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Set in WWII Nazi Germany, the story tells of the journey of young Liesel Meminger, who learns from the people around her the importance of friendship and love in her life, despite all the changes in the world around her. And one of the greatest loves in her life is her love for books. This story changed my view of the world after breaking my heart and mending it together again. I felt immersed in the world of Liesel, who learned to find hope in the small moments of life. Life is fleeting, but we can make a moment last a millennium by holding onto the memories in our hearts. Although this all might not be an accurate explanation of the book, I think it at least gives you a sense of how much I love this book, and will hopefully encourage you to try reading it too. I'll close this off with a quote from it: "I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right."

Another book that I would really recommend is There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz. We've been reading it for school, and although I'm not even a third of the way into the book, I cannot express how impactful this story is. Written by a Chicago journalist, this nonfiction narrative tells the true story of two young boys and their story of living in urban poverty. It's quite a heavy read, not straying from issues like gangs, gun violence, and substance abuse, which were prevalent (and still are found today) in these types of communities. In a way, it's the battle between the two boys and the world, as they hold onto their innocence and youth for as long as they can, and trying to avoid getting caught in the grasp of the vines that have already entangled and trapped everyone around them. It's a heartbreaking story filled with hopelessness, despair, and loss as these people try to survive in a world that seems against them. What makes this story even more striking is the realization that these are from the eyes of children. Kids our age, or even younger, are living in this kind of world. Despite how messed up and unbelievably horrific it seems, this is the "normal" they've been living in. I've been shocked by how these environments have been changing these children. But even with all that, there's a little bit of hope that can be found in the story. If you're the kind of person interested in these thoughtful, heart-wrenching, and emotional stories, and you feel ready for a book as heavy as this, then you might want to try giving this a read. And even if you aren't too into this type of story, just reading a few pages could possibly change your outlook on the world.


I hope I didn't say too much and spoil the books for you. If you've read these books before, feel free to send me a message, I'd love to talk about these stories.
I think I've said enough for now. If I find the time and energy, I might bring up some more book recommendations in the future.

(EDIT: fixing the formatting bc I messed up on the bolding and italicizing)
Last edited by Booknerd on January 26th, 2021, 6:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Book Suggestions

Post by sneepity »

The Belljar, The Yellow Wallpaper, The Handmaid's Tale are some that I really enjoyed. I loved the aspect of them being very controversial, and making you really think about what's going on with the symbolism to understand much more than what's being presented at you. I do think they're must reads :)
Last edited by sneepity on January 26th, 2021, 7:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Book Suggestions

Post by thegroundsloth »

This might get to be a bit long...
If I had to recommend some of my favorite nonfiction books they would be:
- The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean - This book goes through the periodic table and tells anecdotes about each element, it's a fun way to learn more about chemistry. Kean has also written a bunch of other good books like Caesar's Last Breath and The Violinist's Thumb.
- Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach - Although a bit morbid at times, this book is really interesting! It tells the story of what happens to bodies after death
- The Professor and the Madman and The map that changed the world by Simon Winchester - these two books were written by the same author but are on very different topics. The Professor and the Madman is about the creation of the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, and is a story about one perso who wrote over 10,000 entries and also happened to live in a criminal asylum. The map that changed the world is about the first-ever geologic map created, I highly recommend both.
In terms of Fiction
(I am sorry if this is turning into a full-fledged library instead of a few recommendations):
- A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. This book is written in a special type of slang, also called an argot, named Nadsat that the author, a linguist, made up. It might be a little confusing at the beginning, but as you go on it gets easier. There is a movie that was based on the book. From personal experience I always end up thinking that the book is better than the movie anyway.
(running out of time so I'll just list some other ones and try and add summaries later)
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
- The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - 42
- Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
- Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys - This might be something you read in English class, but if not I would really recommend looking into the context behind it.
- The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
thanks for looking through this extremely overboard list and Happy reading!
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Re: Book Suggestions

