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LyonsLions posted:Amazing post Holy poo poo, this is fantastic! Thanks so much, I really appreciate your recommendations. I'm also pretty excited about getting into some sweet Japanese fiction. Nobody be surprised if I resurrect the long lost Japanese thread once I've digested these. 
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Mar 18, 2012 19:31
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Can someone recommend me science? Space mostly, I have all the important titles I think, Cosmos, this new ocean etc. Edit: Space exploration, exoplanets, anything really. Edit: Anything dystopian, futuristic, 1984, hunger games, etc. ? Saint Celestine fucked around with this message at 18:40 on Mar 19, 2012 |
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Mar 19, 2012 18:20
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Saint Celestine posted:Can someone recommend me science? Space mostly, I have all the important titles I think, Cosmos, this new ocean etc. Anything by Neil Degrasse Tyson. His whole catalog really swings the gambit from exploration, to planets, to well space. Here is his Amazon page with all his works, he did just come out with a new one too. Neil Degrasse Tyson Page Flaggy fucked around with this message at 18:58 on Mar 19, 2012 |
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Mar 19, 2012 18:55
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Saint Celestine posted:Can someone recommend me science? Space mostly, I have all the important titles I think, Cosmos, this new ocean etc. There's also The 4% Universe. Depending on what you like, you may find the writing style engaging or grating. Also, fair warning, I had to make a chart to keep track of all the various people and organizations involved as I read through it, because it can get a little complicated.
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Mar 19, 2012 20:38
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Awesome autobiographies about cool people in television, movies, music, or, in particular, comedy?
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Mar 20, 2012 07:16
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Capsaicin posted:Awesome autobiographies about cool people in television, movies, music, or, in particular, comedy? I'm really enjoying Is Everybody Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling and If Chins Could Kill by Bruce Campbell, if you have any interest in either of them.
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Mar 20, 2012 07:20
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Capsaicin posted:Awesome autobiographies about cool people in television, movies, music, or, in particular, comedy? Robert Evan's The Kid Stays in the Picture is a fun read about Hollywood in the 70s by the guy who produced Rosemary's Baby, The Godfather and Chinatown. Steve Martin's Born Standing Up is probably the best comedian autobiography out there. It's not a biography, but I'm Dying Up Here is a good read about the late 70s standup scene in LA, back when David Letterman, Jay Leno, Andy Kaufman and Robin Williams were all still on-stage.
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Mar 20, 2012 16:28
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Capsaicin posted:Awesome autobiographies about cool people in television, movies, music, or, in particular, comedy? For some reason, comedian autobios are usually terrible. Poster above mentioned Steve Martin's book, which was very good. Patton Oswalt's Zombie Spaceship Wasteland is also funny and good. From the music side, Keith Richards's Life is awesome and the best thing any of the Stones have produced since Exile. David Lee Roth's Crazy From the Heat is full of awesome tall tales and bullshit. If you're a fan of soul music, David Ritz wrote a book with Ray Charles called Brother Ray that that lovely movie was semi-based on, but the book is an eye-opener. Clarence Clemons's Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales was fun. Bob Dylan's Chronicles: Volume One is a strange, strange book, but a must for anyone interested in 60s culture and weirdness in general. Cash by Johnny Cash, of course. Henry Rollins is not for everyone, but I loved his Get In the Van about the early years with Flag. Not an actor, musician, or comic, but very cool person: Richard Feynman's collection of memoir and anecdotes Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character is the best.
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Mar 20, 2012 16:52
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Capsaicin posted:Awesome autobiographies about cool people in television, movies, music, or, in particular, comedy? It's not exactly an autobiography, but Steven Bach's Final Cut: Art, Money & Ego in the Making of Heaven's Gate, the Movie that Sank United Artists is a really amazing read. Bach was right there when Cimino was trying to make Heaven's Gate, now renowned as one of the biggest flops of all time, after the monster success of The Deer Hunter and he tells it like it is. Occasionally, this necessitates him admitting that he was just as big an idiot as Cimino or any of the other suits, and he has no problem doing that. The film ended up essentially bankrupting United Artists, which had been started by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. All brought to nothing by one awful movie. Bach is talking in very personal terms, so it's semi-autobiographical, I suppose, and before he's done, he's brought a ton of characters into the story: a late career Peter Sellers makes a poignant appearance, for one example; for another, Bach talks about the meeting where De Niro was pitching Raging Bull to a room full of suits who didn't like the idea at all. It's a great read, hilariously funny at some moments and incredibly frustrating and angering at others. It captures perfectly the moment that the artistic freedom, creativity and energy of the seventies turned into the bloat, excess and egotism of the eighties. It's one of the best books I've ever read about show business; maybe the best.
