So, I didn’t get anywhere near the amount of stuff done this weekend as I’d intended. You know, this whole work thing is seriously going to put a crimp in my social calendar. Especially since I’m expecting it to take a couple weeks before I learn whether I can covertly sneak onto the internet from time to time. (Yeah, like you don't)
Anyway, I need some help from my loverly blog buddies. Pretty Please.
With my new job comes a trip to San Francisco California
If you haven’t noticed, I have a bit of a fatalistic sense of myself. I’m fairly certain I booked a room on the Titanic in a previous life, but I digress.
One of the good things about six hours on a plane, with a layover – okay the ONLY good thing about six hours on a plane, with a layover – is the excess time I’m going to have to dedicate to reading!!
Since I don’t feel like carting along a stack of books in my carry-on bag, only one of my trade paperback “To Read” pile is going on the trip. But Nookie is going with me, and he can hold umpteen (it’s a real number) books, and I need help filling him with good reading ideas.
So what I’m asking from y’all is to point me in the direction of your favorite book or two. Not saying I’m going to read them all, but I like the idea of being turned on to books I might not otherwise have come across on my own. So here’s what I’m after, if you’re so obliged:
Title
Author
Genre
What’s the general story line?
17 witty remarks:
Okay, I'm going off into left field here (like the baseball metaphor?). I'm going to avoid new stuff, since I suppose many will suggest novels of a more recent vintage.
Instead, I'm going to recommend three of my all-time faves. They're all big, well-written historic fiction with a literary bent. They are wonderful books.
TITLE: The Last Convertible
AUTHOR: Anton Myrer
GENRE: Commercial literary fiction
STORYLINE: Follows a group of Harvard students from their senior year at the outset of WWII to the 1970s. An incredibly well-written book that I LOVE LOVE LOVE. Donald Maass has raved about this one in his writing books.
TITLE: The Winds of War
AUTHOR: Herman Wouk
GENRE: Same as above
STORYLINE: Follows the fictional Henry family, headed by a career naval man, during the late 1930s as the country lurches toward WWII. Great book. It's actually a very sweet romance, too.
TITLE: War and Rembrance
AUTHOR: Herman Wouk
GENRE: Same
STORYLINE: Sequel to Winds of War. It goes into the war years and includes some of the most gut-wrenching scenes from a concentration camp in Nazi Germany you will ever read. Hell, it made ME cry! Both of these books have a lot of romance and are NOT war books. They are excellent reads and will take you far more than six hours to complete. But you won't regret any of them.
ALL HAVE EXCELLENT PLOTS.
Hope you like the new job (but not too much, if you know what I mean).
Ha! Terry, you and I must have been answering each other's blogs at the same time. So, you like commercial literary fiction do you? I will put them all on my "wish list" on Nook.
The job seems like something I'll really enjoy. But my ultimate goal is to lead the Stephen King life (writing by day, baseball by night). This is just a to pay the bills dilly, I swear!
ANYTHING by Philippa Gregory! Historical fiction set in England, usually during the Tudor dynasty. :)
I LOVE Phillipa Greggory... and I'm a Tudor-aholic too!!!
Yippee! hmm, but you've probably read them then. How about Jeanne Kalogridis? She's historical fiction as well, but on the Italian side. She wrote The Borgia Bride, The Devil's Queen (about Catherine de Medici), and I, Mona Lisa....all delicious! LOL!
Don't know if you've read the whole Wicked Lovely series. Loved it!! And right now I just finished The Turning: What Curiosity Kills by Helen Ellis for a review. Pretty good. Quick read. ";-)
If anyone's ever read my blog for more than a week, then they probably know that I HAVE to recommend Jim Butcher. Anything and everything by him. But the best place to start is:
TITLE: Storm Front
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
STORYLINE: Harry Dresden can be found in the Yellow Pages. He's the only person listed under "Wizard". When a woman and her mobster boyfriend end up murdered by black magic, Harry's called in by Chicago PD to investigate, only to become a target of the murderous sorcerer.
I'd tell you more, but it would probably ruin the plot for you. Check out his website for a better blurb, if you want one. :)
Quill here from BransForums. Missin' you over there at the forums, Tracy. Good luck w/ the new job. Wow, traveling to SF already! Fun town with GREAT food. Sorry your beloved Orioles are still in the Major League basement.
"How We Are Now" by Meg Rosoff. Fifteen-yr-old girl travels to family in England in time for a major war. We don't know who the enemy is, but that doesn't matter. What does matter is a fabulous author voice and characters in a short, intense (but not violent, generally) story with definite emotional impact about love and survival. A YA book.
This is my favorite book I've read so far this year.
Title: The Road
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic
Author: Cormac McCarthy
A man and his son travel to the coast after some kind of apocalypse. Not much happens but the writing is hauntingly beautiful.
Have fun in Cali! I'm sure you'll be safe. :)
When I travel, I usually like to bring a light, funny read with me. If you haven't read Meg Cabot's books, I recommend them, particularly "Queen of Babble" -- about a twenty-something American girl traveling to England who has an unfortunate habit of blurting out everything on her mind.
On the opposite hand, if you're looking for something more serious and literary fiction-y, I recommend "The Secret Life of Bees". It made me cry.
Oops, forgot -- "Secret Life Of Bees" is by Sue Monk Kidd, about a teenage girl in the 1960s who leaves home to find out more about her deceased mother.
Thanks All! I'm taking notes. Keep 'em coming!
Quill, I haven't abandoned the Bransforums. I swear. I'll be back soon.
Quill again. I flubbed the title of that YA book. It's "How I live now" by Meg Rosoff. I was getting it mixed up with another of her books.
You're going to love California. And earthquakes are fun! I lived through several of them--shaking walls and all. And I even slept through some, so you'll be fine. They're rare, also. Re: book suggestion, I loved THE PIANO TEACHER and THE 19TH WIFE. Fantastic books, literary but with lots of plot.
Cleave
By Nikki Gemmell
genre? Hmm .. is 'weird' one?
I quote: "This is an account of six months in the life of Snip Freeman, a woman who turned her back on a man who was drowning."
This book is practically all 'telling', can you believe it? And brilliantly written. She's Australian and I'm reading it now :) I'm in awe!
Hi Tracy,
I just picked up Wake. Worth the read. It's a great premise.
Good luck w/ the new job. Wow, traveling to SF already! Fun town with GREAT food. Sorry your beloved Orioles are still in the Major League basement.
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