![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
trinityofoneYesterday, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mciac and darcydodo took me to a bar for the first time. (Hey, barflies are made, not born.) While we were waiting for darcydodo, mciac and I wandered around Dutton's Beverly Hills and my constant pointing-and-squeeing convinced mciac that I should compile a list of book recs. So here one is. Totally random: the first things that came into my head, but good recs, all. Let me know what you think, and if you're inspired to read any of these, let me know if you like 'em. Also, feel free to share any recs of your own! I'm always looking for new things to read.
THE BIG BATCH OF BOOK RECS, PART I
AUTHORS
Neil Gaiman - Duh. Neil has been my favorite author for about ten years. He’s funny, his stories go to amazing, magical places, and no one has been a greater influence on me. Neverwhere is still my favorite of his books--it is, in my mind, the ultimate dark urban fantasy. I also love his collaboration with Terry Pratchett, Good Omens, which in Crowley and Aziraphale has given us two of the world’s most memorable characters. He has a new book, Anasazi Boys, coming out this fall. Watch me drool.
Patrick O’Brian - The best thing I did last year was read all twenty (yes, twenty) of his Aubrey/Maturin books. I never in my life thought I’d be interested in naval drama--and in some ways, I’m still not. But O’Brian’s characters are so vivid and real and funny that I wish I had twenty more books to read about them. (Note: the first book in the series, Master and Commander, is, in my opinion, a little slow, but from Post Captain on it just takes off. So give the series a chance; it’s worth investing in.)
Connie Willis - One of my favorite Sci-Fi writers, Willis’ books are about people rather than just gadgets. To Say Nothing of the Dog is still my favorite--it’s a light-hearted, Victorian, time-travel romance; her more serious work, like the heart-breaking Doomsday Book or Passage, are also incredible and well-worth reading. When’s she coming out with a new book? I’m impatient, yo.
Dorothy Dunnett - Dunnett’s Lymond series is really what got me started on my current historical fiction kick. Lymond is such a great character--by which I mean, he’s a fucked up, morally ambiguous Scottish hottie with a dark past who traipses all over 16th Century Europe and fights with swords and is just generally cool. But Dunnett also manages to write an engaging female character who I can actually relate to--a rare thing for me, and one that I treasure. Plus: slashiness!
Dorothy L. Sayers - The Dorothys really bring the fabu male protagonists and the engaging female sidekicks. Lord Peter Wimsey is utterly and forever my detective boyfriend...except that it would be wrong for me to get in the way of his wonderfully patient love for mystery novelist Harriet Vane. The first book I read in this series was Strong Poison, the one that introduces Harriet, but the earlier books are also entertaining, and I have a special place in my heart for Murder Must Advertise, which has a scene that makes cricket fun and engaging. I kid you not.
Bill Bryson - Bryson is my favorite nonfiction author. He writes terrific travel books, great books about language, and even an engaging book about science (A Short History of Nearly Everything, which really ought to be called We’re All Gonna Die, but still manages to be entertaining). I’d start with Notes from a Small Island, but that may just be the anglophile in me jumping up and shouting, “Oi!”
E. Nesbit - One of my favorite authors when I was little, Nesbit wrote children’s fantasies in the early part of the 20th Century of the fabulous “x-number of English schoolchildren discover a magic blank” type. (Yes, that’s a type.) I recommend starting with Five Children and It; if you’re in the mood for something completely different, try her short story “Man-Size in Marble,” available in The Haunted Looking-Glass collection. So. Frickin’. Scary.
Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker books. Go. Now.
CLASSICS
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald - If I had to pick a favorite book, and circumstances made it too embarrassing for me to pick Neverwhere, I would with all honesty pick this. Nothing has moved me more, and each successive reading just reinforces this. Fitzgerald’s imagery and clarity of phrase are equally astounding. This is truly the great American novel.
The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway - I feel kinda bad reccing Hemingway directly after Fitzgerald, ‘cause Hemingway was such a dick to him. But Hemingway is still an incredible writer, and while his dickishness is somewhat on display in this novel, it’s also an incredible example of his minimalist staccato style at work. And it has an absolutely terrific last line. (Though not as good as Gatsby’s. Ha.)
Lucky Jim, by Kingsley Amis - Best. Academic Satire. Ever. This was one of my senior year summer reading books, and I of course put off starting until the last minute. After plodding through Graham Greene’s The Heart of the Matter, I read this book and it was like a breath of fresh air, a drink of cool water, and many other dopey metaphors. Seriously, though: this book made me intensely happy. Read it.
