Book Recommendation Request
Aug. 15th, 2015 10:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_rckI still, of course, have no idea when my surgery will be. My sister has mentioned the possibility that they'll want to do an MRI before the surgery, since my breasts are very dense, just to make sure they're not missing anything. The thing about that is that a breast MRI has to be done during an approximately ten day window in a woman's cycle. My next period will start some time between the 20th and the 10th (I'm pretty irregular). I'm not sure how long after that the MRI would be. I was really hoping that the surgery could be very, very soon so that I could put the whole thing out of my mind and not spend weeks and weeks stressing out.
I am thinking, though, that I may want to buy some e-books to put on my e-reader, assuming I can actually find the power cord for it. I have a lot of fics on there, but I think I'm going to want very specifically light reading. If I weren't expecting to have difficulty holding something as heavy as a hardcover book, I'd probably just put holds on a couple of dozen non-fiction books that sound interesting, but I don't think that will work.
So I'm looking for recommendations. I've put together two lists of authors. The first is authors that I currently can always read without anxiety issues. The second is authors I usually like and can sometimes read without anxiety issues. I don't claim that everything on this list is high art or necessarily anything but popcorn/cotton candy reading.
Romances and mysteries are exceedingly hit or miss for me. I like middle grade books but often end up not finishing them because I identify more strongly with the parents than the protagonists.
The authors I can pretty much always read:
Donna Andrews (fluffy, funny mysteries)
Nancy Atherton (fluffy pseudo-mysteries where everyone is actually a good person)
Larry Gonick (graphic novels on history and science and various other non-fiction subjects)
Kerry Greenwood (Phryne Fisher mysteries and Corinna Chapman mysteries)
Diana Wynne Jones (highly varied MG and YA fantasy)
Janet Kagan (two stand alone SF books and a Star Trek novel)
Katharine Eliska Kimbriel (one SF series and one fantasy series)
Jayne Ann Krentz/Jayne Castle/Amanda Quick (romantic suspense, often with psychic powers. If you've read one, you know exactly how all the others will go.)
Mercedes Lackey (I've mostly read the Valdemar books, so if I don't have any other ideas, I'll get a bunch of her other books. Assuming I can deal with that much of one author's tics.)
Emma Lathen/R.B. Dominic (mysteries. The Lathen books center on financial matters with a hero who's a banker. The Dominic books center on politics with a hero who's a congressman.)
James H. Schmitz (SF with overly competent but vastly enjoyable female characters)
Ursula Vernon (I adore Dragonbreath, Castle Hangnail, and Digger)
Patricia Wrede (fantasy)
Authors I can only sometimes read:
Mary Balogh (Romance. I have no idea why some of these work for me and some really, really don't.)
Anne Bishop (Fantasy. I run into trouble with the over the top torture bits and the oh, oh, I'm so dark and angsty and miserable bits. I've only read the Black Jewels stuff. I've tried starting other series and bounced right off them, so now I don't even try.)
Steven Brust (Fantasy. I can read most-- but not all-- Vlad books and very little else)
Lois McMaster Bujold (SF and fantasy. I couldn't read the second Sharing Knife book, and I couldn't read Captain Vorpatril's Alliance)
David and Leigh Eddings (Fantasy. I hated The Redemption of Althalus, and I would have to be paid an extremely large sum to reread the first two books of The Elenium. I've enjoyed everything else in a pleasant I-don't-have-to-worry-about-this sort of way. The characterization is all surface, but it's surface I can move along fairly pleasantly as long as I don't think too hard about anything underneath.)
Eric Flint (not generally his fantasy. Other stuff depends on co-author. I liked the first handful of 1632 books, but they're too much now. I like the series that starts with Boundary, and I really, really like Mother of Demons. I think the Belasarius stuff appeals to me mostly because it's a time period I knew a lot about going in.)
Dorothy Gilman (Espionage/mystery. I prefer the older books to the newer ones. I feel like she lost energy around the time of The Hong Kong Buddha. I also never really fell in love with anything but her Mrs Pollifax books. The other stuff was okay, but it wasn't as good.)
Georgette Heyer (Romance. I'm not keen on her mysteries. I like the energy and the fun, but I don't deal very well with characters getting embarrassed/humiliated, so there are some books I stalled out on. I love A Civil Contract, Frederica, The Unknown Ajax, and The Talisman Ring.)
Nina Kiriki Hoffman (Fantasy mostly. I disliked Catalyst hugely, and I wasn't comfortable with A Silent Stir of Bones. Beyond that, I find Hoffman's books generally comforting.)
Tanya Huff (Fantasy. Not the vampires, shapeshifters, or milSF.)
Jane Lindskold (SF and fantasy. Early books only. She lost me mid-way through the Firekeeper books.)
