The best books I've read were by Louis-Ferdinand Celine, next to Knut Hamsun. Although I've only had the chance to read Hunger, I have found second-hand copies of The Wayfarers and Growth of The Soil I'm waiting to read.
I am currently reading Nightwood by Djuna Barnes, which I'm nearly finished with, along with You Can't Win by Jack Black, which I haven't touched in awhile. I plan on reading The Demons by Dostoevsky next.
You Can't Win is interesting if you enjoy Burroughs, Jack Black being a huge influence on his writing.

Right now I'm studying for university entrance exams. I'm applying for both theoretical and practical philosophy at the same time, which means I've got to practically memorise these three books:

Plato - The Republic
René Descartes - Meditations on First Philosophy
Korkman & Yrjönsuuri - Filosofian historian kehityslinjoja ("Developmental outlines of the history of philosophy", this one's more like a textbook)

After reading nothing but The Republic for a week, I realised I'd probably go insane if I do nothing but study, so I've also been re-reading Huxley's Brave New World in the evenings.

England, my England - King Henry

Extreme literature, written by yours truly. That's the only 'plug' i will ever give on this site. If you're interested check my website. Or don't.

Jack Faust - Michael Swanwick

Reading Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas now, about halfway through. Surprisingly it doesn't suck, given my expectations from such an author who could write two very different kinds of failure like "False Memory" and "House of Thunder."

As well as the DOstoevsky still in progress (this one's going to take a while, but I'm devouring it slowly like a fine dish of French cuisine), I've begun the first volume of "The Weird Works of Robert E. Howard". This is very pleasing because I've not really read much Howard aside from all the Conan and Kull stories, a couple of Kane tales and one a piece of the western and orientall adventures. Come to think of it, I guess that's more REH than most, but still barely scratches the surface of his rather astonishing (given that he was only writing professionally for about nine years) output. Of course, one kind of knowss what to expect from Howard and he probably was the most typecast as a pulpist among all the Weird Tales circle (yes, moreso than Lovecraft, I think). Reading his stuff always makes me marvel at his power as a writer but wonder sadly what he could have done had he survived the Depression.. THere's quite a bit of poetry in these Weird Works anthologies, too, and it's actually really good, epic stuff; perhaps less formulaic than the tales, though that's not meant to denigrate the latter. The stories tell of wanderers encountering nameless horrors, lost races, ancient rites, etc, but with Howard's personal touch and lots of blood and thunder, naturally. I was particularly amused reading "CHildren of the Night" on the subway, with all its stern ranting about Aryan supremacy and the need to stamp out the inferior, sub-human tribe. Definitely a weird little piece.

I'm also about halfway through the final tale in Fritz Leiber's saga of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, entitled "The Mouser Goes Below". It's so sad; I feel like I've been growing up with these two rogues. I'm not sure I've ever been this attached to recurring literary characters, really.. At this point the two are getting on in years and nearly retired on the far northern Rime Isle. They've even been courting two ladies permanently .. but Death has it in for the Mouser, and he's seemingly buried alive! Fafhrd and the stalwart Rimers must try and get him back from a strange underground realm, where he's caught somewhere between extreme pain and pleasure. Huge fun, as most of the stories are, and this one's quite a bit bawdier than usual actually and even includes a hilariouss Lesbian disciplinary session.

Being a Chuck Palahniuk (Survivor, Haunted, Fight Club, Invisible Monsters), Cormac McCarthy (No Country For Old Men, The Road), and Paulo Coelho (Veronika Decides To Die) fan, would any of you have any recommendations? Not really a fan of fantasy, nor do I enjoy preachy, fact-driven "history" novels, but I enjoy thought-provoking, well written stories that aren't afraid to boggle your mind.

I'm also enjoying philosophical and existential books, so any recommendations in those departments are also welcome.



As a "just finished" note, I reread Brave New World and 1984 back to back and thoroughly enjoyed both as much as I remember.

