Can you recommend some books to me?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

here are the authors i usually like

Kurt Vonnegut

Margaret Atwood

Terry Pratchett

Milan Kundera

Daniyal Mueenuddi (in other rooms, other wonders)

Emma Donohue (Room)

Amitava Ghosh

[La Lioness Priyanka]

1. i also sometime enjoy light fantasy, like the edding belgariad series

i just need something to read

or ann rice's vampire chronicles

[La Lioness Priyanka]

2. i also sometime enjoy light fantasy, like the edding belgariad series

i just need something to read

or ann rice's vampire chronicles

[givemebackmycountry]

3. Try some Richard Brautigan.

"Sombrero Fallout" and "Willard and his Bowling Trophies"

They may be difficult to find, I know I treasure the copies that I have.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

4. You beat me to it

...and his stuff IS difficult to find.

There are three "new" collections of his works available...other than that, to buy single titles, you have to buy them used.

My personal all-time favorite is "Hawkline Monster," so I'd go for the volume containing that one first. Best bet would be to check out what your local library has to offer.

1). Trout Fishing in America, the Pill versus the Springhill Mine Disaster, and In Watermelon Sugar

http://www.amazon.com/Richard-Brautigans-Springhill-Disaster-Watermelon/dp/0395500761/

2). Revenge of the Lawn, The Abortion, So the Wind Won't Blow It All Away

http://www.amazon.com/Revenge-Lawn-Abortion-Wind-Wont/dp/0395706742/

3). A Confederate General from Big Sur, Dreaming of Babylon, and the Hawkline Monster

http://www.amazon.com/Richard-Brautigan-Confederate-Dreaming-Hawkline/dp/0395547032/

[BlueIris]

5. William Gibson (I like Pattern Recognition best) and Valerie Martin.

Valerie Martin is a painfully underrated writer whose style is similar to Atwood and Tracy Chevallier. I'll also recommend Tracy Chevallier (Girl With a Pearl Earring and The Lady and the Unicorn would be mostly to your liking--LatU takes place in the mid-15th century and has a plot/characters that would appeal to a fantasy fan.)

Ever read the novel version of The Princess Bride (William Golding)? That's also excellent and would be likeable (I think) to someone with your tastes.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

6. thank you so much

[KamaAina]

38. In a similar vein to Gibson, Neal Stephenson

the two have spawened a genre called "cypherpunk".

[bif]

7. Anything by Ann Patchett

All of her stories are great. They all have a different voice and tone. It's hard to believe they're all from the same author. Also "Fugitive Pieces" by Anne Michaels (One of the most beautiful books I've ever read). "Austerlitz" by W.G. Sebald (Haunting and very different book). And I really enjoyed "Water for Elephants".

[HopeHoops]

8. "How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack".

Great book. Very useful information.

[Rabblevox]

9. try "Game Of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin...

it's dense and at times challenging, but with your list of preferred authors you should be fine. It is quite simply the best fantasy I've ever read. It's rich, multi-layered, and entirely believable.

Be warned, though, Martin has an unfortunate tendency to stab his readers through the heart with an ice-pick, just when they least expect it.

As a bonus, HBO is bringing this as a series/mini-series in April. It looks phenomenal.

Now hie thee to the library, young elf!

[nolabear]

10. The Story of Edward Sawtelle.

Loved it. And it has a wonderful "secret" as far as the plot goes. Btw I thought Room was outstanding too.

[Phentex]

14. I loved this book and also The Art of Racing in the Rain...

which has nothing to do with the first book except it also has a dog's point of view. :)

[MiddleFingerMom]

11. Tom Robbins... light/heavy, fun/funny, irreverent/raunchy, etc. etc.

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He is the master of the metaphor:
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"When they breathed, it sounded as if they were testing the air for dragon smoke."
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"The Middle Ages hangs over history's belt like a beer belly."
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"The notorious raindrops of Seattle blistered the fire escape, and the sky looked
like bad banana baby food."
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"Maybe Ellen Cherry Charles didn't look like a million dollars, but nobody could deny
that she looked like the tax on a million dollars."
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I highly recommend "Still Life with Woodpecker" and "Jitterbug Perfume".
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YOU might particularly like this one -- "Skinny Legs and All".
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From Wikipedia:
The opening scene of Skinny Legs finds newlyweds Ellen Cherry Charles and Randolph
'Boomer' Petway III driving cross country in a large roast turkey. From there, Robbins
touches on topics as diverse as art and artists, biblical history, the longstanding
Arab-Jewish feud, eschatology, and other Robbins staples such as sex, religion, and
politics.

