Good book reccomendations - Page 3

BJ Worth · 01-18-2006, 07:54 PM

I have a book you guys might enjoy. It's called The Grace Project written by...me. Anyways, my publishing company says it's a suspense novel, but I say it's just strange. But not too strange to follow. At least none of my readers have said they were confused yet. It does have some definite gothic elements to it. You can get it on amazon.com or at a barnes & noble or borders or chapters or whatever you have by you. Let me know what you think!

winged_dreams · 01-18-2006, 10:18 PM

Seems like a very good explanation.

BJ Worth · 01-19-2006, 09:27 PM

Oops, my bad...

sensuous0mar · 01-21-2006, 04:54 PM

please, allow me to support an author who I don't happen to know personally or actually be, myself! I just absolutely love this man's body of work and think that he needs to be given the "realest guy" award. Honestly. You read these books and think "this is how I think, and he just put it on paper....can I get money for that?" It's rather hilarious, actually. His name is Christopher Moore and I think you guys would enjoy his vampire novel about a lovely young lady turned undead in San Fran (I do believe) It's called Bloodsucking Fiends and it was my most recent adventure into the world of Chris Moore. I'm so excited by this book that I actually drew a portrait of the main character (Jody, the Vampiress) and want to have it tattooed on me bum (okay, maybe not my bum, but somewhere on me!) I highly reccommend all of his work, but definetly Bloodsucking Fiends for all of you dark souls out there who believe that the undead walk among us

sensuous0mar · 01-22-2006, 12:56 AM

I do believe I posted something about Christopher Moore earlier on this same thread. Sorry about that, guys.

Ikaros · 01-22-2006, 05:46 AM

Oh no...
Asking me for reading recommendations is like asking Vader what he likes about the dark side: it will take a while, my lines will be overly dramatic, and someone will probably lose a limb before it's over.

If you've never read it, Paradise Lost is probably my favorite arrangement of the English language. The opening passages contain the most chilling scenes I've ever read. Rice, Barker, and King at their best never described immortal evil as disturbingly as that little blind poet.

Speaking of Barker, I love his beginnings but loathe his endings. He has some wonderfully imaginitive work: Imajica is delicious. I have to recommend it with a warning: he sets up a fantastic world with bright, interesting characters, but it seems he couldn't *quite* figure out how to end it. Even so, I've re-read it more times than I can recall.

Read every word Lovecraft and Poe wrote. Period. There's a reason they hold the place they do: Lovecraft's fleshy vision, Poe's mastery of form. Poe... God, the man manages to make SYNTAX beautiful, haunting, disturbing.

Completely out of left field... Paul Auster's "New York" trilogy. It's surreal, contemplative, romantic, and unsettling. It's not "gothic" in the strictest sense, but he draws heavily from film Noir and maintains that dark flavor. The prose bounces from contemplative to schizophrenic. I'm at a loss to really describe it, but it's something like going out on a date with a lit prof, having them slip you a roofie, and waking up to discover that you've been writing poetry in a bus station for the last month.

For a book/film combo, I strongly suggest checking out Neil Gaiman's "Neverwhere". It was originally written as a short miniseries for the BBC (the whole run is available on DVD). In response to demands from the public, Gaiman rewrote the story as a novel. Both the show and the novel are well worth checking out. It's a slightly surreal urban fairy tale. A young man is moderately enjoying his moderate life. He has a job he doesn't entirely hate, a fiance he likes (if not loves), and is satisfied with a life that doesn't quite satisfy. This all falls apart when he stops to help a young woman bleeding on the pavement. That act connects him to a world he never knew existed, the London Below, where an angel lives in Islington, great hunters test their skills against the alligators in the sewers, and owing a favor can be a deadly affair. The book is quite good, but I'd strongly suggest checking out the series. Some of the performances are just delightful, and the fashion-minded will be drooling through the entire show. The BBC hired some of Londons best corsettieres/gothic fashion designers to do the costumes, and there are pieces that I still lust after.

Ikaros · 01-22-2006, 06:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xnguela

So, is this why you joined? To tell all the Gothy McGoths about your novel?

I prefer to be called by my full name, Darky McAngsterton.

