Book recommendations based on my favourite films.

[Toon_Guitarist]

I know you're probably annoyed with newbies looking for books to start of their literature librairies. But help would be very much appreciated as it will save me from intense boredom on trains.
My favourite films are;
Berfore Sunrise,
Before Sunset,
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,
Lost in Translation.

Thank you in advance.

[kelby_lake]

Do you like things with the word 'sun' in them? :P

You might like Lolita.

[Mr Endon]

Having seen the last two, it seems you like off-beat dialogues full of thought-provoking questions and/or meaningful silences. Having heard about the first two, it seems that the dialogue's quality is not important (I kid, of course. I'm only saying this because a great friend of mine hated those with a passion).

So, common to all films is the foreign/alien/mysterious character that is slowly unveiled through off-beat, quasi-metaphysical dialogues. I can see no better match than Elizabeth Bowen's Heat of the Day.

[Toon_Guitarist]

kelby_lake;
I never noticed that before! Two of my favourite songs are Sunshine of your love and House of the rising Sun. There must be something in that.
Shame i live in England, we had the sun once, i think it was lost.

Mr Endon;
Thanks for the recommendation. I'm surprised your friend thought the dialogue in Before Sunrise & Sunset was poor. It made me think a different way and i was fascinating by the simplicity but genius of the writing and acting.

[Mr Endon]

Dare I say you have such an obsession with the sun because you live in England. I'm currently residing in London and man, do I know what you mean!

As long as the 'before' films suit you I'm happy. My friend's taste is unusually esoteric. The two films I did see were great.

Another match has just occurred to me: The Little Prince. This one has the advantage of being a book that I actually cherish. Public domain if you're in Canada.

(By the way, have you ever watched 'Mulholland Drive'? A terrific film not too dissimilar from 'Lost in Translation'.)

[General Urko]

A few suggestions off the top of my head:

Washington Square and Daisy Miller by Henry James
-have a bit of that "will they or won't they" romantic angle of the films you mention

Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
-have that clever wit and offbeat, at times outlandish, humor to them

[Toon_Guitarist]

Dare I say you have such an obsession with the sun because you live in England. I'm currently residing in London and man, do I know what you mean!

As long as the 'before' films suit you I'm happy. My friend's taste is unusually esoteric. The two films I did see were great.

Another match has just occurred to me: The Little Prince. This one has the advantage of being a book that I actually cherish. Public domain if you're in Canada.

(By the way, have you ever watched 'Mulholland Drive'? A terrific film not too dissimilar from 'Lost in Translation'.)

I finally watched 'Mulholland Drive' and wow! I'm still confused days later, i don't think anybody on the planet knows that full story!

[wat??]

The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway

:P

[My name is red]

Considering the movies you like,

The fountainhead-ayn rand
Don't be intimated by the size of it,it's engrossing.

Of mice and men-John Steinbeck.
I believe,this book has a special power that it could be liked by anyone.

Bonjour Tristesse(Hello Sadness)-François Sagan

[kelby_lake]

Bonjour Tristesse is good. I reviewed it in reviews section