Book rec meme
Jul. 28th, 2007 04:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kerravonsenMemed from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
vilakins; a number of these I would have recced myself, if they hadn't already been recced.
kerravonsen recommends:
1. "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine (YA); Ella's been given a gift by a fairy, but the gift is more of a curse than a gift. Ogres, elfs, gnomes and other magical creatures live in this world, but they aren't quite traditional. I bought this because it was said of it "readers of Harry Potter will like this", and I did like it. The movie that was based on this book bears very little resemblance to it.
2. "Smith of Wooton Major" by J. R. R. Tolkien (YA); one of his lesser-known works, very short, but it paints a picture of faery as a place of wonder and terror. Some editions combine it with "Farmer Giles of Ham", which is a rather amusing tale of giants and dragons and boasting and cunning...
3. "The Riddle-master's Game" by Patricia McKillip (A) (omnibus version of the trilogy "The Riddle-Master of Hed", "Heir of Sea and Fire" and "Harpist in the Wind"). The threads in this epic trilogy are tied together with riddles; history and mystery. Morgan of Hed just wants to do as his ancestors have done; rule the farming island of Hed, trade beer and wheat for the wine of An and the horses of Yrn, live to a ripe old age, and pass the land-rule of Hed to his heir. But the three stars on his brow speak of a different destiny...
vilakins recommends:
Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time (YA) Three children are transported through the galaxy via tesseract (a fold in space and time) to fight the dark cloud of evil that is threatening it and the earth. This work of powerful imagination opened my young mind to SF and stories of wonder, and I'm sure it would appeal to anyone who enjoyed Harry Potter. Oh and it starts with "It was a dark and stormy night..." :-)
Diana Wynne Jones's Howl's Moving Castle (YA) Set in a world of magic with a heroine who doesn't let being the eldest (and therefore unluckiest) child or being cursed into old age stop her.from going off to live life to the full.
Fred Saberhagen's Empire of the East (A) The book is in three parts, originally published separately (The Broken Lands, The Black Mountains, Ardneh's World), each with a different POV. The story takes place in a future where magic is the norm (and takes energy from the magic user; nice consistent world-building) and technology is viewed with scepticism. Its characters are complex, evolving, and memorable.
And here's the list so far:
norda recommends:
1. L.M. Boston - The Children of Green Knowe. Tolly experiences time travel and ancestral magic in an English country house. [YA, published in 1954]
2. Geraldine McCaughrean - The Stones Are Hatching. Phelim had always thought there must be more to magic than rabbits or
handkerchiefs - that if it existed at all, it would be too large to palm or to hide up your sleeve. [YA, published in 2000]
3. James A. Owen - Here, There Be Dragons. Charles, Jack and John find themselves forcibly removed from wartorn Britain to a realm literally beyond imagination. [YA, published in 2006]
wyldemusick recommends:
Alan Garner - The Weirdstone Of Brisingamen (YA) (It would be easy to just recommend all of Garner's books, really)
Samuel R. Delany - Neveryona (A) - although this is a quantum leap, simply because of the corners Chip thinks around when it comes to language; it's the start of a series of books
Roger Zelazny - Lord Of Light (A) - science fiction, but it's built on Hindu mythology and fantastic in every way
mdg1 recommends:
Good Omens(A), by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Humorous fantasy, with a similar English mindset.
Lord Darcy (A), by Randall Garret. Short mystery stories set in a world where magic is part of society.
A Wizard of Earthsea (YA), by Ursula K. LeGuin. The ORIGINAL "wizarding school" book, as far as I know.
alexjay recommends:
1.Alma Alexander's Worldweavers (YA)--about learning magic despite yourself; despite being a bust at being the seventh child of a seventh child, and what a Potterhead would call a "Muggle".
2. Diane Duane's So You Want to be a Wizard (YA)--a very up-to-date, very American take on the schooling of new wizards and their first clashes with Evil. Perhaps even better than the Potter books for young adults,as it offers a very good reason why Evil exists and continues to exist.(first in a trilogy)
3. Either Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow or Italo Calvino's If on a Winter's Night a Traveler (very much A)--we've already got them hooked on the drug of reading with Potter; now it's time for them to start mainlining the hard stuff ...
(Kidding on that last, of course ...)
pbray recommends:
1. Diana Wynne Jones's Charmed Life (YA)
2. Susan Cooper's Over Sea, Under Stone (YA)
3. Lloyd Alexander's The Book of Three (YA)
Patricia's picks are books that are marketed as YA, but that she first read and enjoyed as an adult. Much like the Harry Potter books, come to think of it.
janni recommends:
1. Lene Kaaberbol's The Shamer's Daughter (YA)
2. Robin McKinley's The Blue Sword (YA)
3. Tamora Pierce's The Magic in the Weaving (Circle of Magic, Book 1) (YA)
(All books that are, one way or another, about learning magic.)
jpsorrow recommends:
1. S.C. Butler's Reiffen's Choice (YA)
2. Jim Hines' Goblin Quest (YA)
3. Patricia Bray's The First Betrayal (A)
vilakins; a number of these I would have recced myself, if they hadn't already been recced.
Once the shock of reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for the fifth time in a row wears off, some readers may be wondering what they can read next. So why not start a meme of suggestions?
