Book Recommendation Thread

[FineyMcFine]

The Music Trivia Thread reminded me of this book that I'd like to recommend - Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean. He's the author of A River Runs Through It (great book and I hear a great movie though I haven't seen it).

Anyway, Young Men And Fire is an account of the Mann Gulch fire that burned in western Montana back in 1949, where thirteen smokejumpers were burned by a 'blowup' that happened in the gulch.

The book is partly about fires - how they burn, how they are fought, and partly about firefighting and how that was done and has changed over the years, but mostly about firefighters. It's hard to sum it up in just a few words - it's nonfiction, but it reads like a story and is very gripping and haunting.

James Keelaghan wrote a song about it called "Cold Missouri Waters" which Cry Cry Cry (Dar Williams, Richard Shindell, and Lucy Kaplansky) covered. A great song as well - would recommend that.

[MellindraX]

I recommend Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. The description on the back reads, "Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth."

It's very well written and a powerful story, though a trigger warning to anyone who's suffered from sexual abuse.

I read this book originally about two years ago. When people say "I couldn't put the book down" they usually mean that as a quaint compliment; I literally stayed up until 3 am to finish the book on a school night.

[fun in dysfuntion]

Top 10 books

It's funny to see what I would consider my top 10 books. It's hard to say whether I am what shaped the content of the book list or the other way around.

Roughly autobios:
1. Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde.
This book is beautiful. It is a somewhat autobiographical story of Lorde's life growing up in New York City as a daughter of Grenadian immigrants in the 1930s-50s, her relationships with women, and the historical climate towards lesbians during that era. I've had to replace my copy so many times because I lend it out to people who, er, tend to keep it. I've considered just handing out copies at the student union next to the Bible thumpers.

2. Last Time I Wore a Dress by Daphne Scholinski
A humorously-tinged recounting of one an adolescent girl's experience with mental instititutions. Disturbing because one of her diagnoses was that she wasn't "feminine enough" and even more disturbing is that this happened in the 1980s.

Fiction:
3. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
Brilliant mystery. The story is split between the unwinding of events from the perspective of two women. Absolutely loved all the crazy twists and turns in the plot.

4. The Safety of Objects by A. H. Homes
A series of short stories that are loosely related to one another by their theme of relationships. The relationships we have with objects and what that means for the relationships we have with people. Some of the short stories are just plain weird, some are funny, and some just make one pause and think.

Adolescent fiction:
5. Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
I love this book for a lot of reasons..the portrayal of one's struggle in search of where one belongs in society, the theme of the protagonist's desire to protect the innocent in a brutal world, the justification for my own antisocial tendencies.

6. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg
If you enjoyed the movie, A Beautiful Mind, you may also enjoy this book. It’s written from the perspective of a young girl’s who is suffering from schizophrenia. It’s about her experiences with doctors and mental institutions, with her family, and with trying to function in world outside of her mind.

Art/poetry:
7. Griffin and Sabine trilogy (Griffin & Sabine, Sabine's Notebook, The Golden Mean) by Nick Bantock
I love the surreal art in these books. The story is told through postcards and short letters. The reader, at times, pulls letters from envelopes in the book. It’s a strange, mysterious story. However, the artwork makes these books stunning.

8. Depending on the Light by Thea Hillman
Absolutely, my favorite poetry book. I love gritty, raw poetry that occasionally has an intellectual edge to it. Samples of her poems are on her website.

Nonfiction:
9. Homosexuality and American Psychiatry by Ronald Bayer
Ok. I admit it. I have a history fetish. I try to hide it, but it eventually rears its head. This book examines how same-sex sexuality has been treated over the last century by mental health professionals. It’s shocking because one learns how an untested idea set the precedence for the medical treatment of gays and lesbians for years. What really moved me in this book was the testimony from a closeted gay professional in the medical field who testified wearing a mask to hide his identity that homosexuality was not an impediment to his productivity in life.

10. The Antigay Agenda : Orthodox Vision and the Christian Right by Didi Herman
This absolutely fascinating read examines the reasoning behind the antigay stance by the conservative Christian right that goes beyond the notion of this stance merely being a reaction to mainstream culture’s acknowledgement of the gay rights movements.

