a really thrilling new book is the straw men
also nones mentioned a song of ice and fire
i mean in essence they both are really cool and dont suck

Imitation Saccharin :

Well, in fairness, they might be giants

I wonder if that's where They Might Be Giants got their name from.

Recently I've been reading Watership Down and Sinclair's The Jungle.

Problem is, I never can put enough time away to finish them.

To anyone into Kafka, are his novels worth reading? From what I've heard they are all incomplete and were released post-humously against his wishes. 'The Trial' seems to have been complete enough to prompt Orson Welles to have made a film of it, but reading a novel which finishes mid-sentence doesn't really appeal to me.

"Earthly Powers" by Anthony Burgess is good. If slightly sick and depressing. Then again he wrote Clockwork Orange so it's not suprising. It has the best first line of any novel as well.

"Foucault's pendulum" by Umberto Eco is also good. Think of it as "The Da Vinci Code" but better, funnier and less self-absorbed.

pigeon_of_doom:
To anyone into Kafka, are his novels worth reading? From what I've heard they are all incomplete and were released post-humously against his wishes. 'The Trial' seems to have been complete enough to prompt Orson Welles to have made a film of it, but reading a novel which finishes mid-sentence doesn't really appeal to me.

Well, I know that The Metamorphosis is a complete work by Kafka. He wrote the whole thing in a matter of days and submitted it to a magazine or something. I therefore recommend that one to you- it is definitely worth reading, especially because it is about how a man gets transformed into a giant dung beetle.

I haven't read any other works by Kafka, though, so I wouldn't know about them...

I'm an avid reader of Terry Pratchett's fiction. Read most books, reading some even now. I like his wit and humor, as well as the general charm of his books. Really, a fantastic author. I'm still quite unhappy about him having Alzheimer's. Sigh.

I'm also a fan of the classical authors, such as Homer. I read plenty of the mythical tales in my youth and sometimes still do. "The Odyssey" is one of my favorite books ever.

Goethe is also on the table, because I love "Faust" (The book, not the person).

E.M.Remarque is also one of my favorite authors, and I've read a lot of his book. "Three friends" was a shining example of excellence in an otherwise uninteresting selection of literature.

R.G.Grant's "Battles" is also a good book, since I am quite interested in history.

J.R.R.Tolkien has also occupied a place on my "favorite authors" list, mostly because of "Hobbit", which was just so well written and immersive that I spent most of my childhood reading his fiction.

Andrew Robinsons "The Story of Writing" also is an excellent, and slightly humorous, take on the evolution of writing.

W.Hauff was a major writer when I was little, and I thoroughly enjoy his novels and stories to this day.

In short: Books are awesome.

No one has mentioned Critchton yet? I like his books, very Hollywood style thriller, a bit predictable, but still a few hours of good entertainment.

On the thoughtful sci-fi front, I recommend Isaac Asimov, he wrote "I robot" and many excellent short stories, my fav being "Professions", which is an interesting take on the education system.

I'm not really into fiction and literature and all that, much prefer the real world. The truth is often much more bizzare and thrilling than fiction. Recommend:

"Age of Oil" -- Leonardo Maugeri
The top man at the world's 6th largest multinational oil corporation Eni tells you all about the history and present of our oil production and consumption, and does an excellent job of putting things into context.

Labyrinth:

H.R.Shovenstuff:

John Galt:
I intend to acquire a copy of Mein Kampf and Das Kapital but I'm not sure I can be seen with those books and not be put on some sort of government watch list.

I hate the fact Das Kapital is used in te same sentance as Mein Kampf, but hey. As for Das Kapital, I have several copies as my parents are socialists and sell them on stands at rallies etc. I am yet to read it but am working my way up to it. I'm pretty sure you won't go on any government list if you get this book. As for Mein Kampf, I think you will.

Only one term applies here: Thought Police.

Our school library has a copy of Mein Kampf, it shouldn't be too much of an issue. Unless it's illegal in the US, which I'm not sure of. But I doubt it.

Graustein:
Our school library has a copy of Mein Kampf, it shouldn't be too much of an issue. Unless it's illegal in the US, which I'm not sure of. But I doubt it.

Mein Kampf and Das Kapital are fun to mention together. The opposing ideologies tend to generate a lot of literary heat which can be used to power the engines of creativity and genius.

And I've yet to find copies of either in my school library. I think I'll just buy them.

Labyrinth:

Graustein:
Our school library has a copy of Mein Kampf, it shouldn't be too much of an issue. Unless it's illegal in the US, which I'm not sure of. But I doubt it.

Mein Kampf and Das Kapital are fun to mention together. The opposing ideologies tend to generate a lot of literary heat which can be used to power the engines of creativity and genius.

And I've yet to find copies of either in my school library. I think I'll just buy them.

