The Vine, Anniversary Edition: April 25, 2010
Dear Sars,
You know how some people will refuse to watch a show because of the silliness of the premise, name, genre, etc.? Well, my question is basically how would you describe Buffy to someone like this? I am absolutely terrible at explaining why I love this show so much, and I have some people in my life that I know who would really enjoy it, but I cannot express properly the awesomeness that was Buffy (same applies to Veronica Mars).
Not just the “take my word for it because I personally loved it” reason but, you know, the actual reasons why it was such a good show and worth seeing?
Defending Buffy inarticulately since 1997!
Dear Defender,
At the top of its game, the show did a wonderful job of depicting ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances; of balancing real darkness with realistic humor; of amplifying the alienation many of us felt in high school without verging into melodrama. It’s funny and sad and sweet and smart, but it isn’t too in love with itself (well, not in the first three seasons; the focus kind of falls apart after that).
I was told repeatedly that I would like Buffy, but until I saw a couple of key episodes myself, I didn’t buy the hype either. Try showing your friends an ep or two (I wouldn’t go in order — the first season is too uneven) that will give them a good cross-section of the qualities that make Buffy what it is.
*****
My “can you find this book?” request is sadly topical, due to the Olympic tragedy in Vancouver. My heart goes out to the friends and family of Nodar Kumaritashvili.
It reminded me of what I remember as a short story in a collection of other stories that I read as a kid. It was about either luge or bobsled, and was fascinating in its terrifying description of the course.
I wish I had more details, but all I remember is that it was in a first-person voice, and that there were vivid descriptions of the unforgiving mountain, ice, and speed.
Can the Tomato Nation readers help?
Sliders are awesome (athletes and sandwiches)
*****
Hi Sars!
I have a children’s book that I’m hoping the mighty Nation might find for me.
This is a book for kids that are around 9-12 years old. The title of the book was something like Mulberry Kids, or Huckleberry Heights Kids, or something like that, but no amount of “-berry” Googling worked.
The book was about (I’m trying really hard to remember details) a family that moved to a new subdivision named after said “berry,” and for that reason the kids of that neighborhood called themselves the Somethingberry Kids.
The biggest part of the story I remember is that one of the kids (a boy) had taken an interest in gardening due to some project at school. One day he noticed that his neighbors were tending to their plants at night, and he thought this was very suspicious. During the day him and his friends peek over the fence and they become convinced that the neighbor is growing a marijuana plant. Wackiness ensues. Turns out the neighbor was just growing a plant that looked very similar to a marijuana plant.
I also remember them playing a game in an empty lot where (I think) they pretended to be survivors of a nuclear holocaust. The kid that found a living thing first was always declared the winner. I always thought that game sounded awesome (playing in a giant sand hole!) and also creepy (nuclear holocaust!)
It’s not T*A*C*K*, but I loved those too
*****
Hi Sars,
I’m in search of a book I remember vividly, but which is leaving Google so stumped I must be misremembering something. Maybe one of your readers can separate the real from the dreamt-up.
I read this book around 1999. It had a contemporary setting. The title riffed on “coming out”: Coming Around, or Coming In, or Coming About, maybe? On the cover, lots of yellow rubber ducks were swimming on a blue background, with one duck swimming in the opposite direction to the others.
The plot followed a gay man — an estate agent, or travel agent, or something? — living in Brighton, as he came gradually to the conclusion that he was in fact bisexual. The protagonist was named Simon, his love interests being Patrick (who was hot in a scruffy way) and Toril (who was Norwegian). Patrick was an ol’ buddy of Simon’s who was nominally straight, but became less so as the story progressed — just as Simon, falling for the charms of his female employee Toril, became less sure he himself was gay. Toril and Simon, I think, formed a relationship, the course of which did not run smooth.
There were some quite funny digs at the amount of social privilege Simon got to enjoy when he presented as straight (I distinctly remember the line “Simon is straight! Simon is white!”, followed by some sardonic comment to the effect that if the reader hadn’t figured out Simon was white they clearly hadn’t been reading very carefully). There’s another bit where Toril mocks Simon’s pronunciation of her name (“Awwight, Towiw?”).
