Books

[Sir Toose]

So who's your fave fiction hack (or author for the uptight among you)?
[Edited by Toose on 08-17-2001]

[PigsnieLite]

Ummm why not bodice rippers, hahaha! Ok heres mine!

SKY O MALLEY by Bertice Small - I read it so its here! I dont care if it is a bodice ripper, hahaha.
Hannibal by Tom Harris. I actually like this a little better than SOTL.

Strange but True, STORIES from JAPAN by Jack Seward - has weird true stories about a famous armless geisha and theres a really sad one about a cat that was run over by a million cars & became a splat on the road.

BLOODCURLING Tales of the Macabre by HP Lovecraft.
THE Circus of DR LAO - Pigsnie gave me this book when I was 7, it is still my favorite even though my copy is pretty beat up these days.

THE KEEP by F Paul Wilson - About a demon thingie that kills Nazis & then goes on to kill again in THE TOMB, REBORN & NIGHTWORLD. Nightworld is almost as good as THE Keep.

The Descent by Jeff Long - More demon thingies!! Someone should make a movie from this book.

________________________
So if you look at my most recent stuff, I like fantasy & horror especially if there are demon thingies, hahaha!!! Ask me again later after Ive eaten.

[Sir Toose]

WOT? Demon thingies and no Stephen King? I'm making a list for meself (hanging around the Brits too much) soon. Stay tuned!

[PigsnieLite]

Stephen King is too wordy & there are not enuf demon thingies. There is a demon car & a demon dog & some big boring spider in a cave but no true demon thingies. I think Lovecraft is really good. In Dunwich horror, the demon thingie is INVISIBLE but you can see it in your head becuz Lovecraft describes how it moves & makes hideous squelching noises, and he doesnt need 2000 pages to do it either.

I also like the ghost stories of MR James. When I was little MR James is what Pigsnie would read to me as bedtime stories, not boring fairy tales. He also read EF Benson & Algernon Blackwood.

[Edited by PigsnieLite on 08-14-2001]

[Sir Toose]

This is just what I was looking for... I am a horror fan too, I just needed new stuff to read. I have not read Lovecraft, though Peter Straub (who I read alot) is forever quoting him. I also like Clive Barker. You know who else writes cool stuff? Ray Bradbury... I read "Something wicked... when I was a kid and couldn't sleep. Keep the suggestions coming... I'm goin to the bookstore!

[Sir Toose]

Hey that's very cool that Pigsnie would read you bedtime stories. Sounds like you're a pretty lucky guy to have a bro like him (and vice versa). Only thing my brother and I ever did was beat on each other. I read my son Tolkien, Douglas Adams, and I did read him "Eyes of the Dragon" by Stephen King. He wants ghost stories but he gets nightmares from them so I have to find him something not too scary.

[PigsnieLite]

Hummmm, Peter Straub? I havent read any of his. I usually look in Pigsnies bookcase and I just read whats there. Only Stephen King I see is SALEMS LOT. Ray Bradbury, what else did he write? Ever read BLACK Easter? Thats pretty good too, a magician lets loose all the devils from Hell & mayhem enshoes, hahaha.

papapapa ... still lookin at the bookcase. I guess Pigsnie doesnt really have a lot of modern horror stuff. The MR James book is called Ghost stories of an Antiquary, if that helps. Theres also a more complete collection of his stuff but I cant remember the title.
WHOOOAAAAAH, heres one I havent seen yet -- WEIRD TALES!!! And its old,I wonder how long hes had it. good stuff!

pS. Pigsnie tried to read Tolkin to me but I shouted, NO ELVES! I hate elves, stupid things, hahaha. I didnt mind the King Arthur stuff though, that was ok. I think all parents or older bros should read to their children or little bros. YA hear me TWT????

[Sir Toose]

You'll find Straub a bit wordy... much like King. He wrote "Ghost Story", they made a movie of it with John Hauseman, Fred Astaire and others. He also wrote "The Haunting of Julia" and a bunch of others you've probably heard of. I tried to find MR James on bn.com... don't think it's the same guy. I ordered The greatest ghost stories of Algernon Blackwood tho.

[PigsnieLite]

Hummm I think maybe Ill try a Peter Straub. Ive never seen that movie you mentioned. MR James should be easier to find if you look up by title, GHost stories of An Antiquary. I just saw another title just now, CASTING THE RUNES. I think it has more stories in it. Algernon Blackwood is good too but it took a bit for him to grow on me. He is very wordy and I would yell at Pigsnie fom bed, SO WHERE are the Demon Thingies???? It looks like he just went in the WALLPAPER! But I liked him as I grew older, hehehee.

