Request: I need a genre change!

[Aravona]

Okie dokie. I have been reading the same style of books for quite some time now, and although I love that style of books I really would like to break away from them for a while.

I've been reading mostly:

Childhood favourites (comfort series/books for when I've nothing new to read)
Murder Mystery - Karin Slaughter, Agatha Christie, etc style books. (I am an addict!)
Fiction Fantasy - G R R Martin, Tolkien etc.
Discworld - Read nearly all of Terry Pratchett's books at least once, some way more.
Other authors I enjoy, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Washington Irving, Kelley Armstong...

What my problem is, every time I get to my local bookstore I find myself in the exact same aisles, same shelves... barely finding anything intriguing. If someone could kindly advise me on something new, it'll be much appriciated.

Ara

[Lokasenna]

Perhaps you could try getting into some more classic literature? For example, if you're a fan of mystery books, you could go and read Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone, which is often credited with being the first detective novel. If you like that, you could then go and have a read of some of Collins' Victorian contemporaries, like Charles Dickens and George Eliot.

If you want to go in a new direction, I think it often helps for the change to be gradual!

[kasie]

How about a combination of genre, say, Historical/Crime? You may enjoy C J Sansom's books about Martin Shardlake, a Tudor lawyer turned investigator - Dissolution is the first in the series - then if you liked the period, you could move onto something like Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, a straightforward historical account set in the same era.

[Aravona]

Thanks for the replies :) I've got a C J Sansom on a shelf at home, Revelation. I haven't read it yet because it looked so much of a monster read. I will wholeheartedly give it a second chance and crack the cover, after I get the first book and any others that come before it! :) (this is the problem with books as gifts they are always mid-series!)

On another note I have read Dickens and I don't really find him an entertaining read, I find they get a bit dull after they have been brutally disected by my GCSEs. I performed in Oliver Twist as well (quite badly) and that was the best book out of those I've read. Though there are others I enjoyed I'd prefer something that would be a more compelling re-read and I don't find that with Dickens. Don't get me wrong his books are wonderful. But not griping enough for me to re-read. I've had the same unfortunate experience with Shakespeare, however with only 2 of his plays, and having being taken to a Fringe play of The Merchant Of Venice, my love of Shakespeare jumped up a notch. Perhaps I can get Dickens to do the same.

[mtpspur]

Bruce Alexander's Judge Fielding mysteries might appeal to you. Starting with Blind Justice --best to read in order as the characters age and change as the series progesses. Based on a real live English blind judge who was also intrumental in starting up the Bow Street runners which I belive is the percursor to Scotland Yard. He was also the brother of Henry Fielding author of Tom Jones.

[Revolte]

Look for Jay's Journal, it doesn't give the authors name (well it's Beatrice Sparks..), but look for that title. it's a nice mix of mystery and fantasy(sort of). It's one of those really wierd, trippy books, but it's hard not to get into it.

[Niamh]

I also agree with historical novels. :nod:
The Girl with the Pearl Earring
The Other Boleyn Girl
Anything by Bernard Cormwell. Azincourt is fantastic, as is his Grail quest triology (net really historical but uses some amazing battles to give that authentic feel. :nod:)
You could also go for Arthurian? Mary Stewarts Merlin Trilogy (The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, The Last Enchantment) and A Wicked Day are amazing.

[Aravona]

I also agree with historical novels. :nod:
The Girl with the Pearl Earring
The Other Boleyn Girl
Anything by Bernard Cormwell. Azincourt is fantastic, as is his Grail quest triology (net really historical but uses some amazing battles to give that authentic feel. :nod:)
You could also go for Arthurian? Mary Stewarts Merlin Trilogy (The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, The Last Enchantment) and A Wicked Day are amazing.

The other bolyen girl... that book... is practially worn out... I need a new copy... I stayed up til 3 in the morning not realising I was still reading it... I love that book! :D (won't watch the film though!)

Arthurian legend I adore, I've read a lot of books on the original writings and I class it as Mythological History (I'm English, and we even had a King who tried to build Camelot because he was obsessed with Arthur) Aravona is a varient spelling name of Avalon :D

Thanks everyone for replies I definately have some ideas to keep me going until the summer now! :D

[Katy North]

Try Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose... it's full of intrigue and set in the middle ages...

[Niamh]

The other bolyen girl... that book... is practially worn out... I need a new copy... I stayed up til 3 in the morning not realising I was still reading it... I love that book! :D (won't watch the film though!)

Arthurian legend I adore, I've read a lot of books on the original writings and I class it as Mythological History (I'm English, and we even had a King who tried to build Camelot because he was obsessed with Arthur) Aravona is a varient spelling name of Avalon :D


Well there you have it! :D hehe. If you havent read Mary Stewarts version i'd recommend you do. Its the best version i've ever read. (on to my second copies of the books. First held together by elastic bands!)

[janesmith]

I think you might appreciate some magic realism. Try Angela Carter's "The magic Toyshop".

[Scheherazade]

Why don't you follow the Book Club readings? Every month there is a different book to be read and discussed.

