(Part 2) Best metaphysical & visionary fiction books according to redditors

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We found 882 Reddit comments discussing the best metaphysical & visionary fiction books. We ranked the 219 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.

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Top Reddit comments about Metaphysical & Visionary Fiction:

u/[deleted] · 66 pointsr/books

This is a brilliant idea.

I'm just been trying to remember what books I liked when I was still at school, the ones that I have come up with so far are: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (I know it's a graphic novel but it's really good!), Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie, Wild Swans by Jung Chang, The Wind Singer, by William Nicholson. There are probably many more, but that's all I can think of right now - hope I've helped a bit though!

u/bh28630 · 42 pointsr/books

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Surprised no one has mentioned it given its recent best seller status.

u/1point618 · 15 pointsr/SF_Book_Club

The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber

My favorite book that I read in 2015.

An evangelical British preacher is sent to a new planet to proselytize to the native inhabitants. The story follows his strained relationship with his wife back home, his weird relationship with the other humans at the base, and the budding relationship between him and the natives. This book was an absolute delight.

u/Doom_Douche · 14 pointsr/PostCollapse

I read a LOT and am always trying to find new collapse fiction. Whenever I see these kind of threads they always list the same 5 novels. To be fair that is because they are great books. Here is a list full of novels you might not know about. Anything you find here is worth reading. Even bad collapse fiction is useful because you can make mental notes of what the characters are doing wrong. I'll try to list them in rough order of best to worst.


Tunnel in the Sky By Robert Heinlein

Holding Their Own By Joe Nobody

Swan Song By Robert McCammon

A Distant Eden By Lloyd Tackitt

The Jakarta Pandemic By Steven Konkoly

77 Days in September By Ray Gorham

The Walk By Lee Goldberg

Folk of the Fringe By Orson Scott Card

World Made by Hand By James Kunstler

American Apocalypse: The Collapse Begins By Nova

Into the Forest By Jean Hegland

Year of the Flood By Margaret Atwood

Last Light By Terri Blackstock

TEOTWAKI: Beacon's Story By David Craig

The Pulse By Scott B. Williams

Grid Down Reality Bites By Bruce Buckshot Hemming

Desperate Times By Nicholas Antinozzi

Armageddon's Children By Terry Brooks






Desperate Times By Nicholas Antinozzi

u/spikestoker · 10 pointsr/lost

Here's the thing, brother: I agree that there's definitely some fluff going on, and I'm not particularly fond of it. However, it's just something you take along with the better conversation regarding the series.

Some examples:

  • Theory discussion with ohhimark108 on the nature of the smoke monster

  • Topic theorizing why Sun didn't end up in '77

  • Discussion on father figures

    I'd say upvote the types of topics you'd like to see more of, and make posts you feel will foster the discussions you're looking for. One of great things about LOST is that it appeals to such a wide variety of tastes: you can watch and enjoy the fact that there's a rich subtext of philosophical themes & literary antecedents, or you can be a fan because a lot of camera angles that show off Juliet's cleavage & a lot of shit gets blowed up.

    You want something deeper and more in-depth? Don't get hung up on the image macros, or other frivolous posts. Instead, submit a topic asking what thematic concerns are echoed between LOST and Haroun and the Sea of Stories, or questioning the complicated relationship between free will and determinism displayed by Juliet's detonation of Jughead during the Incident -- I guarantee there are people in the subreddit who will gladly contribute to the conversation.
u/SlothMold · 7 pointsr/booksuggestions

It sounds like you should take a stab at Margaret Atwood's MaddAddam trilogy. It starts with Oryx and Crake, set in a classist capitalist society with rampant bioengineering. A genius genetically engineers a new species of humans. The Year of the Flood is a companion volume (not a sequel - don't let that trip you up) that covers the same time period from the POV of a child raised in a hippie-ish cult. The third book (MaddAddam) is meant to tie the two narratives together, but I haven't read it yet.

u/blackstar9000 · 7 pointsr/books
u/SmallFruitbat · 6 pointsr/YAwriters

I am going to take issue with that Brave New World and Hunger Games are dystopian, but not science fiction" line. The article linked to explain that distinction is based around the idea that dystopia must involve an ideological critique and uses The Matrix as an illustrative example, but doesn't seem to talk about what makes something science fiction rather than just blanket speculative fiction. (e.g. According to the author, The Matrix is not dystopian because the central narrative line is a messiah's human triumph over machines in thriller format, not the prediction/parable about humanity's end that would mark it as dystopian according to the thesis. I disagree.)

