ITT: Your top 5-10 books
| opaque mad cow disease | 11/02/17 | | maize kitty partner | 11/02/17 | | amethyst mental disorder | 11/02/17 | | Trip gay knife | 11/02/17 | | sickened dashing station azn | 11/03/17 | | Lime box office | 11/05/17 | | Painfully honest cerebral stead becky | 11/02/17 | | maize kitty partner | 11/02/17 | | Painfully honest cerebral stead becky | 11/02/17 | | Exciting Nowag Hell | 11/02/17 | | Crimson Laser Beams | 11/03/17 | | 180 gaming laptop heaven | 11/04/17 | | Burgundy rambunctious address wagecucks | 11/06/17 | | vibrant impressive pistol | 11/02/17 | | iridescent godawful codepig | 11/05/17 | | dark razzle-dazzle school cafeteria | 11/06/17 | | soggy pozpig headpube | 11/02/17 | | opaque mad cow disease | 11/02/17 | | Painfully honest cerebral stead becky | 11/02/17 | | soggy pozpig headpube | 11/02/17 | | Painfully honest cerebral stead becky | 11/02/17 | | soggy pozpig headpube | 11/02/17 | | Painfully honest cerebral stead becky | 11/02/17 | | opaque mad cow disease | 11/02/17 | | Aromatic Idea He Suggested | 11/03/17 | | opaque mad cow disease | 11/03/17 | | soggy pozpig headpube | 11/02/17 | | Bateful parlor roast beef | 11/06/17 | | vibrant impressive pistol | 11/02/17 | | hyperventilating laughsome telephone | 11/03/17 | | spectacular pale regret | 11/06/17 | | amethyst mental disorder | 11/02/17 | | soggy pozpig headpube | 11/02/17 | | amethyst mental disorder | 11/02/17 | | ultramarine digit ratio | 11/02/17 | | poppy alcoholic main people masturbator | 11/02/17 | | amethyst mental disorder | 11/02/17 | | poppy alcoholic main people masturbator | 11/02/17 | | onyx thriller kitchen filthpig | 11/02/17 | | amethyst mental disorder | 11/02/17 | | opaque mad cow disease | 11/03/17 | | amethyst mental disorder | 11/03/17 | | chocolate crotch | 11/03/17 | | Lime box office | 11/05/17 | | poppy alcoholic main people masturbator | 11/02/17 | | opaque mad cow disease | 11/03/17 | | translucent appetizing karate | 11/05/17 | | vibrant impressive pistol | 11/02/17 | | amethyst mental disorder | 11/02/17 | | vibrant impressive pistol | 11/02/17 | | talented brethren dilemma | 11/02/17 | | vibrant impressive pistol | 11/02/17 | | vibrant impressive pistol | 11/02/17 | | onyx thriller kitchen filthpig | 11/02/17 | | vibrant impressive pistol | 11/02/17 | | onyx thriller kitchen filthpig | 11/02/17 | | vibrant impressive pistol | 11/02/17 | | onyx thriller kitchen filthpig | 11/02/17 | | Histrionic scourge upon the earth hall | 11/03/17 | | vibrant impressive pistol | 11/03/17 | | opaque mad cow disease | 11/03/17 | | vibrant impressive pistol | 11/03/17 | | opaque mad cow disease | 11/03/17 | | vibrant impressive pistol | 11/03/17 | | opaque mad cow disease | 11/03/17 | | Fear-inspiring Gay Wizard | 11/02/17 | | Jade Fiercely-loyal Bawdyhouse Double Fault | 11/02/17 | | opaque mad cow disease | 11/03/17 | | Aggressive Flickering Locus | 11/02/17 | | amethyst mental disorder | 11/03/17 | | chocolate crotch | 11/03/17 | | Clear bonkers useless brakes | 11/03/17 | | fishy titillating menage | 11/03/17 | | Clear bonkers useless brakes | 11/03/17 | | demanding chad | 11/04/17 | | opaque mad cow disease | 11/03/17 | | stimulating patrolman nibblets | 11/03/17 | | opaque mad cow disease | 11/03/17 | | Bronze Son Of Senegal | 11/03/17 | | stimulating patrolman nibblets | 11/03/17 | | Bronze Son Of Senegal | 11/03/17 | | Clear bonkers useless brakes | 11/03/17 | | stimulating patrolman nibblets | 11/03/17 | | Diverse principal's office | 11/15/17 | | hateful base old irish cottage | 11/03/17 | | crystalline abode incel | 11/03/17 | | opaque mad cow disease | 11/03/17 | | lake native | 11/03/17 | | maniacal home | 11/03/17 | | crystalline abode incel | 11/03/17 | | maniacal home | 11/06/17 | | crystalline abode incel | 11/06/17 | | maniacal home | 11/06/17 | | maniacal home | 11/08/17 | | french jewess | 11/03/17 | | useless dog poop | 11/03/17 | | opaque mad cow disease | 11/03/17 | | Swashbuckling nubile mediation | 11/04/17 | | useless dog poop | 11/05/17 | | irradiated theatre boltzmann | 11/05/17 | | Abusive Fuchsia Gaping Lay | 11/03/17 | | Sinister Odious Toaster Trump Supporter | 11/04/17 | | Abusive Fuchsia Gaping Lay | 11/04/17 | | french jewess | 11/03/17 | | opaque mad cow disease | 11/03/17 | | Abusive Fuchsia Gaping Lay | 11/04/17 | | Clear bonkers useless brakes | 11/05/17 | | henna underhanded property | 11/06/17 | | opaque mad cow disease | 11/15/17 | | Aromatic Idea He Suggested | 11/04/17 | | vibrant impressive pistol | 