Books

[Kathy Li]

Yup, Neil's the one in black. That's how he dresses in real life. I don't think Rupert or Nick are on the cover, but that's just my personal take. I suppose you could ask Charles Vess the next time you see him. He goes to an awful lot of these cons, too.

Another book where Neil Gaiman "appears" is John M. Ford's Star Trek novel, How Much For Just the Planet? This was, I believe, back in the days before Neil was a fantasy author and was still a journalist. He asked Mike (the "John" is silent) if he could be in the book, and was given a walk-on. In that one, it's easy to figure out which character is Neil Gaiman if you do anagrams.

What's even more fun about HMFJTP? is that it's a musical and everybody gets to sing. Including a certain Princess Dee Dee... Mike put in a lot of walk-ons.

[SilveredBlue]

Oh my gosh, I have that exact same cover right next to my computer. So I'm going back and forth and giggling.

Where is Gaiman? Is he the tall guy with the black jeans and sweater thing? I always assumed that was Nick.

Actually, this cover confuses me. I recognize Marie and Rob and the cyborg secretary...but is the guy in the trenchcoat Rupert? He looks too old. And is that supposed to be Zinka in the pink top hat?

I love the refrences. And I finally found out what filking is, after like two years. And that scene is one of the funniest in the whole book. "WORRRPH-EH!" "Eyenose cuzzidin lyebeans." lol.

And the poisonous Janine's designer sweaters are just hilarious. And the Dutch gopher with the Dutch jokes. And the panel on fantasy. *snort*

[Kathy Li]

... After I read D.S. I was inflicted with a craving to go to a fantasy con. On a node, preferably. And for extra points, in a hotel named after a nursery rhyme and with a ghostly Scarletti tinkling from the parking lot. ...

With Neil Gaiman looking fanciable in a black leather jacket, when he's not eating his breakfast while still asleep (yes, DWJ was using Neil Gaiman as her influence for that scene with Nick being asleep--he says it actually happened at a Milford SF conference, though, not an SF con). He also mentioned that the hotel may actually exist. It does crack me up how Charles Vess noticed that Neil was in the book and drew him into the cover:



Man. I need to reread The Ogre Downstairs. I love the "Greek" the soldiers are speaking when they sprout from the dragon teeth.

And should I mention [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Enchanted-Glass-Diana-Wynne-Jones/dp/0061866849]Enchanted Glass[/ame]? Yes,I think I should.

[SilveredBlue]

Eric: That would be HEAVEN. Seriously. Oh, by the way, what's your sig from? The only Taran I know is Taran Wanderer, from the Chronicles of Prydain, and I don't remember him saying that...in fact, he mostly kind of bumbled through that series.

So does anyone love Deep Secret and Hexwood as much as I do?? (Although that might be impossible.) After I read D.S. I was inflicted with a craving to go to a fantasy con. On a node, preferably. And for extra points, in a hotel named after a nursery rhyme and with a ghostly Scarletti tinkling from the parking lot.

Hexwood made me feel like my brain was coming apart. In a good way.

Hee, I just read through about 50 pages of this topic.

Oh! Re: Redwall. I agree with Kathy Li. Too long, and too humanlike.

If you want to see a series that has the 'too long' syndrome in the extreme, look out for Warriors by Erin Hunter. The first series of six was pretty good, if aimed for lower grades. Then came another series of six. And another. And now, another. And they are getting progressively more horrible because seriously, there's nothing left to write ABOUT. It's about feral cats, and everything that could have plausiblely and entertainably happened already did so in the first few books. Meh. When will they STOP?

[EricG1793]

Not sure if this is appropriate to post in this thread or not, but would you like to have a library in your home? I would LOVE to have an extra room put aside that was big, had tall ceilings, lots of built-in bookshelves, big windows, a fireplace, and a few different types of reading areas (a big writing desk, an armchair, a couch, etc.). It would have to have nice, thick, soft carpeting. That would mean lots of $, though.

[Tuttle]

I recently for a class had to read No Impact Man, but it was one of the books I've had to read for school that I'd actually recommend to other people. It was one which I started before I had to read it and finished it and was sad it was done before we were expected to start it.

It's a nonfiction book, which people should know, but one which was well written. It is an environmental based book, but it doesn't have the problem that I find with many of those - its a positive book. It doesn't tell us what we're doing wrong and how we need to change everything because what we're doing is horrible. Instead, its one man and his family's quest to be zero net impact by the end of a year of changing his lifestyle. Rather than telling us to do what he's doing he goes to an extreme to show what it is like to be an extreme so that we can make our own choices at what to change. Much of the project ended up being a project on looking into what of what we do that hurts the environment ends up being a net positive to us, where net positive is defined in terms of happiness. Does it make us happier to have a TV? Does it make us happier to eat takeout instead of cooking? Does it make us happier to have a washer and drier? Truthfully some of it does make us happier, but not all of it; in fact possibly surprisingly little of it does.

If you're at all interested in this I'd recommend looking into it. It's not what I'd normally read but both me and my boyfriend enjoyed it and we've already recommended it to both my parents and his mom.

[alla]

Has anyone else read anything by Karen Marie Moning? I downloaded a free ebook of her Darkfever (yay for Random House Free Library on Stanza), and I really enjoyed it. Its set in moderd Dublin, and draws strongly on celtic mythology. I've just managed to find Bloodfever (book 2) in a bookshop in Cairo of all places. Its a little bit romancy, but not too much.

