Books!

[raven]

Flist, quick: recommend me books! Quick, do it now! I just finished the six Chrestomanci books - so much fun, yay - and am waiting for Mixed Magics to come from home; I have one more of the dreadful Swendson books to go. After that, no more. And seriously, seriously, books are keeping me sane right now, I can't emphasise this enough, I really can't.

So, what are your favourite books that I should read? Brownie points for: light and fluffy; SF/fantasy; preferably both at once; I also adore YA more than is quite normal, so also brownie points for that; really would prefer paperback (so I can carry them around). Nothing super-serious, please, I really am reading for escapism here.

(Also, if Ithaca has any good bookshops, I want to know about them, please. There are a couple of nice second-hand ones downtown; for new books, though, I feel like I'm doomed to a) the campus bookstore, about which less said the better; and b) Borders. Neither of which have Three Men In A Boat, a book I set out optimistically to buy today.)

Comments

[naraht]

You can read Three Men in a Boat via Project Gutenberg, if you're willing to compromise on the whole paperback idea. My pet favorite public school story is also on PG but that doesn't help if you want to hold the book in your hands.

(Being that I am also in a bookstore-light area at the moment, I've had to compromise. But I had some luck with a local university library. Does Cornell not have Three Men in a Boat, or are there borrowing restrictions?)

[raven]

I actually have my own copy here with me - I wanted to buy one as a present for someone! I've caved and got it off Amazon, now. This whole supporting-local-bookshops thing is getting harder and harder.

[soupytwist]

I think you might like Hope Mirrlee's Lud-in-the-Mist if you haven't read it already: it is fantasy, would have been YA had the category existed and very good YA too, and is, if not floating away is at least vaguely on the light and fluffy end of the spectrum...

[naraht]

Strangely I found that a difficult read, though I wanted to like it...

[raven]

I have great faith in your taste. :)

[such_heights]

eee, Chrestomanci! <333 Another book by Diana Wynne Jones that I really love is A Tale of Time City. Light, fluffy time travel adventures!

[raven]

Ooooh! Sounds fabulous!

[ancalemon]

Robin McKinley's Chalice?
Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom books? (a little serious, but so delightfully weird!)

[raven]

Ooh, interesting! I've read the Abhorsen books, but nothing else by him. *note*

[thingswithwings]

There actually is a little tiny SF/Fantasy bookstore downtown - it's in a tiny nook between the comic book store and the Collegetown Bagels on Aurora at Seneca. For new books, I often go to Buffalo Street Books (also downtown, on Seneca next to the Greenstar Oasis), but that's mostly for fancy lit-ra-ture type books or popular lit or newnew stuff (in hardback) - you might not find a ton of fantasy there. Although I think they do have a pretty good YA section with some good YA fantasy and scifi. They also do special orders upon request. Both are independent and local, yay!

For recs, I can't come up with anything off the top of my head, but I bet rachelmanija can help you; she does lots of recs and lately has been going through all kinds of YA fantasy and scifi and specfic. Plus she's superawesome.

[raven]

Thank you for this! And I've been meaning to ask you for a while, actually; I don't know if you're still feeling ill and if so of course never mind, but if you're not too busy and fancy it, do you want to meet for coffee sometime?

[petra]

Jo Graham is to Mary Renault as Naomi Novik is to Patrick O'Brian--same time period (Aeneid, Alexander the Great, and Cleopatra in Graham's case), same general feeling, less ornate, with more explicit fantasy elements. Though I'm not sure it qualifies as light and fluffy, it's definitely escapist.

[raven]

I think Shim has something of hers. I shall make inquiries!

[icepixie]

You've probably already read it, but if you haven't, as someone currently going to an American university you should read Pamela Dean's Tam Lin. It's not exactly light and fluffy all the way through, but neither is it all doom and gloom.

Also, Moira J. Moore's "Heroes" fantasy is tremendously funny and fun and full of adorable ship. The first one is Resenting the Hero; there are five total so far. I've seen them all at Borders, but the first three are definitely old enough to start showing up in used bookstores.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'll take a look.

[vikingwriter.livejournal.com]

I would recommend a series by Sara Donati simply because it's set in upstate New York. It's historical and a bit of a romance (not sure I would strictly call it a historical romance, though, if that makes sense), but they're light, fun reads if you're interested. The first book is Into The Wilderness and I think there's 6 of them, all available in paperback (well, maybe not the last one, though it should be soon).

I'm not that conversant with sf or fantasy, and what I know is usually dark. That said, I found the Twilight books hilarious once I could put out of my mind the fact that scores of American teenage girls are reading it as a) serious literature and b) serious romance.

Oh, and in the nonfiction category, I'm a huge fan of Bill Bryson and while I've never read it, he wrote A Walk In The Woods (I think that's the title) about walking the Appalachian Trail, which might also have a little geographic synchronicity. But it might be too far out of your interest area...

[vikingwriter.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I forgot ya - I just finished Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief and while I'm waiting for the second from the library and so can't speak for the series, the first book was a pretty fun ride.

