My Favorite Book?
I recently reread the book I have been calling my favorite book since 8th grade, The Last Dragonlord by Joanne Bertin. It is no longer my favorite book. Although the plot, the universe and the mythology are all awesome, actually I also really like the characters, the character development, the premise, the concept, everything, there is one thing I don't like and that is the romance. It is too easy. There is a soultwin concept I like, but I think it should be more difficult to find your soultwin. In my youth, I had read the sequel, Dragon and Phoenix and didn't like it, but now I think it's better written than the first. And I still can't wait for Book 3. I just can't in good conscious call it my favorite book any more.
Therefore, I am in the market for a favorite book. I have my favorite authors: Mercedes Lackey, David Eddings, Tamora Pierce, Meg Cabot and Brandon Sanderson. There are also a few series I really, really enjoy: Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, Robert Asprin's Myth series, Garth Nix's Sabriel, the Rose of the Prophet series by Weis and Hickman to name a few. You would think out of all of these I would be able to find a favorite book, but I can't. There are the 10 books I would take with me on a desert island, those books I enjoy reading over and over again. They all have aspects of what could be a favorite book, but alas. I don't know if there is any book that will live up to all of these requirements.
It will probably be a fantasy, because those kinds of books are my favorite. I do like Teen books. And fairy tale type stories. But mostly fantasy
Universe: Well built. Well thought out. Well rounded. A good mythology. Props if the author incorporates history or world mythology. Most importantly it has to be new, innovative. If there's a magic system it can't be some tired old repeat. And it has to be real. I have to see, breathe it feel it. David Eddings is really good at world-building. Tamora Pierce is really good at incorporating World Mythology. Brandon Sanderson creates amazingly wonderful new magic systems.
Language: Beautiful. In keeping with the time and tone of the book. Rothfuss's Name of the Wind book is perfect with language. I can tell that the author spent hours crafting each and every sentence. And it flows. But it is not too ridiculous or poetic. Like in Redwall where the story doesn't start until 5 pages in because the author is chronicling the trip of a leaf from a tree, through the sky down a river to Redwall Abbey. And I really appreciate good opening lines like the first sentence of Elantris by Brandon Sanderson.
Premise/Setting: I don't really like most urban type fantasys. I enjoy books set in a fantasy universe. But most fantasy are vaguely alternate European medieval type settings. I like something that veers off that norm. I like deserts. I really like Nomads. I like gypsys. I like thieves and thief guilds. In fact I like merchants in general. I like assassins. I like female warriors. I like librarians and archivists. I like humour. I like underdogs. I like dragons and other mythological creatures. I like barbarians. I like gladiators. I like Asia, Egypt, Greece. I do not like kings, annoying women, manipulations and machinations of overly powerful females (*cough Aes Sedai), cliche, rape, godlike kingmakers, hoity toity type elves or people, purists, religious fanatics, and people like that guy on XMen who wanted all the Mutants to wear Mutant Jew Stars. (Although they make good villains.) I like stories that make me feel righteous indignation. I don't like overly sad. I don't want books to make me feel really depressed (like anything by Robin Hobb.)
Characters: Well-rounded. 3-Dimensional. They have to grow, change. No annoying, grating, want to push a pencil through their throat so they will stop talking kind of characters (like Umbridge or Gilderoy Lockhart from HP). I want them to be lovable. And I want the villains to be perfectly hatable, without being annoying. I want the villains truly vicious, but believable. Perhaps redeemable. They have to show vulnerability. Weaknesses. One thing I hate about most of David Eddings' women are they are annoying and too powerful. They just have that smug 'I can manipulate men' attitudes and they get whatever they want. I found myself surprised to find CeNedra my favorite character only because she grew as a person and she has vulnerabilities. But she is not too weak. Powerful when it counts. These are all qualities characters in my favorite book must have. But most of all I have to love them. I have to bond with them. I must want to be friends with them and if they die, I would cry. Like Silk.
