Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with recommendations and literature

Classy, non-amateur erotic literature?

Lush — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:03:53 -0800

Having recently discovered Anais Nin's Delta of Venus and Little Birds, I'm looking for classy, somewhat highbrow, non-amateur, published erotic literature along the same lines. I appreciate the languid, lingering, sensual atmosphere of the stories, and that they provoke thought about bedroom politics.

I tried looking on my own, but it seems I have unearthed a whole new underworld of fiction and the selection is overwhelming! There seems to be a lot of amateur erotic stories designed to quickly and deliberately assist the reader in getting off, sorted by taboo subject, and usually told in crude language. I do not wish to get off on these stories. I'm also not interested in romance novels, fan fiction, or deceptively highbrow-sounding florid prose featuring non-humans. (NOTE: I searched previous AskMe questions about erotica, but the askers' tastes differ from mine.)

I'd like to read more stories like Anais Nin's. Bonus points if they're literary and thought-provoking. Extra bonus points of they're classic, and published, as I will likely be reading them in waiting areas or on the train. Extra extra bonus points if they outdo Nin.

Any recommendations?

Help me drag my uncle out of the literary dark ages!

badmoonrising — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:04:13 -0800

My uncle recently mentioned to me that he's never read any book written by a woman. Apparently this is because he doesn't think they'll be any good - he seems to think women can only write romance novels. I find this both horrific and hard to believe, but he seemed serious. So, Hive Mind, I need your help in drafting a list of the very best books written by female authors. Help me teach him the error of his ways! I've checked out a few previous questions, but I am somewhat hampered in my list-making by the fact that many of the obvious classics (and most of the books that sprang to my mind) are books that I think he will not enjoy, e.g. the works of the Brontë sisters or Jane Austen, or even Toni Morrison.

Specifically, he likes crime novels and thrillers, and fast-paced storylines without too many descriptive passages. (Or, as he put it, books "where it doesn't take the author three pages to describe a table.") So suggestions vaguely along those lines would be especially appreciated. I immediately suggested Agatha Christie and Patricia Cornwall to him, but crime is not generally my preferred genre so I'm having trouble coming up with much else.

The books do not have to be thrillers, but I suspect he will abandon anything too romance/family-orientated. So no Pride and Prejudice or The Thorn Birds, please. We're coming up with a list for a rather conservative, old-fashioned, golf- and rugby-loving Englishman in his late sixties. (So no Tipping the Velvet either!)

So, AskMeFites, please fire away!

(Also, I'm well aware of how sexist and misogynistic my uncle may seem, and I'm not interested in hearing any commentary on that, thank you. I myself want to batter him over the head with something heavy until he sees the error of his ways, but he IS family and I love the guy. So if I can rein in my violent urges, then I hope AskMeFi can too.)

Need Books/Movies for Kids Going to Rome

bjennings — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 15:55:33 -0800

I'm looking for recommendations for books, movies and even music that might be relevant for a group of middle school (7th & 8th grade, ages 12-14) kids who are going to Rome over spring break. I'm a teacher, and I'm leading a group of 20 middle school kids as well as three other faculty members. I'd like to be able to recommend novels, movies and music for them.

They've all read Caroline Lawrence's "The Roman Mysteries" series. I'm very familiar with the range of children's and young adult historical fiction, especially that set in ancient times. I'd love to have any recommendations for novels set in modern Italy. Some of the students have read Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons", but teen and young adult books would be great, too.

I suggested "Roman Holiday"; all of the parents said "Oooh, I love that movie", and all of the kids were bored out of their skull. Fluff like the Mary Kate and Ashley "When In Rome" and "The Lizzie McGuire Movie" is right up their alley.

I figure music is a long-shot, but maybe there are some recommendations there as well. Thanks!

Stock my liberry.

zoomorphic — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 07:51:57 -0800

I just finished the last book on my Must Read list. Help make me a new one. Short-Listed Favorites: Lolita, Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, Middlesex, Autobiography of Red, White Teeth, God of Small Things.

Gathering dust on my shelves: Pynchon, Roth, DeLillo. No conspiracy theories or White Man crises about how mass media and technology are snuffing out our souls.

I've undergone the mandatory high school and college reading lists, so I'm looking for something new and mind-blowing.

Best book series for children and young adults?

MonkeyToes — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 18:17:22 -0800

Book series for children and young adults? Recommendations welcome. There is I'd like to lay in a supply of some of my favorite series (Hobbit/LOTR, The Great Brain, Wrinkle in Time, Chronicles of Narnia, Foundation) for my young son. Help me figure out what else I should add to the shelves.

What were your favorite book series for children and young adults? What series have your children enjoyed? And why? (All genres considered, and yes, I have looked at this, this, and this). I'm looking for series in the hopes that he'll read the first book, and then ask for the second, and then the third... My own preferences run along the fantasy/sci fi axis, but I'm willing to look at other genres.

Bonus points for series that have come out in the last (cough) 20 years. I've read Artemis Fowl and Harry Potter, but little else as far as series go. His Dark Materials? Gormenghast? I feel like I need a little remedial education in this area. Thanks.