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Mar 21, 2012 04:06
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barkingclam posted:Robert Evan's The Kid Stays in the Picture is a fun read about Hollywood in the 70s by the guy who produced Rosemary's Baby, The Godfather and Chinatown. I was going to plug this one. It's totally hilarious and great - Evans comes across like a drunk rear end in a top hat uncle, just hanging out with you and getting progressively more plastered while he talks poo poo on everyone he's ever known...except instead of your aunts and grandparents, the people he's talking poo poo about are some of the most iconic Hollywood actors and personalities. Patton Oswalt's impersonation is dead on - "Do you know what Diane Keaton's pussy tastes like after soaking in a hot tub full of apple brandy?"
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Mar 21, 2012 04:58
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Shadski posted:During lunch I finished the book I was reading and on an impulse bought "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins, after seeing it advertised as a movie. Its now 10 hours later and ive just finished it. It was that hard to put down. I've never devoured a book quite like that before, and it was a roller-coaster of emotions, with one scene affecting me in a way that no book or movie ever has. If you like this, you might want to check out "The Long Walk" by Stephen King/Bachman. It is the same basic story, and one of his best.
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Mar 22, 2012 13:15
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This is probably going to be kind of vague, sorry. I've just put down Ulysses and decided to save it for a time when I'm a bit less stressed. I want something easyish to read, some escapism. I like antiheroes, autobiographical fiction, imagery, bleak settings and travel (sea travel is a bonus). Don't be afraid to recommend something well known, there's a good chance i wont have read it. Some of my favorites: A Prayer for Owen Meany, Moby Dick, Portrait of the Artist, Catcher in the rye.
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Mar 22, 2012 21:02
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I absolutely LOVED House of Leaves. I leave for court ordered rehab tomorrow (The 23rd of March) so don't bother responding if it's past that. If you do know something similar to House of Leaves please let me know!
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Mar 22, 2012 21:57
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The Valuum posted:I absolutely LOVED House of Leaves. I leave for court ordered rehab tomorrow (The 23rd of March) so don't bother responding if it's past that. If you do know something similar to House of Leaves please let me know! This post is a joke, right? Mrfreezewarning fucked around with this message at 22:44 on Mar 22, 2012 |
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Mar 22, 2012 22:36
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Inyourbase posted:This post is a joke, right? Dude probably wants something to read in rehab. Rehab is pretty boring.
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Mar 23, 2012 06:31
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ihopeirememberthis posted:This is probably going to be kind of vague, sorry. I've just put down Ulysses and decided to save it for a time when I'm a bit less stressed. I want something easyish to read, some escapism. I like antiheroes, autobiographical fiction, imagery, bleak settings and travel (sea travel is a bonus). Don't be afraid to recommend something well known, there's a good chance i wont have read it. Have you read Lolita? It doesn't meet all of your criterion but there's travel (particularly in the second half), the anti-est of heroes who narrates the book, amazing prose, and is really just a drat fine book. Lolita and Nabokov own. Edit: quote:I absolutely LOVED House of Leaves. I leave for court ordered rehab tomorrow (The 23rd of March) so don't bother responding if it's past that. If you do know something similar to House of Leaves please let me know! TFNC fucked around with this message at 17:59 on Mar 23, 2012 |
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Mar 23, 2012 17:56
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I'll just echo what TFNC said and add Cormac McCarthy's The Road and Blood Meridian. I know they're goon favorites but they really do match well with the travel, bleakness, antiheroes and fabulous imagery. Blood Meridian especially takes a lot from Moby Dick.
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Mar 24, 2012 04:42
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Definitely, McCarthy is also a great read for anyone at all interested in stylish prose.
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Mar 24, 2012 05:16
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Capsaicin posted:Awesome autobiographies about cool people in television, movies, music, or, in particular, comedy? Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams by Nick Tosches. It's a beautifully written biography of Dean Martin which touches on the immigrant experience, the mafia, the beginnings of comedy, early Hollywood, early TV, the beginning of rock & Roll, Mad Men era glamour, the Rat Pack, Vegas, and on and on. Very well written bio.
