Wanted: Recommendations

[thefourthvine]

Dear, dear people: REC ME SOMETHING, PLEASE. Two things, actually. One for the earthling, one for Best Beloved.

Classical Music

The earthling listens to classical music for about two to four hours each evening; it helps him go through his evening routine and get ready for bed. It has to have certain characteristics:

• It can't be super super slow (because he eats to it, and he tends to suck in time to the music, and evening feedings take long enough without something slowing him way down); kind of slow is fine and even welcome.
  
• It can't be too fast (because see above about eating, plus, this is night-time music).
  
• It can't be too varied (it needs to kind of all go together); no Surprise Symphony or anything.
  
• It needs to have, at minimum, several instruments (like, three or more is fine, but one is not - his attention is just not caught by, say, a piano without any other instruments).

For my sanity, it also needs to have these characteristics:

• It needs to be, overall, pretty long (many individual bits is fine, but they all need to add up to something fairly long).
  
• It needs not to be by Ravel or Rachmaninoff. I’m sorry. It just does.

As examples, here are the three things we listen to:

• Handel's Water Music
  
• Some Schubert
  
• Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons (The earthling really likes the violin in this.)

I have heard these pieces so many times that I find myself walking in time to them when they aren’t even on. I hum them all day long. I wait patiently for the bits I still like, and think increasingly hostile thoughts about Handel and Vivaldi. I realize repetition is good for a baby, but it is making me crazy. And yet I do not know enough about classical music to know what else might interest a baby who likes these three pieces.

So, if you do know about classical music - can you rec me some stuff? Ideally, it will be available via Amazon’s mp3 service, because I can preview it for the earthling there and see his reaction before I buy it.

Romance Novels

I have presented Best Beloved with a challenge: I will pick romance novels based entirely on their titles (usually in themed sets around a certain word or concept - I am nothing if not theme-oriented), and she will read them and review them on GoodReads. This has provided many hours of entertainment in our household. Except. I have apparently done some terrible, terrible things to her with this. I’ve happened upon some good ones (Nalini Singh, for example, or Lisa Kleypas), but I’ve also managed to pick out some things that caused the blood to drain from her face as she stared at them. She’s starting to twitch when the books come in.

So: have you read any good romance novels lately? I just need a few recs, ones I can build a theme around, so that there’s a cookie or two waiting for her in the seas of badness, so her will doesn’t break. (I don’t want them all to be good - the bad ones provide the most entertainment on GoodReads! But, as has been proven, I can find the bad ones without trying at all; it’s the good ones I need help with.)

Unfortunately, I can’t tell you what she likes in a romance novel (although I can link you to her GoodReads account). I can tell you that she does not like:

• Anything with a secret baby. She’s also made geechy by, for example, blackmailing a pregnant woman to get revenge on her dead husband. (The actual plot of one of the ones I found for her. No, really. I was not at all kidding when I said I had no trouble finding bad ones.)
  
• Anything that comes in trade paperack only. Apparently these are...special. One of the early ones she read featured a protagonist with two cocks. It scarred her. She now makes very sad noises when I buy her trade paperbacks, especially if they have warnings on the cover, or those covers that feature Sims-looking people. If you can recommend a good trade paperback one, I’ll get it for her, but I’ll need some help motivating her to read it.
  
• Anything that is really really short and has a title like The Basque Renegade’s Blackmailed Love Child’s Farmer Bride’s Cousin Georgina. I get wounded looks when I get these for her. I don’t know why.
  
• Anything where there’s lots of talk of God and devotion and someone dies at the end.
  
• Anything featuring rape or domination (like, the hero is the master of the heroine, kind of thing) - what she would term “old school” romance.

If you read romance, your input would be greatly appreciated.

Comments

[zafania.livejournal.com]

rodriguez, concerto de oranguez, psecially the versions with guitar by john williams, relaxing but not uninvigorating

[iuliamentis.livejournal.com]

I would heartily support prior recommendations for Tchaikovsky, with Sleeping Beauty (what better musical accompaniment for eating than a waltz?) and The Nutcracker being my particular favorites. They're both a nice mix of tempo.

George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue is also fantastic, and about 15 minutes long or so, as I recall.

Also, I have been neglectful in commenting on your previous Earthling posts, but that child is absolutely adorable :)

[toft-froggy.livejournal.com]

I recommend some trumpet concertos by Haken Hardenberger. He's an amazing Swedish trumpeter. I used to have this CD (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Baroque-Trumpet-Concertos/dp/B00000I8CV/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1229551409&sr=8-2) which has some nice solid baroque on it - the Vivaldi is very good. Baroque is boring, but it's very predictable and soothing. Or what about the Bach Brandenberg Concertos?

