Book Recommendations?
Several people have given me book recommendations recently, and without a smartphone or notepad, I have forgotten them all. What books would you recommend to read?
I like fantasy, sci-fi, military sci-fi, historical fiction, & nonfiction. I like my books to be internally consistent and prefer egalitarian, skeptical (pro- science-based, rational, critical-thinking), & transhumanism themes even if not explicitly so, and even if they're set in magical worlds.
I don't like books heavy on the sexism, that penalize reason or critical thinking, that use science as the "bad guy" or weapon of the bad guy (i.e. Michael Crichton), and I'm starting to detest books clearly set in our own future that nevertheless show no progress or even explorations into futuristic ideas (i.e. it's 3023 and we're space-faring & we have AI, but we still haven't even broached personhood theory).
I like complicated characters and plots that are not black and white (i.e. Firefly - yes I know it's not a book). I like characters I can empathize with or who make me feel as though I can get to know them or are similar to people I actually know. I like character-driven stories and I can excuse some bit of plot-mangling or lack of explanations if I can relate to the characters.
I don't like books that are too heavy on the technical specifications - especially if they don't spend equal intensity on the character development. I appreciate technical accuracy, but without the characters to get into, the specs just wash over my head.
I've enjoyed reading the Honor Harrington series and the Vorkosigan series but am finding the Wheel of Time series too painful for its sexism. I really enjoyed the Anita Blake series in spite of the author desperately needing an editor and being generally a terrible writer of sex scenes, and I vaguely remember liking the Hollows series (Dead Witch Walking / Rachel Morgan) although I've forgotten many details. I have Hunger Games & Game of Thrones in my queue.
So, any other suggestions?
I like fantasy, sci-fi, military sci-fi, historical fiction, & nonfiction. I like my books to be internally consistent and prefer egalitarian, skeptical (pro- science-based, rational, critical-thinking), & transhumanism themes even if not explicitly so, and even if they're set in magical worlds.
I don't like books heavy on the sexism, that penalize reason or critical thinking, that use science as the "bad guy" or weapon of the bad guy (i.e. Michael Crichton), and I'm starting to detest books clearly set in our own future that nevertheless show no progress or even explorations into futuristic ideas (i.e. it's 3023 and we're space-faring & we have AI, but we still haven't even broached personhood theory).
I like complicated characters and plots that are not black and white (i.e. Firefly - yes I know it's not a book). I like characters I can empathize with or who make me feel as though I can get to know them or are similar to people I actually know. I like character-driven stories and I can excuse some bit of plot-mangling or lack of explanations if I can relate to the characters.
I don't like books that are too heavy on the technical specifications - especially if they don't spend equal intensity on the character development. I appreciate technical accuracy, but without the characters to get into, the specs just wash over my head.
I've enjoyed reading the Honor Harrington series and the Vorkosigan series but am finding the Wheel of Time series too painful for its sexism. I really enjoyed the Anita Blake series in spite of the author desperately needing an editor and being generally a terrible writer of sex scenes, and I vaguely remember liking the Hollows series (Dead Witch Walking / Rachel Morgan) although I've forgotten many details. I have Hunger Games & Game of Thrones in my queue.
So, any other suggestions?