Book thread

[Kev]

Based on the response in the "Who Are You?" thread, I decided to start a thread about books you're currently reading or wanting to read or have influenced you or make good paper weights/bludgeons.

I hope I don't sound like an intellectual snob, but one of the first things I look for when I'm invited into someone's house is a bookshelf. I don't judge anyone on their reading choices; instead, I see a bookshelf as window into a person's interests and passions, whether it's Plato, Patricia Cornwell, or Clymer's repair manuals.

On my shelf I have Wolfe, Kesey, Thompson, the Bhagavad Gita, Chicano literature, true crime paper backs, travel books, and art/reference books.

Currently, I'm reading "The Hero with a 1000 Faces" by Joseph Campbell. I started my Joseph Campbell journey via a conversation with AP Shrewsbury while I was getting tattooed (very interesting and nice guy BTW) about symbolism and myth. I went through "The Power of Myth" pretty quickly; it's written in an interview format between Bill Moyers and Campbell. "The Hero..." on the other hand, is dense and very academic. I was kind of turned off in the intro, but then it started to get interesting with Campbell's mythological anecdotes connecting cultural ideas about spirituality and purpose. Next up is Jodorowsky's "The Way of the Tarot", which I'm reading as a companion to the Telos Tarot I got through Shrewsbury. I'll give a run down when I finally get through "The Hero...":rolleyes:

[Tight-Lines]

I've been on a Hubert Selby Jr. spree since I was 14. Ive read everything 5 times over. Im re-reading "Last Exit to Brooklyn" again now.

Before that it was "Roughing It" by Twain.

[Liesel]

I just started reading Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk today. It's very, very weird. I'd like to read Anna Karenina again, I think I would definitely noticed some things I missed the first time. Anthony Kiedis' memior, Scar Tissue was really good. I read a lot of Stephen King and Augusten Burroughs.

[gougetheeyes]

Yes! Awesome. I just ordered The Power of Myth, actually. I coulda sworn it was Petri who first mentioned it to me, but he denies it, so quite possibly could've been in his Robert Ryan interview for TAM a few months back, which is funny since you mention Shrewsbury.

Last year I got really into the crime/pulp/detective novels, especially with Jim Thompson (crime/pulp writer) and Mickey Spillane (tough guy detective writer). I also read a bunch of Raymond Chandler, and all three are fantastic for very different reasons. Also, currently have my first Dashiell Hammett book on its way (man, Amazon gift cards are great), so I'll most likely get really sucked in to that world again.

[cfgsteak]

I read some Russian "classics" earlier this year, Tolstoy's War and Peace and The Death of Ivan Ilyich. And I also read about the first quarter of The Brothers Karamazov before I had to take a break.

I have been reading some Neil Gaimon (American Gods) and Terry Pratchett (Disc World books) too.

I'm kinda book snobby. I did get one of those e-reader things...pretty convinient. I still prefer reading an actual book though.

[gougetheeyes]

I read some Russian "classics" earlier this year, Tolstoy's War and Peace and The Death of Ivan Ilyich. And I also read about the first quarter of The Brothers Karamazov before I had to take a break.

Heavy stuff. How was Bros. Karamzov?

[Petri Aspvik]

Yeah, it wasn't me man :P. I'm big on biographies and shit like that. Currently Im reading Blood in the Cage: Mixed Martial Arts, Pat Miletich, and the Furious Rise of the UFC, because I love stuff like this!

Talking about Biographies, I have read Education of a Felon: A Memoir by Edward Bunker like six times. Its fucking amazing.

My all time favorite books are (besides Education) perhaps

Neil Gaiman - American Gods (It is just magical, in all sense of the word, magic.)

Noah Levine - Dharma Punx (It helped me)

Carl Sagan - The Demon Haunted World: Science as a candle in the dark (cleared the cobwebs)

Richard Matheson - I am legend and Cormac McCarthy - The Road (both dense, close as skin)

Hmmmm. Shit, cant remember more. Oh! Marilyn Manson - The Long hard road out of Hell. Hail Satan.

I really havent read any real classic classics. They bore me. For example, Jack Kerouac On the Road. Well, Ithink Henry Rollins said it best.

