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ITT: Your top 5-10 books
Poast new message in this thread
Date: November 2nd, 2017 1:44 AM Author: godawful excitant range party of the first part What books fit any or all of the following:
- Personal favorites - Influential in your life - Philosophically profound - Highly compelling writing
Pick your top 5-10, please include explanation. |
Date: November 2nd, 2017 1:45 AM Author: Fluffy Bateful Box Office Confederacy of Dunces Master and Margarita
I'm very well read in Anglo-American, French, German, Russian, Greco-Roman literature, but I return to these two again and again. Magna opera of characterization, vivid portraits of their times and cultures, just funny. |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:03 AM Author: twisted citrine stead international law enforcement agency (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585599) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:09 AM Author: Maroon depressive codepig love M&M so much I named my cat after it (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585626) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 10:31 AM Author: Puce Swashbuckling Mood Parlour No Latinx and queer lit? If not you’re functionally illiterate (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34595034) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 8:37 PM Author: garnet marvelous jew Master and Margarita is some of the most overrated shit of all time. It's good, no doubt, but the worship of this book has never made sense to me.
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 1:52 AM Author: onyx partner Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space (and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds) Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 1: The Night of the Nasty Nostril Nuggets |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 1:54 AM Author: Fluffy Bateful Box Office These made me laugh my ass off as an early teen. My parents were driving through Times Square once, and my father was screaming at me because I refused to look up at the flashing billboards. I was reading Captain Underpants. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585575) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:00 AM Author: onyx partner (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585588) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 3:50 AM Author: Histrionic Stain (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585860) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 10:01 AM Author: misanthropic sable pocket flask ladyboy 18000 (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34594823) |
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Date: November 4th, 2017 12:46 PM Author: crusty market sneaky criminal (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34602806) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:53 PM Author: Cheese-eating gas station tank (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618395) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 1:55 AM Author: razzle sandwich old irish cottage What's wrong with the original Captain Underpants? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585578) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 6:58 PM Author: Jet yarmulke (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34611369) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:47 PM Author: Wild gunner Don't forget Dogman and Dogman: Unleashed. Two of the greatest pieces of American literature. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618333) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 1:56 AM Author: Coral ape Feel like I've only read like 5 books in my life In no particular order Dune Crime and punishment Storm of swords Prisoner of Azkaban or order of the phoenix Jfc its worse than I've thought. Those/those series are the only books I've read since college, jfc And actually, I read crime and punishment and Harry Potter in college. Loool |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:00 AM Author: godawful excitant range party of the first part Read all but Dune.
All are good, Crime and Punishment is especially cr. |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:03 AM Author: onyx partner youre not missing out. i basically read for vanitys sake (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585601) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:04 AM Author: Coral ape That's the only reason I'd want to do it again. Upper level high school classes + striving convinced me I had to enjoy high literature or I was a retard (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585602) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:06 AM Author: onyx partner i used to bang out books like nbd. since being on xo, it's a long painful slog (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585609) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:07 AM Author: Coral ape ljl at our BLOWN OUT dopamine receptors (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585613) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:09 AM Author: onyx partner have you ever taken a girl to a museum and realised you know jackshit about art? you're just an ape staring at some pretty pictures? thankfully english class taught me to bullshit effectively and even earnestly (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585622) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:11 AM Author: godawful excitant range party of the first part Still really don't get visual art. Statues, pictures, etc. are entirely unmoving. Books and music, I really get. But visual art does nothing for me. Never been able to figure out why. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585631) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 5:15 AM Author: walnut theater (Jew) (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34594151) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 12:56 PM Author: godawful excitant range party of the first part Nah, Anglo-Saxon and German ancestry (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34596195) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:11 AM Author: Coral ape Lmao I've had this exact thought after taking a girl to an art museum and do the same bullshitting (which I'm convinced actually gives it meaning, even if it's drawn ironically). When I picture civilization, I basically imagine us as chimps in a suit and tie (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585633) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 9:33 PM Author: Dark Titillating Associate Church this series is a good primer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObhNiJaoVow |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:16 AM Author: razzle sandwich old irish cottage I've had this problem as well but I think it's just an Internet/smartphone thing in general. Harder to focus on one thing without distraction for hours on end. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585659) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 6:27 AM Author: cracking naked pisswyrm rehab wow (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34594208) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 9:51 PM Author: odious massive trailer park factory reset button Dune is the greatest science fiction (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34621226) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:02 AM Author: twisted citrine stead international law enforcement agency (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585596) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:13 AM Author: Coral ape None of these seem particularly enjoyable (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585643) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:41 AM Author: twisted citrine stead international law enforcement agency (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585714) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:43 AM Author: Exhilarant Multi-billionaire Theater Stage BNW is awesome bro, give it a shot (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585721) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:42 AM Author: fragrant casino psychic Brave New World is cr. Read it many times (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585717) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:43 AM Author: twisted citrine stead international law enforcement agency (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585723) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:44 AM Author: fragrant casino psychic Not a Crichton fan but cr (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585726) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:43 AM Author: Slate dead university goal in life like the reading list of a guy who went to catholic high school then to a service academy (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585722) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:44 AM Author: twisted citrine stead international law enforcement agency (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585725) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 3:49 AM Author: godawful excitant range party of the first part adding all but BNW to reading list (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34594062) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 3:57 AM Author: twisted citrine stead international law enforcement agency (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34594081) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 6:18 AM Author: Shimmering vivacious regret laser beams Cryptonomicon was pretty good. Only managed to sit through 2 of that guy's books (was it Stephenson?) and that one was the most engrossing (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34594203) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 8:39 PM Author: garnet marvelous jew Fuck man, some of those are good books but you're not doing much to put off those would accuse you of being a level 10 neckbeard. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34612203) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:43 AM Author: fragrant casino psychic Brave New World.