[tybee317]

I, literally, have not read anything except for textbooks and research articles for years. Today, I had a proud moment and purchased a copy of Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris, I am starting this one tonight. I did reread A Confederacy of Dunces - John K Toole, for about the twelfth time. I am thinking about reading some Karin Slaughter books, any feedback on those? BTW, Bleachy-Haired Honky Bitch - Hollis Gillespie is freaking hilarious, she is a local author. I am determined to get a signed book from her!

[gabbles]

Hey...I'm not sure if this has been recommended yet (have not had a proper chance to read through all the recs), but will recommend it anyway:

The Handmaids Tale by Margerat Atwood.
We had to do this for English Literature this year, and holy God, it makes you think. It sent shivers up my spine and left me going "How the hell could something like that happen?" and then, you can't help but believe it happened, because the way Atwood has presented the story has left it as realistic (which, again, leaves shivers that such a thing could be realistic). It can be classified into any of these genres: Feminist Literature (at points I was wanting to throw the book into the fire, it got me so worked up....read it, and you'll realise why), Social Commentary, Science Fiction, even (kinda) Romance (but also really not). It was written in the 80's, and even today its relevent. Read it. Please. It's worth it; it drags you in and you feel so indignant on behalf of the characters, even the 'antagonists'. It fluently runs between the main characters present, and her past, slowly painting a picture as to how she ended up in the position she's in, and why.

So yes, I recommend this book.
*hugz*
~Gabs

[itusedtobefun]

yeah, lunamuses, middlesex absolutely rocks. One of my faves from last year. Love Banana Yoshimoto. Alice Sebolds autobiography, can't rememeber name, but is about her being raped on campus at her university and is awful, but such great strong writing. Any Haruki Murakami is great, especially Norwegian wood; a bit twin peaks, a bit sexy and very japanese, so oddball!

[FineyMcFine]

I just finished a very good book:

Gracelin O'Malley by Ann Moore

It follows the life of Grace O'Malley, starting at age 15. She lives in Ireland around the time of the famine in the 1800's. She marries her English landlord to try to save her family from eviction and destitution. Does a pretty good job of painting the picture of what it might have been like back then. It was gripping.

I really like historical fiction set in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, etc. so this book was a great find. Oh, and there are two sequels which I'm looking forward to reading - Leaving Ireland and Til Morning Light.

[FineyMcFine]

Not to be a Book Recommendation Thread whore, since I was the last person to post in the thread, but I just finished Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. It's a personal account of the Mt. Everest disaster from 1996 where several people perished while trying to get down from the summit when a blizzard struck.

I thought it was very well-written and painted a picture of what it's like to be a mountain climber, and what it must have been like to be up on that mountain. I do have to say that I have absolutely zero desire to climb Mt. Everest after reading this book. I can't believe some people do it once, and then go back to do it again.

I'm a fan of the "disasters and how people survive them, or don't" genre, which also includes Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean, Fire on the Mountain by John Maclean, Endurance (about Shackleton, the guy whose ship got stuck/froze into the ice in Antarctica), and many others. Last time I was in Barnes and Noble I noticed they had an aisle topper devoted to this genre - I had read almost all of the books. Would love hear recommendations for other books that are in this same vein.

I've read some of Jon Krakauer's other stuff, like Into the Wild about a young man who set out to live in the Alaskan wilderness and ended up starving to death (very well-told and fascinating), and Under the Banner of Heaven which is his account of Mormon fundamentalists and a murder that occurred among them. That one specifically was a little too meandering for my tastes - interesting, but the narrative didn't seem "tight" enough.

ETA: 9/20/05 - just finished Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris and I have four words: hi-la-ri-ous. I avoided reading it because I thought the title was strange but now I wish I had read it right away. Must read his other stuff. It was laugh-out-loud-funny on a plane at 3:30 a.m. funny.

