So hey. I’m not officially back on duty yet — I’ll be back sometime in the next couple of days — but I thought I’d seed a little discussion here with what I’m calling The Official We Hunted the Mammoth Book Recommendation Thread.
Which is pretty self-explanatory, so have at it! Any genre, old or new. I will probably gather up the various suggestions for a later post or page.
And, yep, the book in the pic up there is a real book that exists, written by a fella named Peter Cheyney, and which you can buy on Amazon for the low, low price of $2,986.69. No, really.
That’s for a new copy. If you’re some kind of cheapskate, you could pick up a used copy instead, for a relatively thrifty $86.90.
Here are the first couple of paragraphs of the book, courtesy of Amazon, so you can have some idea what you’ll be getting for your money:
Is it hot!
I aint never been in hell, but Im tellin you that I bet it aint any hotter than this Californian desert in July.
I am drivin along past Indio an I figure that soon I am goin to see the Palm Springs lights. An I am goin some the speedometer says eighty. If it wasnt so hot it would be a swell night; but there aint any air, an there was a baby sand storm this afternoon that caught me asleep an I gotta lump of the Mojave desert or whatever they call it stuck right at the back of my throat
I strongly urge you to go to Amazon and click on the “look inside” tab to read more of Mr. Cheyney’s hardboiled prose.
Within the few short pages available in Amazon’s preview, the book’s narrator (tough guy private dick Lemmy Caution) not only manages to eat a lump of sand; he also orders a hamburger (at a hot dog joint) and some ham and eggs (at a second joint). It’s not clear if he eats any of the hamburger before splitting, but you’ll be glad to know that he at least starts eating the ham and eggs.
Oh, he also calls a guy a “sissy” and gets his ass kicked.
I know the book sounds truly amazing, but before you click the “buy” button, let me make a little counteroffer: if you’re really intent on spending $2,986.69 on a book titled “Dames Don’t Care,” pay me that amount, and I will write an entire new book by that name in the style of the original, more or less. For $86.90, I will write a (very) short story in the same style.
Or you could post book recommendations in the comments below. That’s good, too.
Here’s the full cover for Dames.
Seconding Cherie Priest.
Max Gladstone’s Craft Cycle are very different fantasy, set in a world where the gods have (mostly) been overthrown, and now things are run by necromantic corporations and immortal lich-kings, who charge in fractions of your soul for access to infrastructure and resources. Very non-Tolkein.
Tanya Huff’s Blood books are good low-key urban fantasy (PI Vicki Nelson gets involved in weird cases in and around Toronto.). It was made into a TV series, which I refuse to watch, because the gay and bi erasure chap me to an incredible degree. Her other urban fantasy series (The Enchantment Emporium) follows a woman from a magical family who inherits a junk shop, and hijinks ensue. Confederation of Valor is a fun space opera in which Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr kicks ass and takes names across half the galaxy. Huff also wrote a couple of other series, but I’ve not read them.
Wen Spencer is a good writer, her ongoing Elfhome series involves a genius inventor who owns a junkyard in Pittsburgh, which has been transported to the world of elves, as the series name implies.
The Ukiah Oregon books are about a young man, named Ukiah Oregon by his adoptive mothers after the place they found him, who finds that his biological history is stranger than he could have imagined.
Also she’s got a couple standalone novels that are pretty good as well. (CN for occasional mentions/implications of sexual violence; this applies to all of them)
More later
@Cupcakes 4 Hitler
Yup.
I’m currently reading Titans, Victoria Scott’s robot racehorse book, which has easily the best cover of 2016.
http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1441311671l/25582556.jpg
Doc Savage “The Man of Bronze” is an example of the male power fantasy taken to it’s most comical extreme.
I also recently finished reading “The God of Small Things”, which was a harrowing experience. It tied together sexual violence, guilt, the caste system and sexism in India with folklore. The author’s style was also highly unconventional, but effective.
Well, if we want hard-boiled detectives, I love Sara Paretsky’s V.I. Warshawski books.
