Books

[Zavi]

I am in love. I finished this book The Fire in Fiction a couple days ago, but it's still got me through a loop. And it's a writing book! Most of those I've encountered are pretty straightforward, though I've read a couple keepers.

But this one...this one's just amazing. It was just published this year, and I advise all of you to go check it out. Some of the tips aren't quite new, but there's coverage of all kinds of fiction problems and overflowing with examples. One of them left me in tears--quite a feat for a couple of paragraphs out of context.

It's got a wealth of exercises (haven't tried any yet, but I'm probably going to use them for extras in my C.W. portfolio) too. Awesome stuff.

So, what's your genre? What are your favorite books, and have you read any keepers recently?

I could talk for hours about Eric Blehm's The Last Season, but I shall restrain myself. It's gripping on every page and it's 100% true.

Right now I'm reading David Clement-Davies' Fire Bringer and Pride and Prejudice. The former is thus far a disappointment (and it's by my favorite author, too! D:) but I like P&P. I looooove Mr. Collins. Don't hurt me!

[Coral]

I can't stand Jane Austen. Movies or books.

My genre of choice is historical. Sometimes it's romance, sometimes it's not. I write contemporary too, but historical is my first love.

I've heard several good things about Fire in Fiction but haven't been able to get it yet.

[WickedElphie]

Oooh. That Fire in Fiction book is *so* going on my list.

The last thing I read was a short story set in the Dresden Files 'verse: www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden/. Butcher's the rare author whose books continue to get better as he goes. The sample chapters from "Storm Front", "Fool Moon", and "Grave Peril" can be read without fear, but past that: "Thar Be Spoilers!"

[Zavi]

-drools- It's to die for. I thought of you when it cited the Dresden Files series in the chapter about suspension of disbelief.

I have to check back to see what my favorite examples were from, but the one from Courting Trouble had me bawling my eyes out. And I don't usually cry from books, just movies.

I'm an anthromorphic fiction junkie with some fantasy, sci-fi, thriller and literary thrown in. I tolerate a lot more preachiness than my friend who, in contrast, loves chick-lit. Can't stand that genre. Meg Cabot's a fantastic person (who was mentioned in Fire in Fiction), but why would anyone want to read about teenagers in high school?

I like books with a heavy moral or at least a message. It doesn't have to hit me in the face, but I like something going on between the lines.

My favorite classics have to be Gatsby, Tarzan, anything by Jack London, and Black Beauty. Thoreau is on my to-read list as well as John Muir.

Just give me talking animals, although I can't stand the Narnia books.

[WickedElphie]

I thought of you when it cited the Dresden Files series in the chapter about suspension of disbelief.

*Does not remember this.* To what are you referring exactly? Sorry, I'm totally drawing a blank there.

But yeah, any series that can combine PIs, Wizards, Cops, Vampires, Mobsters, Werewolves, Knights, Fairies, and Fallen Angels and do it well. Instant love.

I enjoy what I like to call 'quirky' Fantasy or Scifi the most, with a healthy smattering of 'Classic Literature' thrown in. I'm a little leniant when it comes to style (though of course there are things I won't touch with a ten foot pole) provided the characters and plot are engaging.

[Coral]

I read mostly Christian fiction, and that's also what I write. I just finished a historical romance called Ransome's Honor, by a friend of mine. It's the first in a trilogy. Horatio Hornblower meets Pirates of the Caribbean!

Next up is a book called The Blue Enchantress. It's also a historical romance and once again involves pirates.

I'm a sucker for anything set in Russia. I enjoy watching sci-fi and some fantasy, but I've never really gotten into reading it.

[Zavi]

Aug 6, 2009 16:08:03 GMT -5 WickedElphie said:

I thought of you when it cited the Dresden Files series in the chapter about suspension of disbelief.

*Does not remember this.* To what are you referring exactly? Sorry, I'm totally drawing a blank there.

