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Recommend a Book/Ask for Reccomendations
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Sai
Posted 2013-01-02 3:28 PM (#4502)
Subject: Recommend a Book/Ask for Reccomendations		Quote Reply



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I am often intimidated by the thought of trying new authors as I don't know which book of theirs to start with. I know I could just grab any book of theirs off the shelf, but I don't want to read just any novel, I want to read THEIR ABSOLUTE BEST!

I figured in this thread we could help each other out. In each post list an author from the Women of Genre challenge and list what books of theirs you'd recommend. You can also ask people to suggest books for authors you are unfamiliar with.

So, in my case:

Recommendation: Octavia Butler, 'Kindred,' 'Parable of the Sower.'

Looking for recommendations on which Kelly Link novel I should read.

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Tantara
Posted 2013-01-03 2:09 PM (#4515 - in reply to #4502)
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Location: Washington state		Oh, I love Kelly Link. I don't know that she's written any novels, though... I believe she's generally known for short stories and (excellent) collections of such.

My absolute favorite of her collections is Magic for Beginners. It was full of wonders, both subtle and strange (and some not so subtle yet even stranger.) The collections Stranger Things Happen was also very good, but overall it didn't grab me as strongly as MfB.

I have not read her young adult collection Pretty Monsters, although there are a handful of stories in it that also feature in one of the two collections above.

Note that both Magic for Beginners and Stranger Things Happen are available for free download under Creative Commons license (in many formats) on the site of Small Beer Press, the indie/small press founded by Link and Gavin Grant. (Maureen McHugh - another excellent female author who is currently in the WWE database - also has a collection there for free, Mothers and Other Monsters.) Here's the page to the free CC downloads: http://smallbeerpress.com/creative-commons/
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JamesVirgil
Posted 2013-01-04 2:13 PM (#4523 - in reply to #4502)
Subject: Re: Recommend a Book/Ask for Reccomendations		Quote Reply



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Anyone have a Nalo Hopkinson recommendation? I'm leaning towards Midnight Robbers.
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jfrantz
Posted 2013-01-06 9:36 AM (#4524 - in reply to #4502)
Subject: Re: Recommend a Book/Ask for Reccomendations		Quote Reply



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Location: Florida		I've seen a few people post their list of WoGF choices for the year around this site and their own blogs. I'm curious how people have been choosing their random pick? I'm thinking of asking someone else to randomly choose an author for me. Anyone have some kind of crazy method?
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Rhondak101
Posted 2013-01-06 11:27 AM (#4526 - in reply to #4502)
Subject: Re: Recommend a Book/Ask for Reccomendations		Quote Reply



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Location: SC, USA		I looked at the pictures of the authors others had picked on the WoGF page and chose an interesting face. I ended up with a good one--Leigh Brackett.
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Isis
Posted 2013-01-06 12:45 PM (#4528 - in reply to #4502)
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Butler is one of my choices for the challenge so thanks for the rec.

I concur that any of Kelly Link's collections are a great place to start. I would say Pretty Monsters as that was the most recent title of hers I read and a couple of the stories stayed with me for a while afterwards.
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PhoenixFalls
Posted 2013-01-06 9:04 PM (#4531 - in reply to #4523)
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JamesVirgil - 2013-01-04 12:13 PM

Anyone have a Nalo Hopkinson recommendation? I'm leaning towards Midnight Robbers.


I quite enjoyed Brown Girl in the Ring. It's the one she's most famous for. . .
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Sai
Posted 2013-01-07 8:11 AM (#4536 - in reply to #4515)
Subject: Re: Recommend a Book/Ask for Reccomendations		Quote Reply



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Tantara - 2013-01-02 4:09 PM

Oh, I love Kelly Link. I don't know that she's written any novels, though... I believe she's generally known for short stories and (excellent) collections of such.

My absolute favorite of her collections is Magic for Beginners. It was full of wonders, both subtle and strange (and some not so subtle yet even stranger.) The collections Stranger Things Happen was also very good, but overall it didn't grab me as strongly as MfB.

