Book Recommendations

[bubbls]

Thanks for the recommendations everyone! I'll explore them on Amazon. I'm excited! I'm in the mood to settle in for a good long read.

[Sharpie66]

I think the jewel book you're thinking of is The Books of Rachel by Joel Gross, which is a fantastic book I read back in the early '80s when I was in high school.

 

The main author of generation-spanning books that I can think of is James Michener, but his books are so long and dense that I never really got into them too much. I read Chesapeake for a junior-high book club assignment and don't remember hating it, per se, but really don't remember liking it all that much, either. I did try to read Centennial and just could not get into it at all.

 

Maybe someone here has a good Michener rec?

 

ETA: For a series of books about the same family, take a look at The Kent Family Chronicles by John Jakes, which goes from the American Revolution through the end of the 19th century (it was supposed to continue up to the Bicentennial, but he didn't finish with his original planned books).

Edited July 9, 2015 by Sharpie66

[glowlights]

Thank you everyone for recommendations!!! I am off to Powell's to search... He has liked Follett, Forsyth and Ludlum in the past so will see if there is anything else by those authors that he hasn't read. Look forward to searching on the other authors mentioned. Thanks a million you guys!

[AuntiePam]

glowlights, another good espionage writer is Robert Littell -- start with The Amateur.  I'll second Joseph Kanon, Ludlum, and early Ken Follett (not the historicals).  Another writer that men (and many women) like is Wilbur Smith -- adventure stuff with some manly-style romance. 

 

John Connolly and Michael Connelly write good detective/lawyer fiction.

 

I remembered another good generational saga -- http://www.amazon.com/The-Quincunx-Charles-Palliser/dp/B000QBA10M--  The Quincunx by Charles Palliser -- it's been years since I read it but I remember liking it a lot.

Edited July 9, 2015 by AuntiePam

[cherrypj]

Can anyone recommend any interesting series that cover generations?

 

Daniel Abraham's Long Price Quartet (start with A Shadow in Summer) is pretty good. It's not generations, it's really one life, but that life starts early and ends late.

[auntlada]

Can anyone recommend any interesting series that cover generations? An example of what I'm asking for is a book I read that centered on a precious jewel and the individual stories of the generations of people who owned it. Another one is Exodus by Leon Uris. Clan of the Cave Bear is another. I'd prefer something fairly clean. It doesn't have to be rated G, but I don't want any pleasuring or panting or throbbing anythings. I can skip over that stuff if it's just occasional.

 

Have you read any of Edward Rutherfurd's books? They are set in one place and tell the story of the place over hundreds or thousands of years through the people who lived there. I liked "New York" and "London" a lot.

[bubbls]

Have you read any of Edward Rutherfurd's books? They are set in one place and tell the story of the place over hundreds or thousands of years through the people who lived there. I liked "New York" and "London" a lot.

 

I'll look into this one. It sounds like specifically what I was looking for. Thanks! I got tied up in another author so I haven't started on my "generations" reading yet. I'll never live long enough!

[Mystery]

I also love Rutherferd's first book, "Sarum," about the building of Salisbury Cathedral (among other things--it covers several families through thousands of years). I had to visit Salisbury when I went to England because of that and "To Say Nothing of the Dog." I just started "Paris."

[GreekGeek]

A classic multi-generational family saga is John Steinbeck's East of Eden. If you only know it via the James Dean movie, you've missed a lot of the very rich earlier material.

 

Can anyone made some recommendations about alternate history novels? I'm particularly interested in twentieth century America and in ancient Rome. I'm currently reading Stephen King's 11/22/63 and enjoyed Philip Roth's The Plot Against America. 

[auntlada]

Harry Turtledove. My husband says he is the king of alternate history. He also recommends (possibly better) S.M. Stirling's Nantucket series, Apacheria by Jake Page and The Two Georges.

[Eegah]

Eric Flint's 1632 series. An entire modern day (2000) town is transported back to Germany in the middle of the Thirty Years' War. The biggest appeal is that it's a true ensemble piece, as Flint hates the "Great Man" theory of history and wanted to show how a bunch of little decisions could build up. He eventually took this idea so far that now anyone is free to submit their own entries to him and have them become official canon for the series.

