I don't know what the heck to call this thread!

[berk]

Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky brothers. Saw the film Stalker years ago. Excellent book.

The source of the title is a brilliant moment.

I've been looking forward to reading this ever since I saw the movie. Was it hard to track down?

I'm currently reading Sartre's La Nausée, with the help of an English translation, and I'm wondering if Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon had Roquentin in mind when they designed Rorschach's look. Did a quick google, and nothing came up that I saw, but I can't believe I'm the first person to notice the resemblance.

[Karl O'Neill]

I'm currently reading Sartre's La Nausée, with the help of an English translation, and I'm wondering if Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon had Roquentin in mind when they designed Rorschach's look. Did a quick google, and nothing came up that I saw, but I can't believe I'm the first person to notice the resemblance.

Great book.

I didn't notice the remsemblance myself!

I'll have to re-read Sartre's description of Roquentin to see if it fits Rorshach, or if Rorshach fits Roquentin!

I love the end of the novel. Especially.

And to think. Sartre declined the nobel prize. What a man!

[Tobias March]

I've been looking forward to reading this ever since I saw the movie. Was it hard to track down?

The always reliable SF Masterworks imprint from Gollancz have reprinted a copy in English, so no problem at all. Should be widely available.

[Roquefort Raider]

Philip Kerr's Berlin noir is a thriller set in 1936 Berlin. Like Jason Lutes' indie comic Berlin, it is a great opportunity to see the day-to-day life of a nazified (but not yet at war) Germany. The writer's is very good at showing how ordinary people are taken a little aback by the success of the brown shirts, who were just ridiculous twats a few years ago but who now rule the country.

The main character is a middle-aged acerbic fellow who can't stand authority (which seems to be a constant among literature's private eyes) and who always displays a very quick wit when dealing with thugs. He also has quite an eye for the ladies.

The plot, of course, starts with an ordinary murder investigation but quickly involves political figures. (Otherwise, what would be the point of setting the story in that time period)? I'm barely one quarter in, but I really look forward to the rest of the story.

[clayholio]

"Andy Kaufman Revealed! Best Friend Tells All" - Bob Zmuda

I enjoyed it quite a bit, and it's good to get an insider account of all the craziness. It makes me want to track down some old video of Andy Kaufman now.

[Infra-Man]

Recently finished Born Standing Up by Steve Martin and The Braindead Megaphone by George Saunders.

Starting up The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson.

[Tobias March]

Inherent Vice. It's the Long Goodbye meets The Big Lebowski...by Pynchon!

Fun times.

[Karl O'Neill]

One flew over the cukoo's nest By ken Kesey.

I have being meaning to read this novel for years. Finally, I got around to reading this week and found it was as the typical critic would say "unputdownable"

I still have not decided if I like the movie or the novel more. I can see why the movie would be hailed better as only through the acting do you really get a feel for the madness and mayhem. At least in the movie, nurse Ratched seems a bit more easy going than in the book, where she is portrayed as a devious, cold-heart bi-atch!

There are some very cool sketches mixed into the novel that Kesey drew himself when he worked as an aide in a pyche ward, where he also experimented with LSD and other drugs.

Cheif Bromden's (Narrator) fate is brilliaint, but Mac's is tragic. I knew it was coming. I heart how the chief ended Macs' misery.

Great novel. I highly recommend it.

[dupersuper]

At least in the movie, nurse Ratched seems a bit more easy going than in the book, where she is portrayed as a devious, cold-heart bi-atch!

Wow...the book makes movie Ratchett look "easy going"??

[Moriarty]

reading 'Houdini: The Man Who Walked Through Walls'. before that i read 'From Russia, With Love'.

[Tobias March]

I've been looking forward to reading this ever since I saw the movie. Was it hard to track down?

Got my thoughts down on Road Side Picnic -

http://www.somnopolis.net/2010/02/12...adside-picnic/

[Karl O'Neill]

Wow...the book makes movie Ratchett look "easy going"??

I felt she was a cipher in the book. Then again, The book is narrated by an unreliable source---Cheif Bromden.

Who is the say he not making things up or distorting things?

[berk]

Got my thoughts down on Road Side Picnic -

http://www.somnopolis.net/2010/02/12...adside-picnic/

ooh, I'm going to try to resist clicking on that link and reading your comments until I can read the book myself. I like to go into a book with as clean a slate as possible, which is problematic in this case since I've seen the movie that was inspired by it, but it was long enough ago that I think it shouldn't distort my reading of the novel too severely.

edit: I clicked but just skimmed your piece quickly to avoid too many spoilers. I did read the last bit, where you talk about the movie - which I have to say is one of the most enigmatic I've ever watched. Looking forward to the book both for its own sake and for whatever illumination it might shed on the film, if any.

Have you read any other Strugatskys? Their wiki article has me interested in several more of their books.

[Karl O'Neill]

Anthem By Ayn Rand.

This must be the shortest book I have ever read.

Maybe it's not really a novel or novella by definition, Moreso a treatise, a Political statement or even a lenthy poem.

It's an easy read and the prose is simple and consise and very direct.

I really love this story now that I have finally got around to reading it, because of the many ideas crammed into such a small work.

Prometheus! eek, what an apt name the narrator comes to call himself at the end.

I would strongly recommend people to read this novel before they tackle Rands' other enormous works: The Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged.

[Tobias March]

Have you read any other Strugatskys? Their wiki article has me interested in several more of their books.

I haven't and I am looking forward to doing so, as Tarkovsky's Solaris sent me off on a hunt for every Lem book I could find.

It was a gift from a Russian friend on my birthday. Will have to find the Noon series now as well. They sound like quite the writing team.