BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Grab
Date: 21 Jul 03 - 11:27 AM

Ooh, I'd forgotten Tom Sharpe. Some are crap, but I think the funniest is "Vintage Stuff".

Graham.

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: sledge
Date: 21 Jul 03 - 12:35 PM

I like the current rash of histoical who-dunnits that have followed in the wake of Ellis peters with her Brother cadfael series.

Others worth reading would inclusde Bernard Knight with the Crowner John series, Paul Doherty with just about any of the different charecters he's spawned and those by Edward Marston.

Other good historical romps would include any of the Bernard Cornwell and Allan Mallinson books.

Seriously good factual books I've read several times would be the Arctic grail by Pierre Berton or the Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes about the History of transporting convicts, in this book I was seriously surprised to see that the percentage of those sent out for poaching was quite small, as it says in the book about the same as those transported for beastiality (aren't there meant to be lots of sheep in Australia still).

Stay well

Sledge

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: GUEST,heric
Date: 21 Jul 03 - 01:03 PM

Voyage of the Narwhal fits the bill. Easy to read, carries you away to a different place.

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: lady penelope
Date: 21 Jul 03 - 01:56 PM

I dunno about anyone else, but I'm taking notes from this thread.

Marion Zimmer Bradley - Mists of Avalon, this is now the last book in a trilogy ( she wrote it kind of backwards, or they decided that Mists.. was the only commercially viable book or something )

Anything by Lois Mcmaster Bujold, but I thoroughly recommend the Barryar books.

Terry Pratchet - again anything but I found "the science of Discworld" a nice mind warper.

Neil Gaiman - American gods (read it in two days)

Lindsey Davis - the Marcus Didius Falco series starting with The Silver Pigs.

The Moon Riders - Theresa Thomlinson

Wilkie Collins - The Woman in White, but the one that got me was The Moonstone

Dreams of Trespass - Fatima Mernissi, a fascinating memoir of a woman who grew up in a traditional Morrocan harem.

Anne McCaffrey - again anything, but I tend to prefer her earlier stuff.

The books about Don Camillo ( an italian preist with a difference ) but I can't for the life of me remember who wrote them. I must raid my mothers attic.

Nightlife of the Gods, The citadel & The stars look down. Again - I'm sorry - I can't remember who wrote them.

Good luck with everything Rick, including your booklist!

TTFN Lady P.

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Micca
Date: 21 Jul 03 - 02:03 PM

rick, anything By Thorne Smith, a bit weird and they often take time to get ito, but can be very funny, Lady P's Night Life of the Gods for instance

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 21 Jul 03 - 02:13 PM

Don Camillo - definitely, lovely books, gentle easy reading, but thoughtful as well. Written by Giovanni Guareschi, who drew the pictures as well. Here is a site..

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 21 Jul 03 - 02:49 PM

And here is a splendid site with online texts of lots of the Dion Camillo stories, and lots of other stuff as well - The Little World of Giovanni Guareschi

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Mudlark
Date: 21 Jul 03 - 02:59 PM

I, too, am taking copious notes. Surprized no one has mentioned Bill Bryson's books by now. If you haven't read them all, Rick, they are perfect waiting room reading...very funny, episodic and...very funny.

Chantyranger...I took a quick look at the Threads website, having never seen the movie. Not at all based on Riddley Walker, which takes place long, long after nuclear winter, so that a whole new environment and civilization, such as it is, has evolved. I'm not usually into fantasy and sci-fi (aside from a few classics like Canticle for L.) but the writing and imagination in Riddley Walker is so superior to most books of any genre that it surpasses them all.

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Raptor
Date: 21 Jul 03 - 03:03 PM

The Beach House By James Patterson

Raptor

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: GUEST,Jerry
Date: 21 Jul 03 - 04:23 PM

I recommend the historical maritime fiction of James L. Nelson, who has a couple series of page-turners: The Brethren of the Coast series, dealing with pirates along the coast of N. America in the 1600's (first book is titled "The Guardship"); The Revolution at Sea series, which looks at the American navy, circa 1776 (first one is "By Force of Arms"); and a new one on the Confederate Navy in the Civil War ("Glory in the Name"). All have great plots with twists, lots of historical veracity, plenty of action, and good, taut writing.

Get well soon.

