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Author Topic: Recommendations!  (Read 430241 times)

RobbieOC

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #300 on: 11 Feb 2008, 00:15 »

*ahem*

I'm going to stick to books, because I feel more qualified to talk about those.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Michael Chabon. The story of a Jewish escape artist smuggling himself out of Nazi-occupied Prague in the same crate as the Golem and traveling his way to NYC where he and his cousin become the creators of The Escapist, greatest superhero of his time. It roughly tells the story of all those old comic book creators and how a lot of them got screwed over in the early days. But Chabon's writing style is amazing. Also, Dark Horse has published some comics about The Escapist, written by Chabon himself, if this book doesn't give you enough, and the graphic novel The Escapists, written by Brian K. Vaughan is set in the same cosmology. I will recommend basically anything of Chabon's, including his earlier novels (including Wonderboys, which was made into a movie starring Tobey Macguire and Kirk Douglas) and his newer stuff like Gentlemen of the Road. Oh, this one also won the Pulitzer, which you may have heard of...

Ham on Rye - Charles Bukowski. He's most well known for his poetry, but his prose is amazing also. This book is more or less a memoir telling about his life from childhood until he finally moves out of his parents house and starts earning his own keep. It's all about growing up in LA during the depression and the characters he writes and the stories he tells are just incredibly interesting. I haven't read any of his other novels, but I can't wait to now that I've read this one.

The Life of David - Robert Pinsky. This is, as the title implies, the story of the life of David, King of the Jews. It's really well researched and tells the story from a perspective not often told. It's way different than the David you'll hear about from Christians and Jews, and it's beautifully written. I had a chance to read this book and then listen to Pinsky talk about it when he visited my school (I was actually asked to give a presentation over the book at a luncheon, and there are very few things more distressing than analyzing a book with the author eating pie only ten feet away from you) and Pinsky is not only a great writer but a great speaker and just a really engaging personality.

Gilead - Marilynne Robinson. Another author I was able to meet, Robinson has only put out two novels, the other is titled Housekeeping, but they are both exceptional. Gilead is the story of a preacher in Gilead, Iowa and is told as if you are reading a series of notes he has left to his son, who he had late in his life and hasn't had the chance to get to know as well as he would like. It's a really good story of family and faith and the struggles that people go through. A lot of people like her other book more, but Gilead won the Pulitzer, so I recommended it... neither is a bad choice.

Heir to the Empire - Timothy Zahn. This isn't exactly high-literature, but if you want something fun and easy to read, this follow-up to the Star Wars movies is about as good as it gets. Zahn is incredibly good at what he does, and his writing is fun and unpretentious. It's Star Wars, so there's a certain amount of cheese that comes with it, but as far as Star Wars books go, you can't go wrong with Zahn. Only real complaint: not enough Lando.

Other authors: Raymond Chandler, Cormac McCarthy, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ursula K LeGuin, Thomas Pynchon, David Foster Wallace, H.G. Wells, Ray Bradbury, Joseph Heller

Edit: Typos aplenty!
« Last Edit: 11 Feb 2008, 00:18 by RobbieOC »
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Shreazla

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #301 on: 18 Feb 2008, 15:06 »

Ok, here's some completely random, and, by most people, unheard of series that are quite good.

Series: Anne of Green Gables - A good read for someone who just wants to read a story; no particular genre here, no sex-filled fantasys, or bloddy duels to the death, but rather a simple story-teller weaving an amazing story of the life of an orphan girl as she grows up from a wide-eyed inquisitve child into a mature lady - I have never been captivated by a story like I have been with these, and I can't put my finger on the reason why, but it's still good.

Series: Misty of Chincotuge (spellcheck) - Another one of those series where it's just a good overall read; story is about two kids growing up who end up getting a horse from the annual Chincotuge run  of horses, and growing up with her - once again, just a series to read, though there's no particular plot.