“Kerouac, what a pussy,”

:D

[RoryQ]

If you liked 'I am legend' then you might want to check out the recent anthology 'He is legend' by various contemporary SF and horror authors. Basically tribute short stories using various of Matheson's stories. So 'He is legend', for example, charts the events of world of 'I am legend' through the eyes of a vampire.

I'm a huge SF nerd - Just finished re-reading Roger Zelazny's 'Lord of light'. Probably his best work. Quite elaborate, but essentially it's a SF novel playing with the idea of a pantheon of hindu gods who appear to rule over a far future human space colony. The 'gods' aren't really gods, and the protagonist that opposes them isn't really the Buddha, but Zelazny has a lot of fun with the idea that sufficiently advanced science can be indistinguishable from magic depending on who's observing it.

[Avery Taylor]

"On the Road" is not a classic it is a piece of shit. William Burroughs was the only real writer of that bunch.

Real classics are books like "Siddartha" and "The Last Temptation of Christ" read those, and then let me know if you are still bored.

[Avery Taylor]

Hey Ross if you like Jim Thompson you should check out the movie "Coup de Torchon". It is a French adaptation of "Pop. 1280" set in Africa. Great book, and great film.

[Petri Aspvik]

I might, thanks for the tip Avery. And RoryQ.

[Ursula]

Welllll of course almost everyone on here will have the huge shelf of tattoo/art reference, and I am one of those. A lot of them belong to my dude but get just as much use from myself as they do from him. I also have a decent collection of new and vintage embroidery and sewing related book of all kinds.

As far as novels go I am the type who almost never reads a book more than once, so I often borrow books or give them away when I'm done. My permanent collection is small but includes Bukowski (the novels, not that into poetry) some Chuck Palahniuk and a few Tom Robbins novels.

The best novel I read this year is Street of 1000 Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama. It's an historical novel about Japan spanning from about 1900-1970's. It has amazing information about sumo, noh, and world war two. It's actually the only book that has ever made me cry. The focus of the book is a family consisting of two young boys and their grandparents who take care of them. It follows them from early childhood through to middle age. I learned a lot about Japanese culture and customs from this book while still reading an amazing and compelling story. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in Japan.

I also read a neat book called The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night by Mark Haddon. It's written from the perspective of an autistic teenage boy and really opened my eyes to that world. It's a much shorter novel that can be read in a couple days, great for a weekend away.

[Jake]

I read some Russian "classics" earlier this year, Tolstoy's War and Peace and The Death of Ivan Ilyich. And I also read about the first quarter of The Brothers Karamazov before I had to take a break.

I have been reading some Neil Gaimon (American Gods) and Terry Pratchett (Disc World books) too.

I'm kinda book snobby. I did get one of those e-reader things...pretty convinient. I still prefer reading an actual book though.

I reread Crime and Punishment earlier this year. My girlfriend just bought Brothers Karamazov but hates it when I read her new books before she does so I've got to wait for that one... Those Ruskies sure know how to write. I'm guessing there's not a whole lot else to do when you're stuck in prison and/or siberia

[Kev]

I saw Gaiman mentioned a few times-has anyone checked out his short story collection "Smoke and Mirrors"? Pretty great stuff. There's a story in it about a stray cat that protects his adopted family-chokes me up every time = /

Re: Russian lit- I started "The Master and the Margarita" , never finished it and lost it in a move-I think I need to get back into it.

Petri-O/T, if you watch the Danny Trejo documentary "Champion", Bunker shows up in a lot of the interviews; Danny and his uncle used to buy heist plans from him.

[Petri Aspvik]

Shit, talking more about Gaiman. The Sandman. Fucking amazing... Wow. How...

[Joe Shit]

I may have to buy a kindle after this..I like Biographies too,and spiritual/psychology books.One of my favorite Author's is Eckhart Tolle.The Power of Now,and A New Earth were pretty deep books. Amazon.com: The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment (9781577311522): Eckhart Tolle: Books Just read another favorite called..

Amazon.com: Discover the Power Within You: A Guide to the Unexplored Depths Within (Plus) (9780061723797): Eric Butterworth: Books Also Wayne Dyer..