[Wart]

Horror Fiction

Robert R.McCammon: Stinger, Boy's World, Usher's Passing (based on Poe's House of Usher), Swan Song (Armageddon)
Stephen King: The STAND (unabridged), Salem's Lot,
John Farris: Son of the Endless Night
CLIVE BARKER: Books of Blood, IMAJICA, WEAVEWORLD
James Herbert: EVERYTHING you can get your hands on--THE MAGIC COTTAGE, LAIR, THE FOG
TIM POWERS: (Fantasy genre but have elements of Horror. Recommend ANUBIS GATES
MANLY WADE WELLMAN: He's dead but he has a series of books which has recurring characters: JOHN THE BALLADEER series--set in the the Appalachian Mountains. (HOrror is based on "mountain" mythology. And John Thunstone--supernatural "detective"

[Wart]

OTHER FICTION HACKS I LIKE:

Tom Clancy
A.S. Byatt
Michael Crichton
Michael Shea: Fantasy--highly recommend NIFFT THE LEAN
Evan S. Connell-- "Son of the Morning Star" about Custer
Umberto Eco
James Michner: IBERIA
DOuglas Coupland: MICROSERFS
Mervyn Peake: The Gormenghast Trilogy

All for now!

[OG-]

Michael Crichton!!! Favorite writer of all time. Read every one of his books.

Props to:
Dean Kontz for Night Chills
John Darnton for Neadnrathal
Alexander Dumas for the Counte of Monte Cristo(best book ever written)

[jrs]

Stephen King all the way!!

[Yoda]

The Chronicles of Narnia are simply amazing. C.S. Lewis might be my favorite writer of all time -- The Screwtape Letter may be (I'm not sure) my favorite book of all time. What an amazing idea for a book. Very clever.

Other than that, I dig The Great Divorce (never finished it, though), and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series (including The Hobbit). And yes, I dig Harry Potter, too. Sorry, it's the truth -- Rowling is a fine writer. Other than that, I have a fondness for non-fiction (biographies and such). If you want a nice blend of fiction and fact, go read some books by G.A. Henty -- they place fictional young men in interesting situations during important historical events, and, from what I hear, are VERY detail-oriented. Good stuff.

[OllieO]

Hmm, don't read much modern fiction. Currently reading Ayn Rand's The Virtue of Selfishness, which is a novel that puts forward her views, so sort of fiction.

The last proper fiction I read was at Easter - LOTR in preparation for the film. I tend to prefer biographies, histories, classics (Dostoyevsky is my fave here) and self-improvement books, but if I had to pick a fave modern fiction author... Frederick Forsythe. Not the most challenging of reading, admittedly, but he's churned out some classics - Day of the Jackal, Dogs of War and so on. He's a British writer who writes some articles in the paper - very conservative.

[PigsnieLite]

Hummm, I just had a good brekkie so now I will list the thousands of Pigsnies books (NOT!) heehee. with some commentarion.

Towing jehovah, Blameless in Abaddon, Eternal Footman*
Spangle, Aztec, The journeyer*
I Claudius, Claudius the God*
The collected ghost stories of EF Benson
Casting the Runes & other ghost stories
Oxford book of Ghost stories
Supernatural tales of Algernon Blackwood

Hannibal, SOTL, Red dragon
The Club Dumas, The Flanders Panel
The years best Fantasy & Horror (many many volumes)
Relic
Name of the Rose
Declare by Tim Powers - have you read this book Wortle? I thought it was going to be very supernatural but there is a lot of boring espionage in it too.
Gospel
The Keep, Reprisal, the Tomb, Nightworld -- best demon thingie books I have ever read*
Shogun, Nible House*
Sepulcher, The Fog*
Strangers in a strange Land
Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, complete-Ive read only the first one, its not bad!

Hunt for Red October
Jurassic Park, Lost world, Andromeda Strain
Bram Stokers Dracula
Alice in wonderland
The once & Future King
Best of HP Lovecraft
Call of ctulhu & other Weird Stories
Iberia, Centennial*
Tons of Shakespeare stuff
Gullivers travels
Diaries of samuel Pipys
Like water for Chocolite

Plinys Natural history, LOEB Classical Library - great set with red covers. Pigsnie won them as school prize when he was a sprout, it is half in Latin, half in english.

Oh oh, snooped into Pigsnies bedside table & he is readin a book called THE AMBITIOUS GENRATION, AMERICAS TEENAGERS MOTIVATED but DIRECTIONLESS. Thats you guys, hahaha! :laugh:

Well there are tons more books, a whole library full but a lot of it is Euro & asian history & travel & stuff no one else would ever want to look at like The Anglo saxon Review or The History of the Great Rebellion, snooooozzzzzzzz :)

NOTE- Asterisked stuff is by same author, whoever that is.

[PigsnieLite]

HEY, Forsythe is me dads favrite author@ OllieO! Also noticed just now that there are 3 shelves of biographys up here, HA! lots of stuff about Prsident Clinton & a copy of the Ken Star report!!! Hummmm, no pictures.

[Sir Toose]

Hey PLite, You should try those Gary Jennings books. Particularly Aztec... fantastic book. Oh and TWT, I like Harry Potter too. I read them all to my kids and found myself looking as forward to the next ones as they did. I have Gulliver's Travels on my nightstand but I'm currently reading Great Expectations.

[OG-]

I left off my fave books War of the Rats by David L. Robins. It's the true story of the plot of Enemy at the Gates. Damn good book. Damn good.

Plite you might wanna check out a book called "Tick Tock" by Dean Kontz. I think you might enjoy it.

