Read any good books lately?

[zoebartlett]

What have you read recently or what are you in the middle of reading?

Not too long ago, I finished Jodi Picoult's novel, Sing You Home. It was really good. I love most of her books, and I always look forward to the latest one on the shelf.

I have two new books to read over Christmas vacation: The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks (it was a gift) and The Litigators by John Grisham.

I also have a bunch of books by Nora Roberts, Kristin Hannah, and Elin Hilerbrand to sift through.

 

[Amber St. Clare]

White Boned Devil. It's a biography of Madame mao Tse Tung. An absolutely riveting book about a fascinating woman.

 

[Sparklelu]

I just finished World Without End by Ken Follett. It was great,all 800 pages of it. I too enjoy Jodi Piccoult. My tastes range from Follett to true crime novels to Janet Evenovich to Jennifer Weiner. Winter reads are a bit more serious summer chick lit and easy reads. Should be the opposite cause as a teacher I'm free over the summer!

 

[sillyberry]

I just finished Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Excellent true story of a pretty remarkable life, centered around WWII.

The best fluffy thing I've read lately is Law of Attraction by Allison Leotta. Like John Grisham meets Chick Lit. It's lawyer-y and takes place in DC, so it's right up my alley!

 

[Enerchi]

I'm really enjoying Sue Graftons "alphabet series" with Kinsey milhone as the female PI. easy reads. Interesting characters. They amuse me!

 

[Haven]

I'm on a YA kick at the moment.

I just finished THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy. Amazing. Loved it.
I'm almost finished with LEGEND by Marie Lu. I'm really enjoying it thus far.

I just bought this stack of books to read over winter break, plus THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern and THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY by Trenton Lee Stewart. The last two didn't make it into the photo because I just picked them up yesterday and today.


See what I mean? Total YA obsession at the moment.

 

[sillyberry]

I'm sorry, this is totally off-topic but funny story.

I was traveling last week and at dinner was discussing The Hunger Games trilogy with my 60-something boss. The conversation went something like this:

Me: The Hunger Games were really awesome. DH and I met out in Phoenix and after he went to sleep I stayed up in the bathroom reading them because I couldn't put them down.
Him: That happens to me and wife when we don't manage to have sex because we're in the middle of a really good book.
Me: Umm...I didn't say that.
Him: And then one of us will finish a chapter and look at the other like but they're still in the middle of their chapter so the other will start a new chapter and then the other will finish and look like but the other is in the middle of the chapter, so it goes on and on and no sex!
Me: Again - I didn't say that.

Gotta love him, he's so not lecherous in the slightest, but MAN is he all about the TMI. My other co-worker told me I'm finally a true part of the team having gotten hit with the TMI first-hand.

But, yeah, THG are great reads!

 

[Enerchi]

Oh sillyberry!! That is such a ROFL story!! Thanks

 

[aviastar]

Just finished Inheritance- meh. Very much in line with the rest of the series, but it just wasn't blowing my hair back.

Haven- please come back with reviews! City of Bones, specifically, is always coming up as a recommendation on my GoodReads and your Curse as Dark as Gold recommendation was so spot on, I'll read anything you approve of!!

I am also (always) on a YA kick, and especially into fairytale retellings and princesses right now...which, if I am being honest, might be more than a little wishful escapism on my part, hehe

Oh, along that vein, Howl's Moving Castle was great fun, just finished than one, too.

I love sharing book recommendations, thanks for starting the thread!

 

[Haven]

Barrister SB--HAHAHAHAHA! I rarely laugh out loud while reading posts, but I am right now! Oy, that's crazy.

Aviastar--I will come back with reviews! I'm so glad to hear you liked CURSE, I really loved that book. My avatar is the same on Goodreads, and I have CURSE on my "retellings" shelf, maybe we could find each other on GR. LOVE THAT SITE!

Have you all seen this website? Drool. http://bookshelfporn.com/

 

[marcy]

I just finished the new Michael Connelly novel The Drop. I read the latest Janet Evanovich before that. I think I will start on the Sue Grafton series next. I read the A book last summer.

 

[Gypsy]

Quite a few good reads actually.

I just re-read one of my favorite urban fantasy series by Iona Andrews (Kate Daniels series).

I am about to re-read the Michael Sullivan Ryria Revelations because the FINAL book in the series is coming out next month and I can't WAIT!!

And I have the next book in the Horngate Witches series coming out of the 27th.

