View Full Version : 37 of my favorite books/stories of any kind
Now that D has concluded his list, and it doesn't look like lovejuice is in a hurry to finish his (come on, lj!), I'm going to hurriedly bang out a list of 37 written works that are all essential to me. This is a list of books/stories of all kinds, from comics to children's books to novels to short stories to guide books and so on. I've banged out a couple of really short sentences (if not just one) for each. Because I'm not going to drag this out.
dreamdead
08-27-2009, 09:15 PM
In like sin.
Melville
08-27-2009, 09:26 PM
I just realized I know almost nothing about your taste in books. So this should be good.
37. You Are Here: Personal Geographies and Other Maps of the Imagination by Katherine Harmon
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/youarehere.jpg
I love maps. This is a book of a whole lot of very interesting maps. Maps of places, forms, ideas, demographics, etc, etc. Conceptual map art. Very cool.
By the way, see the blurb above? Expect that level of insight. This is not something on which I've worked a ton.
36. Celephais by HP Lovecraft (read it here (http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft/celephais.htm))
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/400000000000000166399_s4.jpg
Note, the story is found in this compilation. It is a good compilation.
One of my pet themes is the line between reality and fantasy and where that line becomes blurry. In this, my favorite story by HP Lovecraft, though not filled with the otherworldly figures of the Old Ones, perfectly describes the fantasy of delusion with florid detail.
D_Davis
08-27-2009, 09:47 PM
Cool Lovecraft choice. So few of his stories do involve the Old Ones. Most of the really popular stories of the Old Ones were written by others, so it's funny that Lovecraft is often so tightly associated with them.
Do you read many of Lovecraft's circle of authors?
Do you read many of Lovecraft's circle of authors?
No, actually. I've only cursorily read some Arthur Machen and Robert Howard.
Here: give me a list, so I'll always know where it is, of five other Lovecraft-like authors that are necessary for me to check out.
35. Austerlitz by WG Sebald
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/austerlitz_sebald.jpg
Combining literature with history, architecture, memory, technology and politics, this book is the emblem of everything I would try to do if I were to become a writer. It's like a literary analog of Chris Marker's cinema.
34. The Three Little Pigs (Disney Little Golden Book version)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/waotbbw02.jpg
Note, the picture is from the Disney animated version of the story, from which the book took most of its pictures, or at least schemas
It's all about the illustrations. The main reason this one made the cut is because there is this picture of the wolf in this book that, when I saw it as a child, it captivated me and gave me nightmares for a long, long time. I still remember it vividly to this day. Consider this a "it-hit-me-at-exactly-the-most-impressionable-moment" entry. The wolf design, even in the picture here, is very, very creepy to me.
D_Davis
08-27-2009, 10:21 PM
Here: give me a list, so I'll always know where it is, of five other Lovecraft-like authors that are necessary for me to check out.
Clark Ashton Smith
Arthur Machen
August Derleth (mainly responsible for what we know as the Cthulhu mythos)
William Hope Hodgson
Algernon Blackwood
- for the old school
Thomas Ligotti
Michael Cisco
- for the new school
D_Davis
08-27-2009, 10:21 PM
35. Austerlitz by WG Sebald
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/austerlitz_sebald.jpg
Combining literature with history, architecture, memory, technology and politics, this book is the emblem of everything I would try to do if I were to become a writer. It's like a literary analog of Chris Marker's cinema.
Never heard of this. Sounds interesting.
Clark Ashton Smith
Arthur Machen
August Derleth (mainly responsible for what we know as the Cthulhu mythos)
William Hope Hodgson
Algernon Blackwood
- for the old school
Thomas Ligotti
Michael Cisco
- for the new school
Many thanks.
And yes, Austerlitz is a fast read and is concerned largely with history and interconnectivity. Two of pretty much my favorite artistic concerns.
ledfloyd
08-27-2009, 10:27 PM
35. Austerlitz by WG Sebald
i was debating whether or not to pick this up at the library recently. this seals the deal. i'll get it next time.
i was debating whether or not to pick this up at the library recently. this seals the deal. i'll get it next time.
Do! And definitely let me know what you think. I read it for my Philosophy and Literature class a couple of semesters ago and wrote my final essay on it. Very, very good.
D_Davis
08-27-2009, 10:33 PM
Many thanks.
