What are you reading?

[jorman]

I just finished a wonderful sad, funny and heart warming book called "P.S. I love you" and I thought- every woman has to read this. It is SO good!I read it cover to cover in under 8 hours, I couldn''t put it down. I figured PS must have some readers among ''em and you might have some great books to recommend too!

My top 10 recommendations for great, fun girly reads are:

1. Memoirs of a Geisha
2. P.S. I Love You
3. The Nanny Diaries
4. The Devil Wears Prada
5. The Notebook
6. Confessions of a Shopaholic
7. Four Quarters of the Orange
8. Bridget Jones Diaries and On the Edge of Reason
9. Can You Keep a Secret?
10. Shopaholic- Manhattan & Gets Married

What are your favorites?

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom. By Conrad Black, 2003. Impossibly detailed and brilliantly written, I am enjoying it thoroughly.

cheers--Sharon

 

[ammayernyc]

Oh boy... lots to add here.
I have a 45 minute commute to work on public transportation, so I''ve been reading at least one book a week -- probably closer to two or three though.

Here are some of the books I''ve read recently:

Bergdorf Blonds
To Have and To Hold
Good Grief
Can You Keep a Secret
Codex
In Her Shoes
Therapy
4 Blonds
Vanishing Acts
My Sisters Keeper
Mark of the Assasign
The Broker

Not all of these books are "girly books," but most of them are.

I''m currently reading The Twelfth Card by Jeffrey Deaver -- one of the non-girly type.

 

[ursulawrite]

Just finished Writing with Intent by Margaret Atwood. Now reading The Master by Colm Toibin.

I''ll quite happily flick through Vogue or Marie Claire -- and even (whisper) tune in for Dr 90210 --but I''m a total snob about my literature.

 

[Patty]

Books I read on vacation...

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn...liked it
All He Ever Wanted by Anita Shreeve...okay, typical Anita Shreeve book
Traveling Mercies by Anne LaMotte...liked it but liked Operating Instructions better
The Kite Runner...LOVED it

Before vacation I read....

Miracle at Santa Ana by James McBride...liked it okay
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night...loved it
Operating Instructions...liked a lot
Expecting Adam by Martha Beck...reread this...still loved it
Leaving the Saints by Martha Beck...liked very much
The Color of Water by James McBride...very good
The Joy Diet by Martha Beck...pretty good
Finding Your North Star by Martha Beck...good enough
The Risk Pool by Richard Russo...Liked it a lot
The Other Boelyn Girl...liked a lot

 

[fire&ice]

Just finished reading the "Hour Game" Steven Baldacci. I love thrillers/suspense/spy books. Nope, I'm not proud with what I read.

Hubby loves history - he's reading McClough (sp) 1776 - just finished "George Washington"

 

[Angel7]

Date: 6/14/2005 4:05:15 PM
Author:jorman
I just finished a wonderful sad, funny and heart warming book called ''P.S. I love you'' and I thought- every woman has to read this. It is SO good!I read it cover to cover in under 8 hours, I couldn''t put it down. I figured PS must have some readers among ''em and you might have some great books to recommend too!

My top 10 recommendations for great, fun girly reads are:

1. Memoirs of a Geisha
2. P.S. I Love You
3. The Nanny Diaries
4. The Devil Wears Prada
5. The Notebook
6. Confessions of a Shopaholic
7. Four Quarters of the Orange
8. Bridget Jones Diaries and On the Edge of Reason
9. Can You Keep a Secret?
10. Shopaholic- Manhattan & Gets Married

What are your favorites?

I have read all of those and agree...great books!
Right now I am reading Lovely Bones-It''s hard to get through because it''s a bit dark and sad but can''t wait to see how it ends.
I read #1 & #2 of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Book MUCH better than the movie!)-I swear I saw a #3 at Target so I''m going to have to go check that out. Yes, they are considered young adult books but I swear, I love them!
I''m going to have to find P.S. I love you!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I'm anxiously awaiting the next Harry Potter book

! I love these books and they read so fast so it's fun to set aside a few days and plow right through the story.

