David Brin:
- Kiln People ~ In Brin's imagined future, folks are able to make inexpensive,
disposable clay copies of themselves. These golems or "dittos" live for a single day
to serve their creator, who can then choose whether or not to "inload" the
memories of the ditto's brief life. But private investigator Albert Morris gets
more than he bargained for when he signs on to help solve the mysterious
disappearance of Universal Kilns' co-founder Yasil Maharal-- the father of
dittotech. Hardcover, Jan. 2002.
-
Glory Season ~ In a high-caste society led by genetically-engineered females cloned from their mothers, Maia, one of the few normal, uncloned, and outcast children handicapped by their uniqueness, sets out to win a place for herself in a divided world--and finds adventure and excitement as she traverses the strange and beautiful planet of Stratos. An unforgettable new universe.
-
Earth ~ epic novel set fifty years from tomorrow, a carefully-reasoned, scientifically faithful tale of the fate of our world.
-
Heart of the Comet ~ co-written with Gregory Benford. The adventures of a gang of hearty adventurers who colonize Halley's comet during its next perihelion. Real estate is cheap in the asteroid belt, but organic volatiles are not. Most of the crew can expect to return to Earth as heroes. Aged heroes, but heroes. What type of individual would seek isolation from the rest of society for a lifetime, yet could still function as part of a tight crew? But isolation is the least of their problems. But who could anticipate that Halley's comet harbors life which blossoms during the brief "summer" every 76 years?
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The Postman ~ He was a wanderer who traded tales for food and shelter in the savage aftermath of a devastating war. Fate touches him one chill winter's day when he borrows the jacket of a long-dead postal worker to protect himself from the cold. The old, worn uniform still has power as a symbol of hope, and with it he begins to weave his greatest tale, of a nation on the road to recovery. This is the story of a lie that became the most powerful kind of truth, the moving saga of a man who rekindled the spirit of America.
(The movie
is
great too!)
-
The Practice Effect ~ Humorous adventure with a sci-fi/fantasy setting. The
hero is a technologically adept person, thrown into a less technological
environment, who learns to combine his modern-day savvy with the peculiarities of his new environs to his considerable
advantage.
-
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Sundiver ~ Vol. 1 (but not the best) of Uplift Trilogy. No species has ever reached for the stars without the guidance of a patron--except perhaps mankind. Did some mysterious race begin the uplift of humanity
eons ago? Circling the sun, under the caverns of Mercury, Expedition Sundiver prepares for the most momentous voyage in history--a journey into the boiling inferno of the sun.
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Startide Rising ~ Vol. 2 of Uplift Trilogy. Won Hugo and Nebula Awards. The Terran exploration vessel Streaker has crashed on the uncharted water world of Kithrup, bearing one of the most important discoveries in galactic history. Below, a handful of her human and dolphin crew battles a hostile planet to safeguard her secret--the fate of the Progenitors.
-
The Uplift War ~ Vol. 3 of Uplift Trilogy. Hugo Award
winner. As galactic armadas clash in quest of the ancient fleet of the Progenitors, a brutal alien race seizes the dying planet of Garth. The various uplifted inhabitants of Garth must battle their overlords or face ultimate extinction. At stake is the existence of Terran society and Earth, and the fate of the entire Five
Galaxies.
-
-
Brightness Reef ~ Vol. 1, Uplift Storm Trilogy. The planet Jijo is forbidden to settlers, its ecology protected by guardians of the Five Galaxies. But over the centuries it has been resettled, populated by refugees of six intelligent races. Together they have woven a new society, drawn together by their fear of Judgment Day, when the Five Galaxies will discover their illegal colony. Then a strange starship arrives. Does it bring the long-dreaded judgment, or worse -- criminals willing to destroy Jijo to cover their own crimes?
-
Infinity's Shore ~ Book 2, Uplift Storm Trilogy. Return to Jijo where six bands of sapient beings, formerly deadly enemies, now coexist. But when their alliance is tested, venerable laws topple. Now many feel free to plunder, or carry out grudges--including genocide for one of Jijo's races
& possibly death for all.
-
Heaven's Reach ~ Book 3, Uplift Storm Trilogy. The brutal enemy that has relentlessly pursued them for centuries has arrived. The Jijoans' only hope is the Earthship Streaker, crewed by uplifted dolphins and commanded by an untested human, and carrying a cargo of ancient artifacts that may unlock the secret of those who first brought intelligent life to the Galaxies. As dozens of white dwarf stars stand ready to explode, the survival of sentient life in the universe rests on the most improbable dream of all--that age-old antagonists of different races can at last recognize the unity of all consciousness.
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Terry Brooks:
-
Magic Kingdom for Sale - Sold!
~ After Ben Holiday purchased Landover, he discovered the magic kingdom had some problems. The Barons refused to recognize a king and the peasants were without hope. To make matters worse, Ben learned that he had to duel to the death with the Iron Mark, the terrible lord of the demons--a duel which no human could hope to
win....action packed fantasy adventure with a sense of humor.
-
Witches' Brew ~ #2, Landover series. Ex-Chicago lawyer Ben Holiday finds his peaceful life in Landover threatened by the machinations of Rydall, king of lands beyond the fairy mist, with the life of Ben's precious daughter, Mistaya, becoming the prize.
-
Wizard At Large ~ #3, Landover series. Questor Thews is only a semi-competent wizard, but when High Lord Ben Holiday and his love Willow need use of his powers, he tries to comply. He tries, all right, but he doesn't have all that much faith in himself--not since he turned a terrier into an imp. Still, he'll do what he
can....