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Peter Kasin
Date: 21 Jul 03 - 06:52 PM

Thanks, Mudlark. I'll take a look into Riddley Walker. I normally don't read sci-fi either, but that sounds exceptional. Rick, your thread has given alot of us some good ideas.

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 21 Jul 03 - 07:17 PM

I was going to mention Bill Bryson, but you beat me to it... a hoot, every one of them!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Jul 03 - 07:37 PM

The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy. This was the best of his 'L.A. Quartet'...L.A. Confidential was made into a good movie from one of the books, but this book is pretty amazing. Especially good if you have a bit of knowledge about Hollywood movies from the 1940's. Wouldn't especially recommend the other books in the quarted.

The last series I read that I enjoyed was by a guy named Steven Saylor. The Gordianus the Finder series. Clear, good prose about ancient Rome. No detectives back then, but Gordianus was a 'finder', and various Caesers and Cicero and such people would come to him to discretely look into matters. The mysteries aren't much, but the books take you to a different place, like sci fi does. Usually in the detective section of used book stores, I believe.

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Peter T.
Date: 21 Jul 03 - 07:40 PM

Hi Rick, Speaking of classics, if you have never done the whole lot, you might try The Three Musketeers sequence. Most people have read the first one, but the whole sequence is great. It is over a million words!
I also agree with gargoyle (new for me) about The Count of Monte Cristo. Most people read the Classics Illustrated version or the abridged version -- the full version is immense and wonderful, takes about a week.

There are new translations of Dostoyevsky by Pevear and Volkonsky (they also just did Anna Karenina), which, even if you have read earlier versions, are completely fresh and like brand new books. Also big, big, books.   

yours,

Peter T.

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Nancy King
Date: 22 Jul 03 - 01:04 AM

Most of the titles I'd recommend are not particularly new; I don't generally read current bestsellers (though I am listening to the taped version of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"), but there are a lot of good oldies out there you might have missed. And even if you haven't missed them, there's nothing wrong with re-reading something you enjoyed years ago.

I'm currently wrapped up in the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian. Great sea stories, very historically accurate, with wonderful characters. If you haven't already read 'em, start with "Master and Commander." And if you're into books on tape, the O'Brian novels read by Patrick Tull are superb!

Riveting, he wants. Fair enough. How about some good suspense, such as "Eye of the Needle" by Ken Follett or "Day of the Jackal," by Frederick Forsyth? "Shibumi," by Trevanian (who also wrote "The Eiger Sanction" and a couple of others) is excellent. A lesser-known title I really liked 15 or 20 years ago is "Nightbloom," by Herbert Lieberman.

Another Ken Follett I liked a lot was "Pillars of the Earth" -- not suspense, but historical fiction centering around the building of a cathedral in 12th century England. Lots of intrigue. Another good historical fiction book is "Shogun," by James Clavell.

Good current thriller/suspense/mystery writers I like include:

John Sandford, whose "prey" series is very good. The first one is "Rules of Prey," I think, and one of the best of the series is "Winter Prey."

Jonathan Kellerman is generally quite good, as is Michael Connelly, whose "Angels Flight" and "Poet" stand out. The "Quiller" books by Adam Hall have good suspense. Patricia Cornwell is pretty good, especially the early titles. Try "Charm School" by Nelson DeMille -- he is not a consistently good writer, but this one's fine. The only John Grisham worth reading, IMHO, is his first, "A Time To Kill."

For short stories, try Frederick Forsyth's collection called "No Comebacks."

An oddball selection is "The Journeyer," by Gary Jenkins, the premise of which is that Marco Polo supposedly declared on his deathbed that he had not told half of what he had seen and done on his many travels. This book, of course, tells the rest.

Well, that's all I can come up with at the moment. I'll probably think of more later.

Rick, I sure hope your therapy, unpleasant though it must be, is doing the trick for you and that you'll get much better very soon. Sure would be great to see you at the Getaway!

Happy reading!
Nancy

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Lin in Kansas
Date: 22 Jul 03 - 04:20 AM

Midchuck: Thanks for the recommendation of the Gabriel de Pre books. They sound like they're just up my alley!

What interesting selections--thanks for starting this, Rick. I can see some new authors on my list of "gotta reads"!

Lin

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Rapparee
Date: 22 Jul 03 - 08:38 AM

Heinlein's juveniles, and some of his adults.