Currently, I'm reading the Time Traveler's Wife and I HATE IT! This book sucks. . .I'm not sure if I should even bother finishing it. I never know it'd be better to just toss a book aside if it doesn't appeal to me, or if I should stick with it. . .

 

[sjz]

I pretty much read anything by Ken Follett and Dan Brown. The last Follett book I read was Hornet Flight, and the last Dan Brown book was Angels and Demons. This was the second time around for both books. I''m probably not going to get started on anything else until the next installment of Harry Potter comes out...Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I think it''s due to be realeased next month. My kids love HP, and made me take them to all the movies. After I''d seen the first two movies, which I thought were pretty darned good, I decided to read the books. Last summer I did a HP marothon and read them all in a row. Even thought they are long books (and each one gets even longer than the previous book), I can''t seem to put them down once I start, so it didn''t take as long as I figured it would to read them. As I''m typing this, I think I might have to start reading them again from the first book to refresh my memory before I read the latest installment...lol.

 

[Blue824]

Date: 6/14/2005 5:16:57 PM
Author: Angel7

I read #1 & #2 of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Book MUCH better than the movie!)-I swear I saw a #3 at Target so I'm going to have to go check that out. Yes, they are considered young adult books but I swear, I love them!
I'm going to have to find P.S. I love you!

I second the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books. My friend convinced me to read the first one and i was like ehh...I started it on a Thursday...by Sunday I had read all 3! Definitely better than the movie.

Recent reads:
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (1-3) by A. Brashares - Loved

Michelangelo & The Pope's Ceiling by R. King - really enjoyed!
Ladies No 1 Detective Agency by A. McCall Smith - ehh, but other than me its gotten great reviews
Wicked by G. Maguire - could not get through for the life of me! but supposed to be good

The Rape of the Masters: How Political Correctness Sabotages Art by R. Kimball - I found it very interesting, and I was glad none of my former teachers were discussed

I love my girly books for quick reads, like Sophie Kinsella, Nanny Diaries was great, especially if you've been in that situation! Didn't really like Devil Wears Prada. Ooooh, well, I used to be huge into the Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich (One for the Money, Two for the Dough, and so on...). A few of my friends like Jennifer Weiner's books, but I havent. A lot of the chicklit stuff I try to just get from the library though. I classify my books as library or bookshelf books.

This was a while ago but it hasnt been mentioned in the girly books: Something Borrowed by E. Giffen and I just saw it has a sequel...

My pile of "waiting to be read" books at home include: Dante Club (M. Pearl), Lady and the Unicorn (T. Chevalier), Kite Runner (K. Hosseini), The Other Boleyn Girl (P. Gregory), Portrait of Dr. Gachet (C. Saltzman).

ETA: I can't wait for the new HP book!

 

[Mara]

I am a fan of mindless entertaining reading...so I also read things like Nanny Diaries, Devil Wears Prada, the whole Shopaholic series...etc. I *loved* Wicked and am contemplating buying the 3 other books in that author's 'series' re: fantasy characters.

I also am a huge fan of stupid romance novels and things like mysteries or suspenses. Though I usually get agitated because it's not often that a book can stump me, I normally have the mystery figured out halfway through. No fun.

My problem is that I read very fast..aka I can read most books within 8 hours and about 4 hours if I have nothing else to do that day. So I hate paying retail prices for them...I buy alot of used books because I am horrible with the library, never remember to return them etc. I am horrible at the airport bookstores as well, lots of wasted $$ there if I don't plan ahead. Greg takes months to read a book, he says I have to start reading harder books.

We are going to Palm Springs at the end of the month for a mini-vacation and I keep reminding myself to stock up at the local used bookstore because in 4 days I could read up to 10 things with all that time on my hands by the pool!!

Oh and I loved The Other Boleyn Girl...though it did get a bit slow in the middle.

 

[fire&ice]

Yeah, Can''t wait for the new Harry Potter book as well!