Oooh... and I just read " A Reckless Witch" by Debora Geary http://www.amazon.com/Reckless-Witch-Modern-Book-ebook/dp/B006E22IXU at 3.99 each these books have romance and magic and are a fun romp if you can suspend your disbelief about how much a four year old can do.

 

[jaysonsmom]

I just finished Tina Fey's Bossy Pants. She is one hilarious writer. Had me laughing out loud a lot.

I started Water for Elephants yesterday....can't put it down.

My son (9) has read the Hunger Games trilogy, and has urged me to read them, but I haven't started yet. Judging from all of our reviews, I should read that soon.

 

[melave]

I just finished The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and i loved it!!!

http://erinmorgenstern.com/the-night-circus/

I am waiting for christmas as i know my sister and brother would have bought me some good books to read

 

[JewelFreak]

I really want to read The Night Circus -- reviews have made it sound great. My sister is sending me Unbroken for Christmas -- saw an interview w/the author.

Now I'm reading Grisham's The Litigators & having a hard time getting into it, unusual. Can't tell yet if it's the same old yawn -- evil nasty greedy pharmaceutical companies. Tired to death of that scenario. Having worked in that industry for 13 years, I know it's light years from the truth & pharms are the main reason this old globe is so crammed with humanity.

 

[zoebartlett]

Haven, I haven't seen that bookshelf site before. It's cool! I've always liked reading YA books, and when I worked in a children's bookstore a number of years ago, I couldn't read enough.

I haven't read The Hunger Games. I know the books are supposed to be awesome but I can't get into them. I generally don't like sci-fi or fantasy, so I haven't wanted to read the books in the series. I might run to the bookstore and check out the first one though. We'll see.

Sillyberry, I'll have to check out Law of Attraction. I love lawyer-y books and I read a lot of chick lit. Sounds good.

Enerchi, I love Sue Grafton's books. I haven't read her in a long time but I love Kinsey Millhone.

JewelFreak, that's too bad you can't get into The Litigators. I have to admit, I had no idea what it was about when I bought it last night. I had seen it a while back and since I love John Grisham's books, I knew I wanted to read it. I'll have to start it today and see how it goes. His books are pretty formulaic, huh?

 

[princesss]

Haven, please come back with a review of City of Bones! I read that author's fanfic waaaaaaaay back in the day (it's actually the only fanfic I ever read, and I was completely hooked). She's got a great voice, and I've been wanting to read her books ever since I found out she'd been writing her own characters.

 

[zoebartlett]

Jaysonsmom, I want to read Bossy Pants, and I also want to check out Ellen Degeneres' book. Have you read that one?

 

[marymm]

I just finished Inheritance – first I re-read the prior books in the series and very much enjoyed them, particularly the first two – but for me Inheritance was a bit disappointing and more of a chore to read (in contrast with the others which I both raced through and savored).

I am a huge fan of Tamora Pierce and just read recently-released Mastiff – the third in the Beka Cooper series – and found it thoroughly enjoyable. I own all of her books, and every couple of years go through them all again, starting with the Song of the Lioness Quartet.

I did read my library’s copy of The Litigators – like some other posters, I found it formulaic and with characters I just never cared about. In contrast, I did like last year’s The Confession - so I’m not yet entirely ready to give up on Grisham.

These coming weeks I’ll be reading Riordan’s Percy Jackson & The Olympians series, and I’ve also got The Hunger Games in my stack.

I’m looking forward to next week’s release of Knit One Pearl One by Gil McNeil – the third in a series which started with The Beach Street Knitting Society. I love her voice and her characters and her wit, and in particular find her depictions of children and relationships so utterly true. There aren’t many writers that can make me laugh out loud - she’s one.

Also very much looking forward to next month’s new release from Elizabeth George.

 

[star sparkle]

I just finished Water for Elephants and The Art of Racing in the Rain. Loved them both! Now trying to figure out what to read next...

 

[luv2sparkle]

I want to read Water for Elephants! I have it on my kindle. I have been reading all the silly christmas books they have had free on kindle
lately. Light and sappy, but I can finish them in a couple hours.

I love Jody Picoult.

I am going to check out the Hunger Games.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I'm on a YA kick at the moment.

I just finished THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy. Amazing. Loved it.
I'm almost finished with LEGEND by Marie Lu. I'm really enjoying it thus far.

I just bought this stack of books to read over winter break, plus THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern and THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY by Trenton Lee Stewart. The last two didn't make it into the photo because I just picked them up yesterday and today.


See what I mean? Total YA obsession at the moment.

