Fifth of the series. My dad shipped them all to me and now wants me to send off to my sister in law. Oh, and he hasn't read them yet himself. That guy will read them in a week. Freak.
Fifth of the series. My dad shipped them all to me and now wants me to send off to my sister in law. Oh, and he hasn't read them yet himself. That guy will read them in a week. Freak.
(not in hardcover, though)
Post "American Psycho" I looked at my bookshelf to figure out what to read next. I fancied something a bit more uplifting.
On the to-read pile is a pile of Iain Banks; The Trial *and* the Castle; The Outsider (Camus); some Ballard…
I've settled for a non-fiction book instead.
I just started "Psychic Confusion: The Sonic Youth Story". I'm only a few chapters in, but the history of the no-wave bands in there is amazing. Listening to a few examples on YouTube shows where old Sonic Youth took a lot of inspiration from.
I just started a collection of H.P. Lovecraft. So far so good.
wow, some nasty, grim (and awesome) pile you've gathered yourself there... i'm not surprised you're chosen something different to read, especially since you've just finished american psycho, but when you feel like you're again ready to explore some dark corners of your mind:
i'm pretty sure you've got the wasp factory in your pile - 'cause that's the book by banks that majority of his readers would recommend, but hopefully "walking on glass" is also on the list - i highly recommend it - it's 3 stories that seem to be separate but in the end interwine in such an amazing way it just blows your mind...
throw "and the ass saw the angel" on top of your pile and you're set to go.
into the abyss, hehe
p.s. so, what non-fiction did you choose?
Nothing like reading about the history of QFT to make me seriously want to study QFT.. If you like pop-sci books about quantum physics, this is a good one.
Thanks, I've read the wasp factory but not walking on glass so I'll double check for that one (tbh I've forgotten exactly which banks are on my unread pile!)
"the tiger that isn't", about stats. It's really good, but most of the examples are about gaming hospital targets.p.s. so, what non-fiction did you choose?
I also really liked Iain Banks' The Bridge, about a guy in a coma. Gearing up to read my first SF book by him, Consider Phlebas.
i should give it a try then, thx!
Apropos my own selection and also the previous mention of Kafka as being among "nasty, grim" content, here's David Foster Wallace talking about Kafka's humor—on "deeper alchemy by which Kafka's comedy is always also tragedy, and this tragedy always also an immense and reverent joy."
(9:28)
You can also read the same in Harper's, via .pdf: http://harpers.org/media/pdf/dfw/Har...07-0059612.pdf
Disappointing. Essentially Salman Rushdie lite.
Can anyone recommend me some good post-apocalyptic fiction/sci fi?
Stretching the definition a bit but the day of the triffids by John Wyndham, also "the crysalids" by him (which might be his best book). "on the beach" Nevil chute is highly regarded but I haven't read it; a canticle for lebowitz is good; I am legend;the wild shore by kim Stanley Robinson is a personal favourite.
I'm sure I've read a load more but I struggle to remember them. Lots of short sf in particular one about sysadmins by Cory Doctorow; mid career pkd; galactic north by Alastair reynolds (more like post galactic than apocalyptic)
Oh! Oryx and crake by Atwood and the drowned world by Ballard.
Excellent, I've read some of those, but not all. TO THE BOOK DEPOSITORY!
Re-reading some stuff I haven't seen since high school (read: a long time)-
And
Surely this is the best of all possible worlds!
I liked it too a funny account of immigrant families living in the UK, never heard it compared to Salman Rusdie before!!
Just finished Letters to a Young Contrarian, thought it was a pretty decent read.
Just finished up A Dance with Dragons last night, so back to A Brief History of Time.
Just finished this. After the brisk ride that was the first volume of Hunger Games, I found this quite slow, dense, and even boring in places, but it kept me engaged and interested nonetheless: the occasional flash of intensity and the trippy ending somewhat redeemed its drawn-out and claustrophobic tendencies.
I read and enjoyed this many years ago, but on a naive level. Check out this excellent critical essay of the morality buried within the tale: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~tenshi/Killer_000.htm
im reading the wind from nowhere by English author J. G. Ballard. It is with scenarios of 'natural disaster', in this case seeing civilization reduced to ruins by prolonged worldwide hurricane force winds.
Currently reading:
Ambivalent about Updike: he is a great stylist, but also infuriatingly long-winded.