I've finished reading The iron witch. It's a fairly good read; reminds me a book of the skullduggery books that I have read of well, in the way its presenting but it is different just the same as well.
Guivre - :lol: That was funny! :P Come to think of it... The only non fiction I've read really is school text books :shock: (if you call those non fiction) I think I ought to find at least one book to add to my list for this years challenge that is non fiction :yes: Got any suggestions perhaps?
Beauty - Nice! Is Iron Witch about witches? Hopefully that's not too much of a silly question. I know it's in the title but that doesn't necessarily mean that's what its about right?! Anyway... :stare: What was it about?
Colorsbold - Well since you read a lot of non fiction perhaps you too can suggest a book I can add to my list so that it's not so full of fiction! :XD
I added the last books I bought to the 'to-read' section on my Goodreads so hopefully that will encourage me to, y'know, read them. They're sitting in a pile in front of my bookcase (it is imperative to own more books than you have space for) and taunting me.
I love your h2g2 themed challenge and poor impulse control section, colors. :lol:
@C'ara C'arn -- Right now I'm reading Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. It's pretty good so far. I started it not knowing my boyfriend had read it twice, and he normally hates rereading things because it's repetitive.
@Carn: Yay! I definitely have to second Guivre's recommendation. Blink and The Tipping Point are both really good nonfiction by Malcolm Gladwell. They're insighhtful, engaging, make you think. :)
More nonfiction recommendations. Sorry I talk so much!X
Mary Roach also writes excellent nonfiction, with the added bonus that she's ridiculously funny. Most nonfiction can be a little dry-- hers is not. She chooses oddball, contentious subjects, researches them to death, and then cracks jokes about really interesting info for a few hundred pages. From her, I like Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex and Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers.
If you like psychology at all, there's an interesting book which details how we respond to visual cues, what we find attractive and why... it's called Survival of the Prettiest by Nancy Ectoff.
I also recently read a narrative biography of a WWII hero/ Olympian runner: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. It starts off pretty slow, but when you get a few chapters into it you become really engaged in Louie's story. The middle of the book is harrowing and you will literally feel compelled to keep reading.
Since you don't normally read nonfiction, Mary Roach might be the best bet-- she's so funny that it's refreshing. And Unbroken is nonfiction which reads like a story, so that might help too. :yes:
@Kat Magenta: I'm glad you approve! Also: pile in front of the bookshelf, yesyesyes! I just picked up four books from the library bookstore. I wanted five (make that really poor impulse control, but I tried). So I have a brand new pile in front of mine too. :P
@all:I love rereading! You know, like addicts love a fix? So I'm trying to cut back this year. It was my resolution. Viva la new books!
Reading completely new books all the time feels dangerous, though. Do you ever read books specifically because you're in a certain mood? When I'm sad, I want to read "safe" books (like Harry Potter). New books are intimidating-- they could say anything. What if I begin and then realize the book was written by a misogynist? Things like that just ruin my day. :no:
Last edited by colorsbold; 05-03-2011 at 10:36 PM..
That's why when I see a book I might like, I check it out from the libarary first so that I don't wind up wasting money on a book that I don't like at all.
Kat - :lol: I know what you mean! My bookshelves are way over full :gonk:
Guivre - Ah thanks! That looks pretty good :yes: I think I am going to try it out. :lol: He doesn't like to reread books?! I do that all the time :XD
Taiyo - I agree :yes: I've read the ealier ones though many times. Have you ever read the manga Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou? I reread that one alllll the time!
Colorsbold - Thanks for all the suggestions! I'll be sure to check those out and put thenm on a list to try.
Request for assistance from everyone: can you recommend little girl books?
There's a little girl I babysit, aged 9, very sweet, who is enthusiastic about reading in a limited way.
She loves Nancy Drew, and by this measure insists that she loves mysteries.
She also really likes the Main Street series and the American Girl series-- little kid drama, but somewhat neutered.
