Author Topic: Recommended Books?  (Read 179443 times)

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Re: Recommended Books?
« Reply #450 on: August 16, 2016, 12:23:54 AM »

Offline indeedproceed

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Reading (listening to) Ages Of Myth by Michael Sullivan. Already listened to the Ryeria chronicles and enjoyed them.

Was just reading the Amazon description of Age of Myth last week. I'm writing an early-Earth fantasy novel, and AoM seems like it might fit into that genre?

Mmmm..yeah, kinda. More like a 'culture in flux' novel, reminds me a lot of a wheel of time prequel.

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Re: Recommended Books?
« Reply #451 on: August 16, 2016, 12:25:44 AM »

Offline indeedproceed

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Re: Recommended Books?
« Reply #452 on: August 16, 2016, 01:11:23 AM »

Offline BudweiserCeltic

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Everything Mark Lawrence has released so far, starting with Prince of Thorns. Enough said.

Re: Recommended Books?
« Reply #453 on: August 16, 2016, 10:46:44 AM »

Offline rocknrollforyoursoul

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TP for writing though rr4ys. Good on ya

Gracias. What kind of writing do you do?
"There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'All right, then, have it your way.'"

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Re: Recommended Books?
« Reply #454 on: August 16, 2016, 11:14:16 AM »

Offline indeedproceed

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TP for writing though rr4ys. Good on ya

Gracias. What kind of writing do you do?

Urban Fantasy stuff mostly. Haven't put real pages together in a year or so though. Some sci-fi stuff but mostly dystopian themes or post-apocalyptic.

"You've gotta respect a 15-percent 3-point shooter. A guy
like that is always lethal." - Evan 'The God' Turner

Re: Recommended Books?
« Reply #455 on: August 16, 2016, 11:23:41 AM »

Offline Snakehead

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Just re-reading Neuromancer, as it is relating a lot to a writing/programming project I'm working on... but got so lost in it again.  Man is that book amazing.  If you're into sci-fi and thriller/crime/espionage type stuff it's highly recommended.  True classic.
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Re: Recommended Books?
« Reply #456 on: August 16, 2016, 12:10:49 PM »

Offline BudweiserCeltic

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Gracias. What kind of writing do you do?

Urban Fantasy stuff mostly. Haven't put real pages together in a year or so though. Some sci-fi stuff but mostly dystopian themes or post-apocalyptic.

What UF series have you been reading in recent years if any?

Re: Recommended Books?
« Reply #457 on: August 16, 2016, 12:13:38 PM »

Offline indeedproceed

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TP for writing though rr4ys. Good on ya

Gracias. What kind of writing do you do?

Urban Fantasy stuff mostly. Haven't put real pages together in a year or so though. Some sci-fi stuff but mostly dystopian themes or post-apocalyptic.

What UF series have you been reading in recent years if any?

The Iron Druid series is okay. There is some half-elf series too that is okay. I burned through all the Dean Koontz Odd Thomas stuff pretty fast. Obviously the Dresden books as they come out.

"You've gotta respect a 15-percent 3-point shooter. A guy
like that is always lethal." - Evan 'The God' Turner

Re: Recommended Books?
« Reply #458 on: August 16, 2016, 01:57:16 PM »

Offline FatKidsDad

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Try "Once a Coach, Always a Coach" by Peter Kerasotis.

This is the life story of Tom Wasdin, a man I have gotten to know over the last two years.



From amazon.com:

"America held little promise during the 1930's, when the Great Depression vice gripped the country and a boy named Thomas Errol Wasdin was born into the hardscrabble farmland of Waldo, Florida. Wasdin was only months old when his mother died of blood poisoning. Soon afterward, he and his sister were sent to live with their Uncle and Aunt, who raised them with old-fashioned values rooted in discipline and hard work. These became character traits that served Wasdin well – later at the University of Florida and eventually throughout his life.

And what a life it has been; rich and varied, and not without heartache and an ongoing, debilitating battle with Trigeminal Neuralgia, which the medical profession chillingly refers to as the Suicide Disease.

It is a life that saw Wasdin shape the lives of poor children from literally and proverbially the wrong side of the tracks in Jacksonville, Florida; children who later became attorneys, administrators, sports stars, politicians, educators, husbands, wives, parents and productive citizens.

