Cult Novels - Our Favourites
So, in the Clevenger intensives a couple of people started a topic for us all to list our favourite novels. Something like the top 100 lists, only the aim wasn't to find the best, but the most enjoyable. The novels we'd advise anyone else to read. I know there'a already a similar topic about, but like our cult photograph threads, this too needs to be renewed. Some short rules to ensure the most from this thread:
[LIST]
[*]Try not to repeat a book that's already been mentioned.
[*]Try not to shout at people if they suggest a completely idiotic book.
[*]ALWAYS include a bit of information with the name of your book.
[*]Graphic Novels and Novellas are included, yeah.
[/LIST]
Here's a couple that came up in the intensive, reformatted. Posted by; Craig Clevenger, Riddlegimp, Raynael, Milehighmancini, Anxious Phoenix and BostonNoir82.
[QUOTE][SIZE=2][B]Gulliver’s Travels[/B]; Jonathan Swift
Relentless, savage satire. “I cannot but conclude the bulk of your natives to be the most pernicious Race of odious little vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the Earth.”
[B]Blood Meridian[/B]; Cormac McCarthy
I haven’t read “The Road”, but if it’s better than this violent, poetic revision of the Wild West, then it’s a freaking masterpiece.
[B]Three Men in a Boat[/B]; Jerome K. Jerome
Proof that humour can stand the test of time. Hilarious.
[B]Brighton Rock[/B]; Graham Greene
To me, Greene is a master at creating gripping stories populated with complex, morally skewed characters. Maybe Britain’s best answer to noir.
[B]Slaughterhouse 5[/B]; Kurt Vonnegut
Worth it for the backwards-bomb passage alone. Humane, funny and sad.
[B]A Confederacy of Dunces[/B]; John Kennedy Toole
A lesson in creating a memorably disgusting character and crackling dialogue. I’ll add Vernon God Little as a modern counterpart. Both of these are just stuffed with fantastic, imaginative prose.
[B]Let’s Go Play at the Adams’[/B]; Mendal Johnson
Oh, it’s nasty, but LGPATA is riveting and disturbing in ways that most psychological horror can only hope. The power of “inevitable conclusion” narrative (see The Girl Next Door by Ketchum and We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver for other great, but less gut-wrenching examples)
[B]Money[/B]; Martin Amis
It has dated slightly, and the plot is a touch ludicrous, but this is a powerhouse blast through the greed of the 80s. Some of his lines are too fucking great.
[B]Trainspotting[/B]; Irvine Welsh
Probably read by most here, but for the sheer visceral power of words, humour and language, it’s hard to beat.
[B]Carry On, Jeeves[/B]; P.G. Wodehouse
About as far removed from noir as you can get. Just an absolute joy to read - and gives that rare sense that the writer is having just as much fun as you are. Later, Douglas Adams kept up the traditional of eloquent, intelligent and hilarious British literature through the Hitchhiker series.
[B]Love in the Time of Cholera[/B]; Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Gorgeous language, sprawling story – my favourite example of magical realism.
[B]Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre[/B]; H.P Lovecraft
If you don't mind wordy prose, knock yourself out. Ancient horrors, madness, and terrifying tales.
[B]The Dark Tower[/B]; Stephen King
Weird shit by King, epic fantasy/post-apocalyptic/whatever. Definitely his own Lord Of The Rings. Also check out The Stand and all his other books - for all the criticism the man gets for not being "literary", at least he makes plenty of shit happen, makes you turn the pages, and I've never found anyone who can write characters as well as he can, save for perhaps George Martin. He knows his craft, and he's been working at it like a madman his entire life.
[B]Perdido Street Station[/B]; China Mieville
Amazing mix of gritty fantasy/steampunk. Mieville calls it "Weird Fiction" and I can only agree.
[B]Snow Crash[/B]; Neal Stephenson
The book that pretty much buried Cyberpunk - in a good way. Few years after Gibson's Neuromancer, Stephenson writes about cyber samurai, the art of pizza delivery, nuclear bombs, and dead languages. Also, the main character's called Hiro Protagonist.
[B]A Song of Ice and Fire Series[/B]; George R.R Martin
What can I say? Doubtlessly the best "fantasy" or at least medieval fiction written. Shits all over Tolkien's grave; makes Robin Hobb, Robert Jordan and the thousands of boring hacks riding Tolkien's wave look like complete amateurs. If you've avoided fantasy so far because all you can picture are tunnel-digging dwarves, pretentious elves and corrupt humans fighting green-skinned orcs, please do yourself a favor and read this. George Martin avoids and obliterates all those horrible clichés.
[B]American Gods[/B]; Neil Gaiman
Old gods, new gods, and a surreal road trip. Gaiman knows his stuff.
[B]The Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy[/B]; Douglas Adams
Should be classified as comedy. Funniest book I've ever read, drips with hilarity and brilliant humor. A classic.
