Engine Summer

Ooh, thank you! Except for the Mitchison, which I love, and the Elizabeth Hand, which has been one of the highlights of the year, I haven't read any of these. (Though I have read a different book by Yourcenar, also I believe recommended by you.)

I think I've blathered at you about the things I usually recommend at people before, yes? Lately I've been reading a lot of Karen Joy Fowler, and was equally stunned by The Jane Austen Book Club and Sister Noon in completely different ways. And an omnibus of Tolkien's translations of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Pearl, and Orfeo, which came closer to capturing the structure of the original poems than any other translation I've seen, and in more evocative language.

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coffeeandink.livejournal.com

V. quickly -- read the Hulme first then, it's what I recommend to readers of Moonwise & vice versa.

Sister Noon is the KJF I kept out of storage; want to reread it. Will keep Tolkien rec for when feel more like reading medieval poetry. :)

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vom-marlowe.livejournal.com

Fooding:
World of the East, Madhur Jaffrey
The Naked Chef, Jamie Oliver
Anything by Elizabeth David
Other:
The Blue Sword and the Hero and the Crown by McKinley
Don’t Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor, all about behavior science and relationships (across species but also among humans) viewed in a strictly scientific sense.
Bones Would Rain From the Sky, by Clothier: relationships with animals, how language works, especially cross species, also some truly beautiful prose, an opposite view from Don’t Shoot the Dog. Great to read side by side.
Outlander (skip the first section) by Diana Gabaldon. It’s like crack-fic written by someone with an immense vocabulary, a thousand story kinks, and a mad love of Scotland, history, and medicine.
A Silence Opens, by Amy Clampit and The October Palace by Jane Hershfield. Beautiful poetry.
Sappho, translated by Mary Barnard.

I have many odd books favorites. If these sound interesting, I'd be happy to pimp more.

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Robin McKinley is so frickin' awesome. I like The Hero and the Crown slightly better than The Blue Sword-- fewer inconsistencies of tone-- but I reread them both with some frequency. My favorite of hers is Deerskin, but I can't reread that one very often.

I've come across several translations of Sappho, and done (a very bad and insufficiently academically rigorous) one myself, but not read that one. I should try it.

The rest of these I have neither heard of nor read. Thank you! They look fun,
and I'm always up for fooding or anything else you might care to lay on me.

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vom-marlowe.livejournal.com

Yeah, Deerskin is a bit heavy for comfort reading. I like Sunshine, too, but only if I'm in the right mood. My favorite is the Hero and the Crown.

I like Barnard translation best; back in the day, when I read Greek well enough to read her in the original, I compared a bunch of them. Barnard isn't the most textually accurate per se, but she does better than any of the rest of them in tone and spirit. Ezra Pound convinced Barnard to learn Greek in order to translate Sappho.

Also, if you're in the mood for Greek related poetry, you might try Clampit's Archaic Figure as well as A Silence Opens. The latter is very much about midwestern American landscapes, but the Archaic Figure has lots of neat classics stuff.

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larryhammer

You have read some of the Icelandic sagas, yes? If not, you really need to find the Laxadaela Saga and Njal's Saga, at least to start. Any modern translation will do. Or you could jump into the fat Penguin trade pb anthology, though it has only the former.

---L.

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Modern translations are the key, then? I tried an edition of Njal back in college, a turn-of-the-nineteenth-century-or-slightly-before translation, and it was utterly deadly, not English but translationese, and there I stopped, not knowing what to do about it. And sad, because it felt like an estrangement in my long love of Eddison. Thank you-- I shall follow your advice.

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larryhammer

The 19th century translations are, as a whole, ugly (Morris's Volsung Saga excepted, but it's not really a translation but a poetic retelling). They are also almost all antifeminist in ways untrue to the sources.

Yes, modern is the key.

---L.

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fiddledragon.livejournal.com

The "Keys to the Kingdom" series by Garth Nix (though I suppose I'll be somewhat startled if

eredien hasn't recommended them to you already.)

The Thursday Next books by Jasper Fforde (first one is "The Eyre Affair", and there's a stand-alone book in roughly the same universe called "The Big Over Easy", which I just finished and which is *excellent*)

I feel like I must have read something less fluffy lately....that may just have been all the blogs....

