Bookworm

I'm glad you like the Janet Evanovich books so far, Pam! They sure are funny. I got a couple of them on CD's, the unabridged versions. Don't want to leave anything out, you know. I listen to them when I'm doing things around the house, sometimes.

I picked up a bunch of Nicholas Sparks books at my credit union. I think maybe I got 6 of them? They looked brand new, and I only paid about $4.50 for all of them. I love that they do the book sale for Relay for Life. I can get books there cheap ($1.00 for hard cover, $0.50 for paperbacks, $0.25 for childrens books), and I'm helping out a great cause, too.

I went to Borders a short time ago, and I was looking through their clearance stuff and I got a couple of books by Jodi Picoult. The Pact, and Keeping Faith. They were pretty good books, too. Borders always has stuff that is marked down a great deal, so I like to go there sometimes to check out what they have on sale. I learned my lesson by new books full price there. One time I bought one, I couldn't wait to read it. I can't remember now what book it was. Anyway, I went back a week later (two at the most) and there it was, for 1/4 the price I paid for it! I was hot! Never again will I do that! You can also find some books pretty cheap on Amazon.

I just started reading My Sweet Audrina again. I read it before. It's by V.C Andrews. I have all of her books, too, I think. Anyway, that is one twisted book for sure! I often wonder about the books she's written, and how one can think up some of that stuff!

The PBS thing sounds great, too! I'm going to check it out. I think having a Bookworm thread is a great idea, and what better time to start it, than the new year? Good thinking, Pam! I hope others join the thread!

Nicholas Sparks books are another sweet escape from heavier reading. I do enjoy his books. Now, V.C. Andrews, it seems that her books are kind of far fetched horror? Seems like I read some long ago.

Anyway, I'm really enjoying the first Stephanie Plum novel. I have to figure out who stylized this, Janet Evanovich or Sue Grafton. Honestly their style is so alike. Grafton's private investigator is Kinsey Milhone, A is for Alibi, B is for Burglar, etc.
Leading characters have almost identical personalities (Kinsey Milhone and Stephanie Plum).

Anyway, thanks Puzzle. I'm having fun with this. I just finished a book that was too intense, and I always have to follow with something light hearted.

pam

V.C. Andrews-Flowers in the Attic. That series was quite disturbing. I think I was about 12 when I read the first one.

Katherine, I'd be interested in hearing what non-fiction books you have on your shelf. I think I should probably take up that resolution as well. I have a bad habit of purchasing because it looks interesting, or I know that it's supposed to be good, but they just get added to the pile of unread that I never seem to make time to read.

Paris 1919-I know it's supposed to be good but it's still sitting there along with many others.

I used to do that...terrible terrible habit...
Then, I discovered the library.
It is kind of sick that some people read in the can...
But, oh, well - you'll just have to forgive me.
I don't get Cosmo.

Jesus - A meditation on his stories and his relationships with women, by Andrew Greeley.
Oh - I just checked now, LOL - it's "Father" Andrew Greeley.

I really don't think that the Pope had to have my priest write a sermon just because AE and I were heading to the Casino with Random.
(What? - am I being paranoid?)
Some things have to be more than co-incidence.
Anyways, they need to read the book - Jesus loved woman and knew how to treat them.

Not to say that Random is Jesus - now I guess that might be a tad blasphemous!

I spend way too much time on "cleaning", (that's just a joke), and don't have as much time to read as I would like.

I was wondering if anyone has read these books, and if they are worth the time:

The Nice Girl Syndrome - Beverly Engel

"Why Do I Love These People?" - Understanding, Surviving, and Creating Your Own Family - Po Bronson

Jesus - A Story of Enlightenment - Deepak Chopra

Please let me know, as my time is valuable, and I can't keep up with the all the prayers.
Will remember all of you in my prayers.

Hi Heartthrob,
Just finished Patricia Cornwell's Point of Origin. Really horrifying & Kay Scarpetta's (she's the heroine) long time lover is killed by the maniac. I've been on a thriller kick for several months--hubby says he can see why I can't sleep at night. I like Michael Cook--have probably read all his except Coma which I can never find at the library. Also Dean Koontz & JD Robb (Nora Roberts) series with Eve Dallas.