[B]1984[/B]; George Orwell
The great dystopian novel, along with...
[B]Brave New World[/B]; Aldous Huxley
And...
[B]Fahrenheit 451[/B]; Ray Bradbury
The three books above are classic examples of a dystopian society, and are all excellent in their own rights.
[B]Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?[/B]; Philip K. Dick
What I would hesitate to call Noir Sci-fi, if such a thing exists. The daddy of Blade Runner writes very, very dark sci-fi. Don't expect any explosions or much action, but a great atmosphere and a pretty terrifying world filled with terrible people. Make sure to check out his other books too.
[B]The Stranger[/B]; Albert Camus
Existentialism at its finest.
[B]In Search Of Lost Time[/B]; Marcel Proust
Okay, this one is much like James Joyce: you either will completely fall in love with it, or hate it so much you'll want to start a gigantic bonfire and throw every single french book ever written in there. This is a 4000 pages behemoth where shit barely happens, filled with stream of consciousness. Hard to describe, but if you're curious and also loved Joyce...give this baby a try.
[B]Ulysses[/B]; James Joyce
Much like Proust, people either seem to love or despise this book. I personaly couldn't stand A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man. However, Ulysses sucked me. I'm fairly certain I didn't understand half of it - hell, let's be honest : a quarter, but I want to go back in there with a guide. Still, it was a mindblowing read, for reasons I can't fathom.
[B]The Picture Of Dorian Gray[/B]; Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde's prose is lovely.
[B]As I Lay Dying[/B]; William Faulkner
If you're interested in multiple, constantly switching points of view, this book is for you.
[B]Everything Ever[/B]; William Shakespeare
That's right.
[B]Sin City Series[/B]; Frank Miller
Hard-boiled. Imagine a city built on inquity, ruled by a gangster mayor and his Bishop brother. Now imagine the most interesting stories that city would have to tell, all in true bleak stylings. Frank Miller's art is reminiscent of old 1950's noir films.
[B]V For Vendetta[/B]; Alan Moore and David Lloyd
More dystopian goodness, with a masked superhero who enjoys quoting Shakespeare.
[B]Hellboy[/B]; Mike Mignola
Lovecraftian-monsters, nazi hijinks and demons make for one bitchin' series.
[B]Underworld[/B]; Don DeLillo
A long book, in every way you want to explore. DeLillo sits in that post-modern trench where he's shelled with praise. The sad thing is, as this book illustrates, he's perfectly deserving of it. From a Frank Sinatra cameo to a little girl video-recording the Texas Highway Killer, this book is an emotional bully - well worth the read.
[B]A Scanner Darkly[/B]; Philip K. Dick
Electric Sheep has already been mentioned, and rightly so. It's a wonderful novel. But right next to it is A Scanner Darkly. Drug use and paranoia never felt so at home in a sci-fi novel. Better than the film, I promise.
[B]The Ice at the Bottom of the World[/B]; Mark Richards
Short stories to have your heart broken to.
[B]Voice of the Fire[/B]; Alan Moore
This is a book I picked up, (corellion) on advice from Nate Parker. It was an odd read for me. It's hard to get into, but once you're into it you're never leaving. I can feel it eating away at my brain now. It's very cleverly written. Ingenius, some might even call it.
[B]The Informers[/B]; Bret Easton Ellis
Short stories written just as brilliantly as you'd imagine Bret Easton Ellis would write them when he's at the top of his game. A recent book-club pick.
[B]Crime and Punishment[/B]; Fyodor Dostoevsky
I forgot who it was that said Crime and Punishment said everything about good and evil that ever was to be said. But I agree. I know it's a classic, and that the book is loved everywhere, but if any novel ever came close to truly exploring the duality of man, it was this one.
[B]The Brother's Karamazov[/B]; Fyodor Dostoesky
A huge novel, in every way you can think. It's as deep as the pacific, and holds about the same amount of life too. You've probably read it, but if you haven't, you really, really, really should.
[B]Lolita[/B]; Vladimir Nabokov
Between this book and House of Leaves, I decided that all sorts of wordplay were of just as much use to any author as they were to a poet or a playwrite. And not only that, but it's a great story too.
[B]The Watchmen Series[/B]; Alan Moore
Just read them. You'll not regret it.
[B]The Beach, The Tesseract, The Coma[/B]; Alex Garland
While the first is the best of the three, all of them are pretty damn good.
[B]Drop City[/B]; TC Boyle
I spent a week living with hippies in Georgia and while I was there found this book about hippies who move to Alaska. If you don't want to move to Alaska after this, then you didn't read it right.
[B]The Man Who Fell In Love With the Moon, Faraway Places[/B]; Tom Spanbauer
The first is an incredible story about gay cowboys and Indians and all sorts of weird, heartbreaking stuff. The second is a quick read, and gorgeous beginning to end. This is the guy who taught Palahniuk.