"It" being Fire in Fiction. -grabs copy-

Donald Maass writes, "The king of humorous horror, though, is undoubtedly Jim Butcher, whose series about down-at-heels Chicago wizard-detective Harry Dresden has soared high on the New York Times bestseller list." I thought of you while I was reading that. XP

I have a strange bias against female authors. I have horrible luck with most authors who aren't European and male, and I don't get it! And any fiction specifically directed at women? I'll probably hate it.

The same goes with certain fantasy creatures--namely vampires (this predates my attempt at reading Twilight), orcs, ogres, elves, and dwarves. Dragons and unicorns I like. Werewolves sometimes. But I never really got the allure of vampire literature.

It's funny because Donald Maass complains about vampire literature in The Fire in Fiction, and you can tell he wants to bash the Twilight series, but keeps things on a general "vampires are overdone".

[WickedElphie]

Hooray for shoutouts!

I like my vampires to be, in general, DANGEROUS. If there's a couple "woe-is-me" "what sins have I committed?" types walking around, that's cool, but by and large, as a species they should be evil and killing people. Because otherwise what's the point?

And Dresden Files actually has a few different kinds of vampires, all of them deadly:

The Black Court are Dracula-style resurrected corpses.
The Red Court are Buffy-esque in that they can look look like beautiful people most of the time, but are really horrible monsters underneath.
The White Court are gorgeous beings that feed off of emotions like lust, fear, etc and are just as dangerous, if not more so than the other two, because they are manipulative and intelligent.

Of course what's fun is not every book involves the vampires in a major way. They have to share the stage with the OTHER supernatural heavy-hitters, pretty much all of whom are just as interesting...and potentially dangerous. The fairies ALONE...well you'll have to read the books.

[Coral]

I read lots of female authors, but by and large I prefer the male POV. This is why I don't read chick lit and love Tom Clancy. I have probably around a hundred distinct characters running around in my head and 90% of them are men. I just don't enjoy writing about women as much as I do men. Hence Eric-centric fan fic.

[Zavi]

Female first person warrants a near-100% "I hate this book" rate from me. If that female is a teenager, please don't hand me the book. I'll burn it. First person in general doesn't sit well with me, although some of my favorite books/blocks of prose are in first person. But if this narrator is a teenager, my eyes will bleed.

Female protagonists are few and far between in my head. I'm trying to remember the last thing I wrote with a female protagonist. It's not coming to me.

[Coral]

I'm so glad I'm not alone, Mare!

There is one author that I read everything she writes, including her three books that sort of qualify as chick lit and are in first person. The main reason I read them though is because they're set in Russia, and because Susie Warren wrote them.

As a general rule first person is a good way to make me put the book down. I don't mind it being used as a limited characterization tool, but a whole book like that gets on my nerves. One novel WIP has a prologue in first person, but the rest of the book is limited third.

[WickedElphie]

I'm usually the same way about first person POV (although The Dresden Files are, and yes I'll shut up about them now).

As for female protagonists, I've read a handful I like, but a good portion of my favorite books have male main characters too. But IMO part of it is just the difference in volume. If you had the percentages of 'good' books with male protaganists against all books with male protagonists total, it would line up pretty well with the female equivalent.

[Zavi]

For the last prompt in my Creative Writing class, I tried to broaden my horizons and write something in first person. Of course I probably should have tried that before the required word count totaled 15,000. XD I had fun and it was a learning experience, but I still came out disliking first person.

I feel like a lot of female protagonists aren't done well, either. They're all pretty dispassionate in my experience, like if they had a day to themselves, they'd just sit there and wait for the plot to advance. Or make out with their boyfriends all day. And all the while the sci-fi/fantasy genre pines for some new heroines! I don't think I've read a single anthromorphic fantasy with a female protagonist. I don't think I've even HEARD of any except for that lame horse (no pun intended) book I put down in the thrift store. -le sigh-

ETA: I can't believe I forgot Larka from David Clement-Davies' The Sight. One of my favorite books, too. Though to be fair, that focuses a lot on her family and the male characters stood out to me. But anyway, the genre is sorely lacking.