Need A New Book To Read

Hello JL, check out this new group and a discussion on just that.
http://fineartamerica.com/groups/everything-in-moderation-including-moderation.html?showmessage=true&messageid=2099143

Have you read Steppenwolf?

No I have not. Here is a book I read, the author is a very good friend of mine. I'm not a big Sci Fi fan but I read it and loved it. I am waiting for the sequil to come out.

Hi.. I love Pratchett too.. It's often a good idea to go back to the beginning.. I'm guessing it's been a few years since you read "The colour of magic".. ? I like to re-read sometimes(it has to be at least a few years later).. I often find more or different meanings to things as I grow old!

Hi, Barry. I just finished reading Pratchett's new book "Steam". It's very good. But now here I am foundering around for something else. I often re-read books when I can't find any new ones that interest me. Not long ago I went on a Frances Hodgson Burnett binge - "Secret Garden", "A Little Princess" and even "Little Lord Fauntleroy" (don't judge me. The woman could effing write). Then I re-read some Dickens - David Copperfield and The Old Curiosity Shoppe. My favorite obscure author and book (so far) is Annie Fellows Johnson and her book The Gate of the Giant Scissors. But I'm tired of classics. It's tough to find good new fantasy novels. So many of them are dark, and that bores me silly. I get the idea that creating bright new worlds that you'd actually like to visit is tougher than writing about gloom and gore.

Steppenwolf? Seriously? If I wanted something ancient, musty and depressing, I'd re-read The Brothers Karamazov. Thanks for the input though.

BTW, I know I said Id be off the message boards for a while, but it's so frustrating looking for something new to read to get my mind off things. This is the only message board I post to, so I hope I'll get some good ideas. Thanks for all of the suggestions so far.

try The Stolen Child by Keith Donoghue; The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen; The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

So your answer is no?

If you haven't read them already... I think you might enjoy any of the Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) books.. They are aimed at "young adults" but don't let that put you off :-) Try the "All the wrong questions" series.. I think the first one's called "who is that at this hour" or something along those lines.... Good luck!..let us all know if you find something goooood!

Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever Series

https://www.google.com/search?redir_esc=&client=ms-android-sprint-us&hl=en-US&safe=images&oe=utf-8&q=thomas%20covenant%20wiki&source=android-browser-suggest&qsubts=1411359696774&devloc=0

Have you read Life of Pi?

Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch. In the US it was called Midnight Riot. Pure magic!!! I am counting the days to the next in the series, Foxglove Summer. If you liked Harry Potter you will adore this series. http://www.gollancz.co.uk/2014/01/big-news-for-fans-of-peter-grantrivers-of-london/

If you like science fiction have you read The Martian by Andy Weir?

What´s about some classics:

- Around the World in Eighty Days (Jules Verne)
- The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
- Ben-Hur (Lew Wallace)
- Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero (Henryk Sienkiewicz)

The "Outlander" series by Diana Gabaldon. So far there are eight books.

Hi JL, I am an avid reader and am all over the place with what I like but because of your favs and wanting "vacation" reading I think you might like Wicked.by Gregory Maguire. A fun book about the wicked witch of the west....Running With Scissors by I forget who is another fun read...
@Dean..Life of Pi ...great suggestion!

I'm not much of a novel readers but the household members recommend:

The Passage by Justin Cronin

I just started and its very intriguing.

The thing I like about Pratchett is the humor. Nightwatch is one of my favorites. You can get other worlds from other authors but they generally are not funny. Gaiman is more horror than fantasy. Trudi Canavan is good, Magician's Apprentice and Black Magician trilogy.

This is my favorite fantasy series:
http://www.goodreads.com/series/49134-the-legend-of-drizzt

It's into about 25 books, ups and downs, not all gloom and gore.

Hello J.L.

I will second the suggestion of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Other reads that might interest you is

The Golden Key a fantasy novel that spans 'several generations' written by Melanie Rawn, Jennifer Roberson, and Kate Elliot. The master painters of the Grijalva family hold a special power the male bloodline are born with a magical talent to manipulate time and reality with their paintings.