I got her onto The Royal Diaries and Dear America a few months back... so she's read almost all of those. :lol:
She loved The Princess Diaries and Ella Enchanted. She claims not to like fantasy, despite liking Ella Enchanted, but I have seen evidence that she really enjoys fantasy as long as it's female driven. The catch is, she likes Princessy females-- I doubt the Alanna series would appeal to her at all. She enjoyed Emily Windsnap rather a lot, and likes Gail Carson Levine's shorter princess books.
Most of what she reads is simple in format, with a linear plot and not too sophisticated just yet. She is not a fan of Harry Potter; she hasn't read them, but was turned off by the movies. She's reticent about reading The Lightning Thief. Terribly old fashioned language (think Dickensian) doesn't work well for her.
Does anyone have some good, not-to-common Girly Book recommendations for this very literate 9 year old? Feel free to give me a list.
I was thinking Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix. And then after that I draw a blank. Help is so appreciated! Her birthday's coming up, and this kid's a bit tricky to shop for. Her parents get her most contemporary popular books, so if you have something that isn't as commonly known that would be great. :angel:
Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou.
Last edited by colorsbold; 05-04-2011 at 05:38 AM..
Hmm... Well if she ever gets into Sci-Fi, The Kris Longknife Series by Mike Shepherd is pretty good with a strong female lead :yes: (Maybe a little adult oriented? I'm not sure) But anyway... Other than that I don't really know of too many books for younger girls.
Quote:
She's reticent about reading The Lightning Thief.
Make her read them!!! :illgetu: It's a great series! Well.. That's just my opinion anyway ^^!
Let's see... She might like the Web of Magic series by Rachel Roberts, there is indeed a princess in the series, but it might take a little bit for her to be known. The first book is called Circles in the Stream if I remember correctly.
The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale is an interesting take on princesses. I liked it when I read it. Yes, I still love kid books.
Gah, I read not girly and was going to suggest the Artemis Fowl books. As a wee lass I think I rebelled against the princesses. XD
I'm a terrible judge of what is age appropriate but if you think she would understand and not be too frightened by Coraline that's a good dark fantasy story and could possibly appeal to a love of mysteries. There's a graphic novel adaptation too.
@Carn: I'll try, I promise! Her dad's in on it too. He's actually bribing her to read the series this summer, so finger's crossed.
Also: yes, yes she does have the coolest dad ever. I want to be bribed! :lol:
@Papillon: Oooh! The Princess Academy sounds like a really good bet.
@Kat: She saw Coraline in theatres and was scared by it. Which made me really, really sad.
:P I'm like you guys. I read fantasy of all types, and enjoy tons of adventure. Alexia requires that the primary storyline be a little girly; it's so sad! I'd like to get her into Artemis Fowl or The Graveyard Book or The Hobbit, but I don't think she'll buy in. Same goes for anything with a lot of warfare or spacesuits. It makes my inner bookworm cry.
I just have to wait until her little brother ages up. Then it's all Ender's Game all the time. :yes:
@Kitami: Eeeps! Yep. That book got me too. And I never did finish reading the series... I lost momentum because of the war descriptions. Good luck!
I'm still not finished with it! :lol:
I was running errands today and didn't really have time. I hope I can finish it by tomorrow afternoon, but I dunno...
I will get it done soon though; I have less than 80 pages left. :yes:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Car'a'Carn
Kitami - Yeah! Go Kitami! :squee:
:lol: -puts you in a cheerleader uniform-
Quote:
Originally Posted by TaiyoTsuki
There's some books that never get old, no matter how many times you reread them. I've found the Harry Potter books to be like that.
That's totally true. :yes: For me, those books are the Harry Potter books, both of Laurell K. Hamilton's series (Anita Blake and Merry Gentry), Good Omens and Pride & Prejudice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by colorsbold
Request for assistance from everyone: can you recommend little girl books?
