SquareOne Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Hey everyone I'm looking to get some new books. Can anyone recommend anything? Fiction and non fiction welcome. Any favourites that you think everyone should read? I'm looking for something exciting and inspirational! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yrth Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 exciting and inspirational 'Inspirational' is a tall order. Hmm... The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky. -- Applied positive psychology. This has a high chance of inspiring you to improve your well-being. The Long Earth and The Long War by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. -- A story about an exploration into "the long earth," the 'stack' of neighboring universes and their individual earths. The world and characters are inherently interesting (and inspiring, don't worry), but the story also gets into the implications of evolution as well as the dynamics of human society with regard to resources and scarcity. I highly recommend these books for my scifi-loving, non-theist compadres. Riddle-Master: The Complete Trilogy by Patricia McKillip. -- High fantasy written in the late 70s that for some reason is not very well-known. This was back in the days when novels were designed for readers, something you'll notice immediately when you get hooked to McKillip's writing style. I honestly think this is the best high fantasy out there and I'm jealous of everyone who gets to read it from scratch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deva Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 "The God Engines" by John Scalzi. Not inspirational, but very interesting story and concept if you haven't read it before. A science fiction novel about gods. Nothing like I have ever read before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Endemoniada Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Another good Pratchett book would be Going Postal. It's also one of the funniest books I've ever read, even among Discworld books. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chikirin Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 you should try www.goodreads.com it has given me lots of good recommendations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qadeshet Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Amazon.com free E Books Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExCBooster Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Now that you have some Fiction suggestions, it's Non-fiction time! Topsy: the Startling Story of the Crooked Tailed Elephant, P. T. Barnum, and the American Wizard, Thomas Edison. Exactly what it says in the title. It's about the personal, cultural, and scientific histories leading to the famous early motion picture film of Topsy the elephant's death by electrocution. Rather a grim read, but well-written and fascinating stuff. A Universe From Nothing: Why There is Something Rather Than Nothing. Also just what it says in the title, it's a very complete and cogent survey of modern cosmology. Spoiler: "nothing" is wicked unstable. Sea of Thunder: Four Commanders and the Last Great Naval Campaign 1941-1945. A very nice quadruple biography - two of the Japanese commanders and two Americans - leading up to the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944. And now for something completely different: graphic novels. Batman Black and White Vol. 1 Is it, in fact, Batman stories illustrated in Black and White? Yes it is! Bride of the Water God A girl is sacrificed to the God of the River, to end a drought. Cloak-and-dagger supernatural politics ensue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stryper Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Good Omens - Gaimen and Prachett American Gods - Gaimen Anything by Phillip K Dick....you might need some LSD first. The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher. 1632 - Eric Flint A Song of Ice and Fire AKA Game of Thrones By GRR Martin. Lamb: The gospel according to Biff christ's childhood pal. - Christopher Moore. Also You Suck and The lust lizard of melancholy cove. The Hunger Games was decent entertaining and quick read. American Fascists and War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges. War is a short book. You will be depressed when you finish it. The Forever War. - Joe Haldeman Armor - John Steakly Ender's Game - Card Divergent - Veronica Roth. I hated how she insidiously inserted christianity into to the story. The way it read it seem However, I did like many other aspect of the book. Quick read. Neverwhere- Gaiman Hobbit and Lord of the Rings - Tolkein Collapse and Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond There are many more but I am not at home and can't look at the shelves right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midniterider Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Hey everyone I'm looking to get some new books. Can anyone recommend anything? Fiction and non fiction welcome. Any favourites that you think everyone should read? I'm looking for something exciting and inspirational! I'm reading "The Laws of Magical Thinking" (How irrational beliefs keep us happy, healthy and sane). Author is Matthew Hutson. It's a fascinating look into how we all use (irrational) magical thinking even if we think we don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karhoof Posted August 8, 2013 Share Posted August 8, 2013 Any and all of these... http://www.ex-christian.net/topic/57869-atheists-personal-libraries/ /tho I guess nobody would ever call Josephus exciting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaitingInfinity Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Crime and Punishment if you haven't read it before. That's my personal favorite! I second The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Scott Westerfield's Uglies series is really amazing, exploring how we define beauty and acceptance in a world in the future where once people reach a certain age, they operate on them, giving them supermodel looks and changing the way they think. Anyone without the operation is dirty and imperfect. It is so interesting! The Phantom Tollbooth is a lesser known and amazing read. It sounds like a child's book, but it is so much more. The Eragon series by Christopher Paolini is one of my favorites too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilith666 Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Exciting and inspirational....hmm. Have you heard of The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini? It's about a man who remembers betraying his best friend two decades earlier and decides he is going to redeem himself. Most of the book takes place in Afghanistan, so the Taliban has a pretty big part in the plot. Hosseini also wrote A Thousand Splendid Suns, which gets more into women's rights, or lack of them, under the Taliban. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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