It is day 4 of the BBAW 2010, and today’s suggested blogging topic is:
Forgotten Treasure
Sure we’ve all read about Freedom and Mockingjay but we likely have a book we wish would get more attention by book bloggers, whether it’s a forgotten classic or under marketed contemporary fiction. This is your chance to tell the community why they should consider reading this book!
Ana’s Pick:
I don’t even have to think twice to answer this question. I am going not with a book but with an author that I think is criminally under-read and under-reviewed around the blogs: Jaclyn Moriarty.
I picked my first Moriarty book – The Ghosts of Ashbury High – on a whim based purely on the cover and title of the book and OH MY GOD. It was insta-love. It is definitely one of my top 10 books of 2010 and after reading it, I went and bought all of her books in the Ashbury/Brookfield series and guess what, they are all equally awesome. All of them are epistolary novels, with great plotting, awesome flawed characters (most of them female) , very funny and thoughtful.
From me to you, here is a plea: give her books a go! You can start with Ghosts of Ashbury High and go from there. Go on, you know you want to!
Thea’s Pick:
Last year I mentioned one of my all time favorite novels, Mara, Daughter of the Nile – a book published in the 1950s and still in print today – and I think that will always be my go-to for underrated, forgotten book. Eloise Jarvis McGraw’s tale of a slave turned spy turned double agent in ancient Egypt is one of the most beautifully detailed, suspenseful, romantic books I have ever read and it is a damn shame that the book is not more well-known. (Check out Ana’s review – on a dare – HERE)
BUT, since I always push Mara, I’ll talk about another series, too (in the same Egypt-vein). That is, the ineffable Amelia Peabody, her loving husband Emerson, and their precocious son Ramses.
Ana and I love the Amelia Peabody books. They are utterly delightful – the history is impeccable (as Ms. Peters is a prominent Egyptologist, it should be!), the plotting deft, and the humor unparalleled. Amelia Peabody is one of my favorite heroines in the history of fictional heroines, her trusty parasol ever ready, her acerbic wit brandished at the slightest provocation. In an age where Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate is so popular, I would strongly encourage any fans to go out and read the ORIGINAL with Amelia Peabody. Ms. Carriger’s books are fun, but Amelia Peabody would kick washed-out copycat Alexia Tarabotti’s ass any day of the week (meanwhile, Emerson – with Ramses’ help, naturally – would easily brush aside his own doppelganger, Lord Maccon).
How about you? Any books or authors you think deserve more attention? Hey, an idea: leave a comment with suggestions and we promise to try and read them if we haven’t already!
85 Comments
Amanda Isabel
September 16, 2010 at 6:24 am“The Forest of Hands and Teeth” and it’s sequeal “The Dead Tossed Waves” – asides from The Book Smugglers and a few others, there was relatively nothing on this book and it was so good – the writing, the tempo, the atmosphere – it was brilliant.
Thanks! 😀
Em
September 16, 2010 at 7:03 amOooh! Double agent! I will have to check that one out. I will have to look into Jaclyn Moriarty as well. I love YA lit but I’m not sure if I’m the ghosty ghost YA kind of girl. Thanks for the recommendations!
Kate
September 16, 2010 at 7:05 amI’d never heard of Elizabeth Peters before, but now I HAVE to read her books. I adore well-done ancient-history fiction (ever read anything by HN Turteltaub? Over the Wine Dark Sea is amazing) and this sounds right up my alley…
April (Books&Wine)
September 16, 2010 at 7:15 amOMG I am reading Crocodile on the Sandbank on my phone right now. Amelia Peabody is freakin awesome. ALSO Mara is on my owned TBR.
Great picks, this makes me super super excited.
Chachic
September 16, 2010 at 7:20 amI second the Jaclyn Moriarty recommendation! Her books are hilarious. I’ve read the first three (Ghosts of Ashbury High isn’t available over here) and my favorite book is the one about Bindy. I’ve also read Mara because one of my favorite authors (Sherwood Smith) recommended it and I really liked it. The Amelia Peabody books look like something I’d enjoy so I’m adding the first one in my wishlist.
My Forgotten Treasures pick is the Queen’s Thief series by MWT. 😀
redhead
September 16, 2010 at 7:24 amI need to get a post up about Steven Brust’s “The Book of Jhereg”. He’s one of my favorite authors, and Book of Jhereg is a collection of early stories in his ongoing Vlad Taltos series.
