ITT: Your top 5-10 books
| spectacular slippery multi-billionaire twinkling uncleanness | 11/02/17 | | flesh dilemma | 11/02/17 | | wonderful temple | 11/02/17 | | Mewling transparent forum dopamine | 11/02/17 | | plum center goal in life | 11/03/17 | | mind-boggling preventive strike | 11/05/17 | | bearded provocative field | 11/02/17 | | flesh dilemma | 11/02/17 | | bearded provocative field | 11/02/17 | | Exhilarant Gas Station Karate | 11/02/17 | | Adventurous nursing home | 11/03/17 | | curious affirmative action party of the first part | 11/04/17 | | Dashing Lemon Station | 11/06/17 | | Swollen abode | 11/02/17 | | trip cruise ship legal warrant | 11/05/17 | | Purple Aphrodisiac Library Goyim | 11/06/17 | | Shivering smoky persian parlor | 11/02/17 | | spectacular slippery multi-billionaire twinkling uncleanness | 11/02/17 | | bearded provocative field | 11/02/17 | | Shivering smoky persian parlor | 11/02/17 | | bearded provocative field | 11/02/17 | | Shivering smoky persian parlor | 11/02/17 | | bearded provocative field | 11/02/17 | | spectacular slippery multi-billionaire twinkling uncleanness | 11/02/17 | | pearly appetizing famous landscape painting | 11/03/17 | | spectacular slippery multi-billionaire twinkling uncleanness | 11/03/17 | | Shivering smoky persian parlor | 11/02/17 | | Comical Tanning Salon Shitlib | 11/06/17 | | Swollen abode | 11/02/17 | | Irradiated Stage | 11/03/17 | | chocolate bat-shit-crazy menage dysfunction | 11/06/17 | | wonderful temple | 11/02/17 | | Shivering smoky persian parlor | 11/02/17 | | wonderful temple | 11/02/17 | | boyish organic girlfriend potus | 11/02/17 | | razzmatazz sinister university | 11/02/17 | | wonderful temple | 11/02/17 | | razzmatazz sinister university | 11/02/17 | | vengeful corn cake state | 11/02/17 | | wonderful temple | 11/02/17 | | spectacular slippery multi-billionaire twinkling uncleanness | 11/03/17 | | wonderful temple | 11/03/17 | | Lilac Multi-colored Kitty School | 11/03/17 | | mind-boggling preventive strike | 11/05/17 | | razzmatazz sinister university | 11/02/17 | | spectacular slippery multi-billionaire twinkling uncleanness | 11/03/17 | | odious pozpig space | 11/05/17 | | Swollen abode | 11/02/17 | | wonderful temple | 11/02/17 | | Swollen abode | 11/02/17 | | Confused drunken alpha | 11/02/17 | | Swollen abode | 11/02/17 | | Swollen abode | 11/02/17 | | vengeful corn cake state | 11/02/17 | | Swollen abode | 11/02/17 | | vengeful corn cake state | 11/02/17 | | Swollen abode | 11/02/17 | | vengeful corn cake state | 11/02/17 | | hairraiser patrolman jap | 11/03/17 | | Swollen abode | 11/03/17 | | spectacular slippery multi-billionaire twinkling uncleanness | 11/03/17 | | Swollen abode | 11/03/17 | | spectacular slippery multi-billionaire twinkling uncleanness | 11/03/17 | | Swollen abode | 11/03/17 | | spectacular slippery multi-billionaire twinkling uncleanness | 11/03/17 | | Bateful Slap-happy Rehab | 11/02/17 | | Poppy Racy Round Eye School Cafeteria | 11/02/17 | | spectacular slippery multi-billionaire twinkling uncleanness | 11/03/17 | | Electric thirsty orchestra pit | 11/02/17 | | wonderful temple | 11/03/17 | | Lilac Multi-colored Kitty School | 11/03/17 | | unholy irate genital piercing | 11/03/17 | | Vibrant infuriating kitchen | 11/03/17 | | unholy irate genital piercing | 11/03/17 | | gold cracking voyeur theatre | 11/04/17 | | spectacular slippery multi-billionaire twinkling uncleanness | 11/03/17 | | turquoise hairless digit ratio business firm | 11/03/17 | | spectacular slippery multi-billionaire twinkling uncleanness | 11/03/17 | | galvanic foreskin institution | 11/03/17 | | turquoise hairless digit ratio business firm | 11/03/17 | | galvanic foreskin institution | 11/03/17 | | unholy irate genital piercing | 11/03/17 | | turquoise hairless digit ratio business firm | 11/03/17 | | Crawly aromatic death wish | 11/15/17 | | iridescent heady crackhouse | 11/03/17 | | dark outnumbered shrine | 11/03/17 | | spectacular slippery