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boquiabierta posted:100 pages into House of Leaves and I think I'm throwing in the towel. I'm not into it at all and not finding it at all scary. Kinda disappointed I didn't even make it as far as any of the weird formatting stuff (unless you count the constant footnotes/endnotes and font changes). The great draw of the book for me is the expeditions that are reminiscent of climbs up Mount Everest. Great imagery worth reading for.
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Jul 14, 2023 08:39
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escape artist posted:what's up with this novel Tampa by Alissa Nutting? can somebody give me some trigger warnings on that? I am curious but a little hesitant after reading the synopsis. Is it horror? Explicit descriptions of a teacher sexually abusing her students and fantasizing about abusing her very underaged students, if I can judge from the first dozen pages or so. Imagine something like Lolita but told realistically and with poo poo prose. It’s not horror in the genre of fiction sense, but it sure felt horrible to me before I gave up.
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Jul 14, 2023 16:34
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Take the plunge! Okay! posted:Explicit descriptions of a teacher sexually abusing her students and fantasizing about abusing her very underaged students, if I can judge from the first dozen pages or so. Imagine something like Lolita but told realistically and with poo poo prose. It’s not horror in the genre of fiction sense, but it sure felt horrible to me before I gave up. gently caress that. The only reason Lolita is tolerable is because the act is never actually described on page, it's all off page and implied. Hard pass then.
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Jul 14, 2023 17:51
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Looking for a book that gives me this vibe
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Jul 15, 2023 16:27
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WHY BONER NOW posted:Looking for a book that gives me this vibe Cormac McCarthy
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Jul 15, 2023 16:44
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WHY BONER NOW posted:Looking for a book that gives me this vibe Gene Wolfe, Urth of the New Sun or The Fifth Head of Cerberus. Between Two Fires
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Jul 15, 2023 17:26
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WHY BONER NOW posted:Looking for a book that gives me this vibe join us reading Suttree in the book of the month thread!
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Jul 15, 2023 18:08
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Just finished Blood Meridian. Now, I don't believe in banning books. Of course I don't. But if I did, this would be the one. I want to become a hermit or maybe drink myself into a coma. Previous read was Cloud Cuckoo Land, which makes for a hell of a 1-2 punch. What's another book in this vein, that makes me feel existential anguish, that humanity in general and my life specifically are, at best, somewhere between pointless and horrific? I haven't read any Pynchon yet, does he fit the bill?
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Jul 15, 2023 19:20
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regulargonzalez posted:Just finished Blood Meridian. Pynchon is too playful. I would argue that The Road is even more depressing than Blood Meridian. If you want something really dire, try Curzio Malaparte’s novels Kaputt and Skin. Nothing like a scene of a dead mare birthing a foal in the middle of a pogromed Jewish village to kickstart a parade of misery. Kaputt contains the infamous bowl of eyes scene too. These are amazingly bleak and well written. My personal favorite, though, would probably be 2666.
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Jul 15, 2023 19:26
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I read The Road maybe 15 years ago, it didn't hit me the way Blood Meridian did. The last chapter... I think the Judge specifically did a number on me. That Thomas Ligotti vibe is what I'm looking for. I think I've given 2666 a go but maybe got bored halfway through? Or maybe I'm confusing it with 1Q84. Thanks for the recs, adding Kaputt and Skin. regulargonzalez fucked around with this message at 19:35 on Jul 15, 2023 |
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Jul 15, 2023 19:32
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regulargonzalez posted:Just finished Blood Meridian. Read 2666
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Jul 15, 2023 22:55
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Opopanax posted:Cormac McCarthy tuyop posted:Gene Wolfe, Urth of the New Sun or The Fifth Head of Cerberus. Thanks guys! escape artist posted:join us reading Suttree in the book of the month thread! Hmm, I just might do this...
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Jul 17, 2023 00:51
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WHY BONER NOW posted:Thanks guys! I also thought about it more and I think Ballingrud’s “North American Lake Monsters” fits the bill. Particularly two or three of the stories.
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Jul 17, 2023 00:53
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North American Lake Monsters is a must read. Probably among the first horror books I would recommend to anyone who wants to explore beyond King and Koontz. It is utterly brilliant.
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Jul 17, 2023 02:13
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Oh yes, NALM is a personal favorite, though it leaves you hollowed out after a couple stories...