Not only do I need to get a post up about it, but I need to reread it (as soon as I find it in my cluttered apartment!), cuz everytime I read it, I like it more! Mystery, corruption, noir, sarcasm, violence, and love. Nice.
Meredith
September 16, 2010 at 8:34 amI keep hearing only good things about Jaclyn Moriarty, so she’s definitely going on my list now. As for books I’d recommend (and keeping in mind your love for speculative fiction), I’d say anything Megan Whalen Turner writes. Just fantastic.
Ana
September 16, 2010 at 8:41 amMeredith – I LOVE MWT’s series!! Here!
Leslie
September 16, 2010 at 8:54 amBig thanks to reviewing and recommending the Jaclyn Moriarty. I’m always on the look out for books for my teenager, got all the Moriarty and she loved them!
If you haven’t read Morgan Matson’s Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour, definitely give it a try. I just finished it and loved it!
melissa @ 1lbr
September 16, 2010 at 8:59 amOoh, I love a good shout-out to Mara! That’s one of my faves too.
Amy @ My Friend Amy
September 16, 2010 at 10:30 amI haven’t read any of these, but I do want to read them based on your recommendations. 🙂
Tiffany M.
September 16, 2010 at 11:07 amPartially because of the push for Mara, I read it and LOVED it. I try to push it now, too, but those I tell seem to be reluctant to it for some odd reason.
I haven’t heard too much about Rob Thurman’s Trickster series, which I thoroughly enjoy. There are complaints about repetitiveness and preachy bits, but I think it fits with the main character–she talks about teaching lessons and both fit in with her character. Anyway, I like the twists and parts coming out of left field.
Requiem for the Devil by Jeri Smith-Ready is a book I love and recommend. She doesn’t seem to get very much attention for this one, and it is my favorite of hers.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. This is amazing and won awards, but I don’t remember seeing it too much online or in blogs.
Lisa
September 16, 2010 at 12:05 pmHow wonderful to see mention of Mara! I must have read that book 10 times in my teen years — and that was a LONG, LONG time ago. Thanks for reminding me of one of my all time favorites!
Hannah
September 16, 2010 at 1:52 pmEva Ibbotson’s books. No question. She writes amazing, wonderful books for children (mostly with a supernatural element and amazing blending of mythology and her own world building) and her YA books are some of my favourite of all time.
Every book has a wonderful, amazing heroine – they’re smart or they’re funny or they’re ambitious and they’re almost all clever and sweet and just the strongest female characters I’ve ever read. I love them. The Morning Gift and Journey to the River Sea are my favourites but her others are all amazing.
Ladybug
September 16, 2010 at 2:12 pmI need to check out all of the books mentioned in this post. I haven’t read any Amelia Pebody novels but I enjoy the character Lady Maccon so then I might like her as well 😀
Ginny
September 17, 2010 at 4:14 amWhen I was about 12 I pick up a book called Waking Dream by Rhiannon Lassiter on a whim & fell in love. I’ve never seen it reviewed on a blog, or in a book shop again & even Amazon seems to have stopped selling it. But it’s still one of my absolute favourites at 19 & one of the first books that got me reading fantasy.
I am also still dearly in love with Holly Black’s Tithe, where the same kind of thing happened & now I’ll give any books about faeries a go & Holly Black has become an auto-buy author for me (just finished reading White Cat & love it).
S. Krishna
September 17, 2010 at 9:37 amThe Ghosts of Ashbury High sounds great! I hadn’t heard about it before.
MaryK
September 17, 2010 at 1:09 pmI can’t believe it’s Thea recommending the romancy books!
The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery. A really great book that has nothing to do with Anne. I’ve never seen a review of it just brief mentions by other readers who loved it.
MaryK
September 17, 2010 at 1:41 pmJust read another Forgotten Treasures post and was reminded of the Katie Chandler series by Shanna Swendson. It’s so forgotten the publisher wasn’t interested in the final book! 😥
Michelle
September 18, 2010 at 12:37 pmI actually picked up the first of Jaclyn Moriarty’s Ashbury High books last week. I’m excited to know they are OH MY GOD worthy!