I started this thread up not ten minutes after finishing Cory Doctorow's latest release, "Little Brother." It's got flaws- the first few chapters are kind of awkward, given that it's an early-era GenXer emulating the lingo of the post-millennia, social net generation. He gets the terminology right, but not quite the flow.
Then I kept reading.
Then I got really goddamn pissed.
If you're the least bit literary-inclined whatsoever, I'm sure you're familiar with the feeling of running across a book you know everybody else should be reading. Maybe it's just plain awesome. Maybe it really stirs up your sentimentality. Or maybe, like with 1984 and "Little Brother," it riles you up while opening your eyes- makes clear some things you had wondered about, and changes the way you look at the world.
So list some of them. Toss out a book rec in this thread. My job's slow, the work load's light, and the accountant doesn't mind me reading on the job. And the rest of you probably aren't even college-level yet, so your summer's free. There's no excuse not to bring a bit more enlightenment into your own life- and no excuse for me not to do the same.
So, yes. My own list of "necessary reads."
1. The Bible - not an odd choice, despite my religious inclinations (or lack thereof). Nothing else has impacted Western literature quite so thoroughly- nothing ever will. Regardless of whether or not you believe- and I'm not just agnostic but outright atheist- if you speak and read the English language, this is required reading.
2. Fahrenheit 451 - yeah, you probably read it at school. Probably skimmed through it just enough to get the essay crammed out. Read it again. Bradbury's writing style isn't my all-time favorite, but his message is quite clear and frighteningly relevant.
3. 1984 - Orwell's (edit: ORWELL DAMMIT. ORWELL. HUXLEY, GO AWAY) writing style is also not amongst my favorite. But this one's probably even more important than 451.
4. Little Brother - Cory Doctorow's spiritual successor to 1984. Modern day, modern tech, too believable. Neil Gaiman gives it his wholehearted recommendation, and I'm quite inclined to be as enthusiastic. You can grab a free ebook of it too, over here. (http://craphound.com/littlebrother/download/) Then buy the book- you're going to want to reread it, and wood pulp's easier on the eyes than laptop screens.
5. American Gods - Speaking of Neil Gaiman... This is a beautifully dark book. And it tends to be divisive. People either love it fervently, or hate it absolutely. Not too many in-betweens. It is, however, a strong critique of western culture, and well-worth your time.
6. The Illuminatus! Trilogy - Because I want to fuck with your head.
7. Schroedinger's Cat - Because Robert Anton Wilson loves fucking with your head. And because it's actually a stronger trilogy than Illuminatus!, but not nearly as awesome without it. Read both. You'll come out of it a... different person, if only slightly. And be far less willing to take... anything at face value.
8. Transmetropolitan - Warren Ellis's infamous graphic novel series. It starts off a bit shallow, and not a little masturbatory. Then it shoots you with its bowel disruptor, and screams at you to wake up and smell the shit around you. Spider Jerusalem's monologue on the Monoculture is classic.
9. Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas will NOT be on this list, as Las Vegas was an entertaining exercise in gonzo journalism, but nothing more. THIS is definitive Hunter S. Thompson. This is what the beast that is the US political system actually looks like. And this is the secret of gonzo journalism. A lot of it's outdated. The Democratic nomination system is no longer as described in the book. But the visceral reality of our political landscape- all the underlying poison and bile and terrible insanity- is, unfortunately, still there. And festering. And nobody but Hunter described it as accurately.
More will, of course, come when they occur to me.
So, toss me your recs.
Catch 22- Joseph (K)eller? might be Heller.
The English Patient- Michael Ondaatje --my all time FAVORITE book.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest- i dont remember the author, but incredible book.
A Clockwork Orange- Anthony Burgess -- my second favorite book of all time
and for some lighter reading, Fight Club and Survivor, by Chuck Palahnuik, are easy, good, quick reads.
Ken Keesy is the guy who wrote one flew over the cuckoos nest
I love that book along with Jane Eyre, Memoirs of a Geisha, Animal Farm, 1984, Lolita, The great gatsby, Battle Royale, Life of Pi, Eat pray love, go ask alice, the taming of the shrew, Odessyus, Enders game and One Pill makes you smaller
:d I enjoy reading too much
Quote from: Kaura117 on July 01, 2008, 11:26:20 AM
3. 1984 - Huxley's writing style is also not amongst my favorite. But this one's probably even more important than 451.
Except that 1984 is an Orwell novell. :P
My pick is Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground (http://www.amazon.com/Lords-Chaos-Bloody-Satanic-Underground/dp/0922915946/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214975678&sr=8-1). If you're a metal fan, this book is required reading. If not, it's still highly recommended.
Despite its somewhat sensationalist title, it's an impeccably researched and fairly well-written account of the circumstances that gave rise to the now-notorious worldwide black metal scene; starting with the origins of the genre and its ideological roots in Scandinavian folklore, and then taking us through the evolution of black metal (specifically in Norway) and its many headline-grabbing controversies.
It sometimes veers off-topic and some conclusions may seem a little reaching, but it's still a great read for anyone interested in one of the most important and intriguing countercultural movements of the last 20 years.
Quote from: soakrates` on July 01, 2008, 10:22:29 PM
Quote from: Kaura117 on July 01, 2008, 11:26:20 AM
3. 1984 - Huxley's writing style is also not amongst my favorite. But this one's probably even more important than 451.