I need to read them at one point. I tried reading Mein Kampf but Hitler is one long-winded author. I read the first chapter and couldn't bear the thought of several hundred more pages of the like.

pigeon_of_doom:
To anyone into Kafka, are his novels worth reading? From what I've heard they are all incomplete and were released post-humously against his wishes. 'The Trial' seems to have been complete enough to prompt Orson Welles to have made a film of it, but reading a novel which finishes mid-sentence doesn't really appeal to me.

Kafka is amazing, but not everyone would like him cause its often quite slow.

I'll just mention a few authors and one book each by them. Its kinda hard for me cause I've read practically everything by them all...

Will Self (Book of Dave), JG Ballard (High Rise), Philip k Dick (Flow My Tears The Policeman Said), Kurt Vonnegut (Welcome to the Monkey House), Iain Banks (The Wasp Factory), Bret Easton Ellis (The Informers), Craig Clevenger (Contortionist Handbook), HP Lovecraft (Any collection).

All these books and authors are amazing in my opinion. And my opinion is correct.

you know whats amazing no one has mentioned(how do i spell this?) thomas ligiotti?
he is a great writer and his works are amazing.
and i know that his one everyone has read but i also like steven king. just read the gunslinger. it is a great book

I want to become an author, I've got ideas in my head of a fantasy world and the myths of its people.
Since this is the literature thread, couldn't I post what I've typed up so far?

How do you do the spoiler tags, so I won't take up room, just in case.

On topic though.
The best book I've read in a while is American Gods.
Though it may just be because it has gods in it and I'm crazy about mythology.

So it took a while, but I finally managed to find the right grave to dig up and resurrect this thread. There is a point to this as well.

Today I read a book which shocked and moved me to tears.

It was not a collection of essays about how consumerism is the end of the evolutionary ladder, but something far more real. The Rape Of Nanking (the forgotten holocaust of WWII) is a historical and journalistic examination of the actions of the Japanese army during their WWII invasion of China. It contains recounts of what the sources quoted term "worse tortures than were committed by the Nazis in Germany," and with good reason. This book contains vivid descriptions of mass murder, killing games and horrific rape perpetrated on civilians and surrendered army troops in the Chinese capital (Ex-capital as of its capture by Japanese forces). One such is transcribed below.

Aside from a detailed examination of the horror itself, including many other reports of suffering forced upon innocent people regardless of age or physical well being, the book contains an examination of the psychological side, both that of the soldiers who perpetrated such things, and of the government officials. Other things included are a reflection on the propaganda of the time, both in Nanking and in Japan. The later includes the censorship of school textbooks to avoid stating that Japanese forces had committed such things, and an almost total literary blackout of the ordeal once the International Military Tribunal for the Far East had passed.

Another fun thing is that an estimated 360,000 people were slaughtered during this occupation. Over about 6 weeks. Accurate numbers of the raped and otherwise injured are difficult to attain due to the shame and horror experienced by victims, especially those who found themselves pregnant.

I'll leave the rest to those who wish to read this book. It is not the only one on the topic, but I have not had the chance to read the others. In a true demonstration of the obscurity of this event, I had not even heard of the Rape of Nanking until today. Not a single textbook I've read in history mentions it.

Edit: I forgot to mention the author/investigator. Oops. Written and researched by Iris Chang.

The silmarillion, which is a compilation of notes written by that master of English J.R.R. Tolkien and assembled by his son Christopher. As an admitted bibliophile I have to say that this is by far my favorite book. It is an amazing work that outlines the history of the world from its creation by Eru to the start of the third age and with everything in between. It gives the feel of reading older texts on mythology which is no coincidence considering Tolkiens work on things such as Beowulf and Sir Gwane and the green knight.

The sad thing is that nobody has read this book around me, they all seem to be unable to finish it. I really think though more people should pick it up. Aside from all of the wonderful works of Tolkien I would have to say his friend and contemporary Lewis would be a close second for 'favorite writer' mainly because of the 'out of the silent planet' series and the screwtape letters.

I would also advise to people 'a wrinkle in time', and, well I could go on but sufficed to say I just love so many good books.

Here's something I wrote a while ago, but couldn't find this thread to post.

So, Hemingway's taken a back seat because I've found another book which has long inspired a degree of fascination. Mein Kampf is proving to be every bit as interesting and psychotic as I had hoped, and some of the ideas within it amuse me no end due to the sheer irony of their writing. Below are a few quotes which made me either chortle or quirk a brow. These are in no particular order either.

"Sooner will a camel pass through the eye of a needle than a great man be "discovered" by election," simply made me laugh. The implied deficiency in a nation's good judgement has always struck me as quite true for some countries. That said, I do believe that some great people have been elected, though whether one could term that a discovery is another matter.

