While She Knits - Sounis Book Recs are the Best

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Over the past years (OMG ALMOST 9 YEARS REALLY???) we've had hundreds of posts tagged "book recommendations."  Because of all of you, I've read dozens and dozens of wonderful books I might never have found on my own.  The Vorkosigian Saga, Elizabeth Wein's books, Rosemary Sutcliff, and--of course--Diana Wynne Jones.  I count on y'all to keep my TBR list full to the brim.

So, what Sounis-recommended books have you read?  Books that might, while she knits cats, keep us going?  

Comments

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

I recently read two books that I'd never have found on my own. I can't remember who recommended them, but THANK YOU. I really, really liked them both. they are:

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski. Loved this romance-fantasy with great characters and an exciting story. Can't wait to read the next two books.

A Matter of Profit by Hilari Bell. Loved her Farsala books, not as crazy about the Knight and Rogue series, but this stand-alone novel is fantastic. Terrific main character, great story, and a lot of fun. This book is a bit older and might be hard to find but was well worth the search. My public library copy had the most off-putting cover but don't let that stop you!

[furem.livejournal.com]

The first Vorkosigan book and E. Wein's arthurian cycle. I probably would have read E. Wein's book eventually because I love CNV, but I never would have found the Vorkosigan books on my own. I need to keep hunting for the next one.

[furem.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I liked The Winner's Curse too--the Herrani reminded me of Eddis for some reason. But I'm the other way around with Hilari Bell: love K&R, couldn't get through her Farsala books. I think I only read the first one, years ago.

[quickasthought.livejournal.com]

I've found so many of my favorites through this community! I'm currently reading the Goblin Emperor, but authors I absolutely adored and only found out about because of this community are Connie Willis (To Say Nothing of the Dog), C.S. Lewis (Till We Have Faces), Steven Brust and Emma Bull (Freedom and Necessity), P.G. Wodehouse (Jeeves and his selected other stories), Patricia Mckillip (Everything of hers!), Robbin Hobb (Assassin's Apprentice), Gillian Bradshaw (Cleopatra's Heir), Ursula K. Le Guin (Earthsea), Jim Butcher (Dresden Files), Carol Berg (Transformation), M.M Kaye (Ordinary Princess), Sharon Shinn (Summers at Castle Auburn), Ruth Downie (Medicus), Patricia Wrede (Sorcery and Cecilia), Dorothy Dunnett (Lymond Chornicles), Dorothy Sayers (Peter Wimsey), and Elizabeth Marie Pope (Sherwood Ring/The Perilous Gard). These were random and eclectic recommendations besides the usual favorites and they seem to be hardly mentioned anymore. I just thought I'd re-mention them again~

[1221bookworm.livejournal.com]

Please don't get put off by the first Farsala book. It really gets soooooooo much better in the second two. There is a lot more action, and the story really comes together, and the characters get more lovable (OK, even Kavi for those Kavi-fanatics out there) The first one can be a bit off putting with all the world building, and the slowness. (I have to rave here a little bit - The Farsala Trilogy has one of the best epilogues in fantasy history!! It wraps up the story, filling in gaps, but leaving plenty to the imagination - I grin whenever I think of it! :)

I guess we're back reversing Hilari Bell, loved Farsala, but didn't fall too much for K&R. Did anybody else read the Goblin Wood? I picked it up at the library once, don't remember too much about it, except that the goblins were obsessed with buttons...... would recommend Matter of Profit if you do like Hilari Bell, it's great in that it is all contained in one book, and it isn't too long, either.

[ccwtaylor.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed the Goblin Emperor very much, and hope you are too!

[(Anonymous)]

I just started The Goblin Emperor and am absolutely loving it! Have you (or anyone else) read Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier?
~royal_sheep

[frosted-feather.livejournal.com]

My absolute favorite is "The Winter Prince" and its sequel by Elizabeth E. Wein. Also Shannon Hale's four-book series that starts with "The Goose Girl" is pretty good. That series has different kingdoms and politics, with teenaged protagonists, so it's a little like the Queen's Thief series in that sense.

[brandy-painter.livejournal.com]

I read Dorothy Sayers, Connie Willis, Elizabeth Marie Pope, Rosemary Sutcliff, and Elizabeth Wein because of everyone here. All of them are favorite authors of mine now.

Still need to read Vorkosigan. Thinking of how much I love all of the above, I'm sure to love those too.

[mikkaybear.livejournal.com]

I have to say, while I tend to only pop into the LJ community during my Queen's Thief-fueled fangirling episodes--one of which is occurring at the moment because I finished rereading The King of Attolia about half an hour ago and UGHHHH--I always seem to stumble upon these book recommendation threads! They're fantastic!

Plus, I've seen pretty much any book I personally might recommend mentioned at least once in all the threads I've seen, so I know you guys are pretty solid when it comes to literature. :P I'll also read anything Kristin Cashore or MWT write or recommend. Their interests collided in The Winner's Curse--even if that book didn't quite make this year's evolving new favorites list, as I mentioned in the last book recommendation thread I visited.

