nilchance: original art from a vintage print; art of a woman being struck by lightning (read naked)
Laughing Lady ([personal profile] nilchance) wrote2011-02-06 06:29 pm

Book recs?

I have access to a library again!

So. What are you reading? What have you read and loved? Non-fiction or fiction. Special love for creepy horror, books like Mary Roach's Stiff, or romance like Nalini Singh's Psy books.

[identity profile] nightwalker.livejournal.com 2011-02-07 12:04 am (UTC)(link)
House of Leaves! It does not get creepier than that book. It's nothing overt, but about 50 pages in you will stop and look around you nervously wondering "Were there always this many windows? Where does that door go? HAS THAT WALL ALWAYS BEEN THERE?!?!"

[identity profile] topaz119.livejournal.com 2011-02-07 01:19 am (UTC)(link)
Well, Mary Roach's Packing for Mars was pretty good, too. :)
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[identity profile] numb3r12.livejournal.com 2011-02-07 02:58 am (UTC)(link)
Non fiction - Running the Books by Steinberg, about a prison librarian
Unbroken by Hillenbrand
fiction - What the night Knows by Koontz - typical of him but I enjoyed it. and now I'm re-reading Sense and Sensibility and the Harry Potters
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[identity profile] shakespearsgrl2.livejournal.com 2011-02-07 03:38 am (UTC)(link)
I'm big into the history stuff right now. Currently going through Martin Gilbert's "The Second World War," which is ginormous but totally worth all the complicated parts for the human anecdotes and tales of valor/compassion prevailing over the horrors of Nazi Germany. Honestly, the thing I love most about it is that it reads a little like a book of folklore or fairy tales sometimes, while still maintaining a good level of factual awareness and accuracy. Also worth noting is that it's written by a British man, so his approach is from a different standpoint than most readily available American WWII histories.

[identity profile] klingoncat.livejournal.com 2011-02-07 07:47 am (UTC)(link)
if you haven't read it...Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, I'm getting ready to re-read it myself

[identity profile] meret.livejournal.com 2011-02-07 12:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Are you familiar with Sheri S. Tepper? She's a wonderful fiction writer. The Family Tree is one of my favorites of hers. Based on what you wrote I think you would like it. It's the only book I've ever read where I actually dropped the book in surprise at something that happened in it. http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780380791972-3

The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future by Riane Eisler is a non-fiction book that had a huge impact on my life. It really changed the way I see the world. http://www.powells.com/biblio/17-9780062502896-6


[identity profile] allthelivesofme.livejournal.com 2011-02-07 07:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Non-fiction: Just finished Zoo Story by Thomas French, which was a really interesting look at behind-the-scenes zoo stuff and animal behavior, but parts of it were seriously depressing.

I picked up Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh a couple of days ago; don't think it's part of the Psy series but it looked really interesting.

[identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/amy_star_/ 2011-02-08 06:50 am (UTC)(link)
The Poisoner's Handbook was very interesting; it's a science biography that kind of also reads like a love letter to the NYC coroner's office in the 20's and 30's.
Fiction-wise, I'm enjoying Kelley Armstrong's mystery series; her paranormal fiction is okay but IMO the Nadia Stafford books are leagues better. There's a new Dennis Lehane, but I haven't read it yet and I find him very hit-or-miss. They're making Patient Zero into a TV series, so you might want to read the books first (I read the first one but got pissed off at the ending; it looks like they are totally mangling the premise for the series but that might be a good thing). It's zombies, so creepy by default but not mind-bending like some are. I haven't read a lot of outright creepy in a while, so I'm eagerly watching the recs come in.