adharas' Recommendation for Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl

Here's Eddie's recommendation for the book. Short, sweet & mildly threatening:

Put it up on the blog, Britomart, it's good. Adventure and sea and raft made of traditional materials. Damn You. I have to re-read it now.

Classic & Non-Fiction Recs from Elen

Classics:
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo- one of two books that's ever made me cry. It's the classic story of ex-con Jean Valjean and one of the most interesting literary characters I've come across, Police Inspector Javert. If you're going to read it, get it unabridged, and don't be afraid to skip sections and come back later.

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas- and all the sequels. They're funny, fairly easy reads, and Dumas matures his four main characters in a way that is really breathtaking.

The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse- hilarious book about (obviously) Bertie Wooster and Jeeves, the legendary butler. Ridiculous and a very easy read, this book will make you happy no matter how bad of a mood you're in.

Nonfiction:
Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox- most celeb autobiographies strike me as pretentious, but Fox is humble and has real life lessons to teach, while maintaining a sense of humor and balance.

deekay's random recommendations

These are recent reads that I summarized on my blog, which is why the blurbs are a little less conversational than they otherwise would be. When I'm feeling less lazy I'll come up with some of my all-time favourites to recommend, too.

• A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews - Heartbreakingly, hysterically funny Nomi Nickel (who would fit right into the Hizzy) is the wry, confused narrator of Toews' novel about a 16-year-old Mennonite girl whose mother and sister have both disappeared, leaving her to live with her bewildered father in a town that suffocates her with its religious restrictions and limited opportunities. While the book offers fascinating insight into a community that has turned its back on much of the modern world, it's easy to identify with misfit Nomi.

• Misadventures by Sylvia Smith - An odd book, consisting of short anecdotes in the uneventful life of everywoman Sylvia Smith. Each section on its own produces skepticism that anyone would choose to read such bland musings about bad dates, random occurrences and transient friendships, but the cumulative effect is oddly compelling, because this is what comprises our lives. It's the anti-Bridget Jones, showing a middle- aged, single woman's life through her low-key reminiscences.

• Losing Gemma by Katy Gardner. The story of two friends travelling in India, told in flashback to explain why beautiful Esther feels responsible for underdog Gemma's death. The vivid writing saves this occasionally cliched story and its improbable ending.

• The White Boy Shuffle by Paul Beatty. Hilarious, odd, and literately street savvy. Gunnar Kaufman is the privileged black misfit in his gritty urban neighbourhood, who becomes a basketball star and reluctant messiah of "his people." For a white girl from Canada, it was like entering a whole new world.

• The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald. She could probably write about paint drying and I would find her fluid prose fascinating. Fortunately, she also chooses involving stories with a central mystery about the protagonist, and her characters are wonderfully flawed and complex. With this and her first novel, Fall on Your Knees, she demonstrates a darkness that could be overwhelming, except that it's tempered with humour and fine storytelling. The story loses its punch when we follow the main character to adulthood, but what comes before is gripping.

• Any Human Heart by William Boyd. The entire 20th century is seen through the eyes of Logan Mountstuart, a writer, spy, and art dealer whose ordinary life has extraordinary insight into not just the human heart, but recent human history.

• Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore. Moore is a complete and utter nutcase - and I mean that as a huge compliment. This is the debut novel of the author of Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. Sadly-immortal Travis is trying to rid himself of the demon Catch, who tends to eat anyone Travis gets close to. Mayhem ensues, but despite the ridiculousness of the premise, these are characters to care about.

adharas' Drunken Fog Recommendation

Have to recommend, even through my drunken fog, The Swallows of Kabul, by Yasmina Khadra, which is the nom de plume of a male army officer.

Not a long book, but a tremendously sad one.

tseliot recommends Possession & Mystery Novels

Of course, I start with Possession (by A.S. Byatt). Anyone who hasn't read it, should. A caveat, though: many people I know couldn't finish it because they got bogged down in the poetry and letters. I would suggest that you skip, or at least skim, the poetry and a lot of the letters. You're all experienced readers and can tell when something is important and when it's not. What I did the first time was go back when I'd finished the book and read some of the poetry/letters a little more carefully to add more depth to what was already an extraordinary story.

But if you want primarily mystery book recommendations, I'll give you a couple :

Dorothy L. Sayers. The best. The Porsche. The Veuve Clicquot. The...whatever other pompous metaphors there are for the standard of excellence. Start at the beginning -- Whose Body? -- and work your way through the canon chronologically. You'll watch an amazing talent and character develop. Sigh.

anything by Robert Barnard

Reginald Hill, the Dalziel and Pascoe series

Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series. Not my usual cup of tea, but these mysteries set in ancient Rome are well-written and very evocative of their time and place.

For archaeological/anthropological/research-based (though often outrageously out there) "mysteries," it's hard to beat the cheesy fun of Lincoln Child/Douglas Preston. Relic is a particular joy. Beats that dopey DaVinci Code hollow.

Um. That's it for now. But I think everyone should read Bee Season before the oddly miscast movie comes out so we can all discuss it.

General Recommendations from Meldraw

Meldraw emailed me these today! Or, erm, yesterday. Time is relative, eh?

The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon (I second this recommendation. It's quirky, funny, at times heartbreaking, and not just a unique view into the inner workings of a different mind, but an -occasionally scathing- commentary on how we interact and communicate.)
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, by Dave Eggers

Some of Britomart's Favorite Fantasy Novels

There was talk on the Hizzy recently about fantasy recommendations. I'm a huge fantasy fan and have many others I'll recommend eventually. Here are some to start with, though...

