We are all writers here, so I have to assume most of us are fairly avid readers. I wanted to create a thread where you can post about that really awesome book you just finished. Not just whatever book you finished, but the one that when you closed it, made you think....”Wow, that was really freaking good!” The one that makes you want to talk about it with others and find other people who have read it. The one that you just...couldn’t...put...down. Tell us what it is and why you liked it. Tell us where you found it. And hopefully we’ll all get some more good reads. Doesn’t have to be Moby Dick. Could be a free book you found on Amazon. Just want to hear what you all are excited about! Mine is Voice of Power by Melanie Cellier. In a world where all magic is controlled by the nobility the common born are kept illiterate. Because words are magic. Mages write compositions, inbuing the words with power, and by ripping the scrolls, cast mighty spells. Without the power to control the magic, writing can go dangerously awry, eliminating whole villages when the power explodes without proper containment. Hence why the commoners are kept illiterate. Until Elena. With one spoken word, she casts a controlled spell. Suddenly she finds herself snatched from her family and training to be a mage...the first Spoken Mage, who uses speaking instead of writing. The first commonborn mage. She fights to find her place...as a mage, as an equal and not as just a test subject. She fights for her very life, as there are those who fear her and what she can do. And she fights to right the wrongs done to the commonborn by the elite, all while being a part of both worlds. I recommend it! Found it on Amazon Kindle.
I have a problem with awesome books - or lifting any books to that hight. Nowadays I read 50+ books a year. (Might be 60-70.) If I can get one good and new or updated idea, knowledge, information, emotion, vision... from a book, it was worth buying and reading. (I buy almost all the books I read so I can underline and write remarks and check things later.) I don't much care how much ”not so good” parts, mistakes, old information, nonsense, ”wrong attitudes"... a book has. If it had that one thing, I pick it to my personal mental toolbox, keep it and use it where and when it is useful. But still... Let's try... Nassim Nicholas Taleb: Antifragile. - Gives you tools agains disorder in your mind, in your life, in an information flow you confront. - Helps you with your self reflection in practical manner. Jeffrey Alan Schenchter: My Story Can Beat Up Your Story - Tight packet about the connection of character development, plot and workflow. - Tells you about ”the sociopsychology of story". Lisa Cron: Story Genius - Points out the relationship between stories and how we think... - ...and how we can use it in writing.
Coscinny & Uderzo: Asterix collection book in Finnish. Contains: . A peek behind scenes - Uderzo's sketch book - Some background knowledge - Asterix Chez Rahazade - How Obelix fell to the potion pot (sorry my English) The fine thing in this is having a look to Uderzo's working in the stages before publishing.
'Notes from a Firehouse' by D.E. McCourt It’s a self-published account from a firefighter, told in small true stories. He’s not talking about big, news stuff but mostly about daily life, doesn’t use sophisticated language, nor did he embellish or write for effect. He just told it as it was, and because of it his book is extraordinary. I cannot recommend it highly enough. ETA: Found it because I specifically searched for memoirs from firefighters. There are scores of books on the topic, but the other ones I've read all fall flat. They try to excite the reader by transferring a bit of the thrill of firefighting—and that's exactly why they don't work for me: The reality is thrill enough.
I randomly happened to pick up Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler at a library book sale. It sounded interesting enough, but I wasn't prepared to be absolutely hooked by it. It's about a man who is imprisoned by the government he helped create. The setting is never mentioned, but it's safe to assume it takes place in Soviet Russia under Stalin's rule. It's a fairly short read, too. I highly recommend it, especially if you like political novels.