I have not read her young adult collection Pretty Monsters, although there are a handful of stories in it that also feature in one of the two collections above.

Note that both Magic for Beginners and Stranger Things Happen are available for free download under Creative Commons license (in many formats) on the site of Small Beer Press, the indie/small press founded by Link and Gavin Grant. (Maureen McHugh - another excellent female author who is currently in the WWE database - also has a collection there for free, Mothers and Other Monsters.) Here's the page to the free CC downloads: http://smallbeerpress.com/creative-commons/


Thanks for the info, especially the Creative Commons link. I think that's convinced me to finally buy an E-reader. One of my New Year's resolutions was to read more short stories, so 'Magic for Beginners' sounds perfect.
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Sai
Posted 2013-01-07 8:14 AM (#4537 - in reply to #4523)
Subject: Re: Recommend a Book/Ask for Reccomendations		Quote Reply



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JamesVirgil - 2013-01-03 4:13 PM

Anyone have a Nalo Hopkinson recommendation? I'm leaning towards Midnight Robbers.


I also read and enjoyed 'Brown Girl in the Ring,' though I haven't read her other novels so I don't know how it stacks up against them.
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Engelbrecht
Posted 2013-01-09 8:04 AM (#4542 - in reply to #4502)
Subject: RE: Recommend a Book/Ask for Reccomendations		Quote Reply



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If you're looking for recommendations, I'd say that Margo Lanagan, Catherynne M. Valente and Kelly Link are three of the most interesting genre writers of the 21st century, irrespective of gender.  Each bring their own unique style to bear: Lanagan's is fiercely feminist, Valente's is surrealistic/fabulist, and Link's is, well, KellyLinkian.  Kelly doesn't have any novels yet, but her About "Two Houses" (Shadow Show: All New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury - 2012) gives evidence that a novel may not be that far off.

Link's Stranger Things Happen is one of the most significant genre collections ever.  But any of her three collections should be eagerly sought after by anyone with a pulse. 

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Jim Black
Posted 2013-01-09 10:00 PM (#4547 - in reply to #4502)
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Any chance of Marion Zimmer Bradley's "The Door Through Space" being added to her list? I just read and reviewed it on my blog. Thank you.
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Sai
Posted 2013-01-10 7:54 AM (#4548 - in reply to #4547)
Subject: Re: Recommend a Book/Ask for Reccomendations		Quote Reply



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Jim Black - 2013-01-09 12:00 AM

Any chance of Marion Zimmer Bradley's "The Door Through Space" being added to her list? I just read and reviewed it on my blog. Thank you.


You might have more luck suggesting this in the other thread. This thread is more for people suggesting books to each other, rather than which books should be added to the database.
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gloker
Posted 2013-01-10 10:56 PM (#4557 - in reply to #4502)
Subject: Re: Recommend a Book/Ask for Reccomendations		Quote Reply



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Now I am curious - which of fiercely feminist Lanagan's books would you recommend to someone who considers herself so -but has never read anything by her!
thanks, g
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JamesVirgil
Posted 2013-01-11 6:14 AM (#4558 - in reply to #4557)
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Tender Morsels is the only one listed in the database. It won the WFA and is pretty recent so its probably a good bet.
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Wastrel
Posted 2013-01-24 4:51 PM (#4608 - in reply to #4557)
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Oddly enough, although I think Lanagan has a dark streak of intentional or unintentional misandry in her books, I hadn't really thought of her as a fierce feminist, at least in her fiction. I did actually find The Brides of Rollrock Island a bit unpleasant in the extent to which it was simply assumed that all adult men were evil - but I guess I don't really get the impression of an '-ism' behind Lanagan's works. She feels more naturalist than that (even when she's describing things that are unnatural).

That said, I would encourage you to read her anyway - she's a brilliant prose stylist and a writer of distinctive, odd, finely observed and realistic, often slightly disturbing stories. Both Tender Morsels and The Brides of Rollrock Island are very good books indeed (though I don't think they're unreservedly brilliant - I seem to be in a minority in that respect). I'd say Tender Morsels is maybe the more accessible book - in that more happens and it's closer to having a traditional plot. By the way, although Brides may not have won any major awards itself, it's an expansion of a WFA-winning novella.

