book ideas?

iplaybassguitar · #1 05-20-2008, 09:42 PM

hey guys.
summertime has arrived, leaving me with a lot more free time, and i have also come to the conclusion that i need to read more. I enjoy reading, but only if it is something that truly grabs and holds my interest and makes me think, im not looking for the average novels here.

to give you all an idea of the kind of books i am looking for, i am currently reading The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac, and have already read his On the Road. I recently read Into the Wild, the book on which the recent movie was based. The next book on my to do list is Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, as it has been highly recommended by many people, and i enjoyed the movie much.

these books all seem to deal with adventure, and freedom, and present values, ideas, and ways of life different from typical America. I enjoy these kinds of books because i feel i can relate to the characters and ideals presented in them, however i don't really know how to find more books like this besides by word of mouth. So, i would greatly appreciate it if anyone else who enjoys the same kind of reading would help me out and give me some books or even just authors to check out.

MakiSupaStar · #2 05-20-2008, 09:45 PM

read anything by tom Robbins.

iamlowsound · #3 05-20-2008, 09:47 PM

Sounds like you like good fiction. Check out Fight Club, a little different than what you describe, but a great read and I think that you will like it.

lowsound

iplaybassguitar · #4 05-20-2008, 09:50 PM

quick wiki of tom robbins looks like he would be someone i'd enjoy reading.

and i didnt know that fight club was based on a book...ill have to check that out too, great movie.

jonathan_matos5 · #5 05-20-2008, 10:16 PM

i always recommend C.S. Lewis.

iplaybassguitar · #6 05-20-2008, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonathan_matos5

i always recommend C.S. Lewis.

Good author, just not for me. I read, or started to read both Prince Caspian and The Lion... and i just find the works to be too far fetched and fantasy based. It kind of bugs me too how everything is linked so closely to Christianity and the Bible, too.

jonathan_matos5 · #7 05-20-2008, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iplaybassguitar

Good author, just not for me. I read, or started to read both Prince Caspian and The Lion... and i just find the works to be too far fetched and fantasy based. It kind of bugs me too how everything is linked so closely to Christianity and the Bible, too.

allegory is kinda his thing Chronicles of Narnia are kind of childish. but yeah if you don't want to learn more about Christianity or read a fantasy type allegory then do not bother with CS Lewis.

my next read will probably be Dune.

gkbass13 · #8 05-20-2008, 10:48 PM

read "the road" by cormac mccarthy.

i also love anything by david sedaris.

LiquidMidnight · #9 05-20-2008, 11:33 PM

If you dig Kerouac and Hunter, it sounds like you would enjoy the Electric Kool Aid Acid Test. It features Neal Cassidy from On the Road, this time driving a hippie bus.

For quasi-philosphical and religious ponderings paired with noncliche science fiction themes, I'd highly suggest anything by Philip K. Dick (Stu Hamm was highly inspired by him, so you know his stuff is kick ass

). I suggest The Divine Invasion as a good starter.

Currently, I'm reading a book by Terence McKenna called Food of the Gods. My ex-girlfriend got it for me a couple weeks ago as a college graduation present. It talks about psychoactive plant consumption throughout the history of humans.

iplaybassguitar · #10 05-21-2008, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LiquidMidnight

If you dig Kerouac and Hunter, it sounds like you would enjoy the Electric Kool Aid Acid Test. It features Neal Cassidy from On the Road, this time driving a hippie bus.

For quasi-philosphical and religious ponderings paired with noncliche science fiction themes, I'd highly suggest anything by Philip K. Dick (Stu Hamm was highly inspired by him, so you know his stuff is kick ass

). I suggest The Divine Invasion as a good starter.

Currently, I'm reading a book by Terence McKenna called Food of the Gods. My ex-girlfriend got it for me a couple weeks ago as a college graduation present. It talks about psychoactive plant consumption throughout the history of humans.

the electric kool-aid acid test is definitely on my to-read list. theres a book i think by ken kesey ive been meaning to look for too, it talks about the further bus and the pranksters and that sort of thing i think.

warwick.hoy · #11 05-21-2008, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

Sounds like you like good fiction. Check out Fight Club, a little different than what you describe, but a great read and I think that you will like it.

lowsound

I've said it a few times....Anything by Palahniuk is a good read.

If you like any quirky humor type stuff check out Me Talk Pretty One Day or Dress Your Family in Denim and Corduroy by David Sedaris. They are both basically recollections of oddball situations that he has found himself in, boyhood remembrances and goofin on his family. If the name sounds familiar Amy Sedaris is the main character in TV's Strangers with Candy

I also just read Les Claypool's South of the Pumphouse I'm not sure what to think about it, but it was hard to put down.

heroincredible · #12 05-21-2008, 01:47 AM

Check out Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham, one of my favourite books.

+1 to Chuck Palahniuk books. Perhaps also check out Jennifer Government by Max Barry, great read.

applerocks · #13 05-21-2008, 04:05 AM

Anything by Orwell, perhaps start with 1984.

Dostoyevsky - Crime and Punishment

Have you read Of Mice and Men - Steinbeck?

Have a look at stuff by Mark Haddon too.

sarcastro83 · #14 05-21-2008, 06:59 AM

[quote=iplaybassguitar;5752539]these books all seem to deal with adventure, and freedom, and present values, ideas, and ways of life different from typical America. I enjoy these kinds of books because i feel i can relate to the characters and ideals presented in them[quote]

Vonnegut, Vonnegut, VONNEGUT.

Vandelay · #15 05-21-2008, 07:03 AM

If you didn't already read it in high school, try "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad. The movie "Apocalypse Now" is based on that book.

werbo1 · #16 05-21-2008, 09:27 AM

Bukowski.

Ben Lesser · #17 05-21-2008, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vandelay

If you didn't already read it in high school, try "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad. The movie "Apocalypse Now" is based on that book.

Even if you did read it in high school, read it again. Heart of Darkness has so many layers to it that you could never hope to absorb any significant portion of it in one reading, especially at a high school level.

If you've read it, and like it, I highly, highly recommend Timothy Findley's "Headhunter." It draws a bit on HoD, as well as some other classic literature, and binds it up in a really truly amazing novel. Great cultural commentary, great imagery, etc., etc. Definitely in my top 5 favorite novels.

MakiSupaStar · #18 05-21-2008, 10:00 AM

Oil or Concrete Jungle by Upton Sinclair.

Matt_W · #19 05-21-2008, 10:21 AM

The Time Travellers Wife, by Audrey Niffennegger, is a blinding read. It reduced me to tears a few times.

Joe Gress · #20 05-21-2008, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

Sounds like you like good fiction. Check out Fight Club, a little different than what you describe, but a great read and I think that you will like it.

lowsound

Single most confusing book I've ever read. But it was pretty good. I still had to read a few times to understand it though. The movie was no help.