The Potential To-Read-This-Summer-at-Work List:

[emothy]

Books I own, and have probably owned for at least a year if not (a lot) longer, that I haven't yet read:


- Her Fearful Symmetry, Audrey Niffenegger
- The Wind-up Bird Chronicles, Murakami
- Fragile Things, Neil Gaiman
- Victory of Eagles, Naomi Novik (Potentially reread all the Temeraire books before continuing, but not especially necessary)
- Dreamsongs, George R. R. Martin
- The Inheritance, Robin Hobb (I really suck at reading short story collections, you may have noticed.)
- RX For Chaos, Christopher Anvil
- Interstellar Patrol, Christopher Anvil
- Interstellar Patrol II: The Federation of Humanity, Christopher Anvil
- The Black Prism, Brent Weeks
- Inkheart, Cornelia Funke
- A Song For Arbonne, Guy Gavriel Kay
- Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay
- Lord of Emperors, Guy Gavriel Kay (I've read Sailing to Sarantium)
- The Blade Itself, Joe Abercrombie
- The Stars' Tennis Balls, Stephen Fry
- The Fry Chronicles, Stephen Fry
- Acorna's Search, Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
- Acorna's Rebels, Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (reread the first bunch in the series first, easy reading)
- The Scarab Path, Adrian Tchaikovsky
- The Sea Watch, Adrian Tchaikovsky (I need to buy the next one, Heirs of the Blade, too!) (Have begun a reread of this series in order to read these, somewhere in the middle of book two currently)
- Beguilement, Lois McMaster Bujold
- Legacy, Lois McMaster Bujold
- Passage, Lois McMaster Bujold
- Horizon, Lois McMaster Bujold
- Gardens of the Moon, Steven Erikson


This isn't everything, I have a stack of Anne McCaffrey books I got dirt cheap that I probably won't read, and a fair few by Terry Pratchett. Also the first three Wheel of Time books, except the first one was such a slog I am not really tempted anymore, some stuff by David Eddings, and Terry Brooks. Oh and the first three books of The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. As well as any other random stuff hidden on my bookshelves that I haven't found to add to this list :x

If anyone wants to warn me off of anything, or reccomend I get on with anything right now you are more than welcome XD

...And jeeze, there's probably quite a lot more ebook-wise I've yet to read, too! :x

NOBODY LET ME ASK FOR BOOKS FOR MY BIRTHDAY THIS YEAR OKAY.

Comments

[littlebutfierce]

I haven't read it in ages, but if you are worrying about crying in public, 'ware A Song for Arbonne, or at least if you cry remotely at the same sorts of things that I cry at, ahahaha.

[emothy]

I have no idea until I read it but I totally cry at things in books so I will consider myself warned! ;D

[rie]

Books books books!

Not particularly helpful in cutting down on this list, but — Wind-up Chronicles by Murakami is fantastic. Inkheart by Funke bored me, but it's a quick read so you may want to check it out for yourself? And I'm in complete accord re: skipping the McCaffrey. The woman's stance on certain social issues and her hatred of fanworks both fill me with unspeakable rage.

[rie]

I'd skip the GRRM, too. He's a mediocre writer at best; his strengths lie in character building. And there isn't much character development to be had in short stories.

[emothy]

Cutting down begins with deciding what to read first! So it is helpful ;)

I actually started Inkheart ages ago but I got bored of waiting for the story to actually start. It is easy reading though, so I probably will finish it for the sake of finishing it.

The internet makes it so much easier for authors (everyone!) to throw their opinions about everywhere. It can be so disheartening to find out that someone whose writing you admire has such problematic opinions. And I often find that anyone outright against fanworks tends to be kind of... irrational. Even those who ignore it or pretend it doesn't exist for legal reasons manage to stay rational about it!

I think that may be why I don't read a lot of short story collections; I really need to be invested in the characters!

[rie]

Haha, that's one way to look at it! I think there are a bunch of sequels to Inkheart, too, so you'll have more to read if you enjoy it! (It may be a trilogy?)

The biggest problem with McCaffrey is that she populates her worlds with her bigotry as well — homosexual characters in Pern are horrendously treated. She's great at world-building, but at some point it's hard to separate her despicable prejudices from the worth of the work as a whole.

And I agree! I've always felt that creative works belong to both the creator and the consumer; but I think it all goes back to the issue of why art is created in the first place. As a mimetic device? As self-expression for the author? As material for an audience to consume? If an author - like McCaffrey - believes that her work was created solely for self-expression, it's understandable (if ridiculous!) that she'd be against the so-called bastardization and/or appropriation of her brainchildren.

Still makes me angry, heh.

Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox. Have fun reading! And if you ever want to read a short story collection that features characters that will rip your heart out, try Acts of Worship by Yukio Mishima.

[emothy]

I think it might be a trilogy! I'm not sure either XD

Urgh, that's the worst, when an author can't keep their personal beliefs or opinions out of their writing. There are plenty of places to discuss those things that are much better than within fictional novels! It would even be better (though still not at all ideal), that if they can't resist hating on particular things/people/lifestyles that they don't personally agree with, for them to simply not include those in their writing!

I think... that once you expect people to pay for your works maybe you aren't allowed to think of them as 100% self-expression any longer XDDDD Once you make your work available to the general public, how they interpret it (and how they appropriate it, if they choose to!) is completely out of your hands! Who knew? XD

I am making note of the book, thank you! <3