IronGiant: Good books? | Sputnikmusic

IronGiant 01.29.17	is stephen king any good? was thinking about reading 11/22/63 but idk
Winesburgohio 01.29.17	can u pls read it and get back to me IronGiant persevere with Against the Day, i reckon it's one of his most readable! Simplicity-wise Sudden Death, Bright Lights Big City and Then We Came to an End should tickle your pickle!!!
Mort. 01.29.17	anything by vonnegut is super easy to read
GeorgeWBush 01.29.17	Chuck Palahniuk - Fight Club I'm currently reading Doctor Sleep by Stephen King. It's the sequel to The Shining, and it's excellent so far.
Spluger 01.29.17	I've only read the Shining by King and I liked it a lot. He can be very verbose at times though. I recommend Fear and Loathing by Hunter S. Thompson, read that book in two sittings.
zakalwe 01.29.17	The Wasp Factory 1984 A Confederacy of Dunces Catch 22 Under the Volcano The Stand Saturday Night and Sunday Morning The Power of One The Beach The Pillars of the Earth Lord of the Flies Flowers for Algernon
GeorgeWBush 01.29.17	"Nothing too dense or intricate" "1894" Well.
Tunaboy45 01.29.17	"is stephen king any good?" recently read Revival, loved it and would definitely recommend currently reading Porno, huge Irvine Welsh fan
BeetleKing 01.29.17	Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
Sevengill 01.29.17	Watership Down is probably my favorite novel. Halfway between high adventure and philosophical parable. Do it for Richard Adams, who was a victim of 2016.
TVC15 01.29.17	The Catcher in the Rye The Thin Executioner
Sniff 01.29.17	John Williams - Stoner
dbizzles 01.29.17	Maybe try Brilliance? Crime Fiction, think X-Men meets Heroes but with more realistic abilities. Super easy read. Wouldn't say it's amazing, but it was good enough that I ordered the next two books from thriftbooks. If that doesn't sound appealing, maybe read up a bit and then try Neverwhere by Gaiman.
DrMaximus 01.29.17	the trial
Astronewt 01.29.17	If you want something kinda weird, John Dies at the End is pretty good. I also just read 2001: Space Odyssey and found it amazing.
Mythodea 01.29.17	Stephen King is excellent, chose anything. I'd recommend 11/22/63, brought me to tears. I'd also recommend Salems Lot and Needful Things (for sth shorter). By Clive Barker try The Damnation Game, one of the best he's written. Terry Pratchet would be great too, awesome fiction/comedy.
Spluger 01.29.17	How does 2001 compare to the film?
zaruyache 01.29.17	It expands on some stuff that was left mysterious in the film and has some big differences (they go to a different planet), but the two are companion pieces so you should def read the book if you've seen the film.
IronGiant 01.29.17	thank you for all the awesome feedback! I've read a lot of these already, either in school (1984, Flowers for algernon) or for fun (Fight Club, Fear and Loathing, Catcher in the Rye). Started 2001 but found it boring, maybe I'll try again? I'm gonna give 11/22/63 a shot though and see how I like it.
Trebor. 01.29.17	"Nothing too dense or intricate" fuck, was going to recommend Kavalier and Clay and Infinite Jest No Longer Human is very short and great, Revolutionary Road also good shit
Spec 01.29.17	The Long Walk is good if you're going with Stephen King.
Divaman 01.29.17	King is good, but go for older King. Go for something like "The Shining" or "Pet Sematary" if you want horror, or maybe "The Green Mile" if not.
TheEnigma 01.29.17	Currently reading 'The Life and Times of Michael K' by J.M. Coetzee it's good shit. It's the literary influence behind Cult of Luna's 'Somewhere Along the Highway'
Rowan5215 01.29.17	definitely do not start with newer King, he misses far more than he hits. start with Salem's Lot (for straight up creepiness) or The Shining (for psychological stuff) also get Remember Why You Fear Me - Robert Shearman if you want the best short story collection of the 21st century
zaruyache 01.30.17	finished The Girl With All The Gifts recently and it was fairly good. An "original zombie book" in the truest sense. Now I'm on to Murakami's Hard-Boiled Wonderland, which is interesting so far, in a Murakami way.