-
The Tangle Box ~ #4, Landover series. Troublesome magical trickster Horris Kew has unleashed a powerful evil sorcerer who's bent on ruling Landover and destroying its king, Ben Holiday.
-
The Black Unicorn ~ #5, Landover series. A year had passed since Ben Holiday bought the Magic Kingdom from the Wizard Meeks. Then one night, Ben woke to find Meeks had cast a spell to assume Ben's appearance. Ben soon found himself an outcast, unrecognized by any friend.
-
Sword of Shannara ~ #1, Shannara series. Long ago, the wars of the ancient Evil had ruined the world and forced mankind to compete with many other races--gnomes, trolls, dwarfs, and elves. But in peaceful Shady Vale, half-elfin Shea Ohmsford knew little of such troubles. Then came the giant, forbidding Allanon, possessed of strange Druidic powers, to reveal that the Warlock Lord was plotting to destroy the world.
-
Elfstones of Shannara ~ #2, Shannara series. When the protective Ellcry tree begins to die, threatening to unleash Demon forces throughout the world, Wil Ohmsford is directed to accompany Amberle, a young Elven girl, on a quest to plant a new Ellcry seed.
- Wishsong of Shannara ~ #3, Shannara series. The Druid Allanon needs Brin Ohmsford to help win through the vile growth that protects the Ildatch, ancient source of evil--for only Brin holds the magic power of the wishsong, which can make plants bloom instantly, or turn trees to autumn gold.
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The Delany sisters:
OK, this is non-fiction, but it's wonderful! The wit and wisdom of two feisty women and an
insightful education in black history from women who lived it with vitality
and style. The TV movie was good, but the book is much better!
-
Having Our Say : The Delany Sister's First 100 Years ~ Warm, feisty, and intelligent, the Delany sisters speak their mind in a book that is at once a vital historical record and a moving portrait of two remarkable women who continued to love, laugh, and embrace life after over 100 years of living side by side. Their sharp memories show readers the post-Reconstruction South and Booker T. Washington; Harlem's Golden Age and Langston Hughes, W.E.B. DuBois, and Paul Robeson. Bessie becomes a dentist; Sadie quietly integrates the New York City system as a school teacher. I prefer this larger format edition because the photos in the middle are bigger!
-
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years ~ same book, smaller mass market edition.
-
The Delany Sisters' Book of Everyday Wisdom ~ America's best-loved, bestselling sisters are back with their feisty, down-to-earth advice and inspiring thoughts on faith, love, and self-reliance. 20 photos.
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Phillip K. Dick:
Ubik ~ Glen Runciter is dead--or is everybody else? Somebody died in an explosion orchestrated by Runciter's business competitors, but it's hard to tell who. Filled with paranoic menace and unfettered slapstick, Ubik is a metaphysical comedy of death and salvation--which comes in a convenient
aerosol spray, to be used only as directed.
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Gordon W. Dickson
- The Way of the Pilgrim ~
Thought-provoking insights into what alien minds might really be like.
Earth has been conquered by a powerful alien race who think of humans as
"cattle." Shane, a gifted human linguist,
has spent his life learning the aliens' difficult language--and learning it so well that his
interstellar masters value him as a
servant. But one day, in a rebellious moment, Shane invented the Pilgrim, a
mysterious figure who incites rebellion all over Earth and vanishes
unseen, leaving a distinctive graffiti tag behind him.
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| Janet
Evanovich: The Stephanie Plum series of comic crime novels about
a plucky and klutzy female bounty hunter who attracts trouble (and destroys
cars.) Read them IN ORDER, or you'll be confused about her sex-life !
The Stephanie Plum series:
- One for the Money (A Stephanie Plum Novel)
~ Stephanie Plum is smart, honest, and funny.
She's a recently laid-off lingerie buyer in Trenton NJ who has no job, no car and no furniture. She does have a
hamster who sleeps in a soup can, a deranged grandmother, two caring parents, and several pairs of biking shorts and sports bras.
Her Miata has been repossessed and she's so poor at the moment that she just drank her last bottle of beer for breakfast.
She blackmails her cousin Vinnie into giving her a bail-bond recovery job worth $10,000 (for a murder suspect), even though she doesn't own a gun and has never apprehended a person in her life.
The guy she has to get is a local vice cop, Joe Morelli, the same creep who charmed away her teenage virginity behind the pastry case in the Trenton bakery where she worked after school.
Stephanie's attempts to pull in Joe make a hilarious and suspenseful tale of murder and deceit. Along the way, several more outlandish (but unrelentingly real) characters join the story, including Benito Ramirez, a champion boxer who seems to be following Stephanie Plum wherever she goes.
- Two for the Dough
~ Stephanie's on the trail of Kenny Mancuso, a boy from the working-class burg of Trenton,
who has just shot his best friend. Fresh out of the Army and suspiciously wealthy, Mancuso's also distantly related to Joe Morelli, a vice cop with questionable ethics, a libido in permanent overdrive, and a habit of horning in on Stephanie's investigations.
Aided by her tough bounty hunter pal, Ranger, and her funeral-happy Grandma Mazur, Stephanie's soon knee-deep in corpses, trying to shake
Morelli, and stirring up a very nasty enemy.
