The Books/Reading Thread

I have not! I'll give it a read. So far the bleakest sf story Ive read is anything by Harlan Ellison.

In my opinion, Watts is a better writer and explores more interesting ideas than Ellison.

Ellison mostly strikes me as a misanthrope and generally pessimistic grouch who uses sci-fi concepts to enact his bleak fantasies. The premise of "I Have No Mouth" is terrifying, but it's also very paranoid. Watts's fiction works the other way, I think; that is, he discovers bleakness and pessimism within the folds of science itself--which is, to me, far more horrifying.
 
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Ellison mostly strikes me as a misanthrope and generally pessimistic grouch who uses sci-fi concepts to enact his bleak fantasies.
Stephen King doesn't try to write in genre x or write to entertain target x audience, he doesn't even write books to entertain the fans of his previous books
Stephen King just puts onto paper all the crazy shit that's just floating around in his head

As far as I can tell
Ellison writes the exact same way
He writes super bleak dystopian future stuff because that's what is just going on in his mind when he's not holding a conversation with someone
 
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Stephen King has mentioned multiple times that he spends way the fuck more time per day/week/month reading than other book authors

IIRC Stephen King once or twice mentioned Harlan Ellison as an author he likes
(Stephen King has also mentioned Stephanie Meyer as an author he hates)
 
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Just finished this. Late to the party, I know. So fucking good. Rorschach is one of my favorite characters in all of literature now.
 
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Was taking a while to finish this due to school demands, but finally put my head down and plowed through the back half of it. Reasonably thorough coverage of 20th century continental philosophers and sociologists (plus Lacan, whatever category you want to put him into. Psychiatrist is the official label but far too generous). The sections on Sartre and Gramsci were probably the most beneficial to me in shining light on some cladistics I wasn't quite aware of. Sections on Adorno and especially Lacan provided further evidence of the emptiness of their ideas and writing.