Looking to reignite my passion for reading

a reply to: 19Bones79

Does a translation do the original work sufficient justice in your opinion for example from Chinese to English?

Yes, it’s good enough. For Korean shows that I watch I know how it’s translated is not 100%, some things have a complicated translation but they do the best they can and it works. Some books that I have read have some cultural things that might be hard to understand but more that you learn about the culture the more you would get it. I think you would be quite comfortable with German for example. I lived there for a while during my childhood, I understand enough to survive but not enough to converse normally.

a reply to: 19Bones79

Obviously you got a week to read all our suggestions and pick a winner.

If you fail to do so: Pitchforks!

a reply to: 19Bones79

If you're interested in some of the dark underbelly of the history of the Western United States written with brilliant imagery and prose, "Lasso the Wind: A Way to the New West" by Timothy Egan is a brilliant work that alternates between the author's real world travels through the western states interlaced with the history of each that is at times raw and unflattering but absolutely captivating. Definitely gave me a fresh perspective of the places I grew up.

a reply to: Peeple

A week!


Back in those days(and nights) all I did was coffee, cigarettes and books.

But... I promise I will come back everytime I finish a book just to let the poster know.

I really do appreciate all the recommendations.

a reply to: SentientBunnySuit

That sounds right up my alley, thank you.

a reply to: Astyanax

More like when the narrator breaks the fourth wall.

originally posted by: 19Bones79
I read my first full-length book when I was 6 years old. It was actually a series of books based around the adventures of a group of young boys who had the uncanny ability to find adventure lurking behind every tree, written in my mother-tongue.

The first time I went to our local library I was hooked. From the smell of the books, the silence which feeled deafening, prospectors occupied with their own treasure hunt between rows of shelves and the excitement of finding that book that beckons to you nestled in between hundreds of others, patiently waiting for it's turn to share a world of wonder with anyone willing to take it home for a spell. Some books wait decades for the opportunity to share itself with someone, anyone.


Throughout my formative years I could always find a friend on those shelves, but it was when I finished school that I really took it to the next level.

For a couple of years reading four books a week was a regular thing.

My parents would often find me sitting in the exact same position coming back after work as when they had left in the morning.

I came to a place where I ventured outside of my preferred genres just to experience that love of discovery.

Then one day the passion waned.

I started reading with an awareness of writing styles and plot lines and character development and it just felt like I had been down this road before, and I could see where the author was going with it because the formula became familiar.

Instead of enjoying the book, I would read it critically. It became a rare thing to be surprised by a novel idea or style of writing. So much so that most books which deserved my appreciation simply weren't enjoyable and I have forgotten most books as if I never even read them.

Many years have passed and many books have been abandoned halfway through, not able to hold my interest.

This is not how I want it to end. Every once in a while I give it another go.


I'm interested in hearing from others here on ATS. Perhaps if I can narrow the search there might be another treasure hunt on the horizon. Perhaps an adventure behind every tree.

I'm looking for a good book written mostly from a 2nd person narrative. I need subtle symbolism. I need to be teased by open-ended rhetoric. I need parallel narratives unfolding like a flower in bloom.
I need a poetic, philosophical writing style that knows how to apply duplicity and cryptic language. I need to be captured more by what is left unsaid than what is suggestively written. I need layers underneath layers and double entendres. I want reflexible words to have unexpected meanings and to be convinced of a viewpoint only to have it effortlessly flipped upside down. I want messy, complex characters that can delight or disappoint at the flick of a page.


And I'm hoping for a lamplighter on ATS to point me in the right direction.

A soul after my own heart. I have always enjoyed reading. I used to read so much fiction. But non-fiction soon drew more of my attention. Unfortunately books published are not done so based on merit or prose. If that was the case the literature available would be quite different. The publishing industry is quite "incestuous" as one publishing firm wrote me once. They go more on who a person knows, and how much a piece of work will sell, not how good a piece of writing it is. So a lot of what the bookshelves in bookstores are lined with these days is trash and low quality.

The Fellowship of the Rings I think is probably one of the greatest works of fiction ever written. The time and effort put into it is extraordinary for a single person.

Also, I know you probably weren't looking for this, but the Bible has all of those things you are looking for and in spades! The older I get the more I appreciate the direct simple language the writers of the books of the Bible used, but also how the universal story of the war between God and Satan with humankind and the earth as the focal point and the ultimate outcome unfolds. There is no other story that can even come close. And the Bible is peppered with beautiful prose, ancient puzzles written in prophecy by holy angels. Its pages contain both subtle and unsubtle symbolism, and cryptic prose.

I don't know of many books written in the second person at all. But you can peer into the pages of the Bible and look into your own soul. It is like a mirror that reflects to you perfectly who you really are. No human book can attain such a feat.

originally posted by: 19Bones79

I need subtle symbolism. I need to be teased by open-ended rhetoric. I need parallel narratives unfolding like a flower in bloom.
I need a poetic, philosophical writing style that knows how to apply duplicity and cryptic language. I need to be captured more by what is left unsaid than what is suggestively written. I need layers underneath layers and double entendres. I want reflexible words to have unexpected meanings and to be convinced of a viewpoint only to have it effortlessly flipped upside down. I want messy, complex characters that can delight or disappoint at the flick of a page.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez might fit the bill.

