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Based on this information, what other books do you think I would enjoy?

H

Haethurn

New Member
Here is my list of favorite books, in no particular order:

Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo
1984 by George Orwell
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Animal Farm by George Orwell
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Lord of the Flies

Based on this information, I would say that I enjoy best works of the twentieth century before the eighties. I find most post-seventies books distasteful, as it seems to me that writers nowadays are churning out fifty books a year and getting terribly rich. I think that the shelves are saturated with horrors, romances, and thrillers that primarily serve to fill the pockets of the author and perhaps as a means of escaping the hardships of modern-day capitalistic life. In short, the art of good writing has been lost to us. Our materialism has extended itself to our literature, and now very few books stimulate your brain. They merely relieve the tension that builds up during those long work hours.

However, I can not enjoy most works dating before the twentieth century, with very few exceptions (A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Don Quixote de la Mancha, etc.).
 
Just because you like 1984 I'm going to suggest A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

Its quite a famous book so you've probably heard of it. It was written in 1977, and is on a very similar line to 1984. Set in some unknown future year its just about how controlling people have become. It actually raises alot of points that in 1977 wouldnt have seemed really relevant, but now are.
For example people aren't born anymore, they are grown.

In fact I might actually read it again! :)
 
Haethurn,

I am not sure that I agree with your assessment of state of literature. Or, at least, I am not sure that this day and age is any worse than previous ones. Sure, there are lots of people out there (writers, publishers, etc.) who are doing what they do "strictly for the money". There always have been. For that matter, I doubt that any of the authors on your list returned their royalty checks to their publishers. Whether or not they did really doesn't matter. Being rich and famous doesn't necessarily make you a good writer (a couple of names leap to mind), but neither does it necessarily make you a bad one.
Having said all that, a couple of books that might meet your mood and taste would be Charles Bukowski's Post Office or John Fante's Ask the Dust . You might also be interested in The Moviegoer and Lost in the Cosmos by Walker Percy.
BTW, I don't want to be smarmy about it, but Brave New World was first published in 1932. Even so, you might like it, too.
 
In the same vain as lord of the flies, how about Battle Royale by Koushun Takami.

Stick a group of kids together, hand them weapons, and tell them the last one left alive gets to go home.

Mxx
 
Wait. Isn't that the premise of Survivor? :)

I would echo the Steinbeck and To Kill a Mockingbird recommendations. TKAM is one of my favorites, I re-read it every couple of years.

I am a little lost though as to your taste in books...otherwise I'd give you better suggestions! I'm going to go out on a limb and sugges In Cold Blood...even though it's non-fiction. Same kinda style, I think.
 
I finished 'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck today. It was really enjoyable to read.
 
Yes, I'd say Vonnegut too. I enjoy all the books you mentioned (except for Johnny Got his Gun--I've never read it) and I enjoyed Vonnegut, so there's a chance you might too!
 
Read Last Temptation of Christ. Read anything by Aldous Huxley, Hubert Selby Jr, Chuck Palahniuk.
Also read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, A Clockwork Orange, and Fahrenheit 451.
 
I really found The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass very thought provoking. It was written in 1959 (I think) and it offers an interesting perspective of Germany/Poland during the first half of the twentieth century. Not for the squeamish though!
 
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