[B]Motherless Brooklyn[/B]; Jonathan Lethem
The prose kicked my ass. Lethem puts you in the head of a Tourett's-afflicted private detective. Aces.
[B]Bright Lights, Big City[/B]; Jay McInerny
One of the few books that actually showed me my New York.
[B]I Am Legend[/B]; Richard Matheson
Sci-fi at it's best. Vampire zombie things!
[B]High Fidelity[/B]; Nick Hornby
Great read, great characters, and I'm a music geek so it held a special spot for me.
[B]The Exquisite[/B]; Laird Hunt
Strange mixture of noir and dry transgressional fiction. Some portions of this novel are tough to sit through, but there are so many moments of beauty that it would be a sin to set this book aside.
[B]Falling Man[/B]; Don DeLillo
Just finished this novel earlier this morning on the train to work. Fantastic and gripping accounts of immediate post-9/11 New York City. Tight (180 pages) and DeLilllo is very economic with his words.
[B]I Am Legend[/B]; Richard Matheson
Post-apocalyptic bliss. Craig was right when he said that most often, most people's favorite Twilight Zone episodes were written by Matheson. I Am Legend is a perfect horror novel that was way ahead if its time.
[B]The Stand[/B]; Stephen King
King's first masterpiece. His finest work, in my humble opinion.
[B]Lunar Park[/B]; Bret Easton Ellis
For me, this was Ellis' most well-written novel. He gets better with age.
[B]The Sea Came in at Midnight[/B]; Steve Erickson
I see that Gary has already recommended Rubicon Beach, so I'll throw this out there and hope that everyone picks up some more Erickson.
[B]The Postman Always Rings Twice[/B]; James M. Cain
If [Craig Clevenger was] ever to teach writing, this would be [his] textbook.
[B]If on a Winter's Night a Traveller[/B]; Italo Calvino
This book completely changed my understanding of reading and writing, for the better.
[B]The Woman in the Dunes[/B]; Kobo Abe
I picked this up twenty years ago, and still have that same paperback. Like Calvino, this was one of my first forays out of my narrow field of reading as a kid.
[B]White Jazz[/B]; James Ellroy
Ellroy's finest work, as hard-boiled as they come, yet with beautiful, fluid prose.
[B]Homeboy[/B]; Seth Morgan
Seth Morgan was a master storyteller, and a writer clearly in love with each of his characters. His language is never less than acrobatic.
[B]Leaving Las Vegas[/B]; John O'Brien
Dark and beautiful. This is a powerful love story.
[B]Tours of the Black Clock[/B]; Steve Erickson
Steve Erickson is the Invisible Giant of American letters.
[B][COLOR=RoyalBlue]House [/COLOR]of Leaves[/B]; Mark Z. Danielewski
The writing will have you sweating in front of a mirror. Literally. There are parts you need to read with a mirror. And it's a heavy book.
[B]Pop. 1280[/B]; Jim Thompson
The High Priest of Noir, Jim Thompson is an underappreciated treasure.
[B]The Zoo Where You're Fed to God[/B]; Michael Ventura
A beautiful, graceful dance of a book.[/SIZE][/QUOTE]
[B]Lanark [/B]by Alasdair Gray.
It seems Alasdair Gray is a writer's writer, and that's a pity. This big book is rewarding for both writers and casual readers, and not just because of its intricate story. It breaks all the rules and shows you, in a way that Don Delillo cannot, that postmodernism has the potential to be great fun.
Spartan art is the real made hysterical.
This is a good idea, Alex, but don't you think that you've given too many examples in the first post? If nobody's supposed to repeat books that have already been mentioned, and in your first post you mention Delillo, McCarthy, Stephen King and Bret Easton Ellis (all the favourites around here), aren't you making it a little hard to participate for people who get their reading material from the book club here?
Spartan art is the real made hysterical.
These are some really great suggestions. I'm already marking down some titles in my gigantic list of "To Read..." I love this place.
Here's some I'd recommend:
"White Oleander" by Janet Fitch
A heart-warming and heart-breaking story of a girl, Astrid, that is tossed from foster home to foster home, seeking the meaning of happiness, and ultimately trying to find herself. Ingrid, her mother, gets a vote as one of my favorite, chilling villians in all of the literature that's graced my eyes.
"Cabal" by Clive Barker
An interesting take on monsters, "Cabal" tells the story of a man who seeks redemption in Midian, the city of the damned. It definitely makes you feel "sympathy for the devil". In a sick, sadistic sort of way.
"Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions" by Neil Gaiman
A collection of Gaiman's finest short stories and poems, neatly placed together in one mind-blowing volume. Some stories are light-hearted and hilarious, others will curdle the blood that runs in your veins. Gaiman is a master of his time and field.
