Books!

[JoB]

anyone who's willing to take Paypal and willing to add a few more languages from Your Local Country, please contact me!

That might get expensive ...

[urbicande]

That might get expensive ...

Not as expensive as going all those places to buy them myself!  (Mind, I should have checked for a bookstore when I changed planes at Schilpol a few weeks back.  I don't have a Dutch copy yet).

Oh, Italian. I have Italian.

[Mélusine]

End of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Not my favorite of him *Still wants to buy the new illustrated edition of Neverwhere when she'll have money... later...* but it was good to re-read it, in English this time No, I hadn't tears in my eyes at some moments like with Nation, what are you thiking ? *Cries maybe too much on books these last weeks* Hmmm, what will I read now ?

[kjeks]

End of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Not my favorite of him *Still wants to buy the new illustrated edition of Neverwhere when she'll have money... later...* but it was good to re-read it, in English this time No, I hadn't tears in my eyes at some moments like with Nation, what are you thiking ? *Cries maybe too much on books these last weeks* Hmmm, what will I read now ?

If jorge bucay is published in french - I bet he is - one of his books!!! any of the older ones!

[Mélusine]

If jorge bucay is published in french - I bet he is - one of his books!!! any of the older ones!

*Makes a research* Three books published in French. Mmmh. I'll have a look later. I'm sorry, I should have written "what will I read now in my books waiting to be read" *Buys as less as possible for now*

[kjeks]

*Makes a research* Three books published in French. Mmmh. I'll have a look later. I'm sorry, I should have written "what will I read now in my books waiting to be read" *Buys as less as possible for now*

*looksatbooksnotreadpilingupontheshelf*

Uhuh... I go and learn languages instead XD

[Jerzy_S]

I doubt it's been already mentioned here so I'd really like to recommend you books of polish fantasy author Jacek Dukaj. I know that Extensa, Other songs, An ideal imperfectiom, The crow, Cathedral and something else have been translated, but not into english, apparently. But perhaps it's the language you know? Anyway, all those books are great, especially my favourite, Other songs and enormous, over thousand pages long Ice. It's a pity that they are not available in english. Anyway, I really recommend you reading those, if possible, or at least trying to find some fan translation. Or learning polish, of course

[JacobThomsen]

I doubt it's been already mentioned here so I'd really like to recommend you books of polish fantasy author Jacek Dukaj. I know that Extensa, Other songs, An ideal imperfectiom, The crow, Cathedral and something else have been translated, but not into english, apparently. But perhaps it's the language you know? Anyway, all those books are great, especially my favourite, Other songs and enormous, over thousand pages long Ice. It's a pity that they are not available in english. Anyway, I really recommend you reading those, if possible, or at least trying to find some fan translation. Or learning polish, of course

Just goggled him and he sound pretty interesting, I think I'll take a look at him as soon as his books get translated to English (which according to the internet is in the making). But while I wait may I recommend the books of Alex Scarrow, and especially his “Time riders” series. 

[urbicande]

So, recently finished The Obelisk Gate, the sequel to N. K. Jemisin's Hugo-award-winning The Fifth Season (which is an amazing book).  It's not QUITE as stunning as its predecessor, but it's still really, really good.

[Lazy8]

I come bearing a few recommendations that are about as schizo as my taste in music. (In other words: they don't have a whole lot to do with each other )

• An Ember in the Ashes by new author Sabaa Tahir, a (sort-of dystopian) fantasy based on the Roman Empire, that tells the story of a peasant girl who starts working for The Resistance to save her brother, and an unwilling soldier of The Empire. Not a big fan of the multiple love triangles, but I liked most of the characters, the worldbuilding was refreshing, and there was a truly chilling villain. Also liked the subtle portrayal of the toxic society itself being the main "villain" of the story.
• A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle (better known for one of his other books, The Last Unicorn). This one tells the stories of an older man and woman and two recently dead ghosts, and really appealed to me for its very low-key, understated fantasy, the relaxing day-in-the life narrative style, the focus on interpersonal interactions, and the subtle romance. This might not be the book for everyone, but it turned out to be exactly what I needed when I picked it out of the library exchange bin.
• I've also been on an extended Ursula K. Le Guin kick; her characters don't always click with me but I love love love her worldbuilding. Personal favorites are The Left Hand of Darkness (a world without gender), Four Ways to Forgiveness (an extended exploration of a culture that's in the process of ending its system of slavery), and one of her earlier works, Rocannon's World, which is more romantic/high fantasy in tone and takes place on a planet I'm disappointed she never returned to. The Birthday of the World, a collection of short stories (mostly) of the Hainish Cycle, is also quite wonderful.