Except that 1984 is an Orwell novell. :P
My pick is Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground (http://www.amazon.com/Lords-Chaos-Bloody-Satanic-Underground/dp/0922915946/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214975678&sr=8-1). If you're a metal fan, this book is required reading. If not, it's still highly recommended.
Despite its somewhat sensationalist title, it's an impeccably researched and fairly well-written account of the circumstances that gave rise to the now-notorious worldwide black metal scene; starting with the origins of the genre and its ideological roots in Scandinavian folklore, and then taking us through the evolution of black metal (specifically in Norway) and its many headline-grabbing controversies.
It sometimes veers off-topic and some conclusions may seem a little reaching, but it's still a great read for anyone interested in one of the most important and intriguing countercultural movements of the last 20 years.
...FUCK. How the hell did Huxley slip in there?! Sorry, I definitely meant Orwell, but my mental train cross-linked A Brave New World on me while I was typing.
Wow some great choices so far!
Here's a short list of some of my favorites:
Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson - One of my all time favorite cyberpunk novels.
Orphans of Chaos (The Chronicles of Chaos trilogy) - John C Wright - I haven't picked up the last book yet.
Anansi Boys- Neil Gaiman - Great book. I have also read Neverwhere and enjoyed it as well.
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card - This books kicks so much ass. I didn't really like the sequel
Storm Front (The Dresden Files) - Jim Butcher - I like its film noir flavor.
The Stainless Steel Rat - Harry Harrison - My all time favorite criminal. Old school SciFi.
This is a tiny fraction of what I like. My book shelf is cluttered with too many to list easily and I am doing this off the top of my head from work.
Quote from: Mordyan on July 02, 2008, 03:50:54 PM
Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson - One of my all time favorite cyberpunk novels.
Awesome, I was totally recommending that book to people recently! It's one of the best books I've read in recent memory, along with
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson.
Quote from: Mordyan on July 02, 2008, 03:50:54 PM
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card - This books kicks so much ass. I didn't really like the sequel
Which sequel? There are two different paths to follow. You can follow Ender or you can follow Bean. The Ender books get weird...really weird. The Bean books are OK to start off. Ender's Shadow tells the story from Bean's point of view, not as good as Ender's Game, but still not bad. There are a lot of books that follow Bean from there and tell you what happened on Earth after the first book was done.
Really, the only great Ender sequel was "Ender's Shadow." The rest of the Bean spinoff's not worth it.
The Speaker of the Dead trilogy... actually, I read the whole thing through, and I kind of liked it. It's trying to be a spiritual allegory in the trappings of science fiction- and the two genres have never really mixed all that well. But it mostly works, and some of the concepts and ideas it brings up remain highly relevant. More so, perhaps, given certain branches of our emergent technologies.
Honestly I didn't even like Ender's Shadow that much. Bean just never grew on me. I'm just saying that it's better then Speaker for the Dead...that's just a weird book.
Quote from: BrightHeart76 on July 02, 2008, 05:03:50 PM
Quote from: Mordyan on July 02, 2008, 03:50:54 PM
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card - This books kicks so much ass. I didn't really like the sequel
Which sequel? There are two different paths to follow. You can follow Ender or you can follow Bean. The Ender books get weird...really weird. The Bean books are OK to start off. Ender's Shadow tells the story from Bean's point of view, not as good as Ender's Game, but still not bad. There are a lot of books that follow Bean from there and tell you what happened on Earth after the first book was done.
Yeah I meant Speaker for the Dead. I could not get into it as much. In fact I remember reading it, but not much else. Whereas "Ender's Game" I can still recall in good detail. Hmmmm, might be time to re-read it and all the associated books. I have never read any of the Ender's Shadow books.
Quote from: mDuo13 on July 02, 2008, 04:22:48 PM
Quote from: Mordyan on July 02, 2008, 03:50:54 PM
Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson - One of my all time favorite cyberpunk novels.
Awesome, I was totally recommending that book to people recently! It's one of the best books I've read in recent memory, along with Pattern Recognition by William Gibson.
Snow Crash is one of those books that I always recommend to people when they are looking for a new book.
I need to read more William Gibson!
Quote from: Mordyan on July 03, 2008, 04:50:16 PM
Quote from: mDuo13 on July 02, 2008, 04:22:48 PM
Quote from: Mordyan on July 02, 2008, 03:50:54 PM
Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson - One of my all time favorite cyberpunk novels.
Awesome, I was totally recommending that book to people recently! It's one of the best books I've read in recent memory, along with Pattern Recognition by William Gibson.
Snow Crash is one of those books that I always recommend to people when they are looking for a new book.
I need to read more William Gibson!
Start reading Neuromancer. That book is so goood. then go with the Bridge Trilogy. XD
My list:
Neuromancer-William Gibson
The Stand-Stephen King
Count of Monte Cristo-Alexander Dumas(watched Gankutsuou-The Count of Monte Cristo, the anime before reading the book. It actually made me want to read the original work which i'm glad I did).
This might be Children's Lit, but I loved The Island of Blue Dolphins by Scott O' Dell cause of the historical aspect and it was a fine story by itself.