[umgaynow]

I highly recommend The Annunciation of Francesca Dunne by Janis Hallowell

About a teenage girl, whom a homeless man decides to be the second coming of the blessed virgin and it just snowballs from there...don't want to give too much away, but excellent, multi-layered book...I read the whole thing in less than 24 hours

Sandi

[Boschi]

I'll throw in my two cents:

First is Geek Love by Katherine Dunn.

People I like tend to either recommend this book to me, or are delighted when I get them to read it. It is fiction (thank heavens).
It centers around a family of circus geeks, born of a couple who decided that gifting their children with freakishness (the mother took all sorts of drugs during pregnancy) was a gift because it would allow them to earn a living "just by being themselves".

It is difficult to describe it beyond that - it's dark, funny, surreal, cruel and remarkably poignant at times. Makes you think, but never at the expense of some excellent storytelling. Highly recommended.


Second recommendation is in a lighter vein:

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Bordering on tediously clever, this tongue in cheek account of the apocalypse is incredibly funny. Light-ish reading, but something I've reread and think of often with a chuckle. Characters include Aziraphale and Crawley - an angel and a demon who have settled in to comfortable lives on earth and are a bit appalled by the thought of it all ending. Good fun.


Third is appropriately enough a trilogy: The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies. Three very different books with overlapping characters and times. All connect back to three children from a small town and how events in their childhood echoed through their lives and connected them. I think these tie with the next book for my all time favorite.

Red Earth and Pouring Rain by... uhhh....damn. Who is that guy? Indian author....Vikram Chandra I think.
This one is just awesome if you like stories within stories and myth. Some of the images just get under you skin and stay. Loved it.

OK, gonna stop now before I list off my entire book collection....

- Boschi

[GayNow]

First is Geek Love by Katherine Dunn.

People I like tend to either recommend this book to me, or are delighted when I get them to read it. It is fiction (thank heavens).
It centers around a family of circus geeks, born of a couple who decided that gifting their children with freakishness (the mother took all sorts of drugs during pregnancy) was a gift because it would allow them to earn a living "just by being themselves".

It is difficult to describe it beyond that - it's dark, funny, surreal, cruel and remarkably poignant at times. Makes you think, but never at the expense of some excellent storytelling. Highly recommended.

I have to agree with this recommendation...enthusiastically agree.

I read this book in 2001 when one of my grad school professors decided she wanted to adapt the novel for the stage. As the technical director for the theatre, it was necessary for me to read the novel before she put together her script so that I had an idea of what to expect. Boy oh boy oh boy...there is NO WAY I could have been prepared. (I had to recreate the Chute! Lava lamps...not quite molten...work wonders!)

I told her I would have it read in about two weeks...I came back the next day ready to discuss her needs for the show...cuz I stayed up all night and read the whole damned thing. I was so moved by the story, I told her I wanted to audition for the show as well...and I did...and I got the part I wanted (Miss Mary Lick, for those of you who know the book).

Dunne takes the idea of what society considers beautiful and just turns it on its ear. The story is at once compelling and repulsive....beautiful and hideous....heart-warming and infuriating.

It's just a wonderful read...well worth the time.

Carleen

[JustSkipIt]

While on vacation in September I read Carter beats the Devil by Glen Gold. I won't say that it was the best book I've ever read but it was very very good. The story is quite interesting and the foreshadowing is great. There are things that happen in the book that you expect and things that are totally surprising. It's about a magician and I suspect that if I knew more about magic, I'd find the structure of the book to be brilliant. At times it appeared to me that the structure of the book was designed to emulate a card trick but I don't know enough about card tricks to pick it up.

Speaking of structure, I highly recommend The Eight by Katherine Neville. It's historical/religious fiction and adventure combined. And it's structure is set up so that the narrative emulates a chess game and a complicated mathematical problem. That said, it's not a difficult read.

[FineyMcFine]

That reminds me - run, don't walk, to the bookstore or library to get a copy of The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. It was one of the best books I've read in years. It's set in Afghanistan before, during, and after the Soviet and Taliban regimes and follows the life of a boy, Amir.

In terms of impact and the WOW factor, it reminded me of A Prayer for Owen Meany, because it has a very interconnected plotline. Gave me the chills. It's such a good story and so well-written.

