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5 Books Everybody Should Read
Here's the plan...
If you could recommend 5 books to everybody in the world, what would they be?
My choices, in no order, subject to change...
1) On The Road ~ Kerouac
2) Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas ~ HST
3) Choke ~ CP
4) Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genious ~ Eggers
5) Animal Farm ~ Orwell
There's no basis for this, other than the fact that you enjoy them...
Here's the plan...
If you could recommend 5 books to everybody in the world, what would they be?My choices, in no order, subject to change...
1) On The Road ~ Kerouac
2) Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas ~ HST
3) Choke ~ CP
4) Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genious ~ Eggers
5) Animal Farm ~ OrwellThere's no basis for this, other than the fact that you enjoy them...
ive read them all except for the eggers
whats it like?
In no order (subject to change)
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
A People's History of the United States - Howard Zinn
Bodies in Motion and at Rest: On Metaphor and Mortality - Thomas Lynch
Choke - CP
No More Prisons - William Upski Wimsatt
The fountainhead by Rand
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Garcia Marquez
Dubliners by Joyce
The Bell Jar by Plath
Last Exit to Brooklyn by Selby Jr.
those are my five but my top five books changes everyday being that I am an English major and have nothing better to do with my time than debate the greatness of novels.
do androids dream of electric sheep? (Blade Runner) -- Philip K. Dick
Waiting for Godot -- Samuel Beckett
fight club -- Chuck Palahniuk
Jimmy Corrigan, the smartest kid on Earth -- Chris Ware
Absolom, Absolom! -- William Faulkner (very difficult, actually brutal, read it for a class back in college)
I see a lot of people list jack Keruac books. It's funny, because i know it's worth reading, I've just met so many detestable people who love "On the Road," so i avoid it. I know you can't blame the work for it's fans, but why is it that so many yuppies, social hippies, pseudo-philosopers, and other pieces of human waste love this book so much?
in no real order...
1) Equus - Peter Shaffer
2) Choke - Leave this site if you don't know who wrote it
3) Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
4) Generation X - Douglas Coupland
5) The Beach - Alex Garland
"After all, each one of us is little more than the meager residue of the infinite unrealized possibilities of our lives." -JGB
Actually "On the Road" had a whole generation of people get up and see America for what it really was during the 1950s. The 50's climate was full of post-war conformity, McCarthism, institutionalized care, etc... Artists, poets and musicians had feelings which weren't taken as kindly for rational thought. On the Road brought Bohemia to the masses with wanderlust and life as the two important themes,
Oslec have you read "Blindness" by Jose Saramango? Also another good read.
not yet, but believe me, i intend to... i've always avoided reading saramago, because we have very different political views, but i must say that despite that, the guy is a great read...
bang bang,
she shot me down...
these are all great books, and since my top 5 list has probably already been comprised of books previously mentioned, i'll only add:
the social contract - jean jacques rousseau
of mice and men - john steinbeck
electric kool-aid acid test - tom wolfe
the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay - michael chabon
naked - david sedaris
Reserving judgment is a matter of infinite hope.
i should have mentioned Perfume, by Patrick Suskind earlier on my top 5 list. the guy makes perfume out of virgins. i rest my case.
"After all, each one of us is little more than the meager residue of the infinite unrealized possibilities of our lives." -JGB
in a particular order :
Trainspotting - Irvine Welsh
(the best book ever, perhaps ??¿)
Survivor - Chuck Palahniuk
(truly amazing)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson
(I love this trip)
Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
(I also love this trip)
The Book Of Lies : which is also falsely called BREAKS the wanderings or falsifications of the one thought of Frater Perdurabo (Aleister Crowley) which thought is itself untrue - Crowley
(with a book title like that how can you go wrong)
My first Bukowski was Pulp, and I loved it.
**
As for American Psycho... I have this habit of biting my nails when I'm nervous; you know, just a little bit, just a nervous desire. When I run outta nails, I start chewing on my cuticles. This is all the things you do when you aren't thinking about it; you just kind of find yourself doing it and still don't think about stopping. And -- though this has never happened before -- when I run outta cuticles, as in they are all shredded, ragged, bleeding but none left hanging, I would start to bite into the skin on the side of my fingers, just gnawing at the skin, breaking the skin one layer at a time and chewing the skin between my teeth -- anything to get me through to the next chapter.
When I got done with American Psycho the side of my fingers were all red. I never even noticed that I had gotten a little blood on the book itself (which was fitting, actually). My fingers ached for days. Thankfully, cuticles heal very quickly. I can still see some of the skin on my fingers healing, slowly. That book was certainly not a simple read. But, God, can Bret Ellis paint a picture without the use of corny, simple tricks.
If anybody wants a diagram on how to describe an action scene, as in from a writer's point of view -- aspiring or whatnot -- then reading this book is a must. Absolutely.
**
Baer's Kiss Me, Judas is unbelievably fucking well written. Penny Dreadful, however, is probably the best contemporary read out there. This would be how I'd wish from God that I could write; as if I was allotted infinite wisdom and power and chose to write what is in my heart, I would have written this book this book.
