Instead of Just Sitting Back Down In Front of the TV

[lodessa]

10 Things to Read Now That Harry Potter is Over

1) George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire Series
* Epic Fantasy
* Varied three dimensional complex characters
* Extraordinary world building
* Adult Series
* Major Balls


2) Garth Nix's Abhorsen Trilogy
* Unique Tone
* Interesting World Building
* Satisfying Resolution
* Dark YA Fantasy


3) Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy
* Huge aspirations
* Being made into a major movie
* Interesting Theological Concepts
* Strong World Building
* Bit off more than it could chew... but still chewed enough to be worthwhile
* Classified as Children's/YA fiction but more appropriate for adults


4) Neil Stephenson's Snowcrash
* Awe inspiring prose (seriously I don't usually go off about prose but this guy is amazing)
* cyberpunk
* interesting characters
* believable and yet intriguing and foreign world
* written in the 90s but holds up well
* insane mythological/technological blending
* Adult Series

5) William Gibson's Neuromancer
* Essentially founded the cyberpunk genre
* gritty and realistic
* Stephenson's book and the Matrix owe this book a great debt
* Mysterious and large scale
* Adult


6) Tamora Pierce's Lioness Quartet
* Brain Candy
* Female Protagonist
* Multiple Consummated Love Interests
* YA Fantasy


7) Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain Series
* Medieval Fantasy World
* Hero of humble origins
* Hermione-like heroine
* Children's Fantasy


8) Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising Series
* Arthurian Mythos
* General British/Celtic Mythology
* Modern Day Fantasy
* Also being made into a film
* Children's/YA Fantasy


9) Monica Furlong's Wise Child
* understated tone/quiet elegance
* realistic witchcraft
* female centric
* Children's Fantasy


10)Orson Scott Card's Enchantment (actually anything by Orson Scott Card)
* Urban Fantasy
* Russian Folklore
* Distinctive Tone
* Adult but not because of any graphic violence or sexuality

Comments

[aphrodite-mine.livejournal.com]

I tried to read Sabriel. And listening to my roommate try to get through a cyberpunk course was painful enough.

I think I just hate the fantasy genre. Unless there are really, really excellent characters. I just can't get into it.

[lodessa.livejournal.com]

Cyberpunk is really closer to sci-fi than fantasy.

And some of these books do have really wonderful characters.

I am really sick of the use of "genre fiction" as a derogatory term. There is just as much crap out there with the pretense of being "serious literature".

[aphrodite-mine.livejournal.com]

Wow, I didn't mean to use it as a derogatory term. It's just really not for me. I have a hard time getting into it. There are a really small number of sci-fi or fantasy books and movies that I really truly enjoy.

And yes, there are loads of crappy books out there in every genre. It's "thrilling" to be able to sift through it all.

I'm sorry my comment was so negative.

[lodessa.livejournal.com]

I didn't mean to be so harsh. It's just a general issue for me that got triggered by your comment.

On the more positive side... What kind of books do you like?

[aphrodite-mine.livejournal.com]

I have several authors whom I trust with my money. When I venture from them, I tend to be disappointed. They are actually all from different 'genre's, all of my favorites. Sarah Waters (who writes historical gothic lesbian fiction), Francesca Lia Block (who writes young adult fantasy-driven prose), J.D. Salinger (who is my "classic" pick) and Julie Anne Peters (who writes mostly lesbian and gay issue young adult fiction).

[lodessa.livejournal.com]

I totally have a Sarah Waters book in my stack of borrowed books to read.

I've only read one Francesca Lia Block book and I think I read it too late. Her name was already too ubiquitous for her books to deserve the status. I mean it was an enjoyable read but I wasn't terribly impressed.

Much ♥ for J.D Salinger.

[aphrodite-mine.livejournal.com]

Sarah Waters is amazing.

Depending on the book, I can absolutely agree with you on that point. She can vary a lot in her skills, and she re-uses a lot of her themes. Fortunately, I like those, generally, so I tend to enjoy her books regardless. (Which book was it?)

[lodessa.livejournal.com]

Violet and Claire ? I think. I mean I enjoyed it... it just felt a little hackneyed and heavy handed and pop culture filled.