And yes, Austerlitz is a fast read and is concerned largely with history and interconnectivity. Two of pretty much my favorite artistic concerns.
I love to study how things are interconnected - one of my favorite things.
33. Dominic by William Steig
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/steigdominic.jpg
Another children's book. It's like the Odyssey but for kids, replete with poetic moments, ambiguous morality, and witty illustrations that bolster the entertaining exploits of the titular protagonist. Very good, even if you are a crazy conservative that doesn't know what "ad hominem" means.
32. 500 Essential Anime Movies: the Ultimate Guide by Helen McCarthy
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/9780061474507.jpg
Like its graphic novel equivalent, this is a surprisingly well-informed and fun-to-look-at book, with many great recommendations of underseen, underappreciated films. As you can see, Steamboy adorns the cover and I quite like that film.
BTW, all, I'm serious about these books mattering the most to me. I understand that most lists like this would not think to include books read as a child or guide books on which cartoons to watch, but this is my life.
megladon8
08-27-2009, 10:58 PM
Great list so far, Sven.
Rep for the Lovecraft love.
And D, I think Lovecraft gets most of the rep for the Old Ones and the Cthuluh mythos because, well, he was the creator. Yes, many people fleshed out the universe much more than he ever did, but it was still him who created that original idea.
Look at "Star Wars". Lucas wrote the films and created that initial universe, but the work by others within that realm monumentally eclipses anything he's done (talking sheer volume). Plus, if you want to look at it in terms of quality, there are many books in the "Star Wars" unvierse that are better than most any of the movies, even the original trilogy. Hell, I thought the first "Knights of the Old Republic" game told a better story than any of the prequels.
31. Nobody's Perfect by Anthony Lane
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/414C02WQGZL_SL500_AA240_.jpg
The dude is witty. Chuck Taylor criticized Lane as one of the people dragging film criticism down into "cocktail party" territory. Which, I have to admit, may be true. But by gum, the man waxes hilarious. And I like that he doesn't take high art seriously as high art. Because I don't.
D_Davis
08-27-2009, 11:13 PM
And D, I think Lovecraft gets most of the rep for the Old Ones and the Cthuluh mythos because, well, he was the creator. Yes, many people fleshed out the universe much more than he ever did, but it was still him who created that original idea.
Technically, Lovecraft was building upon ideas written about about by Lord Dunsany in his The Gods of Pegana (1905). But yes, Lovecraft created Cthulhu. However, August Derleth is credited with the starting of the mythos cycle. I was simply commenting on the fact that so many people only associate Lovecraft with the mythos, when in fact he wrote very little concerning it. His contemporaries wrote more mythos fiction than he did.
30. Little Nemo: 1905-1914 by Windsor McCay
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/LittleNemo1905-1914.jpg
Best read progressively. At a sitting, it can start to feel taxing, but the level of imagination on display is nothing short of miraculous. Aside from having the coolest cartoonist name ever, McCay creates dreamscapes of an incomparable quality.
D_Davis
08-27-2009, 11:51 PM
30. Little Nemo: 1905-1914 by Windsor McCay
Best read progressively. At a sitting, it can start to feel taxing, but the level of imagination on display is nothing short of miraculous. Aside from having the coolest cartoonist name ever, McCay creates dreamscapes of an incomparable quality.
This is quality bathroom reading - if only the book wasn't so nice and so dang heavy.
29. Defining Moments in Science by Andrew Impey
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/51S3ZOHbKjL_SS500_.jpg
Not even many of my closest friends know that I have a fairly strong interest in the sciences. Like Boner suggested with his recommendation of the Defining Moments in Movies of the same series, this is surprisingly well-informed. Interesting and educational.
Sycophant
08-28-2009, 12:20 AM
The dude is witty. Chuck Taylor criticized Lane as one of the people dragging film criticism down into "cocktail party" territory. Which, I have to admit, may be true. But by gum, the man waxes hilarious. And I like that he doesn't take high art seriously as high art. Because I don't.
Thanks for this!
Lane's writing makes me happy.
Thanks for this!
Lane's writing makes me happy.
Ah yes. I hope it has served you well. I still whip out our trusty trade cloth every here and there.
