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[brunel cog]

Books: If you like science fiction, you might want to read some of Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" novels.  Why?  They contain some very original and interesting concepts.

[Johnny C]

That movie with Will Ferrell in it, Stranger Than Fiction? It's good, guys. Like, really good.

KICK ME

Fix'd.

[Uncle Fisty]

Well, I don't read a lot of real intellectual stuff, but I am reading the First and Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, which is this really awesome Fantasy series. It's the whole epic fantasy thing, but it's not all that cliched. I would highly recommend that to anyone who enjoys fantasy, or even people who don't. Stephen Donaldson is the Author, btw.

I'd definitely have to agree with this, anyone who likes fantasy should read it.  Very original concept, having a leper for the main character.

As far as fantasy novels go, if you like Thomas Covenant novels, you'll love The Chronicles of Amber.  Ten books, available in an omnibus edition.  Another very original story, incredible "magic" system, great character depth.

Also, The Malazan Book of the Fallen series, by Steven Erikson.  Fantasy, but from a very military point of view.  Characters are fleshed out very well, and the typical fantasy "mysteriousness" is cleared up at the end of each part of the series.  Very few cliff hangers, so each book individually is great.

[Lines]

Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill is a pretty darn good book. It's about this death metal singer who buys a ghost online and how it tries to kill him.

[Nisstyre]

As far as books go, If you haven't read the novel 1984 by George Orwell, I would suggest you do so as soon as possible. As far as quality of writing goes, It has a very interesting plot, you will be guessing throughout the whole novel right to the last page. The characters are all great as well. But the real gem of this book is the piles and piles of symbolism. You could re-read this book dozens of times and find more symbolism each time. It covers so many issues, from philosophical ones, such as the nature of reality, and political ones, like war and propaganda.

For a really fun read, I'm going to recommend The Stand by Stephen King. If you love books with epic plots and wide arrays of characters, and good vs. evil, then you will love The Stand.

[TheFuriousWombat]

If you read The Stand, make sure it's not that pansy ass abridged version. The real thing, hard covered sized, around 1,100 pages, is how King originally intended it to be. The edited version cut out something like 100,000 words and, as a result, a whole heck of a lot of material. Even if you've read the abridged version already it's worth plowing through the real thing.

[Zoe_Gurl]

Hhmmm, for some light fantasy reading i would sujest either Phillup Pullmans "His Dark Materials" trilogy or Garth Nix's "Abhorsen" trilogy. Both are easy reading, but the stories are beautifully written. His dark materials perticually has some interesting and thought provoking ideas about the church and religeion, life after death etc.
For something a little more epic like, try Ian Irvines "The well of echoes". I think there are four books in the series. They were an awesome read, although a bit of a slog at times. And Irvine has left the ending open for sequeals, which concidering the end of the last book, i probably wont be reading. heh.

[Aimless]

the prydain chronicles by lloyd alexander.

a lot of people are all 'it rips off the lord of the rings' and dismiss it out of hand.  but you really should give it a chance.  i read them in middle school, and just fell in love with the characters.  especiallly taran, who starts out as an orphan who takes care of an oracular pig, then events are set in motion that make him a very important person in his land.  he grows so much from the first book, and it really is beautifully done.

I absolutely ADORED those books. They were so damn'... charming. In a way almost no fantasy is these days. It's light reading, but still very rewarding other light but rewarding fantasy novels I'd recommend are Archer's Goon and The Lives of Christopher Chant, by Diana Wynne Jones (also seconding the Pullman recommendation, that trilogy was sweet, and I hope the movie adaptation of the first book will be good).

I second the Erikson recommendation--his Malazan books are some of the most awesome fantasy novels ever written, and I'm using that word very deliberately. The world is HUGE. I didn't really know what the term "epic" in a fantasy context meant until I read Erikson, and I grew up with Wheel of Time

Thanks to some Erikson fans, I discovered The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, and it's quite possibly the most entertaining and cool fantasy I've ever read. It's kinda like a con-film in a fantasy novel they're going to make a movie based on it, and it'll ROCK I tell you.

I'd like to recommend "The Gospel According to Biff, Buddy of Christ" for being the best novel ever written, but I haven't read it yet...

