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Recommendations of all Books Please!

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Dawnnamira
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Posted: Fri 07 Dec , 2007 11:18 pm
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You're welcome Cruci. :P

Has anyone read anything by James Patterson? I keep seeing his name at work while I stock and he kind of looks interesting.

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Crucifer
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Posted: Fri 07 Dec , 2007 11:22 pm
A song outlasts a dynasty.
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I've seen his name around as well... (You work in a book shop!? I want to BE you!!!)

I'm going to recommend Bleach by Tite Kubo... It's his second manga series, and it's great fun... Very costly though, as it takes half an hour to read one volume, and they're like €10 each... I'm getting 7 and 8 tomorrow having taken a fortnight off to recuperate from severe shortage of cash... Not for the easily confused...

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Dawnnamira
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Posted: Fri 07 Dec , 2007 11:35 pm
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I work at Target. They sell books too, ya know. :P

I second the recommendation for Bleach, but manga is not really for the average American. It does take some getting used to.

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TheMary
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Posted: Sat 08 Dec , 2007 1:54 am
I took the stars from my eyes, and then I made a map, And knew that somehow I could find my way back; Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too - So I stayed in the darkness with you
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I have read James Patterson! He's quite the interesting read mwahahaha! But seriously I've read a couple of his books the first being Cradle and All which was creepy as hell and awesome. Then I read the first in the Women's Murder Club series, 1st Degree I believe it's called and it too was really good. His books have short chapters, are easy to follow, and very captivating.

I think *E* had mentioned Kiss the Girls or Along Came a Spider both were made into movies with the same detective Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman in the films). I saw the movies and thought they were awesome but I like Patterson so I'm biased :D.

And he has like a gazillion books so there is plenty to read :).


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Pippin4242
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Posted: Sat 08 Dec , 2007 3:46 pm
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Third the recommendation for Bleach. Guess who sent me two of the very first volumes to be added to my collection? :D

*~Pips~*

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TheMary
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Posted: Sun 09 Dec , 2007 7:29 am
I took the stars from my eyes, and then I made a map, And knew that somehow I could find my way back; Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too - So I stayed in the darkness with you
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I can't imagine :D


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Crucifer
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Posted: Wed 26 Dec , 2007 10:29 pm
A song outlasts a dynasty.
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1984 by George Orwell. It may have been recommended before, but I'm re-recommending it. It's bloody fantastic!

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TWT
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Posted: Thu 27 Dec , 2007 4:45 am
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A series I've reccomended to everyone and they have all loved it is the Bourne trilogy by Robert Ludlum (particularily 1 and 2). Much more action and story than the movies.

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Dawnnamira
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Posted: Thu 27 Dec , 2007 4:51 am
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Ooh, I'll second that recommendation. The books are awesome.

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Dave_LF
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Posted: Thu 27 Dec , 2007 2:35 pm
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I heartily repeat the recommendation for the Robin Hobb trilogy of trilogies. I've only made it to part three of Farseer so far and I suppose it's possible that the last six will be really bad, but that's not what I hear. The stories are uniquely conceived and show few (if any) marks of derivation. The world, plots, and characters are interesting and compelling. One thing that's impressed me is her ability to write in both "feminine" and "masculine" styles--some parts make me want to skip ahead because I just don't care about courtly niceties; others have me wanting to join in with battle cries of my own, and unconsciously making fists and smiling through my teeth (my wife finds this very amusing).

The back-of-the-book blurbs on my edition make the story sound horrible (in my opinion), so I feel compelled to write one of my own. Since I've only read the first trilogy so far (and haven't even reached the end of that one) I can't summarize the entire series, but it begins by focusing on the life of FitzChivalry; a prince's bastard who's raised _near_ the royal family but never quite _in_ it. His mixture of royal and common blood leaves him awkwardly balanced between prince and citizen. Few people, not even Fitz himself, are quite sure what to make of him or how to treat him. However, it also imbues him with a special blend of talents, of both the ordinary and more arcane varieties. As he ages, Fitz is secretly trained in the arts of the assassin; skills that come in handy as the kingdom begins to crumble due both to raiders without and traitors within. He is also given a second name--Catalyst, Changer; the one who creates possibilities. The stories encompass action, intrigue, romance, and tragedy as they wend their way through that web of possibility.

