50 Books 2009. And Life.

[swordmage]

So, it's clearly been a long while since I updated this list. I've finished all the Robin McKinley I own

3. The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley.

Aerin! Luthe! Talat! Damar! Aerin! no, i don't love it... no, not at all... *grin*

4. The Blue Sword - Robin McKinley.

And here we have Harry. And a mountain. I love this world (Damar), and while I'd love her to write more in it - McKinley's been pretty adamant on her blog that it likely won't happen. She's right in that her writing has changed over the years - themes, style, etc - and no matter what, these will always hold a special place in my heart. Honestly fans - be happy with what you have, don't torment the author about what you want.

5. Deerskin - Robin McKinley.

Retelling of Donkeyskin (without the money-producing ass I remember from Lang). Similar tale is the Many-Furred Creature. and i'm blanking on the aarne-thompson classification. i used to know some of them, and this was one. hrmmm Book about the standard themes of growing up, womanhood, love, etc. Damned good though. it's probably worth warning anyone who hasn't read it and isn't familiar with the source material - the rape scene can probably be considered rather graphic.

6. Sunshine - Robin McKinley.

More recent McKinley (2003). It involves vampires and a baker. Not nearly as corny as it may sound, my copy is well-loved and dog-eared. This is an honor that likely only belongs also to Good Omens, which I had to recently replace because of it.

7. Rose Daughter - Robin McKinley

Beauty and the Beast. Prefer it to the earlier Beauty, as it's more... fulfilling.

8. Beauty - Robin McKinley

Earlier version of Beauty and the Beast - one of her first books I think. Not bad, but not my favorite. That honor, as I've said before, belongs to Angela Carter's The Tiger's Bride.

Note - I am willing to concede part of my weakness for Carter's may be the last lines, which begin "And each stroke of his tongue ripped off skin after successive skin, all the skins of a life in the world, and left behind a nascent patina of shining hairs."

9. Medalon - Jennifer Fallon

Hrmmm.... interesting world. This is the first in a trilogy (Hythrun Chronicles, and I just found my copies of Treason Keep and Harshini) about a young woman created to destroy a god. Life gets interesting when said young woman when you consider how she was raised... Certain parts cause a minor twitch, but overall enjoyable.

Currently, I'm working on finishing up books I have half-read. This includes the infamous NorsePunk All The Windwracked Stars, which I started from the beginning again just to read the aftermath of (what is assumed to be) Ragnarok and the transformation of Kasimir. She's got a portion of the prologue over here. I fully admit to having a weakness for grandiose statements such as You are not so fallen as you think, and I am the coming Age of the World.

Also have The Far Traveler and Ghost Train To the Eastern Star partially finished. I'd add Animal, Vegetable, Miracle to the list, but I've decided I can only take her in smallish doses as she seems to be inciting ragey!Willa bits...


Right, back to more mundane things. With only two classes today - from 2 to 4:45, I'm currently debating just hitting the library, pulling the damned Mapplethorpe stuff and going home and tidying up a little bit, then relaxing. (Good paper topic, Willa... *mutters* take one of the most written about photographers and chose to write about what no one writes about.)

Comments

[scribe-ari.livejournal.com]

I loved Deerskin. It actually left me in tears at points. Yes the rape scene is rather hard because of it being written so well.

[swordmage.livejournal.com]

I think several of her books have resulted in me being at least a little watery-eyed in some places...

[ysabet.livejournal.com]

Deerskin and Beauty (to a slightly lesser extent) are two of my will-reread-once-a-year books. Your warning about the graphicness of the rape scene in Deerskin is timely; that's a painful, horrific bit of writing there. I've always wished RM'd write a sequel, though; don't you want to see what happens with their kids?

Also re: Beauty: have you read Spindle's End? It ROCKS.

[swordmage.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure about a sequel for Deerskin. I love it as it is, and almost feel like any children would be a let-down.