It is a life that saw Wasdin forge friendships with two men he achieved enormous success with – Joe Williams and Rick Stottler. With Williams, Wasdin reached the pinnacle of coaching in college basketball, taking Jacksonville University to the 1970 NCAA Championship Game against the most powerful program in college sports history – John Wooden's UCLA Bruins. The account of that season, and especially that game, captures the controversy and excitement that surrounded it. Wasdin then moved from an assistant coach to a successful tenure as JU's head coach.

It is a life that saw Wasdin leave coaching to join Stottler in business and development, shaping both lives and a stretch of area along the East Coast of Florida that with his help came to be known as the Space Coast.

It is a life lived in full, and a life story worth reading."


https://www.amazon.com/Once-Coach-Always-Journey-Thomas-ebook/dp/B00KCYYIPM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1471369600&sr=8-2&keywords=thomas++wasdin
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Re: Recommended Books?
« Reply #459 on: August 22, 2016, 11:37:31 AM »

Offline BudweiserCeltic

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Gracias. What kind of writing do you do?

Urban Fantasy stuff mostly. Haven't put real pages together in a year or so though. Some sci-fi stuff but mostly dystopian themes or post-apocalyptic.

What UF series have you been reading in recent years if any?

The Iron Druid series is okay. There is some half-elf series too that is okay. I burned through all the Dean Koontz Odd Thomas stuff pretty fast. Obviously the Dresden books as they come out.

I hate The Iron Druid series, really enjoyed the first 3 or so, but then it turned to crap. Couldn't stand it.

Dresden is awesome of course.

Odd Thomas, i read only the first 2 I think about a decade ago or so. Enjoyed them.

Have you read Kate Daniels? That's my favorite after Dresden. First book was weak though, but got better from there.

Recently have been reading a self-published series, The Tome of Bill and love it. It's very crude though (requires thick skin), funny though.

Alex Verus is another series you might enjoy in the Dresden mold. Not up to there, but solid enough, particularly after book 3.

What is the half-elf one? Cal Leandros?

Re: Recommended Books?
« Reply #460 on: August 22, 2016, 12:52:47 PM »

Offline indeedproceed

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TP for writing though rr4ys. Good on ya

Gracias. What kind of writing do you do?

Urban Fantasy stuff mostly. Haven't put real pages together in a year or so though. Some sci-fi stuff but mostly dystopian themes or post-apocalyptic.

What UF series have you been reading in recent years if any?

The Iron Druid series is okay. There is some half-elf series too that is okay. I burned through all the Dean Koontz Odd Thomas stuff pretty fast. Obviously the Dresden books as they come out.

I hate The Iron Druid series, really enjoyed the first 3 or so, but then it turned to crap. Couldn't stand it.

Dresden is awesome of course.

Odd Thomas, i read only the first 2 I think about a decade ago or so. Enjoyed them.

Have you read Kate Daniels? That's my favorite after Dresden. First book was weak though, but got better from there.

Recently have been reading a self-published series, The Tome of Bill and love it. It's very crude though (requires thick skin), funny though.

Alex Verus is another series you might enjoy in the Dresden mold. Not up to there, but solid enough, particularly after book 3.

What is the half-elf one? Cal Leandros?

Yeah, Cal Leandros was who I was talking about. Man I couldn't remember that to save my life.

I owe you big time for some recommendations over the years, and I just so happen to have one that I don't think I've ever seen mentioned.

1) Last Call, by Tim Powers. Rounds meets American Gods, it is fantastic.

2) Dirty Streets Of Heaven, by Tad Williams. More Noir than Jim Butcher, but told in a similar style, similar dark humor. 1st person. Here's the summary:

Quote
Bobby Dollar is an angel -- a real one. He knows a lot about sin, and not just in his professional capacity as an advocate for souls caught between Heaven and Hell. Bobby's wrestling with a few deadly sins of his own -- pride, anger, even lust.

But his problems aren't all his fault. Bobby can't entirely trust his heavenly superiors, and he's not too sure about any of his fellow earthbound angels either, especially the new kid that Heaven has dropped into their midst, a trainee angel who asks too many questions. And he sure as hell doesn't trust the achingly gorgeous Countess of Cold Hands, a mysterious she-demon who seems to be the only one willing to tell him the truth.

