Book Recommendations for All/Fellow Zoners

[lazygarfield]

Hey guys,

I currently want to buy some books and kinda quickly, but just can't *freaking* decide which ones to buy..

I already have the HP series and LOTR series, have read Narnia, His Dark Materials, the Bartimaeus Trilogy and the Inheritance Trilogy.. don't wanna own them...

I was thinking of buying the Scott Pilgrim series but then decided would wait for the movie coming out.. Same with the Percy Jackson series and Shutter Island.

Was thinking of buying Watchmen but decided that I have already read it once and didn't wish to own it.. plus, haven't seen the movie yet and have a feeling that will be enough from that particular universe.

The last novel I read was I Love You, Beth Cooper.... liked it, but shouldn't have seen the movie first. If you could suggest another high school book, then that would be awesome.

Other than that, some good fantasy, graphic novel, or romance {not the Twilight kind (read the 1st book, disliked it), something more sexual and non-girly}...

Please help!!!

If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world

[thomasgaffney]

Fantasy novels: George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series - A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crown, A Dance with Dragons (not yet published).

Graphic novels: Neil Gaiman's Sandman run - Preludes & Nocturnes, The Doll's House, Dream Country, Season of Mists, A Game of You, Fables & Reflections, Brief Lives, World's End, The Kindly Ones, The Wake, Endless Nights.

[TonyWilson]

Dude, A Song Of Ice And Fire is fucking essential for anyone with the merest interest in fantasy. The first book - A Game Of Thrones is brilliant and talked about a bit here. I absolutely love the series and I'm not a huge fantasy fan so if you already dig the genre they will probably be even more fun.


Ha Gaffers beat me to it but then I was also bothering with linking too.

[thomasgaffney]

The first book - A Game Of Thrones is brilliant and talked about a bit here.

It's still my favorite so far...

[TonyWilson]

Hmm, not sure but I think A Storm Of Swords is my favourite, just so many "Holy Shit" moments and even though it's huge it moves at a great pace, yeh I think overall it's the best of the bunch, great set pieces, great character development and the whole bit with Arya in the Inn and "Is their gold in the village? Is their silver?" is just so fucking badass.

[thomasgaffney]

Ned Stark still remains my favorite character, so Thrones is my fav.

I can't wait to see Sean Bean bring him to life! and death...

[TonyWilson]

Well yes, AGOT would be your favourite then. But I gotta go with Arya as favourite character, even more than Tyrion, she's just so fierce and crazy.

[lazygarfield]

Okay. Thnx people! This is 1 series I will definitely be checking out.

By the way, anyone of you read the Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud?

Buy it here

[lyra belacqua]

Dude, A Song Of Ice And Fire is fucking essential for anyone with the merest interest in fantasy. The first book - A Game Of Thrones is brilliant and talked about a bit here. I absolutely love the series and I'm not a huge fantasy fan so if you already dig the genre they will probably be even more fun.

Is the series finished? Because I can't begin to read it if I don't know that there will be an end.

[thomasgaffney]

Dude, A Song Of Ice And Fire is fucking essential for anyone with the merest interest in fantasy. The first book - A Game Of Thrones is brilliant and talked about a bit here. I absolutely love the series and I'm not a huge fantasy fan so if you already dig the genre they will probably be even more fun.

Is the series finished? Because I can't begin to read it if I don't know that there will be an end.

Nope. 4 books are out. The 5th has been coming for about 2 years now; and STILL not out. It was originally supposed to be a 7 book series, but that was before the original 4th book got split up into two volumes. Not sure if he's going to bump it up to an 8 book series now.

[Ribbons]

I don't know if he's ever going to read this, but for old Zoner (I miss the) The Ginger Man ( ), I recommend... well, The Ginger Man, by J.P. Donleavy. Assuming that's not already where the name came from, of course. It's also one of The Modern Library's 100 best novels, so the rest of you might want to check it out as well. Dig that Conan O'Brien coif!



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ginger_Man

[Peven]

i had recommended Steinbeck to minstrel a little while back, as I am a real admirer of his work. this is an excerpt from a plot analysis i did of a short story of his, "The Chrysanthemums" a while back, I hope it whets someone's appetite to check out his work if they already haven't. remember, he was writing about life in the early 20th century.....