At any rate, there's a semi-reference to them in either Rose Daughter or Spindle's End (which I've read, and enjoyed - despite my dislike of Sleeping Beauty), something about a kingdom to the north known for their long-haired fleethounds. I can't remember which one, or where in the storyline, or I'd look it up...

[ysabet.livejournal.com]

That's in Spindle's End; I remember it too. And I'm not all that fond of the traditional Sleeping Beauty storyline either (such a wimp, jeeze)... which is, I think, why I like the retelling in Spindle's End so much, 'cause Rosie is anything but a wimp. XD

[swordmage.livejournal.com]

Rosie is good - McKinley has a tendency to create strong (and likable) characters.

Have you read Sunshine?

Sleeping Beauty (and certain variants of Beauty and the Beast are, oddly enough) are not high on my list of "normal fairytales" that I like.

The latter is particularly odd I think, when you consider my devotion to the Angela Carter retelling The Tiger's Bride and liking of, say, East of the Sun, West of the Moon. of which east by edith pattou is my favorite novel-form version.

[ysabet.livejournal.com]

Yup; it's a good one too, I own that one in hardback for a reason.

Fairy tales were very much a foundation of my reading when I was small, but not for the usual reason; I learned to read when I was three and got hold of my older sister's copy of the complete Brothers Grimm when I was about five. Gave me some major nightmares, I can tell you... I read the entire thing several times over before I got into first grade, by which I'd come to the conclusion that if anybody ever stuck ME on a glass hill or in some stupid tower, I'd get out on my own, thanks.

[swordmage.livejournal.com]

My copy is approaching replacement time...

When Dover reprinted the Andrew Lang colored fairy books, my mother picked them all up. Thirteen volumes (including some from the Thousand and One Nights), most with gorgeous illustrations by HJ Ford... I think I memorized a fair number of them. From there, it led to re-tellings (the Windling/Datlow anthologies being favorites), criticism, and so on.

They've proved to be very dangerous in my life, I can tell you that. *grin*

[ysabet.livejournal.com]

XD Good going for your mom! My family's a family of readers too... my parents bought one of those bookcase sets where you've got the Encyclopedia Brittanica and storybook volumes and classics and everything; I read my way through 'em (including the 1001 Nights and Gulliver's Travels) and loved them to BITS. And I remember finding all the Andrew Lang books too, at my gradeschool library; read THEM to bits too. XD See, if we'd just gone to school together we'd've driven the librarian bonkers. I had a good one, though; she let me keep a stash under the front desk of just my stuff.

[swordmage.livejournal.com]

My parents have gotten my sister and I fabulous books over the years. Still do, actually - now they're less picture books and more novels, cookbooks, and so on. When we go back east, I'm planning on nabbing some of the picture books - notably Burt Dow, Deep Water Man. which i'm pretty sure we've got two copies of. To this day, my father has been known to gauge people by their reaction to Graham Oakley...

I had a dangerous childhood when it came to books. *grin*

A large number of "important" people to me over the years have been librarians. kittenfemme can confirm this, should she read it, but a mutual friend introduced us with something like "Willa, this is Erin. She likes fairytales too!" Thus was born a possibly dangerous (but totally *great*) friendship.

[ysabet.livejournal.com]

Okay, now you've said the magic words. I have just about ALL of the Churcemice books-- I worked in a library when I lived onbase in Germany and discovered 'em there, and bought them one by one. Do you KNOW how much those damn things go for these days? It's ridiculous. I adore them (even the one about the dog) and have been known to rave wildly about them until I badger people into reading my copies (which look pretty sad by now.) If I ever get a white van, I'm gonna have 'MUGWUMP' on the license-plate if it kills me!

And now one of MY favorite series from my childhood: ever read the Green Knowe books? :D

[swordmage.livejournal.com]

*squeal* I think one smuggled itself back in my luggage one year, so it's lurking somewhere. Eventually, I shall cave and buy them all - at a point when I'm no longer a student... (though, in looking at AbeBooks, I may be able to sooner. hrmmm)

My personal favorites are probably the first one, the tropics, and the one with the replacement vicar. Because really who doesn't love Sampson?

I have not! *makes note* When I was younger, I remember loving all of E. Nesbitt's stuff...

Who else.. hrmmm...? As an aside, and I know he's children's - ever read any Graeme Base? Great illustrations.

[ysabet.livejournal.com]

**grin** If you want to borrow 'em, let me know; they're battered but very well-loved. One of my favorite bits is how perfectly Oakley drew the plants-- I *lived* in Europe, and damn but the man got 'em right. You could use some of his more detailed spreads for botanical illos!

The Green Knowe books are strange, almost spiritual books while at the same time being very good fantasy/adventure stories; they're centered around an old stone house that dates back to the Norman Conquest and that has a peculiar way of ignoring little things like time, death, etc.-- Elizabethan children (ghosts and/or time-traveling) play with modern kids and so forth. A really lovely bit in the first book has the sounds of a child being sung to sleep five hundred years past clearly audible to a little boy, also being soothed. They're gorgeous books, and I still read them now and then.

Graeme Base came along a bit late for me; I loved his Animalia, though. Lessee... I remember being totally in love with a book called The Ghost Of Opalina, which is now a horrendously-expensive collector's item. And, oh yeah, all the Prydain books by Lloyd Alexander. ^__^

Maybe someday I'll try writing kid's books; I'd love to do that.

[swordmage.livejournal.com]

I may have to take you up on that offer at some point. His attention to detail really is brilliant.

I'm going to have to read them at some point down the road, I think. Those sound wonderful.

Lloyd Alexander, hrmmmm - I'm pretty sure I've read most of his stuff. Prydain is a classic any way you look at it, but I seem to have fonder memories of his Westmark Trilogy. Vesper Holly is quite fun as well, now that I think about it.

He's not a children's book writer, per-say, but may I suggest a series of three books by Mark Helprin and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg - Swan Lake, A City In Winter, and The Veil Of Snows? I've got the first two (Swan Lake in paperback and A City In Winter hardbound) and while they're considered children's books - it's not. The first is just what it says, a retelling, the second and third deal with war and power and are rather fairy-tale-esque.

Actually, Chris Van Allsburg in general does lovely stuff... children's book illustrations, i have a weakness for them.

[ysabet.livejournal.com]

Book recs are always welcome-- they'll save me rereading my Terry Pratchetts (I'll do it anyway, but still.) And in turn, if you haven't read Diane Duane's Young Wizards books, try 'em; they're marvelous. So are her Tale Of The Five volumes, which it looks like she's finally going to finish after literal decades of poking at them-- I love them; they're just beautiful. She's gonna be the second Guest Of Honor at the Mesa Discworld convention in September, and while I don't usually fangirl at authors I think I'll have to make an exception for her... her writing very literally and specifically changed how I see the world.

[swordmage.livejournal.com]

I've read some of Duane's stuff. Should probably read the rest at some point.

I've got a nice pair of tickets for NADWCon. I am very stoked - and I hope domnall will have fun as well, despite not being the rabid fanboy that I am... i'm half-thinking of making costumes for it. *sigh*

What do you tend to read? So I've a better idea whether or not to recommend some of the random stuff... *grin*

[ysabet.livejournal.com]

Gods; I read just whatever appeals to me-- regencies, modern supernatural comedies, hard scifi, period historicals, manga, serious murder-mysteries... you name it. Got tons and tons of favorite authors both past and current: Andre Norton, Robert Heinlein, Pratchett and Duane, Patricia Burke, Georgette Heyer, Spider Robinson, Tanya Huff, Neil Gaiman, Emma Bull... and scads of others that I can't think of at this time of the afternoon (I'm working on incoming autopsy reports & meeting minutes right now). If it looks good I'll read it; I even read the first Twilight book, just so I could get my facts straight when I mocked the little twiberries about the sparkly vampires. XD What did I think of it? It was okay-- nothing spectacular, and a real exercise in MarySueism.

Pretty much, if you rec it, I'll at least take a look; my tastes are wide-ranging enough in the fiction department that I'm willing to taste almost anything just in order to see if I like it. Non-fiction, now, that depends on the topic; I tend to look up books on mummification and other Egyptian things, and I pick up Japanese cookbooks way too often for my bank account's health, soooo... anything and everything.

[swordmage.livejournal.com]

Fair enough! Let's see...

If you want light/fluffy/childrens - Patricia C. Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles (are wonderful. More serious - Interface Masque by Sharianne Lewitt is an interesting read. I may be gearing back up for a Margaret Atwood kick, so I'll recommend Oryx and Crake.

Also Kage Baker's Company novels, anything by Dianna Wynne Jones (start with Deep Secret, it's probably my favorite and is a very light read), Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders, and Garth Nix's Abhorsen trilogy...

I've got all four Twilight books in PDF form. And damn it, I've tried to read 'em, but just can't do it end to end. *twitch* the only other book I think that's the case for may be Catherine Asaro's The Charmed Sphere, which, now that I think about it, I hated...

Non-fiction, try Paul Theroux - he's a travel writer. The Great Railway Bazaar, about travelling on train from England to Japan and back is wonderful. I'm currently reading his sort-of sequel (Ghost Train To The Eastern Star), about doing the same journey 30-some years later. Thus far, pretty damned good. If you're at all interested in whaling, or Moby Dick, In The Heart of The Sea is good. (And I'm probably just reccing it because I'm looking at it. *grin*)

[ysabet.livejournal.com]

**rubs hands together** Thanks! Now, I'll pretty much read anything by Dianna Wynne Jones; I've been a Chrestomanci fan for YEARS, to the point of digging up fanfics based on her world (some of 'em pretty good, too.) As for the other stuff, I'm very fond of Patricia Wrede-- I started on her stuff decades ago, with the Talking To Dragons book.

Twilight-- you sound like me when I talk about Dune. I know they're supposed to be great books, classics of the genre, etc., etc.... and I can't and never have been able to get past a couple of chapters. Boring as hell, nnnnghh!! And yet my little sister (otherwise an intelligent person) raves about Twilight like a 13-year-old Edward!Groupie. To each their own. **shudders**

Have you read much Emma Bull, btw? She did a book called The War For The Oaks that I've been through three copies in paperback of. One of these days I'm going to snag it in hardback.

[swordmage.livejournal.com]

I love Jones. Deeply. Dark Lord of Derkholm and Deep Secret are probably my favorites. Though I love Howl's Moving Castle as well...

Ah yes, Dune... I married a Dune fanboy. I've read the first one twice, and then I think only Children of Dune. My first birthday present for him was a custom bound copy of The Dune Encyclopedia. (Eventually, we'll get the rest of the series bound to match.) He got a Crystknife for his birthday one year and he managed to get both a reading from Chapterhouse: Dune and a reference into our wedding ceremony. (OK, I liked the last two bits, so I have nothing to complain about... *grin*)

I have come to accept that it will always be a part of my universe and learned to coexist happily...

I must say - the SciFi channel miniseries versions? Highly recommended...

I have her Territory sitting on a shelf above me. But I've not actually read it (nor anything else of hers)...


I actually think I've got most of the books I recommended - except for the majority of the Company novels. Eventually I'll pick them up, but for now, I've just got The Graveyard Game, which falls in the middle of the series. Black Projects, White Knights (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Projects,_White_Knights), which is an anthology, may be a good place to start. The series involves cyborgs, time-travel, and a somewhat bleak future. Backstory helps, I've found. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Zeus_Inc.)