[Sir Toose]

That was a good book. Koontz is a pretty good hack. My favorite by him is "The Bad Place", pretty cool stuff. Also liked "Dark Rivers of the Heart".

[OG-]

Why do you think hes a hack??

His best book, for me at least, is Night Chills. I'm not really into demon books, which is why I liked this one soo much. Made you think.

[PigsnieLite]

Is Tick Tock a book about demon thingies? I dont think Pigsnie has a single Kontz book.

As a matter of fact Ive read Aztec, just last year. it was pretty good, lots of violence & wild tipili stories, hahaha!! I almost named my dog Tipili. I will probably read Journeyer next, but its so fat, fat books take me forever!!

[OG-]

Yea its about a demon. It starts off really cool. A doll gets placed on this guys porch, then it slowly transforms and gets bigger and starts killing people and such. Kinda cool.

[Sir Toose]

PLite- Raptor is great too (Jennings)'

OG - Hack is my term for a good writer... meant no offense.

[PigsnieLite]

Oh tehn I am a HACK! loll.

I will buy that book, OG. Sounds good. I wonder if its like THE DOLL that Ate its mother. I dont think Pigsnie liked Raptor. Its not on the shelf with the other Jennings. Ill check his SO-SO shelf, hahaha! YEAH, he has one! Stuff he doesnt like but he wont give away for some reason. RAPTOR is about a hermaphrodite dude, aint it? He didnt like Aztec Autumn either.

[Sir Toose]

I didn't like Aztec Autumn either... too sequelly (Ah a sniglet). Yes, PLite, Raptor is about a hermaphrodite. Quite the clever hermaphrodite too I must say. I recently find myself entrenched in Anne Rice novels. The Vampire Chronicles to be specific. Our 1/2 price bookstore had them for .25 cents each so I bought the entire set and some Ray Bradbury for under 5 bucks.

[mightymose]

When I was young I was always sent to my room, which contained nothing but furniture and books... from that I grew to be an avid reader. I fell in love with Stephen King at an early age. Lucky for me my mother never censored anything I read and was always willing to discuss things with me. I read IT in 3rd grade and didn't sleep for a year. I love the feeling of unease I get from reading King and Koontz books (probably why I love horror movies so much).

Unfortunately I don't have as much time to read I would like, but some of my favorites would have to be The Stand, IT, Carrie by King and The Bad Place and Watcher's by Koontz.

In the non horror genre I would have to say that I am a big Clive Cussler fan. Dirk Pitt is THE MAN! :) I also enjoy Crichton, Clancy, and some of the classics (The Fountainhead, anything by Poe, Shakespeare, etc).

[PigsnieLite]

Why does almost evryone here like Steven King? I dont. He has good taste though, he says the best books he has ever read are Hannibal & Exorcist. I saw the review in the NY Times.

What does anyone think of Timeline, Crichtons last book? I didnt like it that much, not enuf science. I was kinda bored.

ps. In the bookstore today, i was lookin at Ann Rice BEAUTY book when Pigsnie snatched it away from my hands like OGs video. Hummmmmm ..

[Edited by PigsnieLite on 08-16-2001]

[mightymose]

I disagree Plite... I really enjoyed Timeline, though Crichton seemed to go a little more towards the fantasy section as opposed to his normal sci-fi. Nevertheless, it was still an enjoyable story.

[PigsnieLite]

Hi MiteyMose, long time no post. Are you still busy? I am eatin a samoza.

[mightymose]

Nope... I have two weeks off between the end of work and the beginning of school so I am sitting around doing nothing, and loving it! Next week the wife and I are headed up to beautiful Northern MI for a week of laziness and fun. This week I have been concentrating on watching movies, drinking beer, and getting fat, LOL.

Just bought and watched the Die Hard Box Set... WHOO HA! What a collection!

[PigsnieLite]

Whats Northern MI? Do they have DVDs there? :)

Humm, since this is a book thread for us low rent people who read dribble, I would like to report that I am readin Figure Skating, a celebration, bwahahahahaha!!!!

[sunfrog]

With so many people who like horror hows come there's hardly any horror movie reviews on here? Is it because horror movies suck or 'cause y'all don't want to admit you rented Mimic 2?

[sunfrog]

Oh yeah, I don't like Stephen King either. His early stuff was good but then he became famous and now he sucks. After you get famous it's an insult to have someone edit your books. That's why he sucks. He needs an editor to tell him he's being long winded.

[PigsnieLite]

There is a MIMIC 2? Whos in it? I love Mimic, they should have dissected more of those bugs. and yeah, Ive sort of wondered why we dont talk more about horror movies on movieforums -- everyones so into Martin scorsese or goodfellas, blah blah blah. nobody wants to talk about the classicness of From Dawn till Dusk? :(

[Wart]

Most horror movies suck! (OH are we talking about monster jump-out-of-the-closet horror or supernatural ghosty horror?) I prefer the latter and there's precious little of that around. PITCH BLACK was cool but no ghost there. I don't like PINHEAD and all those "Magic Box" characters. I've been seeing JEEPERS CREEPERS and something about MARS trailers which is probably horror. I did like STIR OF ECHOES a lot and an old one called THE CHANGELING with George C Scott. Special effects weren't so good in the older films but I actually prefer them.

