I've exhausted my Kindle library. Anyone have any good book suggestions?

[ChisolmTrailDem]

I'm interested in non-fiction, especially in anything that explains the big picture as it actually exists behind the curtain, not the media- and PTB-controlled narrative we get publicly from our corporate media and our politicians. This would be in the vein of Armed Madhouse (Pallast) and The Shock Doctrine (Klein).

I'm also interested in sci-fi and books about writing.

Looking forward to your suggestions with the hope that your ideas are useful not only to me but to others who may be watching.

[shraby]

1. Have you tried the Gutenberg Press offerings? Sometimes older books give you a better view

of what the back story is on many things.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

5. Thanks for the reminder, shraby. I will certainly go there and have a look. nt

[Binkie The Clown]

32. I second the motion.

I recently re-read Treasure Island and Moby Dick from Gutenberg. It's been 55 years since I last David Copperfield, and that's next up on my list. And after I finish that I'll go back to Gutenberg and say "Please, sir, may I have more?"

On Edit: If you like non-fiction about the sea you may enjoy Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana, also available on Gutenberg.

[Hekate]

53. Gutenberg is outstanding. They have a growing sci-fi section nowadays, too.

Someone figured out that Galaxy has a lot of short stories and novellas that are not copyrighted, and there are novels as well. Lots of fun.
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=science+fiction


http://www.gutenberg.org/ When you are searching for it, more than one "Gutenberg" shows up. This is the one you want.

[Gomez163]

2. The Girl With a Clock for a Heart

[7wo7rees]

3. Here are a couple....

http://www.amazon.com/America-Wrong-Donald-L-Barlett/dp/0836270010
Great read. Truly. "America, What went wrong". 1991
Pulitzer winning jounalists, 2 years of research across the country.


"The Rich and the Super-Rich" by Ferdinand Lundberg
Published June 1968

Even better, found it at an antique store.

One more, "The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man", by John Perkins

Another is a documentary, " I am" 2010, Tom Shadyac, fascinating, incredibly illuminating.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

7. Thanks, 7wo7rees, right on target. nt

[MH1]

4. Try this - To Explain the World

The Discovery of Modern Science

http://www.amazon.com/Explain-World-Discovery-Modern-Science/dp/0062346652

I haven't made it all the way through yet but it is fascinating. Not political in the sense of Pallast or Klein, but puts an interesting perspective on the history of science.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

6. Excellent, thank you! I have a great interest in anything science. nt

[procon]

8. Look through your list of Amazon Book Recommendations.

If you've rated the type of books you prefer, Amazon will offer similar suggestions. You'll probably get more books closer to what you're hunting for by looking at the books you've already read to see the comparable choices bought by other people.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

14. Thanks for the tip! I never made a habit of rating anything but there are good...

...recs there, regardless. My ask here is in addition to suggestions on Amazon and elsewhere because I am also interested in what other DUers are reading and what DUers would suggest.

[realmirage]

9. I am Legend

Classic book

[Trust Buster]

10. Dark Money by Jane Mayer. A fascinating read that all Democrats need to understand. Specifically,

the wealthiest Republicans have been working for 3 decades to infiltrate our colleges, think tanks and now elections with their money. It will be money wisely invested.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

15. Just the sort of book I'm looking for, thanks TB. nt

[Hortensis]

49. Yes, very current, and very important.

[hermetic]

11. For Sci Fi

you might want to check out our local Group: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1200

There is also a Writer's Group

[ChisolmTrailDem]

16. I've been to both but thanks for the reminder, hermetic! nt

[brush]

12. This link was posted here a couple of days ago

There's a kindle option to it.

The story is sci-fi and pulls you in.

http://www.marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm

[ChisolmTrailDem]

18. Of "How Stuff Works" fame? Cool! I read the first chapter, very interesting and you're right...

...it pulled me in! I look forward to finishing.

[octoberlib]

13. The Deep State by Mike Lofgren.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

19. "Actual power lies in the Deep State, Washington’s shadowy power elite, in the pockets of...

...corporate interests and dependent on the moguls of Silicon Valley, whose data-collecting systems enable the U.S. government to spy on our every move, swipe, and click."

Fascinating, octoberlib! Thank you !