Battle Royale by Koushun Takami is another one. The book outdoes the movie 10 to 1 and if you read Lord of The Flies, this is Lord of The Flies to the extreme.
2001 by Arthur C. Clarke is another one that I loved and i read it after seeing the movie. I think those are the ones that i can name at the top of my head at the moment.
Quote from: RyuHayabusa on July 03, 2008, 06:02:11 PM
Count of Monte Cristo-Alexander Dumas(watched Gankutsuou-The Count of Monte Cristo, the anime before reading the book. It actually made me want to read the original work which i'm glad I did).
I once got a job because I listed Alexander Dumas as my favorite author. Count of Monte Cristo is good, but Three Musketeers is better. I read those books something like 3 times each in High School. The Man in the Iron Mask really tore me up. (STILL need to watch Gankutsuou, never got around to that one).
I enjoy some newer books, but I've always been a fan of the classics. Dumas, Doyle, Austen, Shakespeare, Montgomery, Alcott.
War and Peace, infact i read it about three times each year.
Earth Abides - think of all those plauge movies where its "last group of people on earth"
they're the ones i read the most often, though i've got about three hundred books on th shelves
Quote from: Mordyan on July 02, 2008, 03:50:54 PM
Anansi Boys- Neil Gaiman - Great book. I have also read Neverwhere and enjoyed it as well.
That was good. So was American Gods.
My recommendations:
Good Omens: Also a Neil Gaiman book. Its starts somewhat as a comedy. A witch predicts the end of the world due to the Devil's son. But a fast-loving demon and his angel friend, who owns a bookstore, are not ready for the world to end. So they set out to destroy the devil's son. Unfortunately, the boy is really a nice kid... and he's been misplaced.
Twilight: By Stephenie Meyer. 1st book in the series. A teenage girl returns to live with her father in a small town named Forks. There, she meets a vampire at her high school and falls in love with him. Its a love story with a good chunk of adventure.... Its really, really good.
Poison Study (1st of three books in the Study series): By Maria V. Snyder. A girl is in prison for murder. About to be executed, she's given the choice to die or become the food-taster for the country's commander. Choosing to become the food-taster, she's fed a poison called Butterfly's Kiss. Unfortunately, she starts to develop magical powers, which is illegal in the country. And many people are out to kill her. Not only that but there is a plot against the commander.
The Elves on the Road universe by Mercedes Lackey are really good. Especially the Bedlam Bard and Serrated Edge series. They are about Bards and Elves living in modern times. Race car driving elves... Yeah~
Day One: Before Hiroshima and After by Peter Wyden (1984)
The story behind the development of the atomic bombs, and the people involved
Quote from: G.I.R on July 04, 2008, 01:10:40 AM
Day One: Before Hiroshima and After by Peter Wyden (1984)
The story behind the development of the atomic bombs, and the people involved
Some of those books are really interesting. I once read a book about Nikola Tesla. It was probably one of the driest books I have read but some of the stuff in it were pretty cool. I love cool inventions~
I remember reading a book about Tesla several years ago that was quite good, but can't remember the title or author.
Books:
Dune (The books)
Brave New World
Woman Warrior
Odyssey
Ender's Game
Honor Harrington (the entire series)
Digital Fortress
Angels and Demons
The Da Vinci Code
Fahrenheit 451
On Justice Power and Human Nature by Thucydides.
The shinning
Authors to read:
Orson Scott Card
Harry Turtledove
Dan Brown
I've read the bible, probably more of it than most religious nuts do. I had to study it for my humanities classes...gah the agony. It's kinda cool to know that the bible we have now is not even close to the bibles that were floating around in ancient times. Gotta love the Nicene Creed and the massive canonization/shrinkage of the bible. Fascinating things you learn about the history of religion. Heh
Harry Turtledove has some wicked Sci-Fi. You guys need to read him. Sooooo gooood.
Oh, hell no. The Honor Harrington's trashy pulp scifi trying to pretend it isn't. It doesn't get any better at all after "On Basilisk Station." And that's the first book!
No, for proper space opera? Larry Niven/Jerry Pournelle's "The Mote in God's Eye" and "The Gripping Hand."
Some More Sci-Fi Suggestions
The Andromeda Strain by Michael Chriton (... and don't even think about that TV adaptation from this year. Watch the 1971
theatrical version. One of the most faithful adaptations of a book ever.)
I Robot By Isaac Asimov
Rendezvous With Rama / Rama II By Arthur C. Clark
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series (sans the last book) By Douglas Adams
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency / The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul also by Adams
Quote from: BrightHeart76 on July 03, 2008, 07:17:53 PM
Quote from: RyuHayabusa on July 03, 2008, 06:02:11 PM
Count of Monte Cristo-Alexander Dumas(watched Gankutsuou-The Count of Monte Cristo, the anime before reading the book. It actually made me want to read the original work which i'm glad I did).
I once got a job because I listed Alexander Dumas as my favorite author. Count of Monte Cristo is good, but Three Musketeers is better. I read those books something like 3 times each in High School. The Man in the Iron Mask really tore me up. (STILL need to watch Gankutsuou, never got around to that one).
I enjoy some newer books, but I've always been a fan of the classics. Dumas, Doyle, Austen, Shakespeare, Montgomery, Alcott.
Jules Verne and H.G.Wells definitely. I'm a big mystery fan so I'm recommending Dick Francis as well.