If I’ve made it sound like some kind of hideous ex-gay gospel, it really wasn’t: it was very wry, and had a “don’t label me”/”binary preferences are too narrow” kind of vibe.
So… tons of detail, all of it leaving Google clueless. What am I hallucinating?
Coming Up Blank
Dear Blank,
I can point to more differences than similarities, but a lot of your description reminds me of Bedrooms & Hallways. But that’s a movie, and other than that, I got nothing. Readers?
*****
Hi Sars,
I searched The Vine for an answer to this and came up empty, so I’m hoping you or the readers can help. I’m looking for a decent low-/no-back bra. I currently have the Victoria’s Secret 100-way bra, but it doesn’t dip low enough for my needs — the top of the bra always manages to show.
With some clothes I can tack it down with a safety pin, but a) that isn’t always an option (it can create weird bunching and gaping), and b) I’d kind of like to stop having to pin myself in all the time.
I’m a C cup minimum, so going braless isn’t really an option, and I’ve tried and rejected those stick-on cups — they didn’t really give my girls the support they need, and I was constantly checking to make sure they weren’t becoming unstuck. Something that dips down to the small of my back would be perfect. Thanks!
Lookin’ To Get Low
*****
First request: the smart pretty one
My sister loves to read. At the moment, she has a teen-aged son going through chemotherapy, so she sometimes finds herself in the hospital — he’s asleep post-chemo and she has a few hours to kill. She asked me for book suggestions, I didn’t have any great ones for her, so I am asking the readers.
- Fictional please.
- She loves Jane Austen, but a lot of Austen’s peers she finds too florid. So: fairly plot-driven.
 (As opposed to Herman Melville’s Ahab discussing apple dumplings while allegedly in the chase of his life for the white whale.)
- She likes Michael Crichton, John Grisham, Sherlock Holmes, that kind of thing, as light reading.
- She likes legal, medical, manners/social topics.
- She wants more upbeat — preferably not children dying from cancer (DUH!), serial killers, etc.– aiming to keep the body count per novel to less than 3.
- Not TOO racy please.
- She’s read all the Harry Potters and Percy Jackson books — YA literature is fine if it’s well written.
- Not sure if she’s read Twilight, but I know she’s read Dracula — vampire is fine, but would like NON-vampire suggestions. ALSO SEE: body count…
Second request: the grotesque stupid one
One time years ago, a friend and I were exhausted and watching late-night TV, and we both believe that we saw an ad for a table that transforms into 18 different tables (or transforms 18 different ways?) and it embodied absolutely everything that I don’t like about country clutter — pie-crust trimming, handpainted faux finishes, toile, AND my bete noire, ducks in kerchiefs.
We were both rolling around on the floor laughing in hysterics during the ad (we were both SO overtired that we were acting like crazy people) that we didn’t write down the information to order the table, and NOW we’re longing to order it as a gag gift for another friend. The ad had the high volume SHAM-WOW frenzied sales-pitch style and I’m pretty sure they offered “Three easy payments…”
I’m almost positive that we didn’t make this up ad up ourselves. Does this sound like anything the readers have heard of?
No serial killers, no ducks in kerchiefs
*****
Dear Sars,
Happy Anniversary! Thanks for all the great reading material!
Fifteen years ago I was teaching in an elementary school in D.C. and we had a program in the computer lab that was designed to help you learn how to type. It was the most fun typing tutorial I have ever seen. Each lesson took place in a room in a haunted house, and the objects in the room responded to your typing. The doors would open and shut, the toys would move or make noise, the baby would float in the air and spin.
Ever since then I have been trying to find this for myself and my Google-fu has failed me. Would you or any of your search-gifted readers know what I am talking about and how to find it?
Also, on a completely unrelated note, what is the minimum amount of makeup a woman should wear to work to look professional?
Still can’t type, but boy was that fun!