Alternatively, have you tried him on choral stuff with multiple voices? It might be complicated enough to interest him, or it might not. Try Allegri's Miserere for starters, that should be on download.

As for Best Beloved's Romance Read, what about Viking Unchained (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0425222950/ref=s9subs_c2_14_at1-rfc_g1_si1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0J06FF73SW5F7JSXZH7N&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=463383371&pf_rd_i=507846)? I haven't read it, but, I mean, how could it be bad/good?

[sinsense.livejournal.com]

Viking Unchained is AMAZING. AMAZING BOOK, as that youtube defender of Twilight would have it. (I think it's more woman-positive than Twilight, though.)

Romance recs

[vonnie-k.livejournal.com]

Elizabeth Hoyt (http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Elizabeth%20Hoyt&page=1) is a relatively new writer whose style I like very much. Angsty heroes, strong heroines, well-plotted and adult. If BB likes Lisa Kleypas, I bet she'll like Hoyt.

Judith Ivory. I particularly like "Untie My Heart" and "Black Silk". Loretta Chase is also fairly reliable.

If she'd like something a little more mannered with less sex, Carla Kelly writers lovely Regencies. And there is always Georgette Heyer. Although I suspect she's read the latter.

Re: Romance recs

[sinsense.livejournal.com]

Carla Kelly! Much agreed on that point.

[elucreh.livejournal.com]

I don't know anything about romance novels, really, but the author of the Mina de Malfois books got a romance novel published.

It is about a RealDoll that comes to life, though--I'm sure it's well-written, but it might scar Best Beloved anyway. Want the link? I'm glad to share if you do.

[sinsense.livejournal.com]

Susan Elizabeth Phillips -- hurt/comforty stuff, a little bit of mean-man, but nothing like rape.
Jennifer Crusie -- highly recommended (other people's recs are solid), screwball comedy type stories (think 50s romantic comedy). My favorite is Bet Me, but I think it depends on the person. I also really enjoyed Anyone But You, Getting Even With Bradley, and What the Lady Wants. Do not get her mystery-romances that she co-authored with some dude, they are terrible.
Mary Balogh -- particularly the "Slightly" series.
Karen Robards -- not particularly good, but I have one or two on my "to keep" pile. Scandalous is enjoyable.
Kristan Higgins -- sweet, funny, first person but not too jarring. I loved Catch of the Day.
Elizabeth Hoyt -- her "Prince" series is quite good, as hetrez mentioned.

I don't particularly like Vicki Lewis Thompson -- she has a tendency to excuse the sexuality of her main couple by having the heroine endangered by a sexually menacing man or woman (like, it's okay that they're having sex, because there's this creepy sex-obsessed pervert who's doing it wrong, see) -- but I liked Nerd In Shining Armor and still have it.

Susan Wiggs is uneven for me, but there's a Lakeside Cottage book that I enjoyed.

I know there's someone with a last name of Bourne (IIRC) who does a "Spymaster" series that I liked. It has a blindness trope (blind heroine who magically sees again), but is otherwise fun. [See hetrez's recommendation.]

That's all I can think of offhand. Hope that helps!

[hypertwink.livejournal.com]

I recced Sussan Elizabeth Phillips before i saw your comment. I loved reading her. Just finished Ain't She Sweet? Awesome. My faves are Kiss An Angel, Fancy Pants and Dream a Little Dream.

[wiseoldwol.livejournal.com]

How lovely to have the opportunity to give something back in return for all the great recs and giggles.

The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year and is giving away 10 symphonies at its website.

http://kco.radio4.nl/index.php?lang=en

I think a couple of them have been recommended here already and there's bound to be something there the Earthling will like.

possible music rec

[ndmzero.livejournal.com]

I am not well-versed in classical music, but you can check this (I presume) and see if it meets your criteria

Mozart for Meditation

http://www.amazon.com/Mozart-for-Meditation/dp/B0006OL5E0/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=ISAK5CHR323GE&colid=MDRN756HJ41D

On this CD: (avail for download)

1. Andante for flute & orchestra in C major, K. 315 (K. 285e)
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

2. Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488 Adagio
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

3. Vesperae solennes de confessore for soloists, chorus & orchestra, K. 339 Laudate Dominum
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

4. Divertimento No. 15 for 2 horns & strings in B flat major ("Lodron Serenade No 2"), K. 287 (K. 271H) Adagio
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

