Recommend a book

[Goldie Munro]

I love reading. I love books.

What book do you recommend?

My first is 'The Crimson Petal and the White' by Michael Faber. A tour de force although i'm not sure about the ending.

My second is 'Cloud Atlas' by David Mitchell - how it was, is and could be.

Yes i know it should just be one but there are too many great books out there!

 

[cloudy]

Reservation Blues, by Sherman Alexie.

I've loved everything of his that I've put my hands on, but this is my favorite.

The legendary blues player, Robert Johnson, shows up on the Spokane Indian reservation, bringing his magical guitar, and hoping to save his soul from the deal he made with the devil.

He passes the guitar to Thomas Builds-the-fire, and the band Coyote Springs is born.

There are passages that will make you laugh out loud as you read it, and then the next page will have you in tears. Truly a wonderful story.

 

[drksideofthemoon]

'Who Has Seen the Wind' - W.O. Mitchell
'Songs of the Cheechako' - Robert Service
'A Day In the Life of Ivan Denisovitch' - Alexander Solzhenitsyn

 

[Goldie Munro]

Pride and Prejudice Jane Austin - subtle, witty and spot on girl!

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

The Course of Honor by Lindsey Davis.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie King.

Both charming, touching stories featuring extraordinary, admirable female protagonists. "I laughed, I cried, I couldn't put it down, and was sad when it was done."

 

[MungoParkIII]

If on a Winter's Night a Traveler Italo Calvino

 

[Goldie Munro]

Reservation Blues, by Sherman Alexie.

I've loved everything of his that I've put my hands on, but this is my favorite.

The legendary blues player, Robert Johnson, shows up on the Spokane Indian reservation, bringing his magical guitar, and hoping to save his soul from the deal he made with the devil.

He passes the guitar to Thomas Builds-the-fire, and the band Coyote Springs is born.

There are passages that will make you laugh out loud as you read it, and then the next page will have you in tears. Truly a wonderful story.

That sounds great Cloudy! I will definitely try to read it.

 

[Stella_Omega]

If on a Winter's Night a Traveler Italo Calvino

Also "Cosmicomics" and "Imaginary Cities"


"Riddley Walker" by Russel Hoban

"The Gods of Pegana" by Lord Dunsany- one of the very very first of the Mythopeic writers, 1850 or something like that.

"Cryptonomicon" by Neil Stephenson

Don't waste your time with "Mistress Of Spices" by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni- except as a good example of why first novels should usually not be published. (and she got a fucking MOVIE DEAL!

 

[sweetnpetite]

some of my favorites:

The Poisonwood Bible

The Red Tent

The Secret Life of Bees

1984

Great Expectations

Grapes of Wrath

The Mermaid Chair

 

[Carnevil9]

So many wonderful books in the history of literature! It is impossible to recommend only one, two, or even a hundred.

Not that that will stop me, of course! I am currently in the process of re-reading the entire "Gor" series by John Norman. Great literature it is not, but for great human comedy/tragedy? Priceless! Highly recommended to all who would learn about characterization, plotting, and humor......Carney

 

[Vermilion]

I love reading. I love books.

What book do you recommend?

My first is 'The Crimson Petal and the White' by Michael Faber. A tour de force although i'm not sure about the ending.

My second is 'Cloud Atlas' by David Mitchell - how it was, is and could be.

Yes i know it should just be one but there are too many great books out there!

I love 'The Crimson Petal...' it was fantastic..


OK... I recommend Anita Dymond 'The Red Tent'

and...

Elizabeth Berg 'Never Change'

Especially the second one. The second one is one of those books that stays with you, it's... what I want my writing to do
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[Vermilion]

The Red Tent

r

See. This is what happens when I don't read all the other posts first.

Ah well.

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[Vermilion]

Pride and Prejudice Jane Austin - subtle, witty and spot on girl!

Think it's 'Austen.'