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

The Alchemist : The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel - Take what you know about historical figures and world mythology and mix it into this well-crafted fantasy series .It is a set of 7 books.

Dresden Files, if you haven't read them already.

I just finished The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town. -John Grisham's first foray into non-fiction. An excellent read if you have the stomach for it.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2113260.Shades_of_Grey
Jasper Fforde has created a world where the ability to see colour dictates society. I wish he would publish the follow up and he has a prequel in the pipeline.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/543086.Tom_s_Midnight_Garden
This fifties classic is a story of a boy who ventures into the garden of the house where he is staying and is somehow transported into the past. Totally wonderful.

I second the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon

Hello J.L. This is going to be one of my forum comments that I know I might wish I hadn't written afterwards .This is because I am trying to stay away from active participation on FAA for a while and prepare to move house. There are a lot of significant changes all happening at once in my life. But I come on FAA reguarly to check things and keep reading this thread!

I can recommend an incredible story called "Star Pilgrim" by Simon Small. He knew he would write it as a child but it was almost 50 years till it came to fruition. Many times people read it over and over and over.And they come to see him ,wanting to talk about the fascinating ideas and the effect it has had on them.It requires an active imagination and an open mind. It involves mysticism,philosophy,fantasy,an alien encounter,deep truths and so much hope all within a very believable story.

You can check out the reviews on Amazon.It is professionally published by O Books. Yes,my husband wrote it which I know might put you off since you will think I am biased. Well, before I had read the whole story,Simon presented me with just five chapters (from later in the book). He wrote it back to front! And it was the first time ever that a novel entered my dreams . I kept dreaming of ,I shall not say who, but it was amazing. And I had only read that much at the time. I could not resist this opportunity to draw your attention to a book that is so inspiring and beautiful and unusual and potentially life changing. Jane Small

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

As a LOTR fan since the age of 10, I highly recommend these books based on the King Arthur legend:

T.H. White's "The Once and Future King"
http://www.amazon.com/Once-Future-Terence-Hanbury-White/dp/0441627404/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411402866&sr=8-1&keywords=t.h+white

Mary Stewart's Arthurian Saga:
http://www.amazon.com/Crystal-Cave-Arthurian-Saga-Book/dp/0060548258/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411402984&sr=1-11&keywords=mary+stewart

Marion Zimmer Bradley:
http://www.amazon.com/Marion-Zimmer-Bradley/e/B000APXU48/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

Warning on the Outlander series - gets into rough sex. I could not get into the series, even though it started off intriguing enough.

Jane.. If you don"t mind I would like to take your book review over to my group discussion on life changing literature...? Let me know if that's ok!

Barry,yes of course,and it is so nice to communicate again. As you know, I love the way you enliven proceedings here on FAA with your pleasant,relaxed and good humored approach to all things.I told you I love looking on the forum to see if you are "on" !!!! Please notice,I'm now using American spelling ! As in "humor" and "color" etc ! My mother thinks it is not proper "English" but I think it is actually more authentically English,as we used to write many years ago, and makes more logical sense ! I wonder if this is happening to you too? Any way ,probably that is not for this thread,but big hugs to you(hoping you don't mind!) for your kind reply! Jane Small

Thanks Jane..and thank you for the wonderful compliments too.. just what my ego needs..not! lol

I do get a bit wound up sometimes.. just read someone cussing hip-hop music and saying there is NO talent involved.. as a musician and lover of music, it got my blood boiling a bit lol.

Yeah I have succumbed to the American way..I still try to resist but i'm realizing it's futile.. I still insist on "colour" but I do use the letter Z a lot more than I should! :-)

Anyhow.. thanks again!

