Read Any Good Books Lately?

[Bassetluv]

Oh gosh, Jim...Daphne du Maurier! I have a bookhere (somewhere in my completely disorganized house) that used tobelong to my mother...she was an avid reader herself...and it was acollection of short stories by Daphne du Maurier. It's called "Kiss MeAgain, Stranger" (which is also one of the stories in the book). Ican't recall all of the stories in it now, but do remember that one ofthe stories it contained was "The Birds". (Just as creepy asHitchcock's movie version!) Now I have to try and find that book so Ican re-read it (it's been years since I read it the first time).

I love du Maurier's writing..."The House On The Strand" sounds riveting! Will have to see if I can get a copy of that too...




***And another book to add to my list again:

Earth Abides (George Stewart)

It's a sci-fi story about a man who is alone on a hiking trip in themountains - temporarily cut off from the outside world - and doesn'trealize that while he is gone a deadly virus has struck civilization.Within days it has wiped out almost the entire population of theplanet; there are only a handful of survivors, including the maincharacter...the story follows him as he slowly discover others likehim...and how they adapt to the new world.

 

[Jess_sully]

Oh, if you're ever in the area, even for just alittle bit... you should go there. In my opinion, it's better than allof the other museums by far. Those ones are interesting, too... justnot on the same level.

 

[JimD]

Bassetluv wrote:

LOL...yes! Charles Martin Smith did a great acting job (loved the scene where he's eating the pot of mice, I think it was...)

Yeppers.....it was mice!

.....the part where he's observing the wolves, and ends upbeing the one observed. I was reading the book on the plane and laughedoutloud at that part.

...and the part where he stashes all of the cases of beer in the canoefor the plane trip. That was in the movie, but not sure if it was inthe book.

 

[TinysMom]

Oh - I love to read. The fact that Ijust became a book reviewer helps me with my "book habit" as my firstbook came in the mail yesterday...it is James Patterson's Judgeand Jury. My husband looked at it and went, "oh..Ilike him". I've never read his stuff before but I did ask my editor torequest it because I like legal stuff. (I've also asked themto request John Grisham's new book which is NOT fiction!).

I just finished Roar of the Heavens by Stefan Bechtellast night. It is non-fiction... about Hurricane Camille and it caughtmy eye because John Grisham called it "Riveting". Hmm...well....I didenjoy the stories in it but the writer drove me up the wall with hisstyle. You'd have a boy letting go of a limb to jump to hisfamily on page 155 - then suddenly get 7 pages of explanation aboutthat part of the storm (in the middle of the chapter) and then on page163 - find out if the boy made it or not. Yeah....it really frustratedme. But the stories are good and my review will basically bealong the lines of recommending it.....if you borrow it from thelibrary.

I've also been reading theUglies/Pretties/Specialstrilogy by Scott Westerfeld. This is young adult fiction but I found itfascinating. I still haven't read Specials yet...the booksare about a society in the future. Its hard to explain - maybe read adescription of them on Amazon.com?

I also recently read and reviewed Leather and Lace byDiAnn Mills. It's a Christian historical romance novel. DiAnn is goingto be speaking at a writer's conference I'm attending in September andtalking about creating dynamic characters - so I thought I'd check tosee if she was good. Besides...the book was under $3 at Walmart. Ireally enjoy her style of writing and she does a good job of creatingcharacters and making them come alive.

Finally - I read The Decoy Princess and Princess atSea by Dawn Cook. Great books - not my normal style(fantasy) but WOW. I stayed up till 3 am to finish Decoy Princess Ithink...

Anyway - those are my most recent books. I have a list of15-20 (no...more I think) for my editors to request for me. I reviewfor three different websites so I have lots of opportunities to read.

Peg

 

[missyscove]

TinysMom wrote:

I've also been reading theUglies/Pretties/Specialstrilogy by Scott Westerfeld. This is young adult fiction but I found itfascinating. I still haven't read Specials yet...the booksare about a society in the future. Its hard to explain - maybe read adescription of them on Amazon.com?