- Three To Get Deadly
~ A "saintly" old candy-store owner is on the lam-and bounty hunter extraordinaire Stephanie Plum is on the case. As the body count rises, Stephanie finds herself dealing with dead drug dealers and slippery fugitives on the chase of her life. And with the help of eccentric friends and family, Steph must see to it that this case doesn't end up being her last
- Four to Score
- High Five
- Hot Six
- Seven Up
- Hard Eight
~ Evelyn Soder and her young daughter have gone on the run, leaving an angry ex-husband who's planning to collect on a child custody bond that will leave Evelyn's grandmother homeless.
Eddie Abruzzi, a shady local businessman, warns Plum to butt out of the case. Stephanie doesn't scare easily, but when Abruzzi's henchmen leave a bag of snakes on her doorknob and tarantulas in her car, she has no choice but to call Ranger, the hunky man of mystery whom she already owes too many favors. Steph knows that Ranger will soon be calling in his marker, but with her ex- fiancé Joe Morelli out of the picture, that should be OK--shouldn't it? In the meantime, she's got other fugitives to catch, aided by the usual band of misfits, plus a bumbling correspondence-school lawyer who's developed the hots for Stephanie's sister, Valerie. And Steph's in for a surprise from her mother, who proves she's not above wielding a dangerous weapon to save her daughter's life.
- To the Nines
~ When the elusive Mr. Samuel Singh, an illegal immigrant, goes missing, Stephanie is on the case. But what she uncovers is far more sinister than anyone imagines and leads to a group of killers who give new meaning to the word hunter.
- Ten Big
Ones ~ Plum is the eye witness who could put a gang leader,
as the Junkman, behind bars... if he just lets her live long enough. Looking for a place to hide out from the killer until the cops catch up with him, Stephanie sneaks into
Ranger's apartment. All the usual suspects are along for a wilder than ever ride, including Lula the gun-toting ex-hooker, Grandma Mazur,
Morelli, Stephanie's pregnant sister Valerie and her fiancé, as well as a host of minor characters who bring Trenton's seedier environs to life.
Evanovich's other novels:
- The Rocky Road to Romance
~ When the delightful, daffy Dog Lady of station WZZZ offered to take on the temporary job of traffic reporter, Steve Crow tried to think of reasons to turn Daisy Adams down. Perhaps he knew that sharing the close quarters of a car with her for hours would give the handsome program director no room to resist her quirky charms. He'd always favored low-slung sportscars and high-heeled women, but that was before he fell for a free spirit who caught crooks by accident, loved old people and pets, and had just too many jobs!
Loving Daisy turned Steve's life upside down, especially once he adopted Bob, a huge dog masquerading as a couch potato. But was Daisy finally ready to play for keeps?
- Metro Girl
~ Thrilling, high-octane misadventure with high stakes, hot nights, cold-blooded murder, sunken treasure, a woman with a chassis built for speed, and one very good, very sexy NASCAR driver who’s along for the ride.
"Wild" Bill Barnaby's dropped off the face of the earth and big sister Alex heads for Miami, Bill's last known sighting, on a harrowing hunt to save her brother ... and maybe the world.
Alex blasts through the bars of South Beach and points her search to Key West and Cuba, laying waste to Miami hit men, dodging Palmetto bugs big enough to eat her alive, and putting the pedal to the metal with NASCAR driver Sam Hooker.
The race to the finish is hot and hard, taking Alex and Hooker into international waters, exposing a plot to grab Cuban gold and a sinister relic of the Cuban missile crises. Creative cussing and sexual innuendo included.
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Fanny Flagg:
-
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe ~ A funny and endearing story of the relationship between two women who run a cafe in a small town in Alabama in the Depression; along with a woman who finds herself in the 1980s helped by Mrs. Threadgoode, reminiscing fondly from her nursing home. The book has all the plot and character detail that I missed in the movie (which was still great). I cried, I laughed out loud, and I absolutely LOVE this book
- one of my all-time top favorites!
- Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe/Audio Cassettes ~ Read by Fannie Flagg; Nominated for a Grammy Award for best Spoken Word Recording.
-
Fannie Flagg's Original Whistle Stop Cafe Cookbook ~ The recipes are all for delicious hearty happy food that comes with all sorts of things, from gravies to hot sauces (very often the secret's in the sauce). But most of all this food, and this book, comes with love. 150 recipes from old time small diner/restaurants down south; photos
& anecdotal asides from Fannie Flagg... a rare cookbook that's also a good read. *Fried Green Tomatoes *Southern Barbecue *Banana Split Cake *Skinless Fried Chicken *Pork Chops with Apples and Sweet Potatoes *Baked Ham and Pineapple Rings *Baked Turkey with Traditional Cornbread Dressing *Black-eyed Peas *Fried Okra *Creamed Onions *Broccoli Casserole *Southern Cream Gravy *Fried Catfish *Scalloped Oysters *Down Home Crab Cakes *Beaten Biscuits *Corn Pones *Lemon Ice Box Pie *Kentucky Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie * And much more!
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Anne Geddes (Photographer):
- Until Now ~ a feast for the eyes and the heart. Sleeping angels...Flower fairies...Woodland nymphs...Watermelon seeds. Anne
Geddes' magical world is populated by hundreds of beautiful, chubby babies and gorgeous children dressed as peapods, pansies, peonies, and pearls. Geddes fans will be thrilled by this lush, coffee-table-sized, 10-year retrospective of her work. Hardcover; 264 pages.
- Little Thoughts With Love ~ Combining tender images by Anne Geddes with poignant quotations about motherhood, this book is about new beginnings, tiny miracles, and futures rich with promise... a treasured gift and beloved keepsake. Hardcover; 124 pages.