I am a pretty eclectic reader--like romances & long family sagas.Love Anne Rivers Siddons, Diane Mott Davidson, Maeve Binchey, Anne Rice, Luanne Rice & many more. At times I have rebought or rechecked out a rerun & didn't realize it until quite a bit had been read. I do enjoy rereading favorites.

I always say that books are the only reason I'm as sane as I am.

Wanda

I do know some of your authors. I loved Coma - Robin (not Michael) Cook. He has lots of others I probably would like..........medical thrillers. Koontz also. You have lots of authors I haven't read though, although I have read a few Mauve Binchey. I don't usually care for the vampire stuff, although I haven't really read it, and it's just an assumption I make. I really should try something Anne Rice before saying that. Is Luanne Rice also into vampire genre?

Ira Levin, aside from Rosemary's Baby and Stepford Wives, The Boys from Brazil was excellent.

I'm also a very eclectic reader. I having thousands and thousands of books--small town, small library. Books are my one shopping vice. I spend more on books than anything else, and I'm constantly donating books to the local literacy volunteers.

My favorite genres are historical fiction and mysteries, so of course I love the historical mysteries, like Laura Joh Rowland who writes about a samurai and Victoria Thompson's Gaslight Series, which is about a midwife in Teddy Roosevelt's New York. For excellent historical fiction, you can't go wrong with Margaret George or Collen McCullough's Rome books.

Pam and Puzzle, you have both been talking a lot about Janice Evanovich, whose new one came out Tuesday, if you like her stuff, you would like, I think Donna Andrews' books about Meg Langslow, a Southern welder with relatives just as nuts (but softer) than Stephanie Plum's family. The series starts with "Murder with Peacocks."

For general fiction, I'm pretty fussy. I take out a lot from the local library, read a few pages, if it doesn't grab me, I'm done. Puzzle, I like some of Shreve's books, but not others, Jodi Piccoult is another author who I sometimes love, sometimes not. I love Carol Shields (everything she wrote, how I cried when she passed---she was Canada's gift to the world), and Louise Erdrich (although I warn you if you are not familiar with Native American writing, she's a tough place to start). I also love everything Barbara Kingsolver has written--essays, short stories, fiction, and non-fiction. Another author I usually have good luck with is Ann Patchett. She's sometimes a little obvious, but her use of language is so beautiful, I don't mind.

Now this one is going to surprise everything, another person who writes beautifully is Steve Martin, yes, the comedian. His two novellas and his recent autobiography are starkly beautifully and gloriously written. Absolutely among my favorites.

I read a lot of non-fiction, but that's mostly by topic. Right now I'm reading a lot of memoirs of survivors of different genocides around the world. Not pretty stuff, but nonetheless, it's what I'm reading. I must confess that most of my non-fiction reading tends to be history.

Of course I read a ton of children's and young adult literature, so if anyone is ever looking for stuff for a child or teen, I'm willing to help. I often stop parents from buying the "wrong" book in bookstores that a clerk has recommended that I know is not right for a kid. My sister always tells me "you're not the teacher of the world, you know." (I think I am, though, and she's just jealous because she's just a poopy old scientist.)

Oh my, we have much to share (besides migraines). I also love to read history, non fiction and historical fiction. Dee Brown ~ "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee", many, many others. Are you familiar with author Jeff Shaara? He's very good.

I will be referring to your post often, when looking for something to read. Thanks
I have been sick all week. I started back on Topomax.

pam

I got on a kick for Anne Rice a few yrs back & read most of her stuff.
that's about all the vampire stories I've read other than Salem's Lot (sStephen King, I think) which caused me to have to wake my husband in the middle of the night--it was very believable!!

Luanne Rice writes about relationships including romance but also family stuff. NOT bodice ripper type.

Dianne Mott Davidson writes detective where the heroine is a caterer. Sorta like the Stephanie Plum type but maybe not quite as humerous. Includes a lot of good recipes.

I enjoyed (was creeped out by) Stepford Wives & will try some of his others.

Wanda

Ok, two of my most fun novels:

Billy Bathgate ~ The first chapter will take your breath away, and the book is a thousand times better than the movie.

and

Bonfire of the Vanities ~ Great book, and again, a thousand times better than the movie. Of course I always feel that few movies equal the book.

exceptions: Gone With The Wind, The Grapes of Wrath, To Kill a Mockingbird

http://www.allreaders.com/booksearcha.asp?SubjectID=2

You all might enjoy trying this. You put in your preferences as to plot, etc. & get a list of a hundred suggested books.

