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[foxe]

It is too hot to be a lime in my office! Sun streaming in through the windows plus the fact that the radiators haven't been switched off yet = indoor temperature in high 20s at least. I am going outside.

but before I do, can anyone remind me of more books I need to buy? At the moment I'm yearning to buy The Pinhoe Egg and The Dark is Rising

Comments

Have You Considered Babel-17?

[wizard_foots]

Samuel Delany. The main character is rather foxe-like so you may find it intriguing.... might be hard to get, however.

[vivienne_aster]

Kushiel's Scion is finally out in paperback?! (must dash to import bookstore)

[blindmouse]

Have you read The Dark is Rising before, or would this be a new thing?

[foxe]

Have read before, many many times - the first time starting with The Grey King, which my mother read to me when I was about 5 and sick in bed. Of course, that's actually the fourth book (and, incidentally, the one that features Bran most), but it starts with Will being sick in bed, so it was appropriate! - and I do own my own copy, which I've had since I was about 6, but it's in Australia. And besides, one can never have too many copies of good books.

[pyrrha17]

Have you read much Orson Scott Card? I'll assume you've read the Ender series and the Shadow series (have you read the last one yet?!), but have you read Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus, or Enchantment (a modern setting of Sleeping Beauty), or his books on the Women of Genesis, Sarah and Rebekah (or is that 'Daughters of Chan'?!)?

I'm currently re-reading the Robin Hobb books, starting again at the start with the Assassin books. Have you read the start of her new series? It's called The Soldier Son - it's pretty good, though not quite as addictive as the Assassin ones.

BTW, Thanks heaps for the postcard and photos!

[foxe]

Tee hee. 'Daughters of Chan'. I have read the Ender series, but no, not the last Shadow one yet, and none of the others, so that could be a good place to start! Alas, much as I would love to re-read the Assassin/Liveship/Fool tri-trilogy, I can't justify spending quite so much money on them again so soon - I only bought them for the first time a year or so before I left, and that's $180 or so worth of new books. Besides, I might bring them back next time. (Although I think Donald has the Assassin books and I have the others, so maybe I could buy the first trilogy...) I haven't yet managed to read any of the new series - I did note the first book coming out, a year or so ago, but didn't get round to it yet!

[thornae]

I'm guessing The Game (the new DWJ) hasn't come out in paperback yet, since we haven't even seen it here in .au...

If you ever see Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart, grab it! It's been out of print for ages, and is superb. The two sequels, The Story of the Stone and Eight Distinguished Gentlemen (eight? ten?) are even harder to find, but don't quite reach the heights of the first. They're still good, though.

Have you read Inkheart by Cornelia Funke? It's translated from the German, like Neverending Story, and is almost as good. Don't read any of the online summaries, they're full of spoilers. It's also in filming at the moment, so expect secondhand copies to start disappearing soon. Same goes for Dark is Rising, if you hadn't already heard.

Other favourites I sometimes see secondhand:

• Spider Robinson's Callahan's books
• Susan Dexter's The Winter King's War trilogy
• Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga
• much of Diana Wynne Jones' stuff

And some more authors I watch for:

• Lloyd Biggle Jr.

[thornae]

Oh, and here's why Spider Robinson is worth reading:

(To the tune of Live and Let Die)

When we were young, with our heads in an open book
We used to read Niven/Pournelle
(you know you did, you know you did, you know you did)
And in this ever changing world, Pournelle and Niven
hope the fans will still buy...

The Mote in God's Eye...

[foxe]

The hardback edition of The Game is only listed on Amazon as having been published on 1 March this year, so I don't think so... but there're 2nd-hand ones available already for only about £3, so I might be tempted!

And OOOOH, there was another one in the Barry Hughart series?? I read The Story of the Stone first and loved it (had my own copy even, but lent it someone and never got it back, grr) then got to read Bridge of Birds because Benno had it, but didn't know there was a third! Definitely must go look for those. (Did you ever read Ruth Manley's Plum Rain Scroll series? Kid's books, but similar Far East fairytale style - you might like them too.)

I hadn't heard that they were filming The Dark is Rising - wonder if it'll be any good? The effect on the 2nd-hand market hadn't crossed my mind, but I'm glad I got the rest of His Dark Materials already! (Plus they were good-as-new 2nd-hand, too