Ball Four.
White Fang
The call of the wild
Matterhorn. |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 3:49 AM Author: godawful excitant range party of the first part Jack London is 180^180 (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34594065) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 10:24 PM Author: splenetic step-uncle's house feces (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34613108) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:57 AM Author: razzle sandwich old irish cottage This is all ad-hoc because I'm not big on top X lists for this sort of thing, but just for discussion's sake:
Lord of the World: Probably my favorite Christian novel. Very influential to my own life in that I experienced a surge of religious commitment after reading it. It helped me grapple with my feelings on trying to follow a worldview that seems perpetually in decline and more ignored/despised with each passing day.
A Canticle for Leibowitz: My favorite science fiction book, and it also doubles as an interesting religious work.
The Civil War, A Narrative: Probably the best work of narrative history I've read, and certainly the most epic. Not really a work of scholarship (no bibliography, for one) but a great read if you have the time for it.
The Campaigns of Napoleon: Fascinating analysis of the career and mind of one of the greatest soldiers in history.
Plays of Aristophanes (not a 'book' but w/e): My favorite classical writer.
Montaillou: Fascinating work of "micro-history," focused on the daily lives of Occitan peasants who were interviewed in exhaustive detail by the Papal Inquisition. I recommend this book on XO a lot.
Flash for Freedom!: The best and funniest Flashman book. Probably my favorite work of historical fiction (I, Claudius is a more conventional contender).
Christian Nation: This book has certainly provided me with more entertainment than any other.
Notably while I have read and enjoyed quite a few "Great Novels," none of them really stand out as books I look back on as personal favorites. |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 2:59 AM Author: twisted citrine stead international law enforcement agency (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585777) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 3:03 AM Author: razzle sandwich old irish cottage Glad to hear it, hope you enjoy. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585785) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 3:06 AM Author: blue gaming laptop thoughts on chaucer? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585791) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 3:12 AM Author: razzle sandwich old irish cottage No deep thoughts. I've only read portions of the Tales, back in high school.
My favorite medieval poem is probably the Song of Roland. |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 3:32 AM Author: razzle sandwich old irish cottage One that I forgot: My favorite lulzy pulp story, The High Crusade. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585837) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 3:34 AM Author: Slate dead university goal in life ever read hyperion? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585839) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 3:35 AM Author: razzle sandwich old irish cottage No, though I'm familiar with the basic plot outline.
An amusingly significant amount of top sci-fi revolves around Catholics IN SPACE. |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 3:36 AM Author: Slate dead university goal in life i highly, highly recommend hyperion (and its sequel, fall of hyperion). (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585842) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 3:39 AM Author: razzle sandwich old irish cottage Noted. In the next year I'd really like to go and read a decent amount of classic sci-fi I never got around to. My other significant reading project is to become an expert on ISLAM so that I can more effectively hate on it. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585844) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 3:46 AM Author: Slate dead university goal in life (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34585852) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 10:12 AM Author: Chocolate cruise ship quadroon The Sparrow: Jesuits IN SPACE (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34594889) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 11:39 AM Author: razzle sandwich old irish cottage Speaker for the Dead: Brazilian Catholics IN SPACE. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34595661) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 3:50 AM Author: godawful excitant range party of the first part Favorite Aristophanes work? Read Clouds last semester. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34594069) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 12:25 PM Author: razzle sandwich old irish cottage Probably also Clouds, but it was the first one I read. I like The Knights a good bit too. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34595949) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 3:52 AM Author: godawful excitant range party of the first part What made Lord of the World particularly compelling? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34594072) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 12:30 PM Author: razzle sandwich old irish cottage It's both a dystopian work and an apocalypse, set after a century of shitlib rule has turned Christianity into a tiny, persecuted, heavily-mocked sect. In contrast to lame shit like Left Behind, where persons of perfect faith simply battle the forces of evil, the greatest struggles in LOTW are internal, about holding on to faith and avoiding despair when everything in the world pushes against doing so. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34595977) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 12:46 PM Author: godawful excitant range party of the first part Just ordered it (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34596102) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 3:11 AM Author: motley rambunctious boltzmann a confederacy of dunces
moby dick
the world as will and representation
elective affinities
naked lunch
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 4:39 AM Author: hyperventilating hall personal fave - The Prize (changed the way I see the world)
for writing - Lolita (a fucking ESL wrote that???)
for psychological aspect - Crime and Punishment
for the history and adventure story - Moby Dick (four fucking doods in a dinghy taking down a fucking whale?)
current events - 1984 |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 3:48 AM Author: godawful excitant range party of the first part all very CR (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34594058) |
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Date: November 2nd, 2017 5:14 AM Author: cerebral buff electric furnace double fault American Psycho
LA confidential
Bhagavad Gita
Catch 22
English August
Untethered Soul - kind of basic but sometimes you forget the basics
Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia
Confederacy of the Dunces
Q clearance
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 2:22 AM Author: twisted citrine stead international law enforcement agency (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34593873) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 6:26 AM Author: Shimmering vivacious regret laser beams No particular order:
Hyperion (whole cantos) by Dan Simmons
Gridlinked by Neal Asher
Magician's nephew by Lewis (haven't read in years, but still)
Starfish by Watts
All my other top 10s are science fiction anthologies, either collections of Dick stories or best of 1980s |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 10:07 AM Author: salmon wonderful skinny woman Brave New World was incredibly thought-provoking and insightful, and Huxley was frighteningly on-point in many ways. But it was a pretty dull, uninteresting story. Would never put it in my top books, but still glad I read it.
