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Dearest Friends,
I got myself a kindle a while back, but I find myself only now (with the end of term come and gone) having time for much reading. So I want some book recommendations!
I like urban fantasy, science fiction, anything about space marines. Tanya Huff is probably my favourite author because her characters are fabulous and she has the same sense of humour as me. I've been wanted to read some good mystery novels lately. I rather enjoy Reginald Hill and I recently read Heat Wave by "Richard Castle" which was actually quite good - better I think if you know the show.
Also I've been meaning to read the Ian Rankin Rebus books for years. (My parents have forgotten the fact that I haven't read them several times. As a result I have a few random copies of whatever Rebus book was new when my birthday/Christmas rolled around - naturally they're in storage somewhere.) Do I have to start at the beginning of the series? If not where should I start?
At the moment I don't want books written in the 1st person. I don't mind it too much (and some are superb) but at the moment I really just want some good old fashioned 3rd person limited.
For me the most important part of a novel is the characters. If the characters are awesome then the plot doesn't matter as much (it still matters, but it doesn't have to be original or surprising in any way). Likewise if the plot is fantastic but the characters are dull I will not enjoy it. (I once tried to read Snow Crash because a lot of my friends recommended it to me - I thought it was awful and I didn't finish it because it was entirely world-building - at least at the beginning - and no character.)
So what have you been reading lately? Do you have any recommendations for me?
For your time, some books I've enjoyed in the recent past:
Norse Code by Greg Van Eekhout - which is about Norse Mythology and Ragnarok set in modern times. It's awesome and it uses the mythology so well and plays on fate and all kinds of goodness. Much fun.
Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews - set in the future when magic is having a resurgence and technology is becoming useless, our spunky female narrator has to investigate a murder. I liked this because it showed her getting in too deep in a completely believable way. Also it set up the series really well (although I haven't read the rest of them yet - the fifth is apparently out soon) because she's a first person narrator and is definitely holding things back from the audience, which makes me want to read the other books to find out what's going on. A cool world.
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock - M actually got this out of the library and finished it within two days. It's a young adult novel about a high school girl on a dairy farm who loves football. It didn't really sound like something I wanted to read either, but the narrative voice is fabulous and I'm already half-way through it.
I'm also trying to decide whether or not to buy the kindle edition of the new Tanya Huff Valour's Choice series. I love that series a lot but the kindle file is still about $15 and it's already come out in paperback. What is with this tomfoolery?
And the Canucks won last night! The game was scoreless until the last 19 seconds when Kesler and Hansen set up Raffi Torres for a nice goal. It was ridiculous! Possibly my ears are still ringing from the bar. Also a really exciting game. But several heart attacks later - the good guys have prevailed!
I got myself a kindle a while back, but I find myself only now (with the end of term come and gone) having time for much reading. So I want some book recommendations!
I like urban fantasy, science fiction, anything about space marines. Tanya Huff is probably my favourite author because her characters are fabulous and she has the same sense of humour as me. I've been wanted to read some good mystery novels lately. I rather enjoy Reginald Hill and I recently read Heat Wave by "Richard Castle" which was actually quite good - better I think if you know the show.
Also I've been meaning to read the Ian Rankin Rebus books for years. (My parents have forgotten the fact that I haven't read them several times. As a result I have a few random copies of whatever Rebus book was new when my birthday/Christmas rolled around - naturally they're in storage somewhere.) Do I have to start at the beginning of the series? If not where should I start?
At the moment I don't want books written in the 1st person. I don't mind it too much (and some are superb) but at the moment I really just want some good old fashioned 3rd person limited.
For me the most important part of a novel is the characters. If the characters are awesome then the plot doesn't matter as much (it still matters, but it doesn't have to be original or surprising in any way). Likewise if the plot is fantastic but the characters are dull I will not enjoy it. (I once tried to read Snow Crash because a lot of my friends recommended it to me - I thought it was awful and I didn't finish it because it was entirely world-building - at least at the beginning - and no character.)
So what have you been reading lately? Do you have any recommendations for me?
For your time, some books I've enjoyed in the recent past:
Norse Code by Greg Van Eekhout - which is about Norse Mythology and Ragnarok set in modern times. It's awesome and it uses the mythology so well and plays on fate and all kinds of goodness. Much fun.
Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews - set in the future when magic is having a resurgence and technology is becoming useless, our spunky female narrator has to investigate a murder. I liked this because it showed her getting in too deep in a completely believable way. Also it set up the series really well (although I haven't read the rest of them yet - the fifth is apparently out soon) because she's a first person narrator and is definitely holding things back from the audience, which makes me want to read the other books to find out what's going on. A cool world.
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock - M actually got this out of the library and finished it within two days. It's a young adult novel about a high school girl on a dairy farm who loves football. It didn't really sound like something I wanted to read either, but the narrative voice is fabulous and I'm already half-way through it.
I'm also trying to decide whether or not to buy the kindle edition of the new Tanya Huff Valour's Choice series. I love that series a lot but the kindle file is still about $15 and it's already come out in paperback. What is with this tomfoolery?
And the Canucks won last night! The game was scoreless until the last 19 seconds when Kesler and Hansen set up Raffi Torres for a nice goal. It was ridiculous! Possibly my ears are still ringing from the bar. Also a really exciting game. But several heart attacks later - the good guys have prevailed!
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Date: 2011-06-03 01:29 am (UTC)From:I have also been loving the hell out of Daniel Abraham's Long Price Quartet, starting with A Shadow in Summer. If what you want is character, you will love this.
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Date: 2011-06-04 01:18 am (UTC)From:Yay books!
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Date: 2011-06-06 03:38 am (UTC)From:I recently read all of the Hollows series by Kim Harrison, which is pretty good urban fantasy with a decent sense of humor.
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Date: 2011-06-12 02:14 am (UTC)From:Also, sorry about taking so long to reply to your comment. Sometimes I'm awful like that, FYI. But I do try to be good!