multi-billionaire twinkling uncleanness | 11/03/17 | | Pea-brained Misanthropic Ticket Booth Gay Wizard | 11/03/17 | | Disgusting exciting hairy legs | 11/03/17 | | dark outnumbered shrine | 11/03/17 | | Disgusting exciting hairy legs | 11/06/17 | | dark outnumbered shrine | 11/06/17 | | Disgusting exciting hairy legs | 11/06/17 | | Disgusting exciting hairy legs | 11/08/17 | | massive concupiscible property | 11/03/17 | | vivacious bat shit crazy pocket flask halford | 11/03/17 | | spectacular slippery multi-billionaire twinkling uncleanness | 11/03/17 | | Bistre heaven brethren | 11/04/17 | | vivacious bat shit crazy pocket flask halford | 11/05/17 | | idiotic alcoholic factory reset button place of business | 11/05/17 | | Nudist stimulating faggot firefighter ape | 11/03/17 | | Rose offensive trailer park sandwich | 11/04/17 | | Nudist stimulating faggot firefighter ape | 11/04/17 | | massive concupiscible property | 11/03/17 | | spectacular slippery multi-billionaire twinkling uncleanness | 11/03/17 | | Nudist stimulating faggot firefighter ape | 11/04/17 | | unholy irate genital piercing | 11/05/17 | | Bull headed mediation | 11/06/17 | | spectacular slippery multi-billionaire twinkling uncleanness | 11/15/17 | | pearly appetizing famous landscape painting | 11/04/17 | | Swollen abode | 11/04/17 | | pearly appetizing famous landscape painting | 11/04/17 | | Swollen abode | 11/04/17 | | pearly appetizing famous landscape painting | 11/04/17 | | Swollen abode | 11/04/17 | | pearly appetizing famous landscape painting | 11/04/17 | | Floppy Plaza | 11/05/17 | | pearly appetizing famous landscape painting | 11/04/17 | | Swollen abode | 11/04/17 | | pearly appetizing famous landscape painting | 11/04/17 | | Swollen abode | 11/04/17 | | Bistre heaven brethren | 11/04/17 | | citrine boiling water | 11/05/17 | | Mewling transparent forum dopamine | 11/05/17 | | idiotic alcoholic factory reset button place of business | 11/05/17 | | Bistre heaven brethren | 11/05/17 | | Mewling transparent forum dopamine | 11/05/17 | | citrine boiling water | 11/08/17 | | vivacious bat shit crazy pocket flask halford | 11/05/17 | | Bistre heaven brethren | 11/05/17 | | buff prole | 11/04/17 | | pearly appetizing famous landscape painting | 11/04/17 | | Swollen abode | 11/04/17 | | citrine boiling water | 11/05/17 | | spruce public bath knife | 11/05/17 | | Bateful Slap-happy Rehab | 11/05/17 | | ocher maniacal lodge | 11/05/17 | | mind-boggling preventive strike | 11/05/17 | | ocher maniacal lodge | 11/05/17 | | Nofapping mauve selfie therapy | 11/05/17 | | Diverse community account range | 11/05/17 | | idiotic alcoholic factory reset button place of business | 11/05/17 | | Glittery macaca stead | 11/05/17 | | ocher maniacal lodge | 11/05/17 | | motley aqua theater stage | 11/05/17 | | pearly appetizing famous landscape painting | 11/05/17 | | unholy irate genital piercing | 11/06/17 | | Glittery macaca stead | 11/05/17 | | spectacular slippery multi-billionaire twinkling uncleanness | 11/06/17 | | big-titted home | 11/05/17 | | odious pozpig space | 11/05/17 | | pearly appetizing famous landscape painting | 11/05/17 | | odious pozpig space | 11/05/17 | | pearly appetizing famous landscape painting | 11/05/17 | | odious pozpig space | 11/05/17 | | crystalline 180 church building | 11/05/17 | | spectacular slippery multi-billionaire twinkling uncleanness | 11/06/17 | | Marvelous sooty ceo | 11/06/17 | | Swollen abode | 11/06/17 | | Marvelous sooty ceo | 11/06/17 | | Swollen abode | 11/06/17 | | Swashbuckling stag film | 11/06/17 | | razzle personal credit line | 11/06/17 | | Swashbuckling stag film | 11/06/17 | | razzle personal credit line | 11/06/17 | | Swashbuckling stag film | 11/06/17 | | excitant cheese-eating native | 11/06/17 | | dark outnumbered shrine | 11/06/17 | | razzle personal credit line | 11/06/17 | | dark outnumbered shrine | 11/06/17 | | razzle personal credit line | 11/06/17 | | Laughsome lay police squad | 11/06/17 | | Purple Aphrodisiac