Asimov's "Lucky Starr" series (written as Paul French).

E. E. Smith's "Lensman" series.


All early SF, all worth reading. The Asimov stuff was reprinted with corrections by the author in the introduction (e.g., Venus is not covered with swamp).

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: JenEllen
Date: 22 Jul 03 - 11:15 AM

The classics are always good, but I found out the hard way that hospital time is better spent in Schlock City! Some crap novel that you wouldn't normally read, that way if you get interrupted it's no great loss! The last one I read (and I had to do some serious thinking to remember the title) was called "The Cure for Death by Lightning". I did a search and it's by some chick named Gail Anderson-Dargatz. I hardly remember a thing about it now, but at the time it was engrossing and beat the hell out of People Magazine. I read the whole thing in a day, during all that 'hurry-up-and-wait' time between lab/doc/chem. Best of luck.
~JE

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: NicoleC
Date: 22 Jul 03 - 11:22 AM

RE: The Mists of Avalon, Mists was written, then the prequels were written, presumably to capitalize on Mists's success. Mists is brilliant, but neither prequel is really much worth reading unless you are bored. They're not bad, but they they don't come close to Mists.

Many of the classics listed so far bore me to tears (Austen?! snore!), but Alexander Dumas is always great fun to read -- there's more than the Count out there!

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Marion
Date: 22 Jul 03 - 11:45 AM

My favourites for engaging light reading:

"A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving

"The Drifters" by James Michener

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Deckman
Date: 22 Jul 03 - 10:41 PM

Well Rick, here comes a different kind of a suggestion. From way out West here, I suggest a solid reading of "Ivan Doig." He's a Montana author who now lives in Seattle. By far, his best is a trilogy: "Dancing At Rascall Fair"; "English Creek;" and "Ride With Me, Mariah Montana." These three stories roughly follow the tales of his Scottish immegrant family from the 1880 until the 1950's, through three generations of love, war, hate, hoots, and laughs. I found them spellbinding. If you can only capture one, "English Creek" is a good starter. I'll bet you'll find a little of yourself in fourteen year old "Jick!" Best wushes. Bob

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 23 Jul 03 - 10:47 AM

Well, I've made a start. I went to the Book Exchange with a list a mile long and came back with:

The diary of Samuel Pepys (I've read it twice before, but I love it)

Ivanhoe

The Count of Monte Cristo

onward and upward.

Rick

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: katlaughing
Date: 23 Jul 03 - 10:56 AM

Can't go wrong with those, Rick. If you like Ivanhoe, Quentin Durward is another of Scott's that is excellent. Love the Count of Monte Cristo, too!

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Peter Kasin
Date: 23 Jul 03 - 11:27 PM

Let us know how "onward and upward" turns out. :-).

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: GUEST,Bograt
Date: 24 Jul 03 - 06:57 PM

Hi Rick, Hope all is going well for you.

Some of the books I keep around me:-

Any "Sherlock Holmes" story
By Arthur Conan Doyle

---------------------------------------------------
"The wasp factory"
"Whit"
"The crow road"
"The business"
and any other by him,

By:   Iain Banks (Or Iain M Banks for his S/F)
(Very different, well written books)

---------------------------------------------------
"The Mordecai Trilogy"

1. "Don't point that thing at me"
2. ? Can't get at the book at the moment
3. ? Can't get at the book at the moment

By Kyril Bonfiglioni
(I found this one to be very funny)

---------------------------------------------------
"Twopence to cross the Mersey"
"Liverpool Miss"
"By the waters of Liverpool"
By: Helen Forrester
(Growing up in Liverpool in the 1930s)

--------------------------------------------------
"World from rough stones"
"Sons of fortune"
"The rich are with you always"
By: Malcolm Macdonald
(The building of the summit railway tunnel across the pennines, UK)

---------------------------------------------------
Most books
By: Lawrence Sanders

----------------------------------------------------
In Lady Penelope's Post, the Author of "The stars look down" and
"The Citadel" was A. J. Cronin, anything by him is good reading.
As are most books by R. f. Delderfield.

So many good books out there! Where do you start?

Best wishes

Bog

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 24 Jul 03 - 07:23 PM

...The diary of Samuel Pepys... -

that reminds me of another suggestion - The Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith. And here is a link to an online version - The Diary of a Nobody .

