...for finally finding me a way to fit into to the North Portland vehicle community, yet in a way I can still respect myself.My own literary angel is looking a a birthday coming up, which means I need to find her a terrific new book. She's pretty picky; likes science fiction and fantasy if they're well written, will enjoy fiction with the same caveat. No romance, history or politics. Intelligent self-help-type books are OK, although she doesn't really read crafty/projecty-type stuff. Some of her favorite authors are David Gerrold, Judith Merkle Riley, Diana Norman/Arianna Franklin, Tom Robbins. Any suggestions?
8 comments:
My bride recently read "Water for Elephants". Not so new and maybe not so literary but she raved about it. She also just finished "Sarah's Key and enjoyed it.
Sis liked "Wesley the Owl. But then she liked everything Kitty Kelley ever wrote so I am not sure about how good her recommendation is.
Baby Sis, the smart one in my generation, is an accountant who only has time to read ledgers.
Daughter and granddaughter, the smartest of the newer generation of the family, are reading "Food Inc, Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and Euell Gibbons old classic "Stalking the Wild Asparagus" which I believe was used as a training aid and reference in the SERE schools back in the sixties.
Best bet though would be to go to Pulitzer or Man-Booker and get their nominations.
But whatever you do do NOT forget some dark chocolate for her to nibble on while perusing the pages.
I assume she has already read everything of David Brin and Lois McMaster Bujold.
If not, pick one, any one.
If she's into the paranormal thing Patricia Briggs is a much better than average read.
My wife likes the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher.
We both rave over "Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss.
Anything by Ken Scholes is worth owning (added advantage is that he lives in your region so you'd be supporting a local author).
Science fiction/fantasy: Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker books in an alternate US where folk magic is real, starting with Seventh Son. Unfortunately he has not written the last book yet and I'm still waiting for the end of the story! Also the Ender's Game series, although there is quite a bit of politics in it. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow - a wonderful look at the coming police state with a cc camera everywhere and security gone mad.
mike: I think she's read the Kingsolver, but the first two sound promising.
Ael: LMB, yes, but not David Brin. Tell me a little about his genre?
Pluto: We've both stayed up with both the Harry Dresden/Mercy Thompson series - great pulp reads all. I'll have to check out the latter two authors, I'm not familiar with their work.
Lee: Hey, I didn't know you had a blog - I've got it bookmarked now, though, so you're tagged.
I've enjoyed OSC's stuff from his old "Planet Called Treason" back in the 70's. If I hesitate now it's because he drank so much goddam koolade and I hate to kick in money towards another Bush-licker. But Debra is pretty apolitical and it seems petty to refuse to pick up a book she'd enjoy just because I object to the author's politics.
The Doctorow book sounds more my thing - I'll have to check it out. Thanks!
David Brin is a science fiction writer. He is highly skilled and quite imaginative. "Kiln People" is an outstanding book, but all his books are worth the price of admission.
I especially liked his uplift series (separate-ish books but in a single universe)
I find Brin quite variable in quality. Startide Rising, Otherness, and the River of Time are outstanding. Earth and the Postman were much less so. I haven't tried Kiln People but have heard lots of good things about it.
If Mojo is into DEEP SF then I can recommend CJ Cherryh (although she's not for the faint of heart, she really makes the reader work for the story). The Faded Sun trilogy, Cuckoo's Egg, Hunter of Worlds and the Gate of Ivrel are her most easily accessible works.
Chief,
If she likes Tim Robbins, she might like Richard Brautigan.
One book I highly recommend is Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age.
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