Since I went on a tangent there I might as well gush about books I love here!
Coraline remains a huge favorite of mine. Though it's written rather simply, it never talks down to anybody and I believe anyone can enjoy it. Which is to say nothing of the movie, which is different, but still one of the best adaptations of a book I've ever seen. But this isn't about the movie, the book is unsettling, sweet, and just a good read if you want something spooky but are too much of a weenie for most horror.
---
I would recommend His Majesty's Dragon to anyone who likes a good dragon book. Basically it's a rewrite of history, specifically during the Napoleonic Wars, to include dragon riders. And the dragon character is written SO freakin good. That's honestly one of my biggest gripes with dragon related media, the dragon is sometimes just relegated to a sidekick, but Temeraire has a Lot of personality. I haven't made my way through the entire series yet, but I thought the first book was very nice.
Since I went on a tangent there I might as well gush about books I love here!
Coraline remains a huge favorite of mine. Though it's written rather simply, it never talks down to anybody and I believe anyone can enjoy it. Which is to say nothing of the movie, which is different, but still one of the best adaptations of a book I've ever seen. But this isn't about the movie, the book is unsettling, sweet, and just a good read if you want something spooky but are too much of a weenie for most horror.
---
I would recommend His Majesty's Dragon to anyone who likes a good dragon book. Basically it's a rewrite of history, specifically during the Napoleonic Wars, to include dragon riders. And the dragon character is written SO freakin good. That's honestly one of my biggest gripes with dragon related media, the dragon is sometimes just relegated to a sidekick, but Temeraire has a Lot of personality. I haven't made my way through the entire series yet, but I thought the first book was very nice.
It's been a while since I've obsessively recommended it, but Tales from the Inner City by Shaun Tan. It's a collection of short stories each inspired by a certain animal in some urban setting, and is characterized by a sort of...elevated realism. The longest one is about a bunch of kids catching fish in the sky because the only water in the city is dirty, so the only place for the fish to swim is obviously in the air! It's a WONDERFUL collection, and while I don't love a couple stories, I think the vast majority convey truly beautiful emotion and make one really think about how things are. Legally, I think it classifies as YA, but it's kind of a picture book? I mean, there are pictures, multiple full spread paintings. Pigeon, Tiger, ad Bear are probably my favorites, but I first got the book two years ago on christmas, and when I read the Dog story, I started crying. it's just a good book
tiger, in particular, is one I find myself thinking about a lot these days. (warning under spoiler for reference to current events) there's a tiger that will kill you, at some point. in order to avoid it, one must wear a mask on the back of their head, which will confuse the tiger enough to keep it at bay. however, many people forgo wearing the mask because "perhaps, like all the best safety precautions, it achieves no perceptible result, and thus is mistaken for not working at all". not a 1:1 obviously, but it does make me go Hmm
I also really love tales from outer suburbia, and I still think Distant Rain (a story from that book) is INCOMPARABLY beautiful. it is a thing of ART yes I love the works of shaun tan
It's been a while since I've obsessively recommended it, but Tales from the Inner City by Shaun Tan. It's a collection of short stories each inspired by a certain animal in some urban setting, and is characterized by a sort of...elevated realism. The longest one is about a bunch of kids catching fish in the sky because the only water in the city is dirty, so the only place for the fish to swim is obviously in the air! It's a WONDERFUL collection, and while I don't love a couple stories, I think the vast majority convey truly beautiful emotion and make one really think about how things are. Legally, I think it classifies as YA, but it's kind of a picture book? I mean, there are pictures, multiple full spread paintings. Pigeon, Tiger, ad Bear are probably my favorites, but I first got the book two years ago on christmas, and when I read the Dog story, I started crying. it's just a good book
tiger, in particular, is one I find myself thinking about a lot these days. (warning under spoiler for reference to current events) there's a tiger that will kill you, at some point. in order to avoid it, one must wear a mask on the back of their head, which will confuse the tiger enough to keep it at bay. however, many people forgo wearing the mask because "perhaps, like all the best safety precautions, it achieves no perceptible result, and thus is mistaken for not working at all". not a 1:1 obviously, but it does make me go Hmm
I also really love tales from outer suburbia, and I still think Distant Rain (a story from that book) is INCOMPARABLY beautiful. it is a thing of ART yes I love the works of shaun tan
@
Requacy
I've been really meaning to get my hands on the rest of the series, but with the local library still closed, I've been putting it off for a bit! Everything about the first book was intriguing to me, historical fiction tied in with fantasy is absolutely one of my favorite genres, but it has to be done
right. (I might just take your recommendation for Frankenstein, too. That's another classic that I haven't managed to read yet!) Honestly Temeraire is probably one of my favorite dragon characters, and his relationship with the human was great. It actually felt like he had
weight and personality, as opposed to mainly being set dressing for the human character, which the series was
actually about don't be fooled. (Looking at you,
Inheritance Cycle.)
