Looking for Good Books to Read

[dclabrecque]

Oh yes! And splash out for the big one with all the pictures if you can. They're beautiful!


I'm a history nut and one series that keeps me coming back (it's great for summer days at the beach or by the pool) is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. It's got a little bit of everything: history, time travel, romance, conflict and adventure. But more than anything, it has two very strong central characters that will suck you in! Once you're hooked you'll have to continue on through the other three books in the series -- and they're all in the 700-800 page range I think. They'll definitely keep you busy (and enthralled)!

The Diana Gabaldon series is my favorite ever. I can hardly wait for the next in the series!

 

[wicked woman]

Originally posted by someplace
Oh yes! And splash out for the big one with all the pictures if you can. They're beautiful!


I'm a history nut and one series that keeps me coming back (it's great for summer days at the beach or by the pool) is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. It's got a little bit of everything: history, time travel, romance, conflict and adventure. But more than anything, it has two very strong central characters that will suck you in! Once you're hooked you'll have to continue on through the other three books in the series -- and they're all in the 700-800 page range I think. They'll definitely keep you busy (and enthralled)!

oooo yes one of my favourites...just finished her Fiery Cross...think it was like 1500 pages!

 

[fille]

It definitely isn't light reading...but there is so much dark truth in it, I couldn't put it down. The domino effect of the story was what shook me up about that book...one little mistake and the whole house of cards tumbles down. *sigh*

S.

There is sort of a sickening feel to the inexorable way everything goes to hell. But it is a great book.

 

[Guest]

Conversations With God

Another good one, not a children's book..."Conversations with God" by Neil Donald Walsch. It really makes me think. I don't know that I can do a review and do this book justice, but...it's a worthwhile read.

S. [/B]

I got so much out of this book. It's the only thing I've read that makes sense to me spiritually.

Another good book is by Nelson Demille - "The Lion's Game"

All of the 87th Precinct series by Ed McBain

Anything to do with forensics, fact or fiction

And then there is "The Wolf and the Dove" by Kathleen Woodweiss (sp?). It's my favorite of all time. I've gone through 3 copies and I'll pick it up and read it at least once or twice each year. Just a good old fashion love story...

 

[Willing and Unsure]

Just thought of another one....


The Wizard of Oz. L. Frank Baum
It's somewhat like the movie, but at the same time it's different. I read it a long time ago but remember reading it a few different times. It was a good book. Definitely worth the read.

 

[sheath]

It is becoming obvious I like books that have a white picket fence nowhere in sight, and this is yet another example...

"Vinegar Hill" by A. Manette Ansay. It is one of the most finely executed books on emotional abuse I have ever read. Ansay doesn't tell, she shows...and lord have mercy, the pictures that woman can paint with words are amazing.

Here's from the jacket cover:

"It is 1972 when circumstance carries Ellen Grier and her family back to Holly's Field, Wisconsin. Dutifully accompanying her newly unemployed husband, Ellen has brought her two children into the home of her in-laws on Vinegar Hill--a loveless house suffused with the settling dust of bitterness and routine--where calculated cruelty is a way of life preserved and perpetuated in the service of a rigid, exacting and angry God. Behind a facade of false piety, there are sins and secrets in this place that could crush a vibrant young woman's passionate spirit. And here Ellen must find the strength to endure, change, and grow in the all-pervading darkness that threatens to destroy everything she is and everyone she loves."

One of the reviews says Ansay's prose "cuts with a diamond edge", and I can't think of a better way to describe it. It is one of my favorites. I would love to be able to write like this.

S.

 

[CoyoteTales]

Mmmm. Time travel novels. Hard to write, harder to find good ones, but they're a favorite of mine, since I'm also a history buff, among other things. Now I have to go hunt down these books.

someplace, I'd recommend the last book I burned through:
Kage Baker's "Sky Coyote" -- pseudo-time travel, sci-fi slice of life stuff. The author definitely did his homework.

The fact that the protagonist is Sky Coyote doesn't hurt, either.



-CoyoteTales

 

[midwestyankee]

I just thought of another book that I have been recommending for over 25 years: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert Pirsig. It's not really about motorcycles, though it is, and it's not really about Zen, though it is. This is a multi-layered book of self-discovery, teaching, the history of philosophy, discussions of friendship, insanity, and fatherhood.

 

[yourcharms]

Mmmm. Time travel novels. Hard to write, harder to find good ones, but they're a favorite of mine, since I'm also a history buff, among other things. Now I have to go hunt down these books.

someplace, I'd recommend the last book I burned through:
Kage Baker's "Sky Coyote" -- pseudo-time travel, sci-fi slice of life stuff. The author definitely did his homework.

The fact that the protagonist is Sky Coyote doesn't hurt, either.