"I could not help but be amazed at how short a time it took this great evil power within the state (Vienna) to create a certain opinion even where it meant totally falsifying profound desires and views which surely existed among the public. In a few days a ridiculous episode had become a significant state action, while conversely, at the same time, vital problems fell prey to a public oblivion, or rather were simply filched from the memory and consciousness of the masses."

and

"...even to give them a popularity which the great man often does not obtain his whole life long; names which a month before no one had even seen or heard of, while at the same time old and proved figures of political or other public life, though in the best of health, simply died as far as their fellow men were concerned, or were heaped with such vile insults that their names soon threatened to become the symbol of some definite act of infamy of villainy."

made me think immediately of the celebrity phenomenon. While Hitler was on about political figures, I see it to be far more relative to those we see as famous. How often does one see the overly scrutinised life turn to something the media could use as a bad example? I think it's somewhat depressing that a book so heaped with deranged anti-Semitism and sadistic ideals could make such a stalwart point, once I'd twisted it to fit the modern setting.

Now we come to the expressions of sheer irony. I haven't gotten particularly far into the book itself, and already I've found several.

"From then on our discussions at work were often very heated. I argued back, from day to day better informed than my antagonists concerning their own knowledge, until one day they made use of the weapon which most readily conquers reason: terror and violence."

Could it be that Hitler is complaining about being bullied into silence? My god! The shock! The horror!

In another place, he states his support for democracy and the "rule of man" which again made me smile. Bitterly, I'll admit.

For all the irony and possibly-true-in-different-context points made so far in Mein Kampf, I have to say that I none the less find myself repulsed by the other ideas. The overbearing nationalism. The anti-Semitism. The degradation that he would heap upon those of non-German language or decent, and the clear statement of his loathing there for. It's also full of half-baked bullshit about how he spent his youth, much of which is discredited in both footnotes and external historical reference. I have to wonder just how much of it he believed himself, considering the psychological state of the author.

I would recommend it as a fascinating read, and a succinct examination of one twisted leader's mind, but stand warned that some of the ideas may horrify. To quote the blurb: "Mein Kampf is an evil book, but it remains necessary reading for those who seek to understand the Holocaust, for students of totalitarian psychology and for all who care to safeguard democracy."

Warning: Highly opinionated.

Psychosis is, like all extremes, extremely attractive to the outside obserber. It promises to sweep away all the petty dross, the mundaity and the small evils in a wave of glasslike malevolence, promising that all will be fine once half of us lie beneath the sodden earth. In reality, it simply creates it own mundanity.

Fondant on literature:

Orwell: 1984: Surpirisingly easy to read, well-constructed and delectably horrifying, a combination of gleaming, cruel intellect with mindless brutality laced with the crushing of all hope.

Miguel Cervantes: Don Quixote: reading it, and enjoying it. Takes it's time, but it's been pretty good so far.

The communist Manifesto: Read this, and understand why the world trembles at the rise of the red star.

Terry Goodkind: Starts off well, but slowly degenerates into a pissing match against socialism, and an espousal of his insane politics. Still worth reading, but it becomes so abjectly upsetting to have to section off the writing from the rhetoric.

Ayn Rand: Lady, you one stupid bitch. No concept of economics, no understanding of human nature beyond the one facet of 'competition', seems to not understand the seperation between humanity and government. Places 'competition' on some sort of pedastal, and then goes on to destroy her argument. Oh, and fairly feeble anti-communist propaganda. I would say take this witha pinch of salt, but in truth, it should be taken with several tonnes of the damn stuff, and should only be legally sold as a companion to either: The General Theory of money, Employment and interest or Das Kaptial. God preserve us from lunatics like this one.

Solzhenitsin: His works against the autocracy of Lenin and Stalin are elegant, bleak and truly show the face of totalitarianism. I particularly enjoyed One Day in the life of Ivan Denisovitch, and the Gulag Archipelago is worth a read. Cancer Ward is much the same.
However, his works on the Tzarist state, such as August 1914, rank as some of the most turgid, romantiscising and silly that I've read. I barely managed August 1914, and the following books nearly killed me with the sheer weight of their uncritical worship of Tzarist Russia. I strongly suspect that I will suffer for this critique, but I'll restate this much: He is still a splendid author.

Carlo D'Este: Decision in Normandy: A well-written account on the Normandy campaign, that is both critical and at the same balanced in it's approach to Montgommery. It's only flaw is the author's waxing lyrical the subject of General George Patton, whom he subjects only to critiscism on his personality, rather that critiscism on his generalship.

Oscar Wilde: Only read The Soul of Man under socialism and a collection of his works, but I must say that I like his work, and his style in particular. Though his blatant rim-piratery becomes a little excessive at times.

Correli Barent: Britainand Her army: a merciless taking apart of the british military, coupled with a fair, and objective assessment of their performance in many, many wars. Worth reading.

Terry Prattchet: Pure, spectacular elegance, wit and style. Read or die.

The Illiad: More a history than a book. Averageness.

The Hitchhiker's guide: Funny. Very funny.

Lord of the rings series: Boring, I'll be frank. Tolkien managed to make brutality, evil and horror as mundance as crumpets and tea with no butter or sugar. His writing is staid, his style inelegant and his subject matter is neglected in favour of perusing off into the aimless wnaderings of his mind with little concern for the reader's wellbeing, or interest.