thefourthvine | Wanted: Recommendations

Wanted: Recommendations

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.

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No time to read through 3 pages of comments, but I rather like Georgette Heyer's Regency romances, both for their fluffy enjoyment factor and in an everything-is-connected history nerd way. They were written in the earlier part of the 20th century and usually wind up with a proposal and a kiss, so nothing very explicit, though in "Venetia" he does promise her orgies, which is thoughtful at least. Good ones to start with include the aforementioned "Venetia" or "These Old Shades" or "The Grand Sophy" -- just a few that I like pretty well.

Peter and the Wolf and Carnival of the Animals. Both made up of shorter segments, but pretty lengthy put all together.

Seconding (thirding?) the suggestion to try Nora Roberts books. Her main characters tend to have spines and be interesting.

Katie MacAlister had a few books that were cute and didn't infect me with the urge to start throwing books. The Corset Diaries entertained me especially.

Romantic music is more my thing than Romance novels--you might try Beethoven's The Creatures of Prometheus--the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra has a recording I particularly like (sorry, no links, I am mp3 challenged). He also might enjoy (and you might not hate) Gabriel Faure. His most famous piece is probably the Requiem, which is gorgeous, and child-friendly if your child doesn't understand Latin (Mama, what does dies irae mean?).

Also, could you please add me to your Earthling filter? I have lurked your recs for many a year and just created this account today solely to be able to read more about your adorable (and socially responsible--voting and all) offspring. Thank you!

Agree on previous recs for Georgette Heyer! She is my most favorite.

As to music... Bach's Brandenburg Concertos (which has been mentioned before). Would he find organ by itself interesting enough to make up for not having other music? I have some Bach arranged for brass + organ, and it's not that exciting, IMO. I would also maybe suggest Dvorak, either symphony 8 or 9, and the Pines of Rome by Respighi. I own all of those on CD (as well as the Planets by Holst, but some of them are kind of exciting, I think). I would be willing to send you mp3s if you want to try any of them and can't find them. There are probably also choral options; I love the Brahms Requiem.

Do you listen to www.pandora.com? If you seed it with a piece you like, it will suggest and play others kind of similar that you can approve or nix. Eventually, they nail exactly what you are looking for.

These are not strictly classical, but I think they could fulfil your needs -- they have a similar feel.

I highly recommend The Last of the Mohicans soundtrack. It is one of my all-time favourite suits of music, and it fits all your criteria except for being classical. It does have some dramatic drums in a couple of places, but mostly its strings, and the pieces all go together.

If the Earthling starts to branch out just a little, then Just Like River by Laliya and Solo Piano (Metamorphisis) by Philip Glass could also work really well.

Romance authors I generally enjoy:
Georgette Heyer (the platonic ideal of Regencies)
Susan Elizabeth Phillips (often ridiculous but fun modern America)

Romances that are also other genres -- I am extremely fond of some of these, and enjoyed pretty much all that I've read, even the less stellar ones:
Linda Howard (detective/thriller)
Sharon Shinn (sf and fantasy)
Elizabeth Peters (mystery)

Romance authors I have mixed feelings about (at least some of them positive):
Nora Roberts (Some of her novels are excellent -- I like most of the ones involving the MacGregor family, for example -- but some of them are pretty terrible, so picking stuff by her at random is a crapshoot.)
Jennifer Crusie (Fun, but unsatisfying for some reason I can't quite pinpoint. Better written and more interesting than many, at least.)
Jude Deveraux (I adored her earlier books while growing up, especially the historicals. Most of her recentish stuff (last 15 years or so) has appealed to me less.)

Random rec from several years ago dredged up from the depths of my brain: The Trouble with Mary by Millie Criswell. I seem to remember enjoying this a reasonable amount, and it has the added bonus of involving food.

So Best Beloved probably wouldn't be interested in The Italian Gourmet Baby Food Baron’s Ironically Pregnant Virgin Mistress (http://thethrillionthpage.blogspot.com/2008/12/chapter-one.html)? Shame...

