Love reading but can't pick books to read!!!

Australian River · Mar 9, 2014

Hi there,

I was wondering if anyone could help with recommendations as this is driving me crazy.

I love, love, love reading. At this point, my passion is for fantasy and sci-fi (though I am over elves and Orcs etc), or anything where extraordinary things happen within a plot. I supposed the key word for me, is modern (do not like Medieval).

I love page turners, and yet books which tell a complex story. Some of my favourite books include 'Harry Potter' (blush - horrible writing but great story!), Margaret Atwood's MaddAddam trilogy, and One Hundred years of Solitude. I also enjoyed 'The Long Earth' but hated 'The Long War'.

For the past few months, I've been researching new books to read, and always end up buying them only to discard them after the first 100 pages because NOTHING HAPPENS. I do not like books which are character-driven (Murakami strikes me as one such author) or where a serious of random events happen and they never make sense at the end.

I also could not get through Lord of the Rings because of the heavy and long-winded prose.

'The Ocean at the End of the lane' which so many people seem to love I completely hated because the climax is silly.

Any suggestions?

alleycat · Mar 9, 2014

Life of Pi?

I liked it more than I thought I would.

Kylabelle · Mar 9, 2014

Lois McMaster Bujold is one of my fave authors. Anything by her; she is prolific and has lots of titles and series out.

Kim Stanley Robinson, the Mars series, and Years of Rice and Salt (which is a stand alone novel) and the more recent series about climate change, I believe the first title in that trilogy is Forty Signs of Rain. (I linked to a google page because it has a bio and bibilography on the right.)

Australian River · Mar 9, 2014

alleycat said:
Life of Pi?

I liked it more than I thought I would.

Read - for example with that book, the author strikes a wonderful balance between a simple story and great writing. I think the only reason why I didn't find it boring though (because admittedly there isn't much to the story) was because the plot was out of the ordinary.

Australian River · Mar 9, 2014

Kylabelle said:
Lois McMaster Bujold is one of my fave authors. Anything by her; she is prolific and has lots of titles and series out.

Kim Stanley Robinson, the Mars series, and Years of Rice and Salt (which is a stand alone novel) and the more recent series about climate change, I believe the first title in that trilogy is Forty Signs of Rain. (I linked to a google page because it has a bio and bibilography on the right.)

Thanks Kylabel - the Mars trilogy sounds interesting

Kylabelle · Mar 9, 2014

I'd be curious to know if you enjoy it.

Have you read Anathem by Neal Stephenson? I utterly loved that one. It is quite complex, based on an unusual premise, very long, full of surprises, and amazingly dramatic as the story builds.

Australian River · Mar 9, 2014

Kylabelle said:
I'd be curious to know if you enjoy it.

Have you read Anathem by Neal Stephenson? I utterly loved that one. It is quite complex, based on an unusual premise, very long, full of surprises, and amazingly dramatic as the story builds.

I'll let you know.

I am currently reading Xenocide by Scott Card - not loving it 100% but I am still reading it so that's a good sign.

ULTRAGOTHA · Mar 9, 2014

Kylabelle, were we separated at birth? Lois McMaster Bujold and Anatham are some of my very favorite books.. You can't get much more of a complex story than Anatham!

Australian River, also try Garth Nix's Abhorson trilogy and just about anything by Diana Wynne Jones or Robin McKinley. Most of those are YA and they are very very good.

The Disposessed by Ursula LeGuin may be too slow for you, though I think it her best book.

You might try M. K. Jemisin's fantasy.

ETA. Also Rosemary Kirstein's Steerswoman books. Tre excellent!

Australian River · Mar 9, 2014

Just had a look at Anatham and I don't think I could manage the whole 200 pages of creating new words and stuff...sounds a bit too heavy for me

bearilou · Mar 24, 2014

Among Thieves by Doug Hulick

The Gentleman Bastards series by Scott Lynch

Night's Masque series by our very own Anne Lyle

I have a list of more by it's at home while I'm on vacation. Those are the three that leap immediately to mind.

mirandashell · Mar 24, 2014

If I were you, I'd join a library. It will save you loads of money!

And don't forget a charity shop for your rejects.

UnrulyZen · Mar 24, 2014

The Magicians

I recommend The Magicians, and its two sequels (the last is scheduled for release this year), by Lev Grossman.

Australian River · Mar 25, 2014

mirandashell said:
If I were you, I'd join a library. It will save you loads of money!

And don't forget a charity shop for your rejects.

Thank you! Unfortunately, I physically can't stand holding old books. I hate the feel, I hate the smell....you get the point. It's one thing I can't get rid of. At least, I am making the publishing industry happy!

Hapax Legomenon · Mar 25, 2014

This is going to sound like a totally awful plugged-in young person but I'll go ahead and say it anyway.

Have you tried using goodreads? You can put a bunch of books you liked into your "shelf" and it can make recommendations based on that. I don't know how good the algorithm is because I haven't used it much myself but it's worth a try.

I don't know what it's like in Australia but I know in some larger cities in the US (the ones I've lived in, anyway) libraries have a significant amount of digital media. It can be kind of fiddly but if you're ok with reading on your computer, or have a tablet/ereader, that might be a good option for you if your problem with libraries is physical old books.

Sketti · Mar 25, 2014

I love the Thomas Covenant books although I found the first book hard to read because Covenant is so unpleasant at first. But it's definitely a thinking person's fantasy novel.

If you struggled with Lord of the Rings, you might not enjoy the Mars series, it too is quite wordy but it definitely pays off in intellectual enjoyment

Personally, I love LotR BECAUSE of the beautiful use of language, description, poetry etc... the more action packed bits don't do much for me in that book. It's that whole world Tolkien crafted that gives me goosebumps

I love the Shadow books by Card (although, I won't buy them because I do not want to give Card my money - judge me if you will but I dislike the man - it sucks when great writers are a let down IRL...). They are the parallel series to Ender's Game and sequels and IMO, better than the actual Ender sequels (Xenocide, Speaker for the Dead etc).