[Mars477]

I don't know, the 1632 series is incredibly heavy on the Great Man factor in history.

[SmithW6079]

S.M. Stirling's "Draka" series takes place in the 20th century, but doesn't focus on America. The point of divergence happens after the Revolutionary War. I really enjoyed those.

Harry Turtledove's "American Front" series takes place in 20th-century America after the South won the Civil War. I started them, but never finished -- too many military battles and not enough of general society.

Although they're not alternate history per se, several of Guy Gavriel Kay's books take place in alternate universes very similar to ours.

[Danny Franks]

Harry Turtledove's "American Front" series takes place in 20th-century America after the South won the Civil War. I started them, but never finished -- too many military battles and not enough of general society.

 

I found the second of those trilogies to be just a bit too on the nose when paralleling the rise of Nazism with the resurgence of the South after WWI. And none of the characters grabbed me enough to keep slogging through it.

 

But Turtledove's two Days of Infamy books, that depict Japan invading Hawaii immediately after the Pearl Harbor attack, were pretty good. They felt like a very realistic, viable take on what might have happened, using lots of accounts of Japanese treatment of islands they conquered as the basis.

 

The Yiddish Policemen's Union, an alternate history book by Michael Chabon, is interesting. Not a patch on his best work, and not as major a historical rewrite like Turtledove's books. It's about a town in Alaska that became home to a large Jewish population after WWII, and the failure of Israel as a state. But the story is about a down on his luck cop investigating a murder case that ties into that alternate world history.

[Haleth]

Maybe someone here has a good Michener rec?

 

In addition to Centennial I really enjoyed The Source (about Israel) and Hawaii when I read them decades ago.  This century I brought Hawaii with me on a trip to Hawaii because that was one very long flight and, you know, it was about Hawaii.  It was somewhat dated but still a rich story of the conflict and eventual melding of cultures.

[SmithW6079]

I found the second of those trilogies to be just a bit too on the nose when paralleling the rise of Nazism with the resurgence of the South after WWI. And none of the characters grabbed me enough to keep slogging through it.

 

But Turtledove's two Days of Infamy books, that depict Japan invading Hawaii immediately after the Pearl Harbor attack, were pretty good. They felt like a very realistic, viable take on what might have happened, using lots of accounts of Japanese treatment of islands they conquered as the basis.

 

The Yiddish Policemen's Union, an alternate history book by Michael Chabon, is interesting. Not a patch on his best work, and not as major a historical rewrite like Turtledove's books. It's about a town in Alaska that became home to a large Jewish population after WWII, and the failure of Israel as a state. But the story is about a down on his luck cop investigating a murder case that ties into that alternate world history.

For all he's a master of alternate history, I actually don't care for many of Turtledove's books. Maybe because he focuses so much on military battles, and I'm more interested in the civilian societies of the revised time line. However, I will have to check out the Days of Infamy books; I'm not aware of them. I must confess, I cheated with the American Front series -- I read about them on Wikipedia because I was curious enough to want to know how he developed the world, but not enough to read it. One of my biggest complaints is that he had this huge, sprawling cast of characters, but no character list in the books. That would have been very helpful. (George R.R. Martin always includes the Houses in his Song of Fire and Ice series, which I refer to constantly.)

 

Another classic of alternate history is For Want of a Nail by Robert Sobel. The colonists lose the Revolutionary War and retreat to Mexico. It reads more like a textbook than a novel (and for some reason, my public library had it in the nonfiction section).

[Miss Dee]

Could Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series be considered alternate history, kind of?

[SmithW6079]

Could Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series be considered alternate history, kind of?

I always saw them as literary fantasy.

[Qoass]

I'm looking to buy a book for my dad in which he could write down some family history.  I don't want to get into drawing a family tree-- more something with prompts such as how he met my mom and what his favorite toy was as a kid.

 

Any ideas?

[GreekGeek]

It's not a book, but this site has some suggestions: http://www.thearmchairgenealogist.com/p/ultimate-guide-to-writing-family.html

[GaT]

Has anybody read the Old Man's War series by John Scalzi? I can't decide if I want to read it or not because it's not my usual type of book, but the premise sounds interesting. 

