Polite Paradise
Off Topic => Books => Topic started by: corgiqueen on June 01, 2018, 03:15:55 pm
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So what books would you recommend? Since we've covered the ones that suck, how about the ones that rock?
I actually prefer non-fiction now, to fiction. I go through phases too, both with fiction and non-fiction and will read only certain genres, authors, themes, etc.
my main issue is, i have so little TIME to read.
But here goes.
One of my all time favorites: One Hundred Years of Solitude. I had to read it in school and in Spanish too, either HS or college, i can't recall which. I love it.
The Emperor of All Maladies: A History of Cancer. NOT light reading and I've read it twice, and still didn't get it all, but it really is fascinating. The author also wrote another
on Genes, which I started but haven't yet finished.
I love mysteries, and when I read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I got into Scandinavian crime etc. I have tons! Cant think of any off the top of my head though.
I also loved a series about an Indian detective: Vish Puri by Tarquin Hall. And Donna Leone’s books about Commissaro Guido Brunetti
I must have several hundred books ON my Kindle and no time to get to them!
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I will just do one novel and one non-fiction, not necessarily my favorites, but just because I happened to be discussing them this weekend, and everyone I know who has read them has thought they were absolutely wonderful.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon (fiction). Completely original and brilliant.
Sapiens: a Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. This will change you. And the writing is beautiful.
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Anything by Lois McMasters Bujold - fantasy or science fiction.
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Anything by Fredrik Backman, but especially A Man Called Ove and My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry. He's wonderful, and I adore everything he's ever written, but those two are probably my favorites. His books are funny and warm and poignant and basically just perfection.
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Anything by Fredrik Backman, but especially A Man Called Ove and My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry. He's wonderful, and I adore everything he's ever written, but those two are probably my favorites. His books are funny and warm and poignant and basically just perfection.
;D I only liked A Man Called Ove and DNF My Grandmother... - the imaginary world (forget the name) bored me to tears and I just couldn't finish it. On the other hand I loved, loved, loved Britt-Marie Was Here! I laughed, I cried, I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting. SO good.
High on my DO read this list: A Modern Witch by Debora Geary. This hidden gem is almost unknown and only available as an ebook these days, but it is so, so, so good. (As is the rest of the series). AMW is the only book I've read three times in one year since I outgrew picture books. ...And now I wanna reread it again!
For Christians I highly recommend The Yada-Yada Prayer Group by Neta Jackson. That series has done more for my faith than any other book ever! Fiction and non-fiction both.
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My husband and I own three Ikea bookcases, each with 6 shelves. We have had to start double stacking books because we just have so many.
My favourites are as follows:
The Kite Runner by Khaleed Hosseini
The Lovely Bones by Alice Seebold
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson
The Little Prince by Antoine de St.Auxprey
Shadowfires by Dean Koontz
Superstitious by R,L.Stine
The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis
Weaveworld by Clive Barker (this one introduced me to fantasy)
Of Time and Of Seasons by Norma Johnston
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe
Trinity by Leon Uris
And quite a few more, but the list is already long enough.
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My husband and I own three Ikea bookcases, each with 6 shelves. We have had to start double stacking books because we just have so many.
My favourites are as follows:
The Kite Runner by Khaleed Hosseini
The Lovely Bones by Alice Seebold
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson
The Little Prince by Antoine de St.Auxprey
Shadowfires by Dean Koontz
Superstitious by R,L.Stine
The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis
Weaveworld by Clive Barker (this one introduced me to fantasy)
Of Time and Of Seasons by Norma Johnston
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe
Trinity by Leon Uris
And quite a few more, but the list is already long enough.
Oh my gosh, I love The Monk. I read it in my Romantic Literature class in college and it was such ridiculous fun. It's so completely over-the-top and cheesy and it's like playing Gothic Novel Bingo with all the overblown tropes. It also contains possibly one of my favorite lines of all time- "He tore off those garments that impeded the gratification of his lust." I about died. I actually included Ambrose in an article I wrote on the strangest and most gruesome deaths in literature.
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The Lusty Argonian Maid
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The Lusty Argonian Maid
Oh yeah, isn't that the sequel to the Eye of Argon? :D ;D
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I always like to recommend The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Her other books are also very good. (The Goldfinch won a Pulitzer)
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The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. A persnickity bookstore owner whose life is in shambles finds an abandoned baby in his shop. One of the most charming books I've ever read, just completely lovely in so many ways.
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Anything by Fredrik Backman, but especially A Man Called Ove and My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry. He's wonderful, and I adore everything he's ever written, but those two are probably my favorites. His books are funny and warm and poignant and basically just perfection.
;D I only liked A Man Called Ove and DNF My Grandmother... - the imaginary world (forget the name) bored me to tears and I just couldn't finish it. On the other hand I loved, loved, loved Britt-Marie Was Here! I laughed, I cried, I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting. SO good.
High on my DO read this list: A Modern Witch by Debora Geary. This hidden gem is almost unknown and only available as an ebook these days, but it is so, so, so good. (As is the rest of the series). AMW is the only book I've read three times in one year since I outgrew picture books. ...And now I wanna reread it again!
Amazon doesn't have it any more - oh, no! What to do? Must go search other digital bookstores...dang, Amazon, B&N, and Kobo don't have it...I don't have an account anywhere else! (((mournful noises)))
Must check interlibrary loans out...
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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.
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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.
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.
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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.
"Willage."
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.
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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.
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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.
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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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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.
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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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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.
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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!).
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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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If you like Fairy Tale retellings, I highly recommend the Once Upon A Time series by Simon and Schuster.
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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!
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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?
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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.
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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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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.
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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.
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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?
Not related at all.
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I thought of another great one I read maybe a year ago. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. I could not put it down!
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Was reminded of this one this morning- I posted about it in another thread, but thought I would add it here, too. The Panic Virus, by Seth Mnookin. It's a well-researched, highly readable book about the history of both vaccines and the anti-vaccine movement. It does a really good job of looking at the science behind vaccines and examining their safety and efficacy, as well as exposing all the pseudo-science, lies, and fearmongering that underlie the anti-vax movement. It's fascinating (if a bit rage-inducing) and definitely worth reading, especially if you have any anti-vaxxers in your life.