(Part 3) Best contemporary literature & fiction books according to redditors
We found 2,169 Reddit comments discussing the best contemporary literature & fiction books. We ranked the 1,156 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 41-60. You can also go back to the previous section.
But you can get a like-new copy for only US$1,200.
This isn't a "must read list", but going off your list, I think you would enjoy:
If you are looking for books to expand your literary chops on, I think blackstar9000 made a very good list.
For my recommendations on getting out of your element try these:
It's stopped raining, so that's good.
I am rather belatedly reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time which is an incredible book.
The kitchen refurb is going well. About to put the cupboard doors back in place.
After an extended and voluntary sabbatical (most of this year, basically) I have decided I must find work again. Just have to face up to phone-calls to/from recruiters, my least-favourite form of life (most of them, anyway).
Yes, there are plenty of "paid shills," plenty of voter rights abuses, etc. Your mistakes are as follows:
How about instead of reading conspiracy theories online -- which could possibly be posted by anyone, even these scary bots you refer to -- who don't you read an actual book from a credible source? Try:
Here' one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Striker-Steve-Barnes-Bruce/dp/1841990116
Steve Barnes is his pseudonym.
For a series of books with a worldview very similar to Good Omens (that is to say, heaven and hell going at it and behaving hilariously throughout), and written in a style similar to Adams and Pratchett, I would suggest the Mercury Series by Robort Kroese: Amazon link. He sometimes seems to try just a bit too hard to channel Adams/Pratchett, but every book was worth reading for me.
A fairytale ending not even acclaimed author steve bruce could write.
She is a book on female psychology using myth.
White Oleander is a fictional book about a mother/daughter relationship. The mother kills her boyfriend and goes to jail, then tries to control her daughter's life through the foster system from prison.
Women Who Run With The Wolves is also a lot like She, but it's myths from different cultures that explain various feminine archetypes, as opposed to one myth (the myth of Psyche).
Good luck!
20% of Amazon reviewers gave it 3 stars or fewer. To me that's a strong sign. Not always right but relevant.
https://www.amazon.com/Gone-World-Tom-Sweterlitsch/product-reviews/0399167501/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_paging_btm_next_2?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews&pageNumber=2
He's written a couple. Mostly sappy romance novels. I'm sure you can get them on Amazon.
Edit: Here's one. https://www.amazon.com/Zabiba-King-Author-Saddam-Hussein/dp/1589395859
Read [https://www.amazon.com/Gone-World-Tom-Sweterlitsch/dp/0399167501/ref=nodl_](“The Gone World”). It has enough in common with. Dark Matter that the reviews of Gone World mention Dark Matter but it is its own book. It’s gritty with some hard sci-fi aspects. The opening scene really sets the tone nicely. Read a sample and if you’re not hooked it’s probably not the book for you.
Edit: I don’t know what’s wrong with my markdown but you get the idea.
Great find!
There are all sorts of apocryphal stories about Jesus visiting locations throughout Christian Europe.
One notable story of a visit to England serves as the basis for one of my favorite hymns: And Did Those Feet in Ancient Times.
There's also a great collection of Italian Folktales - arranged by the incomparable Italo Calvino - that has a bunch of stories like this. It seems like every little village in Italy has a story of what Jesus did when He visited them.
Ah found it.
https://www.amazon.com/Hells-Gate-BOOK-MULTIVERSE-Multiverse/dp/1416555412
It is a fantasy book so it has things like magic which may or may not interest you
>The Union of Arcana has expanded through the portals linking parallel universes for over a century and a half. In that time, its soldiers and sorcerers have laid claim to one uninhabited planet after another—all of them Earth, and in the process, the Union has become the most powerful, most wealthy civilization in all of human history. But all of that is about to come to a screeching halt, for the Union’s scouts have just discovered a new portal, and on its far side lies a shattering revelation. Arcana is not alone, after all. There is another human society, Sharona, which has also been exploring the Multiverse, and the first contact between them did not go well. Arcana is horrified by the alien weapons of its sudden opponents, weapons its sorcerers cannot explain or duplicate. Weapons based upon something called . . . science. But Sharona is equally horrified by Arcana’s “magical” weapons. Neither side expected the confrontation. Both sides think the other fired first, and no one on either side understands the “technology” of the other. But as the initial disastrous contact snowballs into all-out warfare, both sides can agree on one thing. The portal which brought them together is Hell’s Gate itself!
