findthatbook | Entries tagged with *found book

Edit: Found! This is the Averalaan / House War / Sun Sword set-of-interconnected-series by Michelle West. Thank you all & I'm off to read wizard hurt/comfort.

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I'm here because I saw a Tumblr post that said "I feel like a wizard who used too much magic" and I was struck by a memory.

In search of a high fantasy book series of at least 3-4 books. I read these in the US in the mid 2000s, and they were not brand shiny new but not antique either, maybe published in the 90s. I think the author's last name starts with W, or something else close to the end of the alphabet.

I unfortunately do not remember much of the main plot, only details that stood out to me. The books take place mostly in a large city with an elaborate system of noble houses; most of the characters have very long names and being a member of House Something is very important to them. One of the main characters is a young woman who is high up in the leadership of her house / has recently been appointed to the top position of her house?

Another major character is a magic-user who carries a very plain shield and no weapons, because when he needs to fight, he conjures up a magic sword made of sky-blue light.

The thing that reminded me of this book is, if someone overexerts themself using magic in this world, it makes them feel like they have a high fever and start shaking uncontrollably. So there's a scene at the end of the book after the climactic events where one of the characters, although not physically injured, is stuck in the hospital because they're shaking too hard to stand up, and someone brings them water in a wooden cup so it won't break if they drop it.

pronker

I hope to find it and this is one of the few places I can think of to look because searching google and tumblr produced nada. Tumblr posted a fascinating bit on fandom history circa 2017 entitled "Old Time Fandom Used Kerosene Lamps And Involved Horses" (paraphrased) It generated many reminiscences and I forgot to bookmark it. :/ Please let me know if you recall it. Thanks.

Current Mood: awake
Current Location: comatose in bed
Current Music: the scent of privacy

full_metal_ox

Okay; this one has been causing me a nagging itch in the brain. I recall having seen—probably on some incarnation of Scans Daily on another platform—a U.S. romance comic from the 1940’s or 1950’s that had an anthology host—something more characteristic of horror comics. He was a Zorroesque Masked Lover who narrated love stories throughout history (and may have been an immortal or time-traveler who’d personally witnessed/taken part in them); the specific story featured a girl who was concealing her blindness—which she felt made her unfit to marry.

Even after specifying romance, the sheer number of masquerade balls, highway robbers, masked vigilantes, and tragic disfigurements in the genre has made this a royal pain in the kazoo to Google.

ETA: FOUND: Jon Juan #1, with the help of

superfangirl1 on

scans_daily, who directed me to https://comicbookplus.com/, an online archive of public domain comics; there I found Great Lover Romances #1 (Toby/Minoan, 1951)—an anthology including a story starring a character called Jon Juan: https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=41459

That, in turn, gave me the search term I needed to track down Jon Juan’s own comic (under One Shots rather than Romance):
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=1829

Shout-out as well to the helpful folks at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books: https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2023/08/habo-vintage-comic-search/#comments

Jon Juan was an immortal from Atlantis who went swashbuckling through history, dallying with history’s legendary beauties and rescuing damsels from Durance Vile, only to ride off into the sunset as wandering adventurers are wont to do; this didn’t stop him from archiving cherished memories of all his paramours (housed in his own Inner Sanctum, the Secret Archives of Love.)

The story I remembered was “Lady in the Dark”, pp. 27-35; the setting is (19th-century?) Spain, and Jon Juan is dressing and comporting himself very much as a capa y espada adventurer—but it’s the titular Lady who wears a mask/veil, to disguise her condition; the Reveal, coming abruptly from her duenna, has the air of an ableist punch line: sorry, Carmelita has a ding in her, and that’s that.

It’s easy to see what doomed Jon Juan to be a one-off experiment: Spicy Adventure is a genre that Siegel and Schomberg couldn’t do justice to under the restrictions of 1950’s US comics, and romance readers tend to want commitment as a payoff. It’s still an exercise in delightful cracktacular weirditude, much like The Continental or Korla Pandit's Adventures In Music.