Wanda

Interesting. Thanks Wanda. I'll try it.

I just read a really interesting book, which has made me grateful that I was born and raised in the Western world.

"A Thousand Splendid Suns," by Khaled Hosseini is a story of two women born in Afghanistan and spans the last 33 years. It follows the history of war and oppression that this country had to endure without belaboring it, while the story focuses on these two women, who are so different from each other but are faced with the same problems.

Just finished a fabulous book called "A Thousand Splendid Suns".

Khaled Hosseini also wrote "The Kite Runner", which I liked, although this one is even more of a 'can't put it down' sort of book. It is a saga of 3 generations of characters in Afghan history. OMG, it's the best book I've read in a long time.

The author is quite interesting and works as a U.S. envoy for UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, one of the world's foremost humanitarian agencies. UNHCR's mandate is to protect the basic human rights of refugees, provide emergency relief, and to help refugees restart their lives in a safe environment. UNHCR provides assistance to more than twenty million displaced people around the world, not ony in afghanistan, but also in places such as Colombia, Burundi, the Congo, Chad, and the Darfur region of Sudan.

Anyway, excellent book by a talented and thoughtful writer. Finished the book in 2 days!! Couldn't put it down. Libraries have it.

LOL . . . look down at my last comment . . . looks like we BOTH enjoyed this book!!! I was just like you in that I found it a hard book to put down. I saw the movie "The Kite Runner," . . . I think I should read the book. There is always so much more detail in books, I find, that helps me see the reasoning behind certain "scenes" that just isn't there in a movie.

This is too funny Sherry, but I'll bet that's what made me order the book from the library!! I've told you about my memory. I order books from the library using my card online catalogue. Sometimes they have to come from other branches, and sometimes they are checked out and there is a wait (time for Pam to forget). I got an email from the library that they had the book that I ordered "A Thousand Splendid Suns", and I couldn't remember ordering it. But hubby picked it up and I got right into it since it was same author as The Kite Runner. Well now Hosseini's book has two good recommendations here. Ha Ha Ha Ha

Thanks for the tip. You're right, with few exceptions I always like books better than movies. The Kite Runner was no exception. The book is much better than the movie.

P.S. Did this book make you cry?

That IS too funny, Pam . . . (but I'm not making fun of your memory loss problem, though!)

It takes an awful lot for a book to make me cry. But it certainly saddened me quite a bit. That's why I wrote how fortunate I feel not to live in such a backwards country, where woman are objects to be possessed, not human beings. I would highly recommend the book to both male and females.

"Suite Francaise" by Irene Nemirovsky.

If you borrow from the library, as I do, you might have to go on the wait list, as I had to.

ive recently completed the Sookie collection, the novels Trublood is based upon and i read the Host the woman who wrote twilight, they were good reads. meaningless but good.

At the moment I'm reading Charlie Wilson's War (the movie was made from the book, not the other way around). Its really good. I also have 900 Days in my bag to read next. Its about the Siege of Stalingrad during WWII.

I am reading The Wild Sargasso Sea and can't put it down!!!! It's based on Jane Eyre and is the "background" love story of Edward and Bertha Rochester before everything went wrong. It's not a typical romance, though. It's set in Jamaica, as the slaves are being set free and her family, former slave owners, go through many changes.

i ran out of books to read!!! I ran out about a week ago. tomorrow, i'm going to go get some more, though. I'm not quite sure yet what I'm going to get. There's a book I'd like to read called "Surreal in Saudi". Here's a link to check out the book:

http://www.insidesaudi.com/surreal.html

I'm going to stop at the book store tomorrow, as they always have clearance books. I've found many really good books just by looking at those. I have some appointments tomorrow, and I have to work, so I figure if I go to the book store before my appointments, I'll have something to read while I wait! I'll let you guys know what other books I discover. There were some other ones I wanted to read, too, but I can't remember the names of them off hand.

I had to quote myself because I mistyped the title--it's The Wide Sargasso Sea. I just finished it and it was fabulous to the end!!!