Library Goyim | 11/06/17 | | dark outnumbered shrine | 11/06/17 | | Purple Aphrodisiac Library Goyim | 11/08/17 | | Swashbuckling stag film | 11/06/17 | | Bull headed mediation | 11/06/17 | | brass old irish cottage son of senegal | 11/06/17 | | spectacular slippery multi-billionaire twinkling uncleanness | 11/08/17 | | Swashbuckling stag film | 11/06/17 | | arousing apoplectic theater | 11/06/17 | | metal fragrant blood rage | 11/06/17 | | spectacular slippery multi-billionaire twinkling uncleanness | 11/09/17 | | Bateful Slap-happy Rehab | 11/09/17 | | vigorous quadroon marketing idea | 11/06/17 | | Pink Stage Depressive | 11/06/17 | | Silver Beady-eyed Hospital People Who Are Hurt | 11/06/17 | | fantasy-prone supple ladyboy messiness | 11/08/17 | | unholy irate genital piercing | 11/08/17 | | dark outnumbered shrine | 11/08/17 | | fantasy-prone supple ladyboy messiness | 11/08/17 | | dark outnumbered shrine | 11/08/17 | | fantasy-prone supple ladyboy messiness | 11/08/17 | | dark outnumbered shrine | 11/08/17 | | fantasy-prone supple ladyboy messiness | 11/08/17 | | Big stubborn brunch azn | 11/08/17 | | Marvelous sooty ceo | 11/08/17 | | unholy irate genital piercing | 11/08/17 | | splenetic cyan set | 11/08/17 | | charcoal site | 11/08/17 | | peach passionate base rigor | 11/15/17 | | Blathering stirring national security agency friendly grandma | 11/15/17 | | unholy irate genital piercing | 11/15/17 | | spectacular slippery multi-billionaire twinkling uncleanness | 11/22/17 |
Poast new message in this thread
Date: November 2nd, 2017 1:44 AM Author: spectacular slippery multi-billionaire twinkling uncleanness
What books fit any or all of the following:
- Personal favorites
- Influential in your life
- Philosophically profound
- Highly compelling writing
Pick your top 5-10, please include explanation.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585541) |
Date: November 2nd, 2017 1:45 AM Author: flesh dilemma
Confederacy of Dunces
Master and Margarita
I'm very well read in Anglo-American, French, German, Russian, Greco-Roman literature, but I return to these two again and again. Magna opera of characterization, vivid portraits of their times and cultures, just funny.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585545) |
Date: November 2nd, 2017 1:52 AM Author: bearded provocative field
Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets
Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space (and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds)
Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants
Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman
Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 1: The Night of the Nasty Nostril Nuggets
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585569) |
Date: November 2nd, 2017 1:56 AM Author: Shivering smoky persian parlor
Feel like I've only read like 5 books in my life
In no particular order
Dune
Crime and punishment
Storm of swords
Prisoner of Azkaban or order of the phoenix
Jfc its worse than I've thought. Those/those series are the only books I've read since college, jfc
And actually, I read crime and punishment and Harry Potter in college. Loool
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585580) |
Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:43 AM Author: razzmatazz sinister university
Brave New World.
Ball Four.
White Fang
The call of the wild
Matterhorn.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585724) |
Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:57 AM Author: Swollen abode
This is all ad-hoc because I'm not big on top X lists for this sort of thing, but just for discussion's sake:
Lord of the World: Probably my favorite Christian novel. Very influential to my own life in that I experienced a surge of religious commitment after reading it. It helped me grapple with my feelings on trying to follow a worldview that seems perpetually in decline and more ignored/despised with each passing day.
