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Anne McCaffrey’s The Tower and the Hive series… though the first 3 books are the biggest pulls in that for me (particularly “Damia”). The 4th is okay, but I can easily skip the last book… it just didn’t do it for me. Though it’s been 8 years since I read that one, so I’ll have to give it another shot next time to see if my opinion’s changed.
Piers Anthony’s Incarnations of Immortality series. Minus the 8th book, at the moment. I’m not sure why he was compelled to publish another book 17 years after the series was done; I own it, but it feels completely unnecessary (which is why I haven’t read it yet). Maybe I have so little faith since he did so craptastically well at wrapping up the Mode series after an 8-year hiatus. 😕
Piers Anthony’s Apprentice Adept series. I would never say it’s for everyone, but it makes me happy.
Patricia A. McKillip’s “The Forgotten Beasts of Eld”.
Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Saga. I just zipped through that series this week… I know I’ll be coming back. Repeatedly. And soon. I was actually kinda hoping I wouldn’t get all the hype, but it didn’t end up that way… I feel ridiculously like a rabid teenage fangirl right now :oops:. I’ll have to hold off on the movie for a bit though… it’s too soon for them to mess with the images and story in my head.
I re-read On a Pale Horse frequently, but not the others so much.
I used to have the Forgotten beasts, but I don’t think I have it anymore, good story though…the Lorelyn was answering her all along, she just didn’t recognize it.
Kyrin
Jennifer wrote:kitsunelady wrote:… you don’t like Anne McCaffrey? =0 Or you just haven’t read them?
I am a dragon FIEND and I must admit that I truly do not like her books, and I’ve read several (and tried to read others). >_o;;
Phew, I’m glad I’m not the only one! 😳 I read a couple of her books as a college student and they just didn’t do anything for me.
Kyrin, that Mermaid’s Song by Alida Van Gores sounds quite interesting–pity it’s so hard to find. It’s past time people had a mermaid story where they didn’t need humans!
That’s like my very-cherished copy of The Wolf King that I paid nearly $100 for and is a trifle hard to come by 😆 so of course my cat had to start gnawing on that one book in all my collection. 🙄Maebnus3 wrote:Piers Anthony’s Apprentice Adept series. I would never say it’s for everyone, but it makes me happy.
That’s one I’ve got on my shelf and have been meaning to re-read. I have to rebuy the last book in the series though since it disappeared during the move. 😡
I love those old dog-eared favorites that you read over and over…I can practically recite some of them, but they’re still a joy each and every time.
I never tire of David Eddings Elenium and Tamuli series, or Lackey’s Gryphon series, Howl’s Moving castle, a few choice favorites from Piers Anthony (I still get a kick out of Xanth. I like puns, what can I say?), The Book of Night With Moon…I also never tire of my favorite graphic novels, Digger, Sandman, Fables, and Girl Genius.
I never really managed to get into the Pern series either. There were a few I enjoyed, like Dolphins of Pern, but overall, her writing style just didn’t engage me. It’s not that it was flawed, it just..didn’t mesh. I really, really tried to like it!
Tally Mark,
You might want to consider reading McCaffery’s Crystal Singer series, that is one I read over and over. Her ship series is also good, Ship Who Sang and The Ship Who Searched that she co-wrote with Lackey are my two favorites.
McCaffery has so many stories, that one series or another might appeal, even with others don’t.
Oh, that reminds me of another writer I have read over and over…Marion Zimmerman Bradley, specifically her Hawkmistress book, oh I love that story.
Kyrin
Maebnus3 wrote:Patricia A. McKillip’s “The Forgotten Beasts of Eld”.
Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Saga. I just zipped through that series this week… I know I’ll be coming back. Repeatedly. And soon. I was actually kinda hoping I wouldn’t get all the hype, but it didn’t end up that way… I feel ridiculously like a rabid teenage fangirl right now :oops:. I’ll have to hold off on the movie for a bit though… it’s too soon for them to mess with the images and story in my head.
I ADORE the Forgotten Beasts of Eld! That was one of my favorite books in elementary school. I used to figure it out in my head: my pet iguana could be the dragon, my pony could be the unicorn, I’d have a cat of course (wasn’t there a large feline, too? It’s been so long since I read that book…) and of course I’d have a tame cockatiel to be that magical bird thing. And then I could pretend that I had all the forgotten beasts in my backyard.
