The Books/Reading Thread
- Thread starter Matt
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Eligos
Problem Yet to be Solved
My lady's dad had Thoreau's Walden and Civil Disobedience laying on his table this morning. I wanted to talk with him about them, but he wasn't home.
Manic Ferocity
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Eligos
Problem Yet to be Solved
That's a great one for sure. I read it in a collection with In the Tombs of the Pharaohs.
Eligos
Problem Yet to be Solved
The Shadow Over Innsmouth will familiarize you with his style best, I think.
damnromulans
Klingons do not faint
ok let me rephrase, what is a good classic novel I could buy in English in Japan in a small English section bookstore?
Mort Divine
Shrine Maiden of the In-Crowd
been trying to find a cheap copy of Ibi Kaslik's The Angel Riots because it doesn't seem to exist in any American library and the only place I've found it is Amazon.ca for about 27 USD which is a bit pricy.
skeptik
Member
- Feb 7, 2003
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Yes.
>implying whether or not you should read it
Yes.
Yes.
Wait.
This is more of a general information post that can apply to anybody:
Lovecraft wrote in phases, which somebody (it might have been Joshi) has evidently labeled his "Macabre" stories, his "Dream Cycle" stories, and his "Mythos" stories. This corresponds with his infamous "There are my Poe' pieces and my 'Dunsany' pieces – but alas – where are my Lovecraft pieces?" Early in his literary life, up to about 1919 or so, Lovecraft was so enmeshed within his vast Poe influences that it literally penetrated everything he wrote, especially his style (rightly so, as Poe is the single person most responsible for the legacy of the weird tale as we know it). It really is hard to pinpoint any of his works as particularly Poe-esque because the vast majority of his earlier stories are very Poe-derived, if not in plot, then in many other facets. This obviously corresponds to his "Macabre" period, whereas the "Dream Cycle" relates to his discovery of Lord Dunsany and the revelatory nature of his writing (though he sort of anticipated his discovery of Dunsany with his story "Polaris", which suggests that he was already inclined to such mannerisms and was fully prepared for Dunsany's works). From about 1920 to 1927 he wrote many 'fantastic' stories taking place in fully fictional worlds whose atmosphere's intention was more to inspire awe and wonder than horror and fear (though not to the extent of Dunsany's whimsical narratives). It was not until approximately the last decade of his life that Lovecraft truly came into his own as a unique writer and genuinely made significant contributions to the American literary landscape. This obviously corresponds to his "Mythos" writings. With the idea in mind that Lovecraft's writing went in phases and evolved to become the Cthulhu Mythos that he is by far most well known for, it's important to understand the progression, so I'm going to suggest a chronological guide (with adjustments to more accurately portray the changes in his writing) of a handful of stories that exemplify Lovecraft's work as the evolving corpus that it turned out to be and not simply stick with 'the classics'.
"Dagon"
"Beyond the Wall of Sleep"
"The Statement of Randolph Carter"
"Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family"
"The Music of Erich Zann"
"The Rats in the Walls"
"Cool Air"
"Polaris"
"Celephaïs"
"The Doom that Came to Sarnath"
The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
"Pickman's Model"
"The Color out of Space"
"The Call of Cthulhu"
"The Dunwich Horror"
"The Whisperer in Darkness"
At the Mountains of Madness
The Shadow over Innsmouth
"The Haunter of the Dark"
"The Shadow out of Time"
Cliff Notes for OI: If you want to get right to the meat of the man's legacy, start with "The Call of Cthulhu", go on to The Shadow over Innsmouth, then read At the Mountains of Madness and "The Shadow out of Time".
Manic Ferocity
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Currently reading The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories and have read up to The Rats in the Walls. So far, I've enjoyed The Statement of Randolph Carter, The Outsider, The Picture in the House, and Herbert West - Reanimator the most.
unknown
fuck ftagn
all of the Randolph Carter stories are just mind blowing. "You fool. Warren is dead!" so good. However, my favorite Lovecraft story is still The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
I just finished Ligotti's The Conspiracy Against the Human Race which I think Dodens would love. Might tackle either Bukowski's Pulp or Mieville's Perdido Street Station (since I have had it for two years and never read it but been recommended it a number of times and have to see Einherjar constantly fellate it
)
Thoth-Amon
Hypochondriac
- Apr 4, 2006
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Yes, however parts of it are VERY slow. It is a book that grows on you as you read it. It is not immediately engaging but after awhile you become immersed in its world. Anna Karenina is a quicker read with some very profound subject matter in it as well.
mutantllama
Active Member
You mean, War, What is it good for?
Anyways, picked up American Hardcore a Tribal History. I saw the documentary that was based on the book, and I enjoyed it quite a bit, and I heard the book has even more info about everything.
Manic Ferocity
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Finished The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories. Favorite has to be The Shadow Over Innsmouth. Nothing short of brilliance.
JontRevolting
FALSE ARREST! FALSE ARREST!
Just went sick at Borders and purchased:
Best Horror Of The Year 1 by Ellen Datlow (Paperback).
Necronomicon: The Best Weird Fiction Of H.P. Lovecraft(Hardback).
Necronomicon Files: The Truth Behind The Legend
by Harms , Gonce , Daniel Harms and others (Paperback).
Hideous Gnosis: Black Metal Theory Symposium I
by Shakespeare and Masciandaro (Paperback).
Australian Ghost Stories.(Paperback)
Best Ghost Stories Of Algernon Blackwood(Paperback)
Best Horror Of The Year 1 by Ellen Datlow (Paperback).
Necronomicon: The Best Weird Fiction Of H.P. Lovecraft(Hardback).
Necronomicon Files: The Truth Behind The Legend
by Harms , Gonce , Daniel Harms and others (Paperback).
Hideous Gnosis: Black Metal Theory Symposium I
by Shakespeare and Masciandaro (Paperback).
Australian Ghost Stories.(Paperback)
Best Ghost Stories Of Algernon Blackwood(Paperback)
Einherjar86
Active Member
Might tackle either Bukowski's Pulp or Mieville's Perdido Street Station (since I have had it for two years and never read it but been recommended it a number of times and have to see Einherjar constantly fellate it
I'm going to be fellating The City and the City pretty soon, if the next 30 pages or so prove as stimulating and intriguing as the rest of the book.
metal_wrath
I dip my forefinger...
Reading Franz Kafka Der Process. Going to attempt to read the original German version as well.
challenge_everything
Active Member
Good haul, these are all awesome. I just finished reading House of Leaves again recently. I feel I could probably read it another five times and still pick up on new things.
Currently reading Lady Chatterley's Lover. It strikes me as dated.
Mort Divine
Shrine Maiden of the In-Crowd
Currently reading The Angel Riots by Ibi Kaslik. Very good book so far following the travels of rock band The Angel Riots and the troubles that occur while on the road between the members from adultery, addiction, etc.
mutantllama
Active Member
About halfway through, and I think it's pretty good. I like how they through in Scott Wino
