Off The Beaten Path Books

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis

*I know, I know, nothing surprising about this being on an all-time favorite list.  All I can say is watching the numerous movies out there will not give you a complete feel for Narnia.  You have got to read the books.

Stone Soup – Marcia Brown

*Man I loved this book when I was a kid!  This is the old 1947 version, but there have been many more since then.  I love reading how the hungry soldiers got the whole village to feed them.  I even made my mom and our neighbors re-create it.  A wonderful, wonderful tale and nicely illustrated, too.

The Princess Bride – William Goldman

*What can I say – I’m a big ole girly girl.  I find it fascinating that a man could create a book that resonated so my with my feminine side, but still not lose the adventure story core that boys (and I) love so much about the book, too. It truly is a book for children, no matter the gender. And man do those one liners stick in your head! “no more rhyming I mean it!” “Anybodt want a peanut?” Classic.

Okay, so that is my recommendation list to start you all off if you are new to the world of speculative fiction.  I look forward to hearing what you thought of them, so drop me a line.  There will be more reviews every month and staff picks of our tried and true favorites and new books we are excited about.  Enjoy and start reading!

The List of 7 – Mark Frost

* Not only was he co-creator of the “Twin Peaks” TV series, but he is an outstanding novelist.  He is another writer that creates a world so real, you can feel the cobblestones under your feet.  He also presents us with a dynamic and different view of Sherlock Holmes in this one.  A page turner.

The Stephanie Plum Series – Janet Evanovich

*Ok, ok…yes, this one is a guilty pleasure. Every time a new one comes out I devour it as if it’s been dipped in milk chocolate and caramel.  I love this character, I love the supporting characters, and the pace is great. Totally fun.

Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie

* An Oldie (realllllll oldie), but still a goodie.  Nobody beats Dame Christie at cozy mysteries.  Great with a cup of tea on a rainy day.

The Great and Secret Show – Clive Barker

* This man does gross like no one else.  Poppy Z. Brite doesn’t even hold a candle to him.  He revels in blood, feces, bile, sweat, etc.  You can practical smell the stench as you turn the page.  But when he is sublime, angelic choruses sound in your head while you read. There is an elegance to his work that almost gives it a sense of delicacy – and then someone cuts out your tongue.  His worlds are so perfectly realized that you are completely submersed and lose contact with the real world which makes the scares all the more potent.  I can never put his stuff down.

The Shining/Salem’s Lot (tie) – Stephen King is to horror what MacDonald’s is to fast food – freakin’ ubiquitous! I could not have a favorite horror list without the Man in Black on it.  Stephen King has written the book on horror (no really, he literally has) and many, many, many books later is still going.  These are two of my all-time favorites.  Hail to the king, baby.

The Call of Cthulu and Other Weird Tales – H.P. Lovecraft

*I have always had a thing for tentacles.  Not the hentai kind! The “that is not dead which can eternal lie” kind.  I love the claustrophobic world of Lovecraft.  You know you are dealing with forces way beyond your ken.  The best you can hope for in a Lovecraftian story is insanity.  If they start the story reading your diary or letters found stuffed between arcane histories in the library you have been made a minion or eaten.  And the elder gods are not in the business of interceding to often for mankind.  Great stuff.  Very epic.

Since I am opening a book store I thought it would be fun to share some of my all-time favorite books in the genres that I am going to carry in the store.  These are by no means the extent of my favorites they are just the ones that came to mind first.  If you have read any of them, drop a comment and let me know what you thought about them.

The Fionavar Trilogy (The Summer Tree, the Wandering Fire, and the Darkest Road) – Guy Gavriel Kay

* Everyone I recommend this series to ends up adding it to their list of all-time favorite books. This is almost more Tolkien then Tolkien.  In fact they used this author to finish Tolkien’s work.  This is just gorgeously, beautifully written. If you like high fantasy you will LOVE this series,

 Anubis Gates – Tim Powers

* I think this is the book that really turned me on to steampunk.  What a trippy, crazy, wonderfully imagined ride.  Tim Powers really is a master of this genre. 

 Tales from the Flat Earth Series (Night’s Master, Death’s Master, and Delirium’s Master) – Tanith Lee

*She had me at hello.  This series features stories written in the incredibly detailed world of this master word crafter.  She has a mind like a steel trap as characters ( some of them minor characters) that you meet in the first book resurface again and again through to the last book.  Exquisite. I return to this series again and again.