As far as I'm concerned, science fiction incorporates technology and/or science that is conceivable, but not currently available. So I'd say Brave New World's Bokanovsky's Process and The Hunger Games' genetic engineering in the form of mockingjays and tracker jackers as well as the flight craft and force fields and massive leaps in other technologies easily qualify them both as sci-fi. And dystopian.

So ha. ^Though ^you ^might ^get ^me ^to ^argue ^that ^Brave ^New ^World ^is ^actually ^utopian.

More Recommended Dystopian Sci-Fi Reads:

  • Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood (adult literary sci-fi). Hyper-relevant commentary on social stratification, corporate power, class warfare, and rampant genetic engineering. One of my favorite books ever. Companion volumes (not sequels) are The Year of the Flood and MaddAddam
  • Feed by M.T. Anderson (YA sci-fi), where everyone has the internet in their heads from birth. The consequences of instantaneous gratification and hypercapitalism. Super depressing and yet another one of my favorite books.
  • Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (YA and a free ebook, btw). Maybe not the best ever, but hyper-relevant and you can treat it as a primer on internet security, higher level math, and coding. In near-future California, a teenage hacker is swept up by the Department of Homeland Security following a terrorist attack. Serious social commentary on mass surveillance and privacy.
  • World War Z by Max Brooks, bearing no resemblance to the movie beyond the name (adult post-apocalyptic, an easy - and favorite - read. The abridged audiobook is good too). Despite the zombie apocalypse, this might not even count as dystopian because the interconnected interview narratives about the triumphs of human ingenuity are pretty uplifting. Themes of social change, the levels we'll sink to for survival, resilience...
  • Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (YA sci-fi). At 16, the perfect society will make you pretty... And dumb. Society's obsession with beauty, etc, etc. I thought the series went downhill, but this is worth reading.
  • Habibi by Craig Thompson (adult graphic novel). Half exegesis, half narrative about a post-apocalyptic Middle East mixed with stories from the Qu'ran and Arabian Nights. Deconstruction of the human spirit in a dying world, mainly.
  • Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (adult literary). If you've even seen the movie trailer, half of the slow build to "something is not quite right" in the book is lost.
  • Incarceron and Sapphique by Catherine Fisher (YA steampunk-ish). This almost broke my favorite books list. Almost. Two worlds: one steampunk, labyrinthine prison, one fake medieval "real" world.

    Dystopian and Not Quite Sci-Fi Recommendations:

  • The Giver by Lois Lowry (MG). Forget the movie trailer. The book we read back in elementary school was more about a utopian society going back to a simpler time and a 12-year old discovering the cracks and making his own decisions.
  • Wicked by Gregory Maguire (adult literary fantasy). Different once again from the Broadway show, this is The Wizard of Oz told from the POV of the Wicked Witch of the West. All about the nature and definition of evil, but even then it might not count as dystopian. The Wizard is a Nazi, btw.
  • The Selection by Kiera Cass (YA popcorn). This is seriously only making the list because of the popcorn aspect and where it seemed like it was going to go before The One ruined all the political drama and revolution that could have happened. Basically a fun Mary Sue-fest about princess lessons in a future-North American caste society.
  • How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (YA spec fic). Anorexic teen during WWIII. Plenty of survival and resilience questions, but no new tech, so not really sci-fi, I'd say.
  • The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (adult literary spec fic). Could arguably belong on the list above, but there's not much in the way of technology. At all. With declining birth rates due to pollution, the US becomes a theocracy. Written in response to the rise of evangelical politics in the 80s much like Oryx and Crake was in response to the politics of the early 21st century, but the main takeaway I got from it was that anthropologists are unconscionable.
  • Into the Forest by Jean Hegland (adult literary spec fic). I didn't like this one at the time because the symbolism was so heavy-handed it bordered on magical realism and I couldn't understand the MC's decisions, but it grew on me in retrospect. After a flu pandemic, two teenage sisters live mostly on their own.

    But really, this whole article setup is eerily reminiscent of the "____ Literary Trope is Not Worthy!" followed by "Rebuttal!" linkbait we've been seeing a lot.
u/gblancag · 6 pointsr/AskWomen

I'm traditionally more into literary fiction, but I've been exploring non-fiction recently.

