What are some of your favorite books?

Musing time ...

i could probably write a book on that since ( its assumed bragging but its not, its the only advantage i ever got really) i could practically read before 1st grade so ape/nut/cat was a bit boring. I think it gives the opportunity to absorb more and it works somewhat exponential, the sooner you can pick up info from your surroundings and incorporate it into your world view ( or knowledge) the more new info you get access too because you have more points of reference, if you can do that a year earlier than average you can absorb a lot more and understand a lot more since your reference points are simply more abundant, there's more to connect to and it increases from there on.
If you get a visualisation of timelines for instance, you start with a point, that point splits in two, and each point splits in two, and so on. Same thing with absorbing information, the more points you have and the sooner you have them the more you can split and connect (if that makes any sense, im not trying to be a narcist, my abnormality has caused me more trouble than good and as a kid i often wished i was 'like others' , but i soon abandoned that idea, i am ME, not them, if i try to be them and i'm not, i will starve parts of me and eventually end up hurting myself)

as far as intros go ...

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does it have hr ? i dont think so, right?

let's start with the fiction.

i read practically nothing but fantasy and sci-fi until i was 15 and by that age i couldnt find any book in the library i hadnt really (in my genres), ive never been one for the mainstream like Asimov or Clarke (although i did read ofcourse) , i dont think they're all that compared to some of my favourite authors but that's often the case : pop is pop because it resonates with the middle of the bell curve (trying hard not to sound high-tower here). Think of it statistically, its the reason why pop is pop(ular), so you get star trek, asimov and clarke go with the geeks who arent really all that geek :p (snicker)

i like the "gedanken" type fiction , thought experiments in what might be , to me thats TRUE science fiction while fantasy almost always consists of epic tales of good versus evil and the never-ending struggle involved (we're not talking simply pointy ears and green men here)

i could give one example of clarke i really liked

The nine billion names of god

"what if?"-fiction , and underlaid fantasy with very high morals

if you look at Tolkien for instance (i devoured LOTR when i was nine in less than a week) you see similarites with the real world. I often use "the lords of mordor" to describe the politicians in their high towers myself, and if you do some digging on the professor himself. ( Tolkien was a university professor, a linguist , it shows in his work and i think even today you get underground supergeeks speaking elvish and orcish, just like you have trekkies totally speaking klingon down to the last grammar bit)

The professer himself actually USED his environment as a base for characters in his work, its quite metaforical in that way. The hobbits, some of the families who always try to leech on Bilbo Baggins were based on people from his actual environment or family (where they go like "similarities with existing people is purely blablabla) ... and its full of it really , the free men of the west, threat from the east, mordor, the dark lord, hell , the eye of sauron would go down pretty well with George Orwell i'm sure of that.

Not many people know that ofcourse and to most its simply : pointy ears and magic spells

But i can't say Tolkien is my ichiban favourite . It's more like the Q , die "quelle" , the source from which it sprang. An epic masterpiece, definitely but surpassed by a few imo.

the hobbit is quite digestible too, i never finished Silmarillion, thats like reading the bible lol

there's a few short tales too that arent very known but all adhere to the style and class of the godfather of fantasy ofcourse

but that's Tolkien, everybody knows Tolkien, right, after all, we've all seen the movies :)

If i had to top my personal favourit authors id say :(not limited to)

• Roger Zelazny
• Jack Vance
• A.E Van Voght
• David Eddings
• Tanith Lee
• Frank Herbert
• Julian May

and i could maybe fill a page with the rest hahah

to mention some books

My all-time number one favourite book is Lord of Light by Zelazny , you might often find me quoting the man too

“A totally nondenominational prayer: Insofar as I may be heard by anything, which may or may not care what I say, I ask, if it matters, that I be forgiven for anything I may have done or failed to do which requires forgiveness. Conversely, if not forgiveness but something else may be required to insure any possible benefit for which I may be eligible after the destruction of my body, I ask that this, whatever it may be, be granted or withheld, as the case may be, in such a manner as to insure said benefit. I ask this in my capacity as your elected intermediary between yourself and that which may not be yourself, but which may have an interest in the matter of your receiving as much as it is possible for you to receive of this thing, and which may in some way be influenced by this ceremony. Amen.”