5. Serenade No. 10 for winds in B flat major ("Gran Partita"), K. 361 (K. 370a)
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

6. Ave verum Corpus, motet for chorus, strings & organ, K. 618
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

7. Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major ("Elvira Madigan") K. 467 Andante
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

8. Adagio for violin & orchestra in E major, K. 261
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

9. Quartet for flute, violin, viola & cello No. 1 in D major, K. 285 Adagio
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

10. Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K. 216 Adagio
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

11. Divertimento No. 2 for flute, oboe, bassoon, 4 horns & strings in D major, K. 131 Adagio
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

12. Concerto for flute, harp & orchestra in C major, K. 299 (K. 297c) Andante
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

[hypertwink.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed her books so Susan Elizabeth Phillips, specifically

Kiss An Angel
Honey Moon
Ain't She Sweet?
Dream a Little Dream
Fancy Pants

[cpt-untouchable.livejournal.com]

I prefer Schumann and Prokofiev to Bach, and almost everything I own is on the frenetic side. But how about Barber's Adagio for Strings (http://www.amazon.com/Adagio-for-Strings-Op-11/dp/B001ANJKTS/ref=sr_f2_2?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1229555578&sr=102-2)? It may be too slow for your needs, but it's good bedtime music.

And this is goofy, but how about Bear McCreary's Passacaglia and The Shape of Things to Come? Seems to be the right tempo, nice complicated passages, plus sci-fi cred. What's not to love? ;)

[jadelennox]

Romance novels: Anything I've catalogued romance: I don't keep it if I don't like it, unless it's got one star or less in my LT. Tell her to avoid the Catherine Coulter's; they get a little rape-y and I've stopped reading them. Crusie's unbeatable Bet Me is full of food porn and has a fat heroine. Suzanne Brockmann, whom I only started reading because she wrote the gay mainstream romance, is growing on me with her navy SEAL stories. Julia Quinn's Bridgerton stories are hysterical and smutty.

[twistedchick]

Mozart's string quartets, written in honor of Haydn. They're interesting, intriguing, ranging from near-romantic (Schubert) to near-mathematical (Bach) in the way the parts fit together. My quartet has been sight-reading them this year, and they are fantastic fun.

[imkalena.livejournal.com]

Must-read: The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes, cowritten by Crusie, Dreyer, and Stuart.

I was NOT expecting the blistering hot sex! Srsly, there really *is* no hot sex available, so far as I've seen. I've been so terribly spoiled by fanfic!

[st-aurafina.livejournal.com]

Chopin is very listenable - Preludes and Nocturnes, or the score for Les Sylphides. The waltzes are very dancy and fun. Actually, lots of ballet scores are fun - try some Tchaikovsky, like The Nutcracker or Swan Lake. (Swan Lake has teh drama!) Satie's Gymnopédies would make good bedtime music - very dreamy.

[jackiekjono.livejournal.com]

For classical Music, I like anything by Bizet - usually relatively uptempo very catchy tunes. If he really likes violin, Paginini is good.

When I was younger, I used to babysit this little boy and I had an album of Charles Ives songs sung by Roberta Alexander that I would play for him. He would stare at me in rapt wonder while she was singing, then scream as soon as the song ended. When the next song started, there would be this sharp intake of breath and he would stare in rapt wonder for the next few minutes while she sang. Then, of course, the 3 seconds of screaming.

[vass]

Oh, Bizet! Give him the Carmen Suite! That's an excellent idea.

And also one of Haydn's cello concertos, but I can't remember which one. (I am so helpful.) And Mozart's horn concerto number four in Eb.

If it weren't for the animal harm squick thing I would recommend Peter and the Wolf. The music's wonderful, but yeah, do not go there. Actually, Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet might work. In fact, in general, ballets (or the ballet sections of operas) might work. I'm not sure if they're too varied or not.

*steals all the music recs*

[elaran.livejournal.com]

ummm...

This is my not-so-sekrit reading pleasure: http://www.mininova.org/det/1804992 - but I think Your Best Beloved will find them too... trashy. They're brain candy for me when I'm having a bad day or I just want to stop thinking for a while and believe me, thoughts are unnecessary when reading these books. >.>

[rebecca-m.livejournal.com]

My husband got a kick out of your request, and recommends:

Telemann - most well know for organ, which would probably not work well for you, he thinks the Cantata might be good if vocals aren't a problem, and the Suites might be good.

