Best Of MetaFilter

Laugh-Out-Loud Cats #1747 by Ape Lad (cc by-nc-nd)

lately in MetaTalk:

Why, the site is a glorious peacock!: Announcing More Color for the Classic Theme

Mefi Podcast 114 is out: "I Say It's Spinach, And To Hell With It"

Discussing Books in Fanfare: Let's talk about books, baby

How YOU doin'?: What's new, MeFites? Have a life update you'd like to share?

17th Century commonplace book via themillions.com

Before Jezebel, The Toast, and Twitter there were wise and witty women handily perpetrating "epic feminist takedowns of the ages," as illustrated in yarntheory's interesting post about Mary Collier and her 18th century poem, "The Woman's Labour"

... and before Pinterest and Evernote and Tumblr, "there was the humble commonplace book, a space for gathering and reflecting on ideas, quotations, observations, lines from poems, and other information." MonkeyToes gives us a loving magpie's roundup of this "venerable tradition of idea curation."

Bunny of Despair.jpg by moonbird (cc by-nc-nd)

I am looking for novels in which the protagonist has been rejected by society, hates society and all it's people generally or just feels very disconnected from everything ... I like sadness, despair, bleakness, isolation and melancholy. I don't care what the story is about and I don't care how it ends...

ihaveyourfoot seeks fictional novels to help me dive head first into the abyss

Laugh by Donna L. Faber (cc by-nd)

Movies, tv shows, YouTube, books .... looking for the BIG LAUGH. Not ironic, not sarcastic. Immediately, viscerally funny.

For kestralwing and Mr. K, the best Rx needed, stat: Laughter may be the best medicine, but where can I buy some?

halloween cat by silversolo (cc by)

Hallo, weenies! Mefi posters are celebrating spooky season with a hoard of horrorfying and macabre media. Hope you survive enjoy!

Best Books To Read For Halloween (we love the member recommendations in comments, too)

The 25 best horror movies since 2000 (Mefites might have a few Opinions)

13 Old Time Radio dramas to scare the pants off you

1970s BBC Radio's The Price of Fear with Vincent Price

Grainy, Spooky, Streaming VHS rips of classic 80s horror movies

Triggerfinger's big collection of Horror and Chill

Dragon Scream by Brandon James Scott (cc by-nc-nd)

Want to hear Mefites hiss and spit over sins of omission (and inclusion!) in another "best books" thread, and pick up some great member reading recommendations along the way? Check out the thread on The 51 Best Fantasy Series Ever Written. (tip of the wizard hat to y2karl for the title)

In other news, Space Journey Walrus makes an entrance in a thread about some Very Serious Developments Indeed in the aftermath of "this year's kerpupple surrounding the Hugo awards," soon acquiring form (and fashion) and narrative arc. What strange new realms await our hero?

A Storm of Swords by flossyflotsam (cc by)

What books hold up so well to re-reading that it makes you suspect they were engineered that way? Are there examples of books that seem to be MUCH better on second reading? What kind of things did the author do to achieve that?

kk asks, What books seem to have been written to be re-read?

sol ring by fuzzysaurus (cc by)

In a discussion of the current Hugo Award nominees, Monsieur Caution offers up a great, linkified alternative slate of personal favorites, plus points out a couple of posts on 2014 SFF that fans might want to peruse.

Books by shutterhacks (cc by)

Every few months there is an amazing book thread on Ask MetaFilter. This time it's books about History that are also fun to read. I agree with a few recommendations listed, especially Bill Bryson and Sarah Vowell's many books.