I'm also on the prowl for more recommendations (so greedy of me, I know). Some of my favorite genres:

• Dystopias. On my have-read list are The Giver, 1984, Animal Farm, Brave New World, A Handmaid's Tale, The Lathe of Heaven, Fahrenheit 451, and... I'm pretty sure there are also plenty of others that I've missed. But yeah, technological dystopias, cultural dystopias, failed utopias, I eat them up.
• Post-apocalypses. Though funnily enough, I've discovered that while I like dystopias and I like post-apocalypses, I'm not a big fan of most post-apocalyptic dystopias that I've encountered. Rather, I prefer post-apocalypses like SSSS where society has started to recover and work toward a new equilibrium without being awful about it.
• Fantasy that draws on non-Western mythology (in other words, that doesn't just rip off Middle Earth). I've already seen a few recommendations for Japanese-mythology-based fantasy, which I'll have to check out. I also have to ask whether anyone knows of good stories that draw from Native American/First Nations, ancient Egyptian, or Middle Eastern cultures, to name only a very, very few of the many that interest me? *looks around hopefully*
• Recent authors who stick close to the original, non-Disneyfied portrayal of fairies (or "fey", as I say when I want to distinguish the two).

[Kiraly]

Ooh! I've been meaning to read An Ember in the Ashes, I'll have to move it higher up my TBR list. I do have a couple of other suggestions for fantasy that draws on non-Western mythology: A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston and The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi. (I should write actual descriptions for them but I'm at work and it got crazy busy, so let me know if you want more info and I'll get it to you later!)

[Lazy8]

Ooh! I've been meaning to read An Ember in the Ashes, I'll have to move it higher up my TBR list. I do have a couple of other suggestions for fantasy that draws on non-Western mythology: A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston and The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi. (I should write actual descriptions for them but I'm at work and it got crazy busy, so let me know if you want more info and I'll get it to you later!)

Those both look in intriguing - especially the second one, since one thing I'd like to read more of for whatever reason is the arranged marriage that worked. The first... it also looks interesting, but I have to ask: is this a relationship of the "I can change him!" variety? Because the trope of a woman turning a monster into a better person by staying with him is one that I really do not like.

[Helia]

For the non-Western fantasy  I can recommend Guy Gavriel Kay's Under Heaven (inspired by historic events in Tang dynasty China) and River of stars (based on events during the Song dynasty)
These are closer to historical fantasy, so they're more enjoyable if you have a bit of a history-nerd side.

[Mélusine]

• Dystopias. On my have-read list are The Giver, 1984, Animal Farm, Brave New World, A Handmaid's Tale, The Lathe of Heaven, Fahrenheit 451, and... I'm pretty sure there are also plenty of others that I've missed. But yeah, technological dystopias, cultural dystopias, failed utopias, I eat them up.

In high school, we had a project to prepare during the year, two years on the three, and it had to combine two classes. When I was there, the subjects were more vast than what they are now. (For example, I remember my subject for the second year was "Memory".) The first one, I've worked with The Giver, Farenheit 451, 1984 and Brave New World (which was the more chilling for me). Probably one of my best memories from high school
BUT I don't know the two other titles (I've read Animal Farm too.) you're mentioning. Hmmm... interesting

[Kiraly]

Those both look in intriguing - especially the second one, since one thing I'd like to read more of for whatever reason is the arranged marriage that worked. The first... it also looks interesting, but I have to ask: is this a relationship of the "I can change him!" variety? Because the trope of a woman turning a monster into a better person by staying with him is one that I really do not like.

Oh, that's a good question! That first story is not really a romance, actually. The man in question is literally a monster (as in, something not-human which has taken over a human's body... not much of a spoiler, since it's revealed near the beginning) so the story does not go the "redeem the villain" route at all.