(And there's a lovely companion to it, written by Keith Waterhouse nearly a hundred years later - Mrs Pooter's Diary, which is his wife's version of the same events.)

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: CarolC
Date: 24 Jul 03 - 09:17 PM

I second the vote for Tony Hillerman. Anything by him is a great read, and once I get sucked into them (usually by the end of the first chapter) I find them almost impossible to put down.

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: GUEST,pdc
Date: 24 Jul 03 - 09:22 PM

"Shibumi," by Trevanian was mentioned earlier in the thread. It really is a great book -- I've read it twice. But it must be emphasized that this is a guy book, a really, really guy book. The second time I read it, my feminism came to the fore, as I wasn't turning the pages fast for plot, and I snickered my way through it -- this is a young man's wet dream of a book. But it's fun!

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Helen
Date: 24 Jul 03 - 10:04 PM

Another author who specialises in pdc's description "this is a young man's wet dream of a book. But it's fun!" is an Oz bloke called robert G. Barrett. If you mistakenly read them as serious fiction you'd probably hate it but it is all tongue in cheek, and a lot of other places too.

I forgot to mention Nevil Shute. I have read almost all of his books now. The famous ones were A Town Like Alice, and On the Beach, which were both made into Hollywood movies back in the previous millenium sometime, but it is his lesser known fiction which I like the best. My faves are Requiem for a Wren, and Too Disdained, and... Nah, the list is too long. I love his autobiography too, called Slide Rule. He was an aviation engineer/designer and he worked on the design and construction of an airship which takes up a lot of the story and is fascinating IMHO.

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: GUEST,pdc
Date: 24 Jul 03 - 11:39 PM

Helen: hope you've read Shute's "In the Wet," one of his best. We all should have pushed Shute for this thread -- he's an easy but very entertaining read.

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: alison
Date: 25 Jul 03 - 12:47 AM

I love travel books... so I recommend some that have already been mentioned


around Ireland with a fridge _ Tony Hawke
anything by Bill Bryson, ( but especially "a walk in the woods" and the one about Europe "Neither here nor there")
A year in Provence (plus all the sequels) - Peter Mayle

loved Harry Potter, loved Mists of Avalon

there is a good recent Ozzie one - can't remember the writer ? Tim Winton called "Dirt Music" - couldn't put that one down either.....

also like "Frenchman's creek" & "Jamaica Inn" - Daphne Du Maurier... they are the ones that get reread every other year....


slainte

alison

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: alison
Date: 25 Jul 03 - 02:12 AM

you can read an excerpt from "Dirt Music" here

slainte

alison

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Micca
Date: 25 Jul 03 - 07:55 AM

Rick, if you can find it in the 2nd hand shop
"The Shy Photographer" by Jock Carroll!! Hilarious, the Chapter headings give a flavour
"What did you give that starving old woman on the park bench?"
" oh 1/100th of a second at f11!!"
and Puckoon as mentioned,
and if you can find it also, " The Secret Lemonade drinker" by Guy Bellamy
I found also Robert B Parker's " Spencer " Boston detective novels good,easy,light reading, also Sue Grafton's " A is For Alibi" up to "Q is for Quarry" series too

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Rapparee
Date: 25 Jul 03 - 09:08 PM

Good Lord! How could I forget Flashman??

And "The General Danced 'Til Dawn" is a great book by the same author.

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Amergin
Date: 25 Jul 03 - 09:48 PM

you know...im going to have to dig up on the beach and a town like alice....great books....

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 26 Jul 03 - 10:42 AM

Just got Ned Sherrin's "Theatrical Anectdotes and read it in one sitting! The stories about British actor Donald Wolfit are wonderful. Thanks Seamus.

Rick

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: lady penelope
Date: 26 Jul 03 - 02:48 PM

I've decided I'm off to find a copy of Samuel Pepys Diary. Between this thread and a bloke on the radio ( Danny Baker ) who's always going on about Pepys burying his parmasan cheese in the garden when London went up in flames, I'm intrigued.....

TTFN Lady P.

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 06:26 AM

I totally forgot about Ian Banks Brilliant
The wasp Factory
The Crow Road
First class even if the wasp factory is a wee bit mental.
My fave is Espadair Street .