Books about people aged 25-35?

callmejay — Tue, 30 Aug 2005 00:28:44 -0800

Please recommend some good novels about people between 25-35. I just finished Little Children, which I enjoyed, and I realize it's been a long time since I've read something with characters who are about my age. Reading about adolescents was great when I was one and passes the time well now, and reading about middle-aged folks is fine sometimes too, but I'd love to immerse myself in the lives of (fictional) people my own age a little more often. Help me out.

hoping to find some good authors

Tuwa — Sat, 26 Mar 2005 14:21:10 -0800

I'm trying to get into reading again, and am looking for fiction authors who write well-defined characters and seem genuinely to like people. In high school I read a book or three a week, but most of it was pulp. In college I was an English major and promptly came to hate reading, mostly because I hated pinning every passing butterfly to a board with some belabored critical assessment. I wanted to read for fun, not to talk about Marxism or phallic symbolism or whatever pet topic the professor had in mind.

A couple of days ago I started, and quickly stopped, re-reading The Sun Also Rises. I'd remembered it as funny and smart; reading it now, I'm overwhelmed with the suspicion that Hemingway simply did not like people.

So. Now I'm looking for fiction again, but I don't know where to start. I want something that's entertaining, in practically any genre, but I had a couple of ideal characteristics in mind.

1) the story is not narcissistic.
2) the characters are all distinct, with strong personalities.
3) the author understands and is not contemptuous of the characters.

By this token I'd say that Their Eyes Were Watching God, One Hundred Years of Solitude, and almost anything by Louise Erdrich or Neil Gaiman are to the good. Switching to film (because I'm hard pressed to come up with more written examples), I'd say that Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke is a perfect example of what I'm looking for. I think the reasons for each character's actions are clear; they all seem to make sense; the conflict isn't caricatured and doesn't have a simple solution.

Oddly enough, the "not a narcissist" criterion eliminates most of the authors I read as an English major. (I must have had all the wrong professors.)

I'm ready to take up reading again, but, aside from reading more Hurston and Márquez, don't know where to start. What authors would you recommend?

Looking for Historical Fiction Recommendations (Newer is Better)

Johnny Assay — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 10:28:14 -0800

What are your favourite historical fiction novels? [more inside] One of my relatives put "historical fiction" on their Christmas list this year, and aside from once giving a friend a Kenneth Roberts novel that they'd asked for, I know next to nothing about the genre. Newer stuff is probably better, as he's less likely to already have such things.

And yes, I realize that this question is a pretty broad one. But that just gives y'all the opportunity to go nuts with recommendations.

Sci Fi Gems

willnot — Thu, 11 Nov 2004 11:41:52 -0800

What should I read next? The past few years, I've been reading some contemporary fiction and a lot of science fiction (mostly hard Sci-Fi). I tend to like strong character driven stuff with politics and religion (particularly as a method of social control) as major themes. So for instance, I LOVED books like Dune and Cyteen. I also like near future stuff with cool tech, so books like Diamond Age were also well received. Loved American Gods -- not a big fan of Neverwhere. Also, for some reason I didn't like Perdido Street Station very much -- I'm not sure why -- I just found it slow to read. I've read most of the well known science fiction writers, so I don't need recommendations for the luminaries in the genre. I'm looking for lesser known gems/works I might have missed, or for similar themes that cross out of the genres with which I am familiar.

Fiction dealing with religion & science with nature & ecology

jmd82 — Wed, 08 Sep 2004 12:42:24 -0800

I just got done reading Ishmael by Daniel Quinn for class. Now, I have to find a book that also deals with nature in the same regard to read (ie, we're destroying it- go fix it! Though it could be how nature is ours to control and we should actually exploit it more). Preferable, though not necessary, for my own pleasure would be something that intertwines religion and science with nature (from a negative or positive standpoint) into the book.

Fantasy novel recommendation needed

grumblebee — Tue, 23 Mar 2004 10:10:51 -0800

Please recommend fantasy novels for someone who doesn't like fantasy novels (more inside). I'm generally not into the whole swords-and-scorcery thing. But I somehow picked up George R.R. Martin's first "Ice and Fire" book and got hooked. Now I'm trying to wait for the fourth book in the series, but It's taking him a really long time to finish it.

I'd like to read more fantasy, but most of the books I find are bad Tolkein or Harry Potter rip-offs.

But since I loved the Martin books, I'm guess that my dislike of the genre is based more on lack-of-education than problems with the form itself. I just don't know how to find the good books.

In order for me to like it, a fantasy MUST be well-written. I'm talking about prose style here. I can't stomach hack writing, no matter how good the plot is.

I'm not really into jokey stuff, so I don't respond all that well to Harry Potter. I know that there's a serious side to those books, but they're a little too full of silly names for my taste.

I also don't want to read parody or allegory. I want to be transported to another world -- not reminded of this one is some clever way.

In addition to Martin, I've also read Tolkien, the Philip Pullman books, C.S. Lewis, Watership Down, and most other well-known "classics."

What books am I missing?