Duffy Moon ([info]duffymoon) wrote,
@ 2008-12-01 09:16:00
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Book, Please
So, now I guess I need a good book to read. Anyone have any ideas?

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forgive me for letting my inner book store clerk come out for a moment
[info]gfrancie
2008-12-01 04:37 pm UTC (link)
What do you enjoy reading? What sort of things do you tend to enjoy reading?

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Re: forgive me for letting my inner book store clerk come out for a moment
[info]duffymoon
2008-12-01 06:49 pm UTC (link)
I read a lot of literary fiction, history, biography, things of that nature. Generally 'legal thrillers' make me want to puke. Stories with elves and hobbits and the like are okay as long as they're penned by Tolkein or Lewis; everybody else needs to give it a rest. Vampires are right out.

Sci-Fi I could take or leave, but I have a big soft spot currently for steam-punkish stuff (if it's not overly goth and doesn't involve vampires or elves).

God bless the knowledgeable book store clerk. God do the opposite with the pimply faced apathetic freaks who generally work at the one I frequent.

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I promise no sparkly vampires.
[info]gfrancie
2008-12-01 08:41 pm UTC (link)
David Liss has written three books I like. the first is called, The first is called Conspiracy of Paper. It takes place in London in the mid 18th century. The main character is kind of like a private eye. He kind of lives in limbo as he is of Sephardic Jewish descent so obviously some places he can't go but others he can. It has a feeling of Daniel Defoe about it as he mingles with low-lifes like Jonathan Wild and people who are members of the house of lords as well. It has history, a bit of bawdy humor and a mystery to boot. He wrote a sort of prequel called, The Coffee Trader which involves the father of the main character from the first book. (still with me) That takes place in 17th century Amsterdam. That one is more like The Sting with The Dutch stock market, shifty characters and some really interesting history about Sephardic Jewish people. The third one goes back to the main character from the first book and has to do with the elections, murder, jacobite sympathizers and so on. I was really pulled in by the books and I like the mix of history and mystery about them.

Have you read the Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde? First in a series of books. It has kind of a Monty Python quality mixed with alternate history, a touch of fantasy, horrible puns, in jokes about literary characters and so on. There is no fixed genre for this. I wouldn't call it steam-punk but it possesses the personality, if that makes sense.

In Non-fiction, a few years ago I read this absolutely fantastic book written by Alistair Cooke. It was called, The American Home-front:1941-1942. The story behind the book is truly incredible. He went off just after Pearl Harbor to drive around America to see what was going on. He captured everything. I mean EVERYTHING. It was probably one of the best on the ground accounts of what everyone was going through at the time, what was going with agriculture, big business, small business, small town america, big city america, race relations, the role of women, the state of the economy and everything in between. He talked to everyone, he explained and really predicted what was going to happen in this country. The man knew us better than we knew ourselves. I think being a non-american helped. So he wrote it and it was going to be published but then no one wanted to read about the war so the manuscript sat in a closet for like sixty years. About two weeks before he died, the manuscript was found. And so they published it. It is a solid piece of history. A great part at the beginning was covering what was going on in Washington when the attack on Pearl Harbor happened. Talk about chaos.

Hopefully this might give you a few ideas.

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Re: forgive me for letting my inner book store clerk come out for a moment
[info]optic
2008-12-01 10:05 pm UTC (link)
read the steam engine mystery I am about to post about in my monthly book review :)

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Re: forgive me for letting my inner book store clerk come out for a moment
[info]duffymoon
2008-12-02 06:21 pm UTC (link)
You going to post this soon? Or tell me the name? Because you had me at 'steam engine'.

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Re: forgive me for letting my inner book store clerk come out for a moment
[info]optic
2008-12-02 06:24 pm UTC (link)
oh yeah, forgot to post it last night. here it comes

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[info]karenleigh
2008-12-01 06:24 pm UTC (link)
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
Henderson the Rain King - Saul Bellow
Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier
The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer - James L. Swanson

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[info]duffymoon
2008-12-01 06:50 pm UTC (link)
Saw the movie Cold Mountain and gave it a relatively strong thumbs-up.
One Hundred Years of Solitude is one that I've checked out about five times from the library, but have never actually read.

