findthatbook | Entries tagged with 1980s

A fancomic where Calvin appeals to his classmates and principal by singing “Bohemian Rhapsody”…abetted by his dad!

I’m familiar with Bill Watterson and Queen, of course; this has been making the rounds of Facebook, Imgur, and Tumblr since autumn 2023, but I’ve been unable to find a version that credits the fanartist who so cleverly fused the two—the lettering alone, including “Bismillah” in the original Arabic and the sudden gigantic red scare text of “BEELZEBUB”, is worthy of Joe Sabino. And the time frame is right: children in Calvin’s generational bracket would know this song as a favorite of their parents.)

(And, should Calvin’s dad actually happen to agree with his son’s grievance about school, you know he’d absolutely pull something like this.)

Current Mood: nerdy
Current Music: Implicit in the subject.

green_wing

I remember reading this book when I was at school (I pretty much lived in the library and the sci-fi section was my idea of heaven <3) so it would have been 1985-ish through to 2000-ish?
But literally the only thing I can remember is the book cover *facepalm*

I’m pretty sure it was a reddish or pinkish colour (but honestly, don’t take that as gospel, I could be mis-remembering it, I was only a teen at the time).

The cover had a huge galaxy like Andromeda or the Milky Way galaxy in the sky of a planet (the pov was from the planet looking at the galaxy in the sky) and it was never truly night because the galaxy was so bright all the time. I remember a character commenting on how it was never fully dark because the galaxy was so bright.

It was either a hardcover, or large library edition paperback. I feel like it was a well known sci-fi author of that time but can’t remember a name.

It looked sort like the style of this book cover…

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60641307-andromeda

…with a full galaxy in the sky of a planet, but it was more like daytime, and more of an 80’s-90’s art style, and the galaxy was larger in the planets sky, also the planet had atmosphere, no spacesuits needed.

If this book cover is familiar to anyone, please help me find it again?

Current Mood: frustrated

greendryad

Wow---it's been a minute. Hi, guys!

A new friend is looking for a book she read as a kid in the 1980s. She was at her grandma's house in California.

-The book was a novel/chapter book with no illustrations or pictures, much too old for her as an elementary-school kid. Ah, the things we read when we're bored out of our minds at relatives' houses.

-It was less than 100 pages long, regular novel-sized book. No oversized stuff here. It appealed to her because it was short.

-It was definitely published before the 1980s and was not set in the future.

-It had a plain cover, also with no pictures. She doesn't remember what color it was.

-It told of the life of a solitary monk in a monastery who lived in Europe, near the ocean. The monk was not a leader of any sort. She was adamant that it had no plot. It was a simple book.

What do you think?

full_metal_ox

(Warning for self-harm and attempted suicide mention.)

I’m recalling an account (nonfiction; I can’t recall whether it was a memoir , a magazine article, or a cookbook) in which the author recounts visiting a genteel (Southern U.S., I seem to recall) older lady who used to fix them carrots and onions braised in orange juice; she ate only fruits and vegetables, believing such foods to be cleaner than grains and animal products. Her dietary choices also had to do with a paranoid-schizophrenic idea that people were trying to poison her; she’d never had children, owing to abdominal damage sustained during a suicide attempt.

This would’ve been in the 70’s or 80’s. Since similar recipes are commonplace, the recipe per se isn’t what I’m looking for; it’s the context that’s creating a nagging itch in the brain.

Current Mood: pensive

meatina

Hello,

I've been trying to find a book I read as a child, that had some snippets of poetry, some stories by different authors, and at least one non-fiction piece. I've tried googling some of the names of the stories, but no joy.

