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Joined: Sep 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757 |
the bladeruinerSo we gotta call you Shavi?
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156 |
Back to the original topic...
I only read fiction these days. I get enough nonfiction reading at university to completely turn me away from anything requiring brain power at home. So for fictional purposes I would suggest anything by Robertson Davies, Margaret Laurence, Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro, Douglas Coupland, Carol Shields, W. O. Mitchell, W. P. Kinsella. Farley Mowat kind of crosses the fiction-nonfiction line. I just read Black Robe by Brian Moore and it was really good. (You may notice most of these authors are Canadian - I have been reading mostly Canadian authors these last few years because I can relate to them more than US authors, which I unknowingly overdosed on as a child.)
For junky mystery books which you can read in one afternoon, I would suggest the Maggody series by Joan Hess, the Aunt Dimity series by Nancy Atherton, the Her Majesty investigates series by C. C. Benison. I also read a book about cat crimes once but couldn't seem to track down the rest of the series.
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Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773 |
Does anyone know the name of a book published in the last few years that listed names of US towns?
One such book is All Over the Map, by David Jouris
It has collections of placenames in the US which fit various themes. Major categories are: artistic, natural, divine, historical, eccentric, everyday, personal and miscellaneous. Under eccentric is a map of the curiously juxtaposed. Michigan's curiously juxtaposed are Romulus and Remus, and Chase and Quarry. Of course, we also have both Hell and Paradise, and Cadillac and Pontiac.
Any requests?
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 544
addict
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addict
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 544 |
I read lots of fiction, with a little non-fiction stuck in from time to time when I feel like learning something new in depth.
I enjoy historical fiction a great deal, and have a couple of favorites. The Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian is great, and at 18 volumes, can keep one occupied for some time. It's set in the British navy during the Napoleonic wars and is funny, thrilling, educational - really good.
Also, the Chronicles of Lymond, by Dorothy Dunnet, are great. It's a 6-book series set in Scotland in the 16th century. It's brilliantly written (she's very well read and it shows), lots and lots of fun, and as well executed a bit of suspense as I've run across.
For non-fiction, my favorite of recent years is Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. Really insightful and thought-provoking - and a great title.
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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anna's "organic RAMs" reminded me of something offered by Wendalyn Nichols, the editorial director of Random House Reference with whom we had a chat back in January:
"wetware"
i routinely use 'hardware', 'software', 'freeware', 'shareware' and 'treeware', but i'd never heard this term.
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 85
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 85 |
I spend and awful lot on technical books and various references for art, so for the rest of my reading time and funds I tend to spend on fiction. Especially mystery or fantasy/science fiction. Lord of the Rings, of course. I enjoy Tanya Huff's writing when she gets into humor, like in "Summon the Keeper". Anne Perry is enjoyable for her victorian mysteries, and Ellis Peter's for her medieval. Lynda S. Robinson for her ancient Egyptian mysteries. The Harry Potter series is fun for light reading and humor - good "bad day" books. For me, science fiction seems to excell when it's in the short story form. I'm saved from technobabble when words are at a premium. Names escape me, because I don't seem to retain them on my shelves any better than in my mind. Ali
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
for real style in the science-fantasy realm, I can't recommend anyone more than Gene Wolfe; particularly his Book of the New Sun (an epic published variously in 2 or 4 volumes).
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439 |
"wetware"....pen and real ink? For good mysteries try the Dick Francis books. All set against the world of horse racing. I am not a racing fan but find his books informative, interesting and entertaining. Francis himself a former jockey in England brings a real feel for the game to his books. As for cat mystery books... could it be the series of "The Cat Who ....." by Lillian Braun. Best read in order as the protagonist's life evolves as the series progresses. My Library has a book that lists authors, their books and the order in which they were written. Bet yours does too! Anyone out there read Jack Finney's "Time and Again?" I am on fifth copy .... and *this one will *not* be loaned. If anyone has a copy ... or knows where one may be obtained ... of an old book, green cover, called "The Life And Struggles Of An Irish Boy In America" by Lawlor ....PLEASE contact me. I listed with a dozens of book finder services over the years but no joy. wow
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
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Joined: Nov 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
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