11/04/17 | | Aromatic Idea He Suggested | 11/04/17 | | vibrant impressive pistol | 11/04/17 | | Aromatic Idea He Suggested | 11/04/17 | | vibrant impressive pistol | 11/04/17 | | Aromatic Idea He Suggested | 11/04/17 | | snowy federal area | 11/05/17 | | Aromatic Idea He Suggested | 11/04/17 | | vibrant impressive pistol | 11/04/17 | | Aromatic Idea He Suggested | 11/04/17 | | vibrant impressive pistol | 11/04/17 | | Swashbuckling nubile mediation | 11/04/17 | | Cheese-eating Olive Corner | 11/05/17 | | Trip gay knife | 11/05/17 | | irradiated theatre boltzmann | 11/05/17 | | Swashbuckling nubile mediation | 11/05/17 | | Trip gay knife | 11/05/17 | | Cheese-eating Olive Corner | 11/08/17 | | useless dog poop | 11/05/17 | | Swashbuckling nubile mediation | 11/05/17 | | Garnet boiling water | 11/04/17 | | Aromatic Idea He Suggested | 11/04/17 | | vibrant impressive pistol | 11/04/17 | | Cheese-eating Olive Corner | 11/05/17 | | balding gas station | 11/05/17 | | Fear-inspiring Gay Wizard | 11/05/17 | | Stirring Frozen Mad-dog Skullcap | 11/05/17 | | Lime box office | 11/05/17 | | Stirring Frozen Mad-dog Skullcap | 11/05/17 | | glittery citrine church community account | 11/05/17 | | flushed ratface rehab | 11/05/17 | | irradiated theatre boltzmann | 11/05/17 | | Copper harsh site haunted graveyard | 11/05/17 | | Stirring Frozen Mad-dog Skullcap | 11/05/17 | | Seedy stag film | 11/05/17 | | Aromatic Idea He Suggested | 11/05/17 | | Clear bonkers useless brakes | 11/06/17 | | Copper harsh site haunted graveyard | 11/05/17 | | opaque mad cow disease | 11/06/17 | | pontificating ceo halford | 11/05/17 | | translucent appetizing karate | 11/05/17 | | Aromatic Idea He Suggested | 11/05/17 | | translucent appetizing karate | 11/05/17 | | Aromatic Idea He Suggested | 11/05/17 | | translucent appetizing karate | 11/05/17 | | unholy stain water buffalo | 11/05/17 | | opaque mad cow disease | 11/06/17 | | boyish bright trailer park trust fund | 11/06/17 | | vibrant impressive pistol | 11/06/17 | | boyish bright trailer park trust fund | 11/06/17 | | vibrant impressive pistol | 11/06/17 | | Cobalt crusty associate fortuitous meteor | 11/06/17 | | Arousing orchid space | 11/06/17 | | Cobalt crusty associate fortuitous meteor | 11/06/17 | | Arousing orchid space | 11/06/17 | | Cobalt crusty associate fortuitous meteor | 11/06/17 | | offensive fragrant center antidepressant drug | 11/06/17 | | crystalline abode incel | 11/06/17 | | Arousing orchid space | 11/06/17 | | crystalline abode incel | 11/06/17 | | Arousing orchid space | 11/06/17 | | Duck-like Aqua Public Bath | 11/06/17 | | dark razzle-dazzle school cafeteria | 11/06/17 | | crystalline abode incel | 11/06/17 | | dark razzle-dazzle school cafeteria | 11/08/17 | | Cobalt crusty associate fortuitous meteor | 11/06/17 | | henna underhanded property | 11/06/17 | | Vigorous Meetinghouse | 11/06/17 | | opaque mad cow disease | 11/08/17 | | Cobalt crusty associate fortuitous meteor | 11/06/17 | | Primrose school | 11/06/17 | | judgmental provocative theater mexican | 11/06/17 | | opaque mad cow disease | 11/09/17 | | Fear-inspiring Gay Wizard | 11/09/17 | | electric flirting state | 11/06/17 | | Marvelous Organic Girlfriend | 11/06/17 | | slippery cream potus | 11/06/17 | | twinkling crackhouse sound barrier | 11/08/17 | | Clear bonkers useless brakes | 11/08/17 | | crystalline abode incel | 11/08/17 | | twinkling crackhouse sound barrier | 11/08/17 | | crystalline abode incel | 11/08/17 | | twinkling crackhouse sound barrier | 11/08/17 | | crystalline abode incel | 11/08/17 | | twinkling crackhouse sound barrier | 11/08/17 | | Passionate cruel-hearted church building depressive | 11/08/17 | | boyish bright trailer park trust fund | 11/08/17 | | Clear bonkers useless brakes | 11/08/17 | | indigo vivacious feces tanning salon | 11/08/17 | | Coral self-absorbed office | 11/08/17 | | Lemon Sticky Coldplay Fan | 11/15/17 | | Lascivious degenerate lodge | 11/15/17 | | Clear bonkers useless brakes | 11/15/17 | | opaque mad cow disease | 11/22/17 |
Poast new message in this thread
Date: November 2nd, 2017 1:44 AM Author: opaque mad cow disease
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: maize kitty partner
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: Painfully honest cerebral stead becky
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: soggy pozpig headpube
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: poppy alcoholic main people masturbator
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: vibrant impressive pistol