A Canticle for Leibowitz: My favorite science fiction book, and it also doubles as an interesting religious work.
The Civil War, A Narrative: Probably the best work of narrative history I've read, and certainly the most epic. Not really a work of scholarship (no bibliography, for one) but a great read if you have the time for it.
The Campaigns of Napoleon: Fascinating analysis of the career and mind of one of the greatest soldiers in history.
Plays of Aristophanes (not a 'book' but w/e): My favorite classical writer.
Montaillou: Fascinating work of "micro-history," focused on the daily lives of Occitan peasants who were interviewed in exhaustive detail by the Papal Inquisition. I recommend this book on XO a lot.
Flash for Freedom!: The best and funniest Flashman book. Probably my favorite work of historical fiction (I, Claudius is a more conventional contender).
Christian Nation: This book has certainly provided me with more entertainment than any other.
Notably while I have read and enjoyed quite a few "Great Novels," none of them really stand out as books I look back on as personal favorites.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585768) |
Date: November 2nd, 2017 3:11 AM Author: Bateful Slap-happy Rehab
a confederacy of dunces
moby dick
the world as will and representation
elective affinities
naked lunch
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585800)
|
Date: November 2nd, 2017 4:39 AM Author: Poppy Racy Round Eye School Cafeteria
personal fave - The Prize (changed the way I see the world)
for writing - Lolita (a fucking ESL wrote that???)
for psychological aspect - Crime and Punishment
for the history and adventure story - Moby Dick (four fucking doods in a dinghy taking down a fucking whale?)
current events - 1984
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585888) |
Date: November 2nd, 2017 5:14 AM Author: Electric thirsty orchestra pit
American Psycho
LA confidential
Bhagavad Gita
Catch 22
English August
Untethered Soul - kind of basic but sometimes you forget the basics
Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia
Confederacy of the Dunces
Q clearance
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585911)
|
Date: November 3rd, 2017 6:26 AM Author: Lilac Multi-colored Kitty School
No particular order:
Hyperion (whole cantos) by Dan Simmons
Gridlinked by Neal Asher
Magician's nephew by Lewis (haven't read in years, but still)
Starfish by Watts
All my other top 10s are science fiction anthologies, either collections of Dick stories or best of 1980s
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34594207) |
Date: November 3rd, 2017 10:07 AM Author: unholy irate genital piercing
Brave New World was incredibly thought-provoking and insightful, and Huxley was frighteningly on-point in many ways. But it was a pretty dull, uninteresting story. Would never put it in my top books, but still glad I read it.
Infinite Jest
Confederacy of Dunces
Redwall
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Crime and Punishment
The Civil War: A Narrative (in progress)
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34594857) |
Date: November 3rd, 2017 10:15 AM Author: turquoise hairless digit ratio business firm
Alas, Babylon: I love post-apocalyptic stuff, this is one of the best examples of the genre from a literary POV. The Road is very good but that's not post-apocalyptic fiction, it's fiction set in a post-apocalyptic world.
Jurassic Park: Haven't read it since I was a kid, but I read it 6 times in a week the summer the movie came out.
Critique of Pure Reason: Obvious.
Sex and Character: Obvious (well maybe not but when you Google it you'll see it's a very XO book).
Gulag Archipelago: Obvious.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34594915)
|
Date: November 3rd, 2017 10:22 AM Author: galvanic foreskin institution
a list of a few of my favorites. note that these arent necessarily the best books ive ever read, just a few i liked a lot. this is a hard list for me to make, though, because ive read a lot of really entertaining but questionable shit (in terms of quality) throughout my life
house of leaves- i love everything about this book
american psycho- self explanatory
an instance of the fingerpost- my favorite historical novel
the mummy- probably my favorite anne rice novel. this isnt great literature but i find the story genuinely entertaining. i liked it a lot as a teenager; it has a lot of sentimental value for me
quincunx- when i read this book it absorbed me into its universe in a way i had never experienced when reading a novel. it was spellbinding. i loved it.
