Headed to the bookstore in 30 minutes... (quick recommendations!)

Cafe Society
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I have to return a phone at one store and pick something up at another. Both of these errands put me right next to a bookstore. Let me tell you: I’m not one to pass up a bookstore without buying something. I’d like to pick up something good, and not just whatever crap happens to mildly pique my interest.

So, without further ado, let’s hear some quick recommendations! The degree of difficulty is pretty high as I’m headed there right now. It will be about 30 minutes to an hour before I’m in the bookstore though. And I will be checking in on this thread via my blackberry.

Authors/Works I like, off the top of my head: Neil Gaiman, China Mieville (Perdido Street Station, not much else), Tom Wolfe, Ferroll Sams, The Godfather, The Snarkout Boys & The Avocado of Death, HST, Lonesome Dove, Shogun, Garth Ennis, Bill Bryson, some Harlan Ellison, Dune, The Killer Angels, and World War Z.

Things that will grab my attention: swordsmanship, Elvis, comedy, world politics, strategy, history, travel, anything irreverent (e.g. Tucker Max), bars/taverns, making things, espionage, cooking, college football, Monty Python, and the Beatles.

I also like good nonfiction (e.g. JM Robert’s History of the World, The Undercover Economist, GTD) or anything else that’s just really good writing.

Hopefully I haven’t given you too much to work with. So fire out some recs! Help me buy something worthwhile! Gracias.

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Off the top of my head:

Not sure if it’s still in print, but: *The Iron Dragon’s Daughter *by Michael Swanwick - wicked urban fantasy for lovers of Gaiman and Mieville.

Other than that, some fairly new stuff and recent reprints:
Susanna Clarke: The Ladies of Grace Adieu
John Crowley: The Solitudes
Caitlín Kiernan: *Daughter of Hounds *
Tanith Lee: Piratica (Youth fiction, but fun read in any case)

I just finished Fatherland by Robert Harris which was foisted upon me by a friend. Alternate “what if the Nazis had won”-history, very noir and kind of cliché when it comes to characters, but makes for a good recreational read.

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Sharpe’s Eagle, Bernard Cornwell: In this first in the epic series, Captain Richard Sharpe, bold, professional, and ruthless, prepares to lead his men against the armies of Napoleon in what will be the bloodiest battle of the war. Sharpe has earned his captaincy, but there are others who have bought their commissions despite their incompetence. After their cowardly loss of the regiment’s colors, their resentment toward the upstart Sharpe turns to treachery, and Sharpe must battle his way through sword fights and bloody warfare to redeem the honor of his regiment.

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A.J. Jacobs: The Year of Living Biblically

Non fiction (and hillarious) account of an aethiest who decides to spend 1 year following the bible as literally as humanly possible. By the author of The Know it All, the non fiction (and hillarious) account of a man who decides to read the
Encylcopedia Britanica from cover to cover.
It has a real Bill Bryson feel to it, and will be found in the comedy section of your bookstore.

eta: did I submit my suggestion in time?

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All My Sins Remembered and Tool of the Trade, both by Joe Haldeman, are two of the best scifi espionage books I’ve ever read. The first is about a spy for a distant-future galactic republic who “becomes” so many people over his career that he starts to lose his own sense of identity. The second is about a Soviet sleeper agent in the U.S., a science faculty member at MIT, who discovers a practical means of mind control, and decides to use it in… interesting ways. Both are masterful, very fun reads.

Aztec by Gary Jennings is a terrific historical novel, set before and during the Spanish conquest of Mexico.

Fevre Dream and Tuf Voyaging, both by George R.R. Martin, are a terrific vampire novel and a funny but ultimately chilling “absolute power corrupts absolutely” scifi tale, respectively.

All very highly recommended.

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Ok - at the store right now. Thanks for all the awesome suggestions. I’m perusing - I’ll let you know who (other than me) “wins”!

Doctor Who

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Well, if your name starts with an “E”, congratulations!!!

Here’s the breakdown:

Grammanaut — they didn’t have the Iron Dragon’s Daughter. However, in case you didn’t know, Swanwick has a sequel out as of '07.

As for the rest, already read Clarke. The others were out-of-stock (but look interesting - especially Solitudes - Amazon here I come!)

I didn’t check out Fatherland. You turned me off with the use of “foisted” and “cliche”. :slight_smile:

Eleanor - I went with Sharpe’s Eagle as you recommended, although according to one edition there’s another book that’s first. I didn’t know if it was some sort of “Magician’s Nephew is first” revisionism, so I stuck with your recommendation.

NAF1138 - intriguing, especially since I liked know-it-all. Still in hardcover though, too damn expensive. If I was getting on a plane, I would have bought it. As it is, I’m gonna grab it used. Thanks for the recommendation.

Elendil’s Heir - loved all the recs, but of course, my bookstore went down swinging. I’ll definitely check out Haldeman’s books. They didn’t have Aztec either although they had a few sequels. They did have Fevre Dream, though, which I’ve seen recommended on SDMB before, so I decided to pick it up too.

Thanks for all your help! Apologies for any typos - this message lovingly henpecked on my tiny blackberry.

Doctor Who

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*Eagle *was the first one published. He wrote some prequels later, but they are not as good as Eagle, in my opinion. Hope you like it!

And I loved Fevre Dream.

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If you liked know-it-all, I very highly recomend it. I think it is a better book than know-it-all, and it is sort of a continuation at the same time. A lot of his experiences from that book inform what he is doing in this book. Also, there is a lot with his kid and his wife and the rest of his family. All good stuff.

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Bah, I knew I shouldn’t have said “foisted”. :stuck_out_tongue:

Thanks for the tip about Swanwick’s sequel! Will be off to the local SF bookstore to see if I can have them dig up a copy for me.

As for Crowley, I’m reading Love & Sleep at the moment, which is the one following Solitudes. It’s even more absorbing than the first one. Thumbs up!

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Just remember that Solitudes is a re-titling of Aegypt…

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Yes! I should have mentioned that. Thanks for spotting it.

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Well, I love some of John Crowley’s books - I’m down for a copy of the Little, Big 25th anniversary edition - but my 1st edition hardback copy of Aegypt (bought the day it came out!) is languishing on a shelf with a bookmark in it about 1/2 way through… I have the whole set in hardback but keep putting off any serious attempt to read them.

But I did finally finish the Swanwick mentioned above after owning it for 15 years! I decided to finally read it when I heard about the sequel coming out! Which is now on a shelf awaiting my attention sometime! I really enjoyed The Iron Dragon’s Daughter but something about it put me off the first time around…

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I know what you mean, although it’s difficult to put a finger on it. I do remember having trouble with the language occasionally, as in, losing track of who did what and where in the surroundings the characters were placed.

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I may just have to bump the ‘read Crowley’ project ahead of the Mars project and the Baroque project! :wink:

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A very wise choice, if I do say so myself. Although reading Crowley is a bit of an on-and-off project for me and other people I know - to quote a friend reading Little, Big: “It’s like eating your way through a gigantic layer cake; it’s incredibly tasty and with so many nuances, but so filling you have to come up for breath every now and then”.

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I actually liked Fatherland quite a bit. It and Len Deighton’s SS-GB are the two best “What if the Nazis won WWII?” books out there, IMHO.

Please don’t waste your time on any of the Aztec sequels. The original is the only one worth reading. The second was badly written from notes left by the now-deceased author of the original, and the rest have been slapped together by God knows who. Blech.

You’re in for a treat with Fevre Dream! Email me when you’re done; I’d love to know what you think.