Infinite Jest Confederacy of Dunces Redwall For Whom the Bell Tolls Crime and Punishment The Civil War: A Narrative (in progress) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 10:13 AM Author: spectacular property ITT: Soulless 115 IQ office drones recall their AP lit syllabus (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34594899) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 10:14 AM Author: salmon wonderful skinny woman joke's on you faggot, I never did the assigned reading (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34594907) |
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Date: November 4th, 2017 2:44 PM Author: Tripping lemon pervert national (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34603388) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 12:47 PM Author: godawful excitant range party of the first part (soulless 95 IQ drone who thinks literacy is for the enjoyment of the weak) (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34596110) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 10:15 AM Author: big transparent persian mexican Alas, Babylon: I love post-apocalyptic stuff, this is one of the best examples of the genre from a literary POV. The Road is very good but that's not post-apocalyptic fiction, it's fiction set in a post-apocalyptic world. Jurassic Park: Haven't read it since I was a kid, but I read it 6 times in a week the summer the movie came out. Critique of Pure Reason: Obvious. Sex and Character: Obvious (well maybe not but when you Google it you'll see it's a very XO book). Gulag Archipelago: Obvious.
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 12:48 PM Author: godawful excitant range party of the first part Why, in a few sentences, do you find Kant persuasive? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34596128) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 10:22 AM Author: Galvanic volcanic crater a list of a few of my favorites. note that these arent necessarily the best books ive ever read, just a few i liked a lot. this is a hard list for me to make, though, because ive read a lot of really entertaining but questionable shit (in terms of quality) throughout my life
house of leaves- i love everything about this book
american psycho- self explanatory
an instance of the fingerpost- my favorite historical novel
the mummy- probably my favorite anne rice novel. this isnt great literature but i find the story genuinely entertaining. i liked it a lot as a teenager; it has a lot of sentimental value for me
quincunx- when i read this book it absorbed me into its universe in a way i had never experienced when reading a novel. it was spellbinding. i loved it.
the season of passage- this is a weird book because its written by a successful YA author but is geared toward adults. its similar to the mummy for me in that i read it when i was young, really really loved it, and periodically read it every few years as an adult.
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 10:23 AM Author: big transparent persian mexican house of leaves was pretty cool (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34594967) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 10:23 AM Author: Galvanic volcanic crater house of leaves was 18000000 (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34594973) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 10:26 AM Author: salmon wonderful skinny woman Seemed cool at first, but the postmodern schtick wore on me after a while. Couldn't finish it. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34594999) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 10:27 AM Author: big transparent persian mexican it really wasn't helpful but the actual story being told made it worth it. it was a great horror story, like lovecraftian level, that was made difficult by its pretensions to art. it needs to be a miniseries (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34595008) |
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Date: November 15th, 2017 8:46 AM Author: Beady-eyed primrose puppy preventive strike American psycho is full of turgid descriptive sections. He was taking the piss (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34691366) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 10:31 AM Author: heady parlor wrinkle Kant--Groundwork of the Metaphysics of the Morals
Kant--Perpetual Peace and other Political Writings
Eliot--Middlemarch
Herbert--The Fog
Bradbury--Something Wicked This Way Comes
Hayek--The Road to Serfdom
Dickens--David Copperfield
Ballard--Crash
Foucault--The Birth of Biopolitics (Lectures at the College de France 1978-79)
Selby--Last Exit to Brooklyn
Runners Up: *Dickens--Our Mutual Friend *Twain--The Adventures of Tom Sawyer *Clover--Men, Women & Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film *Sconce, ed.--Sleaze Artists *Lacan--Seminar VII: The Ethics of Psychoanalysis *Barker--The Books of Blood *Ligotti--Teatro Grottesco *Negrarestani--Cyclonopedia *Ellis--American Psycho *Portis--The Masters of Atlantis |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 11:45 AM Author: green idiotic public bath *acknowledges Kant* (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34595696) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 12:53 PM Author: godawful excitant range party of the first part What makes Foucault and Kant persuasive to you? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34596167) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 11:42 AM Author: Thriller Antidepressant Drug i forget what i've read (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34595682) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 11:47 AM Author: Multi-colored poppy deer antler http://www.artgarfunkel.com/books.html (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34595713) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 11:49 AM Author: green idiotic public bath London Fields (Amis) Underworld (Delillo) Remains of the Day (Ishiguro) Herzog (Bellow) Independence Day (Ford) Atonement (McEwan) Stories of John Cheever The Counterlife (Roth) Motherless Brooklyn (Lethem) Sun Also Rises (Hemingway) Hound of the Baskervilles (Conan Doyle) Farwell, My Lovely (Chandler)
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:15 PM Author: Multi-colored poppy deer antler you inspired me to finally read remains of the day - thx (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618027) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:36 PM Author: green idiotic public bath It's great, and quite short. Very clean and elegant writing. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618234) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:36 PM Author: Multi-colored poppy deer antler mal also told me to read it so that combo of reccos sealed.the.deal. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618241) |
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Date: November 8th, 2017 5:22 PM Author: Multi-colored poppy deer antler update: picked up at used book store for $7
