List-o-books

[owlmoose]

Here is my list for the Rec List Challenge!

The first part of the challenge was to compile a list of ten books you love. A fairly simple task, except for the part where I have to narrow it down to just ten... and also to find at least a couple of books that I haven't already rec'd to bottle_of_shine thirty thousand times!

1. Tam Lin by Pamela Dean -- A retelling of the ballad, set in a small, liberal arts college. I read this during college and that part of the experience rang so true for me that I'm sure that colors my reading of it. Some day I'll finish and post my annotations.


2. The Lions of al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay -- Adventure/romance/politics in not-quite-Moorish Spain. One of the most affecting books I have ever read.


3. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin -- My favorite mystery story ever.


4. Bellweather by Connie Willis -- Not her best book, maybe even not my favorite of hers, but it made me laugh. A lot.


5. Earth by David Brin -- It's particularly interesting to read this sci-fi book now and see the ways in which he got future developments right, and the ways in which he missed the mark at right angles.


6. After All These Years by Susan Isaacs -- The first book by her I ever read and easily my favorite. Fun, clever, really enjoyable.


7. Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley -- I snagged this kind of randomly at APE last year and it wound up becoming one of my favorites.


8. The Onion Girl by Charles de Lint -- Unfortunately this book is not the best place to start in the Newford series, but it's one I really love. I think you could read it without having read the others in the series, though; you just wouldn't get as much out of it.


9. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides -- I was not expecting a sweeping epic when I picked this book up, but I was really happy to get the one I got.


10. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett -- Is it wrong that I like this joint effort better than any book written individually by either of them?

Side note: whenever anyone asks me what I read, I always insist that my tastes are fairly eclectic, but well over half these titles fall neatly into "speculative fiction". I suppose I should just admit that the SF/F genre is where my reading heart truly lies.

Anyway. So there you have it, ten books I really love. Even if you aren't doing the challenge, if any of you read these and like them (or even if you don't), I'd love to hear about it!

Comments

[luciab.livejournal.com]

The Onion Girl by Charles de Lint - damn, that one tore me up! I kept thinking, "how could he DO THAT TO HER?? The man at the bookstore loved Widdershins but it seemed to me too easy an attempt to smooth things over. I was disappointed in it. I got hooked into his books via the women in Seven Wild Sisters, and in a lot of ways still like them the best.

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

The Onion Girl was definitely not a light read, but I appreciated the difficulty of the journey she needed to take, and that it wasn't made too easy. I agree that Widdershins made things too easy in comparison.

I don't know if I've read Seven Wild Sisters; I'll have to check that out...

[giandujabird.livejournal.com]

Heh, I posted something similar earlier this year, a list of books I find worth rereading (http://iwaruna.com/2008/01/27/books-worth-re-reading/). Coincidentally, it contained ten items. ;-)

Other than Scott Pilgrim and Good Omens, I haven't read the other books in your list. Then again, is Earth part of the Uplift series? (My, reading that was a long time ago!) Anyhow, it's always cool to see what friends consider their favorite books. (Don't get me started on comics and animé; okay, well, just not this morning, LOL.)

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

No, Earth is separate from the Uplift series, totally different universe. It's a near-future disaster scenario (a micro black hole falls into the Earth's core).

I'm rereading Startide Rising right now!

[caniborrowyourbook.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

You have some interesting books there I'll have to check out but I HATED, HATED Middlesex! Looking forward to "getting to know you" during the challenge

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

Interesting how close reading tastes can be except for that *one thing* that you totally disagree on! Do you mind my asking what you hated about Middlesex?

You have an interesting list, too; both "The Stand" and "Lamb" are favorites of mine.

[prpl_pen]

Pardon the random comment, but I noticed that you also put up Tam Lin for the book challenge thing, so I had to drop by and heart at you. ♥ LOVE that book, omg.

(Also Big Love for The Westing Game & Good Omens :D )

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

When I have to answer the question "what is your favorite book" I usually say The Westing Game just because my love for it has lasted so long. :)

I was also so happy to see that Tam Lin is back in print!! Such a shame that it was so hard to find for so long.

Westing Game

[(Anonymous)]

I haven't yet read "The Westing Game", but I'm going to read it for this challenge. Thanks for the suggestion!

I like Middlesex ok, but didn't love love love it. The first half was kind of boring, I'm sorry to say. At least to me. ;) If you're interested, I reviewed it here (http://jellyjules.com/?p=960).