(― Roger Zelazny, Creatures of Light and Darkness )

Lord of light is a short novel that uses hindu mythology mostly, combined with buddhist lore (which the man used to read a lot) weaved together in a way that's absolutely incredible. I have a first edition myself, which i bought from a guy in california on ebay long ago (actually he didnt have the book anymore so he went out of his way to deliver ... oh, dear the ebay-rep lol - and ended up sending me a first edition copy for a crazy low price, YAY for Californians!)

“His followers called him Mahasamatman and said he was a god. He preferred to drop the Maha- and the -atman, however, and called himself Sam. He never claimed to be a god, but then he never claimed not to be a god.”
(― Roger Zelazny, Lord of Light )

the runner up would be Jack of Shadows (im not gonna link all these i'm sure everyone knows to google and wikipedia)

*"Poor vampire", he said, "There was not much blood in you, which is why you wanted mine so desperately, yet were so weak in its taking.
But i too, was desperate in my hunger.
We do what we must ..."
(jack of shadows)

Another short novel set in a world that's locked, half the side is always light and half the side is always dark. The protagonist , Jack is actually the base for much of the psychic powers used in gary gygax' dungeons and dragong, especially psychoportation and the likes. Jack is a magical creature whose powers grow when he sits in shadows, total dark or light is more or less his enemy. He's not immortal but he has several lives, of which a few are lost during the course of the story. When he dies he resurrects in what's called "the dung pits of glyve" (from where its a long way back to the habitable world) and his goal is to find the key Kolwynia, in order to restore balance and make the world turn again (once more quite metaforical) the dark side has magic, the light side has technology so he skips between here and there, used magic on one side, computers on the other to crack codes and in the end ... well ... read it
Again speckled with zelaznys interest in mythology there's among others a character called Morgenstern , chained to a rock in space (i once had that on an acid trip when i was 20) who is cursed to sit there until he sees the sunlight, which, from where he's chained is always just behind the horizon (since the planet doesnt turn) ... a clear ponter to the Lucifer (morning start, not to be confused with the series)

Then the other zelazny's ofcourse : Amber Chronicles (more or less based on parallel dimensions and a noble family who can weave reality from the strands of chaos and walk between dimensions as they please, a huge series of lots of books) the one i would call first.

I'll try to shorten the quotes and descriptions b/c i havent even gotten to the non-fiction section lol.

Jack Vance

The less a writer discusses his work—and himself—the better. The master chef slaughters no chickens in the dining room; the doctor writes prescriptions in Latin; the magician hides his hinges, mirrors, and trapdoors with the utmost care

Probably best know for the Lyonesse Series (definitely in my top five) "the demon princes" and "dying earth" certainly arent any lesser.

Jack Vance writes both fantasy and science fiction, well researched too, i read once "rhialto the shining" is actually a metfor on entropy for instance

From his sci-fi works i would have to choose Tschai (planet of adventure) would certainly make for a most epic movie series by cameron or pete jackson

David Eddings wrote a series named the belgariad ... more paper than a set of bibles and this imo is the work that goes beyond Tolkien. It's a tale were strong morals are portrayed and an epic battle against the always returning evil (like sauron , who got defeated once already but evil never dies, it only sleeps until the vigilance starts waning) , moral choices based on a kind of magic reserved to the few grand wizards called "the will and the word", people with the power have to WILL something into existence and the speak "the word" to make it happen. To know an entity's true name gives absolute power over it. Five books , more elaborate the LOTR and it has it all from moral decisions, ancient prophecies , vile overlords, the snake Queen Salmiszra, the nearing end of the world and the few good people who stand against the darkness, DEFINITELY on my top list

Julian May : many coloured land , (Saga of Pliocene Exile and The galactic milieu) , a blend between contemporary, sci-fi and fantasy again where suddenly a portal is discovered that is one way to the pliocene era, some people choose to pass through, to leave this dreaded era and when they arrive it turns out there's an alien presence, from there it develops into the advent of mental superpowers, telekenesis, telepathy, molecular kinesis, the lot, as people who already had the power (its set in an era where mutations cause the first superhero type people to arrive, id say a bit like marvel or heroes but its nothing of the sort really), which alters reality and history ofcourse as some of the alien artifacts after a long struggle (the aliens are already mentally activated) enhance the latent abilities in some humans to the point where professor X and Jane seem like kiddieboo more or less) a total of eight whoppers that are DEFINITELY worth the read if it's your thing.