Dear Fun,
I can’t help you with the first one, but the second one will depend on what you do for a living. The awesome sparkly-green metallic shadow my hair wrangler had on the other day is perfect for a stylist, but I don’t know if I want to see that one someone drawing my blood.
Generally, though: some tinted moisturizer to even you out, lip gloss, mascara. If I have a meeting with a grownup, this is what I have on. Make sure your nails don’t look raggedy and that should do it.
Tags: Ask The Readers Buffy health and beauty Joss Whedon popcult retail Ron Popeil
No Ducks: the two books I most reliably recommend to friends who like Austen but don’t want to read actual C19 novels are A.S. Byatt’s Possession and Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Both are quite long, so should keep her occupied, and very good storytelling. If she liked Harry Potter/Percy Jackson, she might also like Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, which is infinitely better than either of those series.
I can’t believe my longtime obsession with Buffy is actually going to help someone else.
@Defender – I would show people “Surprise” and “Innocence,” the two “Becoming” episodes, “Hush,” and “The Body.” (Why are the best episodes the sad ones? Add in “Passion” and you’ll need an entire box of tissues.) If you want to highlight the show’s humor, try “Doppelgangland” or “Something Blue.”
To the smart pretty one, I would recommend Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies “trilogy” (actually four books) to your sister. It’s a YA dystopian sci-fi setting — when the kids in town turn 16, they get all this dope plastic surgery and body enhancement to make themselves Pretty. Unfortunately, their brains are also modified to make them more docile. Some kids attempt to escape and live off the land, and… it’s a really interesting, fast-moving series. It would make a great movie trilogy, if done correctly. The four books are Uglies, Pretties, Specials, and the fourth is called Extras. It doesn’t exactly fit the original trilogy, but if she (or you!) liked the style of the first three it’s worth reading.
Serial, my “not to deep but entertaining enough” books are the Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell. The Kay Scarpetta character is a medical examiner who gets overly involved in the crime-solving aspect of cases. I’d recommend reading the books in order, as there is overall progression throughout the series, although they can also be read as stand-alones. The first one is called “Post Mortem.”
For the Smart Pretty One reading request, I really enjoy Jasper Fforde’s books, starting with The Eyre Affair — clever and silly, but not gutless, books about English people who travel into the plots of old/classic books (such as Jane Eyre, hence the title) to fix it when things go wrong. Kind of like time travel, but not, and certainly nothing that’s too magically outlandish for anyone who enjoyed Harry Potter. There’s a series of four or five, I think, so if she likes the first one she can go back to the well a few times.
@B’Love: Westerfeld is good; I liked his “So Yesterday” (see also: M.T. Anderson’s “Feed”).
For the sister in need of a reading distraction, my recommendation is anything by Georgette Heyer. She wrote many many regency-era romances featuring some of the best romantic comedy ever penned. Her books often make me think of Austen, but they generally move a lot faster. Heyer has an extensive catalog but I would especially recommend Faro’s Daughter, Sylvester, and Lady of Quality.
(Also, I think I’m as bad at explaining how great Georgette Heyer is as the first question’s writer is at explaining how great Buffy is.)
@Sars – I’ll have to add So Yesterday to my library queue – thanks for the rec!
For “No Serial Killers,” the body count might be a little high, but the overall tone of the Sookie Stackhouse books is pretty light — the author is Charlaine Harris, and they are the books True Blood is based on (although I haven’t seen the show, so can’t say how they compare). I just read them all in pretty quick succession — they aren’t great literature, but totally engaging.
Ashley literally named all the book suggestions I was going to. That was weird!
To Fun: I played that typing game, and I swear if I hadn’t seen the question I would have been able to name the game. It came as a standard software load with our Compaq PC in probably about 1994. I’m pretty sure it had a really innocuous name, like “Haunted typing” or “Typing Ghost” or something along those lines. That said, it doesn’t seem to exist anymore! All my google-fu failed as well, and the couple of places I saw where people were asking about it, no one answered their question. It would have been a Windows 3.1 game (possibly Windows 95), but that’s about all I’ve got. You may want to give up and just try to find a different, fun game- there are some good ones out there.
