while she knits/surfs

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

While we're waiting waiting waiting for another book, tell everyone:

What have you read lately that you would wholeheartedly recommend?

Comments

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

...and I will start because I read Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta and loved it. Here's a great review from Booklist:

Ten years before the story’s start, assassins crept into the kingdom of Lumatere and murdered the royal family, with the possible exception of Balthazar, heir to the throne. As rumors circulated that Balthazar survived, a mystic cast a curse that created a magical barrier around the kingdom and prevented thousands who had fled from returning. Marchetta focuses her tale on 19-year-old Finnikin, the son of a former royal guard, who is serving in exile as an apprentice to Sir Topher, a former advisor to the murdered king. While aiding refugees, they meet a young novice who can enter others’ dreams and claims that Balthazar has chosen Finnikin to “take his people home.” As Finnikin gathers forces to return to the kingdom, intrigue and double-dealing ensue. It is the achingly real characters, though, and the relationships that emerge through the captivating dialogue that drive the story. Filled with questions about the impact of exile and the human need to belong, this standout fantasy quickly reveals that its real magic lies in its accomplished writing. --Lynn Rutan

As the reviewer says, the characters are what makes the book so good. Lots of angst, political intrigue, and characters who have to come to grips with their fate and their roles in saving a country.

[hwaet.livejournal.com]

I read the reviews for this and thought "yes...yes...yes!" and put it immediately on my book order, waited impatiently for it to come, and was so disappointed when I simply could not get into it at all. Maybe I wasn't reading it carefully enough, but I couldn't connect with the characters, couldn't keep the different regions straight, and I was disappointed in the killings. Then again, I also couldn't really get into Jellicoe Road either (although I still bawled through the last forty pages or so). I know her fans are many, and I did like Saving Francesca, so I think this must be a failing on my end.

I also got The Lost Conspiracy in the same order, which I did enjoy and then pressed into the hands of a reader too polite to not take it, and A Brief History of Montmaray, which I enjoyed but which left me wanting more at the end.

[the-grynne.livejournal.com]

Guy Gavriel Kay's latest, "Under Heaven".

been waiting to use this icon!

[styromgalleries.livejournal.com]

Nothing because I'm still in school mode despite having finished with school potentially forever. :/

[peanut13171.livejournal.com]

Odd and the Frost Giantsy Neil Gaiman. My 8 year old grand-newphew couldn't put it down so I got it and enjoyed it a lot. I listened to the audio and Gaiman is one of the very very few authors who are also good readers. *shudders when thinking of the audio of Wrinkle in Time read by L'Engle*

[styromgalleries.livejournal.com]

Aw, L'Engle wasn't a good reader? That's sad. I really want her to be.

[sgwordy.livejournal.com]

Wowzah! Only one month removed from a new book and you're already impatient for the next? ;)

I have read nothing lately that fits within the typical Sounis fare to recommend - bad luck lately - so I look forward to the suggestions.

[elvenjaneite.livejournal.com]

I re-read Jellicoe Road, which I loved again. I just finished The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer; I'm just discovering her works and can't believe I haven't read them before!

[ballerina-222.livejournal.com]

same here! I just finished her series that started with The Sea of Trolls

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

Just finished two books that I found through recommendations on a previous thread on Sounis! Both are adult rather than YA.

'Freedom and Necessity' by Emma Bull and Steven Brust. Twisty Victorian mystery stuffed full of sinister relatives, political plots and treachery. Oh, and it has one of those irresistible 'mad, bad and dangerous' to know heroes. Swoon.

'The game of kings' by Dorothy Dunnett. Historical mystery, again full of twisty politics and betrayal, and again with an irresistible lead character.

Thank you so much to the recommenders!

[msmcknittington.livejournal.com]

I recommended Freedom & Necessity. I AM SO HAPPY YOU LIKED IT. It is one of my absolute favorite books of all time and . . . ohmigawd, you liked it.

And, yes, Jamie is AMAZING. As are his interactions with Susan, who is also AMAZING. Does not wear sensible stays! Best friend does opium to enhance her psychic abilities! I love all the characters. I am such a fool for this book.

[dqbunny.livejournal.com]

I just devoured "The God of the Hive" by Laurie R. King. It's her 10th Mary Russell mystery and I love the series. If you don't mind some liberties being taken with Sherlock Holmes canon, you'll enjoy the series.

[dreamingrain.livejournal.com]

Well, the best new book that I've read reccently was The Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey. At first glance it seemed like another paranormal teen read and I was reluctant to pick it up. Then, I read a glowing review so I thought, 'heck, why not.'
AWESOME.
It uses all different types of mythology but foccuses mainly on Maori myth and culture. The main character is an interesting female lead - not perfect, but intelligent. We have the wonderful rejection of the stalking issue that has plagued YA novels reccently, and the story was beautifully told.

Old read that I'd rec is Poison Study by Maria Snyder. Poison Study once again, has a strong female character who is clever, and appealing. Snyder reads a bit like Tamora Pierce, and her side characters are by far the most interesting. Ie. Ari and Janco.

