Favorite books?

[Jillian McGrath]

I havent read a really good fiction book in a while. What are your favorites?

[jeff]

some random sci-fi/fantasy I picked up at the library

The Strange Adventures of Ranger Girl - Tim Pratt
Hylozoic - Rudy Rucker.

If I can remember some more I'll post it.

[Little Birds]

"The Story of the Eye"? Really!? I mean, it's a classic. But it is perverse. Like, seriously. I did my dissertation on Bataille. He was a little unstable.

Personally, I'm a Douglas Coupland fan. I think other people here will be too, from what I've seen. He writes personal stories about loneliness, beauty, love and zeigeist. Avoid jPod, though.

"A Scanner Darkly" By Phillip K Dick. I read it whenever I'm particularly sad. Usually I read it twice a year.

[Emma Jane Falconer]

Trying looking for biographies of Edith Nesbit (ie the writery menage a trois family) and Eric Gill (the abusive genius artist) and J.M. Barrie (Tom's fate was based on his adopted son's)

K. said:

I wish I had that kind of background when I read it! Is there any non-fiction you'd rec that would go hand in hand with The Children's Book?

Emma Jane Falconer said:

Knowing about the real people the characters in the Children's Book are based on definitely gave it an extra edge for me, I'd literally just read a biog of E. Nesbit when I was given the book, so my brain was already in that world.

K. said:

Emma Jane Falconer said:

The best book I read last year was the Children's Book by AS Byatt. I'm terrible at explaining book plots, so I'll leave you to google it, but it was on loads of end of year lists of books of the year.

I just finished reading this! It was good, but it felt like I was in the process of reading it forever. Right now I'm reading Impossible Motherhood, a memoir by Irene Vilar.

[Dr. Danny Swank]

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov is, quite simply, the greatest book that no one has ever heard of. And the story behind it is even better. Written by a famous Russian playwright during the unpleasant Stalin years, it was only available as samizdat for many, many moons. Nonetheless, it is absolutely hilarious and beautiful and brilliant, easily one the top five books of the twentieth century. Look for the translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. I've read three different English versions (I can't read Cyrillic. Sorry!!) and that one is by far the best.

I've read thousands of books. I average about 250 a year. The Master and Margarita is, hands down, the most wonderful book I have ever read. Do yourself a favor and check it out, post haste.

[zeraph dylan]

The Dream of Perpetual Motion (Dexter Palmer) - Out in March ...

I'm going to read Ursula K Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness soon...

[Stephanos]

yeah 250 books a year must be pretty tough going, there's only so long you can read before the words start swimming in front of your eyes!

I've really slacked off in terms of the number of books I read, now preferring the shorter nature of zines being one of those people who obsessively wants to finish the book if its really goo.

I love sci-fi, Pratchett and Robert Rankin especially.

I'll read anything really if its in my vicinity for long enough

Mulnix said:

^ How many hours a day do you read, Dr. Danny? I read maybe six books in a good month. I WISH I had the ability to read more.

I'm in the middle of a Richard Price obsession right now...I've finished The Wanderers, Clockers, and Ladies Man. Next up: Bloodbrothers and The Breaks.

[Dr. Danny Swank]

A book a day keeps the doctor away, unless that doctor happens to be an optometrist.

Seriously, the reason I love zines is because they offer a look into the lives of others, but those tiny glimpses pale in comparison to a good history book or a well-developed novel. Don't get me wrong, the speed and fury of the self-published work certainly has significant merit (a lot of ancient texts were written that way), but I also like to read things that people spend a LONG time dwelling on and perfecting. It raises the bar for my own stilted prose and stimulates thought. Isn't that what we're all looking for? Intellectual stimulation?

But to answer your question, I always try to have a book on hand and can usually get a good four to six hours of reading into a given day. Spare time is everywhere. I wish I could read more. It's been said that even the most devout enthusiast can rarely breach 6,000 books in a lifetime, and that makes me sad. There's so much I want to know, experience vicariously when not living life outright, and so little time!!

Oh well. Like Dirty Harry said, "a man's gotta know his limitations."

For a good time, try these folks on for size:

Charles Willeford
Gore Vidal
Daniel P. Mannix
Jason Starr
David Goodis
Donald E. Westlake
(and of course) Mikhail Bulgakov

And check out:

The Monkeywrench Gang by Edward Abbey
You Can't Win by Jack Black (not the currently hilarious Jack Black)
Zodiac by Neal Stephensen

And if anyone wants to read some kickass historical stuff, drop me a line. Rabelais, Voltaire, Montaigne, Catullus, Lucius Appelais and Diogenes the Cynic are your friends. Hooray!!

[ManDuh]

The Big Book of Grimm...awesome graphic novel of a bunch of Grimm brothers' fairy tales. Push by Sapphire is a really engaging and well written book (I can't bring myself to call it "good" given what it's about). I think Stephen King's short story collections are really underrated. I actually like him better as a short story writer than a novel writer. Night Watch is my favorite short story collection of his. I like Richelle Mead's Succubus series too. Kind of chick lit-y, but with demonic creatures.

[Mony Nunez]

confessions of a crap artist by philip dick, on the road by jack kerouac, and women by charles bukowski.
i have many others, but i guess these are the top three, that i can always read again =D

[Mony Nunez]

yeah, it was published in like 1975. but i think it was written earlier.=D this is actually the only pkd book ive ever read, its amazing, and id love toread others!!

E.T. zine distro said:

ohh wow i love P.k.d but i havent read that one... that was a really early one???

Monika Nunez said:

confessions of a crap artist by philip dick, on the road by jack kerouac, and women by charles bukowski.
i have many others, but i guess these are the top three, that i can always read again =D

[Mony Nunez]

sweet! well, ill be hitting up the library sooon for some more reads.;]

E.T. zine distro said:

here's all the p.k.d. i've read: Voices from the Street, The Man in the High Castle, Flow My Tears The Policeman Said, A Scanner Darkly, Radio Free Albemuth, The Transmigration of Timothy Archer. i love p.k.d. i love his characters they're always awesome. love angel archer she's awesome.

Monika Nunez said:

yeah, it was published in like 1975. but i think it was written earlier.=D this is actually the only pkd book ive ever read, its amazing, and id love toread others!!

E.T. zine distro said:

ohh wow i love P.k.d but i havent read that one... that was a really early one???

Monika Nunez said:

confessions of a crap artist by philip dick, on the road by jack kerouac, and women by charles bukowski.
i have many others, but i guess these are the top three, that i can always read again =D

[Turps Magazine]

just read one flew over the cuckoos nest. unreal! well worth the read.