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Amazing books I'm recommending & new to me author

Alicia64

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Alicia64

Alicia64

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Hi Everyone,

I wanted to share an incredible author. You may already know of him. His first book came out when my boys were born so I wasn't exactly reading.

The author immigrated from Afghanistan when he was 15. The books are about Afghanistan, but if that doesn't sound like your topic: read anyway! They're super good.

  • I recommend reading his second book first: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. (There were about six pages that were too violent for me, so I flipped ahead. Didn't change my understanding of the story at all. The rest of the book is just phenomenal).
  • I just finished his first book, The Kite Runner. Again, had to flip ahead two times. I can share which pages to skip if you want!
  • His third book, And the Mountains Echoed, is waiting for me at the library.
  • Same with Sea Prayer.

Other awesome books that I've given as gifts:

  • Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (the topic might look boring, but it is not).
  • Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (so, so good).
  • Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee (the woman can wriiiiite).

A non-fiction I couldn't put down:

The Splendid and the Vile by by Erik Larson (if you didn't get much info on Winston Churchill -- I got zero -- battling the Nazis, this would be a fantastic place to start). It's seriously great.

I think all of these books are semi-okay for ages 17+. But I recommend that you read them first and then decide if you want the kids to have them.

To me, finding a masterpiece of a book is huge so I want to share.

Wendy

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Kassia

Kassia

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A Thousand Splendid Suns is my favorite book.  

I liked A Kite Runner a lot, but was disappointed in And the Mountains Echoed (I hope you like it!).

I also liked Cutting for Stone.  
 

Will have to look at the other books you mentioned!  Thank you!  

 

 

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Kassia

Kassia

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1 hour ago, Alicia64 said:

 

 

  • Same with Sea Prayer.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (so, so good).

  •  

The Splendid and the Vile by by Erik Larson (if you didn't get much info on Winston Churchill -- I got zero -- battling the Nazis this would be a fantastic place to start). It's seriously great.

 

I just put Sea Prayer (looks so good!) and The Splendid and the Vile (that's a long one!) on my Goodreads list to read.  I already had Pachinko there.  

And I'm almost positive you're the person who recommended The Elephant in the Room, which is such an excellent book.  I've recommended it to others who felt the same.  ❤️

Thanks again for sharing!  

 

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Carol in Cal.

Carol in Cal.

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I hated The Kite Runner.  The author is skillful but that skill is put to making images come alive that I would much rather never have had form in my brain, and I wish I had never read it.

I like the sequel much better.

I saw the author in person once, and found him engaging and with a surprisingly gentle manner.  

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Kassia

Kassia

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13 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said:

I hated The Kite Runner.  The author is skillful but that skill is put to making images come alive that I would much rather never have had form in my brain, and I wish I had never read it.

 

It is quite graphic.  

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Scarlett

Scarlett

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3 hours ago, Alicia64 said:

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to share an incredible author. You may already know of him. His first book came out when my boys were born so I wasn't exactly reading.

The author immigrated from Afghanistan when he was 15. The books are about Afghanistan, but if that doesn't sound like your topic: read anyway! They're super good.

  • I recommend reading his second book first: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. (There were about six pages that were too violent for me, so I flipped ahead. Didn't change my understanding of the story at all. The rest of the book is just phenomenal).
  • I just finished his first book, The Kite Runner. Again, had to flip ahead two times. I can share which pages to skip if you want!
  • His third book, And the Mountains Echoed, is waiting for me at the library.
  • Same with Sea Prayer.

Other awesome books that I've given as gifts:

  • Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (the topic might look boring, but it is not).
  • Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (so, so good).
  • Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee (the woman can wriiiiite).

A non-fiction I couldn't put down:

The Splendid and the Vile by by Erik Larson (if you didn't get much info on Winston Churchill -- I got zero -- battling the Nazis this would be a fantastic place to start). It's seriously great.

I think all of these books are semi-okay for ages 17+. But I recommend that you read them first and then decide if you want the kids to have them.

To me, finding a masterpiece of a book is huge so I want to share.

Wendy

I read both A Thousand Splendid Suns and Kite Runner years ago.  I LOVED them both.  Parts of Kite Runner have stayed with me a long time. 

So now I am off to read And the Mountains Echoed.

Thank you!

