I'm out of books to read and have been scoping out books by authors that I have not tried. Got any suggestions? If anybody else happens to be looking too my suggestions are Tamora Pierce, Mercedes Lackey and Philip Pullman, if you have not read their books you're missing out. They might write mostly for a young audience, but the stories are awesome.
Posted by Fyfe (Member # 937) on :
Diana Wynne Jones. I'd start with Charmed Life or Witch Week, probably. She writes for younger audiences, but she's a fantastic writer.
Jen
Posted by chel (Member # 7674) on :
sounds good. thanks
Posted by The White Whale (Member # 6594) on :
If you want to go all or nothing try reading the first book of Stephen King's Dark Tower Series. It's called the Gunslinger. The series continues through seven books (and took King over 20 years to write) but if you liked His Dark Materials, I'm pretty sure you'll like this series too.
Posted by chel (Member # 7674) on :
20 years! Wow, can't even imagine. Guess I'm too young. Stephen King huh? Well I'll have to try it.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
If you read Machiavelli's "the Prince" you get a lot of respect and strange looks from people in power.
Or they set you up with mandatory psychotherapy.
Its short and doesn't have a plot, but it sure is fun to play with people's minds.
Posted by Boon (Member # 4646) on :
There's this one author, his name is Orson Scott Card, and he writes the most amazing novels...
Posted by Astaril (Member # 7440) on :
Diana Wynne Jones is definitely a good read. I liked The Lives of Christopher Chant best. I think it's just before Charmed Life in chronology (not the order they were written, but the order in which events happen in the books). They're all great though.
Another amazing author of the same genre type is Susan Cooper. Her 'The Dark Is Rising' series is phenomenal. The first one, Over Sea, Under Stone, is the weakest of the 5-book series though in my opinion, so keep that in mind if you decide to read them. They get better as you go!
Posted by chel (Member # 7674) on :
ha ha fuuunny Boon! But really, I agree, his books are great.
[ March 30, 2005, 11:04 PM: Message edited by: chel ]
Posted by chel (Member # 7674) on :
And Diana Jones has 2 votes now, lookin good!
Posted by chel (Member # 7674) on :
Never heard of Susan Cooper, but will look for the name now for sure, thanks.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
I love Tamora Pierce! She's one of my favorite authors. No one properly appreciates young adult literature. If you like her I'd also recommend Robin McKinley her Beauty and the Beast retellings are fabulous, though lesser known than her award winning books.
I'd also read Patricia Wrede if you haven't already, her books are for a bit younger reader, but they're still amazing.
If you like Mercedes Lackey I'd suggest Marion Zimmer Bradley (I think). I'm not a big Lackey fan myself, but one of my friends is, so I'm trying to think what she likes. She also introduced me to Dave Duncan's The King Blades series which are great. I don't really know how to describe them, they're fantasy, but not typical fantasy. You also might like David Eddings, if you haven't read him already.
Have you read Philip Pullman's other books? I personally like them a lot more than the His Dark Materials series, though that might just be me.
I'd also like to put in a word for Lois McMaster Bujold. Her books aren't anything like those you mentioned, but she's my favorite author and we seem to have fairly similar tastes.
If you'd like to email or IM me everything should be in my profile. I'll try to talk to my friend who likes Lackey and come up with more books.
Posted by chel (Member # 7674) on :
Hey this is great! I'll be set for a whole summer of reading. And no I haven't read any other Philip Pullman Books but planned to someday. Marion Z. Bradley? I did read one of hers I think. Mists of Avalon. It was good most of the way but had some dry parts too, enough that I wasn't motivated to tackle the rest of the series(that was a HUGE book).Anyway , thanks for all the authors to try, and I'm game for anymore u can throw at me.
Posted by chel (Member # 7674) on :
Oh, and it's good to hear that someone else has caught the Tamora Pierce bug. Our whole community seems to have it. It's worse than the Harry Potter one. Pierce is awesome!
[ March 30, 2005, 11:29 PM: Message edited by: chel ]
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
I've been reading her since her only books out were the Alanna books. I still love her. She's one of the best YA authors out there in my opinion. Of course, I don't like a lot of the more critically aclaimed authors. I think Susan Cooper is interesting but boring and I can't get far enough into any Ursula Le Guin book to tell what they're like. My boyfriend thinks I'm crazy for the latter and my mom thinks I'm crazy for the former. *shrugs* Maybe I am.
Do you mind if I ask how old you are/ what gender you are? If you don't want to answer that's ok, it's just hard to recommend books when you don't know anything about the person. Like, I would recommend Gail Carson Levine, but I'm not sure even the most enlightened guy with good taste who likes Tamora Pierce could stomach her.
I'm a 19 yr old female student at Purdue University majoring in Political Science. I wish I could find a job that just involved reading YA books all day every day, but that doesn't seem to exist, much to my distress.
