Marlon is upset that he is coming to the end of his novel, give him something to read

[sweetprince]

I was at the bookstore today, and I was just struck by the fact that it's a really shitty Barnes & Noble and didn't have the one thing I wanted, but also, that aside from that, I'm so out of the loop on books these days. I haven't read anything not connected to Generation Kill or my work all the way through since...early May. And then it was Cassandra Claire's novel. (Does not count)

Any recommendations? I'll take anything. Sci-fi, romance, YA, fiction, cooking, I don't know. I draw the line at L. Ron Hubbard.

Also, what's a suitable revenge for a roommate who perpetually forgets to flush even after you've told him, HEY DUDE, FLUSH THE GODDAMN TOILET. The plumbing is too new, so I can't flush while he's in the shower and get a satisfying reaction.

Comments

[setissma.livejournal.com]

Have you read the Temeraire books by Naomi Novik? They're fabulous. I've also been enjoying totally ludicrous Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child thrillers. They're just ridiculous enough to qualify as beach-type reads, but smart enough to be entertaining. I like the earlier books in the Pendergast series (starting with The Relic) but Thunderhead and Riptide are entertaining too. Totally pop fiction, but hey. ;)

[trueshellz.livejournal.com]

Well, Sophie Kinsellas books are awesome
I'm hooked on the Twilight Saga right now
Lol
x

[winterweathered.livejournal.com]

You might've already read these, but my favorite cheesy YA rom-com type books are Megan McCafferty's Jessica Darling series - starting with Sloppy Firsts (http://www.amazon.com/Sloppy-Firsts-Novel-Jessica-Darling/dp/0609807900/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248388108&sr=8-1a). The first book came out when I was fourteen and the fifth book came out this spring, and I feel like Jessica Darling is my BFF. And her boyfriend Marcus Flutie is the number one hottest fictional character ever.

I keep raving about The Hour I First Believed (http://www.amazon.com/Hour-I-First-Believed-Novel/dp/0060393491/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248388198&sr=8-1) by Wally Lamb. It's one of the best books I've read in a while.

The most riveting book I've read all year was Columbine (http://www.amazon.com/Columbine-Dave-Cullen/dp/0446546933/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248388219&sr=8-1) by Dave Cullen, but I don't know that I can actually recommend it. It's traumatizing and haunting and awful. I threw up on two separate occasions while I was reading it. It led me to write tens of pages in my journal trying to articulate how it made me feel. But, you know, if you feel like having your heart ripped out of your chest... I couldn't put it down.

[walkawayslowly.livejournal.com]

Flushing the toilet: I find physical violence to be a great motivator. Other than that, have you tried posting truly awesome signs? Like maybe on the back of the door, a picture of a toilet with poo in it that says "don't let this happen to you."

As far as books go, are we talking recent releases? Because I'll second the rec that is not a rec for Columbine. It was chilling and creepy but also fascinating.

Also recent: The Demon's Lexicon, which is something causeways posted about a couple of weeks ago. The author used to be in HP and actually got herself published, and it wasn't like OMG AMAZING, but it was good and had a plot twist at the end that I don't think ANYONE could see coming. No, really.

If you're into pretty straight forward and awesome sci fi, John Scalzi is a recent discovery for me (and now I follow him on twitter!). He's got a trilogy: Old Man's War, The Ghost Brigades, and The Last Colony. Basic premise: So humanity is colonizing the stars, but there are a lot of hostile races out there. The Colonial Defense Forces recruit 75 year olds and somehow make them young again to serve as protecters. After two years you get the chance to become a colonist yourself, etc. It's more complicated than that, of course, but that's PRETTY much what it's about.

And my favorite book in the whole world that I want every single person ever to read is The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. Seriously, Lauren, I love this book so much. It is also sci fi. So did you know that the Jesuits have a plan in place to spread Jesus to alien races should any be discovered? No, really, they do. And when Mary Doria Russell heard of this, she wrote this book. Mankind discovers an alien race and the Jesuit leadership puts together a team of priests and civilians to go evangelize. You know from the beginning of the book that only one of them survives. It's pretty dark but omg, so amazing.