Mr E Nigma · 01-22-2006, 04:43 PM

Some of you may have read it in Highschool. I personally enjoyed it.
For those of you who haven't read it. It pretty much sums up African Tribal Culture. Written by someone who was actually apart of it and wrote it in English so his culture could be shared with everyone so that they may know what it's like from the other side of things as opposed to all the white male european ones. This was the first time this had happened in history. It depicts their life before, during, and after Apartheid had taken over. If your looking to learn about African culture before Apartheid began and what it did to them when it took place definately pick it up.

"Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe

Mr E Nigma · 01-23-2006, 02:26 AM

xD A little elaboration never hurts? hehe =weak smile=

cannibalnuns · 01-23-2006, 03:04 AM

When Medicine Went Mad: Bioethics and the Holocaust (Contemporary Issues in Biomedicine, Ethics, and Society)
-Arthur L. Caplan

Deconstructing the Left: From Vietnam to the Clinton Era
-David Horowitz and Peter Collier

Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk (Paperback)
-Legs McNeil

Ben Lahnger · 01-23-2006, 02:50 PM

I can heartily concur on the earlier comments about Poe and Lovecraft. When it comes to gothic literature, they continue to exert an influence today.

Some non-gothic thoughts here. First, some sci-fi:

Startide Rising by David Brin - A standard enough space opera, with prose adequately handled by Brin. What makes this special is the inner story that most of the races in the universe believe they were "uplifted" to sentience by the fabled First Race who seeded wisdom throughout the stars. The humans believe they evolved without outside influence; it is why the other races call them "wolflings." While the humans play god themselves by uplifting chimpanzees and dolphins and then battling beside them, greater spiritual questions are asked.

Gateway by Frederick Pohl - The first book in a series, this is the one worth reading. Alien teleportation technology is discovered, but no one knows how to operate it. So a bounty is offered for anyone willing to try it. Like a cosmic lottery, speculators either take a round trip to wealth and fame, or a one way trip to who-knows-where. The story concerns a three-time winner named Robinette Broadhead and the after-effects of his third mission, when he escaped a black hole and returned safely, at the expense of the rest of his crew. After losing the love of his life on that mission, he is driven to guilt and self-doubt. I was charmed by the analysis sessions with his artificial-intelligence therapist "Sigfrid von Shrink." To quote a reader's review "It's a personal story about a man facing up to his fears and feelings in a typically uncertain and inconclusive manner. Like much of the best science fiction, despite the futuristic setting and alien technology, Gateway is about what it means to be human."

Ender's Game / Speaker For The Dead by Oson Scott Card - Aliens have attacked Earth twice and almost destroyed the human species. Thinking the third time may be the end of the human race, the Earth government drafts very young geniuses to learn military strategy by playing elaborate simulation computer games. Ender Wiggins is the brightest of the bright, and the future of the Earth may rest on his young shoulders. The vivid characterization of Ender, the action packed pacing and the surprise twist ending make book one well worth reading. But I recommend it to set up book two, "Speaker For The Dead." This beautiful, mutli-layered book details how Ender deals with the aftermath of his terrible war. When humans encounter another alien race whose ways are strange, frightening and lethal, it is up to Ender Wiggin, 'Xenocide' and 'Speaker For The Dead' to discover the truth.

I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison - When I read this story the first time I was too young and it scared the bejeebus out of me. Let me quote Wikipedia on this one: "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" is a dystopian science fiction short story by Harlan Ellison. This is a nightmarish tale of the evil that man can unleash from himself through science. It won a Hugo award in 1968, went on to become one of the ten most reprinted stories in the English language, and is taught and lectured about in hundreds of universities.

More Sci-Fi Later. Two other non-genre books here:

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey - If you've seen the movie, you haven't experienced the whole story. I love the film, but the depth of Kesey's masterpiece is breathtaking. Every other chapter features narration by the schizophrenic, and apparently deaf and dumb American Indian Chief Bromden. These chapters were written by Kesey while on LSD. I've taken acid a few times, and I don't know how he managed to put a coherent train of thought to paper. And yet, the narrative holds steady. While boisterous Randle P. McMurphy's rebellion against the mental institution and Nurse Ratched steal your attention, Chief Bromden's redemption is actually the heart of the story.

