I'd like to broaden my horizons by getting a better understanding of life in different cultures and time periods. Please recommend great books or films (fiction or non-fiction) which paint a broad, immersive, reasonably accurate picture of a place and time. [more inside]
posted on Jul 12, 2008 - 29 answers

I just saw The Bank Job and had a question about the disclaimer at the end [more inside]
posted on Jun 16, 2008 - 6 answers

Trying to make a list of fictional drinks. For instance: Clementine mixxes up a couple of "blue ruins" in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and the Silver Jews' song Buckingham Rabbit makes reference to "shattered dogs on the rocks." What other fictional drinks can you think of? [more inside]
posted on May 4, 2008 - 51 answers

I'm looking for fictional intragenerational incest narratives -- books, film, television, etc. -- in which the relationship is presented as a tragic love, doomed to failure. I'm not interested in the probably more common (and more realistic) pure trauma narratives. The relationship need not necessarily be physically consummated. [more inside]
posted on Mar 25, 2008 - 49 answers

Stories about healthy, "normal" marriages? [more inside]
posted on Jan 11, 2008 - 41 answers

I'm doing research (for a writing project) into Film Noirs and Mystery Pulps, and I'm looking for good selections of a certain plot type: the "missing person" scenario. [more inside]
posted on Mar 11, 2007 - 20 answers

Does anyone know what this book and these films are? [more inside]
posted on Jun 19, 2006 - 9 answers

Fiction usually comes in two flavours: 1st person narrative or 3rd person description. What short stories or novels have been written in 2nd person perspective (i.e. from the reader's viewpoint)? Also, are there any movies shot entirely from this angle?
posted on Jan 17, 2006 - 63 answers

I'm looking for book or movie characters and/or plots that follow this particular scenario: A prisoner or potential rescue victim are told that salvation (being broken out, being rescued) can come only if the person agrees to have all prior memories and events that make up their personalities wiped out, leaving only a blank, but functioning, 'consciousness.' Any ideas? Specific quotes?
posted on Oct 4, 2005 - 21 answers