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: Fear-inspiring Gay Wizard
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)
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 4:39 AM Author: Jade Fiercely-loyal Bawdyhouse Double Fault
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: Aggressive Flickering Locus
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)
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 6:26 AM Author: chocolate crotch
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: Clear bonkers useless brakes
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: stimulating patrolman nibblets
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)
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 10:22 AM Author: Bronze Son Of Senegal
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)
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 10:31 AM Author: hateful base old irish cottage
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: crystalline abode incel
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)
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 11:57 AM Author: french jewess
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: useless dog poop
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: Abusive Fuchsia Gaping Lay
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: Aromatic Idea He Suggested
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) |
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Date: November 4th, 2017 2:44 PM Author: Aromatic Idea He Suggested
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: Swashbuckling nubile mediation
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: Cheese-eating Olive Corner
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: balding gas station
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: Stirring Frozen Mad-dog Skullcap
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)
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Date: November 5th, 2017 10:18 PM Author: Copper harsh site haunted graveyard
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: pontificating ceo halford
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: translucent appetizing karate
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: unholy stain water buffalo
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: boyish bright trailer park trust fund
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: Cobalt crusty associate fortuitous meteor
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: Arousing orchid space
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) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 9:40 PM Author: offensive fragrant center antidepressant drug
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: dark razzle-dazzle school cafeteria
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: henna underhanded property
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: Vigorous Meetinghouse
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)
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Date: November 6th, 2017 9:13 PM Author: Cobalt crusty associate fortuitous meteor
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: judgmental provocative theater mexican
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: Marvelous Organic Girlfriend
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)
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Date: November 8th, 2017 5:38 AM Author: twinkling crackhouse sound barrier
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) |
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Date: November 8th, 2017 5:28 PM Author: twinkling crackhouse sound barrier
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) |
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Date: November 8th, 2017 5:44 PM Author: twinkling crackhouse sound barrier
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) |
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Date: November 8th, 2017 6:04 PM Author: twinkling crackhouse sound barrier
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: Passionate cruel-hearted church building depressive
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: Coral self-absorbed office
Disgrace
Light in August
Moby Dick
Crime & Punishment
Heart of Darkness
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34637108) |
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