Books!

[icepixie]

Quick, someone rec me a book or three. My biweekly library trip is tomorrow and I'm fresh out of ideas for things to read.

Please?

(Although I suppose I could just read fic, watch TV, and force myself to write over the next two weeks if I'm bookless...or I could delve further into my shelf of Classics I've Totally Been Meaning To Read For A While Now But Never Will Until Just This Sort of Situation...)

ETA: Most of you know my tastes, but for those of you who don't, I'll read practically anything except a straight romance. I have particular penchants for sci-fi, fantasy, quirky literary/mainstream fiction, humor of any stripe, travel writing, and historical novels or nonfiction, but really, anything goes.

Comments

[asinpterodactyl.livejournal.com]

I would be DELIGHTED to recommend some books for you. I love getting asked this question.

First of all, I've recently discovered Christopher Moore -- apparently I'm the last person in the Milky Way to do so -- and now I'm going around recommending him to everyone. Moore writes real-world comedies with supernatural elements. He's sort of like a cross between Carl Hiaasen and Douglas Adams. I especially liked "The Stupidest Angel"; rather than try to describe it, I'll just direct you to this comic (http://www.unshelved.com/archive.aspx?strip=20060604), courtesy of the Unshelved book club (http://www.unshelved.com/bookclub.aspx).


Second, some old standbys, most of which I bet you've already read:

- The Discworld series, by Terry Pratchett (start with "Going Postal" or "The Truth", or possibly "Thief of Time").

- The Princess Bride, by William Goldman. Everyone should own a copy of this book.

- The Fables series of graphic novels, by Bill Willingham. An ongoing series about characters from fairy tales (such as Cinderella, Snow White, the Big Bad Wolf, Old King Cole, etc.) all living in an apartment building in New York City. Fantastic, in both senses of the word.

- Anything by Diana Wynne Jones, Patricia C. Wrede, Tamora Peirce, or Vivian Vande Velde, the four ruling doyennes of teen fantasy. I especially liked "Dealing With Dragons", but honestly, it's all good.

- Anything by Bill Bryson, the best travel writer I've ever read. "In A Sunburned Country" is good. So is "Notes From A Small Island". "The Mother Tongue" is not about travel, but about the English language, and it's superb (though unfortunately there are a bunch of factual errors in it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mother_Tongue_%28book%29), which you have to watch out for).

[rowdycamels.livejournal.com]

I second the Moore! A Dirty Job is *excellent*, in a surreal way. I nearly ruptured something laughing. I only just discovered him a few months ago, but I'm on the lookout for the rest of his stuff.

And on the YA front, have you tried John Green? I haven't read him yet, but his vlog (http://brotherhood2.com) is great. (And he's a recent Kenyon alum, so you should read him anyway...)

Oh, and I'm currently reading some Robert A. Heinlein. He's old skool sci-fi, focusing on the psychological and sociological effects of futuristic technology much more than the technology itself. I'm in the middle of Expanded Universe, a whopping big collection of short stories. He follows the classic sci-fi tradition of having not just an active imagination, but actual writing skills as well, plus a sardonic sense of humor.

Have fun!

[icepixie]

Will look for the Moore, yes.

Hmmm, Heinlein. I should get some stuff by him, since I've run out of steam on the Bradbury front.

(P.S. Answer my eeeeeeee-maaaaaaaail...or at least tell me whether the DVDs got there, yes?)

[rowdycamels.livejournal.com]

(P.S. Answer my eeeeeeee-maaaaaaaail...or at least tell me whether the DVDs got there, yes?)

Arg, checking email is so laborious on dialup. I'm in the process right now. But the DVDs did get here, and I was greatly confused and betrayed by the fact that David Marciano is all over the cover, and not a hint of CKR. Alas. Haven't had time to watch them yet, though. Thanks for the crack!

[icepixie]

Awww, dialup. But yay for DVDs getting there!

I was greatly confused and betrayed by the fact that David Marciano is all over the cover, and not a hint of CKR.

