I need some book recs

Re: I need some book recs

And a very hard topic. A good book - I'll agree. I was entranced from the very start. But do I vaugely remember Heidi's original post asking for light? If not, then I'll wholeheartedly agree with The Lovely Bones.

[GrayMatterWife]

Re: I need some book recs

In a completely different style... David Sedaris. Anything by him. ANYTHING. I don't recommend reading his stuff in public. It is laugh out loud funny, laugh until you cry, until you can't talk any more. Laugh until it is obvious that the damn Kegel's don't work.

Oh, ditto, ditto, ditto!!!

[GrayMatterWife]

Re: I need some book recs

Heidi - I know you said you don't like non-fiction, which is why I didn't have any suggestions for you.

Oh, Heidi...very sorry. I somehow missed that. Ignore my Thomas Freidman rec...

[DCJenn]

Re: I need some book recs

how about anything written by MFK Fisher? As a foodie, I think you'd like her writing. I'm really a set of short articles of hers.

Jenn

Re: I need some book recs

Still haven't read it. I need to take a vacation by myself with a suitcase full of books.


Yes, the Julia and Julie book would be great. Outside your fiction parameter but I think you would really like the story and the author.

Re: I need some book recs

:wee:

[HouseofWool]

Re: I need some book recs

I just thought of another. Wicked - the life of the Wicked Witch of the West. There is a sequel that is equally good.

[Vanquisher]

Re: I need some book recs

I just thought of another. Wicked - the life of the Wicked Witch of the West. There is a sequel that is equally good.

Read that. Hated it. It grossed me out badly in one portion.

I am really, really picky.

[Sheherezade]

Re: I need some book recs

Have you tried anything by Elizabeth George? She tends to get the mystery started quickly - but is a little more skilled than a Patricia Cornwall or James Patterson mystery. You should go sit in the library for an hour or so and just try out a few chapters of this and that. I have gotten picky too lately; it's much harder. I feel like I waste a lot of time on half-reads and books that weren't worth it in the end.

Ho-hum.

Outlander is a good romance/action series. (Second that!)

I have also read the three books out by P.J. Tracy. It's a mother daughter team.....fast reads. I'm not sure they are any better than a Cornwall as far as mysteries go, though. Engrossing and plot driven, yes.

Chick-lit/Oprah like/Novel bits......I liked House of Ruth. Old, but a neat book. I also recently read She's Come Undone and Alice Sebold's second book. Alice Sebold is graphic as hell and writes about rape/violence/murder - so not light. She does grab you, though!

Re: I need some book recs

Alice Sebold is graphic as hell and writes about rape/violence/murder - so not light. She does grab you, though!

Yes she is. All-the-more graphic when you realize Lucky is the true story of her own rape and recovery from it. Still, Angie is right - she does it well and it grabs you. Just tough to read - like I said.

I remember enjoying She's Come Undone (read it ages ago). I did not like Wally Lamb's 2nd book though.

White Oleander is another that I really enjoyed. Heidi - the main character's mother has a seriously vindictive streak. You might be able to live somewhat vicariously through that.

[Vanquisher]

Re: I need some book recs

I've read She's Come Undone and White Oleander (or maybe I just saw that movie with Michelle Pfieffer?). Anyway, I guess I've read more than I have realized. I thought those were okay. I am so picky.

I haven't tried Elizabeth George. I think that's a good suggestion, Angie. Spend a few hours in the library with a stack of books and see what I walk out with.

I have gotten picky too lately; it's much harder. I feel like I waste a lot of time on half-reads and books that weren't worth it in the end.

This is exactly it. If I am reading a book, I want it to be not good, but GREAT, otherwise it just isn't worth it to me, you know? I feel like I can waste my time doing other things like watching trashy t.v., reading a cooking magazine, or surfing the net. If a book is really, really great, I love it, and I get really engrossed in reading, but if it's not, I just can't make it.

[Sheherezade]

Re: I need some book recs

Yeah....Jenn- when I was reading Lucky, I kept asking myself "Why am I still reading this?!? It's torture!!" Still, I kept with it. I was shocked by the revelations of how f-ed up she was while outwardly "successful". Clearly, she was traumatized - but you have to wonder if the road she chose to travel afterward was the better one. It seemed that the people she described that just swept assaults under the rug faired better. It made you think.

That said....I'm not sure I enjoyed reading it.

Re: I need some book recs

to getting picky. I have less focused reading time lately and if the book isn't totally worth it....grrrr. That said, I do find myself remembering parts of books that I didn't rave about at the time. Back to my point about needing a book vacation.