here we gooOoOOoOOooo |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 11:57 AM Author: diverse spot stock car The Blank Slate Dying Every Day The Swerve The Moviegoer The Right Stuff The Master and Margarita The Beginning of Infinity Blindsight Cryptonomicon The Sleepwalkers |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 12:42 PM Author: razzle-dazzle thirsty brunch Thus Spoke Zarathustra The Gay Science Blood Meridian The Sound and the Fury The Brothers Karamazov
edit: others I've read recently and enjoyed: A Portrait of the Artist As I Lay Dying V. Either/Or Wittgenstein's Tractatus Parerga and Paralipomena The Old Man and the Sea |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 12:55 PM Author: godawful excitant range party of the first part Read all but The Gay Science, very good list. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34596187) |
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Date: November 4th, 2017 2:25 PM Author: Judgmental Hell GTFO with these lies. No one like Tractatus more than Investigations. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34603304) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 6:51 PM Author: razzle-dazzle thirsty brunch I read the Investigations a while ago, brehlet (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34611303) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 6:19 PM Author: concupiscible bat-shit-crazy kitty you are 18000 (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34610979) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 1:42 PM Author: Curious spruce sweet tailpipe space Great thread OP
I really like Fantasy books but trying to get more into non-fiction
The Lions of Al-Rassan (set in Spain during reconquista and el-cid) Red Mars (great story on colonization of mars) Confederacy of Dunces Napoleon: a Life Claudius the God (really enjoyed reading about his time as emperor) Storm of Swords The Blade Itself (just really good dark Fantasy. Main character is a torturer worming for the inquisition. 3 book series. Abercrombie is great) Sailing to Sarantium!(set in constantinople during justinian’s reign. Theodora, Belisarius, precopius are all major characters. Painting of the mosaics on the Hagia Sophia and Ravenna, and gambling on chariot races,are major parts of the plot) Only Yesterday (was cool to read a contemporary history of the 20s) Infinite Jest (feel douchy listing this but I really liked it) Blood Meridian |
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Date: November 4th, 2017 2:29 PM Author: Elite hospital I copped Red Mars for $.50 at a charity book sale a few weeks ago. Aww yiss. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34603324) |
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Date: November 4th, 2017 10:00 PM Author: Curious spruce sweet tailpipe space Did you finish the series? I really loved it. Would make a great three season HBO series. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34606155) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 1:49 PM Author: diverse spot stock car I have a a hard time believing the classic books are actually people's favorite books. Anytime someone ONLY lists books like Crime and Punishment and Blood Meridian it tells me that this person likely doesn't read books. It is more of a list of the 10 books they have read part of. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34596611) |
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Date: November 3rd, 2017 5:51 PM Author: godawful excitant range party of the first part ...alternatively, the reason they're classics is cause a lot of people liked them, and people like them now for the same reasons. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34598240) |
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Date: November 4th, 2017 12:05 PM Author: Curious spruce sweet tailpipe space (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34602551) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 3:00 PM Author: salmon wonderful skinny woman Crime and Punishment is a brilliant portrait of madness and paranoia with beautifully written set pieces (the lead-up to the murder, the murder itself, the dinner scene with the shitbag fiancé, others I won't mention), and a 180 detective character mercilessly trolling Raskolnikov the entire time. It's a joy to read and I don't think I even read the best translation. Have you read it? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34609573) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:56 PM Author: free-loading maize black woman athletic conference Cr. Crime and Punishment is gripping and a joy to read. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618426) |
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Date: November 15th, 2017 3:51 AM Author: godawful excitant range party of the first part (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34690845) |
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Date: November 4th, 2017 12:45 PM Author: walnut theater I can't give top 5–10 all time, so I'll give some I read for the first time in the last year or so that really stood out that are (mostly) outside of my research interests:
- Nabokov, Lolita
I love Pale Fire and have read other Nabokov, but I hadn't read Lolita before, and well, there's a reason it lands on so many best novels lists. I don't want to spoil it for you, just read it.
- Graham Priest, One
Priest is best known for his defense of dialetheism, but he actually presses that theory into service here. It's a really open work of analytic philosophy that takes seriously Plato, Mahayana Buddhism, and Heidegger. I don't know how convinced I am, but I know I'll read this book every few years for a long time until I really digest it. It's short, and while it does contain some formal logic it isn't brutal about it, I promise.
- Thomas McEvilley, The Shape of Ancient Thought
This was a book where I had seen pieces of the argument in tons of places before, but had never seen them altogether and it was eye-opening. McEvilley talks about the likelihood and evidence of transmission between the intellectual cultures of East and West in the ancient world. Individual instances, like Heraclitus, will be known to people who are interested in this stuff, but McEvilley really gives context to a lot of disparate weird facts.
- Gene Wolfe, Book of the Long Sun
Book of the Long Sun might be more immediately crowd-pleasing than Book of the New Sun. It doesn't hide its central mysteries as much, and Silk is a charming protagonist compared to Severian. But it's still excellently crafted, imaginative and well, there's nothing else like Gene Wolfe. If you like SF/F at all and haven't read any Wolfe DO SO NOW.
- Adrian Goldsworthy, Caesar
There are, oddly, a lot of good books about Augustus from the past century, but not as many about Julius Caesar. Goldsworthy is a great narrative historian, and the subject here is perfectly suited for his talents.