Plot: Intricate. Interesting. Innovative. Lots of twists and turns. Surprises. Not predictable. I like when things that have nothing to do with each other all of the sudden come together. I like mysteries. I like high, epic fantasy. I like things not to be easy, but not impossible. I don't want things to just work out magically by some Deus Ex Machina. I want the characters to have to work for their happy ending. But not too much work. But I also don't want too many aspects of plot. Wheel of Time: I love it, but there are a lot of aspects of plot. Too many sometimes. But nothing in those books is too easy. I like it when I have a chance to try and figure out what is going on. And though I enjoy seeing both sides point of view, I don't want to know all the secrets until the end. And the moral, I like for there to be something to think about, like the politics, leadership, love, religion and humanity explored in Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy, but I don't want a frickin PSA, like Mercedes Lackey's SERRAted Edge series which is pretty much a child abuse PSA.
And the two most important things:
Romance: There must be a romance. But it can't be too easy, and it can't be too hard. The characters should love each other for some reason other than they are both there. But it can't be too difficult. Perin and Faile's romance in WoT is an example of this. They both have to work too hard to make the relationship work and it's way tedious for the reader. Not too much smut, but a little is ok. I really love the kind of relationships where people are like I hate you I hate you, kiss. I don't want the romance to be the focus of the story, but I enjoy reading special moments. Like little sweet things. Things that after you read it you remember and go, aw that's so cute. Like how I remember in Tamora Perce's Realm of the Gods how cute Daine and Numair are revealing their love to each other after she falls off the cliff.
And most importantly of all
Tone: Tone is the first thing I look for when I start reading a book. I want the tone to be fun. Not dark. Easy to read. I don't want the read to feel cumbersome. Some books I've read are like reading the Bible and that's not cool. I want the tone to say to me that the author had just as much fun writing the story as I will reading it. Mercedes Lackey does a fabulous job with this. The first book I ever read by her was Take a Thief and I could tell by reading the first sentence that I would love the book. Same with the Sabriel books. And surprisingly enough same with Naomi Novik's Temeraire series. A light-hearted, fun tone, even while bad things are happening is really important to me. And I want to feel the book calling me to read it and drawing me in. The HP books are a perfect example of tone. In a book with a good tone, you just can't put it down.
Wow this entry was a lot longer than I meant it to be. In the next couple of entries I want to explore the books and authors I love and why I love them so as well as do some reviews on books and authors I have read recently including:
Mercedes Lackey's SERRAted edge series, Obsidian Trilogy and other books
Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy and Elantris
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
David Edding's Elder Gods books which I finally read
And many more.
And any book recommendations, I will gladly receive.
Therefore, I am in the market for a favorite book. I have my favorite authors: Mercedes Lackey, David Eddings, Tamora Pierce, Meg Cabot and Brandon Sanderson. There are also a few series I really, really enjoy: Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, Robert Asprin's Myth series, Garth Nix's Sabriel, the Rose of the Prophet series by Weis and Hickman to name a few. You would think out of all of these I would be able to find a favorite book, but I can't. There are the 10 books I would take with me on a desert island, those books I enjoy reading over and over again. They all have aspects of what could be a favorite book, but alas. I don't know if there is any book that will live up to all of these requirements.
It will probably be a fantasy, because those kinds of books are my favorite. I do like Teen books. And fairy tale type stories. But mostly fantasy
Universe: Well built. Well thought out. Well rounded. A good mythology. Props if the author incorporates history or world mythology. Most importantly it has to be new, innovative. If there's a magic system it can't be some tired old repeat. And it has to be real. I have to see, breathe it feel it. David Eddings is really good at world-building. Tamora Pierce is really good at incorporating World Mythology. Brandon Sanderson creates amazingly wonderful new magic systems.
Language: Beautiful. In keeping with the time and tone of the book. Rothfuss's Name of the Wind book is perfect with language. I can tell that the author spent hours crafting each and every sentence. And it flows. But it is not too ridiculous or poetic. Like in Redwall where the story doesn't start until 5 pages in because the author is chronicling the trip of a leaf from a tree, through the sky down a river to Redwall Abbey. And I really appreciate good opening lines like the first sentence of Elantris by Brandon Sanderson.
