Book Poll!

[rachelmanija]

I brought some books with me, and also poked through the parents' library, which turned up some oddities. Please vote for whatever you think will be either good, or produce an amusing review.

[Poll #1775599]

Comments

[sovay.livejournal.com]

Contrarywise, by Zohra Greenhalgh.

I thought I was the only person who'd ever heard of these! There was a sequel, Trickster's Touch; I haven't read either of them since high school. I have absolutely no idea if they would hold up.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I've read them! Contrarywise hit me at exactly the right moment: I was obsessed with the Trickster archetype at the time. I've read it a couple of times since then, but not in a long, long time. I've read the sequel, too, but don't remember anything about it. (Unless that was the one with the author self-insert?)

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

This is vaaaaaguely coming back to me now! It's a totally literal insert, right? The author has a lengthy conversation with the Trickster God?

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Yes! I seem to remember not being impressed with that much at the time, which is astounding as I could suck up all manner of tripe.

[sovay.livejournal.com]

(Unless that was the one with the author self-insert?)

. . . I must have blanked that from memory.

I wonder what else I can't remember and should be thankful for.

[lnhammer.livejournal.com]

The sequel was not nearly as good, alas.

---L.

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

I bought a copy of The Grounding of Group Six last year because I had fond memories of it from high school, but I haven't reread it yet.

[katie-m.livejournal.com]

mysterious elite clique of Russian hipsters

...I was not expecting that phrase.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I am concerned that the book will fail to live up to the glories promised in that phrase.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

mysterious elite clique of Russian hipsters book reviewed!

[katie-m.livejournal.com]

\o/

[fadethecat.livejournal.com]

The Grounding of Group Six messed with my head something fierce way back when I read it. (And for some reason I kept thinking, for the longest time, that it was actually a novelization of a movie. Maybe because the writing style reminded me of some of those?) I still don't know what the heck that book was trying to do.

[cmattg.livejournal.com]

Also possibly because the cover(at least on my copy) had a photo of the Group. No idea who they got to model.

[fadethecat.livejournal.com]

Oh! That's probably where I got the impression, then.

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

Tankborn sounds promising, but I think you need a break.

"mysterious elite clique of Russian hipsters" totally sold me.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Mysterious elite clique of Russian hipsters Joseph Bruchac werewolf novel reviewed!

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

Shiny!

[umbo.livejournal.com]

I've read Unbroken. I enjoyed it for the most part (it had a large role in inspiring my novel), although I was disappointed at the end (not the author's fault). I didn't think it was as good as Seabiscuit, but it was good.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

You mean, by the "And now that I found Jesus, my PTSD and other issues are instantly resolved, the end!" I felt like even if that really happened, as it apparently did, it could have been dug into more.

[umbo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the whole finding Jesus in general annoyed the anti-religious part of me, and the way it supposedly resolved everything didn't help. I mean, I'm happy for the guy, but if it had been fictional instead of something that apparently really happened, it would have felt like a really cheap cop out, you know?

[ursula]

You mean The Jump-Off Creek, right? It's pretty good in a quiet way, though Wild Life is my favorite book by Molly Gloss.

[jinian.livejournal.com]

Haven't read that one, but Molly Gloss is wonderful. A poet and two teenages girls vs. Nazis, though!

[copperwise.livejournal.com]

I loved Group 6 when I was younger. I bought a copy a couple of years ago and I still love the quirkiness of it.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

I loved The Grounding of Group Six. Reread suggests skanky issues I missed as a kid, but I can't help my continued affection.

[vom-marlowe.livejournal.com]

I'm super curious about the acorns!!

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Yay, a vote for the acorns book!

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Acorn!

[thomasyan.livejournal.com]

Me, too! I remember once in elementary school a classmate's mother brought in something cooked with acorns, but I don't remember if I tried it or not. And then Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower got me curious about acorn again. I don't remember where I heard that it is a pain to prepare, to remove the tannins (?) so that it isn't crazy bitter. Possibly that was the classmate's mother, and I think it was before I read Sower. I do see acorns sold at H-Mart, a Korean supermarket.

[jinian.livejournal.com]

You just have to soak them in a couple changes of water for a couple days. Once that's done, they taste approximately like starch. Maybe the Korean recipes are more interesting than the random European-style breadstuffs we tried putting them in.

[loligo.livejournal.com]

Count me as another Group 6 fan (I'm glad to see there are so many!) I don't know what happened to my copy -- I haven't read it since high school, but I read it multiple times back then.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Author of the last one is an acquaintance of my dad's and does a lot of stuff with Adirondack lit and Native American lit and poetry, IIRC. Never guessed he wrote this sort of thing too!

Second choice is the acorn book, which I could see reading myself, out of curiosity, especially if I were going to be in Mariposa--which is one of the few places (along with Yosemite) that I've ever been, in California.

[chomiji]

Let me know how the Brennan book is is. She's become one of those writers whose LJ/blog I follow despite never having read any of her books, and I'm feeling guilty about that!

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

http://rachelmanija.livejournal.com/tag/author%3A%20brennan%20marie

[chomiji]

Oblivious cho is oblivious. Thanks!

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

Russian hipsters! (That is all.)

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Mysterious elite clique of Russian hipsters Joseph Bruchac werewolf novel reviewed!

[tool-of-satan.livejournal.com]

I've not only not read any of these, I've never heard of any except the Brennan.

I particularly voted for The Grounding of Group Six, because I dote on your WTF book reviews.

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

Molly Gloss is best! I know you don't have it with you, but if you have not read it you personally need to track down and read her amazing YA fantasy Outside the Gates.

[lnhammer.livejournal.com]

Anything by Molly Gloss should be prioritized over everything else. (Disclaimer: I've not actually read Gap Creek, but have been looking for it for a while.)

---L.

[seigyoku.livejournal.com]

Thank you for mentioning Group Six, a book I meant to read as a kid but never did, because it allowed to find out the name of a book by that author I DID read called Simon Pure, and it has been bugging me for over a week that I could recall minor plot details but not the name!

[orzelc.livejournal.com]

Joseph Bruchac is local-ish-- I've seen him do a kick-ass live storytelling thing a couple of time where he tells traditional Abenaki stories. I also talked to him a bit at a local indie bookstore event, and he's a very nice guy. I have no idea where the mysterious elite Russian hipsters come from, but like many others, I love that phrase.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I've read and enjoyed some of his other work, but none of it led me to expect mysterious elite Russian hipsters!

[mikeda.livejournal.com]

none of it led me to expect mysterious elite Russian hipsters

Now we know what became of the Spanish Inquisition...

[kateelliott.livejournal.com]

I need to read the Brennan series. Gah. So many good books in the world.

I dont much read mainstream lit fic, and I'm really not much interested in pioneer fix, but my aunt gave me Jump Off Creek years ago to read because she had read and liked it and since she had never recced a book to me before, I read it. And I have to tell you, I still remember it well. So, yes, I recommend it highly.

[oracne.livejournal.com]

MOLLY GLOSS MOLLY GLOSS MOLLY GLOSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I remember CONTRARYWISE, too. I had one more book by that same author that might have been a sequel or prequel...would have to check. I think they're both in a box somewhere. I can't remember details!