[littlered2.livejournal.com]

I wish I were at home so I had my bookshelves to consult - I only have a handful in Oxford and my mind's currently a blank. However, I can think of a few off the top of my head. I loved PopCo by Scarlett Thomas, and you might also like another book by her, The End of Mr Y, which mixes time travel and literary theory and philosophy. I just read Bet Me by Jennie Crusie, which is intelligent, well-written romance which has a male protagonist who is dyslexic and insecure about it and who reassures the awesome female protagonist about her weight and feeds her Krispy Kreme doughnuts. I loved Sister Crazy and Feed My Dear Dogs by Emma Richler, which are about mental illness and fear of growing up and which I find completely compelling. I also can't remember having seen if you've read Dorothy L Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries - if not, I would recommend them in a heartbeat, as they're wonderful.

(After reading To Say Nothing of the Dog, which I loved utterly, I've found myself really wanting to read Three Men in a Boat, but have likewise had no luck finding a copy.)

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Oooh, thank you. I shall investigate all of these! I have read most of the Lord Peter Wimsey books - am technically halfway through Thrones, Dominations but as I left it behind I suspect this may be a continuous state of being - but am not motivated enough to read the rest!

To Say Nothing of the Dog is SO GREAT. Have you read Blackout? I am currently on tenterhooks for All Clear.

(Three Men in a Boat, aaargh, it's not like it's a classic of English literature and variously thought to be the funniest book ever written, OR ANYTHING.)

[gamesiplay.livejournal.com]

...My best offer is that I could bring you Stoppard's Invention of Love over the weekend? And both Sara and Meredith could vouch for it? The only issue being, well, I can see its being very homesickness-provoking for you. And while it's not super-serious--often it's incredibly funny and clever--it does kind of have, uhh, a CORE OF UNSPOKEN ANGUISH.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Sold. You got me on the UNSPOKEN ANGUISH. <3

[isiscolo.livejournal.com]

Um, I am sure you have already read everything I would recommend! The Chalion series by Bujold? The Lies of Locke Lamora by Lynch? I assume you've read The True Meaning of Smekday, which ticks all your tickies? The Mercedes Lackey "Five Hundred Kingdoms" series which is sort of fairy tale fanfic?

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Chalion is on my to-read pile back home (why, cruel world, could I only bring five books, why); I love Locke Lamora (new one in Feb, I have just been informed!); but, I have not read The True Meaning of Smekday! I shall get on that.

[burnmybridges.livejournal.com]

One book I automatically recommend to anyone asking for recs is Moondial by Helen Cresswell. It's got time travel and Victorian England and if you're not familiar with it, it's worth checking out.

I also love Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr which is very dark and creepy for what's technically a children's book. I think it was originally written in the 1950s, so has a charming nostalgic vibe to it.

[true-masquerade.livejournal.com]

The Song of the Lioness quartet (or the Alanna books) by Tamora Pierce are hands down my favourite thing to reread again and again.

You might have already read them as they tick ALL of your boxes though :-) They are: light and fluffy; fantasy; YA; paperback; escapism; and I've seen them a fair bit in second-hand shops (albeit here in Australia, so I can't speak for the US).

They are engaging and easy to read and exciting and full of knights and kings and evil soucerers and training and awesome female characters.

The Song of the Lioness is her first quartet and my favourite but The Protecter of the Small is also brilliant and set in the same universe.

[amaberis.livejournal.com]

Seconding all books by Tamora Pierce, though Protector of the Small is my favorite series (and I have unfortunately not read beyond them, though I hear the new ones are good as well). I also liked her Circle of Magic quartet, set in a different universe, though I wasn't as big of a fan of the sequel series.

[tau_sigma]

Flashforward by Robert J Sawyer (on which is loosely based the series of the same name); the Tortall books by Tamora Pierce (the Protector of the Small quartet is my personal favourite); the Dilbert Future (which, um, does not fit into any of your brownie point categories, is not even fiction, but is, really, very funny).

At this point I would look to my bookshelf for inspiration, because I am sure I have many beloved books which I have forgotten, but alas, my books are mostly packed up - mostly! I hope! - and those that aren't, are turned unhelpfully sideways and ranked by size for easy boxing.

I shall continue thinking on it, and note this post for nabbing other peoples' recs, later. *g*

PS Is there any particularly good/bad time to phone your parents (about the sofa, obv)? I exchanged contracts late last week, and will be moving in on MONDAY, OMG. Eeek.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

I did not like Flashforward, alas! I mean, I liked the concept, but not the execution. I do like the Alanna books, though, and have always meant to check out the rest.

My parents are usually in after six. I'll let them know to expect you to call. :)

[thesharedself.livejournal.com]

I highly recommend anything by Sherwood Smith. "Crown Duel" works for YA, "Once a Princess" for fluff and adventures and strong heroines, and the "Inda" series for a fantastic cast of characters, pirates, and strong fantasy plots in a beautifully constructed world.