No, I'm not exaggerating.
**
O'Connor's Wise Blood is one of the best books that I've read.
I'm done with my random words for now.
Back to the next person.
-Kabol
__________________
They caught me because of the blood on my fingers and between my teeth. I looked up from my meal on the tile of the kitchen floor and dropped her cold limb with a thud and minor splash and told them it wasn't me.
so i go to the bookstaore last night, and believe it or not, they don't have Pulp or American Psycho. cockroaches! i picked up generation of swine by hunter s thompson.
thanks for that info on American psycho, Kab. i can't wait to get my hands on it.
(in no order at all)
Hey Nostradomus! -Douglas Coupland
Electric Jesus Corpse- Carlton Melick III
Kiss Me Judas - WCB (right?)
I'll finish this later, by editing my post when I get home.
I just can't think with all these god damned conversations. (I hate school....)
American Psycho is one of my favourites.
It is an interesting critique of the 'spiritless' times we seem to live in, where what matters to most people is their AmEx platinum and the fashionable crap to buy in order to fill the void. All the while this is shown through the perspective of a character who, obsessed with this so-called culture, suffers from extreme 'emptiness', having no true feelings -really just an exaggeration. The best is when he banters on about Phil Collins, Huey Lewis, etc. It's completely banal. The essence of the book is banal, and thats what makes it great. The only interruption in monotony, and what really is a boring character with an average life, is the fact that he is into 'murders and executions', and that he is completely empty on the inside. It makes me wonder why a character like that is so interesting. It's the polar opposite of what should be intriguing! It's a shame that the novel was famed for its explicit violence and controversy. Despite this, Patrick Bateman is actually relateable.
"The less one can do, the more one undertakes; the less one acts, the more one invents; each period of one's life brings new ideas to the fore, and satiety, far from dampening one's ardor, paves the way for even more baleful refinements"
-Marquis de Sade, Eugenie de Franval
Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
Jonathan Livingston Seagull - Richard Bach
Phaedros - Plato
Slapstick - Kurt Vonnegut
"good luck with the arrogant fuck thing..." -some guy at DeviantArt
the things they carried was excellent! i read it in college and a few weeks ago saw an old interview with some vietnam vets and they interview tim o'brien. never read any of his other books though.....
RANT:
honestly think that though On The Road is considered a "classic", "a great and inspirational tale of life and freedom", "truly magnificent!", I couldnt apply to my life any of the ideals and intentions/beliefs of Jack Kerouac's characters... it was a completely different time.
Not necessarily in this order:
ALL of the Dark Tower books - Stephen King (almost time for DTVI- :D )
Bastard Out of Carolina - Dorothy Allison
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
Anthem - Ayn Rand
The Loved One - Evelyn Waugh
I could go on and on......
American Psycho is one of my favourites....he is completely empty on the inside. It makes me wonder why a character like that is so interesting.
American Psycho is a classic, in my opinion. Although very "tame" by comparison, you might also enjoy reading the Ripley series by Patricia Highsmith (if you haven't already). Tom Ripley is one of my favorite amoral characters in modern literature.
In that order:
1) The Stranger - Albert Camus
2) Lullaby - Chuck Palahniuk
3) Ausweitung der Kampfzone (don't know the English title, but it's his first novel) - Michel Houellebecq
4) Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk
5) One Discworld-Novel by Terry Pratchett
American Psycho is a classic, in my opinion. Although very "tame" by comparison, you might also enjoy reading the Ripley series by Patricia Highsmith (if you haven't already). Tom Ripley is one of my favorite amoral characters in modern literature.
Thanks for the recommendation. I love a good amoral character.
"The less one can do, the more one undertakes; the less one acts, the more one invents; each period of one's life brings new ideas to the fore, and satiety, far from dampening one's ardor, paves the way for even more baleful refinements"
-Marquis de Sade, Eugenie de Franval
allright....
no particular order
fight club -chucky p
Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
Good Omens - Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
these were all just good reads pretty much, and that last one was written by two great authors. BONUS
Feel like dredging this one up again: In no order of preference: Brighton Rock - Graham Greene Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Doug adams Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov Money -Martin Amis Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut OK, so that's six. But I had trouble skimming it down even that far.
Yeah, I read it. I like Phillip K. Dick's work a lot. He's the only sci fi author I read.
I didn't count the Hitchhikers Guides because of the shitty ending of the last book in the series. My advice to those who haven't read the HGTG series: "Skip the last book."
do androids dream of elctric sheep? more commaonly called blade runner is an essential read. indispensible. any of you all read it?
I have and I recommend other Dick as well. My favorite is Ubik. Hilarious, scary, true (allegorically).
Five Books:
Cat's Cradle--KV
The Abortion --Richard Brautigan
Ulysses
Babel--Patti Smith
Survivor
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Joined: 2003-04-28
From: Charlie's Angry Room