"Akira" by Katsuhiro Otomo
This six volume graphic novel from this great comic artist/writer is astounding. There are so many main characters and plot turns that you can't just start reading at Vol. 3 or 4. If you've seen the animated film, you have a guess at what's in store here. But I assure you, the film is nothing compared to the story that lies within this collection. I recommend to anyone who's prepared to go, "What the fuck?"
"Requiem for a Dream" by Hubert Selby, Jr.
Breath-taking and fucking powerful. That's all I have to say about that one.
"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" by Hunter S. Thompson
Go on a wild ride through the deserts of Nevada and into Las Vegas, as Thompson recounts his drug-induced experience with his attorney and best friend over a weekend of horrors and thrills. You will not forget this read easily.
"A Density of Souls" by Christopher Rice
Anne Rice's son lives up to her reputation with his debut novel, exploring the lives of 4 friends, torn apart by dark and terrible secrets. This is the story of their salvation and their damnation, equally.
Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr-
On a par with Requiem for a Dream as Selbys best novel. A tough luck view of New York.
[B]V.[/B] by Thomas Pynchon
You hear a lot about Gravity's Rainbow, but this, Pynchon's first, is beautiful and easier to get into. I should've read this one first, not third.
Spartan art is the real made hysterical.
[QUOTE=xec8;1025808]This is a good idea, Alex, but don't you think that you've given too many examples in the first post? If nobody's supposed to repeat books that have already been mentioned, and in your first post you mention Delillo, McCarthy, Stephen King and Bret Easton Ellis (all the favourites around here), aren't you making it a little hard to participate for people who get their reading material from the book club here?[/QUOTE]
Not really. The point is those couple of books we haven't heard of. This isn't about participation. You participate by reading.
i am quite sure smeone will have some smart ass comment to make about at least one fo these, but here goes:
Rule of the Bone by Russell Banks
a well written coming of age story.
Blindness by Jose Saramago
frightening but beautiful look at the human condition.
Rumblefish by S.E. Hinton
another coming of age story. Hinton's masterpeice, I think.
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwheiler
If you have not read this childrens classic you should be shot. i read it at least once a year.
I love Lanark. But in 2001 I went on a college trip and I got to go to Alasdair Gray's house and he read to us in his back yard. His work it worth discovering.
[QUOTE=xec8;1025806][B]Lanark [/B]by Alasdair Gray.
It seems Alasdair Gray is a writer's writer, and that's a pity. This big book is rewarding for both writers and casual readers, and not just because of its intricate story. It breaks all the rules and shows you, in a way that Don Delillo cannot, that postmodernism has the potential to be great fun.[/QUOTE]
twitter: http://twitter.com/B_as_in_Brock
Wicked [I]Gregory Maguire[/I]
I loved this because it was such a different twist. It was really grown up, and just thinks about things you've never thought of before. You'll rewatch the Wizard of Oz with new thought strand. You'll think how dumb and ditzy Glinda is, and how foolish and selfish dorathy is.When the world turns on one single individual, that person is usually a scapegoat, and that is Elphaba's story. The government is the problem, who knew?
Son of a Witch, the follow up is even more inventive. Can't wait for the next one, A Cowardly War!
books i'm glad i read before i died:
[U]You Shall Know Our Velocity![/U] by Dave Eggers... a story about a heartbreaking man, his money, and his need to get rid of it. one of my absolute favorites.
[U]Paradise[/U] by Toni Morrison... a truly disturbing story about wayward women, the Convent, and a frightening town out to destroy them.
[U]Watership Down[/U] by Richard Adams... it's about bunnies. sort of. just go read it.
If I read Lanark and it turns out to be shit Phil, I'm going to be fucking furious.
[B]Apathy, and Other Small Victories[/B] by Paul Neilan.
A slice of life kind of story about an asshole and his misadventures with three seperate women in a new city.
[QUOTE=xec8;1025839][B]V.[/B] by Thomas Pynchon
You hear a lot about Gravity's Rainbow, but this, Pynchon's first, is beautiful and easier to get into. I should've read this one first, not third.[/QUOTE]
Just finished it a few weeks ago. Wanted to read it again immediately, but unfortunately I don't have the time right now... have tentatively scheduled a second yoyoing for next summer. Some of the most fun I've had with my clothes on.
This is a great thread. I'm going to sticky it for a little bit. That way when people say - "What should I read next?" We can just tell them to check out this thread! At least for a while I guess...
[QUOTE=Jill's Tit;1026066][B]Apathy, and Other Small Victories[/B] by Paul Neilan.
A slice of life kind of story about an asshole and his misadventures with three seperate women in a new city.[/QUOTE]
I am constantly pushing this book on people. I can't say enough good things about it.
[B]Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close[/B]; Jonathan Safran Foer.