When the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen came out, I re-read Dracula and then read each one of the novels/novelettes from which the lead characters came: Twenty thousand Leagues Under the Sea as well as Mysterious Island by Verne, The Invisible Man by Wells, Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard, Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, dang can't remember the rest, but it was pretty fun reading.
I also recommend the Bond series by Ian Fleming, anything by Alastair MacLean, and Stephen King but more so Dean Koontz for entertainment.
Anything by Vladimir Nabokov.
Don't jump right into his most famous work, Lolita, or my personal favourite, Invitation to a Beheading. Instead, try something like Despair (though a little slow-moving at times) or Pnin (though a little plotless at times), and then try those, since people seem to pick up Lolita, either love it or hate it, and then judge all his other books on that standard. It really is an excellent book, has great writing and a great plot, and moves at a perfect pace, but a lot of people cannot seem to stomach it, so if you can, go for it. Invitation to a Beheading, on the other hand, is absolutely amazing, but one of those books that you shouldn't jump into head-first due to the rather surrealistic style and the likley need to re-read it. Plae Fire is another one of his classics that you may want to try.
Other than that, I'm out. :D
(ZOMG Neeners is posting in the general section! :O)
Quote from: RyuHayabusa on July 03, 2008, 06:02:11 PM
Count of Monte Cristo-Alexander Dumas(watched Gankutsuou-The Count of Monte Cristo, the anime before reading the book. It actually made me want to read the original work which i'm glad I did).
Wow. I almost went and read the original, too, after watching Gankutsuou, but ended up chickening out because it's so
massive. Props on finishing it.
I've noticed something (I guess it's something that could be taken for granted, if you really thought about it) but none of these books will appeal to everybody. For example, I found "Woman Warrior" somewhat dull and frustrating to go through, and the first Dune book never did it for me, though Dune Messiah (the second) was quite good.
Here are a few more reading recommendations from me, though some of them are more along the lines of enjoyable light reads than literary masterpieces:
The Armies of Memory by John Barnes. A sci-fi adventure story, about a special operative looking for the mind-recording of his former boss, because it has very important, very classified information. Actually has some interesting love-story aspects to it, too.
Neuromancer by William Gibson. Ryu is right, you should start reading William Gibson's works from his first book. Everything else builds on it while keeping a lot of the same formula. But, even if the plots are often similar, his books are worth reading because the guy is a visionary. You know how good science fiction sometimes comes true? William Gibson's stuff often seems like it already has.
Talion, Revenant by Michael A. Stackpole. This book has a couple of rough edges, I guess, being Stackpole's first novel, but in my opinion it's really cleverly put together, and emotionally moved me a lot for just a simple fantasy adventure story.
Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick. PK Dick is another science fiction visionary. His books deal with serious existential issues, and often get made into interesting movies (Total Recall, Blade Runner, Minority Report) but his sometimes-wry, sometimes wistful writing style is hardly ever carried over into Hollywood. (Arguably, A Scanner Darkly and some versions of Blade Runner come close.) He's definitely not for everyone, but those who like him will love him.
Redwall by Brian Jacques. Most people will probably have had some encounter with these books already, but it bears repeating: they're interesting and exciting fantasy stories despite the fact that all the main characters are anthropomorphized rodents. Actually, if I recall correctly (it's been a long time), my favorite in the series was
Salamandastron. Though, it probably depends on the order in which you read them - you don't need to go in strictly publishing or chronological order.
Quote from: BunofGovt on July 04, 2008, 06:15:53 PM
When the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen came out, I re-read Dracula and then read each one of the novels/novelettes from which the lead characters came: Twenty thousand Leagues Under the Sea as well as Mysterious Island by Verne, The Invisible Man by Wells, Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard, Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, dang can't remember the rest, but it was pretty fun reading.
GRRR...when I left the movie theater after watching that piece of nastiness I was spitting venom. That movie made me SO angry. Forget the fact that the vampire spends half the movie in sunlight. Forget what they did to poor Captain Nemo. Forget that they basically took a bunch of characters that were no longer protected by copyright and just threw them together like a bad masquerade skit. When all is said and done the let Tom Sawyer kill James Moriarty. I am a tried and true Holmsian...I barely kept from making a scene about that in the theatre.
I'm not dumping on you for liking the movie BunofGovt. If we all liked the same things this would be a very boring world. I just had to continue my gripe about that movie...grrr.
That being said I'm going to re-read "The Final Problem".
Anyone who enjoys the TV show Monk should read the new series of Monk books written by Lee Goldberg, who's a screenwritter on the show. Here's the list of books so far in the series:
Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse
Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii
Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu
Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants
Mr. Monk in Outer Space
More book recommendations!
ANYTHING BY TERRY PRATCHETT EVER
You want a modern literary genius? Nobody does satire and fantasy better than Pratchett. Even at his worse, even his earlier stuff, is of monumental creativity and insight. And then you get to his best stuff- Night Watch, Monstrous Regiment, Reaper Man- and you're completely sucked in. And NOT reading Good Omens- which is a coauthorship between both Pratchett and the incomparable Neil Gaiman- counts as a literary sin, as far as I'm concerned.
