Book recommendations and reviews

[Este Nuno]

I thought I'd make a book discussion thread. Both fiction and non-fiction but we could probably separate it in to two threads if people would prefer that.

Couple books I read recently and enjoyed:

Fiction - Ender's Game. I had wanted to read this one for a while but never got around to it. There's a while series of books after this one, but I'm not sure if I want to read them all or not. Anyone have any experience with them?

Non-fiction - Kingpin: How One Hacker Took Over the Billion-Dollar Cybercrime Underground. This was really entertaining and gives a good look in to credit card fraud. Makes me appreciate bitcoin too.

[Leina]

Non fiction:
Adventure Capitalist


Change how I view the world.

[Este Nuno]

Non fiction:
Adventure Capitalist


Change how I view the world.

In what way did it change how you view the world?

[DolanDuck]

All the books from Isabel Allende, check them out because thay are awesome.

[Leina]

Non fiction:
Adventure Capitalist


Change how I view the world.

In what way did it change how you view the world?

Was young, and interested in investing. Always thought it was a one dimensional issue.

The book gives a direct view on how social, culture, infrastructure and attitude of the population have a far more impact on economic than just balance sheet can tell.

[bryant.coleman]

If you read non-fiction, then here are some of my favorites:

[eid]

Fiction - Ender's Game. I had wanted to read this one for a while but never got around to it. There's a while series of books after this one, but I'm not sure if I want to read them all or not. Anyone have any experience with them?

I've read the series and enjoyed them all, though they did start to deteriorate a bit by the third.

I recommend the series by Alastair Reynolds beginning with Revelation Space if you like sci-fi/space opera. I was completely engrossed in this (probably time to read it again)

As for non-fiction, The Magic Furnace by Marcus Chown explains (in a noob freindly way!)  the history of how science discovered the origin of atoms in stars.

Every atom in our bodies has an extraordinary history. Our blood, our food, our books, our clothes - everything contains atoms forged in blistering furnaces deep inside stars, which were blown into space by those stars' cataclysmic explosions and deaths. From red giants - stars so enormous they could engulf a million suns - to supernova explosions - the most violent events in the universe - the birth of every atom was marked by cosmic events on an enormous scale, against a backdrop of unimaginable heat and cold, brightness and darkness, space and time. But how did we discover the astonishing truth about our cosmic origins? THE MAGIC FURNACE is Marcus Chown's extraordinary account of how scientists unravelled the mystery of atoms, and helped to explain the dawn of life. It is one of the greatest detective stories in the history of science. In fact, it is two puzzles intertwined, for the stars contain the key to unlocking the secret of atoms, and the atoms the solution to the secret of stars

[b!z]

Non fiction: 1984. It accurately describes the world we will soon be living in.

[Este Nuno]

Non fiction: 1984. It accurately describes the world we will soon be living in.

Definitely one of the best books of all time. Such a good read. I've read it twice and I think I'll go and read it again soon.

[b!z]

Non fiction: 1984. It accurately describes the world we will soon be living in.

Definitely one of the best books of all time. Such a good read. I've read it twice and I think I'll go and read it again soon.

Yeah, it's a good book. I'm reading Animal Farm right now.

[medialab101]

Fiction:

Voltaire:     Candide
Murakami:  Wind up Bird Chronicles
Kobo:         The Woman in the Dunes
Vonnegut:   (Anything)


Non-fiction:

Habermas:  The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere

[noviapriani]

Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson.
I also read a book called The Alchemy of Air which is about how we avoided the food shortage that was predicted a while ago, but also helped fuel the rise of Hitler by doing so. It's pretty interesting.

[sana8410]

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond was awesome and definitely worth checking out.

[zolace]

Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson.
I also read a book called The Alchemy of Air which is about how we avoided the food shortage that was predicted a while ago, but also helped fuel the rise of Hitler by doing so. It's pretty interesting.

I also read Devil in the White City this year, what an incredible story. Although I subsequently learned it doesn't make a great topic of conversation for a first date!

[noviapriani]

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond was awesome and definitely worth checking out.

I genuinely enjoyed reading Guns, Germs and Steel. I enjoyed not because of the readability but the concepts and facts that I learned while reading. I would recommend this book to everyone who wants to further their knowledge in human prehistory with a link to the present day. Diamond used extensive examples to back up his argument throughout the novel and did well to acknowledge his shortcomings in the epilogue. Well written!

[umair127]

Fictional Book -Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome by Robert Harris -I can say I know more about Cicero than I did when I started the book, but more important, the book transported me a different time and place. When I had to put the book down for the night, I always had a little jolt that I was actually sitting in Montgomery, Alabama. The descriptions of the political and legal manuevering by Cicero et al. were fascinating and not too terribly far afield from what occurs in those professions today. Now that I've finished the book, I find myself missing my new friends - and enemies - in Rome. Getting so immersed in a book is becoming increasingly rare in my experience.

[Este Nuno]

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond was awesome and definitely worth checking out.

I genuinely enjoyed reading Guns, Germs and Steel. I enjoyed not because of the readability but the concepts and facts that I learned while reading. I would recommend this book to everyone who wants to further their knowledge in human prehistory with a link to the present day. Diamond used extensive examples to back up his argument throughout the novel and did well to acknowledge his shortcomings in the epilogue. Well written!

It's been a while since I read it, but I remember thinking that while it might be true that genetic differences aren't a actor in "Eurasian" success, cultural differences might have had a lot more to do with it than he theorises. That's not to say that the environmental/geographical factors like he outlines in the book weren't a huge factor.

[Este Nuno]

Fictional Book -Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome by Robert Harris -I can say I know more about Cicero than I did when I started the book, but more important, the book transported me a different time and place. When I had to put the book down for the night, I always had a little jolt that I was actually sitting in Montgomery, Alabama. The descriptions of the political and legal manuevering by Cicero et al. were fascinating and not too terribly far afield from what occurs in those professions today. Now that I've finished the book, I find myself missing my new friends - and enemies - in Rome. Getting so immersed in a book is becoming increasingly rare in my experience.

I just had a quick look at the reviews of this on Amazon and it looks like it is pretty good. I like reading about ancient Rome but I don't think I've read a historical fiction novel based on that era. Looks like other books by this author are highly regarded as well.

[Daniel91]

I can recommend Miserable from Victor Hugo.
Great novel about real people in 19 th century in French, their circumstances, struggles, suffering, etc.
Great book!

[umair127]

Fictional Book -Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome by Robert Harris -I can say I know more about Cicero than I did when I started the book, but more important, the book transported me a different time and place. When I had to put the book down for the night, I always had a little jolt that I was actually sitting in Montgomery, Alabama. The descriptions of the political and legal manuevering by Cicero et al. were fascinating and not too terribly far afield from what occurs in those professions today. Now that I've finished the book, I find myself missing my new friends - and enemies - in Rome. Getting so immersed in a book is becoming increasingly rare in my experience.

I just had a quick look at the reviews of this on Amazon and it looks like it is pretty good. I like reading about ancient Rome but I don't think I've read a historical fiction novel based on that era. Looks like other books by this author are highly regarded as well.

I am a fan of history and in special on the Romans time,i find that era so fascinating for me.And also great people ,like Cicero,who chose family over power.I recommend you to read it,it will worth your time !