[Joe]

Has anybody read the Old Man's War series by John Scalzi? I can't decide if I want to read it or not because it's not my usual type of book, but the premise sounds interesting. 

Yes, I read them all up to Zoe's Tale, plus a couple of short stories. They're fun for a once-off, IMO. And Scalzi is a very quippy writer. However, there's certainly some very serious stuff happening.

[GaT]

Thanks, I still don't know if I want to read them LOL

[cynic]

I'm on a kick right now with books that feature detectives solving mysteries with some kind of scifi/fantasy twist to the character or the setting. I really enjoy SFF elements, but I don't really like stories that are super heavy SFF like multiple alien empires fighting it out type space books for example. I think that's why I prefer when the framework of the story is more mundane like police work. Lately I've read books with detectives that had magical powers (Rivers of London), are telepaths (Mindspace Investigations), use a robot body (Lock In), or are in the middle of end of the world (The Last Policeman). I've really enjoyed those and would recommend them. I'm currently reading one that features a detective working in a time where humans have colonized part of the solar system (The Expanse). Recommendations like these would be appreciated. I especially love when there is some kind of conspiracy element. I'll also take near future or tech thrillers. Thanks.

Edited December 4, 2015 by cynic

[GaT]

Mindspace Investigations is one of those series that have caught my eye a number of times, do you recommend it?

[Bunty]

books that feature detectives solving mysteries with some kind of scifi/fantasy twist to the character or the setting

 

I think Kristine Kathryn Rusch's Retrieval Artist series might fit.  First book is The Disappeared.

 

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/r/kristine-kathryn-rusch/disappeared.htm

 

In a world where humans and aliens co-exist, where murder is sanctioned, and where no one can find safe haven, one group of private detectives is willing to help the "Disappeared" find their way home. Meet the Retrieval Artists.

[auntlada]

I'm on a kick right now with books that feature detectives solving mysteries with some kind of scifi/fantasy twist to the character or the setting. I really enjoy SFF elements, but I don't really like stories that are super heavy SFF like multiple alien empires fighting it out type space books for example. I think that's why I prefer when the framework of the story is more mundane like police work. Lately I've read books with detectives that had magical powers (Rivers of London), are telepaths (Mindspace Investigations), use a robot body (Lock In), or are in the middle of end of the world (The Last Policeman). I've really enjoyed those and would recommend them. I'm currently reading one that features a detective working in a time where humans have colonized part of the solar system (The Expanse). Recommendations like these would be appreciated. I especially love when there is some kind of conspiracy element. I'll also take near future or tech thrillers. Thanks.

 

Are young adult books of any interest or only adult? In young adult books, I like the Lockwood and Co. books, starting with "The Screaming Staircase," by Jonathan Stroud. Also, the Shades of London series by Maureen Johnson, starting with "The Name of the Star."

 

Edited because you'd think I could get the name of the book right when I have the tab open, but apparently I can't.

Edited December 5, 2015 by auntlada

[cherrypj]

I'm currently reading one that features a detective working in a time where humans have colonized part of the solar system (The Expanse). 

 

 

You can't do wrong with all five books (plus a few novellas) in The Expanse! The show on Sy-Fy is about to start. First episode for free on iTunes.

[cynic]

Mindspace Investigations is one of those series that have caught my eye a number of times, do you recommend it?

 

I have to start off with the caveat that I've only finished the first two so far and I listened to the audiobooks instead of reading it, which can be a very different experience. Having said that, yes, If you like police procedurals with a scifi slant, I would recommend it. It's not literary or anything, but it was enjoyable. I loved the world building and actually hope the author either delves into the backstory more or even writes a prequel for it. I also liked the main character and what felt like his very realistic issues. There was some hokiness to it, like I didn't particularly like some of the characterization of his partner and how tropey some of the criminals were, but the overall story was solid.  

 

I think Kristine Kathryn Rusch's Retrieval Artist series might fit.  First book is The Disappeared.

 

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/r/kristine-kathryn-rusch/disappeared.htm

 

In a world where humans and aliens co-exist, where murder is sanctioned, and where no one can find safe haven, one group of private detectives is willing to help the "Disappeared" find their way home. Meet the Retrieval Artists.