Stan Goff explores this concept a little bit in his book Full Spectrum Disorder. Be forewarned though, he is pretty jaded by his military experience and might be a little much for you. It does however force you look at your experiences in a very different light. Good read.
Hell's Gate
https://www.amazon.com/Hells-Gate-BOOK-MULTIVERSE-Multiverse/dp/1416555412
is billed as this, but it's ... not quite. The "technology" side is actually the fantasy side -- kind of wild west / westward expansion vibe with some gamebreaking psychic powers, while the "magic" side is the technology side, they used a lot of engineered magic which, despite being fireballs and dragons, is closer to a reskinned modern day.
The Gone World or Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Tom Sweterlitsch would probably fit
I tried so hard to like Divergent because I would have liked to launch myself into a new fandom, but I just couldn't find any redeeming features in the book beyond "lots of people like them so there must be something there" and "the author is really young and successful and that's inspiring." I would have been quite OK with Tris being cold and calm (like
VioletVictoria or Daisy or Christopher or Sabriel), but rather than seeming to possess those character traits, to me, she just read empty.Amazon has new copies from various vendors at less than ten bucks. Looks like maybe it's in print in the UK.
They talk about this in Microserfs
Politicians with a flair for romance novels
Some of my favorites are The Housekeepr and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, and Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. I'm also a big fan of Walter Moers(German), but his books aren't everyone's thing. Goodreads might also be a good place to continue your search. I just did this search and found many books that would meet your requirements.
I enjoyed Yōko Ogawa's (Ogawa is the family name) The Housekeeper and the Professor. Definitely reminded me of my time in Japan, and also, I like math. :)
'In five years the penis will become obsolete.' said the salesman. ...
The Gone Away World by Nick Harkaway. If you like anything by Douglas Adams, chances are you'll enjoy it. It's the kind of book where you just have to embrace the absurdity and roll with it.
> wo nehmen die eigentlich immer ihre Ideen her.
Wahrscheinlich von hier:
https://www.amazon.de/1984-George-Orwell/dp/3548234100/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484895010&sr=8-1&keywords=orwell+1984
I believe you should read Steel Beach by John Varley
When writing for Semi-Charmed (webcomic) I have Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth on hand. It's a very hand reference for most Western creatures. Anything Eastern in nature though I use The Great Yokai Encyclopedia.
Who remembers Heavy Weather? How about Steel Beach?
Oh, wait. Not of this decade. I get lost sometimes.
Might not be totally what you are looking for but I think White Oleander is a really great book
Einige Vorschläge:
Here's a list of some of the better, popular books that may go over well with the group. Some of the topics may be a bit dark, but the treatment is well thought out and the writing style is beautiful in my opinion.
I'm a sci fi reader mostly, but I did get a kick out of each of these books, especially the second one by Rasana Atreya. Hope you like them too.
EDIT: added links.
Expensive:
Rage
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0450053792/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_UOmvxb1S0RMD5
For my collection. Probably never going to get unless I find it at a thrift shop. Nobody really has 1k to throw away.
Cheapest:
Life Savers Gummies Sours Candy, 1 Count
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B017JROK48/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_kOmvxb6GXVJ53
The first two books in the Discworld Series are 'The Colour Of Magic' and 'The Light Fantastic'
They do introduce the whole concept of the Discworld, but they aren't his best novels by a long shot.
These novels introduce Death (present in all bar two Discworld novels), the wizards of Discworld, the recurring character Rincewind and his luggage.
Small Gods is often sited as a good introduction. It is one of the best novels in the series, and gives you a good idea of the lore of the world.
You could also try 'Hogfather'
The other 'main' characters are
The Witches:
Equal Rites
Wyrd Sisters
Witches Abroad
Lords and Ladies
Maskerade
Carpe Jugulum 1998
There are 'The Wee Free Men' and 'A Hat Full of Sky' which star Tiffany Aching. They're not quite witch books, but not quite not witch books...
The City Watch:
Guards! Guards!
Men at Arms
Feet of Clay
Jingo
The Fifth Elephant
Night Watch
Thud!
Snuff
Death:
Mort
Reaper Man
Soul Music
Hogfather
Thief of Time
Moist Von Lipvig:
Going Postal
Making Money
Raising Steam
Strata is actually where the ideas for the Discworld were first put to page, but has absolutely no relation to any of the Discworld novels.
Couple of suggestions:
Don't what your interested in, but the above is pretty good all round list.