And here’s the

scans_daily post, from 14 January 2011: https://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/2691288.html#cutid1

Current Mood: agitated
Current Location: The Secret Archives of Love.
Current Music: ”Trance Dance”.

daisyporter

Looking for a book my husband read about 1980. He was sevenish, but the book could have been for older kids. Here's what he remembers:

It was a world with no adults. Kids formed different groups called "planets."

It had an urban setting. the "planets" were outdoors in alleys, etc. No one lived in houses.

Newer kids to the planets were taught the group rules by the other kids: this is how we do things in our planet, etc.

It may have featured all Black characters, but he may be confusing that with another book.

I've been going through lists of books where there aren't any adults, including The Girl Who Owned a City, but can't find any that refer to kids forming groups called planets.

christine19

Hi, I read this book about 2013.the book starts out the 3 girls are all at their school in their school uniforms and one of the Moms is late to collect them. I think it took place in the 60’s/70’s andout the white friends. One is English and her father is a diplomat, one is Irish and her parents are doctors and the other is Africaans and her parents own a ranch/estate, she has a brother and he plays into the story kore as the girls age. They’re all living South Africa I think, I know one of the girls moves away to Rhodesia, but moves back. The Irish one goes back to Ireland and studied medicine, the English one goes back to England and becomes a model or something like that. They all come back to the ranch in Africa and that’s when the bad things start, the English one is then scarred. The brother and the Irish one get together towards the end.

seventiesgirl

Hi everyone! I just found this website today and if someone can help me solve this book mystery I would be so happy! I was born in the late seventies so I'm not sure if this book was written and illustrated before or after I was born. It seems to my recollection that my mystery book did not have many pages and I think the illustrations may have only been in black.and white or a couple other colors. But the story had to do with animals who for some reason build rounded dome like homes. It seems to me that a large animal like a hippo was used to shape them. I think they used cement or mud around the hippo and then let them dry. What I remember most are the illustrations where you could see the animals in their individual and maybe connected homes decorating them the way they wanted. As I grew up and would draw and doodle more amd.more I would draw homes of various shapes and I would then make rooms and decorate them. This mystery book inspired my imagination as did so many others. If you know any info on this story please help me solve this mystery. Thank you for your time!🙂👍🥰❤

flowersforgraves

I am trying to recall a very surreal portal fantasy book I read about 10-15 years ago. I believe it was a children's or young adult book. I don't recall much about it other than the state of Delaware was a fabrication by a sinister power, and possibly also that dinosaurs lived there. The cover of the book was green and yellow, and had a pulpy feel to the aesthetic. I know it's a long shot based on what I recall, but if anyone can help me, that would be great! Thanks.

edit: I'm pretty sure the protagonists were two boys and a girl, if that helps at all.

pronker

... where it was grand to see What Was That Book continued on DW. Here goes:

I am thinking all around (except for the title and author) of a science fiction short story (it maybe was novella size? and in an anthology?) with various plot points about one spaceship crew member from a reptilian species who interacted with and lived with humans to the point of a human woman falling in love with him; he eventually became her Significant Other and really wasn't all that taken with her, but she was with him to the point of bragging about her relationship and in particular how the sex was out of this world. He thought he was sort of alone [I think it was a crash landing Gilligan's Island sitch?] and cut off from his own species, but when a female of his own kind turned up, he ditched the human quick and hard. The whole effect was pitiful ... and comedic.

I read this story 20-30 years ago, so I hope that helps. About then, I read some Larry Niven, so for some reason that's sticking in my mind, but I'm not at all certain he wrote this. Thanks for any help!

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Location: downstairs office
Current Music: purr of a/c unit working perfectly

michaela1806

Good Morning, I am so happy I found this site, and I hope you guys can help me.

Back in the mid 1980's I went to our local library religiously every Monday, checked out my 10 books and 3 comic books, and sometimes a book on tape.

I read what would now be considered young adult, but I didn't pay attention to genres back then. I was only 15. I also read books for older audiences, but I am pretty sure what I am looking for was in that YA section of our little library.