Series: The Sword of Shannara; Terry Brooks - A great fantasy series, part J.R.R. Tolkien, part C.S. Lewis, and part original; a great mix.  The series is huge now, numbering well over 20 books, I believe.  It chronicles the history of the Shannara lineage, as they fight to save the land from evil - he's also tied in another series as of late, but I shall not ruin that part for you.... however, Brooks also has two other series which are quite good as well - Magical kingdom of Landover, and Knight of the Word.

Book: Pride and Prejudice - Yes, I am a male, and Yes, I am recommending this book; this book is a classic, even though it's not a book a guy would typically pick up - the main male protagonist is the epitome of what every guy should attempt to be - a complete jerk on the surface, yet a true gentleman - he pulls it off perfectly, and, if for no other reason, the insults that are bandied around in the book are more than enough reason to read it - a perfect lesson in how to completely offend a gorgeous and perfect woman, only to pick her up afterwards ;)

So many more that I'll think of later... I'll leave the mainstream stuff for you guys to advise.
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mrjoegangles

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #302 on: 18 Feb 2008, 16:08 »

Ok, here's some completely random, and, by most people, unheard of series that are quite good.

Series: Anne of Green Gables
Book: Pride and Prejudice

Unheard of!  Are you for real?

I challenge you to find a girl who hasn't read Anne of Green Gables.  I think thats a requirment for puberty.
And Pride and Prejudice?  Honestly.   Pride and fucking Prejudice is unheard of.  You have got to be shitting me.

Well then I got some great "unheard" of books for you:

Sense and Sensibility
A Tale of Two Cities
The Illiad
The Bible

And I appoligize if I sound rude and boorish but to hear two great works of English Literature insulted by having someone imply that they arn't staples of any gradeschoolers education is insulting to me and anyone else who actually graduated from their 6th grade English Class.
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #303 on: 18 Feb 2008, 17:07 »

Series: Misty of Chincotuge (spellcheck)

It's chincoteague. And pretty much all of that is rather mainstream.


So I know I'm very behind the times in saying this, but I recently watched the first 4 seasons of The Wire, and it's goddamn amazing. Easily one of the best shows I've ever seen.

In book-related news, I just finished reading Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel. It was an incredibly interesting read, offering a lot of insight into the history of human development. His arguments aren't void of criticism, but one has to admire him for even attempting to address an issue with the scale of this one. Definitely one of the most thought-provoking books I've ever read.
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TheFuriousWombat

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #304 on: 21 Feb 2008, 14:50 »

??
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mrjoegangles

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #305 on: 21 Feb 2008, 16:22 »

After waterworld I promised myself no more post-apocoliptic Costner... But i caught this movie and i must say it was better then I would have even given it credit for.  Maybe not a masterpiece plot or dialogue wise, but still a decent movie with great cinematography.
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AndrewDB

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I'm a huge fan of fantasy books in general, and I'm waiting for the next Xanth book to come out in paper back, so while I wait, I'm currently starting another series:



As far as recommended reading, I've already mentioned the Xanth series (read them in order!), I'll also recommend the Incarnations of Immortality (read them in order as well!) series, as well as Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.

So.. What about you?

What are you reading, or what do you recommend to others to read?
« Last Edit: 21 Feb 2008, 16:57 by AndrewDB »
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calenlass

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n/t

Oops.  :-(

Maybe I can get a mod to move this.   :|

b) I just finished reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. And I got a gift card for being an excellent employee today for about 93$, usable in a book store, so I will probably try to pick up Anansi Boys and/or American Gods tomorrow! I am much looking forward to getting hold of new books. I think I need a Gaiman break for a bit though (re-read Sandman in its entirety a few days ago), so I'm open for suggestions.


Try the Incarnations series:

On a Pale Horse, Bearing an Hourglass, With a Tangled Skein, Wielding a Red Sword, Being a Green Mother For Love of Evil, And Eternity Morrow, I haven't read the latest one, Under a Velvet Cloak, because I didn't know it'd released (I feel pretty sad about that because Piers Anthony is my favorite author), but I'll probably pick it up in the next few days.