Here's what I know/can remember:

-It would have been published in the UK no later than about 1993 - however it's probably from the 80's.
-It was a paperback with a blue cover, possibly with a church window and a bat on.
-It featured a Shakespeare sonnet in it - "Now is the time of night"
-There was a story/poem by (I think) Joan Aitken called "The Nine O'clock Horses" about horses that spirit away children that stay out late at night.
-There was a story about a boy who did a brass rubbing of a skeletal knight
-One story was about a ghostly goalkeeper
-Possibly the same story had a boy explaining to his little sister about ghosts, she wasn't scared but he was told of by his mum for scaring her - all the sister had said was "poor man that you can see through". He'd explained that you could see through ghosts, a bit like you could see the bones of her fish.
-There was both a story and a non-fiction piece on Herne the Hunter
-The last story was about a very young stonemason who dies carving an angel on a church

michaela1806

Good Morning, I am so happy I found this site, and I hope you guys can help me.

Back in the mid 1980's I went to our local library religiously every Monday, checked out my 10 books and 3 comic books, and sometimes a book on tape.

I read what would now be considered young adult, but I didn't pay attention to genres back then. I was only 15. I also read books for older audiences, but I am pretty sure what I am looking for was in that YA section of our little library.

Among the hundreds of books I read over about three years was a series by what I assume was an American author. The books (at least three, potentially more) were situated on and around a reservation, and dealt with the discrimination and outright criminal activities against the Native Americans who lived there. The story was set in modern times, probably in the 1970's.

The protagonist was a native man, with the last name of King. His wife's name was Queenie King. They had a couple of children (I think), and were raising horses on the reservation.

The antagonists included the local sheriff and a number of other people (white males) from the surrounding towns and villages.

Mr. King was singled out by the protagonist group due to him standing up against injustice. He had returned to the reservation after a prolonged absence, but I don't remember what the cause was.

The most vivid scene I remember is from when he went to "talk" to the Sheriff (I think) and others at a local bar/saloon. He suspected that they would attempt to get him drunk, so that they could provoke him to do something wrong, and then arrest him. Prior to joining them at the table, he went to the bathroom and ate literally a side of bacon, to help him to stay sober.

While I know that the main location was on a reservation, I am not sure of the state this all took place. From what I remember of the location description it could have been in the Dakota's

I read those books several times within a few years, but I don't remember the title (which wouldn't make much of a difference since it was in German).

Current Mood: curious

honigfrosch

Okay, unfortunately I have VERY little information to give on this one, but who knows, maybe someone remembers the same scene from the book that I do?

It's science fiction and YA and I read it as a kid/young teen, so it must be from the early 90s or even earlier. I know the protagonist was a girl and I think she was on some space station or spaceship with her family. There was an alien threat(?) that either took over people's bodies or duplicated them, if I'm not mistaken they had red eyes when compromised and I remember that her father was one of the victims/duplicates and confronts her at some point, which I found super creepy. I don't remember anything else about the plot or cover image and I'm not sure where the book originates from but if I had to choose I'd say either UK or Germany.

I'm happy about any suggestions (if I read summaries on Goodreads or elsewhere it might bring back the memory...) Thank you ♥

jazzfish

I'm looking for a YA SF anthology that I read in (US) elementary school in the late-eighties, though it felt kind of dated even at the time. (Likely published late-seventies or early-eighties.) Of the stories I can remember:

- One was about a post-apocalyptic city, with the not-too-bright protagonist (a mutant) being chased by a group of normal people. The story ended with the protagonist trapped atop a tower with the chasers coming up after him, so he jumped out of a window, and the last lines were "I can fly! I can fly!"

- One was about a kid whose father had invented a sort of time machine: it shows you what your life will be like if you make certain choices. The kid snuck in to try out the machine to see what his life would be like as a football player, and then a couple of other career options. It ended with him getting a talking-to from his father, and then deciding that he wanted to be a scientist.

- This may have been the book that included a story about an alien who goes to an all-you-can-eat buffet and eats all the food they have, teleporting it back to his starving home planet, and in exchange gives the Earth all kinds of scientific knowledge, but leaving the buffet owner broke.

- The last story in the book was about a teenager whose parents had just died in a car crash, and a kid from the middle ages turns up claiming that they're his parents too... they're time-travellers, who go around having kids who will grow up to be world-changing.