 

[movie zombie]

BANGKOK 8: written by an expat brit who has lived in thailand for 25 years now.

murder mystery, very modern topic [includes the gem trade], buddhist cop. really gives an insight into the differences between western and asian cultures.

peace, movie zombie

 

[Kaleigh]

I just read, The Ivy Chronicles by Karen Quinn. It was a fun read.
On my night stand are:
Berdorf Blondes
Wolves in Chic Clothing
And one more thing before you go Maria Shriver

 

[jorman]

I think the reason I love the mindless entertaining books so much is because I was forced to read the classics in high school, you know David Copperfield, Scarlett Letter, A Tale of Two Cities, etc.. etc. I was also forced to take 6 years of Latin and translate many of the classics into English. Blah! Now I read for fun. I view it as seeing a chick flick on paper. I like memoirs too, like Angela''s Ashes, etc.

Wicked sounds good. I will have to pick that up.
I heard The Lovely Bones was good too...
Has anyone read the De Vinchi Code?

 

[onedrop]

I also love those Shopaholic books, and I thought the Devil Wears Prada was great!

I just finished Space Between The Stars by Deborah Santana (wife of Carlos Santana). It''s her autobiography which I found very interesting.

Just before I read Deborah Santana''s book I finished The Honeymoon by James Patterson. It''s the first book I''ve read by him. My best friend loves his books, and so I finally decided to read this one. Surprisingly, it was just "okay" for me. I was expecting something more, but it was entertaining.

I vow to finally finish reading One Hundred Years Of Solitude this summer!!!

 

[Blue824]

Date: 6/14/2005 6:19:58 PM
Author: jorman
I think the reason I love the mindless entertaining books so much is because I was forced to read the classics in high school, you know David Copperfield, Scarlett Letter, A Tale of Two Cities, etc.. etc. I was also forced to take 6 years of Latin and translate many of the classics into English. Blah! Now I read for fun. I view it as seeing a chick flick on paper. I like memoirs too, like Angela''s Ashes, etc.

Wicked sounds good. I will have to pick that up.
I heard The Lovely Bones was good too...
Has anyone read the De Vinchi Code?

That''s sort of how i feel about reading, I just want to relax and not have to think. Sometimes I do look for something with a bit more substance though, just not books where I have to sit and analyze what things mean. Just want to enjoy a good story!

I read Da Vinci Code when it first came out. I really enjoyed it! I mean, there are certain inaccuracies, but there were many interesting things that made me do research and learn more about religion. Nice, quick and kept me reading. I''ve only heard one complaint, from my mom

I have not read any other books by Dan Brown though.

Just another title to throw out there: The Poisonwood Bible

 

[AGBF]

Date: 6/14/2005 5:14:53 PM
Author: fire&ice
Just finished reading the ''Hour Game'' Steven Baldacci. I love thrillers/suspense/spy books. Nope, I''m not proud with what I read.

I read that within the last few months. Hold your head up proudly. Legal thrillers are fun .

Deb

 

[Kaleigh]

My favorite book thus far was by Harlen Coban, Tell No One. Every year we go to Antigua for spring break and everyone was reading this book. It''s a great suspense thriller and haven''t read a better one since. It was funny as everyone was reading it they came up and asked oh have you gotten to this part, and I was like hush don''t tell me.

 

[AGBF]

Date: 6/14/2005 7:19:26 PM
Author: Blue824
Just another title to throw out there: The Poisonwood Bible

Superb. I think it was people here who recommended it to me since I liked Kingsolver's, The Bean Trees. And I read The Da Vinci Code, too. (I have to read something when there isn't a legal thriller close by.) The Da Vinci Code certainly qualifies as mindless, but The Poisonwood Bible was really literature. I keep planning to read Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart since I enjoyed The Poisonwood Bible so much!

Deborah

 

[stretch4]

Date: 6/14/2005 7:26:37 PM
Author: kaleigh
My favorite book thus far was by Harlen Coban, Tell No One. Every year we go to Antigua for spring break and everyone was reading this book. It''s a great suspense thriller and haven''t read a better one since. It was funny as everyone was reading it they came up and asked oh have you gotten to this part, and I was like hush don''t tell me.

