I'm taking up this place to share some of the weirdest books out there, I enjoy strange literature but it is sadly rare to found a actual good one, so I call upon my fellow bibliophiles among our community pedophiles to share and help me add to this list.
I will start with two very different ones:
The Cipher by kathe koja, a truly incredible experience reading this one, it is about a hole in a room that leads to nowhere and how a group of broken people where drawn to it. I won't say much for this book most not be spoiled. The book is extremely bizarre and very well written.
United States of Japan by Peter Tieryas, have you ever wonder how WW2 would have gone if Japan operated by anime laws instead of the normal boring laws of physics? Well if yes this book if for you, the imperial army with it's colorful and hyper stylized haired officers and giant mechas win WW2 but now a great new threat rises to endanger all, a video game. The book itself is not as strange as it's setting, it made me reminisce of The Men in The High Castle only a thousand times more absurd.
Quote from: nyarla on 03 September, 2023, 13:29:54
United States of Japan by Peter Tieryas, have you ever wonder how WW2 would have gone if Japan operated by anime laws instead of the normal boring laws of physics?
What are the anime laws? I'm sorry if that's a dumb question.
Quote from: FindingRest on 04 September, 2023, 08:45:25
What are the anime laws? I'm sorry if that's a dumb question.
You know when things work like anime instead of normally.
Quote from: nyarla on 04 September, 2023, 12:25:57
You know when things work like anime instead of normally.
I don't really know much about anime to know what that means, but I'm assuming it would just be something unrealistic. I think it would be funny and quite absurd if the Japanese, Soviets, and Americans had a dance contest to decide the outcome of the war, which was also televised internationally.
Quote from: nyarla on 03 September, 2023, 13:29:54I'm taking up this place to share some of the weirdest books out there, I enjoy strange literature but it is sadly rare to found a actual good one, so I call upon my fellow bibliophiles among our community pedophiles to share and help me add to this list.
Great! I've thought several times that it would be nice to have a little "cultural corner" where we could discuss art, literature, etc . . . not just pedo-themed, of course, but a place to share our discoveries. I didn't try to start anything because I'm a newbie and I thought some folks might consider it off-topic. Confining myself to your question, however . . .
QuoteUnited States of Japan by Peter Tieryas, have you ever wonder how WW2 would have gone if Japan operated by anime laws instead of the normal boring laws of physics? Well if yes this book if for you, the imperial army with it's colorful and hyper stylized haired officers and giant mechas win WW2 but now a great new threat rises to endanger all, a video game. The book itself is not as strange as it's setting, it made me reminisce of The Men in The High Castle only a thousand times more absurd.
Now you're talking! My favorite author is Harry Turtledove, author of dozens of "alternative history" books. One of my favorites is his massive "Worldwar" series, in which earth is invaded by highly advanced lizard creatures . . . at the height of World War II! Turtledove has a great flair for characterization, and he also uses historical figures in his novels: So you have the alien ambassadors debating with Churchill, Stalin, Tojo, etc . . . and the newly-allied enemies trying to fight off the lizards and their nukes. It's wonderful. Or "Ruled Brittania," in which the Spanish Armada is
not lost at sea, but successfully conquers England . . . and William Shakespeare is commissioned by rebels to write a play that will arouse the masses. Turtledove is a real scholar, and his imagination is a wonder of nature.
I don't know if that's "weird" enough for you, not having an anime flavor but . . .
Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls. The story of a bored, lonely housewife who has a friendship, then a passionate affair, with a man-sized amphibious creature who resembles a frog. In 2017, a movie with a similar theme, "The Shape of Water," was made, but it had no relation to the book, which is much better. It's short, but not a "short story."
Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella. This was made into a pretty good movie, "Field of Dreams," but the book is much better. (For one thing, J.D. Salinger is a character in the book, but his name had to be changed for the movie.) Obsession, baseball, and ghosts . . . It's absurd and impossible, and wonderful.
In the Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami. Kenji, a young taxi driver who specializes in driving Western visitors around to Tokyo's sex spots, accepts a client for 3 days' work, meaning that he has to neglect his 16 year old girlfriend. The client is very strange. To say more would reveal too much.
The Girl Who Outgrew the World by Zoje Stage. An otherwise-normal 11 year old girl has a strange "growth spurt" . . . not suddenly "maturing," but simply getting . . . bigger. This is classified as a "young adult" book, but it's been cheered by feminists as a very serious novel. I enjoyed it, and it's certainly weird!
Quote from: FindingRest on 04 September, 2023, 19:34:06
I don't really know much about anime to know what that means, but I'm assuming it would just be something unrealistic. I think it would be funny and quite absurd if the Japanese, Soviets, and Americans had a dance contest to decide the outcome of the war, which was also televised internationally.
That on itself would make a great piece of absurdist literature.
