Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jdvn1" data-source="post: 2662680" data-attributes="member: 26424">Recommending books is part of my job, and I put effort into matching people with books. For Sci-Fi, I have my list of mandatory must-trys. My ABC's of Sci-Fi. Asimov, Bradbury, and Card.Ender's Game is a wonderful book that appeals to a variety of audiences, but I wouldn't recommend to everyone to read the entire series. A gentleman came in, asking for a recommendation on a book, having just finished Ender's Game. The Ender's Series (I differentiate from the other series by called those others the "Shadow Series" or the "Bean Series") takes the first book in a very different direction, losing that excitement and quick pace of the first book. Instead, it's a bit more contemplative. Certainly not for all audiences. If you want more of the same, eg: action, go for the Shadow Series.This guy really liked Ender's Game, but didn't want to try either. He wanted something still sci-fi, but completely different. My solution? Hitchhiker's Guide. Very different, very funny. Still Sci-Fi. He was really happy with his purchase.I do encourage people to try a variety of books, though. A lady was looking for a mystery book, having had read lots of what I call "pop authors." The stuff everyone reads, the mass-market/series sort of thing. You want a good mystery? Try Graham Greene. Really awesome mystery author, but you won't find his books in the Mystery section, but the Literature section. You want to stay in the Mystery section? Try out Perez-Reverte. Club Dumas is a mystery about books--kind of a twist. He's a Spanish author, so not quite as common in the states.This past weekend another lady came in looking for a book that her book club was reading. Some obscure title that was out of print, we didn't have it. She didn't care, since it was a last-minute book and the book club is a bunch of ladies sitting around and talking about random things anyway. It does give her a good excuse to read books, though. Well, she was worried about the next week's book, which she had to recommend. She had no clue what to do. So I came up with Triange: The Fire that Changed America. Really good historical account of the Triangle Waist Fire, which brought upon big changes in both Labor Rights and Women's Rights. The ladies were mostly teachers, so I thought this was a great fit, and the lady did too.Other authors I'd recommend? Walter Mosley (mysteries that also brings up racial themes), Evelyn Waugh (quick author, as in fast writing style, fast read). If you're okay with depressing, Elie Wiesel has an excellent trilogy on the Holocaust (most students have to read the first one, Night) or Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes was big at the time, but the sequel didn't do as well--interesting read on the Irish, though).That's the stuff that comes to mind right away. I'm sure I could recommend a few others, but after a point, all the stuff would be bestsellers and new releases, or stuff anyone else could recommend.</blockquote>

Verification