My chief (and nearly only) criticism is thematic--the emphasis on obedience and submission as virtues in themselves ("we are but tools in the king's hands; it is not our place to ask why but merely to obey" etc.) makes me very uncomfortable, and I'm still holding out hope that she'll turn this attitude on its head and show it for a mistake before the end.


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LalaithUrwen
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Posted: Thu 27 Dec , 2007 3:40 pm
The Grey Amaretto as Supermega-awesome Proud Heretic Girl
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Dave_LF wrote:
Pillars of the Earth and its sequel, World Without End. Both are by Ken Follett, and are on my mind since I just read the second one recently.
World without End is a sequel to that? :doh1: I didn't realize! I kept looking at it at the bookstore, thinking, I wonder what that's about.

I read Pillars of the Earth a long time ago and really enjoyed it. It was just a great book.

Are we just talking fiction here (for the thread in general)?


Lali

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Silwen
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Posted: Wed 09 Apr , 2008 11:03 pm
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I'll recommend a book I am reading now: The Book Thief. It was recommended by someone on TORC so I got a review copy and just sent off my German review of it.

What fascinated me most about the book is that it is written from the point of view of Death (it isn't a fantasy novel, though, if that's what you were thinking). It was first published with an adult readership in mind, but then it was also published for younger readers. You can tell from the way it is written that it is indeed suitable for both groups.

The story is set in Germany during WW2, but it is not your usual book about that time. The girl who later becomes the book thief can't read. She even steals her first book before she learns to. Books become very important for her, whether they are stolen or made at home or illustrated by the Jew her family is hiding in the basement. At the same time we see how the people in her neighbourhood live, how not everyone is evil and cruel, and that even Death is appalled by human cruelty.

I especially liked little details in the book tha all contribute to the overall tone of the book. Some have to do with the language, others with the book's constructions, some more with the little situations that are depicted. This is definitely worth a read.

EDITED for horrendous spelling and grammar mistakes. :roll:

Last edited by Silwen on Thu 10 Apr , 2008 10:52 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Lily Rose
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Posted: Thu 10 Apr , 2008 2:43 am
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I like the concept. I will definitely look it up.:)

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Estel
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Posted: Thu 10 Apr , 2008 12:15 pm
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I can't recommend any book without seperating my recommendations into tiny sub-genres. Geeky I know, but I almost purely read Sci-fi / fantasy / horror and I find that those three genre titles don't nearly begin to cover all the different areas found within them. Sometimes I'm not in the mood for simply fantasy - I may want romance, or dark, or intelligent, etc etc etc.

So, the recommendations based on the many moods of Sci-fi / fantasy / horror ;)



For Dark Fantasty I'm quite taken with Anne Bishop - all of her books are great, but her Black Jewels Trilogy is lovely and dark with a great twist on what is good and what is evil. Her new series, including the books Sebastian and Belladonna are also lovely and dark and a little bit twisted on top of that. Traditional stories, but told from a slightly skewed perspective and with great imagination.

For Cyberpunk , I've got to agree with Dawn on an author - Neal Stephenson is fantastic. My favorites of his that I reread frequently are Diamond Age and Snow Crash however, not Cryptonomicon.

For Space-age Sci-fi , Karl Schroeder is absolutely brilliant - it was actually one of his books and not Guy Gavriel Kay, that caused me to start the Reading as a Sensual Experience thread. Schroeder is finally starting to get the recognition he deserves and I would highly highly highly recommend reading him.

For Fantastical Romance I've fallen in love with Stephanie Meyers and her Twilight Saga. Seriously well written. First series in fact, where I read all three books in one day, and then read them again the very next day.

Historical Fantasy is Guy Gavriel Kay and his Sarantine Mosaic. I love all of his books, and never know which one is my favorite at any given moment, but the Mosaic and Tignana are the ones that really stick in my head - I loooooooooooooove them ;)

General Horror - Stephen King. Either The Stand or Needful Things - my favorites by him.

