Usually, I'm turning my mind to summer reading in late May/early June and this year is no different. But for some reason, probably because I've started foraying into sci-fi and fantasy of late, I've discovered some really great and lesser known (at least in my limited experience) writers. I can highly recommend pretty much anything by Octavia Butler, the first African-American female author to have won major awards in the sci-fi field. I just finished her Patternist series which was incredibly original and engaging. I also read The Vampire Tapestry by Suzy Charnas McKee, which was written long before the current sparkly-vampire craze and is a subdued narrative dealing with the etymology of vampires - or at least of one vampire.
And in terms of more recent releases, I had hummed and hawed about whether to read The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater - better known for her unusual take on young adult werewolf/romance in her Shiver trilogy. While undeniably YA in focus, The Scorpio Races is engaging to an older audinece as well and cleverly weaves together mythology about water horses, other celtic legends, and includes just a few Shakespearean allusions as well. It surprised me by being a poetic and cleverly written book that was much more engaging than I had expected.
Any other unusual reads people have come across lately?
Daughter of Smoke and Bone! Definitely weird, but really fun and engaging.
Posted by: CBR | June 08, 2012 at 01:46 PM
Yes, that's a great suggestion CBR. I read that when it first came out (late last year?) and am looking forward to the sequel.
Posted by: Jacqueline Lipton | June 08, 2012 at 03:07 PM
If you are looking for a fun mystery thriller, I have to mention my friend Anthony Franze's novel - The Last Justice: http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Justice-Anthony-Franze/dp/0982139187
It's a great beach read.
Posted by: Sheila B. Scheuerman | June 08, 2012 at 04:32 PM
From entirely different ends of the spectrum, but I'm enjoying them: "Forgotten Bookmarks - A Bookseller's Collection of Odd Things Lost Between the Pages" by Michael Popek and "Gardens of the Moon" by Steven Erikson (fantasy). Your description of "The Scorpio Races" has me intrigued, I'll have to take a look when I head to the local library.
Posted by: Rita_Trivedi | June 09, 2012 at 06:06 AM