- another thing
I've been reading all the Shakespeare plays I hadn't read before slowly over the past few years. Even the minor plays have amazing stuff in them, read Constance's sorrow for the lost Arthur in A3.S4 of King John:
Grief fills the room up of my absent child, Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me, Puts on his pretty looks, repeats his words, Remembers me of all his gracious parts, Stuffs out his vacant garments with his form; Then, have I reason to be fond of grief? |
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Date: November 4th, 2017 2:20 PM Author: razzle sandwich old irish cottage Good suggestions across the board.
Have you read Wolfe's non-science fiction stuff? As a Classics nut I enjoyed the Latro books a good deal. The Devil in the Forest was one of the most effective troll jobs by an author I've ever seen. |
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Date: November 4th, 2017 2:37 PM Author: walnut theater Yes, Peace is 180^180, and I loved the first two Latro books (haven't bothered with the third yet, heard it's not as good), and I thought Devil in the Forest was great.
I also loved Wizard Knight; it's pulp, but it's Wolfe doing pulp and all the better for it. His recent SF detective novel, A Borrowed Man was also very clever (I like that his recent books are less ambitious, shows he is aging gracefully as an author imo). |
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Date: November 4th, 2017 2:40 PM Author: razzle sandwich old irish cottage 100% not flame we should do an XO Gene Wolfe book club. He's such a cool writer but there's so much beneath the surface I always find myself wishing I had people to talk his books over with. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34603370) |
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Date: November 4th, 2017 2:44 PM Author: walnut theater yeah, I didn't know u had a classics background— I felt like knowing Greek was a "hack" in BotNS after talking to other people about their first experience reading it
there's a bit in Castle of the Otter where he talks about the Book of Gold bit in BotNS, and how he hopes that with BotNS he was able to write a book that was at least the Book of Gold for one person— and that's how I felt about it. Reading it for the first time was like reading a book I had always wanted to read but never knew it.
I would honestly be shit @ keeping up with a book club right now, school means I read for pleasure more erratically (like I won't at all for a few weeks and then I'll suddenly read 4-5 books for fun in a couple weeks), but I'd be very happy to talk about BotNS or any other Wolfe I've read w/ ppl going through it. |
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Date: November 4th, 2017 3:46 PM Author: razzle sandwich old irish cottage 180. Hoping to go on a Wolfe bender soon; might make some summon threads just to talk about shit.
I don't want to overstate my classics knowledge; I did history, archaeology, and literature but not languages (I can read Greek script but that's about it), hence Latro having a lot of appeal since it's basically set during the obscure period between Plataea and the Peloponnesian War. |
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Date: November 4th, 2017 4:21 PM Author: walnut theater (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34603868) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 9:59 PM Author: rusted hunting ground i love wolfe, brah (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34612896) |
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Date: November 4th, 2017 2:39 PM Author: walnut theater have you read Castle of the Otter, his book on writing + The Book of the New Sun?
it's really good, and I think it's collected in another book now— my copy is an original hardback |
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Date: November 4th, 2017 2:56 PM Author: razzle sandwich old irish cottage I own it but have not read it, unfortunately (it's probably in a box at my parents' place, too). I need to read more Wolfe. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34603429) |
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Date: November 4th, 2017 3:06 PM Author: walnut theater well if we weren't all thoughtcriminals practicing good terrorist cell hygiene, I'd offer to loan you my copy by mail (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34603486) |
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Date: November 4th, 2017 3:24 PM Author: razzle sandwich old irish cottage Don't sweat it. Tbh I need to reread BOTNS first, because I was a shithead high schooler the first time and couldn't grok a lot of it. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34603602) |
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Date: November 4th, 2017 2:27 PM Author: Judgmental Hell Finnegan's Wake
On Being and Nothingness
Gravity's Rainbow
In Search of Lost Time
Philosophical Investigations
The Art of the Deal |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 5:39 AM Author: Appetizing Son Of Senegal I don't believe you actually read or actually like Finnegan's Wake. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34607599) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 6:21 PM Author: Maroon depressive codepig guaranteed 100% flame except for perhaps Gravity's Rainbow (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34610997) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 6:23 PM Author: concupiscible bat-shit-crazy kitty (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34611016) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 8:32 PM Author: Judgmental Hell The whole list is so called 'flame'. But I've read 2 plus the first two books in ISOLT. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34612128) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 9:54 PM Author: Maroon depressive codepig artful execution, especially the false misdirection in the inclusion of the Trump book (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34612854) |
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Date: November 8th, 2017 5:49 AM Author: Appetizing Son Of Senegal lol (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34632688) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 6:52 PM Author: razzle-dazzle thirsty brunch apostrophe in Finnegans? PROLE TELL! (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34611317) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 8:33 PM Author: Judgmental Hell fuck my ass. aka, my moniker (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34612137) |
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Date: November 4th, 2017 10:03 PM Author: Charismatic Cowardly Institution Twinkling Uncleanness I have not read a book for at least a decade. How prole? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34606168) |
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Date: November 4th, 2017 10:21 PM Author: walnut theater if your net worth is under nine figures, you're basically a welfare mom of the soul (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34606287) |
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Date: November 4th, 2017 10:22 PM Author: razzle sandwich old irish cottage (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34606298) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 5:44 AM Author: Appetizing Son Of Senegal Gravitys Rainbow Snopes Triology Recognitions Moby Dick Brave New World |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 6:57 PM Author: Bistre Lascivious Station a bend in the river: beautiful writing about ugly subject matter thus spake zarathrusta: a timely wake-up call for a backwards boy caesar's gallic war journals: a haunting glimpse into the mind of another kind on rhetoric by aristotle: his distilled writings on logic and poetics the count of monte cristo: just damn fun reading
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Date: November 5th, 2017 7:01 PM Author: motley rambunctious boltzmann count of monte cristo - 180 (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34611389) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 7:05 PM Author: Aqua Flickering Field Journey to the End of the Night
Brave New World
American Psycho
Devils/The Possessed
Notes from Underground
Death on the Installment Plan/Death on Credit
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Date: November 5th, 2017 9:04 PM Author: garnet marvelous jew Crazy amount of love for American Psycho in here. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34612396) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 9:05 PM Author: Aqua Flickering Field Odd case (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34612403) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 9:07 PM Author: Provocative Emerald Gaping Macaca American Psycho and A Confederacy of Dunces reliably signal an even mix of low IQ, low social skills, and high mental illness. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34612441) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 9:09 PM Author: hairraiser know-it-all dilemma mental disorder (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34612463) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 9:10 PM Author: concupiscible bat-shit-crazy kitty (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34612473) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 10:20 PM Author: cerise den (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34613062) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 10:26 PM Author: Aqua Flickering Field I don’t think that’s fair. American Psycho is a classic nihilist novel. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34613125) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 10:35 PM Author: aphrodisiac bbw filthpig Of the two books, you chose the wrong one to defend (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34613216) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 10:45 PM Author: walnut theater (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34613329) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:59 PM Author: salmon wonderful skinny woman (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618445) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 10:18 PM Author: cerise den I used to be obsessed with American psycho and read the book multiple times.