They're amazing reads.
« Last Edit: 21 Feb 2008, 16:52 by AndrewDB »
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TheFuriousWombat

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b) I just finished reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. And I got a gift card for being an excellent employee today for about 93$, usable in a book store, so I will probably try to pick up Anansi Boys and/or American Gods tomorrow!

I found American Gods to be the better book of the two. It's one of my favorite contemporary fantasy novels. It's wonderfully inventive and has lots of awesome characters. I'd say go with this one.

I also recommend to anyone picking up the penguin deluxe edition of The Collected Short Stories of Borges. Quite possibly my favorite book of short stories ever. Truly brilliant.
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #310 on: 22 Feb 2008, 02:45 »

I can recommend Don Quixote. I've read it about 5 times now and it's still a great read. Even it's glaring digressions and it's breaking of the fourth wall go down well. The Histories is a good read if you're into that sort of thing.

I haven't read any contemporary literature lately, and I don't plan to. I'm okay with the classics, even if sometimes it can be trying to feng shui a ball of tangled string.
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #311 on: 22 Feb 2008, 07:50 »

Ok, here's some completely random, and, by most people, unheard of series that are quite good.

Series: Anne of Green Gables
Book: Pride and Prejudice

Unheard of!  Are you for real?

I challenge you to find a girl who hasn't read Anne of Green Gables.  I think thats a requirment for puberty.
And Pride and Prejudice?  Honestly.   Pride and fucking Prejudice is unheard of.  You have got to be shitting me.

And I appoligize if I sound rude and boorish but to hear two great works of English Literature insulted by having someone imply that they arn't staples of any gradeschoolers education is insulting to me and anyone else who actually graduated from their 6th grade English Class.

There are one of three things going on here.  One, they're being sarcastic.  Two, they're not in the same school system as you are.  I never had to read either of those books for any of my english classes, although I have heard of them.  They were both 'summer reading' books and since Pride and Prejudice is one of the longer ones, barely anybody chose to read it the one summer it was on the list.  Three, Shreazla may still be in high school and possibly not realized how much of an impact Pride and Prejudice had since most of his classmates didn't read it.  I think option two is the most realistic.

Just take it easy, man.  Not everybody on these forums went to the same school.
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Border Reiver

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #312 on: 23 Feb 2008, 14:13 »

I've got a reasonably large library and film collection so:

Books

Peacekeeper - The Road to Sarajevo - Lewis MacKenzie ; The true to life adventures and misadaventures of Canada's best known general, and the man who lead and/or participated in a very large number of UN peacekeeping missions up to and including the Former Republic of Yugoslavia.  Funny, sad and filled with descriptions of people trying to do their best in very trying circumstances  for a lot of people that just don't care.

Shake Hands with the Devil - Susan Orm, writing for Romeo Dallaire.  Now a movie, this is a disturbing look at the UN peacekeeping system and its failure in Rwanda and the effect on this man.  I've spoken with both Generals Dallaire and MacKenzie, both are excellent speakers and writers.  Peacekeeper is much more light hearted, and Shake Hands will leave you very disturbed.

The Flashman Series by George MacDonald Fraser - Ever suspect that the heroes of yesteryear weren't quite as snow white or heroic as they are protrayed in the history texts?  This impeccably researched bit of historical fiction confirms your suspicions, as Victorian England's hero, Sir Harry Flashman rogers, weedles and toadies his way through most of the major campaigns of the 19th century, but only because he's too much of a coward to face the scandal of being found out.  If you can read these and not laugh you have no sense of irony.

The Gaunt's Ghosts series of novels by Dan Abnett.  Nice, light sci fi set in the worlds of Warhammer 40K - requires no knowledge of the game to understand.  Excellent characterizations and tightly written.  Good books to read while on the bus.