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Jul 17, 2023 02:34
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I've gathered up various war memoirs that center around operators of complex vehicles - Chickenhawk by Robert Mason, Samurai by Saburo Sakai, Japanese Destroyer Captain, Das Boot. I'll be glad to know of any others that will teach me about the institutional culture of the soldiers, the technical operations of the weapons they used, or plain emotional and literary richness.
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Jul 17, 2023 03:06
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are there any well-written books, say memoirs of people being incarcerated?
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Jul 17, 2023 03:08
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I found Hardcore Zen to be very formative as a teen, but I don't know if it holds up. I remember it being more about growth in a life of general debauchery, but there may have been a stint in the pen involved. While I'm no Buddhist or Zen practitioner by any stretch, the mindfulness and thankfulness it exposed me to planted seeds which I try to cultivate to this day. malnourish fucked around with this message at 10:56 on Jul 17, 2023 |
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Jul 17, 2023 03:21
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escape artist posted:are there any well-written books, say memoirs of people being incarcerated? The Gulag Archipelago The Autobiography of Malcolm X has a fair amount about his time in prison
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Jul 17, 2023 05:23
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The House of the Dead contains Dostoevsky’s prison recollections
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Jul 17, 2023 07:40
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escape artist posted:are there any well-written books, say memoirs of people being incarcerated? The Ballad of Reading Gaol ?
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Jul 17, 2023 09:05
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escape artist posted:are there any well-written books, say memoirs of people being incarcerated? Voyage autour de ma chambre and Expédition nocturne autour de ma chambre.  e: Oh sorry they're not well-written, they're dogshit. But classics.
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Jul 17, 2023 09:08
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Papillon is supposedly a memoir about a prison island, although I've seen that the author might've stolen anecdotes from another inmate. It's on my list of things to read sometime, but I haven't yet, so maybe this is an opportunity for someone else to tell me whether it's worth reading.
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Jul 17, 2023 14:03
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I’d like to read a biography of Daniel Webster but not sure which is authoritative.
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Jul 17, 2023 14:23
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Any recommendations for where to start with Stephen King? My recent failure to read House of Leaves made me realize I do want to read some horror and who better to start with? Any other beginner horror recommendations welcome — I’m just looking for accessible and page turners as criteria.
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Jul 17, 2023 14:59
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boquiabierta posted:Any recommendations for where to start with Stephen King? My recent failure to read House of Leaves made me realize I do want to read some horror and who better to start with? Any other beginner horror recommendations welcome — I’m just looking for accessible and page turners as criteria. Any of his early books are excellent imo. Pet Sematery, Salems Lot, Christine, Carrie, Cujo, take your pick based on the blurb that interests you.
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Jul 17, 2023 15:04
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boquiabierta posted:Any recommendations for where to start with Stephen King? My recent failure to read House of Leaves made me realize I do want to read some horror and who better to start with? Any other beginner horror recommendations welcome — I’m just looking for accessible and page turners as criteria. Pick anything from '74 through '83, including short story collections, minus some Bachmans (skip Roadwork and Rage). This is his golden period. My personal ranking would be something like The Dead Zone The Long Walk 'Salem's Lot The Shining The Stand and then Firestarter. 1980's through the 90's his quality dips as his substance abuses grew, but there are some solid ones in this era. Pet Sematary, IT, Misery are the standouts, and Misery is a great place to start outside of his golden era. His infamous car accident was in 2000, so the books from 2000 through 2008 tend to be bad, cuz he was back into substance issues (painkillers) and a growing sense of mortality rushed his major projects (Dark Tower). 2008 is when he gets back on track, 2014 was his shift towards crime fiction, and the only one from there that's consistently highly regarded is Revival. That said, pretty much every short story collection of his is highly regarded, with Skeleton Crew and Roadwork regularly being fan favorites. TL;DR - if you want a classic spooky King, but don't mind a bit of a slow burn, 'Salem's Lot or The Shining. For something with a bit more pep and less spookies, Misery. For non-horror but still kinda horror, The Dead Zone or Firestarter. Or you can pick any short story collection, but Skeleton Crew is gonna be the go-to, since it has The Mist and a lot of other fan favorites. (edit 2) If you wanna read The Stand, look for a copy from the 70's. The 90's release, "Uncut" or whatever, has an extra 400 pages you don't really need. edit: There's a General Horror Fiction thread. Everyone's cool and has good taste, so feel free to find new horror authors there. Franchescanado fucked around with this message at 15:37 on Jul 17, 2023 |
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Jul 17, 2023 15:33
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escape artist posted:are there any well-written books, say memoirs of people being incarcerated? You Can’t Win is a great autobiography by a man who was a small time criminal and train hobo, in and out of prisons of the American and Canadian west around the start of the 20th century
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Jul 17, 2023 15:58
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escape artist posted:are there any well-written books, say memoirs of people being incarcerated? Not explicitly memoir, but No Beast So Fierce by Edward Bunker was written while he was in prison and is heavily drawn from those experiences. I believe it was published before he was granted parole. It was adapted into the film Straight Time.
