[Non-Fiction] "Book Recommendations" [G]
Title: Book Recommendations
Prompt: writerverse challenge #15 book recommendations
Note(s): originally posted to the writerverse wv_library
1.) Title: The Hundred and One Dalmatians
Author: Dodie Smith
Yes, the novel that’s the basis for the Disney movie. But the book is so much better! In fact, this is my very favorite book, ever, and I’ve read it over twenty times. The story is fairly basic- Pongo and Missis, two Dalmatians, go on a journey to find their stolen puppies- but it’s beautifully written that even a militant cat-person like me can love every character. One of my favorites never made it into the movie, the Courtly Spaniel, who lives with his old pet, Sir Charles. My copy of the book also has the original illustrations by the author, which are one of the best parts for me.
2.) Title: Protector of the Small: Lady Knight
Author: Tamora Pierce
Technically, I have to recommend not just the whole Protector of the Small quartet, but the entire Tortall universe (The Song of the Lioness quartet, The Immortals quartet, The Protector of the Small quartet, Daughter of the Lioness/Trickster duology and the Beka Cooper trilogy) which are all absolutely fantastic.
But this set, starring Keladry of Mindelan on her quest for knighthood, is my favorite of the bunch. Of all the characters I’ve ever read, Kel is me. Every time I paused in reading to think “I would…,” that’s exactly what she did. And Lady Knight is my favorite of Kel’s four books. She’s become a knight by that point, and I absolutely love her character then (not that I didn’t before, of course). Kel also has the best collection of friends- fellow knights, loyal soldiers, a grumpy horse, a flock of sparrows and an ugly dog.
I’ve re-read this one quite a few times, too.
3.) Title: A Little Princess
Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett
I’ll admit that I didn’t read this one until I was in college (and I got my introduction to the story from the Shirley Temple version of the movie) but it quickly became one of my favorites. It sounds a little silly, but it’s really a very uplifting story. When Sara is penniless and doing the worst jobs at her former school, she never gives up, and it’s actually very inspirational when things aren’t going well, to remember that I’m a princess, even in my jeans and t-shirt.
I also really like the writing style from back then- it’s different than the way most people write now, cozier and more like being told a story by a friend than reading a mass-produced book.
4.) Title: As You Like It
Author: William Shakespeare
Like any good English Major, I have a favorite Shakespeare play. In most ways, the comedies are very much alike- the Reduced Shakespeare Company does them all at once, using sixteen identical daughters of one old duke who end up married to sixteen sons of another duke- but I like this one particularly for its heroine, Rosalind. She spends most of the play disguised as a boy, who is then pretending to be herself to help the boy she’s got a crush on get over her… I like that it gets a little confusing. This is also the play with the “all the world’s a stage” bit that people quote a lot, said by Melancholy Jaques, who is really pretty entertaining through the whole play.
5.) Title: A Coal Miner’s Bride: The Diary of Anetka Kaminska: Lattimer, Pennsylvania, 1896
Author: Susan Campbell Bartoletti
This book is one of the “Dear America” books, a loose series of historical fiction stories set in different parts of America in different time periods, written as the diaries of girls living there. I’ve been working on the whole collection, but this is my favorite. Partly because I’m from Pennsylvania, and because my great-grandfather was a coal miner (though, he was Welsh, not Polish, like the characters in this book) but mostly because I love the character of Anetka herself. She’s smart and snarky and strong, and (not really spoiler alert) I really like the epilogue/‘historian’s note’ that lets us know about how her story ends.
Current Mood:
annoyed
Prompt: writerverse challenge #15 book recommendations
Note(s): originally posted to the writerverse wv_library
1.) Title: The Hundred and One Dalmatians
Author: Dodie Smith
Yes, the novel that’s the basis for the Disney movie. But the book is so much better! In fact, this is my very favorite book, ever, and I’ve read it over twenty times. The story is fairly basic- Pongo and Missis, two Dalmatians, go on a journey to find their stolen puppies- but it’s beautifully written that even a militant cat-person like me can love every character. One of my favorites never made it into the movie, the Courtly Spaniel, who lives with his old pet, Sir Charles. My copy of the book also has the original illustrations by the author, which are one of the best parts for me.
2.) Title: Protector of the Small: Lady Knight
Author: Tamora Pierce
Technically, I have to recommend not just the whole Protector of the Small quartet, but the entire Tortall universe (The Song of the Lioness quartet, The Immortals quartet, The Protector of the Small quartet, Daughter of the Lioness/Trickster duology and the Beka Cooper trilogy) which are all absolutely fantastic.
But this set, starring Keladry of Mindelan on her quest for knighthood, is my favorite of the bunch. Of all the characters I’ve ever read, Kel is me. Every time I paused in reading to think “I would…,” that’s exactly what she did. And Lady Knight is my favorite of Kel’s four books. She’s become a knight by that point, and I absolutely love her character then (not that I didn’t before, of course). Kel also has the best collection of friends- fellow knights, loyal soldiers, a grumpy horse, a flock of sparrows and an ugly dog.
I’ve re-read this one quite a few times, too.
3.) Title: A Little Princess
Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett
I’ll admit that I didn’t read this one until I was in college (and I got my introduction to the story from the Shirley Temple version of the movie) but it quickly became one of my favorites. It sounds a little silly, but it’s really a very uplifting story. When Sara is penniless and doing the worst jobs at her former school, she never gives up, and it’s actually very inspirational when things aren’t going well, to remember that I’m a princess, even in my jeans and t-shirt.
I also really like the writing style from back then- it’s different than the way most people write now, cozier and more like being told a story by a friend than reading a mass-produced book.
4.) Title: As You Like It
Author: William Shakespeare
Like any good English Major, I have a favorite Shakespeare play. In most ways, the comedies are very much alike- the Reduced Shakespeare Company does them all at once, using sixteen identical daughters of one old duke who end up married to sixteen sons of another duke- but I like this one particularly for its heroine, Rosalind. She spends most of the play disguised as a boy, who is then pretending to be herself to help the boy she’s got a crush on get over her… I like that it gets a little confusing. This is also the play with the “all the world’s a stage” bit that people quote a lot, said by Melancholy Jaques, who is really pretty entertaining through the whole play.
5.) Title: A Coal Miner’s Bride: The Diary of Anetka Kaminska: Lattimer, Pennsylvania, 1896
Author: Susan Campbell Bartoletti
This book is one of the “Dear America” books, a loose series of historical fiction stories set in different parts of America in different time periods, written as the diaries of girls living there. I’ve been working on the whole collection, but this is my favorite. Partly because I’m from Pennsylvania, and because my great-grandfather was a coal miner (though, he was Welsh, not Polish, like the characters in this book) but mostly because I love the character of Anetka herself. She’s smart and snarky and strong, and (not really spoiler alert) I really like the epilogue/‘historian’s note’ that lets us know about how her story ends.
Current Mood:
annoyed