One of the first books to deal with 9/11, a truly saddening story told through the eyes of a precocious 9 year old. Also worth mentioning is his previous novel, [B]Everything Is Illuminated[/B].
"Who needs purpose when you have the Cult?" - Phil
"So the guy says, Doctor! Get this dichotomy! I haven't been able to sit right for a week!" - Mike
[B]Porno[/B]; Irvine Welsh.
Every bit as good as [I]Trainspotting[/I]. It is the sequel to Welsh's classic, set ten years later. If you've read [I]Trainspotting[/I], but have not read [I]Porno[/I], you have not experienced the whole story.
[B]American Psycho[/B]; Bret Easton Ellis
The humor is as intense as the violence - both of which are disturbing. That Ellis is able to evoke laughter and nausea so frequently and so close together is a feat. His ability to illustrate the disconnect between people is also impressive.
[B]The Raw Shark Texts[/B]; Steven Hall
Thought-provoking, inventive, entertaining and un-put-down-able...all in Steven Hall's first novel. It has been described as Memento meets the Matrix meets Jaws - which is a pretty accurate description that nonetheless does not come close to doing the book justice.
[Ironman] 9:19 pm: Girls are NOT are sperm depositors
[QUOTE=Ology;1025999]I love Lanark. But in 2001 I went on a college trip and I got to go to Alasdair Gray's house and he read to us in his back yard. His work it worth discovering.[/QUOTE]
You got to meet him? That's my dream. As in, my ultimate dream.
Spartan art is the real made hysterical.
[QUOTE=corellion;1026055]If I read Lanark and it turns out to be shit Phil, I'm going to be fucking furious.[/QUOTE]
Well, no matter what you think of it, there's no way in hell you're going to agree with me and say it was as good as I cracked it up to be.
I think it's great.
Spartan art is the real made hysterical.
[U]Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal [/U]-- Christopher Moore
A very funny and witty take on the story of Jesus and what really happened with the three wise men.
[u]Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch[/u] -- Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
As Clive Barker says: "The Apocalypse has never been funnier." Gaiman is one of my favorite writers and combined with Pratchett's flair for the comically absurd, this book is amazing.
...There is no folly of the beast of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of men.
Special Topics In Calamity Physics by Marissha Pessl
If you loved The Secret History then this book is definitely worth checking out.
I hope this thread keeps going Ive gotten lots of book recomendations so far.
[QUOTE=xec8;1026236]Well, no matter what you think of it, there's no way in hell you're going to agree with me and say it was as good as I cracked it up to be.
I think it's great.[/QUOTE]
It was an experience that I did not fully grasp until much later. We were told we were going to some Scottish writer's home and we all thought so what, big deal. None of us had ever heard of him at that time. We knocked at his front door and we walked through his house to the back yard. He read some of his short stories and talk on various subject and at one point he got so excited about what he was saying that he leaned too far back in his lawn chair. And Alasdair who was a worn down 67 at the time, fell and rolled backwards into a sitting position on the ground. The only thing I could think is "I almost saw a famous writer break his neck and die." He signed my book and was the only person I've ever meant who knew off the top of his head the my name, Brock, meant a bager in Belgium. I have since become a big fan.
twitter: http://twitter.com/B_as_in_Brock
[QUOTE=Ology;1026613]It was an experience that I did not fully grasp until much later. We were told we were going to some Scottish writer's home and we all thought so what, big deal. None of us had ever heard of him at that time. We knocked at his front door and we walked through his house to the back yard. He read some of his short stories and talk on various subject and at one point he got so excited about what he was saying that he leaned too far back in his lawn chair. And Alasdair who was a worn down 67 at the time, fell and rolled backwards into a sitting position on the ground. The only thing I could think is "I almost saw a famous writer break his neck and die." He signed my book and was the only person I've ever meant who knew off the top of his head the my name, Brock, meant a bager in Belgium. I have since become a big fan.[/QUOTE]
I am seriously jealous of you.
Spartan art is the real made hysterical.
My humble list... Apologies for the repeats.
Harry Crews - [I]A Feast of Snakes[/I] - "Badass" is not a term frequently used in literary criticism, but here it is completely appropriate.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez - [I]Of Love and Other Demons[/I] - Beautifully rich, sensual prose. He's just about as good as anybody living...and that's in TRANSLATION.
Kathy Acker - [I]Empire of the Senseless[/I] - Breaks every rule of literature and then spits in your face.
Hubert Selby, Jr. - [I]Last Exit To Brooklyn[/I] - So much better than [I]Requiem For A Dream [/I]that it is almost hard to believe. An achingly beautiful novel.
JT Leroy - [I]The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things[/I] - Not the most intellectual thing you'll ever read, but sincere and gutsy. A lot of fun. And all the hype about her working under a pseudonym is bullshit. The books are fantastic regardless of who wrote them. So intense, the pages burn your fingers...
