Recomended Reading

Well, on Starfly's recomendation, I've created a sticky thread of suggested reading for all budding counterculturalists. Please tell us what books you'd like us all to read, maybe give a short synopsis of them if you'd like, or tell us why that book/author appeals to you....

 

The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran. Available on-line for your reading pleasure.

A wonderful vision of the better side of human nature, and a reminder to us all of what we can be. Given that the only true revolution takes place within, this is a true revolutionary's text book

 

George Orwell, one of my favourite authors and inspirations -

'Animal Farm' - goes without saying really.

'Nineteen Eighty-Four' - in the same vein as Animal Farm, both great satirical works on totalitarianism.

'Keep the Apidistra Flying' - not one of the books he was famous for, but a brilliant work nonetheless, all about one poet's futile attempt to escape what he calls the 'money God' and live a life outside the world of materialism.

William Golding - 'Lord of the Flies' - an amazing fable of the brutality of human nature, one of my favourite books of all time.

William Shakespeare - 'The Merchant Of Venice' - Probably my favourite Shakespeare play, for it's handling of issues of racism and anti-semitism. "Hath not a jew eyes?" Very powerful stuff for the age, and very progressive.

William Blake - 'Songs of Innocence and of Experience' - Just continuing the William theme, one of my favourite poets, a truly progressive voice for his age, almost a visionary I'd say.

Phillip Pullman - 'His Dark Materials' trilogy - simply amazing narrative, which becomes very deep, satirical and philisophical.

There are more, but I'm running out of time, I'll add to my list later....

Douglas Adams - 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy' - Just finished the first two books in the series. Pure comic, inspired genius! Marvin always has me in stitches, I'm never going to be able to look at a manic depressive and keep a straight face again! Can't wait for the movie.

JRR Tolkien - 'The Lord of the Rings' - Really shouldn't have missed out one of my earliest literary inspirations, but it doesn't need much explaining.

Karl Marx - The German Ideology - Why? Coz he's hardcore! Smash up the bourgeois state! Most people will have read the commie festo at some point in their lives, German Ideology, though unpublished in his liftime, is much deeper, much more philosophical, really fleshes out his revolutionary pamphlet with a solid concept of historical materialism, and turns Hegel on his head. Genius.

 

I would recommend (TWO Ms Sal pay attention please):

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon, because it's a really good insight into what it must be like living with a mental illness.

Briget Jone's Diary & Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding just because they're funny

Will think of more later

 

Have you read "Down and Out in Paris and London"? Often overlooked, but possibly his most powerful writing, imho.

But oh, so depressing! Excellent illustration of the brutal side of human nature though. Still not convinced it's been done justice on the big screen, in either incarnation.

 

im surprised you overlooked Orwell's Homage to Catalonia and The Road to Wigan Peir, both are very good, but not too happy


have to agree on His Dark Materials, its possibly the most anti church establishment book ive ever read. the daily mail loved it i believe

i would reccommend a ci-fi classic, John M Harrison's The Centauri Device - its aout a guy who is half Centauran, a race that was wiped out. But now the military need him to diffuse what they think is a huge weapon that threatens their balance of power. its very good.

and Brave New World, Aldous huxley - I just re-read it and, depressing as it is its a very good read. It terrified me when i was 11 and reading it for the first time - its still scary now!

 

Well I tried, this just gets worse and worse. Ah to hell with it.

Dok, the two films of Lord of the Flies were awful, they made me cringe. I really hate it when a masterpiece of a book is utterly destroyed by it's film incarnation. With Tolkien being one of my favourite childhood authors, I was quite sceptical going into seeing the first Lord of the Rings film. Thankfully Peter Jackson did an amazing job, and I was very proud of him.

On the sci-fi theme, "The Time Machine" by HG Wells, is another very potent book with implications for wider society....

 

Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!!! Terribleterribleterribleterrible!!!!

Yesssssssssssss!!!! Excellentexcellentexcellentexcellent.

Mr Cope's about to release The Megalithic European. He's also doing a book signing and talk at a number of venues to support the release. Think there's one in Bath.... might be at Waterstones?

I'm so glad someone agrees with me! The earlier movie is widely considered to be a bit of a classic, but I thought it was fucking terrible!