Handel - Concerti Grossi

Bach - Orchestral Suites

[annavtree.livejournal.com]

I love Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Minor. It is one of the most beautiful pieces of music I have ever heard. And if the Earthling likes the violins in Four Seasons, he should like this.

For romance novels, I love Julia Quinn's Romancing Mr Bridgerton and Susan Elizabeth Phillips' Lady Be Good. Both are sweet, not very deep and free of the kind of bullshit that many romance novels have that make me grit my teeth and pray that this person is never allowed to raise children who will have this kind of attitude cause OMG.

[seshat-maat.livejournal.com]

Seconding the Eloisa James (just don't pick her new Desperate Duchesses series; it's...unfortunate). She has a highly amusing habit of weaving in Shakespeare/Bible/Austen references in a way that reads as geeky rather than pretentious. And *she* themes her titles for you (Much Ado About You, Taming of the Duke, Pleasure for Pleasure).

Also seconding (thirding?) the Julia Quinn Bridgerton series, which is very fun, even the anthologies.

[harriet-spy.livejournal.com]

A lot of the Bach that's been recommended to you is unfortunately solo instrument (Goldberg Variations, Art of Fugue, Cello Suites).

I vote for Mozart's horn concertos. Brain/Karajan, usually budget-priced.

[cetpar.livejournal.com]

Group not composer, but Eroica Trio performs a nice collection of Baroque pieces on their album "Baroque" (http://www.amazon.com/Baroque/dp/B000THCGM4/ref=dmusic_cd_album?ie=UTF8&qid=1229562172&sr=8-2). The album contains interpretations of 2 of my favorite pieces of classical music: Albinoni's Adagio in G minor and Bach's Chaconne in D minor.

Bach's Chaconne is my absolute favorite piece of classical music, but it's written for solo violin. I like the Eroica Trio version, too, and it may entice him to listen to the original in spite of it being for a single instrument. (If he ever does, I'd recommend one played by either Milstein (http://www.amazon.com/Partita-Unaccompanied-Violin-Digital-Remaster/dp/B000TEMOMY/ref=sr_f2_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1229563434&sr=102-1) or Grumiaux (http://www.amazon.com/Partita-Violin-Solo-No-2-minor/dp/B000VGNZ2S/ref=sr_f2_23?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1229563504&sr=102-23).

[bluemeridian]

One of the early ones she read featured a protagonist with two cocks.

Only in trade paperback? We must be speaking of the Lords of Satyr? *facepalm* I made the mistake of reading one of those, for the entertainment of the cover alone. It was very confusing because the writing wasn't terrible, it was just... terrible. The monk slowly going mad from syphilis... *shudders*.

I'm going to suggest Teresa Medeiros, fairly strong female protagonists although walking a thin line between good and "old school" romance, and Amanda Quick, undoubtedly modern female protagonists no matter the era it's set in.

Teresa Medieros: Yours Until Dawn (traditional romance) and After Midnight (vampire romance she wrote more recently, with a sequel).

Amanda Quick: Lie By Moonlight (which I first heard as an audio book on a car trip and I was a bit worried about having to answer the question "What were you doing at the time of the accident?" with "Listening to porn.").

[vass]

Music: Bach's Brandenburg Concertos. Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, and his Jupiter Symphony. The first and third movements (but not the second, it's too dramatic) of Beethoven's Eroica symphony. In general, I think you want mainly Baroque or Classical music. Exception: he might like the Triumphal March from Verdi's Aida. It's varied, but it all goes together.

BTW, with Schubert's Trout Quintet: there is a song. Actually, the song came first. 'Die Forelle'. It's lovely, but you do not want to know what the words mean, OK?

Romance novels: I liked Mary Balogh's Bedwyn books. They start with Slightly Married, and all the other titles have Slightly in them too. Full of delicious cliches.

[qe2.livejournal.com]

Dear heart -

1) SQUIDGE.

2) If I take the time I should to read the 105 comments you already have - which I would actually really like to do - I will not write any more on my Yuletide story (and/or pinch-hit - I feel your pain) tonight, nor will I get any useful betaing done.

3) Therefore, I'm shamelessly ducking that otherwise welcome task.

4) However. I have some ideas on both the music and the romance fronts. You have two choices here. (a) I can send them to you anyway, and you can then curse my name to the stars because everything I've recommended has already been recommended by someone else. (b) I can wait to send them until you've compiled the list I suspect you will compile of what you've been recced, allowing me to take the Lazy Person's Way Out^tm.

5) Hang in there. Love you.

[brownbetty]

Aahaha I love how all Best Beloved's OMG NO books are books you've picked. Don't deny it, I can tell.