[Yoda]

Originally posted by PigsnieLite
There is a MIMIC 2? Whos in it? I love Mimic, they should have dissected more of those bugs. and yeah, Ive sort of wondered why we dont talk more about horror movies on movieforums -- everyones so into Martin scorsese or goodfellas, blah blah blah. nobody wants to talk about the classicness of From Dawn till Dusk? :(

Yeah, Mimic 2 looks like a complete B-movie. Looks like junk, which is a shame, because the first one was original: it wasn't like most horror movies. In fact, it totally defies the genre...

I recommend "Monsters from the Id" -- it's an amazing book that has a simple theory: people who started the horror genre (more or less) did so as a way to excercis their personal demons when it came to sex. After all, it's always the kids making out in the backseat of the car up on Lover's Leap that get killed, eh? :) Mimic was different -- the main couple there was already married.

[PigsnieLite]

Oops, for a minoot, I thought this was the Horrors thread. BTW, there is no Mimic2 here in London town. The video dude said, Er you shure man? I never hoid ovit.

My latest book is House of the Spirits. (I am keeping the great Hedge of India book for Pentecost, hahaha.) I am readin it becuz the movie was terrible & I wanted to see if the book was better. It is way way better. I dont know who did the casting for the movie but they must have been smokin crack. Jeremy irons plays a nasty south american farmer politician who is married to a south american Meryl Streep.
Their daughter is South american Winona Ryder. Jeremy irons still has his accent from Reversal of fortune. Aaaaaccccckkkk!!! My only problem with the book is that there are not enuf spirits altho there is a cool decapitation.

[BrodieMan]

this thread doesn't have to COMPLETELY be about horror, does it? none of you guys mentioned crime drama, one of my favorite genres. go check out elmore leonard, mario puzo, or nicholas pileggi. those books are incredible. a lot of them have been turned into good movies, but there are tons more that haven't. also, good recommendation by twtcommish in the screwtape letters. for those of you who haven't checked it out, the book is basically about philosophy, except it's a story told from the point of view of two demons who are trying to win the souls of mortals. it's an examination of human nature from a different perspective, and it's really interesting. the only downside is it has a christian slant due to the author's religious beliefs, so if you happen to be a different religion, you might disagree with a lot of it. also, go read ANYTHING by chrichton. his books always make for a really good read. i would also recommend lord of the flies, animal farm, or 1984 because again, they present interesting outtakes on human nature. in your original post, you mentioned fiction, but can i also recommend philosophy books i find interesting? how about classic literature? i have a ton of books you could check out.

[ryanpaige]

I love Elmore Leonard. Even his westerns are very good.

[PigsnieLite]

More mob books aaaaahhhhh aaaaaaaaahh!!!! :laugh: I did read a good gruesome crime book a few months ago called Messiah.

[BrodieMan]

who wrote it?

[PigsnieLite]

Boris Starling. The endings a total surprise. But the best part is the nature of the murders, they have a religious element & they are drooling gruesome.

[OG-]

Plite, read Tick Tock yet?

[PigsnieLite]

No I havent found it yet, is it a very old book? If it is, I will go to a secondhnd bookstore.

[OG-]

Nah, maybe 1995 or so.

[BrodieMan]

an author that everyone should check out is ralph waldo emerson. emerson is not only my alltime favorite philosopher, he is a brilliant wordsmith who wrote poetry, essays, and books about human nature, and had an extremely interesting outtake on life. he philosophized that man is completely, 100% in charge of his own destiny, and that self-reliance and personal freedom are the only way we as humans can reach our true potential. i found his works to be first of all, inspiring, and secondly, a damn interesting read. i find it funny that people read chicken soup for the whatever, and various self-help books when eloquence and inspiration is often found in the classics.

[PigsnieLite]

Hummm, dont think Ive ever read him, I hope hes easier than CS Lewis. Screwtape was kinda hard for me even though I finished it. chicken soup books are silly. Pigsnie is always naggin me to read essays of Jonathan swift, not just Gullivers travels. Isnt he a philosfer too?

[sadesdrk]

Originally posted by Toose
Hey that's very cool that Pigsnie would read you bedtime stories. Sounds like you're a pretty lucky guy to have a bro like him (and vice versa). Only thing my brother and I ever did was beat on each other. I read my son Tolkien, Douglas Adams, and I did read him "Eyes of the Dragon" by Stephen King. He wants ghost stories but he gets nightmares from them so I have to find him something not too scary.
"Eyes of the Dragon"is one of my favorie King novels.His earlier work can't be matched:Salem's Lot,The Shining,Stand By Me(actuall titeled something else)The Shawshank Redemption,Running Man;that was all stuff I read in highschool.I read Patrica Cornwall now.She writes thriller/murder mystery.The main charactor is a medical examener.Lots of autopsy stuff.:eek:

[Sir Toose]

Originally posted by sadesdrk
I read Patrica Cornwall now.She writes thriller/murder mystery.The main charactor is a medical examener.Lots of autopsy stuff.:eek: [/B]

I've read all of her stuff too... Body of Evidence was the best one I think. Dr. Scarpetta is wearing thin on me now though, she needs to lighten up. Hornets Nest was good too, no Scarpetta! If you like serial books (kind of...same characters) try John Sandford's "Prey" novels.. these blew me away, especially "Rules of Prey".

