The Book Thread

[sumi]

Well, I am a big time BOOK WORM! So, I thought we could start a thread of books that we've read that we really enjoy. I try to read the Pulitzer and Booker prize winners for each year. I'm always on the look out for something good to read and I'd love to hear what you all have your nose in these days.



I'll start with a few, but I will be adding to this list once in a while:


Martel, Yann. Life of Pi

Eggers, Dave. Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.
(I thought the title was sarcastic at first, but to be honest after I finished the book I wasn't quite sure anymore. He has a really unique writing style.)

Anything by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Steinbeck, John. East of Eden.
(one of my all time favorites, WAAAAAY before it was on Oprah's book club list!)

Mistry, Rohinton. A Fine Balance.
(He gave an interesting interview on NPR's Fresh Air a while back, don't know if anyone was able to catch it. That interview is what prompted me to pick up this book)

Rushdie, Salman. The Satanic Verses.
(To be honest, there were many times when I was reading this where I was completely lost.)

Eugenides, Jeffrey. Middlesex.
(He also wrote the Virgin Suicides, which I will probably pick up soon. This book won the Pulitzer)

Lahiri, Jhumpa. Interpreter of Maladies AND The Namesake.
(Both great books! One of my favorite authors on this list. Interpreter of Maladies won the Pulitzer and it was her first published book!)

Kundera, Milan. Unbearable Lightness of Being.

ANYTHING by David Sedaris!!!!

Jin, Ha. Waiting.

Sweeney, Jennifer Foote (editor). Life As We Know It.
(A compilation of essays featured on Salon.com)

Chang, Jung. Wild Swans.
(Three generations of Chinese women. covers the Chinese Revolution through the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution to modern day.)


I think that's enough to get this list going. I have a bunch more that I love, but I'll be adding those later.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I'm also a book fanatic and was thinking about posting a similar thread

lol

Some of my favorites are the following:

The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
Excellently written tale of a missionary family who tries to convert a tribe of Africans to Christianity.

She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb
About an overweight girl and issues she has. SOOOOO good. This is HIGHLY recommended! It's definetly a chick book even though it's writen by a guy. When I was looking at the back cover in B&N, a woman stopped to tell me that this was the best book she's ever read. I would almost agree except I've read other great books that are just as good!

Watership Down, by Richard Adams
Cute little bunnies

Bridget Jones' Diary, by Helen Fielding
Super hilarious and entertaining! Fun summer read.

The Red Tent, By Anita Diamant
Superb chick book. Takes Biblical charaters and makes story of the TRUE strength women had back then v. the sexest roles that the Bible gives them. It is about midwives and birth and more. Great book for moms and moms-to-be. I'm NOT Christian and do not believe in organized religion, but regardless of this belief and what yours is, this book is AMAZING for all! A MUST READ!

Ah, my list could go on forever. . .

Hitchhickers Guide to the Galaxy, by douglas adams
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan
The Davinci Code by Dan Brown
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

And, more. . .I'll probably add more after I look my books over

Oh, and I'll have to look for a few of the ones you mentioned, Sumi. I do plan to read the Life of Pi soon. I just bought the Birth of Venus and plan to read this next and then Pi. Seems like i always have a stack of at least five to 10 books that i plan to read in the near future. lol

Michelle

 

[CaptAubrey]

patrick o'brian's aubrey-maturin series.... if that wasn't clear already.

 

[sumi]

MC: nice to see another book worm!


I forgot another goodie:

Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden
(written by a man, but the main character is a woman. It's unbelievable that a man wrote this. It's a good, entertaining book. It's interesting because it weaves in a little bit of Japanese culture, but that's not the main point of the book.)



As for Life of Pi, PLEASE DO NOT SNEAK A PEAK AT THE END OF THE BOOK. The last 50 pages or so were by far the best part of the book. I was totally blown away by it. Please don't ruin the reading experience of this book by sneaking a peak! (Although I'm sure now that I've said that, you're totally tempted to peak....sorry!)

