Literature club

So let's discuss about books in here what you have recently read or just generally want to recommend to other dark souls fanatics. (If there was a thread already about this nerdish subject, then woe is me and ***.)

Good books I have read/been reading recently and would gladly recommend to anybody:

House of leaves
A book which is weird in concept. It is a psychological tale of a young man who finds the archives left behind by some old man. He then begins to compile all this information into a huge work.
The book has atleast three different perspectives going on at the same time, all written in different font. Some pages may contain only one sentence, creating a claustrophobic atmosphere, or they might be even written upside down.

It is a very special book which is considered to be horror eventhough the author  Mark Z. Danielewski determines it as a love story. For anyone who enjoys somewhat confusing texts and likes to spend time thinking to figure things out, this is a perfect book.


Another book which is really informative and at the same time entertaining is Bill Bryson's: A Short History of Nearly Everything (2003)


This book explains alot about astrology really simply and easily while staying easy to read and enjoyable at the same time. For anybody who is intrested about this subject and wants to learn it the easy and fun way.

I am still working on "H.P. Lovecraft: The Complete Fiction". The stories are amazing, dark and sinister. Lovecraft had a truly unique and haunting imagination and, much like Poe, who inspired him, so far ahead of his time that it is saddening that no one of his caliber exists today. His work is just unlike anything I've ever picked up. It differs even from Poe's work, only taking inspiration from that master writer and utilizing such inspiration to fashion stories with their own tone and voice, not just a repetition of someone who inspired the writer.

To put it plain, Lovecraft is a magnificent writer, and you would be doing you and your brain a disservice to not pick up something related to his work.

Elite Knight wrote:I am still working on "H.P. Lovecraft: The Complete Fiction". The stories are amazing, dark and sinister. Lovecraft had a truly unique and haunting imagination and, much like Poe, who inspired him, so far ahead of his time that it is saddening that no one of his caliber exists today. His work is just unlike anything I've ever picked up. It differs even from Poe's work, only taking inspiration from that master writer and utilizing such inspiration to fashion stories with their own tone and voice, not just a repetition of someone who inspired the writer.

To put it plain, Lovecraft is a magnificent writer, and you would be doing you and your brain a disservice to not pick up something related to his work.

 I actually bought the Necronomicon too in English and read it through. Alot of different Hp Lovecraft stories. My favorite being (of course) At the mountains of madness.

I should refresh my memory and read some of them through again. My English isn't too strong either so sometimes I have to skip quite a few words.

It's been a while but I did read At the Mountains of Madness when I was in highschool. If I can find a copy of it I might have to give it a read.

GrinTwist wrote:It's been a while but I did read At the Mountains of Madness when I was in highschool. If I can find a copy of it I might have to give it a read.

 http://www.amazon.com/Necronomicon-Weird-Lovecraft-Commemorative-Edition/dp/0575081570/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1373863276&sr=8-2&keywords=necronomicon

This was the one I bought. For such price 880 pages full of priceless stories.

Forcefed wrote:

GrinTwist wrote:It's been a while but I did read At the Mountains of Madness when I was in highschool. If I can find a copy of it I might have to give it a read.

 http://www.amazon.com/Necronomicon-Weird-Lovecraft-Commemorative-Edition/dp/0575081570/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1373863276&sr=8-2&keywords=necronomicon

This was the one I bought. For such price 880 pages full of priceless stories.

Thanks for the link mate.

Not to derail the conversation, but this makes me want to write a cookbook called the NecroOmNomNomicon.

A series of novels written by an Australian author named Matthew Reilly. Only the first three have been written so far, but they are an amazing thriller/action series. the books published so far are called:Seven Ancient Wonders, Six Sacred Stones, Five Ancient Warriors. these three boks are quite possibly my favourite ever. 

On another note, World War Z is a fantastic "Non-Fiction" fictional story. A movie sharing the name has recently been released, but they share nothing in common. I highly recommend it.

I always promote the Dark Tower series by King in literature threads. However, besides King my kindle (aka cell phone) has the complete works of Poe, I Am America and So Can You by Stephen Colbert (hilarious) a large number of free public domain stuff like Alice In Wonderland, most of the Oz series (way more messed up than the movie) and of course some works by a certain Robert Chambers, another person who influenced Lovecraft to some degree. The King In Yellow is particularly good and might actually be the substance behind Xanthous King Jeremiah (I forget who pointed this out but great job because it got me to read the book).

And for the record, I should probably give some longer works a try because I've read some Lovecraft and, while I find them good, I don't find them comparable to my favorites. I admit his body of work is larger in the horror genre though so I could be just missing out.

Also I have probably thirty (hyperbole) copies of Dracula, including one from 1929

skarekrow13 wrote:most of the Oz series (way more messed up than the movie)

 Not as messed up as the TV show, Oz.

skarekrow13 wrote:I always promote the Dark Tower series by King in literature threads.  However, besides King my kindle (aka cell phone) has the complete works of Poe, I Am America and So Can You by Stephen Colbert (hilarious) a large number of free public domain stuff like Alice In Wonderland, most of the Oz series (way more messed up than the movie) and of course some works by a certain Robert Chambers, another person who influenced Lovecraft to some degree.  The King In Yellow is particularly good and might actually be the substance behind Xanthous King Jeremiah (I forget who pointed this out but great job because it got me to read the book).  