The Dark Tower books are an amazing read. Fantasy fiction. 7 books in the series, with an 8^th written latter that is kinda supposed to be in the middle somewhere. It is an addictive read, and yet I haven't finished it yet. I'm not very good at describing books, and I don't want to ruin it at all. So I'm afraid you'll have to look up reviews. But they are brilliant, and I really must finish them!
Derren Brown is (if you don't know) a British illusionist with an absolutely unbelievable set of skills. He is constantly de-bunking psychics, and magic in general, while at the same time making you believe he is magic (even if you have absolutely no belief in magic at all)! This book explains some of the tricks he does, and how to perform a lot of things. From simple disappearing coins, to insane memory capabilities. Very interesting read. Another one that is really hard to put down.
The Simpsons Mathematical Secrets book is something I found accidentally while being really nerdy and watching this video. It turns out that a lot of The Simpsons writers are mathematicians. These guys slip nerdy Easter Eggs into the episodes, and Simon goes through them all. The video linked talks about how numbers should be difference for the Simpsons, as they only have 4 fingers (3 and a thumb) where as we have 5. This makes us use a base 10 number system, they should use a base 8 number system. Fundamentally changing things like Pi. The writers knew this. But there is one, and only one, character in The Simpsons who has 5 fingers (4 and a thumb), and so this is why they live in a decimal world - The only character is God, and he controls the number system for some reason.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is a book I had to read in school. It is an amazing diary like "murder mystery novel like no other". It is narrated by a 15 year old boy with Asperger's Syndrome. It has been a while since I read this, so I don't remember a lot about it, but I remember reading it a couple of times before the rest of my class got around to finishing it. Not a long book, but a very good one!
I included Harry Potter, because its an obvious choice. It's also the only one from the above that I've finished (other than The Curious Incident). I've finished all 7 books. But never got around finishing the others (only got the Simpsons one for Christmas). If you haven't seen the films, read the books first. They are 100 times better. Seriously. But the films are like icing on the amazing cake that is HP, so don't avoid them either. This isn't just a kids book/film like some people assume.
Pets with Tourette's is a picture book. Not for kids. The things these pets say sometimes, disgraceful.
Can't think of any others, but probably because it is 4am here. Hahaha.
EDIT: Grammar and formatting errors.
$6.00 + $14.00 = $20 even. :)
Thanks for the contest! Snow, snow, go away, allergictoapples is too pretty to be cold!
[Six and a half, if you include Eoin Colfer's finale] (http://www.amazon.com/Another-Thing-Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy/dp/B0043RT9I0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395348733&sr=8-1&keywords=and+another+thing)
My favorite book of the past 10 years is The Housekeeper and the Professor, by Yoko Ogawa
Premise: A housekeeper and her son meet a crazy old mathematician. However, this mathematician has short-term memory loss, so that every 80 minutes his memory resets.
Pros: Very well-paced, heartwarming without being cheesy, interesting characters, uses mathematics as a metaphor our relationships as people.
Cons: Some characters are under-developed, some interesting plot points are missing.
Overall, it's a fun read that I recommend to everyone. Generally Japanese Lit is known for being very dry, but this was one of the few books that I always wanted to read just a little more.
When you wish upon a star
***
Favourite Disney film is probably The Lion King or Toy Story.
Favourite song is "Just Can't Wait to be King".
item link.
Yoko Ogawa's The Housekeeper And The Professor is a fiction work about a math professor who has an 80 minute memory span. Some of the number theory is interesting and well-woven into the story.
Microserf is the correct nomenclature.
Hell's gate
Just some basic suggestions, you can do with it what you will :)
https://www.amazon.com/Mythic-Bestiary-Illustrated-Fantastical-Creatures/dp/1844834840
https://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Imaginary-Places-Updated-Expanded/dp/0156008726/ref=pd_sim_14_6?ie=UTF8&dpID=518h-D4AR8L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR123%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=8C817F7QAQJ2BTBRMV4H
https://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Guide-Mythical-Creatures/dp/B006QS5XAC
https://www.amazon.com/Giants-Monsters-Dragons-Encyclopedia-Folklore/dp/0393322114/ref=pd_sim_14_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=51mZJ7gzjvL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR122%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=8C817F7QAQJ2BTBRMV4H
https://www.amazon.com/Monsterology-Complete-Book-Monstrous-Beasts/dp/0763639400/ref=pd_sim_14_4?ie=UTF8&dpID=61GBdkOSy3L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR136%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=8C817F7QAQJ2BTBRMV4H
https://www.amazon.com/Spirits-Fairies-Leprechauns-Goblins-Encyclopedia/dp/0393317927/ref=pd_sim_14_5?ie=UTF8&dpID=61H%2BqteBZML&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR123%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=8C817F7QAQJ2BTBRMV4H
Mercury Falls is available. I picked it up for .99 during a daily deal awhile back and enjoyed it. It is a humorous tale about the apocalypse.