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Mar 24, 2012 15:23
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I just finished reading Lev Grossman's The Magicians and I really enjoyed it, though I felt that the second half of the book dragged on a bit and had some un-necessary fluff. I'm looking for books in a similar vein, ordinary person discovers something fantastic in the world / discovers a new world, doesn't necessarily have to be magic. A love interest is a plus because I'm a sucker for that kind of thing eg: Alice in The Magicians. More broadly, fantasy but set in the "real world". For me, The Magicians was kind of a stepping stone from the Harry Potter series I loved as a kid. It's a fair bit more mature than Harry Potter, but I think I'd like something more so. I'm sure there's more I could say about what I'm looking for, but I can't think of a way to do it. If you have some ideas but need more specifics, ask away. vv: Thanks, I probably should've mentioned that The Magician King is on my list. I felt like by the second-half of the book it started to drag on, but that might've been a byproduct of reading it all in one go. Read fucked around with this message at 20:55 on Mar 25, 2012 |
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Mar 25, 2012 08:24
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Read posted:I just finished reading Lev Grossman's The Magicians and I really enjoyed it, Dunno what you mean by "fluff," but you should definitely read The Magician King, which is actually much more well-written than The Magicians.
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Mar 25, 2012 12:11
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I just finished reading "The Long Walk" by Stephen King and thought it was one of the best books I've ever read. It was disturbing and compelling and I'll be damned if I understand what drove Garraty but I couldn't have been more inside his head. Which King novel should I go to from here? I've read about half of "Full Dark No Stars" and it was pretty good but not really on the same level of intensity.
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Mar 25, 2012 17:50
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Mozi posted:I just finished reading "The Long Walk" by Stephen King and thought it was one of the best books I've ever read. It was disturbing and compelling and I'll be damned if I understand what drove Garraty but I couldn't have been more inside his head. Which King novel should I go to from here? I've read about half of "Full Dark No Stars" and it was pretty good but not really on the same level of intensity. Have you read "The Stand"? It's pretty good (but very long).
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Mar 25, 2012 17:56
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I'm definitely aware of The Stand but was thinking of something maybe smaller and more focused. That's something I really liked about The Long Walk - there were no spare parts at all. It was completely driven. Edit: I just noticed there's a Richard Bachman thread - looks like just what I need. Mozi fucked around with this message at 18:12 on Mar 25, 2012 |
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Mar 25, 2012 18:10
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I'm basically looking for "The Twilight Zone" in book form. Something like trashy maybe-sci-fi or maybe-just-mysteries from pre 1965, let's say. Alfred Hitchcock's mysteries collections are awesome... but I've read a lot of them. I'd say a good twist is what I'm most looking for. I guess I'm looking for the easiest way to get the equivalent of stumbling on a giant box filled with ASIMOV and ELLERY QUEEN at a garage sale, or something like that. Does anyone know the easiest way to do that? Like, is there an ebook collection of a tonne of them you can buy somewhere?
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Mar 25, 2012 18:22
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DirtyRobot posted:I'm basically looking for "The Twilight Zone" in book form. Something like trashy maybe-sci-fi or maybe-just-mysteries from pre 1965, let's say. Alfred Hitchcock's mysteries collections are awesome... but I've read a lot of them. I'd say a good twist is what I'm most looking for. This or a similar collection by Ray Bradbury. His stories span across several speculative fiction genres and almost all of them have similar themes and moods to the Twilight Zone. If you can find online samples, check out There Will Come Soft Rains and The Veldt for two good examples.
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Mar 26, 2012 01:45
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DirtyRobot posted:I'm basically looking for "The Twilight Zone" in book form. Something like trashy maybe-sci-fi or maybe-just-mysteries from pre 1965, let's say. Alfred Hitchcock's mysteries collections are awesome... but I've read a lot of them. I'd say a good twist is what I'm most looking for. Yeah, Bradbury for sure, and Philip K Dick has a number of short story collections that sound like they might fit the bill (five total collections and The Philip K Dick Reader, which is "greatest hits" from the five).