the season of passage- this is a weird book because its written by a successful YA author but is geared toward adults. its similar to the mummy for me in that i read it when i was young, really really loved it, and periodically read it every few years as an adult.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34594961)
|
Date: November 3rd, 2017 10:31 AM Author: iridescent heady crackhouse
Kant--Groundwork of the Metaphysics of the Morals
Kant--Perpetual Peace and other Political Writings
Eliot--Middlemarch
Herbert--The Fog
Bradbury--Something Wicked This Way Comes
Hayek--The Road to Serfdom
Dickens--David Copperfield
Ballard--Crash
Foucault--The Birth of Biopolitics (Lectures at the College de France 1978-79)
Selby--Last Exit to Brooklyn
Runners Up:
*Dickens--Our Mutual Friend
*Twain--The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
*Clover--Men, Women & Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film
*Sconce, ed.--Sleaze Artists
*Lacan--Seminar VII: The Ethics of Psychoanalysis
*Barker--The Books of Blood
*Ligotti--Teatro Grottesco
*Negrarestani--Cyclonopedia
*Ellis--American Psycho
*Portis--The Masters of Atlantis
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34595036) |
Date: November 3rd, 2017 11:49 AM Author: dark outnumbered shrine
London Fields (Amis)
Underworld (Delillo)
Remains of the Day (Ishiguro)
Herzog (Bellow)
Independence Day (Ford)
Atonement (McEwan)
Stories of John Cheever
The Counterlife (Roth)
Motherless Brooklyn (Lethem)
Sun Also Rises (Hemingway)
Hound of the Baskervilles (Conan Doyle)
Farwell, My Lovely (Chandler)
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34595725)
|
Date: November 3rd, 2017 11:57 AM Author: massive concupiscible property
The Blank Slate
Dying Every Day
The Swerve
The Moviegoer
The Right Stuff
The Master and Margarita
The Beginning of Infinity
Blindsight
Cryptonomicon
The Sleepwalkers
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34595778) |
Date: November 3rd, 2017 12:42 PM Author: vivacious bat shit crazy pocket flask halford
Thus Spoke Zarathustra
The Gay Science
Blood Meridian
The Sound and the Fury
The Brothers Karamazov
edit: others I've read recently and enjoyed:
A Portrait of the Artist
As I Lay Dying
V.
Either/Or
Wittgenstein's Tractatus
Parerga and Paralipomena
The Old Man and the Sea
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34596071) |
Date: November 3rd, 2017 1:42 PM Author: Nudist stimulating faggot firefighter ape
Great thread OP
I really like Fantasy books but trying to get more into non-fiction
The Lions of Al-Rassan (set in Spain during reconquista and el-cid)
Red Mars (great story on colonization of mars)
Confederacy of Dunces
Napoleon: a Life
Claudius the God (really enjoyed reading about his time as emperor)
Storm of Swords
The Blade Itself (just really good dark Fantasy. Main character is a torturer worming for the inquisition. 3 book series. Abercrombie is great)
Sailing to Sarantium!(set in constantinople during justinian’s reign. Theodora, Belisarius, precopius are all major characters. Painting of the mosaics on the Hagia Sophia and Ravenna, and gambling on chariot races,are major parts of the plot)
Only Yesterday (was cool to read a contemporary history of the 20s)
Infinite Jest (feel douchy listing this but I really liked it)
Blood Meridian
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34596546) |
Date: November 4th, 2017 12:45 PM Author: pearly appetizing famous landscape painting
I can't give top 5–10 all time, so I'll give some I read for the first time in the last year or so that really stood out that are (mostly) outside of my research interests:
- Nabokov, Lolita
I love Pale Fire and have read other Nabokov, but I hadn't read Lolita before, and well, there's a reason it lands on so many best novels lists. I don't want to spoil it for you, just read it.
- Graham Priest, One
Priest is best known for his defense of dialetheism, but he actually presses that theory into service here. It's a really open work of analytic philosophy that takes seriously Plato, Mahayana Buddhism, and Heidegger. I don't know how convinced I am, but I know I'll read this book every few years for a long time until I really digest it. It's short, and while it does contain some formal logic it isn't brutal about it, I promise.
- Thomas McEvilley, The Shape of Ancient Thought
This was a book where I had seen pieces of the argument in tons of places before, but had never seen them altogether and it was eye-opening. McEvilley talks about the likelihood and evidence of transmission between the intellectual cultures of East and West in the ancient world. Individual instances, like Heraclitus, will be known to people who are interested in this stuff, but McEvilley really gives context to a lot of disparate weird facts.