It's fucking godawful lmao. Listing it as a *favorite* book seems like an awful attempt to signal you're cool or some shit |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:09 PM Author: godawful excitant range party of the first part "I used to be obsessed with American psycho"
lol or they're just in that kinda phase. chill bruh. |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 10:21 PM Author: boyish forum boistinker Stoner Farewell my Lovely American Caesar Dance Dance Dance I can't think of a fifth |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 10:23 PM Author: splenetic step-uncle's house feces the best of the heinlein juveniles: have space suit will travel starman jones tunnel in the sky rocket ship galileo citizen of the galaxy |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 10:34 PM Author: walnut theater No Farmer in the Sky? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34613205) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 10:35 PM Author: splenetic step-uncle's house feces 3rd tier heinlein (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34613211) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 10:46 PM Author: walnut theater Azn or Jew? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34613338) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 10:55 PM Author: splenetic step-uncle's house feces scots irish (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34613445) |
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Date: November 5th, 2017 10:30 PM Author: Sickened Dopamine Therapy 1. American Sniper 2. The Mouse and the Motorcycle 3. Crime and Punishment 4. Casino Royale 5. How to win friends and influence people |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:08 PM Author: godawful excitant range party of the first part Read all but Casino Royale. Not a bad list. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34617956) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:14 PM Author: Aromatic Rose Kitchen 1. Lord Of The Rings (Tolkien) This is probably my favorite, every page is full of a lust for life and respect for goodness, while at the same time reading almost like a beautiful epic poem. It is also one of the few books that really inspires courage and yet doesn't make the heroes out to be anything more than regular types that could just as well be you. It is inspiring and makes you want to be a better person, and lets you know you can be.
2. Master and Commander (O'Brian) This is about an Irish surgeon and an English ship's captain who become friends in the napoleonic era british navy. They get into a bunch of hijinks while fighting the french, sailing around, and dealing with british military bureaucracy. It is extremely well written with tons of historical references, poetry, etc. and is an epic saga about the bonds of brotherhood and friendships, especially amongst very different types of men. It is about relationships and marriage, and about how men deal with careers, war- everything really. This is the first book in a series and was a profound insight into the time period, but in itself is a top tier swashbuckling slice of life story with the most fleshed out characters that I have ever seen in literature.
3. Ender's Game (Scott Card) This book shaped my views of conflict and violence growing up, what it means to achieve, disgust towards striving, etc. It deals with the question of how we can keep our humanity despite going through harrowing experiences, and how to find our inner strength and independence. Great science fiction tale- the very introspective protagonist makes for a good read. But it is not a very positive book if that is what you are looking for. It is gritty and realistic and addresses the devils in our nature.
4. Starship Troopers (Heinlein) A sci-fi tale about a young upper class guy learning about duty and patriotism through his service in the space marines. It is a bit of a philosophical lecture by Heinlein wrapped in a story, but I felt it imparted a good deal of martial virtue in me that I had never reflected on before. It made me realize the significance of self-sacrifice and moral toughness and how they are needed to retain our society's vitality, and how these virtues are most needed at the top.
5. Whatever (Houellebecq) A well written takedown of the modern sexual marketplace, set in the France of the 1980s/90s. Great characters, you will feel a lot of emotions reading this, not all positive ones. It is a critique of modernism and makes you ask while reading "Where did it all go so wrong?" Houellebecq was decades ahead of his time, and this novel will (and most agree now) go down as one of the best descriptions of post-modernist hell that is the life of the late 20th and early 21st century man.
6. A Wizard of Earthsea (LeGuin) Similar to Tolkien in capturing the beauty of the natural world. Through the misadventures and hardships of a young wizard, LeGuin teaches us that the only way to truly appreciate the gifts we have been given in life, and to come to understand the world around us, is through patience, endurance, effort, and kindness. This book has shaped my worldview and made me more tolerant towards others and made me realize that there is no easy way out of learning all the things we need to to carry out our work faithfully. You observe and you gain a little bit each day, and add to your wisdom, and do your best to avoid failure- but learn what you can from it and try to live without regret. Very well written, and a good reminder to take notice (and respect) of the humanity in ourselves and others, and to value life in general.