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Mark Helprin:
- Winter's Tale ~ A breathtaking novel about the beauty and complexity of the human soul, about God,
love & justice, and yet readers can lose themselves in it as if it were a dream. "A gifted writer's love affair with the
language."--Newsday. When master mechanic Peter Lake attempts to rob a mansion on the Upper West Side, he's caught by young Beverly Penn, the terminally ill daughter of the house, and their subsequent love sends Peter on a desperate personal journey. Historical/mythical/fantastic/allegorical novel set in New York.
-
A Soldier of the Great War ~ a novel that encompasses the horror of war and the triumph of love. Seventy-something professor Alessandro Guiliani, a war hero and scholar, recalls his most terrible adventure: World War I, a surreal parade of horrors that devastated and defined his existence. A tale of love, loss, tragedy, madmen, dwarves, and
mafiosi.
- Memoir from Antproof Case ~ adventure, satire, and flights of transcendence in this vivid and poignant novel. In a mountain garden overlooking the ocean in Brazil, an old American writes his memoirs, recounts his experiences as a World War II ace, an investment banker, a resident in a Switzerland insane asylum, a murderer, and a slave to his coffee addiction, describing a life that reads like a song of the 20th century.
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Frank Herbert:
If you haven't read Dune, have you really discovered science fiction yet? A classic!
(By the way, the books are SO much better than the movies! I thought the
first movie was just AWFUL. The later remake was better, but still
barely scratched the surface of what's in this epic... read the books!)
- The Original Trilogy:
- Dune ~ Hugo and Nebula Award winner. The sweeping tale of a desert planet called Arrakis, the focus of an intricate power struggle in a byzantine interstellar empire. Arrakis is the sole source of Melange, the "spice of spices." Melange is necessary for interstellar travel and grants psychic powers and longevity, so whoever controls it wields great influence. Powerful, compelling, epic - one of the best sci fi books ever written. (But the
first movie was AWFUL!!) 535 pages. -
a classic, one of my all-time top favorites!
-
Dune Messiah ~ #2, Dune trilogy. Paul Atreides, genetically bred and trained to become the leader of his planet, is still subject to human frailties.
-
Children of Dune ~ #3, Dune trilogy. The story of the Atreides destiny after the disappearance of Muad'dib. The children of Muad'dib, Leto and Ghanima, now must take up the heavy burden left by their father.
- Too good to stop at three, so he kept going:
-
God Emperor of Dune ~ Dune Chronicles #4. Leto II, God Emperor of Dune, trades his humanity for immortality and, as the magnificent sandworm of Dune, desperately tries to save
humankind.
-
Heretics of Dune ~ #5. The planet Arrakis is becoming desert again. Lost ones are returning home from the far reaches of space. The great sandworms are dying, and the children of Dunes children awaken from empire as from a dream, wielding the new power of a heresy called love. Thousands of years after the death of God Emperor Leto II, the Bene Gesserit and the Bene Tleilax struggle to direct the future of Dune, now called
Rakis.
-
Chapterhouse: Dune ~ #6, the conclusion to Frank Herbert's l3-million-copy epic masterpiece. The desert planet Arrakis has been destroyed, and the heirs to Dune's power, have colonized a green world--and are turning it into a desert, mile by scorched mile.
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Carl Hiassen:
Born and raised in Florida, Hiassen is an award-winning journalist &
columnist for the Miami Herald who writes modified murder mysteries with
satirical humor, outrageous characters, and biting commentary on social,
ecological, and political issues. The
heroes are often writers, and you're sure to laugh along the way.
- Skinny Dip
- July, 2004. Heiress overboard! Joey Perrone is flipped over the railing of a cruise ship by her husband, a marine biologist who thinks she's on to the scam that would earn him a fortune. Husband Chaz is concocting falsified phosphorus tests for Red Hammernut, a politically connected prince of Everglades polluters. But Joey Perrone survives the plunge, and, aided by a
swamp-land loner, fashions her revenge. Add a world-weary old-school cop with a pair of canine-consuming pythons, Red's dogged Man Friday, and Chaz's
not-as-naïve-as-you-think girlfriend for another delirious romp through the swamps of South Florida.
- Basket
Case - Former investigative reporter, Jack Tagger is banished
to the Obituary desk. Hoping to get back on the front page by
"yoking my byline to some famous stiff," he investigates the
"accidental" death of a rock star.
- Native Tongue
- A P.R. writer for a theme park becomes entwined with dedicated (if somewhat demented) environmentalists battle sleazy real estate developers in the Florida Keys.
- Skin
Tight - This portrait of the plastic surgery business in Florida
features a Mafia-connected plastic surgeon with butterfingers, a bitchy Hollywood starlet, a remarkably inept hit man and a pompous TV journalist "nationally famous for getting beaten up on camera."
- Sick
Puppy - When budding young eco-terrorist Twilly Spree begins a campaign of sabotage against a grotesque litterbug named Palmer Stoat, he gets much more than he bargained for.
The cast of zany characters includes dog-napping eco-terrorists, bogus big-time hunters, a Republicans-only hooker, an infamous ex-governor who's gone back to nature, thousands of singing toads, and a Labrador retriever greater than the sum of his Labrador parts.
- Stormy
Weather - Hiassen's view of the second "hurricane" of charlatans, rednecks, insurance peddlers and assorted thieves and scoundrels that invaded southern Florida after the big
hurricane -- Andrew -- leveled the territory in the 90's.
- Tourist
Season - P.I. Brian Keyes finds himself enmeshed in a bizarre string of crimes: a series of murders perpetrated by a radical group using carnivorous reptiles, both living and rubber, as weapons in an attempt to free Florida from overdevelopment.
