EPTRecommend Me A Book - Page 2
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iGrok
United States5142 Posts
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doubleupgradeobbies!
Australia1306 Posts
On March 25 2012 15:25 iGrok wrote: 1984 is a depressed story, but it didn't depress me... anyone else feel that way? I guess I looked past the depressing parts and focused more on the political side, and somehow that didn't depress me :/ It depressed me expressly because I focused more on the political side >< If I could read it just as a fictional story it wouldn't have touched me, but it's very relevance to reality is kinda depressing, cos that's what governments are really like... Maybe I'm just strange in this, but when I read the trilogy following Rendezvous With Rama (which i'm told was not very popular, the trilogy that is) I was also pretty depressed despite what I think was supposed to be a uplifting overall theme. Because the fiction parts of it I felt a certain distance from, but reading on how society totally falls apart and emphasises the worst in humankind seemed not only totally realistic, but pretty much inevitable if we were actually put into such a situation. Maybe I just have an exceedingly low opinion of humanity, and reading about the negative aspects both resonates with me strongly and depresses me >< | ||
Sinensis
United States2513 Posts
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iGrok
United States5142 Posts
On March 25 2012 15:31 Sinensis wrote: You should read Dune or Neuromancer. Two excellent books, and very well written as well, but neither are that depressing. On March 25 2012 15:31 doubleupgradeobbies! wrote: It depressed me expressly because I focused more on the political side >< If I could read it just as a fictional story it wouldn't have touched me, but it's very relevance to reality is kinda depressing, cos that's what governments are really like... Maybe I'm just strange in this, but when I read the trilogy following Rendezvous With Rama (which i'm told was not very popular, the trilogy that is) I was also pretty depressed despite what I think was supposed to be a uplifting overall theme. Because the fiction parts of it I felt a certain distance from, but reading on how society totally falls apart and emphasises the worst in humankind seemed not only totally realistic, but pretty much inevitable if we were actually put into such a situation. Maybe I just have an exceedingly low opinion of humanity, and reading about the negative aspects both resonates with me strongly and depresses me >< Honestly Brave New World is a much more accurate description of modern American life. Is Australia closer to 1984? From what I've read, it would appear so, but having only been once (when I was 8) can't say from experience. | ||
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Balgrog
United States1221 Posts
Animal Farm Steppenwolf Fuck catcher in the rye, fuck that book, it's fucking stupid, boring, and WAY overhyped. Don't waist your time with that garbage. Also read ALL of Kurt Vonnegut, that man was a genius. | ||
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doubleupgradeobbies!
Australia1306 Posts
On March 25 2012 15:36 iGrok wrote: Two excellent books, and very well written as well, but neither are that depressing. Honestly Brave New World is a much more accurate description of modern American life. Is Australia closer to 1984? From what I've read, it would appear so, but having only been once (when I was 8) can't say from experience. Actually Australia has been good so far on these things. I generally agree with how much power is given the the government, and while there have been a few fairly incompetent or uncharismatic leaderships, they generally don't actually seem to be malevolent. So in general I find that life in Australia has almost been an exception to the rule of how I think humanity tends to act. I guess it might just be that on the geopolitical stage, Australia doesn't really have much power or say in things, but we manage to have a fairly good quality of life due to natural abundance/low population. Maybe the age old adage holds true, power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Since we don't have much power, it works out for us :D | ||
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surfinbird1
Germany999 Posts
I love these threads. I totally stole all those book ideas :D As someone already recommended "All quiet on the western front" is good (all of Remarque's stuff is pretty depressing), Steppenwolf (Hesse is my absolute favorite but always gives depressing events a positive look at the end) is great. One of the big dystopias that is still missing here is "We" by Yevgeny Zamyatin. Have you ever read Kafka, that might definitely be up your alley. Maybe start with "In the Penal Colony" or "The Judgment" or "The Trial", hell, read all of his works! One book that made me feel really bad but is not necessarily depressing is "Flowers for Algernon" by DAniel Keyes. Another good one might be Bertolt Brecht, he was famous for his social commentary in his plays like "Mother Courage and her Children", "The good person of Szechwan", "The three-penny Opera" or "Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny". You've also probably heard of Edgar Allan Poe. That's all I can think of right now. | ||
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HyperionDreamer
Canada1528 Posts
I think most of the stuff I'd recommend for you has already been spoken for here, but I'd encourage you to read Infinite Jest. That book is so awesome once you get past the funky style. | ||
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Tazza
Korea (South)1678 Posts
and the book will leave u depressed at the phoniness in society and the loss of innocence. | ||
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ymir233
United States8275 Posts
C'mon, guys.....it's a classic. | ||
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bonifaceviii
Canada2890 Posts
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NarutO
Germany18839 Posts
EVIL by Ash Ketchum.. hard to read, lots of emotions, depressing as hell. Very well written and complimented by Stephen King. | ||
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corumjhaelen
France6884 Posts
L'Etranger de Camus. Yeah it's a classic I guess, but it also is a masterpiece. Cioran comes to mind too, even though it's philosophy, it'(s hard to be more depressing (someone might jump at me for this but anyway). | ||
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rolfe
United Kingdom1266 Posts
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procyonlotor
Italy473 Posts
I wouldn't point you towards The Road, as it is ultimately plaster bound to fall off the walls. Instead, read Suttree and Blood Meridian, McCarthy's two masterpieces. | ||
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Lysenko
Iceland2128 Posts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Noise_(novel) I love that book. And, it features an Airborne Toxic Event. About how many stories can you say that? | ||
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forSeohyun
504 Posts
and/or The Clown Jac (Clownen Jac) by Hjalmar Bergman. Great books. | ||
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bigtime01
United States5 Posts
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Antyee
Hungary1011 Posts
The Path http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_path_video_game Probably the creepiest and most depressing game I've ever played. It's about modern-ish stereotypes presented through the story of Little Red Riding Hood. On another note: Brave new world is indeed a good book. | ||
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Solarized
United States11 Posts
A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick is a fun read. While Dick is known primarily as a science fiction writer, A Scanner Darkly is not at all science fiction. If you're into the psychology of drug addiction and how addiction affects the human mind and body, then check A Scanner Darkly out. Both novels could be considered modern. | ||
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