whats the most mind-blowing book to read?

[Mrs Magpie]

It depends what you mean by mind-blowing....I read a lot of non-fiction and I find discovering new and amazing facts pretty mind-blowing.....so, the last book that I read that did that was this;
Mosquito: The Story of Man's Deadliest Foe
by Andrew Spielman & Michael D'Antonio

 

[ice-is-forming]

Grrr...

whats your problem? cheesy said she wanted reading with no big words

 

[laptop]

something along the lines of jorge luis borges labyrinths

A Perfect Vacuum, Stanislaw Lem

Some of the short stories do have big words but they're all guaranteed mindblowers.

 

[HAL9000]

How about something free by David Brin

http://www.davidbrin.com/givingplague1.html

published in 1987, can be found in a book of his short stories, I think the book is called 'otherness'.

If you think the story is far out, pm me and I can tell you a true story about mice and a virus (it was in the newscientist).

Plenty of strange ideas in Sci Fi books, but Sci Fi books have a major image problem.

 

[kakuma]

kafka on the shore by haruki murakami is the best book i've read for years

 

[jbob]

whats your problem? cheesy said she wanted reading with no big words

It's the mere mention of Pratchett...Grr... that does it.
She didn't mention that she wanted books written by bearded twats in cowboy hats, writing goblin-esque nonsense, though, did she?

How this place has changed . There used to be a sort of law that Pratchett was distinctly persona non grata. The man is like the literary version of Gong.

 

[rutabowa]

As is Illuminatus! by grrrrr i can't remember either author but the books are both a bit special

robert anton-wilson and robert shea

 

[sojourner]

Close Range, by Annie Proulx. Perfect for what you're after

 

[meems]

kafka on the shore by haruki murakami is the best book i've read for years

didn't like it but haruki murakami is a good choice for mind-blowing but no big words... (depending on the translation)

otherwise poppy z brite.x.

 

[ice-is-forming]

It's the mere mention of Pratchett...Grr... that does it.
She didn't mention that she wanted books written by bearded twats in cowboy hats, writing goblin-esque nonsense, though, did she?

How this place has changed . There used to be a sort of law that Pratchett was distinctly persona non grata. The man is like the literary version of Gong.

snob...

 

[Firky]

whats the outsider about?

It is about an honest man who doesn't lie. He refuses to "play the game" and satisfy the feelings of others by pretending to feel grief over his mother's death. In the end it results in his own death. His only real crime is that he challenged societal expectations that are sadly a set of rules above the law so strong that it leads to his own death.

Very short book - you'll read it in about two hours. It kicked off a massive debate in existentialism.

 

[Fez909]

Bit explicit that description init firky? Admittedly the book isn't about the plot alone, but it does help to not know what's going to happen.

 

[haggy]

'three to see the king' by magnus mills, and then anything else by him...

v simple stories but unaccountably eery and clearly philosophical w/out pontificating about metaphysics

also recommend george saunders - 'civilwarland in bad decline' is a great collection of short stories - v funny and a great critique of popular culture

 

[bruise]

love Poppy Z Brite and Murakami

if you want short, has no long words but is really cool - how about 'Kitchen' by Banana Yoshimoto?

 

[Firky]

Bit explicit that description init firky? Admittedly the book isn't about the plot alone, but it does help to not know what's going to happen.

If I merely described the plot people probably wouldn't read it... hmm, people should just read it

I See what you mean tho, pretty much gave away the premise of the book.

 

[Winston Legthigh]

His only real crime is that he challenged societal expectations that are sadly a set of rules above the law so strong that it leads to his own death.

Well yeah, that and when he kills that bloke?

 

[Firky]

Bah, it was only an arab - it happens all the time these days

 

[Pieface]

Lanark - Alisdair Gray. Not a short one though.

 

[billy_bob]

Poor Things by Alastair Gray - equally inventive but shorter.

Extra votes here for:
The Dice Man, Luke Reinhart
The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks

Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess - pretty inventive with language. Don't be put off when you first open it - it's surprisingly easy to read once you get into the slang.

Also try:

We So Seldom Look on Love by Barbara Gowdy for pretty odd short stories
Anything at all by Raymond Carver for the most truthful writer ever to put pen to paper (and you can read most of his stories in your average fag break).

Beyond the Curve by Kobe Abe - also very peculiar short stories. I've read it in translation (from Japanese) but I haven't checked whether it's still available.

 

[purves grundy]

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry - it's short and also 'mind blowing'

(yes, it's a children's book, but it works on many levels)

Top stuff.

I recommend the brilliant 'Hunger' by Knut Hamsen (so long as you ignore the Nazi links)

 

[goldenecitrone]

Perfume - Patrick Susskind.
Soft City - Jonathan Raban
If this is a man - Primo Levi.

 

[asbestos]

spend yer money on books here

 

[HeroineSheep]

Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass. Pretty mindblowing rabbit holing stuff.

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. Shockingly brilliant.

 

[ChrisC]

Probably Complicity for me. Very easy to read and pretty memorable.

Complicity by Iain Banks is an excellent read. I highly recommend it.

 

[Grandma Death]

Disgrace by J M Coatzee-short and sweet and I promise you it'll knock you on your arse

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

Complicity by Iain Banks is an excellent read. I highly recommend it.

For someone who likes to write, I'm not a very good reader. Quite often I pick books up, then put themdown, start on something else, and then come back to the first book a few months later.

But complicity had me gripped from the first page and I read the whole thing in about 2 days. It really was one of those rare books I couldn't put down.

ANother book like this was Timeline by Michael Crichton. Quite trashy, but it was like I was reading a really good popcorn film.

 

[.r.u.i.n.e.d]

Since no-one's mentioned it, - the Magus - by John Fowles.

Beesonthewhatnow recently turned me onto Robin Hobb who has to be the George Eliot of the fantasy genre. Read all her books since then, and they're great, but I wouldn't necessarily describe them as mind-blowing, they're just very good, - the Magus though I would call mindblowing.

Not that mindblowing is any better than excellent, it's just a differnt sort ofthing.

Illuminatus I'd second, kind of.

Mindblowing? Oh yes, the Trial, definitely. Probalby the most mindbliwng book I ever read.

On a different tangent, Bury my heart at wounded knee possibly.

Can't think of anything else right now.

 

[Red Horse]

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintence - essential if you want to know to do stuff properly. Also includes handy tips on bikes.

Second that. That book completely blew my mind and got me into reading, Pirsig is a fucking genius...literally

 

[Blagsta]

Philip K Dick - A Scanner Darkly
Philip K Dick - VALIS

 

[DotCommunist]

Philip K Dick - A Scanner Darkly
Philip K Dick - VALIS

You forgot Three Stimagata of Palamer k Eldritch