I find it surprising that Kathy Acker isn't more popular around here.
Spartan art is the real made hysterical.
[QUOTE=xec8;1026724]I find it surprising that Kathy Acker isn't more popular around here.[/QUOTE]
I know. Sort of tragic, really. Her whole approach was so liberating. She took whole sections of other books out of context and used them in her own work! Acker did whatever she wanted and the critics be damned.
[QUOTE=Caligula7;1026721]My humble list... Apologies for the repeats.[/QUOTE]
Don't apologise for the repeats, just don't fuckin' repeat them. This isn't about showing off, just putting some books out there. Apart from that, some fantastic suggestions so far. I've already started a new to-buy list. When I'm back to college I'm going to need to try hard to get a job in a bookshop somewhere.
[QUOTE=Jill's Tit;1026066][B]Apathy, and Other Small Victories[/B] by Paul Neilan.
A slice of life kind of story about an asshole and his misadventures with three seperate women in a new city.[/QUOTE]
I bought this a couple of days ago for the hell of it, simply because people who buy Palahniuk on Amazon had bought it... and i liked the sound of it. 
Therefore, i'm glad to see it getting a heads up on here!
Freaky dancing by BEZ from the Happy Honday very very funny autobiography.
The three stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K Dick trippy funny creepy.
Raism by James Havoc DARK! very surreal.
SKREEMER by Peter Milligen is cult gangster graphic novel.
HELTER SKELTER by Vin Bugliosi which is about a very sick man.
Crash by J D Ballard very fast read one of Ballard's best.
Bez can write? Spell, even?
Just about.
Is his autobipgraphy anything more than, "I took forty four E's and fifteen pounds of coke and then went for a walk. I didn't really go for a walk though, I convulsed on the floor?"
Also, get an avatar.
Thats it in a nutshell.
I was at a Happy Mondays gig the other night when it was Bez's 43rd birthday. Sean Ryder said something like "Wish this fooker happy fookin berthday you fookers", which we all did. Then Bez took the mic and said "Fook the police."
I mean, really. A "thank you" would have been nice.
Also - here's a fine cult novel that hasn't been mentioned yet:
[B]Perfume - Patrick Suskind. [/B]
Apparently, this book still divides people between those who think it's pretentious twaddle and those who think it's a weird, stinking masterpiece. As a book that tries to evoke the sense of smell as much as any other sense, it's pretty original. Amazing language (the grotesque and vivid descriptions of 18th century France conjour up the most rancid images since Gilliam's Jabberwocky). The main character is effectively mute, twisted and almost totally unsympathetic. Plus, he spends at least 20 pages of the book in a hole. I loved it.
[QUOTE=drinking mercury;1026047][U]You Shall Know Our Velocity![/U] by Dave Eggers... a story about a heartbreaking man, his money, and his need to get rid of it. one of my absolute favorites.[/QUOTE]
I liked the sound of this, so i looked it up online to read more about it and then ordered it.
Better be good!
I don't think any of these are repeats.
[I]Geek Love[/I] by Katherine Dunn
[I]Island of the Sequined Love Nun[/I] (or any other) by Christopher Moore
[I]Vurt[/I] by Jeff Noon
[I]Post Office[/I] by Charles Bukowski
[I]American Gods[/I] by Neil Gaiman
Edit: I amost forgot [I]Preacher[/I] the graphic novel series by Garth Ennis
Don't be a prick in the roses
No one's impressed with your lack of respect.
We're all black sheep and we know it
So don't fuck it up for the rest.
[B]Blackbox[/B]; Nick Walker
[SIZE=2]Nick Walker did an intensive here. I didn't know who he was, though the little bit posted about him in the news section intruigued me. I picked up Blackbox from my school library the other day and I'm going through it like a beast. On a superficial level it's very similar to Survivor, and the content on another level does remind me of Chuck, but have no doubts about the book being from two different authors. It follows a troupe of characters through their lives, some tragic, some... not as tragic. It's full of dark little laughs in places and is the perfect follow-up to Breakfast of Champions, which I've re-read again, due to it's following of different characters in places and their distantly relating lives, in theme etc. A hilarious book so far, especially the comedy routine when it's done right at the start. Definitely one to pick up if you want something a little dark, a little funny and a little different.[/SIZE]
Thank you to everyone taking part, but please give a good bit of information about the novel instead of just the name. You need to sell it to us, so go all out and SELL IT.
'Down and out in Paris and London' By George Orwell. A disturbing look at being poor and quality of life.
"The New York Trilogy' By Paul Auster. Technically three novellas. One is about a writer mistaken for a detective, who decides to play the part. The second is about a man named Blue who is watching a man named Black and was hired by a Mister White. The third Is about a writer who takes over his friends life. Check it out. You'll probably either love Auster or hate him.