[Tangetman]

Okay, I couldn't resist: A thread on good books to read?

Try these:

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (See what's happening in 'Londen Below')

Stardust by Neil Gaiman (a fantastic spellbinding adult minded fairy tale which will hook you from chapter one.)

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Hellspark by Janet Kagen (not in print but you're sure to find this either online or at any good used bookstore.

Cinnibar by Edward Bryant (also out of print but usually avaliable at the library)

Catfantastic (I through V) edited by Andre Norton (collection of cat related short stories) My personal favorite? Catfantastic III's 'Asking Mr. Bigelow' by Susan Schwartz

Lightning by Dean R. Koontz - Try this one out, you won't regret it. I guarentee that you will be hooked. (Would make a great movie)

Watchers by Dean R. Koontz - Great adventure/horror read (was made into too many movies. Forget the films, read the book)

Startide Rising by David Brin - Dolphins in Space!!! Also one of the better adventure stories I've read.

[the hero factor]

I just finished reading Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire today, and I have to say that I really, really liked it. It's the sequel to Wicked, one of my absolute favorite books ever.

It focuses on Liir, the boy who may or may not be the son of Elphaba. After her death, he tries to figure out what he should do next. Quite a few characters from Wicked show up in this book.

I didn't like it quite as much as Wicked, which I love and have read four times, but I was still pretty great.

[FineyMcFine]

I just read A Million Little Pieces by James Frey which is his acclaimed account of six weeks he spent in rehab. It was harrowing, moving, and a really good account of his experience. I'd say that folks would enjoy it whether or not they have a specific interest in substance abuse literature.

[BBOvenGuy]

Can I recommend my own book?



Liberty Girl, my first published book, is a historical novel for middle-schoolers about life in the US during World War I. It was published by Royal Fireworks Press, and you can find it on their website:

http://rfwp.com/4894.htm

Alas, there are no lesbians in it, but two of the main character's friends are named after a lesbian couple I know.

[JustSkipIt]

Sally,
David Sedaris is completely a riot. I laughed out loud all through Me Talk Pretty one Day but Rachel hated it. I've heard him on NPR and he's quite funny to hear also. Also, my sister-in-law had already gotten the books we got her for Christmas but said that she picked up Million LIttle... at work one day (she's a nurse so other people leave books lying around) and thought the first few chapters were great so she's getting it.

Anyway, the audience for this recommendation is pretty narrow but everyone knows folks with kids. I got for Christmakastice Baby Buddhas by Lisa Desmond. It shows you in very simple short chapters how you can teach children from 18 months old to meditate and use it in your family or even childcare situations. It's really well written and spiritually clean and pure.

[JustSkipIt]

Hmmm, I made the last post? Am I the only one reading? The only one enjoying what I read? Anyway, another book I got for Chrismakastice was My Path Leads to Tibet by Sibriye Tenberken. This book is autobiographical which is quite a departure for me. I generally read only contemporary fiction or personal finance books. But it is really pretty spectacular.

Tenberken went blind between the ages of 2 and 12. While in graduate school in Germany? she invented a braille alphabet in Tibetan. Then she went to Tibet and set out on horseback to find blind children who needed educated. Tibet has a very high rate of blindness due to a number of factors. Virtually on her own, she started a school and started teaching kids to read and write. She has now actually turned the Tibetan school over to someone else and is planning to take her mission to other countries.

Let me say part of what amazes me about this story. When she invented the language, she was 26. She is now 36. Wow and also wow. Very inspiring read.

[writerfreak]

ok im thinking i suck at the lesbian reading material here. ive been in my shell way too long. i dont recognize half those books and have no idea where to even find them if they arent at my local library, cause i dont want to buy them online. anyone have other suggestions?

writerfreak

[Boschi]

Just here for a quickee ma'am:

Housekeeping, by Marilynne Robinson (I may have misspelled that...)

Takes notions of home and family, goes neat places with them. A sort of melancholy book in some ways, but marvelous.

I havent read it in years and am only posting this now because I am staring at it and wishing I had time to reread it. Woe, woe is me....