However, personally, I think that her collection, Black Juice, is better, or at least more interesting, if you like short stories. It won the WFA for Best Collection, and the main story won the WFA for Best Short Fiction.
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gloker
Posted 2013-01-24 5:05 PM (#4609 - in reply to #4502)
Subject: Re: Recommend a Book/Ask for Reccomendations		Quote Reply



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Thanks for the thoughtful reply- having read up about some on her books - I was confused how she earned the feminist label but not having actually read anything -i thought I'd give her a try- I will see if Seattle libraries have the story stories - otherwise it looks like it'd be Tender ...
happy reading,
g
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dihenydd
Posted 2013-01-26 7:53 AM (#4625 - in reply to #4502)
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Location: France		2 books I can thoroughly recommend that do not appear to have had much attention.

Floating Worlds by Cecelia Holland. i read this many, many years ago but it was my favorite for years.

I read The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia more recently (actually I listened to the audiobook) and it was fabulous.
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justifiedsinner
Posted 2013-01-26 3:56 PM (#4628 - in reply to #4502)
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I second Floating Worlds. Haven't read the other one.
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Linguana
Posted 2013-01-29 2:14 PM (#4645 - in reply to #4502)
Subject: Re: Recommend a Book/Ask for Reccomendations		Quote Reply



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Location: Austria		First of all, I can't thank you guys enough for creating this challenge. I have tons of books written by women on my TBR and, you know how it is, I plan to read them all - eventually. But thanks to this challenge, I'm now reading Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan and loving it. It is really dark and mythical and actually made me very uncomfortable (there's rape and incest in no small amount). But it's also brilliant. So far, I can definitely recommend it.

Because it was mentioned here before: The feminist streak is definitely there, but personally, I don't feel like Lanagan is lecturing me. There is at least one decent male character so far and a whole range of others that are just human - flawed and not always likable. Not all men are inherently evil in Tender Morsels.
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oddrid
Posted 2013-02-12 10:24 AM (#4692 - in reply to #4502)
Subject: Audio Books?		Quote Reply



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Location: Chicago		I have a long-ish commute and I'm thinking about having an audiobook for at least one of my challenge books. Does anyone have any recommendations for good audiobooks with good readers? Major bonus points if it's available on Audible, where I already have an account.

I'm thinking of trying To Say Nothing of the Dog, whose reader has good reviews on Audible. Are there any others?
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gloker
Posted 2013-02-12 10:28 AM (#4693 - in reply to #4692)
Subject: Re: Recommend a Book/Ask for Reccomendations		Quote Reply



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If you haven't read Sparrow by M Russell -it is a great provocative read- available as audiobook- although I don't know about Audible company.
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oddrid
Posted 2013-02-12 10:37 AM (#4694 - in reply to #4693)
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Location: Chicago		Thanks gloker, that looks great!
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gloker
Posted 2013-02-12 10:49 AM (#4695 - in reply to #4502)
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Forgot to say that I listened to commercial version from local library and I thought it had a good reader, but I can't give you a name. I keep a look out for your review of the book to see what you think.
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carlajpatterson
Posted 2013-02-25 3:54 AM (#4742 - in reply to #4502)
Subject: Re: Recommend a Book/Ask for Reccomendations		Quote Reply



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Location: Richmond, California		Oddrid - YMMV but I really didn't like To Say Nothing of the Dog although I LOVED Connie Willis' The Doomsday Book. I also liked, but didn't love, Blackout/All Clear.
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carlajpatterson
Posted 2013-02-25 4:45 AM (#4743 - in reply to #4502)
Subject: Re: Recommend a Book/Ask for Reccomendations		Quote Reply



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Location: Richmond, California		Some audiobooks I would recommend which fit into this challenge (besides The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis) include:

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood (I loved The Handmaid's Tale when I read it back in the day but I haven't heard the audiobook version)
The Shore of Women by Pamela Sargent
The Host by Stephanie Meyer
The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins

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