Melville
08-28-2009, 11:36 PM
Very cool, idiosyncratic list thus far. Lovecraft and McCay! Have you seen that Nemo book that reprints the strips in their original super-size (the size of a full newspaper page)? It's damn expensive and now out of print, but that would be pretty awesome.
28. Bambi v. Godzilla (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-wUdetAAlY)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/20090306221906261.jpg
David Mamet waxes poetic, philosophical, and esoteric about the ins and outs of the filmmaking world. Starts out entertaining, but soon spirals into heady madness.
27. Lords of Chaos
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/lords.gif
Death metal rampage. A great journalistic read about the crimes perpetuated and endorsed by certain factions of Nordic death metal musicians and fans. If you're interested in disaffection, music, crime, and/or religion, you'll probably enjoy this book.
26. The Bear by William Faulkner
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/c5798.jpg
I'm not sure if this version is the one I read because I know he rewrote the story.
Certainly one of my favorite short stories... tough to say anything specific about it quickly beyond its beautiful evocation of the woods and of youth trying to comprehend something greater than life.
megladon8
08-31-2009, 06:41 PM
"Bambi vs. Godzilla" is fantastic reading.
I have not read any Faulkner.
25. M-W by Osamu Tezuka
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/MW_500.jpg
This changed the way I look at Manga. I'd never, until I read this, seen such simple cartooning and ecstatic expression used to explore such depraved depths. It feels the way a straight-faced adaptation of a Bergman film starring the Looney Tunes characters (+ a couple of explosions) would feel--stretchy and crazy, but always horrifying and personal.
Sycophant
08-31-2009, 06:49 PM
Having started reading Astro Boy (and loving it), I've been wondering what other Tezuka to pick up. I think I've got my answer. Thanks!
Be forewarned: serial killing, genocide, necrophilia, pedophilia... all abound in M-W.
Sycophant
08-31-2009, 06:51 PM
Ok.
Ok.
I've realized that it is more difficult than any other text I can think of to gauge the tone of a written "Okay" (and its variants).
And that was a surprisingly difficult sentence to craft.
24. Where's Waldo in Hollywood? by Martin Handford
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/300px-WheresWaldoinHollywood.jpg
Explaining my attraction to the films of Robert Altman, I'm a total sucker for community. The Waldo books are perfect examples of community in action, a system of functions, sub-functions, and tertiary functions. It's also fun to see if you can find the guy! I've had this book since I was a child and I've still not exhausted it.
Sycophant
08-31-2009, 06:57 PM
I've realized that it is more difficult than any other text I can think of to gauge the tone of a written "Okay" (and its variants).
So true. In fact, I usually write out "Okay," but without being able to precisely understand why, it didn't look right when I wrote that post.
Basically, I was saying--you know me, Dawg. I'm cool widdat.
23. Two Hearts by Peter Beagle
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/7EkCP9i3Pms6tt6czpSkEM42o1_400 .jpg
Fan art of the climactic scene of Two Hearts
I love The Last Unicorn and all, but this 50 page sequel is really where it's at. Fantastic and exciting and moving. Made me cry, no joke. Supposedly he's working on a "proper" sequel, which is cool, but I doubt it will top this.
Melville
08-31-2009, 07:08 PM
Faulkner rules, though I haven't read The Bear, or anything else in Go Down, Moses. That Tezuka comic sounds good too.
22. League of Extraordinary Gentlement, Vol. II by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/league_extraordinary_gentlemen _x.jpg
Close to Moore's masterpiece, I think. My interests in pulp bolster that position, but it stands that the artwork and pacing alone make for one of the more exciting science fiction spectacles that I've ever encountered. The invisible man stuff is amazing from a narrative standpoint and the Dr. Moreau stuff is conceptually dizzying. Why can there not be more epic science fiction films as exciting as this?
Qrazy
09-02-2009, 03:02 AM
32. 500 Essential Anime Movies: the Ultimate Guide by Helen McCarthy
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/9780061474507.jpg
Like its graphic novel equivalent, this is a surprisingly well-informed and fun-to-look-at book, with many great recommendations of underseen, underappreciated films. As you can see, Steamboy adorns the cover and I quite like that film.