Oh, and

vom_marlowe? That that is the best synopsis of the Outlander books I've ever seen. I am deeply amused.

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I must second anything by Jasper Fforde, except to say that The Big Over Easy is no longer a stand alone; The Fourth Bear came out last year.

Also, First Among Sequels, the next Next, just came out. Just, FYI.

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Also: Keys of the Kingdom is good? I'm not saying this in a doubting way, just as a question.

I still think that Garth Nix has the coolest name I've ever heard.

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Good to middling. The pacing is a bit off, and I'm not sure he's got a thorough grasp on some of his world-building, but some of it is quite well done and all of it entertaining. Nix has not yet written a novel that has entirely worked for me, but he keeps getting closer and closer, so I follow in the hopes that he'll eventually get there. And yeah, his name is awesome.

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Heh. Actually I recommended the Nix to

eredien. Fun, aren't they? I have some fairly major reservations, mostly about wild tonal shifts, but I do intend to keep following.

I read The Eyre Affair when it was first out and was not enchanted (in fact have read no Fforde since), but I had not at the time read Jane Eyre, which may have been the trouble, and should try it again.

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fiddledragon.livejournal.com

Yeah, they do kind of shift around...I may be enjoying them slightly more than otherwise I would have because I'm reading them out loud.

The Fforde books get significantly better after the first one, in my opinion. They may still just not be your thing, but he gets more into the stride of the universe (which is still sort of duct-taped together, but in a good way) after the first one, and you see more of the book-world.

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queenlyzard.livejournal.com

Oh, excellent recommendations. My personal reqs include (but I have no idea how similar our tastes are/aren't, since I haven't read a lot of what you've mentioned)--

NF:
"The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
"Uncle Tungsten" by Oliver Sacks
"The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" by Anne Fadiman
Anything by Sy Montgomery, particularly "Journey of the Pink Dolphins", which may have been republished under another title.

Fic:
"The Carpet Makers" by Andreas Eschbach
"The Bean Trees" by Barbara Kingsolver (hardly obscure but one of my all-time favorites)
same goes for "All The King's Men" by Robert Penn Warren
"Memory and Dream" by Charles de Lint
"Larque on the Wing" by Nancy Springer

YA/Kids:
"The Lives of Christopher Chant" by Diana Wynne Jones
"Annie On My Mind" by Nancy Garden
"The Cry of the Icemark" by Stuart Hill
"A College of Magics" by Caroline Stevermer

Hope that helps!

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khava.livejournal.com

Two young adult books by Libba Bray. The first, Great and Terrible Beauty, is excellent. The sequel, Rebel Angels, is also very good. A third one is on the way but not yet published, the title is The Sweet Far Thing.

I'm currently reading the new Einstein biography by Walter Isaacson, and greatly enjoying it.

Brian Doherty, whom I was an intern for a couple of years ago, just published a book he's been working on for a long time, called Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement that looks to be fascinating, but I haven't read it.

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I skimmed A Great and Terrible Beauty in a bookstore some while back and wasn't thrilled, but there was an extremely noisy children's author event going on next to my left elbow, so I should probably try it again.

The others noted and logged to try, with thanks.

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Apologies if you have read any already. I can't remember who read what.

The Line Between, Peter S. Beagle.
I absolutely loved the short stories in this collection.

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, Haruki Murakami
I want someone else to read this because I found the main character boring, but everything else was neat. It had a bit of the same feel as The Dark Materials Trilogy but I feel like I missed a lot of stuff.

I also liked World War Z, Bridge of Birds, and Mortal Engines but I assume you have read those.

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I fail at HTML.

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God, World War Z...

Read an advanced reader. Creepiest book I've ever come across. I've subsequently gotten several people to buy it, one essentially by letting them know that the book existed.

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I loved WWZ. I remember hearing about it before it came out and finished it in a sitting.

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Did you know Brad Pitt got the movie rights?

He also got the rights to The Sparrow. Which means I read the same books as Brad Pitt. Rock on, Alden.

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Yes. Isn't it B-line Movie Productions or something along those lines? I remember looking it up after finishing the book, but didn't see all that much information on the website.