(sorry J L.. thread jack over:-)

I am just going through all the Discworld books again. Have you read the Harry Potter books? LOADS more in them than in the film. They left out SO much

Barry, Z is actually good English and upper crust :) S is for us commoners

Jane..I meant to say..hugs are very welcome.. and big ones especially so :o)

Abbie.. Who would have thought an American website could actually improve our English and help us move up the classes...? the wonders never cease :-)

J L. Your beautiful 'Dreamship' piece (L/F) made me think of this:

If you're not afraid of injecting a little steampunk/alternate history into your life, try reading Scott Westerfeld's novel, 'LEVIATHAN,' the first in a 3-part series in which we arrive on the scene at the outset of WW1: It’s the Clankers (Germans with mechanized steam) versus the Darwinists (Brits with bioengineered whales that serve as airships, i.e.; dirigibles) and a young man whose parents, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, have just been assassinated, as he finds an uncommon ally in a girl who is disguised as a boy and enlisted in the British Air Service.

It's positively brilliant!

@ Jane Small -

Barry sent me over to the main threads - In his new group he posted info about a book I purchased on Amazon earlier today (kindle format) titled Star Pilgrim by Simon Small. When I saw his post I mentioned that I just bought it! I just wanted to drop by and let you know how thrilled I am that I purchased a book from someone whose wife is a member of FAA! :) For your reference, I was looking at different books and below one of them, there was a list of books that others looked at also when viewing the book I was considering . . . I bought Simon's instead.

What an awesome coincidence!

--Donna Proctor

Hi, JL. Have you tried Alice Hoffman? She injects a little fantasy into her novels. Look her up on Amazon, and you'll get a listing of her books, one of which might appeal to you. Good luck!

You mention The Hobbit, but what about Lord of the Rings? If you want a laugh, some of Harry Harrison's 1970s SciFi stuff is hilarious, then there is the bizarre and politically incorrect satirical world of Tom Sharpe - I think that Riotous Assembly, Indecent Exposure and Wilt are his three best. Of course, everything by PG Wodehouse deals with silly toffs in a fantasy world of the 30s. Someone gave me "The Worm Ouroboros" and said it was like an earlier Lord of the Rings, but I never got into it. Asimovs original "Foundation Trilogy" (Foundation, Second Foundation and Foundation and Empire) are great, as is most of his stuff - I Robot and Return of the Robots stand out in my memory, so too does The Stars Like Dust. You could go back to the earliest days of Sci Fi/Fantasy with Jules Verne and HG Wells. War of the Worlds is certainly worth reading, It's so long since I read Verne that I can't really say. I adore The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle (yes, he of Sherlock fame), and Rider Haggard wrote some good stuff - I can't help thinking of She when I see Indiana Jones or Lara Croft. Another superb author is Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness, The Secret Agent, perhaps a little too heavy. Lawrence Durrell's Prospero's Cell is a lovers' etherial account of life on an Ionian island in a different age, Kipling's Plain Tales from the Hills is an amusing collection of yarns about Victorian British India (the past is, after all, a different and enchanted land). A curious but fascinating true life treasure-hunting adventure I read this summer was Cotterell's "Bull of Minos", about the lives and discoveries of Heinrich Schliemann (who unearthed Troy) and Arthur Evans (who unearthed Knossos).

So many books, so little time!

J.L. I must thank you so much for starting this thread! I just read Donna Proctor's message and it sent a thrill down my spine at the awesome synchonicity she mentioned about the novel "Star Pilgrim". Donna, what you told me made my evening,and every evening this week !!! Thanks so very much for telling me that! (And Barry, well, I just love Barry, in a totally ethereal and accepteable way of course! ) I am even wondering if although I cannot keep up with the giving and receiving of comments which was taking over and becoming so addictive,it would be so nice to sometimes communicate here instead when I feel like it. Commenting sometimes is so joyful and absorbing,and other times feels like a huge "to do " list which never ends! So many ideas coming from your thread J.L. Looks like you will have a HUGE pile of reading to get through!!!!! Your next "problem" might be which to choose to read first ! (if you are anything like me at making decisions!) Happy days ! Happy reading! Jane Small

"The Dragon and the Unicorn, The Eagle and the Sword, The Wolf and the Crown, and The Serpent and the Grail are the four books in the series that weave a beautiful and highly imaginative story of the Arthurian legend. "

Start with the Dragon and the Unicorn, beautifully written and a fascinating fantasy story. I loved them all!

