Literature recommended by Daniel Handler
Sept 28, 2014 23:07:48 GMT -5
A comet crashing into Earth and Vehement Volunteer like this
Post by Skelly Craig on Sept 28, 2014 23:07:48 GMT -5
While it seems like a Sisyphean task, there really should be a thread on all the books recommended by Daniel Handler/Lemony Snicket on 667. I really hope I didn't miss a thread like this one, but I don't think there is. This is obviously an ongoing list and everybody is welcome to contribute.
RULES:
1. There has to be a link to the source.
2. The source cannot be a reference from any of Handler's/Snicket's books (like any of the "tips" from ATWQ); instead it can be anything from articles to interviews to videos.
3. Always include the author's name (obviously).
4. The books have to have been mentioned in a positive light by Handler (so no 'The Little Prince,' I'm afraid).
5. If there is any additional context, better leave it out, unless it's very brief (1-2 sentences), but: the book's title and author always come before any additional information (for general better readability). (If the source has a title or general topic regarding the chosen books, you can write it down next to the source.)
6. Please make sure that the same literature w/same source hasn't been already mentioned before in the thread (same books with different sources are okay).
7. Preferable: highlighting the title.
Here's a start;
Dillweed’s Revenge by Florence Parry Heide
I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
Here Comes the Cat! by Frank Asch and Vladimir Vagin
The Three Robbers by Tomi Ungerer
Mrs. Armitage: Queen of the Road, Written and illustrated by Quentin Blake
Dances with Snakes by Horacio Moya
- Source - 'Summer Reading List'
Dino Buzzati's The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily
Carson McCullers' Clock Without Hands
Tom Drury's The Black Brook
- Source - Reddit interview
J.G. Ballard, Running Wild: “A pack of children attack and terrorize a gated community. This is why I don’t live in the suburbs.”
Muriel Spark, Not To Disturb: “Servants gather outside a locked door to make sure a murder goes smoothly. My favorite episode of Downton Abbey that sadly does not exist.”
Kathy Acker, Blood and Guts in High School: “Remember that girl in high school who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Tangiers? Well, she took notes.”
Michael Tolkin, Under Radar: “This moody and tangled book is by the author of The Player and has a witch in the first sentence who never shows up again. If that’s not enough for you, you should rethink your priorities.”
J.P. Donleavy, The Lady Who Liked Clean Restrooms: “There aren’t a lot of great happy books but this is one of them. We all know — don’t we? — that anything can happen, but this is a goofy and somewhat tear-jerky reminder. Also it is a reminder to attend more funerals.”
Danielle Dutton, Attempts at A Life: “Indescribably beautiful, also indescribable. In fact, I’m not quite sure what this book’s about, really. Read it; remind yourself that comprehending things all the time is really boring.”
Ali Liebegott, The Beautifully Worthless: “A past-the-speed-limit blur of fast food, weird caves, a wary dog, and ‘the click-clack of sadness.’ In my head, this is the road book everybody knows, instead of what’s-his-name, Kerouac.”
Doris Lessing, The Fifth Child: Very good novel, very bad baby shower gift. Read it, shudder, and then go to YouTube and watch Lessing hearing she won the Nobel Prize and wonder why you’ll never be that cool.
A.T. Grant, Collected Alex: You probably don’t remember that time your parents gave you a corpse, but after reading this book you will swear you do.
Chris Adrian, The Children’s Hospital: OK, this is actually a very long novel. But it’s a wonderful dystopian medical drama with a weird magic-powers twist midway through, really stupendous and hilarious and sad. Why hasn’t this been adapted into something we can all binge-watch?
- Source - Daniel Handler's Top 10 Underrated (Short) Books
Carson McCullers's Ballad of the Sad Café
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov -- This novel is the high-water mark of the English language, but what makes it special to me is its unreliable, hilariously dark narrator, who taught me how to construct a first-person.
Anagrams by Lorrie Moore -- Ingeniously structured. Sad. Funny. I've stolen so much from this novel, and hope that the author doesn't mind.
The Black Brook by Tom Drury -- I read this whenever I'm sick, blue or bored. It makes me hold my sides with laughter. If I could write dialog like Drury, I'd be a very, very happy man.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami -- This book is a reminder of all things fiction can be: heartbreaking, ambitious, smart, wondrous and wide as the world.
Why Did I Ever by Mary Robison -- Don't even ask.
Time Will Darken It by William Maxwell -- A beautiful love story written by one of our most overlooked writers. Each time I read this, I think it's about something else.
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville -- What does one say to recommend Moby-Dick? Just read it. It's not really that long when you think about it, and the big secret is that it's funny and -- here's where your old English teacher was wrong -- it's not an allegory about God. It's making fun of allegories about God.
30 Pieces of a Novel by Stephen Dixon -- Dixon captures the way people -- maybe men? -- think better than any writer I know.
Nora Jane: A Life in Stories by Ellen Gilchrist -- One day I started to write Ellen Gilchrist a fan letter all about how much I like this book, but it suddenly occurred to me that I was afraid she'd think I was creepy.
The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily by Dino Buzzati -- I read this book when I was seven and immediately reread it. You may find it interesting to know that it's about a bunch of bears who invade Sicily. Also, there is a list of characters at the beginning, and some of the characters -- like, for instance, the werewolf -- do not appear in the book itself.
The Complete Poems 1927-1979 by Elizabeth Bishop -- Everyone should read more poetry. It's not hard. Just purchase this book and keep it on your bed-stand and read one poem every couple of days and watch your life get better.
- Source - Fave books, movies& music
RULES:
1. There has to be a link to the source.
2. The source cannot be a reference from any of Handler's/Snicket's books (like any of the "tips" from ATWQ); instead it can be anything from articles to interviews to videos.
3. Always include the author's name (obviously).
4. The books have to have been mentioned in a positive light by Handler (so no 'The Little Prince,' I'm afraid).
5. If there is any additional context, better leave it out, unless it's very brief (1-2 sentences), but: the book's title and author always come before any additional information (for general better readability). (If the source has a title or general topic regarding the chosen books, you can write it down next to the source.)
6. Please make sure that the same literature w/same source hasn't been already mentioned before in the thread (same books with different sources are okay).
7. Preferable: highlighting the title.
Here's a start;
Dillweed’s Revenge by Florence Parry Heide
I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
Here Comes the Cat! by Frank Asch and Vladimir Vagin
The Three Robbers by Tomi Ungerer
Mrs. Armitage: Queen of the Road, Written and illustrated by Quentin Blake
Dances with Snakes by Horacio Moya
- Source - 'Summer Reading List'
Dino Buzzati's The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily
Carson McCullers' Clock Without Hands
Tom Drury's The Black Brook
- Source - Reddit interview
J.G. Ballard, Running Wild: “A pack of children attack and terrorize a gated community. This is why I don’t live in the suburbs.”
Muriel Spark, Not To Disturb: “Servants gather outside a locked door to make sure a murder goes smoothly. My favorite episode of Downton Abbey that sadly does not exist.”
Kathy Acker, Blood and Guts in High School: “Remember that girl in high school who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Tangiers? Well, she took notes.”
Michael Tolkin, Under Radar: “This moody and tangled book is by the author of The Player and has a witch in the first sentence who never shows up again. If that’s not enough for you, you should rethink your priorities.”
J.P. Donleavy, The Lady Who Liked Clean Restrooms: “There aren’t a lot of great happy books but this is one of them. We all know — don’t we? — that anything can happen, but this is a goofy and somewhat tear-jerky reminder. Also it is a reminder to attend more funerals.”
Danielle Dutton, Attempts at A Life: “Indescribably beautiful, also indescribable. In fact, I’m not quite sure what this book’s about, really. Read it; remind yourself that comprehending things all the time is really boring.”
Ali Liebegott, The Beautifully Worthless: “A past-the-speed-limit blur of fast food, weird caves, a wary dog, and ‘the click-clack of sadness.’ In my head, this is the road book everybody knows, instead of what’s-his-name, Kerouac.”
Doris Lessing, The Fifth Child: Very good novel, very bad baby shower gift. Read it, shudder, and then go to YouTube and watch Lessing hearing she won the Nobel Prize and wonder why you’ll never be that cool.
A.T. Grant, Collected Alex: You probably don’t remember that time your parents gave you a corpse, but after reading this book you will swear you do.
Chris Adrian, The Children’s Hospital: OK, this is actually a very long novel. But it’s a wonderful dystopian medical drama with a weird magic-powers twist midway through, really stupendous and hilarious and sad. Why hasn’t this been adapted into something we can all binge-watch?
- Source - Daniel Handler's Top 10 Underrated (Short) Books
Carson McCullers's Ballad of the Sad Café
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov -- This novel is the high-water mark of the English language, but what makes it special to me is its unreliable, hilariously dark narrator, who taught me how to construct a first-person.
Anagrams by Lorrie Moore -- Ingeniously structured. Sad. Funny. I've stolen so much from this novel, and hope that the author doesn't mind.
The Black Brook by Tom Drury -- I read this whenever I'm sick, blue or bored. It makes me hold my sides with laughter. If I could write dialog like Drury, I'd be a very, very happy man.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami -- This book is a reminder of all things fiction can be: heartbreaking, ambitious, smart, wondrous and wide as the world.
Why Did I Ever by Mary Robison -- Don't even ask.
Time Will Darken It by William Maxwell -- A beautiful love story written by one of our most overlooked writers. Each time I read this, I think it's about something else.
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville -- What does one say to recommend Moby-Dick? Just read it. It's not really that long when you think about it, and the big secret is that it's funny and -- here's where your old English teacher was wrong -- it's not an allegory about God. It's making fun of allegories about God.
30 Pieces of a Novel by Stephen Dixon -- Dixon captures the way people -- maybe men? -- think better than any writer I know.
Nora Jane: A Life in Stories by Ellen Gilchrist -- One day I started to write Ellen Gilchrist a fan letter all about how much I like this book, but it suddenly occurred to me that I was afraid she'd think I was creepy.
The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily by Dino Buzzati -- I read this book when I was seven and immediately reread it. You may find it interesting to know that it's about a bunch of bears who invade Sicily. Also, there is a list of characters at the beginning, and some of the characters -- like, for instance, the werewolf -- do not appear in the book itself.
The Complete Poems 1927-1979 by Elizabeth Bishop -- Everyone should read more poetry. It's not hard. Just purchase this book and keep it on your bed-stand and read one poem every couple of days and watch your life get better.
- Source - Fave books, movies& music