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Scarlett

Scarlett

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30 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said:

I hated The Kite Runner.  The author is skillful but that skill is put to making images come alive that I would much rather never have had form in my brain, and I wish I had never read it.

I like the sequel much better.

I saw the author in person once, and found him engaging and with a surprisingly gentle manner.  

I know the part you mean, and oddly that is not the part of the book that stayed with me.  The moral quandary of their father has haunted me. 

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Alicia64

Alicia64

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1 hour ago, Kassia said:

I just put Sea Prayer (looks so good!) and The Splendid and the Vile (that's a long one!) on my Goodreads list to read.  I already had Pachinko there.  

And I'm almost positive you're the person who recommended The Elephant in the Room, which is such an excellent book.  I've recommended it to others who felt the same.  ❤️

Thanks again for sharing!  

 

Yes re: Elephant in the Room. I'm so glad you read it! What a gift that author gave the world.

One of the benefits of The Splendid and the Vile is that compared to what Churchill was battling for years -- the Nazis taking over Europe -- my problems paled in comparison.

I wanted to add one more rec. I can't read concentration camp stories b/c of how horrific they are. But this book was just an incredible read. It's a memoir -- and the woman is still alive and doing beautifully! The book is The Choice: Embrace the Possible by Edith Eger. Really, really good.

I don't even want to think about life without good books and the library.

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Scarlett

Scarlett

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2 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said:

Hmmm.  

I think you are thinking of the rape.  Which was bad.  But the part I was referring to was the eyeball.

Oh yeah.  That too. Ugh.  I really do not like graphic things like that. But I just overlooked it because I loved so much of the rest of it.  

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J-rap

J-rap

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I read Kite Runner several years ago, and was so disturbed by it, that I don't think I appreciated it as much as I could have.  (Maybe just the wrong time to read it, for me.)  I should maybe read 1000 Splendid Suns.  

I generally love books told from a completely different perspective and culture, and I used to live in the Middle East so I can sometimes relate to some of it.

I recently read Palace Walk by Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz, and thought it was incredible and insightful.  It's part of a trilogy, although I haven't read the others yet.

My dh just finished The Splendid and the Vile!

 

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Terabith

Terabith

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Okay, books I'm recommending:  

The Sparrow and Children of God by Mary Doria Russell

The Physician by Noah Gordon

Conn Iggulden's Genghis Khan series

The Far Traveler (nonfiction, about Gudrid, a Viking woman who traveled to the New World and eventually onto Rome)

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plansrme

plansrme

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Thank you for starting this thread. I've needed some good book recommendations. I liked Kite Runner, but I love love loved Thousand Splendid Suns. And the Mountains Echoed was okay, but nothing compared to TSS. I did not know his fourth book was out, but I'll definitely read it also.

I have not read The Splendid and the Vile, but I've read a couple of other Churchill bios, as well as one of his wife, and what a complicated man. So glad he was there when he was.

Pachinko looks right up my alley. Ordering now. Thanks!

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Alicia64

Alicia64

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11 hours ago, J-rap said:

I read Kite Runner several years ago, and was so disturbed by it, that I don't think I appreciated it as much as I could have.  (Maybe just the wrong time to read it, for me.)  I should maybe read 1000 Splendid Suns.  

My dh just finished The Splendid and the Vile!

 

I started with One Thousand Splendid Suns and loved it so much. I really liked Kite Runner, but my favorite is still One Thousand Splendid Suns. I'm just startig today on And The Mountains Echoed (I've read both good and disappointed reviews.)

1 hour ago, Farrar said:

Pachinko was so good. I love a great multi-generational epic.

Free Food for Millionairs by Min Jin Lee isn't a multi-gen epic, but is still really good! She is such an amazing writer.

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Lady Marmalade

Lady Marmalade

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On 4/21/2021 at 1:15 PM, Alicia64 said:

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to share an incredible author. You may already know of him. His first book came out when my boys were born so I wasn't exactly reading.

The author immigrated from Afghanistan when he was 15. The books are about Afghanistan, but if that doesn't sound like your topic: read anyway! They're super good.

  • I recommend reading his second book first: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. (There were about six pages that were too violent for me, so I flipped ahead. Didn't change my understanding of the story at all. The rest of the book is just phenomenal).
  • I just finished his first book, The Kite Runner. Again, had to flip ahead two times. I can share which pages to skip if you want!
  • His third book, And the Mountains Echoed, is waiting for me at the library.
  • Same with Sea Prayer.