I don't want to be the one she tells her deep dark secrets to.
I want to [b]be[/b] her deep dark secret
I'd also suggest the first Hellblazer volume from Vertigo, Original Sins.
[U][URL=http://www.amazon.com/Hellblazer-Original-Sins-Jamie-Delano/dp/1563890526]Hellblazer: Original Sins[/URL][SIZE=1] by Jamie Delano[/SIZE][/U]
[CENTER][IMG]http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e133/SonsofChaos/hellblazer3.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER]
It's full of dry humour, political and sociological commentary, it's a bit tongue-in cheek, demons cheering for Margeret Thatcher, racist skinheads mutating into a single being and fighting each other over football team alliance, etc. It's funny, good story, well worth the read. Some of the narrative is a bit bland, but other bits are great. If you like your comics, this is definitely one to add to the collection. As Jamie Delano said: "...generally I was interested in commenting on 1980s Britain. That was where I was living, it was shit, and I wanted to tell everybody."
Constantine is one of my personal favourite comic-heroes (see man in signature), and this is well worth checking out if only to find out more about the cult's favourite leading man, anti-hero, hero, and humble, modest, never-redundant, always-on-point, to the tee, amazing, excellent, loved and hated genius, Corellion. But really, very funny, very clever, the art-work is very much 1980's comic art, but it's enjoyable all the same. John Ridgeway is no David Mack, but it's still good stuff, and great fun. Also, in the second book, "To Hell and Back" David Loyd illustrates the whole thing in a sort of water-colour style, it's beautiful and a great story too by Jamie Delano.
[B]Weaveworld[/B] by Clive Barker
Lyric, lush and one of the best books I've ever read.
from amazon:
Barker turns from his usual horror to epic-length fantasy for this account of the Fugue, a magical land inhabited by descendants of supernatural beings who once shared the earth with humans. The Fugue has been woven into a carpet for protection against those who would destroy it; the death of its guardian occasions a battle between good and particularly repulsive evil forces for control of the Fugue. Weaveworld is rich with memorable characters, exciting situations, and pockets of Barker's trademark horror.
[B]My Idea Of Fun - Will Self[/B]
Part coming of age story, part comedy, part horror, My Idea Of Fun depicts the life of a young boy living in an English seaside town who discovers his ability to Eidetake - memorise scenes photographically and manipulate them at will within his mind. Mentored by an overbearing, eccentric 'uncle', the protagonist hones his gift in dark directions until the lines between the real world and the one in his photographic memory become blurred to a dangerous degree.
I personally have a love/hate relationship with this author. Although undeniably witty, imaginative and tremendously literate, his style can sometimes come across as being arrogant and smug, using vocabulary and structure as some sort of private joke.
That aside, if I haven't already put you off, this book is worth a read. It explores the nature of sanity and self-belief with an edge of cynicism and plenty of dry humor.
[B]A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess[/B]
(Very likely mentioned in another thread, but can't see it here yet)
In my view this is a masterpiece, a lesson in the art of writing in the first person. Set in an alternate/future Britain where gangs of teenagers stalk the streets at night pursuing violence, theft and drug-laced milk, the narrative follows the life of Alex, a delinquent with a penchant for rape and Beethoven. He is thrown into prison for murder and used as a guinea-pig for a new government rehabilitation scheme for young offenders.
With an invented dialect, a hybrid slang mix of Russian and Romany, Burgess creates a totally believable character and universe for him to live in. The book is original, entertaining, disturbing and particularly satirical, commenting on the connection between violence and youth, on the way society deals with its problems.
Based on a true experience (as I am lead to believe), Anthony Burgess wrote this as a way to come to terms with his own trauma and also to understand (and forgive) the perpetrator.
A Clockwork Orange deserves more than this messy recommendation and the ending deserves more attention than the spurious and entirely different one (that misses the whole goddamn point!) Stanley Kubrick gave it in the film version. Just read it if you haven't already. Even if you have, read it again.
[B]The Lost World and Other Stories - Arthur Conan Doyle[/B]
Before Jurassic Park there was this. Classic science fiction from the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Fantastically articulate and permanently shocked characters guide the reader through a world where dinosoars and missing-link tribes reside deep in the Amazonian jungle, gasseous monsters inhabit the sky above the clouds and the centre of the earth is actually a living creature.
Conan-Doyle was a master pen-man of the late 19th/early 20th century. In my opinion his short stories are much better than his novels and, in the tradition of HG Wells and Jules Verne, was a pioneer author of science-fiction. If you have the patience to stick with the elaborate style and language of the time, this book is a winner.