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Mar 26, 2012 02:05
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funkybottoms posted:Yeah, Bradbury for sure, and Philip K Dick has a number of short story collections that sound like they might fit the bill (five total collections and The Philip K Dick Reader, which is "greatest hits" from the five). Harlan Ellison's a great writer for that kind of stuff too.
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Mar 26, 2012 02:11
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Read posted:I just finished reading Lev Grossman's The Magicians and I really enjoyed it, though I felt that the second half of the book dragged on a bit and had some un-necessary fluff. 
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Mar 26, 2012 19:29
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Joramun posted:I just finished the sequel to The Magicians, so I'll give this a whirl. Looks interesting, thanks .
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Mar 26, 2012 19:57
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Looking for a decent pulpy modern day horror author that isn't Bentley Little, any recommendations? I don't hate Bentley Little, it is just that I have read pretty much everything he has written that was halfway decent.
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Mar 26, 2012 23:57
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Chunky Delight posted:Looking for a decent pulpy modern day horror author that isn't Bentley Little, any recommendations? You might like Brian Keene or Edward Lee.
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Mar 27, 2012 01:39
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Looking for books that have a Sin City vibe and fit to the whole gritty/noir/hardboiled detective genre that can be funny - not really looking for straight "humor," per say, just stuff in that category that doesn't take itself too seriously.
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Mar 27, 2012 04:45
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AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 01:16 on Jan 22, 2016 |
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Mar 27, 2012 06:43
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Philo posted:Looking for books that have a Sin City vibe and fit to the whole gritty/noir/hardboiled detective genre that can be funny - not really looking for straight "humor," per say, just stuff in that category that doesn't take itself too seriously. Fletch by Gregory McDonald Gun, with Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem Both of those are unusual takes on the hardboiled/noir genre. The Lethem has some sci-fi thrown in there as well. If you haven't read the classic Hammett or Chandler novels, especially The Thin Man, The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep, you really should. Not only are they ground zero for the noir detective genre, but they are often very funny. Some things that might also fit: Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene The Mortdecai books by Kyril Bonfiglioli
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Mar 27, 2012 17:28
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I really like YA fiction (yeah yeah don't judge me) I have read "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins, The "Matched" series by Ally Condie, The Twilight Series and of course Harry Potter. I am looking for something new to read. I read just for a stress reliever but I have run out of new material! Please help!
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Mar 29, 2012 01:03
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SuzieMcAwesome posted:I really like YA fiction (yeah yeah don't judge me) I have read "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins, The "Matched" series by Ally Condie, The Twilight Series and of course Harry Potter. I am looking for something new to read. I read just for a stress reliever but I have run out of new material! Please help! Try Divergent by Veronica Roth, or the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld (I haven't read this myself). You're probably best off checking out Forever Young Adult, specifically their 'required reading' tag. E: I've also heard good things about Delirium by Lauren Oliver, and for more general YA (you seem to prefer dystopian, like me) check out John Green.
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Mar 29, 2012 01:19
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What books are kinda similar to House of Leaves? Other than other books by Danielewski. Also, I want a good gay novel. Books that I like a lot include the aforementioned HOL, Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk, White Noise by Don Delillo, Burn Collector by Al Burian (which I know is more of a zine collection than a novel) and I really love Jorge Luis Borges. Are there any good gay novels that are pretty crazy and well written? I don't want the book to have like literal steamy gay scenes, not that into erotica, just possibly a gay main character or something who deals with some crazy possibly horror element. That would be good Finally, does anyone know a way to get Communion by Whitley Strieber on my Kindle? It's not in the amazon store. Hopefully that's not a  question, if it is, don't answer it.
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Mar 29, 2012 08:24
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SuzieMcAwesome posted:I really like YA fiction (yeah yeah don't judge me) I have read "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins, The "Matched" series by Ally Condie, The Twilight Series and of course Harry Potter. I am looking for something new to read. I read just for a stress reliever but I have run out of new material! Please help! Look into just about anything by Diana Wynne Jones or Robin McKinley. If you like scifi, Robert Heinlein's "juveniles" are pretty good, or most stuff by Andre Norton.
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Mar 29, 2012 08:42
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Over the past few weeks I have been binging on the Wire, the HBO show. I really love it and I'm familiar with David Simon's other books, but can anyone recommend any literature that's along the same lines as the show?
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Mar 29, 2012 17:59
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