For a more Insidious, intelligent horror - Jeff Rovin wrote a book called Conversations with the Devil. It doesn't come across as scary at all, but I actually had to put it down for a few days. All the little not so scary things added up into something that sent my mind spiraling and I ended up scaring myself :blackeye: I love a book that does that ;)

Apocalyptic Sci-Fi - one of my favorite genres ;) Forget the movie - The book The Postman by David Brin is simply awesome. There are a ton of really great books in this genre, but that one really stands out for me.

Ethics based sci-fi fantasy it's Sheri S. Tepper 100%. Sometimes she is described as an eco-feminist sci-fi author, but I really think that that sells her short. She writes about a huge variety of issues beyond that. She is absolutely brilliant, and the way she uses sci-fi fantasy to open a discussion and make you think about various different issues is pure genius, especially as she assumes that her readers are intelligent, and she doesn't lead you by the nose through the story. I have never ever read another author like her and that's a very sad thing. She is quite simply amazing. I'd say my favorite books by her are The Family Tree, Gibbons Decline and Fall.... you know what - I just almost listed 11 different books, so I think I'll leave it at the first two ;)

Alternative Present - witches, werewolves, vampires, etc - I go for Kim Harrison for this. She's one of the few who doesn't feel the need to go from one pornographic sex scene to another with very little story inbetween - a lot of authors in this genre do that and it pisses me off cause you never know until you've actually bought the damn book. Anyway, Kim Harrison writes a fun story - definitely a light read, but a good one none the less. Patricia Briggs is also good fun in this genre as well.


I probably have a hundred more books I would recommend, but I'll leave it at that for now ;)

Last edited by Estel on Fri 11 Apr , 2008 9:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

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TWT
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Posted: Thu 10 Apr , 2008 10:27 pm
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I like how you genreized that all Estel! :D That way if I decide to read one of those I can choose based on the mood of book I want to read.

:)

[is postive today.../] ;)


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TheMary
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Posted: Mon 07 Jul , 2008 8:37 pm
I took the stars from my eyes, and then I made a map, And knew that somehow I could find my way back; Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too - So I stayed in the darkness with you
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I've been on a reading kick so here's what I have to offer.....

Stephanie Meyer's oh so popular Twilight, it's fantabulous I have the second book in waiting!!!

Max Barry's Syrup a short, easy, entertaining read about Coca-Cola and marketing. Not actually events just a fictitious story Barry created using the Coke company.

Cormac McCarthy's The Road, he wrote No Country for Old Men and All the Pretty Horses which I haven't read but I really enjoyed The Road. I zipped through this one in a day because I couldn't put it down. The story takes place at some unknown time after the United States (or so I imagined but it might not be) burned to the ground. It's about a father and son's journey down the road.

Gregory Maguire's What the Dickens a story about a rogue tooth fairy. It was cute and less odd than some of his other stories.

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*E*V*E*N*S*T*A*R*
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Posted: Tue 08 Jul , 2008 7:08 am
I've cried a thousand oceans, and I would cry a thousand more if that's what it takes to sail you home.
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TheMary wrote:
Cormac McCarthy's The Road
Is that the one they just made into a film with Viggo?




*E*

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TheMary
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Posted: Sun 27 Jul , 2008 9:13 am
I took the stars from my eyes, and then I made a map, And knew that somehow I could find my way back; Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too - So I stayed in the darkness with you
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*E*V*E*N*S*T*A*R* wrote:
TheMary wrote:
Cormac McCarthy's The Road
Is that the one they just made into a film with Viggo?




*E*
Well I just don't know *goes to check*, why yes it is! I didn't even know there was a movie being made. But I guess it makes sense with No Country's HUGE success. I didn't really picture Viggo as the father but I'm sure he'll do fine :).

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Lay down
Your sweet and weary head
Night is falling
You’ve come to journey's end
Sleep now
And dream of the ones who came before
They are calling
From across the distant shore

Why do you weep?
What are these tears upon your face?
Soon you will see
All of your fears will pass away
Safe in my arms
You're only sleeping


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*E*V*E*N*S*T*A*R*
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Posted: Sun 27 Jul , 2008 9:17 am
I've cried a thousand oceans, and I would cry a thousand more if that's what it takes to sail you home.
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Ooo I was just going to PM you and ask how the move is going cuz you hadn't been around for a while. Hope all's well.




*E*

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