Among the hundreds of books I read over about three years was a series by what I assume was an American author. The books (at least three, potentially more) were situated on and around a reservation, and dealt with the discrimination and outright criminal activities against the Native Americans who lived there. The story was set in modern times, probably in the 1970's.

The protagonist was a native man, with the last name of King. His wife's name was Queenie King. They had a couple of children (I think), and were raising horses on the reservation.

The antagonists included the local sheriff and a number of other people (white males) from the surrounding towns and villages.

Mr. King was singled out by the protagonist group due to him standing up against injustice. He had returned to the reservation after a prolonged absence, but I don't remember what the cause was.

The most vivid scene I remember is from when he went to "talk" to the Sheriff (I think) and others at a local bar/saloon. He suspected that they would attempt to get him drunk, so that they could provoke him to do something wrong, and then arrest him. Prior to joining them at the table, he went to the bathroom and ate literally a side of bacon, to help him to stay sober.

While I know that the main location was on a reservation, I am not sure of the state this all took place. From what I remember of the location description it could have been in the Dakota's

I read those books several times within a few years, but I don't remember the title (which wouldn't make much of a difference since it was in German).

Current Mood: curious

lastharper

Please help — I’m looking for a hardback children’s illustrated book. I don’t believe there were any words. It followed a day in the life of a baby raccoon and his/her mother, and I think it included a trip to the seaside. I think a lot of the colors were in a blue spectrum, and the art was realistic (I mean, for raccoons wearing clothes that is).

My search game is pretty bad because I mostly pull up The Kissing Hand (which is great, but not the book I’m looking for). I say it was about 2008 because I saw it in a bookstore at the same time as “The New Bear at School” which was published in 2008, and I got the feeling they were both being featured as new books.

The story reminds me a lot of how much my mom loved me as a kid and how she showed that, so I’m looking for it now that she’s getting elderly because I want her to know how much I love her. I believe it’s out of print.

Thank you.

jiltanith

I remember reading this probably in the late '60s or early-to-mid '70s in the US, though it might have been published in the '50s. A man I'm fairly sure is referred to as "the professor" is fixing up a school bus to go out for a summer-long research trip. The mothers in the neighborhood all decide that this would be a great thing for their children to participate in, and the professor agrees to take the kids and fixes the school bus to accommodate the kids also. I think one of the boys may have been named Oliver -- called Ollie? -- and there was definitely a chapter where the Professor is surprised to come across one of the boys practicing a musical instrument (some kind of wind instrument, I think) because there has been no sign of this previously in the summer; the boy doesn't like practicing because he isn't very good at it; he knows what the instrument should sound like when played well and he can't seem to do it. And the book ends at the end of the summer with the bus going home and the families welcoming the kids back.

It is not part of the Magic School Bus series in fact I don't think it's in a series at all, but I associate it in my mind with Mr. Popper's Penguins.

Can anyone please help?

ecafehcuod

IV

For My Wife

Leafing through these pages, as I do now,

finding our legend in a ghostly phrase —

to Lillian—thinking of coming days

when readers read as I do: —knowing how

the love, the thought, the kiss, the worless vow

that holds us each to each in speechless ways

is lost already in this wordy maze

where we are only what cold words allow—

I say it's all unsaid and lasts nowhere.

And so we talk ourselves to double death

to live and die in lifeless words again,

shadows of shadows, even now bare

of everything but our abiding faith

to live in others, as I in Lillian.

https://imgur.com/gallery/vN4mm7a picture of the page

computerrenegade

Edit:
*I FOUND IT FINALLY*
My ADHD has its uses when I'm trying to solve complex problems or identify all outcomes/possibilities; but it's proven to be a nightmare for short-term memory!
So, because a book blurb/summary doesn't fully represent the details found by reading the story, I started re-reading books that may of had the slightest possibility of being the one I'm seeking. I found myself completely baffled when the 2nd book I tried was it! Although it took me hours of reading with the 1st book, I hit the jackpot shortly after starting the 2nd. So the series I was searching for is......
"Academy of Assassins" by: Stacey Brutger.