EDIT: Looks like someone's already recommended it!

Oh, I dunno if anyone's suggested any standups yet, but I'd like to recommend Eddie Murphy's "Raw" and Robin Williams, "Live on Broadway". Best seen with dudes or in mixed dude-like company =) Would recommend Chris Rock for his "Niggaz vs. Black People" stuff, and for his idea about bullet-control, but he can be a bit too screechy so whateva

[RJHertz]

Has anyone ever read any of Joe Meno's work?
I really liked Hairstyles of the Damned, and I loved his most recent The Boy Detective Fails.  It's a sweet, sad, funny story about Billy Argo, a former boy detective (now 30), recently released from a prolonged stay at a mental hospital that followed his sister's death.  It dosen't take long before he is back to his sleuthing ways, helping the kids across the street, and crossing paths with old (and aging) associates.  Meno creates a real world that is somewhat worn and faded, and populated with characters who are equally faded, yet trying to hold on to their past glory and vitality.  Plus, there are coded messages for the reader to solve!

[MadOvid]

Recent books that I've enjoyed lately are Alice Munro's Runaway and Margaret Atwoods Oryx and Crake. I highly recommend both of them. They have metaphor and everything.

[Legendaryratboy]

the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer is extremley good and manages to mix Irish fables of fairies and other magical creatures with ultra futuristic technology and criminal masterminds, nad also, the main character is 12 years old and smarter than most adults of any species in the book... talk about creepy.
Other works by Eoin Colfer are also highly recomended, they offer a fresh outlook on many old themes and add his own personal twist of mixing old school Tolkien type fantasy with innoviative science fiction, defiently a good read if youre looking for something refreshing.

[confusedcious]

Jim Butcher's Dresden Files is definitely worth a read. It does paranormal investigation without excessive relationship angsting and the character is not the best.... or the only.... or the last... anything, except that he is the only wizard in the chicago phone book - but I think that I can give him that. As the series goes in it just gets better and better.

[Aimless]

"The Game", by Neil Strauss, one of the most accomplished pickup-artists in the world. It was a very fun--and surprisingly involving--read! Warmly recommended to men and women alike.

[SilentJ]

Okay, I'm ashamed to admit it took me this long to get into anything by him, but...

I recently started reading Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, and it is fucking brilliant.  It's just a shame I don't have anything else by him to read once I finish this.

Ah, well.  So it goes.

[UncleMax]

I apologize in advance if any of these have already been mentioned... but...

DUNE -book
   I honestly cannot belive that I haven't seen Dune mentioned here at alll...  It is an amazing story of life on a planet covered entirely of desert, and a tribal culture that actually thrives there.  Not to mention it's quoted often in QC.

The Gods Themselves -also book
   Seriously.  There are three main parts.  Their titles are: 1) Against Stupidity... 2)...The Gods Themselves... 3)...Contend in Vain?  Anything with that title will get my vote, but its also a friggin awesome book.  Some refreshingly original alien life is involved, and some really cool physics, too.

Anything Written by Terry Pratchett -a whole lotta boks
   Terry Pratchett is basically Douglass Adams, except even more cynical and sarcastic.  And, instead of sci-fi, its a fantasy world that's actually just our world, with golems and magic and semi-medieval time period (I swear, those books eeringly remind me of the world we live in today, right down to a controlling entrepeneur who buys a company, runs it to the ground, and sells it off with a profit.  Remind you of anything?)

Calvin and Hobbes -comics
   One of the main influences to QC, as present in the style of dialog in Jeph's strips, and Jeph also confessed to it in one of his newspots.  This kid has major problems.  Calvin's smarter and more philisophical than Sigmund Freud when he's on his red wagon, but when asked "What is the significance of the Eerie Canal?" Calvin answered, "In the cosmic sense, probably nil."  That makes my point.

[hihowareyou]

Is everything too simple? Does your place in the universe make just make too much sense to you?

Read Ishmael, My Ishmael, the Story of B or ANYTHING by Daniel Quinn. Things just won't be the same for you afterwards.

Also Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins if you trust the U.S. government.

