2008 Reading List - Part I

[paragraphs]

Inspired by katilara and without joining any reading community, as I will do additional parts (when other books I want to read come up) I've put a list together of the first books I am planning on reading this year. It is no doubt the strangest list of planned reading that I've ever had, with manga (no way! yes way!?!?!) and lots of YA. In fact, a surprising amount of YA. Hmm. What does THAT mean?

Suggestions for other reads are appreciated, too.

Carolyn


~~~

1. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (The Wolves Chronicles) By: Joan Aiken *

2. Black Hearts in Battersea By: Joan Aiken

3. The Witch of Clatteringshaws by: Joan Aiken

4. Inkheart By: Cornelia Funke **

5. Inkspell By: Cornelia Funke

6. The Electric Church By: Jeff Somers ***

7. The Thief Lord By: Cornelia Funke

8. to 15. Death Note 5 - 12 By: Tsugami Ohba *@*

16. A Feast of Crows By: George R.R. Martin @@@

17. The Looking Glass Wars By: Frank Beddor %% (I am actually currently reading this right now)

18. Seeing Redd By: Frank Beddor

19. Kushiel's Mercy By: Jacqueline Carey. $$$

(see below for the notes regarding the above)



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* This author, Joan Aiken, was a childhood favorites of Nick's. They are YA, the first written in 1963, the last just this past year. The author also passed away this year. Nick's not read the third, actually, but will when he comes here. Then I will give the books to him as he wants them. :)

** This series (third coming out soon), YA, is a huge favorite of Evelyn's is Nick's PSB (psychology student buddy--lol) Anyway--she adores it almost beyond reason (is currently devastated that she's done reading and has to wait for the third), and I'd bought for my ipod the second one, oops--impossible to understand what is going on without reading the first. And Nick says that listening to a book does not mean I've read it, so I must read these PROPERLY. Fine.

***Amazon description: In the near future, the only thing growing faster than the criminal population is the Electric Church, a new religion founded by a mysterious man named Dennis Squalor. The Church preaches that life is too brief to contemplate the mysteries of the universe: eternity is required. In order to achieve this, the converted become Monks -- cyborgs with human brains, enhanced robotic bodies, and virtually unlimited life spans. Enter Avery Cates, a dangerous criminal known as the best killer-for-hire around.) This was highly recommended by a friend being driven insane by her agent. It is interesting (and sobering) to watch. I normally wouldn't pick up a book like that, but I am intrigued.

*@* Now. How in the HELL I got convinced to read a Manga series, I don't know. Oh no, wait, I do know.

NICHOLAS!

He fell in love with the character L and, when that happened, I waited patiently to see how long it would be before the PLEASE READ IT C!'s began. It was around book five, I think. I just laughed. And yeah, I got the first three--and like it. Reading manga is kinda fun, and N reminds me of L in some ways. Smile. So I read a little before bed every night. I for one like Ryuk the best. The drawings of him absolutely crack me up. I want an icon of him.

@@@ This is the fourth in the series. It has been lambasted by many, including Publisher's Weekly: Martin's Web site explains that Feast and the forthcoming A Dance of Dragons were written as one book and split after they grew too big for one volume, and it shows. This is not Act I Scene 4 but Act II Scene 1, laying groundwork more than advancing the plot, and it sorely misses its other half. The slim pickings here are tasty, but in no way satisfying.

Grrr.

Now--everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I can't wait to read this next stage of the journey. Read Nick says--no listening to it. But but but... I LIKE LISTENING TO THIS SERIES! It makes work past so quickly! Grrr. So... we'll see. But first Nick has to finish book three and catch up with me. I can't wait. I love this series. *worships Martin*

%% Another YA series, loosely based on Alice of Wonderland. My son bought the first one and loved it so much he asked me to read it. Now, if my kids ask me to read something they've enjoyed, why, you bet I do. I started it today and am enjoying it quite a bit. He gets the second one Seeing Redd, for Christmas, and I will read it too. I like the way this author writes.

$$$ This series is worshipped by me almost as much as GRRM's. In fact, these two authors, along with Philippa Gregory (who doesn't have any more books I am interseted in reading) are proving to be a major influence on the way I am viewing my own writing. Some of the books in the two trilogies have left me with an 'eh' feeling, and some, especially the latest, Kushiel's Justice, I adored beyond reason. I love the description of this one, as at long last, Melissande is brought to the fore. About time! There just better be more after this. Six books is just not enough. This book isn't available until June, but I will get it the second it comes out.

Comments

[cruentum.livejournal.com]

Actually, Evelyn is done with all three of them and is devastated. since that means it's over, since it's a German book and the third one has been out here for a few weeks/months but won't be out translated into English until April - - so she already knows how it all ends, and whatnot.

Another childhood favorite author of mine was Enid Blyton, actually, with all her YA mystery/crime things. I ate them up, man.