Please excuse my ramblings. I'm just thrilled my mental torture with this is finally over! By the way, this series is wonderful. Yeah it is a paranormal romance, but the female lead is bad@** and it focuses more on the story than intimate scenes.

*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*

My OP:

I've searched for a series I had read, but can't remember the name, for a year now. I don't know how old the book was, but I believe it was definitely within the last decade.
I can only remember a specific scene, some characters involved, & a general plot (that may even be wrong). I don't know if I accidentally deleted the book or if I've overlooked it in my library due to the only clues I remember maybe not aligning with a book's description/summary. I'll be grateful for any suggestions, so please don't feel negative if you're not sure either. Any lead could end up becoming the one that helps me to remember!
Thank you!

So now the pieces I remember...
Sorry for poor editing, I'm on my phone.

The characters:
1. Female lead -- she's either a witch, demon, fae, or hybrid who hasn't fully come into her power yet. She's very powerful, smart, & can fight. I can't remember how she appears in the story, but it feels like she was thrust into the group of men for either protection or a way to train her.
2. Male 1 -- Siren or Incubus -- he harbors some self loathing for what he is. In this world, his kind & shifters are looked down upon as lower-classed persons. The main character is immune to his powers.
3. Male 2 -- Shifter (wolf or bear) -- he has issues with himself as well, since he's considered a lower-class, but he's very powerful & protective.
4. Male 3 -- Demon? -- I can't remember what he is, but he's the brooding, solitary type. He's powerful & the defacto leader of the group.
** There may be other male characters, but I can't be sure **

Story Background:
The men fight random otherworld/underworld portals that keep appearing (mainly in a warehouse district). Sometimes only a low-level demon was spawned, other times it could be a horde of goblins, hellhounds, or other creatures. The female is with them for the scene I remember.
** I believe the men live in a house they, or the organization they work for, own or they live in a secluded area within a compound (I remember them having privacy in their living space but not what the building actually is). The female has been staying near them as well.
** I believe this is a Reverse harem series that may or may not advertise as such (it may state paranormal romance or the like).

The Scene I Remember:
The group received a call/text about a disturbance in a warehouse they are to check out & neutralize any threats. They gear up & drive over in an SUV (black?). They split into 2 groups (the female & Siren) and (demon guy & shifter). The story follows the female & initially the warehouse is dark, so all she sees are dozens of beedy, yellow eyes staring at them. Either she uses her powers to see in the dark or the lights are turned on. That's when they realize there are dozens of goblins everywhere. They know that if they capture the queen, the males will follow her when they get her back through the portal. I believe the female is capable of creating these portals too. Anyways, the female debates with the Siren on how to capture the queen (as the goblins are gathered throughout on tall, metal, warehouse-type shelves). Since he's heavier, he's to be the ground guide, then help her get ready & ascend with the climbing gear they have. After she's hooked up, she starts to climb & she notes that goblins smell & they begin hissing at her the closer she gets. She reaches the queen then realizes they're all talking amongst themselves in some language & then the males start attacking. She gets hit with their claws but manages to knock several out. Then she attempts to sing to calm them (I don't remember how this came to occur). Her voice is too low to reach all the goblins as they begin to surround her & the Siren. She begs the Siren to start singing as his voice will have more reach. He hesitates, because he doesn't want to affect her & cause her to react; but he finally realizes they're out of time. So he asks her to cover her ears as best she can & he then starts to sing, softly at first, but then louder. All goblins fall entranced in his voice & begin to fall asleep & then she removes the barrier to listen to his voice (she's enraptured but not from his power, but by the absolute beauty of his voice). Eventually, the other teammates come over & are mad he risked the female by singing but she intervened to say it was her idea. They all begin to grab the goblins & send them back through the portal. The demon wanted to stay inside to investigate more, so the other 3 go to the SUV. The Siren is amazed that she isn't affected by his powers. She basically tells them both that she likes them in a romantic way but the Siren is appalled. He says something like "but I'm a Siren & he's a shifter..." (in an attempt to get her to see the are low-level beings in this society so why would she like them since she's considered royalty or upper-level in society). The shifter gets frustrated & walks to a nearby stream to clean off (I can't remember why he got upset). The female goes to him & gets him to calm down by saying that she accepts him as a shifter & she doesn't believe in the societal norms of treating him poorly. He grudgingly let's her see his animal form & she loves it. They eventually walk back to the car where the Siren & Demon are waiting for them. The team begins wondering who gave them the lead to the warehouse with goblins & why.
** I believe the premise is that all these portals are attempts at pulling the female character into whatever realm they come from (someone is after her). The summoned creatures are to be trying to get her into the portal.