Oh, that is by far my favorite book!!! His other books are also good, especially The Innocent, Just One Look, and No Second Chance. I was not fond of his Gone for Good though.

I read Bergdorf Blondes and did not like it. It had no plot line whatsoever!

I also read The Jester by James Patterson recently and was not found of it. Some of his chapters are literally one page long!! I cannot stand seeing over 200 chapters in a 400 page book!!

I have recently plowed through the following books which were very good:

Good in Bed, Jennifer Weiner
Little White Lies, Gemma Townley
Something Borrowed, Emily Giffin
The Innocent, Harlan Coben

And of course I must add that Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand is FANTASTIC!!

 

[Kaleigh]

Stretch,
I know what an awesome book. I just bought The Innocent and am waiting till I go to Nantucket to read it. Yummmmm

 

[Lorelei]

Mara and Patty, have read The Other Boleyn Girl too. What a great book, had me riveted. Also in the past have read a lot of Norah Lofts and Jean Plaidy as I an fascinated with Tudor history, but their books are now out of print it seems. I have always been a bookworm, love the escapism of it, still enjoy Little Women, Good Wives, A little Princess and Anne of Green Gables, childhood favourites. Anything '' Anne '' in fact.

 

[MINE!!]

UNfortuntely I am reading a book right now called Stay.. by NIcola Griffith.. Just finished reading Devil in a Blue Dress, Murder of Rodger Ackroyn (Ugh) + Maltese Falcon. INcidents in the life of a Slave Girl, Sunflowers, Unbearable Lightness of Being (It was unbearable to red) Owl Service.. (Another UGH) The Hobbit (finally one I like) and a little Sherlock Holmes.

Not a great summer semester of reading so far. Thankfully I will be done soon and I can start reading something I like again.

I read 2 books that I do like b/t Spring and Summer session
Deep Descent
Shadow Divers

 

[appletini]

Yea! I''m so glad that I have a new list of books to read.

My more recent reads have been...

All the Dan Brown Books

Da Vinci Code
Angels & Demons
Digital Fortress
Deception Point

Dirty Girls Social Club

I''ve really been wanting to read "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" that is the foundation of the Da Vinci Code.

 

[onedrop]

AGBF: I second you and everyone else who mentioned The Poisonwood Bible. That book was a great read! You should definitely check out Things Fall Apart. It''s one of my all-time favorites. Achebe weaves historical fact and fictional content in such a colorful way.

MINE!!: I love Walter Mosely so I''ve read Devil In A Blue Dress, and all that have been published since. He is a wonderful writer!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I loved the Poisonwood Bible, too. I''ve read three of Kingsolver''s books, and as AGBF mentioned, The Bean Trees is good. . .Prodigal Summer wasn''t as good - but if you''re a die-hard fan or an entomologist, then this may be worth the time.

One of my projects right now is sorting through DH''s and my books. We have EVERYTHING we''ve ever read, including school text books, all stored away in boxes, so I''m trying to get rid of anything we wouldn''t read or didn''t like. . .Financial Accounting 205, by dull people, et. al, was fabulous. I''m aching to pick this one up again

I cannot even remember all the good books out there. . .One that''s inspiring for any pregnant ladies or ones planning to have a baby is The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant. It has biblical figures but is NOT a religious style book. No pushy beliefs (or I''d have tossed it aside - since I''m not religious). Definetly worth reading!!!

I wish I could remember all the great books I''ve read - as soon as the book organizing is completely, I''ll be listing at least 20 books!

Oh, and Bridget Jones'' Diary IS a MUST READ! I''m thinking of reading it again as it''s hilarious!

 

[jorman]

I agree, Michelle. Bridget Jones is hilarious. I read it one summer when I would go to the gym and ride the stationary bike and would catch myself laughing outloud with my headphones on and look up to about 10 people staring at me. It is MUCH better than the movie.

 

[jorman]

Oh, I forgot, is anyone as excited as me that the movie Pride and Prejudice is coming out? I love it when they make movies of classics like Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Great Expectations, etc.

 

[MINE!!]

Has anyone ever read Lessons from a Smartmouth Goddess?