- Gene Wolfe, Book of the Long Sun
Book of the Long Sun might be more immediately crowd-pleasing than Book of the New Sun. It doesn't hide its central mysteries as much, and Silk is a charming protagonist compared to Severian. But it's still excellently crafted, imaginative and well, there's nothing else like Gene Wolfe. If you like SF/F at all and haven't read any Wolfe DO SO NOW.
- Adrian Goldsworthy, Caesar
There are, oddly, a lot of good books about Augustus from the past century, but not as many about Julius Caesar. Goldsworthy is a great narrative historian, and the subject here is perfectly suited for his talents.
- another thing
I've been reading all the Shakespeare plays I hadn't read before slowly over the past few years. Even the minor plays have amazing stuff in them, read Constance's sorrow for the lost Arthur in A3.S4 of King John:
Grief fills the room up of my absent child,
Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me,
Puts on his pretty looks, repeats his words,
Remembers me of all his gracious parts,
Stuffs out his vacant garments with his form;
Then, have I reason to be fond of grief?
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34602794) |
|
Date: November 4th, 2017 2:44 PM Author: pearly appetizing famous landscape painting
yeah, I didn't know u had a classics background— I felt like knowing Greek was a "hack" in BotNS after talking to other people about their first experience reading it
there's a bit in Castle of the Otter where he talks about the Book of Gold bit in BotNS, and how he hopes that with BotNS he was able to write a book that was at least the Book of Gold for one person— and that's how I felt about it. Reading it for the first time was like reading a book I had always wanted to read but never knew it.
I would honestly be shit @ keeping up with a book club right now, school means I read for pleasure more erratically (like I won't at all for a few weeks and then I'll suddenly read 4-5 books for fun in a couple weeks), but I'd be very happy to talk about BotNS or any other Wolfe I've read w/ ppl going through it.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34603387) |
Date: November 4th, 2017 2:27 PM Author: Bistre heaven brethren
Finnegan's Wake
On Being and Nothingness
Gravity's Rainbow
In Search of Lost Time
Philosophical Investigations
The Art of the Deal
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34603313) |
Date: November 5th, 2017 5:44 AM Author: citrine boiling water
Gravitys Rainbow
Snopes Triology
Recognitions
Moby Dick
Brave New World
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34607602) |
Date: November 5th, 2017 6:57 PM Author: spruce public bath knife
a bend in the river: beautiful writing about ugly subject matter
thus spake zarathrusta: a timely wake-up call for a backwards boy
caesar's gallic war journals: a haunting glimpse into the mind of another kind
on rhetoric by aristotle: his distilled writings on logic and poetics
the count of monte cristo: just damn fun reading
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34611363) |
Date: November 5th, 2017 7:05 PM Author: ocher maniacal lodge
Journey to the End of the Night
Brave New World
American Psycho
Devils/The Possessed
Notes from Underground
Death on the Installment Plan/Death on Credit
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34611428)
|
Date: November 5th, 2017 10:18 PM Author: Glittery macaca stead
I used to be obsessed with American psycho and read the book multiple times.
It's fucking godawful lmao. Listing it as a *favorite* book seems like an awful attempt to signal you're cool or some shit
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34613051) |
Date: November 5th, 2017 10:21 PM Author: big-titted home
Stoner
Farewell my Lovely
American Caesar
Dance Dance Dance
I can't think of a fifth
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34613080) |
Date: November 5th, 2017 10:23 PM Author: odious pozpig space
the best of the heinlein juveniles:
have space suit will travel
starman jones
tunnel in the sky
rocket ship galileo
citizen of the galaxy
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34613103) |
Date: November 5th, 2017 10:30 PM Author: crystalline 180 church building
1. American Sniper
2. The Mouse and the Motorcycle
3. Crime and Punishment
4. Casino Royale
5. How to win friends and influence people
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34613165) |
Date: November 6th, 2017 3:14 PM Author: Marvelous sooty ceo
1. Lord Of The Rings (Tolkien)
This is probably my favorite, every page is full of a lust for life and respect for goodness, while at the same time reading almost like a beautiful epic poem. It is also one of the few books that really inspires courage and yet doesn't make the heroes out to be anything more than regular types that could just as well be you. It is inspiring and makes you want to be a better person, and lets you know you can be.