@Serial Ducks, has your sister read the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King? Sherlock Holmes, after Doyle retired him, with a few twists. So far the series is nine books long with another one coming out this month. If she likes the author, there are at least three other series (established and just starting out) to read too. Hardly any body count at all in the Mary Russell books.
@Still can’t type — I have really strong memories of that computer game too…I swear it’s called “Kids Typing” but of course that makes it really hard to google because it’s such a generic title. I think the ghost may have been named “Spooky” though, if that helps.
And I just found a yahoo answer that claims it was made by Sierra games and discontinued. Ebay?
I would like to second the recommendation for Georgette Heyer. She is one of my favorite authors, and she is often compared to Jane Austen – except Heyer did amazing research to be accurate about the period.
For the Pretty One/No Ducks, try Sara Dessen. She’s a YA author who writes wonderful contemporary romances. Even a non-romance reader (like me) will love them.
John Green is the literary crush of many a YA librarian. My favorite of his is An Abundance of Katherines, but Looking for Alaska is his best known book.
No Serial Killers: Thirding the Georgette Heyer rec. Her best ones are the Georgian/Regency romances (her serious historicals – My Lord John, Royal Escape, Beauvallet – are mostly for completists; Cousin Kate is a Gothic pastiche dressed up as a romance and also not a good introduction). I love the three Tabs recommended, and would add Arabella, Frederica, The Grand Sophy and The Talisman Ring. At her best, she’s faster-paced than Austen with the wit turned up to 11, and the romances are developed through wonderful sparky dialogue. They’re my favourite stress-relief reading, and if she likes them, there’s enough to keep her going for a *while*.
If she likes the Heyer romances and Holmes, she can try Heyer’s ’30s murder mysteries (Envious Casca is the best), but especially Dorothy L Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, which are for my money the best Golden Age detective novels, and not at all gory.
If she likes YA, Diana Wynne Jones is very good – Charmed Life and The Lives of Christopher Chant have a fun alternate-historical comedy-of-manners-with-wizards vibe and a similar sort of humour to Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. Oh, and that reminds me of Sorcery and Cecelia (Patricia C Wrede) and sequels – a Regency comedy of manners/mystery with wizards.
about Buffy –
a warning: the main reason I absolutely, categorically REFUSED to even TRY watching Buffy (or Firefly) for years and years and years was because several of my friends were obsessed Whedonites and would NOT. SHUT. UP. about how amazing it was. I only recently gave Firefly a shot – on my own, without telling them – and found I actually liked it (but not as much as my obsessed devotee friends did). Sometimes pushing that stuff too hard will actually turn your friends off of it really badly, mostly because now you’re putting pressure on them that says they HAVE to like it and oh god what if they don’t? Will you still be friends? If you show your friend the episodes, let them watch them alone – that was the only way I was ever able to enjoy them, without someone hanging over my shoulder going “look! look! isn’t it AMAZING???” every five seconds. And if they won’t do that I encourage you to try to live with the fact that, maybe, they will never watch them, but their lives will not be a inky-black pit of emotional despair because of this Buffy-shaped void forever sitting there unfilled. I know how you feel – my old girlfriend would never, ever, ever read several books that I just KNEW she would love, but you get over it. Sorry to piss all over your parade here, it’s just the proselytizing thing seems to be a particular vice of Buffy devotees. We do not all share your obsession but hopefully we can all get along.
Book recommendations:
— Second the Laurie R King and Georgette Heyer stuff
— Elizabeth Peters, especially the Amelia Peabody series. The first is “Crocodile on the Sandbank.” Vicky Bliss is also quite good. Also her stand-alones under the name “Barbara Michaels.” These should come quite cheaply used on Amazon
— Robin McKinley
— Carolyn Hart for cozies Almost no on-scene violence
— For really fluffy modern-comedy-of-manners stuff, Sophie Kinsella and Hester Browne. Also Helen Fielding’s non Bridget Jones novels, especially “Cause Celeb”
Hope any of these help. If she ever liked knitting this might be a good time to take is up again as well.