-CoyoteTales

You're right, there are a lot of dodgy time travel novels around! If you're interested, the absolute best I've read is Up The Line by Robert Silverberg. It's about time travel tourism, mainly in Byzantium, but it's much more than that.

Silverberg had a run on novels involving time travel or aspects of time in the early mid 70s and they haven't dated at all. Two others well worth looking at are The Time Hoppers and The Stochastic Man.

BTW, hi everyone. Good thread!

 

[Beloved]

Well since my bookcase is almost entirely Star Wars and Star Trek, I have to recommend those.

Star Wars books (all by Timothy Zahn):
The Thrawn Trilogy
Heir to the Empire
Dark Force Rising
The Last Command

The Hand of Thrawn
Specter of the Past
Vision of the Future

Zahn has a way of taking the feel of the movies and bringing it to his books. It's almost like you can see what he's writing being acted ona movie screen.

Also from Star Wars, the entire New Jedi Order series. It starts about 25 yrs. after Return of the Jedi, and is at times both dark and humorous. There are about 20 or so in the series, so I won't list them all here.

Now for the rest-

In the Sci-fi/Fantasy genre:

Author Terry Brooks- Especially his Magic Kingdom series.

The Dragonlance series. Very similiar to Lord of the Rings, but not totally.

In the Mystery/Suspense genre:

Author John Sandford

In Fiction genre:

Author Tom Clancy (I especially loved Without Remorse and Rainbow Six )

Author Robert Ludlum- The Bourne series is not like the movies, so don't expect many similairities. I also recommend the both The Road to Gandolfo and The Road to Omaha, both very funny.

My wife recommends Author Anne Rice (and all her other pen names) and Author Stephen King.

 

[CoyoteTales]

Seconded on the Magic Kingdom for Sale series by Terry Brooks, though the first one is definitely the standout.

Likewise, the Dragonlance books are good as the original three book set; not as thrilled with the series-es that came after it.

I'll also go ahead and recommend Barbra Hambly's Dragonslayer series: (Dragonsbane is the first book); lots of good swords and sorcery in there.

And I'm also reminded to suggest Nick O' Donohoe's Crossroads series; start with /The Magic and the Healing./ The protagonists are veterinary students whose first project is to fix a broken unicorn's horn... O'Donohoe -really- did his homework on this one.

And my personal time-travel favorite: Callahans Crosstime Saloon, by Spider Robinson. The most recent books are 'eh', but the original few are excellent sf.

-CoyoteTales

 

[SlvrTongueDevil]

Did I mention almost any Carl Hiaasen book (especailly for those of us in Florida who enjoy making fun of it). Start with "Tourist Season" or "Skin Tight". Can't go wrong with any of them ... as long as you like laugh out loud black humor.

 

[yourcharms]

Did I mention almost any Carl Hiaasen book (especailly for those of us in Florida who enjoy making fun of it). Start with "Tourist Season" or "Skin Tight". Can't go wrong with any of them ... as long as you like laugh out loud black humor.

Seconded. I bought an omnibus of his first three novels a couple of years ago and loved them.

Hey, the blacker the better for me

 

[Beloved]

A few more I thought of as I skimmed over our bookcases.

Try the Honor Harrington series by David Webber. It's a little technical, but still a good series.

Also try to read First Flight, Grounded, and Sundowner, all by Chris Claremont. He wrote X-men for Marvel comics in the 80's and early-90's, so you'll see a few similarites, but atill a well written set of books.

And finally, the Phule Series by author Robert Lynn Asprin. Very funny stuff.

 

[Bandit58]

Oh yes! And splash out for the big one with all the pictures if you can. They're beautiful!



I'm a history nut and one series that keeps me coming back (it's great for summer days at the beach or by the pool) is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. It's got a little bit of everything: history, time travel, romance, conflict and adventure. But more than anything, it has two very strong central characters that will suck you in! Once you're hooked you'll have to continue on through the other three books in the series -- and they're all in the 700-800 page range I think. They'll definitely keep you busy (and enthralled)!

Yay I read those books - several times over, and my daughter loves them too (she has the entire series, and has a terrible crush on Jamie Fraser! )

I've just got my hands on the "Avalon" series by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Mists of Avalon is the best telling of the King Arthur story I've ever read, from the viewpoint of the female characters.

A friend is lending me the "Beauty" books by Anne Rice, plus two others, Belinda and Exit to Eden.....

Anybody mentioned Wilbur Smith? I love his books! Too many to mention, but River God and the sequel (the name of it escapes me) were excellent.

 

[Icey*Fire]

I also highly recommend the "Prey" novels by John Sandford.