[aphrodite-mine.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah. You have to be in a certain mood to read that one. Ehh. I'd recommend The Rose and The Beast. Retold fairy tales.

[lodessa.livejournal.com]

Maybe I will. However, I think it is just likely I missed the window for FLB personally.

[ceilidh]

8) Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising Series
* Arthurian Mythos
* General British/Celtic Mythology
* Modern Day Fantasy
* Also being made into a film
* Children's/YA Fantasy

I... need to reread this to try to blot out the awfulness of what I have seen of the movie. UGH.

[lodessa.livejournal.com]

Yeah I haven't seen any of the preview stuff myself but i have heard it is awful.

I always thought that the title book was the weakest in the series anyway.

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

Awesome post! I love Snow Crash, and I've been wanting to read Neuromancer and HDM and, now, TDIR, since it's been recommended to me because of the movie.

[lodessa.livejournal.com]

Definitely read Neuromancer I just did and it was the first time I was really giddy reading a book in ages. It's both really similar and really different than Snowcrash. It will sort of make you wince at the Matrix though.

HDM is both frusterating and wonderful. It's a worthy read.

Make sure to read TDIR in the correct order... not starting with the title book of the series as it is the weakest. Over Sea, Under Stone is the first one.

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

I read Neuromancer! I definitely got the "really similar to/really different from Snow Crash" vibe. It was slow going at first because I didn't know what the hell was going on, and even near the end, I didn't know what the hell was going on sometimes because he didn't really explain things so much, which, yay for showing and not telling, but sometimes the reader is a bit obtuse! It was unsatisfactory in some respects (Molly has Wolverine claws and, like, never uses them in the book EVER??), but it was a pretty good read, a more enjoyable experience than watching some of the "influential" movies I've seen lately where I've liked the products of the influence much more than the influence itself.

I am also reading The Golden Compass now. The first page scares me already. I have seen it before and been scared away. It's that pesky "daemon" word.

[lodessa.livejournal.com]

I tend to like confusing beginnings so I guess that didn't bother me as much. It did do a little of skirting around what the big revelation was though. Still it was the first book I'd gotten really excited about reading in a while.

The daemon thing is so not that confusing. I promise.

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

I've read six chapters now, and I'm totally into it.

Does he ever sit down and REALLY explain the daemon thing, or am I just going to have to pick it up? I'm picking up on some of it based on the pretty ept showing-not-telling, but I wonder if there's a real explanation buried in there eventually.

[lodessa.livejournal.com]

I thought there was an explanation... but maybe not if you haven't run into it yet.

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

I think I've got enough of a basic idea of how they work, but I don't really know why they exist, what their function is, and whether every single person has them.

[lodessa.livejournal.com]

I think that will become pretty evident if it hasn't already. well except maybe the why part.

[lostdreamer56.livejournal.com]

Hmm... I should really try Song of Fire and Ice just because I have heard nothing but good things about it, and of your rec list, I've read four of them completely and have read a few Orson Scott Card books. Basically, I'm saying, I should try all of them because I can see similar tastes here.

[lodessa.livejournal.com]

It is the greatest fantasy series of our time... possibly all time depending on how it turns out.

There is nothing I would reccomend more strongly.

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

It's so looooooooooong. When does it end? Seriously, it seems like even if I read them one after the other, I would forget what happened in the first book by the time I got to the last one. I had enough trouble getting through HP7 and not remembering important details that had apparently cropped up throughout the series.

[lodessa.livejournal.com]

There are supposed to be 7 books (4 are out).

The family trees in the back totally help (as does the wiki) with the vastness of the story.

[qt-ninja.livejournal.com]

thansk for the suggestions will look up ice and fire and was skeptical about dark is rising becuz the trailer looked lame...but if you say the book ahs good arthurness im in

[lodessa.livejournal.com]

Yes. Read SoIaF so we can talk about it *bounces*

From everything I have heard from other people it seems like the Dark is Rising movie is going to rape the books like a two cent whore. They aren't like the bestest books ever but they are interesting and entertaining and totally all arthur-ey and I think you'd actually like them.