I am currently 5 chapters into Machiavelli's The Prince. Enjoying it so far and I really enjoy some of the maxims that he lays down. He has an uncanny way to make political philosophy relevant to other areas as well. My favorite lines so far:

"Whoever is the cause of another's becoming powerful will come to ruin himself."

"One change always creates a projecting stone for attaching another."

this is the nature of things: that one never strives to avoid one difficulty without running into another

These have been in rotation in my house for the past month or two...


Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Liber Null
Anathema of Zos
The Will To Power
Liber HVHI
The Decline of the West
Liber Kaos
Initiation Into Hermetics
Almost Home:Story of Damien Echols

I've only read three of his books, and two of them involved genetically enhanced super dogs (both Golden Retrievers), and evil mutant monkey creatures.

I don't mind him so much. I haven't read anything yet that makes me think, "god, this is retarded." But that could just be because I haven't read enough of his stuff.



In the last year, I've spent most of my reading time on graphic novels and collection books of classic/new comics--mostly Transformers or Swamp Thing. The last full book I read was Whitley Strieber's Communion.

I surprised myself and picked up a copy of Irvin D. Yalom's Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death and am really enjoying it.

Yalom, a philosophically-inclined aged secular humanist psychiatrist holds no truck with religion whatsoever, has written a book that is an easy but stimulating read, and I'd recommend it. It has also made me concede that not all psychiatrists peddle psycho-babble (although even he has his moments)

I have especially enjoyed the unexpectedly philosophical direction the book has taken. Epicurus, Heidegger, Nietzsche and Schopenhauer all get their moment in Yalom's sun.

It's an arresting title, but one which I felt somewhat self-conscious about being seen out in public with, in all honesty. I felt the gaze of fellow commuters boring through me who had spotted the cover waited to see if I decided to throw myself under the next train. Death per se hasn't exercised me overly over the last four decades, or so I thought, but I can see the value in taking the time to order your thoughts regarding what death means to you in order to live life with zest and vigour.

Just recently I began re-reading my favorite stories from Robert W. Chambers's The King in Yellow. It's strange yet effective how he combines the self-consciously maudlin mundanely rambling romantic nonsense with the bizarre horror aspect, and really the contrast is great. Despite all this banality, the unknown horror is still just a stone's throw away, wrapped up in nightmarish unreality (or in the pages of a certain play ). This contrasts greatly with Lovecraft's brand of cosmic horror where Cthulhu & pals tend to lurk in weird corners of the world and be very apart from the general ruck.

Anyway, if anyone cares to read, it's available for free here; try "The Repairer of Reputations" (probably the best), "The Court of the Dragon", and "The Yellow Sign". Be warned, though, as the horror aspect is by no means present in all the stories.

"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God!"

I've been reading some of Jiddu Krishnamurti's works. I met a very interesting character at the bookstore, and he recommened a collection of Krishnamurti to me. I bought it and am pleased with my decision. Although I may not agree with everything that he says (sometimes I even wonder whether his thoughts are incomprehensible or I'm misunderstanding them), his talks are extremely well written--and his paradigm is such a drastic departure from what I'm used to that reading him has been very good for me. I don't want to surround myself with ideas that I already agree with and nothing else. That's a recipe for stagnation.

I'm also reading Inherit the Stars by James P. Hogan. It's about a 50,000 year old human corpse that is found on Earth's moon. It's intriguing--if slightly dated--science fiction. There's lots of scientific jargon in it, and a main character who is driven by the timeless desire to acquire knowledge.

I'm on scene seven, act four of Hamlet. It's slow going, but worthwhile. Hamlet is a very cool character, and Shakespeare's language isn't as impenetrable as I feared--although I am probably only picking up the bare bones of the story.

Ah, this book, and the concept of the King in Yellow itself, is fantastic. I don't think it ever comes close to the greatness of "The Repairer of Reputations" again though, even if "The Court of the Dragon" is also an excellent piece.

Strangely, "The Street of the Four Winds" is a really effective, extremely short (only four or five pages if I remember right) piece that doesn't have anything to do with the play, but it's probably my second or third favourite piece in the whole book.

