The 'recommend me a book' thread

Sounds like a blast.

 

That actually sounds like a great idea, I like the sound of it. But, and this is a big but, it would definitely need humour. Books like these, imho, do need the odd spark of humour to keep it moving along, keep the reader engaged other than the interest in human nature, which in itself needs a little humour now and then. With short stories you can get away with it but with novels it struggles, for me personally. You don't need a lot, just the odd shot.

 

@Friedrich Kugelschreiber @Krispee

I started writing it a few years ago, maybe got 18,000 words down, but like all my novel attempts I hit a dead-end and came to that horrible conclusion it was going nowhere. That’s when you have to really push through, but that takes more than I possess.

 

Ah, that's a shame, it did sound like a great idea. Totally understand though, there are always areas in the writing process that stump us writers. Mine is coming back to a project after I've finished it and a reader has told me it needs so-and-so to get it right. Finding the energy to immerse myself in the story again is the hard part for me.
Maybe you will get back to it again in the future, if you're anything like me, the idea just sits in my brain and periodically comes around again.

 

Yeah, just talking about the idea is the closest I’ve come to being inspired to start writing again in about five years. I’ll have to resist, though, as it will only end in frustration.

 

Fair enough, hope my mentioning it didn't stir up bad memories; perhaps it's true that some projects are destined to stay on the proverbial shelf.

 

Not bad memories at all

And to be honest I think a shelved project is something one does when they’ve given up.

 

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

O ye historical scholars hellbent on informing the world of every tiny esoteric little factoid known and cherished by grad students as the very hill behind which the sun rises in the morning to flood the world with your rarified knowledges... look elsewhere. This is not the book for you.

You will not be flung into the morass of historical figures with the assumption that you already know each of these people down to the part of their hair. No. You will be eased in gradually, and you will be introduced only to those who would make sense for us to meet in a story told from the POV of Patroclus. The story starts and ends with him, so if you long for the tale that came prior to his meeting Achilles or the one that comes after his death, again, look elsewhere.

And above all else, this is a love story.

Achilles & Patroclus have been painted as one of history's most impassioned and devoted couples since the archaic and classical Greek periods, the power of this love story having endured the most ardent attempts of Abrahamic thought to scrub the colors of the rainbow from history.

Miller shows remarkable restraint with respect to the forces that often prey upon the historical genre. She keeps the camera where it belongs, on the story, on the present, on the here and now. She also makes no attempt to strip the origin of the story from its mythological roots. The characters whom we meet who myth tells us are godborn or sired by a god, indeed are within the context of the story. Achilles' mother, Thetis, is every bit the sea nymph she is meant to be, not some retconned mortal human version.

Written in an approachable style and voice, it's sweet, occasionally sentimental, decidedly unapologetic, and very, very sensual.

 

I had a forum member recommend this book and a couple others by Madeline Miller to me a few years back. Yes, I read them. They are really good.

 

May have to try Miller's other works then. I dived right into Mary Renault's books after SoA and frankly, it's been a slog. They just don't have the same inviting port of narrative entry as Miller's book. Renault does throw us into the deep end right off the bat throwing a host of names at us with the unspoken idea that we will have some familiarity with them to serve as our initial context.

 

Yes, I read hers too, many years ago. I remember thinking that the Madeline Miller books (the other one was about Circe) were similar in some respects to Mary Renault ...but written in a more modern way. I have always been a total sucker for historical fiction!

 

Have you read Dorothy Dunnett, specifically the Lymond Chronicles?

 

Nope. I haven't. Does she take us back to the sugar-white sands and aquamarine waters of the Aegean Sea?

 

She does not. She takes you to the mid-1500s in Scotland. Her dialogue alone makes those books a joy to read

https://www.npr.org/2014/12/27/371710986/all-the-writers-you-love-probably-love-dorothy-dunnett

 

Now this is a book I love.

Actually, I decided to write a book because of this, so it holds a place in my heart.

Anyone have a book like this to recommend? I've been looking for similar stuff, fantasy or sci-fi.

 

You may already know this. I haven't read either of them, but she wrote a follow up to Song of Achilles called Circe. Apparently it's not a sequel. I don't know how much they even have to do with each other beyond being based on Homer, but it's supposed to be written in the same vein.

 

I was wondering if anyone had read the book Blindsight by Peter Watts, it's supposed to be 'hard' Sci-Fi and sometimes that can make them unreadable in my experience.

 

I’m looking for a dragon rider book. I’d prefer something like ASOIAF, but it’s not a huge concern.

I prefer books with two-legged, two-winged dragons who are more animalistic than intelligent.

Anything you can recommend?

 

The end of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas (where ive pulled my name from) as my all time favourite. The author so eloquently describes the possibility of the two planes of existance you come away really feeling it could happen!

*fun fact. My boyfriend ended up contacting the author on Instagram telling her how much I loved it. She send me a signed copy and its sat in pride of place on my book shelf.

The catcher in the Rye (standard i know) but the first time i read it, i saw so much of myself I ended up actually seeing a doctor for depression. It was the first time i had actually admitted it to myseld and it was because the writing was so easily reflected back to a person with that affliction. Say what you like but its one of the best depictions of mental illness i've read (and ive read a bloody lot in the genre)

And then there were none- my mum handed me down her collection of Agatha Christie novels when i was a kid and it was one of the first stories that got me interested in reading.

The turn of the screw - the unreliable narrator that pulls you into a world of horror. It still stands and one of the most influential horror stories ever written.

I'm going to stop there because I will honestly go on forever...

 

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Suzannah Clarke and The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow.

 

I'm looking for writing guides on dialogue. Have any of you guys/gals read any of them that speaks to you? Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance.

 

If you can find them all together in one binding.
I'd say check out Dashiell Hammet's novels.

Red Harvest, Dain Curse, The Glass Key and The Thin Man. They are all pretty short, fast paced and just an interesting look into the past as he's one of the pioneers of the hardboiled fiction. He's not as literary in terms of writing skill like say Chandler.

But its some good stuff and a lot of films have been inspired by his work.

My favorite was The Glass Key.

Also read All Quiet on The Western Front but I'm sure everybody knows that one but still its a high recommend, it shows the horrors of the first World War and war in general how it changes you, molds you and just all sorts of interesting effects on your mental state.

Sad.

But yeah Hammets collected novels and All Quiet on The Western Front

 

I enjoy books about outsiders or introverts. I also like Gothic and surreal styles. If I could suggest art to inform your choices:







As for books:

Gormenghast

We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Song for the Unravelling of the World

Piranesi

I particularly like books that blend reality with fantasy. As for the outsider theme, something like the meaning behind many of the stories in Shirley Jackson's The Lottery and Other Stories but more fantastical. A few more keywords: outsider towns, the concept of the 'other', the aesthetic of Corpse Bride or Nightmare Before Christmas, odd villagers.

Thanks.

 

Excellent mini review, Seven Crowns. The way you write about the book certainly makes me want to read it. I'll definitely look into this.