I loved the Hunger Games Trilogy also. The movie is coming out in March, so I'm going to reread the first book before then.

Lately, I've been reading up a storm. Last year I had decided for my new year's resolution to read as many books as I can and accomplished that. This year, I will set my goal higher.

The last book I read was Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant (sp?)... I found it at a library sale for 50 cents and grabbed it since I had read a couple of her other books. It was different from what I normally read and a nice break from my recent kick - Stephen King Books. Before then I had gone through a period of reading only dystopian novels by a wide variety of authors. Some more recent books I've read include: The Long Walk, The Green Mile, Animal Farm, The Talisman, Sacred Hearts and now am on 11/22/63. Those were all within the last month and a half. I'd have to check my book case to see what else have been recent ones.

I'm getting a kindle this year, but decided to only use it for free books b/c I still can get used books for 1/2 the price of kindle books, plus I collect books and LOVE to look back at all the books I've read. I've love reading so much and find the more I read, the more often my kids read too!

 

[Haven]

Oooh, I'm excited to read all of THE NIGHT CIRCUS love! Did you know she wrote the first draft for NaNoWriMo? How cool is that?!?!

I'll definitely come back with reviews of CITY OF BONES. I'm really excited for all of the books in my stack.

Short review of LEGEND:

I finished LEGEND last night and gave it 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. Liked it but didn't love it. It was a well-crafted story, to be sure, and Lu built a great world. I think my main problem with it was that the two main characters were essentially the same in personality and thought, and I thought the female MC was a bit of a Mary Sue. It's still a good read, though, and really fast-paced. I'm a sucker for a YA dystopia, and I think people are really going to love the story. The writing was pretty pedestrian, but it suited the young MCs in a way. It definitely didn't leave me feeling as depressed as THE HUNGER GAMES, it's sort of a diet version of THG. It's the start of a series, maybe a trilogy? And I'll just say that the end really irked me.

About THE HUNGER GAMES:

I really loved this series. I read it all this week and couldn't stop. If you haven't read it, this is what you need to know about it: It's about war. It's about war and what it does to the people trapped in it. Yes, there's a bit of teen romance and angst, but these books are heavy. They're extremely well-written, and the plots are rock solid. I'm one who typically avoids movies and books about war because it's hard for me to live in that world, even for a short period of time. But I couldn't put these down. I think I read them so quickly because a part of me wanted the war to end, but seriously these books are good. Great, even. Suzanne Collins is an excellent writer, and she depicts war without the happy, glossy, tie-it-up-in-a-bow resolution that characterizes so much of how we present heavy issues to children. Highly recommended. 5 out of 5 stars.

Zoe--Bookshelf **** is one of my favorite websites ever! I pinned so many of those photos to Pinterest, and sometimes I just scroll through that pinboard and drool.

 

[Haven]

MC --I'm so excited for THE HUNGER GAMES movie! Have you seen the poster? GAH. Amazing. I really want my 12-year-old niece to read the books so we can make a big date out of going to the movie.

I basically use my Kindle only when I travel, or when I load it up with books that my sister bought for her own Kindle. I find it's a perfectly acceptable way to use the technology. I have over a hundred free books on it, including all my Jane Austen. *love*

 

[Enerchi]

Zoe - I've read Ellen Degeneres' "My point... and I have one..." and it was hilarious! It reads just as if you were listening to her talk. I'd love to have her over for dinner!!! OMG - what a blast that would be!!!

I also read Portia DeRossi's "Unbearable Lightness" and developed a whole new respect for Portia. What a rough secret she was keeping. She showed such strength once Ellen came into her life.

As for Kinsey - she's a hoot! I'd like to have HER over for dinner as well!!! A table of strong and entertaining women... want to join us???

 

[MichelleCarmen]

MC --I'm so excited for THE HUNGER GAMES movie! Have you seen the poster? GAH. Amazing. I really want my 12-year-old niece to read the books so we can make a big date out of going to the movie.

I basically use my Kindle only when I travel, or when I load it up with books that my sister bought for her own Kindle. I find it's a perfectly acceptable way to use the technology. I have over a hundred free books on it, including all my Jane Austen. *love*

Haven - I might have seen the poster, but I'm trying to avoid anything before the movie comes out. Silly as it is, I want everything to be a surprise and won't even watch the trailors (hopefully none of the movies I go to before then show them)... maybe I should go hunt down the poster though. lol! That actress was so good in Winter's Bone. Did you see that movie? She did a great job. She will be excellent and convincing at portraying Katniss.

