I love romance, and I love to read. But I can't get into those cheesy, cliche romance novels.
Does anyone have any romantic book suggestions?
~M
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
The Princess Bride.
Have you heard of it? Posted by Valentine014 (Member # 5981) on :
Lady Chatterly's Lover and Wuthering Heights are good.
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
Gone with the Wind, which is really a historical novel but contains wonderful, quirky romance.
Jane Austen's fiction, which is anti-romance by the standards of her day, but holds up brilliantly today.
And, at the risk of seeming vain, I think Enchantment is kind of romantic.
Posted by bunbun (Member # 6814) on :
Amy Tan's Hundred Secret Senses is really neat.
And tres romantique.
Posted by Astaril (Member # 7440) on :
Juliet Marillier's Sevenwaters Trilogy (Daughter of the Forest, Son of the Shadows, and Child of the Prophecy) is the best romance-while-not-being-romance I've ever read. Set in ancient Ireland, it follows a family through three generations. Lots of druids, magic, mystery, and a fair bit of that 'twoo wuv' stuff.
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
Astaril, I once started that series, and got halfway through the second one, and had to return it to the library (I left the country or something) -- now I'm in Israel, and I can't find them ANYWHERE, and I really want to finish the trilogy! I loved Daughter of the Forest.
MG, I recommend The Notebook, by Nicholas Sparks, which is one of the more beautiful love stories I've read in a long time. It's not cheesy, but it's really touching. The movie is also beautiful, if you enjoy the book.
I'll post again if I think of any more.
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
I was going to suggest Jane Austen, but I guess OSC beat me to it. It's all wonderful.
If you've read Louisa May Alcott's Eight Cousins, the sequel, Rose in Bloom is quite romantic.
And, adult novelizations of fairy tales (like OSC's Enchantment ) tend to be wonderful for romance. There's also Robin McKinley's Beauty, Patricia C. Wrede's retelling of Snow White and Rose Red, and a bunch of others.
Oh, and there's a fun little book by Mercedes Lackey called Fairy Godmother that was romantic AND cute. Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Modern stuff might be:
Diana Gabaldon's series about the Scottish wars, it's got time travel and good romance too.
For older stuff, I really liked Wuthering Heights and Far from the Madding Crowd (unrequited love at its squishy best).
Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :
My favorite romance is a little known title called "Ender's Game." The romantic element of this work has been numerously downplayed by critics -- the most common form of this putdown-age is when a critic purposfuly ignores it.
However, Ender's Game is full of romance. Romance of the human to the intergalatic dream of conquest, that is. This relationship, an often rocky, tumultious one, is one that Orson Card, the author, manages to capture in startling beauty.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
The Last Herald Mage has an unconventional romance. Really, it's one of the most romantic books I've ever read and would make me cry if I were a crying type. Then you have Stardust which has a bit of romance, more conventional.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
quote:And, at the risk of seeming vain, I think Enchantment is kind of romantic.
My first recommendation was going to be Enchantment. Posted by Eruve Nandiriel (Member # 5677) on :
I would definately recommend Enchantment. I would also recommend Rose Daughter, Spindle's End, The Blue Sword, The Hero and The Crown, or Sunshine, all by Robin McKinley. Anything by Jane Austen is good, but incredible predictable.
I would not recommend Wuthering Heights. It was one of the two books I've ever read that I really didn't like. (The other was Lord Jim.)
[ May 29, 2005, 02:22 PM: Message edited by: Eruve Nandiriel ]
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
Robin McKinley later revisited the Beauty and the Beast story in Rose Daughter, a more mature take on the story than she did in the Young Adult version of her first novel.
("Mature" as in it deals with more complex things, not because of smut. )
It also has a very non-traditional twist to the ending, but one that fits perfectly with the supposed moral of the story. Posted by Jeni (Member # 1454) on :
I'll second Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, and third or fourth Enchantment.
Posted by Yozhik (Member # 89) on :
My suggestion would be Hart's Hope.
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
I didn't know that, Puffy Treat...I'll check it out! Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Hmmm, me either. That book was one of my sister's favorites. I wonder if she knows?
Posted by Portabello (Member # 7710) on :
Teacher's Pest Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
*swoons*
Posted by ChaosTheory (Member # 7069) on :
I don't read love books.
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
Ender's Game
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
How about the Alvin Maker series? I love the relationship between Alvin and Peggy. It's my favourite OSC couple.
Posted by Tater (Member # 7035) on :
Pride and Prejudice. Loved it.
And anything by Nicholas Sparks. The Notebook movie that came out recently seems to be popular, but I haven't read one of his books yet that I didn't like. I just read Message in a Bottle for about the fourth time. *sniffle* It gets me everytime. (It's also a movie. But who are we kidding, books are just better!)
I've read all those, and liked them. (And look at the pretty covers! Especially on "The Wedding."
He's got a new one out called True Believer, just in case you become a big fan like I did, you'll want to read 'em all. Posted by Tater (Member # 7035) on :
We need a "Good book recommendation" thread, cause I've got a million!