There's a little girl I babysit, aged 9, very sweet, who is enthusiastic about reading in a limited way.
She loves Nancy Drew, and by this measure insists that she loves mysteries.
She also really likes the Main Street series and the American Girl series-- little kid drama, but somewhat neutered.
I got her onto The Royal Diaries and Dear America a few months back... so she's read almost all of those. :lol:
She loved The Princess Diaries and Ella Enchanted. She claims not to like fantasy, despite liking Ella Enchanted, but I have seen evidence that she really enjoys fantasy as long as it's female driven. The catch is, she likes Princessy females-- I doubt the Alanna series would appeal to her at all. She enjoyed Emily Windsnap rather a lot, and likes Gail Carson Levine's shorter princess books.
Most of what she reads is simple in format, with a linear plot and not too sophisticated just yet. She is not a fan of Harry Potter; she hasn't read them, but was turned off by the movies. She's reticent about reading The Lightning Thief. Terribly old fashioned language (think Dickensian) doesn't work well for her.
Does anyone have some good, not-to-common Girly Book recommendations for this very literate 9 year old? Feel free to give me a list.
I was thinking Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix. And then after that I draw a blank. Help is so appreciated! Her birthday's coming up, and this kid's a bit tricky to shop for. Her parents get her most contemporary popular books, so if you have something that isn't as commonly known that would be great. :angel:
Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou.
Hmm...I don't know. When I was that age, I liked these books about Sabrina the Teenage Witch called Salem's Tails. They were about her talking black cat, Salem. And I also read The Babysitter's Club, Sweet Valley High and Sweet Valley Twins. Also, the Bunnicula series (vegetable-vampire rabbit). And I liked the Dear America books...
Um. What about The Spiderwick Chronicles or A Series of Unfortunate Events? Has she read either of those? The Spiderwick Chronicles is about these kids who get mixed up with the world of Faerie. Its a pretty great fantasy series. They're really neat books. I don't know if she would like A Series of Unfortunate Events because they can be sad, but its a very cool series if you can deal with that.
I'll try to think of some more too. :yes:
I think I can get her into Spiderwick. I haven't been able to convince her of The Series of Unfortunate Events yet, although I hope that I can-- those books have such a wonderful sense of humor! I don't know if she'll see the humor despite the plot, though. Happy-ending plot is her go-to.
There's hope, still. She read and enjoyed The Chronicles of Narnia, so there has to be hope for the classic series.
:hug: Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions!
@Kitami: Is it the first time you've ever read it? And have you read the whole series? Because if this is the first time, I might do a mad dash to catch up to you as a motivation to finish book 2... :)
@all: Does anyone here like Max Barry? Even if you don't... he needs help choosing a book cover! This is cool because a.) he gets a say in choosing his own book cover and b.) the idea of looking at a cover and thinking, 'I helped choose that one!' in a bookstore is super-fun.
What do you all think? Go let him know. I think I would be more likely to pick up/examine number 6. Meanwhile, number 5 has a ton of personality. What to do?...
@wickedwonderland: My spidey-senses perhaps detect a fan of fan-fiction?
colorsbold -- the cover contest is fantastic! I envision almost an entirely different book for each one. I like cover #3, but #6 intrigues me more and would make me want to read the book. I think that means the cover is working ...
Colors:: This is the first time I've read it, yeah. And once I get it read, it'll be the first time I read the whole series through. :yes:
I read the Hobbit when I was like 12, but I didn't start reading the LotR trilogy til sometime last year.
They're going to make a movie of the Hobbit, and I'm excited about that. They're going to do it the same way the LotR movies were done.
I haven't even seen the movies of the books, because I wanted to wait til I finished them all.
I think Jennifer Government is the only Max Barry book that's been published in the UK. If not then they're hiding the rest really well. I like Cover 1 for the entirely unhelpful reason that it reminds me of the UK cover of Halting State by Charles Stross.