Quote from: BrightHeart76 on July 06, 2008, 04:38:26 PM
Quote from: BunofGovt on July 04, 2008, 06:15:53 PM
When the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen came out, I re-read Dracula and then read each one of the novels/novelettes from which the lead characters came: Twenty thousand Leagues Under the Sea as well as Mysterious Island by Verne, The Invisible Man by Wells, Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard, Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, dang can't remember the rest, but it was pretty fun reading.
GRRR...when I left the movie theater after watching that piece of nastiness I was spitting venom. That movie made me SO angry. Forget the fact that the vampire spends half the movie in sunlight. Forget what they did to poor Captain Nemo. Forget that they basically took a bunch of characters that were no longer protected by copyright and just threw them together like a bad masquerade skit. When all is said and done the let Tom Sawyer kill James Moriarty. I am a tried and true Holmsian...I barely kept from making a scene about that in the theatre.
I'm not dumping on you for liking the movie BunofGovt. If we all liked the same things this would be a very boring world. I just had to continue my gripe about that movie...grrr.
That being said I'm going to re-read "The Final Problem".
I think he's referring to the graphic novels by Alan Moore, not the movie.
Quote from: G.I.R on July 06, 2008, 09:04:03 PM
Quote from: BrightHeart76 on July 06, 2008, 04:38:26 PM
Quote from: BunofGovt on July 04, 2008, 06:15:53 PM
When the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen came out, I re-read Dracula and then read each one of the novels/novelettes from which the lead characters came: Twenty thousand Leagues Under the Sea as well as Mysterious Island by Verne, The Invisible Man by Wells, Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard, Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, dang can't remember the rest, but it was pretty fun reading.
GRRR...when I left the movie theater after watching that piece of nastiness I was spitting venom. That movie made me SO angry. Forget the fact that the vampire spends half the movie in sunlight. Forget what they did to poor Captain Nemo. Forget that they basically took a bunch of characters that were no longer protected by copyright and just threw them together like a bad masquerade skit. When all is said and done the let Tom Sawyer kill James Moriarty. I am a tried and true Holmsian...I barely kept from making a scene about that in the theatre.
I'm not dumping on you for liking the movie BunofGovt. If we all liked the same things this would be a very boring world. I just had to continue my gripe about that movie...grrr.
That being said I'm going to re-read "The Final Problem".
I think he's referring to the graphic novels by Alan Moore, not the movie.
Actually I never said I like the movie. I did NOT like the movie, hence the reason for reading all of the novels instead. So much more entertaining. And I haven't read the graphic novels either.
Definitely everyone should read Twenty thousand Leagues and Mysterious Island for a better grasp of Captain Nemo's character.
Oh, and please let me recommend the Dr. Thorndyke series by R. Austin Freeman. Mysteries, yes, but the good doctor is one of the first forensic scientists.
Quote from: Kaura117 on July 06, 2008, 06:52:06 PM
More book recommendations!
ANYTHING BY TERRY PRATCHETT EVER
You want a modern literary genius? Nobody does satire and fantasy better than Pratchett. Even at his worse, even his earlier stuff, is of monumental creativity and insight. And then you get to his best stuff- Night Watch, Monstrous Regiment, Reaper Man- and you're completely sucked in. And NOT reading Good Omens- which is a coauthorship between both Pratchett and the incomparable Neil Gaiman- counts as a literary sin, as far as I'm concerned.
Terry Pratchett is indeed ingenious, but (like a lot of satire) reading too much of it can make you sick and tired in a hurry. Some of his early stuff really isn't that great, either. I definitely like Reaper Man, Hogfather, and Wyrd Sisters, though. Oh, and "Guards! Guards!" How could I forget my favorite?
I've just gotten interested in Animorphs again and are getting the books on eBay and at used book stores. I'm already reading Book #6 The Capture. Animorphs ROX!!! 8)
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
Wow, I'm loving the list you've got in the OP. Time to make a list of my personal favorites that haven't been mentioned yet (I think? I semi-checked. lol), some better than others. Some love to Murakami, Palahniuk, and Kafka. I normally hate putting classic titles in my lists, but I'll include ones that I've observed less avid readers don't normally pick up.
"The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles" - Haruki Murakami
"Kafka on the Shore" - Haruki Murakami
"Norwegian Wood" - Haruki Murakami
"Sputnik Sweetheart" -Haruki Murakami
"After Dark" - Haruki Murakami
"Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World" - Haruki Murakami
"Goodbye Tsugumi" - Banana Yoshimoto
"Kitchen" - Banana Yoshimoto
"Choke" - Chuck Palahniuk
"Haunted" - Chuck Palahniuk
"Lullaby" - Chuck Palahniuk
"Invisible Monsters" - Chuck Palahniuk
"Rant" - Chuck Palahniuk
"The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists" - Neil Strauss
"The Metamorphosis and Other Short Stories" - Franz Kafka
"The Castle" - Franz Kafka
"Thicker Than Water" - Kathryn Harrison
"Envy" - Kathryn Harrison
"Innocents" - Cathy Coote
"Sophie's World" - Jostein Gaarder
"The Rule of Four" - Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason
Goosebumps: A Night in Terror Tower- R.L. Stein
Quote from: PyronIkari on July 29, 2008, 12:09:07 AM
Goosebumps: A Night in Terror Tower- R.L. Stein
Pffffffffffff HELLZ YEAH. o/
I remember in elementary school, where there'd be groups that'd read different series whenever we made a trip to the library. All the girls (and one really metrosexual little boy) would read The Babysitters' Club. Some would follow Goosebumps, while others would read stuff like Judy Blume/Nancy Drew, and the rest wouldn't read at all.
