Author Topic: DO READ THIS!  (Read 432 times)

Offline thebushiestbeaver

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Re: DO READ THIS!
« Reply #15 on: June 05, 2018, 01:25:44 am »
I've read everything by David Sedaris. I've never laughed so hard while reading as I have with his books. I also highly recommend listening to him read his own stories - he's incredible.

Bill Bryson is also one of my favourite non-fiction authors.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman is gorgeous. Anything by Neil Gaiman is great, actually. If you're into graphic novels, his Sandman series is wonderful.

Have you read American Gods? It's pretty mindblowing. Our son is partly named for one of the characters  :)

David Sedaris hysterical. And I have a very distinct memory of sitting in a train station red-faced and shaking from trying not to laugh uproariously while reading Notes From a Small Island.

It took me a really long time to finally read anything by Neil Gaiman, but now I can't stop.

Offline MariaE

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Re: DO READ THIS!
« Reply #16 on: June 05, 2018, 02:12:25 am »
Re: Neil Gaiman. I've tried two of his books and have been less than impressed (American Gods and Stardust - liked the latter better than the former), but I hear so many good things about his books that I keep thinking I must be missing something. Is it worth it for me to keep trying, or are those two a pretty good representation of how he writes? Neverwhere and The Ocean... have both been recommended quite highly to me... and sound fairly different.

Offline whiterose

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Re: DO READ THIS!
« Reply #17 on: June 06, 2018, 05:21:22 pm »
I admit I have mixed feelings about Neil Gaiman and am not his biggest fan.

Stardust- the movie is better than the book thanks to Captain Shakespeare.

Coraline- all right I guess.

The Problem of Susan- could have been much better.

Graveyard Book- did nothing for me.

Probably my favorite of his was Blueberry Girl.
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Offline GloryAndCrumpets

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Re: DO READ THIS!
« Reply #18 on: June 06, 2018, 09:31:26 pm »
I've read everything by David Sedaris. I've never laughed so hard while reading as I have with his books. I also highly recommend listening to him read his own stories - he's incredible.

Bill Bryson is also one of my favourite non-fiction authors.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman is gorgeous. Anything by Neil Gaiman is great, actually. If you're into graphic novels, his Sandman series is wonderful.

Have you read American Gods? It's pretty mindblowing. Our son is partly named for one of the characters  :)



Not yet, but it's on my list! I just finished The Graveyard Book, which basically tore my heart out and shredded it, but, you know, it's all good.

Offline Queen of the Night

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Re: DO READ THIS!
« Reply #19 on: June 07, 2018, 12:16:23 am »
Re: Neil Gaiman. I've tried two of his books and have been less than impressed (American Gods and Stardust - liked the latter better than the former), but I hear so many good things about his books that I keep thinking I must be missing something. Is it worth it for me to keep trying, or are those two a pretty good representation of how he writes? Neverwhere and The Ocean... have both been recommended quite highly to me... and sound fairly different.

You Are Not Alone.  :)

I really can't stand Neil Gaiman's work.  I've tried and tried, and I just can't get caught up.  It feels like slogging through homework for a class I didn't want to take.

I really wanted to like American Gods.  I love Tom Holt's riffs on the Norse gods in modern times.  I loved Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently books, which do basically the same idea.  But...  ugh.  Just ugh.  It was like someone giving me a glass of used motor oil and insisting it was wine.

Do we have an Unpopular Opinions thread yet?  Cause if not, I think I may have just started it...  :D
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Offline corgiqueen

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Re: DO READ THIS!
« Reply #20 on: June 07, 2018, 08:15:07 am »
Re: Neil Gaiman. I've tried two of his books and have been less than impressed (American Gods and Stardust - liked the latter better than the former), but I hear so many good things about his books that I keep thinking I must be missing something. Is it worth it for me to keep trying, or are those two a pretty good representation of how he writes? Neverwhere and The Ocean... have both been recommended quite highly to me... and sound fairly different.

You Are Not Alone.  :)

I really can't stand Neil Gaiman's work.  I've tried and tried, and I just can't get caught up.  It feels like slogging through homework for a class I didn't want to take.

I really wanted to like American Gods.  I love Tom Holt's riffs on the Norse gods in modern times.  I loved Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently books, which do basically the same idea.  But...  ugh.  Just ugh.  It was like someone giving me a glass of used motor oil and insisting it was wine.

Do we have an Unpopular Opinions thread yet?  Cause if not, I think I may have just started it...  :D

You can count me in too. I don't even remember which one I started but i just couldn't get into it.

