Mind candy

[bibliogramma]

I have been buried in books since Christmas morning. It's been wonderful.

One of my favourite writers of what I call mind candy is Mercedes Lackey. Please understand that this is not a derogatory term. I love mind candy. It's a total indulgence in the kind of stories that are just plain fun, without having to be "good for you" in any way. I've read most of Lackey's earlier books at one point or another, but she's so damned prolific that there's always three or four new ones hanging around, and I don't actually have in my library all the older ones I have read.

So my dear partner glaurung bought me vast numbers of Mercedes Lackey books for Christmas (among other wonderful book surprises).

Since Christmas, I've happily indulged myself in the frothiest mind candy, and it has been a wonderful time.

Lackey re-reads:
Arrow's Fall (last volume of the Talia trilogy - I already had the first two)
Magic's Pawn, Magic's Promise (first two volumes of the Vanyel trilogy - already had the last one)
Winds of Fate, Winds of Change (first two volumes of the Mage Winds trilogy - already had the last one)
The Black Gryphon (first volume of the Mage Wars trilogy - I'm currently in the middle of The White Gryphon and still have The Silver Gryphon to read from my Christmas bounty)

New reads:
Owlflight, Owlsight, Owlknight (Damian trilogy)
Joust (first volume of her Dragon Jousters series)

And there's a Diana Tregarde waiting for me to re-read as well - Burning Water.

Mind candy.

Bounce, bounce.
Yum.

Comments

[victoriacatlady.livejournal.com]

I also like mind candy books. That's why I read quite a few young adult books. With few exceptions, such as Bruce Coville's Magic Shop books (though not his other books, which are pure fluff), or Chris Crutcher's rather remarkable books, they are true mind candy.* Well, the better ones are mind candy; others are just junk food.

*Is it clear that I was saying that the books I mentioned are *not* just mind candy, but that the majority of YA books are entirely without redeeming social importance? ;-)

I also read and reread Nero Wolfe books for somewhat the same reason. I find his world very reassuring, and I read them in the same spirit as comfort food.

[morgan-dhu.livejournal.com]

I went through a period in which I read copious numbers of Nero Wolfe books. There aren't very many detective series that I read, but the Wolfe books are definitely among the handful I've enjoyed.

Of course, I read every Agatha Christie novel when I was younger, and I am also a fan of Dorothy Sayer's Lord Peter Whimsey, Ngaio Marsh's Roderick Alleyn, and Robert Parker's Spenser (although, if you've read them, I think that Hawk deserves equla billing with Spenser).

And of course, the master, Shelock Holmes.

[(Anonymous)]

Shelock Holmes? Typo or commentary? ;->

I also have read every Agatha Christie novel I could find (possibly I missed one or two). I must say I much prefer Miss Marple over Hercule Poirot, who is too full of himself. I've also read and delighted in Lord Peter Wimsey, and Spenser/Hawk are also good. Roderick Alleyn didn't appeal to me so much.