I was surprised, when I went to the library here, that the librarians asked me what I was interested in, and then showed it to me, with no quirked eyebrows or oddities, and that they still let Greg know that they ran across something they think I'll like, and often send things home with him for me. (FTR, in order, fantasy, sci-fi, romance, mytery, graphic novel, rarely lit fic. no non-fiction unless it's about building, making, writing or decorating something.)
I remember, as I was growing up, that I'd get funny looks from many of the librarians, or they'd try to steer me toward "good" books, even the occasional look of severe disapproval or muttered comment, whenever I checked out another book of fairytales or an Andre Norton.
the occasional look of severe disapproval or muttered comment
A student I TAed once was shocked one day to discover the book I was carrying in my backpack for a bus ride was "Anna Karenina" - because, you know, a girl who studies physics can't possibly read anything other than SF.
A good librarian does not judge the reader's taste, whether it be LoTR or (shudder) Left Behind. There may be private shuddering, but public shuddering is Right Out.
YLMV.
Kenny's reading Ender's Game. This should be interesting.
Hi, my name's amyparker (and welcome to AmyLiz; let's see you weirdos mess around with pronouncing that!) and I had never read a romance novel before I fell in with you lot.
flea, yeah, of course, that was (way too many) years ago. I've even read one of the Left Behind books. Pertty much disliked it, but I read it.
dude, I can top that...I read "The Rules". I'm so ashamed. I'm Erika, and I'm a textoholic.But when the urge for the printed word hits, I might read anything.
Erika, it's when the mystery element kicked in that I finally found Atonement bearable.
The start of the book was compelling character free. Since I live, eat, and breathe character it made for a very hard slog.
I don't know about professional reviewers, but I couldn't finish the two books of hers that I tried. Didn't care about the protagonist. Didn't care about the plot. Didn't care about anything she mentioned, basically. I was disappointed, because they'd been recommended by people whose other book choices I'd really liked.
I haven't read her last few - writing mysteries, I don't dare read new stuff in mid-write. Bad on every level.
But everything through the early nineties in the Inspector Wexford series - I think "Simisola" was the most recent of hers I've read, and she took on some very difficult stuff in there - knocks me out. I love "Dark Adapted Eye", as well.
But if I was reccing Rendell? It would be two non-Wexford mysteries, oddly enough. "A Demon In My View" just floors me - about a serial killer, and I don't remember it missing on a single cylinder. The other, "To Fear A Painted Devil" (she likes Shakespearean quotes, Rendell does!) is another corker. Very much about character and situation, and one is dark in North London (my old 'hood, perfectly done), the other is sun-soaked in the countryside. Killer books, those two.
Early Rendell/Vine is indeed stunning - my favourite by a nose is probably
Asta's Book
. The most recent of hers I've read is the latest Wexford,
Babes in the Wood
. I loved Wexford, as always, but the identity of the villain & the nature of their villany was totally obvious (even to me, a rather unobservant reader) - bad for any mystery, and very unusual for her.
