Author Topic: book recommendations  (Read 230027 times)

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Offline Pete

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #50 on: April 20, 2010, 03:34:32 PM »
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GTFO. i simply made recommendations based on his category. recommendations on what I think are the true great american works. if he wants to read pedantic, everyday, highschool crap then let him go ahead: read faulkner, read fitsgerald, read the boring steinbeck works, read the easy hemmingway. he's not a child.

judging by his taste in music i think he would enjoy most, if not all of those books. if i wanted to show off i would have actually answered his question, instead of referring him to a bunch of american contemporary classics.

side bar: you are the one who suggested hunter s. which i agree with, but you opened up the flood gates.

krusty, if you are going to read thompson please read The Rum Diary first. k thx.


LMAO. Asava just because you got slapped by the hipster dick doesn't mean michigancat has to as well. Nothing pedestrian about Faulkner, though I do agree with you on Steinbeck. But some things are considered classics or popular for a reason, so get over it- just because it's not Bukowski doesn't mean it's not worth reading.

Other good stuff to try would be  Beloved by Toni Morrison, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, Cane by Jean Toomer, or The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro if you feel like moving out of the American stuff.


i believe we were intended to stay in america, guy. so nabokov is out, so is Ishiguro. if you really wanted to have that discussion i would blow your world apart with so many french, czech, japanese, and russian authors you would have crap yourself. if we wanted to drift away from fiction i would further drink your milkshake.

and bukowski is about the only "hipster" author i mentioned, and i didn't place him above or below any of the others. the rest are fairly tested american literary giants. so don't tee off on one author i mentioned just because modest mouse made a shitty song about him. and just because a bunch of kids in skinny jeans started reading an author doesn't discredit his work. his prose is one of the best of his generation, but his poetry is where its at.

gtfo
:bwpopcorn:

You know what is fun about reading those books?  Nothing.

I just got done with "Jumper."  Completely different from the movie in every way, thankfully.  Really cool stuff about teleporting and what you would do with the power. 

Also, Black Hawk Down was another fun read.....much better experience than the movie.   Lots of dudes getting shot in the face and stuff.

Oh, and here's an oldy but a goody....the Clan of the Cave Bear series.   There's a reason every house wife in America was obsessed with those books 20 years ago....lots of sexual exploration combined with killing Sabre tooth tigers and crap....awesome.

Offline sys

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #51 on: April 20, 2010, 03:37:38 PM »
book recommendation for rusty in michigan.  this isn't a "best book i've read", or a "book that i want to talk about", or a "fictional book that was written by an american" mention.  this is a book, carefully selected to appeal to michigancat, that he would enjoy reading.  michy, read this book.

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Offline michigancat

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #52 on: April 20, 2010, 03:42:54 PM »
book recommendation for rusty in michigan.  this isn't a "best book i've read", or a "book that i want to talk about", or a "fictional book that was written by an american" mention.  this is a book, carefully selected to appeal to michigancat, that he would enjoy reading.  michy, read this book.



this would have passed kk's recc's, but my library doesn't have it.  :frown:

Offline asava

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #53 on: April 20, 2010, 03:52:40 PM »
Quote

i believe we were intended to stay in america, guy. so nabokov is out, so is Ishiguro. if you really wanted to have that discussion i would blow your world apart with so many french, czech, japanese, and russian authors you would have crap yourself. if we wanted to drift away from fiction i would further drink your milkshake.

and bukowski is about the only "hipster" author i mentioned, and i didn't place him above or below any of the others. the rest are fairly tested american literary giants. so don't tee off on one author i mentioned just because modest mouse made a shitty song about him. and just because a bunch of kids in skinny jeans started reading an author doesn't discredit his work. his prose is one of the best of his generation, but his poetry is where its at.

gtfo

Please, by all means, try to blow my world apart. I'm ready. If you want to limit Nabokov to being just a Russian author, do so at your own preference. I'm pretty sure most people consider him a little bit of everything.

You talk like a hipster, you drop books like a hipster, and you act like you can drop your little world lit knowledge bombs on the rest of us like a hipster. I'm going to call you out for it, especially when you sound like you don't know what the shazbot! you're talking about. You can get the shazbot! out, little boy, if you can't deal with it.

We'll see in the course of time how Bukowski turns out. For now, he suffers from the reputation that assholes like you like him, so maybe he isn't all that great.

