The Graveyard Book is just wonderful. And it may be even better when Neil reads it to you.

Mind you, wtf is up with The Graveyard Book having a recommendation from Laurell K Hamilton on the back?

I mean (1), it's a book pitched primarily at younger readers, who, one assumes, are not going to be all that familiar with the throbbing purple pwp prose LKH churns out, and (2) it's surely akin to trying to get people to watch Judy Dench performing on the basis of a positive review from Paris Hilton, in terms of, you know, talent?

(Holly Black's rec, otoh, seemed entirely reasonable.)

Have wolfed through Grave Sight and An Ice-Cold Grave, and enjoyed both of them. Am wondering whether to give Harris's Lily Bard mysteries a crack...but the blurb did rather put me off. Hmm. Anyone out there read them?

And on another note entirely, I was struck by how much professional fanfic there is out there, as I perused the shelves of my favourite bookshop. Within a few feet of each other were shelved Mr Darcy's Diary, Rhett Butler's People, Lydia Bennet's Story, Mirror Mirror and Son of a Witch. I rather wanted to pluck all of them off the shelf and bludgeon Lee Goldberg insensible with them.

I mean (1), it's a book pitched primarily at younger readers, who, one assumes, are not going to be all that familiar with the throbbing purple pwp prose LKH churns out, and (2) it's surely akin to trying to get people to watch Judy Dench performing on the basis of a positive review from Paris Hilton, in terms of, you know, talent?

Hee. Yep.

The Grave books are ok, although I don't find the protag supercompelling and frankly, I find the burgeoning bromance rather squickly. I know it's not technically incest, but it sur feels like it -- they've been brother and sister since they were single digits. It's too much a Flowers in the Attic, we've been mommy and daddy figures so long, let's buy a house-ness.

Speaking of YA, and way late to the party as usual, I just started Charles de Lint's The Blue Girl and I LOVE it. Can anyone tell me which of his other books are Newford novels?

Oh, lots! Um...

Forests of the Heart, Memory & Dream, The Onion Girl, Widdershins, all the short story collections (which are really great collections, and very intertwined, and all published together in a 1999 anthology called "The NEwford Stories), Trader, Spirits in the Wires. I may have missed some.

He's also a really nice guy -- I'm on his e-newsletter list and have written him and he wrote very nicely back.

I would look at the publication dates and read them chronologically. He'll take a major character from a SS and they'll be a secondary character in a novel, and vice versa, and in several of the later novels, it's better to have a solid understanding of the characters and past events.

Erin answered first-- I have no idea if read them exactly chronologically -- but close. He is my favorite short story writer --mostly because someone will show up other places later . It helps make his stories feel like a story of someone's life -- not just an incomplete bit.

Awesome! Thanks!

I am Erin with regard to the squick. I was okay until it became overt, and that was pretty much it for me.

I think the Lily Bard books are Harris' best. Lily is dark but not so bent that you can't identify with her. She had something terrible happen to her and she's coping as well as she can. Her other series, the Aurora Teagarten ones, are definitely cozies and Aurora Teagarten got on my nerves after a few books.

De Lint also wrote a children's book called A Circle of Cats that is just gorgeous.

Hey all, I'm in a heartless phase and sorting through books to give away-- generally, I schlep them up to the library, but I figured if anyone here wanted a crack at them, I'd be more than happy to send.

Because I get so many freebies when I go to conferences, some of them I haven't even read, so I can't vouch for their quality, but like I said, if they sound in the slightest bit interesting, I'll be more than happy to send. Just let me know if you want me to post a list.