I loved, absolutely loved those. So addictive, I usually waitfor books to come out in paperback, but those and harry potter, I justcan't wait for.

 

[ilovetegocalderon]

My favorite author is Dean Koontz.Favorite books of all time are "Intensity" and "Sole Survivor" both byD. Koontz. I just done, today, reading "The Taking," also byKoontz. I read "The Da Vinci Code" a couple months ago and itwas good, except i found the ending a little weak (it's by Dan Brown asim sure most of you know) so I decided to try "Angels & Demons"today after i finished The Taking but after the first couple chapters ifound it to be too much like Da Vinci Code so I'm on the hunt to starta different book.

 

[maherwoman]

I'm about halfway through a book calledContagion by Robin Cook. He's such an incredibleauthor. He does medical suspense mysteries (not sure how thattechnically is supposed to be named, but there you go, hehe) that areso captivating and really wonderful. I've read about ten ofhis books throughout the years, and am still reading any one I can getmy hands on!

I also love anything by Michael Crichton...don't remember if I mentioned that.

Finished quite recently Violin by Anne Rice, and LOVEDIT...amazing book...a true gem!! It's nothing about vampires,but is a tad supernatural. Wonderful, so positive, sobeautiful....*sigh* I love Anne Rice's stories...she is suchan amazing descriptor (is that a word?).

I'm quite the reader, so I'm sure that the longer this thread continues, the more entries I'll be making to it!

 

[pamnock]

I like Anne Rice, but really love Ann Rule's true-crime stories (currently reading Everything She Ever Wanted).

Contagion by Robin Cook sounds like something I'd really like.

I'm jotting downeveryone's favorite books so I can take alist to the library

Pam

 

[ilovetegocalderon]

pamnock wrote:

I'mjotting downeveryone's favorite books so I can take a list tothe library

Pam

Im telling you, Sole Survivor by Dean Koontz is phenomenal!!! (sp??) I read it in 2 days.

Has anyone every read "A Child Called It"? That's a great book too.

 

[pamnock]

ilovetegocalderon wrote:

Has anyone every read "A Child Called It"? That's a great book too.

That was a great book! The other books in the trilogy areThe Lost Boy and A Man Named Dave by DavePelzer.



Pam

 

[Linz_1987]

If you liked the book 'A Child Called It', then you will like 'A Little Prisoner' by Jane Elliot.

I love both books, and they are very similar in storytelling.They bothmade me look at life acompletely different way.

You probually think im really weird, but at the moment im reading theBible. Hehe. I had never read it before, or even looked init, so I thought I had better as I am a Christian!

Like I didnt know that Adam and Eve lived to be 830 years old, and Adamand Eves son was Noah, from Noahs Ark! :shock:lol

 

[maherwoman]

I love Anne Rice's books. I've neverheard of Ann Rule...but will probably check her out now that youmentioned her!

I finished Contagion today...great ending!

Now I'm on Stranger in a Strange Land by RobertHeinlein. I've never read it (or anything else of his)before, so I'm looking forward to it. So far, sogood! I'll let you know how it goes!

Edit: My husband just reminded me that I've read another of RobertHeinlein's books: Job: A Comedy of Justice. FUNNY andreally great. Now I'm looking forward to thisbook even MORE!

pamnock wrote:

I like Anne Rice, but reallylove Ann Rule's true-crime stories (currently reading Everything SheEver Wanted).

Contagion by Robin Cook sounds like something I'd really like.

 

[jordiwes]

I thought I'd jump in here.

I read Paul Coelho's "The Alchemist" a couple of months ago and just loved it.

I am now reading "The Zahir" by the same author and I can't put it down!

 

[JimD]

....more of a short story....