Re-de-lurking under a new name, here. (Formerly the very short-lived Luna, though I doubt anyone remembers.)
As far as fiction books I enjoy, I’m a sucker for ADVENTURE! (TM), so I’d say my favorite novel is Raise the Titanic! by Clive Cussler. It combines ADVENTURE! with one of my special interests, the RMS Titanic. I do have a caveat about it and other Cussler novels, though: Dirk Pitt (the protagonist) is a “””””benevolent””””” chauvinist pig, and every book has a sex scene in it, no matter how unnecessary. However, they can be skipped, since they’re short and irrelevant to the overall plot. Despite the issues Cussler seems to have with writing ~WOMZ~ in his books, his vivid descriptions of events make up for it in my mind. Basically this book is my problematic fave.
Now, I’m happy to say my current non-fiction read is much more progressive: A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn. Each chapter focuses on a disadvantaged group in a period of USian history, such as the Native American tribes living on the east coast and the Caribbean Islands when Europeans arrived. I’ve just finished a chapter on women in early US society (like between Revolutionary War and Civil War). To the surprise of absolutely no one here, I assume, many of the tactics used by men to silence women then are the same as ones used today by both admitted misogynists and unaware ones.
TL;DR: Hi, I’m a lurking nerd, and I like books and stuff.
P.S.: Internet cookies to anyone who knows what movie the character in the first part of my name is from.
ETA: How do I change my icon?
I’ve been reading a lot of nonfiction (books on graphic and industrial design in particular) and poetry lately. Baudelaire’s been of particular interest as I’m pondering some ideas for binding a version of Les Fleurs du Mal.
I’ve been enjoying the
Mammoth Book of SF Stories by Women.
I’ve been reading a lot of poetry these days. Some stuff I’ve found worthwhile recently:
Paul Celan – Last Poems
Denise Levertov – Life in the Forest
Sharon Olds – The Father
Anne Sexton – The Awful Rowing Toward God
St.-John Perse – Anabasis
Claudia Rankine – Citizen: An American Lyric
—
Also, something perhaps more-relevant to WHTM: I’m in the middle of the audio version of ‘The State of Play’ – a book of criticism, of and related to video games, that seems to have kinda-sorta emerged in response to GamerGate (it features some of GG’s least-favorite people: Zoe Quinn, Anita Sarkeesian, Katherine Cross, Leigh Alexander). There are segments that talk about GG directly, but overall it’s more about exploring the idea that the gaming medium can – and should – be subject to thoughtful, intellectual critique (GG helped show just how much entrenched resistance to this sort of criticism there is in the gaming world). It’s a pretty interesting book so far (naturally a bit of a mixed bag, since it’s an anthology), but many of the criticisms raised feel a bit, well, elementary; that’s not because the writers are doing something wrong, but because we likely have a long way to go before critics are able to discuss video games with the kind of complexity that can easily be found in writings on literature, film, visual art, etc.
Oh and also, there are several different readers for the audio book, and that’s kind of a mixed bag, too (for example, the people who read the chapter by Sarkeesian and Cross basically suck, which is a shame because the chapter itself is pretty compelling).
@WWTH, Sinkable John
That’s actually why I chose to read something so lightweight. I used to be a voracious reader, and it was such a source of joy, but these days I just find it takes too much energy. I figure I’ll get back into it with baby steps, starting with some fluffy brain cotton candy. But I don’t think it’s a reflection of who we are as people; I think it’s more where we are as people, and where we can afford to put our time and effort.
I’ve also been reading a lot of graphic novels, since they suit my short attention span. I highly, highly recommend Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. It’s the story of parents who hail from opposite sides of a galaxy-wide conflict. The characters are unique and rounded and wonderful. The art is absolutely extraordinary. Always beautiful, sometimes grotesque. (It’s also often NSFW, so be aware if you’re reading on the train or whatever.) I think they put out a monthly issue, but I’ve been reading the collected paperbacks as they come out.
