The Book Thread Book • Page 102

Blakr Crouch's stuff is great. He lives in my town and is such a down to earth guy, often stopping by my bookshop to sign his books.

Apparently those two novels are being adapted into movies right now.

 

Those are going to be crazy to see on film. There's some pretty intense scenes in the books.

 

it's probably just me, but I found Faulkner pretty impenetrable even with a guide, even though I do agree that kind of thing generally enhances the experience for me. I'm gonna give him another try sometime but who knows when, it's been a couple of years already

 

he's my favorite author by a mile but i 100% get that.

 

as I lay dying is a pretty easy starting point imo

 

i haven’t read that one and want to pick it up. maybe this year

 

if you can get past jumping between narrators, the writing is some of his most straightforward imo

 

Hey book fans, can anyone think of songs that were inspired by modern books? I'm compiling a list for my website (songs you didn't know were inspired by books) but every single one (bar the Chuck Palahniuk fans) is about a required reading text from school (Lord of the Flies, 1984, etc).

 

House of Leaves by Circa Survive is one, I think

 

i'm not positive but i'm pretty sure parts of Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool was influenced by the book The Moon Pool. However, the book is not modern, it was published in 1919. kind of a trip book if i recall it right. i remember listening to the album and finding it very similar thematically to the book.

 

also Gatsby's American Dream has songs that are influenced by literature a lot (obviously) - Lord of the Flies, LOTR, and Ender's Game can all be found on songs on Volcano. i assume their other albums also carry literary themes and references.

 

List of songs that retell a work of literature - Wikipedia Might be a good place to start tho not sure how many are from modern works of literature.

 

Snicker at the Swine is about Animal Farm. In fact I believe there are references to that book throughout Ribbons and Sugar (including the title itself if I remember correctly).


What The Writer Meant by Hop Along references Watership Down, though I think the movie rather than the book. So that's probably not helpful in the least.

 

Thrice’s Daedalus and The Melting Point of Wax are both sides of the Icarus myth.

 

I was just listening to What the Writer Meant! I think it counts even though you’re prob right about the movie. Great book and song though.

 

Never read it but it's on my shelf to tackle this year!

 

Check out Mortal Trash and What Is This Thing Called Love by Kim Addonizio. She's a favorite of mine. Also Hanif Abdurraqib has two collections out, The Crown Ain't Worth and, mentioned earlier, A Fortune for Your Disaster which im pretty sure is lifted from that one Fall Out Boy song. Haha

 

Also Tommy Pico's poetry is phenomenal. Any one of his booklength collections is worth looking into.

 

I recently bought and read 'Immigrant, Montana' by Amitava Kumar. It's basically about the college experience of an Indian immigrant in New York. It's a blend of fiction and non-fiction, according to the author. It's a really good read.

These sentences wrecked me, being an immigrant and all:

All his home ties had been severed and it is quite certain that if he came to India he would feel unhappy and out of joint. But in spite of the passage of time the home pull remains. No exile can escape the malady of his tribe, that consumption of the soul.

It's not a story spoiler, just some beautiful writing.

Also this Haiku that is in there really touched me, for the same reasons:

Even when I am in Kyoto
When I hear the call of the cuckoo
I miss Kyoto

This also doesn't spoil any story.

 

A bunch of Alexisonfire songs from Watch Out are inspired by short stories from Kurt Vonnegut’s Welcome to the Monkey House

 

This sounds right up my alley. Gonna add it to my list.

 

really? I love that book, and album, and never made the connection (grantees I read the book 3 years ago and haven’t really listened to the album in 6-7). Gonna have to listen to this and read the lyrics tomorrow for sure.

 

Specifically it’s:
It Was Fear of Myself That Made Me Odd - Report on the Barnhouse Effect
No Transitory - Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
Happiness by the Kilowatt - The Euphio Question

Happiness is the most directly related. But you can still see the influence in the other two.

 

People who have read World War Z:

 

American Dirt: why critics are calling Oprah's book club pick exploitative and divisive

A Poor Imitation: “American Dirt” and Misrepresentations of Mexico | The Blue Nib

This is interesting.