Reading is my crack. Yes, yes it is.

[primroseburrows]

I love NPR, I love fantasy novels, I love YA fantasy novels, and I love when writers talk about writing.

I love best when it all combines into a programme like this:

Children's Fantasy Lit in the Modern World.


Now I want to read The Eragon Series like woah.

Go and listen. It's fascinating. And not just because Neil gets to talk first. ;)


Oh, and I guess I'm going to have to break down and read me some Tamora Pierce. The only reason I haven't is because a writer friend of mine doesn't like her, which is really a terrible reason. :/

Comments

[madlori.livejournal.com]

Allow me to recommend Kenneth Oppel's "Airborn" and its new sequel "Skybreaker." They're adventure/fantasy and they are fantastic. Their teenage hero is one of the most appealing YA characters I have ever read.

My friend mjryan and I are thinking of trying to get a fandom going!

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

Ooh, thank you! I'll add it to my Amazon Wish List, which is basically a way for me to jot down everything I hear about that I might like. It's currently up to eight very odd pages. :)

[robinhoo.livejournal.com]

madlori, iconlove! ♥ Not only do I love that movie and Kate, but Clementine's use of that particular moniker for her position as a B&N employee killed me with laughing. I worked for B&N for years, and we (the employees) often referred to ourselves as "book slaves."

[madlori.livejournal.com]

I worked at Borders for four years, so I feel the book-retail love. :-)

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine working at Borders and actually taking home a paycheck. I'm hopeless and have no book!willpower.

[patchfire.livejournal.com]

Are you skipping work? ;)


I've read Tamora Pierce... the Alanna series. It's decent. I mainly enjoyed it because the main character in a fantasy was female. Still a rarity. *sigh*

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

No, peer switch/Dr. App't. I am now an Adderall patient. *cleans house*

[inkandalchemy.livejournal.com]

Y'know, I'm a fantasy novel fan m'self but I just could never get into the Eragon series. I tried to valiantly, and my younger brothers swear by them (& frankly, anything that gets those TV addicts to do something other than play video games is fine by me) however for me they were just too... I don't know, cliche. The writing style is decent but it didn't feel like there was anything of the author in the book, just a lot of other fantasy stories jumbled into one by someone with a good sense of grammar.

But, I dunno. Maybe I'm just jealous 'cos he's my age and he beat me to publishing a book. ;)

Tamora Pierce, though, I absolutely adore. I highly recommend her Immortals series - "Wild Magic," "Wolf-Speaker," "Emperor Mage," and "The Realms Of The Gods." She's more famous for the Song of the Lioness quartet but the others are equally good.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

Maybe his second book will be better. *shrugs* I'll try them, though, becaus a lot of people have recced them. ALso Tamora Pierce.

[cedarlibrarian.livejournal.com]

But Eragon is YA, not children's (and it's frellin' AWFUL, if I do say so myself). And so are Tamora Pierce's books. I'll second the rec for Airborn, though, because it's absolutely incredible (and won a Printz honor because, again, it's YA and not children's). Okay, now I need to go and listen to this program to see if they even bother to make a distinction.

Another terrific YA fantasy trilogy: The Bartimaeus Trilogy (The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem's Eye, and Ptolemy's Gate) by Jonathan Stroud. They're witty and fun and don't require lots of fantasy background.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

*bookmarks, adds to list*

[anwi1017.livejournal.com]

The Inheritance Trilogy is excellent. Highly recommend, it's very well done. I forgot it was marketed to younger readers.

[anwi1017.livejournal.com]

I've read some of the other comments re: Eragon not so good. I still enjoyed it very much. That's not to say you won't recognize some themes, characters, etc.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[sarahtales.livejournal.com]

I looked at Eragon in the shop and really couldn't face the thought of reading the whole thing when mere bits of it had just hurt me in such an unpleasant and unwarranted manner, so I cannot comment.
However, do read some Tamora Pierce! I was fond of the Alanna series, and the Protector of the Small series, (though she does tend to wind down before she's done, her worst trait as a writer) less fond of the Immortals series, and very unimpressed with her Circle of Magic series. I'm tentatively impressed with her new Trickster series.
Thanks for the link!