Posted by chel (Member # 7674) on :
I'm 18 years old, female, and an engineering student at the University of Alberta. And I know what you mean by the recommending books thing. I've noticed guys really don't read to many books with female heros like the Pierce books.
Posted by chel (Member # 7674) on :
I feel your pain about the lack of the dream job. But I've decided to settle for the not quite as good dream job that involves constantly having math crammed into your brain. Fun stuff.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
I envy you. I have the second most useless major in the world and I feel really bad about it, how on earth am I going to support myself after college? My dad keeps on hoping I'll go into engineering and he doesn't understand that I would if I could, but there's no way I can. My boyfriend's in engineering, I know what it entails, I'm just not capable of it. *muffled scream of frustration*
Sorry, this has been bugging me a lot lately. Why can't I have any useful talents?
Posted by The White Whale (Member # 6594) on :
I guess for an anti-engineering book with a female protagonist, go with Bronte's Jane Eyre. I think when my class read that one, the split was right down the male/female line: all of the males hated it, while all of the females loved it.
Me being male hated it.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
White Whale- Ever tried Pride and Prejudice? It sounds like your kind of book. Posted by Miro (Member # 1178) on :
I'm another Tamora Pierce fan. The Protector of the Small books are my favorites.
Neil Gaimen: Stardust, Smoke and Mirrors (an anthology)
C.S. Lewis: The Chronicles of Narnia
Mary Stewart: The Arthurian Saga (series about Merlin)
Ursula K LeGuin: The Earthsea Trilogy
Susan Cooper: The Dark is Rising series
Diana Wynne Jones: The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, A Tale of Time City, The Dark Lord of Derkholm, Archer's Goon
Non SciFi/Fantasy:
Chaim Potok: The Chosen, The Promise
James Herriot: anything of his
Homer Hickam: October Sky/Rocket Boys (same book, two titles)
Edit: blacwolve - When I was in elementary school, I decided I was going to be a proofreader for novels. I'm pretty good at proofreading, and I figured that would be a way to get paid for reading all the time.
[ March 31, 2005, 12:28 AM: Message edited by: Miro ]
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
What does James Herriot write? The name sounds really familar
Posted by Miro (Member # 1178) on :
He has a whole bunch of books that are stories from his time as a country vet in Britain about half a century ago. I grew up on his stories. Almost enough to get me to apply to veterinary school.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
quote:...engineering student at the University of Alberta
That makes 3 of us in Edmonton now (at least). I think Fitz is at the U of A as well.
I have read some Pullman but not His Dark Materials yet. I really recommend The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander. Fire & Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones was quite good.
I can second The Kings Blades books by Dave Duncan, or at least the first one. I haven't read the rest of them yet, but I plan to.
For a bit more challenging read I suggest Gene Wolfe - The Book of the New Sun and The Wizard Knight.
Posted by chel (Member # 7674) on :
I liked Lloyd Alexander when I read his books a few years ago and boy does James Harriot bring back memories. My mom loves his stories. I didn't know that october sky was a novel. I saw the movie and liked it so the book might be ok. Rockets are always fun.
Posted by chel (Member # 7674) on :
Edmonton's awesome (except when I get homesick for my old Saskatchewan farm). Nice to know that I have neighbours. I'll have to keep an eye out for Fitz.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Lloyd Alexander is VERY good, as is Susan Cooper. I worked at B&N for years and always recommended those to kids looking for fill-in books while waiting for the next Harry Potter books.....and the people almost always ended up buying the whole series..along with the Narnia Chronicles too, by C.S. Lewis....
Kwea
[ March 31, 2005, 01:34 AM: Message edited by: Kwea ]
Posted by chel (Member # 7674) on :
The Narnia books are goodies. I have the whole set and love them. But my younger sister tried to read them and hated them. She said they gave her nightmares. Go figure. They're not even scary.
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
Diane Wynne Jones (I'll just not bother explaining)
Dean Koontz (techno thrillers)
Clive Cussler (Indiana Jonesesque)
Ray Bradbury (science-fiction that makes you think)
J.D. Salinger ( not sure how to describe)
Lloyd Alexander (actually a distant relative of mine)
C.S. Lewis (influenced fantasy writing)
Jules Verne (considered the father of modern day science fiction)
H.G. Wells ( considered the step-father of modern day science fiction)
Huraki Murakami (strange but very well written books)
Lewis Carroll (was on drugs so bad you can't help but love his work)
Madeline L'Engle (A Wrinkle in Time, ringing any bells?)
Douglas Adams (need I explain?)