Smart Pretty,
Wilkie Collins all the way. Think of Dickens without the boring and wordiness. The plots are exciting, the characters are awesome, and I’ve loved every one of his stories I’ve ever read. Law and the Lady (first crime novel ever with a female detective) and Woman in White, which is also a lot of fun, were the first of his I read and I loved them.
I second Jasper Fforde too. Those books are outstanding, especially the Thursday Next books and The Fourth Bear. I’ve loved all of his books, except The Big Over Easy, which isn’t too great.
For brain candy, I like the Harry Dresden books by Jim Butcher. Most of them are out in mass market paperback, so they’re only about $6 each, exciting and pretty fun. Also, has she read the Jeeves books by PG Woodehouse? Those are smart and hilarious.
My condolences for your nephew. I hope he’s doing well, and his treatment is going as smoothly as possible.
I second Jasper Fforde! His books are wonderful! Imaginative, alternate reality with lots of wit and thinking outside the box. One series deals with time travel and literature, another with nursery rhyme characters, and a third (that just came out) with a society that values color above all.
Lev Grossman’s The Magicians is also supposed to be amazing – my brother and husband have talked it up as a grown-up Harry Potter.
For YA – Clive Barker’s two volumes from his Abarat series are excellent! A young girl takes a fantastic journey to another world and gets involved with all sorts of strange characters. There are to be 5 in the series but he’s only published two so far.
Smart pretty one: “Lady Audley’s Secret”–it’s as if Jane Austen wrote a murder mystery. The author, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, also wrote a few dozen other novels that I haven’t read.
Serial Ducks: I’d suggest any of Angela Thirkell’s Barsetshire series, starting with High Rising or Wild Strawberries.
For YA, I always recommend Arthur Ransome’s “Swallows & Amazons” series (starting with the book of that title). It’s about a bunch of kids sailing, camping, having adventures in 1930’s UK lake country. His works are read by adults and children, they’re universal (if you like messing about in boats, camp cooking, gold mining, mountain climing, homing pigeons, camping, etc etc etc. It’s great stuff!)
Quack!
For the smart pretty one, I’d go with the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series; they are upbeat and not too deep. The cases she investigates are pretty fun too.
Defender:
Whenever I try to explain to anyone why Buffy is so awesome, I always emphasize the high-school-as-hell metaphor. Except in Buffy’s case, it’s metaphorical AND literal, of course. I even sometimes quote Buffy’s mom: “And if you don’t get to go out on a Friday night, the world is going to end?” Um, actually, yes.
And I have to say, as great as some of the individual episodes are, I would be wary about Jenn’s suggestion that requires skipping over so many of the ones in between. I agree with Sars that the first season is uneven (and the quality really goes down some after the third, and especially the fourth), but a big part of what gives the best eps their punch is the investment in the characters and their relationships up to the point where everything goes so tragically wrong (or hilariously weird). I mean, is “Surprise” going to mean anything to anyone who isn’t already at least slightly invested in Buffy and Angel’s affair? Is “Doppelgangland” going to be scary and funny to someone unfamiliar with Willow’s quirks?
I know one, I know one, I finally know one!!! The ghost game was Kid’s Typing: http://www.amazon.com/Kids-Typing/dp/B000MQ8LF8/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1272261047&sr=8-15 The ghost’s name was Spooky, and you learned the basics in his attic and then you’d go down into the house to practice typing, either by making the toys in the baby’s room play, the teenage girl talk on the phone really fast, the blender spin, the TV levitate, or –my favorite– the baby levitate and spin on the dining room table. Spooky taught me to type, I loved that game!
@Blank, you’re thinking of Ladies Man by John Ramster, published in 1999. I know this because it sits on my bookshelves.
For Austen-esque romances, I would recommend Elizabeth Aston, who writes about the children of Elizabeth Bennet & Mr. Darcy. Also, Jude Morgan writes romances from the same period. To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis is a sorta-scifi romance. It’s set in the future but most of the action takes place in Edwardian England, thanks to time travel. Be careful of other Connie Willis books though, they are good but can be really depressing.
