Thread: Help Me Choose My 21st Birthday Present!

Hello everybody! Well, I thought I'd turn to the community for reccommendations. Here's the situation:

My birthday is on the 22nd of October, this coming weekend. My parents have pitched together and after talking with me, they've decided that for my birthday, I'm going to be getting $1,400 NZ dollars to spend on books. Which is FANTASTIC. So happy.

Anyway, I want to make maximum use of the money, and am going to do most of my shopping at second-hand bookstores and find other ways to get lots of good books cheap.

But, I'm trying to compile a lit of books I want to buy. So, I thought you guys might be able to help!

Here's what I'm interested in:

History, especially ancient, medieval, mainly european but also medditeranean. Also some modern history. Especially, I'm looking for important documents, like the Canterbury Tales, Anne Frank's Diary of a Small Girl, etc. But, history books as well. Some WWII stuff, and also early modern history.

Philosophy, especially older works like Aquinas, Machiavelli, etc: basdically anything I can use to apply to my history.

Great works of literature, the classics. I want to build a decent collection for reference.

So: Fire away! Help me fill my birthday bookcase!

Just the first thing that popped into mind...
Dante's Inferno
The Communist Manifesto

Originally Posted by towarmforacoat

Dante's Inferno[/b]

FABULOUS! That's EXACTLY the type of suggestion I was asking for. Great suggestion! The communist manifesto is also a must-have. Great suggestions, I'll add them both to my list. Keep 'em coming, guys and girls!

ehy, happy birthday

do you knwo roughly hw omuch the conversion rate of NZD to USD is?

well, ot that it matters, i dont think i have that many books in mind

but, yea, dante's inferno is definetly a must.

as are all teh major religious doctrines;bible, torah, qu'ran, etc.


waht you should look into is at my house, we have a classic literature collection, i forget what it is called, but it has dantes inferno, the communist manifesto, teh diary of Darwin, adn other important reads. It looks nice as well



also, i recommend the epics; the Illiad, The Odessy

i also believe you can buy a complete works of shakespeare.

but, for som emore hadns on learning, there are som egreat historically accurate adn geographically acurate board games, focusing on WW! adn WW!!.

my favorite, is Diplomacy. I imagine itll be hard to find in New Zealand, seeing how it was very hard to find here in teh states, but it is posibly the most educative, intense, fun board game ever. Its similar to risk, but WWI Europe. also, theres no luck.

umm...... another game is Jutland, a WWII board game.

both of these are produced by Avalon Hill


happy birthday

Thanks, man. The conversion rate? NZ$1400 is equivalent to US$930.

I already have a copy of the NRSV Bible. But, I'd like to get a copy of the Qu'ran, and also the Torah and Talmud. What is the difference between the Old Testament and the Torah, by the way? I've never been able to figure that out entirely...

The Diary of Darwin is a GREAT suggestion, and one I'll definitely look into. As with the Illiad and the Odessey. I already have an (old) complete works of shakespeare. It's definitely old, but, I think it's accurate. I also intend on getting a dual language version of Beowulf, if I can hunt it down.

Thanks for the suggestions, man, much appreciated.

Well, being the person I am, I could start a laundry-list of Russian authors and what they've written. I would honestly say that no collection is complete without Dostoevskiy's "Crime and Punishment" and/or "The Brothers Karamazov."

There's also Tolstoy's "War and Peace" (if you have a number of months to dedicate to it). That's actually considered to be one of the best accounts of the wars that took place between Russia and France... history books cite it as a reference.

Nikolai Gogol is one of my favorites, though he tends to write more "short" stories. Russians aren't known for making "short" stories short though.

"We" by Yevgeni Zamyatin is one of, or the first utopian/dis-utopian novels ever and is a fairly quick read.

If you care for poetry, there is absolutely no doubt that Alexander Pushkin is the most famous and beloved poet of Russia, with his most famous works being "Yevgeni Onegin" and "The Bronze Horseman." He wrote various types of poetry including political poems, romantic poems, fairy tells in verse, etc. And on a side note, Tsar Nikolai I was practically Pushkin's personal censor.

(I seem to know more about Russian literature than American or English... shows how great my high school education was... (actually I was just lazy and I've forgotten a lot.))

If you like science fiction, one of the greatest authors of the genre is Frank Herbert, known primarily for his "Dune" series. I've read the first three books and they're not necessarily light reading, but they are enjoyable! Orson Scott Card ("Ender's Game") and Isaac Asimov - whom I haven't yet read - are also well known. And for fantasy, there's always Tolkien and C.S. Lewis... and while there are a lot of enjoyable authors, I can't think of any wildly popular and still serious-ish authors. So yah.