Dune Series by Frank Herbert
I've read them all. Paul Muad'dib Atreides remains one of my serious fictional crushes. Well, until he transforms, anyway... And Duncan Idaho is one of the cooler characters literature has to offer. The Bene Gesserit? Are so ruthless, and so cool. Frank Herbert is a genius! He does a wonderful job of weaving ancient & current beliefs/myths (check out the ancestry of House Atreides) with his futuristic vision. Without a doubt, the first three books are the strongest, and he probably should've kept this a trilogy. But for those who truly get sucked in by Herbert's world, the later books in the series are still a joy, even if they don't measure up to the early books.

Dragonlance Series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
The Dragonlance books spawned a dizzying number of spin-offs. I never read them; tried with a few & just couldn't get into them. The two initial trilogies, however, remain some of my favorite fantasy novels. And how in love with Raistlin am I? Even though I know he's evil & it's wrong? ::fangirly sigh::

Anyway, these books are probably strongest for their characters. Talk about fully-fleshed, well-drawn characters you feel you know & in who you invest emotionally. I defy you to not love Fizban or Tasselhoff. You'll hate Kitiara, yet find yourself oddly sympathetic to her. And Raistlin will just torture you.

The two series I recommend are:
The Chronicles Trilogy -- Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, Dragons of Spring Dawning
Dragonlance Legends: Time of the Twins, War of the Twins, Test of the Twins

Tam Lin by Pamela Dean
This book doesn't initially seem to belong in the fantasy genre; it seems more of a coming-of-age novel set at a sleepy, liberal arts college. That, perhaps, is its great charm: it injects a fantastical element into a narrative with which you can easily identify. If you're both a fan of fantasy novels & Shakespeare, this book is especially for you. But I won't tell you why!

Mirror of Her Dreams and A Man Rides Through by Stephen R. Donaldson
Donaldson has more famous series and I can't stand them. I don't understand how they're written by the same author who wrote the above two books. Mirror of Her Dreams introduces Terisa, a painfully insecure and nearly insane young woman living in our world. She's transported to an alternate world, where she not only discovers her own inner strength, individual personality & heroic tendencies, but learns to distinguish dangerous lust from true love.

That being said, these are not chick-flick fantasy, but just damn good books. As is a common theme with fantasy novels I love, the characters are fully fleshed and jump out of the pages as completely realized figures. You'll love, hate and be conflicted by many of them. The internal logic of this fantasy world is also strong & well-reasoned. Donaldson has crafted an absolutely fascinating world with an internal reality that is well-crafted and fully believable.

Non-fiction Recommendations from the Hizzy

I'm not a big non-fiction fan. But these three books have been recommended by many in the Hizzy and enjoyed by even more. I've read the first two & have purchased the third, which I hope to read soon. All apologies to those who originally recommended these books - I can't remember! I'm senile! Email me & I'd be happy to update and properly credit you. (Erm, this is Britomart for anyone who hasn't recognized the babble.)

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
Absolutely fascinating book about the real, day-to-day adventures to be found in a restaurant kitchen. Bourdain's revelations are shocking, amusing and intriguing by turns. The book is also packed with all sorts of helpful information: you'll never order fish on a Monday again; when vacationing in a city, you'll go to your dream restaurants Tuesday-Thursday; how you purchase your knives, pots and pans might drastically change. Even if you're not much into cooking, it's likely you'll enjoy this book. Who knew chefs so closely resembled rock stars and lived such a heady sex, drugs & rock 'n roll lifestyle?

Hotel Babylon by Anonymous
Before you get too far into this book, you'll fully understand why the author chose to be anonymous. This book is shocking, scintillating and fascinating. It's hard to put down & you'll never look at the hotel industry the same way again.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
This is the one I haven't read yet, so I can't offer any little review. A couple people recommended this highly; I'm just too much of an idiot to remember who they were. Here's a little excerpt from an Amazon review: "Uproariously funny" doesn't seem a likely description for a book on cadavers. However, Roach, a Salon and Reader's Digest columnist, has done the nearly impossible and written a book as informative and respectful as it is irreverent and witty.

General Recommendations from the Hizzy

First, foremost and on principle, all Hizzies recommend The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie, and as soon as one of has read it, we will provide helpful and seductive comments.

Below is the first set of recommendations - with completely arbitrary cut-off point -

adharas recommended Zorro by Isabel Allende

bibliosylph recommended Shopgirl and The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin plus any Carl Hiaasen, and Jasper Fforde.

megspenchant recommended Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams & Mark Carwardine– & the editor seconds.

WackieJackie recommended Sideways: A Novel by Rex Pickett.

MisaGoddess recommended The Chronicles of Narnia (seconded by Mack the Spoon) by C.S. Lewis, plus Kipling’s Jungle Books , Edgar Rice Burroughs – especially the Tarzan series, Alan Dean Foster and Mercedes Lackey, and books of Simon Templar, The Saint, by - Leslie Charteris.

ersatzreality recommended A Canticle for Liebowitz (seconded by Mack the Spoon), by Walter M. Miller, Jr. , plus Alas, Bablyon by Pat Frank, and Titan by John Varley

JeanPoole recommended The Namesake: A Novel by Jhumpa Lahiri.

MartianIceQueen recommended Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

arlykeeno recommended Donald Westlake’s Trust Me on This & Dancing Aztecs, Rita Mae Brown’s High Hearts, and Jennifer Weiner’s In Her Shoes, plus The Princess Bride by William Goldman, a choice the editor is giddy to second.

Examorata recommended Jonathan Coe’s The House of Sleep.

lostdwarf recommended Einstein’s Dream by Alan Lightman (seconded by MartianIceQueen) , and An Instance of the Fingerpost: A Novel, by Iain Pears.

Elen does not recommend Moby-Dick, but the editor does.

At an earlier time someone has recommended The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

And finally
Sara Wolfe recommended The Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop