Ten Great Books

[UsuallyPresent]

Science of Diskworld (series) - Stewart, Cohen & Pratchett
- a back-and-forth between a fantasy tale and discussion covering the related science(s)
Finite & Infinite Games - Carse
- philosophical work on the difference between playing by the rules and playing with rules
(Anthology) The Complete Philosopher
- collection of many short pieces covering different philosophical topics.
The Selfish Gene - Dawkins
- one take on the driving force of life
Lord of the Rings - Tolkein
- great story, showing how to abuse history (Prose Edda) & obsessive prep work (linguistics)
Cthulhu mythos stories - Lovecraft
- masterclass on making the reader’s imagination do the hard work
Screwtape Letters - Lewis
- letters from a senior devil to a newbie, or how to display an alien mindset in prose
SM 101 - Wiseman (not Lake)
- Best published intro to BDSM I've ever run across. Gifted this several times over the years...

That’s 7 8, my frain’s bried - I may come back & edit this to add more later…

 

[MelissaBaby]

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

Slaughterhouse-5 by Kurt Vonnegut

All About Love by bell hooks

The Basketball Diaries by Jim Carroll

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Just Kids by Patti Smith

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

 

[MelissaBaby]

This is the second time you've mentioned how old you were when you found this book, and you should probably read the rules where anything underage is verboten. Maybe change it before I report you.

I think it's a pretty big stretch to interpret AG31's remark as forbidden content.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

No one mentioned

Sitting on My Son's Lap​

Shame on you all.

 

[barefootgirl69]

I think it's a pretty big stretch to interpret AG31's remark as forbidden content.

As a forum moderator, I don't think it's a stretch at all. Read the rules. They're located at the bottom of every page.

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

Insects of North America: Read it in 6th grade (or maybe 5th) and I've been interested in the subject ever since.

Ok yes this for me too, and now that you triggered this memory in my slightly (very?) autistic mind - the Princeton field guide to velvet ants of North America.
Unlike birds, velvet ants are the real deal.

 

[MelissaBaby]

As a forum moderator, I don't think it's a stretch at all. Read the rules. They're located at the bottom of every page.

Don’t fucking talk down to me. What AG posted was not a “story featuring anyone under 18 years of age”.

 

[SimonDoom]

This is the second time you've mentioned how old you were when you found this book, and you should probably read the rules where anything underage is verboten. Maybe change it before I report you.

Why make such an antagonistic and nasty comment? Leave it alone. The rule pertains to stories. The comment does not in any way encourage the kind of conduct that the rule is intended to address.

Reality check: ALL of us had sexual feelings when we were underage. It is not a violation of the rule for me to point this out, or for AG31 to do the same. Let's not get the vapors about this issue.

 

[VerbalAbuse]

Reality check: ALL of us had sexual feelings when we were underage. It is not a violation of the rule for me to point this out, or for AG31 to do the same. Let's not get the vapors about this issue.

No way! I never even knew what sex was until I was 69.

 

[barefootgirl69]

Why make such an antagonistic and nasty comment?

Warning about underage content is noy antagonistic. It's been reported, we'll let the forum moderator deal with it as he will

 

[MelissaBaby]

Why make such an antagonistic and nasty comment? Leave it alone. The rule pertains to stories. The comment does not in any way encourage the kind of conduct that the rule is intended to address.

Reality check: ALL of us had sexual feelings when we were underage. It is not a violation of the rule for me to point this out, or for AG31 to do the same. Let's not get the vapors about this issue.

I think if my sig line proclaimed that I am a “proud Playgrounder”, I would leave this issue alone.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Why make such an antagonistic and nasty comment? Leave it alone. The rule pertains to stories. The comment does not in any way encourage the kind of conduct that the rule is intended to address.

Reality check: ALL of us had sexual feelings when we were underage. It is not a violation of the rule for me to point this out, or for AG31 to do the same. Let's not get the vapors about this issue.

You're going easy on her. I thought bfg's remark was downright cunty.

 

[lovecraft68]

Eclectic and no particular order.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra -Nietzsche-First book I found my him. Coverless at a used book store in the 80's for $10

The Anti-Christ-Neitzsche -not so much in the sense of style, but heavily influenced my religion bashing rants in several of my novels.