To the Lighthouse, by Virgina Woolf - This is an amazingly moving, atmospheric book that I read mostly on a pair of long BART rides right before Christmas my freshman year. There are things Woolf does in this book that made me gasp aloud and attract the unwanted attention of scary subway surfers--but it was worth it. So, so worth it.
East of Eden, by John Steinbeck - I had kind of an “eh” reaction to The Grapes of Wrath; East of Eden, on the other hand, dug its hands in me and scratched at my heart and lungs and several other vital organs. A lot of people may know this story through the James Dean movie, but the book is completely different and so much better. For one thing, the movie cuts out my very favorite character, the incomparable Lee. And you can still picture Dean as Cal if you want. ;-)
The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne - No, really. I love this book. I know it’s not exactly subtle, but how can you resist 19th Century melodrama doing Puritanical melodrama? You know, I just realized that The Scarlet Letter is the literary equivalent of Grease. Only good. Think about that.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith - It’s been at least ten years since I’ve read this book, but I still want to be Francie, reading her way through the library. This is a terrific coming-of-age story--and this comes from someone who is not a fan of the bildungsroman. (I do love that word, though. I am such an English major geek.)
Dubliners, by James Joyce - Okay, I still have no idea what was going on for half...okay, all of Ulysses, but the characters in these stories stand out as clearly to me as Ulysses is cloudy. I’ll never forget the horribly trapped “Eveline,” nor the creepy masturbating man in “An Encounter” (who my stupid 12th grade English teacher still claims wasn’t doing anything in particular, and certainly not that), nor the partygoers of “The Dead,” the ending of which still gives me chills. This is the book I immediately re-read when I found out I was going to Ireland.
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee - This is one of those books where if you haven’t read it, I’m sort of wondering what’s wrong with you. I don’t know what I can possibly say. Read it. Like, now.
SCI-FI/FANTASY
His Dark Materials Series, by Philip Pullman - These books offer not only a world rich and strange, but also a moral and religious philosophy that I can believe in. A great series with complicated, interesting characters, unlikely romance, and truly scary villains. Pullman hates this comparison, but not since C.S. Lewis’ Narnia books have I wanted this badly to be part of a fantasy world.
The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King - I recommend these books the same way I would recommend The X-Files to someone who had never seen it: you will be in for a hell of a ride, just don’t expect any answers. In some ways, this series has been my Most Frustrating Reading Experience Ever (actually, the real owner of that title is Meredith Ann Pierce’s Darkangel Trilogy...grr), but I had so much fun along the way that I still think it’s worth being rec’d. But remember: answers? Uh-uh, my friend. Not for you.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke - This book deserved all of the good buzz it received, and non of the bad. Clarke blends magic and the Napoleonic Wars--and if that isn’t enough to make you jump up and down and squee...well, then I’m a lot easier than you are. But damn, do I have fun.
The Otherland Series, by Tad Williams - All four books in this series are so large that you could kill someone with them, and they’re all packed with fascinating characters (Paul! I love you!) and a virtual reality world that’ll come to seem more real than reality. Er...you know what I mean.
Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story, by Christopher Moore - A.K.A., my favorite vampire novel ever, mostly because it does not take itself seriously. At all. Instead there’s humor, romance, and biting. What more could you want?
MISC.
Behind the Scenes at the Museum, by Kate Atkinson - Atkinson is an author I’ve just recently discovered (I think someone on LJ rec’d her to me--whoever you are, thank you!). She mixes the funny and the drama to an incredible, effective and affecting extent. She also blends high-class literary allusions and pop culture references, giving nods to both, and often on the same page! You should also check out her short story collection Not the End of the World, which has one story based around a long discussion of the Buffy episode “The Replacement.” Have I mentioned that I love her?
The Inn at Lake Devine, by Elinor Lipman - Another rarity: good chic lit. This book is a romance, true, but it explores issues most romances don’t: anti-Semitism, dealing with death, and most traumatizing, living in Vermont. ::chuckles bravely:: ::hides the shake of hands at remembering 11 years in said state::
The Daughter of Time, by Josephine Tey - An immensely cool historical mystery. Wounded Inspector Alan Grant becomes fascinated by a portrait of Richard III, leading him to investigate the king’s supposed murder of his two young nephews--all from his London hospital bed. This book is such a fun puzzle--I really couldn’t put it down.
U2 at the End of the World, by Bill Flanagan - The number of obsessive U2 fans on my friends list is probably fairly limited, but if you’ve ever had even a passing interest in how a rock ‘n’ roll band works, then this book is well worth reading. It helps that Flanagan, who spent more than three years on the road with my boys, is a terrific, engaging writer; it also doesn’t hurt that Bono, Edge, Adam, and Larry are each witty, hilarious, and fascinating guys in their own ways. And if that still doesn’t sell you, this book also makes a terrific travel log: from the fall of the Berlin Wall to Tokyo’s underbelly, you’re there--and in good company.
Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry - I haven’t read many Westerns, but I can still say without a doubt that this is the best Western ever written. McMurtry’s characters are completely compelling, and the situations he puts them in are both shocking and entirely real. Also, I was a quivering mess by the end. That’s always a good sign.
The Barrytown Trilogy, by Roddy Doyle - A terrific series of books centering around a working-class Irish family. The first book is about the start of a soul band, the second about an unexpected pregnancy, and the third about football and male friendship. Doyle’s dialogue is amazing: you can hear these people in your head. If you’re like me, you may even start talking like them. ;-)
The Know-It-All, by A.J. Jacobs - Jacobs, an editor at Esquire, decides to read through the encyclopædia. What follows is a really funny, really entertaining, really...okay, geeky trip through tons of (mostly) useless information. What can I say? Facts are fun!
River of Shadows, by Rebecca Solnit - One of my pet obsessions is 19th Century photographer and father of cinema Eadweard Muybridge. Those grided photos of running horses? Those are his. But besides his incredible work achievements, Muybridge led a fascinating life. He was almost killed in a carriage accident that left him with brain damage that altered his personality, he murdered his wife’s lover and was then acquitted, he became obsessed with his own motion studies and took them in a series of increasingly bizarre directions. Solnit tells his incredible story with all the wonder it deserves.
The Regeneration Trilogy, by Pat Barker - I could write pages and pages about how much I love Billy Prior--and he’s just one of a large cast of amazing characters in Barker’s incredible World War I saga. WWI is a period of history that’s always been very confused to me, and these books capture that confusion, and within that blur, the real, solid people who were part of it.
The Book of Judas, by Brendan Kennelly - Almost 400 pages of poetry from the point of view of everyone's favorite apostle, Judas Iscariot. This is just wrenching--but in the best possible way. Since I can’t really find the words to describe it, here’s a sample.
If this was helpful or just fun, let me know! I'm sure there are tons of things I've forgotten, and I'd be happy to do another instalment.
mciac and darcydodo took me to a bar for the first time. (Hey, barflies are made, not born.) While we were waiting for darcydodo, mciac and I wandered around Dutton's Beverly Hills and my constant pointing-and-squeeing convinced mciac that I should compile a list of book recs. So here one is. Totally random: the first things that came into my head, but good recs, all. Let me know what you think, and if you're inspired to read any of these, let me know if you like 'em. Also, feel free to share any recs of your own! I'm always looking for new things to read.THE BIG BATCH OF BOOK RECS, PART I
AUTHORS
Neil Gaiman - Duh. Neil has been my favorite author for about ten years. He’s funny, his stories go to amazing, magical places, and no one has been a greater influence on me. Neverwhere is still my favorite of his books--it is, in my mind, the ultimate dark urban fantasy. I also love his collaboration with Terry Pratchett, Good Omens, which in Crowley and Aziraphale has given us two of the world’s most memorable characters. He has a new book, Anasazi Boys, coming out this fall. Watch me drool.
Patrick O’Brian - The best thing I did last year was read all twenty (yes, twenty) of his Aubrey/Maturin books. I never in my life thought I’d be interested in naval drama--and in some ways, I’m still not. But O’Brian’s characters are so vivid and real and funny that I wish I had twenty more books to read about them. (Note: the first book in the series, Master and Commander, is, in my opinion, a little slow, but from Post Captain on it just takes off. So give the series a chance; it’s worth investing in.)
Connie Willis - One of my favorite Sci-Fi writers, Willis’ books are about people rather than just gadgets. To Say Nothing of the Dog is still my favorite--it’s a light-hearted, Victorian, time-travel romance; her more serious work, like the heart-breaking Doomsday Book or Passage, are also incredible and well-worth reading. When’s she coming out with a new book? I’m impatient, yo.
Dorothy Dunnett - Dunnett’s Lymond series is really what got me started on my current historical fiction kick. Lymond is such a great character--by which I mean, he’s a fucked up, morally ambiguous Scottish hottie with a dark past who traipses all over 16th Century Europe and fights with swords and is just generally cool. But Dunnett also manages to write an engaging female character who I can actually relate to--a rare thing for me, and one that I treasure. Plus: slashiness!