Currently Reading: 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus

Recently Finished: The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration and Margaret Atwood's MaddAddam Trilogy

Next on the List: Either Guns Germs and Steel or Devil in the White City. Haven't decided yet

u/Krotes · 5 pointsr/simpleliving

Im on month 10 of this. I'm so happy compared to how I was (and I wasn't miserable).

I have a kindle and am reading as much as possible. Long walks from 11am to 3pm every day.

I make my own breakfast, lunch and dinner most days...

Certainly not productive but I am more than willing to work a few more years when I'm 60 to balance it all out.

The problem is what to do next, whenever that is...

"Create the future" and be "authentic" is about all I have come up with. Certainly no more conference calls and meetings with people I don't respect and wouldn't speak to if it weren't for a paycheck.

Life is too short. This is obvious.

Edit - best of luck! I was reading this book and the main character quits his job at the beginning of the book. No one can understand why...his answer: "to think."

u/ovoutland · 4 pointsr/books
u/ras_el_hanout · 3 pointsr/preppers

have you read the The Maddaddam Trilogy by Margaret Atwood? not directly related to prepping more prepperish, but there's definitely a strong connection there! I really enjoyed it and it popped right into my head when I saw prepper fiction

u/2x2is4iscockynamean · 3 pointsr/suggestmeabook

Kate Chopin.

Katherine Anne Porter.

Flannery O'Connor (self-evident).

Valeria Luiselli's Faces in the Crowd.

Anne Carson's The Autobiography of Red.

Jean Rhys' [Good Morning, Midnight](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Morning,_Midnight_(Rhys_novel).

Edit:

Holy Omission, Batman! Forgot the most badass contemporary of them all, Lydia Davis! Her
Collected Stories wrecks.

Edit^2: George Sand, Anais Nin, Willa Cather, Gertrude Stein, Zadie Smith, Alice Munro, Margaret Atwood, Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, Adelle Waldmann, Kathy Acker, Ursula K. Le Guin, Anne Bradstreet, Phillis Wheatley, Christina Rossetti, Cynthia Ozick, Jennifer Egan, Clarice Lispector.

u/Chai_Ito · 3 pointsr/books

Paul Auster's The New York Trilogy is, as the title would suggest, three novellas in one volume. I'll give you a segment from my favorite blurb about this book"

> Ostensibly presented as detective fiction, the stories of The New York Trilogy have been described as "meta-detective-fiction", "anti-detective fiction", "mysteries about mysteries", a "strangely humorous working of the detective novel", "very soft-boiled", a "metamystery" and a "mixture between the detective story and the nouveau roman"

Also worth checking out is Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things. Because Neil Gaiman.

u/admiraljohn · 3 pointsr/AskReddit

I haven't read a physical book since I bought my Kindle last year.

But right now I'm reading "Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter" and after I finish that I plan on reading "Age Of Miracles".

u/workroom · 3 pointsr/books

The Time Traveler's Wife if he hasn't already read it.

u/the_thinker · 3 pointsr/books

MIght not be what you want..but The Time Traveler's Wife is written like a diary and is a good read.

u/phunkyvida · 2 pointsr/suggestmeabook

Not sure if these are appropriate, or if she's read these already but here's a few off the top of my head:

u/nyerinohio · 2 pointsr/books

I loved Oryx and Crake, and she recently came out with a companion novel. Not quite a sequel as it can stand on it's own, but it follows some of the same events and characters. I would highly recommend it.

u/WooErin · 2 pointsr/writing

I completely agree, sadly. This is one of my absolute favorite novellas. It's such a beautiful combination of poetry and fiction that as the reader, you forget which you're reading. I haven't seen many examples of it done well and I'm so glad I had a professor assign this in college. I highly recommend reading it if you haven't already.

As smith4844 said, sometimes you just have to do it for yourself and screw writing it for anyone else. At least you know that it will be pure and untainted by anything other than your desire to see it come to life.

u/admorobo · 2 pointsr/suggestmeabook

I'd check out the MaddAddam Trilogy by Margaret Atwood. The three novels take place "in a darkly plausible future shaped by plagues, floods, and genetic engineering." Really interesting, intense reads.

