Hysterical. If you liked The Hitchhiker's Guide but thought it could do with fewer spaceships, try this. If you're shaking your head in bafflement, th...moreHysterical. If you liked The Hitchhiker's Guide but thought it could do with fewer spaceships, try this. If you're shaking your head in bafflement, thinking "Fewer spaceships? Do you want to ruin the whole thing, woman?" try this. If you've never read any Douglas Adams at all, try this. If you like things that are good, try this.
On the other hand, I am pretty sure my best friend hated it, and she does often like things that are good, so maybe it's not for everyone. But try it anyway.
"He was rounder than the average undergraduate and wore more hats. That is to say, there was just the one hat which he habitually wore, but he wore it with a passion that was rare in one so young. [...:] By means of an ingenious series of strategically deployed denials of the most exciting and exotic things, he was able to create the myth that he was a psychic, mystic, telepathic, fey, clairvoyant, psychosassic vampire bat.
"What did 'psychosassic' mean?
"It was his own word and he vigorously denied that it meant anything at all." (less)
This contains the first three books in the Vlad Taltos series which chronicles the adventures of a young assassin for hire in one of the most original...moreThis contains the first three books in the Vlad Taltos series which chronicles the adventures of a young assassin for hire in one of the most original fantasy worlds I've ever encountered. This is definitely not based on medieval England, or anything I've read about. I used to read them when I was a kid and then spend the afternoon pretending to be an assassin with my own flourishing assassinary business. Now I read them and wish I was a kid so I could play it some more.
"'He wants to meet with you. [...:] He set it up for two hours past noon, tomorrow.'
'After noon?'
Kragar looked puzzled. 'That's right. After noon. That means when most people have eaten lunch, but haven't eaten supper yet. You must have come across the concept before.'
I ignored his sarcasm. 'You're missing the point,' I said, flipping a shuriken into the wall next to his ear.
'Funny, Vlad -- '
'Quiet. Now, how do you go about killing an assassin? Especially someone who's careful not to let his movements fall into any pattern?' 'Eh? You set up a meeting with him, just like the Demon is doing.'
'Right. And, of course, you do everything you can to make him suspicious, don't you?'
What I love most about this story about a girl who becomes a witch to save her brother is the way the heroine wakes up to the world throughout the boo...moreWhat I love most about this story about a girl who becomes a witch to save her brother is the way the heroine wakes up to the world throughout the book. Everything develops identity and importance, even telegraph poles and toasters.
"Every telegraph pole stood centred on a single leg gathering wires up, looping them over little stunted arms, and Laura felt her way into being a telegraph pole, or a roof rising to a ridge and butting against itself. The Baptist church squared its concrete shoulders, its doorway touching its own toes, carrying a great weight of square, white blocks on its bent back."
And a brief warning: every edition of The Changeover is cursed with a terrible cover. Don't be fooled by it. It is your protection against people borrowing what will come to be one of your favorite reads; my own copy has a worse cover than most, which is the only way I've been able to hang onto it for fifteen years.(less)
I actually hate having all my Wilde in one volume. When I lived in my studio apartment and found myself alone of an evening, I would sometimes make te...moreI actually hate having all my Wilde in one volume. When I lived in my studio apartment and found myself alone of an evening, I would sometimes make tea and cucumber sandwiches and curl up to re-read The Importance of Being Earnest. But now I've got this great big book which refuses to be curled up with -- I should never have sold my individual Earnest. Still, it's nice to have access to Wilde-ian works I probably wouldn't own otherwise.(less)
This is one of Robbins' greatest novels. It has all the delirious, joyful, drug-addled prose one expects from Robbins, but avoids his frequent mistake...moreThis is one of Robbins' greatest novels. It has all the delirious, joyful, drug-addled prose one expects from Robbins, but avoids his frequent mistake of devolving into boring speculations about the inner lives of inanimate objects or conspiracy theories involving the pyramids. The heroine, Amanda, is one of the sexiest characters in literature, despite (or maybe because of) her marriage to fellow carny weirdo John Paul. Read this book when you feel like having sex on a roller coaster.
"Marriage is not a synonym for monogamy any more than monogamy is a synonym for ideal love [...:]. A strange spurt of semen is not going to wash our love away."(less)
Good lord, Jeeves has a first name. No, don't just skip right by that sentence. Really take a minute. JEEVES HAS A FIRST NAME. It never even occurred...moreGood lord, Jeeves has a first name. No, don't just skip right by that sentence. Really take a minute. JEEVES HAS A FIRST NAME. It never even occurred to me that he might. It doesn't seem like the sort of possession Jeeves would own; I feel as if I'd caught him cuddling a Beanie Baby or something.
