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The first avatar I used here on the forum is an Anne McCaffrey character (The Rowan, from the book of the same name).

I don't her or any of her work. Care to recommend a title or two?

Thanks!

Start with the first Dragonriders of Pern book, Dragonflight. It was published in 1968 but has been rereleased every few years since. There are 24 books in the series so far. Her son Todd was co-writer on the last few. She also has several other sci-fi series that are quite good. She was the first woman to win both the Hugo and Nebula awards for her writing.

p.s. The first 3 Dragonrider books are in one volume known as The Dragonriders of Pern.

Thanks Dot, I've checked and only the first volume of this series has been published in Italy, so I guess I have to order them from Amazon or Play.com.

Thanks again!

You're welcome, enjoy. (I'm sure you will)

I am currently reading Crown and Country: A History of England through the Monarchy, by David Starkey. A fascinating look at why England (and, to a lesser extent, America) became the sort of country it did: generally individualist and freedom-loving, rather than saying that the interests of the state must come first (as happened with most of Europe, with the exception of Germany).

Very clear, very readable, hardly ever dry. Not very deep, but very good, even for people without a background in British history. Fully recommended.

Been managing to stock up on books, thanks to the Boekencafe (hundreds of books, all for free!), and today I started on Boccaccio: Il Decamerone.
I like the 4th story best so far...

Finished the Decamerone... wow. Makes you wonder about the sickening chastity of the Dutch literature of the same age that we were taunted with in school.
Started again on a non-fiction by Anton Blok. The book is a bit of a snooze but the topic is interesting: the Bokkerijders, criminal gangs and secret societies in the south of Limburg in the 1730-1774 period.

Recently I acquired a first edition (1935) of De Laatste Eer by Ferdinand Bordewijk, my favourite author. It's a bizarre collection of fictional eulogies, some projecting nostalgia, some projecting black humour. "Come people, the coffee and cake can wait no longer."

Just got a used, autographed copy of my favorite Anne McCaffrey book - Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern.

Congrats, I know that must mean a lot. The things I'd do for an autograph of Tolkien's THE HOBBIT...

dotkel50 wrote:Just got a used, autographed copy of my favorite Anne McCaffrey book - Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern.

Nice.

Tawmis wrote:Congrats, I know that must mean a lot. The things I'd do for an autograph of Tolkien's THE HOBBIT...

You and about a zillion others.

If I could live off of reading books, I would.

The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. Love it. And I can't believe there will be an 8th book coming out soon!
I have read The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogy. Amazing.
Harry Potter of course. Diehard Pothead here
Gemma Doyle series by Libba Bray.
Yes, I have read Twilight. And never reread them again I actually liked The Host more because there were two strong female characters....not the worst ever known as Bella.
Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. The best.
Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Gone with the Wind
Complete Sherlock Holmes
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Grimms Fairytales. Really cool. Even though mostly dark, prefer it more than the sugar coated Disney. (I still love the Disney movies though)
Alice in Wonderland
Complete work of Jane Austen. All of her stories are great. My faves will always be Pride and Prejudice and Sense & Sensibility.
The Secret Garden
Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. It was actually interesting before it became a musical.
Gabriel Knight novels

Do comic books/graphic novels count? Because I have a ton of those as well

Shakar wrote:
The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. Love it. And I can't believe there will be an 8th book coming out soon!

I'm currently reading 11/22/63 and I find it very well done. Really intriguing. I've read many novels and short stories by Stephen King, but I never approached The Dark Tower. Would you recommend it even if I'm not a huge Western buff?

Shakar wrote:I have read The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogy. Amazing.
Harry Potter of course. Diehard Pothead here

Tolkien's works are seminal and I liked both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings very much. I've re-read both several times.

As for Harry Potter, I'm a fan too. My favorites books in the series are The Goblet of Fire and The Half-Blood Prince.

Shakar wrote:Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. The best.

I've read and enjoyed them until Anne Rice went crazy and started adding tons of religious overtones to the novels. The first trilogy - Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned - is superlative. Too bad that the following books didn't live up to this legacy.

Shakar wrote:Complete Sherlock Holmes

Ah! Shelock Holmes! I'm a huge, huge, huge sherlockian myself, but I must say that Arthur Conan Doyle's other works, especially the weird and supernatural tales, are almost as good. Definitely one of my favorite authors.

Shakar wrote:Complete work of Jane Austen. All of her stories are great. My faves will always be Pride and Prejudice and Sense & Sensibility.

I read Sense and Sensibility and Northanger Abbey. Both are great books and, sooner or later, I will definitely read Austen's other works.

Shakar wrote:Gabriel Knight novels

This really goes without saying

Hehe Andrea!

Believe me when I say I usually don't like Western style stories. It's more fantasy than Western to be honest. Roland Deschain is a gunslinger but it's a long journey to save not only the world, the universe, along with other characters that make it better. There's action, comedy, a bit of romance, gruesome at points as well. The first book is a short read and it's not the best of the series IMO. That's where you will get the most of the Western feel to it. But it picks up in the Drawing of the Three. Give it a try

My fave from Harry Potter are Prisoner of Azkaban and The Half Blood Prince as well.