When the souls of the recently departed start disappearing, catching both Heaven and Hell by surprise, things get bad very quickly for Bobby D. "End-of-the-world" bad. "Beast of Revelations" bad. Caught between the angry forces of Hell, the dangerous strategies of his own side, and a monstrous undead avenger that wants to rip his head off and suck out his soul, Bobby's going to need all the friends he can get--in Heaven, on Earth, or anywhere else he can find them.

You've never met an angel like Bobby Dollar. And you've never read anything like The Dirty Streets of Heaven. Brace yourself -- the afterlife is weirder than you ever believed.

"You've gotta respect a 15-percent 3-point shooter. A guy
like that is always lethal." - Evan 'The God' Turner

Re: Recommended Books?
« Reply #461 on: August 22, 2016, 03:06:02 PM »

Offline BudweiserCeltic

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TP for writing though rr4ys. Good on ya

Gracias. What kind of writing do you do?

Urban Fantasy stuff mostly. Haven't put real pages together in a year or so though. Some sci-fi stuff but mostly dystopian themes or post-apocalyptic.

What UF series have you been reading in recent years if any?

The Iron Druid series is okay. There is some half-elf series too that is okay. I burned through all the Dean Koontz Odd Thomas stuff pretty fast. Obviously the Dresden books as they come out.

I hate The Iron Druid series, really enjoyed the first 3 or so, but then it turned to crap. Couldn't stand it.

Dresden is awesome of course.

Odd Thomas, i read only the first 2 I think about a decade ago or so. Enjoyed them.

Have you read Kate Daniels? That's my favorite after Dresden. First book was weak though, but got better from there.

Recently have been reading a self-published series, The Tome of Bill and love it. It's very crude though (requires thick skin), funny though.

Alex Verus is another series you might enjoy in the Dresden mold. Not up to there, but solid enough, particularly after book 3.

What is the half-elf one? Cal Leandros?

Yeah, Cal Leandros was who I was talking about. Man I couldn't remember that to save my life.

I owe you big time for some recommendations over the years, and I just so happen to have one that I don't think I've ever seen mentioned.

1) Last Call, by Tim Powers. Rounds meets American Gods, it is fantastic.

2) Dirty Streets Of Heaven, by Tad Williams. More Noir than Jim Butcher, but told in a similar style, similar dark humor. 1st person. Here's the summary:

Quote
Bobby Dollar is an angel -- a real one. He knows a lot about sin, and not just in his professional capacity as an advocate for souls caught between Heaven and Hell. Bobby's wrestling with a few deadly sins of his own -- pride, anger, even lust.

But his problems aren't all his fault. Bobby can't entirely trust his heavenly superiors, and he's not too sure about any of his fellow earthbound angels either, especially the new kid that Heaven has dropped into their midst, a trainee angel who asks too many questions. And he sure as hell doesn't trust the achingly gorgeous Countess of Cold Hands, a mysterious she-demon who seems to be the only one willing to tell him the truth.

When the souls of the recently departed start disappearing, catching both Heaven and Hell by surprise, things get bad very quickly for Bobby D. "End-of-the-world" bad. "Beast of Revelations" bad. Caught between the angry forces of Hell, the dangerous strategies of his own side, and a monstrous undead avenger that wants to rip his head off and suck out his soul, Bobby's going to need all the friends he can get--in Heaven, on Earth, or anywhere else he can find them.

You've never met an angel like Bobby Dollar. And you've never read anything like The Dirty Streets of Heaven. Brace yourself -- the afterlife is weirder than you ever believed.

I read the first 2 of Cal Leandros, didn't grab me... but I plan to read the rest regardless.

1. Last Call - sounds interesting, I'll check it out.

2. Dirty Streets of Heaven - I enjoyed it well enough, but thought it was going to be better. The 2nd book though lost me completely, haven't managed to finish it. Felt it was a complete drag. Maybe I'll give it another shot at some point.

One that might be of interest of for you is the Magic Ex Libris by Jim C. Hines. Another series that I thought it would end up being better, but has big support.

One I really enjoy is Marla Mason by T.A. Pratt, though it took me a while to warm up to it.

The Joe Pitts Casebooks by Charlie Huston is great also, at least up to where I read to, but I haven't finished it. Narrative style needs getting used to though.

More sci-fi oriented, but The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu series is quite fun.

Generation V by ML Brennan has an annoying main character (but he improves), but the series is very good. The side characters are awesome. We're currently in wait and see to see if we can get more.