- Lucky
You - Satire on survivalists, religious fanaticism, marriage, divorce, race relations, and Hooters restaurants.
JoLayne Lucks has one of two winning lottery tickets each worth a cool $14 million. She plans to spend it rescuing a local plot of swampland from a strip mall developer. The holders of the other winning ticket, Bode Gazzer and his sidekick, Chubb,
want the whole $28 million to bankroll the start-up of the White Clarion Aryans before NATO takes over America with a handicapped parking sticker scam. They steal JoLayne's ticket, but before they can cash it, she mounts a hot pursuit with the help of local journalist Tom Krome,
dodging bullets & local religious fanatics through the swamps and sleazy
dives of south Florida.
- Double
Whammy - Someone is cheating at bass fishing competitions, and people are getting killed. Enter R.J. Decker, former photojournalist and
ex-con, who teams up with Skink, a swamp hermit who reads Dostoyevsky.
Fascinating look at the world of competitive bass fishing.
- Strip
Tease - A smart topless dancer and a cool but clueless cop join forces to trap a dirty congressman, aided by one of the funniest cast of characters ever collected in a suspense novel.
- South Florida Three-Book Set
#1 [Sick Puppy, Skin Tight, Stormy Weather]
- South
Florida Three-Book Set #2 [Lucky You, Basket Case, Double Whammy]
- Hoot
- Hiassen's first novel for a younger audience. An ecological mystery, made up of endangered miniature owls, the Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House scheduled to be built over their burrows, and the owls' unlikely allies--three middle school kids determined to beat the screwed-up adult system.
- Team Rodent - How Disney Devours the World
- Having witnessed the relentless success of the Disney machine firsthand with the development of Disney World and other properties around
Orlando, Hiaasen paints a witty and sarcastic portrait in this nonfiction account of a company who can control the press, manipulate local governments, and because it's Disney, get away with it. Team Rodent is a quick, entertaining read that even the most loyal Disney shareholder (except maybe Michael Eisner) will find enlightening and amusing
- Kick Ass: Selected Columns of Carl Hiaasen -
Eclectic collection of Haissen's notorious Miami Herald columns...
a non-stop laugh and a big dose of reality. More than 200 columns, organized by topic, and just about every one of them meets the mandate stated in the title of the collection. Hiaasen has a passion for the environment, consumer protection, crime control, and good government. His portrait of a Florida reeling after the flood of growth and development of the last three decades is even starker than the one in his novels.
It's also fun to see where he got some of his ideas for the things that happen in his
novels.
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|
Gregory McDonald: Prolific writer of two excellent mystery series:
Starring a part-time journalist called Fletch (Irwin Maurice Fletcher):
Starring a Boston police investigator/international undercover agent
named Flynn: (I like this series even better than the Fletch novels)
F. X. Flynn has befuddled,
infuriated, and amazed his colleagues on the Boston Police force while in pursuit of blackmailers, murderers, embezzlers, politicians, and,
occasionally, his fellow policemen.
- Flynn ~
It might have been an accident that brought down the Boeing 707 over Boston Harbor, virtually in Flynn’s own backyard. But it seems
unlikely, with so many potential targets on board: The heavily insured, elderly Federal judge; the has-been British actor; the middleweight
champ; the Middle Eastern finance minister. Was the motive greed, murder, revenge, or even terrorism?
- The Buck Passes Flynn
- Flynn's In
- Flynn's World
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| T. R. Pearson -
Interesting and unusual writing style, novels mostly about "characters" in
the Appalachians, with a dry wit and sprinkling of wisdom.
|
Terry Pratchett: - one of my all-time top favorites!
Pratchett is one of the funniest writers around - he blends inventive fantasy with humor
(satire on almost every conceivable issue) in his extensive Discworld series. Currently my absolute favorite author!
- Going Postal : A Novel of Discworld
~ Sept. 2004. Lord Vetinari forces con-man Moist van Lipwig to become
Postmaster of a mail system that hasn't run in 20 year. Moist eventually finds himself in a race with the dysfunctional clacks system to see whose message can be delivered first.
- Monstrous Regiment
~ Aug. 2004. Polly becomes Private Oliver Perks, who is on a quest to find her older brother, who's recently MIA in one of the innumerable wars the tiny nation of Borogravia has a habit of starting with its neighbors.
Whether Sergeant Jackrum knows her secret or not, he can't afford to be choosy, as Perks and her/his comrades are among the last able-bodied recruits left in Borogravia. This collection of misfits includes
a vampire (reformed and off the blood, thank you), troll, and macabre Igor, who is only too happy to sew you a new leg if you aren't too particular about previous ownership. Off to war, Polly/Oliver learns that having a pair of, um, socks is a good way to open up doors in this man's army.
- A Hat Full of Sky
~ May 2004. Grade 5-8, and up!. This fantasy continues the story begun in The Wee Free Men.
Now 11, Tiffany Achine is beginning her apprenticeship as a witch, as her grandmother was before her. The Wee Free Men have vowed to protect her always. Tiffany's power is untrained and she has accidentally learned how to project herself out of her body or "borrow" herself. This allows a type of demon, a hiver, to take over her mind and destroy it little by little. While she is under its influence, she isn't herself and treats others badly, especially the clique of apprentice witches who have made fun of her. When the Wee Free Men are able to free her, Tiffany banishes the hiver into the next world where Death awaits. With the help of her teacher, who is actually a person with two bodies; wise head witch Granny Weatherwax; an obsessively tidy ghost named Oswald; Toad, a former human lawyer; and Rob Anybody, husband of the current Queen of the Wee Free Men, she learns to find her own magic. This book is full of irreverent humor, laugh-out-loud dialogue, and many memorable characters.