[Sir Toose]

James Thayer - "White Star"

Talk about a "Hack". I bought the hardcover of this in the "Dollar Tree" store. I figured, how bad can it be for a buck...right. Turns out it's pretty damn fine. It's about a vietnam sniper turned lawyer. His calling card as a sniper was that he would leave an origami star on his victim's bodies. Well... story progresses into a war between this guy and another vet who is also a sniper (from USSR). Cat and mouse extraordinaire! Seems he's written other novels, think I'll check them out.

[BrodieMan]

plite-
swift was sort of a philosopher in some ways. more than anything he was a very crafty writer who used satire, sarcasm, and an unbelievably wicked sense of humor to demonstrate his personal views. his best-known piece is "a modest proposal". if you read, for christ's sake, keep in mind it's supposed to be sarcastic. :D

[PigsnieLite]

Hahaha, Ive read that Modest proposal thingie, its about roastin babies. Pigsnie said that I would probably have tasted very good in a stew becuz I wuz a fat popish infant, heheh. BTW, youll like Pigsnie, he reads even more weirdoo
books than you do, Brodyman. His fave is Monteign.

[Arthur Dent]

The current book I'm reading is quite the page-turner. It's called The Fine Art of Literary Mayhem by Myrick Land. It basically details several literary feuds that have occured this millenium (starting with Samuel Johnson's feuds with, well, everybody).

The book seems to be written in the vein of Paul Johnson's Intellecutals (er, it would be the other way around), except Land isn't nearly as biased as Johnson. Alexander Pope vs. Colley Cibber, Turgenev vs. Tolstoy AND Dostoevsky, Thackeray vs. Dickens, Henry James vs. H.G. Wells, Henry Arthur Jones vs. George Bernard Shaw, Hugh Walpole vs. W. Somerset Maugham, Hemingway vs. Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis vs. Bernard DeVoto, and Norman Mailer vs. nearly every writer of the 20th century.

There's also a chapter on D.H. Lawrence and his very strange, messianiac behavior.

Sometimes Land does seem a little biased, for instance in the James vs. Wells chapter. He tries to make us believe Wells was only at fault, and that the smug, patronizing Henry James was only trying to be polite that entire time. I also didn't like the potshot taken at Oscar Wilde. However talented Henry James may be, his literary criticism leaves a lot to be desired.

Also, the Norman Mailer chapter leaves out some important (and funny) occurences. For instance, after Gore Vidal wrote that "No one reads [Mailer]. They hear of him.", Mailer knocked Vidal down at a party. While Vidal was still on the ground, he said "Once again, Norman Mailer is at a loss for words."

Also, since this book was printed in 1963, it missed out on a lot of great feuds like Vidal vs. William F. Buckley, Lillian Hellmann vs. Mary McCarthy, Thomas Wolfe vs. John Irving, Vidal vs. Truman Capote, Norman Podhoretz vs. Saul Bellow, etc.

[sadesdrk]

Truman Cappote...awesome author.There's this great collection of short stories called Point's of View...all the greats are in it and short stories are so entertaining!

[Wart]

Arthur,

I'm also fascinated by literary feuds and I'll look for that book. Hopefully its still in print.

I myself am partial to Wilde and Evelyn Waugh who had his own thing going with Auden and Isherwood. Seems they left England during the Blitz so he made A and I characters in one of his novels. They dressed up as nuns and boarded a transatlantic liner to escape from the war in England

[PigsnieLite]

I have read the letters of Evelyn Waugh. I found it in Pigsnies library. He was a funny guy & is the only guy in history who actually used an ear trumpet. He had a little daughter named Teresa he called Pig in an affectionit way.

[Wart]

Every Time I read the words "Ear Trumpet" I keep thinking of that WILD WILD WEST picture with Will Smith and there's a general in there who uses an ear trumpet and it DRIPS! Ugh!

Hey, you and Pigsnie don't have the surnames of WAUGH, do ya?

[PigsnieLite]

HOW did you GUESS Wortle???? hahaha! Cigar cigaret? He was a weird bloke. My favorit book of his is the Loved One.

[neesee]

hope you don't mind if I join in with ya'll:D. One of my favorite authors is Tom Robbins,he is the best, with alot of humor and very weird situations,one of his best efforts is Jitterbug Perfume, check it out. Once you start reading him you will read everything he has ever done! Ann Rice is also very good, her "Beauty" series is exceptionaly good, basically it's very well written porn. wink, wink,nudge, nudge.;) My all time favorite book for sheer LOL humor is a great book by John Kennedy Toole, titled "a confederacy of dunces" has anyone else read this masterpiece? I pretty much read anything I can get my hands on.But nothing in the romance bodice ripping genre, YUCK. The Patricia Cornwell books are good(right sadesdrk?)Right now Iam reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. It's by the guy who wrote Wonder Boys. It takes place in the 1930's and it is about the early years of comic books, but that is just the back story, really. I have a feeling it's about alot more than that.