 

[sumi]

----------------
On 4/2/2004 6:48:25 PM CaptAubrey wrote:


patrick o'brien's aubrey-maturin series.... if that wasn't clear already.

----------------

Oh! I've never heard of that series. Is that what your screen name is based on? I'll have to check it out.

 

[CaptAubrey]

----------------
On 4/2/2004 6:53:15 PM sumi wrote:





Oh! I've never heard of that series. Is that what your screen name is based on?

----------------

yes.

www.jackaubrey.com

o'brian's stuff is among the finest historical fiction ever written. i grovel before him.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

----------------
Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden
(written by a man, but the main character is a woman. It's unbelievable that a man wrote this. It's a good, entertaining book. It's interesting because it weaves in a little bit of Japanese culture, but that's not the main point of the book.)



As for Life of Pi, PLEASE DO NOT SNEAK A PEAK AT THE END OF THE BOOK. The last 50 pages or so were by far the best part of the book. I was totally blown away by it. Please don't ruin the reading experience of this book by sneaking a peak! (Although I'm sure now that I've said that, you're totally tempted to peak....sorry!)


----------------

lol - I was going to add Memoirs of a Geisha also, but was wondering how many books would be appropriate to add

hahaha There's just too many!

Okay, thanks for the Pi warning. I never peak ahead so I guess I'll be okay even with you mentioning this. Do you usually read the last page before beginning a book? lol

Michelle

 

[sumi]

----------------
On 4/2/2004 7:07:28 PM MichelleCarmen wrote:

Okay, thanks for the Pi warning. I never peak ahead so I guess I'll be okay even with you mentioning this. Do you usually read the last page before beginning a book? lol

Michelle----------------

No, I never peek ahead! That ruins it. I do know a lot of people who will peek a little, just wanted to make sure everyone got that warning in case there were peekers out there!

 

[fire&ice]

Nothing intellectual here. As many of you may know - SPYGIRL! loves mysteries, spy novels, adventure.

Clive Cussler, Anne George, Balducci, PD James, Crichton, Patterson, etc.

But, my favorite book ever "To Kill a Mockingbird" & "Catcher in the Rye".

 

[AGBF]

Like f&i I read a great many legal thrillers. I have also read some of the murder mysteries by female writers with elegant language (P.D.James, Dorothy Sayers). I remember "The Catcher in the Rye" being my favorite book but I would now have to reread it just to remember it!

I love the Narnia books by C.S.Lewis, although they are for children. I also love the original Oz books by L. Frank Baum.

Although John Grisham was turning out books I hated recently, I love his "The Testament" and also loved his latest book, "The Last Juror". I confuse Baldacci and Meltzer and a bunch of other lawyers but I still read all their books.

I was told by someone else to read "The Poisonwood Bible" and then learned it was written by the same woman who wrote one of MY favorite books, "The Bean Trees".

I love novels by Georgette Heyer and Jane Austen and Emily Eden, all of whom write in the same basic genre (comedies of manners).

I like zany books like "Kinflicks" and the one that had the mother in it who ran out of names for children and started naming them "Dacron" and so forth after the labels in clothing she had nearby. I loved "Fear of Flying" and "Sheila Levine is Dead and Living in New York" (Erica Jong and Gail Parent, respectively) because they made me laugh outloud.

I like Barbara Trapido: Temples of Delight", "Brother of the More Famous Jack".

I like "The Frost in May" and the other three books in that series ("The Sugar House" and so forth) by Antonia White.

I like Frederick Forsythe, especially "The Dogs of War". I love Hemingway.

My daughter just called. She needs to be picked up. And I was just getting started !!!

Deb

 

[MichelleCarmen]

----------------

I was told by someone else to read 'The Poisonwood Bible' and then learned it was written by the same woman who wrote one of MY favorite books, 'The Bean Trees'.


----------------

You HAVE TO read the Poisonwood Bible, AGBF, if you liked the Bean Trees, as this is even better.