I'm in the midst of Garth Nix's Abhorsen trilogy, though I took a slightly unexpected break after Lirael to reread Megan Whalen Turner. I would like to get to Abhorsen sometime soon. Probably tomorrow.

So far this year, naming only books I read for the first time, my top five would have to be Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan, Cress by Marissa Meyer, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, and probably Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor (which produced a book hangover so large, it took a semi-related nightmare to cure it). Honorable mention to Veronica Rossi's Into the Still Blue, which I loved mostly for atmosphere.

I'm actually a bit surprised I enjoyed Tender Morsels so much, because it came at the end of what felt like a very long, very awful chain of books I'd picked up that all had truly horrible father figures. It's sort of my fault. I finally worked up the courage to reread Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore (sob through, more like) and after Leck it was the father in Ruby by Francesca Lia Block, and then Morsels and all of its despicable male characters, the father especially. I can't say I've ever been so negatively affected by literature before. I was physically depressed for about a week. Still, Tender Morsels was quite powerful. It's going to stick with me for a long time. Have any of you read it?

[meltintall3.livejournal.com]

Summers at Castle Auburn was recommended here? I didn't remember that... but it was in my TBR pile and I just finished it. I really enjoyed it!

[elvenjaneite.livejournal.com]

Elizabeth Wein is my big one--I get to be smug about being a fan pre-Code Name Verity. :) Plus the Vorkosigan books!

[manderelee.livejournal.com]

Yup, I read Goblin Wood! Only the first one though. I liked it, though not as much as Farsala. I liked that there wasn't really a villain, that everyone was just doing what they felt was right given their situation.

I now want to read A Matter of Profit, but my library doesn't carry it! *cries*

[manderelee.livejournal.com]

Wow, so many books I've discovered because of Sounis!! Some of them have become absolute favourites!!

The Farsala Trilogy by Hilari Bell
The Legend of Eli Monpress by Rachel Aaron
A Matter of Magic by Patricia Wrede
The Sherwood Ring, The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Pope
Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff
Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith

among others! I always look forward to WSK posts because of this!

[beth-shulman.livejournal.com]

Am very curious what you will think of Vorkosigan.

[(Anonymous)]

I definitely recommend Rosemary Sutcliff's work - especially & especially Frontier Wolf, my most recent first-time read of hers! There's a scene near the beginning of it that really reminds me of Costis in the first chapter of KoA. It is, however, a rather sad book - as are most Sutcliff books I have read - but oh, so good.

And let me put forward a strong rec once more for the intense, gorgeous, heartbreaking Code Name Verity. Whether you like her earlier books or not, try it out. The companion novel to it is also powerful, though not so much of a mind-game / espionage plot. (Also, if anything, a touch more intense.)

[tiegirl.livejournal.com]

I am reading The Goblin Emperor now too, and enjoying it very much! Thanks, Lois McMaster Bujold!

[1221bookworm.livejournal.com]

I was going to bring up Eli Monpress! Definitely one I saw around here!

Crown Duel!! :) One of my most favorite stories ever. It's one that should be more popular than it is. Crown Duel and the Farsala Trilogy, are alas, not ones I picked up from Sounis, they both predate the Attolia books by about a year, but both of them were picked up because they had Tamora Pierce quotes on the covers - and we were especially into Tamora Pierce at the time, so I know about looking for books that favorite authors have reviewed favorably!

[1221bookworm.livejournal.com]

Wow Checkers, rec's I've gotten from Sounsians? the list is to long to even comprehend! Some of my more favorite/most recent include:

The Healing Wars by Janice Hardy and, if you're into manga, Fullmetal Alchemist. Never would have read it without the promptings of certain Sounisians over on Tumblr *waves to Leng* but found it ever so enjoyable and intense.

Checkers, that might be an idea to add to your WSKs stack: what mange/anime are out there for QT fans?

[1221bookworm.livejournal.com]

*makes mean faces at library to join you*

[lizzyazula.livejournal.com]

The best recommendations from here were Elizabeth Marie Pope's books. I had them on my shelves for years and never read them until their titles kept popping up here.

[(Anonymous)]

The Goblin Emperor. It was recently recommended here and it's an excellent stand alone fantasy novel that focuses on palace politics and follows a young half goblin royal amongst his eleven subjects who is smart and patient and surprisingly well suited to his unexpected position, but very young and very lonely.

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Huh, looks like Goblin Emperor was actually written by Sarah Monette, moving it way up on my TBR list!

[booksrgood4u.livejournal.com]

Uhm, where to start....
Fullmetal Alchemist, Hiromu Arakawa
The Healing Wars, Janice Hardy
The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
Incarceron, Catherine Fisher

These are just a few that I read on the recommendation of a Sounisian, I'm sure there are many others I'm not even thinking of right now!

[ibmiller.livejournal.com]

Till We Have Face! Lord Peter Wimsey! Earthsea! While Sorcery and Cecilia aren't quite on the same level, they are perfectly delightful. And Wrede's solo Regency Fantasy outing, the Mairleon the Magician duology (combined as "A Matter of Magic") is pretty close to the first three in delightfulness and thoughtfulness.