u/Percy_Q_Weathersby · 2 pointsr/books
  1. The Age of Miracles - Karen Thompson Walker
  2. 8/10
  3. Fantasy, adolescence, speculative fiction
  4. The rotation of the earth slows and the days lengthen. A day no longer contains 24 hours; instead, it contains 25, or 26, or 50 hours. There are cultural ramifications. Oddly enough, the last book I read before this one was The Leftovers, which is another book about some strange cosmic shift in how life on earth works. I thought that one was just okay, but I really enjoyed this one. So if you like The Leftovers, I would bet you will love The Age of Miracles.
  5. Amazon
u/TheUnstopableForce · 2 pointsr/CasualConversation
  1. [The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1401308589/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469988382&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=the+five+people+you+meet+in+heaven&dpPl=1&dpID=41D9P3BZSWL&ref=plSrch)
    It's my favorite book because you learn a lot from it.
    This is a story about a man named Eddie and it begins at the end, with Eddie dying in the sun. It might seem strange to start a story with an ending. But all endings are also beginnings. We just don't know it at the time.
  2. I'm not sure. Hopefully if I do have one in the future I can remember it.
  3. Work , sleep, run, and celebrate my birthday
u/Tikibox · 2 pointsr/dating

M30 here
I remember when I had the same issue, I got a book on the history of the Samurai. I brought a highlighter and sticky notes to a cafe and tabbed the hell out of that book. I noted every clan, every distinction of the clan, famous swordmakers, beheading "showings". I took to those stories to heart. Those men exhibited such amazing discipline that I wanted to follow suit.

Aaaaaaand, when I met up with the chick, i would have the book in my bag. Eventually, she saw the book that was tabbed to hell. BOOM. She thought that was sexy as hell (don't stage it/force her to see it). She KNOWS that you have greater ambitions in life. That is pure catnip. ~10 years later and I still have that book. She isn't around, but that book is, and it is still catnip.

The trick is to maintaining a schedule time to devour the book. When she asks to hang out during that time (and she will target that time), tell her that you are a bit busy during that scheduled time. Say, "How about afterwards?"

Other good books about discipline:

Rules for a Knight

Man's search for meaning

Also, turn off your ringer/vibrate on your phone. Put that phone in a backpack. It took me until 23 to figure that one out. Ignore the phone. Why does she need an immediate response? She doesn't.
If she gets frustrated, she will take it out on you sexually. No joke. She will fight for your attention. Just keep up with that book. Even if you do get your intended reaction from her. You put that book down and you'll be worried all over again. Not fun, is it?

If she is really young, she might try to make you jealous. If that is the case, she is bad news. I doubt that you will get here, but it is a red flag to remember. Find another girl who will see that tabbed book. Profit$$$

u/Marc-le-Half-Fool · 2 pointsr/kundalini

TL;DR - answering questions on the k topic.

Re doughnuts, it's from an old advertisement. We use it to refer to work in general, not actually making little tasty toroids. Nice physics link, thank you. Will have a deeper look.

>I was caught by my flatmates peering in...

Laughter is always good medicine!! You and your friends will be telling this story as long as it makes you laugh. Makes ME laugh!

>I suppose I am fairly trusting of the process now...

The k process has a self-regulating wisdom built into itself. This isn't being doomed by life - it's being challenged by it, perhaps thoroughly to help you grow more actively, to place you in situations which will help you question and unlearn ideas which stand in your way. The input of heat or a push or challenges goes by what you you have shown you can adapt to, and it especially goes by how responsible you are being with your energy and actions. If you were to lets say stay reckless, (am not implying you now are - it's just an example) your growth would remain slow to nil as far as kundalini is concerned. Or it could rouse your choices into question and really throw you for a loop. There's no easy way to tell.

Though it will slowly try to force a bit of wisdom-giving experience into your being, you don't get to walk and run without consistent responsibility and good choices. Proving you can crawl and stand while holding furniture is essential.

Being stoned may make your choices whacky or unpredictable, irresponsible - hence the irony that people rouse their kundalini at times through drugs but end up going nowhere or even backwards with k due to continued drug use.

If you choose to continue using drugs, that's a personal choice which tells kundalini to back off. Some. Maybe next life, if you believe in such things.

>Do you think it's fine to share revelatory stuff to anybody safe in the knowledge that, if they are not ready, then they will not believe you?

This is asking me what to do and to choose for you. I won't. There will be risks involved, risks of rejection, ridicule, belittlement, stress and stuff that may affect your health, and this applies to sharing AND not sharing. You may lose a friend or two. You may discover who are your real friends.

Also, you want to reveal only that which is wise to do so. Our society doesn't much care for people too far on either side of the bell curve. You don't need a neighbour or flat-mate believing you then judging you to be some monster.

