Book Rec Meme
Jun. 15th, 2011 11:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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How does a book rec meme work?
5 EASY STEPS TO REC SUCCESS:
- Find the genre/type of book you're looking for in the comments! The following genre/types are listed in alphabetical order:
Chick Lit
Children's and Young Adult Lit
Classics
Contemporary Literature
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Horror
Manga, Comics, and Graphic Novels
Mystery/Detective/Crime
Non-Fiction
Romance
Science Fiction
Thrillers
and "Other" (For any genre or type not already listed.) - Click 'reply to this' on the comment with the genre you're looking for. If you're recommending a book, type "RECCING" in the Subject line of your comment. If you're requesting a recommendation, type "REQUESTING".
- Either copy, paste, and fill out the handy forms provided, or describe in your own words the book you're recommending or looking to read.
- Browse the other recommendations that have already been left. Read the rec requests other participants have left, and make suggestions for books you think they might like.
- Share the love! ♥ Copy and paste the following code into your journal to send your friends to the meme:
It's that easy! ;)
Just remember:
* Keep it civil, or suffer the consequences! (Consequences TBD, but may include deletion, bannination, or unsightly rash.)
* DO NOT "Post a new comment"! To keep things tidy, please post all comments as a reply to an existing comment. Misplaced comments will be removed: it doesn't mean you're a bad person. :P
* If you need to ask me something or get my attention, either PM me or post a reply under the "Questions" thread, otherwise I may not see it.
Happy Reading! ♥
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Questions? Complaints?
Date: 2011-06-16 03:45 am (UTC)Introductions
Date: 2011-06-16 04:18 am (UTC)Fill out the profile provided, or make your own.
Re: Introductions
Date: 2011-06-16 04:18 am (UTC)But you can call me: ...Amy!
My favorite genres: Historical fiction, fantasy (more contemporary than sword & sorcery), science fiction, contemporary lit; I love anything humorous.
Classic or contemporary?: Both! Though I often feel woefully under-read when it comes to the classics. But I love classic romance! Jane Austen, the Brontes, etc.
Non-fiction?: Yes. Usually if I'm in a slump where I can't find a novel to read, I'll turn to non-fiction. I especially love cookbooks and anything to do with gardening and herbs.
The five books I own I'd save from a fire: The Original Illustrated Sherlock Holmes, Collected Novels of Jane Austen, my well-worn copy of A Room With a View from high school English, hardcover copy of Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, and...oh jeez. Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger, also owned since high school. (Nostalgia, yo!)
My favorite character(s) from a book: Sherlock Holmes, Elizabeth Bennett, Anathema Device, Hercule Poirot, George Emerson, Faramir, Eowyn, Miss Marple, that tree from The Giving Tree, Ford Prefect, the protagonist from "The Robber Bridegroom"...
Wherein I wax poetic about my love for books: Even as an infant, I preferred my books to all my other toys. I love to read: there's nothing better than a good book! I visit my public library once a week, and I'm always trolling used bookstores. I do find it gets harder to find a good book to read, though: hence this meme!
CHICK LIT
Date: 2011-06-16 06:45 pm (UTC)(Optional) Copy and paste these handy templates for:
RECS
REC REQUESTS
CHILDREN'S AND YOUNG ADULT LIT
Date: 2011-06-16 06:47 pm (UTC)(Optional) Copy and paste these handy templates for:
RECS
REC REQUESTS
CLASSICS
Date: 2011-06-16 06:48 pm (UTC)(Optional) Copy and paste these handy templates for:
RECS
REC REQUESTS
CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE
Date: 2011-06-16 06:50 pm (UTC)(Optional) Copy and paste these handy templates for:
RECS
REC REQUESTS
FANTASY
Date: 2011-06-16 06:51 pm (UTC)(Optional) Copy and paste these handy templates for:
RECS
REC REQUESTS
HISTORICAL FICTION
Date: 2011-06-16 06:52 pm (UTC)(Optional) Copy and paste these handy templates for:
RECS
REC REQUESTS
HORROR
Date: 2011-06-16 06:53 pm (UTC)(Optional) Copy and paste these handy templates for:
RECS
REC REQUESTS
MANGA, COMICS, AND GRAPHIC NOVELS
Date: 2011-06-16 06:53 pm (UTC)(Optional) Copy and paste these handy templates for:
RECS
REC REQUESTS
MYSTERY/DETECTIVE/CRIME
Date: 2011-06-16 06:54 pm (UTC)(Optional) Copy and paste these handy templates for:
RECS
REC REQUESTS
NON-FICTION
Date: 2011-06-16 06:55 pm (UTC)(Optional) Copy and paste these handy templates for:
RECS
REC REQUESTS
ROMANCE
Date: 2011-06-16 06:56 pm (UTC)(Optional) Copy and paste these handy templates for:
RECS
REC REQUESTS
SCIENCE FICTION
Date: 2011-06-16 06:57 pm (UTC)(Optional) Copy and paste these handy templates for:
RECS
REC REQUESTS
THRILLERS
Date: 2011-06-16 06:58 pm (UTC)(Optional) Copy and paste these handy templates for:
RECS
REC REQUESTS
OTHER (Anything that doesn't fit in one of the above categories!)