[sadesdrk]

Originally posted by sadesdrk

"Eyes of the Dragon"is one of my favorie King novels.His earlier work can't be matched:Salem's Lot,The Shining,Stand By Me(actuall titeled something else)The Shawshank Redemption,Running Man;that was all stuff I read in highschool.I read Patrica Cornwall now.She writes thriller/murder mystery.The main charactor is a medical examener.Lots of autopsy stuff.:eek: [/B]Yes,mom,I like Cornwall,and if you would take the time to read earlier posts,you would know this.Wink,wink,nudge,nudge:)Just kidding Ma!You're so cute...I could squeeze the tar outtaya.

[Wart]

Originally posted by PigsnieLite
My favorit book of his is the Loved One.

THE LOVED ONE is one of my favorites too. Whispering Glades and Happier Hunting Grounds for dead pets. I love his morbid wit. And didn't you like DECLINE AND FALL? I would think it would be right up your alley. Royalty, boarding schools and the British prison system? Its good Pigsnie at least gives you good books to read--even if he does beat you with popsicles :laugh: .

[Wart]

Originally posted by neesee
hope you don't mind if I join in with ya'll:D.

welcome to the board, Neesee.

Originally posted by neesee
One of my favorite authors is Tom Robbins,he is the best, with alot of humor and very weird situations,one of his best efforts is Jitterbug Perfume, check it out [/B]

I've only read one book of his and that's STILL LIFE WITH WOODPECKER. A friend recommended it. He said if I wanted to write about life inside a pack of Camel cigarettes, this would be it. LOL. I don't even smoke. But I love to write for my own pleasure. [/B][/QUOTE]

Originally posted by neesee
Ann Rice is also very good, her "Beauty" series is exceptionaly good, basically it's very well written porn. wink, wink,nudge, nudge.;)[/B]

ANNE RICE: I don't care for THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES. Armand and his Pack leave me cold. I prefer the Mayfair Witch/Lasher series. I love the way she wrote about each generation of Mayfair witch . . . I wish she could have developed more books about each of them. The SLEEPING BEAUTY books (PLite, Shut your eyes) got a bit tiresome after the third book -- ooh, there are only 3 right? :D (The plot wasn't challenging.) but if you haven't read RAMESES THE DAMNED--its almost Victorian in atmos.

[BrodieMan]

i never read the anne rice books, but i knew this girl that was fanatical about them. have you ever seen her in interviews and stuff? she's a kook! :D lol, i'm just teasing.... she's a little eccentric, which is cool if you're an artist anyway. what are her books like? are they ALL about vampires?

[Arthur Dent]

Arthur,

I'm also fascinated by literary feuds and I'll look for that book. Hopefully its still in print.

I myself am partial to Wilde and Evelyn Waugh who had his own thing going with Auden and Isherwood. Seems they left England during the Blitz so he made A and I characters in one of his novels. They dressed up as nuns and boarded a transatlantic liner to escape from the war in England


Yeah, I've heard about the Waugh/Auden/Isherwood thing. Actually, I was poking around Amazon.com earlier today, and apparently there's a second edition, which was released in 1983 (still too early for Hellman vs. McCarthy :( ). Apparently the author died recently, so I guess we won't be seeing any more editions.

[Arthur Dent]

Truman Cappote...awesome author.There's this great collection of short stories called Point's of View...all the greats are in it and short stories are so entertaining!

I'll be sure to look for this one, Sades. I just looked it up on Amazon, and the names of some of the authors were on the cover. I wish Amazon would print the Table of Contents of each book so I could see all the authors in it. Looks good though.
[Edited by Arthur Dent on 09-29-2001]

[Wart]

Originally posted by BrodieMan
i never read the anne rice books. what are her books like? are they ALL about vampires?

Anne Rice is Beyond Eccentric! :D And her son is even more peculiar than she is. Her house has Gothic trappings--maybe it helps her write.

But Anne Rice writes about other creatures as well--castrati (CRY TO HEAVEN), Sleeping Beauty (a trilogy of "classy" porn--think a more palatable version of De Sade)published under the pseudonym Roquelaure, sex slaves and New Orleans--think "Story of O" with longer words :D (EXIT TO EDEN), a haunted Stradivarius (VIOLIN) and genies (SERVANT OF THE BONES)

[PigsnieLite]

I have looked through some chaps of Beautys punishment. Aaaaacckkkk, pretty grossss!! I think after some of what Beauty went through, shed look pretty beat up.

[neesee]

Originally posted by BrodieMan
i never read the anne rice books, but i knew this girl that was fanatical about them. have you ever seen her in interviews and stuff? she's a kook! :D lol, i'm just teasing.... she's a little eccentric, which is cool if you're an artist anyway. what are her books like? are they ALL about vampires?