Demon Squad by Tim Marquitz if you're looking for more of a juvenile, but extremely funny, series. Self-published and a bit raw at times particularly early on, but I love the comedy. The action is very good though when present, and fast paced. It does get more serious as it goes, but never neglects the humor.

On the same vain, but more serious is Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey. Only read the first 3 though, but quite a solid read.

Mark del Franco's books are quite good in the Dresden Files-types of books.

Jesse James Dawson series narrator's voice is very reminiscent to that of Harry Dresden as well.

As you can see, I read a lot of UF lol. I have more, but these should keep you busy for a time.

Re: Recommended Books?
« Reply #462 on: August 22, 2016, 03:32:38 PM »

Online jpotter33

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Gracias. What kind of writing do you do?

Urban Fantasy stuff mostly. Haven't put real pages together in a year or so though. Some sci-fi stuff but mostly dystopian themes or post-apocalyptic.

TP to some fellow writers. Have either of you dabbled in any philosophical fiction writing? I started working on a project several years back in this area of writing, specifically with a high fantasy element to it, and it's been one of the most difficult things that I've tried in my life. Primarily coming from an academic/analytic writing background, it's been extremely difficult to narrate and discuss philosophical concepts while staying in the mindset of creative writing rather than analytic writing. Due to where I'm at in my life and career at the moment, I haven't been able to make much progress in actual written pages yet, though I have scores of pages outlining large sections of the narrative with other notes and ideas. I long for the day I can focus more of my attention on a more creative project like this.

Re: Recommended Books?
« Reply #463 on: August 22, 2016, 04:23:21 PM »

Offline PhoSita

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I'm making my way through The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison.  Enjoying it a lot.  Very different from most fantasy novels I've read.

Also continuing to read Terry Pratchett Discworld novels.  Currently reading Guards! Guards!  Excellent.  Highly recommended.


In the car, I'm listening to the first of Farseer books by Robin Hobb.  It's not bad so far, though the accent of the guy reading it is so over-the-top prissy-English that it's often a significant distraction.

I'm not usually a non-fiction guy, but I'm really looking forward to reading / listening to White Trash: The 400 Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg.
You’ll have to excuse my lengthiness—the reason I dread writing letters is because I am so apt to get to slinging wisdom & forget to let up. Thus much precious time is lost.
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Re: Recommended Books?
« Reply #464 on: August 22, 2016, 04:27:36 PM »

Offline PhoSita

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TP for writing though rr4ys. Good on ya

Gracias. What kind of writing do you do?

Urban Fantasy stuff mostly. Haven't put real pages together in a year or so though. Some sci-fi stuff but mostly dystopian themes or post-apocalyptic.

What UF series have you been reading in recent years if any?

The Iron Druid series is okay. There is some half-elf series too that is okay. I burned through all the Dean Koontz Odd Thomas stuff pretty fast. Obviously the Dresden books as they come out.

I read Storm Front recently.  Very pulpy, but really crisp and lean.  Well-crafted. 

FWIW, I'm also a bit of an aspiring writer, trying to do a little creative writing most days when I have time.  I've never completed a novella / novel length project yet, but I hope to someday.

Seems like we ought to have a Celticsblog aspiring writers group or something, haha. 

I guess there's some overlap between "opinionated sports fans spending egregious lengths of time discussing sports to an esoteric level of detail on Internet message boards" and "people who so enjoy the sound of their own thoughts in written form that they believe, deep down, that other people would be willing to read thousands and thousands of words of same."

Due to where I'm at in my life and career at the moment, I haven't been able to make much progress in actual written pages yet, though I have scores of pages outlining large sections of the narrative with other notes and ideas. I long for the day I can focus more of my attention on a more creative project like this.

I hear you.  I try to at least write 250-500 words a day when I have time, just to keep training the "muscle," if nothing else.  I end up with a lot of disconnected snippets of things that seem potentially interesting but that I'm not sure what to do with, ultimately. 

I've got plenty of longer story ideas with varying levels of detail and general fleshed-outedness, but it's tough to really commit to one idea and stick with it beyond the "Oh my God this actually is terrible and makes no sense, what did I see in this idea anyway?" phase.
You’ll have to excuse my lengthiness—the reason I dread writing letters is because I am so apt to get to slinging wisdom & forget to let up. Thus much precious time is lost.
- Mark Twain