I read the Old Man and the Sea when i was 17 living in Thailand (no joke)- i found it in some hostel's bookshelf and I read it in a day. It's short, it's direct, and the man vs. nature theme.. can't go wrong. It has stuck with me more than a lot of the books i have read, which is impressive because i read it 10 years ago.

It's not just The Old Man and The Sea. I just am not a fan of Hemingway.
I understand why it's so famous, but I myself just disliked his style of writing, the theme, everything.

Anything by Tom Wolfe, I would recommend. The Right Stuff, maybe.

American Psycho is the only I've ever read which has provoked physical sickness from me. I loved it and hated it all at once. I think it's very good, with hindsight.



This is seconded. Heartily. Probably my favourite book.

But it's fucking ace. I was so resistant to reading it, and I loved it.

It has Blonde in it, which is the reason I hate Joyce Carol Oates...

I'm glad other people find that. I studied a lot of his work and at first, I just didn't get it. I never think of him as hit or miss, but I guess he just told so many stories that it'd be hard to like them all...

I've been reading The Blue Fox recently, which reminds me of The Old Man and the Sea so far. I think it's about to head off in a bizarre direction, though.

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I'm going to suggest The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers - I just finished it. I'm not sure if I liked it or understood it, but I'm still thinking about it so that must count for something...

Oh, some Angela Carter.
Wise Children, I guess, of her novels, but The Bloody Chamber (if you're up for short stories) is what I think is her best work.

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I hate Angela Carter, she wrote a good essay but her novels and short stories are dire.

I think that's a terrible thing to say.
I can see why some people might not like her stories, she can be over- over, really, but to say she's a bad writer is just woefully untrue as far as I'm concerned.

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I really hated that book, but maybe I was the same as you but instead of thinking about it I just instantly hated it, I really hated the girl in it, she was such a pain. what are you thinking about?

I think I was dissapointed because I didn't really see where the title came from and it was the title that made me interested.

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If you ever feel useless and depressed, remember: one day you were the fastest spermatozoon of all.

fear of flying by erica jong
flowers of evil by charles baudelaire
you cant go wrong with anything by charles bukowski or kurt vonnegut
i just got a collection of short stories and poems by edgar allen poe so i suggest him too.
the stand by stephen king was amazing. it kind of dealt with the whole good/evil thing. when i was reading it i couldnt put it down.
and its hard to read because anthony burgess pretty much made up his own language for all the dialogue in the book but i strongly suggest a clockwork orange. burgess referred to the book as a "philosophical novel about free will". id say at least try reading it. it took me a few tries but im happy i read it.

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The Stand is a great book. Just don't read the updated version.

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there's an updated version? what's been updated!

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don't you think every kitten figures out how to get down
whether or not you ever show up

It wasn’t really ‘updated,’ in the sense that new material was written, but at some point in the early 90s it was re-issued with a bunch of stuff that was cut for space the first time – basically reflecting King’s ascent from ‘sells enough to be allowed to publish a book considerably longer than editors usually permit,’ (which the first version was) to ‘sells enough to do any fucking thing he wants.’ I think the only thing actually changed was the dates; the longer version has the action set in the early 90s rather than in the 80s. I remember reading it at a train station and realizing that day was the actual date given for whatever point I was at in the book.

I liked it, but admittedly I’m a sucker – I read very fast, and although I do read some dense complicated serious shit, I also like some easier-reading entertainment, and it’s very hard for me to find anything that fits that bill that I can’t finish in a matter of hours.

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We are sorry, the mind you have reached is not a working mind.
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And die again.

I remember the TV adaptation being, frankly, excruciating.

stay away from bret easton ellis, he's wank

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you'll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thinking

Really? I quite liked it. I seem to remember feeling the usual "they left xyz bit out" pedantry bubbling up though. Plus the guy who played Tom Cullen (the retarded one) does the voice of Patrick in Spongebob.

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NONSENSE

blasphemy. some of the best scenes are in the unedited version.

and yes, the miniseries was complete cheese, but i still enjoyed it. the "don't dream it's over" scene turned me into a mess, and still every time i hear that song, i think of the film/book.

They devil had a mullet, right? Or am I thinking of something else. I spent quite a few college days watching whatever it was.