I read some free kindle books back in the day, that probably only a few thousand other people have read, so very plausibly no one on Lemmy has ready.
So, what books have you enjoyed that you feel confident no one else on Lemmy has read?
I genuinely wanted to read this book, but it appeared to be a prank.
https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-fake-self-help-books-20150318-story.html
The Art Of Learning - Josh Waitzkin
If you saw the movie Searching For Bobby Fischer, you might remember the main character Josh Waitzkin. Based on a true story and book written by his father, the movie tells the story of Josh who becomes a world renowned chess champion at a young age.
IRL, Josh also goes on to compete internationally and excel in Tai Chi Push Hands. In his book, he talks about how he isn’t inherently talented at either of these disciplines but that he’s learned how to learn and that it can be applied to any interest.
I love that book! I try to read it once a year to keep the ideas lodged in my brain.
Momo by Michael Ende. He also wrote The Neverending Story. Where The Neverending Story is about imagination, Momo is about listening and time.
“Red Harvest” by Dashiell Hammett.
Almost 100 years old, and it is still one of the best things you’ll ever read.
If the plot sounds familiar, it’s because it’s been stolen over and over and over.
A private detective is hired to investigate corruption in a small city. When the man who hire him is gunned down, the unnamed hero decides to set all the town’s gangs at each others’ throats to see what shakes out.
Oddities and Curiosities of Words and Literature by C C Bombaugh, one of my favourite reads, feels like it might be an obscure book.
After Man by Dougal Dixion.
It’s a book about speculative biology. It hypothesizes that humanity will lead to the extinction of most of the animals we know. After that new animals will evolve to take their place. The book speculates that rabbits will take the place of deer, and that rats will evolve into dog like animals .
The best part about the book is that there are great illustrations.
To my knowledge it’s not a very well known book, just because speculative biology is a very niche subject.
Have you ever checked out Alltomorrows by Nemo Ramjet? It’s got some of the best illustrations and stories in the speculative evolution genre.
Any translation of “The Divine Comedy” should be atleast interesting! Possibly the best feat of poetry of our time.
Back when I was an edgy teen, the saga of Darren Shan and the adjacent content of the Demonata were good as far as I can remember. I don’t know if it will hold up for a more mature audience despite that being the demographic.
A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett… No, seriously.
He has the reputation as “the patron saint of drunken uncle beach bums”, but if you dig into his earlier catalogue, its rife with beautiful, lyrical storytelling songcraft. When you consider that, itss no suprise that he can write a decent book.
I have to mention Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, though it was popular when it was published so I bet a number of you Lemmings have read it.
It’s a surgeon’s first-person account of learning how to address and deal with death, both among his very sick patients and his aging family members.
Project Itoh Genocidal Organ. Modern Sci-fi book of post 9/11 world where a bunch of genocides take place in third world countries at an unprecedented pace. Also has something called alpha consumers who are people who research where every part of their food or product comes from (not part of the plot but thought it was cool). After playing Metal Gear Rising it has very similar themes
It looks like it got a movie adaptation, so looks like it’s pretty popular. But sounds cool regardless!
Curse of the Reaper. It’s like reading an 80s slasher flick. Nothing too amazing but still a good and fun read!
I’m sure there are some people on here that might have read it, but I haven’t met many, so my pick is the Ender’s Game saga. There are currently 19 books and I’ve read at least 10 of them. It’s a really easy read, as someone who struggles to get into more complicated writing styles. Some people might be so-so about it due to some of the author’s personal beliefs, but I really adore the lore itself. It offers a ton of different flavors to future visions, alien relations, psychology, and humanity.
The Wild Road by Gabriel King! It’s like Watership Down but cats and written at the same level. Did you grow up enjoying the Warriors series? This book will blow your mind.
Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing. It’s a very easy read all about how weird currency is. My only gripe is that Jacob Goldstein often leaves out too much detail of historical accounts in favor of keeping the book light and accessible.
Looks rather popular with how many reviews it has, and there are like lots of news stories on it.
But it looks really fun so I may grab it anyway!
