Writing Jeh's Book Club

[Guest Anime_Forever]

Hmmm. Have you read Holes? Probably.Hmmm. Have you read Artemis Foul? Now thas a good book. Its abot this 12 year old named Artemis whos ultra smar and loves crme. H tries to pull off a huge case of stealing gold from the fairies that live beneath the earth. Of course the fairies have ultra high technology and magical forces but Artemis uses their own laws against them and turning the whole farie plan upside down by outsmarting them over and over again. Its fantasy and has a TON of action. Explosions, blood, breaking bones, wind blasts, everything. There are 2 others in the seriesbut I havent read tem. Another good one is Gdzilla Returns......

[Heaven's Cloud]

[color=indigo]Well, if you enjoy books that deal with Japanese culture then the following books are both pretty good. [b]Musashi[/b] by Eiji Yoshikawa is a story about Japan?s most famous swordsman and his struggle to fin d the true way. The best aspect of this book is that it written in a very humanistic fashion depicting the samurai class in the same way that [b]Gone With The Wind[/b] humanized southerners during the Civil War. It is a very solid epic novel. [b]Kokoro[/b] is a very insightful novel that follows the relationship between a young Japanese student and his teacher at the end of Meiji Era. The author reminds me a lot of Fitzgerald, every sentence seems to be symbolic and every paragraph seems to be a metaphor, yet it is accomplished without seeming to scholarly.

If you are looking for a book that is interesting and funny, check out [b]Good Omens[/b] by Neil Gaimen and Terry Somethingoranother (I think his last name is Hachet, but I am not sure). It is a story about an angel and a demon that work together in an attempt to stop the apocalypse because they enjoy living among humans. It is worth reading the book just to see how the antichrist?s hell hound ends up being manipulated to fit the antichrist?s personality.

If you are looking for a Sci-Fi/fantasy type book check out [b]American Gods[/b] or [b]Neverwhere[/b] by Neil Gaimen (yeah I?ve been on a Neil Gaimen kick lately). [b]American Gods[/b] is a bizarre book about a battle between forgotten ?gods? of America. [b]Neverwhere[/b] is about a young man that gets caught up in the magical underworld of London?it is a really cool principle for a novel. Another good Sci-Fi book is [b]Shadowland[/b] by Peter Straub. It is about two young boys and their apprenticeship into the dark arts.

Sorry if the summaries are a bit brief, but I really hate giving away the gist of a books plot?[/color]

[Sara]

[font=arial]*echoes HC*

Read [i]Neverwhere[/i].

Wheee! I have a little thi-jingy for this book, actually.

*kicks OB for not having html enabled here*[/font]


[color=orangered][size=1]I bought this book on a whim at Barnes and Noble a while ago. It wasn't the only book I bought that day, but I don't recall what the other one was.

It's an awesome, quirky book. I love the style it's written in: very simple, very quirky (there's that word again), very down-to-earth.

[i]The Lord Rat-Speaker nodded. He put his dagger away, in the furs of his robe. Then he smiled at Richard with yellow teeth. "You don't know how lucky you were, just then," he said.

"Yes I do," said Richard. "I really do."

"No," said the man, "you don't. You really don't."[/i]

Really now, how can you not love a book written like that?

Richard Mayhew lives in London. He's not particularly happy with his life, but he doesn't hate it, either. He's a likable, decent fellow--normal in all the best (and worst) ways. He rescues a girl he finds bleeding on the sidewalk, "and falls through the cracks" to London Below--a warped city full of forgotten dead ends and pieces of yesterday trapped in time.

Richard has no idea what's going on. No one in his "real world" knows him anymore. His apartment is rented to someone else; his ex-fiance doesn't know him; he can't even flag down a taxi. He doesn't exist. With nothing else to do, he starts looking for the girl who got him into the whole situation in the first place--a ragged girl called the Lady Door.

London Below is an entire world, seperate from "above." Richard finds himself in a where the Earl's Court station really holds the court of an earl, where rats are revered and intelligent creatures, where certain magics are not unheard of, where "floating markets" are held in a different location every week, and where he has, as he so eloquently put it, "the projected life expectancy of a suicidal fruitfly."

