| Pop Culture The books, movies, television shows and music of our generation. - Whatever that generation may be. Movie, music, book, and television trivia and commentary and much more. |
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08-02-2007, 10:18 PM
|  | Hot and Juicy | | Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: off campus
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It's so rare lately that I read a book that I just LOVE, so, I'm creating this bookshelf thread so we can all recommend books that we think are really great! |
08-02-2007, 10:20 PM
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I'm reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. I'm not anywhere near done, but this is the BEST novel I've read in quite some time! Beautifully written, compelling, unique style and totally enthralling. So far, I love it! Middlesex: A Novel (Oprah's Book Club): Books: Jeffrey Eugenides |
08-03-2007, 12:10 AM
|  | I'm Sparkly in Real Life | | Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: It's not heaven, it's Iowa
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The one I'd recommend to you that I've read recently was "Broken for You" by Stephanie Kallos. It was excellent. I really think you'd like it, Wormie.
I just finished Michael Crichton's State of Fear (it took me bloody FOREVER) and really enjoyed it. Very politically charged on the topic of global warming, but a good action story too.
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07-06-2008, 07:52 PM
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The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell
Just finished it. I'm a slow reader, and I finished this in record time. Wow! A really really great book!! |
07-06-2008, 08:19 PM
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Water for Elephants. Awesome book. The detail the author writes about life in a travelling circus was obviously well-researched and written so well, you felt like you were there. Gritty and touching and all-around excellent.
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It's extraordinary to me that the United States can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can't find $25 billion dollars to save 25,000 children who die every day from preventable diseases.~ Bono |
07-06-2008, 08:56 PM
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I've had Water for Elephants on hold at the library for months.  Where is it???
In the meantime, I just finished The Complete Metalsmith by Tim McCreight. I don't think any of you would appreciate it, but I liked it. 
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07-07-2008, 10:01 PM
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Mmm -- some catching up to do here.
From last year: Thomas Pynchon's Against the Day. Wow. That's all, just wow.
More recent: Elizabeth Bear's two new books in The Promethean Age Series, Ink and Steel and Hell and Earth. Beautiful, hard-edged fantasies centered on William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe.
And anything by Jon Courtenay Grimwood. I've read five of his books, and so far, not a misstep. (9Tail Fox, Arabesks [a trilogy: Pashazade, Effendi, and Felaheen], and End of the World Blues. They're all some genre or other, but Grimwood doesn't pay much attention to just which. |
07-08-2008, 02:32 AM
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so many books, so little time. Nearly anything by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, beginning with their Good Omens which was written jointly when they were relative unknowns. I love the books about the Ank-Morpork city watch (Nightwatch, etc. ) Montrous Regiment with a real O'Henry ending, and I love American Gods, Anansi Boys, and the one about the alternate universe beneath present-day London. Um-um. Nothing like settling down to a good read. Now that the wedding is over, I need to find something satisfying to settle into. I may be forced to (gasp!) purchase a book.
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07-08-2008, 06:57 AM
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That would be Gaiman's Neverwhere. Second the vote for American Gods, which I thought was fantastic. Somehow, have managed not to read Anansi Boys. (Of course, my "to read" stack is now taller than I am, and I am not small.)
Another recent Bear sf novel that I just remembered, Dust -- she's taken nanotech and biotech and turned them into poetry. When Bear is good, she is fantastic. When she's not so good, she's still good.
I've also been reading a lot of manga, many of which are surprisingly substantial. Favorite titles so far: Basilisk, medieval historical fantasy with ninjas, 5-vol series (but be warned: nudity, violence, and some sex; recommended for 18 and up); Vampire Knight (series, boarding school with two classes, normal students and vampires); Black Cat (assassin turned bounty hunter, action-adventure series).
And on that note, I just got an e-mail notice from Border's including a special on manga and graphic novels. I didn't really need to know about that.
Last edited by rmthunter; 07-08-2008 at 07:44 AM.
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07-08-2008, 09:52 AM
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I just finished most of Gaiman's "Fragile Things", a short story and poem collection. The last story is set a while after American Gods and features Shadow, but that's the only story I haven't read yet. Most of them were really, really good - I especially loved "A Study in Emerald" and "Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire".