It's a long book. Every sentence is a work of art with it all coming together as a completed masterpiece. He won a Nobel Price for Literature for it.

"The Historian", by Elizabeth Kostova is one of the best books I have read in my entire life, and I'm closing in on 60 years old!

Link to Amazon page

Reading your OP, specifically your childhood reverence for books/the library - I knew I had to recommend it to you! This is a book for book lovers...it has everything - compelling characters, suspense, travel, history, a touch of the paranormal, and just a bit of romance.

It is a long, dense book, but once you get a couple chapters in - you won't be able to put it down! I actually read the thing so compulsively, that once I got to the end, I literally had to turn back to the beginning and read the entire book again...it really is 'that' good..

FYI - I deliberately went looking for a link with a description that doesn't give too much of the book away, because you'll enjoy it even more not knowing too much about it.

And if you do decide to read it - I would love to hear your 'experience' of the book!

a reply to: 19Bones79

Preston & Child
or

Lee Child

a reply to: 19Bones79

In a spirit of research on which to base further recommendations, what do you think of Moby Dick?

Also, name a few of your favourite books -- the ones you wish other books were more like.

a reply to: lostgirl

I'd never heard of your recommendation, so thanks for that. I read a few descriptions on line; it sounds a bit like The Name of the Rose and a bit like The Da Vinci Code. Would that be correct, and if so, which of the two is it more like?

a reply to: randomuser

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy remains one of the best ever I have read. I used to get back from work just after midnight, roll my own cigarettes and make myself a liter of chocolate milk and read until I became too tired to focus. Good times.


I was wondering who would mention the Bible based on my request. Without getting into it in this thread let me just say I have read it, and we can leave it at that.

a reply to: BelleEpoque

Thank you, I will definitely get back to you on that one.

a reply to: lostgirl

That's a passionate recommendation, and an offer I can't refuse.

a reply to: DBCowboy

I guess I'll shut up and read it, do you recommend any specific book?

a reply to: Astyanax

I was very young when I read it, I'm sure most of it went over my head but as far as I can remember I probably appreciated The Hardy Boys more at that time if you know what I mean.

a reply to: Astyanax

Difficult to name a favorite one as it is dependant on my headspace when I read it. But I'll give it a shot.

For pure enjoyment, there are a couple that stand out.

Dean Koontz had a formula that drew me in like I wish I could live in his world.

Sydney Sheldon If Tomorrow Comes purely for the revenge factor after the main character had been screwed over so thoroughly and how that played out although I doubt I would read it with the same eyes today. I was glad I discovered Sheldon as a teen.

James Michener had a way of making me long for a different time and place.

Anne Rice stayed with me for way too long after finishing her books.

Andy Mcnab's books made me apply for the British Army and I was quite pissed for a couple of years for being rejected. I couldn't think of anything more I wanted to be than an SAS soldier, and that's only because I didn't know about the SBS which would've been even better.

Edgar Allan Poe showed me how beautiful English could be, so did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I also wondered whether we as a society became dumber and if everybody spoke as eloquently as these authors portrayed it back in those days.

Not many writers can recreate the spirit of adventure so innocent or pure quite like Jules Verne did.

I always wanted Peter Jackson to bring Raymond Feist to life on the big screen like he did with The Lord of the Rings.

Bill Bryson's Down Under had tears of laughter streaming down my face, a first.

Zachariah Sitchin blew my mind to pieces when I first picked up his books.

Jackie Collins was basically porn on every second page, not that I minded at all haha. I've read Lady Chatterleys Lover and I was amazed at how much literature had changed over the years and how one could inspire gaucheness while the other did not.

Frederick Forsythe's The Day of the Jackal stands out as something I read in record time.

Ernest Hemingway had a blunt super-intelligence all of his own that could be overwhelming at times.

Douglas Adams has so much fun writing I suspect he did it for his own pleasure but decided to share it with us nevertheless.

Terry Pratchett can take a brick and make you marvel at it's existence.

Stephen King because there's only one Stephen King and his On Writing made me realize writing doesn't simply come to you, you have to go to it over and over and over again. Natural talent only comes into its own after a lot of writing just like any athlete has to keep developing his skills.

I'll probably kick myself for those I didn't think of adding but these have been the easiest to recall reading.


Lost Horizon by James Hilton, how could I forget?!?

Doyle Brunson's Super System made me realize that just because I understood the meaning of words didn't guarantee I could initially grasp the depth of certain concepts wrapped up in basic language.

Agatha Christie... It seems slowly it's all coming back to me now. Where's MykeNukem, I know he wants to bust out the chorus.

I mostly read what was available in the library buying new books wasn't an option.

originally posted by: 19Bones79
a reply to: incoserv

I have read that one many moons ago.

For some reason I want to add Pat Conroy's The Prince of Tides to that.

I'll give that one a look.

A friend, ages ago, sent me a copy of Cormac McCarthy All the Pretty Horses. Said the book reminded him of me. I never did get around to reading it. I need to dig it up.

a reply to: 19Bones79

Because you said your German is 80%(?) Walter Moers Stadt der träumenden Bücher
It doesn't translate well and at first glance you could think it's for children but it's really an epic fantasy adventure with lots of horror and humor.