For really light, she could try Terry Pratchett. He writes so much the quality varies, but I would try Small Gods, Lords& Ladies, Eric, and Hogfather.
Blank here: Even if we don’t turn up the book I was after, as a Rome fan I have to thank you for the headsup on “Bedrooms and Hallways”. Please tell me it has Lucius Vorenus and Mark Anthony hooking up.
@the smart, pretty one- The series by Megan McCafferty that I loved and read while I was going through my divorce- Sloppy Firsts, Second Helpings, Charmed Thirds. They’re YA lit, about a cynical high schooler living in New Jersey named Jessica Darling- god, they are so good! It’s early yet, and I’m at work, so I’ll just say that they are very smart, witty, dry, and extraordinarily entertaining and emotional. I re-read them pretty frequently, and the characters never fail to amuse the shite outta me.
Smart Pretty One, I’ll second the recommendation for “Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.” Other books to consider: “The Historian” by Elizabeth Kostova, “Cryptonomicon” by Neal Stephenson and “The Crimson Petal and the White” by Michael Faber.
To Low: is there an Intimacy anywhere near you? They are independent bra fitters.
To Pretty one: Maybe Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell? I also might recommend the Jane Austen mystery series which was by Stephanie Barron. I think all of those are avl on Kindle now.
@Blank: It does! While wearing ’40s sailor outfits.
Lookin’ To Get Low – http://www.bravissimo.com
It’s a British bra store chain that has wonderful selection. The prices of the bras are a little more than half the price of US bras so if you factor in the exchange rate and shipping the cost is pretty close to what you would pay in the US. They focus on bras for larger sizes so they have specialty bras in larger sizes. They also have absolutely wonderfully responsive customer service via email.
For Smart Pretty – I don’t recommend the Patricia Cornwall books mentioned above as the series gets progressively more violent and serial killer focused as it goes along. The crimes also get a lot more gruesome. I read a lot of mysteries and a lot of serial killer books and I had to stop reading her books because they were too disturbing.
The most recent book in the Sookie Stackhouse series is also a bit more graphic but the rest of the series is a lot lighter (although at times a bit racy.) But of all the Charlanie Harris series it is the least violent. The others all have either multiple body counts or serious crimes committed against women.
The Jasper Fforde books are wonderful. You also might want to try the Alexander McCall Smith #1 Ladies Detective Series; both good to start at the beginning of the series.
Lastly, the Deborah Knott mystery series by Margaret Maron or Diane Mott Davidson’s Goldy Schulz mystery series. Low body counts in each although Diane Mott Davidson manages to have her lead character do more in a day than most people do in a week.
Oh holy crap. Between kellyu getting the answer spot on, and Sars’ (Sars’s?) news about the sailor outfits, I think I have just reached nirvana. Thank you (both, all) so much!
@Smart, pretty: I would second many of the suggestions already made: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Diana Wynn Jones, Phillip Pullman–all good choices for happy readers of the Harry Potter books. But, I can’t believe no one has suggested the Patrick O’Brian novels! I first heard them described as Jane Austen for men, but I probably know more women who were/are addicted to them. Don’t be put off by the war-time setting and naval jargon. They are beautifully written, plot (and character) driven, and ultimately very kind, generous novels. I also wonder if your sister has read through the rest of Austen–Emma and Persuasion are particularly good. If she does like fantasy/the supernatural AND 19th century novels, she might really enjoy Wilkie Collins. Not great literature, but incredibly fun reads.
Just thinking about what books to suggest for a mom sitting with her son in chemo makes me fully appreciate the incredible comfort and companionship that books offer us. I hope that your nephew responds well to the treatment.
@Kay- Did you know there are two more? Fourth Comings and Perfect Fifths.
@Smart, Pretty- I millionth the rec for Laurie R. King’s Mary Russell series. Her Kate Martinelli books are also wonderful, but the body count is higher.
She might like Jaqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs series; mysteries set in post WWI England with a female sleuth.
For a Victorian manners comedy plus vampires and werewolves, try The Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger; the first two books are Soulless and Changeless.