I am more than willing to suggest or stick to American lit, but it seems like everyone else had some good stuff to suggest, and I didn't want to repeat. And michigancat also noted that American lit was just where he wanted to start, not completely limit suggestions.

you are so mean!  :bawl:

If you are going to talk Nabokov talk Luzin Defense, or Despair. Talk about his use of intertextual themes and commentary. Not saying Lolita isn't fantastic, just recognize that its not his best work. Nabokov was born in Russia, and is most certainly a Russian novelist. Just because he later came to America doesn't negate his upbringings and influences (Pushkin.. et. al.).

This is honestly pretty hilarious. If you would like to make up some sort of sweet literature quiz for me so I can prove to you, some guy i care immensely about, that i'm not a hipster, go ahead. If you'd like I could post links to all the essay's i've ever written over all the books i've studied while in college and you can critique me (H for hipster).

Just because I insulted your Faulkner doesn't mean you have to get your panties in a bunch. Its not that I don't like his stream of consciousness, its that i like Burroughs' better.

But I get it, because I'm well read I'm a hipster. Because I named some of my favorite American works, I'm a hipster. But because you've read Beloved (Oprah's book club), you are above me and therefore own me.

Give it a rest.


Offline PurpleScarf

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #54 on: April 20, 2010, 04:02:16 PM »
 :rolleyes:
Yes, lets do give it a rest. I think we're being nudged away from our pissing contest by others.
 
Just because I happen to suggest something that Oprah has read doesn't mean I haven't read anything else. And I'm pretty sure you're the one pretending to own people by demonstrating how awesome you are to have read everything you listed and then making fun of everyone else's suggestions. 

But in all honesty, let's move on. I don't think we will resolve this. Think what you think, I'll think what I think, but spare everyone the lectures of how lame we are.
My sister Stheno says I "verily personify the terrors of the sea" and would be a "real catch" for any man with half a brain.

Offline CNS

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #55 on: April 20, 2010, 04:04:18 PM »
read the easy hemmingway.

reading hemmingway is funny.  that guy got away with murder.  like some modern artist that everyone thinks is a genius, but 50 years later is revealed to be an elephant.

The only Hemmingway I have liked is For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Offline felix rex

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #56 on: April 20, 2010, 04:05:30 PM »
Which Morrison do you prefer more? I don't know if Beloved is her best, but I think it or Song of Solomon are good intros to the way she writes.

i loved song of solomon. one of the better books i ever read.  kinda weird that you'd link beloved and sos, 'cause to me those are at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of morrison quality.

I always thought "They shoot the white girl first" was one of the best opening lines for a book. Ironically, I did not finish that book.
"How will I recruit to Manhattan? Well, distance. And the proud state of basketball. It start there, and then daily flights to Dallas, because I'm really good at going out. Like top five good. Ask my wife. She wants me to be happy."

Offline Dr Rick Daris

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #57 on: April 20, 2010, 04:10:48 PM »
you guys ever do those choose your own adventures? those were great. what about madlibs? does a madlib count as a book? also, frankenstein.

Offline felix rex

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #58 on: April 20, 2010, 04:11:35 PM »
Have you considered short stories? They're great for beach reads. Carver is great if you're not prone to depression.
"How will I recruit to Manhattan? Well, distance. And the proud state of basketball. It start there, and then daily flights to Dallas, because I'm really good at going out. Like top five good. Ask my wife. She wants me to be happy."

Offline felix rex

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #59 on: April 20, 2010, 04:12:03 PM »
you guys ever do those choose your own adventures? those were great. what about madlibs? does a madlib count as a book? also, frankenstein.

I never didn't cheat at those.
"How will I recruit to Manhattan? Well, distance. And the proud state of basketball. It start there, and then daily flights to Dallas, because I'm really good at going out. Like top five good. Ask my wife. She wants me to be happy."

Offline asava

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #60 on: April 20, 2010, 04:14:38 PM »
:rolleyes:
Yes, lets do give it a rest. I think we're being nudged away from our pissing contest by others.
 
Just because I happen to suggest something that Oprah has read doesn't mean I haven't read anything else. And I'm pretty sure you're the one pretending to own people by demonstrating how awesome you are to have read everything you listed and then making fun of everyone else's suggestions. 

But in all honesty, let's move on. I don't think we will resolve this. Think what you think, I'll think what I think, but spare everyone the lectures of how lame we are.

if you paid attention you'll see that I didn't make fun of anything until my suggestions went under fire. imho i don't care much for much of the authors i called high school. but i called them that because they are what is taught in most high school english classes. not saying its a bad thing, but there is a large world outside of those authors. my suggestions were merely just a suggestion. i wasn't running around flexing literary muscles discussing the disintegration of Louis Ferdinand Celine, or the incredible works of Yukio Mishima. you're the one who called me hipster dick slapped. meanie.