- The Wee Free Men
~ April 2003. Age 10-14 and up! Nine-year-old Tiffany Aching needs magic--fast! Her sticky little brother Wentworth has been spirited away by the evil Queen of faerie, and it’s up to her to get him back safely. Having already decided to grow up to be a witch, now all Tiffany has to do is find her power.
Tiffany’s also got the Nac Mac Feegles, or the Wee Free Men on her side. Small, blue, and heavily tattooed, the Feegles love nothing more than a good fight except maybe a drop of strong drink! Tiffany, heavily armed with an iron skillet,
her courage & clear-sightedness, a manual of sheep diseases, the feisty Feegles, and a talking toad,
heads to a showdown with the Fairy Queen. Readers will delight in the Feegles’ spicy, irreverent dialogue and Tiffany’s salty determination.
- The Last Hero ~
The story is shorter (40,000-word) than a full novel, but strong and funny...
This coffee table size hardcover is illustrated throughout in sumptuous color by Paul Kidby. Cohen the Barbarian, with his geriatric Silver
Horde, are climbing Dunmanifesten to blow it up and take the gods with them. Rincewind and Leonard of Quirm (with his da Vinci technology) must beat
Cohen to his goal.
- Wyrd Sisters
~ June 1989. Meet Granny Weatherwax, the most highly regarded non-leader a coven of non-social witches could ever have. Generally, these loners don't get involved in anything, mush less royal
intrigue, but then there are those times they can't help it. As Granny
Weatherwax is about to discover, though, it's a lot harder to stir up trouble in the castle than some theatrical types would have you think. Even when you've got a few unexpected spells up your
sleeve.
~ one of my all-time top favorites!
This story is also available on video, developed for British television as an animated, six-episode
miniseries: Terry Pratchett's Discworld -
Wyrd Sisters DVD -or- Terry Pratchett's Discworld -
Wyrd Sisters VHS Boxed Set (3 tapes)
- The Truth
~ Sept. 2001. When printing comes to Ankh-Morpork, it "drag(s) the city kicking and screaming into the Century of the Fruitbat."
William de Worde, well-meaning younger son of reactionary nobility, has been providing a monthly newsletter to the elite using engraving. Then he is struck (and seriously bruised) by the power of the press. The dwarves responsible convince William to expand his letter and the
Ankh-Morpork Times is born. When Lord Vetinari is accused of attempted murder, the City Watch investigates the peculiar circumstances, but William wants
to know what really happened.
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The Thief of Time ~ April 2001. Pratchett takes on religion, time, and kung-fu movies! The cast includes Death; Miss Susan, Death's granddaughter; Jeremy Clockson, a clockmaker; Lobsang, a
novice monk; and Lu-Tze, a sweeper at the temple of the History Monks. Hardcover.
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Eric ~ In an attempt to have three wishes granted--to be immortal, to rule the world, and to have the world's most beautiful woman fall in love with him--Eric, an inept demonologist, summons up Rincewind, the universe's most incompetent wizard, to help him.
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Feet of Clay: A Novel of Discworld ~ Commander Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Guard is determined to stop an unauthorized assassin who jauntily leaves behind corpses and strange-smelling tracks of curious white clay. With the assistance of Corporal Cheery Littlebottom, Vimes and his men can get to the, well, bottom of anything. Even when the investigation leads to an out-of-work golem, a vampire dragon, and a vegetarian werewolf.
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Hogfather: A Novel of Discworld ~ This year the Auditors, who want people to stop believing in things that aren't real, have hired an assassin to eliminate the Hogfather. (You know him: red robe, white beard, says, "Ho, ho, ho!") Their evil plot will destroy the Discworld unless someone covers for him. So Death tries. He wears the costume and rides the sleigh drawn by four jolly pigs: Gouger, Tusker, Rooter, and Snouter. He even comes down chimneys, and even appears in person at Crumley's in The Maul. Humorous and cutting observations about our Christmas holidays; but also a very deep and moving meditation about what the holiday REALLY is and what it REALLY means.
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Jingo: A Discworld Novel ~ Ankh-Morpork has been at peace for a century. But now there are people on both sides who think it's time to give war a chance, and will happily help it on its way with a few murders...It happens on Discworld, where greed and ignorance influence human behavior, politicians pursue was for selfish ends, and perfectly ordinary people occasionally act like raving idiots. A world, in short, totally unlike our own.
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The Last Continent : A Discworld Novel ~ the 22nd Discworld book; a lighthearted tour of the fantasy land of Fourecks, a very Australian sort of place, with brief courses in theoretical physics and evolution thrown in for good measure, featuring the inept and cowardly wizard
Rincewind.
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Lords and Ladies: A Novel of Discworld ~ Granny Weatherwax
& the witches of Lancre must halt an infestation of elves that brings the kingdom to its knees and disrupts the royal wedding
& the annual dance. These elves present the image of being cute only to deceive humans. In fact, they are about as agreeable as Hitler's SS. With full supporting cast of dwarfs, wizards, trolls, Morris dancers, and one orangutan.
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Maskerade: A Novel of Discworld ~ It's "Phantom of the Opera", Discworld style, when an aspiring singer and part-time witch wins a part in the big city opera, and quickly learns of a shadowy figure haunting the house. Now her sorceress companions Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg must come to her aid, before the fat lady sings her last rites!
