book recs?

[fannishliss]

Hi friends!  I'd love to read a few BOOKS this year that are not fanfic. (i love fanfic -- maybe too much!!) Please comment with the books you've enjoyed most in the last couple of years.  Any genre is fine!

thank you!

Comments

[betawho.livejournal.com]

Well, if you like Doctor Who, and like lighthearted fantasy you might enjoy "The Wizard in Rhyme" series by Christopher Stasheff.

The first book is "Her Majesty's Wizard" and is about an American college literature student who accidentally gets transported back to an alternate Europe where magic works by poetry and rhyme.

There, he's a wizard (although it takes him a while to figure it out) and he must help the local princess overthrow an evil ruler and regain her kingdom. He befriends a drunk dragon along the way, as well as fighting monsters, meeting giants, getting knighted, and generally having an adventure.

That makes it sound very hokey, but it's not, it's a well written book with believable and likeable characters having to stretch themselves to survive. It's also sneakily educational (it's written by a former teacher) that inserts bits of European history, scientific theory, medieval culture, geography, and half a dozen other subjects, but in such an entertaining way you don't even realize you learned something new.

If you like the first book, there's half a dozen others in the series. I've just finished reading them for the fourth time, and enjoyed them as much again as I did the first time.

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much for the rec --- that does sound like something I would like! :)

[verdande-mi.livejournal.com]

Labyrinth and Citadell both by Kate Mosse. They are part of the Languedoc trilogy (I would say loose trilogy), and are really the first and third book. I have yet to read the second book, Sepulchre, but going by how much I enjoyed the other two and Kate's writing I am sure I would reccomend that one as well. I am so going to read it this year!

Have fun with your reading and I hope you get some reccomendations you will enjoy :D

[thursdaysisters.livejournal.com]

Old Man's War by John Scalzi
Bullet Time by Nick Mamatas
The Great Outdoor Fight by Chris Onstad (a webcomic you can read for free, the whole thing is genius but Google that particular storyline first) :-D

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

thanks so much for the recs! I will have a good list for this year! :)

[casey28.livejournal.com]

The five book Percy Jackson and the Olympian series by Rick Riordan... The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan's Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and The Last Olympian. I'm going to post a few pages from one of the books today.

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

I've heard a lot of good things about those books -- I'll have to try them! thanks!

[jessalrynn.livejournal.com]

Sharon Shinn's Samaria series. The completely brilliant (and insane) William Shakespeare's Star Wars series because THAT is how you work a classic. Oh, and I'm handing out recs for old Xanth novels, if you're interested.

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

I can't wait to try the Shakespeare's Star Wars one :D

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

alif the unseen, by g willow wilson (middle eastern myth, islam, cybercraziness, old books, and the occasional glimpse of sff nerdery. so, so interesting)

the guernsey literary and potato peel pie society, by mary ann shaffer and annie barrows (post-ww2 epistolary novel, thoroughly charming)

the bingo palace, by louise erdrich (i haven't reread it recently but it's my favorite comfort read, altho the story itself isn't entirely comforting. but i love it a lot.)

driving with the devil: southern moonshine, detroit wheels, and the birth of nascar, by neal thompson (because if i didn't rec at least one history i wouldn't be me :D ) (it's about moonshiners and souped-up fords and the birth of nascar, just like it says)

[matchboximpala.livejournal.com]

the guernsey literary and potato peel pie society

Yes to this!

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

these sound awesome! I have a copy of the Potato Peel Society so I really will have to read it this year.

My husband loves Louise Erdrich and reads everything by her. Our other favorite Native American writer is Sherman Alexie -- do you read him too?

That first one sounds so fascinating! Thanks for the recs!

[matchboximpala.livejournal.com]

Lock In and Redshirts by John Scalzi
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

I will look them up -- thanks so much!

[davincis-girl.livejournal.com]

I am going to put in my thumbs up for the two Jon Scalzi books to with an added piece of advice. Lock In is available in two audiobooks. It has a wonderful first person narrator, but the gender is not specified and in the case of this sci fi plot, not important. One audiobook is narrated by Amber Benson (Tara from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and author) and the other by Wil Wheton. If you get a chance to listen to both, they are both great.

[desertport]

The Spiritwalker Trilogy, by Kate Elliott. Alternate history of earth, where the ice age lasted a little longer and the changed geography affected history. Plotty, exciting adventures of Cat, her best friend and cousin, Bea, and the dashing and mysterious Vai.

The Iron Wyrm Affair, by Lilith Saintcrow. Steampunk mystery with sorcery thrown in. And a little Sherlock Holmes.

The Cloud Roads, by Martha Wells. Brilliant fantasy world inhabited by strange civilizations. Moon is a wanderer looking for a home, but it's complicated because he can shapeshift into a winged form not unlike the predators everyone is afraid of. Amazing series.

I've decided to read all the nonfiction in my house this year! Will be keeping track on Goodreads if you want to follow. :)

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

teehee, we've been on a binge of Lilith St. Crow. So fun!!!

these sound great!

I will need to join goodreads. I've been in a nonfiction by women book club for several years and we have a fantastic list for this year!

[desertport]

She really is! I need to read the third in the Bannon and Clare series, if only to see what kind of melodrama Emma cooks up for herself next. And just for Clare being all Sherlocky.

Just added you on GR! Would love to know what's on your nonfiction list for this year! =)

[davincis-girl.livejournal.com]

I would add Mira Grant's Newsflesh Triology. It is an unusual take on the post-zombie apocalypse where society has recovered for the most part. I enjoyed the characterization and pace. I also loved the echo of the author's connection to Livejournal and other fannish social media community building work. She's pushed the sharing nature of fan art and fan culture into the future of news distribution.