Copy and paste the directions and the list so far, and then add three (and only three) new fantasy or SF books to the top of the list that that those who enjoyed Harry Potter may also enjoy. Label the books as either YA (young adult, suitable for the younger fans of Harry Potter) or A (adult,suitable for the not-so-younger fans of Harry Potter). It will be understood that anything labelled YA is also recommended for A.
kerravonsen recommends:1. "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine (YA); Ella's been given a gift by a fairy, but the gift is more of a curse than a gift. Ogres, elfs, gnomes and other magical creatures live in this world, but they aren't quite traditional. I bought this because it was said of it "readers of Harry Potter will like this", and I did like it. The movie that was based on this book bears very little resemblance to it.
2. "Smith of Wooton Major" by J. R. R. Tolkien (YA); one of his lesser-known works, very short, but it paints a picture of faery as a place of wonder and terror. Some editions combine it with "Farmer Giles of Ham", which is a rather amusing tale of giants and dragons and boasting and cunning...
3. "The Riddle-master's Game" by Patricia McKillip (A) (omnibus version of the trilogy "The Riddle-Master of Hed", "Heir of Sea and Fire" and "Harpist in the Wind"). The threads in this epic trilogy are tied together with riddles; history and mystery. Morgan of Hed just wants to do as his ancestors have done; rule the farming island of Hed, trade beer and wheat for the wine of An and the horses of Yrn, live to a ripe old age, and pass the land-rule of Hed to his heir. But the three stars on his brow speak of a different destiny...
vilakins recommends:Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time (YA) Three children are transported through the galaxy via tesseract (a fold in space and time) to fight the dark cloud of evil that is threatening it and the earth. This work of powerful imagination opened my young mind to SF and stories of wonder, and I'm sure it would appeal to anyone who enjoyed Harry Potter. Oh and it starts with "It was a dark and stormy night..." :-)
Diana Wynne Jones's Howl's Moving Castle (YA) Set in a world of magic with a heroine who doesn't let being the eldest (and therefore unluckiest) child or being cursed into old age stop her.from going off to live life to the full.
Fred Saberhagen's Empire of the East (A) The book is in three parts, originally published separately (The Broken Lands, The Black Mountains, Ardneh's World), each with a different POV. The story takes place in a future where magic is the norm (and takes energy from the magic user; nice consistent world-building) and technology is viewed with scepticism. Its characters are complex, evolving, and memorable.
And here's the list so far:
norda recommends:1. L.M. Boston - The Children of Green Knowe. Tolly experiences time travel and ancestral magic in an English country house. [YA, published in 1954]
2. Geraldine McCaughrean - The Stones Are Hatching. Phelim had always thought there must be more to magic than rabbits or
handkerchiefs - that if it existed at all, it would be too large to palm or to hide up your sleeve. [YA, published in 2000]
3. James A. Owen - Here, There Be Dragons. Charles, Jack and John find themselves forcibly removed from wartorn Britain to a realm literally beyond imagination. [YA, published in 2006]
wyldemusick recommends:Alan Garner - The Weirdstone Of Brisingamen (YA) (It would be easy to just recommend all of Garner's books, really)
Samuel R. Delany - Neveryona (A) - although this is a quantum leap, simply because of the corners Chip thinks around when it comes to language; it's the start of a series of books
Roger Zelazny - Lord Of Light (A) - science fiction, but it's built on Hindu mythology and fantastic in every way
mdg1 recommends:Good Omens(A), by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Humorous fantasy, with a similar English mindset.
Lord Darcy (A), by Randall Garret. Short mystery stories set in a world where magic is part of society.
A Wizard of Earthsea (YA), by Ursula K. LeGuin. The ORIGINAL "wizarding school" book, as far as I know.
alexjay recommends:1.Alma Alexander's Worldweavers (YA)--about learning magic despite yourself; despite being a bust at being the seventh child of a seventh child, and what a Potterhead would call a "Muggle".
2. Diane Duane's So You Want to be a Wizard (YA)--a very up-to-date, very American take on the schooling of new wizards and their first clashes with Evil. Perhaps even better than the Potter books for young adults,as it offers a very good reason why Evil exists and continues to exist.(first in a trilogy)
3. Either Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow or Italo Calvino's If on a Winter's Night a Traveler (very much A)--we've already got them hooked on the drug of reading with Potter; now it's time for them to start mainlining the hard stuff ...
(Kidding on that last, of course ...)
pbray recommends:1. Diana Wynne Jones's Charmed Life (YA)
2. Susan Cooper's Over Sea, Under Stone (YA)
3. Lloyd Alexander's The Book of Three (YA)
Patricia's picks are books that are marketed as YA, but that she first read and enjoyed as an adult. Much like the Harry Potter books, come to think of it.
janni recommends:1. Lene Kaaberbol's The Shamer's Daughter (YA)
2. Robin McKinley's The Blue Sword (YA)
3. Tamora Pierce's The Magic in the Weaving (Circle of Magic, Book 1) (YA)
(All books that are, one way or another, about learning magic.)
jpsorrow recommends:1. S.C. Butler's Reiffen's Choice (YA)
2. Jim Hines' Goblin Quest (YA)
3. Patricia Bray's The First Betrayal (A)
