Inspired by SkeptiJess’s entry in the time travel thread – Elleandor Morning – a book that no one else he knows has read.
Guidelines:
[ul]
[li]Fiction[/li][li]Available in an English translation[/li][li]Published by a major publisher (widely available)[/li][/ul]
My entry: The Portage to San Cristobal of A.H. by George Steiner. Nazi hunters find Adolf Hitler – excellent book.
Wanna play? No prizes (sorry!)
Well, Staroamer’s Fate, of course. My wife has read it, and a few of my family, but only about 16,000 others.
There’s also The Carpet Makers by Andreas Eschbach.
Oh, and The Curse of Clifton by Mrs. E.D.E.N. Southworth, a book that few living people have read.
Bride Of The Rat God by Barbara Hambly.
Horrible title, horrible cover art, very nifty fantasy set in Silent Era Hollywood.
The Snouters --by Harald Stumpke. It’s sort of a parody of evolution and biology books. The premise is that, like Darwin’s Galapagos finches, one family of large-nosed mouse-like creatures reached a Pacific island and proceeded to fill all the available niches by evolving into weird forms. Profusely illustrated, with some of the Snouter species looking as if they’re caricatures of the author’s friends. Or enemies. Published by the University of Chicago Press.
See the second entry in the first link below for some pictures. Also the third link:
http://nsm1.nsm.iup.edu/rgendron/Caminalcules.shtml
http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/tall-tales/pacific-islands.html
I’ve seen it mentioned here outside of my bringing it up so I know someone has read it, but once I checked a copy of Nabokov’s Ada out of a library, and the last time someone else had checked it out was 15 years ago! (Of course, that didn’t mean that that person actually read it, most people give up after the first two or three chapters.)
I recommend City of the Dead, by Herbert Lieberman. First published in 1976, this bleak, violent, disturbingly memorable novel reminds me of the best works of John Sandford, Patricia Cornwell, and Thomas Harris. Why Lieberman’s books have gone out of print is a puzzlement.
“L 1 L 2 NJC” by J. J. sephoJ
and
“Nocturnal Vaudeville” by Stephen Scheck
There’s a book called Gog by Andrew Sinclair which I’d be pleasantly surprised if anyone on here had read. It’s high quality, but dated. It’s a postmodern ‘metafiction’ a la Pynchon from the late 60s. I picked it up because David Pringle listed it in his top 100 fantasy novels.
You know how works of art that are heavily stylised tend to date quite badly? Like the top 2 postmodern authors from the 60s might be of timeless quality, but the next 18 might be seen as really poor when read today. Gog puts me in mind of that, it’s a bit plodding and creaky in places. I’ve read very few of this type of novel from British authors though, and it was really cool to see the usual postmod secret history of the world-type stuff infused with a bit of British style and wit.
The Armageddon Rag by George R. R. Martin.
Most definitely not a book like his later works. It’s a mystery, it’s a horror novel, it’s a wonderful trip, so perfectly realized that you’ll start googling “West Mesa”, just in case you somehow missed the concert.
Nick Pollotta’s
Bureau 13
Doomsday Exam
and
Full Moonster
Fun, light fantasy. Wish there were more of them.
If a person thought Hambly’s science fiction was horrid, but LOVED her Benjamin January mystery series … would Bride of the Rat God likely be a good choice?
Read it.
Meditations In Green by Stephen Wright.
Phbbbffffffttttttttttt! 
silenus, read it. Twice. I’ve bought three copies, two for me (one to replace a loaner) and one for my daughter. Hers is signed. Excellent book.
So is mine. Last time I talked to George (which was a looong time ago!), he said that I was the first person to ever approach him with that book to sign.
Nope. One of my favorites. I have two copies. The paperback is falling apart. One scene takes place on my corner.
I’ve read The Carpet Makers and Bride of the Rat God, do I win a prize?
No One Thinks of Greenland
Under the Skin
Bear by Engel (last name)
By Michael Faber? I owned that book for years but never got around to reading it. It’s gone now. Should I have kept it?
Ready, Okay by Adam Cadre. I found this one because he wrote a few very nice text adventures which remain among the most popular, though he withdrew himself entirely from the community a number of years ago.
Okay, it’s not a great book. But it stuck with me, certainly.