Thanks!

beggar_always

Hello! A friend of mine has been looking for a children's book that she would've read in the mid-to-late 1980s. My only guess was Richard Scarry-related but that's not it. Her clues:

There was a book I loved as a toddler. It featured a bunch of pigs illustrated in a comic book style (with panels). They were getting ready for the day. I specifically remember a page where they were all huddled around a mirror brushing their teeth and maybe a page where they were making pancakes. I think it might be British and with little to no words.

Any suggestions?

tinnybo

I’m looking for a short story in the horror/thriller genre from an anthology, and it may or may not have been included in a sci-fi anthology as well. The story has haunted me since my teens, but I can’t seem to find it. It may have been from the 80’s.
The general story is that a woman (I believe) has killed her male lover out of some sort of rage or calculated manner, and is preparing him for consumption in a way that resembles a highbrow cookbook recipe. In fact, the language used in the short story is of such an elevated and pretentious character that it stands out like a sore thumb.
I think the story is narrated, but I could be wrong.
I do remember that at the conclusion of the story, as this man has been dismembered, marinated, cooked, etc. the murderous cook (chef?) has taken a spoon and collected just a drop of liquid from the man’s penis and thus reflects sadly on the whole affair. Not very appetizing if you ask me, but again, the writing is of such an elevated nature that it doesn’t come across as salacious, just horrifying.
Those are my recollections of the story, there may be some differences.
Any help with the title and author would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you.

calzephyr

My husband told me about a book he read when he was a child in the 80s (Canada, English).

It was one of those ratty paperbacks...so well read or well loved in the library. It was probably written in the late 70s.

It was about a genie that was trapped in a tape recorder back in the 60s. A young boy buys or finds the tape recorder and releases the genie. The boy helps the genie discover how life has changed in the last ten or fifteen years.

Despite this very specific description, the best Google can come up with is Kazaam, the Shaq movie where there's a genie trapped in a boombox.

Is hubs misremebering? Mashing up a few different sources? Any guesses?

coco331

Hi everyone,

I've been trying to find a particular book for my husband for a while now but having no actual title, author and a bit of a sketchy description I'm getting nowhere! I would be so grateful if someone could help out, it's become something of a mission for me.

The details I have are as follows; he thinks the title is voyager or voyager something (he isn't 100% sure though!) He read it in the 80's although it could have been written before this for all I know. The vague plot he remembers is that it started as a sort of mystery thriller, a man was missing so the main character travels to somewhere remote (possibly nepal) to find him. When he gets there it turns mystical with the man explaining to him that the earth is intelligent, self governing and adjusts itself accordingly to temperatures rising, changes in atmosphere etc. So humans are a bit like a virus and are controlled in numbers by climate change etc. Something like that anyway, he was very vague and this is the most I managed to get out of him. Anybody have any clue?

iodama

I think I read this short story before 1989 in Asimov's SF Magazine (which started publication in 1971 and I was reading back through old ones in a collection, so it could be any time in the 70s or 80s). It concerned a young adult male protagonist (on Earth, who thinks he's human) who meets an "uncle" who looks a lot like him, from whom he learns that he is not human, but an alien passing among humans, who goes through a maturational process whereby two genetically related individuals fuse into one, and his "uncle" who is looking younger by the day and he are fated to merge into one person.

( Key scene description )

Anybody recognize this story?

mrskoz

Hi there!

What a FANTASTIC community! I've read through a good number of posts here and at the previous domain. I actually recognized a long lost book there, too recently. I am hoping someone will recognize one of these two books I read once upon a time.

