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@Chim,
Blood Meridian is one of the most extraordinary books I have ever read. It is at once lyrical and nightmarish... stark and sensual... raw and surreal
Very definitely on my "must read before you die" list

Here is a quote from the book:


"An immense lake lay below them with the distant blue mountains standing in the windless span of water and the shape of a soaring hawk and trees that shimmered in the heat and a distant city very white against the blue and shaded hills. They sat and watched. They saw the sun drop under the jagged rim of the earth to the west and they saw it flare behind the mountains and they saw the face of the lake darken and the shape of the city dissolve upon it. They slept among the rocks face up like dead men and in the morning when they rose there was no city and no trees and no lake only a barren dusty plain."

You can find more quotes and thoughts on the book [url="http://www.epinions.com/content_32231034500"]here[/url]

Sorry Tricky, I didn't mean to wax eloquent in a thread where you are asking for book suggestions. It's just that this one really grabbed me.

Well, you could try reading books from J.R.R. Tolkien such as 'the Hobbit' and 'the Lord of the Rings' trilogy. C.S. Lewis' 'Chronicles of Narnia' series are also good as well. The books I mention are fantasy books.

Or if you like fantasy, since so many people here have mentioned it, I can't recommend highly enough [url="http://www.iainbanks.net/fiction.htm"]Iain Banks.[/url]
He takes fantasy to a new level. In his hands it becomes an engrossing and challenging read. Also, he writes very well, which gives his novels an even greater rich complexity.

'Noughts and Crosses' by Malorie Blackman, i don't like it myself but i rarely read unless neccessary. i had to read this last year for school and a few people in my class liked it.

The War of the Spider Queen series, if you like Drow, is pretty awesome. It's six books long and it's as dark as you'd expect for a sextet dealing with the most famous denizens of the Underdark.

Obviously it's not that challenging a read, being a Forgotten Realms book, but it's good fun.

I got "Blood Meridian" today. This is going to be interesting....

Really now, what is it about "post 2005" that people don't get?

Part of the reason that I'm asking for something this recent is that I simply want to walk into a bookstore this weekend and buy something they actually have. I'll take a brief trip to my family next friday and I plan on spending it reading. So no time to wait for deliveries anyway. Then there are the christmas holidays. I intended to spend those as far away from civilization as I can. Either way, plenty of time to read a few books. Already picked up Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel in fact.

There are many pre-2006 books that are in most bookstores. Why, I've even heard that they occasionally carry books by a 19th century unknown like Charles Dickens. They can get very musty, indeed. You may need to blow the dust off the covers, of course, but as we all know, the only reason they keep these pre-2006 things around is because it makes their store interiors look classy. Still, give 'em a try. Who knows what you will find.

You can also use a surprising invention called the telephone to check and see whether a book you want is in stock locally. I've used it. It worked! I got my copy of the Cairo Trilogy that way. And not a mile away, too!

Tricky wrote:Really now, what is it about "post 2005" that people don't get?

I'll be absolutely no help there then. I buy books I simply feel I'll like reading when I browse through a book store, I don't date them. Most of what I read has been printed at least 10 years ago.

Tricky wrote:Really now, what is it about "post 2005" that people don't get?

You are dealing with a group of people who judge something by how good they find it. Whether that be a game, music, book or movie, it really doesn't matter.
As a consequence, minor details like a date of publication doesn't generally come into play, and as has been stated, you'd be surprised at how even standard (as opposed to "used" or "niche") bookstores often carry older books.
And if you have some good used bookstores in your area, exploit them.

Hm, true.. and that includes me as well. Fallout, it's my secret pleasure.

And I get you point Fable, I get it already. I'm just trying to find a different kind of appeal to books. 'New', 'indie', whatever what you want to call it. I'm not sure if it even exists.

And I was going to look up a bunch of these older titles anyway. Some of them do sound like they're enough of a break from what I have to read for my studies.

Tricky wrote:And I get you point Fable, I get it already.

You sure? I mean, I can repeat it another four times with even higher levels of toxic sarcasm, if you'd like. I'm nothing if not conciliatory.

Okay, I'll back off.

There was sarcasm there? Wow. I am shocked. I didn't know sarcasm showed up here of all places.

I seem to attract that a lot lately. What, why do you think I want to spend christmas so far away from civilization?

Tricky wrote:I seem to attract that a lot lately. What, why do you think I want to spend christmas so far away from civilization?

I get drunk and read to avoid civilization. It's my happy place, I understand.

You know, restricting yourself to post-2005 publications is rather idiotic. In fact, I'd have to say you're a rather bad English major if you are so willing to cut out the plethora of stories that came before; stories, I might add, that may have inspired or had elements directly dropped into recent books.

Actually, I am a bad student and indifferent to comments on that regard. This has been about me getting a break from the start, not about making a definite choice on what I want to promovate on. For three years I have been staring blind at dusty old literature and as I have said earlier, I just don't know much of what goes on beyond that.

So, out of all things I could have picked for the holidays I chose 'recent' literature. What is recent, 2005? I just picked a recent year, how should I be able to tell what applies? I have no idea. I'd like to think there is a bit more to it than the final HP novel though.

Also if I have any reason for doing this other than to entertain myself, it is my need to get in touch with the fun side of reading again. If I'm going finish this study, I think I need to remember how to like it the way I did way back before I even considered getting that PhD.

I said it was crazy for a reason, you know.

Tricky wrote:Also if I have any reason for doing this other than to entertain myself, it is my need to get in touch with the fun side of reading again. If I'm going finish this study, I think I need to remember how to like it the way I did way back before I even considered getting that PhD.

I said it was crazy for a reason, you know.

Oh man, memories of hating to read after taking a few of my last college classes. But the fun does come back....
thinking about it, its sort of ironic, since I work in a library:laugh: