I've been reading books...

[panik]

By way of a change...

Reading a lot of everything, really. I’m currently working my way through the LMFA recs and my desktop is looking nasty and untidy again from all the recs I haven’t had time to read yet.

But  I’m reading on the move a lot right now and since I pretty much gave up printing fic when the library got way out of hand (sometime towards the end of 2003, I think. Heh heh) that means books - which I’ve always loved, though I almost stopped reading fiction altogether at the height of my love affair with The Fic.

So, here are Four Books I Love – not necessarily my top four; just four books that I go back to a lot and that I’d like to rec, simple as that.

The Pickwick Papers – Charles Dickens.

I love this book! – have loved it since I was very small and Dad used to read it to me. It’s laugh-out-loud funny…

'Get on your bonnet,' repeated Wardle.

'Do nothing of the kind,' said Jingle.  'Leave the room, Sir-- no business here--lady's free to act as she pleases--more than one-and-twenty.'

More than one-and-twenty!' ejaculated Wardle contemptuously. 'More than one-and-forty!'

'I ain't,' said the spinster aunt, her indignation getting the better of her determination to faint.

'You are,' replied Wardle; 'you're fifty if you're an hour.'

Here the spinster aunt uttered a loud shriek, and became senseless.

There’s such a joy of life in it’s pages - it always makes me happy.


The Secret History – Donna Tartt

A close-knit, exclusive, incestuous group of classics students at a Vermont college (the author was a student at Bennington) and their misfit, wannabe narrator, murder one of their own, becoming a secret cabal, eternally bound by their shared guilt.

I first read this in Cuba; a friend left a battered copy behind – I read it in 2 days, it completely captivated me and has done every time I’ve read it since. It’s not so much the story as the telling that make this such a fabulous read; it sucks you into the world of both the college and the ancient, mythical past so strongly – it’s one of those books that live in the mind long after you’ve put it down.

It has a Wiki entry.
 
On the Road – Jack Kerouac

“...and everything is going to the beat - It's the beat generation, It’s be-at, it's the beat to keep, it's the beat of the heart, it's being beat and down in the world and like oldtime lowdown and like in ancient civilizations the slave boatmen rowing galleys to a beat and servants spinning pottery to a beat... “

Oh Jack… How doth I love thee? My favourite C20 writer, I’ve read everything and re-read frequently; Dharma Bums Desolation Angels, Subterraneans, Visions of Cody… are amongst my favourites but the best, by far is still On the Road. A classic, and rightly so – the story of Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty and their journeys across America; it shares that rollercoaster joy of life that makes Pickwick an eternal delight… What can I say? It’s all been said.

This is the famous interview with Steve Allen in which Jack gives my favourite ever reading from On the Road…
 
The Flight of the Heron – DK Broster

The fated relationship of an English soldier and a highland Laird during the 45 Jacobite rebellion It’s a fanfic AU; it’s the ultimate in buddy fic My uncle gave me this book when I was 8 and I’ve been reading it ever since, though not for awhile, not since I acquired slash spex. I think, maybe I should give it another go...

I’m currently reading 'When I used to be Cool' by Sam Kashner which is pruriently fascinating; laugh-out-loud funny - I’d love to hear the flist’s choice, too; what do you rec?  - Fiction only, though. I love non fic but that’s a whole other thang.

Comments

[miwahni.livejournal.com]

I'm currently reading The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler, and I'm loving it. Macon Leary is a tourist through his own life, until he meets up wtih the crazy, free-spirited Muriel - or "that Muriel person" as his disapproving family refers to her. With Muriel, Macon is able to break free of the strictures that his family life has always imposed on him. I'm looking forward to finishing this over the next day or so as time permits.

[gillyp.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, great book! I first read that... ooh, a good few years ago now. I liked the film, too, with William Hurt, but not as much as I liked the book.

I should give that another read; it must be 10 - 20 even years since I read that. Ta muchly for the rec!

[slipperieslope.livejournal.com]

My super favorite recs right now are "The Charioteer" and "The Persian Boy" by Mary Renault and the "Wraeththu" series by Storm Constantine all three populated with characters to love and care so deeply about it is impossible to let them go.

[gillyp.livejournal.com]

I read The Persian Boy; I'll certainly give the others a go, thanks.

[archaeomom8.livejournal.com]

Lately I tend to read more nonfiction than fiction but I like to keep at least one piece of fiction nearby. It provides the best sort of balance for me, reading fiction. I just finished Iron Council by China Mieville. Before that, Villa Incognito by Tom Robbins. Not my favorite by Mieville but not bad. Tom Robbins needs to write something new. I've read everything and he makes me laugh and think. Also recently picked up a book by Gregory Benford, Artifact, only because it was scifi and had archaeologists in it. Not my best choice. Well, there were archaeologists...;) Dickens is wonderful, timeless. Maybe I'll pull out some Dickens next.

[gillyp.livejournal.com]

LOL! I know China - I worked with his mother, Claudia, in Havana. I'm not a huge fan of his work tbh; it's not my thing, but he's a sweet boy. (o:

OK, I've never read any Tom Robbins - what do you rec I start with?

I just started re-reading Three Men in a Boat for the thousandth time (well, obviously, that's an exaggeration, but you know what I mean *G*) - that book makes me laugh like nothing else.

[archaeomom8.livejournal.com]

You know him - whew. And his mother (he dedicates books to her and his sister, they've got to be wonderful women)! I wasn't sure I'd like his books - steampunk didn't seem like my thing. Too heavy, dark, strange. Fortunately I began with King Rat and that was just up my alley. I grew into his work. Now I try to read everything he puts out.

As for Tom Robbins, I'd just go into your library or bookstore and see which one looks good to you. They are wild, weird, and wonderful, all, imo. I'm inclined to say start with the first - Another Roadside Attraction. Without giving away too much, let's say one of the characters ends up in the Vatican where he discovers some secrets, including something he brings back to the States to hide while he figures out what to do with it. The characters are drawn from the West Coast hippie years, but each with a twist. It's hilarious and also contains Robbins' signature dive into religion and philosophy. Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates appeals to the anthropological me. I dunno - just grab one and see what you think. You may love him or not. ;)

[gillyp.livejournal.com]

Claudia's an interesting person; one of the original hippies. I only met his sister once (Jessica? Jemima? Something beginning with J anyway... *G*). Claudia told me his name - China - is totally meaningless; she just wanted something 'different' - no story there, really - China loves it.
It was while we were in Cuba he sold his first book; he'd been rejected so many times till he changed his rather bland, studenty look for that of a shaven-headed thug, sent out his picture with the ms and suddenly became desirable. (o:

I'll defo give TR a go then; sounds very intriguing and pretty much my thing.

[archaeomom8.livejournal.com]

That is such a funny story! One of the earlier photos has him looking menacing and all frowns with arms crossed in front of him. Aah, marketing. I think his sister is Jemima.