Door is looking for the Angel Islington, running from hired cutthroats Croup and Vandemar (remarkable characters, and very good at what they enjoy doing. Namely, killing things.) and alternately being saved and threatened by the same group of people.

I love this book. See below for quotes.

[b]Quotes[/b]:

This is before any of the good stuff really gets started, but I quite liked it. I feel this way a lot. [i]It was a Friday afternoon. Richard had noticed that events were cowards: they didn't occur singly, but instead they would run in packs and leap out at him all at once.[/i]

Here's another one. [i]Richard paused for a moment. If ever, he decided, they made disorganization an Olympic sport, he could be disorganized for Britain.[/i]

Ah, Croup and Vandemar. They're gentlemen, really. Very frightening gentlemen, reknowned for their prowess at killing people....but gentlemen, nontheless. Quite polite, really. Here's an example:

[i]"Mister Mayhew," said Mr. Croup, helpfully, "Do you know what your own liver tastes like?" Richard was silent. "Because Mister Vandemar has promised me that he's personally going to cut it out and stuff it into your mouth before he slits your sad little throat. So you'll find out, won't you?"[/i]

Richard makes a couple entries in his mental diary before he begins to accept things. A nice recap of the first part of the book, really.

[i]"Dear Diary," he began. "On Friday I had a job, a fiancee, a home, and a life that made sense. (Well, as much as any life makes sense.) Then I found an injured girl on the pavement and I tried to be a Good Samaritan. Now I've got no fiancee, no home, no job, and I'm walking around a couple of hundred feet under the streets of London with the life expectancy of a suicidal fruitfly...."

He went back to writing his mental diary. "There are hundreds of people in this other London. Thousands, maybe. People who come from here, or people who have fallen through the cracks. I'm wandering around with a girl called Door, her bodyguard, and her psychotic grand vizier. We slept last night in a small tunnel that Door said was once a section of the Regency swer. The bodyguard was awake when I went to sleep, and awake when they woke me up. I don't think she ever sleeps. We had some fruitcake for breakfast; the marquis had a large lump of it in his pocket. Why would anyone have a large lump of fruitcake in his pocket?"[/i][/size][/color]

[font=arial]*ducks, slightly embarassed*

This is a good book. Heh. Read it.[/font]

[Dagger]

Books! Yay!

I've got three recommendations:

1. [B]Timeline[/B], by Michael Crichton
Timeline is, in my opinion, this author's best book. Although not exactly a work of literary genius, it's tightly plotted, well-researched, and captivating. The basic story deals with a group of people who have been send back through time to the Middle Ages. Here, it differs from similar books, by presenting a very gritty, realistic examination of life in medieval times. I'd recommend Timeline to anyone.

2. [B]Deerskin[/B], by Robin McKinley
I can't claim to like all of Ms. Mckinley's books, but Deerskin is an old favorite. It's a novelization of an obscure fairytale, written in dreamy, lyrical prose that flows beautifully and is simply a joy to read. The protagonist, a lonely princess named Lissar, is a strong character, very easy to empathize with. Her story is heartrending, yet ultimately uplifting. I don't want to spoil anything--but not everyone will enjoy this book. It deals with some pretty dark subject material. However, fans of fantasy will almost certainly love Deerskin.

3. [B]The Neverending Story[/B], by Michael Ende
I can't emphasize how amazing this book is. I've read it at least 10 times. Although technically a children's novel, I think anyone could enjoy it. The main character is Bastian, an unhappy, insecure young boy who thinks very poorly of himself and is neglected by his father. All this starts to change when he accidently comes to possess a magical book. The Neverending Story is literally one that you won't want to end. It takes a lot of traditional fantasy elements and turns them into something original and incredibly compelling. If I had to compare it to another book, I'd say that it has a lot in common with The Phantom Tollbooth. The Neverending Story, however, is a little darker and more profound.

That's all for now!