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07-08-2008, 10:54 AM
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For science fiction:
John Scalzi:
His two stand-alones, " The Android's Dream" and " Agent to the Stars" are excellent (although he is planning a sequel to Android eventually, so it's probably technically not a stand-alone.)
If you're ready to tackle a series, I also highly recommend his Old Man's War series (" Old Man's War", " The Ghost Brigades" and "The Last Colony"), the newest installment of which, " Zoe's Tale" is due out in August.
What the man does is he makes science fiction funny, which in turn helps make it feel real. We're not talking Douglas Adams funny, we're just talking about intelligent people with a sense of humor trying to deal with a universe that, for a lot of logical reasons, just doesn't make sense. Also, he was famous on the innertubes for taping bacon to a cat. Seriously. You go to google, you type in "tape bacon cat," you'll see his blog pop up. And people blogging about his blog. So obviously this is a man qualified to help the masses assimilate to science fiction.
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Last edited by eris esoteric; 07-08-2008 at 11:08 AM.
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07-08-2008, 12:08 PM
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The only thing I've read by Scalzi is his book on writing, which was pretty good.
I need to look at some of his fiction -- Steven Brust (now there's another name for your "read anything" list) mentioned that he follows Scalzi's work.
And if you want science fiction with a sense of humor, check out Connie Willis. She has written some bizarre and very humorous stories. Her most recent collection is The Winds of Marble Arch and Other Stories, which I highly recommend. Not all funny, but enough, and it's worth it just for her introduction. (And also check out her novel To Say Nothing of the Dog. It's even funnier if you've read Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat.) |
07-08-2008, 12:36 PM
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Quote: emeleel said
 "Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire". | That sounds like an unholy mating of VC Andrews and John Saul.
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MJ
It's extraordinary to me that the United States can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can't find $25 billion dollars to save 25,000 children who die every day from preventable diseases.~ Bono |
07-08-2008, 12:45 PM
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Quote: mjfrombuffalo said
That sounds like an unholy mating of VC Andrews and John Saul. | Or an entire story by Caitlin Kiernan. But more interesting. |
07-08-2008, 02:03 PM
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It's actually a very funny story - once you finish it.  You sit there scratching your head during the whole thing, then *really* scratching your head when it's done... then the light bulb goes off.
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07-08-2008, 05:40 PM
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Here's an online copy of "A Study in Emerald": http://www.neilgaiman.com/mediafiles...es/emerald.pdf
Warning: will probably only make sense if you are somewhat familiar with Sherlock Holmes. Helps to at least be passing familiar with the Cthulu stuff, too, but I enjoyed it very much even without having ever read any Lovecraft, just *about* Lovecraft.
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07-10-2008, 12:59 PM
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Quote: mjfrombuffalo said
Water for Elephants. Awesome book. The detail the author writes about life in a travelling circus was obviously well-researched and written so well, you felt like you were there. Gritty and touching and all-around excellent. |
I liked it as well! I think gritty was a good description.
__________________ Margo
Quote: Latter-day Saints as citizens are to seek out and then uphold leaders who will act with integrity and are wise, good, and honest. Principles compatible with the gospel may be found in various political parties. |
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07-10-2008, 01:01 PM
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Quote: theworm said
| Everyone should have read this by now!
__________________ Margo
Quote: | Latter-day Saints as citizens are to seek out and then uphold leaders who will act with integrity and are wise, good, and honest. Principles compatible with the gospel may be found in various political parties. |
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07-10-2008, 02:51 PM
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Quote: theworm said
I'm reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. | Quote: mtomm said
Everyone should have read this by now! | Does it at least happen in space?
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07-10-2008, 03:52 PM
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Quote: eris esoteric said
Does it at least happen in space? | Oh, yes, Eris, it does!
__________________ Margo
Quote: | Latter-day Saints as citizens are to seek out and then uphold leaders who will act with integrity and are wise, good, and honest. Principles compatible with the gospel may be found in various political parties. |
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07-10-2008, 04:17 PM
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not outer space, but in space.
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