Movies

Casablanca - seriously one of the best movies ever.  Well acted, tight script, excellent characterizations.  There is a reason this movies tends to make everybody's Top 100 list...

The Dirty Dozen, Kelly's Heroes 2 of the best war movies of all time.  One quite serious (and also a decent book), but so chock full of so much action you'll just keep watching.  (bonus points if you can tell where Donald Duck is)

Horror of Dracula Somewhat dated (1958) but extremely well acted by the ever popular Christopher Lee, and the underated Peter Cushing.  The final death sscene for Drac in this movie is quite intense.

Evil of Frankenstein - forget any sympathy for the doctor, he's a real cold hearted bastard in this one.  As an aside, the monster's makeup was considered so horrifying in 1957 when this movie came out that no one would eat with the actor during lunch....

Tremors - its just a damn fun movie, especially if you'd ever seen the TV series Family Ties

The Blues Brothers - my favourite film of all time.  Its got everything - car chases, damn fine musical numbers, comedy, gun fire and two guys making sure that the Illionois Nazis get what's coming to them.

Enjoy
« Last Edit: 23 Feb 2008, 17:33 by Border Reiver »
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mrjoegangles

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #313 on: 23 Feb 2008, 15:05 »


There are one of three things going on here.  One, they're being sarcastic.  Two, they're not in the same school system as you are.  I never had to read either of those books for any of my english classes, although I have heard of them.  They were both 'summer reading' books and since Pride and Prejudice is one of the longer ones, barely anybody chose to read it the one summer it was on the list.  Three, Shreazla may still be in high school and possibly not realized how much of an impact Pride and Prejudice had since most of his classmates didn't read it.  I think option two is the most realistic.

Just take it easy, man.  Not everybody on these forums went to the same school.
Going to the same school has nothing to do with it.  I just used it as an example of how widely known those books are and how often they are used in High School Curriculums. If u went to ANY middle/high school in a english speaking country you would have heard of them.  And don't worry, I was taking it quite easy. All I did was introduce him to my friend Mr Sarcasm in the hopes that he would perhaps see the error in this ways.  If I hadnt been taking it easy I would have used my buddy Mr Insult and perhaps his wife Mrs Ethnic Slur.  I think I showed amazing personal fortitude refraining from such tactics in the face of such blatent stupidity.
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Liz

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #314 on: 23 Feb 2008, 16:41 »

I challenge you to find a girl who hasn't read Anne of Green Gables.  I think thats a requirment for puberty.
And Pride and Prejudice?  Honestly.   Pride and fucking Prejudice is unheard of.  You have got to be shitting me.

I have not read Anne of Green Gables.

Looks like you lose this one.
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Spluff

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #315 on: 23 Feb 2008, 16:45 »

I've never heard of the first one, and I go to a "middle/high school in an English speaking country". And I've never read Pride and Prejudice because, honestly, it sounds like a terrible book.
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Border Reiver

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #316 on: 23 Feb 2008, 17:25 »

Anne of Green Gables , Written by Lucy Maude Montgomery, is an icon of Cdn literature, and is quite popular here in the Great White North, and also in Japan. 

I never had to read it in school, but many of my female classmates did.  At the time they discovered Anne, I discovered The Hobbit....

It was also a long running TV series on CBC with its sequel - Return to Avonlea.
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AnthroMV

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #317 on: 23 Feb 2008, 20:09 »

"A Dirty Job - Christopher Moore"

    I read it a little while ago and I loved it! The main character Charlie Asher is kind of a pushover until he's recruited as the position of "Death" everywhere he goes people are dying and strange voices whisper to him from the gutters.
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Dimmukane

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #318 on: 23 Feb 2008, 20:17 »

Really?  I have cousins in PA who didn't know there was a book when they saw the movie.  One's a senior in high school, the other's a sophomore.
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mrjoegangles

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #319 on: 24 Feb 2008, 09:52 »

Looks like you lose this one.