Premise/Setting: I don't really like most urban type fantasys. I enjoy books set in a fantasy universe. But most fantasy are vaguely alternate European medieval type settings. I like something that veers off that norm. I like deserts. I really like Nomads. I like gypsys. I like thieves and thief guilds. In fact I like merchants in general. I like assassins. I like female warriors. I like librarians and archivists. I like humour. I like underdogs. I like dragons and other mythological creatures. I like barbarians. I like gladiators. I like Asia, Egypt, Greece. I do not like kings, annoying women, manipulations and machinations of overly powerful females (*cough Aes Sedai), cliche, rape, godlike kingmakers, hoity toity type elves or people, purists, religious fanatics, and people like that guy on XMen who wanted all the Mutants to wear Mutant Jew Stars. (Although they make good villains.) I like stories that make me feel righteous indignation. I don't like overly sad. I don't want books to make me feel really depressed (like anything by Robin Hobb.)
Characters: Well-rounded. 3-Dimensional. They have to grow, change. No annoying, grating, want to push a pencil through their throat so they will stop talking kind of characters (like Umbridge or Gilderoy Lockhart from HP). I want them to be lovable. And I want the villains to be perfectly hatable, without being annoying. I want the villains truly vicious, but believable. Perhaps redeemable. They have to show vulnerability. Weaknesses. One thing I hate about most of David Eddings' women are they are annoying and too powerful. They just have that smug 'I can manipulate men' attitudes and they get whatever they want. I found myself surprised to find CeNedra my favorite character only because she grew as a person and she has vulnerabilities. But she is not too weak. Powerful when it counts. These are all qualities characters in my favorite book must have. But most of all I have to love them. I have to bond with them. I must want to be friends with them and if they die, I would cry. Like Silk.
Plot: Intricate. Interesting. Innovative. Lots of twists and turns. Surprises. Not predictable. I like when things that have nothing to do with each other all of the sudden come together. I like mysteries. I like high, epic fantasy. I like things not to be easy, but not impossible. I don't want things to just work out magically by some Deus Ex Machina. I want the characters to have to work for their happy ending. But not too much work. But I also don't want too many aspects of plot. Wheel of Time: I love it, but there are a lot of aspects of plot. Too many sometimes. But nothing in those books is too easy. I like it when I have a chance to try and figure out what is going on. And though I enjoy seeing both sides point of view, I don't want to know all the secrets until the end. And the moral, I like for there to be something to think about, like the politics, leadership, love, religion and humanity explored in Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy, but I don't want a frickin PSA, like Mercedes Lackey's SERRAted Edge series which is pretty much a child abuse PSA.
And the two most important things:
Romance: There must be a romance. But it can't be too easy, and it can't be too hard. The characters should love each other for some reason other than they are both there. But it can't be too difficult. Perin and Faile's romance in WoT is an example of this. They both have to work too hard to make the relationship work and it's way tedious for the reader. Not too much smut, but a little is ok. I really love the kind of relationships where people are like I hate you I hate you, kiss. I don't want the romance to be the focus of the story, but I enjoy reading special moments. Like little sweet things. Things that after you read it you remember and go, aw that's so cute. Like how I remember in Tamora Perce's Realm of the Gods how cute Daine and Numair are revealing their love to each other after she falls off the cliff.
And most importantly of all
Tone: Tone is the first thing I look for when I start reading a book. I want the tone to be fun. Not dark. Easy to read. I don't want the read to feel cumbersome. Some books I've read are like reading the Bible and that's not cool. I want the tone to say to me that the author had just as much fun writing the story as I will reading it. Mercedes Lackey does a fabulous job with this. The first book I ever read by her was Take a Thief and I could tell by reading the first sentence that I would love the book. Same with the Sabriel books. And surprisingly enough same with Naomi Novik's Temeraire series. A light-hearted, fun tone, even while bad things are happening is really important to me. And I want to feel the book calling me to read it and drawing me in. The HP books are a perfect example of tone. In a book with a good tone, you just can't put it down.
Wow this entry was a lot longer than I meant it to be. In the next couple of entries I want to explore the books and authors I love and why I love them so as well as do some reviews on books and authors I have read recently including:
Mercedes Lackey's SERRAted edge series, Obsidian Trilogy and other books
Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy and Elantris
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
David Edding's Elder Gods books which I finally read
And many more.
And any book recommendations, I will gladly receive.