[teenareena.livejournal.com]

I'm between LMBujold's Vorkosigan saga at the moment but I don't think any of you need recommendation on that direction *winkwink, nodnod*.

Besides that serie, the one I can wholeheartedly recommend is Patrick Ness' Chaos Walking Trilogy. The knife of never letting go, the first book in the serie, is unbelievably intense. The scene is set futurewhere a group of pseudo-christian settlement lands on a planet which has this weird virus caused people to hear each other's voice. Then men gone berserk, some ugly things happen, as well as some hush up.
The story opened with Todd, a soon-to-be thirteen boy who about to discovered something big and bad and dangerous.

I know it's not typical Sounisian recommendation and to be frank, it's the kinda book that stunned you in the way a punch did rather than the way a kiss did, but it's just so good I want to spread the word.

[hwaet.livejournal.com]

I am utterly distraught that Monsters of Men is already out in the UK but that I have to wait until the end of September to get it here. Some things are just not fair.

The Knife of Never Letting Go took me a while to get into while I was trying to figure out exactly what was going on, but I loved The Ask and the Answer, especially the increasingly muddled morality that the two main characters have to deal with. I can't wait to see how it all wraps up.

I also don't particularly like dogs, but if I ever did have one, I've decided I should name it Manchee. That dog is the best.

[coyul.livejournal.com]

I finally read Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett and I have no idea why I haven't read his stuff before now. On to more next.

[teenareena.livejournal.com]

Greetings from a mad, mad Pratchett fan!

Thief of Time is my favourite book in the serie full of brilliant books. Death and the apocalypse, Susan and Lobsang, the fight with the Auditors in the museum. Glorious, glorious! (Please excuse my babbling)

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

Leah Cypess's MISTWOOD is wonderful! Angieville says it all in this wonderful review (http://angieville.blogspot.com/2010/01/mistwood-by-leah-cypess.html) -- and she particularly recommends it to MWT fans, and I think she's right on that score. Twisty court politics, hard choices, emotions that run deep without gushing all over the place, and a premise that sounds overdone (girl shapeshifter must save kingdom) but is handled in a fresh and interesting and unexpected way. Highly recommended!

[chachic.livejournal.com]

I'm excited to read Mistwood! I saw Angie's review too and it made me want to read the book more. I'm patiently waiting for my copy, I had one transferred from a different branch of the local bookstore because the bookstore near me ran out of copies.

[philia-fan.livejournal.com]

The Death-Defying Pepper Roux by Geraldine McCaughrean.

[lenorenoelle.livejournal.com]

Ahaha I have that upstairs in my to-be-read pile, but I abandoned it once I finally got A Conspiracy of Kings.

[twelfthfantasy.livejournal.com]

White Cat, by Holly Black. For unreliable narration, cons, and complicated relationships galore. And for a better review than I could write: http://thebooksmugglers.com/2010/04/joint-review-white-cat-by-holly-black.html

[octopirock.livejournal.com]

I recently read The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss. My friend wouldn't let me borrow it until after midterms, because he knew I wouldn't put it down once I had started, and he was right. It is one of the best books I have read in a really long time.

[tiegirl.livejournal.com]

YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!! I loved this book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That was going to be my recommendation!

Also finished Graceling by Kristin Cashore. I enjoyed that as well, but I thought Patrick Rothfuss's writing was superior. Okay, just superb.

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

I re-read The Demons Lexicon yesterday. I blame Robin Mckinley.

[chachic.livejournal.com]

Ooooh I saw her blog post about that! Only a few days left until Demon's Covenant comes out! :)

me! me!

[emerald-happy.livejournal.com]

I actually read something! Bewitched and Betrayed by Lisa Shearin (4th Raine Benares book) Yay for snarky narrative and hilarious pirates and sneaky cool people.

It was awesome fun but I felt the writing was a bit rushed. It's longer than the first three and was full of stuff happening. I wish she could quit her day job and write full time. This may be because I read it so fast wanting to know what happens next. I'll reread slower and See What Happens.

Is there some subliminal message here???

[tiegirl.livejournal.com]

Is the next book coming sooner than we think, perhaps? Because it is really KoA part two??? Is this what you are trying to tell us with a WSK post so soon after ACoK? Huh, huh, Checkers? Huh?

Re: Is there some subliminal message here???

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Um, no idea but my guess is that there are dark, endless years of While She Knits/Surfs posts ahead of us. Not to be too melodramatic, ya know.

[jennifer19l.livejournal.com]

Not too long ago, Nutmeg3 recommended George RR Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" to me and I *loved* it. I'm saving the rest of the series for summer when I can sit and read each one straight through (or almost).
As for others, I read a lot of YA, so I'll throw out a few that I've particularly enjoyed lately:
Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. Your next trip to the grocery store after you finish this book will be ... interesting. I don't think I'll ever be able to have an empty pantry ever again.
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. (not YA, I know) The new Newbery winner. *Fantastic*
Charles and Emma: The Darwin's Leap of Faith. Can't remember the author, my bad, sorry. Non-fiction. All about Darwin and his wife, who was very religious, and how they dealt with his discoveries and beliefs. Loved it.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This book... if you haven't heard of it I don't know where to begin, I'm bad at summaries. How about Survivor meets Lord of the Rings meets Big Brother?

