Read Any Good Books Lately?

[Interdimensional Observer]

Doesn't matter the genre or format, you're free to mention any book (or anthology, magazine, comic, graphic novel, journal article, basically any print media) you've read, recently or not, which you want to discuss/recommend. 

The Gunpowder Age: China, Military Innovation, and the Rise of the West in World History by Tonio Andrade

Had to read it for a East Asian history class. It was seduction at the introduction. It details the history of gunpowder and gunpowder weaponry from its origins in China, its transfer to Europe, "the Age of Parity" when the West and the East were more or less on equal terms in gunpowder weaponry, before the Great Divergence happens and China loses its lead. The book is fascinating and should have some appeal for a more general audience into the history of weaponry.

Childhood's End- Read it after beating Xenogears to see the exact influence this game had on it. Not bad, if a bit hippy-ish. Karellen and Karelian were being constantly compared in my mind. The Overlords are a bit like Solaris as well. And I liked how XG split the Overmind in two: the negative and positive aspects went into

Spoiler

Deus and the Wave Existence respectively.

John Milton's classic Paradise Lost- Milton is incredibly vivid with the details, his Garden of Eden is beautiful. The War in Heaven is sadly lopsided (which is to be expected given Milton was a 17th century Protestant) with Lucifer not winning a single day of the three. Milton is a misogynist, but despite the faults, Paradise Lost on the picture it paints alone deserves classic status.

Aramco World- free in its entirety online. The articles in the magazine (all written by freelance writers) are purely about the history, economics and culture of the greater Islamic/Middle Eastern world (including immigrant communities aboard) without the slightest bit of politics. Splendidly intellectually stimulating and generally positive in its outlook.

[SetoBakura]

I haven't read any good books recently, but i will throw out some books i did read and would recommend to people.

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer  and the sequel  Necromancing The Stone  - Story about a 16 year old kid who finds out he is a Necromancer, and someone is looking for him.  He also finds out there's a whole world of the supernatural around him that he never knew before.

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel-  Series of 6 books about Immortal Alchemyst Nicholas Flamel who is immortal due to the book of Abraham the Mage.  An evil doctor is out to get it and use the magic for evil.  The Prophecy says that two people have the power to save the world.  Enter teenagers Josh and Sophie Newman.

[Rex Glacies]

Lately, hmm...

The Great Gatsby was surprisingly good, and the character Gatsby was great in his quirks and flaws. I loved to analyze the book as well and compare it to the American Dream and the general mindset of Americans.

I read the Reckoners series about 1-2 years ago, and it was decent, aside from the underwhelming ending. There are three books- Steelheart, Firefight, and Calamity. The story is that a mysterious light appeared in the sky ~10 years prior to the beginning, and granted countless people superpowers. However, all the new superheroes, or "Epics" as they're called, become evil, and the main characters (who are normal people) have to fight and kill the most tyrannical Epics. Of course, there's a bit more involved, but that's the general gist of it.

What I'm reading right now is The History of the Medieval World, by Susan Wise Bauer. As the title suggests, it gives a detailed depiction of the Medieval period from all across the world.