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Apr. 26th, 2006 09:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sereneSomeone on alt.poly asked what folks are reading these days and my answer turned into a pretty long list. I thought I'd put it here, for the hell of it.
Anyway, recent books for me include:
Coraline, by Neil Gaiman. Wonderful, short read. YA novel about a girl who meets her worst fears and fights to save herself from losing her soul to a monster who looks like her mom. Kick-ass, seriously, and the kids in your life who are old enough to like creepy stories will really like it, I think. (Not to mention the grown-ups like me who like YA stories that don't talk down to their readers.)
Deception Point, by Dan Brown (yes, *that* Dan Brown). Moderately entertaining thriller about some NASA and civilian scientists who may have found proof of live on other planets. The book was recommended to me by a friend, and it's not bad as these things go, but it doesn't make me want to rush out and get The DaVinci Code. Oh, and please, whatever force of good and right exists in the Universe, please oh please spare me from having to read ONE MORE NOVEL where people who barely know each other fall in love because they're the only two sympathetic characters in sight.
In the middle of:
Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman. Same general "mouthfeel" as American Gods, but lighter. I'm really enjoying it, but not as much as American Gods. The interaction among American and English characters is interesting to me in a way I haven't experienced before. Gaiman is a poet, as far as I'm concerned, and the language here is as beautiful as in his other works. If you're interested in storytelling and oral history as things-unto-themselves, I think you'll like this.
Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers, by Grant Naylor. Essentially a prequel to the TV series, and I'm liking it. It's basically Douglas Adams Lite, and that's a good spot for me. It's no deep reading, but it's enjoyable.
The Crepes of Wrath, by Tamar Myers. Recommended by my wife. A moderately entertaining (so far) murder mystery (with recipes!) whose real redeeming value is a clever wit, and that's good enough for me. See above re: not always wanting deep reading. I'm looking forward to the recipes -- it's set in Pennsylvania Dutch country, near where I spent some of my childhood.
The Copyeditor's Handbook, by Amy Einsohn. This is the textbook for UC Berkeley's copyediting course, which I can't yet afford to attend, so I thought I'd read the book. So far, so good.
In my to-read pile:
Trace, by Patricia Cornwell (a Scarpetta book)
The Barbary Coast, by Herbert Asbury (way-cool gift from AnnB, about the seedy underbelly of San Francisco history)
The Poet's Companion, by Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux
The Gilroy Garlic Lover's Cookbook
Tooth and Claw, by Jo Walton
The Tiptree Award Anthology 2, edited by some people and Debbie Notkin (I got it because Debbie and one of my partners worked on the committee, but I'm sure I'll love having some new short stories to read)
The Secret Country, by Pamela Dean
Anyway, recent books for me include:
Coraline, by Neil Gaiman. Wonderful, short read. YA novel about a girl who meets her worst fears and fights to save herself from losing her soul to a monster who looks like her mom. Kick-ass, seriously, and the kids in your life who are old enough to like creepy stories will really like it, I think. (Not to mention the grown-ups like me who like YA stories that don't talk down to their readers.)
Deception Point, by Dan Brown (yes, *that* Dan Brown). Moderately entertaining thriller about some NASA and civilian scientists who may have found proof of live on other planets. The book was recommended to me by a friend, and it's not bad as these things go, but it doesn't make me want to rush out and get The DaVinci Code. Oh, and please, whatever force of good and right exists in the Universe, please oh please spare me from having to read ONE MORE NOVEL where people who barely know each other fall in love because they're the only two sympathetic characters in sight.
In the middle of:
Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman. Same general "mouthfeel" as American Gods, but lighter. I'm really enjoying it, but not as much as American Gods. The interaction among American and English characters is interesting to me in a way I haven't experienced before. Gaiman is a poet, as far as I'm concerned, and the language here is as beautiful as in his other works. If you're interested in storytelling and oral history as things-unto-themselves, I think you'll like this.
Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers, by Grant Naylor. Essentially a prequel to the TV series, and I'm liking it. It's basically Douglas Adams Lite, and that's a good spot for me. It's no deep reading, but it's enjoyable.
The Crepes of Wrath, by Tamar Myers. Recommended by my wife. A moderately entertaining (so far) murder mystery (with recipes!) whose real redeeming value is a clever wit, and that's good enough for me. See above re: not always wanting deep reading. I'm looking forward to the recipes -- it's set in Pennsylvania Dutch country, near where I spent some of my childhood.
The Copyeditor's Handbook, by Amy Einsohn. This is the textbook for UC Berkeley's copyediting course, which I can't yet afford to attend, so I thought I'd read the book. So far, so good.
In my to-read pile:
Trace, by Patricia Cornwell (a Scarpetta book)
The Barbary Coast, by Herbert Asbury (way-cool gift from AnnB, about the seedy underbelly of San Francisco history)
The Poet's Companion, by Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux
The Gilroy Garlic Lover's Cookbook
Tooth and Claw, by Jo Walton
The Tiptree Award Anthology 2, edited by some people and Debbie Notkin (I got it because Debbie and one of my partners worked on the committee, but I'm sure I'll love having some new short stories to read)
The Secret Country, by Pamela Dean
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Date: 2006-04-27 10:22 am (UTC)