Why I hate giving recommendations

[42_42_42]

Considering at least half the time I'm reading a nonfiction tome on the subject of late anitquity/the early middle ages/the volkerwanderung, most people ask what I'm reading, see that it's something completely nerdy and move along. The other half of the time I'm generally reading one of the fantasy series I follow/historical fiction/Victorian lit., most of which tend to be rather lengthy, which often get the same response as the nonfiction does. Apparently anyone who reads anything longer than 150 pages is odd.

[firecat88]

Apparently anyone who reads anything longer than 150 pages is odd.

I'm beyond the point of odd, then, because I don't even *own* any books that are fewer than 300 pages unless it's manga.

[skeptic53]

I've been a member of a book club for many years, an unusual one in that it is half men & half women, only one couple.

We try to read a mix of nonfiction, fiction, and at least one "classic" novel each year. Most years the favorite book of the year has been the classic novel. Turns out famous books are famous for a reason. Some books that have become metaphors for "long" (War and Peace) or "difficult" (Moby Dick) are actually wonderful to read if you are in the right frame of mind. More modern authors that have beaten out the classics for us are Salman Rushdie (especially The Moor's Last Sigh) and Mark Halperin (A Soldier of the Great War). More of my personal faves A. S. Byatt's Possession, Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses, Martin Booth's Industry of Souls, and Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose. But as noted before, everyone is different and these books won't appeal to everyone. I like a lot of escapist stuff, too. I've re-read The Lord of the Rings more times than I can count...

[Treasure]

I I've re-read The Lord of the Rings more times than I can count...

Squee!!! ok, i haven't actually read LoTR Trilogy - but that's because I haven't seen all 3 movies, but both my parents have read the books a number times each!

I am waiting for the most recent Dresden book to come out in paperback so it can get passed around there's 4 of us that are reading.

I'm trying to get through Pratchett's Discworld books, but i'm having trouble finding time

but most of the time, historical romances, but the well written/researched ones - not harlequin (ick)

[Magpie]

I've re-read The Lord of the Rings more times than I can count...

I didn't actually enjoy LOTR until my late teens, the third time I read it. (No, I'm really not sure why I read it that many times either). My husband and I are currently reading it out loud to each other. He's read it often enough that he can actually read it out loud and still follow what's happening, and I've read it enough that it doesn't matter that we're averaging about 1.5 chapters/month.

[Seshat]

Well, 'tis because I'm not a librarian.......I'm what's usually refered to as a page, so unless I'm out shelving or doing pick-up, I don't have much of an opportunity to interact with customers. Not that I don't give reccommendations, just that much of the time, the reference/circulation desk staff are the people who the customer needs to talk to.

Oh. Well that makes sense.

[Andara Bledin]

I never finished the first of the LotR books. I just couldn't get any enjoyment from it.

^-.-^

[Pagan]

I never finished the first of the LotR books. I just couldn't get any enjoyment from it.

^-.-^

I know a lot of people have a hard time getting into the cadence of the writing. I quite liked them. Which doesn't hold for all of Tolkien's works. Don't ask me why, but I have never been able to get more that about 10 pages into the "Silmarillion". For me, it's a great cure for insomnia.

[Magpie]

I know a lot of people have a hard time getting into the cadence of the writing. I quite liked them. Which doesn't hold for all of Tolkien's works. Don't ask me why, but I have never been able to get more that about 10 pages into the "Silmarillion". For me, it's a great cure for insomnia.

Well I think that's why it took me three goes to really be able to get much out of them.

I'm reading The Silmarillion a chapter at a time (skip to the second story if you ever try it again). It's really heavy, but I want to know the stories. At least I would if they weren't so bloody depressing.

[Kristev]

Try reccomending Camille Paglia to them. She liberated me, mentally, but most people will be downright shocked! But she writes a hell of a book.

[Lots42]

I don't like recommending stuff for kids because the parents sometimes say 'That's too hard' then I get sad. Spider-Man is not too hard for a ten year old. Challenge the kid a little.