The first one I read as a teen in the 80s, so probably from 80s or maybe very late 70s. The story involved a teenage girl who was accepted and went away to a sort of super elite boarding school for artistic prodigy types: art/painting, music, also writing I believe? I think she had been selected over her friend who was perhaps even more gifted and that caused some kind of rift. I seem to remember a student at the school with a violin, possibly also someone who painted? The main girl discovered while she was there that she and her fellow students were being used by spirits who were channeling their own talents through so they could make their own creations live again, so to speak. I believe she saw a fellow student in a trance or unconscious and being "used" by the spirit/ghost to create. I think there was a main adult character in charge of the school - I can't remember, but possibly a headmistress. I've explored the usual titles/authors I could find, but even that search was incomplete...

And, unbelievably, in typing this I have suddenly remembered the strange dystopian second book's title that I've tried to remember for 25 years: House of Stairs.

Thank you for considering!

grimshire

I'm trying to remember the name of this horror book my brother had in the 90's, i can vaguely remember the plot and the cover and nothing else. I specifically remember the cover had a red boarder, with hand drawn art with a blue demon kid with horns in a hoodie holding a kife/dagger behind his back while looking sinister at the reader while sitting on a log or branch and it had another boy i think they were at a campfire, one plot point i remember was the boy fell off a structure and was impaled with a spike or poll sticking from the ground and i remember it saying something about his internal organs falling out, but i also recall the boy had a friend who was a girl. I don't know why i'm thinking font in the title was like goosebumps but this was from what i remember it was way to dark and graphic for that series. Because my brother passed away in the 90's with leukemia i always wanted to read that book but i was too young at the time and wasn't allowed but i remember having a sneak peak at it.

Current Location: UK

booksandhooks

In pure desperation of finding a book I read some years ago I stumbled over this community and I thought I'd give it a try.

For about three years ago I found a book (or really a paperback if my memory is to trust) with three short "books" or "stories". From what I remember, the cover was light blue and I am sure that it was a little old. -Old in the sense of being bought (and written) around 1980, 1990 maybe earlier. The thing that makes this book so hard to find is just because it was three, three different stories, written by different authors, and it's quite possible that it was just one publisher that decided to publish those together and that they dont "exist together".

All these three stories fits into the category for sex or/and erotic reading (I don't remember how far it went).

And I don't seem to remember any thing more about two of the stories more then the fact that they were included. However the third story (not necessarily the order represented in the book) is what gives me hope on maybe finding it.

In this story we meet a young woman who is really good at scuba diving and takes a job on a boat (maybe a smaller boat), and that leads too a hot romance between her and the owner, captain, someone(?). At one time she falls asleep in the stem (the front of the boat) and when he finds her he gets angry and take her to his cabin. She got a horrible sunburn and after he screamed(?) at her and explained what a wasted thing she's done, he tells her to sit (lay?) down on the bed. Then he takes some sort of aloe vera/ cooling creme/ healing creme and begins to lubricate(?) her. I remember the description of the burning feeling she felt and that he wander up along her thigh and then very smooth slided his hand under her shorts. His fingers brushed her skin and he reached the bush between her legs...

--
The question marks -(?)- are little wonders of mine that means that I'm either unsure about the grammar or I just don't remember the part so well.
As for the words in Bold, thoose are certain things that I am completely sure about.

If someone recognize any of this please comment and help me find this book!

Thank You!

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Find That Book

Entries tagged with 1980s

Who made this brilliant Calvin and Hobbes/Bohemian Rhapsody fusion?

Lost Book! Pre-2000 sci-fi book, the cover has a galaxy like Andromeda in the sky of a planet

Solitary Monk In A European Monastery

Orange-juice-braised vegetable recipe prepared by a mentally ill Southern U.S. lady?

Book of spooky tales/articles for children

Solved! A book I read in the 1980's, in German, but probably from a US author

Science fiction YA (90s or earlier) with girl protagonist

YA SF anthology

Comic book-style with pigs

Looking for a horror short story...

This book/story does not Google well

Voyager something?? 1980's mystical novel - updated post

Short story: aliens that merge into one

2 books that continue to hang in my memories

Struggling to remember a horror book my brother had in the 90's

Help me find three lost stories!

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