…I’m seeking one. Right now, I’m reading Richard Russo’s Straight Man. I picked up Pray, Eat, Love (or whatever order that goes in), but started reading and felt a bit blah about it. Another mystical/spiritual “journey”? If you loved it, I could use some encouragement to keep with it.
I love all kinds of books. My goodreads list includes classic favorites like Jane Eyre and Crime and Punishment. I’m intrigued by non-fiction like Fast Food Nation and Outliers. The quirky and clever entertains me, such as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time and The Eyre Affair. Alice Hoffman and Jodi Picoult have been fall-back more leisurely reads and I have an odd weakness for Maeve Binchey’s melancholy Irish tales. Some of my favorite better-known novels over the past ten years have been The Lovely Bones, The Time Traveler’s Wife, and The Road. I also have a soft spot for the fantasy (not science fiction) works of George R. R. Martin (Dear Mr. Martin, please don’t die before you finish your series) and David Eddings, inherited from my father. Plus, there are a ton of beloved books in between that seem unrelated taste-wise like the pee-your-pants-funny Bridget Jones’s Diary, L.M. Montgomery’s A Tangled Web, and The Hand Maid’s Tale.
My personal “library time” usually consists of a quick rush through the new books section, walking straight to an author I know I can trust, or randomly selecting from a title in the fiction section that catches my eye. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover? I am seriously guilty of this crime. This has worked in my favor a time or two, however. My favorite random grab because I liked the title: Elizabeth Berg’s The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted. I could barely breath from laughing throughout the first story and couldn’t help being moved by it as well.
Since my reading time is precious, I’d like to venture beyond my trusted books at home or authors I’ve read before (unless you think there’s a must-read from them).
What book would you recommend? What’s your all-time favorite book or just something you really enjoyed reading lately? If you happen to recommend the book my husband’s been trying to get me to finish for years (no cheating, Tim), I promise to read it (and you’ll be his favorite blog reader from now on!).
I suffer from a severe aversion to almost all “real” books and keep my reading materials safely in the chick-lit(ish) category whenever possible. And that’s only when I’m not reading children’s books. Seriously, all my favorite books are meant for kids – the Little House series, Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, and A Series of Unfortunate Events.
But if you’re looking for something a little more adult and don’t mind girly, you should check out:
Jenifer Weiner (especially Little Earthquakes – SO GOOD)
Sophie Kinsella (she did the Shopaholic series, which is very very funny, despite how bad that movie was)
The Help by Kathryn Stockett (read it for book club so it’s as close to a “real” book as I get)
Phillipa Gregory’s historical novels (she did The Other Boleyn Girl but ALL the books are fascinating – plus they totally count as educational because they’re based on history.)
And if you have any interest in science fiction AT ALL I highly recommend Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. It’s easy and short – I read it in middle school – but fantastic.
Just started reading Jodi Picoult. I can’t decide if I like her books or not, but I took out like 9 of them, because I read my sister’s keeper and liked it. If you loved Fast food nation, try Freakonomics (there’s also Super Freakonomics– I’ve got Buy ology on my list, too). Love Maeve Binchey and Bridget Jones and Handmaid’s Tale. All for different reasons. Other Favorites: Harry Potter books, Madeleine L’Engle-who has a grip on kids fiction that adults can learn from too-start with A Wrinkle in Time, and Kathy Reichs. Since you watch Bones, you’ll probably like those books, as well. If you’re okay with handmaid’s tale, I’m sure you’ll like The Red Tent by Anita Diamant as well. (Can you tell I’m sitting by my bookshelf?) I’ll have to remember that you have this list here so when I’m done with what I have out I can request more!
Here’s some of my recommendations (some of which I might have suggested before). I really recommend Tamora Pierce-My favorite series by her is Protector of the Small. A couple of good fantasy authors are Maggie Furey-I’m reading her Artifacts of Power series-and Jennifer Fallons-start with Medalon. I also really like Chris D’Lacey’s Dragon series. I think you should give Kathy Reichs another try. I’ve really been enjoying her books. Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon series are really good spy thrillers. The first book is called The Kill Artist. My last suggestion would be Stephen R. Lawheads King Raven Trilogy.
I just recently read Eat, Pray, Love as well and didn’t care for it much. I’ve read most of the books on your list, though, with the exception of the fantasy.
I’d recommend Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah and/or House Rules by Jody Picoult. Great reading!
My favorite book ever is The Secret History.
I love to read and am guilty of not wanting to put a book down until I finish it. I read Eat, Pray, Love and it took me months to finish. I couldn’t make it through that first part because I found it a little repetitive and dull. The next two sections made me fall in love with the book though and I read it in about a week. If you can, try to finish it. One of my favorite books recently was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I also read The Help which was an excellent book. A friend also sent me The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks which was intriguing.
Seconds to the recommendations for Guernsey Library book as well as The Help. I would stick with Eat, Pray, Love…it does get better. Also, I highly recommend anything by Anne Lamott and Chris Bohjalian (sp?) –his Midwives book was an Oprah book but I read it before that and it is excellent. I have yet to read a bad one by Anne Lamott. Also love all of Elizabeth Berg’s books.
Just a few suggestions…
The Help
I read Eat, Pray, Love, and once I got into it, loved it. I’m looking for good ones right now, too. Everyone recommended Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (and the rest of the series) and I cannot get into it. They keep saying to stay with it and it will get good. We’ll see. Good luck with your search!
Ally
Have you read The Secret Life of Bees?
I LOVED the first half of Eat Pray Love and was really non-plussed by the second half. If you dont’ want to continue, don’t waste your time. Granted, I think the conclusions she comes to about life are really watery and new-agey and she just misses the mark.
Anyway, you want a GOOD read, try Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It’s her journey into rural life and food. One of my favorite non-fiction books.
I like a good fantasy so I also love love love The Lord of the Rings and the Eragon Series is quite good as well considering the kid started writing them when he was 15!
The Girl With the Pearl Earring was a great read.
Jane Austen is for ANYTIME/ANYWHERE!
Definitely Anne Lamott and if you like to go a little deeper… my all time favorite book “A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek” by Annie Dillard!!
I could go on and on… feel free to email if you ever want more suggestions!
c_guf at yahoo dot com