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The Line Between is a good collection. I own basically everything Beagle's ever written-- he's probably in my top five best-loved authors list, if I had one.

Now that I think of it, my boyfriend owns a lot of Haruki Murakami, which means it should be lying about here somewhere, and I should read it.

I love Bridge of Birds so much that I read it aloud to my wife; I own Mortal Engines and haven't read it yet but left it in Boston, so I should be getting to it this fall; and thank you for the rec of World War Z, of which I had heard glowing reviews from the kind of critic who doesn't bother proofreading, but nothing else. I shall look into it.

Thanks!

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If you read it let me know what you think. The main character I thought was pretty boring. He was in fact so boring, I imagined him as Keanu Reeves. But the rest of the book I found interesting.

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ryenna.livejournal.com

I've just finished Un Lun Dun by China Miéville and found it quite excellent.

I also recommend Green Glass Sea by Klages. It's a children's book, historical fiction, set in Los Alamos during the development of the bomb, told through the eyes of two pre-teen girls living in the town there while their parents work on the project.

I don't get to read many adult books these days but if you get on the atomic bomb kick that I got on then The Ash Garden is very interesting. Three stories from WWII woven together into a single story.

If you want non-fiction and don't mind horrific events then there's Seductive Poison, which is the autobiography of Deborah Layton, survivor of Jonestown (she got out before the massacre). Also in the horrific events category are The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev and Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, both about one particularly horrible event on Mount Everest where a number of people died, including both of the top guides on the mountain. The accounts contradict each other in a few places and there was a lot of debate about the event and the reporting of it at the time.

That's all for now. I'm sure I'll think of more.

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I'm allergic to Mieville-- it's all the insects. The Green Glass Sea should be coming in for me at the library soon. Have you read her short story 'In The House Of The Seven Librarians', in Firebirds Rising? It is one of The Great Awesome Short Stories, and you being a librarian should especially love it.

The others look awesome, and thank you.

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ryenna.livejournal.com

I should have thought of that. There aren't many insects in Un Lun Dun but one particular chapter has Black Windows (not Widows, but they act similarly). Pity, cause otherwise it's great. I'd never read any of his other stuff but got lured in by mention of extreme librarians going on safari to find books.

Have you read Black Juice? It's gotten a few awards so it's not an unknown title but if you haven't read it I highly recommend it. Specifically the first story in the collection - Singing My Sister Down.

I'm sure I can come up with a list of other great kid and YA lit if you'd like. Oh, and The Gaget (by Zindel I think) is another book with a similar setting to Green Glass Sea but GGS is vastly superior IMHO. I wouldn't bother with The Gaget.

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tprjones.livejournal.com

I love so many books I'll need guidance. May I ask your (off the top of your head) three favorite books, as a jumping off point for what you might like?

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Engine Summer, John Crowley, from which comes my username; Always Coming Home, Ursula LeGuin; The Folk of the Air, Peter S. Beagle.

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tprjones.livejournal.com

Interesting ... I'm afraid I have no useful suggestions. Our tastes are pretty far apart, so anything I love probably wouldn't appeal to you. :)

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darkelf105.livejournal.com

Sorry if you've read any of these, but they're what I recently finished:

The Year of Our War by Steph Swainston: highly weird (but in a good way) fantasy with engaging characters.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by M.T. Anderson: well-written historical YA fiction

Fires on the Plain by Shohei Ooka: I'm still digesting this book so I don't know quite what to say other than it was very good. Apparently there is a movie adaptation directed by Kon Ichikawa. I've not seen it though.

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Haven't read any of them, as the library keeps having their copy of the Anderson out or on hold for other people. Have not heard of the other two. Thanks!

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marith.livejournal.com

I should totally not be looking at LJ right now, so just one: Bones of the Moon by Jonathan Carroll.

Much of Carroll's work is too much on the horror side for me, so I rarely read his new ones now. But that one? beautiful.

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I... don't remember when or why I ceased reading Carroll, leading me to believe it was through not paying attention. It was certainly before this one, though, and I'll look into it.

Thanks!

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Charles Butler has a very fine book out now looking at the work of Alan Garner, Diana Wynn Jones, Penelope Lively, and Susan Cooper. What do they all have in common? They were at Oxford when Tolkien taught there, and some took a class or two from him.