This is a strong list, Karenleigh. Well done.

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Book Please
(Anonymous)
2008-12-01 08:45 pm UTC (link)
The Axeman Cometh by John Farris (short but a VERY good read. hard to find.)
The Diamond Age or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer by Neal Stephenson

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[info]thekanapolisfog
2008-12-01 08:57 pm UTC (link)
Books I have read recently that I highly recommend:

1) Commonwealth by Joey Goebel. Political satire.
2) The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Young adult fantasy.
3) The Thurber Carnival by James Thurber. Collection of classic American short stories and drawings.

I've got more in depth reviews in my LJ posts.

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[info]thekanapolisfog
2008-12-01 08:59 pm UTC (link)
Oh, and I will second karenleigh's suggestion of The Time Traveler's Wife. That was a great read.

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[info]duffymoon
2008-12-02 06:09 pm UTC (link)
Thurber is always a favorite - Ohio writer's get an automatic bump to my list. Even dead Ohio writers.

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seconding
[info]type_chick
2008-12-01 09:39 pm UTC (link)
I second the Jasper Fforde idea. the man is brilliant--everything. And then, you can always go back to another brilliant man who you may or may not have read, Brother Maynard--Douglass Adams.
And please, keep me away from the used book store I discovered the other day... 5 dollars for a brand new book... I'm dead.

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Re: seconding
[info]lilflowerpetals
2008-12-02 02:18 am UTC (link)
I'll third Jasper Fforde. His books are the ultimate pleasure reading for literary geeks like me, in any case. Brilliant books, if you can get past him using other writer's characters. ;-) They're a lot of fun, and the more English literature you've read, the more you'll enjoy them. There are a lot of wonderful subtle references.

I still need to pick up his latest, now I think about it.

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Re: seconding
[info]type_chick
2008-12-02 03:27 pm UTC (link)
The new one is actually pretty good.

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Re: seconding
[info]duffymoon
2008-12-02 06:12 pm UTC (link)
Do I know you by some other name on the nanworimo forums? Because I think I might.

And a seconding and third-ing should be good enough for me to pick up the Fforde book.

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Re: seconding
[info]type_chick
2008-12-02 06:39 pm UTC (link)
Yes, I'm a Brigadier. Smith Corona user. I created this account for something not related to NaNo, hence the different username... didn't want to have to explain the other, and, am more paranoid than you are.

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Re: seconding
[info]duffymoon
2008-12-03 01:11 pm UTC (link)
More paranoid than me? Unpossible!

BTW I checked out the Eyre Affair from the local library last evening and will start it soon. Some of the other recommendations here are on reserve and will get to eventually.

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Re: seconding
[info]type_chick
2008-12-09 01:27 am UTC (link)
Yeah, duffy, is easy to be more paranoid than you. You made the mistake of letting us all know your real name on a board post, even though you might not have realized it...

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Re: seconding
[info]duffymoon
2008-12-09 12:45 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, that's not as bad as last year's NaNoWriMo, when YRSTRLY was featured on the home page in a Q&A about the Typewriter Brigade. I didn't realize until the 'interview' was up there that they used my real name. So basically I was outed in front of tens of thousands of people.

Around the typewriter forums I'm less careful about anonymity, thinking that, while typewriter collectors could be considered crazy, they're generally not the violent kind of crazy.

I could, of course, be wrong.

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Re: seconding
[info]type_chick
2009-01-19 11:49 pm UTC (link)
I think we're the violent type.

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[info]duffymoon
2008-12-02 06:14 pm UTC (link)
Well done, all of you. This is what LJ friends are for, no? I shall be sure to report back the results of your recommendations in good time.

(Preference here given to Karenleigh, who, when I asked for musical recommendations, pointed me to John Prine, who I just simply can't believe I've never listened to before, and now is in near-constant rotation in the Moon Household.)

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[info]quuf
2008-12-02 06:47 pm UTC (link)
I love George Gissing, a late-Victorian novelist. I read New Grub Street and Will Warburton about fifteen years ago, and really ought to revisit them.

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