I've read most of what society deems "required reading", Orwell and Huxley predominantly, and Brian Jacques' work, so I'll recommend a couple of my short favorites.
Holidays on Ice - Davis Sedaris
A very small, memoir-like entertaining reading experience. I remember being recommended this by a friend for leisurely reading and I enjoyed how much humor was placed into a small 130-150 page text. Wonderfully executed.
The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail - Robert Edwin Lee and Jerome Lawrence
This small two-act play is centric around the topic of living one's life differently; to be civilly disobedient, and the pursuit of a transcendent outlook on living life. It's heavily influenced my way of thinking and observation of what a common humanity is versus what is known as uniquely created.
~Chun
Eddited my list a bit to cater the thread. Took out a few titles, some felt too odd to list, some were already listed in other people's posts. Though, when making book recommendations, I see little point in listing well-known, and common household titles.
I absolutely love reading, though. But I have to be in the mood for it. While I used to read more frequently as a younger teen, I pretty much only read up to 4 or 5 books a month at most, now. The average is about 2 or 3, so I can savor the effect of the "afterglow" after reading a book for a week or two. And more than anything do I love psychological stimulation-- not necessarily philosophical, nothing mundane like, "Why are we here? Where are we really from?" hoopla, but more like observing what a writer writes and absorbing it as a refreshing feeling, then breathing out as if after an orgasm. Speaking of orgasms, I also find reading words and descriptions of eroticism much more intense than just watching pornography just to get you going.
I've been meaning to get into the Mode series my friend recommended to me, before, though. Since it fits the general interest of most readers, I might as well post a description if anyone is interested.
"The Mode series is a quartet of novels by Piers Anthony. Like many of Anthony's other fictional works, it explores themes of violence, the abuse of power, sexism and male dominance, gender roles, the environment, integrity and personal honor, sapient animal life, parallel and alternative evolution, space travel, alternate dimensions, paradox, obscure concepts in physics and mathematics, sexual assault and abuse, child and adolescent sexuality, and suicide." (Wikipedia)
And maybe some more Wikipedia quotations, as I find myself failing to describe my favorite authors without being distracted by my own fascination of the personal experiences their books give me.
Haruki Murakami: "Murakami's fiction, often criticized for being "pop" literature by Japan's literary establishment, is humorous and surreal, and at the same time digresses on themes of alienation, loneliness, and longing for love in a way that has touched readers in the US and Europe, as well as in East Asia. In addition, Murakami's writing has also been criticized because of his portrayal of Japan's obsession with capitalism. Through his work, he was able to capture the spiritual emptiness of his generation and explore the negative effects of Japan's work-dominated mentality. His writing criticizes the decrease in human values and a loss of connection between people in Japan's capitalist society.
A lot of Murakami's work tends to be pretty sophisticated, surreal, and satirical in terms of his own personal views of society. I must add, though, a lot of his writing is VERY cultural (Japanese) in context, but I'd assume that the resulting effect is about the same. Very stimulating for the ones with a vivid imagination, and their endings tend to stir up feelings that are left with you for a very long time-- I'd describe them more or less like a sorrowful type of peacefulness. While reading, it feels like somewhat of a dislocated, yet personal trip through the worlds he illustrates while reading his novels. Quite hard to describe. One of his greatest influences is Franz Kafka, another favorite author of mine. My personal favorites are Kakfa on the Shore (one of my absolute favorite books) and Norwegian Wood.
Banana Yoshimoto: "Critics think that much of her work is superficial and commercial; her fans however, think it perfectly captures what it means to be young and frustrated in modern Japan. Yoshimoto herself identifies her two main themes as "the exhaustion of young people in contemporary Japan" and "the way in which terrible experiences shape a person's life." Her novels can be fun and escapist, but are always touched with traditional Japanese ideology. Her writing can be quite piercing, haunting, poignant, and darkly humorous all at once. Though critics believe her to be "lightweight," Yoshimoto unabashedly states that she aims to win a Nobel Prize for Literature."
Requires a bit of understanding and knowledge of how Japanese society functions, but I'm sure people here would take interest. My absolute favorite author when it comes to light reading. I'd describe her work as "refreshing", but in a darker sense of the word, because Yoshimoto's description of her work being "the exhaustion of young people in contemporary Japan" pretty much hits the nail on the head. VERY cultural, and by that, I mean modern culture. Personal favorites are Good Bye Tsugumi, and currently reading Kitchen, which I've already grown to love.
Chuck Palahniuk: Palahniuk's writing style has been influenced by authors such as the minimalist Tom Spanbauer (who taught Palahniuk in Portland from 1991 to 1996), Amy Hempel, Mark Richard, Denis Johnson, Thom Jones, and Bret Easton Ellis. In what the author refers to as a minimalistic approach, his writings use a limited vocabulary and short sentences to mimic the way that an average person telling a story would talk. In an interview, he said that he prefers to write in verbs instead of adjectives. Repetitions of certain lines in the stories' narratives (what Palahniuk refers to as "choruses") are one of the most common aspects of his writing style, found dispersed within most chapters of his novels. Palahniuk has said that there are also some choruses between novels; the color cornflower blue and the city of Missoula, Montana, are said to appear in all of his books. However, Palahniuk is best known for the cynical and ironic black humor that appears throughout his work. It is the mix of this sense of humor and the bizarre events around which these stories revolve (considered discomforting by some readers) that has resulted in Palahniuk being sometimes labeled as a "shock writer" by members of the media.