Gone Girl.......read it before the movie comes out. You won't be able to put this book down. I read it in 2 days.

Gone Girl.......read it before the movie comes out. You won't be able to put this book down. I read it in 2 days.

The Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny - about his only book I truly would read again - and again.
Except you need to start with the first book - and go through the series - Anne McCaffrey's series on Pern
Isaac Asimov - the Robot series
My penultimate favorite - Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein.

and there is always Jean Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear - the best book in the series - and the first.

Jane, oh yes! I also enjoyed Gone Girl, but don't forget her first two novels which are just as good, maybe even better (I thought so): Sharp Objects and Dark Places.

Wow, you are getting so many suggestions, JL, something should appeal to you! Have fun!

Jasper FForde was mentioned and I've enjoyed all of his works (and am also waiting on "Shades of Grey"'s sequel).

If you want something distopian and very sarcastic about technology, religion and government in the 21st century Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash" is certainly worth reading.

"Anno Dracula" was written 22 years ago and is the forefather of the Vampires invade other classic literature genre, set in a world where Dracula defeated Van Helsing rather then the other way round and went on to marry Queen Victoria.

Anything by William Gibson also distopian, also about technology and government in the 21st century. However since he's been writing science fiction since the late 70s there are two or three distinct worlds in his works (there's a lot less outer space in his later works).

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams! I love the humour . I've only read the first book in the series but I'm sure the others are good too.
I just finished Duma Key by Stephen King. It's a more recent book of his & it's amazing!!

Wow, so many replies, thanks everyone.

Well, I have already read The Last Unicorn (excellent!!!!) and The Alchemist. Also the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books. Plus The Once and Future King (I didn't expect it to be so humorous). I have also read The Night Circus, and liked it pretty well. I might try The Count of Monte Cristo. Sounds interesting. And I've read Jean Auel's Cave Bear books. Told you I read a LOT. :D

I'm not much into sci-fi. I guess I'm looking for a fantasy book that isn't childish, but has a childlike wonder. No vampires. No darkness, or very little. Guess what I read last week? My Father's Dragon. Why that hasn't been turned into a movie, I'll never know. It's simple, witty, brilliantly plotted and magical. Beats How To Train Your Dragon (the movie, that is, which I liked) by a mile. It's a kid's book, but a very good one that any adult could enjoy. Great illustrations too.

Here's a series I can recommend to you guys - Naomi Novik's Temeraire series. It's a historical re-imagining of the Napoleonic Wars - but with dragons as companions to the troops (they and their "captains" make up the aviator troops). Novik writes in a style that recalls Alexander Dumas (Three Musketeers) and perfectly captures the modes and mores of the time in her descriptions of the countries involved and in the manners and speech of her characters. I can't wait for her next book in the series. "Temeraire", by the way, is the name of the main dragon, a black Chinese Celestial breed that has a breath-weapon known as The Divine Wind (it can shatter anything in its path with tremendous force). A likable and compelling character, and definitely one of the good guys.

Thank you for the suggestions. Please keep them coming. Surely I'll find something...

Oh, and Patrick, thank you for your kind words. I admire your work so much.

Interesting, thanks that recommendation J L - will put Naomi's Novik's series on my list to look into (shouldn't be too hard to remember the last name:-) )

Have you read the Nine Princes of Amber / Chronicles of Amber series by Roger Zelazny? If you have not that is another good series that is enjoyable to read.

Another possibility is The Lightening Thief - the first set of the Percy Jackson series which is 5 books total. A lot of adventure, fantasy/mythology and humor to boot - some of the chapter titles just cracked me up when reading them.

I love the Temeraire series. I've read and reread them. I'm in need of a new book to read right now too so I'll have to write down some of the suggestions in this thread. I know you said you like The Hobbit JL so have you read any of Tolkien's other works? If you've already read The Lord of the Rings have you read The Silmarillion of any of those books dealing with the earlier ages of Middle Earth? They are worth reading.

I am now reading The Count of Monte Cristo. :)

Sword Of Truth series by Terry Goodkind
Sword Of Shannara series by Terry Brooks
a quick read... The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom