Fiction recommendations.

[mrissa]

I've been going through the fiction on my library list at an alarming rate, because I'm not interspersing it with nonfiction at the moment. Don't know when I'll get my ability to read nonfiction back, but it doesn't seem to go well with the vertigo. So in the meantime: what fiction should I read? Recommend something, or more than one something. If I've already read it, that's okay; I'll tell you, and you can recommend something else, or not, as you like.

I read books aimed at any age of person. The main genre constraint I have is that I tend to bounce hard off genre romance, and horror and traditional westerns are not generally my cup of tea.

In other news, Ista is really not at all thrilled with this entire holiday, and she's alternating between running around wanting to figure out what those noises are and trying to stay hidden and safe behind the living room couch.

I watched the first half of Good Night and Good Luck with today's workout. Seemed appropriate. Happy Independence Day, all those of you who celebrate it today.

Comments

Re: For start...

[aedifica]

I like Dorothy Gilman's books in general, but my very favorite is Uncertain Voyage for the way the main character grows during the book.

Re: For start...

[callunav.livejournal.com]

I do like that about it a lot - although really, character growth is a hallmark of Gilman's books overall. One can hardly say that Mrs. Pollifax hasn't changed by the end of her first novel.

I think my problem with Uncertain Voyage is, frankly, that problem of knowing slightly too much. As someone who works in mental health, some bits of the story make me itch a little. I suspect that they're less authorial issues and more differences of era - hence why I said I felt it had aged less gracefully - but I'd have to do some real research on how schizophrenia was perceived, diagnosed, and treated at the time when the novel was written before I'd know that, which I haven't done.

I've commented on other occasions that it's perfectly possible for me to blithely tolerate outright authorial exaggeration, misrepresentation, or ignorance, if only it's on subjects I know nothing about. It's when they get onto my turf that I get edgy. UV is much better than many things I've read (or, er, tried to read) on that count, just close enough to make it not my personal favorite.

Re: For start...

[aedifica]

That makes sense. It's not my field at all, so I don't have that barrier to enjoyment.