I did like the Bean Trees a lot and also just finished another book by Kingsolver, named Prodigal Summer. Not as good as the other two, but still worth reading, especially if you're into entomology (which I'm not, but still enjoyed the book)

Michelle

 

[sumi]

I have another book to add. I've only just started this one a few days ago, but it's REALLY good so far:


A House for Mr. Biswas, by V.S. Naipul. It won the Nobel Prize in 1961.

 

[winyan]

I have my intellectual reads, and my pure enjoyment reads...best of the pure enjoyment reads??

The Outlander series by Diana Galberdon (spelling)?

They have everything, love, sex, history, sex, romance, sex...well you get the idea.

They can be enjoyed by both sexes, amazingly enough.

win

 

[Matata]

I love science fiction and stories about ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties and things that go bump in the night.

An excellent sci fi book is The Gate to Women's Country by Sheri Tepper (all of her books are good). You can read about this particular one here http://www.strangewords.com/archive/gateto.html

 

[winyan]

Oh, Matata, if you love that stuff...

Get the two series by Laurell K. Hamilton; 1. The ah...

dang it.

Well one series has an intrepid female vampire hunter, named Anita Blake, who just happens to have two beaus, one, the 'Master of the City' a Master Vampire named Jean Claude, and the other, a handsome high school science teacher, who, as an aside, is the Master of a werewolf pack.

The other series is about a young lady named Meredith...well, who happens to belong to both Seelie Courts, and is a Princess of both, but is also half human.

win

 

[MichelleCarmen]

----------------
On 4/14/2004 5:21:08 PM winyan wrote:

I have my intellectual reads, and my pure enjoyment reads...best of the pure enjoyment reads??

The Outlander series by Diana Galberdon (spelling)?

They have everything, love, sex, history, sex, romance, sex...well you get the idea.

They can be enjoyed by both sexes, amazingly enough.

win----------------

Everyone I know loves these books, lol, but I've only read the first of the series. The book WAS good, but I'm not really into romance novels and the couple parts in the story where Jamie beat Claire and it was suppose to be oddly errotic and socially acceptable because she was being "out of line," just didn't appeal to me

lol


Michelle

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Oh, for intellectual reads, I wanted to mention that my husband (who majored in Physics and worked in this field) LOVES Robert Anton Wilson. My hubby claims reading books by this author will actually make you smarter! lol I'm planning to read another one of his books soon and hopefully gain a few lost brain cells back from my drunken college days.

The first one I read just talked of conspiracies and was a fun read and interesting

. . .so if you're a conspiritorist theorist - which we are, check this guy out!

Michelle

 

[winyan]

Well, actually he spanked her, w/a leather belt, that's true. However in his medieval mind he had just cause, and he did promise never to do it again. She did, after all, almost get everyone killed, and she had no concept of the culture in which she was moving, or how amoral JR was. If you read the first book, you know what he does to Jamie.

I found that scene more horrifying than the Claire spanking scene, and I'm an original feminist, from the early NOW years...(back when we were WITCH).

win

 

[winyan]

BTW, MC, if you like RAW, what do you think of the Knights Templar conspiracy?

win

 

[MichelleCarmen]

----------------
On 4/15/2004 1:04:08 PM winyan wrote:

Well, actually he spanked her, w/a leather belt, that's true. However in his medieval mind he had just cause, and he did promise never to do it again. She did, after all, almost get everyone killed, and she had no concept of the culture in which she was moving, or how amoral JR was. If you read the first book, you know what he does to Jamie.

I found that scene more horrifying than the Claire spanking scene, and I'm an original feminist, from the early NOW years...(back when we were WITCH).

win----------------

okay, that is right! It's been a couple years since I read Outlander and it's hard to remember all the details. I'm not even sure I remember what happened to Jamie as it's incredibly hard to keep all the characters from all the books I've read straight and this book just wasn't my cup of tea so I haven't saved much room in my brain for the details

I also completely forgot about the "witch" friend of Claire's and all accusations and stuff with her and what happened there!

This of course is unnerving to me as, (gasp), a pagan!