[grokit]

I ask for recommendations all the time, usually after I've walked up and down the scifi/fantasy section for at least 30 minutes reading blurbs on the back of books.

But I'll always mention some other writers whose style I like and I've had some good recommendations that way. My problem isn't usually that they don't have a recommendation I like, but that they have too many that look interesting!

[Imogene]

I have two stories about recommendations to share, not book recommendations, but recommendations nonetheless.
Story the First:
As a young, nubile movie store clerk in The Chesterfield, one day I had two gents walk up to me and tell me, basically, the one guy was blind, and he wondered what my favorite movie was. Something that wasn't heavy on the visuals, obviously. I hemmed for a moment, then said, "Brokedown Palace. The visuals are pretty bad, but they're not necessary, it all rides on the plot anyway, and you will NOT see the ending coming." The two gents and I chat it up a bit, and they leave after buying a copy of Brokedown Palace. A few weeks later, I'm being nubile again, and the other guy comes in, and says, "You were right, that was an amazing movie, with a wonderful ending! Thank you." And while I didn't recognize him immediately, as the day wore on, I realized who he was, and my recommendation, and was pleased. (Yes, I know what nubile means, I'm in an odd mood.)

Story the second:
Tonight, actually, I'm dragging around the last twenty minutes of my shift, and greet a customer who's checking out gift cards near my registers, and happen to notice a copy of Great Mouse Detective in her cart, and comment on it. "Man! I love that movie!" and we get to talking, she asks my opinion on it. I say, "It's kind of like Sherlock Holmes for kids... not much in the way of songs for a Disney movie, but it has Vincent Price's best role ever!"
"Will kids of 5 like it?"
"I'd say yes." And I go on to try to explain the plot set up to her, doing a bad job of it, but she eventually gives in and buys it.

[Chrismor]

I have to ask, as another person who has read LOTR more times then I can count...

Does anyone else, after rereading it a number of times, start skipping over some of the poetry and verse in it?

The first few times, I read it cover to cover, word for word, but after a while I started to find it a little long winded.

C.
Walking the long road to Mordor... again.

[Treasure]

I'm reading The Silmarillion a chapter at a time (skip to the second story if you ever try it again). It's really heavy, but I want to know the stories. At least I would if they weren't so bloody depressing.

Tolkien is wordy! and the thing to keep in mind about The Silmarillion is that it reads much like the Bible.

As far as reading it out loud, that is the only way my mom got through Silmaril. Mom had reconstructive bone surgery on her legs (graphic - not for this thread) and as a result of the surgery was bed-bound for 3 yrs and on heavy doses of pain meds, so Dad had to read it to her, every night as part of their evening routine, and he'd read and she'd nodd off, and the next night, he'd ask her, "what is the last thing you remember?" She'd tell him, he'd flip back, sometimes as far as a chapter, and start reading again....

as far as I know, dad has only read Silmarillion 2x, and that was Mom's one and only....


I have a fairly open mind about books, I'm LOVING the Hollow's series by Kim Harrison (also known as the Rachel Morgan books); Love Dresden; have read R. Zalsney's (sp??) Amber books, R. Aspirin's "Myth" series (fun and cute, must love puns!) never got far in Xanth, -
so Dad can usually recommend books, I just may take my time in getting to them...
Aunt T, she can bring over a book she's reading and just leave it on the coffee table, I usually will pick it up read the back, and ask her opinion of it so far - sometimes she's not thrilled with it, but thinks i will be, sometimes she's loving it and thinks i will too, sometimes she enjoys it, but doesn't think i will... but she's known me long enough to know....
Mom - she pushes me to read a series, "oh you need to read Pern, i really think you'll enjoy it, they're great books" umm yeah, only you said the same thing about the Derini books, and I couldn't get through the 1st one... it was so boring, and I've enjoyed books that Mom was indifferent about...

so i guess the secret to giving recommendations is to Know your audience, and if you don't (some random customer) the only think i can suggest is probe - what kind of movies does person X like? other activites/music - that doesn't always work, but its my 1.5 cents on the matter