That man kept me going for 5 weeks out in Brunie totally unmissable he is all together a great author and so insightful he just has the way of illuminating the obvious and then you realise what it is he's trying to give you a grip on.

A wee book that I read as a child was
The Silver Sword by Ian Serrillier(wrong spelling) that was the book that really stuck woth me and even though its a kids book I still read it every now and then.
Dylan

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Rapparee
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 11:02 AM

Rick started it. Seemed like such a great idea -- and one never done before, as far as I know -- that I've printed off the list as it was earlier this week.

Why? Because I gave it to our Reference Department (I run a public library); they're to recreate it as a bibliography, checking to see which titles we own -- and ordering those which we don't and which are in print.

Rick's not the only one who might need this information!

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 11:11 AM

Darn right Rapaire. It's a great memory jogger.

Rick

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: katlaughing
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 12:17 PM

One of my favourites I forgot to mention is Arthur W. Upfield. He wrote a bunch of mystery novels about a half-aborigine detective named Napoleon Bonaparte. The books are incredibly rich in detail about the Outback of Australia and the different cultures. Real page-turners beautifully written.

Rapaire, any chance you could post the list in its entirety after your department gets done? I haven't had time to make a full list from this thread and would appreciate it, IF it's not too much trouble.

Thanks!

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: John Hardly
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 12:38 PM

just finished a surprisingly good page turner -- The Kingmaker by Brian Haig (yeah, that Haig).

I think Barbara Kingsover is the best, most readable propagandist of recent memory -- her style alone makes the reading a joy and she can derive a plot from the thinnest (but most human) of activities.

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Rapparee
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 01:04 PM

Okay, I'll do it. It'll be a little bit, though - couple of weeks at the most.

I would have mentioned Napoleon Bonaparte, too, but I'd forgotten the author.

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Micca
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 04:08 PM

Kat, Me too on Boney!! I have read almost all of them!1 and have p/b copies of a lot too!!

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: GUEST,celtaddict at work
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 05:06 PM

Count me in on those who want a copy of the list made from this thread!
Rick, you won't remember me, but I spent a Sea Music Festival (Mystic) weekend following you around like a puppy and have fond recollections of standing in the parking lot of Roaring Brook (Canton CT) talking (or listening) far longer than it took you to load up. I wish you the very best in your treatment. (It tickled me by the way to see one of my shots from Canton at Mudcat!)
So many great suggestions here; I certainly would second anything by personal favorites Robert A. Heinlein (get past the juveniles and the Stranger in a Strange Land, because the Methuselah series, culminating in Time Enough for Love, are my favorites), Tony Hillerman, and Ellis Peters. Remember Ellis Peters is Elizabeth Pargeter and her history-based stories of Wales and her nonfiction are definitely worth finding.   
I have not seen anyone mention some other favorites:
Madeleine L'Engle's books are definitely not for children, and do hunt up the others beyond the Wrinkle in Time series.
Saki (H.H.Munro) wrote perfectly brilliant short stories and some short novels, incredible wit with at times a bitter social-critic edge, but fall-down laughing quite often.
P. G. Wodehouse was possibly the most underrated master of English literature, probably because he wrote light comedy, but his mastery of the written word is incredible. Besides Jeeves and Wooster, look for all the Blandings Castle series, the Mr. Mulliner series, and the Psmith series. He thought his New York stories the best, but I would take his English countryside ones any time. His short stories fill volumes (often available in one big composite) and his novels are wonderfully carefree (and often available four or five to a volume).
And you MUST (and I never shout) hunt up Dorothy Dunnett. She is a Scot writer and my nominee for best author of English-language fiction. There is a series of contemporary (well, 60s-70s) mysteries, the Dolly series, featuring a portrait painter/James Bond type who lives on his yacht (the Dolly) and involves a series of extremely smart and quirky young females in mysteries with plots and characters you would never suspect; if I told you the first I read involved a dyslexic Scottish make-up artist telling her story you would scarcely have a hint of her imagination. They are currently out of print but I see them regularly in used paperbacks and on Amazon and have been published with different titles; one series (U.S. I think) are all "Dolly and the [something] Bird" but check the intro or you may get duplicates. She also wrote the six-volume Crawford of Lymond series, which was a cult item on a number of campuses years ago, but are all in print again and excellent; this series has chess-related titles (Game of Kings, Queen's Play, Disorderly Knights, Ringed Castle, Pawn in Frankincense, Checkmate). Her most recent series of eight volumes is the House of Niccolo series, massive and complex and fascinating; incredible reads. Both of these series are history-based and it is a revelation to check the character lists in the frontispieces and see how many of the characters are historic. Niccolo concerns the rise of international trade and intrigue, centered from the 14th century Brussels outward from Iceland to Asia Minor and North Africa, and Lymond starts in Scotland in the minority of Elizabeth I but ranges through most of Europe and Russia. And brace yourself, my nominee for Best English-Language Novel Ever Written would have to be King Hereafter, in 11th century Alba (now Scotland) and Norway; she starts with the same set of legends and scraps of history that Shakespeare used for MacBeth, but what a tapestry she weaves.
Good reading. Be well.