It offers a chance to try the kind of books you may not pick on your own and the discussions are quite interesting too.

[Aravona]

I had a look at the book club, but the only book that took my fancy was this months. Hence the post :) - And I wanted to move away from what I like / know.

[kelby_lake]

Thanks for the replies :) I've got a C J Sansom on a shelf at home, Revelation. I haven't read it yet because it looked so much of a monster read. I will wholeheartedly give it a second chance and crack the cover, after I get the first book and any others that come before it! :) (this is the problem with books as gifts they are always mid-series!)

On another note I have read Dickens and I don't really find him an entertaining read, I find they get a bit dull after they have been brutally disected by my GCSEs. I performed in Oliver Twist as well (quite badly) and that was the best book out of those I've read. Though there are others I enjoyed I'd prefer something that would be a more compelling re-read and I don't find that with Dickens. Don't get me wrong his books are wonderful. But not griping enough for me to re-read. I've had the same unfortunate experience with Shakespeare, however with only 2 of his plays, and having being taken to a Fringe play of The Merchant Of Venice, my love of Shakespeare jumped up a notch. Perhaps I can get Dickens to do the same.

Find obscurer Dickens and Shakespeare. I reckon you've probably studied A Christmas Carol and/or A Tale of Two Cities. Bleak House is good and Our Mutual Friend was interesting. Watch adaptations as well to enhance your enjoyment of it.

As for Shakespeare...I like The Merchant of Venice too. If you like comedies with a serious undercurrent, try Measure for Measure- the main conflict is the deputy duke asking a novice nun to 'lay down the treasures of your (her) body' in exchange for her brother's life .

[Katy North]

In the Arthurian vein, The Once and Future King by T. H. White is excellent as well.

[Niamh]

In the Arthurian vein, The Once and Future King by T. H. White is excellent as well.

That and The Sword in the Stone kind of annoyed me...

[Aravona]

Find obscurer Dickens and Shakespeare. I reckon you've probably studied A Christmas Carol and/or A Tale of Two Cities. Bleak House is good and Our Mutual Friend was interesting. Watch adaptations as well to enhance your enjoyment of it.


Bleak house was recently broadcast on the BBC, I don't like that period if I'm honest. Victorian isnt my thing Tudor is (If I was born in a different century it would be that one!) I went even to an old Victorian town, Black Country Museum... I find it quite dull as a time frame. I think thats why I don't like Dickens, his novels are fantastically written, but just not gripping (to meat at least!)

What bugs me about Arthurian writings, people who say the sword in the stone is excalibur, when clearly, if you read the books. Its not.

[LitNetIsGreat]

I had a look at the book club, but the only book that took my fancy was this months. Hence the post :) - And I wanted to move away from what I like / know.

Ahem, try this thread:

http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52154

:ihih:

[wessexgirl]

Arthurian legend I adore, I've read a lot of books on the original writings and I class it as Mythological History (I'm English, and we even had a King who tried to build Camelot because he was obsessed with Arthur) Aravona is a varient spelling name of Avalon :D

Thanks everyone for replies I definately have some ideas to keep me going until the summer now! :D

If you like Arthurian stuff, you could try Helen Hollick's trilogy about Arthur, starting with The Kingmaking. Bernard Cornwell has also done a trilogy, and he's very good, and a very good young adult one which was a Carnegie winner is Here Lies Arthur, by Philip Reeve. These are all a more realistic Arthur.

[kasie]

Bruce Alexander's Judge Fielding mysteries might appeal to you. Starting with Blind Justice --best to read in order as the characters age and change as the series progesses. Based on a real live English blind judge who was also intrumental in starting up the Bow Street runners which I belive is the percursor to Scotland Yard. He was also the brother of Henry Fielding author of Tom Jones.

Thanks for this pointer, mtpspur - I'll be looking out for these books.

We had a tv series last year called City of Vice which was about the Fielding brothers and their work setting up the Bow Street Runners - it was very good, some authentic looking settings and very good acting. It was quite popular and a second series was promised but nothing has come of it as yet.

[Niamh]

Ahem, try this thread:

http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52154

:ihih:

Nice one Neely! :D

[Aravona]

Heh, thanks everyone I now definately have a huge list of books I want to read!

Also going to add Phillip Pullmans new book to it as well :)

[seanyboy]

How about The Outsider by Albert Camus, it would be an interesting genre change its short and is going to intrigue you from the opening passage. Plus it would be a fine introduction to Existentialism.

[Satan]

How about The Outsider by Albert Camus, it would be an interesting genre change its short and is going to intrigue you from the opening passage. Plus it would be a fine introduction to Existentialism.

Absurdism. Camus would defend that to an absurd end in a physical fight against Sartre, especially after publication of The Rebel and the exchange of niceties that followed.

[hillwalker]

If you like Dickens but find his dense style a bit hard to get to grips with try 'The Quincunx' by Charles Palliser - a wonderfully intriguing mystery set in Dickensian London but written in a slightly more approachable style. It's a big book but a well-worth read.