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What was that book?

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Funny gods & funny evil, a fantasy book [Jul. 6th, 2009|12:53 pm]
tillium27
[Tags|]

An "evil" breeds and develops new creatures in a desert surrounded by mountains. In the series of 4 books, these creatures try to escape their desert first east, then south, west, then north. the "good gods" can help the people living around the island that contain the desert to defend themselves. There are 4 gods, 2 girls, 2 guys, all siblings. They all live as animals in the world, and usually enjoy life. They can't directly fight the evil, and only help the humans by showing them where good ore is for weapons, or by speeding up their ships with currents, moving icefields, erupting volcanoes (that's the second book) etc.
The series is written with a huge humor, and the books all have two authors. The world contains of faraway islands with medieval type technology that has problems with the church, and the indigenous people living directly on the island. One of the indigenous people is  a great leader that learned as a child to connect with its prey, so his arrows never miss. he becomes a tribe leader in book two.
Every time evil encounters a threat, it can make itself better (but apparently never wins).
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Fantasy book [Jul. 6th, 2009|12:43 pm]
tillium27
[Tags|, ]
[Current Location |Canada]

This is a fantasy book that I read several years ago. Single author.

First, a bunch of teenagers are stolen from a village in a mountain.
The relatives and a hunting party pursue the thieves for days, taking a risky shortcut through some narrows with water rafts and almost drown. They still miss the child stealers and their prey. They have to enter a city and bid for their own relatives in slave auctions. Once they have them all back, they get trapped into a rich person's home for the exchange, and find some ancient scrolls there.

They escape onto a boat, thereby setting the harbor front on fire (I think), stealing a sea chest from the rich person / harbor. They are pursued and escape through shallow water into a bay that is full of fish that eat the boat and their captain. The rest escapes to the beach, which is a solid 200m high sheer cliff. Some awesome free climbing ensues, in which only a woman is capable of climbing those cliffs. Her lover, brother, and the rest of their band come up later. They then flee through the contryside, and discover that the chest contained war plans of some poerfull enemy or other. No wonder they were pursued. they than have to travel with skis through snow, and almost freeze - end up in a hot cave with a curse (some virus or other), and the girl discovers she can do some old, forbidden magic to heal everyone.
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Sex transmits knowledge [Jul. 6th, 2009|12:09 pm]

barilosopher
A friend recently described to me an interesting-sounding short story that she read long ago; she cannot remember what it is. It was a story in which, whenever two people had sex, they shared (all? some?) of their knowledge with one another. So if you have sex with someone, they thereby learn lots about you and what you know. One scene involved lesbian sex intended to help one of the parties to prepare for an exam. My friend thinks that one of the central characters might have been named 'Carrie', but she's not sure.

Any leads?
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(no subject) [Jul. 7th, 2009|01:37 am]

sapitacherry
[Tags|]

I'm beginning to wonder if i dreamt this book up but here goes...

It was either a picture book or a children's book i saw in passing about a black man caring for a young boy he found one day. either the man or the boy or both are homeless and it chronicles their day to day life. I think perhaps the boy was a minority also, either latino or asian.

Again, i've been looking for this book for a while now and i'm not too sure if i made it up in my head or i've got the details all wrong.

Either way, thanks for any help you all can give!
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sci-fi short story [Jul. 5th, 2009|11:38 pm]

writes
[Tags|, , , ]

I'm looking for a short story that my father read many many years ago (as early as the mid 50's but he really can't remember exactly when he read it.) It was a sci-fi story about an astronaut who crash landed on Mars and he ended up in this sentient city. Every night the city would get smaller because it was cannibalizing itself to provide the man with air and food and water. At the end of the story the man wakes up and the city has turned him into a Martian.

Hopefully this rings a bell for someone, because my father has been going on for ages about how awesome this story was and I really want to read it for myself.
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Cookies? [Jul. 5th, 2009|08:56 pm]

a_bemused_muse
[Tags|, ]
[mood | nervous]
[music |Shirley Bassey - Goldfinger (Propellerheads remix) | Powered by Last.fm]

Hello!

I'm looking for a baking book, one that's about simple and easy to make cookies and bars. The front was a brownish color, with a large heart shaped cookie on the front with powdered sugar on it. The cover also has 'Cookies' in all caps, near the top of the book. It was published a little while ago, like maybe in the late seventies? I'm sorry, that's a total guess, but the book itself didn't look recent.