~Dagger~

Edit: [B]Neverwhere[/B] (Neil Gaiman), [B]Good Omens[/B] (Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett), and [B]Ender's Game[/B] (Orson Scott Card) are also amazing books. I just wish that I'd thought to recommend them first. ^_^

[lea]

anyone ever read cheaper by the dozen?
i kinda relate to the book, because i have a huge family (but, not that huge. in the book, the people have 12 kids....my family only has 6)
and the sequle....belles on their toes.
i really like them ^_^

[Stick Fairy]

[COLOR=indigo]
I would like to strongly reccomend [u]Artemis Fowl[/u] (whoever said that before, I love you!). This book (and its two sequels) are both fantastic and interesting stories, based on concepts that I'd never imagined (such as fairy technology). Also, it did something books rarely do nowadays- it actually surprised me. The plot I mean. Techically, I believe it's a childrens book, but it is still definitely worth a read.

Also, you said you never read [u]Harry Potter[/u] 5. By now I hope you have amended this mistake, but if ot, you should do so ASAP. It is extremely long, but it is not just words, it is a complex story that I don't think could be written any other way. Anyone who has a love of fantasy should read this. I actually HAD TO for school, but I would have read it anyway (of course!). This just makes school more fun.

Finally, I'd like to reccomend [u]A Wrinkle in Time[/u], and all of the rest of the Time Quartet, to anyone who hasn't read them yet. I know that these are basically standrd reading for anyone who likes fantasy, but still some people don't read them, or only read the first one. This is a huge mistake, as all four books are separate tales of the same famly, and while I reccomend tht you read them in order, it isn't necessary to understand the plots.

I could go on reccomending books all day, but the bell's about to ring, so that's all for now. READ THESE BOOKS!
[/COLOR]

[Guest Skyechild91]

Yeah stick fairy! she mentioned wrinkle in time! im on the thrid book of the series. Id recommend The dragonrider series and the haralds of valdema series. they are actually a string of series all based on the same things. dragon riders of pern, by anne mccaffery, and hrealds of valdemar, by mercedes lackey. they are exsteremly good books. there are like 15 books in each of them.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

For science fiction, I'd reccommend anything by Jack L. Chalker. He's writtecouple of his trilogies:

[i]Tales of the Three Kings[/i]: His most recent trilogy, these books are about the discovery of a system with properties that are seemingly impossible. Only unmanned ships have ever returned. Each book deals with a seperate groop that reaches it. [i]Balshazarr's[/i](sp?) [i]Serpent[/i] is about religious leader Dr. Karl Woodward and the crew of his starship, The Mountain. [i]Melchior's Fire[/i] is about a crew of salvagers(people who go down to worlds where the people have died out and take everything they can). And [i]Kaspar's Box[/i] is about a millitary crew and Captain Murphy, who's basically a type of pirate. Each groop eventually reaches the strange system, and each group reveals a little more of what's going on. Very good books.

[i]The Quintara Marathon[i]: these three books are among his best. They're about groups from the three different interstellar empires who discover a strange structure on a newly discovered planet. When they investigate, they're thrust head first into a string of worlds, each worse than the one before it. They have to reach the end, which is made harder by the fact that the groups are all trying to kill each other. Add in a bunch of demons, paranormal abilities, and the most memorable character I know of(Jimmy McCray), and you've got one hell of a trilogy.


For those of you who like fantasy books, read [i]The Dragon Quartet[i] by Marjorie B. Kellougg(sp?). This is the second-best book series I've ever read(the best being Harry Potter), and I'm eagerly anticipating the release of the fourth and final book, which comes out on November 4th.

[lea]

to whomever recommended the dragonlance series, you rock!
i was only able to read the first two books, then the last one...
it is really really good ^_^

[Sara]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Dagger IX1 [/i]
3. [B]The Neverending Story[/B], by Michael Ende
I can't emphasize how amazing this book is. I've read it at least 10 times. Although technically a children's novel, I think anyone could enjoy it. The main character is Bastian, an unhappy, insecure young boy who thinks very poorly of himself and is neglected by his father. All this starts to change when he accidently comes to possess a magical book. The Neverending Story is literally one that you won't want to end. It takes a lot of traditional fantasy elements and turns them into something original and incredibly compelling. If I had to compare it to another book, I'd say that it has a lot in common with The Phantom Tollbooth. The Neverending Story, however, is a little darker and more profound.[/QUOTE] [FONT=arial]I would just like to point out that the book is awesomer than the movie, so if you've seen the movie(S) and disliked it, you should still take a look at the book.[/FONT]