Recommended books

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MillMaths
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Re: Recommended books

Postby MillMaths » 2013-04-24, 23:49

I recommend The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, which I read earlier this year. It’s very much like George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-four – only better. At first I found it depressing – like 1984 – but then I grew more and more fond of the main character as the narrative unfolded, exploring the various issues faced by a young woman in a totalitarian society whose role in that society had been rigidly laid down for her. And the ending is more cheerful than that of 1984.

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Re: Recommended books

Postby Varislintu » 2014-08-19, 12:15

I recommend Chis Beckett's Dark Eden.

It's about a small community of humans, who are all the descendants of two humans who got stranded on an alien planet. The book focuses mostly on the social forces in a small community, the power of myths and gender relations, and the dynamics of power relations and the battle between the conservative mindset and the explorative/inventive mindset.

I thought it was a really interesting and captivating novel. The people in the book know more or less where they come from, so the story isn't about them discovering that (which would have been boring, as the reader aleady knows). Their thinking is therefore not entirely tribal, even if their living conditions are kind of primitive. Their situation is easy to relate to and you don't need to get annoyed at their ignorance, because they are aware that they know less that their Earth ancestors did.

Oh, and the planet is bloody cool. :)

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Re: Recommended books

Postby linguoboy » 2014-08-19, 15:28

Nehushtan wrote:And the ending is more cheerful than that of 1984.

That was exactly what I didn't like about it. It was presented to me as a feminist novel, and yet in the end she's saved solely through the actions of a man? The rescue also struck me as unrealistic wish-fulfilment. And let's not even talk about the terrible postscript. But up until that point I thought it was excellent and I would recommend it as well, although with reservations.
"Richmond is a real scholar; Owen just learns languages because he can't bear not to know what other people are saying."--Margaret Lattimore on her two sons

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Car
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Re: Recommended books

Postby Car » 2014-12-23, 10:47

I haven't read any of the books myself, but I thought some of you (especially linguboy) might be interested in the article:
http://www.dw.de/the-10-must-read-germa ... a-18133200
Please correct my mistakes!

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Re: Recommended books

Postby TeneReef » 2014-12-23, 12:32

I can recommend these:

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They're scientific enough not to be labeled as pseudoscience, and popular enough to make an interesting read. :)
विकृतिः एवम्‌ प्रकृति
learning in 2019: (no-nn)

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Re: Recommended books

Postby Prowler » 2015-02-05, 14:28

A news website from my country made an article about a website that supposedly has great recommendations based on books you've read. If you're interested in a book similar to one of your favorites, you can just type in the title and then get a list of recommendations based on it:

The website: http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/index.php
The article where it got mentioned: http://observador.pt/2015/02/03/este-si ... er-seguir/

I only tried with a few books so far but it seemed pretty good. Almost as good as last.fm's music recommendations. In this case for books.

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linguoboy
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Re: Recommended books

Postby linguoboy » 2015-03-02, 22:38

Car wrote:I haven't read any of the books myself, but I thought some of you (especially linguoboy) might be interested in the article:
http://www.dw.de/the-10-must-read-germa ... a-18133200
Somehow I overlooked this. Thanks!

Someone left a copy of Grjasnowa's novel in the lounge at work and it intrigued me, but I hate reading German novels in English translation. I might see if my friend the bookseller can get a copy for me. (He proudly showed me his shelf of "contemporary" literature in German the other day and I was dismayed to see it was all dead White guys.)
"Richmond is a real scholar; Owen just learns languages because he can't bear not to know what other people are saying."--Margaret Lattimore on her two sons


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