literature
Geek literature from the New York Times or the recesses of online. Our favorite stories showcase geeks.
Book Review: "The Atrocity Exhibition" by JG Ballard
It's been a while since I've read some JG Ballard. From what I remember, I have always had a polarising experience with his books. The first book I ever read by JG Ballard was Empire of the Sun, which, as many of you, was introduced to me by the film starring the then-child Christian Bale. I was a teenager back then and it would be a couple of years until I would read another Ballard novel, this time lent to me by a friend who thought that I 'had to read this!' - it was Cocaine Nights and I was eighteen. A balancing act of dystopia and dark secrets seemed to be a big deal to Ballard when I followed that by reading High Rise, which is pretty much about the same thing. Crash when I was twenty was something I read in between university novels. With its sexualisation of car crashes, it freaked me out enough not to pick up another Ballard until now. It's been almost seven years. And imagine it, the first Ballard I picked up since then had to be The Atrocity Exhibition.
Annie KapurPublished 2 years ago in GeeksApril '22 Reads
I read six books in April, which, for most people, is a lot. More than some people read in a year. More than some people have read in years. And to be honest, I hadn’t read that much since high school, since before college – where I majored in English – took over, since before life took over. I was reading so much that there wasn’t time to write about each book I read. Or rather, I didn’t make time to write about each book.
Victoria BrownPublished 2 years ago in GeeksBook Review: "Seek My Face" by John Updike
When I started reading John Updike novels, I was in my teens. I read the Rabbit Series and then, into my twenties, I kind of gave him up purely because I did not want to ruin the magic that was the Rabbit Series, thinking that nothing else he wrote would live up to that. However, as of recent, I have been rekindled with the works of John Updike for a very strange reason: he was near Anne Tyler in the library and they ran out of her novels so I went for something that looked somewhere in the ballpark. I had heard of Updike before and I had read some of his stuff before too - so I was sure as I waited for more Anne Tyler that I would be entertained. One of those books was called Seek My Face.
Annie KapurPublished 2 years ago in GeeksPetre and the Wolfsbane
Aconite. Monkshood. Wolfsbane, if by any other name. Friend to none but witches, warlocks, and herbwives, whom are merely sickly-sweet matronly witches in guise. The kind that would candy belladonna shoots, and jam belladonna berries, sell them as treats to ignorant passerbys, numb to the deception, fooled for the chance to help an old woman with shaky hands and a twisted spine.
Sean PraterPublished 2 years ago in GeeksGame Of Thrones, Days Without End, Fugitive Pieces
Book reviews A series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, "A Game of Thrones is a Song of Ice and Fire's First Novel." The novel was first published on August 1, 1996. It won the Locus Award in 1997 and was nominated for both the Nebula Award and the Fantasy Award.
Mehedi Hasan ShawonPublished 2 years ago in GeeksAstonishing The God, The Hunger Games Books Summary
Book reviews The invisible journey from man to man. Journey and search for money all over the world. Journey to extraordinary and strange places. Miracles as ordinary events or magic. An invisible man.
Mehedi Hasan ShawonPublished 2 years ago in GeeksHow Daisy Jones & The Six got me out of a reading slump
I've been in a bit of a reading slump recently: having tried to delve into the world of classics in the past few months, I found myself finding reading as a chore rather than being the intoxicating form of escapism I know it to be. Now, don't get me wrong- classics, such as A Moveable Feast by Hemmingway and J.D Salinger's A Catcher in the Rye are brilliantly enriching and thought-provoking, forcing you into being more contemplative than you may have been in most other aspects of your life. Classics have a way of poking into your pensive mind in a way that is incredibly unique compared to other genres- mainly because of the fact they have been written in a time that we can only step into when flipping through the soft pages of these compelling novels, having to really try and imagine the thoughts and methods behind the beautiful plots and scenes the authors had painted out for us, as we can't ask them in real life. The only thing about classics is that, for a usually non-classic reader like myself, they can be quite difficult to grasp. At the end of these past couple of months, I became a Pride and Prejudice hoe, and gained a headache whilst trying to read A Tale of Two Cities.
Cold Comfort Farm & The Prestige & Saturday Night and Sunday Morning Book Summary
Book reviews "Cold Comfort Farm" is a comic novel by English writer Stella Gibbons. It was first published in 1932. In contemporary rural life, romance and sometimes destructive stories emerge from writers like Mary Webb. Gibbons' Cold Comfort Firm alludes specifically to several novels as a parody of the "Loam and Lovechild" genre.
Mehedi Hasan ShawonPublished 2 years ago in GeeksBook Review: "The Poorhouse Fair" by John Updike
I'm still on the whole John Updike phase of my relationship with realism and honestly, I think this is one of the weirdest ones I have encountered yet. Spanning less than 130 pages, Updike's first novel The Poorhouse Fair is a difficult read to many people. First published in 1959, it often goes overlooked in Updike's collection purely because of its nature for 'going on a bit'. The random amblings of age and nature throughout the book have made it an irritable read for the 21st century reader. But I am not going to lie to you when I say that I actually really enjoyed it. Not as much as his other novels no, and certainly not as much as his shorter works either - but I still thought it was pretty good as a book. I happen to quite enjoy nothing happening in my novels and more dialogue, description, encounter. It really brings out the entire world you are going to exist in for a brief period of time.
Annie KapurPublished 2 years ago in GeeksMore Bad Book Reviews
I have previously shared through Vocal my experiences as a book reviewer and most recently, being challenged about what I have written in response to my reading of ARCs: book reviews written by me. I read a lot and share on many book oriented websites so my views are widespread. That doesn't mean that they are widely read but they are widely distributed.
Rachel DeemingPublished 2 years ago in GeeksThe Allure of Dark Academia
We are in an age where almost everyone's identity is linked to a certain aesthetic: 90's, cottage core, emo, grunge, indie, preppy, and many more. I myself have tried out almost every one, to the point where I can no longer choose which one I prefer the most- which pretty much represents my personality. I can't choose a favourite book genre, a favourite movie genre, favourite type of music... it's impossible for me. I'm sure some of you can relate.
Book Review: "Of the Farm" by John Updike
There are a number of things that John Updike is known for but writing shorter fiction is normally not one of them. The Rabbit Series is one of America's most famous pieces of literature of the 20th century and the entire aspect of Updike's fiction and the changing notion of what it means to be 'American' is explored in depth and fantastically within. Recently, I have read Updike's book Licks of Love and I was really quite surprised to see that his shorter fiction is just as good as his longer stuff. John Updike is clearly a man of range and has a strange way of making something that does not seem like a story, a complete narrative. This is what I am getting at when I talk about Of the Farm.
Annie KapurPublished 2 years ago in Geeks