How can I convince you to post all 500 of those films here? :)
dreamdead
09-03-2009, 03:09 PM
27. Lords of Chaos
When you say death metal, I'll presume you're actually indicting the early '90s black metal scene. :D For a pretty good comprehensive assessment of the extreme metal movement and its sociological implications, I rather like this book (http://books.google.com/books?id=9--qAVrfxukC&pg=PA99&lpg=PA99&dq=extreme+metal&source=bl&ots=05TMuoqrsR&sig=4jWpRn0zs9bPpwoAeRt80SnxqN o&hl=en&ei=-tqfSo-dO5uEnge1_qWEDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9#v=onepage&q=&f=false) by English sociologist Kieth Kahn-Harris.
And I really need to try some of Moore's League... series. That and From Hell are the missing links to feeling full about his work for me. Well, those two and Voices from the Fire, which I should take from the bookshelf and read someday.
When you say death metal, I'll presume you're actually indicting the early '90s black metal scene. :D For a pretty good comprehensive assessment of the extreme metal movement and its sociological implications, I rather like this book (http://books.google.com/books?id=9--qAVrfxukC&pg=PA99&lpg=PA99&dq=extreme+metal&source=bl&ots=05TMuoqrsR&sig=4jWpRn0zs9bPpwoAeRt80SnxqN o&hl=en&ei=-tqfSo-dO5uEnge1_qWEDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9#v=onepage&q=&f=false) by English sociologist Kieth Kahn-Harris.
Hey, dude. Thanks for the recommendation! I'm totally going to check this one out.
Also, good call on my boner.
...
riiiiight, anyway, yeah, I wasn't thinking. But let it be known that I'm very much not an expert on these things.
ThePlashyBubbler
01-03-2010, 02:52 AM
Still interested in the upper portions of this list, should you ever wish to continue, Sven.
Hey, you few interested parties! I'm sick of having this over my head, so now I am going to post the rest in a flurry of hurry. Remember: this is in no way an attempt to be a "best of" list. It is rather a list of books that, when I think about them, conjure up wonderful memories.
21. The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/neverendingstory.jpg
One of the few fiction books I've read more than once. The strength of the imagery is enough to recommend it, but it helps that it is also a resonant tome that is not only about the passion one can have for literature, but is well-written enough to originate such a zeal.
20. The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/greene4.jpg
Religious without being didactic. This is the way to introduce your orthodoxy to public discourse, people. Take note.
19. Small in the Saddle by Mark Stamaty
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/2e0fc060ada09f69b0623210L_SL50 0_AA2.jpg
Pure bonkers. Reminds me of the kind of thing I'd like to do were I ever to get it into my head that the world needs more surrealist children's entertainment.
18. The Once and Future King by TH White
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/once_future_king_cover.jpg
I'm a total sucker for epic fantasy and, even without spanning itself across several books to fully develop its impressive sense of enormity, this is probably the best fantasy-fantasy book I've ever read.
17. Kaleidoscope by Ray Bradbury
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/Kaleidoscope.jpg
From one of my favorite sci-fi authors comes one of my favorite sci-fi stories about a group of astronauts that are hurling about space as the result of their malfunctioning vessel. The final moments of this story have stuck with me vividly for years and years.
16. A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/250px-TheVileVillage.jpg
Witty, alive, educational, exciting. Confession: I still have not read the final two, but most definitely will before I die. These have everything that I want in a book, let alone a kids book(s). Pictured is The Vile Village, which is my favorite entry in the series.
15. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/michael_crichton.jpg
Totally great science-fiction, filled with many great scenes. Great for a nerdy adolescent.
14. Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/metamorphosis-franz-kafka-paperback.jpg
This is horror. The grotesque imagery compliments this weird twist on coming-of-age tremendously. The insect's final scene is moving beyond belief.
13. The Regulators by Richard Bachman
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/899452_f248.jpg
Totally off-the-wall crazy and maybe nonsensical unless you read it with King's Desperation, but this is the most morbidly colorful fiction I've ever read.
12. Harpo Speaks by Harpo Marx
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/HarpoSpeaks.jpg
The best biography, auto- or otherwise, I've ever read. Harpo's humanity radiates throughout, his humor as strong with words as it is in pantomime. So many awesome stories about the times, travels, and work of the Marx brothers.
11. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/godblessyoumrrosewatervonnegut .jpg
Sure Slaughterhouse Five may be more ambitious and Cat's Cradle more fantastical, but this is the book where I realized that Vonnegut was more than a high concept artist: the man is after what makes us tick.
