Kell Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 So what I thought I would suggest is anyone interested in doing this, is you list your usual authors/genres and also suggest a book you have read that you would recommend to others, but I would suggest something not too mainstream, so that others are unlikely to have read it. You post your details below like so: Favourite genres: crime fiction, historical fiction, dark humour Favourite authors: Terry Pratchett, Kelley Armstrong, Stuart Macbride, Christopher Brookmire, Simon Scarrow, Ben Elton Book recommended to be read: Bringing Down the House: How Six Students Took Vegas for Millions by Ben Mezrich: Real-life all too rarely offers stories that are quite as satisfying as fiction. "Bringing Down the House" is one of the exceptions. Cheating in casinos is illegal: card-counting - making a record of what cards have so far been dealt to enable the player to make some prediction of what cards remain in the deck - is not. But casinos understandably dislike the practice and make every effort to keep card-counters out of their premises, banning them and using private detectives to share information on suspected and known counters. "Bringing Down the House" tells the true story of the most successful scam ever, in which teams of brilliant young mathematicians and physicists won millions of dollars from the casinos of Las Vegas, being drawn in the process into the high-life of drugs, high-spending and sex. Once we have enough participants, all the names and books are put into a hat and everyone reads the book they're allocated. If they've already read it, another book is recommended by the person who nominated that book originally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimera Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Oooh, that's a great idea Kell! I'll have to think of an appropriate recomendation and come back with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo-Bridge Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 Grat idea Kell Favourite Genres: Autobiographies, Crime fiction, literary fiction Favourite authors: Donna Leon, C J Sansom, Daphne Du Maurier, Graham Greene, Toni Morrison Book Recommended to be read: The Hacienda- Lisa St Aubin Du Teran (autobiography) Married at sixteen to a man twenty years her senior who spoke no English, she was taken to his ancestral home and estate where she found herself living in the most primitive of conditions, isolated and alone. St. Aubin de Teran ended up virtually running the plantation that belonged to her increasingly demented husband but enjoyed learning the mores and magic of a place that had remained practically unchanged for more than a century. Written in mesmerising prose, this is the extraordinary story of a young woman surviving by her wits and fantasies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimera Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 Favourite genres: Crime fiction, contemporary authors, fiction giving insight in other cultures Favourite authors (I dont really have favourites, so I'll just some I really enjoy): J.K. Rowling, Agatha Christie, Khaled Hosseini, Ren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louiseog Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 I'm up for this one: Genres: Thrillers, crime (especially ones in the past), historical and some young adult/fantasyish Artemis Fowl etc Authors: Richard Montanari, Karin Slaughter, Tess Gerritsen, C J Sansom, Chelsea Cain, Susan Hill, Susanna Gregory, M C Beaton, Simon Brett Recommendation: The Rabbit Factory - Marshall Karp: Welcome to Lamaar Studios. Once a small animation house, it has grown into an entertainment conglomerate encompassing movies, television, music, video games, and a sprawling theme park called Familyland.When an actor portraying Familyland's beloved mascot, Rambunctious Rabbit, is brutally murdered on park grounds, Lamaar executives fear that their idyllic public image will be shattered. Feeling pressure from the studio, LAPD Detectives Mike Lomax and Terry Biggs must conduct their investigation while avoiding the public eye.But as more murders are committed, Lomax and Biggs uncover a sinister plot. Someone has a vendetta against Lamaar, a vendetta worth killing for. With the media closing in and political pressure mounting, the partners must race to discover the Lamaar-hating madman before he brings the family entertainment giant to its knees.Bringing a fresh duo of cops to the thriller set, "The Rabbit Factory" is both suspenseful and satiric, a taut mystery wrapped in sharp, comedic prose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted February 7, 2009 Author Share Posted February 7, 2009 I was waiting to see if more people were interested first - it's not much fun if it's only two or three people - ideally we'd need at least half a dozen people really... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimera Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 I agree Kell. I'm surprised there aren't more people interested though... Come on people! *laughs* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 I'd be interested, but I doubt I could afford to buy the book I was allocated and I have even less confidence in my ability to suggest a book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceinwenn Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 I'm interested! Just trying to think of a book! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimera Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 I'd be interested, but I doubt I could afford to buy the book I was allocated and I have even less confidence in my ability to suggest a book. Not able to suggest a book? You?? Come on, I'm sure your recomendation would be great Or are you pulling the *I'm shy* argument again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceinwenn Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Come on, I'm sure your recomendation would be great Or are you pulling the *I'm shy* argument again? I was thinking exactly the same thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 (edited) I'm a very odd reader. I like what most people hate. But I'll think about it, and maybe I'll get lumped with a recommendation I can get cheap in a charity shop? edit: Okay I have a suggestion, but it's sorta Young Adult-y, is that okay? It's one of the best unheard-of books I've read in years - and my ramble of it on here got a good reaction. If something more adulty is preferred, then I'll recommend my current reading instead, coz its great. Edited February 8, 2009 by Nollaig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted February 8, 2009 Author Share Posted February 8, 2009 You can recommend any book you have enjoyed, Roxi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Favourite genres: Fantasy/Sci-Fi, Horror, Young Adult. Favourite authors: No favourite authors, but the authors of favourite books include: Phillip Pullman, Cornelia Funke, Oscar Wilde, the Brontes, Linda Newbery, Celia Friedman, James Herbert. Basically, anyone from the above mentioned genres. Book recommended to be read: "A Certain Slant Of Light" - Laura Whitcomb In the class of the high school English teacher she has been haunting, Helen feels them: for the first time in 130 years, human eyes are looking at her. They belong to a boy, a boy who has not seemed remarkable until now. And Helen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceinwenn Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Ok, I've decided! Favourite Genres: Murder/Mystery/Contemporary fiction Favourite Authors: Jonathan Kellerman, Kathy Reichs, Jeffery Deaver, Linda Fairstein, Tami Hoag Recommended book to be read: The Loop by Nicholas Evans Amazon.co.uk Review Things aren't going too well for wolf biologist Helen Ross. At 29, she's unemployed (recently retired dishwasher), single (boyfriend of two years left her for Africa), and has just learned that her father is marrying someone younger, richer, and prettier than herself (completely accurate). Back in her lonely log cabin in Cape Cod, frantically chain-smoking, she receives a message from her former lover Dan Prior. Prior, also a biologist, works for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service wolf-recovery program. In return for helping him track the lupine posse, Prior will provide her with a cabin, truck, and a snowmobile for good measure in a rustic little town called Hope, just outside Helena, Montana. Apparently, Ross has never heard the proverb "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," and happily skips off to Big Sky Country. Within moments of her arrival, she finds out what she's up against: a small town with a long history of wolf fear and loathing, no resources (big surprise), and a powerful rancher who will do whatever it takes to eliminate the wolves. The rancher, testosterone-saturated Buck Calder, has got the community riled up after a wolf stalked his daughter's home and killed the family dog. He won't stop until every last endangered wolf is dead, which proves problematic for Ross when she decides to romance his 18-year-old son, Luke. Cynics be warned: their love affair spawns a treasure-trove of gooey pillow talk and syrupy prose. Even so, Evans has made impressive strides as a writer since his debut novel, The Horse Whisperer, and his storytelling has reached a noticeably new level of sophistication: the plot is tight, the characterization is realistic, and the dialogue is crisp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Poppy Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I'd be up for this, but I'll have to go away and think about it...sorry. I haven't done much fiction reading lately, except Pickwick papers, and you said not mainstream...hmmm can I choose one I've talked about before? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted February 8, 2009 Author Share Posted February 8, 2009 Of course - you should choose an unusual book you particularly enjoyed for wehatever reason that most people may not have read already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexiepiper Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Favourite Genres: Murder/Mystery/Contemporary fiction Favourite Authors: Tess Gerritsen, Kelley Armstrong, Patricia Cornwell, Stephenie Meyer Recommended book to be read: See Jane Die by Erica Spindler Amazon.co.uk Review Nearly killed as a teenager by a hit-and-run boater, Jane Killian is a woman with everything to live for. A series of surgeries restored her lovely face. She's the toast of the Dallas art community, her sculptures lauded as both disturbing and beautiful. And Jane and her husband, plastic surgeon Dr. Ian Westbrook, are expecting their first child. Then a woman with ties to Ian is found brutally slain and, unbelievably, the police make him their prime suspect. At first determined to prove her husband's innocence, Jane cannot escape her own growing doubts. Then her nightmare escalates. she begins receiving anonymous messages and quickly becomes convinced they're from him -- the boater she always believed deliberately hit her and got away with it. Now Jane must face a terrifying truth. Her tormentor knows everything about her -- her likes, her dislikes, her daily routine and, most frightening of all, her deepest fears. And he will use them mercilessly until he sees Jane dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Poppy Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Ooooh..er! That sounds good Lexie! Fancy that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted February 8, 2009 Author Share Posted February 8, 2009 I'll give this another week to see if anyone else wants to join in and then pull the names from the hat and post the list here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 We've eight people now... should get two more and round it up to then, that'd be a good number right?? You should pick one Purple Poppy! Edit: I'll give this another week to see if anyone else wants to join in and then pull the names from the hat and post the list here... Or that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Oh I'm sure we can, whose gonna stop us once the challenge is over? Once you read your assigned book first. Though I have to admit nothing is jumping out at me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Poppy Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Ok, this is my recommendation. I loved this book, though it is very disturbing. The story of a drunk, a boy, and a cat. Billy O'Shannessy, once a prominent barrister, is now on the street where he sleeps on a bench outside the State Library. Above him on the window sill rests a bronze statue of Matthew Flinders' cat, Trim. Ryan is a 10-year-old, a near-street kid heading for the usual trouble. The two form an unlikely bond. Through telling Ryan the story of Flinders' circumnavigation of Australia as seen through Trim's eyes, Billy is drawn deeply into Ryan's life and into the Sydney underworld. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted February 14, 2009 Author Share Posted February 14, 2009 OK - the allocatins have been made. Check HERE to see which book you've been allocated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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