Book Recommendations

[Lovecat]

Lovecat, I found Columbine to be a very fast read because it was that engrossing and I couldn't put it down.   According to Amazon, it clocks in at 442 pages so definitely shorter than And the Band Played On.

 

Re: Ebola.  So true.

IIRC, I read Columbine over the course of a weekend, so I'm right there with you about it being a quick read. I thought the page count was higher, though...then again, I read it in hardback, which I rarely do because if my teeny-tiny hands! Maybe it just *seemed* longer due to its heft :)

[raven]

 

. I'm so excited to find a "new" author with lots of books to read!

Don't you love that?  You just know you have a stretch of stuff you're probably going to enjoy.

 

A little while back I finished Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore which was a fun read.  Great bookstore location, interesting characters/relationships, nothing intense.  I got it from the library and will probably add to my collection, it is very re-readable.  The author has a Kindle single giving more background on Mr. Penumbra, haven't read that yet.

[dcalley]

I hope this is an OK use of this thread, and I am very willing to accept PMs in response rather than taking over the thread. My husband's office is getting Christmas presents for a family whose father is out of work. There are five kids, and one of the boys asked for books! (Hurrah!) He's 9 and also asked for a race car. If you have any suggestions, give them to me! I'll probably ask my independent bookseller for help, too, but I don't know if that will really work out or not. Thanks!

Edited December 4, 2014 by dcalley

[NewDigs]

Kids read at such different levels but the first things to pop into my mind are the Wimpy Kid series, and the author Rick Riordan.

[OakGoblinFly]

At that age my nephew loved the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer.

[dcalley]

If I had to guess, based on the reputation of our schools, I'd say he reads below grade level. Searching for these authors led me to the Scholastic site, which lets you filter by age and skill level. It looks like some books by Riordan (The Maze of Bones) and Colfer (The Legend of Spud Murphy) might be good options. Thanks!

[GaT]

Harry Potter?

[dcalley]

Good suggestion, as "Harry Potter box set" is actually on the list for the whole family, but I don't know if that's DVDs or books. I would have to ask the coordinator to ask the caseworker.

[glowlights]

You might like some of the suggestions here:

http://www.booktrust.org.uk/books/children/booklists/243/

 

If you think he's reading below grade then you can also select the 6-8 age range. Hope you find something! It's terrific that he asked for books, :)

[dcalley]

How could I forget Roald Dahl? He was a popular author with a middle-schooler I read with a few years ago. Thanks, glowlights.

[galax-arena]

Louis Sachar, maybe? I loved his Wayside School series. They're at the easier end of chapter books, I think a lot of kids read them in the second or third grade. So if the boy is reading below grade level, that could be a good choice. 

[GaT]

I just finished The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling). I absolutely detested A Casual Vacancy to the point where I swore off of reading any more of JK Rowling's adult books. For that reason, I wasn't planning on reading this, but someone convinced me to get it just when I had a 25% off coupon at Barnes & Noble. I'm glad they did, because I enjoyed it very much. They told me it kind of felt like a modernized Agatha Christie story, & I agree. It's definitely not a cozy, but something about how the characters are written has an Agatha Christie feel to it & 

the ending is very The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

. I plan on reading the sequel.

[proserpina65]

I currently have an interest in fiction dealing with WWI and its immediate aftermath in Europe.  I've blown through all of Charle Todd's mysteries in record time, and am currently in the market for something similar.  Doesn't have to be mystery, although I do prefer that genre, but I'm not particularly into romance-type novels.  Anybody have any suggestions?

[Bunty]

I currently have an interest in fiction dealing with WWI and its immediate aftermath in Europe.  I've blown through all of Charle Todd's mysteries in record time, and am currently in the market for something similar.  Doesn't have to be mystery, although I do prefer that genre, but I'm not particularly into romance-type novels.  Anybody have any suggestions?

You might try Barbara Cleverly.  She writes a series that starts with The Last Kashmiri Rose

 

Here's a bit of the review from Publishers Weekly

 

In an impressive debut, British author Cleverly weaves an engrossing tale of serial murder and the impending decline of the British Empire into a well-written fair-play mystery set in 1920s India. Commander Joe Sandilands, a Scotland Yarder completing a stint with the Bengal Police, is on his way back home when the provincial governor asks him to look into the recent death-by-suicide of an army officers young wife ...  the detective probes beneath the surface of a society attempting to replicate pre-WWI England in a very different milieu.