 

When it comes to those films it's not a question of which is better, but which is least bad. I'd have to say the earlier one is the least bad, at least the boys aren't American! But still, it was a terrible film....

 

I know I've recommended these titles before but not sure if I've done so in the UK forum but what the hell!

E.T. 101 Cosmic Instruction Manual which is highly entertaining and got me thru' some rough times
American Gods - Neil Gaiman Again, hilarious (although criticised by some as the same as his previous writing) it was the book I couldn't put down during bus journeys despite getting travel sick!
Way of Wyrd - Brian Bates
Sevenwaters Trilogy - Juliet Marillier Beautifully written novels shrouded in Celtic myth n magic
Women Who Run With The Wolves -Clarissa Thingy Wotsit
Last Of The Hippies - CJ Stone Buy it here really cheap!!!!! Speaking Tree Books
Infact, check out the Speaking Tree for cheap mind/body/spirit books (it's not that I work for them or anything......)

Loads n loads more books to add ..........

 

This kinda sums up my feelings nicely:

http://kenneth.moyle.com/cp/

 

James Redfield - The Celestine ProphecyNooooooooooooooooooo!!!!! Terribleterribleterribleterrible!!!!Its true, that the Celestine Prophecy is a poorly written book, stupid plot BUT...the message and idea in that book is wonderful and its a quick read. I defenitly recommend it. I defenitly see things differently after I read this. Not in the fanatical new age way, but afterwards I woud look at people having a conversation and feel the energy passed between them and the effects of negative engery and words on the other person. This makes sense if you read the book. Take what you want from it.




THE LUCIFER PRINCIPLE - A scientific explination about violence in our society among many otherthings. Not boring at all, very captivating book.

THE ELECTRIC KOOL-AIDE ACID TESTS - Is very funny, written very freely like a Kerouac novel, but more plainly. Intresting funny stories of Ken Kesey, the Acid Tests, the Dead and an appearance by Hunter S. Thompson.

 

It's nowt fancy like all your books!!.. But is it to me!!

Angelas Ashes by Frank McCourt

Followed by

Tis by Frank McCourt

No books so far in my eyes have outdone it... I can re-read them for ever and still be amazed!!

 

Ahhh....

JACK KEROUAC! Dharma Bums and On the Road, but especially the Dharma Bums. Unique style of writing and the subject matter, everything from hitchhiking to Buddhism, really floats my boat, so to speak

and

Wade Davis - Shadows in the Sun - I think everyone should read this book its absolutely amazing!....written by an anthropologist and ethnobotanist from Harvard university, its his own real-life accounts of where his studies have taken him, for example..trekking through the Amazon rainforests in search of medicinal/entheogenic plants used by native tribes..His mentor was the famous Richard Evan Schultes, who discovered how northern american tribes used Peyote for rituals and he discovered hallucinogens like Morning Glory and mushrooms used by a south american tribe etc etc..he also wrote a lot of famous books ... He received many awards for his work including the Cross of Boyaca (Colombia's highest honour), the annual Gold Medal of the World Wildlife Fund, the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement and the Linnean Gold Medal (the highest award in the field of botany).
Wade davis writes a mini-biography of schultes in one of the chapters, the last chapter is a plea from Wade Davis for people to start respecting the environment, reduce deforestation, preserve native tribes and stop them from being eradicated by deforestation etc. an amazing book!

oh and... Once..by James Herbert is a damn good horror novel! as is Bag of Bones by Stephen King

 

Gregory Sams - Uncommon Sense / The State Is Out Of Date.
Andy Fyde (I think) - The Making of Led Zeppelin Four
Gilli Smyth - Godly Talk
Daevid Allen - If Words Were Birds
Steve Hillage - The Little Book Of Words
Jim Morrison - The Lords and Creatures Poems
J.R.R Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit

 

green egs and ham
and the cat in the hat does it for me

 

Nice to see you kids are still discovering Gong

 

'No Retreat'-Dave Hann and Steve Tilzey (Milo Books)

'The Largest Baby in Ireland After The Famine'-Anne Barnett

'The Snapper'-Roddy Doyle

'Pygmalion' Bernard Shaw

Oh books....

 

Jesus, reading Roddy Doyle is like being skull-fucked by a drunk Irishman!!! Trying to understand the written Irish dialect is a fucking nightmare!

 

Hic! Eye sockets pleeze!