ohmagosh wha? oh.. whew

[Rune]

I have never really had the patience to read long stories in the past. I was always a fan of short stories. Not too long ago someone handed me a Dean Koontz book and said “Read this, You’ll like it.” I had to laugh, obviously they didn’t know me one bit. Not only was it a rather long book but it was about real people – nothing at all fantasy – and it was part science fiction which I wasn’t really interested in at all. I took it (after all, it’s the only polite thing to do when someone gives you a gift) and thumbed through the pages trying my best to look interested but my stubborn nature wouldn’t allow me to actually read the words. A few weeks later we were up in South Carolina. My boyfriend hunts (well they call it hunting although he hasn’t actually killed anything in years. I think its more like looking.) My boyfriend likes to look at deer and we were sitting in a stand waiting patiently for one to give us a peepshow of some sorts. I was hardly able to contain my excitement which obviously would scare the deer away should it happen to appear so I searched my bag for something to read to pass the time. Expecting to find a gum wrapper or some old discarded mail I found the book instead and decided if there was anything that was better prepared to bring me down from my emotional high that I was currently experiencing, this was it. So I read it and come to find out I loved it. I have read more Dean Koontz books than I can count to date and I can’t get enough.

 

So I had a new love for reading and an interest to do so but it seemed like I lacked the time to read anymore with a promotion at work and trying to balance a social life with my boyfriend and my family. My mom had the perfect remedy – books on CD. I scoffed at the idea. I am not a lazy reader! I exclaimed, but she has shown me the light. Now I listen to books on my way to and from work and traffic is never stressful anymore, it just means I get to spend more time listening.

 

The latest set that she bought me is actually the books of Narnia on CD. I’ve read some of the books and watched the beloved BBC versions over and over (I have them on DVD, I am such a nerd.) C.S. Lewis is one of my favorite authors and I love his books so this was a special treat for me. The voice acting was superb and I found myself wanting to drive around more just to listen to a story that I already knew the ending to. Oddly enough I had never read the final book in the series, The Last Battle, and I was a little sad when I got to that CD. I didn’t want the story to be over with but I pressed on reluctantly and popped it in. I haven’t finished it yet but it is probably the most exhilarating of the books so far. There is a part in the book where Lewis describes the appearance of a character you had read about many times before in The Horse and His Boy and some of the other books. That description sent chills down my spine and I was truly amazed at how well it was written and how much it affected me. There are several other parts that are similar to that in some of the Koontz books I have read. One in particular actually scared me and I slept with the light on for two days afterwards. I kept glancing at the window expecting something to happen. You get to a part and it feels so real and so amazingly important as though my own world rests on the outcome of whatever is happening in this book.

 

I was just curious if anyone else had a similar story and wanted to share their recommendations not just on good books to read but on books that somehow affected them in a physical way such as a shudder or even having to stop a moment and take a breath being going on.

[Ayshela]

*tacklehugs Rune* yay! glad to see you about again!

recommendation noted, as i haven't read any Koontz.

 

thoughts have been more than usually fragmented lately, so i'm only coming up with one example of the kind of thing you've mentioned, at the moment.

 

I'd picked up Jacqueline Carey's "Kushiel's Dart" out of mingled curiosity and boredom - i knew i was going to have *hours* of time with little else to do but read, and the length of the book was pretty well guaranteed to consume most of it. It was an intruiging enough read, and well written enough that i only had to refer to the very extensive geneology and court "house listing" in the front of the book a couple times to place someone. I appreciate that, in any author. The subject matter of the series ensures that i recommend them carefully, because i know a lot of people who'd be more apt to fling them across the room than read and understand them. =( Her books remain on my bookshelf, though, and have been the subject of several lengthy conversations and debates, for one reason. There are concepts that Carey covers that have left me breathless and lightheaded at seeing someone else say something i'd long since given up hope of anyone else even understanding, much less actually saying - in print, even! The invaluable reassurance that someone else "gets it" would keep them on my shelves alone. That they are so very well written is a huge bonus. =)

 

*huggles Rune again*

[Tasslehoff]

Well first off, as Ayshela has already done.. *hug*. Its been a long time..

 

Book Recomendations.. For me, I would have to go with Tom Clancy. I am a huge fan of his books, & I tend to read all his novels when they come out. I would have to say my over all favorite is defently Rainbox Six, which lead to the popular game.. It isnt for the faint of heart, but a great book on terrorism & counter terrorism..

