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The Quiet One
Prog Reviewer
Joined: January 16 2008
Location: Argentina
Status: Offline
Points: 15745
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Posted: October 29 2011 at 00:00 |
May I suggest The Rotters' Club by Jonathan Coe?
For me it's a great combination of a great time and place (late 70s, England), variety of stories within the novel, and social/political criticism.
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Apsalar
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 06 2006
Location: gansu
Status: Offline
Points: 2888
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Posted: October 29 2011 at 00:05 |
The two books that standout (for me) are One Hundred Years of Solitude & Pale Fire. I'd be inclined to read Pinn (by Nabokov) next over The Defense, FWIW.
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MoodyRush
Forum Senior Member
Joined: March 04 2011
Location: Here Be Llamas
Status: Offline
Points: 383
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Posted: October 29 2011 at 01:34 |
I haven't read any of the options, though I have heard and probably should read a bunch of them. One of my personal favorite books is East of Eden by Steinbeck. That book touches a nerve in me.
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Follow me down to the valley below.
Moonlight is bleeding from out of your soul.
-Lazarus
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Alitare
Forum Senior Member
Joined: March 08 2008
Location: New York
Status: Offline
Points: 3595
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Posted: October 29 2011 at 06:49 |
The Doctor wrote:
Read the latest Star Trek novel, or howzabout a good mystery or thriller novel? If you want classics, toss in some Asimov or Clarke. Or some Christie. something entertaining.
Your list sounds like a good cure for insomnia.
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I can't tell if this is sarcastic or not. I don't really like mysteries or thrillers unless the element is also added into a grand mixture of other, more heart-breaking/thought-provoking ideas.
I'm afraid to read any Arthur C. Clarke because of Rendezvous with Rama, one of the most boring and dramatically-bereft books I've ever had the displeasure of reading. I know he had his hand in 2001 and all that, but Rendezvous with Rama hurt my soul. It really did.
And on the mentioning of Asimov - I really liked I, Robot. I thought it was great, but then I read Foundation. Why would I need foundation when I have the Dune series? Dune took the concepts and drove them to their extreme, nearly dystopic conclusions. It had deep religious, political, psychological, genetic, and sociological overtones, all while telling a rather brutal, open-minded family-tree story warped with its head upside-down. In comparison, Foundation just seems like 'another neat-o sci-fi adventure'.
Plus I tried reading The Gods, Themselves, and got a little sick-headed. But hey, like I said, I'm pretty picky. It's not that I always cater to 'classics', but I'm not into horrors or thrillers, action-packed westerns or zombies or monsters. I could care less about romance novels. I like psychological terror like a few Poe short stories (before he got wrapped up in silly tales about sea-storms and hound-of-baskervilles-styled gorilla murder mysteries and long-winded descriptions).
To kinda show where I'm coming from, I hate the hell out of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Of course it's a mystical, deranged, grisly tale about not reading a book by its cover. But once you think about it, considering the book isn't a horror at all, then people have been judging it erroneously by its cover for ages. Hated the writing style, couldn't stand the simplicity of the plot, really would've liked it if it'd been forty pages long. And that's a 'classic'. Hey, I hate Atlas Shrugged, too. Love Anthem, though. I suppose it's all in what I'm looking for in literature. I chiefly desire books that will rip my heart to shreds and force my mind into deep bouts of contemplation, all without spending hundreds of pages describing the weather or an oaken desk.
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Epignosis
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: December 30 2007
Location: Raeford, NC
Status: Offline
Points: 32550
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Posted: October 29 2011 at 07:45 |
Oh without hesitation House of Sand and Fog. A contemporary literary masterpiece exploring the clash of the "victim of circumstance" American mindset and the industrious, "will do anything to maintain my family's honor" of the Middle East. A harrowing good read.
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Epignosis
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: December 30 2007
Location: Raeford, NC
Status: Offline
Points: 32550
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Posted: October 29 2011 at 07:46 |
The Defense was good too, although I must confess not remembering much of it- that was years ago.
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AtomicCrimsonRush
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: July 02 2008
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 14258
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Posted: October 29 2011 at 08:47 |
Jude is fantastic classic
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harmonium.ro
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
Joined: August 18 2008
Location: Anna Calvi
Status: Offline
Points: 22989
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Posted: October 29 2011 at 09:38 |
American Pastoral - I haven't read it, but I can't wait to get it, after I read Portnoy's Complaint. Definitely the most exciting book for me, from this list.
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refugee
Forum Senior Member
VIP Member
Joined: November 20 2006
Location: Greece
Status: Offline
Points: 7026
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Posted: October 29 2011 at 16:07 |
Too many books I haven’t read here. Still, Marquez‘ book is fabublous. You have to read it, so why not now?
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He say nothing is quite what it seems;
I say nothing is nothing
(Peter Hammill)
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harmonium.ro
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
Joined: August 18 2008
Location: Anna Calvi
Status: Offline
Points: 22989
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Posted: October 29 2011 at 16:08 |
Oh, I didn't notice Marquez. Should have got my vote.
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refugee
Forum Senior Member
VIP Member
Joined: November 20 2006
Location: Greece
Status: Offline
Points: 7026
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Posted: October 29 2011 at 16:38 |
^ Done!
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He say nothing is quite what it seems;
I say nothing is nothing
(Peter Hammill)
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Alitare
Forum Senior Member
Joined: March 08 2008
Location: New York
Status: Offline
Points: 3595
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Posted: October 30 2011 at 14:52 |
Thanks for the recommendations, everyone. Because it most appealed to me (and because I forgot to bring anythign else to work with me), I started The Gospel According to Jesus Christ, but then it'll probably be Sand and Fog when my girlfriend finishes it. I dunno.
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fuyuakiworld
Forum Newbie
Joined: December 10 2011
Location: Alderaan
Status: Offline
Points: 27
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Posted: December 29 2011 at 01:18 |
Anything by JD Salinger
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