Please, help expand Sparky's mind - recommend Lit. Thanks.

[Sparky Kronkite]

Okay. How impressive are you guys?

Very I think. I'm very impressed with the "general knowledge" that most Members of the Board possess. And I'm impressed with specific, detailed knowledge as well.

But what I'm most impressed with is the great extent of, and depth of, so many of you and your "readings in literature" - mostly classic literature I guess, and writings regarding philosophy.

Why am I so impressed?

Well…… I blow big time. And it's frustrating.

History of Sparky's reading………………….

My parents never, ever read to me. Ironic in that my father is/was, (he's retired now) - a writer/journalist/editor - but he's a bit old school where child rearing is concerned and he was also a very busy, Washington DC based journalist - out of the house by 7am and usually (after a couple of pops at the Press Club) home after I was in bed. My mom, a parentally abused rich southern débutante - was madly driven to impress her oil wealthy, Texas daddy - and obsesses in her art - painting and sculpture mostly. Her thing was to get rid of (put'em to bed) the kids, ASAP - and work on her many One Woman Showings - until 5am. This is not to complain too much - it's pretty cool growing up and being taught how to cook for yourself and do laundry at a very early age - and the genetic transfer in the creative department wasn't bad either. And they're nice folks I love'em - BUT……….

Nurturing my reading was never on their agenda.

Now, also, dyslexia - something nobody knew existed back then - definitely slowed me down a bit. Retention too of course - bad. I still read at about a quarter the speed of most average folks out there. And this has always been very, very frustrating - eventually "they" the teachers, my parents, etc., - they had me take "the tests" (and know I don't put much faith in "those" tests) - I always scored very, very high - 130+, sometimes quite higher - or so. They told me I had a vocabulary way above my fellow classmates. Bid fuckin' deal! I thought. And because of dyslexia, to really "retain" my lessons - I had to read things 3 or 4 times - this of course took more time. So I would get bored very easily with home work and swiftly, at a very young age, I decided that I would always have a problem with it and - simply quit doing it. "They," were all so confounded.

I did though read - comic books - I liked Marvel the best. I read thousands. One day my mother threw them all out - if I only had them today - lots of bucks. Anyway………….

As I grew older I started to discover books - but mostly they are really just adult comic books without pictures. I still have much difficulty "digging into" something that doesn't allow my mind to wander and come back without missing much. The most difficult shit I've read, and liked, is probably on the order of Anne Rice, Dean Koontz, etc.. Hey, what can I say - I'm easily bored.

(How Doctor's and Lawyer's get through their reading assignments in college - well, they fucking amaze me - something I could never do. I'm sure. I think.)

So, you Lit maniacs out there - knowing this background - give me something easy to start with and please, please, please - recommend away.

Oh, oh, oh - I like Peter Parker the best!!!!!!

And hey! Please - don't say the bible anyone!!!!

 

[R Nitelight]

Sparky

Silver Age Marvel Comics. Nothing like them.
I kept mine.
Neh Neh Neh Neh Neh!

I pick up a comic today and don't have the slightest idea what's going on. The names are the same, but they just aren't the same characters. Sigh.

As for reading, I'm into genre stuff. SF, fantasy, horror, mystery. The name that popped into my head was Fritz Leiber Jr. He wrote all of the the above, and did it exceptionally well. I especially recommend the adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.

 

[Expertise]

Start with the true Classics Sparky but start slow. I wouldn't want you to cramp up.It sounds sarcastic but I don't mean it to.

Try something like "The Prince" by Machiavelli its as relevant today as it was then and should be required reading for anyone in your industry.

 

[Bobtoad777]

am i to understand by not suggesting the bible that all religious based books are out the door for you as well Sparky?

 

[Weird Harold]

So, you Lit maniacs out there - knowing this background - give me something easy to start with and please, please, please - recommend away.

The Anne McCaffrey series that starts with Acorna: The Unicorn Girl is probably about your reading level. It's easy enough reading for juveniles, but with some very adult (not porn-adult, serious-adult) issues.

Almost anything by Anne Mcaffrey fits that description. Good reads that tax your mind but not your reading ability.

If you like puns, the Xanth series by Piers Anthony is a good read that's not horribly difficult to follow. (Starts with _A Spell For Chameleon_)

Elizabeth Ann Scarborough is another fantasy author that writes easy reads that aren't childish. _Healer's War_ is probably her best known work, (based on her tour as a nurse in VietNam,) but there's several others that are good too.