I really, really hope someone knows what I'm talking about, because I accidentally sold my copy at a yard sale and that book had the BEST blondie recipe EVER.


Thanks in advance!
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short story about a pedophile at his relative's house, pool. [Jul. 5th, 2009|04:08 pm]

allyscully
Hi,

I'm looking for a sort of disturbing short story I read a couple of years ago. The story is told from the perspective of a middle-aged man who, with his wife, goes to stay at his brother's (or brother-in-law's) house over the summer. The brother(-in-law) has a wife and young teenage or pre-teenage daughter who spends a lot of time out in the pool. Eventually, the man pretends to be sick while the rest of the adults are going on a short trip, so that he can stay home and seduce the young girl. I also remember a scene right before this where the man is sitting on a couch with the young girl, and watching some cartoon, and he's preoccupied by the fact that she's only wearing a long t-shirt and underwear.

It was kind of a Lolita-meets-A.M. Homes short story (though I don't think it was Homes) and I want to recommend it to someone else as an example of that kind of creepiness.

Thanks!
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two different series [Jul. 5th, 2009|01:43 pm]

wenzdai
The first one:

the cover may have been red.. and possibly have some sort of castle looking thing..night shot

part of a series that had to do with zodiac signs.. the one i read may have been the libra one? girls goes of to fancy boarding school.. on the bus other girl finds out her sign. later gets asked to join in on a secret club.. other girls involved.. they kill each other off.. main character kills leader of the club.. becomes new leader..

Second series:

Something to do with a black rose club.secret society kind od shit

a quite girl makes new ghost friend who help her become more social.. something about cutting of her hair.. goes on date with guy she likes.. ghost friend isnt a good guy.. tries to kill her in snow.. she gets found.. may have possibly to do with being a witch?

Update:
1st series:

2nd Series: LJ Smith's Night World: dark angel

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Italian, Caesar or sister? [Jul. 5th, 2009|11:26 am]

jillianfish
[Tags|, , ]
[mood | annoyed]
[music |Deadliest Catch]

Alright, this is kind of a longshot since I only read the first chapter and it was many years ago but it was so memorable that hopefully someone will be able to help.

This was in one of those "book" sections in the old like Seventeen magazine or one of those other teen mags. They used to have a book section where they'd print the first chapter of a book and you could go out and get it if you liked it. Remember those? Too bad hair products and smoky eyes are more important now. But I digress.

cut for some 'eww, gross' aspects )
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(no subject) [Jul. 4th, 2009|02:19 pm]

go_to_lunch
[Tags|, ]

I only remember two things about this particular book, but they're pretty specific.

1. It takes place in some sort of future society in which there aren't many children, so kids spend every other month with a foster parent. Trouble starts when the protagonist's foster parent decides to keep him.

2. Later on, there were big radioactive bunnies.

Erm. Thoughts?
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a SciFi space high school sports book [Jul. 3rd, 2009|07:26 pm]

sic_gurrl
A SciFi book that had to do with teenagers and space school. I'm pretty sure it was done in first person. The lead character was a boy and he goes up to space camp/school/something or other (I think) and he gets this buddy that's kind of a wise talker/smart mouth and there's this girl that he likes that has a bff that doesn't get along with the dude's buddy. And they play this game, this sport where they have to where these certain colored pieces of fabric on them and that says what team they're on or what dorm they're from or something... And the ending of the book basically has to do with this kid winning this game, because it says a great deal of how he'll advance in school, or in space or something. And I remember a lot of funny bickering between his buddy and his gf's bff. And in the end they end up sorta liking each other. .. It is NOT Ender's Game. .. Any help??? Any ideas? Anything???

Thanks! ;) (And I've been seriously trying to find this book for ages now. Literally. I read it sometime in the mid to late 90's so I'm not sure the publication date, but I'm guessing it's probably an 80's book..?? )
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Little British girl with a magical wishing coin [Jul. 3rd, 2009|03:31 pm]

maculategiraffe
[Tags|, , , , ]

This is a book I read when I was a kid, in the '90s. It was about a little girl who found a magic coin-- I'm pretty sure it took place in Britain; the coin was six-sided and I know it had "the Queen"'s profile on it. The coin granted wishes-- I think there was something about one wish for each of the six sides, and she rubbed the sides of the coin when she wishes. It was one of those "realistically granted wishes" things-- like I think at one point she wished for a bicycle and ended up winning it as a prize in some kind of toy store competition. Also, there was a part where it mentioned that she looked at the Queen's face and the Queen seemed to be smiling at her.
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Help! [Jul. 3rd, 2009|04:12 pm]

runningvicious
I'm looking for a Mills & Boon, one of the older ones I think.