Frank Herbert : Dune ... (if you know sci-fi then you know Dune, doesnt need elaboration i'm sure)

Tanith Lee : the birthgrave trilogy , a trilogy on a bloodlie of ancient vampires where in all three books the word vampire isn't used even once. Only through the actions and desription it becomes clear what they are. There's quite some erotic scenes in it (no ob-scenes lol) and when it comes to vampire fiction i say you can keep your twilight hahah, this is the foremost literature on the subject i have EVER read

A.E. Van Voght , my alltime favourite on gedanken "what if" stories ...

Vault of the Beast , where a creature without form ( a bit like the future terminator from the movies) comes back on a spaceship in order to find someone with the power to make it to Mars to unlock "the vault" where an ancient beast has been locked up for zound years (beware, Elon)

and a story on A.I. to make the same Musks skin crawl called Fulfillment (had to look that up, sadly i dont have the original english version of those

"Dear penpal" , "humans go home"

Van Voght is considered on the most influential and complex writers of the golden era of sci-fi (according to wikipedia too) and i have no hard time believing that :)))

there's oodles more but that should make up my list of top authors in fiction and i still have to do the non fiction section and i probably gobbled up half the internet already lol

so

NON FICTION :

(a total change from the former mind you and when i say non fiction i mean practical and research mostly, barely any life stories other than the 50th law, which is in fact a work of research on ghetto life in itself too, i think i read one nobel prize book once "the unbearable lightness of being" and i thought it was "meh" ... like "not bad" but "not impressed" lol)

so : in no particular order of chronology or preference (except the first one),

First and foremost i have to mention Cosmos by (the dolphin :p) Carl Sagan, about the best scientific-philosphic-historical book i can think of i have ever read, from the dawn of reality to the far reaches of the cosmos there's nothing that can really compare to it.

As i start with that i think i should move to Astrophysics for people in a hurry bu Neil Degrasse-Tyson, which takes it from the big bang to the present universe in words supposed to be understandable by mere humans (you might still want to read some sections twice though as physicists tend to take some things for granted since it's daily life to them , wink @lemouth )

and then some, i'll try to remember some of the top of my hat (off?)

Chariots of the gods ofcourse by Von Däniken , i doubt that one needs elaboration if you're a reader

Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts by Erica Moroz, Gregory Mone, Susan Cain

a book on and for introverts, what its like and how to deal with it, obviously written by someone with experience on the matter
https://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/quiet-power-the-secret-strengths-of-introverts/263630
(these are not referral links but if you like you can ofcourse buy it there, audiobooks are great for people with concentration problems btw)

Be Obsessed Or Be Average by Grant Cardone

rising from nothing doing overtime selling cars after a narc problem into a position of power where you have your own personal jet, narrated by the man himself , which , since he's a motivational speaker among many other things, a good reason to go for the audiobook

https://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/be-obsessed-or-be-average/274786

from the same author : the tennex factor (edit : its the tennex rule)

https://www.audible.com.au/pd/Health-Personal-Development/The-10X-Rule-Audiobook/B00FGFX7FO

i barely ever read books on "how to make it" but this guy really had me going, from beginning to end not a dull moment, VERY inspiring, truly

Brandwashed: Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us to Buy by Martin Lindstrom

a man with vast experience in the field explaining all the little jedi-mind tricks corporations pull to get you to give that extra dollar and buy that candybar at the register just before you go out, very in-depth, very informative, one of a kind

https://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/brandwashed/100224

The 50th Law written by Curtis Jackson (50 cent) and Robert Greene , takes you back into the life of a REAL gangster rapper, all the way from the gutter of Queens up to the millionares boardroom , a surprisingly honest take on the music industry and insight into ghetto life and how "the game" is played
highly recommended :)

https://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/50th-law/59301

Bitcoin : the future of money by Dominic Frisbee , "the hunt for Satoshi Nakamoto" , explaing a lot of how the first bitcoin came to pass, people who worked with the most elusive man on the planet and what it's actually all about.
again : highly recommended literature, especially if you live on planet Krypton

https://unbound.com/books/bitcoin/

The Gene : an intimate history by Siddhartha Mukherjee , more or less a biography of the gene, a filosofical-scientific work on the matter that has no equal, a lot of present day references and a lot of insight given by the author as to why people behave and do what they do
should i say ? highly recommended

https://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/gene-an-intimate-history/262728

