Books or Lit-r-cha Recommendations

Does anyone know very detailed and highly realistic military or espionage fiction? I need some referential works for my novel project.

I'll recommend John le Carré again. Try his books featuring George Smiley - Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was recently released as a film. I believe he was part of MI 6 at one point.

True on both counts. I'm still in the middle of the book but I highly recommend it.

Anyone know any good Absurdist literature? I've read Camus and a bit of Stoppard's work and I'm looking for more.

Read Franz Kafka and Eugene Ionesco?

I've read Kafka, but I haven't read Eugene Ionesco? Any books in particular you recommend?

Personally, my favorite was Rhinoceros. I don't know if his plays are available in other languages than French, though.

Waiting for Godot, if you liked Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.

Thanks. I'll check that out. Know any more good ones?

I just bought Waiting for Godot actually. It's next on my reading list.

The thing with Ionesco is, he was big on metafiction, and the audience plays a part in a lot of his plays. Therefore, a lot of these plays don't work out in print form. I haven't read all his works yet, I must admit.

Ionesco is good. I've barely read anything of his, but you might try The Bald Soprano.

Does anyone know any good/horrifying Lovecraftian Cosmic Horror story that doesn't have very verbose prose?

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You may want to check out Thomas Ligotti. What I've read of him is somewhat less "tentacles and non-euclidian weirdness, oh my" than Lovecraft, but it certainly has that bleak, horrifying Cosmic Horror vibe.

Looking for a interesting adventure series or romance series with likable characters in the book.

is there any gritty Urban Fantasy books
i come from a cyberpunk and satire background
and im pretty meh on Discworld but i should try reading it again someday

The Dresden Files sounds perfect.

edited 8th Oct '11 12:19:40 PM by Firebert

Anyone know of a Military Science Fiction story that focuses more on characters over shiny weapons and technology like Ralph Peters' Red Army?

Hmmm, I think the Hammers Slammers ones do. However, I'm sort of halfway through my first, so don't quote me. It's not a genre that really focuses that much off of sci fi. However, you're much more likely to find that among 20 Minutes into the Future style ones than far future. I think Tiberium Wars does that as well, but it's actually more focused on the combat, rather than the characters.

Just throwing Halfway to the Grave out their for a good vamp novel

Need a book that relates to the concepts of belonging (identity, exclusion, family, cultural understanding, peer pressure, etc) that isn't too hard to read or analyse. Anyone know of one?

edited 6th Nov '11 7:41:47 PM by wishing

Catcher in the Rye
No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai
Norwegian Wood
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya cuz sure why not (the part when haruhi gets angsty)
The Stranger
Stargirl
Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami

edited 6th Nov '11 8:59:19 PM by CommanderObvious

^^You poor child. What's your prescribed text, and Standard or Advanced?

• Advanced
• Text: Romulus My Father

Nothing foreign please (unless it has a legal localisation) and newspaper articles are fine.

EDIT: Stargirl looks cool though

edited 7th Nov '11 2:46:40 PM by wishing

You might want to try American Born Chinese, but it's a graphic novel...