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larryhammer

And he left out Auden? Hmph.

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Mentions him, but he was not a student there when these folks were.

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larryhammer

True -- he was rather earlier. (Tolkien was on the exam board that gave Auden a fourth in Enlish literature.)

---L.

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Yep--he's also a poet, and Butler is talking about four YA fantasy writers.

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Oh, awesome! I am so glad to hear that. I've been in a very Tolkien mood lately, having just finished some of his Old English poetry translations, and this looks just the thing. Thanks!

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It's actually not very Tolkieny...more on how JRRT has little effect on these people--but for a good dash of Tolkien and Inklinks, you couldn't do better than the Diana Glyer The Company They Keep.

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rabidfangurl.livejournal.com

Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber. A transsexual android hero/ine in a technophobic world ruled by religious wingnuts. Did I mention the slash? 'Cause there's that, too.

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Hm. I do not know how in the mood I am for religious wingnuts, but I will take it under advisement, as the other things certainly hit my keywords. Thanks much.

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papersky.livejournal.com

I wouldn't get too excited about the transsexuality of the android, and I say this as someone who quite enjoyed the book. You know how people sometimes say that shallowly-written female heroes are men-with-breasts? Well this one doesn't even have the breasts.

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Good to know, as that is in fact the keyword it hit.

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Hmm... This is tricky. Especially since I know that you're getting hit with a year's worth of books, and so you can't possibly read all of the books I've loved recently. So, I'm limiting myself to five.

The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russel: Jesuits go to Alpha Centauri. Theologically compelling, and characters you'll love and who will not prosper there. Has a follow up, Children of God, which is good. But I'm voting The Sparrow.

The Little Guide to Your Well Read Life, Steve Leveen. Short, and it actually does give you a lot of ways to get more out of your books, and more books into your day. Also quite well written.

Watchmen, Alan Moore: Fine, a graphic novel. The end of chapter/issue eleven still sends shivers up my spine, and I've never seriously read comic books.

The Book Thief, Markus Zusak: Booksense named it last year's Best Children's literature. Fantastic story, about a poor German girl growing up during World War II (which is novel enough, given she's not being shipped to Treblinka). But also, she's completely charming and not at all taken in by the Nazi Propoganda, and she steals books on occasion. And then, there's the fact that Death, of all people, is narrating the whole thing.

The Kite Runner. You read that, right? Tell me you read that; I need to hear these words...

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Watchmen is one of the greatest works of fiction I have ever encountered. Alan Moore occasionally has off days, but that? Spectacular. I highly recommend his first two volumes of Swamp Thing, Saga of the Swamp Thing and Love and Death, if you haven't read them; no knowledge of the Swamp Thing or D.C. comics is required. But stop after two, as he started phoning it in.

My wife keeps telling me to read The Sparrow. I should do so. Our copy is in Boston, so I'll keep it in mind for the fall.

No, I have not yet read The Kite Runner, for a reason that is not the book's fault but that will take dedicated work to overcome: my mother recommended it to me. I... may get there eventually.

Others noted and logged to look into. Thanks!

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Oh, and no need to limit yourself to five. I read at a rate of about one hundred pages/thirty minutes, and I run out of books all the damn time.

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I envy your pages per hour; this must be what my mom feels like when I'm around.

OK, I'm replacing Watchmen with Adam Felber's Schrödinger's Ball, a book that killed me with laughing. Many physics jokes, but all the terms are explained reasonably well. Interesting philosophically. The cast includes Schrödinger himself, as well as Johnny, a man who both did and didn't accidentally blow his brains out at the start of the novel (until someone sees the body, there's no way of knowing. See? Physics jokes).

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ckd

Nonfiction books that I think will interest anyone with a curious mind:

Linked, by Albert-László Barabási. Great introduction to network theory and how it applies to social networks, computer networks, etc. You'll be seeing power law distributions all over the place for weeks after you read this.

Pretty much anything by Henry Petroski. Small Things Considered or The Book on the Bookshelf would be good starting points.

Edward Tufte's The Visual Display of Quantitative Information.

The classic: Darrell Huff's How to Lie with Statistics.

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