Now that I think of it, the theme for my favorite books are that, primarily, they are well written and enjoyable stories with fun and interesting characters, but secondarily, there are lessons and examples to glean on how we might live a better life. The first definitely taking precedence. I like other books like ones other posters mentioned above, but a lot of them are purely entertainment and great reads as one-offs, but not books I would reread like the favorites I've posted above that continue to inspire my thoughts and actions. |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:21 PM Author: razzle sandwich old irish cottage It's an oddball take but I think my favorite Card novel might be Treason. Ever read it? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618076) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:46 PM Author: Aromatic Rose Kitchen No, it does seem like an oddball story, though. Worth it? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618315) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:53 PM Author: razzle sandwich old irish cottage You'd probably like it. At the least it's quite original. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618396) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:27 PM Author: Exciting violent selfie background story I agree with most peoples’ lists. Here are some I didn’t see above that I liked:
A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean (the one I had included some other Maclean stories which were also really good)
East of Eden by Steinbeck
Cat’s Cradle by Vonnegut
On the Road by Kerouac (I’ll probably get shit for this, and it was overrated,but I still enjoyed it).
Seek: Reports from the edges of America & Beyond by Johnson |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:41 PM Author: vibrant snowy mad cow disease abode Hesse - The Glass Bead Game Borges - Ficciones Hemingway - The Old Man and the Sea Gabriel Garcia Marquez- One Hundred Years of Solitude Camus - The Plague Nabokov - Pale Fire Nabokov - Short Stories Dostoevsky - Notes From Underground Henry Miller - Tropic of Cancer Anais Nin - Henry and June |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:42 PM Author: Exciting violent selfie background story I couldn’t get into Tropic of Cancer. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618287) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:44 PM Author: vibrant snowy mad cow disease abode It might still be my favorite. I recall it as an almost purely sensuous experience.
Was it too emotive/ sexual for your tastes? I remember almoist being overwhelmed by its intensity at times, but the undertones are clearly French/Latin and probably far removed from and too fanciful for Anglo- American tastes. None of my American friends seems to like it, but all the Latin people do |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 9:09 PM Author: Exciting violent selfie background story I didn’t get very far into it. Maybe 1 chapter. To me it seemed like the guy just said a bunch of bad words and dirty shit for shock value. It didn’t seem to be going anywhere. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34620872) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 9:40 PM Author: Passionate set faggot firefighter translation... too spicy.
Date: November 6th, 2017 3:44 PM Author: J-J-J-JULIA!
It might still be my favorite. I recall it as an almost purely sensuous experience. Was it too emotive/ sexual for your tastes? I remember almoist being overwhelmed by its intensity at times, but the undertones are clearly French/Latin and probably far removed from and too fanciful for Anglo- American tastes. None of my American friends seems to like it, but all the Latin people do
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618300) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:45 PM Author: green idiotic public bath i just started ficciones (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618313) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:46 PM Author: vibrant snowy mad cow disease abode 180 Hope you enjoy it thoroughly |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:48 PM Author: green idiotic public bath ty, although tbf, i think i'm only reading it because it's one of those books you're expected to have read. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618348) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:49 PM Author: vibrant snowy mad cow disease abode Yeh, but it’s actually great. Most “great” books are, so no shame in reading and enjoying them (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618362) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 10:04 PM Author: avocado idea he suggested water buffalo try-hard college reading list BS and not remotely true. i would be shocked if you have read a literary novel for pleasure in the last 10 years. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34621382) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:51 PM Author: Wild gunner Confederacy of Dunces Rabbit Redux Rabbit is Rich The Sun Also Rises White Noise |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:56 PM Author: green idiotic public bath I could see myself making this exact list. Are you by chance a 30-something skinnyfat craft beer yupster? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618423) |
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Date: November 8th, 2017 6:02 PM Author: Wild gunner I am a late Gen-Xer in the craft beer capital. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34637077) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 4:28 PM Author: Exciting violent selfie background story White Noise is so bad. Fuck. It was a good premise (academics and GC are fraud) but it never went anywhere. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34618738) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 3:54 PM Author: free-loading maize black woman athletic conference Lolita A Moveable Feast Sun Also Rises Crime and Punishment A Hero of Our Time |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 4:06 PM Author: out-of-control friendly grandma prole these books formed my worldview more than any others
1. Selfish Gene. Dawkins is lame but this depiction of nature red in tooth and claw is absolutely devastating.
2. Walter Kaufmann - Faith of a Heretic. Nietzsche biographer's personal statement of faith and meaning.
3. Blood Meridian. The judge's vision of life as a universal struggle of wills seems correct; that we, like the kid, can reject it is indeed incredible. Most interesting period of history imo.
4. Shelby Foote Civil War trilogy - Foote told the story of the wars from a perspective quickly becoming deeply foreign to us. Just as he saw his time as having lost something the men in the civil war possessed, I feel the same with respect to his willingness to treat the war in a manner that admired manly virtues above all.
5. Nicholas Wade - Before the Dawn. My liberal outlook did not survive reading this book a decade or so ago.
6. Lanterns on the Levee. Changed my perspective on the south and the virtues of industrial civilization
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Date: November 8th, 2017 5:35 AM Author: godawful excitant range party of the first part Shelby Foote's trilogy is so so 180. Learned so much from it. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34632658) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 9:13 PM Author: Exciting violent selfie background story Surprisingly little Steinbeck, Vonnegut, Krakauer, Kerouac, and Jack London imo. Same with Hunter S. Thompson — that guy writes a unique book. Otherwise this thread seems right on.