Have you considered short stories? They're great for beach reads. Carver is great if you're not prone to depression.

also for pooping. very good for pooping.

Offline Pete

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #61 on: April 20, 2010, 04:16:38 PM »
Mods, please change title of this thread to "Books no one wants to read."

Offline felix rex

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #62 on: April 20, 2010, 04:19:31 PM »
:rolleyes:
Yes, lets do give it a rest. I think we're being nudged away from our pissing contest by others.
 
Just because I happen to suggest something that Oprah has read doesn't mean I haven't read anything else. And I'm pretty sure you're the one pretending to own people by demonstrating how awesome you are to have read everything you listed and then making fun of everyone else's suggestions. 

But in all honesty, let's move on. I don't think we will resolve this. Think what you think, I'll think what I think, but spare everyone the lectures of how lame we are.

if you paid attention you'll see that I didn't make fun of anything until my suggestions went under fire. imho i don't care much for much of the authors i called high school. but i called them that because they are what is taught in most high school english classes. not saying its a bad thing, but there is a large world outside of those authors. my suggestions were merely just a suggestion. i wasn't running around flexing literary muscles discussing the disintegration of Louis Ferdinand Celine, or the incredible works of Yukio Mishima. you're the one who called me hipster dick slapped. meanie.

Have you considered short stories? They're great for beach reads. Carver is great if you're not prone to depression.

also for pooping. very good for pooping.


Ha. Yep. Have kept a new anthology in the bathroom every year. Is that rusty was looking for? Pooping material? Maybe some clarification here.
"How will I recruit to Manhattan? Well, distance. And the proud state of basketball. It start there, and then daily flights to Dallas, because I'm really good at going out. Like top five good. Ask my wife. She wants me to be happy."

Offline asava

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #63 on: April 20, 2010, 04:23:40 PM »
Mods, please change title of this thread to "Books no one wants to read Books that are good on the pooper."

Offline Dr Rick Daris

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #64 on: April 20, 2010, 04:28:17 PM »
Mods, please change title of this thread to "Books no one wants to read."


 :curse:


Offline Johnny Wichita

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #65 on: April 20, 2010, 04:30:43 PM »
Sitting on my desk at the moment.  The Rum Diary and Women.  Haven't read Women yet.  Re-read the Rum Diary last summer.  Still love it.   

Side note:  not sitting on my desk:  Frankenstein. 

Offline CHONGS

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #66 on: April 20, 2010, 04:30:59 PM »
Mods, please change title of this thread to "Books no one wants to read."


 :curse:


Saw the movie, it sucked. next.

Offline asava

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #67 on: April 20, 2010, 04:31:40 PM »
Mods, please change title of this thread to "Books no one wants to read."


 :curse:



you really really like this book. definitely a good one. but man, you like that book.

Offline CHONGS

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #68 on: April 20, 2010, 04:34:08 PM »
Maybe rd should have sex with it....

Offline Pete

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #69 on: April 20, 2010, 04:35:22 PM »
Mods, please change title of this thread to "Books no one wants to read."


 :curse:



YUCK!  Old English is for losers ('cept for Count of Monte Christo).


Offline Johnny Wichita

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #70 on: April 20, 2010, 04:37:31 PM »
Maybe rd should have sex with it....

Well played.  Everyone was thinking it. 


<----- another side note:  pic of HST writing The Rum Diary (or maybe getting his inspiration)

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #71 on: April 20, 2010, 04:39:56 PM »

Offline Ghost of Stan Parrish

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #72 on: April 20, 2010, 04:41:51 PM »


Like!

I don't know why, but I can't read most fiction.  A lot of it does nothing more than annoy me.

I'll read a thousand pages about the transition of Europe during the years 400 to 1000, but hand me Hemmingway or Kerouak or "Catch-22" and...
 :zzz:
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Offline Cire

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #73 on: April 20, 2010, 04:53:43 PM »
A Prayer for Owen Meany.

Online chum1

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Re: book reccomendations
« Reply #74 on: April 20, 2010, 04:53:51 PM »
I'll read a thousand pages about the transition of Europe during the years 400 to 1000, but hand me Hemmingway or Kerouak or "Catch-22" and...
 :zzz:

Yeah, history is fascinating.  I saw that people were reading historical fiction and was like, "WTF, mates?  Read the real deal."  But I didn't say anything.