I’d like to specially call out the Penguin Classics edition with a fresh translation by Robin Buss. It’s a much easier and better read than the old Victorian English translation. Either way, one of my all time favorites.
Edit: From what I know, the old Victorian English version (besides being much harder to read) also cut out bits involving sex and drugs because it went against the Victorian sensibilities of the time. When I originally read the book, I had read that version and while I really enjoyed it, I was checking a cliffs notes kind of thing after every chapter to make sure I understood what I had read. When I learned about the Robin Buss translation (which I’ve heard is more faithful to the original), I enjoyed it even more and without the need for a reading aid.
A link on Amazon: The Count of Monte Cristo (Penguin Classics)
> Vice President Joe Biden is fresh out of the Obama White House and feeling adrift when his favorite railroad conductor dies in a suspicious accident, leaving behind an ailing wife and a trail of clues. To unravel the mystery, "Amtrak Joe" re-teams with the only man he's ever fully trusted--the 44th president of the United States. Together they'll plumb the darkest corners of Delaware, traveling from cheap motels to biker bars and beyond, as they uncover the sinister forces advancing America's opioid epidemic.
Preorder it now: https://www.amazon.com/Hope-Never-Dies-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/1683690397
I have the leatherbound paperbacks and really like them. The leather covers make it easy to take with me without worrying about them getting damaged, plus the whole set is only a little more than $50 on amazon and I've seen them in bookstores for as low as $35. The only drawback with the paperback set is the small print, so if you have trouble with that then definitely go for the hardcovers.
>Does anyone have any fanfic recs involving Revan?
Yeah I have seen these on Amazon, they are really small and chubby but covers look good.
Here you go, amazon has them for a decent price. That where I got mine. https://www.amazon.com/Thrones-Clash-Kings-Swords-Dragons/dp/1101965487/ref=bmx_6/137-0748683-0517512?pd_rd_w=rOFvd&pf_rd_p=e8693f8f-29a2-4e3d-acf6-ce23d1970043&pf_rd_r=B3XSAJGY5YEMA8CRW3DP&pd_rd_r=3d098fab-fbd8-40aa-84ca-47e4ca7aae74&...
Build a fort, grab some legal booze, and curl up with a good book. I second the cupcake idea. But, what kind?
Oh man, I could go on with book recommendations forever, but I shall stick to a few recent reads: Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, Circe by Madeline Miller, and The Stud Book by Monica Drake. I'm currently reading The Collector by John Fowles.
Also, I just picked up S. (Ship of Theseus) by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst in a thrift store for a dollar with all inserts intact! It's basically a book within a book unfolding within the margins as two readers converse with one another. Cue suspense, mystery, and all that jazz. Super cool concept and I'm excited to dig in. This could be a fun birthday activity!
And happy early birthday to you! I just celebrated my own pandemic birthday a couple of weeks ago. It was pizza, cheesecake, and rewatching Star Trek TNG for me!
You should check out Red Rising: https://www.amazon.com/Red-Rising-Pierce-Brown/dp/034553980X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Red+Rising&qid=1610733736&sr=8-1
I have a ton of ATLA and LOK comics on my list which extend the stories post their shows. I haven't read them yet either. https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2YD05T8MK03LZ?ref_=wl_share
Seconded; came here to recommend The Coming Of Conan The Cimmerian: https://www.amazon.com/Coming-Conan-Cimmerian-Original-Adventures/dp/0345461517/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2AG47D79JG5SF&dchild=1&keywords=the+coming+of+conan+the+cimmerian&qid=1606188115&s=books&sprefix=the+coming+of+%2Caps%2C264&sr=1-1
I recommend the Red Rising Saga (a trilogy).
They're a "near-future" Sci-Fi series, where humanity has begun to colonize other planets in the solar system. The story follows a "Red" miner of Mars and his story of revenge. The first book reminded me of a mash up of Hunger Games and Ender's Game. Highly recommend the saga as I couldn't put them down once I started reading them. Quickly became one of my favorite book series.
The first book has a 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon review with over 3,700 reviews. And a 4.26 on goodreads with over 14,000~ reviews.
I read through the series once then went back and listened to it on Audible later. I would recommend the audio-book as well as it was also well done.
I recommend the actual Conan stories by Howard (look for collections, there are several on Amazon like this one ). Most of the comics and movies bear only passing resemblance to the original character.
As a huge Conan fan, I'll jump on and (maybe obviously) recommending reading the novels/novellas/short stories as well. These editions editions are all great, fairly cheap, and they faithfully preserve the original text as much of the older paperback editions are heavily edited by L. Sprague DeCamp.
I'd also recommend some of the Conan comics published by Dark Horse, especially the ones by Kurt Busiek. They're even more faithful adaptations of the tales than the Savage Sword of Conan Ones, but they lack some of the originality and flair that makes the old Roy Thomas Conan comics so much fun. Still great in their own right, though, and the omnibus editions are very cheap.
That's true. I was glib.
What I'd actually want to see is an experienced prosecutor like Harris appointed to AG with her number 1 responsibility being the investigation into corruption if the Trump administration
Not Biden personally running down leads or anything
You mean the memes about the Obama-Biden bromance?
