General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI've exhausted my Kindle library. Anyone have any good book suggestions?
I'm interested in non-fiction, especially in anything that explains the big picture as it actually exists behind the curtain, not the media- and PTB-controlled narrative we get publicly from our corporate media and our politicians. This would be in the vein of Armed Madhouse (Pallast) and The Shock Doctrine (Klein).
I'm also interested in sci-fi and books about writing.
Looking forward to your suggestions with the hope that your ideas are useful not only to me but to others who may be watching.
shraby
(21,946 posts)of what the back story is on many things.
ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)Binkie The Clown
(7,911 posts)I recently re-read Treasure Island and Moby Dick from Gutenberg. It's been 55 years since I last David Copperfield, and that's next up on my list. And after I finish that I'll go back to Gutenberg and say "Please, sir, may I have more?"
On Edit: If you like non-fiction about the sea you may enjoy Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana, also available on Gutenberg.
Hekate
(90,793 posts)Someone figured out that Galaxy has a lot of short stories and novellas that are not copyrighted, and there are novels as well. Lots of fun.
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=science+fiction
http://www.gutenberg.org/ When you are searching for it, more than one "Gutenberg" shows up. This is the one you want.
Gomez163
(2,039 posts)7wo7rees
(5,128 posts)Great read. Truly. "America, What went wrong". 1991
Pulitzer winning jounalists, 2 years of research across the country.
"The Rich and the Super-Rich" by Ferdinand Lundberg
Published June 1968
Even better, found it at an antique store.
One more, "The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man", by John Perkins
Another is a documentary, " I am" 2010, Tom Shadyac, fascinating, incredibly illuminating.
ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)MH1
(17,600 posts)The Discovery of Modern Science
http://www.amazon.com/Explain-World-Discovery-Modern-Science/dp/0062346652
I haven't made it all the way through yet but it is fascinating. Not political in the sense of Pallast or Klein, but puts an interesting perspective on the history of science.
ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)procon
(15,805 posts)If you've rated the type of books you prefer, Amazon will offer similar suggestions. You'll probably get more books closer to what you're hunting for by looking at the books you've already read to see the comparable choices bought by other people.
ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)...recs there, regardless. My ask here is in addition to suggestions on Amazon and elsewhere because I am also interested in what other DUers are reading and what DUers would suggest.
realmirage
(2,117 posts)Classic book
Trust Buster
(7,299 posts)the wealthiest Republicans have been working for 3 decades to infiltrate our colleges, think tanks and now elections with their money. It will be money wisely invested.
ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)Hortensis
(58,785 posts)hermetic
(8,310 posts)you might want to check out our local Group: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1200
There is also a Writer's Group
ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)brush
(53,869 posts)There's a kindle option to it.
The story is sci-fi and pulls you in.
http://www.marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm
ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)...it pulled me in! I look forward to finishing.
octoberlib
(14,971 posts)ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)...corporate interests and dependent on the moguls of Silicon Valley, whose data-collecting systems enable the U.S. government to spy on our every move, swipe, and click."
Fascinating, octoberlib! Thank you !
PETRUS
(3,678 posts)Readable nonfiction with considerable explanatory power:
The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander
Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond
Empire of Cotton, by Sven Beckert
The Sixth Extinction, by Elizabeth Kolbert
This Explains Everything, edited by John Brockman
The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan
The Language Instinct, by Steven Pinker
23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism, by Ha-Joon Chang
The Drunkard's Walk, by Leonard Mlodinow
On Immunity, by Eula Biss
Africa: A Biography of the Continent, by John Reader
Sci-fi I've read and enjoyed recently:
The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi
Redshirts, by John Scalzi
Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline
Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)PETRUS
(3,678 posts)bhikkhu
(10,724 posts)a sweeping story of the decline of violence in society, especially in the last 70 years or so. He is an academic, and a very competent writer, so it can be read slowly if you are into detailed argument and logic, or quickly if you want the gist. I'm fond of his writing as he is prone to posing the various arguments on a topic, then reviewing the best data he can find, then offering his balanced conclusions; more "PHD-candidate style" writing rather than popularized science.
Matthew Connelly's "Fatal Misconception" is about the history of birth control efforts over the past hundred years or so. Its a fascinating book on something I haven't seen covered well, and has a large amount of material I never heard before. He writes without an agenda, and you have to read to the end (through a long litany of failed programs and concepts) to get to his well-balanced conclusions.
Anything by Thomas Cahill, especially the Hinges of History series. He is one of my favorite writers and draws you into unfamiliar worlds and minds, writing history like a portrait painter.
Anything by Barbara Tuchman. I've probably read "A Distant Mirror" five times over the years, the story of a family in 14th century Europe. Another is "The Proud Tower", which details the politics and social movements leading up to WW1. It doesn't sound interesting, but she is an excellent writer, and the characters and issues have so many current parallels it is an enlightening book to read.
EX500rider
(10,858 posts)On Silver Wings
by Evan Currie
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005QOX3ZY/ref=series_rw_dp_sw
When the Colony on Hayden's world went black, a team was sent to investigate. It was supposed to be a training mission : skip in, find out why the Casimir Transmitter had gone dead, report back and wait for resupply from the Fleet. By the time the only surviving member of the team made landfall, it was spectacularly clear that this wasn't a training mission.
