A Survey about Books

  1. I have a lot. The Golden Compass is one of my favorites, mainly because of the daemons. It's just such a great concept that the book didn't even have to be amazing in order for me to enjoy it, and yet it is; it has a gripping plot, wonderful characters, interesting ideas. But sorry, I know that everyone loves to rave about that series.

  2. The book I enjoyed most so far this year was An Unseen Attraction by KJ Charles. It's a lurid mystery, with a romance between two men, in Victorian England. The two main characters are really good people; they have flaws, but they're just so kind to each other. It may be the best book of its kind that I've ever read. But in terms of literary merit, the best book I read recently is Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson. It's difficult to read, with a very poetic prose style, but the language use is so skillful. I was also really impressed with how there are no human villains, despite multiple characters who are very similar to villains in other books I've read. I'm still digesting it and plan to read it again soon.

  3. I haven't read nonfiction in a long time. I used to read science-for-laypeople books sometimes, though, and I should get back to that. I loved The Sleepwalkers by Arthur Koestler, which is a history of astronomy that focuses on all the major astronomers throughout history, written almost as a series of biographies - Pythagoras, Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, Galileo. Kepler was the most interesting one to read about; the book explains how much his belief in astrology & other mystical concepts influenced his research, so even though he was coming at things from a very wrong direction, he made several important discoveries about the planets' orbits, which later astronomers built on.

  4. Walt Whitman is my hero. I don't really read poetry like I used to, though.

  5. No, but sometimes I read historical fiction that has real people in it. I especially liked Mary Renault's The Last of the Wine, which features Socrates and a lot of his contemporaries as important side characters. She wrote a lot of books of that kind, mostly about ancient historical figures.

  6. The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley was my favorite. I recently got it on ebook (it was in a Humble Bundle) and plan to reread it soon. The writing style, the main character, and the plot are all excellent. I reread it so many times as a kid that although I hadn't even looked at it in probably 20 years, when I opened it up a few weeks ago, I still remembered the first few lines.

  7. I always like to mention a series I read last year, Silent Empire by Steven Harper. These are sci-fi novels written in the early 2000s and I don't think they ever found a wide audience. They're not perfect but I enjoyed reading them so much. They have the style of space opera or epic fantasy, with an ensemble cast and a far-reaching storyline. There's also a good romance, some great female characters, a couple of YA coming-of-age type subplots, a murder mystery, several ridiculous and fun heists, and a lot of original sci-fi concepts. I liked all the variety, but I'm sure they were really hard to market, which may be why they didn't get widely read.

  8. I just realized today that I still haven't read The Princess Bride, although I have meant to for many years.

  9. Yes, sff has always been my favorite genre. I don't usually like novels set in the real modern world. I used to read middle-grade and YA all the time, in my 20s, but I got away from it, and have only returned to it recently. Recently I enjoyed V.E. Schwab's A Darker Shade of Magic and Timekeeper by Tara Sim.

/r/booksuggestions Thread