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Soul Music: A Novel of Discworld ~ Susan is the granddaughter of Death. It's hard to grow up normally when Grandfather rides a white horse and wields a scythe--especially when you have to take over the family business, and everyone mistakes you for the Tooth Fairy. And especially when you have to face the new and addictive music that has entered Discworld. It's lawless. It changes people. It's called MUSIC WITH ROCKS IN. It's got a beat and you can dance to it but...It's ALIVE. And it won't fade away.
~ one of my all-time top favorites!
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Philip Pullman:
This series is better than Harry Potter, and was also written for ages 9-12,
(but I loved them too!) Wish he'd write more!
- The His Dark Materials boxed set, which contains all 3 books:
- #4: Lyra's Oxford
~ short, new tale set in the world of His Dark Materials. Begins when Lyra and Pantalaimon spot a witch's daemon called Ragi being pursued over the rooftops of Oxford by a frenzied pack of birds.
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J.K. Rowling:
These bestsellers were written for ages 9-12, but adults (like me!) are loving it too!
- #1: Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ~ In the
non-magic human world--the world of "Muggles"--Harry is a nobody, treated like dirt by the aunt and uncle who begrudgingly inherited him when his parents were killed by the evil Voldemort. But in the world of wizards, small, skinny Harry is famous as a survivor of the wizard who tried to kill him. He is left only with a lightning-bolt scar on his forehead, curiously refined sensibilities, and a host of mysterious powers. A mysterious letter, delivered by the friendly giant Hagrid, wrenches Harry from his dreary, Muggle-ridden existence: "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry"... and that's where the real adventure--humorous, haunting, and suspenseful--begins.
Winner of the National Book Award, the Smarties Prize, the Children's Book Award, and
short-listed for the Carnegie Medal (U.K. version of the Newbery Medal).
- #2: Harry Potter and the
Chamber of Secrets
~ In Harry's second year, old friends and new torments abound, including a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girl's bathroom,
a conceited professor, Gilderoy Lockheart, and a mysterious force that turns Hogwarts students to
stone.
- #3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ~ Sirius
Black, a follower of Lord Voldemort, has escaped from the famous wizard prizon,
Azkaban, and is tracking down Harry.
- #4: Harry Potter and The Goblet of
Fire ~ Lord Voldemort and his sinister familiars--the Death Eaters--are out for murder.
Harry wants to go to the International Quidditch Cup.
- #5: Harry
Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ~ Harry storms into
adolescence at Hogwarts! "Dumbledore lowered his hands and surveyed Harry through his half-moon glasses. 'It is time,' he said 'for me to tell you what I should have told you five years ago, Harry. Please sit down. I am going to tell you everything.'"
- #6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
~ Pre-order now at Amazon.com for $17.99, a savings of 40%, and they
will make sure it arrives on or just after the release date of July 16, 2005.
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Neal Stephenson: These are unusual sort-of techno-thrillers that open new territories in the mind.
- The Diamond Age ~ in a future ruled by Neo-Victorian thought, a stone's throw from Shanghai, a brilliant nanotechnologist named Hackworth has just broken the rigorous moral code of his tribe, the powerful
neo-Victorians. He's made an illicit copy of a state-of-the-art interactive device called
A Young
Lady's Illustrated Primer. Commissioned by an eccentric duke for his grandchild, stolen for Hackworth's own daughter, the Primer's purpose is to educate and raise a girl capable of thinking for herself. It performs its function superbly. Unfortunately for Hackworth, his smuggled copy has fallen into the wrong hands.
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Cryptonomicon ~ zooms all over the world, careening conspiratorially back and forth between two time periods--World War II and the present. Our 1940s heroes, brilliant mathematician/cryptanalyst Lawrence
Waterhouse and gung ho, morphine-addicted marine Bobby Shaftoe, are part an Allied group trying to break Axis communication codes while simultaneously preventing the enemy from figuring out that their codes have been broken. "When we want to sink a convoy, we send out an observation plane first.... Of course, to observe is not its real duty--we already know exactly where the convoy is. Its real duty is to be observed.... Then, when we come round and sink them, the Germans will not find it suspicious." In the present-day story line, the grandchildren of the WWII heroes--programming geek Randy Waterhouse and powerful Amy Shaftoe--team up to help create an offshore data haven in Southeast Asia and maybe uncover some gold once destined for Nazi coffers. 928 pages, published May, 1999.
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Snow Crash ~ the high-octane cyberpunk adventure that put Neal Stephenson on the science fiction map. In a world where the Mafia controls pizza delivery, the U.S. exists as a patchwork of corporate-franchise city-states, and the Internet is incarnate as the Metaverse, Hiro Protagonist --hacker, samurai swordsman, and pizza-delivery driver-- rushes to the rescue when his friend fries his brain on a new designer drug called Snow Crash and his ex-girlfriend asks for his help. A breakneck-paced 21st-century novel, Snow Crash interweaves everything from Sumerian myth to visions of a postmodern civilization on the brink of collapse. Snow Crash is the portrayal of a future that is bizarre enough to be plausible.
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Zodiac: The Eco-Thriller ~ Sangamon Taylor is spreading the word about corporations piping toxic wastes into the water from his 40-horsepower Zodiac raft. Now, he's wanted by the FBI, the Mafia, and a group of Satan-worshipping drug dealers--the least of his problems. Because somewhere out there is an unhinged genetic engineer and a lab concocted bacterium that could destroy all ocean
life.
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Rebecca Wells: The "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" movie is a
synthesis of these 2 books.
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Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood ~ The Ya-Yas are the wild circle of girls who swirl around the narrator Siddalee's mama, Vivi, whose vivid voice is "part Scarlett, part Katharine Hepburn, part Tallulah." The Ya-Yas broke the no-booze rule at the cotillion, skinny-dipped their way to jail in the town water tower, disrupted the Shirley Temple look-alike contest, and bonded for life growing up in Louisiana. Washington Post: "A very entertaining and, ultimately, deeply moving novel about the complex bonds between mother and daughter."
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Little Altars Everywhere ~ "It can wear you to a nub, trying to be a popular person and a good Catholic all at the same
time." So says Sidda, who lives with Vivi, Big Shep,
and the cast of characters in Thornton, Louisiana who share their reminiscences of adventures, trials and
tribulations.
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Donald E. Westlake: Comic mysteries! What a hoot! There is some exceptionally funny
stuff here... I especially love all the comic crime capers of Dortmunder and his band of honorable but bumbling thieves.
- The
Road to Ruin ~ (April 2004) Dortmunder and his gang hire on as live-in staff to a wealthy corporate crook as a way to get access to, and ultimately steal, his collection of antique cars.
- Put
a Lid On It ~ Westlake takes on the spindoctors, dirty tricks and honorable candidates of our national political scene.
Career thief gets sprung by current President's campaign committee, so
he can steal back an incriminating video from the 'other side'.
- What's
the Worst That Could Happen? ~ Dortmunder gets revenge on a
millionaire who took Dortmunder's lucky ring; this was also made into a great
movie on DVD that stars Danny DeVito and Martin Lawrence.
- Baby,
Would I Lie? ~ Tabloids, country music, and a wily ole
country singer accused of murder in Branson
- Trust
Me On This
~ Sara Joslyn notices a corpse on the way to her new job as a reporter for the Weekly Galaxy in Florida.
Her editor ignores the scoop, ordering Sara to concentrate on drumming up flaky features, the
tabloid-newspaper's reason for being. The place is a madhouse with the staff competing with one another to contribute lurid, sleazy "articles."
When luck saves her several times from mysterious gunshots, Sara remembers the victim she saw on her first working day and realizes why someone wants her dead, too.
- one of my all-time top favorites!
- Drowned
Hopes ~
Dortmunder gets wet... Ex-cellmate Tom Jimson, given a 70th-birthday release from
state prison, "requests" Dortmunder's help to reclaim a $700,000 stash from an old robbery. The loot was buried in an upstate New York town,
which is now flooded by 50 feet of water to form a reservoir. - this one
is VERY funny!
- Bank
Shot ~ Dortmunder and gang steal a bank - building and all
The ending is laugh-out-loud funny.
- Money
for Nothing ~ Josh Redmont, a struggling New York office temp, receives a $1,000 check in the mail from United States Agent, a firm he's never heard of and, despite his best attempts, is unable to contact. He decides to deposit the check, and it clears.
Checks arrive each month for the next seven years. Then one day a man on the Fire Island ferry tells Redmont he's from U.S. Agent and states, "You are now active." By now a successful advertising executive with a wife and young son, Redmont finds his life turned upside-down as he's drawn into a terrorist plot to assassinate a visiting dignitary.
- Smoke
~ Caught in the act of burgling a tobacco-funded research laboratory,
Freddie chooses to test an experimental drug, rather than get sent to prison. The drug
makes him invisible. An invisible burglar, the possibilities are endless. But so are the
problems when he's chased by various people who all have the same idea, harnessing his invisibility for their own evil plans.
- Don't
Ask ~ Dortmunder's gang of honorable crooks are in the
middle of 2 European nations fighting over an 800-year old thigh bone.
- Why
Me ~ Dortmunder robs the wrong pawn shop and needs to
un-steal the world's most valuable ruby.
- Bad
News ~ (2001) Dortmunder tries to replace a body with Little Feather's dead great grandfather to take over a prosperous Indian casino by proving that Little Feather is a descendant of the last one of the Pottaknobbee which have a right to own one third of the whole casino.
- Two
Much ~ Art Dodge pretends to be twins and marries two
wealthy sisters. Made into a movie.
- Humans
~ God has had it with humans, and sends an angel to trigger the
apocalypse.
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David Zindell: I found my first Zindell book at a used book store... this guy is GOOD! Unfortunately, "Neverness" and "The Broken God" are now out of print.
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War in Heaven ~ Danlo wi Soli Ringess has returned from the Vild, the first lightship pilot to escape that hellish region of fractured space and deadly supernovas where giant computer-gods make war on each other. But the Civilized Worlds face their own threat of war. A fanatical cult has seized the fabled city of Neverness and plans to take over the galaxy. Danlo must fight to survive: against the warrior-poet who has vowed to take his life, the madman with a star-killing weapon and a grim ultimatum, the charismatic leader of the cult--once Danlo's greatest friend, now his fiercest enemy--and his own unbreakable vow never to harm a living thing.
- The Wild: Requiem For Homo Sapiens ~ The Wild is a chaotic place where ten elite lightship pilots dared to venture--a place where one of those pilots, Danlo wi Soli Ringess, will learn the fate of his father. It's a truth that will not only reveal his father's assassin, but could also lay bare the secret to a killer virus that only Danlo survived.
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Gene Wolfe:
Gene Wolfe's science fiction masterpiece The Book of the New Sun is now available for the first time in this decade. This critically acclaimed work won both the World Fantasy and Nebula Awards. The saga centers around an orphan whose lifelong quest transforms him from ruthless monster to savior of a world.
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