"Howl's Moving Castle" is always a good choice as well, as is anything by Robin Hobb, particularly the Liveship Traders trilogy.

"Heart's Blood" by Juliet Marillier is a beautiful blend of Irish folklore and fluff. *grin*

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Thank you for these! *makes notes*

[nos4a2no9.livejournal.com]

You've read the Secret of the Unicorn Queen (http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Unicorn-Queen-Vol-Swept/dp/034546849X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1284517864&sr=8-1), right? It's a fantasy/sci-fi YA novel I read in elementary school that you'd really love, I think. It's got...well, unicorns! And queens! And warrior women, and trans-dimensional travel, and lots of '80s references. They've reprinted the first two books, and hopefully the rest will follow.

Right now I'm reading Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants (http://www.amazon.com/Water-Elephants-Novel-Sara-Gruen/dp/1565125606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1284517984&sr=8-1), which is proving to be a terrific read. It's set during the 1930s and follows the trials of a young vet as he runs away from home and joins the circus, then falls in the midst of tragedy. The book has a distinct lack of fantasy/sci-fi elements, but the narrative voice is unique, the plot pretty engrossing, and Sara Gruen writes like I want to write. It's also really entertaining and funny, despite some of the serious subject matter.

Um...other than that, I haven't read much lately. Dave Eggers' What is the What (http://www.amazon.com/What-Vintage-Dave-Eggers/dp/0307385906/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1284518164&sr=8-4) and Zeitoun (http://www.amazon.com/Zeitoun-Vintage-Dave-Eggers/dp/0307387941/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1284518164&sr=8-1) are pretty good picks, but they're journalistic in nature and cover, retrospectively, the civil war in Sudan and current events in Darfur, and the aftermath of Hurricaine Katrina in NOLA from an Muslim-American's perspective.

Apparently when you say, "light and fluffy" I think you mean "Darfur genocide." Um, sorry about that. But! Unicorn queen!

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

I haven't read any of these! Thanks, my dear!

[speccygeekgrrl.livejournal.com]

I can't recall if you've ever said you read this series, but if you've never picked up the Young Wizards books by Diane Duane, they're my favorite series ever. The first three books still bring me to tears when I read them. So You Want To Be A Wizard is the first one, then Deep Wizardry and High Wizardry, and I can't quite recall the order after that but I believe there are nine of them now. They're really terrific YA fantasy set in basically the real world... and I do remember you liked her Star Trek novels! (Er... it's not entirely happy crying but the stories are far from heavy and dark, there's just a lot of self-sacrifice going on, which makes a lot of sense in the context of how magic works for them.)

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

You're a genius. I never read them when you recced them the last time because the UK editions were hideously overpriced - I'm sure I can pick them up for much less over here. Thank you!

[lilka.livejournal.com]

I'd recommend checking out Perry Moore's Hero, about a gay teenage superhero; it's a bit angsty and a bit first-novely but the worldbuilding is lovely and so is the romance. And on the YA front, if you haven't come across Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant books yet I would highly, highly recommend them - they're about a twelve year old girl who becomes apprenticed to a trenchcoat-wearing, magic-wielding skeleton, and together they save the world a lot. They're tremendously good fun and the characters are awesome.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Thanks, my dear! I shall check them out.

[manynames.livejournal.com]

I am sure you have thought of this, and obviously it is no substitute for a proper copy but Project Gutenberg has Three Men In A Boat here: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/308 in case that works as a stopgap.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Alas, I wanted it to give to someone! Well, I am going to NYC tomorrow, and they have bookshops there, I hear.

[annikah.livejournal.com]

The Attolia books by Megan Whalen Turner (currently 4 in the series). The first one is "The Thief". YA, fantasy, active pantheon, political intrigue, set in quasi-ancient? renaissance? Mediterranean. Also extremely well written, especially as the series goes on. Even better, each book is able to sustain multiple rereads.

Also, the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede, starting with "Dealing with Dragons". Not your ordinary fairy tales, to say the least. Very witty but light hearted, with a runaway princess, a dragon, a witch, and some evil wizards.

Good luck!

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Aha, you're not the first to recommend me Turner. I really should check those out! And I shall take note of the other. :)

[vampire-kitten.livejournal.com]

I'm currently reading Jaqualine Carey's third series. They are all very silly - about 1/3 decent fantasy plot, 1/3 gratuitous sex/BDSM, 1/3 epic romance - espeically the start of the first novel, just skim the sex chapters if they are not your thing/laugh at them. First series starts with Kushiel's Dart, but should warn for a lot of nasty lack of consent stuff in the third volume (treated as bad by the novel - heresy + lots of people/boundery issues from the victims).

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I shall keep an eye out for them.

[purplerainbow.livejournal.com]

If you haven't already, try Ender's Game. It's YA and awesome sci-fi and quick to read.

I also second the suggestion of the Protector of the Small series by Tamora Pierce - after the Alanna series it's my favourite.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

I have mixed feelings about Orson Scott Card, but I do like Ender's Game. And yes, I should re-read Tamora Pierce, it's been a long while.