Oh, I totally agree; it's sort of like a Bohemian artist's version of the Necronomicon, and you can just go out and buy it at your local fashionable bookstore (if you dare). I think the main thing Chambers has that similar authors lack (such as Lovecraft) is that human touch that makes the stories seem that much more plausible. With Lovecraft especially there's that sort of distance between yourself and the characters and settings which prevents you from really believing in the stories (not to say they're bad), but with Chambers all that mundane nonsense he sticks in somehow makes the horror elements much more horrifying and "real" in contrast. Like in "The Yellow Sign", for example, the whole stupid romantic drivel that happens in the first chunk somehow makes their succumbing to the Yellow Sign all the more powerful. It still could've done with trimming, but I just love the part describing their response to having read "The King in Yellow".


Of course, the unanswered ambiguities of "The Repairer of Reputations" and the madness of the protagonist make it clearly the overall best of the lot. The one problem I always had with Lovecraft is, at the end of the stories, he usually tended to tie up the plots a little too neatly, and the reader usually ends up knowing just about exactly what happened and why (despite all the ambiguities and unexplained bits concerning the actual beasties themselves).

It's a shame to force things on people. I discovered Blake through metal (namely via Bruce Dickinson) and he's my favourite poet (and artists). I need to get round to reading some Dante but unfortunately I've not much time for reading for leisure in the exam period.

Currently reading Zola's Germinal for the first time. It's epically bleak. It makes Hardy's Jude the Obscure look like a Tom Sharpe novel.

Saw Beckett's Endgame on Tuesday and reread it when I returned home. It is both epically bleak, and funny. Not an easy combo to pull off, but then topping Beckett's prose or drama is pretty tough going -- perhaps impossible.

I'm currently reading The Golden Compass for my childrens' literature class (I actually just finished Part I last night). Does anyone know when it takes place? It makes reference to trains and airships which were 19th and 20th century innovations, but then it mentions that New France, which was surrendered to Britain in 1763, still exists.

Currently about halfway through "A Canticle For Leibowitz" by Walter M. Miller. Loving it so far (I have a slightly perverse taste for post-apocalyptic stuff).

Before this I read Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" by recommendation from other PA fans, but ...meh... to be honest. Nicely written, but short of substance. Canticle is more to my taste so far.

The Golden Compass is set in an "alternative" universe where things are subtly and not so-subtly different from our own reality. This particular aspect of the book is elaborated more in The Subtle Knife.

I don't know how anyone could be confused by that unless they've read nothing but nonfiction books their entire lives.

I'm currently reading Those Who Walk In Darkness, a book about a cop in a United States where people with superpowers are persona non grata who are expelled from the country or killed. The main character, O'Roark, is in a SWAT meets S.H.E.I.L.D. police usit called MTAC. The writing is kinda flat and O'Roark's personality traits are limited to "cold fish" and "hates superheroes". I paid for the book, though, so I might as well finish it.

I'm currently reading "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger. I hate to admit it, but I have a fondness for romance novels. This is nothing in common with lurid sex books or erotica, mind you. I have zero interest in that kind of literature.

It's ok. I actually first started reading it under the presumption that it was science fiction, but it isn't at all, suits me ok, though. About half-way through, and not a bad read so far, probobly not one that I would ever trouble to read a second time, though.

Hey! I enjoy tales where they try to look at the concept of superheros in a serious or even historical fashion. Like a real novel and not a glorified comic book, you know? Got any recommendations for such material?

This book is exactly what you're looking for. I've had a copy for years. It's very thought-provoking.

Finished Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment". One of the best things I've ever read. Very thoughtful and realistic. It is about a university student Raskolnikov killing a old pawnbroker, out of desperation and other reasons. He succeeds, but now he has to live with his moral dilemmas, guilt and mental anguish. Characters are pretty well detailed. And it draws a great picture of 19. century Russia. If anyone is interested in realistic literature, then this is the book to read.

Next book: Leo Tolstoy "War and Peace"

I emphatically implore you to try and find Olaf Stapledon's Odd John, which is one of the first books to explore the idea of superhumans in a "realistic" world context - three years before Action Comics #1 was even published, interestingly enough. It's also the first known use of the term "homo superior".