Dorothy L. Sayers - The Dorothys really bring the fabu male protagonists and the engaging female sidekicks. Lord Peter Wimsey is utterly and forever my detective boyfriend...except that it would be wrong for me to get in the way of his wonderfully patient love for mystery novelist Harriet Vane. The first book I read in this series was Strong Poison, the one that introduces Harriet, but the earlier books are also entertaining, and I have a special place in my heart for Murder Must Advertise, which has a scene that makes cricket fun and engaging. I kid you not.
Bill Bryson - Bryson is my favorite nonfiction author. He writes terrific travel books, great books about language, and even an engaging book about science (A Short History of Nearly Everything, which really ought to be called We’re All Gonna Die, but still manages to be entertaining). I’d start with Notes from a Small Island, but that may just be the anglophile in me jumping up and shouting, “Oi!”
E. Nesbit - One of my favorite authors when I was little, Nesbit wrote children’s fantasies in the early part of the 20th Century of the fabulous “x-number of English schoolchildren discover a magic blank” type. (Yes, that’s a type.) I recommend starting with Five Children and It; if you’re in the mood for something completely different, try her short story “Man-Size in Marble,” available in The Haunted Looking-Glass collection. So. Frickin’. Scary.
Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker books. Go. Now.
CLASSICS
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald - If I had to pick a favorite book, and circumstances made it too embarrassing for me to pick Neverwhere, I would with all honesty pick this. Nothing has moved me more, and each successive reading just reinforces this. Fitzgerald’s imagery and clarity of phrase are equally astounding. This is truly the great American novel.
The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway - I feel kinda bad reccing Hemingway directly after Fitzgerald, ‘cause Hemingway was such a dick to him. But Hemingway is still an incredible writer, and while his dickishness is somewhat on display in this novel, it’s also an incredible example of his minimalist staccato style at work. And it has an absolutely terrific last line. (Though not as good as Gatsby’s. Ha.)
Lucky Jim, by Kingsley Amis - Best. Academic Satire. Ever. This was one of my senior year summer reading books, and I of course put off starting until the last minute. After plodding through Graham Greene’s The Heart of the Matter, I read this book and it was like a breath of fresh air, a drink of cool water, and many other dopey metaphors. Seriously, though: this book made me intensely happy. Read it.
To the Lighthouse, by Virgina Woolf - This is an amazingly moving, atmospheric book that I read mostly on a pair of long BART rides right before Christmas my freshman year. There are things Woolf does in this book that made me gasp aloud and attract the unwanted attention of scary subway surfers--but it was worth it. So, so worth it.
East of Eden, by John Steinbeck - I had kind of an “eh” reaction to The Grapes of Wrath; East of Eden, on the other hand, dug its hands in me and scratched at my heart and lungs and several other vital organs. A lot of people may know this story through the James Dean movie, but the book is completely different and so much better. For one thing, the movie cuts out my very favorite character, the incomparable Lee. And you can still picture Dean as Cal if you want. ;-)
The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne - No, really. I love this book. I know it’s not exactly subtle, but how can you resist 19th Century melodrama doing Puritanical melodrama? You know, I just realized that The Scarlet Letter is the literary equivalent of Grease. Only good. Think about that.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith - It’s been at least ten years since I’ve read this book, but I still want to be Francie, reading her way through the library. This is a terrific coming-of-age story--and this comes from someone who is not a fan of the bildungsroman. (I do love that word, though. I am such an English major geek.)
Dubliners, by James Joyce - Okay, I still have no idea what was going on for half...okay, all of Ulysses, but the characters in these stories stand out as clearly to me as Ulysses is cloudy. I’ll never forget the horribly trapped “Eveline,” nor the creepy masturbating man in “An Encounter” (who my stupid 12th grade English teacher still claims wasn’t doing anything in particular, and certainly not that), nor the partygoers of “The Dead,” the ending of which still gives me chills. This is the book I immediately re-read when I found out I was going to Ireland.
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee - This is one of those books where if you haven’t read it, I’m sort of wondering what’s wrong with you. I don’t know what I can possibly say. Read it. Like, now.
SCI-FI/FANTASY
His Dark Materials Series, by Philip Pullman - These books offer not only a world rich and strange, but also a moral and religious philosophy that I can believe in. A great series with complicated, interesting characters, unlikely romance, and truly scary villains. Pullman hates this comparison, but not since C.S. Lewis’ Narnia books have I wanted this badly to be part of a fantasy world.
The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King - I recommend these books the same way I would recommend The X-Files to someone who had never seen it: you will be in for a hell of a ride, just don’t expect any answers. In some ways, this series has been my Most Frustrating Reading Experience Ever (actually, the real owner of that title is Meredith Ann Pierce’s Darkangel Trilogy...grr), but I had so much fun along the way that I still think it’s worth being rec’d. But remember: answers? Uh-uh, my friend. Not for you.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke - This book deserved all of the good buzz it received, and non of the bad. Clarke blends magic and the Napoleonic Wars--and if that isn’t enough to make you jump up and down and squee...well, then I’m a lot easier than you are. But damn, do I have fun.