I think the only real loser is the public education system in the United States.  What ever happened to reading quality literature.  Maybe some of you kids would read this stuff if they made a manga about it. 
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Dimmukane

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #320 on: 24 Feb 2008, 11:09 »

Fuck mangas.
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Gridgm

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #321 on: 25 Feb 2008, 01:56 »

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Valekraft

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #322 on: 25 Feb 2008, 03:06 »

My suggestions.....

Movies:
Equilibrium (little campy but still amazing.. Stars Christian Bale)
American Psycho (also starring Bale)
Sin City  (Frank Miller is a genious)
300  (see above)
Black Hawk Down  (true story, way fucking better than that garbage Saving Private Ryan)
Tears of the Sun (Bruce Willis and Monica Bellucci)
The Entire works of Kevin Smith (only watch the first hour of Chasing Amy trust me)
Shoot 'em Up (Campy as hell. I've never seen actors chew scenery like this before, but its still really good)
3:10 to Yuma (For and Australian and a Welshman the main actors put out the greatest western in a long time)

Television:
Bleach (its the only anime I can bring myself to watch.)
Jericho (Skeet Ulrich and crew make a damn good post apocalyptic show)
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idiolect

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #323 on: 25 Feb 2008, 10:50 »

Well then I got some great "unheard" of books for you:

Sense and Sensibility
A Tale of Two Cities
The Illiad
The Bible


For whatever it's worth, I really did laugh aloud upon reading this.  Oh man.  Other totally obscure works you might enjoy include Hamlet, The Great Gatsby, and if you're really ambitious, Green Eggs and Ham.

Anyway, you guys should go read some Rilke.  No, not "Letters," I mean his actual poetry.  Start with the amazing Duino Elegies.*

*I prefer the Edward Snow translation from North Point Press -- it's a good translation, and it has facing-page original German.
« Last Edit: 25 Feb 2008, 10:57 by idiolect »
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Liz

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #324 on: 25 Feb 2008, 10:52 »

I think the only real loser is the public education system in the United States.  What ever happened to reading quality literature.  Maybe some of you kids would read this stuff if they made a manga about it. 

No.

Fuck mangas.

Yes.
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mrjoegangles

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #325 on: 25 Feb 2008, 12:28 »

For whatever it's worth, I really did laugh aloud upon reading this.  Oh man.  Other totally obscure works you might enjoy include Hamlet, The Great Gatsby, and if you're really ambitious, Green Eggs and Ham.

I'm glad someone got the joke.  And touché with the green eggs and ham.. Wish I had thought of it.
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Gridgm

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #326 on: 25 Feb 2008, 14:59 »

My suggestions.....

Movies:
Equilibrium (little campy but still amazing.. Stars Christian Bale)
American Psycho (also starring Bale)
Sin City  (Frank Miller is a genious)
300  (see above)
Black Hawk Down  (true story, way fucking better than that garbage Saving Private Ryan)
Tears of the Sun (Bruce Willis and Monica Bellucci)
The Entire works of Kevin Smith (only watch the first hour of Chasing Amy trust me)
Shoot 'em Up (Campy as hell. I've never seen actors chew scenery like this before, but its still really good)
3:10 to Yuma (For and Australian and a Welshman the main actors put out the greatest western in a long time)

Television:
Bleach (its the only anime I can bring myself to watch.)
Jericho (Skeet Ulrich and crew make a damn good post apocalyptic show)

i really thought american psycho was done ridiculously poorly in comparison the book...it seemed to loose the whole psychological aspect which stephen king books have habit of loosing when made into movies
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pinkpiche

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #327 on: 26 Feb 2008, 01:04 »

It's a good thing it's not a Stephen King novel then.
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #328 on: 26 Feb 2008, 03:13 »

i really thought american psycho was done ridiculously poorly in comparison the book...it seemed to loose the whole psychological aspect which stephen king books have habit of loosing when made into movies