Date: 2011-06-16 07:00 pm (UTC)(Optional) Copy and paste these handy templates for:
RECS
REC REQUESTS
Re: Introductions
Date: 2011-06-17 03:19 am (UTC)But you can call me: Whatever you like, just tell me you're going to do it first or I'm not going to answer, am I?
My favorite genres: Fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, romance, historical... you know what? Just put down 'all' except contemporary YA which gets on my nerves like nothing else ever.
Classic or contemporary?: Classic, by a long way (I do try to read contemporary, but I spend a lot of time thinking 'I liked this book better when it was called X' and then I quit. Mostly I read really awful contemporary so I can mock it.)
Non-fiction?: Hellz yes. Have you seen my collection of cookbooks, historical reference, gardening, art history and miscellaneous others?
The five books I own I'd save from a fire: D: FIVE? As in, only five? Forget it. I couldn't pick them.
My favorite character(s) from a book: Oooh. Sherlock Holmes, Boromir, Arthur Dent, Moist Von Lipwig (and just about every other character who lives on the Discworld, but I'm keeping this short), Sirius Black, Algernon Moncrieff (are we counting plays? We are now), Bertie Wooster, Donald Farfrae (of The Mayor of Casterbridge), Sebastian Flyte, and I realise these are all male character and I'm going to stop now because I am drawing a blank for female ones and I feel silly. Can I count Giant Girl? Because I like her.
Wherein I wax poetic about my love for books: When I was younger, we weren't a family who owned a lot of books (other than a great set of the Encyclopedia Britannica from some time in the 1970's, a children's bible, and one picture book that was given to me as a baby because I was born on some sort of literature day). I was never really encouraged to read; mum and dad have always been a bit oddly of the opinion that you only really need a handful of books and you can just read them over and over again, or something. And libraries were mystical places that we never visited unless it was with Grandma who totally gets reading. So having been deprived as a child, I now collect books like mad. I've just discovered that I have three copies of Minority Report and I don't even particularly like it (I liked Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep much better). Bibliophile is a completely apt term for me. I am running out of places to store books, and a lot of them have started living in disorganised piles about the place. Also, I'd much rather have a second-hand book than a new one, because I like the way they feel and I always feel guilty cracking the spine of a new book. Ahem.
RECCING
Date: 2011-06-17 03:25 am (UTC)Title: The Frog Prince Continued
Author: Jon Scieszka
Length: It's a picture book.
Summary: The Frog Prince Continued is basically the story of what happens after the 'happily ever after'. It's about the Frog Prince, who's a human now, obviously, not being happy with his new life.
Books it's similar to: Erm. It's a lot like a sequel to The Frog Prince, really.
Why I'd rec it: It is a picture book, but as an adult who likes fairytales I think it's worth reading because it does look at 'and they lived happily ever after' and asks - "Really?" - If anyone else does read it, I'd love to know what you think of the ending.
No-one saw that.
Re: Introductions
Date: 2011-06-17 04:04 am (UTC)But you can call me: Jess
My favorite genres: Science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, contemporary lit, poetry, YA
Classic or contemporary?: I like both, but I'm waaay behind on my classics. *hangs head in nerd shame*
Non-fiction?: Yes! Historical reference (particularly Victorian England), science-y stuff, biographies or memoirs of interesting people, anything to do with travel/foreign countries...