The Otherland Series, by Tad Williams - All four books in this series are so large that you could kill someone with them, and they’re all packed with fascinating characters (Paul! I love you!) and a virtual reality world that’ll come to seem more real than reality. Er...you know what I mean.
Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story, by Christopher Moore - A.K.A., my favorite vampire novel ever, mostly because it does not take itself seriously. At all. Instead there’s humor, romance, and biting. What more could you want?
MISC.
Behind the Scenes at the Museum, by Kate Atkinson - Atkinson is an author I’ve just recently discovered (I think someone on LJ rec’d her to me--whoever you are, thank you!). She mixes the funny and the drama to an incredible, effective and affecting extent. She also blends high-class literary allusions and pop culture references, giving nods to both, and often on the same page! You should also check out her short story collection Not the End of the World, which has one story based around a long discussion of the Buffy episode “The Replacement.” Have I mentioned that I love her?
The Inn at Lake Devine, by Elinor Lipman - Another rarity: good chic lit. This book is a romance, true, but it explores issues most romances don’t: anti-Semitism, dealing with death, and most traumatizing, living in Vermont. ::chuckles bravely:: ::hides the shake of hands at remembering 11 years in said state::
The Daughter of Time, by Josephine Tey - An immensely cool historical mystery. Wounded Inspector Alan Grant becomes fascinated by a portrait of Richard III, leading him to investigate the king’s supposed murder of his two young nephews--all from his London hospital bed. This book is such a fun puzzle--I really couldn’t put it down.
U2 at the End of the World, by Bill Flanagan - The number of obsessive U2 fans on my friends list is probably fairly limited, but if you’ve ever had even a passing interest in how a rock ‘n’ roll band works, then this book is well worth reading. It helps that Flanagan, who spent more than three years on the road with my boys, is a terrific, engaging writer; it also doesn’t hurt that Bono, Edge, Adam, and Larry are each witty, hilarious, and fascinating guys in their own ways. And if that still doesn’t sell you, this book also makes a terrific travel log: from the fall of the Berlin Wall to Tokyo’s underbelly, you’re there--and in good company.
Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry - I haven’t read many Westerns, but I can still say without a doubt that this is the best Western ever written. McMurtry’s characters are completely compelling, and the situations he puts them in are both shocking and entirely real. Also, I was a quivering mess by the end. That’s always a good sign.
The Barrytown Trilogy, by Roddy Doyle - A terrific series of books centering around a working-class Irish family. The first book is about the start of a soul band, the second about an unexpected pregnancy, and the third about football and male friendship. Doyle’s dialogue is amazing: you can hear these people in your head. If you’re like me, you may even start talking like them. ;-)
The Know-It-All, by A.J. Jacobs - Jacobs, an editor at Esquire, decides to read through the encyclopædia. What follows is a really funny, really entertaining, really...okay, geeky trip through tons of (mostly) useless information. What can I say? Facts are fun!
River of Shadows, by Rebecca Solnit - One of my pet obsessions is 19th Century photographer and father of cinema Eadweard Muybridge. Those grided photos of running horses? Those are his. But besides his incredible work achievements, Muybridge led a fascinating life. He was almost killed in a carriage accident that left him with brain damage that altered his personality, he murdered his wife’s lover and was then acquitted, he became obsessed with his own motion studies and took them in a series of increasingly bizarre directions. Solnit tells his incredible story with all the wonder it deserves.
The Regeneration Trilogy, by Pat Barker - I could write pages and pages about how much I love Billy Prior--and he’s just one of a large cast of amazing characters in Barker’s incredible World War I saga. WWI is a period of history that’s always been very confused to me, and these books capture that confusion, and within that blur, the real, solid people who were part of it.
The Book of Judas, by Brendan Kennelly - Almost 400 pages of poetry from the point of view of everyone's favorite apostle, Judas Iscariot. This is just wrenching--but in the best possible way. Since I can’t really find the words to describe it, here’s a sample.
If this was helpful or just fun, let me know! I'm sure there are tons of things I've forgotten, and I'd be happy to do another instalment.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
OMG, we are secret evil twins!
Date: 2005-07-04 02:43 am (UTC)I've actually read Perfume, and enjoyed it in a this-book-creeps-me-out way. Under the Skin looks interesting; hopefully I'll get that Barnes & Noble job so I can go on a spree with my discount. *eg*