A request...

[prisoner_24601]

Since I seem to be stuck in a reading rut, I thought I'd ask you all to recommend some books for me. At the moment, I'm having a rather difficult time finding books that look interesting enough to bother reading. I'm right in the middle of reading Jingo by Terry Pratchett and The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold, and while I love both of these authors to death (Bujold is one of my all time favorites for her Vorkosigan series), these two particular books aren't doing a hell of a lot for me. I'm kind of stalled out reading them (I've taken to re-reading both the Dresdon Files books and the Miles Vorkosigan books instead of finishing them), but every time I go to the bookstore and browse I can't seem to find anything that captures my attention.

So I'm turning to you all for help. Recommend a couple of books for me (and when you do so, tell me why you like the book). I'm pretty open to any genre or style, although I do admit that while I'm a sucker for a good romance, I detest 99% of romance novels out there. I also am not a big fan of most fantasy books (because seriously, if it has hot elves in it, I instantly tune out), but have enjoyed the occasional fantasy novel. Non fiction is also fair game, even though I tend not to read much, but I suspect that there are some seriously interesting books out there. Comic books are also fair game as well, although I like to read things in the trade paperback format and finished story arcs.

I very much like books that are *different* from the norm, or take an old, worn out idea and do something new with it.

Comments

[athenaprime.livejournal.com]

These are a few years old, so you may have to scrounge at the library for them, but Anita Diamant's "The Red Tent" is one I found un-put-downable. I started thumbing through in a Waterstone's in the airport, didn't have the money for it, then tore Milwaukee apart looking for a B&N that had it when my plane landed. It's historical fiction, the tale of Dineh, who's a footnote in the Old Testament, but an absolutely fascinating read of the Ancient Near East.

And if you're in the mood for Southern-Fried, there's always Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, which goes fast for the sheer period-ness of the deep south through the latter half of the 20th century. It also makes you feel good to be a girl and is much better than the movie. :D

I'm only now reading Jim Butcher's Dresden Files (I was writing something similar and didn't want to unduly influence myself), but I also hear from others who like Dresden and Buffy-type tales that LA Banks' "Vampire Huntress Legend" series (the first one is "Minion" but I can't remember offhand the rest--there are four or five) is good reading, too. The protagonist is a hip-hop diva and vampire hunter.