Muppelope 01.30.17	I'm a huge Gaiman fan, so I second Neverwhere, which was said above, though I prefer American Gods. Also Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake or The Handmaid's Tale. I recently read Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and really enjoyed that as well. All of these are urban fantasy or dystopians btw.
YetAnotherBrick 01.30.17	Vonnegut [2] Start with Slaughterhouse-Five tho Also Henderson the Rain King by Saul Bellow The Maltese Falcon by Dashiel Hammett One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey Hoot by Carl Hiaasen Stuart Little by E.B. White (legit)
Deathconscious 01.30.17	if you want something fun, Nekropolis by Tim Waggoner. its about a zombie detective in a city inhabited by other creatures and monsters.
Deathconscious 01.30.17	also, the Newsflesh series is a pretty fun read. its a zombie series, but not a post-apocalyptic kind of zombie book. government didnt collapse, humans learned to live with the zombie outbreak and its apart of everyday life. it follows two sibling journalists who stumble upon something they werent supposed to that (obviously) relates to the zombie outbreak. Stephen King's The Dark Tower series is less "fun" and can be kind of intricate but nothing that will really make you scratch your head. it is extremely entertaining.
Sinternet 01.30.17	just pick any murakami my favourite is norwegian wood so read that if you haven't or maybe kazuo ishiguro if you want something more in that style
TheGreatQ 01.31.17	Check Revival by Stephen King. One of the few books I ever get the urge to re-read.
danielito19 01.31.17	if you don't mind soap operas or lengthy diatribes translated from russian The Brothers Karamazov is pretty incredible
Hep Kat 01.31.17	The Hemingway Thief
SCREAMorphine 01.31.17	Anything by Robert Mccammon.
Piglet 01.31.17	Don't look further than Catch-22. It's absolutely hilarious and a breeze to read. Dune and Magician are grouse fantasy page-turners that are hard to put down.
RadicalEd 01.31.17	Stoner - John Williams 1984 - Orwell The Cicero Trilogy - Robert Harris (Imperium, Lustrum, Dictator) The Great Gatsby - Fitzgerald "Nothing too dense or intricate" "The Brothers Karamazov is pretty incredible" um probably one of the most dense and intricate books out there.
Satellite 01.31.17	Camus can do but Sartre is smartre. the master and margarita - mikhail bulgakov on the road - jack kerouac the metamorphasis - franz kafka brave new world - aldous huxley dying of the light - grrm (honestly this is probably his best work) company - max barry the visible man - chuck klosterman also 123 on catch-22 and the now-extremely-relevant 1984
RadicalEd 01.31.17	Ugh Kafka
Rik VII 01.31.17	the metamorphasis - franz kafka [2] ... the best ever
Piglet 01.31.17	The Brothers Karamazov isn't thaaaat dense or intricate in my experience, I first read it when I was 14 and I wasn't at sea like Joyce or anything like that. The prose has a nice gallop, the dialogue runs like honey, there's a lot of emotion, imo it's immensely readable. I suppose it's pretty long though.
Rik VII 01.31.17	Yeah, Dostoyevsky in general is really easy to read imo, he's just an amazing writer. His books tend to be super long though, which is why all in all they're not that accessible all the same.
Piglet 01.31.17	It does depend on the translator, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky are very lively, in fact I don't appreciate Dostoevsky the same with the others. Comes across as too dry.
RadicalEd 01.31.17	I love Dostoyevsky don't get me wrong, but Brothers K is very dense/intricate imo. I mean compared to Ullyses by Joyce it's a walk in the park agreed, but that's probably one of the most obtuse (and still famous) novels out there.
guitarded_chuck 01.31.17	the bros k is fantastic. just read it not long ago actually ive been reading a ton of philosophy lately
guitarded_chuck 01.31.17	i kind of enjoyed crime and punishment more i think though, raskolnikov is such an interesting character study i like the exploration of good and evil more than the religious debates in tbk generally dostoyevsky was a p hardcore christian and he isnt in your face about it but its pretty clear which worldview he was suggesting to be best although the dealing with the immoral hot girls thing is highly relatable
Piglet 01.31.17	oh aha yeah duderoo he really got the crazy russian bitches thing down to a tee 1. The Bros K 2. The Idiot 3. Crime and Punishment 4. The House of the Dead 5. Notes from Underground Still haven't read his other shit but that'd be my ranking
Piglet 01.31.17	Speaking of character studies i did do one comparing Prince Myshkin from The Idiot to Don Quixote, pretty much my favourite piece of writing i ever did/researched
SCREAM! 01.31.17	"is stephen king any good? was thinking about reading 11/22/63 but idk" I enjoyed it. Sounds like it would fit what you're looking for too Also if you haven't read it then Mario Puzo - The Godfather is a great, straightforward little piece of fiction
guitarded_chuck 01.31.17	ive only read tbk and c&p so far but that was recently and i'm just taking a break from him to read some other stuff. probably read the idiot soon. i think i'll tackle war and peace this summer. i love reading / watching docs about the french revolution and the napoleonic wars so i'm thinking i'll probably love it
Shiranui 01.31.17	I know The Idiot has got to be lying around here somewhere, same goes for Thus spoke Zarathustra. Been meaning to get to these for a while.
Zig 01.31.17	So, here's my non-too-dense recs: Nikolai Gogol - The Nose; The Portrait; Diary of a Madman Lev Tolstoi - Kreutzer Sonata Marguerite Duras - Cantabile Moderato
Rik VII 01.31.17	I second Gogol, his works are very entertaining and unique but he might not be up to everyone's alley.
Piglet 01.31.17	interesting for someone to rec 3 of gogol's works and not dead souls ahahah translator is very important for him too
Shoegazefan9789 01.31.17	1. 11/22/63 was awesome, easy to read and super interesting alternative history 2. Think Like a Freak 3. The Years of rice and salt
TheEnigma 02.11.17	H O U S E O F L E A V E S
zaruyache 02.11.17	I've heard that's supposed to be really good. Freaky, but good.
72haha72 02.11.17	Anything by Thomas Pynchon. Gravity's Rainbow is considered his masterpiece.
JeetJeet 02.11.17	Survivor by Chuck Pahlaniuk is probably my favorite read of all time, but das just me. Rant is good too.
TheEnigma 02.11.17	"I've heard that's supposed to be really good. Freaky, but good." It is. Some of it's pretty dense, but it's definitely worth the read. Gravity's Rainbow is one of the next books on my reading list. I read one of Pynchon's books (Bleeding Edge) and it was alright. Still want to read 'V' - it was an inspiration behind Thrice's 'Vheissu' - but I accidentally ordered the French copy online.
dbizzles 02.11.17	House of Leaves [2] Though I'm not sure I wouldn't consider it a bit dense. I'm reading volume 1 of Kabuki by David Mack right now and it is fucking cool.
72haha72 02.12.17	Actually, I'd definitely recommend to read V. before reading Gravity's Rainbow. Still haven't read Bleeding Edge though, I am currently reading (and thoroughly enjoying) Vineland.
Deathconscious 02.12.17	i just got done with the Imperial Radch series. i rec that everyone stays the fuck away from it. the first book is impressive and will suck you in, the second book was a huge fucking chore to read and a big disappointment, and the third one was better but still didnt make up for it.
TheEnigma 02.12.17	"I'd definitely recommend to read V. before reading Gravity's Rainbow." Any particular reason for that?
Papa Universe 03.05.17	Read Richard K. Morgan's superb cyberpunk masterpiece Altered Carbon before Netflix makes its adaptation. It's a first book in a trilogy and each book focuses on different style of Science Fiction. First one is cyberpunk, second one is a Space Opera, and the third one I haven't read yet, but I assume it's some sort of war story. It is incredibly detailed and truly gripping, so get on it quickly before it's too mainstream.
Papa Universe 03.05.17	If you're not into Sci-Fi, here's something more down-to-earth: Peter May's Lewis Island trilogy. Three books, each masks itself as a detective story, whereas in reality it is a truly touhing and tender tale of reconnection with your past, your former loved ones and the place you used to call home and the realisation that nothing is without a change and time goes by too quickly.
Papa Universe 03.05.17	But going back to the Space Opera, I can't not mention the single greatest genre piece, the four Space Odyssey books by Arthur C. Clarke. Each delving into different kind of style. First being the hardcore science following and sombre claustrofest, second more of a traditional implication of the genre, thrid being some sort of literary blockbuster and fourth presenting itself as a sort of biography.
Papa Universe 03.05.17	If you are at all interested in the thematics of wartime and the point of view of someone within an occupated territory, Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal had a brilliant, alas short book called Closely Observed Trains, whose adaptation even won an Oscar for best foreign picture back in the day.
Papa Universe 03.05.17	The same author, similar topic, but rather biographical, I Served the King of England. Though not my favourite book, still a decent read.
Anthracks 03.05.17	gone girl
Papa Universe 03.05.17	Talking about war, but from a different perspective and genre. Graham Greene's Ministry of Fear has by far one of the most intriguing beginnings in crime thrillers I've read. However, the book is not just a typical story about solving a puzzle as it is with many other spy thrillers, this one in fact keeps you in paranoia as to who can be in on the conspiracy that takes place around the main character. Just keep in mind that the ending might not be as effective as one would wish.
Papa Universe 03.05.17	Still delving into the theme of spy thriller, I could not leave out the master of the genre, John le Carré. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is possibly his most renowned effort and for good reasons. The book is filled with overwhelming amount of detail and confusingly vague explanations to situations different characters get themselves in. The reader almost drowns in information poured onto him from page to page and it is quite hard to keep track of what exactly is going on or what are different characters refering to in their dialogues. Just as detailed and confusing as a real life espionage operation would be, one could assume.
p4p 03.05.17	Gibran - The Prophet Capote - In Cold Blood Camus - The Stranger Tolstoy - Anna Karenina (i recommend the Rosamund Bartlett translation)
dbizzles 03.05.17	Just read Blood Meridian by McCarthy, it could use some trimming, but overall was pretty awesome. A bleak western tale of death, war, suffering and the more gruesome side of humanity. Started The Raw Shark Texts a couple days back by Stephen Hall which is a great change of pace from Blood Meridian. Good so far, was rec'd because I liked House of Leaves. I understand the comparisons already even if they are often reaching a bit.
butcherboy 03.05.17	confederacy of dunces.. for something more contemporary, teju cole and junot diaz are both fantastic.. and noviolet bulawayo's We need new names is a great book
polyrhythm 03.05.17	Slaughterhouse Five
Tunaboy45 03.05.17	can't recommend The Master and Margarita enough
NorthernSkylark 03.05.17	Hemingway, flannery o'connor, J.d. Salinger, carson McCullers, Tennessee Williams, Raymond carver - those are my favorite authors.
combustion07 03.05.17	The Girl in the Swing is a great one
Lord(e)Po)))ts 03.05.17	Read Oryx and Crake if you haven't. its shaping up to be one of my favourite fictional works ever and its an easy read and not terribly long. The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things is also awesome and has a really cool history to it, but is not for the faint of heart. Very short and easy to read. I also love House of Leaves and Shantaram but both of those are super long and demanding.
polyrhythm 03.05.17	Pale Fire by Nabokov is like a 6/5
Frippertronics 03.05.17	Thea von Harbou's Metropolis is good, once you get used to her style of going on...and on....and on.... plus it's essential if you like the movie; goes heavy on the characterization that was a bit skimmed over in the movie
Lord(e)Po)))ts 03.06.17	And yes Stephen King is good but don't start with that book. Read the stand or dark tower i
MillionDead 03.06.17	Skylark, I'm an English major at Ole Miss, so it's nice to see someone into that Southern gothic realm. I haven't had much time or drive to read for fun while reading all this stuff for college, but I'm thinking of starting Lolita. And also, try out House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday. It's told non-chronologically but its really touching and you get the picture by the end.