It was trash compared to the book but I still think it captured a lot of the character involved. Sure its a little campy because of the poor transition but comparing it to a Stephen King movie... Thats just coldhearted and mean spirited...
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #329 on: 26 Feb 2008, 03:57 »

i compare it that wasy becasue it was the only thing i could think of off the top of my head that get's fucked by american simplicity so often...outside prehaps comic book movies but that could be going further
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Muskrat121

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #330 on: 26 Feb 2008, 12:27 »

Nightwatch and Daywatch - Russian fantasy action films

They are based on a series of fantasy novels by Sergei Lukyanenko, both the books and the films have the balance of light and dark, and what happens when one becomes a bit greater than the other. The stories definately build up the characters and draw you in. Only downside to the films are they don't contain as much as the novels.

I'm just finishing reading Day Watch now.  I HIGHLY recomend that whether or not you see the movies to read the books.  Each book is actually broken into three stories, the movies are based on the first and second stories of Night Watch (the book).

There are two others, Twilight Watch and Final Watch.  It's a great series and I recomend it to anyone that likes a more modern type of fantasy.
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #331 on: 27 Feb 2008, 09:50 »

Movies: "Ran"--Akira Kurosawa does Lear, with the inevitable Samurai.  Slow, emotionally draining but masterful.

"The Seventh Seal"--terrifying, emotionally gripping, quite funny and playful as well, this is a masterpiece.

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pinkpiche

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #332 on: 27 Feb 2008, 13:06 »

I'd like to recommend

Life of Pi - Yann Martel
An absolutely excellent book about a boy that's stranded on a raft with a tiger, zebra and an orangutang, that lands on a small island filled with voracious killer trees that swallow people and make fruit out of their teeth.. Well.. You have to read it to understand.
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Emily

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #333 on: 28 Feb 2008, 01:40 »

Apparently Budge Wilson wrote a prequel to Anne of Green Gables that's been OK'd by Montgomery's heirs. I heard about this months back and was horrified and afraid. My mother mailed me a clipping from a Canadian newspaper with excerpts, and it looks alright, but it's definitely not LMM's style of writing, which might make it hard for me to accept. Plus the idea in general doesn't appeal to me--I've never cared to find anything lovable in Anne's life before she came to Green Gables and Avonlea. Wasn't the idea supposed to be that it was all harsh life/unwanted/unloved child etc.. to kind of set up her fragile mental and emotional state so that she can truly blossom in the Cuthbert's care?

Anyhow.

The Classical World: An Epic History of Greece and Rome by Robin Lane Fox. I bought it in the airport the other day and haven't been able to look at another book since.

On the topic of Casablanca--a friend of mine once pointed out that if you made that movie today with the same script, cast, and director, it probably wouldn't be received very well by critics. I'm not a fan of the dialogue, myself. It's...awkward.
« Last Edit: 28 Feb 2008, 01:43 by Emily »
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taphos

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #334 on: 29 Feb 2008, 20:17 »

Apparently Budge Wilson wrote a prequel to Anne of Green Gables that's been OK'd by Montgomery's heirs. I heard about this months back and was horrified
I didn't want to know about this. Horrified is right.

I recommend Bug. Yes, the movie that came out last year and was almost universally hated.

I loved it. I thought Ashley Judd was brilliant. I thought the movie did an excellent job in blurring the lines between insanity and paranoia and truth(?) Bug was marketed as horror and it is the best kind of horror movie. It explores obsession, need, guilt, paranoia. We are never sure what is real and what is delusion.

I know I'm in the minority, but this film is something to see. Even if you end up hating it.
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Surgoshan

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #335 on: 29 Feb 2008, 23:24 »

I'd like to recommend

Life of Pi - Yann Martel
An absolutely excellent book about a boy that's stranded on a raft with a tiger, zebra and an orangutang, that lands on a small island filled with voracious killer trees that swallow people and make fruit out of their teeth.. Well.. You have to read it to understand.