I apologize for the lengthy descriptions; but I figured the more detail I provide, the higher the chance that someone out there recognizes the series I can't remember! Even figuring out a character name, author, something more will help me in uncovering this mystery. I've been searching off & on for a year, so hopefully I'm getting close!

Current Mood: ecstatic

gretarwyn

Ok I’ve been looking for this book for AGES. I read it when I was younger probably around 2012-2014 era, and I’m pretty sure it was a pretty new children’s novel back then.

I don’t quite remember the plot, but I remember som key details. The cover was mostly red with I think a black silhouette running or something on the cover. I know covers of course can change so I don’t know how helpful that will be.

The main character was a young girl who I think lived with her stepdad? It was set in the future in this really clean city where the dumpsters were all clear plastic and everything was very clean. I specifically remember the car horns we advertisements because her stepdad hit the horn in traffic and an ad would play (like a radio commercial coming out of the cars horn, every car was like this it was something futuristic I guess). This girl got really bad headaches all the time I remember, and here is the big part: she was being followed by some creature. This creature wasn’t harmful and it was almost like a human, but I’m pretty sure it was a golem which needed a slip of paper in its mouth to be able to come to life.

Unfortunately that’s all I remember, but I want to find this book again so badly! Thank you!

fin3apple

I really only vaguely remember this book but I think it was about two young girls and set in Troy during the Trojan war. It went back and forth between the girls (I think). One of them was a healer of some kind? And I think maybe the other worked in the palace and was a handmaiden to Helen. Again, not totally sure about this info.

What I am ABSOLUTELY sure of is that the healer girl rescued some guy and fell in love with him, but HE fell in love with the other girl (who was like her sister or something) and then I remember that at the end of the book this guy disguised himself as a girl to escape Troy with his girlfriend. And that's basically all I remember.

It's definitely not a lot to go on and I totally understand if no one knows what I'm talking about haha.

nightrayne

Read a book ages ago in the old school sci fi/fantasy genre popular in the 90s or so. Can’t remember a whole lot about the plot anymore but could have sworn the book was called the Three Sisters. Definitely set in a fantasy world with one sister being I believe a warrior/soldier, another may have been a healer, and the third was more of a helpless female/seductress in the way a lot of female characters were written in that time period. Not sure if anyone knows what I’m talking about but have googled so much and still can’t find it!

dabbler101

My brothers and I have fond memories of book our parents read us to us in the early 80's (that's why I'm guessing it may have been published in the 70's, but I'm not sure - it may have even been earlier). I don't think it was much longer than 20-30 pages. I believe it was a hard cover, and if my memory serves me there was an illustration of red barn on the cover, with a rolling farm landscape surrounding it. I believe the book introduced the reader to a number of animals that lived on the farm, maybe even shared some simple information about what they did / what they ate, etc. Maybe in the middle some place it became clear that a big thunder storm was approaching, I remember the dark ominous thunder clouds more than anything else really. The story then was about all of the animals heading to their respective safe places to take cover for the storm and I recall it being fairly tense: I remember wondering would all the animals be safe? Like many children's stories, in the end the storm passed, the sun had come back out, and the animals began to come out of their safe places... I've tried many internet searches for this book, using key words and such, but have not had any luck. My brother Ben is turning 40 soon, and I'd love to be able to find this book and give it to him so that he could read it with his two children. If it sounds familiar, or you think you have a lead for me to chase, please share!
Thank you!

