Try to get caught up on cleaning the house.
Go to work (at Hastings, half of which is devoted to books!).
Read Sherlock Holmes or wander the Palouse Mall on my break (Hastings is located at the Palouse Mall).
Go home. Watch Doctor Who and maybe a little Glee until bed.
Read Sherlock Holmes in bed.
Sleep.
Repeat.
But now that Christmas is passed and I'm not working full-time pre-Christmas hours, I have more time to read (and write and do yoga and hang out with friends). I'm putting together a reading list out of books people recommend and some stuff in the Hastings' "Books to give" catalog. So now I'm putting the question to you: Do you have book recommendations? The kind of books that are good to read over winter break? The kind that are absorbing and hard to put down?
So far people have told me to read:
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
House of Leaves by that guy with the funny last name
The Dark Tower series by Stephen King (I haven't read Stephen King since high school; if I'm going to keep quoting him I suppose I should read him.)
Neuromancer by William Gibson
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
Points to anyone who can guess which friend/relative recommended which book to me (I'll give you a hint, PB is on the list).
House of Leaves is a good winter book. Have you started to read it yet? Maybe don't read it in your apartment when you're alone though... you may start to feel like you're going crazy.
ReplyDeleteYou need some ladies on that list. STAT.
The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke is a lovely collection of stories. You might give it a try.
Don't worry, right now I'm reading a woman. And there are women on the list, but I put them on myself, and I only listed those others recommended. Oh, and Rhiannon recommended a woman to me yesterday.
ReplyDeleteThat I did!
ReplyDeleteAlso, the Liar's Club is a good memoir.
Oooh American Gods is good--but personally I found the sequel, Anansi Boys, much more enjoyable! I recommend it strongly if you enjoy Gaiman's work. It is simply amazing.
ReplyDeleteShades of Grey by Jasper Fforde--An intriguing post-apocalyptic and strangely upbeat story, complete with a unique twist on color segregation and forbidden romance.
Anathem by Neal Stephenson--Heavier than the books above, this is a sci-fi that happens to be my favorite book of all time. <3 Like the Princess Bride, it has pretty much everything you could ever want in a story. <3
So, those are 3 of my favorite books. ^_^ Since someone already recommended Susanna Clarke, I assume you've read Strange and Norrell? (<--that is my fourth favorite).
Of course, I don't think we've ever met, and I don't know your genre preferences (though it looks fairly open) so I do expect you'll take this all with a grain of salt. :) Enjoy!
-Erin
@Erin
ReplyDeleteI've heard of Fforde, and am curious to read him.
I ADORE Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.
Fforde is amazing! Shades of Grey is his most incredible work, but if you are looking for something more humorous his Nursery Crime novels are pretty darn good too. ^_^
ReplyDelete~Erin