Mind you... Austen is a different kettle of fish - trying to pick a favourite from one of her works is tricky... I think I'd have to go with Persuasion or Sense And Sensibility

The first because I think it's her most accomplished piece of writing and the second because I just get so involved in that story... Also I wrote my best essay about S&S and 'The Role of Illness in the 19thC. English Novel' and compared it to Shirley by Bronte.

It was a good essay. I got a First.
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[Goldie Munro]

See. This is what happens when I don't read all the other posts first.

Ah well.

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Double recommendations are most welcome!

 

[Vermilion]

Double recommendations are most welcome!

Well it's definitely worth a read, but if I *had* to pick just one book to recommend it'd be the Elizabeth Berg. I am in awe of everything she writes.
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[Belegon]

trying to stay away from my pet genres...

Pompeii by Robert Harris

Good historical fiction.

 

[SimonBrooke]

Top of the list, Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay.

Also "Cosmicomics" and "Imaginary Cities"


"Riddley Walker" by Russel Hoban

"The Gods of Pegana" by Lord Dunsany- one of the very very first of the Mythopeic writers, 1850 or something like that.

I've read his King of Elfland's Daughter, and I'd agree - very good.

"Cryptonomicon" by Neil Stephenson

On that subject, 1610 by Mary Gentle - or, indeed, anything by Mary Gentle.

 

[Vermilion]

or, indeed, anything by Mary Gentle.

What a great name...

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[Goldie Munro]

trying to stay away from my pet genres...

Pompeii by Robert Harris

Good historical fiction.

I loved that book. I know its fiction but it really brought the whole time alive for me.

 

[matriarch]

Impossible to recommend just one........my tastes vary so much according to my mood.

But historical novels are still my favourites, I get involved in the whole time thing........followed closely by GOOD detective novels. Anything by Elizabeth George, Ruth Rendell, M.J. Trow (detective with subtle humour). Min has been introducing me to a few American writers of that genre, working my way through her collection of Tami Hoag at the moment.

And of course, I have a few favourite lesbian detective writers, Katherine V. Forrest and Claire McNab being top of the list.

And of course, there's always science fiction.

 

[Goldie Munro]

Impossible to recommend just one........my tastes vary so much according to my mood.

But historical novels are still my favourites, I get involved in the whole time thing........followed closely by GOOD detective novels. Anything by Elizabeth George, Ruth Rendell, M.J. Trow (detective with subtle humour). Min has been introducing me to a few American writers of that genre, working my way through her collection of Tami Hoag at the moment.

And of course, I have a few favourite lesbian detective writers, Katherine V. Forrest and Claire McNab being top of the list.

And of course, there's always science fiction.

Oh tell me your Sci fi recommendations - please!

 

[Vermilion]

But historical novels are still my favourites, I get involved in the whole time thing.........

Philippa Gregory! She's good. The Other Boleyn Girl and The Queen's Fool

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[Frank Noir]

The two latest books that really impressed me were:

Mark Haddon: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - an amazing insight into the workings of an autistic mind.

Michel Houellebecq: Whatever - a morbidly funny look at the absurdity of the modern world by the bad boy of French literature.

 

[oggbashan]

Thomas Love Peacock: Headlong Hall

A satire on the Age of Enlightenment. I enjoy the debunking of landscape gardening and false intellectualism. Peacock enjoyed language. He isn't easy to read now, unless you love long words and complicated sentence structures.

Og

 

[SimonBrooke]

Thomas Love Peacock: Headlong Hall

A satire on the Age of Enlightenment. I enjoy the debunking of landscape gardening and false intellectualism. Peacock enjoyed language. He isn't easy to read now, unless you love long words and complicated sentence structures.

And The Misfortunes of Elphin, if only for the poetry. The War Song of the Dinas Vawr is an absolute classic:

Oh the mountain sheep are sweeter,
but the valley sheep are fatter,
we therefore deemed it meeter,
to carry off the latter...