In which Anthony abuses the great source of knowedge and wisdom that is his flist

[anthon1]

Now that I have flattered you all gratuitously and hopefully made you feel all warm and gloopy inside, I am going to be terrible and appalling and utterly shameless and enlist your help in not one but two separate ventures. Whether or not I shall continue to address you in the second person is currently unknown

Comments

[lil_monk]

I agree on Gormenghast, although I'm not sure you'd get through the trilogy ie the last book Titus Alone without getting, well, bored. But the last book has an important role to play in terms of really illustrating the understanding of individualism Vs society in the midst of finding oneself to complete a circle. The BBC adaptation of Gormenghast helps, if you need more visual consolidation.

Now, as to books, without bombarding you... If you could combine at least Gaiman, Peake and Ballard, it would be a tour de force. I recommend Kingdom Come by Ballard Hey, he totally relates the importance of teddy bears to the flag, as an example!. And "Xenophobe's Guide to the English", a thin book of humour that seriously looks at various aspects with droll tongue-in-cheek. I always did like the Adrian Mole series by Townsend, but I don't know how relevant those could be.

[anthon1]

I had heard that it's very long, and although that doesn't really deter me that much in itself, the thought of rereading it to make notes and find quotes does, a little bit. But then again, Gormenghast (and the TV series, after a fashion) have been vaguely on my list of things I really ought to read at some point for a whilst now, and if it doesn't provide me with an excuse it at least may give me the impetuous...

Adrian Mole is probably not relevant at all, but Ballard does look very interesting. :D He'd also be a good person to show in for something that isn't just superficially archetypal avant-garde fantasy cities, in that from the reviews I saw he seems far more rooted in the real world...

[if0x]

I can't really pick a poem - poetry is not something I'm particularly adept at, nor discriminating about, I'm afraid :-/

That said, Visiting Sarah is kinda cool :-)

[anthon1]

Thanks. :D The actual event was far cooler, though; not only are university students the epitome of cool to us lowly sixth-formers (:P) but also Oxford added its own level of awesomeness to the proceedings... :D

[psychomachia]

Sent here from lil_monk and I'm particularly envious of your paper, which sounds quite wonderful to research.

First off, I'd suggest doing quick readings through The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror anthologies (Volume 5 on); sadly, all of mine are in storage while I move, so I can't be specific about what would work best for your project. However, I do know that in addition to the collection of stories inside, they provide marvelously comprehensive lists of fantasy and horror novels that are published each year both in specific subgenre (high fantasy, first novels, comical fantasy) and mainstream reads. I'm not familiar with its counterpart, The Year's Best Science Fiction, but I've heard excellent things about it.

Graham Joyce is a great writer, but his fantasy tends to be on the realistic side, less on the world-building. He's also fond of setting his books in the 1960s, so that may also be not be contemporary enough to work.

Peter Ackroyd is also good, but not that epic. His work tends to be subtle - it's a shame that Hawksmoor was

[anthon1]

The English Department at my school are, by and large, rather wonderful; when it comes to important essays they tend to give me enough leeway with picking my own titles that I get to poke at things that nobody else has really looked at much. Sometimes, they poke back...

I've vaguely heard of the Fantasy and Horror, but I've definitely seen the sci-fi equivalent in my local bookshop, which should hopefully mean that if the library doesn't have it I'll still be able to have a flick through it. The post-1990 cut-off point thing is negotiable, especially with secondary sources, so I can definitely have a look at some of the Ackroyd stuff, which looks pretty much perfect. McLeod sounds familiar but entirely untraceable via Google, which is strange, and Mary Gentle definitely looks interesting, which means that I'll probably end up reading something by her at some point even if I don't use it in the essay...

And that's probably enough overwhelming your journal for now.:D Thanks for taking the time to write it! I'll definitely be checking

[locowerewolf]

RE Poems... hm. I think when the thunder woke me/the firework bouquet, definitely, perhaps the Rain poem, and then... hm. Y, maybe? Tis tricky! Although the others are all wonderful, they're perhaps a little more personal and specific. Does that make sense?
Your English-ness sounds SO awesome! I don't really know what to suggest, but I need to read a lot of the things you've mentioned...

[anthon1]

*nods* It does, aye; I think you're probably right...

Most of them were books that I wanted to read vaguely anyway, especially Gormenghast; now I just have an excuse... :D

[purplefringe]

On the subject of english...I NEVER HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN! We had to analyse a poem today and I have to say I didn't like it as much as any of yours. I think 'when the thunder woke me/the firework bouquet', 'Visiting Sarah' and the rain poem. I think 'investigations' is, as Rachel said, perhaps a little too personal, and 'Y' makes my brain hurt! (Not that that's a bad thing, it's just you don't want to make the judge's head explode...or do you?). xxx

[anthon1]

*just beams, and isn't really able to do much else for a while*

(It might be fun. They'd find it hard to give me money, though...)