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Jul 17, 2023 16:13
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It’s not King, but Dracula holds up.
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Jul 18, 2023 02:10
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escape artist posted:are there any well-written books, say memoirs of people being incarcerated? Ballad of Reading Gaol by Oscar Wilde You Cant Win by Jack Black as mentioned
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Jul 19, 2023 18:28
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The more modern the better. I want to know about 21st century jails.
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Jul 19, 2023 19:25
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escape artist posted:are there any well-written books, say memoirs of people being incarcerated? The Prison Diaries by Jeffery Archer is supposed to be pretty good. I'd advise pirating these as Jeffery Archer is an arsehole & I'd hate for him to get any money.
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Jul 19, 2023 20:14
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escape artist posted:The more modern the better. I want to know about 21st century jails. Lil Wayne's book
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Jul 20, 2023 02:56
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escape artist posted:are there any well-written books, say memoirs of people being incarcerated? this is outside of what you specified in your follow-up, and is more specifically about the holocaust, but no list of recommendations is complete without primo levi's if this is a man
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Jul 20, 2023 15:14
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Realizing I know pretty much nothing about health, nutrition, fitness, etc. As I start to build better habits, I think I'd benefit from knowing a little bit more about how this all works and why - how does food impact your brain? How does muscle work? How does your body use nutrients and energy? What does sugar do to you? How does your body recover from exercise? Anything and everything. This may be several books covering different topics, any suggestions would be appreciated. Ideally any recs would steer shy of pop science, trends, fad diets, takedowns of the food industry, etc if possible - I'm looking for more of an education. A bit specific, but I appreciate any help. Thank you!
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Jul 23, 2023 03:25
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BONESAWWWWWW posted:Realizing I know pretty much nothing about health, nutrition, fitness, etc. As I start to build better habits, I think I'd benefit from knowing a little bit more about how this all works and why - how does food impact your brain? How does muscle work? How does your body use nutrients and energy? What does sugar do to you? How does your body recover from exercise? Anything and everything. You'll find better answers here: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3876241
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Jul 23, 2023 09:52
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Looking for a new graphic novel. I enjoyed On A Sunbeam a lot, and I thought Monstress was pretty good but I’ve only read volume 1. I don’t think I have a genre preference. I read a lot of walking dead long ago and that was nice!
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Jul 23, 2023 16:41
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tuyop posted:Looking for a new graphic novel. I enjoyed On A Sunbeam a lot, and I thought Monstress was pretty good but I’ve only read volume 1. That's a very wide scope, but here are some comics / one-offs (mostly from Image - the publisher of Monstress, which you should continue because that series is fantastic) that I've enjoyed recently that have been collected into volumes:
I could go on for quite awhile. My bookshelf is full of comic books and trade paperbacks that I've enjoyed over the years, but I'll stop there. Good-Natured Filth fucked around with this message at 19:21 on Jul 23, 2023 |
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Jul 23, 2023 17:12
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tuyop posted:Looking for a new graphic novel. I enjoyed On A Sunbeam a lot, and I thought Monstress was pretty good but I’ve only read volume 1. - Astereos Polyp A regular guy figures out his issues, but this is told in a way only graphic novels can, and really illuminates the things that separate and unite folks - Watchmen. This is a classic for a reason, another great example of things that can only happen in comics. - Flex Mentallo, Man of Muscle Mystery A surreal comic about comics. I have a strong sentimental attachment to this one. - Locke and Key A solid spooky story There's also a ton more Monstress to read. They story and world are definitely expanding and the quality hasn't dropped at all.
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Jul 23, 2023 20:39
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