[TheFuriousWombat]

In agreement with some post above, everyone should read Calvin and Hobbes. Everyone, And by read I mean every single comic because it is well worth the time commitment. Also, 100 Years of Solitude is a novel everyone should read. It is one of the best written pieces of literature I have ever encountered. It's brilliant in every sense and you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't read it.

[Ishotdanieljohnston]

I saw Mysterious Skin last night. I'm still not quite sure what I think of it. Really fucked up, but I think it's all necesary- the director carefully never took it to far, but he certainly went FAR ENOUGH. While I was watching it I thought "what a disgusting piece of shit", but the ending deffinitely redeemed it and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. Which I guess was the intention, so it was a success on that front. See it if you're not to sensitive, and deffinitely don't see it with some one else (i.e. your mother, father or girlfriend).

[HellPuppi]

Umm well, I have odd tastes in everything, but I got6ta put in my 2 cents anyway:
Yeah, I put it into sections, I have a tendency to ramble, you can just read what your interested in, I 'spose.

Books:
Stephen King. Yeah he's kinda puply, but the more you read, the more you love! The first of his that I read was The Stand (unabridged), and shortly after that was introduced to his Gunslinger series by my wonderful uncle. Well actually it's the Dark Tower series, but it's a series made of PURE AWESOME. Words cannot describe the greatness, nor the weirdness. Also once you read this you realize almost all of his other books are related TO the Dark Tower series. Freakin' epic, s'what it is.
That and your realize SK has probably written everything, ever.

His Dark Materials. I think this was done by Phillip Pullman, but I could be wrong. There's actually going to be a movie out (the first book, Golden Compass) pretty soon, and hopefully it won't suck. There's some pretty serious stuff going on in this series (3 books: Golden Compass, Subtle Knife, Amber Spyglass), and I can't recommend it to everyone...but hey it's got talking polar bears in armor. And Daemons. And angels. Witches...alternate universes....okay stopping now.

Dragonlance. If your a nerd. this is pretty much recommended reading. There's 80 million+ books out, but read the original series if you're into fantasy.

Movies:
 
If your like me and no movie is complete without a monster/someone dying, then: Sleepy Hollow and  Brotherhood of the Wolf (Indian Ninja!). Also Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Lock stock and two smoking barrels, Boondock Saints. I'm not a big movie critic =P.

TV Shows:

Firefly, Scrubs, Cowboy BeBop, Hellsing, Home Movies (better in later seasons), Family Guy....and star trek TNG......


*slaps self* I forgot Dune! Yeah it's recommended.

[Bunnyman]

Books: If you like science fiction, you might want to read some of Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" novels.  Why?  They contain some very original and interesting concepts.

F*cking yes.  It's embarrassing how much the 4X genre has stolen from this series.

Recommendation: anything by Bruce Sterling.  Current list: The Difference Engine (+William Gibson), Islands in the Net, Zeitgeist.  Islands is hardcore cyberpunk done right - without it devolving into gunfights like Gibson always does for some reason (no beef with WG or anything, but...verisimilitude, man); Zeitgeist is essentially the Spice Girls from the manager's perspective in a totally punk attitude - when the soundman buys military vacuum tubes for his rig from the Russian mob, you have something special.

[Alarra]

Okay, I'm ashamed to admit it took me this long to get into anything by him, but...

I recently started reading Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, and it is fucking brilliant.  It's just a shame I don't have anything else by him to read once I finish this.

Ah, well.  So it goes.

I had this same realization when I read this book last year. I mean, I swear I'd been meaning to pick up something by Vonnegut for years, I regret now that I hadn't.

[StaedlerMars]

I'm suggesting Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

It's good guys. It's really good.

[Lyrics]

Jennifer Government by Maxx Barry is an amazing book.  Deals with the growth of corporations and what happens to a world run by the dollar.  I only read this book after playing NationStates for a number of months.  Which, if you don't know, is a game based around the book.

[Bunnyman]

Heh, I totally bought Jennifer Government after playing NationStates too.  Worth every penny.