And for the record, I should probably give some longer works a try because I've read some Lovecraft and, while I find them good, I don't find them comparable to my favorites.  I admit his body of work is larger in the horror genre though so I could be just missing out.  

Also I have probably thirty (hyperbole) copies of Dracula, including one from 1929

The king in yellow? This might be something I need to read too for it refers to a song I like. And I know the band picks their lyrics and song names from literature.
And the dark tower series was something I was recommended in the wiki chat. Maybe I should then really check it out after I finish these two books I'm on now.

I'm anticipating Schools of Dune, and hoping that The Throne of Dune gets written.

I was feel a little off in these threads since I most likely can't take the recommendations of others with limited free time. It's hard reading with a three and a half year old jumping on you. Anyway, it turns out I recommend more than take recommendations. With that being said,

Forcefed, if you like ANY Stephen King you should definitely check out the Dark Tower. There's seven books in the main series with an eighth full book as kind of an interlude between two of the others and a few short stories in the mix. Sounds like a lot and it is, but it's also not the half of it. Other King works directly tie in (Hearts in Atlantis, Black House, The Eyes of the Dragon, The Stand) while other King books are referenced or indirectly tied in (From A Buick 8, Desperation, etc.). He also uses pop culture references and other people's works (Wizard or Oz, Harry Potter, Comic Books). Basically, by the end you're under the assumption that everything King has ever done is part of the story. To the point where he even writes himself in. The scope is crazy. If you like King.....it can consume you.

The King in Yellow should be a good addition if you're looking for light reading. It's really fast and only a few of the shorts (it's a collection) are actually about The King in Yellow.

There is a book I read during my sophomore year in high school called "A Bullet For Stonewall" by Benjamin King. It is set in the American Civil War. It's a story revolving around espionage and a professional spy hired by the Union to assassinate Stonewall Jackson. There's more to it than that, but that was a good time ago so I can't remember it specifically. I just remember it being a really, really good book. Pick it up if you get the chance.

On the subject of Lovecraft
easily my favorite author of all time and if you want to pick up another nice collection the Barnes and Noble Leatherbound Classics series edition is amazing
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/barnes-noble-leatherbound-classics-hp-lovecraft-h-p-lovecraft/1106658815?ean=9781435122963
easily my favorite Lovecraft collection and the second printing is pretty much spot on with regards to having minimal typos and a very solid amount of his work (it sits on my shelf with some other nice and somewhat more expensive books although to be fair I read very little from it as I've several cheap paperbacks that I read from more often due to caring less about them)
if you want absolutely everything, including his more obscure stuff, I've an ebook so kindle on my phone needs I'm never without Lovecraft
could dig up the link or dump it on dropbox if anyone wants it

on an unrelated note
any Asimov fans?

oh, and before I forget
if anyone has not read The Stranger, by Albert Camus
my favorite novel of all time by leagues, it's short enough that I recommend it to anyone but if you're a fan of existential absurdism you might enjoy it more

Read The Doors of Perception, really short, but really good. More of an essay than book really, and you can read it in one sitting. Highly recommend it.

Just finished the Farseer trilogy and really enjoyed it as a standout in the fantasy genre.  Very flawed character that you love and hate (because of his stupidity) all at the same time.  Never really 'great' at anything, but good at most things.  Tries to do good and make good decisions, but it ends up not going his way most of the time.  Ending was superb as well, happy, but bittersweet.  Not expected at all.

Re-reading the song of ice and fire (game of thrones) series now.  Picking up A LOT more the second read through and am probably enjoying it more than I did the first time around.  After that I have a historical fiction book about samurai's on the horizon.  Will probably read it after I finish AGOT.

I'd really like to read Ender's Game before the movie comes out in November.

bunnywink wrote:I'd really like to read Ender's Game before the movie comes out in November.

 If you haven't read it you should.  It's a quick read and good.  I won't go see the movie, but I'll probably rent it when it comes out.  I'm more excited for the 2nd installment of the Hunger Games personally.  Will probably see that in the theater even thought I HATE theaters.  It's why I have a 65" TV in my tiny *** living room.

Laharls_Wrath wrote:On the subject of Lovecraft
easily my favorite author of all time and if you want to pick up another nice collection the Barnes and Noble Leatherbound Classics series edition is amazing
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/barnes-noble-leatherbound-classics-hp-lovecraft-h-p-lovecraft/1106658815?ean=9781435122963
easily my favorite Lovecraft collection and the second printing is pretty much spot on with regards to having minimal typos and a very solid amount of his work (it sits on my shelf with some other nice and somewhat more expensive books although to be fair I read very little from it as I've several cheap paperbacks that I read from more often due to caring less about them)
if you want absolutely everything, including his more obscure stuff, I've an ebook so kindle on my phone needs I'm never without Lovecraft
could dig up the link or dump it on dropbox if anyone wants it

 I have that exact book.