Diane Duane (books about a young girl who becomes a wizard)
Kate Dicamillo ( read The Tale of Desperaux)
George Orwell (portrays communism in a way that helps it to be better understood)
[ March 31, 2005, 08:33 AM: Message edited by: SteveRogers ]
Posted by HesterGray (Member # 7384) on :
Have you read A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving? It's one of my favorites.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
You don't get to be Canadian unless you've read some Guy Gavriel Kay. Posted by chel (Member # 7674) on :
good thing I've read one of his then so I don't have to move. Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
Count me as another Tamora Pierce fan! I actually read her when I was in (middle school? I think), and forgot her name. I found her again when OSC wrote this review, and I was so happy!
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
quote: You don't get to be Canadian unless you've read some Guy Gavriel Kay.
So that's why the citizenship people are taking so long!
I add my vote to al the other ones mentioned, but I vote for Robin McKinley, specifically 'The Blue Sword' and 'The Hero and the Crown'. If you like Tamora Pierce, you'll like these. They hold a very special place on my shelves, alongside my tattered Tamora Pierce books .
They are companions, with 'The Hero and the Crown' as a long-ago prequel, but I read the 'The Blue Sword' first. I think they're fairly inerchangeable order-wise.
Of the Diana Wynne Jones books, 'Howl's Moving Castle' is also one of my favourites.
quote: I think Susan Cooper is interesting but boring
I know this is only your opinion, but I would never have considered this. They tend to unfold more than a series of events, I suppose.
[ March 31, 2005, 10:28 AM: Message edited by: Teshi ]
Posted by Ben (Member # 6117) on :
Stephen Chbosky's Perks of Being a Wallflower Posted by Miro (Member # 1178) on :
Definitely Madeline L'Engle. I can't believe I overlooked her. Also, Louisa May Alcott is a classic (and good) choice.
Btw, chel, I'm also an 18-year-old, female engineering student. I'm at the University of Michigan.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
quote: I know this is only your opinion, but I would never have considered this. They tend to unfold more than a series of events, I suppose.
I'll try to explain better. She has really interesting ideas. I love the way her world fits together and I adore the character of Will. I'm just never invested in it. For example, I've read Under Sea, Over Stone several times. I've read The Dark is Rising slightly fewer. I've read The Greenwich twice I believe and I've never finished They Grey King. I always get distracted part of the way through and move on to something else or stop reading for a couple of weeks (I read in cycles). So while intellectually I think they're great books, I don't really have any kind of emotional attachment to them. They're books that I read because I know I'm supposed to like them, rather than books I read because I want to immerse myself in a famillar world.
This is probably a lot more than you wanted to know, I suppose I still feel guilty for not liking them.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
Oh, I can't believe I forgot L'Engle, either! I'm in the middle of The Young Unicorns right now.
Miro- I was sure you were older than me. Are you a sophomore?
Posted by Miro (Member # 1178) on :
Not yet.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
"I suppose I still feel guilty for not liking them."
You should. When I was a kid, The Dark is Rising and The Grey King were two of my favorite books.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Tamora Pierce is my daughter's favorite author right now, and I really enjoy them too.
Another young adult series is The Abhorsen series by Garth Nix, I really liked that one.
For more adult writing (though not porn or anything) Kay Kenyon is my favorite - Tropic of Creation is a must read, IMO.
She's one of the few authors whose works I buy as soon as their available - I own everything she's written.
Posted by Mike (Member # 55) on :
Neal Stephenson. I am currently about 3/4 of the way through Snow Crash for the second time. (I'm rereading it for a book discussion group that I was invited to by someone I met at an OSC signing a couple weeks ago. I'm also rereading it because it's damn fun.) To tie in with some of the comments above, Stephenson's books tend to have very strong female characters. The Diamond Age: Or a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, a sort-of sequel to Snow Crash, is especially strong in this respect.
In any case, Stephenson's work comes highly recommended, and I'm sure others will back me up on this.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
I'm more about getting them to write.
Posted by Mike (Member # 55) on :
CT:
Oh, absolutely. But I find when I'm reading a novel I care much more about the story and its characters than about the author. (Seem wrong somehow to care more about people who don't exist than someone who does, but that's the way it is, at least for me. )
Posted by chel (Member # 7674) on :
All the great books have that effect. They suck you in to the story and dont let go until the last page. And while you're into the book nothing else seems as real as the story. Why do peolple read fiction if not to escape reality?
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
To escape the opposite of reality. Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
Tolkien, when some one called his works "Escapism": "Escapism? Who is against Escapism? The Jailers"
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
I'm going to say everyone who is against Escapism is against Escapism because I'm not sure what you mean.....
Posted by Irami Osei-Frimpong (Member # 2229) on :
Everything seems science fiction skewed, but I finished Maria Russell's The Sparrow, and I thought it was a fine story. It was not so captivating that I'm rushing to get the sequel, but it's easily the best science fiction I've read in years. As far as living women author's go, I'm nursing a crush on Barbara Kingslover.
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