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What Books really rock/shock your world?

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posted on Apr, 29 2013 @ 02:28 PM
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My fellow readers,
You know those books which come along all too rarely,the sort you cannot put down even when its 3am and you have work at 7am?
The sort of books which take you off to a faraway place which seems so realistic they infect your very dreams...

Well,I live for the collection of such books,and would love to hear of any titles of such worth from fellow ATSers.
I shall start with two books that have left not just memories in me,but scars.

The first I shall mention I read maybe 5 years ago,although it was written in the 1980's and is called "Swan Song" by Robert Mckammon,and is the best Nuclear apocalypse story I have ever read to date:



www.amazon.co.uk...=la_B000AP7UZS_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367260245&sr=1-1

I got a second hand copy for £2-what a bargain.
Chances are,you will not be able to put this book down even if an actual apocalypse is occuring at the time.
It's that immersive and will make you laugh,cry and everything inbetween and never want it to end.

My second contender,has a big disclaimer-Not for under 18s,and not for anyone except those who are able to be immune to bad dreams.I mean,I have read some really distubing books both fiction and none fiction,but this is the only book that has given me what the internet seems to diagnose as PTSD-yes,that horrible condition that can happen to folks who have experienced war or other horrors.

I have dreamt about this book many times since reading it,and on 3 occasions I have woken up screaming,thinking it was someone else in my dream screaming(but it was me)as the scream sounded as though it was not coming from me.

My bed would be on those 3 occasions,sweated through in a wet shape the shape of...me.
Never happened before I had dreams related to that book.

Even so,in all its depravity,and it has no limit to the depths of that depravity and horror,it is still among the greatest books I have ever read,in its depictions of a long lost people and their culture.

So if you dare,read of the life of Mixtli(Dark Cloud),the Aztec,written by Gary Jennings,who spent over a decade in Mexico,researching the people's lives before Cortez invaded(and after).The book was first published in 1980:



www.amazon.co.uk...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367263477&sr=1-1&keywords=aztec

So those are but two submissions of mine,I have more...

What are your maddest most earth shaking books folks?
All are appreciated,fiction ,non fiction etc.




posted on Apr, 29 2013 @ 02:33 PM
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I'd have to say anything by Irvine Welsh. He describes bizarre situations and shady places which I've found myself in so well, more often than I care to remember actually.



posted on Apr, 29 2013 @ 02:35 PM
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When I was younger and read the first three books from A Song of Fire and Ice i was blown away.

The Red Wedding was really the only sequence from a book that I can ever remember where i literally put it down then picked it up and read the same section over right away just because it caught me so off guard.

Hopefully they do it right on the show.



posted on Apr, 29 2013 @ 02:39 PM
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One Second After.
www.amazon.com...

It brings humanity into full comprehension. A fantastic read, and in my opinion, something everyone with survival in mind needs to read. Trust me, you will not be able to put it down easily.



posted on Apr, 29 2013 @ 02:39 PM
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I read Swan Song when I was twelve. It's still one of my all time favorite books, I've reread it dozens of times. McCammon is an incredibly gifted writer. His Boy's Life also stuck with me.


Also, the most disturbing novel I've ever read was Jeff Long's The Descent. Scared the crap out of me when I read it about eight years ago. I literally had nightmares. Highly recommend it.
edit on 29-4-2013 by smyleegrl because: (no reason given)



posted on Apr, 29 2013 @ 02:42 PM
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I quite like some of the stories of Mario Puzo. The Godfather is great but the other less famous ones like "Omerta" and the one about the Borgia's, were quite good too.

But I remember reading a book called "freakenomics" that was very interesting, but was a book of statistical facts and theories rather than a good novel.



posted on Apr, 29 2013 @ 02:52 PM
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www.admin.com...

Sometimes, what isn't written in a book is what makes it mind blowing. Despite the fact that this is the latest edition (I haz it), it does not include one word concerning systemd.

Is your mind blown? Mine is.



Bybyots' 2013 Honorable Mention
edit on 29-4-2013 by Bybyots because:




posted on Apr, 29 2013 @ 02:57 PM
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Just finished Carl Sagan's "Billions and Billions" and the facts and way they were presented actually changed my outlook on life for the better. I suggest it to anyone who wants to know how the world and universe work in a very simple and easy to understand way.

Tyler



posted on Apr, 29 2013 @ 02:59 PM
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reply to post by Silcone Synapse
 


The Diary of a Drug Fiend - by Aleister Crowley

This book left an impression on me for several reasons. First of all this is Aleister Crowley's first published book, and it's a true story presented as a non-fiction tale with fake character names. "Peter Pendragon" is obviously Crowley, and so forth...This is a great story of love, hate, fear, death, life, philosophy, drugs (obviously), violence, magick, poetry and much more. It goes up and down and all around, everywhere in between, while telling two sides of a story of two lovers on their honeymoon in Paris. They party hard like rock stars and quickly become addicted to H and C respectively. I'm not sure if I'm aloud to refer to drugs directly on here so I'll just assume you all know what addictive substances start with an H and a C. They fall into the depths of madness and suicidal thoughts as they fail to control their habits, and a friend and mentor intervenes (King Lamus) and shows them the philosophy of Thelema (True Will, or Destiny) and teaches Peter and his wife how to overcome their addiction with their will power alone. And for all the darkness and depravity contained within the book, it has literally the happiest ending I've ever read for any book ever haha.

Journey to the Center of the Earth - by Jules Verne

It is such a sad thing when an immaculate piece of literature like this has been turned into so many god awful movies. None of them have done this book justice. I have read a few different Jules Verne tales and I loved them all, but this book specifically gave me dreams of vast landscapes and nightmares of death and hunger. The maddening details and descriptions of every single nook and cranny, every feeling and emotion tied to them, and every breath in between is unmatched. The meticulousness of the author is balanced out by his direct and to the point narrative. On the surface, we all know what the story is about. But if you've ever read anything by H.P. Lovecraft, for example, you know that what the story is about has little or nothing to do with the enjoyment of the story or why you read it in the first place. Movies tend to fall victim to "what's it all about". Like Lovecraft, when you read Verne, it's his eery descriptions of things that you know he couldn't have possibly of seen or experience, yet they are described in such great detail that it becomes hard to deny that they haven't been there! Just do yourself a favor and read it, it doesn't take long and the journey is of epic proportions. Everything from the several hundred mile hike into the depths of Iceland, to the dark descriptions of starvation and thirst, to the horrifying raft ride across a prehistoric underground ocean where dinosaurs still battle. It's pretty crazy, trust me. I think Journey to the Center of the Earth deserves a Peter Jackson treatment, like he's brought to life the detail and epicness of J.R.R. Tolkien, Jules Verne would be just as worthy of a candidate.



posted on Apr, 29 2013 @ 03:04 PM
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reply to post by Silcone Synapse
 


S&F!!! Awesome thread and thank you for the next two books on my to read list!


This may come as a surprise to some, but there is one book that I read that I can never forget, just due to the fact that instead of a male hero in the story it was a female!

The book was called "Illusion" written by Paula Volsky, and it was a fantasy take on the French Revolution! Your OP actually got me to do some searching on Paula and it appears she is preparing to come out with a new trilogy under the name of Paula Branson.......I hate it when they change their names...grrrrrr



posted on Apr, 29 2013 @ 03:13 PM
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Liked Swan Song. Something a little more laid back by McCammon is Gone South. A little different but worth reading. Who do I lose sleep over? King. Yeah I know but he's a helluva storyteller. Lost 2 nights sleep back to back when IT came out. Don't ask about The Stand.



posted on Apr, 29 2013 @ 03:17 PM
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I have a long list of books that have either changed how I saw the world or influenced me. The Art of War, The Prince, and books about people and the places the live have allowed me to see the world from different walks of life.



posted on Apr, 29 2013 @ 03:23 PM
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Hi again,

OK, so that last one, even though it blew my mind, is probably limited in its ability to blow minds. It's probably more like a time-delay detonator for other mind-explosives.

So I thought that I would put this one up.

Soldier of the Mist

Gene Wolfe






The story is presented as the recovered diary of Latro, a Roman mercenary who fought for Xerxes at the Battle of Plataea. As a result of head injuries incurred during the battle, Latro suffers from both retrograde and anterograde amnesia; due to the former, he does not know his own name, and must accept that others call him "Latro" (meaning "soldier"); due to the latter, he has been given scrolls on which to write down recent events so that he may (in principle) "READ THIS EVERY MORNING".

He has also developed the ability to see and interact with gods, ghosts, and mythological creatures; due to his amnesia, he does not know that this is unusual.



The book is followed by Soldier of Arete, the second in the series. I know it's not for everyone, but for some of our members that have a deep interest in Ancient and Lost Civs, this book may be a real gem for this summer's reading list.

Wolfe is probably my favorite fiction author.

Thanks, OP.
edit on 29-4-2013 by Bybyots because:




posted on Apr, 29 2013 @ 03:24 PM
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Afraid my taste in literature doesn't run any deeper than Terry Pratchett. Read them all a half dozen times each and I think the guy is a genius.



posted on Apr, 29 2013 @ 03:30 PM
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OK, if you are a Doug Adams' fan you've got to check out Eoin Colfer's ...And Another Thing. Imo the best Hitchhiker's book to date.



posted on Apr, 29 2013 @ 03:31 PM
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I dont read many books these days but this is excellent and a true story
.No publicity, no media. We move in silently, do our job, and melt away into the background. If you have the stamina, the willpower and the guts, we’ll welcome you with open arms and you one of us. And if you haven’t, then it’s been very nice knowing you.

Eighteen years in the SAS saw Pete Winner, codenamed Soldier ‘I’, survive the savage battle of Mirbat, parachute into the icy depths of the South Atlantic at the height of the Falklands War, and storm the Iranian Embassy during the most famous hostage crisis in the modern world.

For the first time Pete also details his close-protection work around the world, from the lawless streets of Moscow to escorting aid convoys into war-torn Bosnia. He also unveils the problems of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder faced by many Special Forces veterans, and how he battled his own demons to continue his roller-coaster career. This is his story, written with a breathtaking take-no-prisoners attitude that brings each death-defying episode vividly to life



posted on Apr, 29 2013 @ 03:34 PM
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'Stranger in a Strange Land' by Robert A. Heinlein

A girl friend asked me to read this book many years ago - since I'm not much of a reader of fictional novels, I read it as a favor to her - and I've gotta admit, it's the best book I've ever read, hands down!



posted on Apr, 29 2013 @ 03:39 PM
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If you are a fan of non-fiction check out Adams vs Texas. Not a long read but it'll make you gasp, hurl and throw things.



posted on Apr, 29 2013 @ 03:42 PM
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reply to post by the_philth
 


Excellent book. All of Heinlein's are, though Stranger is probably the most refined, they are all very much worth the read, so don't go stopping there



posted on Apr, 29 2013 @ 03:49 PM
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Mods, this might be a term violation, not sure. Please delete it if it is.

I'm a member of a group called BookBub. It's an ebook club that sends you links to buy discounted kindle books at amazon. Most are for sale for 99 cents, some are free.

There's no cost to join, so if you like ebooks you might want to check it out.

Happy Reading!

Oh, and may I also recommend Diana Gabaldon's series Outlander. Incredibly written.



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