[rick455]

Escape to Destiny

I just finished reading the book. I read it straight thru. I never do that not even the YW book which I really like. Its about a boy who becomes an orphan and all things that happen to him. The authors (Jim Laughter and Victor J. Bretthauer) create an entire universe for him with a lot of other people in it, all have histories of their own. Know one just shows up with out a story and disappears without a reason. As you can guess I really like this book. It's available on amazon.

[Kathy Li]

... a collection of Zenna Henderson's short stories. Ingathering is all of her stories about the People, gentle intergalactic refugees who settled on earth around the time of the American Civil War. For the last century and a half, they've been just trying to fit in, which is hard when, although you look like Earthlings, you have casual telepathy, TK, and an assortment of other powers which could get you burned as a witch until fairly recently.

Ingathering well and truly rocks (love the NESFA press and I keep hoping DD will be a GoH at Boskone so we can get a collection of her farflung stuff), since it's getting harder and harder to find the Hendersons, and it collects stuff that wasn't in the other editions. I always thought of Zenna Henderson's "People" stories as Escape to Witch Mountain done right, as perverse as that seems. It also struck me a few years later that Henderson was the only other author aside from L.M. Montgomery that I knew who named a heroine Valancy. There is a slight (slight) element of schoolgirl/prairie romance, ala L.M. Montgomery and Laura Ingalls Wilder to some of the stories--librarians and school teachers appear often as the narrator.

I also loved the fact that Connie Willis and Cynthia Felice had obviously read all of those books, too, when they got around to writing Promised Land.

[Lazy Leopard]

Oh, btw, does anyone have their collection up on LibraryThing? I have to finish cataloging mine one of these days...

I signed up yesterday. Or maybe the day before. I'm working my way through my shelves, trying to do an entire shelf at one sitting. This does lead to a certain randomness in the selection, as I often have hardbacks and paperbacks on different shelves. The process has been greatly aided by my subverting a short script to use my Android phone's camera as a barcode reader and push ISBNs into LT. Just short of 500 books done, now...

[meteorite]

I am pleased that the past 2 weeks have replenished my supply of new books. Among the new recruits are: Princeps' Fury, by Jim Butcher, Starclimber, by Kenneth Oppel, and The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King. All three are the latest in seria, but if you feel like beginning at the beginning you will not be disappointed. Princeps is sword and sorcery, Starclimber is steampunk (with a Beanstalk, yet!), and Language is a mystery set shortly after WWI. I am pleased.

I also handed one our our library patrons (after she wished for more books like The Forgotten Door) a collection of Zenna Henderson's short stories. Ingathering is all of her stories about the People, gentle intergalactic refugees who settled on earth around the time of the American Civil War. For the last century and a half, they've been just trying to fit in, which is hard when, although you look like Earthlings, you have casual telepathy, TK, and an assortment of other powers which could get you burned as a witch until fairly recently.

[nelina]

I'd definately recommend:

The Freedom writer's Diary
A series of Unfortunate events- Lemony Snickett
Elsewhere- Gabrielle Zevin
The shadow Children Series- Margaret Peterson Haddix


And I believe everyone, male or female, should read: The Barcode Rebellion- Suzanne Weyn

I've heard it has a prequel, but this contains all of the important information.

[Wiccangixie]

I recommend:

Witch Season- Jeff Mariotte
Wicked- Nancy Holder and Debbie Vigue
City of Bones Trilogy- Cassandra Clare
Time of the Eagle- Sheryl Jordan
Light of the Oracle; The Healer's Keep; The Seer and the Sword- Victoria Hanley (Read those in reverse )
Wicked Lovely - Melissa Marr
Beka Cooper- Tamora Pierce
The Chronicles of Elantra (Can't remember author)
The Witching Hour- Anne Rice (VERY mature content though)
The Faery Reel: written by various authors
Shadowbred: The Twilight War- Paul S. Kemp
and Magic Study by Maria V. Snider

[alla]

Heh... This is getting too amusing. I want to read Inkheart - either in the translation or (if I can get a copy) attempt to read it in the original german, with a dictionary on standby. I have seen the movie twice in less than a week, and I really enjoyed it, so I want to read the book, but I can't find it anywhere . Five bookshops now, and plenty of copies of Inkdeath, but none of the first book... *sigh*

I can't wait until Bloodhound (Tamora Pierce) comes out. It'll be at the end of the month here .

[Stormwind]

I just placed an order with Borders for a book from when I was in elementary (though I think it has been around a lot longer than the early 80's) called The Forgotten Door (author's name escapes me at the moment) but I loved that book as a kid. Another that jumps to mine (not sure why, it's a weird book) Deathman, do not follow me. I read that for the first time in Junior High and then found it in a used bookstore and bought it (it circles in the art world where a group of thieves has stolen a Van Gogh painting, and a young man spots the forgery, as I recall, it's been a while since I've read it)
I didn't realize either until the other night that one of the authors that I loved for suspense had passed away in 2003 from cancer - Joan Lowery Nixon. The Other Side of Dark was one of my favorites from my younger years, as well as The Kidnapping of Christina Lattimore. Lois Duncan is in the same vein, with Ransom, and Down a Dark Hall, and Locked in Time.
Luckily these ones are still in print...
There's more I can get to with a little more time to think of good ones...
Worth reading - Forever Formula; But We Are Not of Earth; Monster Makers Inc. (by Lawrence Yep) You can find those in the Teen section at your library still I think... I know the Davis County Library in Utah still has them. (I just looked them up there)