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: katlaughing
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 05:32 PM

Micca, kewl! I've got a couple of hardbacks gleaned at library sales!

Thanks so much, Rapaire, not rush and only if it is convenient.:-)

kat

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Rapparee
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 06:10 PM

James White's "Sector General" series.

Spider Robinson's "Callahan" series. Oh yeah. If you ain't read 'em, you should.

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 06:56 PM

Personal remark deleted. -Joe Offer-

---

Here you go - a quick compilation - it took less than an hour:

Abbey, Edward   - The Monkey Wrench Gang
Alger, Horatio - Mark The Match Boy
Anderson's Fairy Tales (unabridged)
Archer, Jeffery - Kane and Able
Asbury, Herbert -   Gangs Of New York
Bagley, Desmond - The Golden Keel
Bahr, Howard -   The Black Flower
Bahr, Howard   - The Year of Jubilo
Bellamy, Guy    - The Secret Lemonade Drinker
Bergren -   Louis Armstrong: An Extravegant Life
Berton, Pierre   - Arctic Grail
Bonfiglioni, Kyril -   The Mordecai Trilogy
Bowen, Peter    - Gabriel DuPre
Bowen, Peter   - Gabriel DuPre
Bradley, Marion Zimmer
Brilliant, Ian Banks - Espadair Street .
Brilliant, Ian Banks - The Crow Road
Brilliant, Ian Banks - The Wasp Factory
Burke, James Lee   - Black Cherry Blues
Burke, James Lee   - Heaven's Prisoners
Byatt, A. S. - Possession
Callison, Brian - Trapp's War
Capote, Truman -   In Cold Blood
Carpenter, Richard   - Catweazle
Carr, Ian - Miles Davis
Carroll, Jock   -   The Shy Photographer
Chaucer   -- The Canterbury Tales (at least the ribald ones)
Cisneros - Don Quixote
Clarke, Arthur C. - Childhood's End
Clarke, Thurston - Equator
Cohen, Patricia Cline - The Murder of Helen Jewett
Collins, Wilkie - The Woman in White
Cornwell, Bernard    - Arthurian stuf
Cornwell, Bernard
Cornwell, Bernard   - Arthurian stuff
Cornwell, Bernard - Vagabond
Crowley, John - Engine Summer
Cussler, Clive - Dirk Pitt adventures
de Lint, Charles
Deaver, Jeffery
Dickens, Charles - Oliver Twist
Dobie, J. Frank
Doig, Ivan   - Dancing At Rascall Fair
Doig, Ivan   - English Creek
Doig, Ivan   - Ride With Me, Mariah Montana.
Doogan, Mike -   Fashion Means Your Fur Hat Is Dead
Doyle, Arthur Conan - "Sherlock Holmes" any story
Dumas, Alexander - Count of Monte Cristo
Dumas, Alexander - Man in the Iron Mask
Dumas, Alexander - Three Musketeers series
Durrell, Gerald   - Two in the Bush
Ellis, Bret Easton -   Less Than Zero
Ellroy, James - The Black Dahlia
Elton, Ben
Faulkner, William - The Reivers
Fleming, Ian    - Pied Piper
Freuchen, Peter - Adventures in the Arctic
Goddard, Robert
Gordimer, Nadine   - The Pickup
Goudge, Elizabeth - The Dean's Watch
Grafton, Sue   -   A is For Alibi" up to "Q is for Quarry" series
Grey, Zane -   Riders of the Purple Sage
Grey, Zane - Fighting Caravans
Grimm's Fairy Tales (unabridged)
Grossmith, George and Weedon - The Diary of a Nobody
Guareschi, Giovanni   - Don Camillo
Guareschi, Giovanni   Don Camillo
Haig, Brian - The Kingmaker
Hardy, Thomas -   Mayor of Castlebridge
Hardy, Thomas - Tess of de Ubberville
Harper, Lee   - To Kill a Mockingbird
Harris, Thomas - Red Dragon
Harris, Thomas - Silence of the Lambs
Harry Potter
Hawks, Tony -   Round Ireland With a Fridge
Heinlein, Robert
Hillerman, Tony
Hoban, Russell -   Riddley Walker
Hughes, Robert -   Fatal Shore
Hugo, Vicor   - Hunchback of Notre Dame
Hugo, Vicor   - Jean Val Jean (Les Misrables)
Innes, Hammond -   The land God Gave to Cain
Innes, Hammond - Air Bridge
Irvine Welsh, Irvine - Trainspotting
Irving, John - A Prayer for Owen Meany
Irving, John - Hotel New Hampshire
Kahn, Roger - Boys of Summer
Kingsolver, Barbara
Kingsover, Barbara
Kipling, Rudyard - Jungle Book
Kipling, Rudyard - Jungle Book
Kipling, Rudyard - Kim
Knight, Bernard   -   Crowner John series
Koenig, David,   -   Mouse Tales: A Behind-The-Ears Look At Disneyland
Koonst, Dean
Ladies and Gentlemen, Lennie Bruce
L'Amour, Louis -   The Walking Drum