[Noct]

Just picked up Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis and have nearly finished it, very quick read.  All I can say is that it is vintage Ellis, and one of the more amazing things I've read.  The man is able to weave the most perverse and absurd situations into a form that makes you genuinely care, as well as fall over laughing.  There's also some genuine poignant moments in there too.  He reads like Vonnegut if he was a insomniac sex freak.  If there are any other Warren Ellis fans out there, I don't need to say any more.  Buy this book. 

Warning to those unfamiliar with his work though, he seems to have a fascination with the more fringe, bizzare, and fetishist elements of society, and this book is not for the faint of heart.  However, if you are adventurous, he is definitely worth picking up.  Also, see some of his previous comic work such as Transmetropolitan or Nextwave or really anything with his name on it.   

[thenosebleedkid]

As far as books go I ahve a few recomendations!

Jennifer Fallon - Killer, cant put it down fantasy, original, brilliant!

The phantom tollbooth - an excellent read about how the english langauge is manipulated, hillarious!

Raymond E Feist - Gonna assume hes been recommended a few times - excellent works of fantasy with just enough philosophy and randomness!

TV shows

Cowboy bebop - Bounty hunter, mars, spaceships, excellent music, drugs, need I saw more

Movies

Neone genesis movies - your not sure what you saw, your not sure what it meant but god damn it changes your life!

[Kosh]

I watched Sherry Baby last weekend, and I found it fantastic. It's about a young woman who is let out on bail after spending some time in jail for drug offences. Basically it's about her going back to the real world, coping with looking after her daughter as well as dealing with her family and her own habits. Quite bleak, but it has superb performances by a very low-key cast. It's not Hollywoodised at all, I loved it. It is also beautifully shot.

[Dimmukane]

I'm looking for movies similar to Oldboy, if anyone knows of any.

[TheFuriousWombat]

Everyone should watch "Mulholland Drive" b/c everyone deserves to be utterly confused once in a while. Plus it's a really well made movie. And it has lesbianism (the good kind).

[tomselleck69]

which kind is the bad kind again?



uhhhh... recommendations... read blood meridian.

[clarerose]

I'm looking for movies similar to Oldboy, if anyone knows of any.

that movie scared the crap out of me.

Naked Lunch is the only thing i can think of thats comparable.

[Ishotdanieljohnston]

I'm looking for movies similar to Oldboy, if anyone knows of any.

Well I can certainly reccoment the prequal, Sympathy for mr. vengeance, which i thought was alot better...

[Caiphana]

Great book: Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. It's a sort of science fiction, but it's not crazy alien sci fi, it's set in the near-future US... it's written in an odd style, and if you can get over that, it's a great read. It's funny, has some action, has a little sex, has stuff that makes you think... it's basically the whole kit and caboodle.

[tomselleck69]

I'm looking for movies similar to Oldboy, if anyone knows of any.

you might like 13 Tzameti

[Dimmukane]

Kickass zombie/dark comedy flick from 1993 starring Rupert Everett.  My new favorite movie that has anything to do with zombies.

[DirtyHippie]

Books:    If you haven't read Dune you need to.
             The Sword Of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind.
             Glory Road By Robert Heinlein.
             The Emperor Wears No Clothes by Jack Herer.
             
             

[TimA]

Books that I've read recently that I'm comfortable recommending to total strangers:

Sun of Suns, by Kurt Schroeder - Hard to describe without giving too much away, but it's some of the best world-building I've ever seen.

The Etched City, by KJ Bishop - This is everything people say China Mieville is. It's beautiful, it's poetic, it's extravagent...just an amazing read.

Crystal Rain, by Tobias Buckell - Romp.

Spook Country, by William Gibson - If only for the phrase "Cold Civil War"

[charcoal]

For those who vaguely hinted at wanting to read more Kurt Vonnegut, I much preferred Cat's Cradle to Slaughterhouse 5. It's of a different timbre (so to speak) to the latter, but still in a similar style and well worth reading.

For those who like short stories, absolutely definitely make sure you read Nine Stories by JD Salinger. Catcher in the Rye's lovely and all that, but Salinger is at his best in his short stories, both creatively and stylistically. They're mostly focused on one scene, covering trivial happenings, but each has a strong emotional undercurrent, and at its conclusion leaves you feeling that what just happened was profoundly significant in the broader context.

