I really enjoyed The Raw Shark Texts. It’s a weird page turner. Has a cat.

The Raw Shark Texts

Just finished reading Playground by Richard Powers. Apart from the continuation errors and semi-incomprehensible structure where half the time you don’t know which character or time you’re in, I’m starting to wonder if the whole book wasn’t a commentary on AI hallucinations.

Probably The Silmarillion. It reads like a fucking poem that goes on for hundreds of pages.

I’ll throw Locked Tomb Trilogy.

It’s a good mystery series that’s well paced (for me) in that I had my moments of realisation only about a chapter before each reveal most of the time.

One of the books is written in second person, and it’s about an unreliable narrator, so that’s… fun? I spent a lot of my time, when not reading the book, wondering who the ‘I’ was to narrative’s ‘you’, then not being able to answer how the ‘I’ knew the things the ‘I’ knew, so ‘I’ couldn’t be the ‘I’ I think ‘I’ am. But no-one else makes sense, and the second guessing continues.

Also, doesn’t do mystery through vague language much, which I dislike most of the time. The viewpoint characters are doing their best, you know what they know, it’s just they don’t know enough yet. You never really zoom out into an omnipotent narrator, to then not describe what’s happening beyond vibes.

All the characters are unlikable though, the universe is unlikeable, it does unlikeable things to everyone, so their unlikability is undertandable at least. But, if you can’t get past a purposefully unlikeable cast, that might be a barrier. I don’t want to meet any of them (the ones I would be most willing to meet, I’m sure I just don’t know well enough), but I’m content reading about their exploits, or rather how they’re exploited.

Gnomon by Nick Harkaway.

The book Is set in a near future Britain where surveillance is omnipotent and the accused are interrogated by detectives who read their thoughts.

A suspect dies during an interrogation, highly unusual, so a detective is brought in to investigate the case. She begins to review the thoughts of the suspect and finds not just the suspects memories, but whole other persons whose lives intersect and intertwine created a tapestry narrative that runs counter to reality.

It’s a really Interesting read. I will fully acknowledge its overly long and needed a strong editing pass. But I first read it a decade ago and I still think about it regularly.

It was unique and different, and a nightmare to read: Dhalgren

Krabat by Ottfried Preußler. It had quite the dark undertone. A constant present real threat and dagger hovering over every character. This dark tone is present from page 1 to the end. As a teen it quite formed me retrospectively. Worth a read for teens but also older. I do not want to spoiler anything. But im saying that murder, willful starvation and death are ever present topics even in lighter moments of the book.

The Kanguru book Series. Sooo much fun reading! The third book was not mine very much. Still want to read the new 5th book. Lots of satire and hilariouse. Read it on the train and i had to hold back laughter so often!

Then The Capital. I was suprised how scientificly analytical it is writen and worded. Planing to read my copy of The Critiques of Kant, lots of Leibnitz (but he wrote mostly in french so i have to learn french first), Hume, Rousseau, Nietzsche, Feuerbach, Hegel, Lock, Hutcheson and Berkeley

But also some stuff about architecture like De Architecttura and Palladios Quattro Libri Dell’ Architectura

Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera is one of the most different stories I’ve read. Just so much different about it that it’s hard to even describe. Plus a twist end that actually had me going “no fuckin way” out loud.

i just started battle royale, they’re still on the bus. i’ve seen the film of course so interested to see how it compares. filth by irvine welsh and under the skin by michel faber are my other favourite books with film adaptations, i’ve high hopes for this

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murikami. It’s not just the story but also the writing style that I found captivating. But it’s the story too. It flirts between the real and the surreal.

I also have ADHD and find reading really hard. I hate it because I really like learning.

Aware by Anthony De Mello stands out as a book that’s not quite written like a book.

Astonished to see no mention of FEERSUM ENDJINN by Iain M Banks. It’s one of his few standalone SF novels and its… Weird. Oh boy is it weird. Multiple parallel interweaving narratives that connect up in truly bizarre ways, a story that takes place across different planes of existence/reality, and parts of narrated entirely in phonetic block capitals like the title. And that’s before even getting into how mind-bending the setting is. It’s weird, it’s brilliant, it’s easily the strangest book from an already strange writer. Absolutely recommended, though it’s not unlikely you’ll get to the end and think “What the fuck did I just read?”

Not me, but my spouse read House of Leaves

Runny Babbit by Shel Silverstein

The whole thing is written in spoonerisms, and it can tret gicky to lead out roud ko a tid. Honestly, not his best, but certainly the most unique.

“House of Leaves” made me throw it against the wall.

I did like “XX” a novel by Rian Hughes. Different characters ‘speak’ in different typefaces, and the story zips through time and space.

“The Iron Dream” by Norman Spinrad is a massive mindfuck. The forward explains that Adolph Hitler came to America in 1922 and managed to find work illustrating science fiction pulps. Eventually he felt confident enough to start writing in English. This book is his masterpiece.

“Flashman” by George Macdonald Fraser. The author follows the career of a successful Victorian gentleman, General Sir Harry Flashman, VC. Flashy is a slaver, rapist, murderer, liar, cheat, coward, and scoundrel who has decided to write his memoirs for posterity.