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Reading suggestions

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Dec 18, 2004
2,285
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37
florence , mississippi
#1
Non fiction is starting to bore me again so I guess I'm gonna go back to fiction. Can anyone suggest some really good weird, quirky, out there kinda books for me to read?

I just finished reading the classic dystopic trio : 1984, Clockwork Orange , and Brave New Worlld. I also just started some stuff by an author named Neal Stephenson who is supposed to have some out there stuff. I'm starting with Snowcrash.

Any suggestions for some odd reads ?

Thanks billions.
 
#2
Did you like the dystopia theme? If so, read Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban. Hard book to come by, but an absolutely incredible read. Plus, it's out there. Not easy to read because it's written in a phonetic dialect, but you can do it.

Also, fight club is a very good book, albeit bleak. Highly recommended (better than the movie).
 
#5
One Day In the Life Of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksander Solzhenitsyn. The H.T. Willetts translation-the only one that's translated from the original, not the Soviet-censored version.
It's short, <200 pages, but one of the best things I've ever read.
Cancer Ward, also by Solzhenitsyn, is good, too.

Imajica, Weaveworld, and The Great and Secret Show, by Clive Barker.

Nephilim by L.A. Marzulli

The Christ Clone Trilogy by James Beauseigneur

Neither of the Solzhenitsyn's are "weird and quirky," but the rest?:D :bassist:
 
#7
"One Day In the Life Of Ivan Denisovich" is a good suggestion; it's a fictionalized account of the author's time in a Soviet gulag. Very dark, out of necessity, but fascinating. A good companion might be Elie Weisel's "Night", about his hellish experiences during the Holocaust.

My favorite literary work ever is James Joyce's collection of short stories, "Dubliners." It may not be "quirky" enough for you, but it's brilliant. He was a master of writing that seems dry on the surface, but sneaks up on you until you're blown away. Every word counts.
If you're into science fiction, try some Jack Vance. Also, hunt down George R.R. Martin's short story collection, "Sandkings." It contains one of my favorite sci-fi stories, "The Stone City." Very eerie stuff. And Manly Wade Wellman's sci-fi/fantasy stories based on Southern (U.S.) folktales are not extremely well written, but they have a very unusual atmosphere and can get pretty strange at times.
Also, there's "In the Lake of the Woods" by Tim O'Brien-- a stunning mystery/horror/Vietnam aftermath novel. Very ambiguous, in a good way.
And "London Fields" by Martin Amis.
Oh, and you can't go wrong with Edgar Allan Poe. Or Ambrose Bierce. Pick up collections of their short stories!
 
#8
a big PLUS ONE for the tom robbins ("skinny legs and all" was my favo(U)rite)...and you can't ignore the master, douglas adams...the hitchhikers series and the dirk gently books ("dirk gently's holistic detective agency" and "long dark teatime of the soul")

i would also suggest some uncle bill burroughs if you are not bothered by his favorite themes (drugs and homersexuality)...some of them can be kinda difficult to read (in a "*** is this?" sort of way) but theres some good stuff there ("junkie", "exterminator", "naked lunch", "the yage letters" etc)

and since we are suggesting sci-fi, how bout some orson scott card?
 
#9
Would it be too cliche to propose this

0517149257.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIlitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,32,-59_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg


as a "weird, quirky, out there" piece of fiction?

I loved it! But I have a special affinity for British humor (humour).
 
#10
Almost forgot...
"Casual Rex," "Anonymous Rex," and "Hot And Sweaty Rex," by Eric Garcia.
Detective stories; the characters are all dinosaurs disguised as humans. Bizarre.

There's also a movie version of "Ivan Denisovich," but it's pretty bad. The book is much better.
 
#11
jeff_bass28 said:
Almost forgot...
"Casual Rex," "Anonymous Rex," and "Hot And Sweaty Rex," by Eric Garcia.
Detective stories; the characters are all dinosaurs disguised as humans. Bizarre.

There's also a movie version of "Ivan Denisovich," but it's pretty bad. The book is much better.
Click to expand...
Wow, I figured I was the only person in the world to have read Anonymous Rex....:hyper:

But somehow I didn't see fit to continue with the others...
 
#12
My favorite mind bender by Stephenson is Cryptonomicon. It's a combination of WWII thriller, Cryptography, High-tech computer tech, treasure hunting and more...all wrapped up with a nice subtle dark sense of humor. He's also got several follow-ups to Crypto.

For another AMAZING mind bender check out Mark Danielewski's House of Leaves. The words on the page try to mess with you as much as the story does.

Also high on my list right now:

Yes Man by Danny Wallace (Non-fic. funny and also fairly deep, a guy goes a whole year just saying yes. To everything.)

The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain. Also funny & sometimes mean spirited, Bourdain recounts his recent travels and some of the more bizarre encounters...it starts with a family eating freshly killed raw seal (The eyeballs are supposedly the best part). If you haven't read Kitchen Confidential, it's also a blast.

Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horowitz. I've recomended this in a few threads already, but it's really good. He explores the culture of the modern Southern Confederacy and Civil War culture...He takes an intelligent look at a bunch of the more uncomfortable social truths of the situation, but always with an understanding of the complexity of the topic...and mostly in a non-judgemental way. Really fun to read and thought provoking.

American Gods or Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. Both good fun reads with lots of heart and a good sense of humor. A nice take on the issue of spirituality in America, by letting the gods speak for themselves. I always recommend this one for fun reading.
 
#15
More Solzhenitsyn... August 1914/The Red Wheel 1, November 1916/ The Red Wheel II, Lenin In Zurich, and The Gulag Archipelago.
I kind of have a thing for Soviet-era Russian stuff; don't ask why! "Gulag" isn't fiction, and it can be pretty tedious at times, but it's a really interesting look at Stalin's gulag system. Some of the trial transcriptions are downright frightening.
My current non-fiction fave would have to be Thomas Cahill's How The Irish Saved Civilization, makes me even more proud to be Irish.

And definitely check out the Christ Clone Trilogy I posted earlier. Some scientists find living skin cells on the Shroud of Turin and Clone Jesus, and...well, I don't want to spoil anything. It's usually classified as Christian fiction, but it never gets preachy or anything.
 
#16
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