I am currently reading From Beginning To End: The Rituals Of Our Lives (non-fiction) by Robert Fulghum - exploring a broad range of human behavior, Fulghum examines the natural patterns of life and the rituals that develop around key events such as births, weddings, anniversarys and funerals. The author wants us to think about the 'holy' rather than the 'how-to' of rituals, and how repitition and emotion give behavior patterns meaning. From the front page:

"From beginning to end,
the rituals of out lives shape each hour, day, and year.
Everyone leads a ritualized life:
Rituals are repeated patterns of meaningful acts.
If you are mindful of your actions, you will see the ritual patterns/
If you see the patterns, you may understand them.
If you understand them, you may enrich them.
In this way, the habits of a lifetime become sacred."

Two thoughts from the book. 1) 80% of us die in hospital. 2) I want a funeral like the ceremony Martha Carter planned for herself - that is worth reading the book for in and of itself.

Wise Child · 01-23-2006, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben Lahnger

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey - If you've seen the movie, you haven't experienced the whole story. I love the film, but the depth of Kesey's masterpiece is breathtaking. Every other chapter features narration by the schizophrenic, and apparently deaf and dumb American Indian Chief Bromden. These chapters were written by Kesey while on LSD. I've taken acid a few times, and I don't know how he managed to put a coherent train of thought to paper. And yet, the narrative holds steady. While boisterous Randle P. McMurphy's rebellion against the mental institution and Nurse Ratched steal your attention, Chief Bromden's redemption is actually the heart of the story..

I heart that book soooo much. One of my very favourites.

Has anyone read The Castle of Otranto, by Horace Walpole? It was the very first gothic book, and sparked off the whole gothic tradition as it's categorised by literary critics. It's cute, oddly.

cannibalnuns · 01-31-2006, 12:07 AM

Just a few books I can think of.

---

The Urantia Book - by Urantia Foundation

A four part book that deals with the super universe and a general book for all religions. The history of the universe, christianity, the history of the Earth and then the teachings of Jesus. Nonetheless if religion is of interest I would suggest this.

---

The Illuminst Trilogy - by Robert Shea

From the Publisher:
Filled with sex and violence--in and out of time and space--the three books of The Illuminatus are only partly works of the imagination. They tackle all the coverups of our time--from who really shot the Kennedys to why there's a pyramid on a one-dollar bill.

---

Coup d'État : A Practical Handbook - Edward N. Luttwak
--This one is on my wishlist--

Book Description:

The coup is the most frequently attempted method of changing government, and the most successful. Coup d' État outlines the mechanism of the coup and analyzes the conditions--political, military, and social, that gives rise to it. In doing so, the book sheds much light on societies where power does indeed grow out of the barrel of a gun and the role of law is a concept little understood.

BloodRaven · 01-31-2006, 10:00 AM

-The Godfather Returns by Mike Winegardner. It fills in the gaps between all three parts and stays true to the original feel of the Godfather.

-Anything and everything by Lewis Carroll. This mathmetician was a brilliant linguist, great comedian, and deep philosopher. Don't dismiss Alice for a children's tale.

-Eragon and Eldest by Christopher Paolini. It might be a Lord of the Rings knock off, but it is still a compelling story to be told. Eldest involves a love story between a male and female dragon. :0------

your name here · 01-31-2006, 10:07 AM

my favorite book is nemos coloring book. its full of pages of fun and adventure.

cannibalnuns · 01-31-2006, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by your name here

my favorite book is nemos coloring book. its full of pages of fun and adventure.

I wonder if you can even colour inside the lines. I have nothing else to say to you. That was both silly and pointless.

winged_dreams · 01-31-2006, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben Lahnger

I can heartily concur on the earlier comments about Poe and Lovecraft. When it comes to gothic literature, they continue to exert an influence today.

Some non-gothic thoughts here. First, some sci-fi:

Ender's Game / Speaker For The Dead by Oson Scott Card - Aliens have attacked Earth twice and almost destroyed the human species. Thinking the third time may be the end of the human race, the Earth government drafts very young geniuses to learn military strategy by playing elaborate simulation computer games. Ender Wiggins is the brightest of the bright, and the future of the Earth may rest on his young shoulders. The vivid characterization of Ender, the action packed pacing and the surprise twist ending make book one well worth reading. But I recommend it to set up book two, "Speaker For The Dead." This beautiful, mutli-layered book details how Ender deals with the aftermath of his terrible war. When humans encounter another alien race whose ways are strange, frightening and lethal, it is up to Ender Wiggin, 'Xenocide' and 'Speaker For The Dead' to discover the truth.