Post by donjuanpond »

NOTE: my book suggestions are probably not appropriate for younger readers, be warned. Contain mild to moderate language, but that's basically it. Anyways, here's the list:

The Murderbot Diariesby Martha Wells. The series name may be cringe-inducing but the books themselves are insanely good. The worldbuilding is top-notch and is second only to the genius that is -
the entire discworld series by Terry Pratchett (note that I mean the entire discworld series - he doesn't have a book called "the entire discworld series") (this post was actually made on his birthday, may he rest in peace). The way that Sir Terry is able to create his huge worlds and universes without ever being repetitive is astounding and he definetly deserves a spot on my list. However, his books are a little lower on the reading level scale, probably around 6th grade level.
Gideon the Ninth & Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (note that Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth are two separate books). The thing that really stood out to me about these two books is the masterful use of multiple styles of writing simultaneously. The books have two main characters, Gideon and Harrow - Gideon is an illiterate cavalier who is a master of the blade, and Harrow is a child prodigy necromancer, and Muir switches between the direct, brute-force style of writing that represents Gideon and the flowery, educated tongue of Harrow very well. Also its magic necromancers fighting in space with skeletons so how could that possibly ever be bad?
the Three Body Problem series by Cixin Liu. This is one of the hard science fiction books on my list, and does its job very well. It doesn't rely on long-winding dialogue or colorful adjectives like other books but instead on pure scientific explanation (this might be due to the fact that it is translated and might have lost something there) (the science may be slightly inaccurate but who cares?).
This is how you lose the time war by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. Absolute banger of a book, worth rereading several times. I'm not going to say anything about it here but just know that it is very very good.
Beowulf: a New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley was really interesting to read because of how it's told - the whole premise of the book was "what if Beowulf was told by someone like Beowulf?", and I recommend it.
The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. His other books might not be good, but I liked this one a lot. Another hard science fiction book, with some really interesting ideas.
The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin. This one was actually nominated for a Hugo award (along with Harrow the Ninth and a book from the Murderbot series) and it's easy to see why. This one has quite a bit more language that the others and contains use of racial slurs but is a worthwhile read.
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Re: Book Suggestions

Post by Unome »

donjuanpond wrote: April 28th, 2021, 4:26 pm NOTE: my book suggestions are probably not appropriate for younger readers, be warned.
And that is the difficulty I've encountered with making recommendations here, figuring out what counts as appropriate. People say Sanderson is milquetoast, and that is kind of true, but e.g. Mistborn is certainly not lacking in content if one actually considers it in isolation. It doesn't help that what's considered appropriate rarely matches what younger readers are actually reading.
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Re: Book Suggestions

Post by Bananasaurus »

hmm if you like historical fiction, alan gratz's books are ridiculously good like Prisoner B3087, Refugee etc.
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Re: Book Suggestions

Post by Fyren »

I watched the TV program version of this in class but Your Inner Fish is really good. I'd imagine the book version (original format it was on) to be just as good but all three parts of the TV series are for free on PBS. The book/show itself is written/hosted by Neil Shubin (the guy who discovered Tiktaalik ;)) and he talks about how we evolved from different animals and the traces of their traits that we still have today. It really makes you look at your own features in a completely new light and I really recommend this to any Fossils people or anyone interested in biology or anatomy.
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Re: Book Suggestions

Post by thegroundsloth »

Fyren wrote: May 6th, 2021, 7:49 pm I watched the TV program version of this in class but Your Inner Fish is really good. I'd imagine the book version (original format it was on) to be just as good but all three parts of the TV series are for free on PBS. The book/show itself is written/hosted by Neil Shubin (the guy who discovered Tiktaalik ;)) and he talks about how we evolved from different animals and the traces of their traits that we still have today. It really makes you look at your own features in a completely new light and I really recommend this to any Fossils people or anyone interested in biology or anatomy.
omg IT WAS SO GOOD tiktaalik <3
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