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I need a
I need a book to read. One that I can pick up anytime and don't want to put down.
Here are some things that hopefully will make it easier to pick a book:
-My favorite genre is fantasy, and realistic fiction (like the Penderwicks) and books set in the Medieval or Renaissance time are AWESOME.
-Nothing that I can hardly understand (like Jane Austin and Edgar Allen Poe [shudder at Poe])
-I don't like "modern writing" like Percy Jackson, where the author is sort of "allowed" to end sentences with a preposition, and stuff.
-Nothing with aliens
-Maybe a clever book, or one that gives you new ideas and some kind of moral
-And one that makes me wish that that land, castle, or family were real
Thanks!
-☺☻
submitted by Hannah ☺☻, age 14, Georgia
(October 6, 2010 - 6:56 pm)
(October 6, 2010 - 6:56 pm)
Oh my gosh, read anything by Diana Wynne Jones!!!! But let's see... try Charmed Life. I think you'll like it!!!! :D
Also, I don't know if this fits, cause it's realistic fiction, but then it has a main plot fantasy twist, but it's really well done... anyway, it's called Eleven Birthdays, and I highly recommend it. :)
(October 7, 2010 - 12:46 pm)
Oooooooooooh Eleven Birthdays is really good. I highly recommend The Hunger Games trilogy. The books are The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay.
(November 3, 2010 - 5:52 pm)
I know! I didn't know anyone else had read it! :D
Laura, did you and Kimberly go skating at Charles Schulz's rink in Santa Rosa?
Admin, the one who's been skating there
(November 9, 2010 - 10:36 pm)
Ooh, and read Howl's Moving Castle, Castle in the Air, and House of Many Ways. I would say read one of them, but they make more sense if you read all three. :)
(October 7, 2010 - 12:48 pm)
Tamora Pierce is an excellent author. The main themes in her books are: magic, girls proving that they're just as tough as the guys, some mystery, and a little romance. A few of her books are: Song Of the Lioness quartet - Alanna wants to be a knight, so she pretends to be a boy, becomes one of the best knights in the country. Beka Cooper- two books, Terrier and Bloodhound. Mystery/law enforcement/pigeons/some romance. Lots of murder. Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen- Should be read after Song of the Lioness. Non-boring politics, espionage, and, once again, a little romance. That's just a few. These books are in the young adult section of the library for a reason, but I started reading them when I was 8, so...
Also, my apologies if this post sounds stupid/doesn't make sense. I'm having a stupid day.
(October 7, 2010 - 12:53 pm)
Re: "-I don't like "modern writing" like Percy Jackson, where the author is sort of "allowed" to end sentences with a preposition, and stuff." Yes! That's exactly how I've always felt, but never been able to properly describe, and so never been able to tell anyone! That is, I can tolerate it, but I've always found it a bit annoying. Thank you for putting it into words. I'm going to quote you in the future.
Anyway, I agree that you should read the Hunger Games Trilogy and things by DWJ and Tamora Pierce. They're great! Though I suppose The Hunger Games doesn't exactly make you wish it was real, as a dystopia... But it's wonderful! I'd also recommend things by Ursula K. LeGuin; I just discovered her and have so far read Gifts and its sequel (which I think was called Powers, unless it was Voices). They're excellent, and fit your criteria!
Aetc says odrb. Odd rub? Odd rib? Odd crib? Odd rabbit? Odd rob? Odor B? Odor bad? Odd red bow? Odd runty bull? Odd--maybe I should stop now, actually. I think I've gone on too long. But I wish Aetc was more specific...
(November 5, 2010 - 3:45 pm)
Re: ending a sentence with a preposition: That's actually /not/ a rule, and in some cases it doesn't even make sense to do it that way. Would you say a) What did you step on? or b) On what did you step?? (Goodness, that looks rather odd.) The first sounds more natural, doesn't it? And I find the second really awkward. But "on" is a preposition. I forget who it was said that being concerned about ending sentences with a preposition was the sort of thing "Up with which [he] would not put"? (Admin, do you know?)But as to the actual topic of the thread... READ DISCWORLD. You won't regret it. Hilarious fantasy novels, and there's 30 or so of them (!), so they'll keep you busy for a long time. I'd reccomend starting with The Colour of Magic (I actually thought that one was quite good, though TNÖ would disagree with me), Mort, or Hogfather. I'd also like to second Laura on DWJ. Year of the Griffin is awesome, as is Howl's Moving Castle.
(November 5, 2010 - 9:20 pm)
In answer to my own question: Dictionary says it was Churchill, and the exact quote's “This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.”
(November 6, 2010 - 4:20 pm)
DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISCWOOOOORLD!!!
I did like CoM, mind you, quite a lot. It's just my least favourite of the series (which means it's still better than 80% of the books I've read)...
