Good cook books/novels/poetry books/comics/manga?

Valenae

Hey all- I know we've had a similar thread in the past but I couldn't find it. Anywho, I live under a rock (pretty much) and I'm looking to get exposed to some new stuff. I've been reading the Divergent series and I'm nearly done with it. Any recommendations? PS. I've been cooking with nothing but Southern Living cook books and I'm ready to find something more healthy. Any help in that department would be much appreciated.

Aryanne

I feel like this should be in the OOC thread?

However, I also live under a rock and have no suggestions to bring. Sorry!

Areka

BOOKS

Fantasy/Fiction  Poetry  Informative/NotFantasyBigGirlBooks

• Sheepfarmer's Daughter by Elizabeth moon and all - ALL - subsequent books
  
• The Cheysuli Chronicles by Jennifer Roberson
  
• the Karavans series by Jennifer Roberson
  
• Trickster Makes This World by Lewis Hyde
  
• Hero with 1000 Faces by Joseph Campbell (he's my hero)
  
• Prophet by Khalil Gibran
  
• The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean
  
• The Darkangel / Gathering of Gargoyles / Pearl of the Soul of the World by Meredith Pierce
  
• the Queen of the Orcs trilogy by Morgan Howell
  
• Black Dog of Fate by Peter Balakian
  
• Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin
  
• Nanny Ogg's Cookbook >> 
  
• Every single thing by Terry Pratchett EVER
  
• The Dealing with Dragons series by Patricia C. Wrede (they're so cute)
  
• House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
  
• the Elvenbane trilogy by Mercedes Lackey and Andrew Norton
  
• An Assembly Such as This by Pamela Aiden (and the following two books because I'm a Darcy fan don't judge zsnap, covers Pride and Prejudice through Darcy's perspective.)
• Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
• Some Carl Sandburg stuff
• The Number Devil by Hans Magnus Enzensberger (both fiction and informative/teaches math!)
• Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
• Communities of Play by Celia Pearce
• Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal
• Contagious (why things catch on) by Jonah Berger
• Tribes by Seth Godin
• The Lady in Gold by Ann-Marie O'Connor (about Klimt)

EDIT: Added more!

Valenae

@Aryanne‌ Thank you! I didn't realize I was posting under the wrong spot. Would a mod mind moving it to OOC? Fixed!

@Areka‌ Wow! Lots of cool suggestions here. I feel like I've hit the jackpot. EDIT: Also, I absolutely Terry Prachett!

Oh, has anyone else read Divergent and watched the movie? If so, what did you think about it? I have mixed feelings. It's not too often I pick up YA novels. I'm coming down off a social theory kick (Red, White, and Black by Wilderson) and wanted something easy and fun to read. The anti-intellectual bent and religious subtext in the book Divergent was off putting but the book itself was overall very entertaining. I watched the movie and was surprised to see how much characterization was lost and how crucial plot points were ignored or completely re-written.

Teani

Some fantasy, since that's what I read mostly

Anything (and I mean ANYTHING) with Brandon Sanderson (Elantris, Warbreaker, Mistborn, Stormlight... just to name a few. He's awesome.)

Patrick Rothfuss - Kingkiller Chronicles

Feist/Wurts - The Empire trilogy

Trudy Canavan - all of them

Robin Hobb - all of them

Parker's Fencer trilogy

Jim Butcher's Codex of Alera

Lin

Would you accept a webcomic? Those are kinda my thing.

My current favorite is KILL SIX BILLION DEMONS, a name which gets me so pumped up I'm actually incapable of typing it in anything less than bold and in all caps. It's about a normal girl being forcibly thrust into a bizarre world of angels and warring kings, and the history of the god YISUN. The author describes it as both his "kung fu angel magnum opus" and "a love letter to the 36 Lessons of Vivec" (as in the mythos from Elder Scrolls).

tl;dr: It's a webcomic about fantastical martial arts and a mythology based on East Asian religion. Also Lin is wearing this guy's outfit:

Hey guys in the Pools, can this be Albedi religion? I would be so okay with that.

Roux

Anne Bishop, The Black Jewels Trilogy - I cannot recommend this series enough. Seriously, if you ever see it, read it. There's an initial three part book, and recent releases of other stories both prequel and sequel in nature.

Dennis L. McKiernan's Mithgar novels, all of them. Fantastic high fantasy world setting with history and stories spanning centuries. Very immersive.

