I would really like to read a book that falls in a category such as speculative, slipstream, etc. Something experimental and interstitial. Any recommendations of something really good and slightly mind-boggling?
"Experimental" book recommendations?
- Thread starter AUthoress
- Start date
Try House of Leaves, maybe.
ETA: It doesn't really "work" on an e-reader. You'll need a physical copy to get the intended effect.
ETA: It doesn't really "work" on an e-reader. You'll need a physical copy to get the intended effect.
Okay, just thought of a couple more that might be of interest.
Jeremy C. Shipp writes some really cool stuff. He gets filed under "Bizarro" (which is an EXTREMELY hit-or-miss genre, quality wise) but he's definitely on the better end of the spectrum. Free stories after the link.
Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar is experimental, I guess. And Burrough's Naked Lunch... I personally didn't get into it like a lot of folks, but it's considered a classic.
A couple John Barth books that you might want to check out, Chimera and Giles the Goat Boy.
I just started reading Liminal States by Zack Parsons, and so far I love it.
Jeremy C. Shipp writes some really cool stuff. He gets filed under "Bizarro" (which is an EXTREMELY hit-or-miss genre, quality wise) but he's definitely on the better end of the spectrum. Free stories after the link.
Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar is experimental, I guess. And Burrough's Naked Lunch... I personally didn't get into it like a lot of folks, but it's considered a classic.
A couple John Barth books that you might want to check out, Chimera and Giles the Goat Boy.
I just started reading Liminal States by Zack Parsons, and so far I love it.
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2009
- Messages
- 831
- Reaction score
- 49
Definitively Hopscotch. I mean, the book can be read in two ways, and one requires reading the chapters out of order.
I've never heard of Hopscotch but it sounds incredibly fascinating! Another book for my to-read list 
Through the Arc of the Rainforest. I don't know if it's experimental, but it sure is weird. It's a great book.
I'll second House of Leaves. I loved that fact that even though the text was all over the place and chaotic, the actual story was very tight.
Slipstream/speculative/and "experimental" encompass A LOT of books. Can you tell us some of what else you like to read so we can give better feedback? Also, do you mean experimental in plot or form or both? Sorry for all the questions!
For slipstream, I like Jonathan Lethem, Catherynne Valente, and Kelly Link.
I don't read much speculative.
I just started an experimental novel called Zazen by Vanessa Veselska. Love it so far. Another great experimental novel is Margaret Atwood's "The Blind Assassin." A lot of people also dig Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace, though it's not quite my type. Shelley Jackson is good. Her novel Patchwork Girl is a cd rom that's hypertext. Also, Kathy Acker, though many consider her cyberpunk instead of simply experimental.
Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow (gave up 535 pages into it).
James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake (gave up one paragraph into it).
Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis
Mark Jacobson's Gojiro
Various artists' The Bible (weirdest thing I have ever read)
James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake (gave up one paragraph into it).
Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis
Mark Jacobson's Gojiro
Various artists' The Bible (weirdest thing I have ever read)