Now Sgt Sorilla Aida has a job to do. She has to gather the local survivors, recon the enemy, train a militia, and take the war right to the enemy's doorstep.
Just what she trained for.
De Opresso Liber
Island in the Sea of Time
by S. M. Stirling
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JF1N28/ref=series_rw_dp_sw
A cosmic disturbance transports the island of Nantucket and its inhabitants over three thousand years back in time to the shores of a Stone Age America. In addition to coping with the day-to-day problems of survival and the trauma of losing all connection with the modern world, the residents of the time-stranded island find their lives complicated by the presence of native tribes across the water.
ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)longship
(40,416 posts)Michael Lewis' book has a great narrative, as is his way, with awesome characters. Like like the two main characters, Michael Burry and Steve Eisman, these two incredible characters form Lewis's narrative of how to destroy the world economy. "Is this legal?"
Yup! It was. Burry was Lewis's Asberger investor. Eisman was just the cranky guy with a liberal bent who always told the truth, and who was crass enough to double-dipped into the soy sauce in Las Vegas.
It is a great read which one will want to read more than once. When the entire world economy is melting and Eisman is sitting on the steps of St. Patrick's on Fifth Avenue with his two compatriots -- heads in hands -- the entire book takes another tack.
It is a morality tail which one should read. If one cares. And one should. As did Michael Burry and Steve Eisman.
What does one do when one is betting against the world economy and one's right?
What then?
It is a great read.
The Big Short. The movie is pretty damned good, too, if one wants the short story of the big short. Otherwise, I recommend first the book, then the film. Or the other way around. Either way, both are great, and it works both ways.
trueblue2007
(17,238 posts)tavernier
(12,401 posts)you crack dealer, you. There is no turning back after the first chapter.
trueblue2007
(17,238 posts)tavernier
(12,401 posts)I read all the books, then reread them. Then bought the audio Cd's. Then watched the STARZ series. then bought the season one dvd's.
Yes, my palms sweat when I think about the fact that season 3 hasn't been picked up yet.
seekthetruth
(504 posts)It's an eye-opener!
pkdu
(3,977 posts)How the Scots invented the modern world.
Longitude.
catrose
(5,073 posts)and download books for free. Someone else mentioned Gutenberg, also a good source of free books. Story Bundle and Book View Cafe offer new and old books at much cheaper prices.
basselope
(2,565 posts)He's got several of them about science of the future and M theory that are fascinating!
JonLeibowitz
(6,282 posts)The big short - Michael Lewis (or any of his books, really)
My main recommendation is:
Twilight of The Elites - Chris Hayes.
It predicts the rise of trump: argues the meritocracy has failed America in the past 2 decades. Argues there are two groups: institutionalists and insurrectionists, who each view the failures differently: insurrectionists see the system as broken and institutionalists who bemoan the lack of trust in the system.
RufusTFirefly
(8,812 posts)... consider Trespassing on Einstein's Lawn by Amanda Gefter.
But to say it's about physics is a bit like saying that Moby Dick is about whaling.
I read a great deal and have very eclectic tastes, yet I've never read anything like it. It's a father-daughter story, a Bildungsroman, and an exploration of the nature of reality through some pretty mind-blowing physics. (There's even an element of Roger and Me in it, too.)
Fuddnik
(8,846 posts)Anything by Chris Hedges.
pansypoo53219
(20,996 posts)so good, i need a complete set + found a 1891 complete set. rereading F. THREE A. + arm exercise as each weighs about 3+ lbs. i also am reading multi volumn set of 1907? great orations. reading french now, napoleon & anti napoleon. 3 more to go & then ebay. i also found a 6 big volume st of cassanova's memoirs, i read a bit I it is quite good. i am all non-fiction because the EBs. i find the most interesting books at estate sales. I started reading a great book. earth keepers. an old book on all the naturalists in history + led me to other books i think are interesting. OOOH! floyd gibbons! and they said we wouldn't fight. GREAT WW1 embedded journalist who gives an astounding inside the fight report. some great stuff in there. best before he got wounded, but the end of the war is written very well. and of course, the decameron. i have read that about 3 times.
avebury
(10,952 posts)Secret Drone Warfare Program by Jeremy Scahill, the staff of The Intercept
prairierose
(2,145 posts)ebook libraries today and you can borrow books from them. My local library has most books available in kindle format.
craigmatic
(4,510 posts)matt819
(10,749 posts)Hard scifi: Saturn Run by John Sandford and Ctein.
Fiction. Any of the three books in English by Frederick Bachman.
The Road Taken by Henry Petroski. About infrastructure issues. Easy reading, interesting.
LiberalArkie
(15,728 posts)economy, oligarchy.
They are both by Daniel Suarez
Daemon
Followed by
Freedom (tm)
Daemon takes a bit to get wound up, but I learned a lot about what is really going on in the world.. He is a very good story teller. I fell in love with the audio books of them after giving a listen.
