Books!

[everdream]

Last night I looked at Amazon's used books website to see if they had 3 books I wanted. They did and with shipping, I got the 3 books for under 20 dollars. I am so excited for this.

The first is Ann Patchett's The Magican's Assistant. I read this book years ago-way before she won fame and recognition for Bel Canto-and it my favorite of hers. Bel Canto and Run are good, solid books but they do NOT compare to this book. It concerns a woman whose husband-a magican-dies and she returns to his family home in Nebraska. It deals with issues of magical realism, a bit of sexual awakening, learning to wake up to one's self, etc. Amazing.

The second is Kindred by Octavie Butler. I have heard how amazing this book is for years but, sadly, I have never read a book by her. I heard her speak twice before she died and always thought of her as an amazing speaker. This is the book that's said to be her best and I greatly look forward to reading it.

Finally, I chose the Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh. He writes about East Asian countries-India, Burma, etc. In this book he looks at a historical Burma at the end of the 19th century and continues into the present. I had this book from the library a long time ago but it got waterlogged and ruined and I was never able to read it. He is a really good writer and I can safely recommend any of his books.

What books have intrigued you lately? Which books just take you by the throat and won't let go?

Comments

[pescana.livejournal.com]

I haven't read the other two, but Kindred is an amazing story. I loved it, she did something I've rarely seen in science fiction and it's beautifully written. I wish I'd gotten to hear her speak, I didn't know she'd died until just recently.

Mostly I've been re-reading a lot of less than stellar fantasy lately, as I do when I'm uncertain and need comfort reading.

[tangledstories.livejournal.com]

I am really, really looking forward to reading it. I'm incredibly picky about buying books and it has to has something that compells me to read it.

Why is fantasy a comfort reading thing for you?

[pescana.livejournal.com]

First things - I went and looked it up, and it's not Kindred I'm thinking of. I did read it, but it's not the book I was talking about; that's Lilith's Brood. I have a version that has three books in one, which I didn't realize when I read it. Kindred was hard for me to read. Very good, but painful. May not be the same for you.

I have read fantasy at least since I discovered The Hobbit in fourth grade, and I could argue that some of what I read before that was fantasy. I don't read new books for comfort, it's going back to ones I've read before. It's escape, it's imagination, it's thinking about the way life could be. I don't read a lot of straight-up fiction, for some reason it doesn't appeal to me much. Fantasy does, even when I find discontinuities and mistakes in it (Anne McCaffrey, Mercedes Lackey). I don't really know why it's comfort, but now you've got me thinking about it.

[photomonk2.livejournal.com]

The book we just read for my LGBT book group was quite good, "Me as Her Again" by Nancy Agabian. It's a memoir sort of thing (subtitled True Stories of an Armenian Daughter). Also just got nominated for a Lambda award.

[tangledstories.livejournal.com]

Lamba award winners tend to be very, very high quality.

Have you ever read a Seahorse Year by Stacy D'Erasmo? It's one of my most favorite books ever and it won a Lambda award in 2004.

[photomonk2.livejournal.com]

We read that one in book group too. I don't remember being overwhelmed by it since I had to think for a minute before knowing we had read it. But, it was also a while ago so I don't remember much.

Is there a link from Amazon to their used book section? There's some fairly obscure whale stuff I would love to seek out... I could simply be oblivious but I didn't see a link from the main site

[tangledstories.livejournal.com]

It's not really a used book section per se.. it's more if you look up the title, it will say "available at (price) used and new". and then give you links to each copy available.

[mistress-of-mad.livejournal.com]

I read Kindred, and it was a fantastic, wonderful book, albeit a sad one too. I really hope you like it!

[tangledstories.livejournal.com]

I remember you mentioning it a while ago (or perhaps Octavia Butler in general). Yesterday, I read about the book again and was inspired to get it.