Guards! Guards! is also a good starting place. Or The Wee Free Men,
Thud! was the first one I read, which was a mistake (because I had no idea who any of the characters were or why Vetinari was even important (heh), and so on). And then I read Hogfather about a year later and got totally hooked.
Plus, the Discworld meets all of your criteria. Well, except the "modern writing" bit I suppose, because Pterry is still writing (and doing it well after 30+ years, and despite having Alzheimer's! The man gets more impressive every year!), but believe me they're the best books ever.
And it especially meets the last criteria. Hardly a day goes by that I didn't wish I could live somewhere on the Discworld- usually Ankh-Morpork. Or else that we could steal Vetinari and make him drag the U.S. back into shape.
By the same token, Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. It's a comedic take on the end times, the plot is lively and unique (obviously, given the authors involved), the characters are all brilliant, and it's quite possible that only NG and Pterry could have pulled it off. Plus there's Bible jokes all over the place, which was fun.
Hm...
Ooh! Magician, by Raymond E Feist. And the rest of the series, but especially Magician. It's huge, and it's usually divided into two volumes, but it's great anyway. The world-building especially is spectacularly done. It does take a little while to get into, however.
The Dresden Files are worth a read, mainly because it's all the best bits of urban fantasy mixed with all the best bits of hard-boiled fiction.
Mary Poppins. I'm serious, read the books, they're brilliant. And if you're familiar at all with Disneyfication you'll be shocked at how faithful the Disney movie was to the books. (And I still maintain Mary Poppins is a Time Lord. If anything the play canonized it... "will we ever reach the stars?" "[smiles] not for a very long time")
The Ranger's Apprentice series is also worth a try, with well written characters and clever plots. Ditto Skulduggery Pleasant.
(November 7, 2010 - 12:08 am)
Oh, I know. It's just that you've said before that CoM isn't a good place to start, and I was expressing my disagreement.
I want to read GO, but my Mom won't let me. She says I'm not old enough. DX
Definitely read RA. Very original, very clever.
(November 7, 2010 - 3:40 pm)
I have heard it isn't a rule (because English isn't in the same family of languages as Latin, where the rule comes from--see, I'm doing it!), and to be honest I was going to change the quote a bit so that it said something else, and really, there are many good books that end sentences that way because, like you said, it's more natural, and they aren't 'modern writing,' but I didn't bother saying it because I was tired and busy (I really shouldn't be doing this right now. I should be planning an essay. Oh, well...)... though normally, I probably would have...
I recently read CoM, by the way, and I loved it!
(November 10, 2010 - 7:06 pm)
PERCY JACKSON HARRY POTTER PERCY JACKSON HARRY POTTER PERCY JACKSON PERCY JACKSON HARRY POTTER PERCY JACKSON HARRY POTTER PERCY JACKSON HARRY POTTER PERCY JACKSON HARRY POTTER PERCY JACKSON HARRY POTTER YOU MUST READ THESE I SAY THAT YOU WILL NEVER EVER WANT TO PUT THESE DOWN I'M READING PERCY JACKSON FOR THE FOURTH TIME AND GOING HARRY POTTER FOR THE SECOND!! I WILL NOT STOP YELLING UNTIL SOMEONE HERE READS THEM!!!!!!!!!
(November 6, 2010 - 10:32 am)
Whoa, there. I really enjoyed them too. For Halloween I went as a Hogwarts student, and I read the The Last Olympian in less than a day, but she said that she didn't want anything modern like Percy Jackson.
Spamboy says ypew. He thinks Percy Jackson and Harry Potter are stinky! Let me at him!
(November 8, 2010 - 1:25 pm)
Hannah-
You Have probably already read the book Ella Enchanted by *looks it up* Gail Carson Levine.... That looks like it would fit in your genres and things that you like.....
Um, I like the book series The Looking Glass Wars by *looks up again because cant remember any authors right now, It's only 8 o'clock* Frank Beddor.....that series is a twist on Alice in Wonderland...
I agree with others, 11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass *didn't look up this time!* is good, she also wrote another one kind of like that, which is also really good, Finally......
I hope these suggestions helped!
~Claire~ The recemendor of books ~
(November 7, 2010 - 9:22 am)
I have read Ella Enchanted and Harry Potter and the first Percy Jackson and I have no desire to read the rest of the PJs. Sorry. Has anyone here read Fairest or The Two Princesses of Bamarre? Are they any good? I might try Ink Heart, sometime. But I have got to read Across Five Aprils, which I've complained about on a separate thread. And now my sister and I have made this race to see who can finish it first, and whoever finishes it first, wins $5.00 from our Mama, (yes, Mama agreed to it, lol).
Peacing out for now,
-Hannah ☺☻
(November 8, 2010 - 10:12 pm)