Literary drought

[gildeddawn]

This didn't work at all on Facebook, so I'm hoping with the semi-permanent nature of Livejournal posts these days (what with the friends page being sparsely populated), it'll work better here. I feel like I'm out of books to read and need suggestions. Anyone?

Comments

[nightswatch]

Have you read the Baroque Cycle? I basically spent the past five months with it on and off, and I love it to death.

Do not read A Dance with Dragons. Just... don't.

[red_planet]

I have the first book of the Baroque Cycle sitting on my coffee table. Do I need to read Cryptonomicon first to enjoy it?

[red_planet]

Also, what's with the hate for A Dance with Dragons? It was a hell of a lot better than A Feast for Crows.

[nightswatch]

I've never read Cryptonomicon, so definitely no. I think there's supposed to be some loose family connections between the Baroque Cycle characters and some in Cryptonomicon, but that's about it.

How was Dance any better than Feast? It introduced even more people I could not care less about, half of it seems dedicated to Roose Bolton's torture porn, and it hardly even takes place in Westeros.

[red_planet]

I'm on the third book of the Hunger Games right now. If for some crazy reason you have NOT read the series, I recommend it with the caveat(s) that it's not terribly well-written and the characters aren't fully fleshed-out. The pacing and action is great, though.

The Immortal Henrietta Lacks was also good if you're up for non-fiction.

[midnightsunryze]

Agreed. That trilogy is worth reading, as long as you go into it remembering that it's YA.

[salieri]

I was recently impressed with Shadow of the Torturer. Also, do you ever read Murakami? I really liked The Wind Up Bird Chronicles and Hard Boiled Wonderland... something.

[userj]

I found Shadow of the Torturer extremely boring! Stopped about 1/2 way through and it's still on my shelf. :/

[salieri]

It's definitely more driven by weird narrative choices than plot or character development. I was actually surprised it held my interest as well as it did. But the world is so big and well thought out! There were also a lot of scenes I ended up thinking back on. But I'm not sure I can describe what I like about it any better without sounding foolish.

[gildeddawn]

I tried to read Gene Wolfe once and thought it was completely worthless, though it was not that particular novel. There was no narrative thread at all, as I recall. Kind of wrote him off after that.

I've read one Murakami, Norwegian Wood, which struck me as pretty stark and depressing. Are the others as well?

[milachka]

You hate every book I have ever liked.

[gildeddawn]

Not true. The Sparrow AND Julie and Julia.

[nightswatch]

Aw guys, the Bungalow Book Club! It's... it's been a while since we've found a new pick.

[userj]

I am currently reading a book called "Lady's Maid." It is pretty decent, and is a historical fictiony thing about the poets Elizabeth and Robert Barrett-Browning, of whom I knew nothing before reading.