literature
Geek literature from the New York Times or the recesses of online. Our favorite stories showcase geeks.
Book Review: "Under the Whispering Door" by T.J Klune
Teaching people about the process of death and the afterlife is difficult enough without someone trying to shove a trope-based story down your throat as well. But this isn't like that at all. Instead, just like death-based novels like "Interview with the Vampire" and others, this book seems to deal with the process of death and then the afterlife in a very mature way with these constant touches of darkness and beautiful writing. You know how I get about beautiful writing don't you? I love a book that is beautifully written. You know that this book reminds me of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens in the sense that someone is given a second chance (almost) and everything is a lesson in life and how to really live properly. Between this we get the dark comedy of the writer who seeks to make fun of the droning corporate culture of the constant worker and 'career man' who seeks to simply work himself until he dies.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The Wild Boys" by William S. Burroughs
William S. Burroughs is known as one of the greatest minds of the beat generation for a reason. In the past, I have read his books "Naked Lunch", "Junkie", "Queer" and "Cities of Red Night". I am re-reading some Burroughs because at the moment, a friend of mine is getting more into the author as well. I feel like the appropriate place to begin though would be with a book by him that I haven't read before (well, before I re-read my personal favourites) - this book is "The Wild Boys".
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
5 Beautiful Passages from Books
We have done quite a few parts to this already but, by popular demand, it has come back once again. Having already covered the following books in the previous sections: Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell, All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy, Lotte in Weimar by Thomas Mann, Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain and Just Above My Head by James Baldwin. (Takes a long exhaling breath).
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
How a Barefoot Queen Became My Tour Guide in Seville
Dear Reader, Reading a historical novel set in the country or city you are about to visit can be magical. I have always preferred to read fiction instead of watching movies. It gives me an opportunity to take a break from the real world, and disappear into a fantasy full of heroic characters and exciting locations.
By Lone Brinkmann4 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Dead Relatives" by Lucie McKnight Hardy
Lucie McKnight Hardy is a great writer of folk horror. Her novel "Water Shall Refuse Them" was the first book I read by her and this book entitled "Dead Relatives" is the second. As you all know, folk horror is my favourite genre ever, I love the way that stories of old and images of forests and folklore come together to create something wholly uncomfortable and frightening. Nature and animals create a terrifying premise for stories and, through beliefs and the supernatural, we see a very new and exciting way of losing control. Folk Horror to me, represents how little we humans really have control over anything. We like to believe that we are in charge when actually, it is nature, it is the animals, it is the sun and the beliefs that hold us together that guide us through life. If we turn on them, then they turn back twice as hard on to us.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Trigger Warning" by Neil Gaiman
I have read many books by Neil Gaiman over the last decade. These include: "American Gods", "Coraline", "Neverwhere", "Anasi Boys", "Good Omens", "Stardust" and "The Sandman". The story of my reading of "The Sandman" is that I only read it whilst on my Master's Degree because one of my good friends told me to and he'd talk to me about it and where I was in the book - he loved the idea of the sandman legend, yes including the song. That same year, a few months after I finished the book, he hanged himself and I was devastated. The book, the sandman legend and the upcoming adaptation therefore have my full attention - he would have loved to see it.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Storyland" by Amy Jeffs
Yes, we are back here again. We are being thrust straight back into folk culture and honestly, this resurgence is the best thing ever. Books that are coming out now with an incredible amount of folkish background to them include the realms of horror and thriller, Sci-Fi and fantasy and even romance is giving it a go. Folk horror films are coming out and I am very excited about that. And finally, we have the books which we thank for compiling some of the great stories that go along with these cultures.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Stories of Your Life and Others" by Ted Chiang
When it comes to surrealist fiction, I pick my post-modern texts carefully. I don't want them to be so out there that I can't understand what's going on. My brother told me to read the first chapter of 'Neuromancer' and I have to admit that even though I understood what was happening, I didn't particularly like it. However, authors who work in the framework of the dystopian surrealist fiction subgenre tend to get me more - it just so happens that creating something incredibly mind-twisting whilst also being dystopian works on so many levels. It shows us the possibility of what could happen, or what has happened, and then gives us the ability to think about the metaphors and plausibility of the situation.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
5 Beautiful Passages from Books
Previously, in 5 beautiful passages from books, we have covered: 'Brideshead Revisited' by Evelyn Waugh, 'Cloud Atlas' by David Mitchell, '100 Years of Solitude' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 'Anna Karenina' by Leo Tolstoy and 'Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe' by Benjamin Alire Saenz. That was in part 1, which you can find here.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