The reader is introduced to an array of off-beat and whimsical characters, including
the estranged couple of artist/waitress Ellen Cherry and welder/accidental artist
Randolph "Boomer" Petway; Spike Cohen and Roland Abu Hadee (a Jew and an Arab
who co-own a Middle-Eastern restaurant across from the UN building in New York);
fundamentalist preacher Buddy Winkler; a doe-eyed belly dancer named Salome;
Detective Jackie Shaftoe; Raoul Ritz, the libidinous doorman turned rock star;
pretentious art gallery owner Ultima Sommerville; a mysterious performance artist
known as Turn Around Norman; and Verlin and Patsy Charles, Ellen Cherry's parents.
A host of inanimate objects (Can o' Beans, Dirty Sock, Spoon, Painted Stick and
Conch Shell) also play a key role in the novel, and even biblical "harlot" Jezebel
and Dan Quayle make cameo appearances.
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Now I want to read it again (will be the 3rd or 4th time).
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[Rabblevox]

33. You can never go wrong with Tom Robbins. I'd nominate Jitterbug Perfume as his best. /nt

[KamaAina]

43. DUer JitterbugPerfume would surely agree.

:hi:

[progressoid]

34. "Still Life with Woodpecker" is on my summer re-read list.

It's been a few decades since I first read it. It's time for another go.

Of course, I'm assuming I'll have time to re-read it.

[pokerfan]

12. In no particular order...

Can't believe I left this one off the list...

[GermanDem]

13. Stieg Larsson!!

I am currently reading "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", and it is awesome! It starts slowly, but once you get into it, it is hard to put down. Also, I recently discovered Christopher Buckley. He's hilaroius! I read "Losing Mum and Pup", and it was fantastic, very funny, and touching, and sad at the same time.

[MrCoffee]

15. Random Acts of Senseless Violence by Jack Womack

The very best near-future dystopia I've ever read. It's written as the diary of a 12 year old girl, and the narrative voice is masterful.

I can't ever recommend this book enough.

[Fire Walk With Me]

16. You've run out of Terry Pratchet? Doesn't he write 500 books a year?

I'll second William Gibson's "Pattern Recognition", although it may be a bit different from what you enjoy.

Ever read the short stories of Nicolai Gogol? Astonishing humanism...

[TZ]

31. Pratchett was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's a year or two

ago, he's not writing as much now...:(

[Rabblevox]

36. wow. thanks for ruining my morning (nothing personal)...

that is incredibly damned sad news that I had not heard. Pratchett has never been my favorite author, but he has always been a wickedly smart, creative author. As I grow older, I find I am much more afraid of Alzheimer's than I am of cancer, heart attack, etc.

For a smart, creative person to gradually lose their mind has got to be about as sad as it gets.

God love ya, Mr. Pratchett. Thanks for the Discworld.

[Fire Walk With Me]

40. !?!?!

Someone as brilliant as he?

[TZ]

45. Sadly yes

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/dec/12/news.michellepauli1
He's been speaking about end of life/assisted suicide as well. Its very very sad.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/01/terry-pratchett-alzheimer-assisted-suicide

[ceile]

17. Let's see

Given your taste for Kurt Vonnegut and Atwood, I'd recommend "The Children of Men" by PD James.

"The Children of Men is a dystopian novel by P. D. James that was published in 1992. Set in England in 2021, it centres on the results of mass infertility. James describes a United Kingdom that is steadily depopulating and focuses on a small group of resisters who do not share the disillusionment of the masses.

The book received very positive reviews from many critics such as Caryn James of The New York Times, who called it "wonderfully rich" and "a trenchant analysis of politics and power that speaks urgently".<1>"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Children_of_Men

[MiddleFingerMom]

18. Did anyone actually LIKE either movie based on "The Handmaid's Tale"?

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I don't know whether they were any good or not... as they were
so slow and boring (at least for my mood at the time) that neither
held my interest long enough to find out.
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LOVED the book!
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One of my favorite two lines from one of my favorite bands, Moxy Fruvous...
part of a description of party guests in "My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors":
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"Who brought the cat? Would
.Margaret Atwood?"
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.
.