I have a million book recs, by the way. This is one of the things I do all day, so if you want more, let me know! :D

[wpadmirer.livejournal.com]

I just recently discovered Thomas Sniegoski's Remy Chandler series - about an angel who has come to live among the humans, disillusioned by the war between the Morningstar and God.

The first book is A KISS BEFORE THE APOPCALYPSE and the second is DANCING ON THE HEAD OF A PIN, and there's a novella in the collection MEAN STREETS (that has 3 other faves of mine - Jim Butcher, Kat Richardson, and Simon R. Green).

I'd suggest any of those.

WP

[brainmissing.livejournal.com]

I recommend the company novels by Kage Baker! They are engaging and interesting. It's about immortal people recruited to live through history to ensure the survival of the human race. The first book is "In the Garden of Iden". The books are kind of hard to come across in book stores, but I'm sure B&N online or Amazon have them. They don't get TOO ridiculous until the 8th book or so.

[pouletinbondage.livejournal.com]

Read the Arkady Renko series, by Martin Cruz Smith. There are 6: Gorky Park, Polar Star, Red Square, Havana Bay, Wolves Eat Dogs and Stalin's Ghost. Beautifully written and somewhat philosophical detective stories with hot Russians in them!

[starweather.livejournal.com]

Have you read The Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan? They're pretty good =) It's about how there's a Magician Guild within a city, and then there's the 'scum' (or the lowest of the low, really), and the Magicians do this annual purge in which they try to get rid of all of the scum. I read it a while ago.

Ummm, I also recently read Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, which is the first in a series of four. It's set in the future where everyone undergoes an operation that makes them pretty when they turn 16. A girl called Tally befriends another girl who decides that she doesn't want the operation and runs away, and Tally is kind of blackmailed into finding her and exposing an entire community of people who have left the society.

YA novels... I recommend anything by Melina Marchetta, especially On The Jellicoe Road - it's about a girl who's pretty much an orphan after her druggie mother leaves her at the doorstep of her best friend's house. It's a bit hard to explain, the whole book is interspersed with bits of a story set a generation before, but everything links up in the end. It's a really good book.

I also recently read Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, which is really cute.

I have no idea how to fix the roommate thing, sorry x_X Except for like, yelling a lot and nagging and putting signs up everywhere. DID YOU FLUSH THE TOILET? FLUSH THE TOILET, HONEY. And we have a little sign hanging above out toilet that says, "My aim is to keep this bathroom clean. Your aim would help." But that's really more about like, trajectory than flushing. SIGH.

[forcus.livejournal.com]

im reading Dancer From the Dance right now. Its good but I don't think its what you want...also, it makes me sad.

[heavensrepublic.livejournal.com]

I'm a bit late to the party, but more book recs in the world can be nothing but a good thing; I just hope this one isn't obscenely superfluous!

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is absolutely glorious: it is heartbreaking, humorous in somehow both a dark and light-hearted way, WWII-centric and does wonderful things with narrative.

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich is amusing, Nineties and kind of decadent in terms of literature - it's easy reading, but fun.

Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder is not exactly easy-reading, it is an absolute gem: a 'short-course in philosophy' from its origins in Greece right up to 20th century philiosophies but explored within a compelling and intelligent story. Seriously good stuff. Especially if you have studied philosophy: it is worth reading to see where everything fits in chronologically and to read some of Gaarder's twists on the philosophies.

Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman is an absolute must-read; if you're not a big short-stories fan, you will be after you've read this collection. They're predominately fantasy, often dark and very clever. In fact, read anything by Neil Gaiman. Especially Good Omens by he and Terry Pratchett; everything else aside, it's entirely worth it for the comedy factor alone.

I hope I've managed to name something you haven't already read! And I do apologize if I haven't: I realize none of them are exactly unknowns.