Saga - good comic, fantasy/scifi theme, I just started reading it myself.

Anne McCaffrey - Dragon Riders of Pern, Acorna, The Freedom Series. Perfect blend of scifi and fantasy in each of these series, and there's more I haven't read from this particular author simply because I can't seem to get my hands on the books.

Barbara Hambly - Dragonsbane and the subsequent novels following it. High fantasy

Elizabeth Kerner - Song in the Silence, The Lesser Kindred, and Redeeming the Lost, three part series, high fantasy.

To add to the Mercedes Lackey push by Areka, also take a look at Dragon Jousters, and the books on the Valdemar Universe. If you want a good book to start you off on this series, good information and not based on any of the mini series in this, try Brightly Burning.

Iosyne

Currently reading through the manga Tower of God and have to share the love.

Jensen

My little library:

Ernest Hemingway's short stories 

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

Fountainhead, and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (Nice quick read, and everybody on the internet appreciates a quote from those books)

Hell's Angels by Hunter S. Thompson (Not safe for work, home, or really anywhere. I loved it)

Dracula by Bram Stroker

Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King (Not much of a King fan but I did love the series.)

I have more but those are ones I really enjoyed

Web comics:

Currently following Feywinds, Goblins Comic, and The Noob Comic.  

Lin

Iosyne said:

Currently reading through the manga Tower of God and have to share the love.

There is only one manga.

ONEPUNCH MAN.

Toz

Goblin Comic is worth a read, but the artist is kind of MIA.

Jensen

@toz He's back, sorta

Meyvitch

I still have three boxes and bins of books I simply haven't unpacked yet. But my library favorites:

Manga: Rurouni Kenshin (Incd Voyage to the Moon world, which is novel addition to series) Fushigi Yugi and spinoff Genbu Kaiden. Deathnote.

Books:

Redwall by Brian Jacques

Bone

Vellum and Ink by Hal Duncan

The Temeraire series (Napoleonic war w/ dragons!)

The True Game by Sheri S. Tepper.

Ovid's Metamorphosis'

God's Demon by Wayne Barlowe.

There's a large, thinner book with beautiful illiustrations Anne McCaffrey did once that I've got about here somewhere. Compilation of different dragon book series recommendations she makes while supposedly trying to help a guy figure out what sort of dragon moved into his backyard. I suggest you read it when you're looking for books. Dragon Prince trilogy and sequel trilogy are mentioned, as is the Heart's Blood books, both good things.

Anyone ever find Andre Norton's Crystal Griffin book? I can't find a copy and never got to read the sequels.

Jensen

forgot one of my all time favs, American Gods

Meyvitch

I wasn't thrilled with Anansi Boys, but I liked American Gods and I'm hoping for a sequel with Shadow in it. Stardust was also great too, and Neverwhere. Neverwhere the miniseries on tv was a good find in the video store, though it made more sense after reading it. 

Areka

Updooted my post with more.

Hadrak

A new comic collective has just opened up, so I figured I'd resurrect this thread to link to two of the comics on the site that I'm very excited to start reading!

By Sand; By Flame

A modernization of the world's oldest stories. Seth Underwood was a regular cop and a father until an ancient deity called The Phoenix entered his body for the purpose of bonding with him, his son was taken, and he was exposed to a whole new shadow world co-existing with our own: the other realm. Based on the core idea that the power of human beliefs turns fiction and different religions into reality, Seth will explore the two realms of physical and metaphysical looking for his son. Along with a cast that will include an FBI team specializing in the paranormal, his psychiatrist, a reporter that won't let up, and a plethora of other characters who are all getting ready for the birth of a new god.

JUST

JUST explores the life and background of a young man named Chasen Askardi who has found himself far from home and in the service of an international militia called the Guard. It’s a story about loyalties, wherein to place them and to what ends; about doing bad things for good reasons, about things that are just, and about things that are not.

Go forth and enjoy.

Xenia

I'm a big fan of Niel Stephenson, particularly his book Anathem. As for my favorite series, that reward goes to the books of Virga by Karl Schroeder.

Ishin

I like Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden books a lot myself. I've also read a -lot- of Stephen King's work. And so many others. Dragonlance. Parry Hodder. David Eddings' books. So many books.

Aishia

I guess I could drop a short list. No particular order.