All these books had one thing in common: I couldn't stop thinking about them after I read them. I still think of them all the time. So... they're thought-provoking.

[lenorenoelle.livejournal.com]

The Hunger Games!! Peetaa. I totally agree with you about the grocery store, but I think it'll make you think about pretty much everything you do. Like laundry. Or using a microwave.

I recently read Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater. It was about wolves, and I was kinda hesitant to read it because of all the vampire/wolf tales that keep getting thrown out there. It was good, though, even though I felt the main character wasn't that believable at times.

And even though it doesn't really fit in with any of these titles, Christopher Moore's Fool is really good.

[thnidu.livejournal.com]

I don't usually read historical novels, but my wife strongly recommended Wolf Hall (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805080686/cracksandshar-20) by Hilary Mantel, and am I glad I read it! It won the Man Booker Prize (which is what the Booker Prize is now called). It's a historical novel about Thomas Cromwell; there'll be a sequel. I'll quote the Amazon review here:

No character in the canon has been writ larger than Henry VIII, but that didn't stop Hilary Mantel. She strides through centuries, past acres of novels, histories, biographies, and plays--even past Henry himself--confident in the knowledge that to recast history's most mercurial sovereign, it's not the King she needs to see, but one of the King's most mysterious agents. Enter Thomas Cromwell, a self-made man and remarkable polymath who ascends to the King's right hand. Rigorously pragmatic and forward-thinking, Cromwell has little interest in what motivates his Majesty, and although he makes way for Henry's marriage to the infamous Anne Boleyn, it's the future of a free England that he honors above all else and hopes to secure. Mantel plots with a sleight of hand, making full use of her masterful grasp on the facts without weighing down her prose. The opening cast of characters and family trees may give initial pause to some readers, but persevere: the witty, whip-smart lines volleying the action forward may convince you a short stay in the Tower of London might not be so bad... provided you could bring a copy of Wolf Hall along.

I've also just read Steven Brust's latest Vlad novel, Iorich (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0765312085/cracksandshar-20), but if you don't know that series I recommend you take them in publication order, starting with Jhereg (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0441385540/cracksandshar-20) or the omnibus of the first three books, The Book of Jhereg (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0441006159/cracksandshar-20) (comprising Jhereg, Yendi, and Teckla).

[ricardienne.livejournal.com]

Oh I really enjoyed Wolfe Hall

[hapaxnym.livejournal.com]

Something different -- THE GOOD MAYOR by Andrew Nicoll. Bittersweet (but more sweet than bitter) magical realism set in a mythical Baltic city governed by the titular Mayor. Lyrical, gentle, humorous, romantic, and surprisingly deep. Definitely a "grown-up" sort of book, but the best thing I've read so far this year -- sorry, CoK!

[lenorenoelle.livejournal.com]

Have you ever been to this website? http://whatshouldireadnext.com/ Sometimes I put in books just to count how many of the results I have read.

[katecoombs.livejournal.com]

This isn't fantasy, and it's totally goofy, but I laughed my head off reading Lisa Lutz's Spellman Files and sequels.

[aged-crone.livejournal.com]

FORGOTTEN EAGLE: WILEY POST, AMERICA'S HEROIC AVIATION PIONEER, by Bryan B. Sterling and Frances N. Sterling. The writing is a bit rough in places, but it's well-researched and informative. Also, I give it extra points because it has *footnotes*! *Real* footnotes, at the foot of the page where you can glance down at them and continute reading, rather than having to riffle back and forth between the page you're reading and the endnotes.

It's sad to think how easily the crash that killed Post and Will Rogers could have been avoided.

[chachic.livejournal.com]

I recently finished reading Incarceron by Catherine Fisher and I remember that I got the recommendation from this community. I really enjoyed it and wrote my thoughts about the book here (http://chachic.wordpress.com/2010/05/13/incarceron-by-catherine-fisher/). I'm currently reading the sequel, Sapphique.

I also enjoyed reading Maggie Stiefvater's books: Lament, Ballad and Shiver. I liked these more than the Melissa Marr and Holly Black books that I've read.

Although this isn't YA, I loved Sharon Shinn's first Samaria book, Archangel and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.

[jennifer19l.livejournal.com]

I read Incarceron as well and though I liked it as well, it reminded me of The Maze Runner, which I liked so much more. I have wondered many times if it's because I read it first. You know, reading two books with (somewhat) similar concepts soon after one another makes the second one read seem... not as unique, I guess.

Did you read that too? Has anyone else read both? I'd love to hear if reading one affected someone else's opinion of the other.