[KvP]

I recently read Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policeman's Union, an alternate-timeline noir homage in which the state of Israel collapses shortly after it was created, and the Jews are given a haven in Alaska. The book takes place in the present day, a few months before the land is reverted to Alaskan control. A fine, complex little novel.

[The Mighty Mopdecai]

My friend sent me this the other day its some funny clips of a classic children's game show called Knightmare. My favourite Tv show when I was a kid. Where kids had to guide a blind adventurer across three levels of puzzles. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmUe4VrTzvk

The thing that is unbelieveable about Knightmare was how difficult it was I can't see it being remade because I can't see anyone now making a program when kids fail
It was ahead of its time in special effects on TV. Its look a bit creaky now through.
I believe its still being shown on Challenge TV in the UK

[gytaar]

monkey warfare!! gotta see it gotta love it...

and has anyone seen "urchin"..probably the worst movie ever made except from the scene with the captain hunter with the funny accent...

vanishing point..classic...
"This radio station was named kowalski,
In honour of the last american hero to whom
Speed means freedom of the soul.
The question is not when hes gonna stop,
But who is gonna stop him"

everything you always wanted to know about sex but were to afraid to ask, really great woody allen film

the cook the thief his wife and her lover..bizarre

[carnivoracious]

I second the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind, Wizard's First Rule is the first in the set in case you were wondering.

For anyone that likes The Wheel of Time (by Robert Jordan), try David Eddings' Belgariad and Malloreon series.  Plot is along the same lines as Jordan's series, but Eddings' series has a smaller cast than Jordan's, which is good in my opinion because you don't forget everyones' names (furthermore, Eddings' series are finished, Jordan's isn't).  Both sets are pretty funny though.

For more funny, read Bloodsucking Fiends and You Suck! by Christopher Moore. Aspiring writer moves to San Fransico and becomes the boyfriend of a beautiful redhead.  She happens to be a fledgling vampire.  Hilarity ensues.  Actually, Moore's Fluke; or I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings is also hilarious.  Humpback whale researchers in Laihana (Hawaii) make a startling discovery after seeing a whale with BITE ME written on its flukes (tail).

On a more serious (though no less strange) note; nearly anything by Jonathan Letham is good.  I tend to like his earlier work, specifically Gun, With Occasional Music and Amnesia Moon.  The first is a more cyberpunk/dystopia/detective novel in which the main character must investigate a murder in a world where questions are taboo, coke is a way of life, animals talk (and involve themselves in organized crime), and the man is out to get you, all while making sure he has enough karma (one's indicator of standing within the legal system) to keep from getting locked away.  The second novel is a surreal journey across a possibly post-apocolyptic American Southwest where your dreams are often more real to others than they are to you.

Both of these novels lack the chutzpah that makes Lethem's later work (Mother Brooklyn, I think, and You Don't Love Me Yet) so critically acclaimed, but they are far and away some of the strangest, most entertaining things I've read.

[Garmr]

I agree with pretty much everyone who has made a comment on Kurt Vonnegut, Akira Kurosawa, Firefly/Serenity, J.R.R. Tolkien, or any combination thereof.  All of those are pretty much win in their own individual right.

[carnivoracious]

Forgot to mention;

Michelle Sagara'a Caste in Shadow and it's sequals.  Excellent fantasy/detective series.  The thing that gets me with this series is how all the races interact with one another.  It's also delightfully lacking in cliche, the only race that behaves the same as they do in other fantasy novels are the humans.  Great for fans of fantasy looking for a breath of fresh air.

Also, fans of Neil Gaiman's American Gods will like pretty much anything by Charles de Lint.  Modern day fantasy steeped in the Faerie traditions of both Europe and America.  Moonheart, Trader, and the collection Jack of Kinrowan were my favorites.

Fans of this type of fantasy (or fans of historical fiction) might wish to read Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel.  There's a better description of the novel here.   The book is incredibly long, but you don't want to put it down, even when you're finished.

[3Z3VH]

Also, fans of Neil Gaiman's American Gods will like pretty much anything by Charles de Lint.  Modern day fantasy steeped in the Faerie traditions of both Europe and America.  Moonheart, Trader, and the collection Jack of Kinrowan were my favorites.

