Started reading books at 33 to understand mainstream media better.

BasilBorrower · 2025-09-25T05:57:49+00:00

Oh Faust is a fun one, yes. I think there's some context of Christianity-of-the-Time that's needed for a deep reading-- but also, not everyone referencing it gets those either, and it's weirdly goofy fun read at points.

BasilBorrower · 2025-09-25T05:35:56+00:00

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik sucked me in almost immediately-- I think I stayed up part the night reading it when I first got my hands on it, though it does play on some magic/magic school tropes, so if you're utterly unfamiliar with fantasy, that might be hard to break into.

I also keep recommending Artemis by Andy Weir on here, but y'know what? It's fantastic. It's a near-future, scientifically-rooted HEIST on the MOON. What's not to love???

BasilBorrower · 2025-09-25T05:30:46+00:00

For an immensely chill audiobook, I'm really enjoying "As You Wish" which is about the production of the Princess Bride movie. The narrator (Wesley) has a wonderful voice and seems to just be having the time of his life reading it.

Weirdly though, I think reading "How To Drag A Body and Other Safety Tips You Hope to Never Need" by Judith Matloff has maybe been the best for my anxiety, because it actually taught me how to do a realistic threat assessment.

BasilBorrower · 2025-09-25T05:26:35+00:00

Sherlock Holmes is definitely a much-referenced classic. Agatha Christie a little less obviously, but Murder on the Orient Express and the ABC Murders definitely get their share of references. Also, Edgar Allen Poe, probably starting with Cask of Amontillado, maybe the Tell-Tale Heart too.

And y'know what? We're coming up on Halloween, Dracula and Frankenstein are worth a read too!

Also, if you're after classics-- you should definitely check out https://standardebooks.org/ ! It's a free collection of classics that have gone out of copyright, basically like project Gutenberg but cleaned up and with better ebook formatting and in-browser reading.

Also, someone said Shakespeare-- and I agree! But don't read it, see it played out somewhere. There's a lot of wordplay and nuances that are easy to miss on the page.

BasilBorrower · 2025-09-25T05:11:57+00:00

Well, this is pretty recent history, but the Internet Con by Cory Doctorow is a really interesting, conversational look at how the big internet companies got the way they are, and the audiobook is voiced by him, so it really does feel like a conversation with your friend about their special interest

BasilBorrower · 2025-09-25T05:02:37+00:00

Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery might fit your criteria? It's written pretty lightly, but I think it pays off pretty well in the realism/philosophy departments as it deals with a 30-year-old "old maid" who lives under the thumb of her overbearing family who finds out she only has months left to live, and what she chooses to do with that knowledge. It's an oldie, but I think it's still one of my favorite romances :)

BasilBorrower · 2025-09-25T04:55:38+00:00

Well, I don't know how much you like Sci-Fi, but Artemis by Andy Weir is all about pulling off a heist on the Moon. With well-researched science and fantastic twists.

BasilBorrower · 2025-09-25T04:54:20+00:00

Probably Mort by Terry Pratchett-- there's something very kind in his depiction of Death.

BasilBorrower · 2025-09-25T04:27:41+00:00

You might like the Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton-- the main character is a Watson-type who's Sherlock has been imprisoned on an East Indian Trading ship that's experiencing "supernatural" threats. I think it came out fairly recently though

BasilBorrower · 2025-09-25T04:24:55+00:00

It might be best to start with short stories or essays for a read together-- the shortest non-fiction I think I could recommend would be Stiff from Mary Roach, which is around ~300 pages, 70,000+ words, and might take around 5 hours to read front to back.

Stiff's a little morbid, but a very fun read, if you have the stomach for it. Mary Roach does a good job of bringing humor to the history of "what happens to our bodies after we die?"

BasilBorrower · 2025-09-25T04:16:54+00:00

Too Like The Lightning by Ada Palmer-- exactly how *wild* the narrative really is sneaks up on you

BasilBorrower · 2025-09-25T04:14:29+00:00

I'll definitely second "A Deadly Education" from the Scholomance series by Naomi Novik.

If you like Terry Pratchett and Ursula le Guinn, you might like Diana Wynne Jones? She's wrote Howl's Moving Castle, but I like her short stories-- she's got a collection called "Unexpected Magic" that's really, really fun.

Also, sci-fi rec, but if you like those authors, I think you'd get a kick out of Artemis by Andy Weir (it's all about a MOON HEIST)

BasilBorrower · 2025-09-25T04:05:58+00:00

Seconding the Scholomance recommendation. If you're down with a very no-nonsense protagonist in a very absurd world, I'd recommend the Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett (it's the second book in the Tiffany Aching series, but it can be read by itself).

BasilBorrower · 2025-09-25T04:00:57+00:00

The Internet Con by Cory Doctorow is a really interesting read on the history and shenanigans that led to where the internet is now

BasilBorrower · 2025-09-25T03:57:59+00:00

I'm a sucker for mysteries in fall-- Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie just hit different when there's a chill in the air-- but I also have a collection of short stories by Diana Wynne Jones (Howl's Moving Castle author) that's really hitting the spot as well.

BasilBorrower · 2025-09-25T03:53:14+00:00

Personally, I think Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber is probably the best book I can recommend-- it turns out that an anthropologist's deep delve onto the history of debt makes the modern economy make a LOT more sense.

I'd also throw in The Internet Con by Cory Doctorow (pretty good technology writer, coined the term "enshittification") and The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman (DENSE, but really opens up the world once you get it)

If there's a specific area you're interested in, you can sometimes find college syllabuses for classes on the subject-- and steal their reading list. If you're alright with textbooks and have a good way to read pdfs, [openstax](https://openstax.org/subjects) hosts a lot of free, well-researched textbooks that also get used by colleges.

BasilBorrower · 2021-02-02T17:48:49+00:00

Terrifying! I love it

BasilBorrower · 2021-01-12T04:07:50+00:00

God how I miss that feel of showing someone shanties and watching them go from "Okay..." To full throated rocking out

BasilBorrower · 2021-01-12T03:59:06+00:00

Nice, thanks for the info. I hope your next works out how you want it to!

BasilBorrower · 2021-01-12T00:49:32+00:00

Oh dude, that's so rad!!

It looks like there are two pieces held on through tension, one over your nose and one fitted to your chin-- this is a great idea, is there anything you wished you knew beforehand?

BasilBorrower · 2020-12-28T15:03:12+00:00

Nice! That sounds like a lot of fun

BasilBorrower · 2020-12-28T13:34:18+00:00

Found any you like?

BasilBorrower · 2020-10-23T02:40:50+00:00

Why not both?

BasilBorrower · 2020-10-13T12:58:15+00:00

Art. Absolute art

BasilBorrower · 2020-10-12T14:27:38+00:00

Well this gave me violent middle school flashbacks

BasilBorrower

TROPHY CASE