Book Meme!

[bloodyrosemccoy]

I'm also bored.  So, from jill_calico:

Recommend five books for me to read. It does not matter what genre or reading level; I could honestly stand to broaden my horizons. I will make an honest and reasonable effort to read everything on your list, unless I have already read it. I hope you would do the same for my list, but there won't be a test, so I can't make you. XD Try not to fall into the habit of reccing those books EVERYONE reads (Harry Potter, His Dark Materials, etc.)

 

This probably means you will have to make a trip to the library. If your library does not have a book, you may have to actually speak to a librarian. You will be surprised at what these people will do for you. They may direct you to another library in your area, or have the book shipped in from another library in the state, or they may actually purchase the book for their collection. I know, it's crazy! This may be a good time to get a library card, if you do not already have one. Books! FOR FREE. I don't know how else to convince you!

 

Here, I’ll go first.

 

1. The Belgariad, by David Eddings. This is actually a massive five-book fantasy epic that is followed by another even more massive five-book fantasy epic, The Mallorean, and two epilogue books, Belgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara the Sorceress. It’s a bit intimidating, but once you get into the series (which takes about a book) you start to realize this is a damn fine romp through the world of fantasy, with characters who know they are archetypes and just have to put up with it. The plot is secondary to the characters and the hilarious dialogue. And I promise that if you do not fangirl Silk very soon after you meet him, something is wrong with you. This series also wins for Best Author Insert Ever, in the form of David Eddings playing The Purpose Of The Universe.

 

2. Tales from Jabba’s Palace, edited by Kevin J. Anderson. Back before the Star Wars EU jumped the shark, a few anthologies were published that treated the universe the way I wanted it treated—these stories are pure sandbox play. Each of a number of science fiction authors takes one of the the many supporting characters you see throughout Jabba’s palace (in the theatrical version of RotJ) and gives you their life and narrative. It’s a wonderful way to enjoy the Star Wars universe. And my other favorite, Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina, is the same.

 

3. Our Mutual Friend, by Charles Dickens. Yeah, I’m all up in the fancy literary shit now, bitch. But damn, this giant tome has everything—it may be Literature, but it’s a rollicking tale. Hypocritical rich people! Creepy stalkers! Mysterious fortunes and mistaken identities! Hilarious names! Murder! It even manages one really awesome female character (amongst some obnoxious cardboard cutout ones): Jenny Wren, the Dolls’ Dressmaker. If you don’t fall in love with her, you’re made of stone. STONE.

 

4. The Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce. I haven’t read her most famous series, sadly, but the world in this one is wonderfully built.  I must admire her craft there. Even her system of magic is consistent. Also, the characters are some of the best I’ve come across in any fantasy.  It’s a tale of four orphan children who wind up fostered in a temple, where they learn to use their unusual styles of magic.  The magic manifests itself through craftsmanship, which lends a really interesting sense of realism to it as they go about becoming artisans, and since they all come from very different backgrounds you get a full sense of their world.  Pierce’s writing also starts to fill the gaping holes in other fantasy worlds: racial diversity, complex gender politics, sexuality (in a later series as the kids grow up), and class issues all get a much better treatment than your typical Dragonlancey fantasy shit.

 

… Now I need to read her other stuff.

 

5. A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett.  This book is … this book is the greatest fairy tale I have ever read.  It’s not a heavy read by any means, but it is warm and lovely and the prose is beautifully done.  Some may think it’s saccharine, and I don’t deny there are a few things in there that upset modern sensibilities, but by damn you cannot convince me this isn’t one of the best books ever.  Oh, and for the full effect make sure you get the version with the full-color Tasha Tudor illustrations.*

 

(The runners-up: Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi, A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer, All I See Is Part Of Me by Chara M. Curtis (picture book), and Letters from the Earth by Mark Twain.  Just read ’em. You’ll thank me later.)

 

 

*And also make sure that for god’s sake you do not watch the movie they made in the ’90s, because it fails miserably.  It is the second-worst movie adaptation of a children’s book ever made, after Ella Enchanted.**

 

**And that book only fails to be on the list because everyone’s read it. 

Comments

[westrider.livejournal.com]

Maybe a bit late, but if you've got notifications on, you'll get these. In no particular order:

Magician: Apprentice, by Raymond Feist. Feist is currently one of my favorite fantasy authors. His books take a little while to get into, but if you make it a quarter of the way through this, I can pretty much guarantee that you're going to want to keep reading through A Darkness at Sethanon. Feist is pretty good at keeping his different story arcs from being too dependent on the ones before, but each series pretty much does need to be read as one unit.

The Deed of Paksennarion, by Elizabeth Moon. I was never able to get much into Moon's other stuff, but I love this one. The tale of a sheepfarmer's daughter who goes off to become a mercenary, and ends up ascending far beyond anything she'd dreamed of. Some very nicely handled religious and sexuality stuff. The title I gave is for the collected edition, because I can't remember the titles of the individual volumes. Some poking around should turn it up, though.

Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson. He's gotten a lot more press for The Baroque Cycle and its prequel Cryptonomicon, but most people who have read his stuff agree that this is where he peaked. Absolutely great near-future cyberpunk, starring a Mafia Pizza Delivery Man with a pair of Samurai swords.

Lois McMaster Bujold. I can't just stick to one book here. Possibly my favorite author at the moment, skellington1 got me hooked on her stuff. She's got three main universes that she writes in. A Civil Campaign is a pretty good place to start with her SF stuff, although it's pretty late in the series chronology and does contain some spoilers for earlier books. Shards of Honor is chronologically first. The Curse of Chalion is a good start for one of her fantasy series, and Beguilement is the best starting point for The Sharing Knife series. She does a pretty good job of making them readable in any order, though.

Let's round this out with a classic one. The Count of Monte Criste, by Alexandre Dumas. Don't get scared by how hefty this book is, it's a real page turner. I finished it in about 5 days. One of the classic stories of betrayal and revenge, set in the years after Napoleon.