Also a book that I found fascinating was "Mercy" by David L. Lindsey. A book of serial murder that I could not put down till I had read every page. It was written in 1990, but worth reading.

Congratulations to sheath, I can't wait to read her book.

 

[Miroby]

Hi All! First time posting but I couldn't resist this one. I think that Jacqueline Carey's 3 book series: Kushiel's Dart, Kushiel's Chosen and Kushiel's Avatar are wonderful. In part, the jacket reads... Phedre no Delaunay is a woman born with a scarlet mote in her left eye and sold into indentured servitude as a child. Her bond was purchased by a nobleman, and he was the first one to recognize who and what she is: one pricked by Kushiel's Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one.

Be sure to get a hold of the second book before you are finished with the first.... I think the 3erd is out in paperback now. It will be a long night waiting for the bookstores to open if you don't. Be prepared to live for 2 weeks with minimal sleep. Has anyone else enjoyed these books?

As always...
God's Blessings,
Robyn

 

[CoyoteTales]

And finally, the Phule Series by author Robert Lynn Asprin. Very funny stuff. [/B]

*grins* Definitely among my favorites, yes. You do know there's a fifth book ('No Phule Like an Old Phule') out now, I trust?

(holds up the copy he's reading)

-CoyoteTales

 

[TNRkitect2b]

Hi All! First time posting but I couldn't resist this one. I think that Jacqueline Carey's 3 book series: Kushiel's Dart, Kushiel's Chosen and Kushiel's Avatar are wonderful. In part, the jacket reads... Phedre no Delaunay is a woman born with a scarlet mote in her left eye and sold into indentured servitude as a child. Her bond was purchased by a nobleman, and he was the first one to recognize who and what she is: one pricked by Kushiel's Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one.

Be sure to get a hold of the second book before you are finished with the first.... I think the 3erd is out in paperback now. It will be a long night waiting for the bookstores to open if you don't. Be prepared to live for 2 weeks with minimal sleep. Has anyone else enjoyed these books?

As always...
God's Blessings,
Robyn

I might have gandered at them once or twice....

 

[someplace]

Mmmm. Time travel novels. Hard to write, harder to find good ones, but they're a favorite of mine, since I'm also a history buff, among other things. Now I have to go hunt down these books.

someplace, I'd recommend the last book I burned through:
Kage Baker's "Sky Coyote" -- pseudo-time travel, sci-fi slice of life stuff. The author definitely did his homework.

The fact that the protagonist is Sky Coyote doesn't hurt, either.



-CoyoteTales

Thanks. I'll check it out.

Another series I enjoyed was the Crystal Singer by Anne McCaffrey. I think I'll dig them out to read again soon.

 

[watergirl]

I've read them

Hi All! First time posting but I couldn't resist this one. I think that Jacqueline Carey's 3 book series: Kushiel's Dart, Kushiel's Chosen and Kushiel's Avatar are wonderful. As always...
God's Blessings,
Robyn

I enjoyed them, but didn't feel like they were the kind of thing I'd recommend to family or friends. I think I have mine listed for sale used on amazon.com at the moment... *shrug*

They were almost a bit overwrought for me, but a good story, anyhow.

 

[Miroby]

Hello Watergirl , Thanks for making a reply.

I was caught up in the continuity of the 3 books. The cultures, religions, the lineage of the characters as well as the long lasting relationships and their commitment to each other amazed and intrigued me. I have recommended this series to co-workers and family members who have expressed an enjoyment in fantasy and erotica. Some of them enjoyed the books as much as I did and others, well some, couldn't even finish the first book. I'm glad that there are so many books to choose from! I need to get to the bookstore and check out several that have been recommended here. Thanks for your time!

As always,
God's Blessings,
Robyn

 

[midwestyankee]

Did I mention almost any Carl Hiaasen book (especailly for those of us in Florida who enjoy making fun of it). Start with "Tourist Season" or "Skin Tight". Can't go wrong with any of them ... as long as you like laugh out loud black humor.

Because of Skin Tight, Carl Hiassen is in my pantheon of black humorists. I used to grab a Hiassen every time I headed to south Florida on business.

Another one that had me laughing out loud for the longest stretches was Water Music by T. Coraghessan Boyle. The first three or four chapters alone are worth the price of the book.

Speaking of dark humor, try V, Vineland, or Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon. They are multi-layered and complex but have remarkably funny cores.

 

[Crt&Sprk]

I recommend Corelli's Mandolin by Louis De Bernieres. Don't be put off by that piece of crap movie they made from it, it is a truly great and moving book. Afterward you'll probably want to read the rest of his novels which are good, but nothing approaches the beauty of Corelli .

Good luck and tell me how you liked it.

 

[assister49]

I actually liked that movie - so perhaps I will get the book to enjoy.