Offline Random Heroine

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Re: DO READ THIS!
« Reply #21 on: June 07, 2018, 09:22:35 am »
A huge love of mine is for fairy tales and fairy tale re-tellings.

"Alice" and it's sequel "Red Queen" by Christina Henry were amazing.  Super dark retelling of Alice in Wonderland. I loved the writing style and the direction she took the story.

If it's okay (mods please let me know if I need to edit this to remove), I'll recommend my own book "The Ice Maiden's Tale".  It's kind of my love letter to the genre. If you like "The Princess Bride", you'll most likely enjoy it.  It's an original fairy tale accessible to a wide age range of readers, which can be hard to find in the market.

If you have any favorite fairy tale related books and are on Goodreads, I've got a list going.  Feel free to add to it: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/113126.Fairy_Tales_for_Everyone_
(I'm also happy to get friend requests on Goodreads!).
"Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain, of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day." - Charles Dickens
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Offline MariaE

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Re: DO READ THIS!
« Reply #22 on: June 07, 2018, 04:48:33 pm »
Random Heroine, have you read “Enchantment” by Orson Scott Card? I think that's currently my favourite fairy tale re-telling.

Will check out your book, thanks  :)
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Offline whiterose

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Re: DO READ THIS!
« Reply #23 on: June 07, 2018, 05:08:38 pm »
If you like Fairy Tale retellings, I highly recommend the Once Upon A Time series by Simon and Schuster.
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Offline Random Heroine

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Re: DO READ THIS!
« Reply #24 on: June 08, 2018, 09:37:39 am »
Random Heroine, have you read “Enchantment” by Orson Scott Card? I think that's currently my favourite fairy tale re-telling.

Will check out your book, thanks  :)

Thanks!

I've read some Orson Scott Card, but not Enchantment.  I will add it to the list!
"Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain, of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day." - Charles Dickens

Offline Random Heroine

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Re: DO READ THIS!
« Reply #25 on: June 08, 2018, 09:38:26 am »
If you like Fairy Tale retellings, I highly recommend the Once Upon A Time series by Simon and Schuster.
Is that the book series that goes along with the TV show?
"Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain, of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day." - Charles Dickens

Offline Kiwi Cupcake

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Re: DO READ THIS!
« Reply #26 on: June 08, 2018, 09:44:13 am »
Many years ago, Tanith Lee's short story collection titled Red as Blood was what got me started on fairytale retellings. I never imagined such a thing before but that book got me hooked and it continues to this day.

eta: One of my favorite films is The Company of Wolves which is based on a short story by Angela Carter, who is another queen of fairytale retellings.
« Last Edit: June 08, 2018, 09:48:55 am by Kiwi Cupcake »
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Offline Athersgeo

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Re: DO READ THIS!
« Reply #27 on: June 08, 2018, 11:15:19 am »
And another rec for you: Jim C Hines' Step Sister Scheme (and its sequels) - they're sort of less re-tellings and more "what happened next", but good fun and feature a lot of very smart women. Warning: the books lean on the original non-disneyfied/sanitised versions of the fairytales, which makes at least one character's backstory (Sleeping Beauty) utterly horrifying.
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Offline Random Heroine

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Re: DO READ THIS!
« Reply #28 on: June 08, 2018, 12:13:10 pm »
Many years ago, Tanith Lee's short story collection titled Red as Blood was what got me started on fairytale retellings. I never imagined such a thing before but that book got me hooked and it continues to this day.

eta: One of my favorite films is The Company of Wolves which is based on a short story by Angela Carter, who is another queen of fairytale retellings.

I love it when you get a fairy tale where you get both what you expect and still are completely surprised.  I think that's what hooks me on re-tellings.
"Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain, of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day." - Charles Dickens

Offline Random Heroine

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Re: DO READ THIS!
« Reply #29 on: June 08, 2018, 12:17:28 pm »
And another rec for you: Jim C Hines' Step Sister Scheme (and its sequels) - they're sort of less re-tellings and more "what happened next", but good fun and feature a lot of very smart women. Warning: the books lean on the original non-disneyfied/sanitised versions of the fairytales, which makes at least one character's backstory (Sleeping Beauty) utterly horrifying.

I did my grad thesis on fairy tales so I know all the dark origins, and as kid I read the original ones that included fun things like cannibalism and dismemberment.  It's so incredibly interesting to me to see the different versions of the same story across different time periods and different cultures.  The Sleeping Beauty story is rough, I believe the Italian version is particularly horrifying.  I adored the Disney film as a kid because of the music and the villain.  I still think Maleficent is the most badass of the bunch.
"Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain, of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day." - Charles Dickens