Writings of HP Lovecraft

The Exorcist-William Peter Blatty-Greatest horror novel of all time bar none.

All things Great and Small-James Herriot (other three in the series are favs as well) If you love animals the series is a must

Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (trilogy so maybe cheating a little here). Fuck that tub of goo Martin, this is a great dark fantasy series where no character was safe, but done so without the incessant rape, torture and underaged sex.

Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics -Les Daniels-From the origin of Timely comics (that would become Marvel) by Martin Goodman to his nephew Stan Lee taking over and into the eighties, a great history from when comics weren't crap.

Paradise Lost-John Milton. "Long is the way and hard, that out of hell leads up to light." is a famous quote from it, but more significant to me in it describes my personal journey through the first half of my life.

The Satanic Witch-Anton Levay-Read all his works, but this was my pick, it really established my obsession with witches.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Where does Laurel find all these zealots, I wonder? Their righteous indignation and general lack of manners in handling almost any situation is a true wonder.
Say, @barefootgirl69 , are you maybe related to that ADMIN guy who was closing down topics a couple of weeks ago? Well, if not, you should maybe get in touch, you seem to be kindred spirits
Well, the idea stands even if you are related. Literotica is very incest friendly, after all

 

[SimonDoom]

No one mentioned

Sitting on My Son's Lap​

Shame on you all.

That's a whole other list: 10 most influential Literotica stories, or 10 most influential erotic stories.

 

[lovecraft68]

I think if my sig line proclaimed that I am a “proud Playgrounder”, I would leave this issue alone.

If I recall BFG is into daddy dom game and lifestyle, but you know, no underage aspects to that.

Personally, I'd be surprised if the AH Mod sees this as a violation.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

That's a whole other list: 10 most influential Literotica stories, or 10 most influential erotic stories.

It was just a simple joke, of course. I wonder though if there are readers who had their eyes opened by that story. Considering the number of views, it's not impossible to imagine

 

[SimonDoom]

It was just a simple joke, of course. I wonder though if there are readers who had their eyes opened by that story. Considering the number of views, it's not impossible to imagine

I've written one of those stories, so I have to confess to being influenced by whatever the first one of them was that I read. I don't remember. I don't think it was that one. Silkstockingslover wrote a mom on son's lap story and I think that might have been the first one I read.

I know you meant it as a joke because it's such a ridiculous story concept, but the irony is you might be right, at least here at Literotica.

 

[lovecraft68]

It was just a simple joke, of course. I wonder though if there are readers who had their eyes opened by that story. Considering the number of views, it's not impossible to imagine

Sitting at the #1 spot will get people clicking just for the "Is it really that good" factor that keep a lot of top list stories continuing to get clicks, votes, comments etc.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Sitting at the #1 spot will get people clicking just for the "Is it really that good" factor that keep a lot of top list stories continuing to get clicks, votes, comments etc.

Makes sense.
I remember all the extra views my story was getting back when it sat at the top of the SciFi list, as modest as that category is in comparison. I can only imagine the attention this story gets being the most viewed and favorited story of all time on Lit. The surprising thing is that the story doesn't actually have the red H. There is a ton of irony in that fact alone.

 

[lovecraft68]

Makes sense.
I remember all the extra views my story was getting back when it sat at the top of the SciFi list, as modest as that category is in comparison. I can only imagine the attention this story gets being the most viewed and favorited story of all time on Lit. The surprising thing is that the story doesn't actually have the red H. There is a ton of irony in that fact alone.

That's a good point, but at 4.44 its not a bad score and I can't imagine how many votes it has so any upward movement would take a lot of consecutive five votes, so there's probably enough 4 or lower votes mixed in to keep it where it is.

 

[MelissaBaby]

Eclectic and no particular order.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra -Nietzsche-First book I found my him. Coverless at a used book store in the 80's for $10

The Anti-Christ-Neitzsche -not so much in the sense of style, but heavily influenced my religion bashing rants in several of my novels.

Writings of HP Lovecraft

The Exorcist-William Peter Blatty-Greatest horror novel of all time bar none.

All things Great and Small-James Herriot (other three in the series are favs as well) If you love animals the series is a must

Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (trilogy so maybe cheating a little here). Fuck that tub of goo Martin, this is a great dark fantasy series where no character was safe, but done so without the incessant rape, torture and underaged sex.

Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics -Les Daniels-From the origin of Timely comics (that would become Marvel) by Martin Goodman to his nephew Stan Lee taking over and into the eighties, a great history from when comics weren't crap.

Paradise Lost-John Milton. "Long is the way and hard, that out of hell leads up to light." is a famous quote from it, but more significant to me in it describes my personal journey through the first half of my life.

The Satanic Witch-Anton Levay-Read all his works, but this was my pick, it really established my obsession with witches.

Dark fiction, deep philosophy...and bunny rabbits.

That tracks.

 

[SinclairGroupLLP]

These are in no particular order, just how they came to my head. I think they're a bit off from many other lists, but that's not surprising to me, lol.

Master and Commander, O'Brian - Probably my favorite book of all time, read it a hundred times and probably have major portions memorized. The way O'Brian writes and his characterizations, plus his use of real history fictionalized has had a big impact on me.

Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway - Everybody told me I needed to read Hemingway and I couldn't get into it, just didn't like his style. Then I found this book, and it finally clicked as to why so many people love this guy.

Pride and Prejudice, Austen - This is probably the greatest romance story I know, and the characterization is just unmatched. I fell in love with this book in college.

Homicide, a Year on the Killing Streets, Simon - I noticed a distinct lack of non-fiction on these lists, but this is probably my favorite non-fiction book not many people have heard of, although almost everybody has seen 'The Wire' and 'Homicide, Life on the Streets' the two shows made from stories in the book. Definitely impacts my writing style, and I hope I'll get a chance to write a story with this kind of narrative style.

The Hunt for Red October, Clancy - I read this in my teens and I think it had a major impact on my future writing style. If anybody hates how verbose I am, you can blame Tom Clancy.

Battle Cry of Freedom, McPherson - The single best book on the Civil War, as far as I'm concerned. I'm a big history nerd and I've read this book a few times.

Fatherland, Harris - This is probably another book no one has heard of - it's alternative history, 'what if the Nazis won' kind of thing, set in Germany in the 1960s. Basically tells the story of a the Nazis cleaning up the history of the holocaust from the perspective of a homicide cop who catches a case that's linked to what they're doing, as well as the impact on him and his family. It's dark, but interesting, and one of the books I think that has influenced how I tend to write my villains - not all evil, just warped by their upbringing and the context in which they live.

The Last Kingdon, Cornwell - The Saxon Tales series is one of my all-time favorites, and Cornwell is probably my second favorite writer, behind O'Brian. This is the book that starts the series, and, like Master and Commander, I think it's pretty great with the characterization and plotting.

Ready Player One, Cline - The mixture of pop culture, sci-fi elements and a bit of bleak futurism has had an impact on my own writing. My current series has a bit of a Ready Player One flavor, with random music references (usually not as blunt as the ones in RPO) and set in the future just far enough to be interesting and let me get away with bending reality a bit without it being magical or weird.

Mistborn, Sanderson - This was the first Sanderson book I read. Sanderson is, for my money, the best fantasy writer of my generation, and ranks up there with Herbert and Tolkien as one of the greatest of all time. Not only is his stuff well thought out, interconnected and he's the king of the long-plot point (like Clancy, sometimes), he WRITES. He gets his shit done. I am never going worry about him dying before he finishes the Cosmere - he runs circles around Martin, Rothfuss, Jordan and the rest of those guys simply because he gets shit done. That's how I've always wanted to approach my writing - I'll be verbose, promise long stories with lots of plot, but I will 100% get them done by the end of the day. Nobody will be left hanging for decades.

 

[SinclairGroupLLP]

Holmes, The Common Law. The opening line: "The life of the law is not logic, it is experience." I've never forgotten that.

Ten bucks says you and I are the only ones here who've read The Common Law, lol. It's sitting on my desk right now.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Ten books is a lot of thinking.

I'll start with the books of a writer that truly tickled my imagination as a kid - Jules Verne. I loved almost all of his books.

Then to skip some, the amazing Lord of the Rings.

I was really into comics as a kid and I loved the horror and mistique ones, so E. A. Poe's work - The House of Usher and The Red Mask of Death were quite influential to me.

Then in my young adult years came the great Dostoevsky. I read all of his work but Crime and Punishment and Brothers Karamazov were the most impactful to me.

I will continue this sometimes later.