Have you read the Foundation series? It's by Asimov. They are classics.

LeGuin has been suggested and I second it, "The Left Hand of Darkness" is very interesting. She strikes me as quite similar in ways to Margaret Atwood.

I <3 Octavia E. Butler, she's an amazing writer. I think if you like García Márquez you'll probably like her.

Marion Zimmer Bradley's books are also very good. Some of her later books were definitely pushing an agenda a bit more but it's one I whole-heartedly agree with so I love them

She's best known for her Darkover books (SF) but I think her best work is easily the outstanding "Mists of Avalon" (F) which I think everyone should read!

cmi0616 · Mar 25, 2014

For fast-paced stuff, Nelson DeMille is pretty good. Same goes for Lee Child.

I'm not much for James Paterson, but I read The Postcard Killers at the urging of one of my friends, and that one wasn't bad either.

Australian River · Mar 26, 2014

Sketti said:
I love the Thomas Covenant books although I found the first book hard to read because Covenant is so unpleasant at first. But it's definitely a thinking person's fantasy novel.

If you struggled with Lord of the Rings, you might not enjoy the Mars series, it too is quite wordy but it definitely pays off in intellectual enjoyment Personally, I love LotR BECAUSE of the beautiful use of language, description, poetry etc... the more action packed bits don't do much for me in that book. It's that whole world Tolkien crafted that gives me goosebumps

I love the Shadow books by Card (although, I won't buy them because I do not want to give Card my money - judge me if you will but I dislike the man - it sucks when great writers are a let down IRL...). They are the parallel series to Ender's Game and sequels and IMO, better than the actual Ender sequels (Xenocide, Speaker for the Dead etc).

Have you read the Foundation series? It's by Asimov. They are classics.

LeGuin has been suggested and I second it, "The Left Hand of Darkness" is very interesting. She strikes me as quite similar in ways to Margaret Atwood.

I <3 Octavia E. Butler, she's an amazing writer. I think if you like García Márquez you'll probably like her.

Marion Zimmer Bradley's books are also very good. Some of her later books were definitely pushing an agenda a bit more but it's one I whole-heartedly agree with so I love them She's best known for her Darkover books (SF) but I think her best work is easily the outstanding "Mists of Avalon" (F) which I think everyone should read!

Thank you Sketti.

I do love beautiful prose, but not at the expense of a fast paced plot. I do of course understand that this is my taste and a lot of people do love a book with indulges in language.

I've heard other people say they don't want to give more money to Card. I never gave it a second thought but I never went and researched what the issue is - now you got me curious.

Thank you for all the suggestions!

Australian River · Mar 26, 2014

Hapax Legomenon said:
This is going to sound like a totally awful plugged-in young person but I'll go ahead and say it anyway.

Have you tried using goodreads? You can put a bunch of books you liked into your "shelf" and it can make recommendations based on that. I don't know how good the algorithm is because I haven't used it much myself but it's worth a try.

I don't know what it's like in Australia but I know in some larger cities in the US (the ones I've lived in, anyway) libraries have a significant amount of digital media. It can be kind of fiddly but if you're ok with reading on your computer, or have a tablet/ereader, that might be a good option for you if your problem with libraries is physical old books.

Thank you! My life would be easier if I could actually read stuff off screens. Unfortunately, I don't find it pleasant on my eyes, so paper is the only option.

blacbird · Mar 31, 2014

My first suggestion is to broaden your reading experience. There's lots of stuff out there other than Fantasy, no matter how that's defined.

You're from Melbourne. Read the excellent historical account of the first expedition to cross the Austrlaian interior, from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria and back, in 1860, in a book titled Cooper's Creek, by the great Australian historian Alan Moorehead. It reads as well as any novel, and is just plain a riveting story.

Read mysteries, SF, spy novels. Kick those horizons out to where you can't see 'em clearly, and go from there. Don't limit yourself.

caw

Brightdreamer · Mar 31, 2014

Australian River said:
Thank you! My life would be easier if I could actually read stuff off screens. Unfortunately, I don't find it pleasant on my eyes, so paper is the only option.

Have you looked into eInk screens, like lower-end Kindles and Nooks? They aren't backlit, and I find them just as easy on the eyes as print. You can also increase the text size, a feature I wish some paperbacks had.

Australian River · Apr 1, 2014

blacbird said:
My first suggestion is to broaden your reading experience. There's lots of stuff out there other than Fantasy, no matter how that's defined.

You're from Melbourne. Read the excellent historical account of the first expedition to cross the Austrlaian interior, from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria and back, in 1860, in a book titled Cooper's Creek, by the great Australian historian Alan Moorehead. It reads as well as any novel, and is just plain a riveting story.

Read mysteries, SF, spy novels. Kick those horizons out to where you can't see 'em clearly, and go from there. Don't limit yourself.

caw

Hi! I have no interest in historical works. Sorry! I know because I've read pretty much ever genre (I did a literature degree) and just dislike anything apart from fantasy/sci-fi/magic realism.

Thanks though!

Love reading but can't pick books to read!!!

Australian River

alleycat

Still around

Kylabelle

unaccounted for

Australian River

Australian River

Kylabelle

unaccounted for

Australian River

ULTRAGOTHA

Merovingian Superhero

Australian River

bearilou

DenturePunk writer

mirandashell

UnrulyZen

Intuitionist

Australian River

Hapax Legomenon

Sketti

cmi0616

Australian River

Australian River

blacbird

Brightdreamer

Just Another Lazy Perfectionist

Australian River