 

[CelestialBody]

 

[TN_Vixen]

"A Prayer For Owen Meany"

"The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All"

"In The Garden of Good and Evil" - nonfiction, absolutely hilarious. Better than the movie by far. I read it at least a year before the movie came out and although the adaptation is good, it still doesn't beat the imagination.

I really think you'd enjoy all three of these books. Not too heavy and very entertaining for the easily distracted.

Let me know if you try 'em and like 'em, k?

Also, ANYthing by Fannie Flagg is good, but of course I have a bias for southern authors.

 

[FlamingoBlue]

Read the short stories of....

Raymond Carver, Charles Baxter, Joyce Carol Oates and Sherman Alexie. Especially if you have a short attention span.

(Anyone ever tell you about Adult ADD or ADHD)?

Your pal,

blue

 

[Juliangel]

So, you Lit maniacs out there - knowing this background - give me something easy to start with and please, please, please - recommend away.

If you like puns, the Xanth series by Piers Anthony is a good read that's not horribly difficult to follow. (Starts with _A Spell For Chameleon_)

Yes a very good series. As are Katherine Kurtz Deryni books. John Saul and John Sanford are also good.

 

[Weird Harold]

(re: Xanth) Yes a very good series. As are Katherine Kurtz Deryni books. John Saul and John Sanford are also good.

I agree that the Deyrni series are very good reading, but a little complicated for a dyslexic. Let's get him hooked on fantasy first, and then hit him with the harder stuff. <G>

 

[Sparky Kronkite]

Thank you all......

Of course this is a bit overwhelming but I should be able to sift through it and come up with reading.... oh for.... the next 4 years or so!

And remember I've got the attention span of a 5 year old - so…………..

BobToad no! Just the bible - I find in very dry and hard to interpret. As for whatever they call those re-written modern language versions - I don't know - I don't think so. They'd have to make it read like a comic book. Besides home could he compare to Thor? Or Doctor Doom? But works on religion in general, which I would consider fiction (just joking) - I would consider them philosophy or ideology - something like that, yeah - if they fit my very weak and feeble reading abilities.

Blue - yes. I only discovered my problem when I discovered my oldest sons problem. Figure there's not much that can be done for me - too late. I've kinda made my bed and been sleepin' in it quite a while now.

 

[R Nitelight]

Have you tried audio books? Great for those long commutes.

 

[Alyrahh]

Re: Thank you all......

Blue - yes. I only discovered my problem when I discovered my oldest sons problem. Figure there's not much that can be done for me - too late. I've kinda made my bed and been sleepin' in it quite a while now.

That isn't true, Sparky. Take it from someone who is afflicted with adult ADHD, there's help. In my case, no amount of prescription medication or therapy will improve my memory (but there are other factors at work there too) BUT, my life is much more productive with the help. You really should look into it hon, it makes a huge difference.

 

[Silverlily]

If you like reading fantasy, you might want to try Michael Moorcock's Elric series. It's a little hard to find, but each book is rather short and there is always something unusual happening.

 

[Svedish_Chef]

OK....

So sparky if you do like Ann Rice and Koontz

Rice - try S P Somtow... also Vampyric stuff easily and well written

Koontz - Obviously in the same vein are Stephen King, Peter Straub, Shaun Hutson(usually 200 pages)...

Oh and people might pick on you but any of the Roald dahl books especially Henry Sugar.

I also found that picking up large collections of horror stories or detective stories for 5 bucks are worth it. Especially because they are short enough to keep your focus on the one story and you dont have to remember all the background stuff.

Try anything that is a movie that you like too, because even if you dont get a bit you do have that knowledge stored away in the back of your head. (esp Contact, Shawshank Redemption)

Dont let those fantasy freaks get to ya! (But if you do, read Terry Pratchett)

Da chef

 

[Jester]

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S.Lewis. There are 7 books, but they are each relatively short and there are many themes to relate to.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams is easy to read and is hilarious! One of my all-time favorites!

As stated before, Shakespeare can be a hard read, but is amazing.

If you're up for some fascinating (to me, anyways) science, A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking is good. Might be a little much to start off with, though.

There's alot more, but with everyone else's suggestions, this should be more than enough to keep you for awhile! Enjoy!