Johnathan Livingston Seagull

 

[missyscove]

Linz_1987 wrote:

You probually think im really weird, but at the moment im reading theBible. Hehe. I had never read it before, or even looked init, so I thought I had better as I am a Christian!

Like I didnt know that Adam and Eve lived to be 830 years old, and Adamand Eves son was Noah, from Noahs Ark! :shock:lol

Ah yes, of course, 12 years of Catholic school has taught me well,lol. It's amazing the juicy tidbits you can find inthere.

 

[katt]

i am a big book girl. . .i is an addiction!

lets see, what books have i read?

as someone else said i just read lolita. . .the subject is difturbing but the text and how it is written is amazing. . .

i loved girl with a pearl earing, but loved even more tracy chevalier'sother books like the lady and the unicorn and falling angel, i love herwritting.

um . . . i have the mists of avalon. . .i have the movie and i am about to start the book.

i haven't been bookshopping in a while, i am going to stock up on new titles before i leave for college.



katie

 

[katt]

i am a big book girl. . .i is an addiction!

lets see, what books have i read?

as someone else said i just read lolita. . .the subject is difturbing but the text and how it is written is amazing. . .

i loved girl with a pearl earing, but loved even more tracy chevalier'sother books like the lady and the unicorn and falling angel, i love herwritting.

um . . . i have the mists of avalon. . .i have the movie and i am about to start the book.

i haven't been bookshopping in a while, i am going to stock up on new titles before i leave for college.



katie

 

[maherwoman]

Okay, so I put Stranger in a Strange Landon hold, mostly because I was so jazzed by Robin Cook'sContagion, I wanted to read another Mystery/Suspensenovel. So I decided to read State of Fear by MichaelCrichton in the interim. It was WONDERFUL!! Verylong (which was a plus for me, so it didn't last only a day...hehe),and very thought-provoking. I recommend it!

Right now I'm reading Book Three of Mission Earth by L. RonHubbard...and it's wonderful so far, great addition to theseries. It's a Sci-Fi dekthology, so I have seven more booksto go, and I look forward to it!

I will go back to reading Stranger in a Strange Land after I'mdone with the this book of the Mission Earth series.

Rosie*

 

[naturestee]

I totally forgot how much I loved this author,but I was reminded when I saw his death notice in thepaper. His name is Naguib Mahfouz, and he's the only Arabicauthor to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

I remember reading Children of the Alley, which I just picked up againfrom the library. It basically parallels the stories of themajor Islamic prophets (which also includes Jewish/Christian prophets,for those who didn't already know) and a major theme is how good worksand morals become distorted by mob psychology. It's not agood explanation, I haven't read this book for 10 years.

 

[dreamgal042]

Some books that I really love are thosefiction/non-fiction stories that you're not sure if they're 100% realor not, but would be amazed that they are:

A Child Called It/The Lost Boy/A Man Named Dave (dave pelzer)henomenal story of overcoming abuse. In child growth and developmentclass last year, our teacher basically read us A Child Called It, andthe entire class (i mean everyone) would ask her every day to read somemore of it.

Running With Scissors/Dry (augusten burroughs): just little anecdotes(connected by a plot if i remember correctly) about his life. anothergreat story, very interesting, with lots of funny, sad, happy,depressing, unbelievable parts.

Naked/Dress your family in courdery and denim/me talk pretty someday/holidays on ice/pretty much any other book (david sedaris): theseones are mostly just funny. I got a lot of greif for reading "dressyour family..." in school cuz it has a naked barbie doll on the frontof it :shock:. Again, these are all presumeably true stories aboutSedaris' life. FUN FACT: in the movie Elf with Will Ferrell, the dad'sassistant is Amy Sedaris, David's sister.

The Glass Castle (jeanette walls i think): another great story about atough family to live with. I can't remember many details, but Iremember reading the book thinking 'i cant believe this is a truestory....'

It always amazes me to see how people have come out of suchunbelievable situations and become such inspiring, incredible people.