Poll: Novels that have impacted you the most?
- Thread starter Koroviev
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion. The redefinition of epic. Shrike. Ousters. Time tombs. There will be a movie at some point, but by god, don't wait until then.
One of my favorite books of all time, The Master and Margarita, actually isn't too immersive at all. Satan and his retinue pay a visit to 1920s Moscow and turn it into their personal playground. In a strange sort of way, it brings to mind Gremlins sans the rules, because Satan is too much of a boss for those. Anyway, what makes the book so great is the fact that it's highly amusing. Immersive? Not really, and I attribute this to the fact that the characters are generally kept at a distance, and the story never keeps you with one character too long. In other words, it specializes in variety, and that variety is enough to keep you interested and eager to see who will foolishly try to tell Satan he doesn't exist next.vanthebaron said:
And if you ever plan on reading it, I recommend the Burgin and O'Connor translation. Ginsburg was the first translation I read, but it is incomplete and does not flow very well for English speakers.
I was able to track down an online edition of the first, and while I don't have Anna Karenina (it's on the to-read list, of course), I do have War and Peace; Have you ever read it? If so, is it interesting enough to take you through the 1000+ pages in a reasonable amount of time?Gomithrus said:
Rollins is awesome. I read Broken Summers last year and that is an engaging account of how one of the finest collaboration albums (Rise Above: 24 black flag songs for the benefit of the West Memphis Three) came into existence. Rollins might probably be the sanest public figure in the world, he's sort of a celebrity but he's kept hold of his humanity, his dignity and his self esteem, not to mention the work ethic. It's both humbling and inspirational to see all the stuff that he does at any one time (talking shows, music, writing, acting and his own TV show) and how much effort he puts into all of them.Xan Holbrook said:
In all seriousness, he reminds me a lot of Yahtzee in many ways (hectic work schedule without producing a drop in quality).
Seriously? Another Rollins fan on the escapist? Cool. My hat has been thoroughly tipped.
But yeah OP, buy any Rollins book you can find. A lot of the profits go to Rollins own publishing company, and even if you don't like the book you're helping one of the independents.
Also The Post Office by Charles Bukowski is probably my favourite book. A harsh critique about the crushing brutality of working life. It's refreshingly easy to read (no clever tricks or purple metaphors, just plain language). It can make you laugh on one page and cry on the next, it can piss you off and in the end your life will be changed. I wish I could write as honestly as Bukowski.
If you like horror, you could do worse than picking up a Stephen King book. I think he's awesome, he has an engaging writing style that blends lightness of tone and genuinely frightening horror. He tells stories like a good campfire talespinner, all that's missing is the flashlight in front of his face.
If you like crime, Elmore Leonard is fantastic. He writes probably the finest dialogue in the world - it's realistic without being boring and with a kind of street level wit that will keep you reading just so you can hear what the characters are going to say next. Think of the famous "McDonalds in Europe," conversation from Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction , Leonard's writing style is like that.
Also, Lawrence Block - he writes with the simplicity of Bukowski, but with the plot boiling skills of Raymond Chandler. Solid, entertaining crime stories.
Or you could just do what I do when I go book shopping - wander around the fiction section, reading blurbs and first pages until you have like ten that you want to buy.
I spend more money on books than I do on pants.
I won't say it's the best I've ever read without finishing it, but it's without a doubt a good candidate.Koroviev said:
I'm not much of a reader, or to say it properly, I stuck all my life mostly with Mistery novels, it's a great genre, but the narrative is not as good as I think Shadows or Atlas Shrugged in my opinion, but I love it anyways. Leroux and Queen are my favourites.
Yes yes YES. One of the few books I started over immediately after finishing. Nick Cave is a god among men.wolfshrimp said:
I got that message too, but with the corollary that people who live up to those ideals are more often than not martyrs. In case you couldn't tell, I preferred Time Enough For Love with its message of rugged independence and not giving a damn about society at large while still loving your fellow man.Kermi said:
While the major theme of each novel tends to be different, all of Palahniuk's books tend to have a lot in common. They are all well disguised love stories for instance. On top of that you find that the basic character archetypes and motivations of the Narrator of Fight Club and Tyler Durden are in each of his books. The nihillistic tone is common to all of them as well. Each book is also written without much regard to the passage of time. In some cases, like Invisible Monsters, it skips about randomly. In other cases it just skips in a single direction without much of a clue as to how we got there in the first place. In general, it strikes me that Palahniuk's books tend to read like Slaugtherhouse V if it was written by a lovesick Nietzsche.Koroviev said:
