Recs if you like Infinite Jest...
Paper for the Win
Book that have an element you’ll miss out on if you read as an audiobook, whether it’s fun formatting or illustrations
1001 Books to Read Before You Die
Based on the list/book published in 2006, general editor Peter Boxall.
dreams, doubles, and david lynch
“lynchian” is an over-prescribed pill, so i’m not going to assign such a label to any of these books. still, this selection reflects works that are in some way evocative of the work of master artist and filmmaker david lynch.
their future, our past
we have always tried to predict the future. these books were written about a future that is now our past - their predictions vary in terms of accuracy.
as always, open to suggestions!
books for purple readers
book recs for purple readers according to read your color on substack | updated periodically
Bitches Love a Footnote
It’s me. I’m bitches ✋🏻
Collection of fiction texts that utilize footnotes for various reasons, including world building, comedic narrative input, or character perspective
Bro Fiction
These books are “Eat Prey Love” for men in their twenties.
All in good fun, I love many books on this list so please don’t shy away from (some of) these recs!
The Big Bad Luddite Novel*
ANTI: fascism, ai, nfts, Big Tech, billionaires, surveillance states, optimization, algorithms, bot farms, technofeudalism, enshittification, exploitation, extractionism, planned obsolescence PRO: organized labor, punk, analog, solidarity, free speech, friction, degrowth, experimentation, right to privacy, right to repair, diy, material process, mutual aid, ecological living, the human hand, the human mind
*Short stories welcome. Looking for nonfiction? Check out The Big Bad Luddite List.
Bleakness Is My Weakness
For when you need to wallow in melancholy and misery: a collection of pessimistic, cynical, downbeat, depressing, doom and gloom fiction for my disillusioned friends.
More to come!
Got the holiday blues? Check out my list Christmas with the Cranks!
The Disco Elysium Book Club
This list includes works and authors that influenced the game as well as others with similar themes and writing.
Postmodern books that will leave you questioning
Books that exhibit key traits of, or helped develop, the Postmodern literary movement, many of which are experiemental. Not including criticism or theory. Research trigger warnings before reading.
(Recommendations welcome)
Service95 Book Club
Service95 Book Club Monthly Reads + more and more books from their lists :)
Literary References in Songs by The Decemberists
Because we all know Colin Meloy loves a good book. List of songs and references in the comments; well known works listed when authors are broadly referenced. Recommendations appreciated for items that were overlooked.
Time Magazine’s All-Time Best 100 Novels
Time Magazine’s All-Time Best 100 English Language Novels from 1923 to 2005 as published in 2005.
Sprawl; or an excessive Horizontality
Banned in Russia
Books that are banned, censored, removed from bookshops, marketplaces, and libraries, and writers that are considered as a threat to the authorities. Some called it a "Fahrenheit list".
Time Magazine All Time 100 Novels
Time Magazine’s compilation of the 100 best novels published since 1923.
(101 because “The Berlin Stories” is an omnibus of “Mr Norris Changes Trains” and “Goodbye To Berlin.”)
Noteworthy Dystopians
dudebro lit final boss
Inspired by my quest to find a humanities man for my friend doing STEM who is sick of mansplainers who don't shower. NOT saying any of these books are bad- Blood Meridian is one of my absolute favs.
Inspired by Shakespeare
The books in this collection are all inspired by Shakespeare's plays, comedies, tragedies, and histories.