I'd ditto the Bach Brandenburg concertos; they're similar to the Water Music in sound—both Baroque composers—and the pieces sustain a relatively consistent rhythm and volume level, while having enough musical complexity that they might capture his attention.

I'd also add—while we're on Bach—the cello suites; Yo-Yo Ma did a beautiful recording of them, including this one (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00137XFSS/ref=dm_mu_dp_trk1?ie=UTF8&qid=1229619863&sr=8-1) which you may find familiar as the piece that opens (and recurs throughout) Master and Commander.

I can't believe that in four pages of comments, I'm the only person who wants to read the book where the hero has two cocks. Please name the two-cock book!

For romance that is actually good, I second the recs for Jennifer Crusie and Georgette Heyer. I also enjoy Suzanne Brockmann (but not for the prose style) and Laura Kinsale (very cracky but good in a cracked-out way.)

It is Nicholas: Lords of the Satyr (http://www.amazon.com/Nicholas-Lords-Satyr-Elizabeth-Amber/dp/0758220391/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229624377&sr=1-3). May god be with you in your quest.

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joandarck.livejournal.com - 2008-12-27 00:14 (UTC) - Expand

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rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com - 2008-12-22 03:51 (UTC) - Expand

You might like this one-- (http://www.savefile.com/files/1937751)string quartet cover of a song that was a tribute to zombie movies, but it has some lovely plucky bits.

I also really En Aranjuez con Tu Amor (http://www.savefile.com/files/1937763), because classical brass is a joy and a beauty and this one is particularly moving.

Composers-- Sibelius, might be worth looking in to. You might also want to check out Baroque at Bathtime, which is light, but pleasing.

For romance... Eloisa James? Historical, women are capable of -gasp!- having sexually satisfying relationships with people other than Their True Love.

My mother, who shares Classical music taste with your infant, recommends Bach's Brandenburg Concertos--there are 4-5 of them, but the first three are most popular. Or anything Back, really. And she suggests you look for good orchestras, but I'd only know to recommend famous ones.

Will come back with actual music recs later, but if you're ever desperate Classic FM broadcast via the internet and normally have something half decent on. I'd avoid the two drive time shows (7-10 am and 4-6.30 pm) because they have lots of adverts in but the two relaxing classics shows after them (7-9 pm and 9-11 pm) tend to be big on the relaxing.

...BABY. \o/

your baby is the most adorable baby who ever lived, I AM SURE OF IT.

also, checking out the first page of comments, a lot of the recommendations are about what I'd have thought would be good, too. great minds think alike, y/y?

here's two zipped files with a number of things, some of which I wasn't sure of, but if he doesn't like it, you can just delete! or possibly even if he doesn't like it, you will like! one can only hope. =)

part 1: http://www.sendspace.com/file/5gbo1s
part 2: http://www.sendspace.com/file/75osef

part 1 includes Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, Bach's Double Violin Concerto in D minor, Mozart's Violin Concerto #1 in B flat, Mozart's Requiem in D Minor, Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D minor, and Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov. part 2 includes Brahms' Piano Quartet #3 in C minor, Chopin's Nocturnes, Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty, and the soundtrack to The Mission, because there's some lovely music on that.

Merry Christmas! I hope the earthling (& you! & BB!) enjoy!

Also I may have mislabeled some of the music, so if you're looking at that going "I don't think [Composer] ever composed anything titled [Whatever I Called It]," my apologies, I just finished my finals and I am sort of goofy & stupid with exhaustion.

You should check out pandora.com -- you plug in pieces of music you like, and it finds others it thinks will appeal to you. Its predictions are surprisingly good. It also has straightforward 'radio' stations; you could just pop on the Baroque station and see what attracts the Earthling's good will (You can skip ahead if it starts playing something he doesn't care for).