Originally Posted by The

I already have a copy of the NRSV Bible. But, I'd like to get a copy of the Qu'ran, and also the Torah and Talmud. What is the difference between the Old Testament and the Torah, by the way? I've never been able to figure that out entirely...
[/b]

The Torah (or Torh) is basically the first five books of the Old Testament, considered "The Law."

Originally Posted by Amethyst

There's also Tolstoy's "War and Peace" [/b]

Amé! Tsk, tsk, what kind of a person do you take me for? Of course I've already read the greatest work of literary fiction ever written, in ANY language!

/me pulls out his shurikens and waves them menacingly at anyone who would dare deny the assertion of FACT he just made.

Originally Posted by The

Amé! Tsk, tsk, what kind of a person do you take me for? Of course I've already read the greatest work of literary fiction ever written, in ANY language!
[/b]

Well, I don't know what you've read .... um, I thought this was a, um, list of books that... everyone should get. Yah. So I just put it down.

...глупый кролик...

Originally Posted by The

The conversion rate? NZ$1400 is equivalent to US$930.[/b]

damn, that's a nice birthday gift!

Yeah, Darwin's Origin of Species is a good read.
Anyway, I'd recommend
War of the Rats (If you haven't read it, it is an AMAZING WWII book. Technically fiction, but based heavily in fact. It's based on the stories of a group of Soviet snipers)
Hunt for Red October (More modern, but definitely good--It's a Tom Clancy book on subs if you haven't heard of it, but you probably have. By the way, lots of Clancy's books are good reads)
Don Quixote (A classic. If you don't have it, GET IT. I laughed through the whole book--it's an amazing read.)
I'll have to look for more later, I've got a whole shelf full of books, I'll pick out more you might like.

I've read Red October... I like some of Clancy's stuff, I liked that for instance, but I'm not a totaly fan of some of his books.

I'll pick up a copy of War of the Rats if I can find one, sounds like a good read.

As for Don Quixote: PERFECT. See, these are good examples of medieval and early modern literature which I KNOW about, but just need reminding about. Good ideas, Tsen!

All Quiet ON The Western Front is a great read, and a true story. Then there's Mien Kamfp, you might need to know german though.

Originally Posted by BeautifulDreamer

All Quiet ON The Western Front is a great read, and a true story. Then there's Mien Kamfp, you might need to know german though.
[/b]

Could get the translation - My Struggle.

Originally Posted by BeautifulDreamer

All Quiet ON The Western Front is a great read, and a true story. Then there's Mien Kamfp, you might need to know german though.
[/b]

Ahhh! Thanks again. Perferct. I only have a smattering of german, not enough to tackle Mein Kampf. I'll probably get a translation. And, I'll CERTAINLY get "all quiet". Also, thanks Jess, I don't have any of those books, I'll look 'em up and take your reccomendatiosn if I like what I see on Amazon (I use it for book research)

the diifference between teh old testament and the torah is well, nothing

They are essentaily the same.

I am jewish, my mothers family is jewish, and my dad is episcoalien, so i know a little bit of both.

In Christain ased religions, the core texts are teh old testament, and the new terstament.

teh old testament can lterally be defined as teh plight of teh jews

the new testament is based on eh life and teachings of Jesus Christ.


I know there are specifc places fore this, so ill just leave my opinion out

If looking for classic american literature, i can poin tyou to Ernest Hemingway. I love hsi stories.

also, teh diary of Lewis and Clark, teh guys who explored teh western half of the us, and "officially" discovered teh Pacific Ocean. Not something you woudl be interstd in prolly, but just tryin to help

Livy's History of Rome

Utopia by Thomas Moore . . . it's not so much history as social commentary

Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters are must haves for any fiction literature collection as well as charles dickons and the complete works of Poe.

The flowers of evil is a collection of the weird works of a strange french poet named Baudelaire. Both bizarre and classic.

If you're looking into fiction for fun reading at all, I'd suggest Marion Zimmer Bradley. She wrote several fictional books about the British Arthurian legend from the perspective of Arthur's sister Morgana. They aren't historical but if you're into european history you might find them entertaining. The Mists of Avalon especially was very highly acclaimed by critics.

Homer and Virgil. . . Thoreau. . .

H. P. Lovecraft. . . he followed in the footsteps of Poe. . . very weird stuff

The Arabian Nights would also be a good choice

Careful which version of the Canterbury Tales you pick up. If you don't mind trying to decifer OLD old English get an original copy. If you'd rather it be easier to read there are several "translations" (they modernize the spelling and cut out words that are no longer used in english in favor of more modern ones. the original version is still readable but can sometimes be very difficult to comprehend. I have a copy of each so if I run up to a section I don't understand in the old version I can just refer to the translated version). If you do choose a translation, pick a later one rather than an early one. It'll be more likely to have kept the original theme of the story intact. Chaucer was seen as a bit pornographic in his day and some of the earlier "translations" cut some of the racier chunks out of his work.