Also, does Cormac Macarthy have anything good other than blood meridian? |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 9:31 PM Author: frum locus giraffe The road, NCFOM, all the pretty horses, suttree... all very good (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34621011) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 9:45 PM Author: silver misunderstood travel guidebook Labyrinths - Borges
Sophie's Choice - William Styron
The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Kundera
The English Patient - Ondaatje
The Godfather - Mario Puzo
Giovanni's Room- James Baldwin
Madame Bovary - Flaubert
Atonement - Ian McEwan
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell |
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Date: November 9th, 2017 5:09 AM Author: godawful excitant range party of the first part Godfather movies get all the attention, but the book is also 180. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34641230) |
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Date: November 9th, 2017 5:28 AM Author: motley rambunctious boltzmann most of these were made into movies. thats interesting. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34641245) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 9:52 PM Author: mind-boggling gay wizard sound barrier (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34621242) |
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Date: November 6th, 2017 9:55 PM Author: glittery ebony ticket booth The Decline of the West HP Lovecraft - Collected Works Thomas Ligotti - The Nightmare Factory Dead Souls
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Date: November 6th, 2017 10:02 PM Author: Arousing bronze mad-dog skullcap rigpig Don’t read books at all. Watch movies, TV, listen to music, read magazines (if I’m on a plane), and do my work when I’m at work (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34621354) |
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Date: November 8th, 2017 5:38 AM Author: flatulent resort fanboi My favorite reading experience of all-time was The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
Also, any baseball fan who hasn't read Ball Four by Jim Bouton -- do it immediately. Immediately. |
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Date: November 8th, 2017 9:09 AM Author: salmon wonderful skinny woman Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a good one (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34633226) |
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Date: November 8th, 2017 10:03 AM Author: green idiotic public bath Agatha Christie writes like a child, but some of her plots/mysteries are clever as fuck (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34633533) |
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Date: November 8th, 2017 5:28 PM Author: flatulent resort fanboi i always thought her writing was underrated:
she was writing to be accessible. her books were for a wide audience, not xo scholars only.
and she did that extremely well while still being smart. that's not as easy as it seems.
but i'm also a guy who, despite being an english major, over the years has really come to love brevity, simplicity, and dialogue over flowery descriptions.
to use an analogy, dave grohl has talked about how kurt cobain likened writing nirvana's songs to crafting children's music, or nursery rhymes. i think that's what christie innately did. you probably spit on nirvana, because of the childlike nature of the melodies, but i think it's genius. |
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Date: November 8th, 2017 5:37 PM Author: green idiotic public bath I read most of her books from age 10-17. Picked one up I hadn't read last year (Cards on the Table) and was shocked by how simple and flat the writing was compared to her peers (Sayers, Allingham, Marsh). Although, tbf, I remember a few of her books having somewhat moodier, more complicated writing (The Hollow, Five Little Pigs aka Murder in Retrospect come to mind). She writes puzzles incredibly well though. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34636870) |
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Date: November 8th, 2017 5:44 PM Author: flatulent resort fanboi she wrote a TON of books, so i don't want to use one of her worst to criticize her.
i haven't picked up one of Christie's in a while. maybe if i read it now i'd be unimpressed. but something tells me i'd be even more impressed.
also could be the smartphone and internet era influencing me. i don't have time to read flowery descriptions of the vines on the lattice. don't care. |
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Date: November 8th, 2017 5:45 PM Author: green idiotic public bath Cards on the Table was shockingly bad. Surprised to see it listed among her top 10ish by a lot of mystery dork lists.
I probably need to re-read some of her classics. |
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Date: November 8th, 2017 6:04 PM Author: flatulent resort fanboi i'm going to have to do that, too.
we can revisit when we do. could have some changed opinions.
i used to love notes from underground in HS. re-read it a couple of years ago. wasn't as good as i remembered. still liked the concept. but experiences change your perceptions. |
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Date: November 8th, 2017 9:13 AM Author: Gold lodge I pretty much only read non-fiction but I really liked these:
Count of Monte Cristo The Alchemist Demian Venus in Furs |
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Date: November 8th, 2017 4:37 PM Author: Aromatic Rose Kitchen 180 list (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34636432) |
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Date: November 8th, 2017 9:41 AM Author: salmon wonderful skinny woman I'm surprised For Whom the Bell Tolls didn't make anyone else's list. Peak Hemingway for me. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34633403) |
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Date: November 8th, 2017 5:57 PM Author: Lilac principal's office genital piercing Heart of Darkness, Napoleon: A Political Life, White Guard, Master and Margarita, Crime and Punishment (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34637039) |
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Date: November 8th, 2017 6:08 PM Author: Razzmatazz Glassy Ratface Disgrace Light in August Moby Dick Crime & Punishment Heart of Darkness |
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Date: November 15th, 2017 3:54 AM Author: opaque death wish famous landscape painting Embarrassing thread (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34690848) |
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Date: November 15th, 2017 3:58 AM Author: Self-absorbed nursing home generalized bond very underwhelming indeed (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34690851) |
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Date: November 15th, 2017 9:08 AM Author: salmon wonderful skinny woman Why don't you regale us with your list, grandmaster faggot? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34691466) |
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Date: November 22nd, 2017 10:01 AM Author: godawful excitant range party of the first part this poast incorrectly assumes that he's literate above a 50 lexile level. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3783050&forum_id=2#34747255) |