 

Ooh, reading the blurb, sounds like exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. Thanks!

 

Are young adult books of any interest or only adult? In young adult books, I like the Lockwood and Co. books, starting with "The Screaming Staircase," by Jonathan Stroud. Also, the Shades of London series by Maureen Johnson, starting with "The Name of the Star."

 

Edited because you'd think I could get the name of the book right when I have the tab open, but apparently I can't.

 

I don't mind YA. These sound really good. Thanks!

 

You can't do wrong with all five books (plus a few novellas) in The Expanse! The show on Sy-Fy is about to start. First episode for free on iTunes.

 

Thanks for the tip. I actually downloaded it from Amazon. I really enjoyed the first episode and that's what prompted me to start reading the book. I'm very excited to have the season start properly! 

[GaT]

Thanks, maybe I'll give it a try.

[Bunty]

Just finished the second in Carol Berg's Sanctuary duology Ash and Silver.  Book one is Dust and Light. 

 

Some authors are hit and miss for me.  I like some of their stuff but not all.  My favorite authors are the ones where no matter what they write I love it.  And so far anyway Carol Berg is one of those authors I immediately dive into when a new book is published.

 

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/carol-berg/dust-and-light.htm

 

Here is the synopsis of the first title :

 

How much must one pay for an hour of youthful folly? The Pureblood Registry accused Lucian de Remeni-Masson of "unseemly involvement with ordinaries", which meant only that he spoke with a young woman not of his own kind, allowed her to see his face unmasked, worked a bit of magic for her....

 

After that one mistake, Lucian's grandsire excised half his magic and savage Harrowers massacred his family. Now the Registry has contracted his art to a common coroner. His extraordinary gift for portraiture is restricted to dead ordinaries - beggars or starvelings hauled from the streets.

 

But sketching the truth of dead men's souls brings unforeseen consequences. Sensations not his own. Truths he cannot possibly know and dares not believe. The coroner calls him a cheat and says he is trying to weasel out of a humiliating contract. The Registry will call him mad - and mad sorcerers are very dangerous....

[Danny Franks]

I'm on a kick right now with books that feature detectives solving mysteries with some kind of scifi/fantasy twist to the character or the setting. I really enjoy SFF elements, but I don't really like stories that are super heavy SFF like multiple alien empires fighting it out type space books for example. I think that's why I prefer when the framework of the story is more mundane like police work. Lately I've read books with detectives that had magical powers (Rivers of London), are telepaths (Mindspace Investigations), use a robot body (Lock In), or are in the middle of end of the world (The Last Policeman). I've really enjoyed those and would recommend them. I'm currently reading one that features a detective working in a time where humans have colonized part of the solar system (The Expanse). Recommendations like these would be appreciated. I especially love when there is some kind of conspiracy element. I'll also take near future or tech thrillers. Thanks.

 

Can I recommend Altered Carbon, by Richard Morgan? The protagonist is a Deckard-like character who, while not really a detective or investigator, is tasked with solving a murder... by the victim himself. It's a sci-fi/cyberpunk/noir story set in a world where human beings are stored in digital forms, and can be downloaded into different bodies, some flesh and blood, some synthetic (depending on how much money you've got). The first in an excellent trilogy following the same character.

[cynic]

Can I recommend Altered Carbon, by Richard Morgan? The protagonist is a Deckard-like character who, while not really a detective or investigator, is tasked with solving a murder... by the victim himself. It's a sci-fi/cyberpunk/noir story set in a world where human beings are stored in digital forms, and can be downloaded into different bodies, some flesh and blood, some synthetic (depending on how much money you've got). The first in an excellent trilogy following the same character.

That sounds really good. I'll pick it up. Thanks!

[Miss Dee]

You might like Jasper Fforde's Nursery Crimes series. Basically lots of classic nursery rhyme characters (with some folklore and literature thrown in) meets hard-boiled detective novel. There are only two books so far - The Big Over-Easy and The Fourth Bear - but they're highly enjoyable.