[PETRUS]

17. Some ideas:

Readable nonfiction with considerable explanatory power:

The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander
Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond
Empire of Cotton, by Sven Beckert
The Sixth Extinction, by Elizabeth Kolbert
This Explains Everything, edited by John Brockman
The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan
The Language Instinct, by Steven Pinker
23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism, by Ha-Joon Chang
The Drunkard's Walk, by Leonard Mlodinow
On Immunity, by Eula Biss
Africa: A Biography of the Continent, by John Reader

Sci-fi I've read and enjoyed recently:

The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi
Redshirts, by John Scalzi
Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline
Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson

[ChisolmTrailDem]

23. I will check these out, thanks PETRUS! Looks like some promising titles there. nt

[PETRUS]

26. Hope there's a book or two in there that suits your tastes! nt

[bhikkhu]

20. Steven Pinker's "The Better Angels of Our Nature" is an eye-opener

a sweeping story of the decline of violence in society, especially in the last 70 years or so. He is an academic, and a very competent writer, so it can be read slowly if you are into detailed argument and logic, or quickly if you want the gist. I'm fond of his writing as he is prone to posing the various arguments on a topic, then reviewing the best data he can find, then offering his balanced conclusions; more "PHD-candidate style" writing rather than popularized science.

Matthew Connelly's "Fatal Misconception" is about the history of birth control efforts over the past hundred years or so. Its a fascinating book on something I haven't seen covered well, and has a large amount of material I never heard before. He writes without an agenda, and you have to read to the end (through a long litany of failed programs and concepts) to get to his well-balanced conclusions.

Anything by Thomas Cahill, especially the Hinges of History series. He is one of my favorite writers and draws you into unfamiliar worlds and minds, writing history like a portrait painter.

Anything by Barbara Tuchman. I've probably read "A Distant Mirror" five times over the years, the story of a family in 14th century Europe. Another is "The Proud Tower", which details the politics and social movements leading up to WW1. It doesn't sound interesting, but she is an excellent writer, and the characters and issues have so many current parallels it is an enlightening book to read.

[EX500rider]

21. For SciFi I recommend these two: (both series so if u like em there's more!)

On Silver Wings
by Evan Currie
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005QOX3ZY/ref=series_rw_dp_sw

When the Colony on Hayden's world went black, a team was sent to investigate. It was supposed to be a training mission : skip in, find out why the Casimir Transmitter had gone dead, report back and wait for resupply from the Fleet. By the time the only surviving member of the team made landfall, it was spectacularly clear that this wasn't a training mission.
Now Sgt Sorilla Aida has a job to do. She has to gather the local survivors, recon the enemy, train a militia, and take the war right to the enemy's doorstep.
Just what she trained for.
De Opresso Liber

Island in the Sea of Time
by S. M. Stirling
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JF1N28/ref=series_rw_dp_sw

A cosmic disturbance transports the island of Nantucket and its inhabitants over three thousand years back in time to the shores of a Stone Age America. In addition to coping with the day-to-day problems of survival and the trauma of losing all connection with the modern world, the residents of the time-stranded island find their lives complicated by the presence of native tribes across the water.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

22. Both look like take-its. 'Island in the Sea of Time' looks especially interesting. Thanks! nt

[longship]

24. "The Big Short"

Michael Lewis' book has a great narrative, as is his way, with awesome characters. Like like the two main characters, Michael Burry and Steve Eisman, these two incredible characters form Lewis's narrative of how to destroy the world economy. "Is this legal?"

Yup! It was. Burry was Lewis's Asberger investor. Eisman was just the cranky guy with a liberal bent who always told the truth, and who was crass enough to double-dipped into the soy sauce in Las Vegas.

It is a great read which one will want to read more than once. When the entire world economy is melting and Eisman is sitting on the steps of St. Patrick's on Fifth Avenue with his two compatriots -- heads in hands -- the entire book takes another tack.

It is a morality tail which one should read. If one cares. And one should. As did Michael Burry and Steve Eisman.

What does one do when one is betting against the world economy and one's right?

What then?

It is a great read.

The Big Short. The movie is pretty damned good, too, if one wants the short story of the big short. Otherwise, I recommend first the book, then the film. Or the other way around. Either way, both are great, and it works both ways.

[trueblue2007]

25. The OUTLANDER series .... 1700's Scotland, France & US

[tavernier]

39. You better apologize up front,

you crack dealer, you. There is no turning back after the first chapter.

[trueblue2007]

45. are you watching OUTLANDER on Starz, it's awesome

[tavernier]

71. Oh yeah.

I read all the books, then reread them. Then bought the audio Cd's. Then watched the STARZ series. then bought the season one dvd's.

Yes, my palms sweat when I think about the fact that season 3 hasn't been picked up yet.

[seekthetruth]

27. The Two Income Trap by Elizabeth Warren...

It's an eye-opener!

[pkdu]

28. My two all-time favorites...

How the Scots invented the modern world.

Longitude.

[catrose]

29. You can hook into your library

and download books for free. Someone else mentioned Gutenberg, also a good source of free books. Story Bundle and Book View Cafe offer new and old books at much cheaper prices.

[basselope]

30. I love Michio Kaku's books

He's got several of them about science of the future and M theory that are fascinating!

[JonLeibowitz]

31. ...

The big short - Michael Lewis (or any of his books, really)

My main recommendation is:
Twilight of The Elites - Chris Hayes.