Michelle

 

[MichelleCarmen]

----------------
On 4/15/2004 1:05:23 PM winyan wrote:

BTW, MC, if you like RAW, what do you think of the Knights Templar conspiracy?

win----------------

I've only read one book by RAW thus far. . ."Everything is Under Control: Conspiracies, Cults, and Coverups," and I'm not versed enough in this area to give a detailed opinion, but it seems obvious to me that the Inquisition/church would have tortured the Knights Templar into giving false confessions and that they WERE NOT satanists, practitioners of black magic, etc., and that the church would do anything to gain the upper hand in ANY situation and if forcing the execution of the Knights served their purpose, there'd be nothing stopping them from doing so.

 

[Nicrez]

OH MY LORD! Why haven't I seen this thread before?!

I LOOOOOOOOOVE books, and am a bit o' a nerd for it, but hey. I got bored and started rereading all the classics, Fitzgerald, Asimov, Ayn Rand, Darwin, Poe. I am SUCH an Objectivist!!!

Life of Pi, Excellent book!

Gabriel Garcia Marquez...still swooning over Amor en los Tiempos de Cholera (Love in the Times of Cholera)

Amy Tan, excellent writer (God Kitchen's Wife)

Memoirs of a Geisha, Phenomenal!

I must add:
The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan. She's a phenomenally vibrant writer whose book is about the Mugal Empress Noor Jahan of India. Powerful women in tough times, BEAUTIFUL!

She has a second book, called the Feast of Roses a continuation of her rule, but I still think the first was by far the best.

Also on that thread was the Red Tent by Anita Diamante. Very interesting, especially towards the END! More women in power type books...

Of course I read all the Dan Brown books, after best seller The Da Vinci Code, I read Digital Fortress: excellent, Angels & Demonds: just as excellent, and then Deception Point: which was pretty good.

And a bit technical but interesting (slightly old) is the Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan. Interesting...

So many more!!!!

 

[winyan]

Well, partly it was due to dear Phillip the Fair of France that the whole persecution of the Templars started in the first place. He used them as an unofficial treasury, then started coveting the order's wealth. Since the Papacy was under his proverbial thumb, it wasn't hard to start the whole persecution thing rolling and the fact that Jacques de Molay was ah...hmm, trying to think of the perfect description...how about both innocent, and a good soldier?...he had no idea that the Papacy and the King were gunning for the order, or rather, the wealth of the order.

There is some rumor whether true or not, that some of the KTs' escaped to Scotland, and founded a new foundation for the order there.

win

 

[MichelleCarmen]

----------------
On 4/15/2004 8:25:33 PM winyan wrote:

Well, partly it was due to dear Phillip the Fair of France that the whole persecution of the Templars started in the first place. He used them as an unofficial treasury, then started coveting the order's wealth. Since the Papacy was under his proverbial thumb, it wasn't hard to start the whole persecution thing rolling and the fact that Jacques de Molay was ah...hmm, trying to think of the perfect description...how about both innocent, and a good soldier?...he had no idea that the Papacy and the King were gunning for the order, or rather, the wealth of the order.

There is some rumor whether true or not, that some of the KTs' escaped to Scotland, and founded a new foundation for the order there.

win----------------

I hope some of the knights did escape! Where you wondering also about the idea behind the Grail? I'm just now developing an interest in this and I noticed at B&N that they had an entire table dedicated to this info and it'll be easy to find lots of ideas/opinions involving all the cover ups regarding Mary M. and all that. I like the idea in The Da Vinci Code that possibly the end of world concept (which personally I think of as the end of calendar coinciding with the Mayan calendar ending in 2012) as the start of something new where we all understand our spiritual aspects better and are more aware.

Which RAW book would you recommend reading first? I'm waiting on the Illuminatus as it's so long and my husband said it takes a good 100 pages to get into and I'm just not up to the challenge right now so I'm wondering where to begin.

Michelle

 

[tomatoe]

#1 New York Times and # 1 International Best Selling Author:
A Child Called "IT"
The Lost Boy
A Man Named Dave

Three books that chronicle the real life story of abuse suffered by Dave Pelzer. The abuse that he suffered at the hands of his mother is intensely horrific, made my blood run cold and left me with a bitter taste in the mouth. In the state of California, in the 1970's Pelzer’s case was considered one of the most abusive in state's history.
However, it is a fantastic true account of the strength of the child and the man that he was to become and is now.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! by Fannie Flag
All books by Anne Rice
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
The Dive From Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer

 

[tomasdoc]

Hi all, I'm new here!