The sequel mercury rises is also available free so I'll likely use my first month freebee on that.
There are a couple of terrific books by Carol Rose called Giants, Monsters and Dragons and Spirits, Faeries, Leprechauns and Goblins that I have found to be pretty useful for this sort of thing. Some of the entries are a bit sparse (likely because there are so dang many of them) but you can always use them as a starting point.
Plus they have some of the best indices I've encountered in a while: creatures listed by type, alphabetically, geographically etc.
(Oh, awesome. Amazon has a deal with these books and the Dictionary of Imaginary Places. If I didn't already have them all I would be dropping coin right now)
Multiverse stories allow you do two things that I see: play around with "what ifs" and combine "what ifs."
So you are playing a hard SF setting and want to include magic? "What if" there is a dimension where magic is part of the natural law on earth? (see apprentice adept series )
You want your characters to explore a well known and understood place, but you want to put a twist on it - that a totalitarian fascist regime (or perhaps totalitarian hippy regime) is now charge? "What if" Hitler (or Garcia) had conquered the world we know? (just google, you will find a ton for nazis at least).
You want to explore a world where magic-wielding nazi control a trans-dimensional empire of multiple other earths that they conquered? Bam, multiverse. (See Hell's gate series )
For most other situations, however, a SF story can just have you visit another planet. Trek was particularly fond of this, with planets full of Romans, transplanted by mysterious aliens. Or chicago gangsters, etc. For most garden variety "strange and interesting" however, far off places solves most problems.
Not sure if helpful, but there is my two cents.
It is (more or less)! And it's AWESOME.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Gone-Away-World-Nick-Harkaway/dp/0307268861
Sad no one has mentioned JPod or Microserfs yet.
https://www.amazon.com/Microserfs-Douglas-Coupland/dp/0061624268
I looked on Amazon out of curiosity. It's from when he was writing under the name Richard Bachman. The cheapest copy is selling for $354.57
So much for buying that book!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0450053792/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0552133256/ref=cm_rdp_product
You can buy it, its german, though
John Varley's Steel beach is a story of humanity's development on the Moon after being kicked off Earth by mysterious, and then absent, alien civilization called the Alphans.
The Gone-Away World, by Nick Harkaway.
Not only will the twist mess with your head, but it also has pirates, ninjas and mimes. And planetary destruction. And truckers.
Review
Amazon
[Well there's this] (http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Curious-Incident-Dog-Night-time/dp/0099450259/ref=reg_hu-rd_add_1_dp) but I feel like I should keep to the 'under 5'.
So. [This is also good] (http://www.amazon.co.uk/NW-Zadie-Smith/dp/0141036591/ref=reg_hu-rd_add_1_dp).
So Happy Birthday Diaju! Do you like to read too?
> all "magic" is typically later revealed to be super-advanced technology
May I suggest "Strata" by Terry Pratchett? The book basically lives from this assumption.
I mean, Element Encyclopedia has books on everything for that. Not my particular favorite brand (mostly because I am a huge mythology nerd and have better books on monsters) but their selection should work for you.
But my two personal recomendations for any fantasy are
[Giants, Monsters and Dragons] (https://www.amazon.com/Giants-Monsters-Dragons-Encyclopedia-Folklore/dp/0393322114)
and
The Dictionary of Imaginary Places
A 6th one came out written by the guy who wrote artemis fowl.
Edit: Here
Jorges Louis Borges? Maybe the book of imaginary beings?
Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino?
Or be like Saddam, and write romance novels
Can I buy this from you? http://www.amazon.com/Rage-Richard-Bachman/dp/0450053792
Calvino collected/transcribed a collection of Italian Folktales.
The author of Artemis Fowl apparently was authorized to write a 6th one.
Microserfs by Douglas Coupland. If you haven't read it already, something tells me you should give this a read.
Dan Gilbert's Stumbling on Happiness. I recommend this book to everyone I know. It has changed me for the better in so many ways.
It's cliche but, Michael Pollans In Defense of Food.
