[obobskivich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fraseyboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Personally, I'm a big fan of over the top fantasy islands

see, I can either do like "total immersion", like proper science fiction (Shelly, Asimov, Bradbury, etc) or total fantasy immersion (Harry Potter, Star Wars, OSC, etc), but the whole "magical realism" subgenre (talking animals and people think its normal, etc) just makes me

but hey, to each his own

still don't like the anti-communist overtones (thats my bigger issue, like, if it was just some animals taking over and going all Fight Club about it (you know, the rise of the working class, equal rights, etc), I'd be fine with it, but the whole "communism is the devil" thing (yes I realize the age and whatnot), just can't get into that (I also don't like Orwell in general (1984 is a very well written book, I respect his ability, and so-on, I just hated the book (for content))

wonder if we should be discussing the authors/books in this thread?

 

[subjekt32]

I'm not even going to bother listing many of the classics... they are just too obvious!

Michael Chricton - Just about anything he has written.
Dan Brown - "Angels and Demons" is a must.
Albert Camus - If you like to get philosophical, read "The Rebel"
Augusten Burroughs - his works give me a good laugh. "Running with Scissors" was enjoyable.

And my absolute favorite contemporary work (drum roll please): "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger. Too good to put into words. I could read it 1000 times over and never lose interest.

 

[Marados]

Quote:

Originally Posted by obobskivich /img/forum/go_quote.gif Neal Stephenson wrote Snowcrash, correct?

Yessir. It's a fantastic book, too. Great if you're into the cyberpunk genre.

 

[Anouk]

in no particular order and erm this turned into a a bit more then a top five:
fantasy j.k. rowling harry potter, robin hobb everything with fitz/the fool in it
classics charles dickens oliver twist, George orwell 1984, francess burnett secret garden, ken kesey one flew over the cuckoos nest
war: leon uris exodus (I first got to know this through the dutch radiodrama version), leo tolstoy war and peace
childrens authors: roald dahl, all his stories for adults, robert cormier all fall down This really had an impact on me when i went to high school

thriller/horror jeffrey deaver the bone collector thomas harris silence of the lambs, stephen king it (also the movie), dean koontz demon seed (also the movie)
history/historic theme edith pargeter aka elis peters heaven tree trilogy leon garfield black jack
police/detective/thriller karin slaughter her grant county novels, tess gerritsen all books with Jane risolli
scifi/cyberpunk william gibson neuromancer, douglas adams hitch-hikers guide (also the radio drama) isaac asimov and all works based on his works robert heinlein friday
and some dutch authors which i wont list here.
Greetings, Anouk,

 

[smrtby123]

Quote:

Originally Posted by obobskivich /img/forum/go_quote.gif I still don't like the anti-communist overtones (thats my bigger issue, like, if it was just some animals taking over and going all Fight Club about it (you know, the rise of the working class, equal rights, etc), I'd be fine with it, but the whole "communism is the devil" thing (yes I realize the age and whatnot), just can't get into that (I also don't like Orwell in general (1984 is a very well written book, I respect his ability, and so-on, I just hated the book (for content))

The few Ian Flemings Bond books I have are crazy compared to the movies. The books are awesome but every villian is part of SMERSH, even Goldfinger ends up being a SMERSH agent so the Russians are the evil is all there. The books were fantastic, though.

Is there a book-fi thread yet? I love to read all the books I collect, but I really only like to collect as old a book as possible. The cream of the crop so far:

[Year Version Published]
[1896]Uncle Toms Cabin (Has an Xmas note from a mom to a daughter signed 1896)
[1912]Point/Counterpoint
[1906]Origin of Species
[1908]Crime and Punishment

there is a lot more.

 

[milkweg]

Herman Hesse - Steppenwolf
Dostoevsky - Crime and Punishment
Albert Camus - The Outsider
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Ernest Hemingway - The Sun Also Rises

 

[earwicker7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif James Joyce (Dubliners)

Have you read any of Joyce's other stuff? If not, Dubliners is just a hint of what Joyce had up his sleeve.

 

[limpidglitch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by obobskivich /img/forum/go_quote.gif still don't like the anti-communist overtones (thats my bigger issue, like, if it was just some animals taking over and going all Fight Club about it (you know, the rise of the working class, equal rights, etc), I'd be fine with it, but the whole "communism is the devil" thing (yes I realize the age and whatnot), just can't get into that (I also don't like Orwell in general (1984 is a very well written book, I respect his ability, and so-on, I just hated the book (for content))

I didn't find animal farm to be anti-communistic, as much as anti-totalitarian.
The same goes for 1984, here the enemy is a centralised totalitarian ruler.
It makes sense too, because orwell was red to the bone, but more in a socialist/syndicalist way.

 

[rogue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marados /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just a correction, Neuromancer was actually written by William Gibson (who is, along with Stephenson, awesome).

Doh! Yeah, you're correct - not sure why I got them mixed up.

I very much enjoyed Stephenson's Snow Crash and Diamond Age, and was able to plow through Cryptonomicon although it was a bit slower at times that I hoped. I couldn't even finish the first book of the Baroque cycle - the setting and multiple plotlines never really held my interest, and Stephenson seems to be getting wordier with every book (not a good thing in my view).

 

[mark_h]

Orwell's

In Defence of English Cooking
&
A Nice Cup of Tea

 

[limpidglitch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark_h /img/forum/go_quote.gif Orwell's In Defence of English Cooking & A Nice Cup of Tea

Good tips, I'll check those out.
I've read Douglas Adams' essay about how to make a nice cup of tea,
it was highly educational.

Edit: good reads, and to read it for free is an extra bonus

In defence of english cooking
Craving for yorkshire pudding, ham, apple sauce, 'tatoes and gravy now.

A nice cup of tea
I wholeheartedly agree with everything he says here, except nr9 and nr10.
Firstly I always use full fat milk, and secondly, I'm of the milk-first school.

Douglas Adams' instruction on how to make tea

 

[jonathanjong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Signal2Noise /img/forum/go_quote.gif "Of all time"? Well, time hasn't ended yet but I'll play along anyway...

Meh, if you hold to a block theory of time....

 

[obobskivich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smrtby123 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The few Ian Flemings Bond books I have are crazy compared to the movies. The books are awesome but every villian is part of SMERSH, even Goldfinger ends up being a SMERSH agent so the Russians are the evil is all there. The books were fantastic, though.

yeah.....

thats my "issue" with the Fleming novels, and where I do like the movies taking creative licence, they get him away from SMERSH/SPECTRE eventually (and I positively HATE the "new" direction, The Transporter was good, and if I wanted to see more, it has a sequel

)

about the Orwell comment:its seemingly anti-communist and anti-totalitarian (on animal farm, I agree 110% with 1984's analysis, I just didn't "get into" the book *shrug*), kind of says "communism will lead to totalitarianism" or a similar line, just really didn't like it that much (I just don't "get" Orwell I guess

)

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonathanjong Meh, if you hold to a block theory of time...

you started a thread wherein we've debated literature, communism/socialism, the english language, AND NOW physics

my hat is off to you sir!

 

[myinitialsaredac]

George Orwell - 1984
Ayn Rand - The Fountainhead
Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist
William Golding - Lord of the Flies
Samuel Clemens - Huck Finn

 

[gjg]

No love here for Ayn Rand? Only one mention? Give "Atlas Shrugged" a read, it has a great message from the past the can be readily applicable today...

gg