Other awesome books that I've given as gifts:

  • Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (the topic might look boring, but it is not).
  • Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (so, so good).
  • Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee (the woman can wriiiiite).

A non-fiction I couldn't put down:

The Splendid and the Vile by by Erik Larson (if you didn't get much info on Winston Churchill -- I got zero -- battling the Nazis this would be a fantastic place to start). It's seriously great.

I think all of these books are semi-okay for ages 17+. But I recommend that you read them first and then decide if you want the kids to have them.

To me, finding a masterpiece of a book is huge so I want to share.

Wendy

Have you read Hotel On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford?   It's right up there with Kite Runner and Cutting For Stone for me.  Also, The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. 

I'm adding the Min Jin Lee books to the top of my list.  I've had Pachinko on my list for a while, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. 

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madteaparty

madteaparty

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Can someone recommend light summer reads? I’ve read the Kite Runner and A thousand splendid suns (and if you like tales of woe in other countries I recommend The White Tiger and A Fine Balance(Mistry).

but I’d never read those books again as excellent as they are. Lighter fare please! I’m on a steady Kate Atkinson diet which while not breezy is not beating me over the head with trauma. 

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Kassia

Kassia

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5 hours ago, madteaparty said:

Can someone recommend light summer reads?

Some lighter books I've read recently and liked are "Is This Anything?" by Jerry Seinfeld (I read the book, but I think the audio would be really good).  I don't like Seinfeld, but thought this book was pretty funny.  Also, I just discovered the Andy Carpenter series by David Rosenfelt.  I read the first book, Open and Shut, but I read that you can read them in any order.  It's not a genre I normally read, but I thought it was engaging and fun.  Also, "When Life Gives You Pears" by Jeannie Gaffigan was really good - she somehow makes her cancer diagnosis treatment funny and touching.  

 

 

 

 

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Alicia64

Alicia64

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On 4/21/2021 at 7:43 PM, Carol in Cal. said:

Hmmm.  

I think you are thinking of the rape.  Which was bad.  But the part I was referring to was the eyeball.

I skipped the rape. Somebody gave me a heads up which I really appreciated. I think the author includes horrific events to illustrate how bad things get in that part of the world. I'm betting not including it would feel dishonest to him as a writer. (But I'm just guessing.)

I know what you mean though. (Thanks. I didn't need that in my head.)

 

14 hours ago, Lady Marmalade said:

Have you read Hotel On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford?   It's right up there with Kite Runner and Cutting For Stone for me.  Also, The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. 

I'm adding the Min Jin Lee books to the top of my list.  I've had Pachinko on my list for a while, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. 

No, but I'm about to! Thank you!!

11 hours ago, madteaparty said:

Can someone recommend light summer reads? I’ve read the Kite Runner and A thousand splendid suns (and if you like tales of woe in other countries I recommend The White Tiger and A Fine Balance(Mistry).

but I’d never read those books again as excellent as they are. Lighter fare please! I’m on a steady Kate Atkinson diet which while not breezy is not beating me over the head with trauma. 

Thanks you for the recs.

11 hours ago, Spy Car said:

@Alicia64 I just read the sample preview of The Splendid and the Vile (surprised how generous a section is available).

No matter how flawed Winston Churchill may have been (and he was), he has always been one of my greatest heroes.

Bill

 

 

He's my hero now too!! (I happened to finish this book around Christopher Columbus holiday -- and people were debating whether it should exist -- and I told dh, "They should turn it into Winston Churchill day."

I'm so glad you're reading the Splendid and the Vile. It's awesome.

Also, have you read Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut? If you haven't, it's short and seriously good. (I'm embarrassed that I didn't know about the Dresden Bombing.)

6 hours ago, Kassia said:

Some lighter books I've read recently and liked are "Is This Anything?" by Jerry Seinfeld (I read the book, but I think the audio would be really good).  I don't like Seinfeld, but thought this book was pretty funny.  Also, I just discovered the Andy Carpenter series by David Rosenfelt.  I read the first book, Open and Shut, but I read that you can read them in any order.  It's not a genre I normally read, but I thought it was engaging and fun.  Also, "When Life Gives You Pears" by Jeannie Gaffigan was really good - she somehow makes her cancer diagnosis treatment funny and touching.  