I can't remember all of it. There was a woman, and she transferred to a job working for a man she thought was attractive, I think. The boss's father had a heart attack, and it turned out that her mother had been seeing him, and that the father had asked her to marry him, but she'd refused, which had caused his heart attack. Then I think she went to see her mother, who was now seeing a younger man. Then her boss turned up at her house and I think he tried to rape her, but then at the end it emerged that he loved her and they got engaged.

Sorry if that doesn't make much sense, but I need it as a comparison for my coursework. Any help at all would be much apprecaited.
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Posting about some books for a friend... [Jul. 3rd, 2009|12:39 am]

kyani_no_kokoro
...here's what she remembers about them:

Both of these books I read about 13-15 years ago, I think they were published even before then since I borrowed them from the library.

Book #1
This book centers around two girls. One girl, Caucasian, is sent to visit a relative and she ends up befriending another girl who is African American. Together they discover a secret stash of dolls made by a slave years ago. Each of these dolls resembles an actual slave that escaped to the North, perhaps using the Underground Railroad? Each doll had a pocket (I want to say it was a red heart but I am not sure) sewn to its chest, and inside the pocket was the name of the slave that escaped to the North. I remember that the opening scene had the Caucasian girl standing by a bus stop or getting off a bus, and I think it mentions that the weather was hot.

Book #2
This may actually be two or three books, I am not sure. This book centers around a boy and a girl (or more), they are siblings or friends. They go off to either visit friends or relatives or something and wind up in a neighborhood with large old fashioned (Victorian?) mansions. I think they go exploring and stumble upon an old mansion with a name that began with C (something along the lines of Cornelia or Carpathia...). I think the mansions were once the summer homes of wealthy families. There might have been a dried up or missing lake in the story and an uncle as well. And I think the kids were searching for something, although I am not sure what.


EDIT: Found (see comments)! :D
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Short story [Jul. 2nd, 2009|09:10 pm]

thisgirliknow
My friend is trying to remember a short story she read, she thinks it was the first story in a book of them.

She thinks it's either by Nick Hornby or Chuck Palahniuk

It takes place in Arizona or New Mexico

Here's what she remembers of the plot: Two boys and a girl, one boy gets bit on his penis by a snake, asks the girl to suck out the poison. She refuses, the guy's best friend says he will do it. Mexicans show up and think they are gay, and then do "awful things" to the people (some form of anal rape?)
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An orphaned boy, a monastery, the vatican [Jul. 2nd, 2009|11:54 pm]
henrikaamodt
[Tags|]
[mood | curious]

 Read this some 10 years ago, a friend loaned it but it was never returned and I obviously can not remember the name. It follows the life of an orphaned boy growing up in a catholic monastery experiencing much distress, famin, hard work and abuse from the monks. As he grows older he joins the brotherhood, though passages in the book reveals he is no christian in his thoughts due to the hard time he had growing up. Even so he himself treats the servants and children in the monastery as he himself was treated. As a monk he leads a hedonistic life together with his bretheren with excesses in food, vine and women. He is then summoned to the vatican rising in the ranks and ending as a cardinal and (as I remember) a pope. 


ringing any bells?
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(no subject) [Jul. 2nd, 2009|11:59 am]

fiorevnzla89
[Tags|]

This book had a DaVinci Code/Angels and Demons type of feel to it, but it was not by Dan Brown. It had to do with a Jewish legend/myth that there were going to be 40 righteous people in the world that kept God from destroying it. So there's a group of people that conspire to find and kill those 40 righteous ones (they have a specific name, which I can't remember) to bring about the end of the world. The protagonist is the father of one of the righteous ones--he is divorced and the daugther lives with her mother. She (the daughter) gets kidnapped, so the dad somehow teams up with some Israeli Mossad-ish type woman to help track down the killers. They end up together by the end of the book.
They work with a group of people who have been trying to track down the bad guys for years, and they make a big deal about the Torah (or maybe the Talmud) being in code. They use supercomputers to decode the names (or places?) of the righteous ones.

