different worlds
Apr. 9th, 2002 12:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fictionalfantasy has always been my favorite genre. i dabble in science fiction, horror, romance. but fantasy has always been my favorite. they're all works of imagination anyway, and i like those worlds better, usually.
but i've been on a different kick lately.
at first i went through my victoriana stage. the victorians were a repressed and scary people, and i find them distressing. no clue why i was diving headfirst into that, but it was amusing.
lately i've been reading herman wouk, chaim potok, naomi ragen.
steeping myself in a tea of orthodox jewish tradition. i have no idea why these books are so appealing to me. i have no connection to judaism besides the fact that i grew up in new york city.
for some reason, a life motivated by faith and study seems very far away, but somehow fantastical and strangely attractive. not something i could ever do, but i enjoy plunging myself into it anyway. weird.
anyway, i've about wrung those dry now, and i'm looking for something meaty to dig my teeth into. reading is, after all, my very favorite drug. does anyone have any exciting fiction recommendations? something gripping with a lot in it is what i'm looking for currently. any genre is acceptable, preferably well written, but definitely a good plot.
but i've been on a different kick lately.
at first i went through my victoriana stage. the victorians were a repressed and scary people, and i find them distressing. no clue why i was diving headfirst into that, but it was amusing.
lately i've been reading herman wouk, chaim potok, naomi ragen.
steeping myself in a tea of orthodox jewish tradition. i have no idea why these books are so appealing to me. i have no connection to judaism besides the fact that i grew up in new york city.
for some reason, a life motivated by faith and study seems very far away, but somehow fantastical and strangely attractive. not something i could ever do, but i enjoy plunging myself into it anyway. weird.
anyway, i've about wrung those dry now, and i'm looking for something meaty to dig my teeth into. reading is, after all, my very favorite drug. does anyone have any exciting fiction recommendations? something gripping with a lot in it is what i'm looking for currently. any genre is acceptable, preferably well written, but definitely a good plot.
literary recommendations
Date: 2002-04-09 04:32 pm (UTC)Fiction for Kali to Read, Focusing on Those With Much In Them And That Grip Plotly
(an epic and annotated list by Eve)
-The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco (life motivated by faith & study, but medieval monks and mystic murders)
-V, Thomas Pyncheon (generally splendid, especially since you read quickly enough to skip the slow bits on the first time through.)
-Linnets and Valerians, Elizabeth Goudge (British children's book: magicky Nesbit-familyish!)
-Virginia Woolf (To The Lighthouse Jacob's Room, The Waves, Mrs. Dalloway, Nights & Days...& if you read Mrs. Dalloway, you should also read The Hours, by Michael Cunningham. Don't question why, just do so.)
-any of Mary Renault's ancient Greek stuff (The Mask of Apollo & The Praisesinger are especially good: theater & gay male sex & mythicness)
-The Baron In the Trees, Italo Calvino (really anything by Calvino, but that's a good plotty one.)
-Glory Season, David Brin (Sci-fi/fantasy: so so good, I promise. did i once lend this to you?
-Down and Out in Paris and London, George Orwell (I know, I'm obsessed with Orwell...)
-Robertson Davies--The Cornish Trilogy, The Deptford Trilogy The Salterton Trilogy. ( Excellent long novels set in Canada with European excursions, frequently with academic settings, magic realist bits tangled in)
-A Passage to India, EM Forster (this book might piss you off, but if you can stand Kipling, it's no problem: at least Forster is apologetic about it. And it's wonderfully written.)
-Sometimes A Great Notion, Ken Kesey (This is better than Cuckoo's Nest. Logging family in Washington State & their relationships with each other, the community, their family history, and above all the trees.)
Um, there are more, but this becomes absurd. i love you, will probably call you tonight after my branch meeting. I wish you happy reading and much wellness.