That description sounds about right. Palahniuk's writing style is shockingly aggressive, and filled to the brim with dark humor. Each and every one of his books are dramatically different, but his blunt euphemisms are never lackluster. The language in his books tend to be very simple and understandable, and should be taken with a grain of salt, resulting in a bittersweet understanding of the points he tries to bring across. As for genre, "satirical horror" pretty much sums it up, but to describe exactly what that means, you'll just have to read them yourself. My recommendations are Lullaby and Choke.
Have fun~
Quote from: Jun-Watarase on July 29, 2008, 12:11:14 AM
Quote from: PyronIkari on July 29, 2008, 12:09:07 AM
Goosebumps: A Night in Terror Tower- R.L. Stein
Pffffffffffff HELLZ YEAH. o/
I remember in elementary school, where there'd be groups that'd read different series whenever we made a trip to the library. All the girls (and one really metrosexual little boy) would read The Babysitters' Club. Some would follow Goosebumps, while others would read stuff like Judy Blume/Nancy Drew, and the rest wouldn't read at all.
~laughs~ I was the weird one that read them all. XD;
Quote from: Sunara Ishi on July 30, 2008, 04:59:47 PM
Quote from: Jun-Watarase on July 29, 2008, 12:11:14 AM
Quote from: PyronIkari on July 29, 2008, 12:09:07 AM
Goosebumps: A Night in Terror Tower- R.L. Stein
Pffffffffffff HELLZ YEAH. o/
I remember in elementary school, where there'd be groups that'd read different series whenever we made a trip to the library. All the girls (and one really metrosexual little boy) would read The Babysitters' Club. Some would follow Goosebumps, while others would read stuff like Judy Blume/Nancy Drew, and the rest wouldn't read at all.
~laughs~ I was the weird one that read them all. XD;
Haha, I read them all, too. My mum was also the one who got me into Judy Blume, and it was Nancy Drew that got me into Agatha Christie. Reading Goosebumps wasn't so much weird, since it was really popular where I was at (and everywhere else, I thought), only mostly with guys and a few girls. I had another girl-friend that would read them all with me and diss all the other girls reading Babysitters' Club.
I liked most classics as a kid, too. My friend I were discussing how our perspectives change, as we grow in life, changes our view on literature when reading them. Like reading Mark Twain as a kid, then a teen, then a young adult, an adult, and an elder. I've felt this way with many books, though-- it makes rereading worthwhile.
Quote from: Jun-Watarase on July 29, 2008, 12:11:14 AM
Quote from: PyronIkari on July 29, 2008, 12:09:07 AM
Goosebumps: A Night in Terror Tower- R.L. Stein
Pffffffffffff HELLZ YEAH. o/
I remember in elementary school, where there'd be groups that'd read different series whenever we made a trip to the library. All the girls (and one really metrosexual little boy) would read The Babysitters' Club. Some would follow Goosebumps, while others would read stuff like Judy Blume/Nancy Drew, and the rest wouldn't read at all.
OH HELL YEAH
I read the hell out of goosebumps and babysitters club :U my favorites in the goosebumps were the night of the living dummy series and the haunted mask. I didnt really like the pick your own ending or whatever it was, it made me mad D:<
Quote from: Kazuko on July 30, 2008, 07:58:01 PM
Quote from: Jun-Watarase on July 29, 2008, 12:11:14 AM
Quote from: PyronIkari on July 29, 2008, 12:09:07 AM
Goosebumps: A Night in Terror Tower- R.L. Stein
Pffffffffffff HELLZ YEAH. o/
I remember in elementary school, where there'd be groups that'd read different series whenever we made a trip to the library. All the girls (and one really metrosexual little boy) would read The Babysitters' Club. Some would follow Goosebumps, while others would read stuff like Judy Blume/Nancy Drew, and the rest wouldn't read at all.
OH HELL YEAH
I read the hell out of goosebumps and babysitters club :U my favorites in the goosebumps were the night of the living dummy series and the haunted mask. I didnt really like the pick your own ending or whatever it was, it made me mad D:<
F*ck Slappy. He scared the shit out of me.
Quote from: Jun-Watarase on July 30, 2008, 09:21:36 PM
Quote from: Kazuko on July 30, 2008, 07:58:01 PM
Quote from: Jun-Watarase on July 29, 2008, 12:11:14 AM
Quote from: PyronIkari on July 29, 2008, 12:09:07 AM
Goosebumps: A Night in Terror Tower- R.L. Stein
Pffffffffffff HELLZ YEAH. o/
I remember in elementary school, where there'd be groups that'd read different series whenever we made a trip to the library. All the girls (and one really metrosexual little boy) would read The Babysitters' Club. Some would follow Goosebumps, while others would read stuff like Judy Blume/Nancy Drew, and the rest wouldn't read at all.