Also, Twilight. What is the deal with it? I don’t understand! Someone I watch on LiveJournal quoted a good deal of the first chapter, and I have to say, the writing is /terrible/ unless I’m very mistaken. People love it, though! Is it worth reading? I mean, President-elect Obama is even reading it with his daughter. But from what I’ve seen… it’s so, so bad. I don’t get it. Does the writing improve after the first chapter??? I couldn’t even bring myself to enjoy the characters because the writing was so bad, and the story… well. It just struck me as whiny and angsty, and there really wasn’t anything there that made me want to keep reading, except perhaps a fascination with how amazingly bad it was.
If there’s something I’m missing, please forgive me for bashing a book I haven’t even read all the way through… Is it just something you have to love from the start, or is it one of those things that grow on you over time?
And here I am, dragging us slightly off topic. I really am curious, though.
Other books I absolutely love, but haven’t re-read, are The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho (Maya Hill actually turned me onto this one… It’s amazing), and Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. I intend to reread these very soon.
Chessapeaka wrote:Also, Twilight. What is the deal with it? I don’t understand! Someone I watch on LiveJournal quoted a good deal of the first chapter, and I have to say, the writing is /terrible/ unless I’m very mistaken. People love it, though! Is it worth reading? I mean, President-elect Obama is even reading it with his daughter. But from what I’ve seen… it’s so, so bad. I don’t get it. Does the writing improve after the first chapter??? I couldn’t even bring myself to enjoy the characters because the writing was so bad, and the story… well. It just struck me as whiny and angsty, and there really wasn’t anything there that made me want to keep reading, except perhaps a fascination with how amazingly bad it was.
If there’s something I’m missing, please forgive me for bashing a book I haven’t even read all the way through… Is it just something you have to love from the start, or is it one of those things that grow on you over time?
😀 Bash away, I won’t hold it against you. It does seem to be a love or hate thing, from what I’ve seen; I don’t recall hearing anyone say they read the whole thing and still just thought it was ‘okay’. (Oh, and the criticism for how they look in sunlight! Geez, people forget it’s a story. I like it 😛 It reminds me of the invisible paint Melody uses!) I don’t think the first chapter is enough to judge the entire series though (just being Bella’s intro, really), unless you think you won’t be able to get beyond the writing style (I can’t say I noticed a change in that).
I will agree, though, that the whining is really irritating. I mean, really… I imagine having a main character with [needlessly] low self-esteem connects her to some of the intended readers out there, but it grated on my nerves (oh, to have her kind of misfortune!). But if you can get past some of that, you might enjoy it. Or not. :shrug:
A few other, more “off the beaten path” Anne McCaffrey titles: Restoree, Dinosaur Planet, and Dinosaur Planet Survivors. The first is essentially a romance; the other two are fun sci-fi with some very entertaining species. 🙂
Maebnus3 wrote:Chessapeaka wrote:Also, Twilight. What is the deal with it? I don’t understand! Someone I watch on LiveJournal quoted a good deal of the first chapter, and I have to say, the writing is /terrible/ unless I’m very mistaken. People love it, though! Is it worth reading? I mean, President-elect Obama is even reading it with his daughter. But from what I’ve seen… it’s so, so bad. I don’t get it. Does the writing improve after the first chapter??? I couldn’t even bring myself to enjoy the characters because the writing was so bad, and the story… well. It just struck me as whiny and angsty, and there really wasn’t anything there that made me want to keep reading, except perhaps a fascination with how amazingly bad it was.
If there’s something I’m missing, please forgive me for bashing a book I haven’t even read all the way through… Is it just something you have to love from the start, or is it one of those things that grow on you over time?
😀 Bash away, I won’t hold it against you. It does seem to be a love or hate thing, from what I’ve seen; I don’t recall hearing anyone say they read the whole thing and still just thought it was ‘okay’. (Oh, and the criticism for how they look in sunlight! Geez, people forget it’s a story. I like it 😛 It reminds me of the invisible paint Melody uses!) I don’t think the first chapter is enough to judge the entire series though (just being Bella’s intro, really), unless you think you won’t be able to get beyond the writing style (I can’t say I noticed a change in that).
