book recommendations

[snugglekitty]

I am interested in getting some book recommendations. Does anyone have a title or three to suggest?

I read a lot of sci fi. I like it, but there's a good chance I will have already read your sci fi suggestion. Ditto with pagan titles.

Mystery is a field I've been getting more into recently. Ditto with accessible nonfiction.

Comments

Up early today?

[avivasedai.livejournal.com]

Good morming! I've seen your books and I know our tastes somewhat overlap. I also know they somewhat overlap in what you own of what I'd recommend. To get a wider range of books people have liked, try browsing through 50bookchallenge or some other such site on here.

Have a great day!

Re: Up early today?

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

I'm always up early. :)

Yes, I'm aware of 50bookchallenge, witchyreads, and other such places. But I prefer to get suggestions from people that I know and like - I find I'm much more likely to enjoy the books they enjoyed. I would be very curious about hearing some of your favorites, actually.

[beowabbit]

In the accessible nonfiction realm, Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel is one of my favourite books.

Oops.

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Please pardon my comment bloop. :)

Yes, _Guns, Germs, and Steel_ is an awesome book. I was just given a lovely hardcover edition of it by woodwardiocom as a holiday gift. I have been thinking about it a lot while reading _Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years_.

[redjo.livejournal.com]

Mystery is my favourite mind candy, and I tend to gobble up an entire series when I discover a new author. I really like Minette Walters, she tends to write in a much less formulaic style than many writers. I've read "The Ice House" and "The Scold's Bridle" and enjoyed them immensely, and on my recent vacation *meant* to read "Disordered Minds." However, my friend Jeni borrowed it and I couldn't wrest it away from her. :)

For an interesting take on the genre, try "The Moonstone" by Wilkie Collins, considered to be the first mystery novel ever (I think it just had good Victorian press, but it's interesting how many of the mystery novel conventions are present in their contemporary form.)

When I unpack my books, I may have many mystery novels you can borrow as you like.

[bitty.livejournal.com]

To transition from scifi to mystery, Sheri Tepper has written mysteries under the names Orde and Oliphant (with some random initials in front of each name that I'm too lazy to go look up).

I'm incerdibly fussy about mysteries, because I don't want to be able to figure it out halfway through the book, but I don't want the ending to be some bullshit that the author pulled out of his/her ass in an attempt to surprise the reader, either. And I have a tendency to figure it out early on... so blergh.

I remember really enjoying Stephen Dobyns, because his writing was really good, and the mystery was secondary.

For mystery recommendations, I usually turn to lcohen because she's read most mystery and scifi she's been able to find ;) So if you wanted a good rundown on quality mysteries, she's an excellent resource.

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I'd try and recommend scifi, but I've seen your shelves and I doubt there's anything I could say :) I dunno - did you ever read The Merro Tree? I just lent that one to queue and he enjoyed it. And I always recommend Patricia Anthony. I think anything else I'd recommend is pretty well-recognized.