As the tinker rides away the climax of the story approaches. Elisa’s self-image is raised by the encounter with the tinker and his apparent interest in her chrysanthemums, her strength. She feels renewed and proceeds to prepare for the evening out with her husband with great vigor. There is a feeling of strength within her that was absent earlier. Elisa scrubs and primps to appear her most feminine for her husband. When Henry enters the bedroom he is struck by Elisa’s appearance, but it is her appearance of strength, not beauty, on which he comments.
“You look strong enough to break a calf over your knee.”, he says.
At the one time in the story Elisa is looking for an affirmation of her femininity Henry fails to give it and ironically sees her strength instead. For all the times Henry has seen Elisa working outside in her garden, wearing her clodhoppers and man’s hat, the time he chooses to tell her how strong she looks is when she is wearing a dress. Elisa is here foiled again in her struggle to be seen as she wishes to be seen, but doesn’t seem too disappointed as she says, “I’m strong. I never knew before how strong.” It seems that Elisa is satisfied that her strength is seen if not her beauty.
The climax of the story occurs as Elisa is riding in the roadster to town with Henry. “Far ahead on the road Elisa saw a dark speck. She knew.” What Elisa sees are the chrysanthemums she gave the tinker. As they drive by the chrysanthemums laying on the side of the road Elisa sees that the tinker has dumped the flowers but not the pot she had put them in for him.
“He might have thrown them off the road. That wouldn’t have been much trouble, not very much. But he kept the pot. He had to keep the pot.”, she says to herself.
The very symbol of her strength, her worth, has been carelessly tossed to the roadside by one who possessed the freedom and strength Elisa so admired and desired. Not only that, but the tinker had obviously valued an insignificant little pot more than her chrysanthemums. The chrysanthemums are ornamental while the pot is functional, something the tinker can use. Elisa herself is like the chrysanthemums, not valued for anything she can do. She understands the tinker’s choice to keep the pot for she herself values functionality and purpose.
As the story unravels Elisa’s earlier mood of enthusiasm and confidence crumbles with the knowledge of her chrysanthemum’s fate. She knows that the tinker has conned her, that he had patronized her in his feigned interest in her chrysanthemums. The very thrill of being alive shrinks within her in resignation. She attempts to stave this off by saying, “It will be good, tonight, a good dinner.”, as if to convince herself that it will be. The bleakness of her life is spread out before her and she does her best to salvage what little thrill she can when she asks, “Henry, could we have wine at dinner?”. She then asks Henry about the prize fights, as if tempted by the thrill of going. It is too great a reach, though, more than she is willing to grasp for in her despair, and she retreats from the idea. Elisa’s earlier feeling of enthusiasm and optimism has turned to near apathetic hopelessness as she tells Henry, “It will be enough if we have wine. It will be plenty.” As she says these words she is overcome with a resigned sadness as she withdraws into herself and turns up her collar so that Henry “could not see that she was crying weakly, like an old woman.” At this point Elisa has come to accept, however painfully, that her lot in life is set, unchangeable. Her hopes and dreams are just that, dreams, and she can hope for no more thrill and excitement in life than a glass of wine on a Saturday night.

[Nachokoolaid]

I could have sworn there was some conversation about this book somewhere already, but I have to highly recommend THE STRAIN by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan. I just started it and already plowed through 240 pages. I had to stop there because I don't want to finish it all in one sitting. But it's a great new spin on the vampire tale that doesn't feel tired or familiar.

And I promise, there are no sparkly vampires or werewolf love triangles in sight.

[Ribbons]

I could have sworn there was some conversation about this book somewhere already

You are correct, sir. It's right here if anybody wants to read more:

http://zone.aintitcool.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=17039&p=699994#p699994

I haven't read The Strain yet, but it's one of the "sci-fi/fantasy books" on my radar

[Peven]

I challenge anyone here who thinks they have a solid brain pan and an appreciation for cerebral science-fiction/fantasy to read Gene Wolfe's award-winning "Book of the New Sun", a 4 part series consisting of "Shadow of the Torturer", "Claw of the Conciliator", "Sword of the Lictor", and "Citadel of the Autarch". one of the truly all time great pieces of genre fiction

[DennisMM]

Just a question: Am I very rare here in almost never reading fiction (except comics)? I look at the books I have waiting (mostly brought home from the library) and 90 percent of them are about media studies, populist economics, political science, sociology or history. I think I have two works of fiction out. I recently have been sampling an anthology of short stories and I am working my way through a novel now, but I'm definitely not a fiction reader.

[Ribbons]

It's too bad Keepcool doesn't hang around these parts no more, because I'm reading a book right now that seems so suited to his sensibilities I practically feel like he wrote it: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, about Dominican nerdboy Oscar, his distinct lack of game, his love of genre, and the unpleasant history of his family since Trujillo. It's pretty cool and I'd recommend it to any book-lovers, but KCBC was the first person I thought of when I saw it.

[pyramidsfan]

Just finished the Devil's Highway.It features a colorful bunch of characters, drawn from the world of bikers, illegal immigrants, law enforcement agencies and the military, whose lives intersect in the Arizona desert. What starts as a treasure hunt turns into a life and death struggle for survival in this action packed book. Very well written and enjoyable. Highly recommended. The author has pretty interesting web site http://www.thedevilshighwaynovel.com/

[Spandau Belly]

Swedish Sensationsfilms: A Clandestine History of Sex, Thrillers, and Kicker Cinema
by Daniel Ekeroth

This book is an alphabetically-organized detailing of Swedish exploitation films (referred to as "sensationsfilms" in Swedish). It is written by a Swedish metalhead guy named Daniel Ekeroth who has written several other books about related subjects such as a history of Swedish death metal music. Ekeroth cites no sources and frequently mentions unverified rumours, but I would say he's very knowledgeable and passionate. The book is mostly formatted in giving each film one page in which Ekeroth details the main cast and crew, summerizes the plot, provides some trivia (although it is frequently in the form of rumours) and offers an opinion on the film. I don't think Ekeroth really relates to trash cinema the same way I do, so I generally didn't really care about his feelings on the entertainment value of the films but his detailings of these films is well done. Ekeroth definately gives these films more attention than most of them would receive anywhere else.

Aside from the bulk of the book's detailing of several hundred individual Swedish trash films, there is also:
-a general history of Swedish trash cinema
-a mini reflection from Christina Lindberg herself, reflecting on her career as the ultimate Swedish trash movie vixen
-poster galleries
-Ekeroth's personal top 20

If you are interested at all in Swedish trash cinema, this is an excellent source of knowledge. I learned about a lot of films that I didn't know existed, and I learned a fair bit about how various films fit into Swedish social history.