 

While early books deal with India & Afghanistan, later books move back to England and France and many of the characters including the main detective are still dealing with the fallout from the Great War.

 

Full title list

1. The Last Kashmiri Rose (2001)

2. Ragtime In Simla (2002)

3. The Damascened Blade (2003)

4. The Palace Tiger (2004)

5. The Bee's Kiss (2005)

6. Tug of War (2006)

7. Folly Du Jour (2007)

8. Strange Images of Death (2010)

9. The Blood Royal (2011)

10. Not My Blood (2012)

11. A Spider in the Cup (2013)

12. Enter Pale Death (2014)

Edited December 18, 2014 by Bunty

[Danny Franks]

For anyone who's a fan of magic-light fantasy, I'd highly recommend Blood Song by Anthony Ryan. It's the first in a trilogy (aren't they all?), and a really good read. A protagonist who is admirable and noble, even if occasionally infuriating, some well drawn and sympathetic secondary characters, and a few intriguing mysteries, about both characters and plot.

 

Very easy to read, once you get into it, and the world building is nicely done, while never threatening to overtake the plot. For people who get annoyed at wizards and incantations and runic chants overtaking their fantasy stories, this one is ideal. Magic is there, but it's very low key and grounded more in mysticism than in any sort of recognised talent or school system.

[Joe]

I'd heard it's good. But what about the tone? Darker stories are in vogue at the moment, but that's not my thing. I'm not opposed to some moral complexity, but I'm not fond of everyone being a complete unlikeable asshole.

[Danny Franks]

I'd heard it's good. But what about the tone? Darker stories are in vogue at the moment, but that's not my thing. I'm not opposed to some moral complexity, but I'm not fond of everyone being a complete unlikeable asshole.

 

It's definitely not dark, in the sense of people being unlikeable assholes. The theme of brotherhood between the main character and his group of friends is strong, throughout. Even some of the characters who initially seem like assholes prove to have their virtues. There's only really one or two Machiavellian type characters, but they're obviously schemers, and are even quite open about it.

 

I'm sure some people would dislike the book for not being dark and 'gritty' enough. The main character is forbidding, to others, but he's undoubtedly a good person, who is probably too noble for his own good. I like heroes like that, in my fantasy literature. As you say, moral complexity is good, and I like characters having to make tough choices and to do bad things on occasion, and the protagonist here definitely does his fair share of things that don't sit well with the character or the reader. So I think that's where the elements of complexity come from, that the hero has to sometimes compromise his integrity in order to carry out the commands he's given or the obligations he is under.

[Joe]

Sounds like it's worth a look, thanks.

[proserpina65]

Thanks for the recommendation, Bunty.  I'll definitely check out her books. 

[MargeGunderson]

I currently have an interest in fiction dealing with WWI and its immediate aftermath in Europe.  I've blown through all of Charle Todd's mysteries in record time, and am currently in the market for something similar.  Doesn't have to be mystery, although I do prefer that genre, but I'm not particularly into romance-type novels.  Anybody have any suggestions?

David Downing has a series of mystery/intrigue books set in Germany pre-WWII and then during the war. The protagonist is an English/American journalist in Berlin. I've really enjoyed them.

[AuntiePam]

Philip Kerr's novels aren't immediately after WWI, but they're before WWII.  The main character is a detective who's on the outs with the new regime. 

[romantic idiot]

In case you didn't know, she just released a book under the pseudonym Katherine Addison-- The Goblin Emperor.

It feels like I've been waiting for years for The Goblin Emperor to come out, since I fell in love with her "Doctrine of Labyrinth" series. Highly recommended. Her world building and characterisation are superb and I liked it even though my ship didn't land. 

[Babalu]

I currently have an interest in fiction dealing with WWI and its immediate aftermath in Europe.  I've blown through all of Charle Todd's mysteries in record time, and am currently in the market for something similar.  Doesn't have to be mystery, although I do prefer that genre, but I'm not particularly into romance-type novels.  Anybody have any suggestions?

I recommend the Pat Barker "Regeneration" trilogy. Here's a link to her Wikipedia article, which gives a little information about it, so you can see if it sounds like your cup of tea: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Barker

[auntlada]

I currently have an interest in fiction dealing with WWI and its immediate aftermath in Europe.  I've blown through all of Charle Todd's mysteries in record time, and am currently in the market for something similar.  Doesn't have to be mystery, although I do prefer that genre, but I'm not particularly into romance-type novels.  Anybody have any suggestions?

You might try John Buchan's Richard Hannay books, starting with The Thirty-Nine Steps. The movie was loosely based on it, but is very different. The first was written in 1915, and they are not politically correct (to say the least -- the attitudes are very much of the time), and they are not serious reading, but they are fun.

[meep.meep]

I currently have an interest in fiction dealing with WWI and its immediate aftermath in Europe.  I've blown through all of Charle Todd's mysteries in record time, and am currently in the market for something similar.  Doesn't have to be mystery, although I do prefer that genre, but I'm not particularly into romance-type novels.  Anybody have any suggestions?

Christopher Isherwood of course

Jonathan Rabb's trio of mysteries about a Berlin police officer between the wars (Rosa, Light and Shadow, and The Second Son)

[GaT]

Has anyone read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline? What did you think of it? It sounds like it might be interesting, but it's not a book I would normally read. It has good reviews, but I thought I would check here & see if anyone recommends it.

[AuntiePam]

GaT, I tried Ready Player One but dumped it.  I don't remember much about it, just that I felt like I was "reading" a video game.  The premise was interesting, but I guess it just wasn't for me.  (I'm old.)  :-)

[GaT]

GaT, I tried Ready Player One but dumped it.  I don't remember much about it, just that I felt like I was "reading" a video game.  The premise was interesting, but I guess it just wasn't for me.  (I'm old.)  :-)

Hmm, thanks, I'm not into video games.

[taragel]

Has anyone read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline? What did you think of it? It sounds like it might be interesting, but it's not a book I would normally read. It has good reviews, but I thought I would check here & see if anyone recommends it.

I loved it and thought it was really fun. I grew up in the 80s playing text computer games like Zork and love books with scavenger hunt-type plots so it hit a lot of buttons for me. It's also on sale today for $2.80 for the Kindle version at Amazon. 

[GaT]

I loved it and thought it was really fun. I grew up in the 80s playing text computer games like Zork and love books with scavenger hunt-type plots so it hit a lot of buttons for me. It's also on sale today for $2.80 for the Kindle version at Amazon. 

I find computer games boring & don't play them at all, Do you have to enjoy games to enjoy the book?

[Danny Franks]

I thought Ready Player One was excellent, and a really original, interesting novel. Do you have to be into video games to enjoy it? I can't answer that as I am into video games, and know enough about the history of them to get most of the references.

 

But there are plenty of pop culture references that are about TV or music or movies, as well. I don't think the plot really requires you to have more than the most rudimentary knowledge that video games sometimes consist of quests to find stuff that opens other stuff. It was the dystopian world that Ernest Cline built that I found really interesting, and the characters were engaging and sympathetic.

 

You, by Austin Grossman was another really good video game related novel. Probably more necessary to like video games for that one, and particularly the Gauntlet series and RPG games. It's a very good novel, albeit one with an oddly subdued, internalised plot.

[taragel]

Agreeing with Danny. I don't think you couldn't enjoy it if you didn't watch/enjoy video games, it'll just give you a little extra smile/chuckles at all the references. There are a lot of other fun illusions to '80s stuff too. And basically if you like quest novels with a young hero coming of age, you could enjoy it. 

[GaT]

Thanks Danny Franks & taragel, I guess I'll have to think about it a bit.

 

I don't think the plot really requires you to have more than the most rudimentary knowledge that video games sometimes consist of quests to find stuff that opens other stuff. 

Since I didn't know this, I'm still not sure.

[SosaLola]

Blueeyedboy by Joanne Harris. Mysterious and creepy with an intense and unpredictable plot twist in the middle. As someone who used to live in livejournal, reading and posting so many fanfiction, I was amused by the narrative structure. 

Edited January 23, 2015 by SosaLola

[Sharpie66]

That one sounds excellent!

 

Are there novels that spend time on the concept of fanfiction? I wrote a paper for my Readers Advisory class in library school last year that was all about fanfic and how it should be used by librarians as a way to get reluctant, EASL, and illiterate readers to read more. I would love to find some novels I can add to my list of officially-published books that talk about fanfic in a positive way.

[Athena]

Are there novels that spend time on the concept of fanfiction? I wrote a paper for my Readers Advisory class in library school last year that was all about fanfic and how it should be used by librarians as a way to get reluctant, EASL, and illiterate readers to read more. I would love to find some novels I can add to my list of officially-published books that talk about fanfic in a positive way.

