I’m currently reading my first non-Star Wars book since Harry Potter and the Dealthy Hallows. I’m reading Lilith by George MacDonald. Apparently it’s a classic. Ugh. It’s awful a huge change from what I normally read, and Craig doesn’t deal with change very well. There hasn’t been a single spaceship battle yet! And no one carries around lightsabers! Like seriously! I don’t get to have a lightsaber in real life, the least I should be able to do is enjoy some hardcore lightsaber action in my reading material.
Oh, and here’s the kicker: It’s told in the first person! ACK! I hate hate HATE reading stuff in the first person. (Unless you’re David Sedaris and you’re telling me wacky stories, that I will swear you plucked out of my childhood.) One time I even stopped reading a Star Wars novel titled: I, Jedi (I shit you not) because it was told in the first person. But in my defense the story revolved around and was being told by Corran Horn who is the most boring Star Wars EU — Expanded Universe for the layman (read: cool person who doesn’t read Star Wars novels) — character ever created.
So the moral of this post, dear readers, is to never step outside your comfort zone. Ever. THE END.
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I linked over to your site from Tapdancing on the Edge of Reason, and I wanted to tell you how much I’ve enjoyed poking around in here. You are a fabulously funny writer who actually puts me in mind of David Sedaris(whom I love!)
On a side note- I saw your Jesus Christ Super Star post and HEY! I have totally dug that soundtrack since my parents brought it home when I was 5 or 6. I know every single word (how much of a geek does that make me?), only when I was 6 I thought they were saying “king of the juice” .
Looking forward to reading more.
Oy! Chanda’s gone off into Jesus Christ Superstar mode - there will be no living with her, now that “The King of The Juice” is out of the box!
I can’t say as I’ve read “Lilith” by MacDonald, but I loved his short story, “The Day Boy and The Night Girl”. Whether its in first person or not, I don’t remember - it might be disqualified by that, right?
As always, you are a breath of fresh and funny air ! And anyone who’s a fan of David Sedaris is OK with me - I love him!
Corran Horn was pretty fucking boring. That was one that I skimmed, too, when I sat down and read the entire EU library.
Yeah, I have a hard time doing this to sometimes. Which is why I often go back and re-read books or peevishly keep reading the same authors. A new book/author really needs to grab me, or it just because too much of a slog.
If you haven’t already, you should check out the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. The first book is called “His Majesty’s Dragon,” and she is now up to book 4. This is the first new series I have adopted in a long time, and while I wouldn’t consider it a classic, it is just one of those interesting alternative history stories that takes place around the time of Napoleon. The difference is that the armies have dragons as their air power. Plus, by the third book you get into China, which is a weakness for me.
Hang in there!
Bad Craig! That’s horrible advice. If people never stepped outside their comfort zone then some people we hate wouldn’t get hit by cars.
Gaaaaaa!
That’s actually my favourite novel! I’m sorry you aren’t liking it.
I’m so glad someone else thinks Corran Horn is one big ole waste of time. He bores me to TEARS every time he comes on the page and I wish they’d just kill him off already…
I also keep having the same sort of “when will the space battle/lightsaber battle show up” problem when i’m reading other books. The only difference is that all of my other books are American History required reading books for class… I guarantee you that if Andrew Jackson had an epic lightsaber battle with Henry Clay in 1832, i’d care a helluva lot more about both of them.
NefariousCarrot - It’s not that I’m not liking it per se. It’s just that I can’t get into it quite yet. I’m still at the VERY beginning. The problem is that I only read on the train during my commute to work. That’s why the Star Wars novels work so well for me. They’re quick and easy and they don’t have the slow setup that other novels require since we’re already familiar with the characters and locations. What I need to do is sit down over the weekend for 3 hours and really get into it. That would probably help. And if it’s your favorite book, it HAS to be good! So I will surely stick with it.
Amazon.com seems to classify this as 19th century Christian fantasy, which is enough to scare me way off. Are you sure I can’t interest you in Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan series?
They have Star Wars books? Really?
Uhh EU ROCKS I didnt like I, Jedi either
Yeah, it’s hard to read in transit. Thanks for giving it a go, though!
Sue, it is “Christian,” but George MacDonald had a very unorthodox account of Christianity, so the novel is very peculiar. And if everything Christian scares you away, you won’t get to read some of the greatest literary works — Dante’s Divine Comedy, for example!
I’ve given up stepping out of my comfort zone years ago.
Vastly over-rated.
My comfort zone covers four zip codes the way it is. I don’t want to get more wacky than I am. It scares the kids.
NC, true, true. I’d also have to miss out on reading The Screwtape Letters, which is on my list. I’ll have to rethink my position. Maybe I can ease into it slowly with some classics with sort-of Christian stuff in them. Do I get credit for Canterbury Tales? There are religious people in there, although they talk real naughty. That’s ok because we don’t understand what they’re saying. Right now I’m reading Jane Austen - lots of naughtiness there, right under the surface if you read carefully, but also lots of ministers.
I see that your orange buddy is named Felice. There is a very good gay writer named Felice Picano. He has written a bunch of books, two of which are autobiographies full of homoerotic adventure. In the short story collection “Men on Men 1″ he has an excerpt from one of those autobiographies. It is about when he was a twenty year old living in Rome during the glory days of the Cinecutta studios.
Does your orange buddy Felice write?
If you’re looking for a break from Star Wars novels, I would highly suggest the two Ebenezum and Wuntvor trilogies from Craig Shaw Gardner. They are very fast reads and some of the funniest sci-fi to be found.
Screwtape Letters are hilarious! I mean, what’s not to love about a book written a devil’s perspective?
And you totally get points for the Chaucer and the Janie A!
Have you tried the Dragonlance novels? Start with Dragons of Autumn Twighlight. You might like, I don’t know. Hard to tell if you don’t read much outside of Star Wars.
I just don’t think I am geek enough I have never read a Star Wars or Star Trek novel. Maybe my geek card needs to be revoked.
Dear Craig,
If you are looking for good non-star wars books to read, let me make a suggestion:
“Girlfriend in a Coma” by Douglas Coupland.
It is my favorite novel ever, and honestly it’s pretty science fictiony. Read it. I PROMISE you will love it.
PS: I just read all the other comments from people, and realized that many of them made suggestions. Well, as you know, when there is a qualitative argument to be had, my side is always right… So pick my book to read. It is for sure better than “The Dragonlance Novels”, which, as a side note, I have actually read a few of, so I’m not just being a snob.
heart
jon
Oh gawd! Dragonlance novels!
Yes, they are awesome. I’m a geek who reads both sci-fi and fantasy. And sometimes combined.
Best of both worlds, I say!
Ed
Tell Me What a Dork I Am!