shtangley01

shtangley01

Member
Apr 28, 2024
24
What are some of ya'll's favorite books? doesn't have to be site-related, just anything you've thoroughly enjoyed! I'll start:

My three favorite books of all time are, at the moment

"The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August" By Claire North - My first favorite book! I read this baby back in highschool, its about a guy who's life is a groundhog's day-style time loop, every time he dies he wakes up as a baby again around the cold war-era. I was big into time loop fiction at the time, its still a major escapist fantasy for me. The plot revolves around this entire society of similar individuals who live in time loops just like our titular protagonist, who are reporting that the end of the world is coming sooner and sooner with each loop. A fun, low-fi sci-fi romp that touches on some heavier themes!

"House of Leaves" By Mark Z. Danielewski - My current favorite book! I read it just a few months ago and I cannot understate how good it is! It's a postmodern psychological horror chronicle, which takes the form of a manuscript written by a dead, blind italian man named Zampanò, which is compiled by and anotated with the life stories of the drug-doing, sex-having, gradually unravelling tattoo artist Johnny Truant, about a documentary that doesn't exist by Will Navidson, another character, about a house that's 3 quarters of an inch bigger on the inside than the outside. I cannot recommend this enough, but I fear spoiling anything should I rave further!

"Small Gods" By Terry Pratchett - This slot really belongs to all the Discworld novels, but Small Gods is as good an entry as any to start your journeys on the Disc! The series itself is 41 entries strong, so its sure to keep even the most avid reader busy for a hot second, and all of it's pure gold, or at least most of it. Small Gods in particular works as a nice jumping on point as it is completely standalone, taking place in a different time period from most of the series, which saw the Discworld advancing in more-or-less realtime alongside our world. It's a hilarious and surprisingly genuine romp through the deserts and seas surrounding the odd monotheistic society of Omnia in a world where their own god openly curses and bargains with other deities, as Brutha, the society's last true believer in their own god, Om, armed with perfect recall and a direct line to the now deeply disempowered Om- who is stuck in the form of a one-eyed turtle- learns about gods, religion, society, and philosophy, growing into a prophet in his own right.
As for the rest of the series, there are a number of individual storylines to follow. You can find lists of these online if you google for it, or just read the series in order of publication. I've heard the first two books ("The Color of Magic" and "The Light Fantastic", which are a direct two-parter) are among the worst in the series, but I liked them just fine.
 
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billie

billie

sad and suicidal
Mar 31, 2024
411
thirteen reasons why by jay asher
 
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Al_stargate

Al_stargate

I was once a pretty angel
Mar 4, 2022
739
Hmm Im not a big book person but I got a few. Some books are in my native language and translations dont quite show the literary brilliance the writers possessed. Prob my favorite book is The Conference of the Birds by 12th century poet and sufi scholar Attar. It's basically a collection of parables with an overarching theme of birds of this world going on a journey to find a mythical bird Simorg that resides at this far away place called Mouth Qaf. It's a metaphor for a person's own spiritual journey and all the challenges and traps we encounter on it. Original text is in Farsi I believe and parables might be in poem form, not sure, but even reading translated version you can understand the meaning of stories and appreciate its deep wisdom and incredible expression and writing skills of the author. I'll add few more books in a bit.
 
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eatantz

eatantz

I luv dolls
Nov 4, 2023
560
The book thief
The mindfuck series- 10/10 loved it
His - i love a good dark romance
Behind closed doors
Zodiac Academy
 
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FadingDawn

FadingDawn

Experienced
Jul 18, 2023
262
Cioran's work is good; so is schopenhauers, if you like pessimist philosophy.

For fiction, I guess I like,

Bruno Schulz -- Cinnamon Shops

Melville -- Moby Dick

Hawthorne -- The Scarlett Letter, and his short stories.

A lot of french decadents and symbolists as well:

Huysmans -- Against nature

Verlaine, Malarame, Rimbaud -- Complete poems.

A bunch of stuff I can't remember at the top of my head.
 
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FadingDawn

FadingDawn

Experienced
Jul 18, 2023
262
Hmm Im not a big book person but I got a few. Some books are in my native language and translations dont quite show the literary brilliance the writers possessed. Prob my favorite book is The Conference of the Birds by 12th century poet and sufi scholar Attar. It's basically a collection of parables with an overarching theme of birds of this world going on a journey to find a mythical bird Simorg that resides at this far away place called Mouth Qaf. It's a metaphor for a person's own spiritual journey and all the challenges and traps we encounter on it. Original text is in Farsi I believe and parables might be in poem form, not sure, but even reading translated version you can understand the meaning of stories and appreciate its deep wisdom and incredible expression and writing skills of the author. I'll add few more books in a bit.
Persian/Farsi poetry, especially from the medieval period, is famous and amazing. Shah-nameh by firdowsi, omar khayyam, etc. Amazing literature.
 
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sserafim

sserafim

brighter than the sun, that’s just me
Sep 13, 2023
9,013
It's hard for me to choose favorites
Persian/Farsi poetry, especially from the medieval period, is famous and amazing. Shah-nameh by firdowsi, omar khayyam, etc. Amazing literature.
What about Rumi?
 
Al_stargate

Al_stargate

I was once a pretty angel
Mar 4, 2022
739
It's hard for me to choose favorites

What about Rumi?
Yeah have few books of his poems. Just be careful because translated versions of poems are often changed to the point where they are unrecognizable from original ones. Coleman Barks is probably most known example. Best to go with versions that are literal translations. I studied mysticism and was practicing special kind of meditation for over 10 years. I believe Rumi and Attar and other sages and mystics from every time period and every tradition were people that achieved ultimate enlightment and traversed inner spiritual worlds in their meditation and reached the highest region while still being alive. So i take their word as the highest truth.
 
SnakesButNoLadder

SnakesButNoLadder

"Don't trip on what is behind you" • UK
Jan 15, 2024
78
Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer.
 

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