2. Master and Commander (O'Brian)
This is about an Irish surgeon and an English ship's captain who become friends in the napoleonic era british navy. They get into a bunch of hijinks while fighting the french, sailing around, and dealing with british military bureaucracy. It is extremely well written with tons of historical references, poetry, etc. and is an epic saga about the bonds of brotherhood and friendships, especially amongst very different types of men. It is about relationships and marriage, and about how men deal with careers, war- everything really. This is the first book in a series and was a profound insight into the time period, but in itself is a top tier swashbuckling slice of life story with the most fleshed out characters that I have ever seen in literature.
3. Ender's Game (Scott Card)
This book shaped my views of conflict and violence growing up, what it means to achieve, disgust towards striving, etc. It deals with the question of how we can keep our humanity despite going through harrowing experiences, and how to find our inner strength and independence. Great science fiction tale- the very introspective protagonist makes for a good read. But it is not a very positive book if that is what you are looking for. It is gritty and realistic and addresses the devils in our nature.
4. Starship Troopers (Heinlein)
A sci-fi tale about a young upper class guy learning about duty and patriotism through his service in the space marines. It is a bit of a philosophical lecture by Heinlein wrapped in a story, but I felt it imparted a good deal of martial virtue in me that I had never reflected on before. It made me realize the significance of self-sacrifice and moral toughness and how they are needed to retain our society's vitality, and how these virtues are most needed at the top.
5. Whatever (Houellebecq)
A well written takedown of the modern sexual marketplace, set in the France of the 1980s/90s. Great characters, you will feel a lot of emotions reading this, not all positive ones. It is a critique of modernism and makes you ask while reading "Where did it all go so wrong?" Houellebecq was decades ahead of his time, and this novel will (and most agree now) go down as one of the best descriptions of post-modernist hell that is the life of the late 20th and early 21st century man.
6. A Wizard of Earthsea (LeGuin)
Similar to Tolkien in capturing the beauty of the natural world. Through the misadventures and hardships of a young wizard, LeGuin teaches us that the only way to truly appreciate the gifts we have been given in life, and to come to understand the world around us, is through patience, endurance, effort, and kindness. This book has shaped my worldview and made me more tolerant towards others and made me realize that there is no easy way out of learning all the things we need to to carry out our work faithfully. You observe and you gain a little bit each day, and add to your wisdom, and do your best to avoid failure- but learn what you can from it and try to live without regret. Very well written, and a good reminder to take notice (and respect) of the humanity in ourselves and others, and to value life in general.
Now that I think of it, the theme for my favorite books are that, primarily, they are well written and enjoyable stories with fun and interesting characters, but secondarily, there are lessons and examples to glean on how we might live a better life. The first definitely taking precedence. I like other books like ones other posters mentioned above, but a lot of them are purely entertainment and great reads as one-offs, but not books I would reread like the favorites I've posted above that continue to inspire my thoughts and actions.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618015) |
Date: November 6th, 2017 3:27 PM Author: Swashbuckling stag film
I agree with most peoples’ lists. Here are some I didn’t see above that I liked:
A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean (the one I had included some other Maclean stories which were also really good)
East of Eden by Steinbeck
Cat’s Cradle by Vonnegut
On the Road by Kerouac (I’ll probably get shit for this, and it was overrated,but I still enjoyed it).
Seek: Reports from the edges of America & Beyond by Johnson
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618151) |
Date: November 6th, 2017 3:41 PM Author: razzle personal credit line
Hesse - The Glass Bead Game
Borges - Ficciones
Hemingway - The Old Man and the Sea
Gabriel Garcia Marquez- One Hundred Years of Solitude
Camus - The Plague
Nabokov - Pale Fire
Nabokov - Short Stories
Dostoevsky - Notes From Underground
Henry Miller - Tropic of Cancer
Anais Nin - Henry and June
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618279) |
|
Date: November 6th, 2017 9:40 PM Author: excitant cheese-eating native
translation... too spicy.
Date: November 6th, 2017 3:44 PM
Author: J-J-J-JULIA!
It might still be my favorite. I recall it as an almost purely sensuous experience.