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)Android3.14
(5,402 posts)Ready Player One
Anathem
Kingkiller Chronicles.
Motown_Johnny
(22,308 posts)It is free in the Guetenberg Project.
More of a long short story than a novel but IMO it is worth reading.
tammywammy
(26,582 posts)Doctor Who
(147 posts)"A Walk in the Woods" An account of his attempt as an +50 year old, out of shape guy to walk the applichian trail.
"From A Sunburned Country" An account of his travels in Australia. A great read.
"Notes from a Small Island" Observations about living in Great Britian for 20 years before returning to the states. Another great read.
I have a kindle subscription to "Ellery Queens mystery magazine". It's mostly short story whodunnits from yet discovered writers. I look forward to it every month.
Hope this helps
Dems to Win
(2,161 posts)AngryAmish
(25,704 posts)If you want to understand our nation this book is a must.
Not on Kindle, tho.
Demsrule86
(68,673 posts)Also, I do the kindle prime with amazon.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)Last edited Sun May 8, 2016, 07:49 PM - Edit history (1)
understand the "big picture," a book I really enjoyed The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson.
The End of Power: From Boardrooms to Battlefields and Churches to States, Why Being In Charge Isnt What It Used to Be by Moises Naim. The Donald's hardly the only person who has no idea about what leaders can and can't do. I confess I skipped some denser parts, but mostly it's a good read.
Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization Hardcover, by Parag Khanna. I have this on order and haven't read it yet. I've always been big on geography, tho, and this is very well regarded as a new way of thinking of a world connected and organized by supply chains.
ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)...recommendations!
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)enjoying the responses and taking notes (i.e., storing them to an Amazon list).
agracie
(950 posts)snagglepuss
(12,704 posts)ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)Dems to Win
(2,161 posts)Lilith's Brood and the Patternist series are both mind-blowing.
Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents have a kickass young black woman as the main character.
ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)kentauros
(29,414 posts)Gutenberg has already been mentioned, so I'll leave that off. Look into these
Welcome to the largest freely available archive of online books about religion, mythology, folklore and the esoteric on the Internet. The site is dedicated to religious tolerance and scholarship, and has the largest readership of any similar site on the web.
Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, and more.
Baen Books is now making available for free a number of its titles in electronic format. We're calling it the Baen Free Library. Anyone who wishes can read these titles online no conditions, no strings attached. (Later we may ask for an extremely simple, name & email only, registration. ) Or, if you prefer, you can download the books in one of several formats. Again, with no conditions or strings attached. (URLs to sites which offer the readers for these format are also listed.)
Links to Science Fiction & Fantasy Stories Online
The preeminent publisher of literature, reference and verse providing students, researchers and the intellectually curious with unlimited access to books and information on the web, free of charge.
This site offers works of and about fiction collected from our members, contributing authors worldwide, and texts in the public domain.
Free News, Magazines, Newspapers, Journals, Reference Articles and Classic Books
Welcome to The Literature Network!
We offer searchable online literature for the student, educator, or enthusiast. To find the work you're looking for start by looking through the author index. We currently have over 3500 full books and over 4400 short stories and poems by over 260 authors. Our quotations database has over 8500 quotes, and our quiz system features over 340 quizzes.
And your library, of course. If their selection is limited due to the high cost of ebooks from the big publishers, tell them to consider this source for buying ebooks: eBooks Are Forever
ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)...resource together and enhancing the down-thread value of my OP!
Love this kind of stuff on DU!
kentauros
(29,414 posts)Maybe I will turn it into its own OP, and invite people to add any other sites. I'd love to grow my collection for further sharing later on.
The following are ones I left off originally because they aren't sites for downloading to ebook format. Still, you can do that with add-ons to your browser. Then you can send an article to your Kindle via your kindle-email address.
Archives of Western Esoterica
Thelemapedia is the original encyclopedia of Thelema and Magick focusing on the works and philosophy of Aleister Crowley
Indigenous Peoples' Literature
Poet Seers
Charles Sanders Peirce
This one wasn't in my books-folder (had filed it under Research) and it looks interesting.
bibliomania
Oh, and by the way...
"Thou art an abominable hag-seed."
Mr. William Shakespeare's Insult Generator
Pakhet
(520 posts)ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)Recursion
(56,582 posts)Really, really good treatment of what was essentially the creation of the modern political nation-state from the ashes of the most destructive war in European history (yes, counting WWII).
ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)HuckleB
(35,773 posts)The Story of My Teeth
by Valeria Luiselli
Anything by Valeria Luiselli, in fact!
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)They are "classics" for good reason. And, all of them confront the social dilemma of class.
Katashi_itto
(10,175 posts)Here is the novel that started it all, launching the cyberpunk generation, and the first novel to win the holy trinity of science fiction: the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award and the Philip K. Dick Award. With Neuromancer, William Gibson introduced the world to cyberspace--and science fiction has never been the same.
https://www.amazon.com/Neuromancer-William-Gibson-ebook/dp/B000O76ON6?ie=UTF8&keywords=neuromancer&qid=1462847803&ref_=sr_1_1_ha&s=digital-text&sr=1-1