[cruentum.livejournal.com]

PS. Death Note 5 - 12 means 8 to 15 on your list. ;)

[paragraphs.livejournal.com]

OH OH that is right, sorry. LOL. You told me that. Hey I was tired when I wrote all this ;)

[liriaen.livejournal.com]

In fact, a surprising amount of YA. Hmm. What does THAT mean? It means... hm... no offense intended... that you're reaching for comfort food. Nice as YA can be, it doesn't do much for language and creative expression. It doesn't lead you to question language as such; it offers you a nice engrossing comforting blanket-read, nicely told stories with lots of plot. But it's very unlikely that it'll make you reel with unexpected metaphors and bold verbal brushstrokes. That's just not what it's there for, simply due to its target audience.

[cruentum.livejournal.com]

I'm just wondering, do mainstream adult books do much for language and creative expression in general?

[(Anonymous)]

Most stuff that's on the bestseller lists or on sale at airport newsagents... no, in general that doesn't either, in my not so humble opinion. That's rather like TV. Which is not to say that they don't serve their purpose in story-telling.

[cruentum.livejournal.com]

What are good examples for novels/books/... that do something for language/creative expression? I only come up with the old classics at the moment - are there good contemporary novels that serve this purpose?

[liriaen.livejournal.com]

Awwhuh, I could name you a hundred if I could think of any right now. ^____^ Anything that provides enough resistance to make you work while reading?

[cruentum.livejournal.com]

Ah probably so, yes. Erinnert irgendwie an Deutsch Leistungskurs. 'm just trying to figure out when was the last time that I read something that had me read sentences twice to understand them -- that's probably the cut-off that I'd use for that.

[liriaen.livejournal.com]

Das Leben ist ein einziger, langer Deutsch-LK, ha ha! :D Last time I read, re-read, re-re-read sth. was Salman Rushdie's "Shalimar the Clown" which switched tempo and tone in fast gear, whipping you through brutal litanies, an encyclopedia of atrocities, as well as lush lyrical valleys. Kaleidoscopic, beautiful, and harsh. But what we like, and what makes us pause & gasp... is always a matter of personal taste, ultimately.

[cruentum.livejournal.com]

Erinnert mich daran, dass die Lehrerin in meinem Deutsch-LK vollkommen entsetzt war, dass sich Psych studieren wollte und nicht Germanistik/Lit/irgendwas, das mit Schreiben zu tun hat. I feel that nothing of the talent I may have shown back then remained.

I am admittedly probably not as much of a language-person as you are, what makes me pause and gasps are usually images/thoughts/scenes/thoughts ... more content-level than language-level. Sure, clever twists of the sentences and words, but not usually something that shows the art of language, complicated trains of thoughts that few can follow, but more simplistic honest emotions/thoughts. There are exceptions, of course. And there are ... people... I read and grow envious of -- so maybe the solution is to read more challenging novels than I do currently.

[liriaen.livejournal.com]

That was I, too dumb to log in.

[paragraphs.livejournal.com]

That is an interesting analysis. No offense taken--many of these are books that Nick suggested, that I liked the sounds of, and think my son will like too. 2 for 1 deal there. Kelly and I have been talking books alot lately (which is sooo cool, I love it).

I actually did this with my daughter too--read alot of the books she was reading in high school. Her reading tastes were quite different than Kelly's though. More advanced, and no fantasy. Finding books to suit his interest is harder than I thought--way too many books out there targeted to his age have talking animals as the main characters and/or vampires--he dislikes both, and the YA market is flooded with this kind of thing. He isn't quite ready to tackle the adult fantasy market, or I am not finding the right books for him. After Christmas though he'll have about ten books at his fingertips--perhaps after those.

Another reason I am looking forward to reading the above, from the YA authors to the rest of GRRM and Carey's--they inspire me, without making me feel like a loser as I work on my own writing. They make me feel 'I can do this!' rather than 'I am a total joke, why do I even bother? Moron!'

The last book I read that truly made me work at it was At Swim, Two Boys. It was a very rewardng experience, but took 'forever' to finish. With all the stress of everything else in my life, and working on my own fic (all right so I'm still plotting and researching, but I work on it every day now) I don't want to read anything that is going to make me work at it, though I love books that make me reel, too. Language is a beautiful thing.

Oh, and the manga? That truly, truly is Nick's and KL's fault. I totally blame them for that. TOTALLY.

LOL.

[liriaen.livejournal.com]

I remember that after uni and graduating/post-grad, I had a long, long phase in which I read mostly fantasy novels, simply because I was worn out from all the close-reading and analysis and secondary lit. and academic journal essays etc. But even then it was difficult to get out of lit.crit mode and not continually unravel the texts. My fantasy craze faded in the end, for which I'm glad, actually. Returning to stuff that stunned me and made me work was like a homecoming; I was relieved to be put to task, actually.