Lee, Sharon and Miller, Steven - Agent of Change
Lee, Sharon and Miller, Steven -   Carpe Diem
Lee, Sharon and Miller, Steven - Conflict of Honors
Lee, Sharon and Miller, Steven - Liaden Universe
Locke, William J. -   The Belovéd Vagabond
MacDonald, John D   - Ballroom of the Skies
MacDonald, John D.   - Wine of the Dreamers
Maclean, Alastair -   The Last Frontier
Maclean, Alastair - Guns of Navarone
Maclean, Alastair - HMS Ulysses
Madsen's, John -   Up on the River
Mallinson, Allan
Malone, Michael   - Foolscap
Malone, Michael   - Handling Sin
Marston, Edward
Mary Rose O'Reilley   - The Barn at the End of the World: Mathiessen, Peter – Travel series
McEwan, Ian -   Atonement
McInerney, Jay -   Bright Lights, Big City
McManus, Pat    - Real Ponies Don't Go Oink
McManus, Pat   -   How I Got This Way
McManus, Pat   - The Bear In The Attic
Merrill, Jean   - The Pushcart War
Michener, James - The Drifters
Michener, James - Tales of the South Pacific
Michener, James - Centenial
Miller, Edward - Canticle for Liebowitz
Milligan, Spike - Puckoon
Mowat, Farley -   Never Cry Wolf
Nelson, James L.   -   The Brethren of the Coast series
Nichols, John -   The Milagro Beanfield War
Nivens, David   - The Moons a Baloon
Nivens, David   - The Moons a Baloon
Nivens, David   Bring on the Empty Horses   
Norton, Mary -   The Borrowers
Parker, Robert B   - Spencer Boston detective novels
Patterson, James - The Beach House
Pepys, Samuel   - Diary
Pern, Anne McCaffrey   - sci fi
Poe. Edgar Allen short stories
Pope, Dudley - 73 North
Porter, Joyce   - Dover books
Pratchet, Terry - Hogfather
Pratchett, Terry
Price, E. H. -   The Devil Wives of Li Fong ghost stories by M.R. James
Proulx, Annie - Accordion Crimes
Pynchon, Thomas   - Fauqualt's Pendulum
Pynchon, Thomas   - Gravity's Rainbow
Pynchon, Thomas   - The Crying of Lot 49
Rabin, Jonathan – Travel series
Rees, Sian   - The Floating Brothel
Rhyme, Lincon
Robbins, Tom   - Even Cowgirls get the Blues
Robbins, Tom   - Another Roadside Attraction
Robbins, Tom   - Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas
Robbins, Tom   - Jitterbug Purfume
Robbins, Tom   - Still Life With Woodpecker
Roberts, Nora - Hot Ice
Russell, Mary Doria -   The Sparrow and it's sequel, Children of God
Russo, Richard - Empire Falls
Russo, Richard - Nobody's Fool
Russo, Richard - Straight Man
Saylor, Steven    - The Gordianus and Finder series
Scarborough, Elizabeth
Schoonover,   Laurence   - Spider King
Sharpe Tom -   Wilt
Sharpe, Tom -   Vintage Stuff
Sherrin, Ned   - Theatrical Anectdotes
Shute, Nevil   - On the Beach our Requiem for a Wren
Shute, Nevil   - Too Disdained
Shute, Nevil - Slide Rule
Shute, Nevil - A Town Like Alice
Sledge, Eugene B.    - With The Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa
Smith,   Thorne - Lady P's Night Life of the Gods
Soos, Troy -   historical baseball mysteries
Stabenow, Dana   - Breakup
Stabenow, Dana - Blood Will Tell
Stabenow, Dana - Kate Shugak series
Stabenow, Dana - Breakup
Steinbeck, John   - East of Eden
Steinbeck, John   - Travels with Charlie
Steinbeck, John - Cannery Row
Steinbeck, John - Grapes of Wrath
Steinbeck, John - Wayward Bus
Stevenson, Robert L. - Treasure Island
Stoker, Brahm - Dracula
Stuart, George - Earth Abides
Swiss Family Robinson
Tang, Amy
Tepper, Sheri S.   - Grass
Tepper, Sheri S. -   The Gate to Women's Country
The Bathroom Readers Institute
The General Danced 'Til Dawn
Toole, John Kennedy - A Confederacy of Dunces
Tornator - Silk and Ocean Sea
Trevanian   - Shibumi
Trumbo, Dalton -   Johnny Got His Gun
Twain, Mark    - Life on the Mississippi
Twain, Mark    - Short Story Collection
Twain, Mark - Huckleberry Finn
Twain, Mark   - Tom Sawyer
Upfield, Arthur W.   - mystery - Napoleon Bonaparte
Wallechinsky, Wallace -   People's Almanac
Wells, H.G. - Invisable Man
Wells, H.G. - Time Machine
Weygers, Alexander G - The Complete Modern Blacksmith
Waterhouse, Keith, -   Mrs Pooter's Diary, wife's version of the same events
White, Time   - Catch a Fire - Bob Marley
Youmans, Marly -   Catherwood