 

I also started a new serious, Eragon, by Christopher Paoline.. My mother bought me the first book as a gift for a trip I was making, well after not being able to put the book down & almost finishing it in a sitting, I called her & told her to send me the second copy when it came out.. Shortly it did, titled: Eldest & I read through it just as quick.

[yochva]

Well, my all time favorie author is MErcedes Lackey - she was the first "adult" book I read, i.e. not a child's book. I fell in love with Valdemar, and highly recommend them (all 30+) to anyone. A few of them shouldn't be read by young children, but most of them are PG-13. Even the not PG-13 parts are few and far between, and skip over the "heavy" parts.

 

As for a story...

 

As a rule I don't like murder mysteries, or mysteries in general. But my mother was reading a Clive Cussler book once, and I was bored - so I picked it up. And didn't put it down. Now I read any of his books we have or get from the library. I don't even mind the self-insertion, which is something I normally abhor.

 

I would recommend the Heralds of Valdemar series by Mercedes Lackey, "Phantom of the Opera" by Gaston Leroux, and Clive Cussler.

 

 

 

 

 

As a note... I've read the Kushiel series... and I do agree that it's not for the faint of heart. But they are VERY well-written.

[Ayshela]

*laughs*

"not for the faint of heart" may, indeed, be the best description of the series.

 

I think perhaps the most amusing "I didn't put it down" experience i ever *saw* was when Kandara had picked up Sharon Green's "The Blending" series. He doesn't read quickly, so it was *weeks* of finding him parked somewhere, inside or outside, engrossed in the next one in the series and half-heartedly complaining about having just walked by the book and it jumped into his hand. *giggles*

[reverie]

Hey Rune, long time no talk...anyway I had a similar yet less dramatic experience with Books on Tape/CD. My friend tried for about a year to get me into them, final I gave in and have enjoyed them ever since. Well not exactly. I enjoy them whenever I have a long commute, and since I live with walking distance to most things I need now, I really don't do the Book on tape anymore.

 

Recently my same friend has suggest I invest in an ipod and download books from audible.com, but I'm resisting this. I'm scatter brained enough as it is. Add an ipod to the mix and I'll probably end up walking off a cliff or something.

 

Hmm, print wise, I resisted the Harry Potter Series for a number of years. While unbelieviably bored in Korea, I started reading the first one and have been hooked ever since...

 

So you're not alone small one...

 

shine on,

 

rev...

[Ayshela]

*laughs* glad to know i'm not the only one who's staunchly resisted the Harry Potter craze. I've got the whole SET sitting here, hardback even, waiting for me to make time to read them - bought as a gift for me by someone who loves them - and they've been there since before my birthday last fall. O_o

I suppose i really should break down and read them, eh?

[Gryphon]

Yes Ayshela, read. Read them all...

 

You've resisted long enough, you've proven your strenght, now give in to the Harry Potter (read Dark) side and join us in waiting breathlessly for the next and last book in the set.

 

...

 

Shortly I too will have some ponderings on books to post here, just need to finish reading them all first.

[Mira]

Eh, Harry Potter wasn't that good; mostly over hyped. The characters stay pretty much the same through the six or so most dynamic years of their lives and despite mountains of ineptitude, always seem to come out on top.

 

As for really good books...

 

I'd have to say the best book I've read lately has either been John Steinbeck's "East of Eden" or Jack Kerouac's "On The Road" both of which left me speechless.

 

Oh, and on a book related note I have some sad news. Jim Rigney, a.k.a. Robert Jordan, the author of one of the most successful fantasy series of recent years, The Wheel of Time, has been diagnosed with amyloidosis and been told he's got around 4 years to live. I hope he beats the disease, and from the press release he sent out last week, it sounds like he fully intends to.

[yochva]

Good luck and best wishes to him, even if I didn't like that series overmuch.

 

 

I've never read Lord of the Ring, and I've never finished the sixth book of Harry Potter - it was much poorer in quality than the first five.

 

I've simply never felt the urge to finish it, much to the dismay and constant distress of a friend of mine. Oh well. When the last one comes out, maybe I'll finish the sixth. That's the only reason I finished the fifth, after all.