 

[Cheri]

So you want classics but nothing to difficult, huh? How about some short stories by Mark Twain? Great stuff and not alot of word play to make reading difficult. I think you'll like his attitude also.
Then my favorite interesting fluff writer is Tom Robbins. You might not want to try a novel by him though cause he does have lots of word play, but an audio tape would be great. I think you'd really like him. Try Even Cowgirls Get the Blues cause Sissy Hankshaw is THE chick!

 

[Gingersnap]

I really enjoy Hunter S. Thompson the man has a style that will appeal to you I think. Kurt Vonnegut is another and then of course there are the classic horror stories.
You could read to your new baby Sparky.... Sometimes that helps me to really"hear" the words. I too have to read things three or four times before they "jell". Good Luck!!

 

[Bobtoad777]

Sparky

C.S Lewis Screwtape Letters

its Comedy and deep religion{or as you refer to it fairy tales} in a very easy and light read.

 

[Lasher]

Gingersnap hit it right on the head, Sparky. There are some great authors out there who can challenge you to think and be entertaining, too. It's a great place to start... Both of the authors Ginger mentioned are fantastic for this... Thompson and Vonnegut are fantastic... Laurel turned me on to William T. Vollman a few months ago and I think you'd really dig his work, Sparky... He's kinda got a thing for hookers. And Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises" has always been a fave of mine... It's a nice read, fairly short, and a great story.

I absolutely groaned when I saw some of the suggestions above. It's the same kinda interest sucking drivel they force on people in school. "The Federalist Papers"? Important book, but not exactly where Sparky wants to get started... Unless he's planning on arguing with his Whig friends sometime soon. And I think Sparky manifests enough Machiavellian characteristics of his own without needing "The Prince" to add to it... And it's a terrible read.

OH, God, almost forgot... If you ever want to read another book again, stay the HELL away from 19th Century American literature... Hawthorne, Thoreau, Cooper, et al... Ummm... Twain and Poe aren't so bad, but in most cases if it's a 19th Century American author, it'll suck the life right out of ya.

But I'm thinking if ya wanna get rolling there Sparky, head down to the local Barnes and Noble (or just click on over to http://www.bn.com ) and get yourself Vonnegut's "Breakfast of Champions", Thompson's "Where the Buffalo Roam" and Vollman's "Butterfly Stories" and THEN you'll be in business.

 

[CelestialBody]

 

[Naked Hunny]

Well at least I now know im not the only one who thought this thread was starting to look like a high school reading list. Oh my gosh did I just admit agreeing with Lasher!! Umm Umm yea ok gonna go hide again!!

 

[Dudley]

So Many Books...

Hey, Spark if you want some entertaining fiction that won't send you running for a dictionary or the aspirin bottle...

As suggested above, Tom Robbins is the man. However, screw the warnings and dive in. It's weird and funny and thought-provoking. Try Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Jitterbug Perfume or Skinny Legs and All.

Roddy Doyle, best known for The Commitments. That book, along with The Snapper and The Van make up the Barrytown Trilogy. You'll laugh your ass off.

John Irving. Somebody already mentioned A Prayer for Owen Meany, a wonderful book. Also try The Cider House Rules, A Son of the Circus, hell, anything. It's all good.

Carl Hiaasen. OK, Striptease sucked as a movie, but blame Demi Moore for that. It's a funny book, as is Tourist Season and Sick Puppy...and all the others. Highly recommended if you enjoy seeing really bad people meet their maker in weird, entertaining ways.

 

[Gingersnap]

I think Ann Ryand sucks soap skum water. Talk about a right winger and a complete and utter freaking bore. Her favorite piece of jewelry was a big old gold dollar sign and she blabbed her guts out before those freaked out blacklisting commy hunters in the fifties. SHUDDERS!!!!
She was a card carrying paranoid John B member....

 

[Flagg]

You've got to love the guy who suggested Sparky read Plato, Marx, Engles, Aristotle and Nietszche. Classic case of "I didn't really read the original question but I see this as a great opportunity to reel off all these impressive names!". LOL! Besides I'm sure it says somewhere in the US constitution that it is illegal to say the word "Marx". If folks start running around saying "Marx!" the pillars of society will surely crumble.

My three humble suggestions, Monsieur Sparky are Aldous Huxley, John Steinbeck and George Orwell. Three great and extremely influential authors that wrote books that can be read.

Go forth and enjoy.


BTW, Ginge - Nice to see you're still alive