Quote from: AlexUnder on 04 September, 2023, 19:59:13
Now you're talking! My favorite author is Harry Turtledove, author of dozens of "alternative history" books. One of my favorites is his massive "Worldwar" series, in which earth is invaded by highly advanced lizard creatures . . . at the height of World War II! Turtledove has a great flair for characterization, and he also uses historical figures in his novels: So you have the alien ambassadors debating with Churchill, Stalin, Tojo, etc . . . and the newly-allied enemies trying to fight off the lizards and their nukes. It's wonderful. Or "Ruled Brittania," in which the Spanish Armada is not lost at sea, but successfully conquers England . . . and William Shakespeare is commissioned by rebels to write a play that will arouse the masses. Turtledove is a real scholar, and his imagination is a wonder of nature.
Oh man Guns of The South was probably my first alternative history book. Quite weird that one.
Quote from: AlexUnder on 04 September, 2023, 19:59:13
Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls. The story of a bored, lonely housewife who has a friendship, then a passionate affair, with a man-sized amphibious creature who resembles a frog. In 2017, a movie with a similar theme, "The Shape of Water," was made, but it had no relation to the book, which is much better. It's short, but not a "short story."
Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella. This was made into a pretty good movie, "Field of Dreams," but the book is much better. (For one thing, J.D. Salinger is a character in the book, but his name had to be changed for the movie.) Obsession, baseball, and ghosts . . . It's absurd and impossible, and wonderful.
In the Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami. Kenji, a young taxi driver who specializes in driving Western visitors around to Tokyo's sex spots, accepts a client for 3 days' work, meaning that he has to neglect his 16 year old girlfriend. The client is very strange. To say more would reveal too much.
The Girl Who Outgrew the World by Zoje Stage. An otherwise-normal 11 year old girl has a strange "growth spurt" . . . not suddenly "maturing," but simply getting . . . bigger. This is classified as a "young adult" book, but it's been cheered by feminists as a very serious novel. I enjoyed it, and it's certainly weird!
All great entries and I haven't read one of them, I'm sure to add to my list.
There is a book by Kim Newman called Anno Dracula that began a series. It is a little weird but not in an anime way but in an alternate horror history way. It begins as a sort of sequel to Dracula but in an alternate version where Dracula lived and took over London.
I do not want to give away much if anyone gets around to reading it, but one of the neatest bits I thought was a funny twist was that Jack the Ripper was a vampire hunter being smeared by the vampire controlled newspapers.
Quote from: DropsOfJupiter on 05 September, 2023, 04:23:53
There is a book by Kim Newman called Anno Dracula that began a series. It is a little weird but not in an anime way but in an alternate horror history way. It begins as a sort of sequel to Dracula but in an alternate version where Dracula lived and took over London.
I do not want to give away much if anyone gets around to reading it, but one of the neatest bits I thought was a funny twist was that Jack the Ripper was a vampire hunter being smeared by the vampire controlled newspapers.
Only one of my examples involved anime and it wasn't even the best one.
Anyway I love a good vampire story, GRR Martin has a great one call Fevre Dream, it ain't weird though... It is a really good read, if you're into vampires you should give it a try.
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Another great piece of strange literature is the classic "The King in Yellow" the first half of the book is pure insanity. Anyone with a interest in the weird should read this book, it's a series of small stories all bound together by a very abnormal thing.
Other and this one is about Vampires is "The Strain" by Del Toro, it is has a very singular take on vampires and as with everything Guillermo Del Toro it is strange.
These all sound like good novels about vampires, and I'll attempt to get hold of them. I've enjoyed vampire lore ever since childhood, but I'm afraid it's gotten so dumbed-down and hokey in recent decades that the good stuff is hard to find. (Just my opinion, but I think Anne Rice did a superb job with "Interview," but should have stopped there: her literary output is a hundred times greater than her talent. And don't even get me started on "Twilight.") Anyway, if we're recommending books of that genre, I'd like to mention The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (2005) and the classic, queasy Some of Your Blood by the great Theodore Sturgeon (1961).
Quote from: AlexUnder on 05 September, 2023, 16:07:53
These all sound like good novels about vampires, and I'll attempt to get hold of them. I've enjoyed vampire lore ever since childhood, but I'm afraid it's gotten so dumbed-down and hokey in recent decades that the good stuff is hard to find. (Just my opinion, but I think Anne Rice did a superb job with "Interview," but should have stopped there: her literary output is a hundred times greater than her talent. And don't even get me started on "Twilight.") Anyway, if we're recommending books of that genre, I'd like to mention The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (2005) and the classic, queasy Some of Your Blood by the great Theodore Sturgeon (1961).
I agree what happened to vampires in literature is a tragedy, but again I think judging YA novels too hard is a waste of time. Interview is pretty good. You should give that Fevre Dream book that I recommended earlier it's masterfully written.
Quote from: nyarla on 05 September, 2023, 16:20:40Anyway, if we're recommending bookYou should give that Fevre Dream book that I recommended earlier it's masterfully written.
I'm on it! It seems to be out of print, but I can probably get it from a library somewhere. Thanks!