Was it too emotive/ sexual for your tastes? I remember almoist being overwhelmed by its intensity at times, but the undertones are clearly French/Latin and probably far removed from and too fanciful for Anglo- American tastes. None of my American friends seems to like it, but all the Latin people do
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618300)
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34621096) |
Date: November 6th, 2017 3:51 PM Author: Purple Aphrodisiac Library Goyim
Confederacy of Dunces
Rabbit Redux
Rabbit is Rich
The Sun Also Rises
White Noise
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618373) |
Date: November 6th, 2017 3:54 PM Author: Bull headed mediation
Lolita
A Moveable Feast
Sun Also Rises
Crime and Punishment
A Hero of Our Time
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618403) |
Date: November 6th, 2017 4:06 PM Author: brass old irish cottage son of senegal
these books formed my worldview more than any others
1. Selfish Gene. Dawkins is lame but this depiction of nature red in tooth and claw is absolutely devastating.
2. Walter Kaufmann - Faith of a Heretic. Nietzsche biographer's personal statement of faith and meaning.
3. Blood Meridian. The judge's vision of life as a universal struggle of wills seems correct; that we, like the kid, can reject it is indeed incredible. Most interesting period of history imo.
4. Shelby Foote Civil War trilogy - Foote told the story of the wars from a perspective quickly becoming deeply foreign to us. Just as he saw his time as having lost something the men in the civil war possessed, I feel the same with respect to his willingness to treat the war in a manner that admired manly virtues above all.
5. Nicholas Wade - Before the Dawn. My liberal outlook did not survive reading this book a decade or so ago.
6. Lanterns on the Levee. Changed my perspective on the south and the virtues of industrial civilization
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618508)
|
Date: November 6th, 2017 9:13 PM Author: Swashbuckling stag film
Surprisingly little Steinbeck, Vonnegut, Krakauer, Kerouac, and Jack London imo. Same with Hunter S. Thompson — that guy writes a unique book. Otherwise this thread seems right on.
Also, does Cormac Macarthy have anything good other than blood meridian?
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34620895) |
Date: November 6th, 2017 9:45 PM Author: metal fragrant blood rage
Labyrinths - Borges
Sophie's Choice - William Styron
The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Kundera
The English Patient - Ondaatje
The Godfather - Mario Puzo
Giovanni's Room- James Baldwin
Madame Bovary - Flaubert
Atonement - Ian McEwan
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34621150) |
Date: November 6th, 2017 9:55 PM Author: Pink Stage Depressive
The Decline of the West
HP Lovecraft - Collected Works
Thomas Ligotti - The Nightmare Factory
Dead Souls
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34621288)
|
Date: November 8th, 2017 5:38 AM Author: fantasy-prone supple ladyboy messiness
My favorite reading experience of all-time was The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
Also, any baseball fan who hasn't read Ball Four by Jim Bouton -- do it immediately. Immediately.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34632666) |
|
Date: November 8th, 2017 5:28 PM Author: fantasy-prone supple ladyboy messiness
i always thought her writing was underrated:
she was writing to be accessible. her books were for a wide audience, not xo scholars only.
and she did that extremely well while still being smart. that's not as easy as it seems.
but i'm also a guy who, despite being an english major, over the years has really come to love brevity, simplicity, and dialogue over flowery descriptions.
to use an analogy, dave grohl has talked about how kurt cobain likened writing nirvana's songs to crafting children's music, or nursery rhymes. i think that's what christie innately did. you probably spit on nirvana, because of the childlike nature of the melodies, but i think it's genius.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34636776) |
|
Date: November 8th, 2017 5:44 PM Author: fantasy-prone supple ladyboy messiness
she wrote a TON of books, so i don't want to use one of her worst to criticize her.
i haven't picked up one of Christie's in a while. maybe if i read it now i'd be unimpressed. but something tells me i'd be even more impressed.
also could be the smartphone and internet era influencing me. i don't have time to read flowery descriptions of the vines on the lattice. don't care.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34636923) |
|
Date: November 8th, 2017 6:04 PM Author: fantasy-prone supple ladyboy messiness
i'm going to have to do that, too.
we can revisit when we do. could have some changed opinions.
i used to love notes from underground in HS. re-read it a couple of years ago. wasn't as good as i remembered. still liked the concept. but experiences change your perceptions.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34637090) |
Date: November 8th, 2017 9:13 AM Author: Big stubborn brunch azn
I pretty much only read non-fiction but I really liked these:
Count of Monte Cristo
The Alchemist
Demian
Venus in Furs
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34633239) |
Date: November 8th, 2017 6:08 PM Author: charcoal site
Disgrace
Light in August
Moby Dick
Crime & Punishment
Heart of Darkness
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34637108) |
|
|