And I'm SO glad you bring up
The Hidden World, as many gripes as I have with that movie (Believe me, I have many), it really did feel like the movie was
less about Toothless and the dragons and more about how it impacted the main character, which is ironic considering it Tried to give Toothless his own arc, and it... Didn't work imo. The first one is still one of my favorite movies, though.
But hey, this is a thread about positivity for books! How To Train Your Dragon the book series are great little romps. I think they do the concept they wanted better than the movie did, and honestly we could all use a few more books about dragons.
@
Requacy
I've been really meaning to get my hands on the rest of the series, but with the local library still closed, I've been putting it off for a bit! Everything about the first book was intriguing to me, historical fiction tied in with fantasy is absolutely one of my favorite genres, but it has to be done
right. (I might just take your recommendation for Frankenstein, too. That's another classic that I haven't managed to read yet!) Honestly Temeraire is probably one of my favorite dragon characters, and his relationship with the human was great. It actually felt like he had
weight and personality, as opposed to mainly being set dressing for the human character, which the series was
actually about don't be fooled. (Looking at you,
Inheritance Cycle.)
And I'm SO glad you bring up
The Hidden World, as many gripes as I have with that movie (Believe me, I have many), it really did feel like the movie was
less about Toothless and the dragons and more about how it impacted the main character, which is ironic considering it Tried to give Toothless his own arc, and it... Didn't work imo. The first one is still one of my favorite movies, though.
But hey, this is a thread about positivity for books! How To Train Your Dragon the book series are great little romps. I think they do the concept they wanted better than the movie did, and honestly we could all use a few more books about dragons.
@
dmoney
Ngl the Shadowhunter series (i've never really watched the show but i've read almost all the books) is what got me into all those mythical creatures, and got me into drawing those types of things. I should watch the show, i've heard its good ^^ My fav book out of them either has to be the Bane Chronicles, Book 6 of the First Series, or Lady Midnight. ^^
@
dmoney
Ngl the Shadowhunter series (i've never really watched the show but i've read almost all the books) is what got me into all those mythical creatures, and got me into drawing those types of things. I should watch the show, i've heard its good ^^ My fav book out of them either has to be the Bane Chronicles, Book 6 of the First Series, or Lady Midnight. ^^
I'm currently reading Piranesi by Susanna Collins.
I've seriously enjoyed it as well as her other book Jonathan Strange & Mr Norell. That one's in a genre that's really not my cup of tea (Historical Fiction/Fantasy) and Piranesi is about one step to the left of my favorite genre. Her writing is so engaging that it hasn't mattered.
I'm excited to read Mexican Gothic by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia and Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling next! I love gothic/horror/psychological.
[edit]:
[quote name="Snallygaster" date="2020-12-23 13:33:20" ]
Since I went on a tangent there I might as well gush about books I love here!
