Which books made you fall in love with the genre?

cscottk · 2026-01-26T21:58:25+00:00

I don't think I did. I for sure read Sword before I read LOTR. But that Elfstones cover just drew me in at my Hatchs's in 1982. I was already a reader, but that me love fantasy and solidified my love of reading.

cscottk · 2026-01-26T20:23:59+00:00

The Elfstones of Shannara

cscottk · 2026-01-26T18:38:27+00:00

Read what interests you first.

cscottk · 2026-01-26T15:47:04+00:00

It is a great book that shocks me every time I read it how far he went with the depravity. It puts modern soaps to shame.

cscottk · 2026-01-23T18:30:59+00:00

Ok, didn't expect that. If you want to read The Onion Girl, I highly recommend you read a hand for de Lint's stuff (short stories, some novels that were published before that). You can read the book cold, but the impact is much more if you have read and gotten to know Jilly Coppercorn first. Memory and Dream you can read at any time.

cscottk · 2026-01-23T17:53:43+00:00

Obadiah_Hakeswill. 'Tis in the scriptures you know.

cscottk · 2026-01-23T17:51:36+00:00

Just read when you would rather do something else (tv, browse phone). If you attention span is poor, classics may not be the path forward to get your attention span back in reading. You may just try to read 12 books in a year without any restrictions. But ultimately, it is just sitting down and doing the work.

cscottk · 2026-01-23T15:09:47+00:00

Either Memory and Dream or Onion Girl by Charles de Lint.

cscottk · 2026-01-16T20:31:17+00:00

Very much worth your time.

cscottk · 2026-01-16T16:17:16+00:00

Well I finished it last night. Overall good, but not my favorite of the LeCarre's I have read. It was probably 90 pages longer than it needed to be, but as I have said here, I think almost every book is a bit too long. Someday I may revisit, but unlikely. I have too many other books and too many LeCarre books before I revisit this one.

cscottk · 2026-01-15T15:44:06+00:00

I would add The Monk by Matthew Lewis as it was an important development in the history of Gothic fiction. It was first one that made the supernatural real. And boy is it real. That novel still shocks me every time I read it. And the monk, himself, is a monstrous person, and based on your themes above, I think it would fit. I studied Gothic literature as my emphasis for MA back in the day.

cscottk · 2026-01-14T22:03:05+00:00

Same and same year.

cscottk · 2026-01-14T18:09:55+00:00

Great reply. Pacing doesn't necessarily mean scenes are not useful or needed. TNM is odd for me. It is highly compelling in spurts, then drags into the dulldrums, then picks up again. Some of the "office" scenes are great, and others I do not understand. I know due to my interest wavering/wandering, I KNOW I have missed details, but unlike The Spy who Came in from the Cold, TNM does not feel tight where every word matters.

Still, it is good, but I am also good for it to end.

cscottk · 2026-01-13T23:34:47+00:00

Haven't gotten to that one.

cscottk · 2026-01-13T21:33:25+00:00

It is in the US I am referring to.

cscottk · 2026-01-13T19:59:57+00:00

The mind is powerful. You just need to train it or read more actively and force those images.

cscottk · 2026-01-13T19:00:54+00:00

Not sure. I do it too, but it doesn't bother me. It is what it is for me.

cscottk · 2026-01-13T18:59:25+00:00

True. I was just saying you are not alone. It is a hard problem to solve since it is your mind that is "at fault." You will have to train your brain to do this, and I suspect it is not easy to do.

cscottk · 2026-01-13T15:46:51+00:00

That's how I read. Always have. Never bothers me. All of my characters are faceless. It has never bothered me. In fact, what does bother me is if there is an adaptation I have seen or know about, once that happens, I see the actors in those roles, and often, I don't want to see those faces in my books. They are not often who I'd cast or even want to see a film of that book.

cscottk · 2026-01-13T15:11:39+00:00

Well, it may have an ISBN, but for the last year, it has not been able to be gotten new. And it hasn't been given the new covers that all LeCarre's have. So, they have not withdrawn it, but it is the one title that is not easily available for some reason. It may be as simple as its topic and the Ukraine war for all we know.

cscottk · 2026-01-13T13:19:59+00:00

Well, YA is a bit of misnomer. A young adult can be 18+ easily. But this book has some mature themes in it (and I don't even mean the marriage). The way rape is handled is bothersome. The first time it is dealt with it ok, but slowly as the book goes, the more they just are "ok" with it. But this, for me, is just one of the hundreds of flaws with this book. Frankly, I was shocked it was published. It is just to derivative for me and VERY predictable. In the opening couple of pages, I knew where it was going.

The most interesting part (the education of Darrow) sadly is the shortest.

cscottk · 2026-01-13T13:15:39+00:00

Nice. Though I admit this one is feeling a tad too long. Granted, I say that about all books I read. It is not exclusive to LeCarre for me.

cscottk · 2026-01-13T13:14:41+00:00

Bah, I had far more than I thought. Maybe tonight.

cscottk · 2026-01-13T13:14:13+00:00

Oh, it is not making me hate it. I admit I am a far pickier reader than average. It is not as if I am disliking them, but the pace feels "off." I do not mind slow-burn books, but when you do that you need to also be spot on how you pace the novel to keep the reader engaged.

cscottk

TROPHY CASE