Current Mood: hopeful
Current Location: New England
Current Music: n/a

malkat_1987

These were all hardcovers.

One was about weather and natural disasters. I can't remember what the cover looked like. I think each topic spanned two pages. The main illustration for each section also spanned two pages. I remember sections about earthquakes, tornadoes, and tsunamis. The illustration for the tsunami section had a giant wave striking a Japanese town. The book also talked about Pangaea.

The second book had "natural world" somewhere in the title. It also talked about weather and natural disasters, but had sections about rocks, glaciers, and water too. Like the last one, I can't remember the cover.

The third book was about the history of life on Earth. I *want* to say there was a mammoth on the cover. Like the weather book, each section and accompanying illustration spanned two pages. It's possible they're both by the same publisher. I remember a section about animals from North and South America meeting for the first time, and a section on early humans.

I'm sorry if this is too little to go on. These books were important to me, and I've been racking my brain trying to come up with as many details as possible.

callunav

This was a novel somewhere on the line between intermediate and YA. It was very funny, probably mostly intended for girls, and vaguely historical - meaning it seemed to be set in some time pre-20th century (UK or Europe, I think), but I doubt it was adhering to any actual history very much.

I encountered it in 2016 as a hard-backed library book, in the hands of a kid who I would guess read at a 13-15-y.o. level. I had the impression that it was the first in a series, but wouldn't swear to it.

I unfortunately only got to read a few pages of it. It was a first-person narrative from the point of view of a girl who was, at least at the start of the book, a lady's maid. She was catastrophically bad at being a servant, mostly through wild, hyperbolic over-confidence. She spilled soup on nobility, all sorts of things like that, and when her employer exploded in rage at her incompetence, she assumed the woman was hysterical and slapped her. She sailed blithely through all the havoc she created, never considering that she might not be expert in everything. Many of her actions were preceded by statements like, "I have the decisiveness of a general - I quickly took command of the situation." There was a lot of "I have the ___ of a ____" in describing her own prowess.

I *thought* that the protagonist's name started with a P. Whatever it was, the title of the book was "Just [Name]."

I'm delighted to discover that this community exists, since I loved WhatWasThatBook on LJ. Any/all help appreciated.

ETA: Found in record time, despite several errors on my part. Thank you,

conuly!

nise12

YA romance the book is part of a series, about brothers each has his book, the age I think is between 18 and 21 in the book I'm looking for and is about a redhead that returns to attend her best friend wedding after she left town for a year after being finding that she cheated on the groom's younger brother with his twin who's the one really loved. she lived in a trailer.
what I also remember about this series is that the first book - about the 2nd oldest was in love with their neighbour (the best friend mentioned above) who I remember had a cardiologic (?) problem and has a scene where she faints and has to be taken to the ER
the second book- was about the oldest brother and his girlfriend in college but decided that they should take a break (it was his idea)
the third or fourth, since i think the first couple had 2 books, is about this readhead and the twin she cheated with

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Find That Book

Entries tagged with *found book

Found- High fantasy series

!FOUND Looking for fandom history post on tumblr, way too many fandoms and characters to list.

Golden/early Silver Age romance comic with a masked host? (FOUND: Jon Juan #1.)

read about 1980: world with no adults, so kids form groups they call "planets"

Book about 3 girls in Africa

(no subject)

FOUND Surreal children's book

Hi, here from LJ ...

Solved! A book I read in the 1980's, in German, but probably from a US author

Solved! Children’s picture book — circa 2008

Summer on a school bus

Poem or Book that I found in a thrift shop in Brooklyn NY

FOUND Fantasy, (Reverse Harem?), PN Romance...not sure which ones apply as I can't remember

Children’s Novel About Golem Creature and Headache Girl

Trojan War but that's SO not the point

Three Sister?

circa 1970 Children's Book - farm animals preparing for storm

3 Children's Science Books From the Mid 90s

Intermediate or YA novel about overconfident servant girl

YA romance

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