[B]The Demon - Hubert Selby Jr[/B]
I know his more well known work has already had a mention here, but I wanted to include this filthy little jewel in the running. It's about a man trying desperately to control his sexual desires and dark urges while maintaining a 'normal' life. Beginning with just a few minor adulterous indescretions, a downward spiral of obsession and lack of self control leads the protagonist into a pit of dispair and degredation. Leading a double life as both good husband and sexual deviant proves schizophrenic and unmanagable.
This book is brillaintly accurate at describing lust on every level and the way in which it can motivate and enslave. I recommend it with caution. I could never read The Demon again because it cut very close to the bone and touched a nerve with me. Hell, it bunched up all my nerves in a tight fist and dragged them repeatedly over a cheese-grater. I hate this book because it is true. I love this book because it made me nauseous. Read it if you dare.
[B]Transmetropolitan - Warren Ellis & Darrick Robertson (Vertigo Comics)[/B]
A North American city of the future seen through the eyes of Spider Jerusalem, a renegade Journalist filled with hate for himself and the human race in general. Transmetropolitan portrays a future where nano-technology has infiltrated mainstream culture, where teenagers get their kicks by altering their genes, cryogenically frozen folk are revived into a future world they don't understand and have no place in, nazi-midgets terrorize dark alleyways, monkey-burgers and baby seal eyes are the new junk food, products are advertised directly into your brain, Nike Air Jesus are the best-selling anti-gravity footwear items and politicians are, well, still politicians.
Funny, political, well illustrated and full of creative ways to insult your fellow man. A great comic series.
So there's a few beauties to get your teeth into.
Hello, by the way. I'm new. Please hold that against me.
[B]Lone Wolf & Cub (Kozure Okami)[/B] - Kazuo Koike, Gosekii Kojima (manga)
In 28 volumes, the saga of a vengeance in medieval Japan. Ogami Itto, the shogun's executioner, is taken in a conspiracy and is forced to exile. Chased by assassins, he wanders the roads of Japan pushing a pram full of deadly gadgets from which his infant son witnesses carnage. Father and son follow the path of the damned and their deadly journey is a terrifying portrait of a society based on sacrifice, oppression and violence.
Duluth, Live from Golgotha-anything by gore vidal really, he's incapable of writing anything boring.
[B]American Skin[/B] by Don De Grazia
a good book about Chicago skin heads in the 80's. He just came to talk to one of my classes and told us that he is making it into a movie, he's working on the screenplay with the lady who wrote city of god, i guess....
Dice Man - Luke Rheinhart.
One of those books which, if read at the right time, can have a huge effect on your life.
[QUOTE=iamthebuffalo;1076944][B]American Skin[/B] by Don De Grazia
a good book about Chicago skin heads in the 80's. He just came to talk to one of my classes and told us that he is making it into a movie, he's working on the screenplay with the lady who wrote city of god, i guess....[/QUOTE]
Really? I read that book a couple years ago, I wasn't all that impressed. A skinhead friend let me borrow it when I was writing a paper on the skinhead subculture. I thought it was interesting, but I didn't think it was that well written.
Don't be a prick in the roses
No one's impressed with your lack of respect.
We're all black sheep and we know it
So don't fuck it up for the rest.
Hi i read all of posts and nobody, has put a many books like
Amelie Nothomp Sulfuric Acid
Michel Houellebeqc Les particules elementaries
And Shame by Salman Rushdie
ooops a forgot Samarcanda Amin Maloouf
I hope someone read about
[QUOTE=ScribblingDes;1080614]Really? I read that book a couple years ago, I wasn't all that impressed. A skinhead friend let me borrow it when I was writing a paper on the skinhead subculture. I thought it was interesting, but I didn't think it was that well written.[/QUOTE]
Did you read Slow Death by Stewart Home? It's a book with a Skin protagonist. It's so macho that it's just silly.
Anyway, here's my list of five Cultish books:
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
The People of the Abyss by Jack London
Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges
The Dirt by Motley Crue (I swear, its worth it)
Hell's Angels by Hunter S. Thompson
Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham, Sock by Penn Jillette, Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy by Tim Burton, Conan of Cimmeria by Robert Howard and L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter
Bad Grass Never Dies by Chuck Barris, If Chins Could Kill by Bruce Campbell, HorrorShow by Greg Kihn, Organ Grinders by Bill Fitzhugh
[QUOTE=chad lott;1090313]The Dirt by Motley Crue (I swear, its worth it)[/QUOTE] Is that the one "[SIZE=5][B]by Motley Crue[/B][/SIZE] [SIZE=1]with Neal Strauss[/SIZE]"? Because if so - Neal is a great writer. I was thinking about buying that one just because he wrote it.
First!!!
has anyone read a Clive Barker novel??
Mongol General: This is good. But what is best in life?
Mongol: The open steppe, fleet horse, falcons at your wrist, and the wind in your hair.
Mongol General: Wrong! Conan! What is best in life?
Conan the Cimmerian: Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women.