[av8rdave]

19. If you want to laugh...I mean really, really laugh hard, you have to read

"Lamb: The lost Gospel of Biff, Jesus' childhood pal" by Christopher Moore.

It is one of the most laugh out loud funny books I have ever read, yet it is never disrespectful to Jesus. Quite the contrary.

Biff, on the other hand...

[progressoid]

32. YES! YES! YES!

And the archangel Raziel returns in The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror.

I like most of his stuff. I'm not much for the vampire genre but I like his take on the topic: You Suck. Bite Me. Dirty Job etc.

[taterguy]

20. Yes

[old mark]

21. Try something by Walter Mosley.....nt

[Faygo Kid]

22. Nonfiction here.

With the advent of the Civil War Sesquicentennial, rereading Bruce Catton. What a writer.

[ohiosmith]

23. True Grit. Just finished it. Great read.

[struggle4progress]

24. I just read Maya Angelou's "A Mercy." I thought it was brilliant.

[struggle4progress]

30. What was I thinking? Toni Morrison wrote "A Mercy"

aargh! :banghead:

[yankeepants]

25. Between the Bridge and the River by Craig Ferguson

Yes, the late night host. He is a brilliant writer. Thiis book was genius.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

26. Terri Gerritsen

She wrote the books that the new series Rizzoli and Isles was based on.
And Kathy Reichs. She wrote the books that spawned Bones. Both series are great and fast paced.
Duckie

[KamaAina]

37. Also known as Tess Gerritsen

her birth name was Terry Tom. She was a doctor in Hawai'i before taking up writing, marrying a haole named Gerritsen, and moving to Maine. Definitely worth a read!

[YellowRubberDuckie]

42. You're right. i'm sorry....

I always do that to her...but I guess there is a reason I want to call her Terry all the time. LOL
Duckie

[KamaAina]

44. And speaking of Hawai'i writers, I am compelled to put in a plug for dear friend Lois-Ann Yamanaka

who writes about the Hawai'i that tourists never see, in the Pidgin that TV shows never manage to get right. Start with the "Hilo Trilogy", a series of coming-of-age stories: Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers, Blu's Hanging, and Heads by Harry. Then go on to some of her more recent stuff (Father of the Four Passages and Behold the Many), which pick up and expand on the horror themes present in Blu's Hanging.

edit: It's always easy to find her stuff, down at the bottom of the last Fiction shelf (under "Y"). :-)

[Aristus]

27. My favorite novel: "The Seed And The Sower" by Sir Laurence Van Der Post.

A story of stunning power and quiet beauty.

Follow that with the short novel "A Bar Of Shadow", also by Van Der Post. Kind of a tie-in, rather than a sequel.

I don't really have the words to describe them.

[applegrove]

28. Sue Miller is a great writer..... like butter.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

29. "The Unnamed" by Joshua Ferris.

"Jennifer Government" by Max Barry and "Tortilla Curtain" by T.C. Boyle are good, too.

[ashling]

35. Making Our Democracy Work

by Justice Stephen Breyer

[KamaAina]

39. If you like Pratchett, you'll love Neil Gaiman

the two even collaborated on "Good Omens". :thumbsup:

[krispos42]

41. Anything by Jasper Fforde

His stories are... complex. Funny, oddball, extremely creative.

Start the "Thursday Next" series by reading "The Eyre Affair". I'll note that the movie "Jane Eyre" is coming out this year, so that might be interesting. 5 books total; I just received the last one in the mail today.

Or start the "Nursery Crime" series with "The Big Over-Easy".

[edbermac]

46. Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot.

Or Lies And The Lying Liars Who Tell Them by Al Franken...SENATOR AL FRANKEN(D)!

[timtom]

47. You might enjoy Jim Butcher

The Dresden Files.

[ornotna]

48. The Wind's Twelve Quarters

by Ursula K. Le Guin

http://www.amazon.com/Winds-Twelve-Quarters-Stories/dp/0060914343

http://www.pmpress.org/content/article.php?story=UrsulaLeGuin


One of my favorite authors.