Donna Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I have been reading a lot lately...fiction/novels, mostly. I have read through everything I have or have been given. I noticed that a number of you read a book a week. I am tired of picking books based on their cover or the little blurb about them on the back. I would love some suggestions of books or authors you have enjoyed reading. I am pretty open to reading anything. I really enjoy books that make me think but sometimes an easy read with a nice plot works just as well. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Some I've really enjoyed: All the Names by Jose Saramago C by Tom McCarthy Packing for Mars by Mary Roach The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga The Blind Contessa's New Machine by Carey Wallace Born to Run by Christopher McDougall City of Thieves by David Benioff Waiting for Snow in Havana by Carlos Eire The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls Hogfather by Terry Pratchett The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides Bel Canto by Ann Patchett Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley & Livingstone by Martin Dugard People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde Dracula by Bram Stoker I, Claudius by Robert Graves The Little Friend by Donna Tartt Dancer by Colum McCann The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King Deadeye Dick by Kurt Vonnegut The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende Passionate Nomad by Jane Fletcher Geniesse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 Hi, Stacia. Thank you for the list. It looks great! I have read and enjoyed a number of those and will look for the others. Donna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 (edited) The Brothers K--David James Duncan : epic tale of religion, science, baseball, and the '60s Ursula, Under--Ingrid Hill : inter-connected short stories following the genealogy of a little girl in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan Peace Like a River--Lief Enger : musings about saints, sinners, and cowboy-poets Coop--Michael Perry : nonfiction about life in a small town in WI Outliers--Malcolm Gladwell : nonfiction...what does success really mean? Wild Swans--Jung Chang : the best historical memoir on China available--3 women take China from warlords to cultural revolution It--Stephen King : King's best...a story within a story about facing fears Winter's Tale--Mark Helprin : magical realism/fairy tale with New York as the centerpiece No Country for Old Men--Cormac McCarthy : what is violence and how do people react to it? Interpreter of Maladies--Jhumpa Lahiri : the best short story collection of the last 20 years. Indian immigrants. The Diamond Age--Neal Stephenson : fascinating science fiction...if Dickens wrote a futuristic novel with nano technology @ a girl who is raised by a stolen educational primer...this would be it. A Primate's Memoir--Robert Sapolsky : Africa/primate biology/neuroscience/memoir The Big Over-Easy--Jasper Fforde : like candy for word lovers...nursery tale mystery The Book of Lost Things--John Connolly : an original retelling of old fairy tales in a completely compelling format..(a bit dark but nothing I wouldn't let a 13 year old read) Cloud Atlas--David Mitchell : an history of the world told through interconnecting tales from Victorian-the post apocalpse Vanity Fair--WM Thackeray : a novel without heroes...Thackeray never takes anyone too seriously Edited March 3, 2011 by LostSurprise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Pride & Prejudice - if you want a classic, this is my absolute all-time favorite The Scarlet Pimpernel - another classic I really like The Kite Runner then wait about 6 months (or else it's Afghanistan overkill) before reading his even better book A Thousand Splendid Suns - this one, by far, is amongst one of the best books I have ever read The Help The Five People You Meet in Heaven - if you're in the mood for a very, sweet and easy read - as are all of his books - Tuesdays with Morrie - and pretty much any other Mitch Albom book – we even got the DVDs of three of his books and really liked them The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende and anything else by her, but this is her best. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Allende Can't Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg and most of her books - very sweet and light - and quite funny Funny in Farsi - if you need a nice laugh Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett The Secret Life of Bees The Book Thief A Respectable Trade by Philippa Gregory - my favorite Phillipa Gregory Harry Potter books The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy .. but the first book is quite boring and confusing in the first 60-70 pages. Hang in there. It does get better! Yes, they are graphic. But I tend to look beyond that and just focus on the story Sleep Toward Heaven by Amanda Eyre Ward Room by Emma Donoghue NON-FICTION The Geography of Bliss Outliers … and all Malcolm Gladwell books Happy Reading! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaMa2005 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Believe it or not, I am re-reading Gone with the Wind. I haven't read it since I was a teenager and I am so enjoying it. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 My favorites are neither fiction nor novels, but three I've read in the past year that have really stood out are: 1) Open Lands, Travels Through Russia's Once Forbidden Places by Mark Taplin Here's Amazon's review: Mark Taplin went to Russia in 1984, a junior-level diplomat sent deep into Cold War land. He tells of the map he studied, colored green for the few cities where foreigners were allowed, and omnipresent red for "Stay Away." In 1992 Taplin returned. Russia and the U.S. had signed an "Open Lands" agreement allowing free travel, and Taplin wanted to explore the lands that taunted and haunted him from the map eight years before. The result is a book you can't put down, an informed look at a complex country. Russia requires more than a casual eye and pen to sort through the contradictions, and Taplin excels in both. It's definitely a book to make you think. 2) Across China by Peter Jenkins Here's Amazon's review: In chronological sequence Jenkins writes three different types of narrative. The first, set at his Tennessee home, recounts the origins of his China trip. Another follows the 1984 American expedition to Mt. Everest via the unclimbed north slope in Tibet. A third narrative shifts to Jenkins's own travel to the grasslands of Inner Mongolia and the south China coast at Fuzhou. His colorful, casual prose and numerous photographs carry the reader along with him. As a book on China travel this is not unique; Journey into China ( LJ 2/15/83) and James Ballingall's A Taste of China ( LJ 9/15/84) are representative of the genre. Where this excels is in the suspenseful mountaineering sections on Everest. The disconnected arrangement of narratives, however, detracts from the net effect. The first narrative (him at home) is BORING and almost made me quit reading the book. Once he gets on the plane to China I loved it, so for the last two, I give it a thumbs up. 3) Whatever You Do, Don't Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide by Peter Allison Amazon doesn't really do a review, but they give this that seems useful: In 1994 Peter Allison set off for a year-long stay in Africa. More than a dozen years and hundreds of adventures later, he’s still leading safaris and collecting stories. Allison’s safaris have been *featured in National Geographic, Condé Nast Traveler, and on television programs such as Jack Hanna’s Animal Adventures. This is an absolutely FUN book and a quick read. I figured I'd post these in case you wanted a switch from fiction novels. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in TX Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Here are a couple I've enjoyed recently: An Imaginary Life by David Malouf http://www.amazon.com/Imaginary-Life-David-Malouf/dp/0679767932/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1299247551&sr=1-1 Seven Gothic Tales by Isak Dinesen http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Gothic-Tales-Isak-Dinesen/dp/0679736417/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1299247617&sr=1-1 Winter's Tales by Isak Dinesen http://www.amazon.com/Winters-Tales-Isak-Dinesen/dp/0679743340/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1299247658&sr=1-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.