OH HELL YEAH
I read the hell out of goosebumps and babysitters club :U my favorites in the goosebumps were the night of the living dummy series and the haunted mask. I didnt really like the pick your own ending or whatever it was, it made me mad D:<
F*ck Slappy. He scared the shit out of me.
LOL I was more scared of his look alike in Dead Silence
Psh, you guys and your Babysitters and Goosebumps...
Choose Your Own Adventure was where it was at!
~Chun
Quote from: Kazuko on July 30, 2008, 07:58:01 PM
Quote from: Jun-Watarase on July 29, 2008, 12:11:14 AM
Quote from: PyronIkari on July 29, 2008, 12:09:07 AM
Goosebumps: A Night in Terror Tower- R.L. Stein
Pffffffffffff HELLZ YEAH. o/
I remember in elementary school, where there'd be groups that'd read different series whenever we made a trip to the library. All the girls (and one really metrosexual little boy) would read The Babysitters' Club. Some would follow Goosebumps, while others would read stuff like Judy Blume/Nancy Drew, and the rest wouldn't read at all.
OH HELL YEAH
I read the hell out of goosebumps and babysitters club :U my favorites in the goosebumps were the night of the living dummy series and the haunted mask. I didnt really like the pick your own ending or whatever it was, it made me mad D:<
Choose your own ending. I think that was it. They had various different themes.
I liked them. Mainly from the fact I thought it was a cool concept; a book that can has multiple endings based on what the viewer picked. I was so bored that I re-read those to get the other endings.
Quote from: Chun on July 30, 2008, 10:27:40 PM
Psh, you guys and your Babysitters and Goosebumps...
Choose Your Own Adventure was where it was at!
~Chun
hmm... I wonder if there's a trend of those liking choose your own adventure to those liking dating sims. XD; It has a similar base concept.
I always thought "Choose your own adventure" books were dumb. The writing was poor, and there was no consistent reasoning to which choices led you to good endings or bad ones, nor was there any greater overall insight to be gained from reading all the possible endings.
Quote from: mDuo13 on July 31, 2008, 09:21:58 AM
I always thought "Choose your own adventure" books were dumb. The writing was poor, and there was no consistent reasoning to which choices led you to good endings or bad ones, nor was there any greater overall insight to be gained from reading all the possible endings.
They were lolz at times. Taking the moral high ground could get you killed, but so did cheating. You lived sometimes just because you picked the right shoes to put on or something.
Quote from: mDuo13 on July 31, 2008, 09:21:58 AM
I always thought "Choose your own adventure" books were dumb. The writing was poor, and there was no consistent reasoning to which choices led you to good endings or bad ones, nor was there any greater overall insight to be gained from reading all the possible endings.
Essentially, the purpose of the book wasn't a storyline; you simply tried to fulfill a task or a given situation based on your own actions. When you say consistent reasoning I believe you're referring to the death by right path rather than left path; the fact that you didn't have an "ultimate solution" kept the experience fresh. Kind of like "Alive" for the PS1, or Dragon's Lair without the flashing notation. The insight in the ending I thought were nice in the fact that... say you were stranded on a desert island. You can be fed up with trying to be rescued, live the length of your life in nature, or get rescued. It was open ended, yet simple.
~Chun
Quote from: Chun on July 31, 2008, 08:39:52 PM
Quote from: mDuo13 on July 31, 2008, 09:21:58 AM
I always thought "Choose your own adventure" books were dumb. The writing was poor, and there was no consistent reasoning to which choices led you to good endings or bad ones, nor was there any greater overall insight to be gained from reading all the possible endings.
Essentially, the purpose of the book wasn't a storyline; you simply tried to fulfill a task or a given situation based on your own actions. When you say consistent reasoning I believe you're referring to the death by right path rather than left path; the fact that you didn't have an "ultimate solution" kept the experience fresh. Kind of like "Alive" for the PS1, or Dragon's Lair without the flashing notation. The insight in the ending I thought were nice in the fact that... say you were stranded on a desert island. You can be fed up with trying to be rescued, live the length of your life in nature, or get rescued. It was open ended, yet simple.
~Chun
T___T in the choose your own adventures I always get good endings, I wanted everyone to die or atleast never end D<
Quote from: Kazuko on July 31, 2008, 08:41:57 PM
Quote from: Chun on July 31, 2008, 08:39:52 PM
Quote from: mDuo13 on July 31, 2008, 09:21:58 AM
I always thought "Choose your own adventure" books were dumb. The writing was poor, and there was no consistent reasoning to which choices led you to good endings or bad ones, nor was there any greater overall insight to be gained from reading all the possible endings.
Essentially, the purpose of the book wasn't a storyline; you simply tried to fulfill a task or a given situation based on your own actions. When you say consistent reasoning I believe you're referring to the death by right path rather than left path; the fact that you didn't have an "ultimate solution" kept the experience fresh. Kind of like "Alive" for the PS1, or Dragon's Lair without the flashing notation. The insight in the ending I thought were nice in the fact that... say you were stranded on a desert island. You can be fed up with trying to be rescued, live the length of your life in nature, or get rescued. It was open ended, yet simple.
~Chun
T___T in the choose your own adventures I always get good endings, I wanted everyone to die or atleast never end D<
hehe. I was the opposite. I often died or got the bad endings.