(no subject)

[mllelaurel]

I've been doing disturbingly little offline reading in the last year. I could go on listing the various emotional and physical deterrents I could blame this on, but honestly? Who cares, in the long run. Instead, I'm working on rediscovering all the things I've always loved - and still love - about books.

Here's where you all come in. Give me recommendations. Books you thought were great. Books you think I'd enjoy. Books I just plain desperately need to read. Have at!

For the record, these are the books I've read so far in 2007:


1. Smoke and Shadows, by Tanya Huff
2. Smoke and Mirrors, by Tanya Huff
3. Managra, by Stephen Marley
4. Blood Price, by Tanya Huff
5. American Gods (re-read), by Neil Gaiman
6. Kushiel's Dart, by Jacqueline Carey
7. Kushiel's Chosen, by Jacqueline Carey
8. The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense, by Suzette Haden Elgin
9. Kushiel's Avatar, by Jacqueline Carey
10. Kushiel's Scion, by Jacqueline Carey
11. Luck in the Shadows (re-read), by Lynn Flewelling


Currently reading Shards of Honor, by Lois McMaster Bujold. It comes in an omnibus with Barayar, so that's most likely up next.

Comments

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I recommend "The Privilege of the Sword" by Ellen Kushner

The three books by Karin Lowachee: "Warchild", "Burndive" and "Cagebrid".

Three books by Megan Whalen Turner, "The Thief", "The Queen of Attolia" and "The King of Attolia".

I'm tempted to reread "Shards" myself. Love that book.

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

Is Privilege in any way connected to Swordspoint? I remember loving that one.

I'm not that far into Shards, but I'm really liking what I've read so far.

Thank you for all of these!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Is Privilege in any way connected to Swordspoint?

Yes, it's a sequel. The protagonists of Swordspoint reappear.

You're welcome!

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

Sweet! I'm looking forward to it even more now.

[offbeatentrack.livejournal.com]

How much Bujold have you read? She's one of my all time favorites.

1. Sword Dancer series by Jennifer Roberson
2. Heritage of the Cheysuli by Jennifer Roberson
3. Wraeththu by Storm Constantine

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

Just starting on Bujold's books, after many, many recommendations. I plan to read them in order, if I can.

Thank you!

[ryenna.livejournal.com]

I'm just now reading the Wind on Fire trilogy by Nicholson and it's great. Thick, well-build world, interesting characters.

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

I'm assuming Nicholson is the author's last name? What's the first?

[ryenna.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I was commenting in a hurry and couldn't think of the first name. It's William Nicholson. The books have been excellent so far.

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

Gotcha! Thank you!

[wired-lizard.livejournal.com]

The list I was giving you earlier:

Books Every Fic Writer Should Read: Foe (J.M. Coetzee, vague knowledge of Robinson Crusoe mythology helpful), The House on Moon Lake (Francesca Duranti, probably only one translation out there, but I can lend you mine as it comes with the Marguerite Seal of Approval).

Book That Will Blow Your Concept Of Reality, Probably: The Cosmic Serpent (Jeremy Narby).

Messiah Source Material: The Street of Crocodiles (Bruno Schulz, only one translation out there (I think), start with that one and not Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass).

Other Thumping Good Stuff: The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge (Rainer Maria Rilke, again, I have translation with MSoA), Art and Lies (Jeanette Winterson, amazingly sensual prose, thank you, Jack), A Tomb for Boris Davidovich and/or The Encyclopedia of the Dead (Danilo Kis, again with the translation, Ianto would like to point out that they are bloody depressing).

...wow, actually, all of this is pretty heavy in terms of Literatooor quotient, if not always in terms of sheer depressingness.

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

Mmmm, tasty tasty literary goodness~

...No, Lily. You are not going to be able to read any of the foreign-language books in the original. Dammit. What *are* the respective original languages, again?

[wired-lizard.livejournal.com]

House on Moon Lake = Italian
Notebooks = German (I'm fairly sure!)
Schulz = Polish
Kis = primarily Serbo-Croatian, if memory serves, though it's possible different books are in different languages, as he had mad Yugoslavian polyglot skillz.

So nothing Russian. XP

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

No Russian. Or Spanish, or Japanese. Or Ukrainian, for that matter, which I knew once and would be just insane to attempt again. See the "Lily is crazy" point.

[yoritomo-reiko.livejournal.com]

I would suggest the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Awesome books.

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[nevacaruso.livejournal.com]

Oh, you shouldn’t have asked for book recommendations from me. :) I think that I’ve probably babbled to you about some if not all of these at least once. :) Lots of contemporary fantasy, mostly pure fun-reading. Yes, even the first items on the list.

Sarah Vowell’s two essay collections, Take the Cannoli and The Partly Cloudy Patriot, take on American history, politics, and pop culture, mixed with hilarious family anecdotes. Her other book, Assassination Vacation, recounts the Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley assassinations through little-known details and snark. She’s a terrific, funny, sarcastic writer, the voice of Violet from The Incredibles, and a good friend of Douglas Petrie (she talks at length about Buffy in “The Nerd Voice,” my favorite essay from Partly Cloudy).

Waking the Moon and Black Light by Elizabeth Hand. Ancient gods on a modern-day college campus! (Although really only the main action of the first book takes place there, there are some recurring characters and settings.)

Tam Lin by Pamela Dean. Fairies and (literally) Shakespearean actors on a modern-day college campus! Which will remind you of Bennington even though it’s set in Minnesota.

Nightlife and its sequel, Moonshine, by Rob Thurman. Brothers fighting preternatural baddies on the streets of New York. If you like Supernatural and (to a lesser extent, though it applies) FMA, you should give these a shot.

Head Games by Mariah Fredericks was one of my favorite discoveries in the YA genre last year. It’s about teenaged LARPers. I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether the author managed to skirt the stereotypes, but it’s definitely worth a look.

Bimbos of the Death Sun and Zombies of the Gene Pool by Sharyn McCrumb. Murder mysteries about science-fiction fans. No, seriously. Surprisingly affectionate send-up of fandom, too.

A Fistful of Sky by Nina Kiriki Hoffman. Family of witches, young woman with unusual power, etc. Except it’s funny and quirky and packs some powerful emotional punches, and the characterization of the family is superb.

Silk by Caitlin R. Kiernan. Fallen angels, rock musicians, punks and witches. Absolutely gorgeous prose. Has Neil Gaiman's seal of approval, and will remind you of him in some places. If you end up liking it, there's also a sequel, Murder of Angels.

Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones. Also uses the Tam Lin story, and is in general about storytelling and collaborative writing, with some adorable and charming characters including a terrific heroine.

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

Oooh, nice! Thanks!

[annotated_em]

War for the Oaks, Emma Bull

The Sharing Knife, Bujold - two volumes, second one is out this summer. Legacy and Beguilement. Very good, and not Vorkosiverse

Hell, just read anything with Bujold's name on it. You can't go wrong with her.

Earth, David Brin

Spin, Robert Charles Wilson

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

Hell, just read anything with Bujold's name on it. You can't go wrong with her.

I'm noticing a definite pattern. *g*

Thank you!