On the YA side, she might like Eva Ibbotson’s young romances. They’re sweet without being cloying, and predictable in the good way rather than the bad. Try A Countess Below Stairs, The Morning Gift, or A Company of Swans for Starters.
I also would rec Marian Keyes for some good, intelligent chick lit. Rachel’s Holiday is one of my favorite books ever, but I also like Watermelon and Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married. Anyone Out There is sad; I would skip it.
Just one more! =) Try Meg Cabot’s series for adults: Queen of Babble, the Heather Wells mysteries, or any of her standalones- The Boy Next Door, Every Boy’s Got One, and She Went All the Way. They’re fun and a little steamy, but not vulgar.
Best of luck and good wishes to her son and all of you.
…Has anyone tried to find that table? Because if it exists, I’m dying to see it.
@No Ducks: Jasper Fforde! The Thursday Next Series. I can’t recommend them highly enough, they are an absolute delight. I’ve also been reading the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, and it’s very fun and fluffy.
Woo hoo! i can’t believe so many of you remembered that typing game and there was an Amazon link! Thanks to all of you!
And I think I am going to substitute eyeliner for mascara and just go from there. I hate bothering with makeup, but I feel like I should wear at least something to work. I am in IT, so I can get away with none, but I always wondered what I should be aiming for.
Thanks!
@no serial killers: Seconding the Dorothy Sayers recommendation; mysteries, yes, therefore there are SOME bodies, but they are literary, slyly funny with wonderfully developed characters. And not at all gory; the bodies are tastefully dealt with :-)
And, while I know you didn’t specify mysteries, I would also recommend the “Aunt Dimity” series by Nancy Atherton – sweet little old lady solves “mysteries” that generally don’t involve a body at all.
Re: book recommendations, I’ve got to say she needs to check out the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. They are fun, fast reads, with great characters and usually only one murder (if that).
I also dig on anything by Harlan Coben.
@smart pretty
I’d recommend Daphne du Maurier- great plot driven novels, generally early 20th century. Rebecca is a great place to start, but My Cousin Rachel or The Parasites are good, too. Generally, her books have some kind of mystery, and they’re really addictive.
Margaret Atwood is a great page-turner, too. The Blind Assassin, or The Robber Bride- good characters, addictive plots.
On YA, this is an Australian series so not sure if it’s hard to get, but it’s hugely acclaimed & I’d recommend it to anyone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomorrow,_When_the_War_Began . Oh- another Australian YA book (but widely read by adults, apparently it’s the most widely stolen book in Australian libraries) is Looking for Alibrandi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Looking_for_Alibrandi_%28novel%29) which is lovely. Both books (or series, in the case of ‘Tomorrow’) are well-written, have great teenage characters, and are very easy to read.
All the best to you & your family.
For books, I recommend anything Laura Lippman has written. She’s a former journalist from Baltimore who writes crime/mystery novels. I love all of her books; some are a series, with Tess Monaghan as the protagonist, and some are stand-alone books. Nothing too gory, good detail, nicely woven plots. I dig her. Here’s her Amazon page:
http://amzn.to/bb46BR
There have been so many good recommendations for No Serial Duck Killers, that I almost kept quiet. But I must recommend Diana Galbaldon’s books. The first is called “Outlander”. It is about a contemporary woman who goes through some standing stones in Scotland and ends up in 1740-something Scotland in the midst of the Scottish fight for freedom. There’s history, there’s a little bit of magic but, despite the premise, it is not overwhelming. And there’s a great romantic story underlying it all.
And as a self-confessed Buffy lover, I agree with Kyle – one will not get the impact of Surprise, without the lead-up. The thing I liked best about both Buffy and Veronica Mars was the strong female protagonist without getting all self-righteously feminist. There are lots of good male characters in support i.e., Zander and Wallace and they’re not just there for show. But in the end, it is the humor that pulled me in. The humor takes the sting out of the angst.
Ah, I’m not doing a good job here either. But I share your love of both.