It predicts the rise of trump: argues the meritocracy has failed America in the past 2 decades. Argues there are two groups: institutionalists and insurrectionists, who each view the failures differently: insurrectionists see the system as broken and institutionalists who bemoan the lack of trust in the system.

[RufusTFirefly]

33. If you want to read a one-of-a-kind book about physics...

... consider Trespassing on Einstein's Lawn by Amanda Gefter.



But to say it's about physics is a bit like saying that Moby Dick is about whaling.

I read a great deal and have very eclectic tastes, yet I've never read anything like it. It's a father-daughter story, a Bildungsroman, and an exploration of the nature of reality through some pretty mind-blowing physics. (There's even an element of Roger and Me in it, too.)

[Fuddnik]

34. Democracy Incorporated by Sheldon Wolin.

Anything by Chris Hedges.

[pansypoo53219]

35. i discovered the PRE-science awesomeness of OLD encyclopedia britannicas. i started w/ 1903, F.

so good, i need a complete set + found a 1891 complete set. rereading F. THREE A. + arm exercise as each weighs about 3+ lbs. i also am reading multi volumn set of 1907? great orations. reading french now, napoleon & anti napoleon. 3 more to go & then ebay. i also found a 6 big volume st of cassanova's memoirs, i read a bit I it is quite good. i am all non-fiction because the EBs. i find the most interesting books at estate sales. I started reading a great book. earth keepers. an old book on all the naturalists in history + led me to other books i think are interesting. OOOH! floyd gibbons! and they said we wouldn't fight. GREAT WW1 embedded journalist who gives an astounding inside the fight report. some great stuff in there. best before he got wounded, but the end of the war is written very well. and of course, the decameron. i have read that about 3 times.

[avebury]

36. The Assassination Complex: Inside the Government's

Secret Drone Warfare Program by Jeremy Scahill, the staff of The Intercept

[prairierose]

37. Do you have a library card? Most public libraries have

ebook libraries today and you can borrow books from them. My local library has most books available in kindle format.

[craigmatic]

38. Try the crosstown to oblivion series from Walter Mosley.

[matt819]

40. Here's some ideas

Hard scifi: Saturn Run by John Sandford and Ctein.

Fiction. Any of the three books in English by Frederick Bachman.

The Road Taken by Henry Petroski. About infrastructure issues. Easy reading, interesting.

[LiberalArkie]

41. This is a fiction - sci-fi techno thriller, deals with what is happening now in politics, farming,

economy, oligarchy.

They are both by Daniel Suarez

Daemon

Followed by

Freedom (tm)

Daemon takes a bit to get wound up, but I learned a lot about what is really going on in the world.. He is a very good story teller. I fell in love with the audio books of them after giving a listen.

[Warren DeMontague]

42. The Devil's Chessboard: David Talbot

[Android3.14]

43. Hqve you read

Ready Player One
Anathem
Kingkiller Chronicles.

[Motown_Johnny]

44. Youth by Isaac Asimov.

It is free in the Guetenberg Project.

More of a long short story than a novel but IMO it is worth reading.

[tammywammy]

46. Anything written by Erik Larson

[Doctor Who]

47. Bill Bryson is one of my favorites.

"A Walk in the Woods" An account of his attempt as an +50 year old, out of shape guy to walk the applichian trail.

"From A Sunburned Country" An account of his travels in Australia. A great read.

"Notes from a Small Island" Observations about living in Great Britian for 20 years before returning to the states. Another great read.

I have a kindle subscription to "Ellery Queens mystery magazine". It's mostly short story whodunnits from yet discovered writers. I look forward to it every month.

Hope this helps

[Dems to Win]

56. From a Sunburned Country is hilarious. One of my favorite books ever. nt

[AngryAmish]

48. I am in the middle of Albion's Seed.

If you want to understand our nation this book is a must.

Not on Kindle, tho.

[Demsrule86]

50. You know you can join other libraries in your state for online only in many cases

Also, I do the kindle prime with amazon.

[Hortensis]

51. For something nonpolitical but fitting the desire to

Last edited Sun May 8, 2016, 07:49 PM - Edit history (1)

understand the "big picture," a book I really enjoyed The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson.

The End of Power: From Boardrooms to Battlefields and Churches to States, Why Being In Charge Isn’t What It Used to Be by Moises Naim. The Donald's hardly the only person who has no idea about what leaders can and can't do. I confess I skipped some denser parts, but mostly it's a good read.

Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization Hardcover, by Parag Khanna. I have this on order and haven't read it yet. I've always been big on geography, tho, and this is very well regarded as a new way of thinking of a world connected and organized by supply chains.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

65. All three sound fascinating and I am adding them to my list, Hortensis. Thanks for the...

...recommendations!