[SmithW6079]

You might like Jasper Fforde's Nursery Crimes series. Basically lots of classic nursery rhyme characters (with some folklore and literature thrown in) meets hard-boiled detective novel. There are only two books so far - The Big Over-Easy and The Fourth Bear - but they're highly enjoyable.

There are also Fforde's Thursday Next novels, which delve into literary fantasy.

[Readalot]

Anyone have any recommendation for fiction that incorporates 9/11? I've read three so far, quite by accident it turned out they have the same theme. And I have the worse memory ever but here are the descriptions. 1). About an author and his wife and their circle of friends and how 9/11 changed their lives. The author has a friend that was former party guy and the wife meets a new circle of friends at the relief center for first responders that she volunteers at. I read this book once a year. (But I can't find it now!) the author was a big time popular author in the 80's. 2) About three or four friends a few years out of college when 9/11 happens. One of the friends witnesses it from her bedroom window. 3) about a man and his wife and how 9/11 later effects their marriage. The author is a popular author from the last decade or so. I enjoyed 1 and 3 the most. Any other fiction books you can recommend would be great. I got a B & N gift card for Christmas! I have enough to get one more book. TIA. Edited to add - #2 is Claire Messud's The Emperor's Children #1 is Jay McInerney's The Good Life #3 = The Hour I First Beleived by Wally Lamb. Although it is more about Columbine.

Edited January 9, 2016 by Readalot

[OakGoblinFly]

I'm on a kick right now with books that feature detectives solving mysteries with some kind of scifi/fantasy twist to the character or the setting. I really enjoy SFF elements, but I don't really like stories that are super heavy SFF like multiple alien empires fighting it out type space books for example. I think that's why I prefer when the framework of the story is more mundane like police work. Lately I've read books with detectives that had magical powers (Rivers of London), are telepaths (Mindspace Investigations), use a robot body (Lock In), or are in the middle of end of the world (The Last Policeman). I've really enjoyed those and would recommend them. I'm currently reading one that features a detective working in a time where humans have colonized part of the solar system (The Expanse). Recommendations like these would be appreciated. I especially love when there is some kind of conspiracy element. I'll also take near future or tech thrillers. Thanks.

 

 

Have you tried Simon Green's Secret Histories Series?  They're James Bond inspired, but with a sci-fi/fantasy twist.

 

 

[Haleth]

Anyone have any recommendation for fiction that incorporates 9/11? I've read three so far, quite by accident it turned out they have the same theme. And I have the worse memory ever but here are the descriptions. 1). About an author and his wife and their circle of friends and how 9/11 changed their lives. The author has a friend that was former party guy and the wife meets a new circle of friends at the relief center for first responders that she volunteers at. I read this book once a year. (But I can't find it now!) the author was a big time popular author in the 80's. 2) About three or four friends a few years out of college when 9/11 happens. One of the friends witnesses it from her bedroom window. 3) about a man and his wife and how 9/11 later effects their marriage. The author is a popular author from the last decade or so. I enjoyed 1 and 3 the most. Any other fiction books you can recommend would be great. I got a B & N gift card for Christmas! I have enough to get one more book. TIA. Edited to add - #2 is Claire Messud's The Emperor's Children #1 is Jay McInerney's The Good Life

Readalot, have you read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close?  It's about a little boy who goes on an adventure of discovery after 9/11.  It's quirky, to say the least, and will tear your heart out, but it's a lovely story.

[Readalot]

Readalot, have you read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close? It's about a little boy who goes on an adventure of discovery after 9/11. It's quirky, to say the least, and will tear your heart out, but it's a lovely story.

no I have not! I love quirky so I hope they have it in stock, leaving shortly for BN. Thank you!

[Haleth]

I'm on a kick right now with books that feature detectives solving mysteries with some kind of scifi/fantasy twist to the character or the setting. I really enjoy SFF elements, but I don't really like stories that are super heavy SFF like multiple alien empires fighting it out type space books for example. I think that's why I prefer when the framework of the story is more mundane like police work. Lately I've read books with detectives that had magical powers (Rivers of London), are telepaths (Mindspace Investigations), use a robot body (Lock In), or are in the middle of end of the world (The Last Policeman). I've really enjoyed those and would recommend them. I'm currently reading one that features a detective working in a time where humans have colonized part of the solar system (The Expanse). Recommendations like these would be appreciated. I especially love when there is some kind of conspiracy element. I'll also take near future or tech thrillers. Thanks.

