Timewaster's Guide Archive
Departments => Books => Topic started by: 42 on December 07, 2005, 08:04:14 PM
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I need help deciding on what I should give my parents this year. Both are avid readers. My Dad likes historical fiction and my mom loves mysteries.
Suggestions? Please. New authors welcomed.
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My favorite Historical Fiction is The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton. Not new, but very good and well written.
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I assume your mom has exhausted Holmes and Poirot?
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My Mom has read every Agatha Cristie book ever published. Also exhausted: Anne Perry, Josephine Tey, and Elizabeth Peters
And my Dad already has The Great Train Robbery.
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Patrick O'Brien's Master and Commander? (Early 1800s British Navy...and spies...and romance...) I just finished the Nth book tonight on the way home.
Oh yes, and I second the below. I listened to the #1 Ladies Detective Agency, and Karen three or more of them. They are quite good.
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The best new series for mystery are the "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" (there's about 6) by Alexander McCall Smith. Another mystery series by him is "The Sunday Philosophy Club" (there's 2). I love these books.
Oh! Look, you can even get a boxed set:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679789758/qid=1134013252/sr=8-3/ref=pd_bbs_3/002-0718014-6935265?n=507846&s=books&v=glance
I will have to hint to my husband...
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My dad has already read the Master and Commander series.
My mom has already read the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series.
But thanks for the suggestions. Anymore?
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Caveat: I have read some of these, but the rest are on my to-read list and have come recommended.
Mystery:
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by PD James
Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers
Amelia Peabody Egyptologist series by Elizabeth Peters (she's probably heard of this, though)
The Alienist by Caleb Carr (also might count as historical fiction)
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
Fiction (historical or based on real-life events):
The Road from Coorain by Jill Ker Conway
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
Tender at the Bone, Comfort me with Apples and Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseni
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
Pretty Birds by Scott Simon
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I love the William Monk series, Victorian mysteries written by a British woman named Anne Perry. She's LDS actually, but I didn't find this out until later.
The books are spectacular. I'm not usually into mysteries but these hooked me, big time. So insightful about the time period, very funny, and intense. The first one is called Face of a Stranger.
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I love the William Monk series, Victorian mysteries written by a British woman named Anne Perry. She's LDS actually, but I didn't find this out until later.
The books are spectacular. I'm not usually into mysteries but these hooked me, big time. So insightful about the time period, very funny, and intense. The first one is called Face of a Stranger.
Yeah, she's also written a somewhat dull fantasy novel.
Plus, trivia, she was convicted for killing her friend's mother.
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thanks for the list Nessa.
My parents have read about half of those books already, but there are some new one there that I could research. Yes my parents are very well read--they read about 15-20 books each per year.
And again, my mom has already read everything by Anne Perry.
Trivia: Anne Perry's seedy past is also the subject of a Peter Jackson movie where she is unfortunately played by Kate Winslet.
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Oh, also, don't forget anything by Bernard Cornwell, who wrote the Richard Sharpe books. They take place during the Napoleanic Wars in Spain and they are fabulous. He's also written other novels.
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For historical fiction, how about Bernard Cromwell? His Sharpe series is great, and I hear is other stuff is just as good.
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Crap! One minute too late!
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I love the Richard Sharpe stuff. I even own several of the DVDs. ;D
(It probably helps that Sean Bean is so hunky.)
He had a series about an archer that takes place in the 1400s, I think. Kind of a holy grail story.
I think he also wrote a book about the making of stonehenge, a historical fiction. It's OK.
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Okay, I've ordered:
The Alienist by Caleb Carr
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
Sharpe's Tiger by Bernard Cromwell
Thanks for the suggestions
Any others for future purchases?
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Trivia: Anne Perry's seedy past is also the subject of a Peter Jackson movie where she is unfortunately played by Kate Winslet.
What movie is that?
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Yeah. Sorry I didn't jump on this thread until you'd already made your purchases.
Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe series is some of the best mystery stuff I've ever read.
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What movie is that?
Heavenly Creatures. http://imdb.com/title/tt0110005/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker-Hulme_murder
The lesbian stuff was added for the movie.
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I haven't read the Blind Assassin, but if it's like the other books of hers I've read, you may want to be aware that she tends to use some pretty strong language. If that's a consideration.
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The sample pages I read on Amazon didn't have any strong language that I could tell.
If my mom finds it to be offensive, it will just end up in the trash, where many Christmas gifts end up eventually.
Besides my parents have a lot of books, which makes me insane for wanting to get them more. But then again it is what they like.
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Heavenly Creatures. http://imdb.com/title/tt0110005/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker-Hulme_murder
The lesbian stuff was added for the movie.
Hmm, well, I knew about Perry's shady past. (Trivia: from what I've heard, at the time she killed her friend's mom, she was on some medications that had her brain cells kinda scrambled. Also, I think she became LDS as an adult.)
Hadn't a clue about the movie, though. How . . . weird.
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The sample pages I read on Amazon didn't have any strong language that I could tell.
If my mom finds it to be offensive, it will just end up in the trash, where many Christmas gifts end up eventually.
Besides my parents have a lot of books, which makes me insane for wanting to get them more. But then again it is what they like.
Karen says the Sharpe books also have swearing--more than she was comfortable with. She quit after 3 or 4 books because she got tired of the swearing. (Unlike with O'Brien who limits it to a couple of words per book.)
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It was too much for her after 3 or 4 BOOKS? Wouldn't one book be enough of a clue?
Guess not.
Anyways, I'm using the excuse that these books were approved by a research team of liberal arts majors/graduates. So if the books are bad, it will just re-confirm my parents' notion that English majors/professionals (linguistics, comparatic literature, foreign language, art, music, etc...) are all a bunch a hedonistic heathens and I should be re-couciled to stay away from them. ::)
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Well that's the kind of gift that just keeps on giving... ;)
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My favourite books at the moment are Silverfin and blood fever from the young bonds collection. There great for teenagers or 9- 12 yr olds and they include a nice amount of violence