EDIT: Also, Theodore Sturgeon's More Than Human is a good read as well, though it deals more with the gestalt theme than the superhero one.

Lonely shut-ins often do.


The Wild Cards series is pretty decent about that. Some of the premise is a little silly, and it's a "shared universe" series of short story collections so there's obviously some hit-and-miss, but some parts are quite good. The McCarthy hearings investigating the superheroes for commie sympathy is pretty cool, for example. I've read the first two volumes, and the first is definitely the better of the two, though both are certainly entertaining. I'll probably pick up the third eventually, though I'm sure it won't be Literature with a capital L or anything. Just a good time.

I have to say, Peter Hamilton's Pandora's Star and the direct follow on Judas Unchained are amazing books. I read them maybe six months ago and am considering reading them again (coming from a person who almost never rereads books). I assure you, if you're into sci-fi, they're well worth it. The characters are great, the writing is great, the plot is great. Sure, Pandora's Star is basically a 1000-1500 build-up, BUT WHAT A BUILD-UP! The last few hundred pages of Judas Unchained is amazing, great read.

Stapledon is pretty interesting, indeed. I read "First and Last Men" and though it's not really a novel at all (more like a false-history text!) it was fascinating to read about Stapledon's conjenctures on how the world would evolve. Of course things get wilder and stranger as the book goes on, but some of Stapledon's predictions for the "near future" from his perspective (1931, I think) are really close to the mark while others are way, way off. I always find this sort of thingg compelling.

It's unfortunate that the science and politics of the day which Stapledon drew upon (international socialism and the like) proved to be duds, since a lot of his other ideas were pretty accurate. I prefer Star Maker personally, I find his philosophical ideas on the universe more my thing, as well as cool concepts like sentient stars and nebulae. I'd really like an illustrated version, like Dougal Dixon's "alternative evolution" books.

Speaking of which, The New Dinosaurs is brilliant: I just found it again, and although it's (obviously) limited to scientific/palaeontological knowledge of the 1980's, it's still very cool. I recently found a site that advances Dougal's idea called the Speculative Dinosaur Project: not quite as poetically named as "The New Dinosaurs", but tons of fascinating stuff nonetheless.

Fuck yes, that book is fantastic. The near future stuff was at times kinda corny, but I remember that whole fatalistic jetplane rituals the Americans did near the end of the first men was actually pretty interesting if viewed more as a metaphor than a concrete prediction. Our society these days has become pretty self-destructive and short-sighted. His characterization of the different races of man were all really interesting; the relationship between the 3rd and 4th, and later 4th and 5th men especially. Honestly I was thinking a while ago how perfect the book would be for a metal concept album; it would be really interesting to have the songs characterize the races, with say the 4th men being sterile tech thrash and the self-destruction of the 1st men being some kind of violent speed metal. Sounds cool on paper, anyway.


Fuck yes again! I've had The New Dinosaurs since I was little, and it's still interesting today. Personally though I prefer Man after Man, as the little sci-fi stories that accompany the races are quite interesting. It's awesome how man evolves to fill all sorts of bizarre niches, like the desert termite men and those bizarre Aquatics. Really a top-notch book, especially with the illustrations. Man evolving into both predator and prey is a cool idea, to say the least.

I never got around to Man After Man, though I try and get everything Dougal made: After Man and The Future Is Wild were also great reads. New Dinosaurs will always be my favourite though (for obvious reasons), but especially for the Caedosaurus and Turotosaurus: who would mess with a sabre-toothed raptor or an armoured titanosaur?

Actually I'm the opposite, I haven't read After Man. I guess we can exchange recommendations.

After Man features an island where Bats roam the earth! The Surfbat is an aquatic bat that looks like a penguin! The Flooer uses its ears and nose flaps to imitate flowers to catch unsuspecting prey! The Night Stalker is a reverse biped that runs with its long loping arms and grabs with its legs!

Best of all, the island's name is BATAVIA! Isn't that recommendation enough?

Oh, I had thought it would be in the Man after Man continuity. I guess it's not really a spoiler to say that man kinda...croaks at the end. It's actually in the form of a history/story, and that's one main reason I like it better than The New Dinosaurs. A lot like Last and First Men, actually.

Currently reading The Complete Conan Chronicles by Robert E Howard. I've currently read six stories, I believed organized in publishing order. I like his style, its easy and free flowing. He isn't as eloquent as HPL but its enjoyable nonetheless. I've especially enjoyed thus far The Scarlet Citadel, The Slithering Shadow and Pool of the Black Ones. I like how in the latter, after rampaging through the castle and escaping onto the ship, Conan's grabs the chick and is like enthousiastic for more adventure. If it were a Lovecraft story, the protaganist would be all catatonic and shit. Good light reading, especially when listening to Basil Poledouris' score or epic BM.

Does anyone know if the first film is inspired by any stories, or did they just take the character?

I think they mainly just used the character, I too love Howard's style. Much of the conan stuff is very similar and formulaic but I love the rich and vivid imagery.

The problem with the Complete Conan Chronicles is that many are based on Donald Grant's edited versions of the Conan stories, which frequently switched around words and sentences, and edited them to be more politically correct. Indeed, half the story titles aren't even Howards - The Slithering Shadow, Jewels/Teeth of Gwahlur, Shadows in the Moonlight and Shadows in Zamboula should be Xuthal of the Dusk, The Servants of Bit-Yakin, Iron Shadows in the Moon and The Man-Eaters of Zamboula respectively.

If you'd rather read Howard's text more or less as he wrote it, the three Del Rays are far superior: any changes they make, usually spelling or punctuation, are listed in the back. There's also lots of apocrypha like synopses, drafts, Howard's own maps and essays by Howardian scholars.



The first film cannibalises a lot from disparate Howard tales:

(SPOILERS for those tales, btw)

A guy called Conan appear in the films & books, and they are from a people called Cimmerians. There the similarities end: REH's Conan spent his youth hunting panthers with spears, joining raids and sacking an Aquilonian fortress. REH's Cimmerians are a savage iron-age folk who wouldn't be caught unawares by a dozen thundering horsemen, and even their children certainly wouldn't allow themselves to be enslaved by their hated Vanir foes.

Thulsa Doom is taken from the Kull tale The Cat and the Skull (aka Delcardes' Cat), except he is a muscular hooded sorcerer with a naked skull for a face. The Serpent Men, of whom movie Doom appears to be a member, appeared in The Shadow Kingdom, also a Kull tale.

The scene with the witch is very similar to an episode in the Bran Mak Morn story Worms of the Earth.

The "Tree of Woe" scene is a diluted version of the first chapter of A Witch Shall Be Born.

Valeria coming back from the dead to save Conan in his moment of need is lifted from Queen of the Black Coast. Valeria herself seems to be based on the Valeria of Red Nails, though she is a mercenary/pirate instead of a petty thief.

Set and Crom are both gods in REH, but they seem to bear little resemblance to the originals. Worship of Set seems to have a lot less orgies and good vibrations, and a lot more sacrifices and living in constant fear one of Set's sacred snakes will swallow you up at night. Crom is a deity you do not want to pray to: it was useless to call on him, and as he hated weaklings he'd probably smite your arse.

Don't get me wrong, I love CtB: it's just about as similar to REH as the Weissmuller Tarzan films were to Burrough's stories. The two are best enjoyed independently of each other.



I think about a third or even half of the Conan tales could be considered somewhat "similar and formulaic" to each other, but the very best tales are anything but formulaic.

Damn. If I'd know that I wouldn't have bought it. Better than nothing I guess.

I currently start to dig the books of Raymond Chandler... amazing to read and very good written. Those old detective stories are really fascinating and the way all is described makes them pretty enjoyable. I only have the translated books ... it is a little bit easier to read it in German.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein a while ago and I'm now getting through a collection of Edgar Allan Poe short stories. Good stuff