Yay, more recommendations! I love giving recommendations! I get to sound all knowledgeable and stuff! ( Actually, I just like thinking about what different people would like to read, but I’m sure my ego is involved too. )

Meaghan is looking for fantasy, sci-fi, or historical fiction. I also know she loves to read and doesn’t have much time seeing as she has lots of little ones running around. And that she has a similar sense of humor to mine. And loves history. So…..

The Vlad Taltos series by Steven Brust: You will love these and quickly become obsessed. Which is good because they’re short and there are a lot of them. And a new one comes out in June! YAY! They’re set in a fantasy setting where a human assassin lives among elf-type people. He’s one of my favorite characters of all time, and each book is sort of a mystery/caper and they’re hilarious and awesome. There are books that collect like 3 of the books for not much $$, so if you decide to read these, let me know and I’ll tell you what order they go in. MY COUSIN KIM WOULD ALSO LIKE THESE. (Just saying. In caps. So she doesn’t miss it. Mike would like them too.)

Along the same lines, The Phoenix Guards series by Steven Brust is also awesome. They’re longer and they’re loosely based on The Three Musketeers (but still in a fantasy setting). The language is awesome and will make you want to talk all old-timey.

I’m assuming you’ve read Enders Game and Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card-if you haven’t, get thee to a bookstore!

The Female Man by Joanne (Joanna? I can’t remember, and am too lazy to look it up) Russ will appeal to your sci-fi and UCSC feminista side, it’s super good.

The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis is supposed to be incredibly good, although I’ve never read it. It crosses sci-fi with historical fiction; a scientist goes back in time to the time of the Black Plague and gets stuck there. I’ve heard lots about it, and never anything bad.

And last but not least, in a recommendation tailor made for you: Elvissey by Jack Womack, because it’s all about going to an alternate dimension to get a version of Elvis who lived, because in the world of the book, Elvis is a religious figure and a corporation wants to mastermind his “second coming”. It’s unbelievably awesome.

There you have it. Again, I’d also recommend these to anyone looking for good books in these genres, although not necessarily to someone trying out the sci-fi genre for the first time. (Orson Scott Card’s books would be just fine though.) They’re a bit of a jump in the deep end. The fantasy books though- jump in!

So my friend Rachel (who I haven’t talked to in forever- Hi Rachel!) posted in the comments of the last post that she needs some book recommendations. She asked for my 5 favs, but here’s the problem- well, two problems; first, I don’t think I could just narrow it down to 5, and second, my top 5 wouldn’t necessarily be her style. Working in retail, making recommendations on a daily basis taught me that you’ve got to tailor the suggestions to the people, or you’re doomed.

So, Rachel wanted books that weren’t too wordy and wouldn’t take too much effort. I take that to mean not overly symbolic or “literary” in a flashy kind of way. She also mentioned her hubby’s airport bookstore offerings not making the grade, so I’m assuming that means genre books (sci-fi, chick-lit, thrillers) are out.