(Part 2) Best products from r/ifyoulikeblank

Huge magical realism fan here!

• [The City & The City] (http://www.amazon.com/City-Random-House-Readers-Circle/dp/034549752X) by China Mieville - A murder mystery which takes place in two cities which physically occupy the same space but mentally do not. Why you'll like it: Doesn't this sound like the kind of idea Murakami would write about? Mieville's an idea man.
  
  
• [The Gone-Away World] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Gone-Away-World-ebook/dp/B001EL6R9W/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374344399&sr=1-1&keywords=the+gone+away+world) by Nick Harkaway - The story of two best friends who must navigate a world where thoughts can manifest as reality. It's hard to explain more and not to give anything away but some of the major plot points involve ninjas, tupperware, and mimes. Why you'll like it: I recommend this book to everyone, at every opportunity. It's got very clever writing, an interesting plot mixed with some deep philosophical examination and enormously fun. This is the opposite of a boring character.
  
  
• Blindness by Jose Saramago - One by one the world goes blind, except for one woman. Why you'll like it: Murakami has a way of throwing out a few lines that take an idea and form them into a sort of impressionist painting. Saramago's writing is always like that. It's absolutely breathtaking.
  

Ohh I got some goodies for ya, Hermann Hesse is amazing and opened me up to many books.

1. Just buy it right now..seriously. The Book of Mirdad by Mikhail Naimy
   
   
2. Another Classic by Herman Hesse Demian
   
   3)Another with a similar feel as Siddhartha The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
   
   So these top 3 are the "closest" to Siddartha that I've read. You will defintely like the top 3, they are amazing books with such fundamental truths told through a story. All easy to read and similiar in length.
   
   These next 4 are just suggested for anyone that is into these types of books, I would almost guarantee that you will love them! They are just less "story" like. The Autobiography is an amazing read, and is indeed a story but it's non-fiction. The Way of Zen is just a beautiful book, but is not a fiction along with the Bhagavad and The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari (The author actually suggests Siddhartha in it!)
   
   
3. If you liked Siddhartha heavily for it's spiritual aspects and the effect it left on you, this book has changed me deeply (they all have but this book is a little different) The Autobiography of a Yogi by
   Paramahansa Yogananda
   
   5)And his translation of The Bhagavad Gita
   
   6)Good ol' Allan Watts The Way of Zen
   
   
4. Another highly suggested book The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma
   
   Enjoy my friend!

I highly recommend a band from Barcelona called Fang, which I think as a fan of Regina Spektor you will really appreciate. They are a bit obscure and don't have too much online, but I think the following few bits will win you over. Here is a video for their song 'My Black Dress' (which is in English, but will give you a good idea of what their music sounds like). I wish this were on Youtube, but the best I can do for you is a myspace fan page; they have a fantastic cover of the Cure's 'Close To Me'.

You can listen to 30 second clips (and purchase) their standout album Dos Vidas on Amazon. Most of the songs on this album are in Spanish, I believe - I don't think it is in Catalan at all, which could be a possibility I suppose.

Arthur C. Clarke: Childhood's End

GREAT book. Seriously, great. I read it right after finishing the Speaker series.

Clarke has a ton of other good stuff, too.

And if he likes Asimov, he'll probably like Dick too. Find him a cool copy of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.

This collection of Dick stories is free on the Kindle app, and I HIGHLY recommend it.

This one is a hardcover with 4 of Dick's best novels.

And this is probably the coolest non-collectible copy of DADoES that I've seen: Part 1 and Part 2. I really love the artwork.

Rancid but I would start out with ...And Out Come The Wolves and expand from there. That's by far their most popular album. There are some great individual songs on most of their albums but that one is generally considered to be the most solid. I personally view Green Day the same way and Dookie is the only album I would call great though they have great songs scattered throughout their catalog.

Operation Ivy was closely associated with Green Day in the beginning.

I don't listen to a lot of mainstream punk so I can't offer much more but search this sub because punk-related questions get asked often.

Depends on what you're asking about specifically.

The comic book series? Movie?

• Before Watchmen: A lot of people shit on it just because it's not the original 12-issue series. I see a lot of complaining to the extent that it's just 'not as good' but no solid reasoning as to why. I have every issue. I haven't read any of them yet (except about 4-5 pages of the first Moloch, and I liked it). I should get to them at some point so I can offer a solid opinion on them, but as of right now I'd say 'well, it's more of those characters doing things before the events outlined in the main series.'
  
  
• V For Vendetta: Another Alan Moore project, so the writing is similar/familiar. Also became a film, as you may know.
  
  
• From Hell: Another Alan Moore project. Featuring an investigator hunting down Jack The Ripper. Was also a decent film.
  
  
• Sleeper: It's a grown-up approach to superheroes, much like Watchmen.
  
  
• The Dark Knight Returns: Agreed to be a lot like Watchmen in a lot of respects.
  
  Most of this is also included in this article on io9.
  
  Looking at the comments, someone suggests Maus, and, really, that's not a good suggestion in relation to Watchmen. I'd highly recommend reading Maus but not because it has anything to do with Watchmen. It's an illustrated retelling of Art Spiegelman's father's memories of surviving the Holocaust, peppered with Art's problems in dealing with his father. It's a very good series. I even recommended it to my mother. She loved it. You can get both volumes in one book.
  
  EDIT: Here's another article suggesting similar comics.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Way-Zen-Vintage-Spiritual-Classics-ebook/dp/B004J4X76M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397354589&sr=8-1&keywords=the+way+of+zen

thats The Way of Zen on Amazon.uk howd you not find it? lol

anyway yea anything he writes is great, but I really think that is the best one. better yet, look up a youtube video where he is talking, those are pretty great if you've never heard any of them before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz_wiaTe5ug

Some of this may be obvious:

Charlie Chaplin movies - they all still hold up, a lot are on youtube
Laurel and Hardy movies - are on Hoopla - which you get access to through your local library
Bob Hope and Bing Crosby road movies - Hoopla

If he likes Jerry Lewis, they just released a box set of his 10 best for $17: Jerry Lewis 10 Film Collection

These are on Hulu:
I Love Lucy
Father Knows Best
The Andy Griffith Show
The Twilight Zone
The Outer Limits

Netflix has this hilarious take on nature shows called "The Round Planet." They took leftover footage from all those nature and planet earth shows and put legitimate but hilarious narration to it. The guy also gets in arguments with his producer, Tabitha, like Fraiser did with Roz, and since you don't hear Tabitha's side of it, it's like the old Bob Newhart comedy albums. And both Bob Newhart sitcoms are on Hulu.

This site will help you locate where stuff is available:
https://www.justwatch.com/us