Now, for all the book worms

If you like to get a new free book on how to buy a diamond written by Fred Cuellar, go to:

http://www.diamondcuttersintl.com/diamond_education/ask/add.asp

There would be some form to fill up, something like "ask the expert" type of submission. Plug in some relevant question and once you submit it, you get an option to receive a free book. It would say that you were selected among 1000 others, that’s nothing but a balloon filled with hot air. I checked, every submission gives you the same option every time you submit any question.
Anyway, the point is: it's free, it's relevant to diamonds & I got the book with his autograph in about 4 days or so.

 

[sumi]

----------------
On 4/16/2004 1:37:10 PM tomasdoc wrote:

Hi all, I'm new here!

Now, for all the book worms

If you like to get a new free book on how to buy a diamond written by Fred Cuellar, go to:

http://www.diamondcuttersintl.com/diamond_education/ask/add.asp

There would be some form to fill up, something like 'ask the expert' type of submission. Plug in some relevant question and once you submit it, you get an option to receive a free book. It would say that you were selected among 1000 others, that’s nothing but a balloon filled with hot air. I checked, every submission gives you the same option every time you submit any question.
Anyway, the point is: it's free, it's relevant to diamonds & I got the book with his autograph in about 4 days or so.
----------------

Thank you for the suggestion, unfortunately there are not many fans of Fred Cuellar here. Do a search on this site and you'll see why. (hint: reasons include misinformation and a criminal conviction)

Let's keep this thread focused on REAL books/novels and not on Fred Cuellar's marketing efforts.

 

[tomasdoc]

Ha,

I think I began to agree.

Big thanx for the advise

 

[AGBF]

Michelle Carmen,

I have taken "The Poisonwood Bible" out of the library on your advice. I just have to finish "Dying for Dana" by Jim Patton first. I don't really like it...at least yet...but I rarely put down a book. Once I start I feel compelled to continue...except in truly dire circumstances .

Deb

 

[wallace]

Oh, you're going to be annoyed that I found this thread!
FI just left town, DVD player broken, and he took the three books I haven't read in the house!

I will try to control myself:

If you like Memoirs of a Geisha you might like Geisha, a Life by Mineko Iwasaki - the last great geisha.

If you like Japanese, The tale of Genji by Lady Maurasaki Shikibu - the world's first novel written by an 11th century Heian noblewoman. (I recommend the Seidensticker translation)The Tale of Murasaki by Liza Dalby.

I am biased towards Homer and ALL classical literature.

Longitude by Dava Sobel (also, a "movie" on BBC), who also wrote Galileo's Daughter.

Everything by Vladimir Nabokov and James Joyce.

If you like Knights Templar, The Templars by Ed. Burman (very heavy research). Which leads me to...

Foucault's Pendulum and Everything by Umberto Eco. Just finished Baudolino.

Beautiful Losers by Leonard Cohen who is really a poet!

Cry the Beloved Counrty - Alan Patton - some of the most beautiful English prose I have ever read - and his only other book Too Late the Phalarope (a kind of S. African bird).

The Master and Margeurita - Mikhail Bulgakov - Russian master second only to Vlad. The devil as you have never seen him before! OR was it the Russian state revealed as the devil?!...

The First World War - Joihn Keegan(I have a million Great War and WWII recommendations...)

YESSSSS Hitchhiker's Guide!!!!

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy - I do not like All the Pretty Horses trilogy - he sold out!

THe Gift - poems by Hafiz - Sufi Mystic try the Coleman Barks translation.

I'll end with - Wind, Sand, and Stars by Antoine de St. Exupery who wrote the Little Prince. MAGIC!

Thanks for letting me make sucha long list!!! I think I'll go drench myself with some Hafiz and Bourdeaux!