>Is there a karmic load for interfering in another's path?

Always, whether the influence is positive or negative. Merely sharing words or ideas does not constitute "interference" nor manipulation unless you are dealing with children who haven't yet the judgment to deal with all topics. Freedom from needing or wanting to manipulate others is a basic level demand of k practice. Helpfulness is fine, but being overly helpful will make you better understand the notion: No good deed goes unpunished.

Book ideas

  • Genevieve Lewis Paulson's Kundalini and the Chakras: Evolution in this lifetime
  • Richard Bach's Illusions
  • Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet
  • Observe the ideas regarding the force (not the swordmanship) in the Star Wars movies.

    The first book is in my opinion the very best on the topic. Nothing else I've explored comes close. The second is an unusual tale of a seeker of knowledge and a teacher he comes across. The lessons are valid for a k learner. The Prophet is a jewel of a work, and is more of an artistic gentle respectful dabble at deep wisdom. He points at something without fully saying what it is - you have to figure it out for yourself. I like the Gibran book for measuring what I see and don't see in his writings. Regarding Star Wars, kundalini bears resemblance to the force, BUT, this is not the same galaxy nor the same time. The house rules are different here - a Darth Vader personality cannot exist here. Also, force-wielders are not enforcing an artificial peace upon society.

    >I suppose I am fairly trusting of the process now I have gotten over the fear (to name a few) - of serotonin addiction, being thought of as mad, being mad, poverty, that I am deluding myself and believing in all kinds of esoteric shit as a way of hiding from the life that society wants me to lead, and thus wasting my time here on earth.

    Good stuff in this paragraph. Will explore in next reply. Also, I'll glance at what serotonin addiction consists of. Am clueless.

    >I mention these fears not for drama but because I think I needed to share them with someone who can relate.

    You'll have to decide whether you wish to share those in as public a venue as here.

    >However, I later tried not to make the clear arguments that I feel would have undermined his world-view irrevocably as he was in a fragile place too and I didn't want to spread the crazy, to one who wasn't prepared.

    This shows that you have awareness of and respect for other's beliefs and where they are at. Respect is a good sign. There are those who question religiosity and some religions demand that the reality of the Maker be presented to others, sometimes rather forcefully. Some ask... what, can't the maker do that without help? Kundalini doesn't demand that you be of this faith or that one, that you prefer chocolate to chocolate crunch super fudge ice cream. If anything really stands in the way within your belief, it will be revealed by your own growth. That means that everyone's path is unique and having respect for others is a basic (and easy) requirement if one is to mature well with k.

    The donuts are calling!!
    Edit: clarified sentences, added TL;DR
u/dumbasswaiter · 2 pointsr/softscience

Although most people take this book as fiction, a few believe it to be true...interesting read regardless. I bought everything this guy wrote and read it all in a summer around 8 years ago. It's funny what you'll start believing while living in a strange city where you don't know anyone.

u/Zanhana · 2 pointsr/AskReddit

Indeed, The Year of the Flood.

EDIT: As far as the story goes, most of the novel is a prequel to Oryx and Crake, taking place alongside the "backstory" parts of Oryx, but it does advance the plot past the cliffhanger ending of Oryx.

u/v64 · 2 pointsr/INTP

Excited about starting David Mitchell's The Bone Clocks tomorrow.

u/4th_time_around · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

I want this hardcover book. Not only is the cover aesthetically pleasing, but it also has rave reviews. Bonus! Once read, I too will discover the secrets of the universe.

I need [this] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008FPOIT6/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2FFKUBIHIWIUM&coliid=I1R8MLNH75L8WL) e-book because it's this month's RAOA book club pick!

If I were a book, I hope that I'd be a great one.

u/raajksauthor · 1 pointr/writing

Title: Bahá'u'lláh And The Mission of "God Manifestation"

Genre: Spiritual Fantasy Short Story

Word Count: 5000

Feedback: General impression

link: https://www.amazon.in/Bah%C3%A1ull%C3%A1h-Mission-Manifestation-Play-Book-ebook/dp/B0813H6536/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=bahaullah+and+the+mission+of+god+manifestation&qid=1574245039&sr=8-1

u/amazon-converter-bot · 1 pointr/FreeEBOOKS

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.com

amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

u/mayonesa · 1 pointr/books

Good point. I don't know why I keep using the English title, except that I like it better. Have you read his newest?

Amazon seems to be cheerfully selling it under both names:

u/Profition · 1 pointr/books

I just read Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore. It was quite good for a quick and easy read.

u/halopolice · 1 pointr/RandomKindness

PM me with details. Amazon.com says that they have it in stock http://www.amazon.com/Haroun-Sea-Stories-Salman-Rushdie/dp/0140157379 If the Shipping charges don't exceed $50, I will get send it to him. Might go over that depending on how my RK fund is doing by the time you respond.

u/Prawn_Solo · 1 pointr/books
  1. The Age of Miracles - Karen Thompson Walker
  2. 9/10
  3. Coming of age, science fiction
  4. The prose in this book is so well done. I also loved how Walker blended a sci-fi backdrop with a simple, beautiful story about childhood.
  5. http://www.amazon.com/The-Age-Miracles-A-Novel/dp/0812992970/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347989651&sr=8-1&keywords=age+of+miracles
u/xxxargs · 1 pointr/Poetry

Anne Carson -- Autobiography of Red changed my view on writing forever. Bridging the gaps between history, classical studies, poetry, prose, and philosophy it's an adventure in masculinity, sexuality, and longing. I've read every Anne Carson publication since; each is dense and provoking and difficult... she is a genius.

C.D Wright -- One Big Self is an examination of prison life in the south, told through prose and poetry snippets. There is an associated photo-journalist book that accompanies it, and together they're just outstanding. I think it gives one of the best holistic views of the south through really moving and lyrical prose.

Everything by Derrick Brown (Scandalabra, I Love You is Back, Born in The Year of The Butterfly Knife, etc) These are the only books that made the translation to spoken word for me... I'm not always a fan of spoken word poetry, but these made the jump for me. Church of The Broken Axe Handle kindof saved my life after a series of deaths in my family and friend circles; I've watched him read it over 500 times. It's technically about a breakup, but moreso about how you continue to live after the loss of intimacy and self-worth when someone you love deeply leaves (on their own or by death).

Live For A Living by Buddy Wakefield This book is the only other one that made the translation to spoken word for me. I think the writing and spoken poems are equally as good, and are sharp and smart... and I just related, often. "Horsehead" is a good example of the written-to-spoken translation

u/ceogoku · 1 pointr/LucidDreaming

Read Castañeda's Art of Dreaming, and take it from there.....

u/cindilouwho · 1 pointr/AskReddit

Rushdie's Luka and the Fire of Life and Haroun and the Sea of Stories are good reads (for adults too).

u/nut_conspiracy_nut · 1 pointr/entp
u/Jonezzzzzzzy · 1 pointr/forhonorknights
u/HermesTheMessenger · 1 pointr/DebateAChristian

> Empathy

I used to agree, and I don't entirely disagree, yet there are other considerations where empathy causes problems.

  • Paul Bloom -- Against Empathy (short)

  • Paul Bloom -- Against Empathy (1h lecture)

  • GoodReads: Paul Bloom Quotes

    ------

    Excerpt from Illusions, by Johnathan Bach;

    ----------

    “Yeah. Sounds like there’s somebody...” He got up, walked
    into the dark. He laughed suddenly, said a name I couldn’t catch.
    “It’s OK,” I heard him say. “No, we’d be glad to have you... no
    need you standing around... come on, you’re welcome, really...”

    The voice was heavily accented, not quite Russian, nor Czech,
    more Transylvanian. “Thank you. I do not wish to impose myself
    upon your evening...”

    The man he brought with him to the firelight was, well, he was
    unusual to find in a midwest night. A small lean wolflike fellow,
    frightening to the eye, dressed in evening clothes, a black cape
    lined in red satin, he was uncomfortable in the light.

    “I was passing by,” he said. “The field is a shortcut to my
    house...”

    “Is it?” Shimoda did not believe the man, knew he was lying,
    and at the same time did all he could to keep from laughing out
    loud. I hoped to understand before long.

    “Make yourself comfortable,” I said. “Can we help you at all?”
    I really didn’t feel that helpful, but he was so shrinking, I did want
    him to be at ease, if he could.

    He looked on me with a desperate smile that turned me to ice.
    “Yes, you can help me. I need this very much or I would not ask.
    May I drink your blood? Just some? It is my food, I need human
    blood...”

    Maybe it was the accent, he didn’t know English that well or I
    didn’t understand his words, but I was on my feet quicker than I
    had been in many a month, hay flying into the fire from my quick-
    ness.

