I’ve read the Wolfe books and will probably re-read them someday. I bought Silverlock on a Doper rec (probably you, DungBeetle) and have started it a couple of times, but something else always pushes its way in and I put it down.
Oo, I’m glad to see this recommended. I just finished Arturo Perez-Reverte’s The Club Dumas (the inspiration for the film The Ninth Gate, and better than that!), and that book was given to the main character by one of the other characters. It intrigued me when I read that reference, as I hadn’t heard of the book before.
Tough, if not impossible, to find at a store, is my favorite book of all time :
Dream World by Kent Winslow.
Two books by B. Traven :
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
and
Joe
An old one, The Joyous Season by Patrick Dennis, dated but hysterical.
I just ordered The Beaver Papers, even with shipping, it’s cheap.
Yes. Yes. Yes! The Death Ship. What a magnificent book! I swear I was in the fireroom shoveling coal with him. Very few books can bring you into the story like this one. Thanks for reminding me of it.
I just bought an autographed copy of Alan Zweibel’s “Bunny Bunny.” This has long been one of my absolutely most favorite books: A story of Zweibel’s deep friendship with “Gilbert” (as he called Gilda Radner).
Oh, wow! I hope you enjoy it (since I mentioned it).
As someone who watched a lot of LitB in reruns, it was just hilarious. The running jokes are a good part of it: all of the ways that the brothers end the episodes with the lights being turned off but the radiance persisting is good, as is the ever-increasing transparency of fellow character Stanley Farfara (who played Whitey Whitney) was also a source of joy. Be ready for more cultural references than you can shake a stick at.
Another one that I have suggested on this board (but is, alas, no longer in print…the book, not the board) is a book entitled “Moses May Have Been an Apache” and Other Actual Facts by Cully Abrell and John Thompson. It’s a spoof on the “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not” books, and is endlessly amusing.
I’ve recently waxed enthusiastic about it in this thread.
I love that book, MizTina, and spent years trying to remember the title. Thank Og for the SDMB.
…and welcome!
I had heard of it, Heck, my family has owned a copy of it for many years (a dutch edition published in the 1800’s) But, I had never read it until I saw it mentioned again in “The Club Dumas” Which I think was a damn fine book. I really liked his book “the fencing master” as well.
Now if I can ever find a copy of “the Weapon and the Mourning board” by a man with the last name of Verspek.
Osip
“Hiroshima Joe” by Martin Booth. I read it 4 years ago and am still haunted.
So serendipitous, Delphica…I was about to mention those two, and include MFK Fisher’s collection of writing, “The Art of Eating”
I think the Renay book was a book of the month selection, because my mom had it and I must have read it dozens of times as a young child. Why, I have no idea, but I found it fabulously melodramatic
My favorite to give is “All Over But The Shoutin’” by Rick Bragg. He has a real gift.
Any of Sharon Shinn’s novels about Samaria. I love the language and the stories but my friends find them dull. I’ve also recently gotten into steam punk and live both the adult Parasol Protectorate and YA Finishing School series by Gail Carriger. I have those in both physical and audio forms.
All of Rick Bragg’s writing is excellent. he has a new biography of Jerry Lee Lewis which is by all accounts excellent. I haven’t read it yet because I’m expecting it as a Christmas present. if I don’t get it, I’ll be pissed!
I have almost all of his books. My copy of “All Over” was signed by him at reading he gave in Atlanta.
Good luck with your Christmas list!
People mentioned Cryptonomicon a few times in this thread, but my favorite underread book by Neal Stephenson has to be Anathem. It starts as a sort of alternate Earth / inverted world novel where math and science are only known / discussed inside cloistered monastaries and the rest of the world exists in officially-imposed ignorance. It has a very odd structure in which it starts out pretty dense and cryptic and imposing and slowly twists and turns into being a much accessible sci-fi novel. A fun book with some cool ideas rolled up in there.
Not something I’d recommend to EVERYBODY, but I think the reputation of the dense language of the beginning steered away a lot of readers who might otherwise enjoy it. I don’t think it’s super obscure, but I haven’t met anybody else who’s actual read it.
Actually, Little, Big won the 1982 World Fantasy Award and also was named as part of the Western Canon by critic Harold Bloom. It IS an incredible book and probably SHOULD be as well known as “Lord of the Rings” but it’s not unknown.Link.
I read Jennifer Government years ago and thought just days ago that I should reread it. I even had an account on the online game. Dork!
I thought I’d take a look on Goodreads at books I gave five stars to see what is the book with the fewest number of ratings.
The answer is:
Mystery in the Night Woods, by John Peterson, at 26. It’s a children’s book, though, so the first grown up contender is:
The Devil in the Dust, by Chaz Brenchley, at 53. Really outstanding epic fantasy.