Good luck with your purchasing! It sounds really exciting.

Originally Posted by Jimmie

Livy's History of Rome

Utopia by Thomas Moore . . . it's not so much history as social commentary
[/b]

AWESOME. Will get.

Originally Posted by Jimmie

Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters are must haves for any fiction literature collection as well as charles dickons and the complete works of Poe.
[/b]

Oh... this is embarassing, but for a guy, I am a MASSIVE fan of Jane Austin like you would not believe. Reading Miss Austin makes me go all soft inside. My fave is Mansfield Park. I have the complete collection.

The Bronte sisters I know of, but not about, so I'll definitely look into that. I have Poe, but I must say, I'm NOT a massive dickens fan, for some reason. I will, however, try to get a "complete works" simply because it's part of the literary canon that I feel I must have, regardless of whether or not I like it.

Originally Posted by Jimmie

The flowers of evil is a collection of the weird works of a strange french poet named Baudelaire. Both bizarre and classic.

If you're looking into fiction for fun reading at all, I'd suggest Marion Zimmer Bradley. She wrote several fictional books about the British Arthurian legend from the perspective of Arthur's sister Morgana. They aren't historical but if you're into european history you might find them entertaining. The Mists of Avalon especially was very highly acclaimed by critics.

Homer and Virgil. . . Thoreau. . .

H. P. Lovecraft. . . he followed in the footsteps of Poe. . . very weird stuff

The Arabian Nights would also be a good choice
[/b]

Noted, noted, noted, noted and noted. THANK YOU. I'll definitely add those to my list. I've been meaning to get some of Lovecraft's stuff for a while... he's way more bizarre than Poe though. Poe is just disconcerting, but Lovecraft is surreal.

As far as the Canterbury tales: Thanks for your reccommendations. Like Beowulf, I intend on getting a dual-language version, with original Old English and modern in one edition. I'm actually very good at deciphering obscuyre dialects of english, for a layman: My mum's family comes from Black Country england, which has a sort of dialect that has survived to a certain extent which I'm quite proficient at reading... I have tried to read Old English before, with a reasonable amount of success. I actuall enjoy figuring it out...

I'm going to print out this thread when it's finished and use it as a reference. THANKS for your replies guys, keep 'em coming!!!

To get the best for your money, I'd look for "complete works of..." books or those big gigantic books with various books inside of them (as confusing as that is)

I would seriously suggest a secondhand copy of the complete works of Shakespeare, and you couldn't go wrong with some Edgar Allen Poe

Oh, BTW Amé, I've been meaning to get some Pushkin and Dostoevskiy for a while now, so thanks for those suggestions... my Russian history lecturer is also professor of Russian literature, and he mentioned a lot of literature in a few of his lecturers.

I've also read the Dune books (most of them) and also the preludes written by somebody else. To be honest, I don't rate the Dune series. The writing isn't all that fantastic at times, and the whole series stinks of a great author in need of a decent editor to tighten it up, cut out the crap, and give a bit of guidance... the same problem with JK Rowling nowdays.

Also, good suggestion with the Asimov, I need that for my bookcase. I already have tolkien, but need to get Lewis. I also need to pick up a copy of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.

Originally Posted by Courtney

I would seriously suggest a secondhand copy of the complete works of Shakespeare, and you couldn't go wrong with some Edgar Allen Poe
[/b]

I've already got the complete works of both. But, that's along the lines of what I'm looking for, so great! Any other suggestions?

By the way, have you read/do you like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? It's some great writing, though a bit bizarre.

hmm...well i just have to say...my own list of books to read is growing. Thx

Originally Posted by Tsen

By the way, have you read/do you like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? It's some great writing, though a bit bizarre.
[/b]

Yuppers. Read all five books in the trilogy. But, I thought the quality kinda dropped off after the third... any other suggestions, guys? Some of your ideas havfe been GREAT...

You might want to pick up:

The Art of War by Sun Tzu
1984 by George Orwell
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Originally Posted by Barbizzle

The Art of War by Sun Tzu
1984 by George Orwell
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
[/b]

Already have The Art of War, and a REALLY nice copy of it too. But, I'll certainly see if I can pick up a complete works of orwel. Never heard of a Brave New World, but will look it up. Thanks Bizz!

Originally Posted by Barbizzle

I can't give any suggestions since I hardly read fiction books... I was a big Isaac Asimov fan but I doubt that is what you are looking for
[/b]

I'm not just looking for fiction. ANY suggestyions you have fire away!

Cool that you are spending you money cool actual usefull/inteligent stuff and not on porn and video-games.

I would

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Can someone explain me what 'dante's inferno' is? Is it a book, movie or television soap? ^__^