Cynic, have you read China Mieville's The City and the City?  It's a murder mystery that takes place in two warring cities and fits the bill of your interests. It's probably one of the most original stories I've read, my jaw dropped when I figured out what was going on (a huge spoiler).  I really recommend it.

[Jenniferbug]

Haleth, I know I'm not the poster your recommendation was aimed at, but thank you for it anyway :-) I found myself at the library today and realized I had forgotten my to read list at home. I remembered reading your post and grabbed it to read. It sounds like something I will enjoy so thanks for brining it to my attention!

[GaT]

I posted this is the What Are We Currently Reading? thread, but I've finished it, & I'm going to add it to recommendations

I'm reading a kind of different book right now, it's The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness. It's a YA book, but the description really attracted me
 

"What if you aren't the Chosen One? The one who's supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death?

What if you're like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again."

 

As a "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" fan the description caught my eye because basically it's what happens when you're one of the other kids living in a town that gets vampires, & Gods, & other strange things attacking, but you're not one of the people (in this case it's the "Indie" kids) who fight them? Each chapter begins with a paragraph about what is happening to the Indie kids, then it goes onto the lives of the main characters who I'm finding pretty interesting. So far it's been an enjoyable read.

 

Now that I've finished the book I can say I enjoyed it very much. There's some funny stuff (the description of a boy band concert audience is hysterical) & some sad stuff, & it kept my attention the whole time.

[WearyTraveler]

Hello all!

 

I'm an animal lover (dogs topping the list), TV addict (as my membership here surely shows) and book junkie (by age 12 I had already read 1,000 books).  A while back I wrote a short story (non fiction) about my dog that sort of combined these three passions of mine.  My friends and family encouraged me to publish, so, I did.

 

My little story is now available on Amazon and will be promoted free of charge for 5 days starting on Monday, January 16th.  Since you are on this forum and this thread, I deduct we have at least two things in common, and maybe, you'd like to read my first foray in the writing arts.

 

Since it will be available for free, I think it's ok to post it here, but, mods, please forgive me and delete the post if it's not.

 

Here's the link to my little story on Amazon.  Any feedback you guys have is welcomed!
 

http://www.amazon.com/Pumba-wild-boar-Lion-King-ebook/dp/B01AORIA9Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1452975257&sr=1-1&keywords=Pumba

 

[Joe]

It's the middle of summer here, and baking hot. I'm after some good cold books. Ones that take place in winter, when everyone is standing around freezing. Let me think about being cold. Preferably in the sci-fi/fantasy spectrum. Anyone know some good winter books?

[auntlada]

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. It starts in the future and has time travel back to the 1300s. It's winter and pretty cold.

[cherrypj]

It's the middle of summer here, and baking hot. I'm after some good cold books. Ones that take place in winter, when everyone is standing around freezing. Let me think about being cold. Preferably in the sci-fi/fantasy spectrum. Anyone know some good winter books?

 

Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin. I had a devil of a time understanding it, but loved it all the same. You can watch the movie, too (I haven't seen it--heard it wasn't so good).

[AuntiePam]

Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin. I had a devil of a time understanding it, but loved it all the same. You can watch the movie, too (I haven't seen it--heard it wasn't so good).

 

I didn't understand it either, so I gave up.  I might try again.  A friend gave me that book after I mentioned that I liked A Soldier of the Great War, also by Helprin.  Soldier is less fantastical so easier to follow, and the writing is beautiful.

[Lemur]

Open Recommendation:

American Gods by Neil Gaiman.

Jump on this before the adaption hits Starz.  Bryan Fuller is helming it and they just casted Ian McShane in a key role.  That aside, it's a cracking good read.

Edited March 3, 2016 by Lemur

[NutMeg]

What do you all think of Cloud Atlas? Got it as a birthday present, had a few others ahead of it in the queue, wondering if it was hyped so much that it won't live up to any expectations :) 

[Qoass]

I enjoyed Cloud Atlas once I let go of the desire for anything linear...