And I'm sure you all do too. and if we exchanged good book knowledge.. then.. then.. my head will probably explode from the excitement. Posted by memory_guilded (Member # 8092) on :
I think I'm going to start with the Outlander series, because my mom owns it and loves it.
I'll post reviews as I finish the books you guys suggested. It doesn't take long for me to finish books either, for I work at a daycare and am able to read during naptime. (About 3 hours a day, it's AWESOME.) Some of them I've already read- like the Notebook, Gone With the Wind, Enchantment, most of Jane Austen's work, and Louisa May Alcott's Little Women series. (Although I must reread those. I fell in love with them!)
Thanks for your suggestions, and keep 'em comin'!
~M
Posted by Eruve Nandiriel (Member # 5677) on :
Since we're talking about romantic books... I heard there was a sequel to Gone With the Wind, but it was written by someone else and I don't know what it's called. Does anyone know the name of the author, or the title of the book?
Posted by UofUlawguy (Member # 5492) on :
Crossing to Safety, by Wallace Stegner. Glimpses of the Moon, by Edith Wharton. Tom Jones, by Henry Fielding (not primarily Romance, but has some good romantic bits). Middlemarch, by George Eliot.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley is one of my all-time favorite romantic stories.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Stephen R. Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle and, to a lesser extent, his kind-of-sequel Avalon.
And I'll second anything by Robin McKinley. Or Alcott. Anne of the Island is really really romantic, but you absolutely have to have read Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea first. Same for Emily's Quest (also by Lucy Maud Montgomery)-- wonderfully romantic, but you need to read Emily of New Moon and Emily Climbs first. Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
I think the sequel to GwtW was called Scarlett. I read it. It was . . . blah.
Posted by Bella Bee (Member # 7027) on :
Scarlett! Oh, my. If you ever want to read a sequel that completely missed the point of the first book, that is the one. It didn't help that it was written many years later, by a different author.
*SPOILER*.... ........ ........ ........
Scarlett goes to Ireland to rediscover her roots, rips up her corsets and becomes a feminist hippy earth-mother and clan leader while Rhett becomes a strange, quite incredibly boring person.
........ ........ ........
They made a movie. I think it has Timothy Dalton in it.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
Scarlett was awful. Instead of a history and love story written by a witty and perceptive author, it was churned out by a pulpy romance novelist. It was terrible, and I second that it completely missed the point of the first book. The only relation it bore to GWTW is that it stole the names for the main characters.
Posted by Eruve Nandiriel (Member # 5677) on :
I can picture Timothy Dalton as a "strange, quite incredibly boring person".
I was just interested in finding out what happened, but if the book is that bad...maybe not.
Posted by Anastasia (Member # 8159) on :
The Red and the Black / Stendhal I've read several translations, but I recommend the Burton Raffel translation--unless you can read it in the original French.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Bella Bee: Scarlett! Oh, my. If you ever want to read a sequel that completely missed the point of the first book, that is the one. It didn't help that it was written many years later, by a different author.
*SPOILER*.... ........ ........ ........
Scarlett goes to Ireland to rediscover her roots, rips up her corsets and becomes a feminist hippy earth-mother and clan leader while Rhett becomes a strange, quite incredibly boring person.
........ ........ ........
They made a movie. I think it has Timothy Dalton in it.
I saw the movie. It was . . . truly bizarre, interspersed with random violence, and seemed to have little point and entirely too many plots.
Posted by Astaril (Member # 7440) on :
quote: Astaril, I once started that series, and got halfway through the second one, and had to return it to the library (I left the country or something) -- now I'm in Israel, and I can't find them ANYWHERE, and I really want to finish the trilogy! I loved Daughter of the Forest.
Raia, can you order things from Chapters or Amazon online and have it shipped there? They've got them at decent prices (c. $7 USD), though shipping to Israel is about $7 USD + $4/item it looks like. As for the books, the second one *is* good, but I think the third and first are my favourites. Maybe the third overall.
Another book of a similar vein I enjoyed was Keeper of the Crystal Spring by Naomi and Deborah Baltuck. It certainly helped satiate the craving for more when I first finished the Sevenwaters trilogy. Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
quote:WASHINGTON, DC—Making a bold statement of appeal to "the long-standing spirit of entrepreneurial enterprise in this great nation" Monday, President Bush challenged the U.S. entertainment industry to produce the perfect romantic comedy by summer 2009.
"My fellow Americans, it's time for another Sleepless In Seattle," Bush said in a special prime-time address to the nation. "America has the technology. We have the market-research capacity. We have the publicity engines, the screenwriting workshops, and the deal-making power. If we all pull together, we can create the perfect romantic comedy. And America will be able to hold its head high again."
Bush said the U.S. is "prepped to win this."
"By 2009, our best teen stars—potential giants like Lindsay Lohan and that guy who played Stifler—will be at the exact right age to appeal to the crucial 18-to-39 female demographic," Bush said. "No other nation approaches America's resources and capabilities in the area of romantic entertainment."
Posted by Damander (Member # 4439) on :
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis is great. (And if you like that one you should check out Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome.)
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
A Patch of Blue by Elizabeth Kata..
(didn't we have a thread like this before? I remember mentioning that book.........)
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