    The man stepped back. I am generally harmless, but I am not a


    small person and I could have looked threatening. He turned his
    head away. “Sir, I am sorry! I am sorry! Please forget that I said
    anything about blood! But you see...”

    “What are you saying?” I was the more fierce because I was
    scared. “What in the hell are you saying, mister? I don’t know what
    you are, are you some kind of VAM-?”

    Shimoda cut me off before I could say the word. “Richard, our
    guest was talking, and you interrupted. Please go ahead, sir; my
    friend is a little hasty.”

    “Donald,” I said, “this guy...”

    “Be quiet!”

    That surprised me so much that I was quiet, and looked a sort
    of terrified question at the man, caught from his native darkness
    into our firelight.

    “Please to understand. I did not choose to be born vampire. Is
    unfortunate. I do not have many friends. But I must have a certain
    small amount of fresh blood every night or I writhe in terrible pain,
    longer than that without it and I cannot live! Please, I will be deeply
    hurt - I will die - if you do not allow me to suck your blood... just a
    small amount, more than a pint I do not need.” He advanced a step
    toward me, licking his lips, thinking that Shimoda somehow con-
    trolled me and would make me submit.

    “One more step and there will be blood, all right. Mister, you
    touch me and you die...” I wouldn’t have killed him, but I did
    want to tie him up, at least, before we talked much more.

    He must have believed me, for he stopped and sighed. He
    turned to Shimoda. “You have made your point?”

    “I think so. Thank you.”

    -----

  • https://archive.org/stream/Illusions_201611/Richard%20Bach/Illusions_djvu.txt

  • http://richardbach.com/illusions-3/

  • https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008IU9ZXW/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
u/atillathepun1 · 1 pointr/teenagers

It's a cool idea, reminded me of the book Sum: Tales from the Afterlife

u/kumay · 1 pointr/suggestmeabook

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell is a pretty good read and it's not your stereotypical type of immortality. I recommend it!

u/kabanaga · 1 pointr/mildlyinteresting

It's just an Illusion. You can vaporize it with your mind! :)

u/Mardread · 1 pointr/Oathsworn

I haven't read anything good in years and the things I have read are usually due to finding new books for my kids or reading the books that have been adapted to tv/film.

One of my all time favorite series was from Robin Hobb. Starting with Assassin's Apprentice. This was a difficult read for me at the time, but I loved the story behind the characters.

I started reading less fantasy after reading Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Millennial Series. I read these after watching the original films. It is fantastic. Just don't buy the fourth book, it wasn't even written by him as he has been dead for a while now.

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. I didn't start reading those until Game of Thrones premiered on HBO.

Now for some really old school, Dragonlance by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. The fourth book came out years later and was fantastic. I have read more than a few of the side stories, but the main books are the best in my opinion, probably would not hold up well today.

Currently, I have The Martian by Andy Weir and Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan waiting for me to read.

The Five People You meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom is a book that I consider a must read. I don't consider it a spiritual book, but it did change my perspective on how I view my life in this world.

u/OldManSimms · 1 pointr/books

Most of what's on here is fairly classic straightforward detective stuff, which is great, but I've always been a sucker for mysteries that merge with other genres or do unusual things. A good handful if that's your bag:

  • The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster - 3 short novels packaged together and vaguely related. Also a pretty great mindfuck book
  • Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem - detective novel whose narrator has Tourette Syndrome
  • The Alienist by Caleb Carr or In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff - Historical fiction/mystery taking place around the turn of the century and during the dawns of forensics/criminal psychology/criminology
  • Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan - Sci-fi/hardboiled detective novel in a future where the human mind can be digitized and backed up off-site, rendering murder irrelevant. Terrific book, I find myself compelled to reread it and its sequels every year or so.

    Those are all more or less "detective fiction" style mystery, if you're looking at the broader genre I cannot recommend The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon any more highly. I haven't been sucked into writing like that in a long long time.
u/docbrain · 1 pointr/literature

For anyone else who hasn't heard of the book, here's the quick link to the

<<<<<<<Amazon page>>>>>>>>

u/gruffydd · 1 pointr/mildlyinteresting

This actually reminds me more of an Oasan from The Book of Strange New Things. Anyone else?

u/Teggus · 1 pointr/books

I really liked The Voices of Time, (a collection of short stories loosely themed about perception). I disliked The Crystal World, which was just sort of a record of events that took itself a little too seriously as symbolism.