Recs for English books

[druffine]

Hey everybody,

what's your favorite read besides fanfic? I'm thinking about ordering English books and I'm not sure where to start. I'm not so much into Shakespeare since I hardly understand the German translation. I'm thinking "Catcher in the Rye" maybe or "1984"??

Thanks for your help.

Comments

[ccke.livejournal.com]

I love 'Catcher in the Rye' :) Haven't read '1984' yet, so can't really give any comments on that one.
It may seem stupid and whatnot but I love 'Pride and Prejudice'. Read it every year or so, 'cause it's so funny and witty.
I'd also recommend things by Neil Gaiman :p Both the children's lit and the other works :) they're mostly an easy and quick read, but very good imho.

Happy reading!

[tabaqui]

Oh gods. 'Catcher' sucks beyond all telling. I hate that book. '1984' is amazingly depressing, but a good sort of read. Maybe try his 'Animal Farm' first, it'll give you an idea about his writing. I second Neil Gaimen as an author to read - his stuff is amazing. For funny books - think Monty Python - try any of the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett. He and Neil Gaimen collaborated on a book called 'Good Omens' - hilarious!

Also - Watership Down, Out of Africa, Captains Courageous and The Jungle Books, Anything by Tanith Lee although 'Silver Metal Lover', 'Don't Bite the Sun' and 'Drinking Sapphire Wine' are my favorites. S.E. Hinton wrote some lovely stuff, 'The Outsiders' and 'Tex' being my top two. Carl Hiaasen writes some funny stuff, 'Strip Tease' being the best imo. Hrmmm...what else... E. M. Forster wrote lovely 'comedey of manners' kind of stuff, 'Howard's End', 'A Room With a View' and 'Maurice' being the best. Oh! And Ray Bradbury. Lovely stuff. 'Dandelion Wine', 'Something Wicked This Way Comes', 'R is for Rocket' and 'S is for Space'... Also the Martian Chronicles.

My all time favorite author is C.J. Cherryh and i can recommend anything of hers, but she's an acquired taste. She does both sci-fi and fantasy and it's all just...amazing.

I can provide details if you want on anything, and try 'abebooks.com' for used copies. The UK-based site is here:http://www.abebooks.co.uk/docs/Browse/literature-fiction.shtml

It's basically a site where used book booksellers list what they have. I've found a *ton* of stuff in their database, and some books are as cheap as fifty cents, so it's worth a look for sure. There's a US site too, of course, but the shipping would be high.

Good luck!

[piratepurple.livejournal.com]

If you read '1984' and like distopia, you may also like to read 'Brave New World' and 'Fahrenheit 451'.

I don't recommend Catcher. It's sort of esoteric, and if you don't know a lot about America, specifically New York, at the time it's set, it's really boring. It's social commentary rather than an actual novel, in my opinion.

I second any and all recommendations for Neil Gaiman. Especially 'Fragile Things' which is a compendium of shorter stories that are great for getting a feel for his writing. He also recently made a movie, 'Mirrormask' which I recommend. He co-wrote 'Good Omens' with Terry Pratchett, who is also a most excellent writer.

I've recently been very into Peter Beagle. He wrote a book called 'The Last Unicorn' which was made into an animated movie that just about every child my age who grew up speaking English has seen, but his 'The Innkeeper's Song' is by far a superior book, in my opinion.

If you like Cyberpunk, there's William Gibson, and also early Neal Stephenson. Neal Stephenson wrote a book called 'The Diamond Age' that I personally think redefines the sci-fi genre, and has a female protagonist to boot.

Lastly I recommend Francesca Lia Block. She's a sort of post-punk lyrical writer. Her stuff is mostly aimed at teenagers, but I find her an excellent read anyway. Her use of language is frequently unique, and her characters are sweet and believable.