 

 

 

 

I loved Is This Anything by Seinfeld. You're right, the audio is awesome because he of course voices it. Your recs sound fantastic. Ordering now. 🙂

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Spy Car

Spy Car

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8 minutes ago, Alicia64 said:

He's my hero now too!! (I happened to finish this book around Christopher Columbus holiday -- and people were debating whether it should exist -- and I told dh, "They should turn it into Winston Churchill day."

I'm so glad you're reading the Splendid and the Vile. It's awesome.

Also, have you read Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut? If you haven't, it's short and seriously good. (I'm embarrassed that I didn't know about the Dresden Bombing.)

 

As to Churchill, I'll tell you a story on myself. When my son was young, and when I say young what I mean was an infant, I used to prop him in my lap and play (at considerable volume) recording of Winston Churchill giving famous speeches:

"...we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender...."

Yeah, I'm a nut  :tongue:

As to Vonnegut, it has been a long time since I read Slaughterhouse Five, but it made quite an impact on me. I was in Junior High school at the time (1972 IMS) and that book inspired me to read every novel and short story collection by Vonnegut that I could get my hands on. I think I eventually read everything he wrote pre-1980, but nothing since. I should revisit Vonnegut. Thanks for the reminder.

Bill

 

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Alicia64

Alicia64

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6 hours ago, Spy Car said:

As to Churchill, I'll tell you a story on myself. When my son was young, and when I say young what I mean was an infant, I used to prop him in my lap and play (at considerable volume) recording of Winston Churchill giving famous speeches:

"...we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender...."

Yeah, I'm a nut  :tongue:

As to Vonnegut, it has been a long time since I read Slaughterhouse Five, but it made quite an impact on me. I was in Junior High school at the time (1972 IMS) and that book inspired me to read every novel and short story collection by Vonnegut that I could get my hands on. I think I eventually read everything he wrote pre-1980, but nothing since. I should revisit Vonnegut. Thanks for the reminder.

Bill

 

Hilarious!!

5 hours ago, Kassia said:

Hope you enjoy them!  I always worry when recommending books to others.  

Never worry. I always think the intention is so sweet!

 

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Kassia

Kassia

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On 4/21/2021 at 5:57 PM, Alicia64 said:

 

I wanted to add one more rec. I can't read concentration camp stories b/c of how horrific they are. But this book was just an incredible read. It's a memoir -- and the woman is still alive and doing beautifully! The book is The Choice: Embrace the Possible by Edith Eger. Really, really good.

 

I just finished this book and thought it was excellent!  🙂

 

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Alicia64

Alicia64

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12 minutes ago, Kassia said:

I just finished this book and thought it was excellent!  🙂

 

Her story is just amazing. Every odd was against her and yet here she is at 93 sending out Facebook posts! And smiling! (If you want to follow her, she's at Dr. Edith Eger.)

So glad you liked it!

I just finished The Kite Runner and One Thousand Splendid Suns. Both unbelievably great. If you haven't read them and want to, both books have a couple of scenes that I skipped. And skipping them didn't hurt my understanding of the story at all. Let me know if you'd like a heads-up on scenes you don't want in your mind!!

 

 

 
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Kassia

Kassia

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26 minutes ago, Alicia64 said:

Her story is just amazing. Every odd was against her and yet here she is at 93 sending out Facebook posts! And smiling! (If you want to follow her, she's at Dr. Edith Eger.)

So glad you liked it!

I just finished The Kite Runner and One Thousand Splendid Suns. Both unbelievably great. If you haven't read them and want to, both books have a couple of scenes that I skipped. And skipping them didn't hurt my understanding of the story at all. Let me know if you'd like a heads-up on scenes you don't want in your mind!!

 

Thank you for the facebook information.  I will follow her - she is very inspiring.

I read The Kite Runner and One Thousand Splendid Suns a long time ago.  One Thousand Splendid Suns is my favorite book ever.  🙂  

 

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Alicia64

Alicia64

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42 minutes ago, Kassia said:

Thank you for the facebook information.  I will follow her - she is very inspiring.

I read The Kite Runner and One Thousand Splendid Suns a long time ago.  One Thousand Splendid Suns is my favorite book ever.  🙂  

 

Me too! I love One Thousand Splendid Suns!

These three are so, so good. Have you read them?

  • Cutting for Stone (written by a surgeon similar to One Thousand)
  • Pachinko
  • Free Food for millionaires

 

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vonfirmath

vonfirmath

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On 4/21/2021 at 9:49 PM, Terabith said:

Okay, books I'm recommending:  

The Sparrow and Children of God by Mary Doria Russell

The Physician by Noah Gordon

Conn Iggulden's Genghis Khan series

The Far Traveler (nonfiction, about Gudrid, a Viking woman who traveled to the New World and eventually onto Rome)

I second Sparrow and Children of God. I recently reread them. They are disturbing and hard to read  -- I won't even hand them to my 13 year old at this point. But worth all the pain.

 

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Kalypso

Kalypso

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On 4/21/2021 at 12:55 PM, Kassia said:

I just put Sea Prayer (looks so good!) and The Splendid and the Vile (that's a long one!) on my Goodreads list to read.  I already had Pachinko there.  

And I'm almost positive you're the person who recommended The Elephant in the Room, which is such an excellent book.  I've recommended it to others who felt the same.  ❤️

Thanks again for sharing!  

 

Who is the author of The Elephant in the Room? There appears to be several books with this title.  I want to be sure to get the right one.

 

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Kassia

Kassia

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48 minutes ago, Alicia64 said:

 

These three are so, so good. Have you read them?

  • Cutting for Stone (written by a surgeon similar to One Thousand)
  • Pachinko
  • Free Food for millionaires

 

I've read the first (and liked it a lot).  The other two are on my to-read list!  🙂  We have similar taste in books!  

 

 

@Kalypso The author is Tommy Tomlinson.  The book is very good! 

 

 

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Alicia64

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27 minutes ago, Kassia said:

I've read the first (and liked it a lot).  The other two are on my to-read list!  🙂  We have similar taste in books! 

@Kalypso The author is Tommy Tomlinson.  The book is very good! 

 

 

We do have similar taste! Could you let me know when you find a good one? And I'll let you know too!

So cool that you read Tommy's book -- what an amazing guy to write with such openness.

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Kassia

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1 hour ago, Alicia64 said:

 

So cool that you read Tommy's book -- what an amazing guy to write with such openness.

Yes, I read it after you recommended it and am so glad I did!  I've recommended it to several people now.

 

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Scarlett

Scarlett

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On 4/21/2021 at 1:15 PM, Alicia64 said:

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to share an incredible author. You may already know of him. His first book came out when my boys were born so I wasn't exactly reading.

The author immigrated from Afghanistan when he was 15. The books are about Afghanistan, but if that doesn't sound like your topic: read anyway! They're super good.

  • I recommend reading his second book first: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. (There were about six pages that were too violent for me, so I flipped ahead. Didn't change my understanding of the story at all. The rest of the book is just phenomenal).
  • I just finished his first book, The Kite Runner. Again, had to flip ahead two times. I can share which pages to skip if you want!
  • His third book, And the Mountains Echoed, is waiting for me at the library.
  • Same with Sea Prayer.

Other awesome books that I've given as gifts:

  • Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (the topic might look boring, but it is not).
  • Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (so, so good).
  • Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee (the woman can wriiiiite).

A non-fiction I couldn't put down:

The Splendid and the Vile by by Erik Larson (if you didn't get much info on Winston Churchill -- I got zero -- battling the Nazis, this would be a fantastic place to start). It's seriously great.

I think all of these books are semi-okay for ages 17+. But I recommend that you read them first and then decide if you want the kids to have them.

To me, finding a masterpiece of a book is huge so I want to share.

Wendy

Years ago I read A Thousand splendid  Suns and Kite Runner.  I just finished And the Mountains echoed.  I loved it too.  I haven’t been reading much in the last few years and it was really good for me.

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Alicia64

Alicia64

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On 6/27/2021 at 5:05 PM, Scarlett said:

Years ago I read A Thousand splendid  Suns and Kite Runner.  I just finished And the Mountains echoed.  I loved it too.  I haven’t been reading much in the last few years and it was really good for me.

Because of this author, I'm so worried about the people of Afghanistan. 🙁 I'm praying for a miracle.

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