Lastly, Janet Fitch White Oleander.
Some of my favorites:
I've been to three of them in California, and they were just bizarrely awful. Ripped-open packages, outright rude staff members, nothing on the right shelf, dirty stores. Conversely, the one in Renton is actually pretty decent. Things are pretty organized and well maintained, and one time I saw a pair of Buddhist monks shopping for motherboards, so that was pretty neat.
I'm not going to lie, though; the main reason I love the Renton Fry's is because of this book.
Read:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Win_Friends_and_Influence_People
https://www.amazon.com/Factfulness-Reasons-World-Things-Better-ebook/dp/B0756J1LLV
https://www.amazon.com/How-Think-Like-Leonardo-Vinci-ebook/dp/B000SEFNF0/
https://hbr.org/2014/09/how-philosophy-makes-you-a-better-leader
https://www.amazon.com/Microserfs-Novel-Douglas-Coupland-ebook/dp/B004W2YZ0I
Write: Your 1, 3 and 5-year plans. Write plans for achieving them
Watch:
The Big Short
The Smartest Guys in the Room
Go to: Industry events, user groups, technical meetups. But also museums, great restaurants, national parks and crowded cities
Connect with: Peers, leaders, teachers, innovators - not just people in your business niche.
Travel: As far & wide as you can. Nationally & internationally. Don't forget the local things around you that you've never seen
Exercise: You're taking care of your brain - take care of your body, too
I'm pretty sure this is The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch.
I was sure this was going to be A Wrinkle in Time or The Phantom Tollbooth.
But since it wasn't either of those, The Mouse and the Motorcycle was a good alternative. One of my elementary school teachers read that (and other books from the series?) in class when I was a kid, and it was wonderful.
If you ever get a chance to do it go check out the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. They've even got this napkin on one of the walls and pieces of the old bar everyone used to meet and drink at in the 80-90s. Really cool museum.
http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102716248
Try the book Microserfs. It's about Microsoft. I haven't read it in a LONG time so I'm not sure how well it aged (not SV but same vibe).
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004W2YZ0I/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Adobe Acrobat is a cool story. Google taking over its original campus and kicking all of the old startups out (Ampitheater Drive <- tons of history here). Will think of more as they come to me. Just got back from SV. Intuit..
Saying this is a minor spoiler, but there is definitely a surplus of unknowns and twists, so it's a worthwhile sacrifice in order to inform people of an awesome book...
Anyway, that definitely reminds me of The Gone-Away World. Check it out.
The Gone Away World by Nick Harkaway
Just wanted to jump in with some specifics. The US military is mostly white but still has a good 30.3% who self-identify as minority: http://www.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2012_Demographics_Report.pdf
However that's total military, and video games typically focus on special operations units. While demographic data on those is hard to come by thanks to the Department of Defense, anecdotal evidence suggests it is almost entirely white owing to systemic racism: http://www.amazon.com/Full-Spectrum-Disorder-Military-American/dp/1932360123/ and http://www.amazon.com/Hideous-Dream-Soldiers-Memoir-Invasion/dp/1887128638/ by former US Army Sergeant Stan Goff expand on this.
I have the same complaint when I go to the humor section!
Here are some of my favorites that I haven't seen in the other comments:
Mercury Falls Series (and really almost anything by Robert Kroese). This one probably gave me the most laugh-out-loud moments.
>While on assignment in Utah, Christine Temetri isn’t surprised when yet another prophesied Apocalypse fails to occur. After three years of reporting on End Times cults for a religious news magazine, Christine is seriously questioning her career choice. But then she meets Mercury, a cult leader whose knowledge of the impending Apocalypse is decidedly more solid than most: he is an angel, sent from heaven to prepare for the Second Coming but distracted by beer, ping pong, and other earthly delights. After Christine and Mercury inadvertently save Karl Grissom—a film-school dropout and the newly appointed Antichrist—from assassination, she realizes the three of them are all that stand in the way of mankind’s utter annihilation. They are a motley crew compared to the heavenly host bent on earth’s destruction, but Christine figures they’ll just have to do. Full of memorable characters, Mercury Falls is an absurdly funny tale about unlikely heroes on a quest to save the world.
Peter and the Monsters--It initially reads like a kids book, but don't let that put you off. The first volume is free.
>When ten-year-old Peter moves into his grandfather’s creepy old mansion in a small town, bad, baaaaad things start to happen.
A family of charred boogeymen who haunt the garden decide they don't like trespassers...