You get that those were not making fun of Biden but celebrating the bromance right?
Also, if you really want to be entertained by the Biden Obama friendship someone also wrote crime novels about them.
You're welcome.
I have a leather bound set that’s pretty nice. They look great, but they’re small and the text itself isn’t huge, so if that’s a problem be warned.
Link: https://www.amazon.com/Thrones-Clash-Kings-Swords-Dragons/dp/1101965487
by far the best are the ones from folio.
But they are also very expensive. If you want something cheaper that doesnt cost almost 200$ per book you could go for the leather bound set
I'd check out S. by Doug Dorst. It's more of an experience than a book, but it's essentially broken down into two parts:
The physical book, Ship Of Theseus, is about a man who wakes up without any memories and is (forcibly) taken in as part of a ship's crew.
Inside the book, you'll find the annotations and inserts of two college students who have passed the book between one another to communicate, trying to discover the truth behind the book and its author.
J.J. Abrams got the idea for this project after finding a book at LAX with a note inside.
I had single-volume editions of ASOS and ADWD but later I bought used mass-market paperback two-volume editions simply because they're easier to read.
When the series is finished I'll get a beautiful box set like this.
https://www.amazon.com/Thrones-Clash-Kings-Swords-Dragons/dp/1101965487
This one's pretty fun, and depending on how optimistic you are about Winds being released, maybe it'll be worth the money savings. They are small though.
The original Conan the Barbarian stories by Robert E. Howard began the sword and sorcery genre that Berserk belongs to.
REH was literally penpals with H.P. Lovecraft, both authors being published in the pulp magazine "Weird Tales" during their own lifetimes. Unsurprisingly, Conan regularly faces Lovecraftian horrors. Be aware that, like Lovecraft, Howard was pretty racist (it was the 1930s so not shocking) but if you can overlook that (and I couldn't fault anyone who can't) his stories still hold up well in my opinion.
There are various collections but probably the best way to read them IMO is the 3 volume set published by Del Rey. Most importantly they avoid all the alterations and additions or "posthumous collaborations" other writers did with Howard's stories in the decades following his untimely death*. But they also organize the stories in the order in which they were written rather than "chronologically" in Conan's life or in the order they were published. And include a lot of extras like notes REH kept for himself, earlier drafts of stories and summaries of stories he never got to write.
The first volume of the collection is "The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian" https://www.amazon.com/Coming-Conan-Cimmerian-Original-Adventures/dp/0345461517
*He committed suicide at age 30 following his mothers death. H.P. Lovecraft would lament this loss mere months before his own death from cancer at age 46.
They published the book for the sequel last year. Earl Mac Rauch wrote both.
Don't get your hopes up though, its not a good book.
https://www.amazon.com/Buckaroo-Banzai-Against-World-League/dp/150672213X/
https://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Episode-III-Revenge/dp/0345428846
Here's a strong story of a Chosen One who goes down the path to turning evil. This book skips the first two, but it's all prequel anyways. Book 4 is where we really see how evil the Chosen One can be.
Anyways, good story. Fantasy with sci fi setting. Definitely recommend.
Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts. A wonderful tale of an Australian criminal who ends up in Mumbai, India. Well written and an unpredictable adventure with some amazing characters.
Whatever you do, don't read The Name of the Wind, and The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. These are the first two books of a series called the Kingkiller Chronicles. They are great books. The first one was published in 2007, and the second one in 2011...and the third one, The Doors of Stone, has been promised, then delayed, then delayed again and again. It's a decade-long cliffhanger with no resolution in sight.
IF its published recently but says its by howard it is likely good. For a while there were editors who made light changes, but since I think the 50s they have all been the original versions. I have this copy and the other 2 volumes in the series which i like a lot.
Have you read any of Robert E. Howard's work? You might want to check out The Hour of the Dragon. He was a fantastic writer, excellent at writing combat scenes (which I tend to skip in most books because they feel so tedious), and his world is full of dark, cosmic horror type of magic. All of his Conan works can be found in a great series of three books, starting with The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian. They're very readable, and the audiobook editions are great as well.
I highly recommend giving the original Conan stories a read. You can find the three collections that contain them all in publication order on Amazon. This is the first one.
I recently picked up Robert E. Howard's Conan stories largely for this reason, but haven't read them yet.
There are a lot of releases of Conan and Robert E. Howard but most of them were altered by other authors after his death. Either unfinished stories would be completed by other authors in a "posthumous collaboration" or in some instances other Howard stories were largely re-written to be Conan stories. If you just want to read the originals I think the best option is the 3 volume release from Del Rey starting with "The Coming of Conan", which presents all of Howard's original Conan stories in the order which they were written without additions or alterations https://www.amazon.com/Coming-Conan-Cimmerian-Original-Adventures/dp/0345461517
Have you read S.? It’s in a similar vein… where there’s a story within the story on multiple levels. I really want to check it out.
Read the Revan book that's attached to the Swtor game. It's a good a good read, and give you some information how that story attaches to the JK story in Swtor.