Edit @Beth: Well it must be good, because mammoths!
I’m currently reading Janet Joyce Holden’s Carousel, David A. McIntee’s The New Adventures: White Darkness, and the anthology book L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume XVI. Plus the usual fiction magazines I read like The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Nightmare, Lightspeed (just released the People of Colo(u)r Destroy Science Fiction! special), Under the Bed, New Realm, and Nebula Rift. It’s all quite good so far.
That is glorious, and reminds me that I need to someday acquire the US edition of Make Your Own Adventure With Doctor Who: Crisis in Space, because look at this cover!
There are some lurid and trashy Doctor Who novel covers (especially in the early ’90s) but this has to take the biscuit.
This is actually something that the Malazan series I recommended above helped me with. I’m pretty good at enjoying most things even if I’m not “into” it – and after a long spell of only reading books that were passably enjoyable I mostly stopped reading for at least a couple years. But after a full year of immersing myself in something that actually gripped me, my hunger for books is back with a vengeance, and I have a better idea of what to look for to satisfy me.
@Dalillama-
Second the Enchantment Emporium series! I love how she writes the Gales. You always know they are a magical family but most of their difference sneaks up on you over the course of the books – just a few subtle shades away from human. Also, how she writes warm, loving and affectionate female characters who sleep with a lot of people, without any hint of them being a male fantasy of NSA sex, or assuming they must have a James Bond level callousness in regard to their partners.
Saga is incredible. Vaughan and Staples are both powerhouses.
Those are very good. For a more lighthearted (mostly; one book is pretty grim) mystery series, I recommend Sharyn McCrumb’s Elizabeth MacPherson series. Bimbos of the Death Sun is a stand-alone mystery set at a sci-fi con, and is a guaranteed laugh for anyone who’s spent any time at one (there’s a sequel, but it’s pretty crap and I don’t recommend it). Her Ballad novels are, in my opinion, actually much better, but they’re also often really depressing. They follow Spencer Arrowood, sheriff of a slowly dying Appalachian town, and each book also tells the story of a (genuine) historical case that parallels his. The Songcatcher tells the (true) story of Malcolm Mccourry, who was kidnapped from Islay as a child, and lived a lifetime as a sailor, another as a lawyer, and a third as a pioneer, as well as some of his (fictitious) descendants. (Incidentally, McCrumb is herself a genuine descendant of his).
Gigi Pandian’s Jaya Jones books involve a globetrotting history professor seeking out antiquities and solving mysteries related to them.
@Viscaria
Laura Resnick’s Esther Diamond series (paranormal mysteries involving a struggling actress and her alchemist pal) are pretty fast reads and generally light hearted, if massively heteronormative. CN for an offscreen rape in the first book, but other than that, they’re very lighthearted :p.
Gigi Pandian’s Accidental Alchemist books are also in that category, featuring a Zoe Faust, who accidentally made herself immortal in the 1600s, and a French chef and escapologist who happens to be an animated gargoyle from Notre Dame.
Just finished Stanislaw Lem’s Memoirs Found in a Bathtub. Some of the best dystopian satire I have ever read. If you have ever played the old comedy dice-and-paper RPG Paranoia, this book is that setting.
There are lots of books I love, but I think I’ll take this opportunity to promote a self-published author I’ve been enjoying. Her name is Autumn Kalquist and she writes space dramas with female lead characters. They’re easy reads. She also writes some music inspired by her stories and she sends it out to her fans for free, and she holds lots of contests for things like kindles and signed copies of her books.
http://www.autumnkalquist.com
here’s the books I submitted as suggestions to an online book club I joined recently:
Feed, by M.T. Anderson
The Diamond Age, by Neal Stephenson
Geek Live, by Katherine Dunn
House of Leaves, by Math Z. Danielewski
Embassytown, by China Miéville
all favorites of mine.