10. The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag by Robert Heinlein
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/upojh59.jpg
Talk about horrific conceptual fantasy. The way that Heinlein captures the horror of the inexplicable through such a mundane procedural is a testament not just to his remarkable talent, but to the malleability of narrative form. The last chapter is a Lynch-worthy doozy.
9. The Woody Allen Trilogy Without Feathers, Getting Even, Side Effects
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/feathers-176x300.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/9780394726403.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/9780345343352.jpg
Some of the funniest stuff in print I've ever read, right here, most of it very absurd. I've probably picked these books up more than any other on my shelf. I've read his most recent one as well, but like his films, it's nowhere near as good as his prime work.
8. Hyperion & The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/hyperion-by-dan-simmons.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/FallofHyperion.jpg
Using the space opera format, set in a far, far future, this pair of novels addresses politics, sexuality, time, religion, war, cognitive evolution, literature, conservationism, and philosophy, just for starters. Does so vividly, with sometimes violently evocative prose. Exciting, conceptually brilliant mindbenders... by God, I love them.
7. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/Littleprince.jpg
I really wonder how this must read to a child. I read it as an adult and was moved profoundly.
6. Herzog on Herzog
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/2887_jpg_280x450_q85.jpg
Of the all the filmmaker-specific books I have, this is the one from which I have gleaned the most. It is full of wit and dry humor in the only way Herzog knows how to deliver. Wonderful stories abound.
5. From Hell by Alan Moore
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/fromhell_cover_lg.jpg
The reason this isn't higher is because of Moore's proclivity towards pontification: time, culture, sex and all that. I love it: it is well-written. But I can't help but be slightly annoyed that he used Jack the Ripper as a post-modern stepping stone to comment on historical contextualization (unlike the aforementioned Simmons diptych, which shows, where Moore frequently tells). Still, this may be best blending of narrative, process, and commentary that I've come across to date.
4. Dreamcatcher by Stephen King
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/king_dreamcatcher.jpg
My favorite King novel, if only for the uncanny way he is able to explicate varied perspectives. His success as a storyteller and drawer of character here is as expert as any artist's work.
3. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/0099578514.jpg
The colors are bright, the narrative finely woven, Rushdie's voice knowing and intelligent and florid. Recently held the position of my favorite book, as I am partial to epic fantasies grounded in reality, as well as stories in which characters operate as proxies for global meaning.
2. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/MobyDick_Or_The_Whale_Worlds_C lassi.jpg
Immense. Immersive. Immaculate. Immeasurable.
1. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/WindInTheWillows2-719359.jpg
Probably my favorite book of all-time. It is full of poignant passages and vibrant tableaux's. Mr. Toad's adventures should serve as an inspiration to us all. Mr. Mole's curiosity, Mr. Rat's friendliness, and Mr. Badger's resourcefulness instruct us with a lightness of touch and lively wit all but gone from children's literature today.
THERE YOU GO EVERYONE! THX FOR READING!
D_Davis
01-17-2010, 02:56 AM
Love The Wind in the Willows. Great book.
D_Davis
01-17-2010, 04:29 AM
10. The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag by Robert Heinlein
Talk about horrific conceptual fantasy. The way that Heinlein captures the horror of the inexplicable through such a mundane procedural is a testament not just to his remarkable talent, but to the malleability of narrative form. The last chapter is a Lynch-worthy doozy.
I'll be reading this this year.
D_Davis
01-17-2010, 04:31 AM
17. Kaleidoscope by Ray Bradbury
From one of my favorite sci-fi authors comes one of my favorite sci-fi stories about a group of astronauts that are hurling about space as the result of their malfunctioning vessel. The final moments of this story have stuck with me vividly for years and years.
I don't think I've ever read this one - I'll see if I have it somewhere.
lovejuice
01-17-2010, 12:32 PM
16. A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
i like the first book, and really enjoy the movie. i translated some chapters of daniel handler's autobiography, and he seems like a really cool guy.
13. The Regulators by Richard Bachman
i said it somewhere before, regulators > desperation.
10. The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag by Robert Heinlein
awesome. always looking for another heinlein's to read.
megladon8
01-17-2010, 08:19 PM
Jen knew of a professor at her university who had to leave because of a nervous breakdown due to teaching a full course on "Moby Dick".
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