I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison - When I read this story the first time I was too young and it scared the bejeebus out of me. Let me quote Wikipedia on this one: "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" is a dystopian science fiction short story by Harlan Ellison. This is a nightmarish tale of the evil that man can unleash from himself through science. It won a Hugo award in 1968, went on to become one of the ten most reprinted stories in the English language, and is taught and lectured about in hundreds of universities.

Ender's Game was awesome and I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream is an awesome short story. Yay for your good taste in sci fi.

VampGrrl · 01-31-2006, 09:37 PM

Just read The Wages of Sin by Jenna Maclaine and it was an excellent paranormal romance/vampire book.

Dr. Faust · 02-02-2006, 05:32 PM

The Book Of Shadows
The Book of Spirits
Both by James Reese
The only book that has ever really scared the sh*t out of me was The Haunted by Robert Curran.

Iriacynthe · 02-03-2006, 11:22 AM

Oh no, if anyone asks me for gothic this or that I always have an almost incontrolable desire to put on a pink dress and sing spice girls songs.
But in stead, I will just take a deep breath, swallow the whole spice girls-idea, and tell you about a few books I love (well, actually that should be 'a few books I LOOOOOVE', but that sounds like a 13 year old girl talking about Brad Pitt, which isn't nearly as cute as Johnny Depp - where were we, books?).

My Absolutely Favourite Book is 'the perfume' by Patrick Süskind. It's written in German and I don't know if it's well-known in the rest of the world, but if it isn't, you should all learn German and come to Germany to buy it, this book is Worth It.
It's about a man that's born with an extraordinay good sense of smell, and he's fascinated by the smells of all different things. He manages to get a job where he can learn to make perfumes, and he's determined to make the perfect perfume.
This probably doesn't sound very exciting, but it's written in such a wonderful way. You can actually smell the things he smells, and although he is in fact a horrible man for whom you can't really feel much sympathy, in a way you do understand him (well, at least I did).
I must warn you, reading this book may lead to weird perfume-making experiments (I've already read it a million times, and I just can't ever resist the perfume-experimenting-spell).

Another great book is 'the name of the rose' by Umberto Eco. It's about a series of weird crimes, taking place in an old monastery, and a man who tries to solve this mistery. By doing so, he discovers the huge and fascinating library of the monastery.
It sounds rather Davinci code-y, and since I haven't read that book (yet) I don't know if it's the same style, but I do know that all my friends who have a good taste in literature dislike the Da Vinci code, but do like the name of the rose. The style is amazing, the characters are fascinating, and the idea of such a library makes me tremble with excitement and dreams about books, books and eum, more books.
There's also a lot of Latin in the book, and I love translating those pieces (you can even find the lyrics of 'omnis mundi creatura' by Helium Vola in it), but for those who don't know Latin there's a translation too (but off course it's way cooler if you don't use the translation, but than again, I study biblical Hebrew so I probably just have a dead-language-fetish).

spookypurple · 03-07-2006, 01:59 PM

"Eye In The Sky" by Philip K. Dick
"Demolished Man" by Alfred Bester
"Mrs Amworth" by E.F. Benson
"Malpertuis" by Jean Ray

What's commodity cheese?

maggot · 03-07-2006, 02:33 PM

The Necronomicon :P

That's why H.P. Lovecraft rules.

spookypurple · 03-08-2006, 06:26 AM

Blimey! You learn something every day - It's a book in its own right? I've been reading Lovecraft for about 30 years (I started young, okay!) and never considered this - I always thought it was a book within his stories. I'd heard all the tales of people going to occult libraries asking for it and assumed they were just that - stories.
But I presume this is a novel we're talking about here - rather than an arcane text!? I know there was a film called Necromicon ... Oh well. Must find it.

But yes, Lovecraft rules, as you say. The Colour Out Of Space is my particular favourite.

Queenofdarkness57 · 03-08-2006, 06:50 AM

I recommend Angels & Demons( by Dan Brown). It's a good book, and the suspense builds up page after page. Oh and RockStar ( by Jackie Collins) is um.. amusing! hehe.

succubus,queenofvampires · 03-08-2006, 07:16 AM

All of Dan Brown's books are filled with suspense! I enjoyed reading the four of them...But after that, I realised that the main plot is kind of the same: the person that you thought was oh-so pure and innocent is the culprit and the main character gets his/her lover at the end of the story...(except in Digital Fortress where she was already engaged to David)