 

If you find these books, let me know. There is some brilliant fanfic out there.

 

I think it's interesting is that there are authors who wrote fanfic and are now published. Cassandra Claire and Holly Black were both Harry Potter fanfic writers. The former is now a bestselling author, and her style has not changed that much from when I first read her fanfiction over fifteen years ago.

 

For a recommendation: Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown. 19th historical fiction about a private chef who is kidnapped by a red-haired female pirate Captain and her crew. Adventures ensue. The chef reminds my friend and I of Frasier & Niles Crane. It's a really fun historical adventure novel that also lots of food talk, travel, and just a dash of romance. It's just an enjoyable novel.

[GaT]

I think it's interesting is that there are authors who wrote fanfic and are now published. Cassandra Claire and Holly Black were both Harry Potter fanfic writers. The former is now a bestselling author, and her style has not changed that much from when I first read her fanfiction over fifteen years ago.

 

 

 

Don't forget E. L. James (Fifty Shades of Gray), that story started out as a Twilight fanfic called Master of the Universe, & I actually read it as it was being written, 

[Mischievious]

I just finished reading "Dorothy Must Die" by Danielle Paige. I didn't realize it was a young adult book until I looked at the library spine halfway through. That said, it was far better than I expected. It kept my attention and I struggled to put it down. It is another spin on the classic Wizard of Oz a la Wicked. If I remember I'll have to check out the sequel from the library when it is published.

[galax-arena]

Are there novels that spend time on the concept of fanfiction? I wrote a paper for my Readers Advisory class in library school last year that was all about fanfic and how it should be used by librarians as a way to get reluctant, EASL, and illiterate readers to read more. I would love to find some novels I can add to my list of officially-published books that talk about fanfic in a positive way.

I haven't read it - and I hated the author's other book - but there's Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. It's a YA novel about.... a fangirl.

I think it's interesting is that there are authors who wrote fanfic and are now published. Cassandra Claire and Holly Black were both Harry Potter fanfic writers. The former is now a bestselling author, and her style has not changed that much from when I first read her fanfiction over fifteen years ago.

Oh god, Cassie Cla(i)re. Her whole plagiarism debacle was one of the best fandom blow-ups ever.

[taragel]

I liked Rowell's Fangirl but it's fairly light on the whole fandom thing and there's some stuff in it that....doesn't compute. [Ain't no way a fangirl who writes cloyingly sweet Harry/Draco fic and NO porn/explicit scenes gets the supposed fame/following her main character supposedly has. Lol.] 

 

[Joe]

Anyone have any suggestions for military SF? I have to qualify this, though. Not that subgenre where it focusses on a bunch of diehard conservatives and anyone slightly left of them is useless/a traitor and so they're the only ones who understand/make things better. I've read those books and don't like them. But anything else, especially towards a lighter tone.

[Danny Franks]

Anyone have any suggestions for military SF? I have to qualify this, though. Not that subgenre where it focusses on a bunch of diehard conservatives and anyone slightly left of them is useless/a traitor and so they're the only ones who understand/make things better. I've read those books and don't like them. But anything else, especially towards a lighter tone.

 

I enjoyed Germline by T.C. McCarthy. It's a story about a futuristic war between East and West, told through the eyes of an embedded reporter, and looks at the idea of genetically engineered soldiers and whether they should be treated as real people or not. It's very brutal in parts. The book takes the idea of WW1 trenches and the danger of being above ground to the next level, with battles being fought mostly in tunnels carved underground because tactical nukes destroy anything on the surface.

 

It's the first book in a trilogy called The Subterrene War, and I've not read the sequels but they're supposed to be good as well. There are certainly conservative, fascist viewpoints, but I don't think they're ever validated as being the right way of looking at things. There's some really interesting stuff about loss of innocence that brings to mind the Vietnam War movies of the 1980s.

[Joe]

Thanks, I'll give it a look.

[RealityCheck]

I am currently re-listening (I read the books first) to the Empire of Man series written by David Weber and John Ringo and highly recommend it. The series is currently up to four books but the authors indicated there is a fifth book underway. The audiobooks, narrated by Stefan Rudnicki, are very well done.

