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Satisfying melancholy is the “cellar door” of vibes in my opinion, these recommendations could have been airport romance titles and I’d probably still have chec

Satisfying melancholy is the “cellar door” of vibes in my opinion, these recommendations could have been airport romance titles and I’d probably still have checked them out! Had no idea Bradbury fit “There Will Come Soft Rains” into a novel of sorts, that was probably one of the very first SF stories I ever read and loved. All have been added to my reading list (To the Lighthouse included) thank you!

asark 7y ago
The Martian Chronicles is more like a concept album, but with short stories instead of songs, than a novel. There are some connections here and there but the vibe is always more important than the details or any broader narrative, as far as linking the stories together. Fair warning: To the Lighthouse is a (gently!) stream-of-consciousness work of Modernist fiction, and the entire middle act is mostly a description of a vacation home aging for a time, largely absent any people. It's also one of my favorite books, but it's, ah, subtle, I guess. Think a series of impressionist paintings of everyday life, nature, and empty rooms, but in book form. I hadn't thought about it a lot but on reflection that "satisfying melancholy" effect is one of my most treasured feelings I can get from fiction. There's something childlike about it that really appeals to me—and now that I think about it, a lot of the big children's classic films, especially of 80s, went for this in a big way. Almost everything by Don Bluth. The Neverending Story. That kind of thing. Might be why I make that association. Just scanned my shelves looking for more. The short stories of Dinesen, a bit? The Call of the Wild, but I think that might just be a "me" thing. It's a lot more common in poetry, where you can read through an anthology for any famous poet and probably encounter it many times, than in fiction. Possibly it's more common in bodies of literature outside of English—I'm thinking especially of Russian and French—where I'm even less well-read than I am in English. I just don't know.
- amblingalpaca 7y ago
  As someone who grew up on their mid-late 80’s siblings’ leftover films alongside my own late 90s/early aughts movies, I can see that association looking back now! Might even feel it thinking solely about the VHS cases, either the cardboard slip ons or the hard, flexible sharp edged ones that were the bane of my little hands. The call of the wild & white fang were early favorites of mine that I haven’t revisited yet, but will now. Definitely also be taking a look at Seven Gothic/Last tales! Honestly though, I think I might be most excited about To the Lighthouse out of all the recommendations, it sounds like it’s right up my alley, at just the right time. I have very little experience with solid literature outside what was assigned, and absolutely none with poetry despite a (somewhat shortish) lifetime of constant reading, but over the past year or so I’ve really taken to some more serious movies that paint these absurdly captivating, familiar and utterly foreign perspectives/experiences/vibes over stripped down, or nonexistent plots without much in the way of dialogue either. Think a series of impressionist paintings of everyday life, nature, and empty rooms, but in book form. is absolute catnip, and even if don’t take to this work in particular, is a thread to pull at now. Serious, serious thanks to you for all of this. Made my first account here since 2015 to upvote a book about databases, and left with a completely new, cross pollinated perspective on modernist fiction (and poetry!). Very good day.

asark 7y ago

The Martian Chronicles is more like a concept album, but with short stories instead of songs, than a novel. There are some connections here and there but the vibe is always more important than the details or any broader narrative, as far as linking the stories together. Fair warning: To the Lighthouse is a (gently!) stream-of-consciousness work of Modernist fiction, and the entire middle act is mostly a description of a vacation home aging for a time, largely absent any people. It's also one of my favorite books, but it's, ah, subtle, I guess. Think a series of impressionist paintings of everyday life, nature, and empty rooms, but in book form. I hadn't thought about it a lot but on reflection that "satisfying melancholy" effect is one of my most treasured feelings I can get from fiction. There's something childlike about it that really appeals to me—and now that I think about it, a lot of the big children's classic films, especially of 80s, went for this in a big way. Almost everything by Don Bluth. The Neverending Story. That kind of thing. Might be why I make that association. Just scanned my shelves looking for more. The short stories of Dinesen, a bit? The Call of the Wild, but I think that might just be a "me" thing. It's a lot more common in poetry, where you can read through an anthology for any famous poet and probably encounter it many times, than in fiction. Possibly it's more common in bodies of literature outside of English—I'm thinking especially of Russian and French—where I'm even less well-read than I am in English. I just don't know.

amblingalpaca 7y ago
As someone who grew up on their mid-late 80’s siblings’ leftover films alongside my own late 90s/early aughts movies, I can see that association looking back now! Might even feel it thinking solely about the VHS cases, either the cardboard slip ons or the hard, flexible sharp edged ones that were the bane of my little hands. The call of the wild & white fang were early favorites of mine that I haven’t revisited yet, but will now. Definitely also be taking a look at Seven Gothic/Last tales! Honestly though, I think I might be most excited about To the Lighthouse out of all the recommendations, it sounds like it’s right up my alley, at just the right time. I have very little experience with solid literature outside what was assigned, and absolutely none with poetry despite a (somewhat shortish) lifetime of constant reading, but over the past year or so I’ve really taken to some more serious movies that paint these absurdly captivating, familiar and utterly foreign perspectives/experiences/vibes over stripped down, or nonexistent plots without much in the way of dialogue either. Think a series of impressionist paintings of everyday life, nature, and empty rooms, but in book form. is absolute catnip, and even if don’t take to this work in particular, is a thread to pull at now. Serious, serious thanks to you for all of this. Made my first account here since 2015 to upvote a book about databases, and left with a completely new, cross pollinated perspective on modernist fiction (and poetry!). Very good day.