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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065 |
Wow, let me add Robertson Davies to your list if he hasn't been mentioned already. I'm currently reading the Deptford Trilogy, which is a good place to start if you're not familiar with his works. Quirky humour, an older person's outlook on life, and believable descriptions of Canadian life (as to how true to life they are, I leave that up to others to comment on).
Bingley
Bingley
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
Alex good-natures: Heh heh. I'd be offended by this if I wasn't so tickled.
Me, too. But since Atlanta, Georgia has nothing to do with the South, I ain't.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156 |
I love reading Robertson Davies because for once I don't have to translate the Americanisms into Canadianisms for a meaningful understanding! I have devoured all his fiction, except for The Diary of Samuel Marchbanks, and recommend them highly to anyone I meet.
Re: John Bellairs. I love his books! I am also too scared to read them again! I have too much imagination and his scary ghosty things seemed SO REAL the first time around, that I am reluctant to re-read them. While on the subject of great young adult books, I suggest "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen. I've read it many times and it still amazes me.
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 218
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 218 |
I have a startling summer reading suggestion (actually proffered by my wife as we strolled through a bookstore recently):
Read the books on the shelves at home!
She's got a good point.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819 |
They say you can't judge a book by its cover, but I love the Robertson Davies books, and I love the artwork on the paperback covers.
So what are Tony Hillerman novels like?
If you have never read Lois Lowry's "The Giver" and "Number the Stars" you're in for a treat. Ostensibly written for older children, they are worthy of appreciation by adults.
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 544
addict
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addict
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 544 |
Robertson Davies is a great writer, and I mourned his passing a few years ago, as I'd read all his novels and had no hope for more.
I'm currently reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, by Michael Chabon (who lives right here in Berkeley, CA). It just won the Pulitzer, and it's a lot of fun.
I will also make my perennial plug for the novels of Dorothy Dunnet, especially the Lymond Chronicles - historical fiction set in Scotland, England and France just before and in the early days of the reign of Elizabeth I - glorious language, intricate plots, political machinations, and you'd even learn some history. Alongside the Lord of the Rings, they're my favorite novels by far.
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757 |
As a few people have enquired, some detail on the ‘Bolitho’ novels I mentioned:
Author: KENT, Alexander
Publisher: RANDOM HOUSE (Arrow Paperback in your territories?)
First title in series: MIDSHIPMAN BOLITHO
ISBN: 0 09 986350 2
(Next titles include Stand into Danger, In Gallant Company, Sloop of War,
To Glory We Steer, Command a King’s Ship… and another sixteen titles(!) ending with Sword of Honour.
This and subsequent titles chart the key protagonist’s rise through the British navy from 1772 through to the aftermath of the Napoleonic War. These yarns contain fascinating historical background, attractive characterisation, and much of the same general interest if you enjoy the Hornblower, Aubrey/Maturin, or Ramage series.
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636 |
I am currently re-reading "Lucifer's Hammer" written by one of the best writing teams in the sci-fi genre, Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. Others by this team that I highly recommend are: "The Mote in God's Eye", "The Legacy of Heorot" and its sequel, "Beowulf's Children". One more sci-fi selection that will leave you wanting more...."Neptune Crossing" by Jeffrey A. Carver
consuelo
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 87
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 87 |
So what are Tony Hillerman novels like?
Hillerman's mysteries are set in the American Southwest, in the Four Corners area where Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico meet. His detectives are Navaho tribal policemen and the mysteries often turn on some aspect of Navaho legend or custom. He has a wonderful capacity for describing Navaho customs and ways -- good enough to teach us white folk about their culture without lecturing. And all that in the context of a rattling good tale.
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065 |
I have heard that Tony Hillerman's portrayals of Navaho life and customs are not all that accurate. I wouldn't know. I've only come across one of his which someone gave me in the form of a talking book.
Bingley
Bingley
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