- Boschi

[Boadecia]

I highly recommend The Year of Yes by maria headley. It was a great read, well written and witty. The ending was a bit saccharine, but only the last paragraph, the rest of it was brilliant.

[Boschi]

Back again - tis an addiction.

The Secret Life of Bees

is a very readable, well written coming of age story. Read it one day when I was snowed in. Takes place in the South (I've seen the giant peach that is mentioned in the book), around 1965. Full of strong female characters, great relationships between them. No overtly lesbian relationships, but wonderful all the same. They may not be Family, but they're sure as hell neighbors....

Of course I am also a sucker for a book that includes beekeeping. Yes, I'd be happy as a clam living at August's house, eating elderberry honey, knowing Our Lady was nearby...

- Boschi

[JustSkipIt]

Ok, I'm not seriously recommending this book like rush out and buy it. But yesterday my sister-in-law and nephew gave Asher a few hand-me-down books, games, jackets. One of the books was stupid but the other was hysterical. It's a "level 1" learning to read book. (It's a thing). Anyway, it's called "Jog, Frog, Jog." Basically every page has a drawing and a short sentence: "This is a frog" (portait of said frog), "He likes to jog" (frog tying on shoes) "he jogs in the day" (jogging in the day). You get the idea. Well, it totally cracked me up because "He jogs in the night." "This is a dog." "The dog does not like frogs." "The dog sees the frog." "Jog, Frog, jog" (not run for your freaking life frog or haul ass, frog), "Jog in the water", "Jog in the fog" I was laughing so hard I could hardly read it!!! I don't know; it's probably not that funny but it was to me.

Plus which my son is 26 months old and can read most of the words in the book and memorized it anyway.

[Emms]

Yep. That's a great book, Debra. It was one of the books I got for Morgan and Lennae when I first started teaching them to read.

ETA: If you're looking for another really good book, I could recommend a few. One of the funniest being: The Sad Cat.

xoxo
Emms

[HalfCamel]

Can someone recommend a book that's along the lines of Fingersmith by Sarah Waters?

[MaClayMagic]

Can I recommend the kittens go check out the Inward Eye forum and see that there is a new novel announced? I was told to post the news there! Go check out "Cast A Wide Circle" by Lesley Davis.

[Ben Varkentine]

I've been re-reading a handful of the "Fletch" mystery novels by Gregory McDonald recently because they're dialogue-driven and short. Which seems to be the style of my own novel-in-progess.

I'd read many if not all of them years before, around the time the first movie came out, but it's been long enough that I've forgotten most of them.

For instance, I'd forgotten that one of them features a very positive and sympathetic portrayal of a transgender person. While another looks for all the world as though it's going to be a literary variation on the Evil Lesbian cliche...and then isn't.

I'm being deliberately vague because these have to do with the solutions to the plots of their respective novels and I don't want to spoil too much. Just thought I'd recommend to the Kittens that if you want a really enjoyable, good read that won't bite you in the ass, you might like to try the "Fletch" novels.

[JustSkipIt]

Kid's books:

My wife's sister had one of these books and they are just great. The author is Bill Peet and he's a poet and artist. I checked a date and it looks like he was writing in the late 50s but our library and half-price books had some. My favorite is Hubert's Hair Raising Adventure. No Such Things and Randy's Dandy Lions are good too. Very punny stuff.

[JustSkipIt]

Me again and again a kid or at least parenting book. The book is called "Parenting from your Heart" and it's based on the principles of Non-Violent Communication. It's an incredibly short book --about 45 pages and our Barnes & Noble had to order it for us. But it's worth it's weight in gold. It's all about how to communicate with your child so that you can both be happy. Note that I didn't say communicate with your child to get him to do what you want because that's really not what the book is about. It's really how can we compromise and both be happy.

I will say that following the precepts is a challenge. Where the parent may be used to just picking up the child to go to the store or change a diaper or whatever, that's kind of not ideal any longer. You want the child to agree to go to the store or get a diaper.

It's challenging but truly wonderful and I highly recommend it.