Coraline remains a huge favorite of mine. Though it's written rather simply, it never talks down to anybody and I believe anyone can enjoy it. Which is to say nothing of the movie, which is different, but still one of the best adaptations of a book I've ever seen. But this isn't about the movie, the book is unsettling, sweet, and just a good read if you want something spooky but are too much of a weenie for most horror.[/quote]
Coraline was my very first horror book! It has a special place in my heart.
I'm currently reading Piranesi by Susanna Collins.
I've seriously enjoyed it as well as her other book Jonathan Strange & Mr Norell. That one's in a genre that's really not my cup of tea (Historical Fiction/Fantasy) and Piranesi is about one step to the left of my favorite genre. Her writing is so engaging that it hasn't mattered.
I'm excited to read Mexican Gothic by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia and Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling next! I love gothic/horror/psychological.
[edit]:
Snallygaster wrote on 2020-12-23 13:33:20:
Since I went on a tangent there I might as well gush about books I love here!
Coraline remains a huge favorite of mine. Though it's written rather simply, it never talks down to anybody and I believe anyone can enjoy it. Which is to say nothing of the movie, which is different, but still one of the best adaptations of a book I've ever seen. But this isn't about the movie, the book is unsettling, sweet, and just a good read if you want something spooky but are too much of a weenie for most horror.
Coraline was my very first horror book! It has a special place in my heart.
The Davinci Code is amazing! lots of twists and turns and just overall super well written
The Davinci Code is amazing! lots of twists and turns and just overall super well written
@
RheoTastic I absolutely adore Shaun Tan's work! I was lucky enough to be able to visit an exhibit of his original oil paintings from Tales from the Inner City and they were just stunning! I haven't actually had a chance to read the book yet but I'm looking forward to doing so.
Have you read his book The Arrival? It's told entirely in pictures without words but I found it very moving and the art is lovely.
@
RheoTastic I absolutely adore Shaun Tan's work! I was lucky enough to be able to visit an exhibit of his original oil paintings from Tales from the Inner City and they were just stunning! I haven't actually had a chance to read the book yet but I'm looking forward to doing so.
Have you read his book The Arrival? It's told entirely in pictures without words but I found it very moving and the art is lovely.
the last book that i thoroughly enjoyed was Larry McMutry's western Lonesome Dove.
idk man westerns give me serotonin but this particular one feels different. this book didnt feel like a fiction. highly recommend if ur into old west adventures. it does have some gore-y scenes and quite a bit of graphic stuff/violence but it is a western but the story is also set in around 1870s america so... but despite all that there are some comedic parts and a lot of calming scenes. the book really showed consistent themes, sublty and right in your face. it felt honest. also there is so much in this book that i could talk about aughaugaughsudhfadhuflkj
also i felt like the beginning was a bit slow but things really sped up right after that. its around 950 pages so it is quite a read. but it was absolutely worth it in the end.
i finished it like three months ago and sometimes i still think about it.
it also had a television series but i havent watched it yet, and theres also 3 more books in this series. this book made me question a lot of things about life lol
10/10
the last book that i thoroughly enjoyed was Larry McMutry's western Lonesome Dove.
idk man westerns give me serotonin but this particular one feels different. this book didnt feel like a fiction. highly recommend if ur into old west adventures. it does have some gore-y scenes and quite a bit of graphic stuff/violence but it is a western but the story is also set in around 1870s america so... but despite all that there are some comedic parts and a lot of calming scenes. the book really showed consistent themes, sublty and right in your face. it felt honest. also there is so much in this book that i could talk about aughaugaughsudhfadhuflkj
also i felt like the beginning was a bit slow but things really sped up right after that. its around 950 pages so it is quite a read. but it was absolutely worth it in the end.
i finished it like three months ago and sometimes i still think about it.
it also had a television series but i havent watched it yet, and theres also 3 more books in this series. this book made me question a lot of things about life lol
10/10