Now THAT is a damned fine suggestion.  If only I could force myself to sit down and read a book once in a while.

[Border Reiver]

Movies:  The Blues Brothers - awesome music (yes they are doing their own singing and dancing) and quite frankly, the best car chase in the history of celluloid;
Dog Soldiers - because it is probably the best werewolf movie/remake of Zulu ever done, and the one liners at the end of the flick are absolutely priceless.
The Dirty Dozen - Come on!  It is the ultimate guys movie.

Books:

The Flashman series by George MacDonald Fraser - historical fiction that is both meticulously researched, eminently readable and incredibly funny.
Guns of Normandy, guns of Victory and Where the Hell are the Guns by George Blackburn - George Blackburn, a former journalist tells the story of the 2nd Field Battery from the weeks preceeding WWII to VE Day.  Stories that can only be told by someone who was there and told in that matter of fact manner that lets you know that he was there and that these events really happened (the turkey neck incident, etc)

[supersheep]

KNIGHTMARE FUCK ME

You, sir, have just made my day.

[teh pwn queen]

Books: (I love reading **le sigh**)
I agree with everyone that says you should read 1984 by George Orwell, it's important that you think while reading it
The Dragonlance Trilogy (Dragons of Autumn Twilight, -Winter Night, and -Spring Dawning) yes, it's based off the D&D game but it's still an endearing story.
Dragonriders of Pern Trilogy  Anne McCaffrey created a fantastic world that uniquely mixed science fiction with fantasy.
Every single The Far Side collection you can get your hands on... a very smart comic that still should be active but isn't... love Gary Larson!!!! why did you retire?!?!?!

Movies:
V for Vendetta don't get me wrong, the graphic novel was excellent, but Natalie Portman was great and I love Hugo Weaving's voice.  Therefore movie version=win!
Super Troopers -- it's hilarious, some excellent one-liners and it let's you forget about everything that's happening around you, though it starts to slack when it starts to form a plot... oh well, still great!
Donnie Darko a beautifully made movie, very smart, the kind that you have to watch over and over to find all the tiny details
Waiting a day in the life of disgruntled waiters and cooks at the local bar and grill, random funniness ensues!!!!!

TV shows:
House -- the only doctor-type show I can watch, plus Hugh Laurie is great, I can't believe his skill in creating an american accent, amazing!
Wondershowzen -- I'm not sure if it's still playing, but if you love insanely crude humor, this is definately the show for you (my personal favorite is it's Q&A segments, hilarious what they can get those kids to say!)

[leave for no raisin]

Books:
1.  I really like Daniel Handler's novels (The Basic Eight, Watch Your Mouth, and Adverbs).  If you've never heard of him, you might know him better as Lemony Snicket.  If you don't like the Snicket books, DON'T let that discourage you from reading his novels.  They are clever, full of dark humor, and nothing like A Series of Unfortunate Events (but still good even if you do like Snicket). 
2.  Suicide Casanova by Arthur Nersesian.  It's a self-proclaimed "psychosexual thriller."  It reminded me a little of American Psycho, which you should also read if you haven't already.  It's not the Great American Novel or anything, but it's an entertaining read.
3.  My Life in Heavy Metal by Steve Almond.  This is a book of short stories.  Some are really good, and some are kind of meh, but it's worth reading if you want something good that you can read sporadically.  My favorite story is probably the first, which has the same title as the book.
4.  The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan.  It's like Lord of the Flies, only more fucked up.

TV:
1.  Arrested Development.  This show is hilarious and I'm sad that it didn't survive.
2.  Neon Genesis Evangelion.  Half fighting robots, half existential mind trip.
3.  Alias.  I'm a sucker for shows about girls who kick ass, but this one is cooler than most because it's about spies.

[Madartistgirl]

 Everyone's already mentioned most of my favourite books, but I have to say this: Catch 22. Quite possibly one of the funniest books in existence. A Series of Unfortunate Events. Ditto.
 Also, I'm not sure if anyone's said this but I loved The Killing Joke by Anthony Horrowitz.
 Douglas Adams goes without saying but I have to say it anyway.
 I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith is excellent too.