Read any good books lately?

Jilly --

I just picked up It Hit Me Like a Ton of Bricks -- memoir by Catherine Lloyd Burns. Touching, amazing, and funny!

Allison
 
I'm currently reading 72 Hour Hold by Bebe Moore Campbell. It is about a mother trying to help her 18 year old daughter with bipolar disorder. The most that can be done when her adult daughter goes on a violent rampage is put her in a 72 hour hold and even that is proving difficult. The mom, Keri, is about to sing her daugher in for an illegal intervention program as she is at her wits end and will do anything to try and save her dauther....whew is all I can say. I'm only halfway through it.

I went to the library and picked up a few of the recommended reads. Thanks!
Angela:7
 
I LOVE catching up on reading while at the beach in the summer! I just finished reading Maeve Binchy's "Tara Road" and loved it! I also loved "Light a Penny Candle" by her. Someone mentioned The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve--I also loved "All He Ever Wanted" by her. (I've read a few other books by her but the names are escaping me--LOVED them all)!

If you haven't read "The Kite Runner" it's a must, and my favorite book of all time might be "The Red Tent," by Anita Diamont, though I could not get into her newest book no matter how hard I tried.

Also--Eileen Goudge--"Garden of Lies," and "Thorns of Truth," and "Such Devoted Sisters," aer great. And ANYTHING by Jodi Picoult (who I happened to grow up with)--I especially enjoyed "My Sister's Keeper," "Keeping Faith," "The Pact," and "Salem Falls."

Oh, I could go on forever--if I could, I would spend my days exercising to Cathe and reading books!!!!!!

Dukechick :D
 
Debbie - I have Night by Eli Weisel - one of the most incredible books I have ever read. I had the honor of hearing him speak in person. One of those people who you walk away from yet never forget. Amazing man.

I'm about 2/5ths of the way through Time Travels Wife, and I can't get into either. I simply don't care about the characters enough to really want to know what happens.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions - I'm off work this summer, so next paycheck, instead of ordering Cathe *gasp* I'm going to order some books. Morning workouts, a pile of books and a pool - who could ask for anything more?!
 
I also started reading Time Traveller's Wife, but could not get past page 50. It just wasn't interesting enough.

Does anyone else love Barbara Michaels? She also writes under the name of Elizabeth Peters. Fantastic books, a bit of mystery, a bit of supernatural, always with a strong female lead character.

Anything by Margaret Attwood, in particular The Handmaid's Tale.

And did you know that you should always read the end of the book first? That way, if you die before you finish it, at least you know how it ends!
 
Just finished The Memoirs of Helen of Troy. Lots of fun to read although there were TONS of characters and places that I had totally forgotten about. I thought it was super interesting and quickly finished it in 2 days. Now I'm on to The Devil Wears Prada. It's so light and fun to read, much like Jane Green books. After that I'm on to Nick Hornby's new book, I think it's called "A Long Way Down". Then, I may re-read The Red Tent. It's nice to know that there are so many readers on this forum!

Carolyn
 
Hey Kim,

No, I didn't receive it. Was it a PM or an email? Maybe you can re-send it?
Hope you're doing well and recovering quickly!!

Carolyn
 
I'm currently reading``Death in Holy Orders,'' by P.D. James, and am thoroughly engrossed.

I'm also reading a non-fiction book titled ``Adrenal Fatigue.'' Very interesting.
 
I have just finished "The Same Sweet Girls" by Cassandra King.

If you like stories about women's relationships, you will like this one and maybe rant and rave at the injustices as I did and cry a little at the end too.

Clare
 
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller. 3rd generation white Kenyan farmer, her family fled Kenya after independence and set up in Zimbabwe. She grew up such dire, dirt poor surroundings that her mournful nostalgia for her childhood is particularly touching.

Amy:+
 
If you enjoy suspense Harlan Coben and Dean Koontz are both great authors. I just finished "The Innocent" by Harlan Coben and "Velocity" by Dean Koontz. Both of these books kept me guessing until the end, I could not put them down.

Jen
 
I am reading a book called Please stop laughing at me. It is about a girl who recalls her past of being bullied constantly and viciously in high school. It is really good and a must read if you have children. It really helps you get in the mind of the bullies and the people being abused. It is shocking what some of the high school girls do to one another. It is really good.

Susan
 
I'm just now reading Memoirs of a Geisha. It's fantastic, can't put it down. I also loved White Oleander. Loved Angela's Ashes and 'Tis, by Frank McCourt. Happy reading!
Valleygirl
 
This is a great thread and I'm going to print off a copy to take to the bookstore. Here's a few more of my favs:

1. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (absolutely can't stand anything she's written, though)

2. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris - absolutely laugh out loud, tears streaming down your cheeks, funny!!

3. Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts gives a glimpse into the women behind the men who founded our nation, like Abigail Adams, Eliza Pinckney, Deborah Read Franklin, Mercy Otis Warren, etc. It's not a deep, scholarly work...it reads just like Cokie talks and it's very entertaining and informative.

4. 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff - the correspondence between Miss Hanff and an antiquarian bookseller in England post WWII - a gem of a book - short and easy to read

5. Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury - not his usual scifi, this is a work of fiction based on his own childhood, an endearing coming of age story that is semiautobiographical.
 
I know, I know, I resurrected an old thread, but I had to step in and say that I just finished reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - thanks Sparrow and everyone else who recommended it. Wonderful, wonderful book. I really like how she presents some of the ideas that we think so barbaric as a matter of course. Fashion really does make one do some odd things... But the story is so much more than that.

I just started Beyond the Earth and Sky by Jamie Zeppa (recommended by Heather), and I absolutely have to agree that this is an incredible read. Jamie is so good at seeing the culture of a remote Himayalan society through the eyes of a Westerner without viewing it negatively. And she makes me laugh. I think it's partly because some of the cultural issues are similar to those of India (DH is Indian and I've been there), and the idea that "well, that's just the way things are" can be so frustrating and sometimes down right bizarre to a Western mind. It's one of those books that I don't want to put down, but I don't want it to end either...

So basically I really wanted to say: THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! for recommending these incredible books! I'm a better person because I have read them.
 
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