The five books I own I'd save from a fire: Oh god, I couldn't pick. I'd end up burning with them because I'd be standing in front of my bookshelves going, "I can't, I can't decide..."
My favorite character(s) from a book: Sherlock Holmes & John Watson, Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn, Harry Potter, Crowley, Jane Eyre, and those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head...
Wherein I wax poetic about my love for books: I cried after the first day of kindergarten was over because I hadn't learned how to read yet.
RECCING
Date: 2011-06-17 04:24 am (UTC)Title: The Knife of Never Letting Go
Author: Patrick Ness
Length: Just under 500 pages
Summary: Set in an entirely male town where everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts, Todd and his dog Manchee (whose thoughts he can hear as well) accidentally discover a horrible secret about the townspeople and have to go on the run from the power-hungry mayor and an insane minister. They set out to find answers about his colony's true past. First in the Chaos Walking series.
Books it's similar to: Um. Are there any other YA coming-of-age novels with unwanted telepathy and talking dogs set in a dystopian space colony?
Why I'd rec it: It's a mix of a coming-of-age story about a boy and his dog, scifi adventure, and dystopian thriller all in one. The colloquial spelling and language will probably irk some people, but Todd has a great narrative voice.
RECCING
Date: 2011-06-17 05:17 am (UTC)Title: Story of a Girl
Author: Sara Zarr
Length: Two hundred some? Very respectable, solid length for a YA, but nothing that's going to overwhelm you.
Summary: The hook is that 16-year-old Deanna has a reputation with her school (and her father) as a slut because she was rumbled by said dad in the backseat of her high school senior boyfriend's car back when she was in eighth grade. Deanna spends the summer before her junior year battling immense loneliness, scheming to escape, but instead buckling down and finding that she's strong enough to right the relationships in her life.
Books it's similar to: Like nothing I've read before. There's a lot of books with similar premises, but none are as dead-on accurate and as well-written and as wise as this one.
Why I'd rec it: I don't even normally like contemporary lit, but this book--low-key, but full of suppressed emotion--manages to be so real and hopeful at the same time. The characterizations are superb, Deanna more than holds her own in the cast as a narrator, and the details of working-class family life--such as it is--are so spot on that it's downright eerie. Chris Crutcher (who himself wrote Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes) calls this "a hell of a good book." He's not wrong.
REQUESTING
Date: 2011-06-17 05:19 am (UTC)Length: Any length, but is there a stand-alone out there? Or maybe a nice self-contained trilogy?
Genre tropes I enjoy: Most of 'em. :D
Genre tropes I dislike: Excessively heavy-handed social commentary. (Look, I love Tamora Pierce as much as the next reader, but if I get hit over the head with one more disdainful woman-hating antagonist, I may just spew.)
I'm looking for a book like: Harry Potter, I guess. ;)
Other factors to consider: I think I'm mainly just looking for something with pretty magic but different, especially if the theme is not one that's generally being explored in contemporary fantasy. And, again, I can't even keep track of all the different series that I have to get through piecemeal while at the mercy of an indifferent library system. Any good fantasy stand-alones out there, por favor?
Re: Introductions
Date: 2011-06-17 05:30 am (UTC)But you can call me: Jobey (Congrats! You are very likeable)
My favorite genres: Mystery/Detective/Crime, Classics, and probably "Other". I read a lot of YA for work as well.
Classic or contemporary?: Probably classic... ish.
Non-fiction?: When I'm punishing myself
The five books I own I'd save from a fire: I'd probably spring for them again no problem, but, in the spirit of the question, let's say: The Man Who Was Thursday, Till We Have Faces, The Green Mile, Hrotsvitha's plays in helpfully emended Latin, and No More Dead Dogs (hey, it's signed by the author). Of course, in the middle of the night I'm sure to wake up and wonder why I forgot to put such-and-such title on this list.
My favorite character(s) from a book: Do we really have this much time?
Wherein I wax poetic about my love for books: Stories can keep you alive, brother. And books are the portable version of this life support.
Re: Introductions
Date: 2011-06-17 05:31 am (UTC)cheatergenius!