I also second the recommendation of The Fifth Season. it’s great. I’ve also currently been consuming a lot of Brandon Sanderson on audio book… he’s worth checking out if you like fantasy and want something a little out of the ordinary.
I’m re-reading the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett because we just moved and I can’t find three-fourths of my library.
I do read a lot of manga/comics when I’m feeling like I want to read, but I also want something light.
Though, I do have quite a few novels sitting around that I’ve been meaning to get to:
The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Bedor
The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle*
Confession of a Buddhist Atheist by Stephen Batchelor
Philosophy in the Boudoir by Marquis de Sade
Aaaand there’s like a whole library’s worth of books I still want to get, like the last book, The Library of Souls, in the Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children series by Ransom Riggs, preferably before I see the movie, which is coming out in September.**
*My mom loved this movie when I was a kid, I must have seen it a billion times. So, I was super excited when I found the book on a thrift store trip I took with her for my birthday.
**The movie is directed by Tim Burton, and it’s not supposed to come out until late September, which is odd, because I haven’t seen any advertisements for it. : P
So I watched a trailer, and I’m already going “That’s not right, that’s not right, that’s definitely not right, what the fuck“, so I’m not sure I’ll watch it until I’ve re-read the first book, if I decide to watch it at all. : /
Here’s the trailer:
I’d recommend the Cherub series. Although they’re aimed at a YA audience they’re brilliant.
Basic premise: The intelligence services recruit kids from care homes to assist in undercover operations. A drug dealer might not let a new neighbour into their home, but if their kids bring the new neighbours’ kid round to play video games, then they might not get suspicious; and a 12 year old can plant bugs as easily as an adult.
It’s a total deconstruction of all the Alex Rider type stuff. Put real kids in situations where they have ready access to drugs and guess what might happen.
Fantastic array of diverse characters too.
Sounds like one of those books caught in a bot price war. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2384102,00.asp
I’m reading Mary Beard’s SPQR, which I’m enjoying – http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/18/books/review-in-spqr-a-history-of-ancient-rome-mary-beard-tackles-myths-and-more.html?_r=0
Seconding recommendations for Feed, American Gods, and The Diamond Age. They’re excellent.
Also, Anansi Boys, the sequel (ish) to American Gods. It’s not as epic, but it’s arguably a better and tighter story. It follows some of Mr. Nancy’s kids around.
Also, I highly recommend “The Shadow of the Wind”, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Magical realism during the Spanish civil war about a mysterious author whose books keep getting destroyed. The translation is excellent and the anti-fascism is as relevant as ever. Ironically (and vaguely hilariously) I had two copies of it I bought for my wife to read get ruined or shredded before she could.
Speaking of mysteries, I recommend the Sage Adair Historical Mysteries by S.L. Stoner. The title character is a two-fisted undercover labour operative operating out of turn of the 20th Portland (Oregon). Aided by his mother and some staunch comrades, Sage investigates the skullduggery of the bosses and fights for justice (CN for child prostitution coming up several times).
For those who like their detectives very hard-boiled, Blair Underwood, Steven Barnes, and Tananarive Due will take you on a tour of the seamiest side of Hollywood with actor and part-time bodyguard Tennyson Hardwick. (First book is Casanegra. CN for all the things.)
The Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad, by Minister Faust. For those looking for fantasy and sci-fi that’s not lily-white. It’s a wild ride, with humor, horror and more.
Let the Right One In, by John Ajvide Lindqvist. I read this and enjoyed it a great deal, and then I handed it to my husband. A few days later he gave it back, it was too depressing for him. I don’t really have much of an upper limit for gore, depression, ect, when it comes to books. Movies, yeah, but not books. I read this after seeing the (Swedish) movie, and I think that’s the best way to go. Everything the movie implies, the book spells out.
The Wooden Sea, by Jonathon Carroll. I love his books. He can take the most overused tropes, but the way he gets to them is amazing.
Doomed and Damned by Chuck Palahniuk. A 13 year old girl dies, goes to hell, and tries to take it over.