Yes.  Second.  A thousand times.  I love this book.

A boy travels across the pacific in a life boat with a tiger; what's not to love?
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pinkpiche

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #336 on: 03 Mar 2008, 13:05 »

Also:

Douglas Coupland - Girlfriend In A Coma
He writes so beautifully pretentiously futuristicly and manifesticly that you wish you came up with the idea


And ANYTHING by Joyce Carol Oates.
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Beast

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #337 on: 04 Mar 2008, 21:18 »

Tim Dorsey.
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Fletch

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #338 on: 05 Mar 2008, 03:06 »

Books:
Monster Blood Tattoo: Bio-punk (It's not really steam and/or punk, but I'm trying to fit it somewhere) story about a world filled with monsters & genocidal humans, following a boy and his job as a lamp-lighter. I'm a sucker for the background...
Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe (Volume One: Shadow and Claw, Volume Two: Sword and Citadel): Previously four books, the Book of the New Sun focuses on the life of an exiled Seeker of Truth & Penitence. (aka, torturer) Possibly not something to read if you don't want to think ... I lent it to someone in my family; they promptly forgot about it & then threw it out. :cry:
Followed by The Urth of the New Sun, I think the first book is the better read.
Latro in the Mist, Gene Wolfe: Amnesiac soldier in ancient Greece, I don't really want to give away parts of the story ... the unreliable narrator Wolfe will later use in New Sun sharpens his sword here.

Movies:
Cemetery Man (aka Delamorte Delamore): Zombie movie about a man, his lover & his efforts 'killing' the 'recently deceased'. 8-)
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Gridgm

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #339 on: 05 Mar 2008, 03:23 »


Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe (Volume One: Shadow and Claw, Volume Two: Sword and Citadel): Previously four books, the Book of the New Sun focuses on the life of an exiled Seeker of Truth & Penitence. (aka, torturer) Possibly not something to read if you don't want to think ... I lent it to someone in my family; they promptly forgot about it & then threw it out. :cry:

i'm currently in the middle of citadel of the autarch when in my local book shop i saw a book named severan the tortuer, picking it up thinking it might be a sequel to this excelent book i discovered it was in fact all 4 books in one but not called book of the new sun (i vote to kill the publisher who most probably had the idea) anyway it's a more simple thing to pick up than two books so i just put this here for reference
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #340 on: 07 Mar 2008, 03:45 »

Holy crap, I am actually posting in the books, TV and movies forum! Too bad for movies and TV though.

I have not read Anne of Green Gables.

I've seen the movie version. You're not exactly missing much, if the film is accurate.

Currently reading Hatrack River by Orson Scott Card. You may know him as the author of Ender's Game. I'm barely even halfway through the book and it's already way up on my top 10 list.

Damn thing's falling apart, though. Stupid poorly-bound book, I own paperbacks that have lasted longer than this.
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #341 on: 11 Mar 2008, 14:41 »

Anne of Green Gables in film is not really very great. My copy has an appallingly screwy beginning which doesn't help, but even so it's hardly memorable. But the book is quite sweet.

If you like Everything is Illuminated, then you'd probably like If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things by Jon McGregor. It's not really the same style of writing but something about it makes me connect the two (and Amazon agrees with me, they suggest the one if you like the other).

I recently bought A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers. It's not an easy read but it's thought-provoking.

