booooooooooookses.

[schmerica]

Please to rec me books?

I like nonfiction. I like genre fiction of all kinds. I like funny books and quirky books and books with history or language or books or expatriates or food. I like both brand new books and older books. I read a lot and very quickly, but am easily bored (often, but not exclusively, with mainstream literary fiction). I am not well-read in the categories of YA or romance, and both are large enough that I am wary of guessing on goodness on my own.

Behind the cut tag is the list of the books I have read and enjoyed (that is, I'm kicking off the sucky and mediocre books I finished anyway) since December 2004, for context:

The Last Camel Died at Noon by Elizabeth Peters
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie
Miracle and Other Christmas Stories by Connie Willis
Frederica by Georgette Heyer
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
The Snake, The Crocodile and the Dog by Elizabeth Peters
The Invention of Love by Tom Stoppard
As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann
Sunshine by Robin McKinley
Empress of the World by Sara Ryan
A Massive Swelling: Celebrity Reexamined as a Grotesque Crippling Disease by Cintra Wilson
Grass as His Pillow by Lian Hearn
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States by Bill Bryson
Weird and Tragic Shores: The Story of Charles Francis Hall, Explorer by Chauncey Loomis
The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libby Bray

Comments

[in-stead.livejournal.com]

I think that I am constitutionally incapable of passing by a book rec request. Like most avid readers, I want so desperately to share my discovery when I stumble over books that I love, yet most people on an average day will have none of it.

So.

First off, I want to second whoever it was that recommended The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400032717/qid=1116430522/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-0449743-7327117). It really is a fantastic book.

On a non-fiction front, I have to point you at The Mummy Congress by Heather Pringle (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002NKE2E/qid=1116430476/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/104-0449743-7327117?v=glance&s=books&n=507846). Mostly because I've been trying to make everyone I know read this book since the day I finished it. I actually read the last page, closed the book, and handed it over to my father, who was at that time sitting next to me on a plane. It's really well written and, if you are at all fond of popular science type stuff or have ever been interested in mummies or the cross-cultural expression of the human desire for immortality or belief in life after death, you cannot give this book a pass.

I refuse to even start in on recommending history books, as I am a history major in the middle of writing my Master's thesis, and that could so quickly get out of hand. *g*

As for non-fiction, I have to admit, because I've been writing my Master's thesis lately, I haven't read an intellectually rewarding book for fun in months. As such, I feel utterly confident in my ability to recommend books for light, fun reading, and not at all equipped to address anything of a more worthy nature.

I've been reading romances at a terrific pace, because they really are the definition of light and fun reading. Also, they have a lot in common with slash, aside from the het angle. A lot of the genre tropes are the same, which isn't really a surprise, I think, because so many slash fics are stories about a romantic connection between two characters.

If you're in the mood to give the romance genre a try, I'd recommend anything by Linda Howard (who has lately been writing romantic thrillers and who writes fantastic, filthy, sweaty, sex scenes), Jo Beverly (who writes beautiful, accurate, plotty historical romances and has brilliantly diverse characters), and Judith McNaught (fantastic, wonderful, on-the-verge-but-not-quite overblown angst -- both in her historical and in her contemporary stories).

Also, I recently read one book that I loved and which contains a hilarious, tongue-in-cheek brush with fandom. Return Engagement by Lynn Michaels (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0804119619/qid=1116431935/sr=8-2/ref=pd_csp_2/104-0449743-7327117?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) is about Noah Patrick and Lindsay West who, when they were teens, were the stars of an immensely popular teen soap that sounds rather like The O.C. Fifteen years down the line, Lindsay has been living a quiet life back in her home town with her teenaged son and Noah has hit bottom with bone crunching force, bounced, hit bottom again, and, while he was down, suffered a few brutal kicks in the ribs besides. In short, he's a little desparate. Some outside machinations later, and the two are starring in a play, billed as the big reunion of the old teen stars. The fandom angle kicks in late in the book, when all of the old fans of the show -- who have been dutifully maintaining websites, buying each season on DVD, having debates about whether the fact that Noah's character switched from a red surfboard to a blue one in one episode was actually a shout-out of his secret love for Lindsay, and, I have no doubt, writing fic! -- catch wind of the reunion. Tons of fun. I read some of Lynn Michaels other books, which are okay, but this is absolutely my favourite.

And, uh, I have other books -- why, I haven't even touched on sci-fi/fantasy or Y.A. lit yet! -- but I just realised how long this reply has become, so I think I'll leave it at that.

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

Long replies = JOY, in this case. This comment rocked; thank you so much!

[in-stead.livejournal.com]

You're more than welcome. It's a pleasure to be offering book recs to someone who's actually interested in hearing them as opposed to someone who is tuning me out and using the time during which I am delivering a carefully considered review of the book(s) in question to mentally balance their cheque book! *g*