Not all are about vampires,but all have religous undertones.To me, that makes them very interesting because she is very knowlegeable about different religous practices and you can learn alot while also reading a good ghost or vampire story. Her only daughter died at a very early age which prompted Ann to do alot of soul searching and to mainly question her own Catholic upbringing. I feel this comes into play with her "Beauty" books. She does seem alittle "off" in her interviews, but I think that's the case with a number of gifted and talented people. I know this first hand because sadesdrk was tested as very gifted when she was a child and she was strange, it's a long story, I love her anyway!!:D

[sadesdrk]

Originally posted by Arthur Dent
[quote]

I'll be sure to look for this one, Sades. I just looked it up on Amazon, and the names of some of the authors were on the cover. I wish Amazon would print the Table of Contents of each book so I could see all the authors in it. Looks good though.
[Edited by Arthur Dent on 09-29-2001] Here are some of the featured authors and the stories they have in the book.I highly reccomend this to you:):
-Amy Tan-the Voice From the Wall
-Truman Capote-My Side of the Matter(so funny,you'll laugh out loud.)
-A & P-John Updike(I love him!)
-Shirley Jackson-The Lottery
-John Cheever-the Five-Forty-Eight
I know you'll like the stories I mentioned,and there's a whole bunch more.It's called Points of View because they break the table of contents down by the narrator(1st person,3rd person...)

[BrodieMan]

Originally posted by neesee

I think that's the case with a number of gifted and talented people. I know this first hand because sadesdrk was tested as very gifted when she was a child[/B]

me too! :D no lie, i'm not being sarcastic. i can still remember being called down to the guidance office in second grade to be tested for special classes. it's a strange feeling for a little kid, for sure. i think i get it from my mom's side of the family. she's naturally a very verbal person and my granddad read to me from the time i was an infant. oh, well... you're right about idiosyncratic people, though. it's called artistic temperament, and it's awesome :D

which rice book do you recommend for a person who's never read ANY of her stuff? i think i'm gonna check it out, because i've never heard anything but good things about her....

[Yoda]

I'm not going to go bragging concerning my "stuff," but I think it's obvious that the overwhelming majority of the regulars here are highly intelligent. :)

[BrodieMan]

must.... stop... laughing.... must.... stop.... laughing.... *gasping for air*........ :D :D :D :D

[sadesdrk]

Originally posted by neesee

I know this first hand because sadesdrk was tested as very gifted when she was a child and she was strange, it's a long story, I love her anyway!!:D [/B]Thanks mom...everyone is so much better off knowing this information.Strange? Contemplate the source.The nut doesn't fall far from the tree...:D

[neesee]

well, BodieMan, i think her first book is also the best place to start, though you probably saw "Interview with a Vampire" the book is far better. Also equally enjoyable is "The Tale of the Body Thief" although this is a sequal to "Queen of the Damned" it is a good read all on it's own and you won't be lost not having read the others, but you could start in order with the first in the Vampire Chronicles, which is"Interview with the Vampire" then "The Vampire Lestat" followed by "Queen of the Damned."another good one,
"Cry to Heaven" is an interesting story of a young boy sold into the choir of the church (after being castrated) in order to preserve a soprano voice, shocking,little known stuff."eek"

[PigsnieLite]

WOW! All these giftedness on Mofo .. makes me want to start a thread of us lessor mortals .. :)

[Arthur Dent]

Here are some of the featured authors and the stories they have in the book.I highly reccomend this to you:
-Amy Tan-the Voice From the Wall
-Truman Capote-My Side of the Matter(so funny,you'll laugh out loud.)
-A & P-John Updike(I love him!)
-Shirley Jackson-The Lottery
-John Cheever-the Five-Forty-Eight
I know you'll like the stories I mentioned,and there's a whole bunch more.It's called Points of View because they break the table of contents down by the narrator(1st person,3rd person...)

Thanks again for the recommendation, Sades. I think I'll go order it (along with the 2nd Edition of Fine Art...) on Amazon after I'm done here.

In addition to the talented authors you've listed, I see from the cover image that Dorothy Parker, Henry James, Margaret Atwood, James Baldwin, and lots of others are also in this collection.

I'm sure I will enjoy it. Much appreciated. :)

[sadesdrk]

Let me know how you like it.Start a short story thread or something...we'll discuss.:)

[Frederica]

MY FAVORITE BOOKS:

TOM CLANCY's EVERYTHING (but especially WITHOUT REMORSE, RED STORM RISING and CARDINAL OF THE KREMLIN--Wart turned me on to these books because I liked HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER so much. (I only watched it for ALEC BALDWIN at first) but now I read them after Wart reads them. I can't afford books yet.

X-FILES novelizations by Kevin Anderson

THOMAS HARRIS--all his books

DEATH BY GOVERNMENT by R.J. Rummel
This is about how government has been responsible for its own citizens like Pol Pot and Mao and Stalin

THE SECOND WORLD WAR by Winston Churchill

THE LORD OF THE RINGS by Tolkien

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE by Shirley Jackson

ATLAS SHRUGGED by Ayn Rand

A TOWN LIKE ALICE by Nevil Shute

THE CIVIL WAR by Shelby Foote

I'm sure this list will change some more as I read more books because Wart & TinTin have a lot on their shelves. (Some of them are still in store plastic.) People tell me I have weird taste for a teen but thats because I read my brother's books. Sometimes I wish he has comic books.

