Recommended reading

[Sledge]

I've forgotten how to write. If I don't get it back, I will die.

Recommend me some of your favorite books to propel me over my block.

[annie]

the giving tree by shel silvertein....its a childrens book, and oh so good! (kinda sad too...)

[Fireblade]

About A Boy or High Fidelity by Nick Hornby. He's got awesome narrative style.

[hooligan]

the author of fight club did some fun books

lullaby
diary

are two i'd suggest. oh, his name is ... chuck ..palinthink or something like that

[moJo]

the author of fight club did some fun books

lullaby
diary

are two i'd suggest. oh, his name is ... chuck ..palinthink or something like that
It's Chuck Palahniuk. And his stuff is so awesome. I haven't read those newer ones yet. BUt I have read Fight Club, Choke, and Survivor.

[hooligan]

It's Chuck Palahniuk. And his stuff is so awesome. I haven't read those newer ones yet. BUt I have read Fight Club, Choke, and Survivor.
i haven't read any of the older stuff. haha, i'll read choke and survivor sometime, but the new stuff is just bizarre. he really doesn't have any style aside from a very detached, sarcastic view on life.

[moJo]

he really doesn't have any style aside from a very detached, sarcastic view on life.
that's basically why i enjoy his work. the sarcasm and cynicism.
it makes me such a happy person.

[Chester]

Nabokov's Lolita or Pale Fire , if you need reminding about what can be wrought by a masterful language smith. You don't even need to read entire books -- just randomly flip to any given page, read a couple paragraphs and then cry, realizing that the motherfucker is writing in a second/third language.

[SunWuKong]

the giving tree by shel silvertein

love that book.

[rice cracker]

"The Devil's Larder" is a good collection of short stories about food and is by Jim Crace, who also wrote, "Being Dead." Anything by Bret Easton Ellis is good, IMO. American Psycho & Glamorama are my favorites.

[Emperor_Mike]

If you want a time-consuming (in a good way) epic, you must read "War & Peace". Not for the faint of heart, however. It's a very complex novel and if you make it to the end you'll find that it's an incredible experience. "Anna Karenina" is also a masterpiece in its own right, although I'd have to say that I prefer "War & Peace" since I'm a bit of a fan of the era and the background of the novel.

"Crime and Punishment" is excellent as well. Dostoevsky's works, like Tolstoy's, are wonderfully compelling.

"A Tale of Two Cities" ranks as one of my favourites and if you prefer something more "exciting" you really can't go wrong with any of the "Sherlock Holmes" short stories or the book "The Hound of the Baskervilles".

If you seek works to help inspire you to greater heights in terms of writing ability, I'd advise you to avoid modern mass market pulp novels. The writing is usually sub-standard when compared to such illustrious figures as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Emily Bronte, Charles Dickens, etc.

[Kuchana]

Like Water For Chocolate- Laura Last name starts with an E but if you look up the title only, her info will come up as well. Great book.

By the way, has anyone read the Da Vinci Code? I haven't yet but I've been hearing this buzz about it for quite some time.

[hooligan]

Like Water For Chocolate- Laura Last name starts with an E but if you look up the title only, her info will come up as well. Great book.

By the way, has anyone read the Da Vinci Code? I haven't yet but I've been hearing this buzz about it for quite some time.
i've read it, it reads like a movie. it's a rollercoaster, i killed it in 2 days. it was just fun recreational reading. go to borders or barnes and nobles and read the first couple of chapters. the whole book is like that.

[shakazu]

you should definitly read crime and punishment

[mr. x]

Last Days of Summer

its about a Jewish kid who befriends a baseball player. its mostly written in the form of letters to one another and other written documents/accounts/newspaper clippings. funny stuff

[robotic]

anything by banana yoshimoto ;_; seriously.

[Martino]

Candide by Voltaire. Voltaire's critique of pre-Enlightenment thought, but not at all heavy reading. In fact, it could almost be a lost Blackadder script with its humour. Plus it has a serious philosophical idea to put over.

Frankenstein is an experience to read, just don't expect it to be like any of the filmed versions. The story is mostly told in the form of letters, diary entries, ship logs etc., and the Monster is introduced merely as a distant figure, but you know it's him.

[Martino]

anything by banana yoshimoto ;_; seriously.

Of Kitchen fame? Is the book anything like the movie?