Edit: Found! The Book of Names by Jill Gregory and Karen Tintori
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(no subject) [Jul. 2nd, 2009|12:28 am]

_sockmonk_
My friend is looking for a book on a forum, and this is what she said about it

"Not just any book either XD

This is a long post, so please hold on for the ride, 'cause I would do anything right now to find this book.

This was a book I once picked up at the library, young adult fiction, a fantasy. I think it had a tired girl on the cover - she may have been lying in a field, but I digress, since I may be mixing covers up - and I can't remember for the life of me the title nor the author, but I remember the plot quite well:

A girl's father, who I believe was called Felix, has just died, and she goes to the will reading in her green school uniform (and I think she trips and her knee starts to bleed on the way or something)? And her cousin is there, who is sobbing away, and you can tell from the off that the MC hates her, and says that she's playing the part of the orphaned daughter instead of the MC. Her father was an artist, and she is left this painting of a castle, dark and swirling and whatnot. So, they go to stay at the cousin's house. The MC hangs the painting on the wall, and their male cousin (I think it's their cousin) also stays with his father there. They get along alright, and there is a fight or something, and the cousin takes the photo and somehow...teleports into the land in the photograph? MC and the male cousin go through too, and they all end up in different places. One of them, there are these alley ways with high high walls...think the Labyrinth in stone.

Now, the rest is a blur to me except for this; the male cousin is involved in a royal hunt, the girl cousin meets a dragon-thing who tells her she can ask her three questions (and she asks the wrong questions, the dragon muses later). There is this stone castle thing that they have to keep running up I think, or maybe I'm fusing plots together now?

Another big thing is that there is an interlude in the middle, where the parents of the children are reading their journals (which tell them what is going with them...somehow. I think it writes as they go along, magically, or something). It turns out that the three fathers were all princes in this land, and they decided to pass through time to this world, giving up immortality I think, hence Felix dying. There was also an alley with high walls, I seem to remember, but that might have been the labyrinth I'm thinking of (if it was a labyrinth at all >_> *flails*).

That is all I can really remember, I think, although...if you haven't recognised it by now, not much more will XD

I apologies for my sentences running together and whatnot, but it's late, and when my near-photographic memory kicks in, I tend to write incoherently. Sorry. (If only that memory was good enough to remember a title or author!)

But I'd really like to find this book -- it didn't seem significantly good at the time, but I've suddenly realised that it was quite good, a well-thought out book that I'd like to revisit some time! I searched every book in the library under young adult and no dice. I even asked if someone might check my account in the library, but I lost my card so I'm not allowed D:

If you can help me, I will love you from now until the end of time, srsly. <3 It was quite an odd book, and I'm not quite sure why I have the desire to read it so much, but I do."


Any ideas?

FOUND: Waking Dream by Rhiannon Lassiter

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Double double toil and trouble [Jul. 2nd, 2009|12:16 am]

bottledlife
The book I'm looking for is a kind of dark children's novel - not scary enough to be considered "horror", but definitely a little bit creepy.

The main character of the book is an ugly, thoroughly unpleasant old man. I believe the bulk (if not entirety) of the book takes place in his basement/laboratory/dungeon over the span of maybe a day. From what I recall, he was trying to create some sort of evil concoction, possibly your typical take-over-the-world or doomsday sort of thing. I remember a cauldron and a lot of "eye of newt and toe of frog" sort of things.  He may have been creating this for someone else, as I distinctly remember some sort of time limit being involved.

At some point, he is interrupted by a woman who is at least as unpleasant as he is. This is possibly his sister. The man and the woman are outwardly deferential to each other, but the woman definitely wants the man to fail, maybe because she's in competition with him. They end up getting into a physical fight at the end, I think.

Both the man and the woman had pets, which I think were a cat and some sort of bird/bat. They are able to communicate with each other, and end up being the heros of the book, all saving the world and whatnot.


Any leads would be very much appreciated!

Edit-
Found: The Night of Wishes: Or the Satanarchaeolidealcohellish Notion Potion
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Found: Winter of Fire (Thank you!) [Jul. 1st, 2009|10:18 pm]

analia_the_1st
[mood | hopeful]

Hello! I was directed here by a friend whom I've been pestering to help me remember the name of a book.

I have no idea of the title or author, but I remember some of the plot rather well.

Cut for lots of plot points I remember )

If anyone knows what this book is called or who the author is, I will be forever in your debt. Something in my brain keeps telling me the title is something along the lines of "The Quelled", but I  tried looking it up and get nothing.

Thank you very much for your help.

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