Amazon.com: The Power of Intention (9781401902162): Dr. Wayne W. Dyer: Books

My next read is American Conspiracies. Amazon.com: jesse ventura: Books

[Joe Shit]

I may have to buy a kindle after this..I like Biographies too,and spiritual/psychology books.One of my favorite Author's is Eckhart Tolle.The Power of Now,and A New Earth were pretty deep books. Amazon.com: The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment (9781577311522): Eckhart Tolle: Books Just read another favorite called..

Amazon.com: Discover the Power Within You: A Guide to the Unexplored Depths Within (Plus) (9780061723797): Eric Butterworth: Books Also Wayne Dyer..

Amazon.com: The Power of Intention (9781401902162): Dr. Wayne W. Dyer: Books

My next read is American Conspiracies. Amazon.com: jesse ventura: Books

[Ursula]

My last message - sorry if it seems out of context to the discussion, I was writting it at work on the iphone app and there wasn't any replies to the thread when I started haha.

eReaders - just don't get the Sony 'Reader' it's really shitty compared to the other ones out there. I got one for free and havn't used it at all. The only thing I did was try to read the pre-loaded book which is Pride and Prejudice. I got through the first 12 or 15 chapters and wanted to stab myself in the face on account of being soooooo bored. 15 chapters into a book and NOTHING is happening..

[Petri Aspvik]

I saw Gaiman mentioned a few times-has anyone checked out his short story collection "Smoke and Mirrors"? Pretty great stuff. There's a story in it about a stray cat that protects his adopted family-chokes me up every time = /

Re: Russian lit- I started "The Master and the Margarita" , never finished it and lost it in a move-I think I need to get back into it.

Petri-O/T, if you watch the Danny Trejo documentary "Champion", Bunker shows up in a lot of the interviews; Danny and his uncle used to buy heist plans from him.

Coool! I love good documentaries. Have to check it out sometimes!

[cfgsteak]

Heavy stuff. How was Bros. Karamzov?

Its very interesting, almost completely character driven...I had to take a break because it kinda tired me out. I would like a better translation, but overall all the Russian stuff I have read is interesting to me from that period (late 1800s), where Russia is evolving religiously and politically.

[cfgsteak]

I reread Crime and Punishment earlier this year. My girlfriend just bought Brothers Karamazov but hates it when I read her new books before she does so I've got to wait for that one... Those Ruskies sure know how to write. I'm guessing there's not a whole lot else to do when you're stuck in prison and/or siberia

I agree. I have enjoyed the Russian novels I have read very much and War and Peace might be my favorite book ever.

I like some graphic novels...I read The Alcoholic last year, its pretty amazing...

Gaiman and Pratchett's "Good Omens" is funny as hell and i think most people here would enjoy it.

[s33ktruth]

I think some of my fav novels are from Isaac Asimov, Kurt Vonnegut, and I really enjoy old classic novels like 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, and The Time Machine. I read a lot of tattoo referenced books like Bushido, Tattooing from the West to Japan, Invisible Man, and Horiyoshi III Biography is awesomesauce. I am currently working on The Art of Happiness a book about the Dalai Lama, and once in a while pick up this psychology book about science of thinking and personalities behind them.

In school right now, so a lot of my books are dealing with programming, database, server related, and theory of computers and software design.

[Mel Noir]

I wrote a big excited post here about books, since I'm such a geek, then my computer broke. Instead, I'll just direct you to this book I'm reading right now called Lords of Chaos: Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground: Amazon.co.uk: Didrik Soderlind, Michael Moynihan: Books

I don't even listen to metal music, and I think it's great. Weird though. It should be called "Interviews with Nutters".

[Mel Noir]

Oh, by the way, has anyone read Angels and Demons? The film was alright, so I was wondering if it's any good. I like books about all that illuminati stuff. Not sure if I actually believe everything that's said about it, but like all good conspiracy theories it's still entertaining stuff.

[MsRad]

I've been on a Hubert Selby Jr. spree since I was 14. Ive read everything 5 times over. Im re-reading "Last Exit to Brooklyn" again now.

Before that it was "Roughing It" by Twain.

Selby Jr. is still one of my top 3 favorite authors. there's a pretty decent documentary on him that you should check out D.

currently, i'm reading Diane Ackerman's A Natural History of the Senses. i read part of it my freshman year in college in an english class, and picked up a copy a few years ago, but haven't had a chance to read it until now. i just finished Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickeled and Dimed in preparation for getting laid off. it's a great book!