 

From Wikipedia:

The Empire of Man (also called the Prince Roger series and the March Upcountry series) is a series of science fiction books by David Weber and John Ringo published by Baen Books. It combines elements of spaceThe series tells the story of Prince Roger and his personal guard, the Bronze Battalion of the Empress's Own, as they cross the hostile and alien world of Marduk where they have been marooned.  Roger is the spoiled younger son of the Empress of the largest polity in the galaxy, the Earth-based "Empire of Man".  Roger, third in line to his mother's throne, is described at the start of the series as an over-handsome, but essentially useless fop.  Part of this description comes from a reputation he owes to the acts and status of his father, the Duke of New Madrid, who is estranged from the empress.

 

David Weber is best known for his Honor Harrington series, which I also really enjoy.

 

From Wikipedia:

The Honorverse refers to the military science fiction book series, its two sub-series, and anthologies created by David Weber and published by Baen Books.  They are centred on the space navy career of the principal protagonist Honor Harrington.

 

The central Honor Harrington series is currently 13 books but has spun off several supplementary storylines in other books.

 

Another series I really enjoyed was the Lost Fleet series and its follow-on series, Beyond the Frontier and The LostStars, by John G. Hemry written under the name of Jack Campbell. I listened to these audiobooks and the narrator, Christian Rummel, did an excellent job.

 

If you do read any of these books, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

[Joe]

Yeah, I tried the first Empire of Man book, and just made it through the first Honour Harrington. I'm not sure David Weber is my sort of thing.

[Mars477]

David Weber is godawful, although he's damned prolific.  Weber can't do characterization to save his life, however, with all of his characters having the same general voice (or else being ridiculously exaggerated stereotypes).  I'd love Honor Harrington for who she is but her character's flat as a board and really only gets more sanctimonious.

 

The Lost Fleet series has a few decent books, but is also pretty terrible.  There's also the whole thing where both of the female characters who actually get a decent amount of pagetime spend a few books cattily fighting over the hero, who is a massive Marty Stu.

 

If you're looking for military science fiction, I'd try out Joel Shepherd's Cassandra Kreznov series.  Sandy is also a little too perfect (she's a prototype military-grade gynoid, so she's very good at fighting and thinking) but she's also allowed to be wrong more.  The series leans more towards small unit commando actions rather than space warfare, however.

[Joe]

That's fine, I'm happy with any subtype of mil SF.

[Mars477]

General "good books" recommendation for those who like fantasy: Joe Abercrombie is fantastic.  He's part of the "grimdark" fantasy movement, although he's also pretty much the best author in that subgenre (since Gemmel is dead) and there's none of the misogyny or rape fantasies that you would find it a R Scott Bakker or Mark Lawrence novel.  Do expect masterful writing and fantastic characterization.

 

He's best known for The First Law Trilogy: "The Blade Itself", "Before They Are Hanged", and "The Last Argument of Kings", a deconstruction of high fantasy like The Lord of the Rings.  The trilogy is followed chronologically by three standalone novels.  Best Served Cold is a Beatrix Kiddo-esque revenge tale set in a fantasy take on the Italian Wars.  The Heroes is a war story covering both sides of a battle between two very grey nations.  And Red Country is a fantastic adaptation of a classic western to a pre-gunpowder setting.  Best Served Cold and Red Country also have two excellent examples of strong, well written female protagonists, proving that female characters can do more in grimdark fantasy than just sit around looking pretty and getting raped.  Best Served Cold also has a certain excellently written sex scene, but not in the way that you'd think.  Really, you'll have to read it to see for yourself.

 

You don't need to read the trilogy to make sense of the standalone books, and I'd argue that the later books are much better written from a technical and character standpoint.  Knowledge of the trilogy does help a certain events in the standalones carry more emotional heft, though.

 

He also has a young adult series coming out, with Half a King already out and Half the World coming out in a few weeks.  They're basically the same as his adult oriented work, minus the swearing and sex.

Edited February 3, 2015 by Mars477

[glowlights]

Hello readers, I wonder if anyone here has good book recommendations for someone who enjoys non-fiction that focuses on contemporary North American or British politics. They like biographies but also accounts of specific incidents or events. I know that's kind of a broad description but it's all I know of this person's tastes, and am shopping for a gift. Thanks!!!

[Sharpie66]

I can't think of anything offhand, but I went over to Good Reads and narrowed down a search for Nonfiction - Politics - Government here: https://www.goodreads.com/genres/government

 

Have fun browsing!