You might have seen this game played on your favorite parasocial media platform, where people provide a set of books, movies, etc. as a way to meet people with similar interests. It might be useful here, too. Or it might at least prove amusing These lists are in no particular order, and are basically the first of their kind to spring to mind.
I pretty much live in a library, but if my house burned down these are the books Iâd replace first, though some like Foreigner and The Revenge of the Rose are irreplaceable by virtue of being signed first editions. Others contain notes scribbled in their margins. Others still may be out of print.
I particularly recommend Cherryhâs Foreigner to sf readers. I know of no other sf novel whose backstory can be summarized by alluding to Spaceballs. The novelâs events, and those of its sequels, can all be blamed on one basic truth: even in the future nothing works. Humanity might not have run into the atevi if the starship Phoenix had not jumped to ludicrous speed and overshot its destination star because the navigation computer flipped the wrong bit under the influence of cosmic radiation. Or maybe the pilot got some bad spice? Either way, itâs the perfect setup for a saga of diplomacy, linguistics, economics, sociology, politics, assassination, tea parties with a badass grandma, and adventures in babysitting. Bren Cameron has seen some shit.
I likewise recommend Barkerâs Cabal and Riceâs The Vampire Lestat to the lonely. You might not find Midian for yourself, that refuge of beautiful monsters; it seems as distant as that fabled city of peace, Tanelorn. You might nevertheless, with perseverence, carve out a place for yourself in this savage garden as Lestat has.
To the angry and vengeful I recommend The Count of Monte Cristo and The Revenge of the Rose, along with Musashi. In Dumasâ novel, the Countâs meticulously planned revenge spirals beyond his control, threatening innocents and forcing him to learn to forgive. In Moorcockâs, the titular Rose seeks a revenge that does no further harm, but instead seeks bind the evils she opposed to the service of healing. Yoshikawaâs novel is not necessarily about revenge, or even about anger, but a journey toward self-mastery that requires learning not to yield to the impulse toward violence whenever it arises.
If I ever lose my physical copies, these are the movies I will illegally download because I donât trust streaming services to provide them at a reasonable price when I want to watch them. Yes, these movies are worth going to jail for.
If I were given a playback device that weighed next to nothing and wouldnât need recharging for a century, but could only hold nine albums, these are the ones Iâd load first.
Some of these are old, and some are obscure, and I wish some would get remastered for modern hardware.
For example, Final Fantasy IV blew my mind as a kid in the early 1990s because the story started with a guy committing war crimes, questioning authority, and losing everything because of his conscience. Thatâs strong medicine for a 12-year-old.
In Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, you aren't asked to save the world as is common in most JRPGs. The world is already fucked. The apocalypse happens, turning Tokyo inside out, before you fight your first battle. You can only help determine the fate of the world to come, restore what was lost, or end the cycle. It's your choice.
These are the songs that saved my life and gave me the strength to keep fighting when I figured out that the world wanted people like me dead.
Why did I refuse suicide? The power of Lucifer compelled me.
These hadnât been released when I needed them most, but they still come in handy when Iâm doing deadlifts or if Iâm up against a deadline at my day job or obliged to work miracles on short notice.
I fired some of these up the last time I broke up with a partner and needed to get over them fast so I could get my shit together and get on with my life. These paired well with the bottle of Jack Daniels I stole from my dadâs liquor cabinet.
It was hardly the healthiest or most sensible coping mechanism, but it worked for me in my late teens when I didnât exactly know better. I did pay to replace the bottle once I could legally buy booze. And I would have bought my own if I could have at 18. (So, 18 is old enough to die for capitalism, but not old enough to have a drink first?)
Books
Movies
Albums
Video Games
Fight Songs
More Fight Songs
There are wounds that bleed inside us
There are wounds we never see
They are part of our refinements
That allow a man to be
There are wounds that bleed in silence
With aristocratic grace
There are tears we keep beside them
Never seen upon a face
Breakup Songs
nine đ„ to know me
Little lists of stuff Iâm into. You might like some of these, too.
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