I just finished "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah. This book is not for the faint of heart, as it is a non-fiction account of this young man's life in the civil war in Sierra Leone. It ripped my heart out. A thirteen year old fights a war after losing his family. The stories he tells of living through the war are bad enough, how he becomes a soldier is absolutely horrifying. I have a colleague who escaped Sierra Leone with some of his family members and he assures me there is no exaggeration in this book--if anything, the author has toned down the violence in an effort not to be too shocking and graphic. If you can deal with the subject matter, you have to read it, as it is an important look at children in war, the African civil wars, and rebuilding the life of a severely traumatized child.

Just finished a book that I really, really enjoyed reading, and it came from the library. Published 5/2007 ~ Whistling in the Dark, a novel by Lesley Kagen. I just thoroughly enjoyed it. http://www.lesleykagen.com/

Ironically it has a review in the front, written by Sara Gruen, who wrote "Water for Elephants", which I also read recently. Gruen's review highly praises "Whistling in the Dark", which is supposed to be great acclaim, coming from the author of a NYT bestseller that won't stay on the shelves. The funny thing is that I liked "Whistling in the Dark" much more than "Water for Elephants".

AE, you would like it.

Another good book I read recently #1 New York Times Bestseller
"Three Cups of Tea" ~ Non fiction
One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

http://www.threecupsoftea.com/

I just finished reading a book. It was very,very good, I thought. I was sorry it ended!
It's called, "The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes", by Diane Chamberlain.
Basically, in 1977 a woman disappeared. 20 years later, her remains are discovered and a guy is charged with murder. But there is no sign of the unborn child the woman was pregnant with. CeeCee knows how the woman died, because she was there. She also knows what happened to the infant, because 2 decades ago she made the decision to raise the child as her own. Now the guy is facing the death penalty, and she has another choice to make. Tell the truth, and destroy her family, or let an innocent man die to protect a lifetime of lies?
Anyway, I thought it was a great book. I started to read "The memory Keepers daughter" or something, then the very day I started it, the movie came on! I was on page 4 or something. I think I'll still finish it, though. The books are always better than the movies.

I didn't watch the movie, Puzzle, but I loved the book, so keep reading it. I'm going to find "CeeCee" it sounds great.

I am about to start The Book of Negroes. I'll let you know how it is-I am anticipating great things!
RG...I have a feeling you might like it.

I just sent for a copy of "The Known World", by Edward P. Jones.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Known_World

It won the National Book Critics award and a Pulitzer Prize. Can't wait to get into it. Please let us know how you like your book.

Just finished another Anita Shreve book. OMG, her best yet. Better than "Pilot's Wife" or "Body Surfing" , it's "Testimony". I don't very often recommend books to my husband as his tastes are too different in some respects than mine. Some books I enjoy, he would call "girlie books". But he can't put this one down.

It's a new release, and as such is just a 7 day release from the library.

With the new HBO series based on the books (the series has been pretty good so far, by the way), I've been re-reading the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series by Alexander McCall Smith. They're even better the second time around, because I have a better appreciation of the culture.

OK, late Autumn is here and it's time to resurrect this thread.

I just finished an historical work on influenza, mainly about the 1918 H1N1 outbreak and the subsequent search for the causative flu agent. Interestingly predictive/cautionary, copyrighted in 2004, this was very, very interesting and informative. "The Great Influenza" ~ John M. Barry

now reading something truly entertaining

"The Hour I First Believed" by Wally Lamb. I don't often fall off my chair laughing, and I have at this book. Lamb is an excellent author. Other of his novels that I have read: "She's Come Undone" and "I Know This Much is True".

I just ordered another book from the library that I am real anxious to read, having read a great review and wondered if anyone else has read it yet:

“The Help", by Kathryn Stockett ~ a novel about the relationships between African-American maids and their white employers in 1960s Mississippi, has the classic elements of a crowd pleaser: it features several feisty women enmeshed in a page-turning plot, clear villains and a bit of a history lesson.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/books/03help.html?ref=todayspaper

I just finished "The Autobiography of a Face" by Lucy Grealey. The topic is the many reconstructive surgeries she had after a childhood bout with cancer.

Well???? How well did you like it?

I thought the book as a whole was fascinating. She was going through all this 20 years ago, and some of the surgeries were really horrific. I wondered if the same treatments would be used today.