Favorite Book?

[Thebane]

I think this is the right section, its sort of a community question and I don't feel fits well in Publications (plus I want people to actually post on it).

My favorite book is Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry. Its a literary book, but more like The Great Gatsby than Ulysses. (According to the Modern Library the 11th best book of this century, just so you know I'm not making up the literary part.)

Malcolm Lowry was an alcoholic who died in his 40s from alcohol and sleeping pills (not sure what these would be in 1950s england).

The novel's protagonist is also a middle-aged alcoholic who lives in Mexico. The novel focuses on the last day of his life, when his estranged wife comes back to him. (This isn't a spoiler its explained in the first few pages) But what follows is sort of a thematic spoiler:

The book is largely about his drive for self-destruction, and at the same time his complete apathy. From the opening page the outcome is clear but it doesn't lesson the disturbing nature of his descent. The story reminds me of Layne Staley's death. The way he became almost completely withdrawn from the world and simply waited to die. I can't do the book justice, but it really is an amazing work.

But be warned the prose are not Hemmingway-esque, however they're not nearly as bad as Joyce or someone. Mostly the same difficulty as any prose pre-modernism.

Sorry if noone cares but I just caught the first buzz I've had in weeks off of kratom and really wanted to write this, I think some people here would immensely enjoy reading the book.

Oh and please say your favorite book, even if you don't spend a page describing it when noone asked. :rolleyes:

[slugbone]

good stuff man. i'll hvae to check that one out. i've been getting into existentialist lit latley absurdism etc...that type philosophy. Right now im trying to get thru The Myth of Sysyphus by Camus

mine: The Plague by Albert Camus
The Razors Edge Maughm (i never remember how to spell it)
Lost Horizon - Hilton

[Ragdoll]

The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck

[Thebane]

good stuff man. i'll hvae to check that one out. i've been getting into existentialist lit latley absurdism etc...that type philosophy. Right now im trying to get thru The Myth of Sysyphus by Camus

mine: The Plague by Albert Camus
The Razors Edge Maughm (i never remember how to spell it)
Lost Horizon - Hilton

Ahh, The Plague, strangely I havn't thought of that book in forever even though I was completely enthralled by it when I first read it two years ago. I should really reread that, having read a couple other of Camus' novels since then. I liked it more than The Stranger or The Fall. I also found it strangely uplifting considering the subject matter.

And, just curious, but are you interested in more purely philisophical works? Like say Plato, Kant, Hegel etc. The Plague sort of sparked my interest in philosophy in general.

And I'm actually taking a class in existentialism this semester, however I think its more focused on Satre than Camus, but I like both.

Edit: Oh and I just read Grapes of Wrath this summer and thought it was very good. Especially the last scene, although rather disturbing in its own way. (I havn't even read that many novels, sadly, I wish I read more, but somehow these first two I have read.)

[zenpunk]

Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

[RobotJones]

"Cat's Cradle" and "Breakfast of Champions" by Vonnegut have always been long time favorites of mine. I also loved "Dharma Bums" by Kerouac. When I read "Junky" by Burroughs I had yet become one myself, but thought it was a particularly easy read (I think I read it in a few hours during a road trip on a Phish tour).

When I tried to read "Naked Lunch" I was so repulsed by the images painted in my mind by his words that I actually vomited! Yes, a book actually made me vomit! So, neddless to say, I never picked it back up and I'm not sure if I ever will. I did, however, see the movie which was loosely based on the book in conjunction with his actual life. All I have to say is that Burroughs has got to be one of the most talented American writers if he is able to make his readers vomit only through his words. Not necessarily what you want if you're trying to become a best-selling novelist, but not too many other writers can really say that.

[Oxydation]

I used to teach English Literature so I still have a soft spot for the classics by Melville, Hawthorne and one of my favorites, Harper Lee's only production To Kill A Mockingbird. Then again, I do enjoy the contemporary writers as well.

[underide]

The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov
read it recently -great book...

lots of others, mostly its just a matter of taste really

[underide]

When I tried to read "Naked Lunch" I was so repulsed by the images painted in my mind by his words that I actually vomited!


If you're into vomit inducing literature, then i strongly suggest you read Guts by Chuck Palahniuk.
I think its actually more of a small collection of short stories that u could probaly get on the net.
According to chuck himself some people actually did vomit when he gave a public reading of it in some University.

Takes a lot to make me vomit though, i think you gradually build up immunity to abstract filth

[RobotJones]

I have read Guts, at least a version of it. It's in a novel called "Haunted" by Palahniuk, which is actually just an excuse to use like 23 short stories while tying them together into a novel. It is quite vomitous, and I think it might be one of the most disturbing images I'll ever have in my mind's eye. But it never did make me vomit. I think it made me squeeze my sphincter muscles a bit and say a prayer for all the young boys out there learning to masturbate. A must-read for anyone with an appetite for squeemish tales.

[vanilla_mlkshake2007]

The End Of The Dream by Ann Rule would have to be my favorite book,although its been a few years since I read it.It's about 2 guys that rob banks and stuff and build a house in the trees .I mean a real big home absolutely beautiful ,in the trees,including everything you could want or need .It was so beautiful.An absolute dream I guess thats why its called the End of the Dream.This nook is a for sure page turner .I who along with doing tons of opiates also read tons of true crime books and this is so far my favorite but then again every book that Ann Rule writes.I hope if you do plan on picking up a book at your local library this would be one you choose.I'm gonna read it again now that you got me thinkin about favorites and I'll also read a few you guys and girls have picked as your faves.Oh by the way could you imagine doing opiates in a house built way in the sky w/ a scenic background never having to worry about running outta drugs for weeks.

[chopstix]

At this point probably Cryptonomicon by Neil Stephenson, but I haven't had the chance to read Snowcrash (same author) cover to cover yet; I think it might overtake Cryptonomicon once I do.

[underide]

Oh by the way could you imagine doing opiates in a house built way in the sky w/ a scenic background never having to worry about running outta drugs for weeks.


Put me in the sewers, with a prospect of not running out of drugs (the good ones ofcourse, not the state provided ones) and i'll be happy for a week!

anyone care to sponsor?
its for a good cause

[slugbone]

Ahh, The Plague, strangely I havn't thought of that book in forever even though I was completely enthralled by it when I first read it two years ago. I should really reread that, having read a couple other of Camus' novels since then. I liked it more than The Stranger or The Fall. I also found it strangely uplifting considering the subject matter.

And, just curious, but are you interested in more purely philisophical works? Like say Plato, Kant, Hegel etc. The Plague sort of sparked my interest in philosophy in general.

And I'm actually taking a class in existentialism this semester, however I think its more focused on Satre than Camus, but I like both.

.)

yes i've been interested in philosophy but have finally started to get into it more than just the wikipedia hits like i did before and actually reading thru some material. something about the existential worldview strikes a chord with me.

oh yeah and even dostoyevsky i found a copy of The Brothers Karamazov to dig into next long plane flite. I have Siddartha by Hesse and that is a wonderful novella

sartre i've just begun getting into some heady stuff with On Being and Nothingness and some of his excerpts in my intro to philosophy book which i never read when i was in college haha I bought the stranger to read this week.

[GOLD N DIEMONDS]

"In Cold Blood" - Capote -I read at a young age and it made a big impression.
" Atlas Shrugged" - Ayn Rand -A great classic which took me so long to read it made a big impression.

There are really so many. it's an interesting but difficult question.

[SurfRat]

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Favorite author is Bukowski

[freedomclub]

Factotum Charles Bukowski

Tropic of Cancer Henry Miller

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas H.S. Thompson

Not necessarily in that order.