[Anne]

There are so many great books I love!

Les Miserables, The Once and Future King, A Tale of Two Cities, Emma, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, The Lord of the Ring series, and the Harry Potter series just to name a few...

Anne of Green Gables and Little Women will always hold a special place in my heart because I loved them as a child.

As you can see, I'm a great lover of the classics, especially the British ones!! :)

[Frederica]

Yeah Jane Eyre--I've seen all the TV movies. Must be 15 of versions of Jane Eyre alone. And PRIDE and PREJUDICE, EMMA and WUTHERING HEIGHTS. I've read them all but I like them better on BBC TV. ROCHESTER and HEATHCLIFF--so romantic and sinister! Jane Austen--HooHah!

[sadesdrk]

Originally posted by Anne
The Lord of the Ring[/i] series, and the Harry Potter series just to name a few...

This otta make TWT's day.:)

[PigsnieLite]

Ive seen all the pride & Prejudices. I think Laurence olivier was probably the most amazin looking, although David Rintoul was real cool too. Colin Firth is the most human Darcy but Jenny Ehle was HOT!!

The worst Jane Eyre was the George c Scott one. What a disaster! Its too dark to see the actors most of the time, Jane was too old & too prettyish & George C Scott sounded just like patton.

[Anne]

Originally posted by PigsnieLite
Ive seen all the pride & Prejudices. I think Laurence olivier was probably the most amazin looking, although David Rintoul was real cool too. Colin Firth is the most human Darcy but Jenny Ehle was HOT!!

I definately like the Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle version the best. They were so true to the book and picked up on all of Jane Austin's humor that usually goes unnoticed in film adaptations of her books...What was it about Jennifer Ehle? The fact that she's practically spilling out of her dress? *shakes head* Boys *shakes head* :rolleyes: :D
[Edited by Anne on 10-01-2001]

[PigsnieLite]

Everybody in Pride & prejudice was spillin out of their dresses, even the mother. I think Jennifer Ehle has a beautiful merry face, thats what was so special about her. At least thats what Pigsnie says. And Her dark wig helped too becuz Ive seen her in real life & she looks nuthin like Elisabeth Bennet. She has light brown hair, not thick at all.

[Anne]

I agree, she does have a very "merry" face. I like that description. :)

[Sir Toose]

I just bought the new Stephen King/Peter Straub collaboration "Black House". I'll let y'all know if it's any good.

PLite, I'll be on the lookout for demon thingies :D

[BrodieMan]

i never really got into the bronte's that much, myself. although i did like jane eyre a lot. did i spell that right? anyway, i don't think this has come up on this thread, but does anyone like dickens? i know a teacher that idol worshipped him. i think he had his hits and misses, mostly the only downside is the fact that his books were so longwinded and unnecesarrily complicated. he apparently had very little sense of brevity. i mean oliver twist had what, 90 characters, maybe? it's incredible. but his stories were always really good, and the characterization is very good, also. does anyone else like his work?

[Anne]

To be honest, the only Dickens works I've read are A Tale of Two Cities and A Christmas Carol. But I really liked both of them. :D I thought A Tale of Two Cities was especially good. The whole tone of the second half of the book was downright scary. Citizen?! I can think of nothing scarrier than walking down the street and having everyone call me Citizen Anne. Seriously. But then, I think the French Revolution is the scarriest event in all of history. Anyway, it's interesting that you asked about Dickens because I was just thinking about how much I liked this book today. :) "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." Simply amazing. :)

[BrodieMan]

cool... :) a tale of two cities is largely considered to be one of literature's finest works. you should do yourself a favor and check out oliver twist, though. it's very good. that whole dickensian vision of the bleak working class is personified so well in this book. and it's seen through the eyes of a child, which makes it even sadder. not the happiest thing you'll ever read, i'm sure, but it's such a good story.

[Anne]

Thanks, Brodie. I'll check that out. :)

[BrodieMan]

awesome. you'll enjoy it, i'm sure. like i said, it's got a slew of characters, so *wink, wink* cheat and grab the cliffnotes... hee hee.... ;) you might get lost a time or two, i did.

[7thson]

Next by Michael Crichton was a bit refreshing and scary. I see hints in today's news...is he a prophet?

http://shopping.yahoo.com/articles/yshoppingarticles/89/how-much-is-the-kitty-in-the-window-22000


http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/fi/15/54/65.jpg

[Derrik]

The most difficult demand on my ability to finish a decent book certainly came with Tolstoy's "War and Peace." It's so complicated, in fact, that I'm prepared to suggest that most for whom have wandered past its end - even so-called experts for example - have greatly misunderstood the moral code for which molded its mark upon the world of literature. This is a tough time, indeed, folks. I'm also fascinated by the following its been able to sustain through the years; not so much the following itself, but rather the inadamant interpretation by the followers themselves.

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/51vIk0ciJWL.jpg