|
sappho
|
 |
« on: July 07, 2008, 10:54:44 AM » |
|
I am heading to the public library this afternoon and I would love to read a new non-brainer book. I am still working on my dissertation and I need something fun and non-intellectual. I love mystery books, and many other kinds. I even try to get the large print versions so that it's easier for my eyes. Any recommendations for some fresh readings?
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."
--Mahatma Gandhi
|
|
|
drdoolittle
New member
Posts: 33
|
|
« Reply #1 on: July 07, 2008, 11:10:43 AM » |
|
I really enjoy Denis Mina's mystery novels, including The Dead Hour and Deception. I've both read and listened to her novels via audio book and they make great traveling listening/reading.
I also enjoyed Kurt Andersen's Heyday, despite it's many obvious flaws: it rambles and certainly could be shorter and it contains many improbably plot points. I guess I'm a sucker for drawn-out historical novels. The New York Times describes it via this back-handed compliment:
"'Heyday,' by contrast, cries huzzah for over-the-top ambition. It’s a band-concert of a novel, a parade in honor of overreaching. Set in 1848 — that hugely eventful year in Europe, the pre-Civil War United States, Mexico and the California gold fields — it never quits exclaiming, Gosh! How about that! Who’d a thunk it? It’s a mighty busy and messy story, jumping among the urban settings of Gotham, Paris, London, Chicago and San Francisco; evil is afoot and brutality the quotidian, but “Heyday” is also a sweet book, with a tropism toward redemption and happy endings.
If you can set aside skepticism about the improbabilities and what I am sure are historical inaccuracies, it's a fun read.
|
|
|
|
« Last Edit: July 07, 2008, 11:16:02 AM by drdoolittle »
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
dr_starbucks
|
|
« Reply #2 on: July 07, 2008, 11:24:16 AM » |
|
If print size is important, check out Amazon's "Kindle" which allows you to adjust the print size of digitial versions of books. I received one as a gift a few weeks ago and love it!
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
formerly Lukeurig
|
|
|
|
mimi1
|
|
« Reply #3 on: July 07, 2008, 12:01:15 PM » |
|
I love the Sookie Stackhouse mysteries by Charlaine Harris. They are "occult" mysteries, I guess you would call them. I could hardly put them down. Easy, quick read. I think there are 7 now in the series.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
erictho
|
|
« Reply #4 on: July 07, 2008, 12:03:47 PM » |
|
The Stephanie Plum series (bounty hunter in New Jersey) is total brain candy and perfect summer reading. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Damnit, people, spread the word about responsible pet ownership.
erictho speaks the truth
|
|
|
|
mimi1
|
|
« Reply #5 on: July 07, 2008, 02:39:49 PM » |
|
The Stephanie Plum series (bounty hunter in New Jersey) is total brain candy and perfect summer reading. I just started reading these books this summer. I absolutely love them & actually will laugh out loud while I am reading. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
hmaria1609
|
|
« Reply #6 on: July 07, 2008, 03:47:19 PM » |
|
Willing to give fantasy a go? Last month I read The Born Queen which is the 4th and final installment of Greg Keyes's Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series. It was my 1st foray into fantasy.
Another I'm going through: The Hidden Queen and Changer of Days by Alma Alexander
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
galactic_hedgehog
Procrastinating, Python-quoting, Blue Blazer-drinking, chocolate-chip cookie-eating, Pastafarian, Not So
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 18,564
Mind Ninja
|
|
« Reply #7 on: July 07, 2008, 10:11:01 PM » |
|
Willing to give fantasy a go?
I (and many others here) highly recommend Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Very funny, very satirical, very literate, very smart. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Your professors were probably afraid of your galactic genius and did everything they could (behind the scenes) to thwart your hedginess. Hedgie loves to read. |
|
|
ufo_tofu
Soy-based
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 1,909
Illegitimi non carborundum
|
|
« Reply #8 on: July 08, 2008, 12:57:30 PM » |
|
Willing to give fantasy a go?
I (and many others here) highly recommend Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Very funny, very satirical, very literate, very smart. While I'm not a huge fan of Discworld, I love Good Omens because I think having a co-writer reined in Pratchett a bit while showing off his truly hilarious writing. Second to the Sookie Stackhouse. And I'll be looking for the Stephanie Plum books - thanks! Also, for alternative history mystery, Farthing by Jo Walton was fun. Set in a Britain which never fought Hitler and instead made an uneasy truce. Very interesting and fun. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Wash: Don't know. I'm starting to like this poetry thing. "Here lies my beloved Zoe, my autumn flower… somewhat less attractive now that she's all corpsified and gross-" [Zoe hits him with a pillow]
|
|
|
anthrogrl
New member
Posts: 8
|
|
« Reply #9 on: July 11, 2008, 02:41:21 PM » |
|
Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels are excellent; if you're looking for something a bit more serious, Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere and American Gods are great choices. Gaiman also has a new collection of short stories called Angels and Visitations out; I just finished it and enjoyed it a lot.
If you enjoy mystery, I'm currently reading Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
I haven't thought of a witty, snappy line...yet.
|
|
|
|