Ooh, and also We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. Sadly most of these books now live at my dad's rather than here, so I need to remember to pick them up when I go back.
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Emily

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #342 on: 12 Mar 2008, 13:42 »

Anne of Green Gables is rather light reading in itself, but if you finish the entire series (8 books,) it gets more and more satisfying. The storytelling gets better, as does the drama. Anne grows up, gets married, has the marriage problems everyone has, has kids, has the kid problems everyone has, and then World War One happens and her daughter goes through some seriously heavy shit and grows up despite herself. The three Emily of New Moon books are, IMO, on par with the entire Anne series because they cover the same kind of emotional complexity in a shorter time period, and with better writing.
Kevin Sullivan should be dragged out and shot for making The Continuing Story. The only reason he waited so damn long to make it with noticibly aged actors was so the copyright could expire and he could mess with LMM's characters for any purpose he wanted. Like collapsing 20 years or so into some kind of black hole and having Anne as a young woman going through World War One even though it ought to be her teenaged youngest daughter going through all that.
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waterloosunset

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #343 on: 13 Mar 2008, 10:14 »

an interesting non-fiction book is Ishmael Beah's  ,,A Long Way Gone'', about a child soldier in Sierra Leone.
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #344 on: 13 Mar 2008, 21:59 »

The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky.  Holy fuck this is an awesome book, but then again it's about what I'd expect from Dostoevsky.  More conventional and less fevered in narrative voice than Crime and Punishment, let alone Notes from Underground, which I recall feeling like what I always imagined a bad trip would be like.  Get the Pevear and what's her-name translation.  And if you can't take on the Brothers K read Notes instead, since it is also awesome and quite short by Russian Novel (or any novel) standards.
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I don't know why we are here, but I'm pretty sure that it is not in order to enjoy ourselves.
-Ludwig Wittgenstein

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #345 on: 14 Mar 2008, 11:47 »

books-
Gravity's Rainbow - Thomas Pynchon.
Also, V; and Vineland. same auth

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #346 on: 16 Mar 2008, 17:52 »

Don't read Pynchon's 'Vineland' as suggested above. 'Gravity's Rainbow' is superb but 'V', 'Mason and Dixon' and 'The Crying of Lot 49' are all actually a lot better than 'Vineland' on many levels are much worthier of the time it takes to muddle through a Pynchon book.

This is a somewhat unorthodox recommendation but it's timely I guess. "The Body in Pain" by Elaine Scarry is a psychological examination of torture from the point of the view of the perpetrator and the victim. The book becomes far more than just a philosophical treatise. It emerges as a poignant social critique as well. It is a work that clearly took a lot of exhaustive research and before it ends it goes on to present examples of artistic and cultural creation that work against pain and the debased uses that are made of it. It's a fairly tough book and not for the weak of stomach in many cases but it's really fascinating and is made even more so considering the political climate of the day.
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #347 on: 17 Mar 2008, 10:02 »

Don't read Pynchon's 'Vineland' as suggested above. 'Gravity's Rainbow' is superb but 'V', 'Mason and Dixon' and 'The Crying of Lot 49' are all actually a lot better than 'Vineland' on many levels are much worthier of the time it takes to muddle through a Pynchon book.
Whaevoh. I stand by what I said. And also I could not, not, not get into Mason & Dixon. And I thought Lot 49 was just a glimpse at what is to come. Vineland while pretty weak compared to GR and V, was still worth it to me. M&D, i cannot explain why i could not get into caring about this book. I thought for a long time it was the period. But i just finished Stephenson's Quicksilver and that went pretty quick for a book of that size.
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #348 on: 18 Mar 2008, 15:01 »

Leaked script for the newest Dexter:

Quote
Dexter: I'm lost alone in the dark, black depths of my black dark soul.

Dexter's Sister: Blah blah stupid blah blah why don't I get respect blah blah acts awkward

Token Black Guy: GRAR SMASH PUNY DEXTER

Dexter: Blood dark black black blood crimson.

Everyone else: Oh, Dexter! You're so dreamy!

Dexter: Darkness

(Dexter broods for forty-two minutes)

To be continued...

Seriously. Fuck that show. It's like if someone got drunk and decided to have James O'Barr write an episode of Monk.
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #349 on: 18 Mar 2008, 15:04 »

Fuck you.  I love Dexter.  You are the only person who I know of that has seen it and was bored by it.
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