@No ducks in babushkas: I second Rachel in recommending Elizabeth Kostova, hwo has a new one out since The Historian. Also, try anything by either Kate Atkinson or Liz Jensen — the latters’ first book, Egg Dancing is so unpretentiously woman-affirming it’s impossible to describe.
My go-to books for easy, engaging reads are Anne Perry (her style is vaguely victorian, and most of her books are set in 19th c London), Diana Gabaldon (many very very long books), Tess Gerritsen (though her books tend to be either medical thrillers or the Rizzoli/Isles series which does feature serial killers in the first few books, so maybe too close to home?), Nevada Barr (mysteries set in National Parks). None of these are Literature by any stretch of the imagination, but they are fun reads.
I will also recommend Jasper Fforde, and I especially love his 2 Nursery Crimes books, The Big Over Easy, and The Fourth Bear.
Also, for more of a YA set of novels, I highly recommend the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull. Extrelemy fun with likeable characters. The 2 main characters are Kendra ans Seth Sorensen, who discover that their grandparents are caretakers of a magical “wildlife” preserve. There are 5 books total, and I loved them!
@ Smart Pretty – I second the Mary Russell suggestion. Love Holmes and initially thought the premise was just going to be beyond acceptance, but they’re so good it became a non-issue pretty quickly.
I also like Kate Morton’s The House at Riverton and The Forgotten Garden – mysterious, but literary. For other series, Deanna Raybourn’s Victorian series are mysteries, but offer an Austenesque heroine with an entertaining family; Gyles Brandreth’s Oscar Wilde mysteries are more like an evening with Oscar Wilde than mystery novels; and Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce series are light and sarcastic. Both Lorna Landvik and Fannie Flagg do feel-good, fun non-mystery work, and Jennifer Weiner’s novels are kind of predictable but happy.
I’d like to take an opportunity to plug the local library here too. Librarians get lots of questions they aren’t excited about, but contrary to popular belief, they don’t get to “talk books” with people nearly as often as they’d like. I’d be willing to bet that if you find the right librarian and tell her what you write to Sars, your sister will have a personal book shopper and a fresh stack of books waiting for her whenever she wants them.
Seconding the rec for ‘Outlander,’ with the caveat that it does have a rather high body count/amount of bloodshed (the main character is a nurse and spends a lot of time putting people back together, as the Scots are fairly adept at hitting each other with broadswords). Aside from that, the books are lengthy and compulsively readable.
As for ‘Buffy,’ I recommend showing people funnier episodes that aren’t too tied up in the show’s mythology–‘Halloween’ and ‘Band Candy’ come to mind. They’re a little more accessible than some of the painful tear-jerkers, plus you don’t need to know too much about the characters for the stories to work. (Besides, if there’s anything I’ve learned from Joss Whedon, it’s “show the funny, THEN pull the rug out from under the audience.”)
@No serial killers: There are a bunch of good suggestions here, but I have to throw out one more — Sue Grafton’s Alphabet mysteries (A is for Alibi, B is for Burglar, don’t get me started I know them all). Kinsey Millhone is my favorite female detective. I’ve tried a bunch of other PI/detective series (some good, some terrible), but every few years I run through the Grafton books again — the characterization of the lead is great, the details are engrossing, and even though the crimes in question are serious, the books themselves are somehow upbeat/intriguing. And, since she’s written through U (is for Undertow), there’s lots and lots of pages to keep a reader occupied.
I can tell you what DIDN’T work with my friends on Buffy-showing Surprise/Innocence. I forgot how SLOWWWWWWWWW Surprise is in getting to the point, and by the time Innocence came on, they’d lost interest. I should have given them the Cliff Notes on Surprise and jumped right into Innocence.
“Once More With Feeling” is also a bad choice-requires way too much knowledge of the back story and characters to understand anything more than “people are singing. Like, a LOT.” Hush is along the same lines but not as bad-can be appreciated even without the backstory, but means so much more if you really know the characters.
If they are the type who will watch sad movies or art films for the artistic value, I’d actually go with The Body. Yes, its depressing as hell, but its also arguably the best written/directed/acted episode of the entire run. If they are film buff types, they might be really impressed.