Honestly, this would have been worth reading just to discover this little bit of trivia, but even without that it's a fine Wodehousian romp; not my favorite of the Woosters, but very entertaining all the same. If you like any of the Jeeves books you'll like this one; if you do not like the Jeeves books, check your pulse. Are you dead? I can think of no other explanation. (less)
This book established McKinley as one of my favorite writers of all time. I read it while trapped in a wonderful waterfront house during a snowstorm w...moreThis book established McKinley as one of my favorite writers of all time. I read it while trapped in a wonderful waterfront house during a snowstorm with a bunch of my relatives. At one point I reluctantly offered to come join the conversation, but my mom, in one of those wonderful intuitive moments of hers, saw how engrossed I was in the book and told me to stay put, so I got to finish it with the snow falling on the Sound outside and a huge plate of homemade gingersnaps at my elbow.
Uh. None of this will help you decide whether you want to read the book. It's McKinley at her lushest, language-wise: the sentences wrap around and around until you're dizzy, but somehow you never lose track of the story. Which is about a princess forced to flee her home with her faithful dog, and about the recovery process the two of them go through, strongly influenced by their relationship with one another. And the dog, Ash, is extremely, pleasingly doglike.
WARNING: This book contains a brutal rape scene near the beginning, which is what you spend the rest of the book recovering from with the princess and her dog.
"If a dog could have a sense of humor, as Ash manifestly did, could she not also have a sense of irony? Lissar knew that at heart she believed that a good dog was capable of almost anything..."(less)
Way too many abstract passages on the nature of joy, or how the very atoms in a woman's body can be charming, etc. Worth reading for the snippets abou...moreWay too many abstract passages on the nature of joy, or how the very atoms in a woman's body can be charming, etc. Worth reading for the snippets about the lives of actual courtesans, but she seems to have gleaned these from questionable sources, such as the autobiographies of said courtesans, without bothering to authenticate her details. I'd rather read the actual autobiographies and skip the rhetoric.(less)
DON'T read this if you love the cheeky, Hard Day's Night vision of the Beatles. It's an interesting snapshot of Lennon's mind on the day(s) he was bei...moreDON'T read this if you love the cheeky, Hard Day's Night vision of the Beatles. It's an interesting snapshot of Lennon's mind on the day(s) he was being interviewed, and because he's so adamant in everything he says, you might come away feeling he really always hated the other Beatles and so on. But I think he was just a really young guy who didn't yet know how to handle a breakup very well, any kind of breakup. It's an interesting read, but don't get into it if you want your fuzzy Beatles feelings to stay intact. There are plenty of other books and movies out there to show you the other sides of Lennon.(less)
The thing is, in the original Kushiel trilogy, Phedre overcame most challenges by 1) learning someone's language and then 2) having sex with them. And...moreThe thing is, in the original Kushiel trilogy, Phedre overcame most challenges by 1) learning someone's language and then 2) having sex with them. And it turns out that for me (2) was the more interesting part. (Hey, it's escapism!) So while Moirin, the heroine of this trilogy, does learn many languages, she is kind of reticent about (2) and is therefore less fun for me. Don't get me wrong, this trilogy IS a page-turner, but the originals are still my favorite. (less)
This is a fantasy novel about a tall woman who works in a library, falls in love and (in her spare time) saves the world through reading. I'm not sure...moreThis is a fantasy novel about a tall woman who works in a library, falls in love and (in her spare time) saves the world through reading. I'm not sure I need to explain any further why this book made my list. I also love McKillip's prose style, which is rich but never swamped with detail, not unlike the Kinuko Craft covers on her books.
"Within these stones she had grown her weedy way into a young woman, long-boned and strong, able to reach high shelves without a stool."(less)
Imagine if Wooster and Jeeves went around solving mysteries, except Wooster was only pretending to be an ass, and you have Lord Peter Wimsey and his b...moreImagine if Wooster and Jeeves went around solving mysteries, except Wooster was only pretending to be an ass, and you have Lord Peter Wimsey and his butler, Bunter.
Quite apart from the quirky dialogue, puzzling plot and endearingly open-hearted discussions between Lord Peter and his policeman friend, this book is worth reading because the main character is a book hound. All through the novel he's sending his butler off to auctions to pick up rare editions for him, and Sayers thoughtfully includes footnotes for the reader which give details about the books requested, and whether Lord Peter was able to acquire them or not.
When you run out of Miss Marple books, get started on Lord Peter.(less)
I was so sad when I'd read all the Miss Marple books. No more old lady sleuths for me. But I'm gradually discovering that Ariadne Oliver is almost as...moreI was so sad when I'd read all the Miss Marple books. No more old lady sleuths for me. But I'm gradually discovering that Ariadne Oliver is almost as delightful, and this book is FULL of her. Delightful. I didn't even care how the mystery ended, I just wanted Mrs. Oliver to go talk to more old ladies.(less)
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