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wub wrote:Thinking about it, I don't believe I've ever read an Orwell book. Seen the films, never read the books. Feel like a bit of a heathen for that.

Opened this thread with the intention of mentioning Orwell, for real, 1984 is a top notch read and the fact it still wields relevance today makes for an even more intriguing read.

Got 'Trainspotting' for Xmas, it was amazing, definitely gonna read some more Irvine Welsh.

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

Ik read it while hitchhiking around Europe and sleeping in parks, it was great. Almost finished Dharma Bums which I think is perhaps even better, some passages in there just make me stop everything and sit in a field. (No but in a good way)

This is one of my favourite books ever, not particularly deep but so, so well written:

I started On The Road and got fed up with it about halfway through. I think its importance outweighs its quality. I will give it another go at some point though. I'm not going dismiss it that quickly.

Capote's remark about Kerouac made me chuckle.

"That's not writing, it's typing"

Terry Pratchett

Motorway to Roswell wrote:I started On The Road and got fed up with it about halfway through. I think its importance outweighs its quality. I will give it another go at some point though. I'm not going dismiss it that quickly.

Capote's remark about Kerouac made me chuckle.

"That's not writing, it's typing"

is this a reference to it being supposedly written in three weeks?

+1 on ishiguro. haven't read all of his work but the ones i've read are absolutely excellent. "a pale view of hills" is haunting. really big fan of tim o'brien, as well.

i just finished "norwegian wood" by murakami and it was good but i wasn't blown away...might check out some more of his stuff later, though. got a lot of reading to catch up on thanks to this thread, haha.

magma wrote:

lloydnoise wrote:Kurt Vonnegut is one of humanity's finest writers imo, Slaughterhouse 5 is a miracle of literature. He melts your mind in the best possible way. I urge all ninjas to check him out.

Somehow I've never got round to reading Slaughterhouse 5... but I *really* enjoyed "Slapstick or Lonesome No More!" the other year. It even changed the way I brush my teeth. Not many novels do that.

I've read Slaughterhouse 5, thought it was good but not necessarily great. Probably needs a re-read though.

I should probably include Sherri S Tepper in my list of great writers, although her more recent books haven't been as good. I haven't included my favourite author Stephen Baxter because while I really like his books, I think his writing could be better. Same again with Arther C Clarke (probably almost blasphemous for a SF reader).

volcanogeorge wrote:

Motorway to Roswell wrote:I started On The Road and got fed up with it about halfway through. I think its importance outweighs its quality. I will give it another go at some point though. I'm not going dismiss it that quickly.

Capote's remark about Kerouac made me chuckle.

"That's not writing, it's typing"

is this a reference to it being supposedly written in three weeks?

probably more to do with the style

noam wrote:

volcanogeorge wrote:

Motorway to Roswell wrote:I started On The Road and got fed up with it about halfway through. I think its importance outweighs its quality. I will give it another go at some point though. I'm not going dismiss it that quickly.

Capote's remark about Kerouac made me chuckle.

"That's not writing, it's typing"

is this a reference to it being supposedly written in three weeks?

probably more to do with the style

^

it's just saying he's a poor writer

bright maroon wrote:Lafcadio Hearn

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

basically japanese ghost story

Don't know many Authors (don't read much Fiction) so I'm not sure if this post makes me hugely uncool but, I recommend Steigg Larson's Millenium series, and any Jo Nesbo book.

See avatar ->
The Fall is probably my favourite book, ever. if you don't know it's Albert Camus

Hemingway obv.

Huxley obv.


Need to read more Vonnegut.

H.G Wells is also great for a bit of escapism; it's like Doctor Who but old and slighlty more intellectual.

Pre-World According to Garp John Irving is also very nice for subtle, intelligent wit. The Water Method Man is very underated IMO - it's basically WATG without everything that made that so shit.

I'm currently reading Empire Of The Sun by J.G Ballard and really enjoying it.

Motorway to Roswell wrote:Burroughs - Naked Lunch, the Nova Trilogy
Vonnegut - Cat's Cradle
Thompson - Fear & loathing in Las Vegas, Hell's Angels
Pynchon - Gravity's Rainbow (seriously, read this)
Hesse - Steppenwolf
Dostoyevsky - Notes from Underground

thought I should probably put a book or two i'd recommend for each

TheGambler - Dostoyevsky is the only one of his novels i've managed to finish

cos its so short

its brilliant though

Sergei Lukyanenko

muggle wrote: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.

I thought the ideas in the Phillip Pullman trilogy were really good when I read em. It was about 4 or 5 years ago though. One of the best books I've read was called "The Dice Man" by Luke Rhinehart.

Author wise pretty much everyones been named already for me. I dont read all that often! Love Bret Eaton Ellis, Orwell & Thompson!

magma wrote:

wub wrote:Thinking about it, I don't believe I've ever read an Orwell book. Seen the films, never read the books. Feel like a bit of a heathen for that.

I'm the same with Easton Ellis. It's a nightmare being a book fan in 2012, there's too much to read...

Orwell's definitely worth it, though. Animal Farm is pretty much short enough to do in an evening or afternoon in the park, too. I lent 1984 to my ex and never got it back.

I borrowed 1984 off my ex and never gave it back!


...are you my ex? :/

I've read everything Orwell's written and love it all, but Down and Out in Paris and London is the one for me.

Another name to throw out I don't think I've seen mentioned is Saul Bellow. Especially The Adventures of Augie March (one of his first) and Ravelstein (his last).

classy ninjas in this thread

a few that haven't been mentioned

DAVID FOSTER WALLACE
Borges
Nietzsche (Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a work of fiction)