I will agree, though, that the whining is really irritating. I mean, really… I imagine having a main character with [needlessly] low self-esteem connects her to some of the intended readers out there, but it grated on my nerves (oh, to have her kind of misfortune!). But if you can get past some of that, you might enjoy it. Or not. :shrug:
LoL. I dunno, I’m reading it for the second time (before I go to be tormented by the movie, which looks pretty bad). I can’t really say WHY I like it, exactly…but the angsting doesn’t really bother me. At least she doesn’t cry constantly – I know I couldn’t stand it if she did. And let’s face it, most teenagers are self-centered whiners (in their minds, if not reality), so it’s not that far of the mark. I don’t think people lose that self-centeredness until after high school (if at all), at the latest. XD So if Bella ‘whines’ a lot (and it’s first person, so you’ll hear it ALL)…well, that’s life. As for her self-esteem, I reckon most highschoolers have pretty low levels. Kids can be pretty brutal to each other at that age. I don’t think her self esteem is too low or unrealistic. o.o; Everyone has things about themselves they don’t like. Now, if she was perfect – good self esteem, no personality or physical flaws, extremely confident in her relationships…I’d be bored out of my mind. I think it’s the learning to overcome her problems that interests me. >.>
I’d at least give it more of a chance than the intro. XD Usually I have to read at least one or two chapters before I decide a book is hopeless (for me) and toss it.
I’m reading Memoirs of a Geisha, and I can’t put it down. I am also reading Outlander, but that is my book for work, and Geisha is my book for home.
Kyrin
Fortress in the Eye of Time by Cj Cherryh. I love, love this book! It’s so rich and in depth, and different. But beware, it can be a difficult read, but well worth it!
Keeper of the Fledgings
You guys mentioned so many of the books I re-read that it’s scary! Beauty, though, is an all time favorite – I also really liked Sunshine and have re-read that.
Ditto the Vanyel trilogy – always makes me cry.
The In Death series – I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve read books in it.
I also read a lot of romance and re-read early Linda Howards and Amanda Quick/Jayne Ann Krentz books when I’m stressed. Which brings me to a story…
A few weeks ago I drove to Ithaca because a friend was having a memorial service for his parents. Pat’s dad died during the summer in AZ but he had been the Cayuga Heights fire chief and so the family decided to inter his and their mom’s ashes in the cemetary there. While staying with them there were a lot of kids and someone stole a very beloved copy of Ravished by Amanda Quick. Other kids and I saw the book on my bed – then it was gone and was never seen again. I was so upset. I wasn’t feeling well and starting to worry I really did have cancer (this was just before the diagnosis – found out that next Friday). Well, my friend, Suki, emailed Jayne Ann Krentz the story and told her how sick I was and what I huge fan I am. And told her I was the person from NJ who went to her book signing in Hawaii! A couple of weeks later – on Halloween! – I got a personalized copy with a really nice note. She remembered me from Hawaii and wished me well. She is just the nicest lady!
So, kitsunelady, it never hurts to ask!
And, Rusti, a friend of mine met James Herriot a couple years before his death. Evidently he had such bad arthritis that he would sign book plates very slowly at home and give those to people – it evidently was just too painful to do book signings toward the end for him.
I’ve met Alan Dean Foster in person, he is the nicest person, and cute too. 🙂 Got him to myself for about 20 mins, that was so neat. We were at the same convention and he was the GOH, and I had a table next to the bookseller and during set up he came by to sign a few books real quick.
So we talked for a short while, which was cool as he is one of my favorite writers. So neat to get to meet him. A friend of mine is friends with Tanya Huff, and she offered to get some of my books written by her signed, I need to do that.
I’ve read Sunshine, but once was enough, I was kinda disappointed in it, since I usually like Robin McKinley, but it just fell flat.
Kyrin
Kyrin wrote:I’ve met Alan Dean Foster in person, he is the nicest person, and cute too. 🙂 Got him to myself for about 20 mins, that was so neat. We were at the same convention and he was the GOH, and I had a table next to the bookseller and during set up he came by to sign a few books real quick.
So we talked for a short while, which was cool as he is one of my favorite writers. So neat to get to meet him. A friend of mine is friends with Tanya Huff, and she offered to get some of my books written by her signed, I need to do that.
I’ve read Sunshine, but once was enough, I was kinda disappointed in it, since I usually like Robin McKinley, but it just fell flat.
Kyrin
I hate to say it, but Sunshine didn’t really tickle my fancy either. >.>; Mystery. I usually like vampires…
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