ISIS Exposed
Beheadings, Slavery, and the Hellish Reality of Radical Islam by Erick Stakelbeck

a take on the origins and working of IS up to their height of power without the usual opinion that infects most of books like these, its very factual and maybe one of the best books available on the subject (imo)

https://www.audible.com.au/pd/Non-fiction/ISIS-Exposed-Audiobook/B00U6PRVUG

Jeb! and the Bush Crime Family
The Inside Story of an American Dynasty by Roger Stone, and Saint John Hunt

american politics, all the way back to the great industrialists ... all the way up to one of the most powerful families the states has ever seen ... (and you thought Trump was bad-ass lol), again, not an anti-book but a factual book, otherwise i wouldnt have finished it, i dont like authors weave personal opinion in books that are supposed to be works of research to expose the dark corners of society, and they refrain from that

https://www.audible.com.au/pd/Biographies-Memoirs/Jeb-and-the-Bush-Crime-Family-Audiobook/B01KG64ZTO

Liespotting
Proven Techniques to Detect Deception by Pamela Meyer (who also had one or more talks on the subject on the Ted Stage)

the name says it all, if you do business, if you're into profiling or just if you like to find out what your neighbour's really saying , you GOT to have read this one :)

https://www.audible.com/pd/Business/Liespotting-Audiobook/B0078S55JI

and oodles and zounds ... more more more (yes i have read stephen king but only the ones with randal flagg, no i have not read harry potter or twilight, but i have read hundreds, maybe a thousand more, these are just the ones that come to mind right away)

Personally when i enter someone's house i always look for books on display ... it can tell you so much, you can see what they read, you can see if its just sitting there or you can see if they WANT people to see what they read. Great pointer for starters lol

i think 'ill cut it off here, i dont know what the maximum post size is anyway but i dont wanna use up the internet for the rest of the country today

i'll add some illustrations on the steemit blog later but i need a break after almost two hours of typing HAHAH (well not constant ofcourse)

me :
https://steemit.com/introduction/@rudyardcatling/rudyardcatling-signature-post-20180719

hope you found some interesting in it :-)

if your reach does not extend your grasp,

you will never grow

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you might notice an odd combo there . . . one a remnant , mandatory literature from when i was in catholic school, the other one bought by the old man, i can only assume so he can get the facts straight if he ever got into a discussion with a preaching muslim :D ... thing is

those two have been sitting on that shelf for years and divine lightning hasn't struck either of them ... i will leave the conclusion to your personal imagination

a lof of crud inthere gathered over the years (those ancient book catalogues that sent you books even if you didnt order or people giving you a whole bag of stuff they dont want anymore cuzz you like to read etcetera, a lot of encyclopedia and a lot of great stuff, there's a 200 year old bible too belonging to a great grand uncle or father, i wonder what its worth
that's actually more like the kid i was, how gansta am i now ? not cool i guess ... dont you know science is the new mafia, DUDE HAHA

yea, mussels, its a sort of commercial period marketing thing, and its pretty good but once a year is enough, i probably wouldnt even eat it if my parents didnt cook it, too much waste :)

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oh, upload finished

the catwalk ... 4:30 am , i think i might try to pinch half an hour of my self-set hours today and call it a night ... i bet musing will be here tomorrow (i hope so)

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me : https://steemit.com/introduction/@rudyardcatling/rudyardcatling-signature-post-20180719

how many dollarcents is three hours worth then ? :), well if i count actual hours it would be five to six but well ... if you dont do what you do you WILL burn out on this before you're getting there, gotta do what you do, NOT put effort into something you never do, cos that will fail you

that's my sincere opinion

ah ...? well, i think the parents bought a lot of those just to shut me up cos i was always asking questions they didnt know the answer to hahah

so i gained the ability to think

for myself
over time ... that's why they wouldnt let me succeed isnt it ?
social worker like that, not willing to follow the painted lines of bureaucracy ? TOO MUCH HASSLE ... don't worry im never going back to school again, its A FUCKING WASTE OF TIME, pardon my sudden burst of french there

and remember :

don't feed or encourage them, don't stoop to their level