-   Fountainhead
-   Name of the Rose (mystery)
- 1984
- Catch 22
- Ivanhoe
- Mists of Avalon
- One Hundred Years of Solitude
- The Arabian Nights
- The Dirty Dozen
- The Evolution Man
- Voyage of the Narwhal
- White Doves at Morning

Your Humble Servant,

Sincerely,

Gargoyle

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 07:30 PM

As a librarian, Repaire, perhaps you are familiar with lists of books most commonly stolen? I believe some are popular because they are assigned reading in schools.

Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird
Sharon Flake's The Skin I'm In
Meg Cabot's The Princess Diaries
Caroline Cooney's The Face on the Milk Carton
Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass
Michael Brooke's Concrete Wave: The History of Skateboarding
Jack Canfield's Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul
Thia Luby's Yoga for Teens
Stephen King's The Green Mile
J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit
John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men
Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's Shiloh
Louis Sachar's Holes
Gary Paulsen's Hatchet
Lois Lowry's Number the Stars
J. K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series
S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders
Avi's Something Upstair
Sharon Draper's Tears of a Tiger
Carl Deuker's On the Devil's Court
Lurlene McDaniel's Dawn Rochelle
David Pelzer's A Child Called "It,"
Megan McCafferty's Sloppy Firsts
Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye's "Left Behind" series
Lois Lowry's The Giver
Jacques's "Redwall" series
Wilson Rawls's Where the Red Fern Grows
Christopher Paul Curtis's The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963

Sincerely,

Gargoyle

Subject: RE: BS: A different kind of 'GREAT BOOK' thread.
From: Micca
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 07:43 PM

Rick, Have you Got the " Para Handy" stories? if not i may have a spare p/b I would be happy to donate!!,(PM me) If you dont know them , asj Duckboots, she will!!