Yeah. There's a reason these DVD sets can be had for under fifteen bucks. "Cheap" is an understatement. They used the same packaging for all three sets.

[icepixie]

I've never heard of Christopher Moore, but Zombie Santa sounds excellent.

Big fan of Bill Bryson here. Sadly, I've read everything he's written so far. :( Pratchett I am lukewarm on. Sometimes I like what I read, sometimes I don't. But I own ten Discworld books, so surely that says something.

I cannot stand the movie version of TPB. Is the book substantially different? I might give a go if it is.

I basically bypassed the entire young adult genre when I was a preteen and went straight to general fiction. (I think my library at the time was actively trying to keep teens out, so they didn't have much in that way--mostly Christopher Pike and Sweet Valley High, ugh.) I did run into Wrede later, though, which was good, as I like her stuff. What's good by Wynne Jones? I haven't been able to get into anything I've tried to read by her. I've never heard of Velde.

Tamora Pierce has so much out there that I wouldn't know where to begin. Suggestions?

[asinpterodactyl.livejournal.com]

I am totally flabbergasted to discover someone who didn't like the movie version of Princess Bride. Wow. Well, I suppose I applaud your independence of thought. The book is pretty much the same as the movie -- perhaps slightly better quality, but very much the same story. If you didn't like the movie, you probably won't like the book.

As for the teen fantasy books:

- I'm glad you've read Wrede. I don't know what of hers you've read, but I HOPE that it includes both Dealing With Dragons (and sequels), and Sorcery And Cecelia (and sequel). In fact, now that I think of it, you would be the perfect audience for Sorcery And Cecelia. Yes. Read it.

- Diana Wynne Jones was my favorite author for a very long time, taking that title from Roald Dahl when I was about twelve or so, and only losing it (to Terry Pratchett) round about the time I entered college. She's brilliant. I wish that the world were crazy about her rather than J. K. Rowling.

The best Jones books, in no particular order: Dark Lord of Derkholm, The Lives of Christopher Chant (and sequels), Howl's Moving Castle (and sequel), Deep Secret, Eight Days of Luke, Archer's Goon, and A Tale of Time City.

- Tamora Pierce just keeps cranking 'em out. I think her books have become a bit formulaic now, but the early ones are gems. Most people would point you toward the Alanna books, but I'm convinced that her best work is the Immortals Quartet, which I used to read over and over and over again. (In order, the Immortals books are Wild Magic, Wolf-Speaker, Emperor Mage, and The Realms Of The Gods.)

- Vivian Vande Velde isn't quite as stellar as the other three, but she lives in Rochester, and sets many of her books there, so I've a soft spot for her. Her best books, I think, are her two novels about virtual reality gaming: User Unfriendly and Heir Apparent. Oh, and if you're fortunate enough to find a copy of The Rumpelstiltskin Problem, thank your lucky stars and read it immediately.

[amaresu]

People think I'm crazy because the Immortals books are my favorites. They were also the first I picked up so that could have some bearing. Although I adore the Circle of Magic books (and the sequels).

[icepixie]

I am totally flabbergasted to discover someone who didn't like the movie version of Princess Bride.

Really? I thought everyone knew this about me. Where others find it satiric, I find it insipid and faintly stupid.

Of Wrede, I've read the Mairelon books, the second of which I loved greatly (first wasn't bad either, but was obviously much more for kids), and Snow White and Rose Red (a retelling of the fairy tale in an Elizabethan setting, with elements of Tam Lin thrown in). I tried the Sorcery and Cecilia books, and while they sound like they should be just my sort of thing...they weren't. I'm not really sure why.

I owned Deep Secret for a while, and read about a quarter of it, but it wasn't terribly interesting, and I eventually sold it to the used bookstore. I did enjoy Miyazaki's version of Howl's Moving Castle, though, so I'll look into the book.

My library does in fact have The Rumpelstiltskin Problem. :)