Rec me some reading

[lunabee34]

thelastgoodname and I are gonna book club it again. We've been doing YA fantasy lit. Previous discussions include Earthsea, Chronicles of Prydain, the Belgariad and the Mallorean, A Wrinkle in Time, Dark is Rising, and Golden Compass series.

Any suggestions for what we should read next?

Comments

[possibly-thrice.livejournal.com]

YOU SHOULD DO HARRY POTTER

I mean.

Uh.

Naomi Novik's Temeraire series?

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

BWHAHAHAHAHAHHAAAHAHAHAHHAAH

We should do Harry Potter. It's so lacking in internet commentary. ;)

I have not read Temeraire, but I saw it at the used bookstore!!!

[possibly-thrice.livejournal.com]

IKNORITE

THIS IS THE TROUBLE WITH LIKING OBSCURE BOOKS

Also you should get it, I recommend highly! 8D

*wonders what other fantasy she has read counts as YA*

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman?

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

I DON'T KNOW. I LIKE MY BOOKS A LITTLE MORE MAINSTREAM AND POPULAR THAN THAT

I have not read much Gaiman, just Good Omens, Neverwhere, and a Study in Emerald, but I like his writing.

All the YA books I can think of at the moment are actually obscure and I don't know if TLGN would have trouble getting a hold of them.

[possibly-thrice.livejournal.com]

YOU'RE SUCH A SHEEPLE-PERSON

I recommend him too!

And yesss. Um. TWILIGHT I mean, uh, how about the Abhorsen trilogy? By Garth Nix?

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

I like it when my men folks glow in the sunlight. Just saying.

[possibly-thrice.livejournal.com]

PFFFT TEAM JACOB ALL THE WAY I mean uh, well, the cat in the Abhorsen trilogy does turn into a man-shaped column of light at one point, I think. Which is quite glowy. Although it may have been underground.

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

I only read the first book. I clearly lose at Goth-chic. *hangs head in shame* LOL

[thelastgoodname.livejournal.com]

No trouble at all: I now live in a real, honest-to-goodness urban area rife with libraries and bookstores. Plus, in the worst case I have funds and an abebooks account.

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

Heeeee. Good to know.

[creedcascade.livejournal.com]

The Gargoyle

By Andrew Davidson

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

Ooooh. *intrigued*

[thelastgoodname.livejournal.com]

Wow. We've read a lot.

Actually, this raises a question: we've been doing series. I think I'd like to stay in that vein; what do you think?

I wouldn't actually mind a re-read of Harry Potter, all in a row rather than picking and choosing my favorite sections like I always do (warning: my favorite line of any book, anywhere, is from the first book, and it's just a phrase, not an entire sentence even: "doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending.").

I think we mentioned Inkworld before, although I've heard mixed reviews. I also think I've heard about the Bartimaeus Trilogy, although wikipedia tells me a fourth book is going to be published at some point which makes it no longer a trilogy.

Let me pull up some comments from the last time we solicited books and see what they say.

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

I am cool with staying with series.

If you wanted to do Harry Potter, I would be totally fine with that. I enjoy the books, so it would definitely not be a hardship and I've read each of them only once.

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

Anything by Frances Hardinge! Her books rock, there's not a bad one in the bunch, and no one seems to have heard of her. "Fly By Night" is her first and also, IMHO, her best, but like I said, they're all awesome, and all stand-alones. (She only has three books so far, but I eagerly await each new one that she writes!) Fly By Night is vaguely similar to Pullman's books only with a great deal more subtext to the politics of the book -- that is, it's making more or less the same point, but not driving the point home with a sledgehammer -- and an awesome Lyra-like heroine; Well Witched (Verdigris Deep in the UK) is a Harry Potter/Dark Is Rising kid-team-vs.-evil story, but with some serious deeper thematic stuff, and I want more people to read it so I can talk about the final plot twist with them, because it's awesome; and Gullstruck Island is about prejudice and imperialism in a fantasy land.

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

These sound really, really interesting. :) Thanks for the recs.

[jjjean65.livejournal.com]

Eragon series? That is if you like dragons n stuff.

Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy series for a bit of fun. :)

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

I've seen my students reading Eragon. That might be a good one.

[jjjean65.livejournal.com]

I liked it, I'm halfway through book two.

[decynthus.livejournal.com]

I recommend the series "Percy Jackson and the Olympians". I adore Greek mythology, and this series brings the old sagas right up to date. (For instance, one ascends to Mount Olympus via the elevator in the Empire State Building.)
The first of the five, "The Lightning Thief" was just made into a movie opening Feb. 12th. It should be a hoot to see Pierce Brosnan as Chiron. :D

Also, Anansi Boys is wonderful. I wouldn't classify it as YA, but it's a great read.

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

That's funny, sineala just posted about those books the other day. http://sineala.livejournal.com/2010/01/25/

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

Those sound really cool! Thanks for the recs. :)

[crevanfox.livejournal.com]

anything by LJ Smith.

Especially Night World (the series) and the Heart of Valor/Night of the Solstice

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

Yay! More good reading stuff. :)