Someone said the allegretto movement from Beethoven's 7th, which I think this is. It was the background music to large parts of The Fall. It's not very long -- but it fits your other criteria.

Here it is. (http://www.box.net/shared/odd0t6btqa)

::makes music rec notes::

I definitely have to third (second? fourth?) the Laura Kinsale recs. I have all of her books bar one, and out of my entire library, across all genres, hers are the first I'd grab in a fire, along with my Lymond series. Dear Author has an excellent overview (http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2008/08/18/if-you-like-laura-kinsale-hosted-by-janine/#more-5776) of her books, by setting, place, and character, as does Smart Bitches, Trashy Books here (http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/weblog/lightning_reviews_laura_kinsale_part_i/) and here (http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/weblog/comments/lightning_reviews_laura_kinsale_part_ii/).

oyceter also has a few reviews here (http://oyceter.livejournal.com/tag/a:+kinsale+laura). I was first sucked in by either Flowers From the Storm or The Shadow and the Star and I've been pretty much a hopeless addict since. Incidentally, these are the books I use to "prove" to people that romance can be smart and aren't all stupid/badly written.

I have hundreds of romance novels (SHUT UP there is a reason I haunt SV and SGA recs pages that involve long drawn out romances)...also why I really love February (for more than my birthday--dude HARLEQUINN CHALLENGES MAKE ME HAPPY INSIDE).

Let my dig up my boxes of books and I'll send you titles along with blurbs. (I prefer historical romances about the old west--)

For now, rather than a title--google anything by Johanna Lindsey who not only writes amazingly well, but she has a great sense of humor in her writing. (And she tends to avoid over use of super flowery language during sex which I quite like).

As for music--I listen to very minimal Classic music as it tends to give me nightmares, but I'll speak to my brother who is a connoisseur of classical music and email you. (as I will with the books list)

<3
Mighty

Anything that comes in trade paperack only. Apparently these are...special. One of the early ones she read featured a protagonist with two cocks.

Wait, they make romance novels like that? Really? Where??

Eric Whitacre is a modern composer--lots of variety, for the most part pretty mellow. The works, in general, aren't that long, but you can run the full CD, which is an hour or so. You can listen to clips on ericwhitacre.com.

if she likes historicals i recommend
Julie Garwood. ohh her stuff is awesome. she has some great scottish ones.
Jude Devereaux
Mary Jo Putney
Amanda Quick
Judith McNaught
Jo Beverly- her rouges series. hot regency bad boys. each book works as a stand alone and all together they rock even more.

modern romances
Jule Garwood- a great bunch of suspense-y ones, where most of the main characters are descended from her best beloved historical characters. (heartbreaker is amazing, i managed to get my husband to read it and he liked it so much he read all her other stuff)
Meg Cabot has got a few great ones
Mary Janice Davidson is fantastic- very very funny, (she has a great paranormal series too)
Katie MacAlister is hilarious (she also does vampire romances)
Jayne Ann Krentz- is also Amanda Quick and Jayne Castle, and fabulous all around.

The only romance novels I read are either the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich (which are hilarious, though 7 isn't quite as good as the rest) and then Karen Marie Moning wrote a couple that were recced to me by

tamlane which were brilliant- The Dark Highlander and The Immortal Highlander. No real domination, but the women do get off on how tall the guys are. Great stuff, though.

Also, try this: http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20021104 as I think you'll like it.

well, I've been stalking out your site, but I figured I'd just pimp out my favorite song-writer person. Django Reinhardt. He is solid gold. Really. most of his stuff is instrumental and jazzy, really fun to listen to.
He was also a gypsy during WW1, burnt half his hand off and invented a new way to play the guitar using only three fingers. Try "Swing Guitar" and/or "I Saw Stars."
oh, and sorry for being a lurker.

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Wanted: Recommendations

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music for the earthling

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long fangirly rec is long

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Music, maybe

drive by romance recs

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uuum. two years later...