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You want some adult books that arent full of negative crap go read some Terry Pratchett. All my life these are some of the only ones that make me laugh out loud consistently while still having a great plot, characters, and just overall excellent writing in so many ways.
And when you’re done you go read Douglas Adams, and not just the book with the towels.
I agree but the towel books are a good place to start. I also recommend the Dirk Gently series. But don’t stop with fiction. At least read the meaning of liff.
And Last Chance to See! It’s somehow almost as absurd as his fictional works.
Absolutely, and reading it today where cellphones and internet are omnipresent takes it to a whole other level.
Yes! Dirk Gently series is great too.
I purchased Going Postal in an airport. I ended up laughing out loud on a plane.
I scoffed at the idea of a comedy book until I my friend lent me one of Terry’s books. It was so funny, great jokes and great characters.
Good Omens (the book, by Gaiman and Pratchett) is also hilarious.
Terry Pratchett is AMAZING.
What, what? :)
Just don’t read the biography. I just finished it, and while it’s amazing it will leave you devastated.
GNU PTerry. Just got both biographical books for fathers day. I entirely expect to be crushed, given how big a part of growing up his books were to me, and how devastated I was to watch his decline and eventual passing…
I’ve hardly been able to read his books since, which is awful.
You are reading the wrong adult books if that is your take away from it.
This is the problem with so much complaining. “There aren’t any good games anymore” says the people who only buy the yearly CoD and Fifa releases and don’t even think about thinking about lifting a finger to find all the easily available great games being released constantly. Same with music and everything else. People just complain and somehow don’t realise the only thing they do is show everyone else how dumb they are by not even trying to find the good stuff. Also the constant “I hate ads so much” idiocy and then they just ignore anyone who tells them to install an adblocker.
High school English classes kind of beat the habit of reading out of me. I mean first of all there was this sense of new = not valid; To Kill A Mockingbird was the newest work of literature I studied in high school, written in the 60’s about the 30’s, everything else was 19th century or older. The Canterbury Tales, Shakespeare, Poe, the goddamn Bronte’s.
I stopped going to book stores. I stopped going to the library. Adult reading is like rubbing wood chips in your eyes. It’s dry and awful.
My grandmother handed me a book. A paperback novel called Utopia by Lincoln Child. It’s a kind of whodunit mystery thriller set in a futuristic theme park, and the main character has a teenage daughter who has an mp3 player. And that caught me off guard. Because I was a teenager with an mp3 player. This book was new. It was written by someone who was still alive, about characters who were my age and my generation. And the book was kinda okay.
I miss my gramma.
I’m never ashamed of what books I read, especially since they are on a kindle and no one ever looks at the title. Besides, you’re just as likely to find LOTR, Dune, Foundations, pretty much anything from Dumas, among others on my kindle. If i’m reading books that are well written, have a decent plot and make me never want to put the book down, then who the fuck cares that I’m reading hunger games, harry potter or the golden compass… not any friend i’d want to keep.
Its the same with movies, though i find those less compelling overall. But damn if i’m not going to go see any new finding nemo or minions movie.
I’m an adult and proud that I don’t read this nonsense anymore. But what is the book where there is a magic tree house ? just so that I don’t read it mistakenly
It’s literally called Magic Tree House. It’s a series. The tree house is also a time machine and adventure becomes inevitable.
I recently read Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea books, really interesting in that first half are kids lit and the second half were written 30 years later for a grown audience.
Best of both worlds! Though I did find the kids books way more fun.
Whoaaaaa! No way! I just finished the first one and loved it. Can’t wait to keep going. That’s so cool!
If you haven’t already check out the “shelved by genre” podcast. They just did the entire Earthsea series (over multi episodes) and the podcast is seriously hilarious and insightful.
I’ll try to remember that for when I finish the series
Don’t want to push it too hard, but they do two episodes per book. Best enjoyed by listening after you finish each book.
Sounds like someone is shaming people who like adult books, rather.
no it doesn’t?
No, it’s just saying adult books have heavy topics sometimes
If I say i think apples suck im not necessarily shaming people that eat apples
The “you tell me who’s winning” pretty much shows that that’s what they’re doing though…
what do you think the “who” is referring to?
Hm, yeah you are.
Peter was not quite like other boys; but he was afraid at last. A tremour ran through him, like a shudder passing over the sea; but on the sea one shudder follows another till there are hundreds of them, and Peter felt just the one. Next moment he was standing erect on the rock again, with that smile on his face and a drum beating within him. It was saying, ‘To die will be an awfully big adventure.’
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. Kids’ books are rad.
I still maintain the best adaptation of that story was Hook.
Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams absolutely Nailed their roles, shout-outs to Julia Roberts and Bob Hoskins, they also nailed their roles, but got upstaged by the former two thespians.
This is basically the “everybody secretly likes pop music” reverse snobbery angle. It’s so difficult to imagine that other people have different tastes from you.
it’s not saying everybody likes kids books. it’s just saying you shouldn’t shame people who do.
I read mostly three things: fanfics mostly on My Little Pony, literature for degree and scientific papers(mostly unrelated to degree).
I like the take that science fiction and fantasy is just a better form of fiction because you could take literally any fiction story about a mopey 30 year old who has to take care of their sick parent and a science fiction story has the potential to write an equally compelling story except this time there’s a killer robot on the loose or they’re on Mars or something.
All good stories are human stories, even science fiction. There’s nothing inherently better about setting your story in the “real world”.
“Human stories” are depressing and boring as fuck. I’ve already dealt enough with people dying of illnesses and being in shitty relationships and all that bullshit in my own life. I don’t need to be reminded of it by reading or watching a dramatized version. Put that shit in a metaphor the characters can solve their problems by blowing up.
The only reason people set books in the real world is to try to appeal to the sensibilities of reactionary realists. http://soulism.net
Interesting concept. It’s going to take me a while to get through this, but I look forward to trying. Thanks for sharing
Apparent tl;dr:
Soulism, also known as anarcho-antirealism, is a branch of anarchist thought that views reality and natural laws as unjust hierarchies needing justification through good work and the ability to be dismantled. Soulists extend this principle to reality itself, believing that our experiences, or consensus reality, are sculpted by society and cultural biases, rather than objective truth. By rejecting the objective existence of reality, soulists argue that we can reshape our perceptions to align with kindness, empathy, and respect for marginalized identities. This extends to supporting mental, racial, gender, and other diversities, while using the concept of “magic” as a means of influencing and understanding our perceptions of the world. In doing so, soulists aim to destroy the concept of an objectively true reality, promoting a more empathetic and inclusive societal framework.
This is me every time I recommend Bone by Jeff Smith. It’s a kid-friendly book but I’ll be damned if it isn’t a lovely 1000+ page adventure anyone can enjoy
Stop shaming people about reading kids’ books.
The kids can have those books back when you’re done and not one minute sooner.
This is why I read genre fiction rather than literary fiction. Sure, you and your book club can look down on me but until you’re reading a book that isn’t a variation on a theme of “unsuccessful professional moves back to coastal small town to look after their mother who has dementia”, yous can all get to fuck.