Alexander McCall Smith (Mysteries, sort of. No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency only and not the most recent of those.)
Kelly McCullough (Fantasy. Ravirn series, specifically. I bought the first of his current series, but it was too dark for me to finish.)
Robin McKinley (Fantasy. Older books mainly. I don't think I've liked anything since Sunshine, and I was iffy on that.)
Tamora Pierce (Fantasy. I only had trouble with the Beka Cooper books and Battle Magic)
Daniel Pinkwater (Middle grade. Fantasy maybe? SF maybe? Not the stuff aimed at really little kids. I like the middle grade stuff-- The Snarkout Boys, Lizard Music, Alan Mendelson, etc.)
Rick Riordan (Middle grade/YA fantasy. I often read the first and last thirds of his books and then extrapolate the events in the middle)
Lisa Shearin (Fantasy. I stopped dead in the middle of her first series. I'm not sure why. I liked the characters and the voice, and the books moved along rapidly. I think it was, at least in part, that the story arc never seemed to advance at all.)
Wen Spencer (SF and fantasy. I couldn't read Endless Blue because I'm afraid of water, and I haven't yet finished the Tinker series. I don't know if I will as I keep looking at the books and trying to find something else to do.)
Mark Walden (Middle grade, supervillains. The H.I.V.E. series mostly works for me.)
Manly Wade Wellman (Fantasy. The Silver John stories mainly are what work for me, the short stories are better than the novels.)
Sherryl Woods (Romance. Some of her romances work for me. Others, I bounce right off of. I can't predict it.)
Roger Zelazny (Fantasy, SF. I love some, like some and don't much like others. I'm particularly fond of the first Amber series, A Night in the Lonesome October, Lord of Light, and Doorways in the Sand.)
I am thinking, though, that I may want to buy some e-books to put on my e-reader, assuming I can actually find the power cord for it. I have a lot of fics on there, but I think I'm going to want very specifically light reading. If I weren't expecting to have difficulty holding something as heavy as a hardcover book, I'd probably just put holds on a couple of dozen non-fiction books that sound interesting, but I don't think that will work.
So I'm looking for recommendations. I've put together two lists of authors. The first is authors that I currently can always read without anxiety issues. The second is authors I usually like and can sometimes read without anxiety issues. I don't claim that everything on this list is high art or necessarily anything but popcorn/cotton candy reading.
Romances and mysteries are exceedingly hit or miss for me. I like middle grade books but often end up not finishing them because I identify more strongly with the parents than the protagonists.
The authors I can pretty much always read:
Donna Andrews (fluffy, funny mysteries)
Nancy Atherton (fluffy pseudo-mysteries where everyone is actually a good person)
Larry Gonick (graphic novels on history and science and various other non-fiction subjects)
Kerry Greenwood (Phryne Fisher mysteries and Corinna Chapman mysteries)
Diana Wynne Jones (highly varied MG and YA fantasy)
Janet Kagan (two stand alone SF books and a Star Trek novel)
Katharine Eliska Kimbriel (one SF series and one fantasy series)
Jayne Ann Krentz/Jayne Castle/Amanda Quick (romantic suspense, often with psychic powers. If you've read one, you know exactly how all the others will go.)
Mercedes Lackey (I've mostly read the Valdemar books, so if I don't have any other ideas, I'll get a bunch of her other books. Assuming I can deal with that much of one author's tics.)
Emma Lathen/R.B. Dominic (mysteries. The Lathen books center on financial matters with a hero who's a banker. The Dominic books center on politics with a hero who's a congressman.)
James H. Schmitz (SF with overly competent but vastly enjoyable female characters)
Ursula Vernon (I adore Dragonbreath, Castle Hangnail, and Digger)
Patricia Wrede (fantasy)
Authors I can only sometimes read:
Mary Balogh (Romance. I have no idea why some of these work for me and some really, really don't.)
Anne Bishop (Fantasy. I run into trouble with the over the top torture bits and the oh, oh, I'm so dark and angsty and miserable bits. I've only read the Black Jewels stuff. I've tried starting other series and bounced right off them, so now I don't even try.)
Steven Brust (Fantasy. I can read most-- but not all-- Vlad books and very little else)
Lois McMaster Bujold (SF and fantasy. I couldn't read the second Sharing Knife book, and I couldn't read Captain Vorpatril's Alliance)
David and Leigh Eddings (Fantasy. I hated The Redemption of Althalus, and I would have to be paid an extremely large sum to reread the first two books of The Elenium. I've enjoyed everything else in a pleasant I-don't-have-to-worry-about-this sort of way. The characterization is all surface, but it's surface I can move along fairly pleasantly as long as I don't think too hard about anything underneath.)