[Hortensis]

67. Thanks for posting the request. I've been

enjoying the responses and taking notes (i.e., storing them to an Amazon list).

[agracie]

52. I use the Overdrive app and my public library.

[snagglepuss]

54. these book suggestions are great. good thread.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

64. Thanks, snagglepuss, way better than I had hoped! Thanks to everyone who has and will contribute!

[Dems to Win]

55. Sci fi by Octavia Butler

Lilith's Brood and the Patternist series are both mind-blowing.

Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents have a kickass young black woman as the main character.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

63. Added to my sci-fi list, Dems to Win, thank you! 'Parable on the Talents' sounds very interesting!

[kentauros]

57. I have -source- suggestions if you're interested.

Gutenberg has already been mentioned, so I'll leave that off. Look into these

Internet Sacred-Text Archive
Welcome to the largest freely available archive of online books about religion, mythology, folklore and the esoteric on the Internet. The site is dedicated to religious tolerance and scholarship, and has the largest readership of any similar site on the web.

They aren't kidding! That place is huge!

Internet Archive
Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, and more.

Baen Free Library
Baen Books is now making available — for free — a number of its titles in electronic format. We're calling it the Baen Free Library. Anyone who wishes can read these titles online — no conditions, no strings attached. (Later we may ask for an extremely simple, name & email only, registration. ) Or, if you prefer, you can download the books in one of several formats. Again, with no conditions or strings attached. (URLs to sites which offer the readers for these format are also listed.)

Free Speculative Fiction Online
Links to Science Fiction & Fantasy Stories Online

Bartleby.com Great Books Online
The preeminent publisher of literature, reference and verse providing students, researchers and the intellectually curious with unlimited access to books and information on the web, free of charge.

Fiction: Welcome to The EServer's Fiction Collection
This site offers works of and about fiction collected from our members, contributing authors worldwide, and texts in the public domain.

The Free Library by Farlex
Free News, Magazines, Newspapers, Journals, Reference Articles and Classic Books

The Literature Network
Welcome to The Literature Network!

We offer searchable online literature for the student, educator, or enthusiast. To find the work you're looking for start by looking through the author index. We currently have over 3500 full books and over 4400 short stories and poems by over 260 authors. Our quotations database has over 8500 quotes, and our quiz system features over 340 quizzes.

And your library, of course. If their selection is limited due to the high cost of ebooks from the big publishers, tell them to consider this source for buying ebooks: eBooks Are Forever

[ChisolmTrailDem]

62. This deserves it's own OP, kentauros! Thanks so much for your hard work putting this exemplary...

...resource together and enhancing the down-thread value of my OP!

Love this kind of stuff on DU!

[kentauros]

69. You're welcome :)

Maybe I will turn it into its own OP, and invite people to add any other sites. I'd love to grow my collection for further sharing later on.

The following are ones I left off originally because they aren't sites for downloading to ebook format. Still, you can do that with add-ons to your browser. Then you can send an article to your Kindle via your kindle-email address.

Twilit Grotto
Archives of Western Esoterica

Thelemapedia
Thelemapedia is the original encyclopedia of Thelema and Magick focusing on the works and philosophy of Aleister Crowley

Indigenous Peoples' Literature

Poet Seers

Charles Sanders Peirce


This one wasn't in my books-folder (had filed it under Research) and it looks interesting.

bibliomania


Oh, and by the way...

"Thou art an abominable hag-seed."

Mr. William Shakespeare's Insult Generator

[Pakhet]

58. go to ohfb.com they have Amazon's free book list n/t

[ChisolmTrailDem]

61. Looks very promising, Pakhet, thank you for the recommendation! nt

[Recursion]

59. "The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy" by Peter H. Wilson

Really, really good treatment of what was essentially the creation of the modern political nation-state from the ashes of the most destructive war in European history (yes, counting WWII).

[ChisolmTrailDem]

60. Thanks for the recommendation, Recursion, something I'm interested in understanding. nt

[HuckleB]

66. The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

The Story of My Teeth
by Valeria Luiselli

Anything by Valeria Luiselli, in fact!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

68. War and Peace, Catch-22, The Grapes of Wrath, Babbit.

They are "classics" for good reason. And, all of them confront the social dilemma of class.

[Katashi_itto]

70. The Granddaddy Of Cyberpunk Sci Fi: Neuromancer

Here is the novel that started it all, launching the cyberpunk generation, and the first novel to win the holy trinity of science fiction: the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award and the Philip K. Dick Award. With Neuromancer, William Gibson introduced the world to cyberspace--and science fiction has never been the same.

https://www.amazon.com/Neuromancer-William-Gibson-ebook/dp/B000O76ON6?ie=UTF8&keywords=neuromancer&qid=1462847803&ref_=sr_1_1_ha&s=digital-text&sr=1-1