Chronicles of Amber
American Gods/Neverwhere
Imajica - Clive Barker has a lot of really good underrated books.
Dark Tower
Dresden Files
Stormlight Archives/Mistborn/Elantris(So much Sanderson so little time)
Wheel of Time
Harry Potter
Sword of Truth(So many Atlases to be shrugged)
Farseer Trilogy
Abhorsen(Audiobooks are done by Tim Curry whaaaaat)
THE FIRST LAW (Say one thing for Logen Ninefingers, say he's got a way with the ladies.)
ASOIAF(maybeoneday)
Sprawl/Bridge Trilogy
Terrt Pratchett until you lose track of what book you're on and forget to keep reading them.
Someone said David Eddings up there. Good morning, neighbor.
Earthsea
Kinda that whole Shannara/Knight of the Word deal is probably my first introduction into fantasy ever. Plus MAGIC KINGDOM FOR SALE: SOLD  is falling apart I've read it so many times.
DUNE? Right!? Every book! Even CHAPTERHOUSE.
Am I the only one who liked the later books of the Ender's game series better than the first one!? YES PROBABLY.
Wait have you read THE STAND? Don't stop on King after just The DARK TOWER! But those two are probably his best.
I gotta throw Hitchhikers guide on here. Or I'd be remiss.
SNOW CRASH is like all the best of technology porn and pretty exciting. I think someone else mentioned Stephenson up above.
HYPERION (DONT MAKE FUN OF ME YES I KNOW THE SHRIKE)

I'm just going to stop abruptly despite the fact I could keep going for a long time.


Wait I guess if we're talking Manga, the only thing I read is Junji Ito. I wouldn't get into it unless you like being really creeped out or made to feel UNCOMFORTABLE since it's HORROR.

Hadrak

Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. A series written by an anthropologist and archaeologist who loves fantasy.

Why should you read it? Because everyone you love will die, everyone you hate will die, and everyone you never met will die. And then Steven Erikson will pull them (kicking and screaming no less) from death to kill them over and over and over again until everything you knew about them is a senseless mass of agony, suffering, and pain.

It's well-written, the characters are engaging, the setting is amazing, and Erikson's got a knack for really dumb character names.

Also, the series is finished--so you know--BONUS.

Haven

Hadrak said:

Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. A series written by an anthropologist and archaeologist who loves fantasy.

Why should you read it? Because everyone you love will die, everyone you hate will die, and everyone you never met will die. And then Steven Erikson will pull them (kicking and screaming no less) from death to kill them over and over and over again until everything you knew about them is a senseless mass of agony, suffering, and pain.

It's well-written, the characters are engaging, the setting is amazing, and Erikson's got a knack for really dumb character names.

Also, the series is finished--so you know--BONUS.

Haha, I'm still working my way through the series.

Just to add onto what Hadrak's saying, the writing style can be a little hard to swallow and confusing at first for some but the series really kicks off if you manage to trudge past the first couple of chapters. I kind of felt like I was plopped down in the middle of everything all at once and it was disconcerting at first but once I got my bearings, it really took off.

Hadrak

Erikson gives zero exposition. He picks you up and suplexes you into the world. You figure stuff out as you read.

Ishin

Hadrak said:

Erikson gives zero exposition. He picks you up and suplexes you into the world. You figure stuff out as you read.

Was that the guy who wrote the series about the ring of white gold? Or am I thinking of Donaldson?

Hadrak

Ishin said:

Was that the guy who wrote the series about the ring of white gold? Or am I thinking of Donaldson?

It wasn't Erikson! I need to start rereading Malazan this week. I don't have enough sadness in my life.

Ashmer

I need to go back and buy all the books. Malazan Book of the Fallen (and subsequent drop-kicks to the face) were deeply engrossing and seriously fulfilling read.

Hadrak

It's probably worth noting too that Erikson's first volume of the Kharkanas trilogy is out. It's titled The Forge of Darkness and explores the life of the Tiste Andii and Mother Dark some millennium before Book of the Fallen. Next volume, Fall of Light, will be out in October after being pushed back from August.

Aishia

I couldn't even make it thru the first book.

Teani

I've found myself a new top-author of fantasy books. Michael J Sullivan. So far he's produced five books. Three of them are a series called "The Riyria Revelations" and the other two are chronicle prequels. They can be read in whatever order you like, starting with either the Riyria Chronicles or the Revelations, but they're awesome.