Eric Flint (not generally his fantasy. Other stuff depends on co-author. I liked the first handful of 1632 books, but they're too much now. I like the series that starts with Boundary, and I really, really like Mother of Demons. I think the Belasarius stuff appeals to me mostly because it's a time period I knew a lot about going in.)
Dorothy Gilman (Espionage/mystery. I prefer the older books to the newer ones. I feel like she lost energy around the time of The Hong Kong Buddha. I also never really fell in love with anything but her Mrs Pollifax books. The other stuff was okay, but it wasn't as good.)
Georgette Heyer (Romance. I'm not keen on her mysteries. I like the energy and the fun, but I don't deal very well with characters getting embarrassed/humiliated, so there are some books I stalled out on. I love A Civil Contract, Frederica, The Unknown Ajax, and The Talisman Ring.)
Nina Kiriki Hoffman (Fantasy mostly. I disliked Catalyst hugely, and I wasn't comfortable with A Silent Stir of Bones. Beyond that, I find Hoffman's books generally comforting.)
Tanya Huff (Fantasy. Not the vampires, shapeshifters, or milSF.)
Jane Lindskold (SF and fantasy. Early books only. She lost me mid-way through the Firekeeper books.)
Alexander McCall Smith (Mysteries, sort of. No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency only and not the most recent of those.)
Kelly McCullough (Fantasy. Ravirn series, specifically. I bought the first of his current series, but it was too dark for me to finish.)
Robin McKinley (Fantasy. Older books mainly. I don't think I've liked anything since Sunshine, and I was iffy on that.)
Tamora Pierce (Fantasy. I only had trouble with the Beka Cooper books and Battle Magic)
Daniel Pinkwater (Middle grade. Fantasy maybe? SF maybe? Not the stuff aimed at really little kids. I like the middle grade stuff-- The Snarkout Boys, Lizard Music, Alan Mendelson, etc.)
Rick Riordan (Middle grade/YA fantasy. I often read the first and last thirds of his books and then extrapolate the events in the middle)
Lisa Shearin (Fantasy. I stopped dead in the middle of her first series. I'm not sure why. I liked the characters and the voice, and the books moved along rapidly. I think it was, at least in part, that the story arc never seemed to advance at all.)
Wen Spencer (SF and fantasy. I couldn't read Endless Blue because I'm afraid of water, and I haven't yet finished the Tinker series. I don't know if I will as I keep looking at the books and trying to find something else to do.)
Mark Walden (Middle grade, supervillains. The H.I.V.E. series mostly works for me.)
Manly Wade Wellman (Fantasy. The Silver John stories mainly are what work for me, the short stories are better than the novels.)
Sherryl Woods (Romance. Some of her romances work for me. Others, I bounce right off of. I can't predict it.)
Roger Zelazny (Fantasy, SF. I love some, like some and don't much like others. I'm particularly fond of the first Amber series, A Night in the Lonesome October, Lord of Light, and Doorways in the Sand.)
no subject
Date: 2015-08-19 03:18 am (UTC)Re Mercedes Lackey - I like most of her books, but while her books-in-series are similar enough to be cookie-cutter, she isn't always similar across series. The urban fantasy can be hard because she uses the miserable-orphan trope in *our* world, in ways that...well, hurt to read (I think - it's been a while - that the Diana Tregarde books are an exception). The Bardic Voices series has some hard moments, but overall feels more like Valdemar to me in terms of tone. The Brainship series is awesome IMO, but more Anne McCaffrey influence than Lackey, IMO. Dragon Jousters is good but I'm at a loss what to compare it to. I quite like the Elemental Masters books, and because they're recasting fairy tales, you have somewhat of an idea of what you're getting into. The Obsidian Universe is very, very different - I can see her hand in it, to be sure, but I suspect that was more James Mallory than her - and fairly dark, IMO.
I'm not sure, but:
You might like Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael books (mysteries, and the detective is a monk). It's a fairly large series and I remember it being consistent in tone/characterization, so if you like a couple, you'll probably enjoy most or all of them, I'm guessing.
Things that I love and find rereadable, that may or may not overlap and I'm not at all sure of, but listing in case: Michelle Sagara's Chronicles of Elantra, beginning with Cast In Shadow; Marion G Harmon's Wearing the Cape series, beginning with Wearing the Cape. Possibly Amy Thomson's _The Color of Distance_.
I don't know if you'd enjoy Ruth Reichl's books - which are mostly memoirs and about nothing like what we've been discussing - but I've enjoyed them a lot. Though Delicious!, her novel, covers some rough subjects and may not be as good a choice as the semi-non-fiction (she freely admits she dresses up th details, so I can't call it pure non-fiction).