A classmate with a crush comes back from the grave and decides to make Peter her Undead Prince Charming...
A creature from Fairieland changes place with Peter's two-year-old sister, leading to a VERY strange babysitting job...
A prehistoric predator snatches children from the town lake, forcing Peter to literally dive into the belly of the beast...
With his troublemaking neighbor Dill, his grumpy grandfather, and only his courage and wit to guide him, Peter has to survive all these things, plus the Greatest Horror Of All:
Fourth grade.
Magic 2.0 starting with Off to be the Wizard. To be honest, the series goes slowly downhill after the first one.
>Martin Banks is just a normal guy who has made an abnormal discovery: he can manipulate reality, thanks to reality being nothing more than a computer program. With every use of this ability, though, Martin finds his little “tweaks” have not escaped notice. Rather than face prosecution, he decides instead to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and pose as a wizard.
>
>What could possibly go wrong?
>
>An American hacker in King Arthur's court, Martin must now train to become a full-fledged master of his powers, discover the truth behind the ancient wizard Merlin…and not, y'know, die or anything.
Clovenhoof Probably not as good as others in this list, but there are still some good laughs. It's more British humor (or humour, I suppose).
>Charged with gross incompetence, Satan is fired from his job as Prince of Hell and exiled to that most terrible of places: English suburbia. Forced to live as a human under the name of Jeremy Clovenhoof, the dark lord not only has to contend with the fact that no one recognises him or gives him the credit he deserves but also has to put up with the bookish wargamer next door and the voracious man-eater upstairs.
>
>Heaven, Hell and the city of Birmingham collide in a story that features murder, heavy metal, cannibalism, armed robbers, devious old ladies, Satanists who live with their mums, gentlemen of limited stature, dead vicars, petty archangels, flamethrowers, sex dolls, a blood-soaked school assembly and way too much alcohol.
Clovenhoof is outrageous and irreverent (and laugh out loud funny!) but it is also filled with huge warmth and humanity. Written by first-time collaborators Heide Goody and Iain Grant, Clovenhoof will have you rooting for the bad guy like never before.
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) This is the first in a series of 3. I would say it's a sci-fi book first with a lot of humor.
>Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street.
>
>Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets. The stakes are high: no less than the first claim to entire worlds. If he declines the honor, he'll be switched off, and they'll try again with someone else. If he accepts, he becomes a prime target. There are at least three other countries trying to get their own probes launched first, and they play dirty.
>
>The safest place for Bob is in space, heading away from Earth at top speed. Or so he thinks. Because the universe is full of nasties, and trespassers make them mad - very mad.
The Henchmen's Book Club I read this one quite a few years ago, so I don't remember the specifics other than I thought it was funny at that time.
>Mark Jones is a henchman for hire. He guards bunkers, patrols perimeters and stands around in a boiler suit waiting to get knocked out by Ninjas. This is his job.
>
>He’s worked for some of the most notorious super villains the world has ever known – Doctor Thalassocrat, Victor Soliman, Polonius Crump; Mark was with each of them when they met their makers at the hands of British Secret Service super-spy, Jack Tempest and lived to tell the tale – if not pay the bills.
>
>Still for ever hour under gunfire there are weeks if not months of sitting around on monorails so Jones starts a book club with his fellow henchmen to help pass the time.
>
>It was only meant to be a bit of fun.
>
>It was never meant to save the world.
Everything else I was going to suggest is already in the comments. Good Luck!
I would be open to it. I'm probably one of the few people who enjoyed And Another Thing
Personally I’m always excited to find out if he’s writing a new novel.
Just look at these reviews!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Striker-Steve-Barnes-Bruce/dp/1841990116
OK time for you to go (re)read A Wrinkle in Time for the best literary approach to this sort of metaphor.
Later in our exploration of New Age Metaphors Mapping to Contemporary Religion we can talk about Jonathan Livingston Seagull.
You are love.
Why not read Saddam Hussein's novel, Zabiba and the King. Yes, it was, in fact, written by Saddam Hussein. Is it bad? Almost assuredly. Did I ever read it? Fuck no, man. It's gotta suck. But if you're looking to read a shit book, I think Zabiba and the King is your huckleberry.
Edit: Why the down votes?
My only advice is don't move with friends - look back after a year or two and realize you should have bought a condo of your own.
edit: also read Microserfs
http://www.amazon.com/Microserfs-Novel-P-S-Douglas-Coupland/dp/0061624268