Aiee, I hear you on the "I can do this!"; there are ever so many writers that depress the living fuck out of me by sheer virtue of their power, just the narrative force they wield. But I think rather than being cowed by them, we should find them liberating, because: chances are, they disregard most of what your creative writing teachers or books will tell you "works" or "is right" - they'll go with a mix of gut feeling, semantic violence, eccentricity, and sheer willfulness, without listening to the naysayers.

In its time, "Gravity's Rainbow" was considered an unprintable monstrosity by virtually every publisher. It IS an unreadable monstrosity (and rather wonderful). Either way, it will leave a dent in your brain, be it in a good or a bad way. Facile books don't do that.

Oh, don't get me started on manga. So much to love, so much to discover!

[paragraphs.livejournal.com]

I told Nick I should write down a list of the books that I read this past year. Few were fantasy--it seems mostly coincidence and my son that put me in that mode right now. I just finished a slew of straight historical novels--and now have jumped to this.

I mostly read what grabs my attention via suggestions by friends. Nick is a huge influence on my reading, but almost always (not always though) I like his suggestions. Novels I likely wouldn't have picked up like DANCER and Lipschitz 7 and my favorite book of last year, hands down, MIDDLESEX. I have to admit--a huge part of adoration of Nick is the fact that we read and enjoy and discuss the same things. Having had a spouse who hated reading, hated my writing? Nick is a slice of heaven in that regard.

Sometimes I do disappoint him re: some books he loves and I am just 'eh' about. (Sorry, Baby). Right now, we both are on a fantasy swing, both wanting the escapism, the easy enjoyment, getting enough work out of dealing with uni for him (all those articles, yikes!) and what I already said up in other post.

I'm open for suggestions, mind you! Suggest a book or two for me to add to the list, and I will. One that leaves you breathless, in a state of Wow, one that makes you reread lines and/or paragraphs for the sheer joy of the words. There's room for more on my list!

[liriaen.livejournal.com]

Mmmhhh, so hard to decide! "Shalimar the Clown", Salman Rushdie. (As well as "The Satanic Verses", "Midnight's Children", "The Moor's Last Sigh"). -- Lawrence Norfolk: "Lemprière's Dictionary" and "The Pope's Rhinoceros". -- Everything, and I mean everything by Thomas Pynchon. - Jim Crace, "Quarantine" - Marina Warner, "Indigo" - Michail Bulgakov, "The Master and Margarita". -- And really stunning: Wolf von Niebelschütz, "Die Kinder der Finsternis". -- Karl Kraus: "Die letzten Tage der Menschheit" -- pretty much everything by Elfriede Jelinek. Loads of Umberto Eco (mostly for brilliant pastiches) and and and and and ... *g*

"One Hundred Years of Solitude", Gabriel Garcia Marquez...
"The Sorrow of Belgium", Hugo Claus...

[paragraphs.livejournal.com]

All right! I have chosen two books from this list. Would've chosen one or two others but either the price was frightening or it wasn't translated.

Several of these--I read the descriptions and knew I would keel over. Depressing... LOL.

I got Norfolk's "The Pope's Rhinoceros" and Jim Crace's "Quarantine." The former because it just intrigued me--the setting especially, and some readers' comments. "Quarantine" because I am anything but religious, and am intrigued by the description of the author's power of description and the relationship between the two women.

And, lastly, because it sounded fascinating and was only 4 bucks, I got Marina Warner's "The dragon Empress Life and Times of Tz'u-hsi 1835-1908 Empress Dowager of China." I like stuff like this. LOL.

GRRRRR!

[nocluvok.livejournal.com]

My dearest Snookums, keep trash talking your writing and I will be forced to visit Ft Worth and wallop you up side your head. After penning "Red" you have absolutely no reason to question your ability. Are we clear young lady?

Re: GRRRRR!

[paragraphs.livejournal.com]

Hey hey, I love me! I am not being mean to self I promises!!!! :) No trash allowed.

You can still come to FW. I want pancakes.

Re: GRRRRR!

[nocluvok.livejournal.com]

Every time I've come to Texas lately it seems to be west of 287 or up in the panhandle. I WILL get down there eventually though....and I'll remember to bring my own candles if its a special occassion. Course, having pancakes with you qualifies as one, don't ya think?

[criada.livejournal.com]

I've heard a lot of good stuff about Death Note. Granted, I seem to remember that either the manga or the anime is way better than the other, and I can't remember which.

[paragraphs.livejournal.com]

Lots seem to love the anime, but I am sticking with the books now. LOL. I do have the two live-actor films, for Nick. Haven't looked at them--will save them for his visit here.

[grubby-tap.livejournal.com]

Haven't read the manga, but the death note anime was amazing. How far are you?

[paragraphs.livejournal.com]

Just on number four. :) Ways to go yet! Bedtime reading. LOL. I'd like to finish Four tonight.

[infinityltd.livejournal.com]

I read an article in November's Wired Magazine on manga, so now I'm trying it, too. I've read the first volumes of Pet Shop of Horrors and One Piece, and I'm in the middle of the first volume of The Drifting Classroom.