I've been trying my hardest to get DH to read the book and even though he keeps saying okay, he won't pick up the book even when I left it on our kitchen island and kept pointing it out to him.

The person giving me the kindle has hundreds of books on her account and I guess I can download them from her account??? She upgraded her kindle. One thing though is I find books an escape from technology as I spend a lot of time online so merging that and books is a bit of a turn-off to me. Also, the ease with which to add books may result in me uploading more books than I can possibly read. Right now, I order books but without the instant gratification, it keeps the numer in check! I just set up a Amazon wish list so I can remember the books I want to read w/out them stacking up. I did a casual inventory of my to-be-read and there are over 20 books. I keep finding fun books for under $1.00 at the library withdrawal shelf for-sale and there was a clearance at my fav used book store and I went nuts. Came home with a huge stack for under $15. lol

Okay, sorry for the ramble. Am totally obsessed with books right now!

 

[StacylikesSparkles]

I LOVE reading. My most favorite series is the Harry Potter series, however I loved the Hunger Games trilogy as well! I have been on a YA kick ever since HP and I've re-read that series 3 times already lol I also love anything Sandra Brown (a little romance, a lot of drama and always mystery/murder) as well as my guilty pleasure; Jackie Collins. You have to have a little bit of trash reading to even it out lol

 

[lulu66]

I haven't read The Hunger Games. I know the books are supposed to be awesome but I can't get into them. I generally don't like sci-fi or fantasy, so I haven't wanted to read the books in the series. I might run to the bookstore and check out the first one though. We'll see.

i'm generally not into sci-fi or fantasy either & kinda felt the same way about hunger games. eventually, friends wore me down & i gave them a chance. could.not.put.them.down. bought them for my sis as a christmas gift. i definitely recommend picking them up & giving them a try...i'm betting that you'll be pleasantly surprised!

as for what i'm reading:

i just put down swamplandia by Karen Russell. honestly, it started to really drag for me (i'm slightly past the middle, i think). i've heard great things about it & plan to go back to it but needed to give it a breather.

so, now i'm in the middle of extremely loud & incredibly close by Jonathan Safran Foer. it's told from a 10 year olds point of view in the wake of losing his father in the 9/11 attacks. i read the synopsis for the movie version that is coming out & decided to pick up the book. so far, so good

and, like a lot of other people, night circus is sitting in the "to read next" pile.

 

[distracts]

I just bought this stack of books to read over winter break, plus THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern and THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY by Trenton Lee Stewart. The last two didn't make it into the photo because I just picked them up yesterday and today.

See what I mean? Total YA obsession at the moment.

The Mysterious Benedict Society is super-fun! I love that book.

You should let us know about how the books in your stack were - I'm a big YA fan and some of those are ones I haven't read. I had never heard of Legend but it sounds really good from the amazon description, so it has gone on my to-buy list.

I am also (always) on a YA kick, and especially into fairytale retellings and princesses right now...which, if I am being honest, might be more than a little wishful escapism on my part, hehe

Have you read The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal? I read it a couple months ago and it was pretty entertaining.

Last year I discovered Brandon Sanderson and Jasper Fforde, and this year, along with my other reading, I've been reading everything they've ever written. Brandon Sanderson writes good, plotty scifi and fantasy, and my favorite of his are Elantris and the Mistborn series. Jasper Fforde writes silly books that are chock-full of literary references.

My favorite books that I always recommend to people are the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. People kept recommending it to me and I thought it sounded lame, but when I finally started reading it (because it was free on Kindle for a while), it was AMAZING. It's like a fantasy/alternate history - the Napoleonic Wars WITH DRAGONS. If you ever read the Horatio Hornblower or Master and Commander books and enjoyed them (or the movies of either), you'll definitely enjoy these books. Also if you like cats. The dragons are totally like big kittycats.

 

[Haven]

lulu--I loved EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE. I bought it right when it came out, so it's been a few years, but couldn't put it down. I just saw the movie trailer last weekend, and as soon as they flashed the first scene I yelped in anticipation. I hadn't heard they were making it into a movie, and I'm really excited.

Distracts--I'll come back and post reviews as I read through them all. Ahh, the joys of winter break.

MC--My sister somehow puts her books onto my Kindle. I have no idea how it works, but they aren't loans, they stay on there forever. It's very NICE! I avoided all HUNGER GAMES movie stuff until I finished the series because I didn't want the actors' faces to get stuck in my head. But man oh man, that poster is killer. Look it up if you dare!

This thread has given me so many new books for my To Read list, I'm so excited!