I know theres some bookworms on here :)
I know nothing about books and authors, Im looking to buy the g/f some books but Im not even sure what sort of genre they would fall into though, she says she likes fantasy stuff like Anthony Horowitz Power of Five series, things like that. Shes just finished reading Twilight too. I know she has a ton of books though so Id like to get her something a bit less well known/more obscure thats still a very good read but shes not likely to have.
All suggestions welcome :)
(http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/6500/794pxpratchetshelfpf8.jpg)
Terry Pratchett?
Get yourself out to a Sunday Bootsale you will find loads and loads of books, i see loads of these Terry Pratchett books, so rather than buying 1, you can buy like 10 for the same price, should keep the missus entertained for 5 minutes :P
But then again i cant recommend anything, my reading equates to websites and the occasional scan through a newspaper :P
I did ask her if shed ever read Pratchett a couple of weeks back actually and she said no, but I havnt either and dont know if it would be up her street. But then I guess you dont know until you try. Im not going bootsaling for them though, Ill get her new.
:stupid:
Early ones were funny as hell. Later ones were still good. Start with Colour of Magic, the actual order in which they are read isnt that important but its worth starting at the beginning.
Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind, David Eddings are standard fantasy, although Eddings last trilogy floats like a lead brick (reading it is a brilliant lesson in how *NOT* to write books though. It should be compulsory for writers to read and report on). Stephen King is horror fantasy good if she likes that.
Problem is she might not like any of them, you can never really tell unless they point it out to you. Readers almost inevitably buy the books they like themselves. The chances are, for someone with a big collection, she probably already has it, and often on day of publication.
It might be easier to give a book token but that doesnt give the personal touch. Unfortunately you need to know what she likes to read and what she has read, this can be nearly impossible. Start off by asking her whats good reading, but be prepared for hours of droning on.
Nah she doesnt drone on about them, but its going to be pretty obvious if I start quizzing her now so close to her birthday.
Wheres the best place to start with Pratchett then if I go down that road?
They dont - until you get them to fully open up.
http://www.terrypratchettbooks.co.uk/discworld-library/
Gives you a list of the diskworld books, Nation might is another good choice from him.
Best idea may be to list the writers she has books from and ask about the ones that write similar stories. Good place for this would be the Library or large bookstore.
Nige get down to the bootsale, generally you find people selling 5,10,20 a time, the more you buy the cheaper they get but you can pick them up for upto £1 each, gives a quick boost to a Pratchett starter collection, alternatively you can find many books at the bootsale :P, there is nothing wrong with it, hell i still do 2-3 a week for classic console games :P
Yeah thats fine for yourself, not when youre buying your girlfriend birthday presents though, Im not going to be a tightarse and I only want to get her a book or two to see if she likes them first.
Pratchett is god.
A lot of people recommend starting with Mort or Wyrd Sisters which are a lot better than Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic which are very obviously written by an inexperienced Pratchett (though they are still great).
I, somehow, managed to start with Small Gods, which is probably one of the heavier books, though one of my favs. I also would say Soul Music is one of the more accessible ones, especially for anyone into music.
To be honest, its pretty hard to go wrong, though some of the more recent ones (from around Jingo on) have a bit more back story to really appreciate.
EDIT: And EVERYONE should read Good Omens, co-written with Neil Gaiman
Ayn Rand
Theres a seller on ebay - tim_allen_books - he does a lot of signed-by-the-author stuff if you want a book present bit further ;)
Cheers for the tip, not a bad idea there.
Ill look at your suggestions too Goblin, and Ayn Rand.
http://www.librarything.com/zeitgeist