Fun Stuff > ENJOY
Favorite books
n0tj3sus:
Okay I’m going to try and keep this post to a minimum because if I don’t it will start to read kind of like an encyclopaedia of "classic" literature and random bits of philosophy. Also I’m pretty sure no one actually cares but here I go anyways.
Do keep in mind that these appear in no order than how they came to mind.
Crime and punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Now this is possibly my favourite book I have read to date, reason being is because of how well it is written and it really is the building blocks of existentialism.
1984 -George Orwell
Big brother is watching, I mean come on who doesn’t love this book.
The fountain head-Ayn rand
objectivism is a horrid attempt at creating a niche in the philosophy world but this book is pretty decent.
The picture of Dorian grey- Oscar Wilde
This is his only novel to the best of my memory and it is truly one of the most beautiful things ever written.
Necronomicon-H R giger
Now I’m not sure if this counts at all because it is more of a collection of art rather than a book. That aside having a past history with recreational dmt use this guys art really speaks to me.
The divine comedy- Dante Alighieri
originally written as one very long epic, it has since been broken down into three parts. A tale of one man traversing hell and finding a group of popes there. What’s not to love?
Paradise lost- john milton
paradise found is terrible do not read it.
The gay science- Friedrich Nietzsche
Personally I believe this to be the best of his work but any of his books are worth reading
as i lay dying-William Faulkner
My mother is a fish.
Inlander:
I've recently started reading the novels of the English novelist Elizabeth Taylor (1912-1975). She was a superb writer: although quite narrow in focus (she wrote pretty much exclusively about the post-war English middle class), her books are beautifully and acutely observed, and very wry, and just generally wonderful. I think a few of her books are currently in print (two of them, Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont and Angel, have recently been made into films), and she's definitely a writer who deserves to be rediscovered.
The tone of her writing is epitomised by the opening paragraph of the Soul of Kindness (1964):
--- Quote ---Towards the end of the bridegroom's speech, the bride turned aside and began to throw crumbs of wedding cake through an opening in the marquee to the doves outside. She did so with gentle absorption, and more doves came down from their wooden house above the stables. Although she had caused a little rustle of amusement among the guests, she did not know it: her husband was embarrassed by her behaviour and thought it early in their married life to be so; but she did not know that either.
--- End quote ---
Nodaisho:
--- Quote from: ElectricPez on 06 Oct 2008, 01:35 ---Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (complete genius, swear to god)
--- End quote ---
I like that one, not as much as "God bless you, Doctor Kevorkian", though. It is a different kind of comedy than I am used to, I'm used to getting laugh-out-loud reactions from even what I thought of as black comedy, probably I have the wrong idea of it. I can see the irony and humor in it, but it isn't as... loud.
I checked out Johnny got his gun from the library, but never got around to reading it, should I check it out again?
Siibillam-Law:
BATTLE ROYALE!
Yes, i'm reposting it
ElectricPez has the right idea
Joseph:
--- Quote from: n0tj3sus on 11 Nov 2008, 15:24 ---1984 -George Orwell
Big brother is watching, I mean come on who doesn’t love this book.
--- End quote ---
Me. The book is far too obvious, far too politically involved, with characterization and imagination cast aside in order to pound home Orwell's message about government. Certainly a step up over "Animal Farm", but not very good. I've found it odd that Orwell's last two books are undoubtedly his worst. I mean, his first, "Down and Out in Paris and London" is easily one of my favourite books. But then he felt the need to paint his message in bold face instead of engaging writing. Even in the realm of dystopian novels, "1984" doesn't stand up well, in my mind. "Farenheit 451", "Bend Sinister", "A Handmaiden's Tale", even the more recent "Gun, With Occasional Music". All much more interesting, much more engaging.
--- Quote from: Inlander on 11 Nov 2008, 16:43 ---I've recently started reading the novels of the English novelist Elizabeth Taylor (1912-1975). She was a superb writer: although quite narrow in focus (she wrote pretty much exclusively about the post-war English middle class), her books are beautifully and acutely observed, and very wry, and just generally wonderful. I think a few of her books are currently in print (two of them, Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont and Angel, have recently been made into films), and she's definitely a writer who deserves to be rediscovered.
--- End quote ---
She sounds quite excellent, and I'm certainly going to check her out when I get the chance. I've heard the name tossed around once or twice by my mother, I believe, but this description and the paragraph you pasted seems to have sealed it for me. Sounds a lot like Barbara Pym (1913-1980), another excellent, excellent writer who deserves a wide audience. She also wrote about the same subject, essentially. She published a number of books early in her career, but then, between the early 60s and the late 70s, was unable to find a publisher willing to do anything with her novels. She continued to write, but without anything being released, until the Times in London asked a number of critics who they thought the most underrated writer of the century was. Pym's was the only name which came up twice. Her novels are also very wry, and incredibly honest, observant, an powerful. At times she's reminded me of Jane Austen, writing in 20th Century London, but she definitely has a voice which is all her own. I'd highly recommend "Excellent Women" or "Quartet in Autumn".
EDIT: Well, here we are: "Anne Tyler once compared Taylor to Jane Austen, Barbara Pym and Elizabeth Bowen -- "soul sisters all," in Tyler's words."
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version