Great Writers

[Snaps]

Non fiction:

Anything by Robert Anton Wilson
Paul Pearsall (The hearts code)
David Edwards (Free to be human)
Derrick Jensen (Both Endgames)

[arktrix45hz]

Anyone mentioned Henry Miller yet? If not, him.

[bright maroon]

i have a japanese film of the same name on DVD is it the same thing??
basically japanese ghost story

Kwaidan the movie is a selection from the book - three stories maybe...it's been awhile

But yes...

Hearn recorded as many Japanes Folk Tales as he could - over a number of titles..

[nousd]

MtR: Capote's remark about Kerouac made me chuckle.
"That's not writing, it's typing"
His reaction to the beats' use of unedited stream of consciousness a la Bukowski, Ginsberg.

Agree with you about Herman Hesse's Steppenwolf tho I value more his Siddharta, a jewell of lucid writing.
I'll add Aldous Huxley, particularly writing as an essayist e.g. The Doors of Perception

[Soiree]

Guitar Army by John Sinclare is a wicked read.

[muggle]

james kelman, alasdair gray, carson mccullers

Some good advice, here. I've just read The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by McCullers and it's amazing. Alasdair Gray is strongly recommended to anyone who likes Vonnegut - kind of similar in tone if a bit heavier. James Kelman just makes most over writing feel like literary masturbation - I'd strongly recommend An Old Pub Near the Angel as an intro.

And from reading an interview with Kelman I found out about Tillie Olsen who is incredible.

raymond carver is the daddy of this - highly recommend his short stories. an author i found after reading an interview with kelman is agnes owens, again very much recommended.

those who are suggesting larsson, nesbo, etc. (even conan-doyle) should definitely read raymond chandler - the man's a genius

Some of my favourites are Huxley, Orwell, Dostoyevsky and Joseph Heller.

Surprised nobody has said Jack Kerouac yet, "On the Road" is a book I think everyone should read at least once in their lifetime.

read on the road twice and was underwhelmed both times... 'the subterraneans' i enjoyed much more

Really? I'm a big fan of it, I re-read it every few months.

i've read it about four times now, for pleasure, for my degree (twice) and then for a review, every time it has struck me as a bit tepid and i can't put my finger on why. one of the reasons i've come to be suspicious of it is pretentious gap-yah types who bang on about it as if it's some kind of travellers' bible. i tend to agree with the capote quote a few pages back - i don't enjoy the craft of the novel, and while that may be part of the point, there's far, far better beat literature than it - naked lunch, the subterraneans, big sur, queer, howl

[butter_man]

just a few
audrey niffenegger : time travellers wife
Balzac : Cousin bette
shadow of the winds a pretty good book too.
red london n all bit crass and ruff but good read.

[tyger]

william blake

faulkner
dostoyevsky

orwell is always great ... i can't have read all of it; there are lots of essays, etc ... but 1984 is *the* book ... the 1954 TV version is worth looking out, too.

not so keen on conan doyle ... the character sherlock holmes is mostly derived from the character C. Auguste Dupin, who appears in about 3 short stories by edgar allan poe; all the key themes are already there in those stories.

[Devry_Kaneda]

First delillo book I've read. Definitely not the last. Plenty of good criticism on consumer/suburban/intellectual-isms.

The protagonist is a professor of Hitler studies in middle America who is on his third wife. All you need to know.

[James Kofi]

me

I fucking hate reading.

[um4mi]

I still rate Katherine Dunn quite highly.
But I`ve only read Geek Love which is amazing

Geek love is awesome! So good..

Has anyone read Anathem by Neal Stephenson? It might be my favorite book of all time even though it just came out a few years ago..

[um4mi]

Anything by Robert Anton Wilson

[James Kofi]

these and the tintin books I like

[HamCrescendo]

So I'm reading "The Fall" by Camus atm, its fuckin brilliant and not too long either. I've got "the rebel" by him lined up for a reading after that but thats more of an essay.

I'm looking for vaguely philosophical novels that arent too dense (I've had zarathustra for about 4 years and doubt ill ever get into it)

[Motorway to Roswell]

So I'm reading "The Fall" by Camus atm, its fuckin brilliant and not too long either. I've got "the rebel" by him lined up for a reading after that but thats more of an essay.

I'm looking for vaguely philosophical novels that arent too dense (I've had zarathustra for about 4 years and doubt ill ever get into it)

Try Mount Analogue by Rene Daumal

[skwiggo]

Camus is great, read The Outsider (L'Etranger). I think thats his best work.

Not really a big reader but I like a lot of Swedish crime fiction at the moment. Henning Mankell's Wallander and Stieg Larsson's Millenium trilogy in particular. Want to read the Martin Beck novels next

[Devry_Kaneda]

Has anyone read Anathem by Neal Stephenson? It might be my favorite book of all time even though it just came out a few years ago..

ONe of my favorites too. Lent it to some bitch. Never got it back

[JBoy]

Phillip k dick
J.G ballard
Cormac mcarthy
Anne rice

[wahahrw]

J.D. Salinger
John Steinbeck - cannary row
Ernest Hemingway - The Sun Also Rises and A Moveable Feast

[Naan_Bread]

So I'm reading "The Fall" by Camus atm, its fuckin brilliant and not too long either. I've got "the rebel" by him lined up for a reading after that but thats more of an essay.

I'm looking for vaguely philosophical novels that arent too dense (I've had zarathustra for about 4 years and doubt ill ever get into it)

As I said earlier The Fall is my favourite book. I have read The Stranger but think The Fall is better. The Stranger is definitely still worth reading.

So much insight into human nature in such a small book.

I'm so relieved I'm not the only ninja to mention Camus.