Book Recommendations

[pixy0stix]

Please add your book recommendations to this thread. If you feel so inclined, include a brief synopsis or link to the book.

[laurenpetro]

ok, i'll start.

i loved the ever-recommended "The Handmaid's Tale". i was so drawn into the idea of a woman who had lived a life of freedom suddenly becoming opressed and how society changed.

(i think that counts as a short synopsis?)

[Deleted]

What a good idea!

My two favorite books that I read last year were Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel. Both won the Booker Prize and are part of a triology on the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's chief minuster during the Boylen and Seymour years. They're told from his POV. I promise you, you can't read these books and not fall in love with him. They're that good

[mominatrix]

My go-to recommendation, if you're looking for hilarious easy reads, is The Sex Lives of Cannibals. It's nonfiction, the chronicle of a man who followed his girlfriend (wife? don't remember!) to a not-picture-perfect island in the South Pacific.   Its sequel, Getting Stoned with Savages is almost as good; it's another year on another island. His third book, about a trip to China, doesn't stack up.

[brookles]

The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth (totally YA lit, Hunger Games-ish but better)

Gone, Girl by Gillian Flynn - a little bit crazy, but fun/murder mystery of sorts

[Deleted]

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
The Dove Keepers by Alice Hoffman
The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain

[IIOY]

Currently reading Snow White Must Die, a crime thriller set in Germany about a man or who or may not have been wrongly convicted of killing two girls. It takes place in a small, gossipy village and has a whole cast of characters each of whom is potentially untrustworthy.

Another fiction recommendation is Syndrome E, and very creepy thriller about a video that drives one man to instant blindness and seems to kill others who come into contact with it. There is a fair amount of science so the story has an aura of realism. It sounds like the plot for The Ring, but it's nothing like that.

[elleblue]

My book recs -

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Little Giant of Aberdeen County and The Gilly Salt Sisters by Tiffany Baker
Garden Spells, The Sugar Queen, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, and The Peach Keeper by Sara Addison Allen

[SallyJ]

Anything from Octavia Butler.  She is female, black and science fiction writer so I think her point of view is incredibly compelling, more so than her peers who are most often male and white.  Her books are a lot of dystopian type of plots, but she covers things like slavery, opression of women, violence among humans, and protection of family/race/humans. 

My two favorite series are Parable series and Xenogenesis/Dawn's Brood series.  The Parable series is eerily close to some of the recent society/government issues going on and goes into how slavery could come back.  Setting is in CA.  The Xenogenesis series is about the end of the human race and mating with aliens.  I don't think I've ever been so disturbed by the discription of aliens.  I really wish that series would become a movie.  The Pattern Master series is also very good.  Really you can't go wrong with any of her stuff.

For easy to digest reads that I enjoyed:
Divurgent and Insurgent.  Dystopian plot where society is divided up into personality traits - compassion/altruism, bravery, intelligence, etc.

Hunger Games - everyone should know about this already

Meredith Gentry series - Book about fairies.  I think it includes vamps and werewolves too.  There is a lot of sex in these books.

You must read World War Z - It's like a history book of what happened after zombies hit, how the world coped, and how humans took back the planet.  I love the  style it's written in.

My new favorite genere - Kindle series!

I gave up TV so these give me the satisfaction of cliff hangers, series and seasons.  You purchase a season and a new episode is released once every 1-2 weeks.  Then there is a 6 week break until a new season starts.  Each season is $5-$7, so reasonably priced since they are the equivalent of a standard novel.  Very, very fun to read.

My favorite series are by Sean Platt and David W Wright:
Yesterdays Gone (alternate worlds, characters switch places, one world has scary alien things, good vs evil kind of plot)
Z2134 (think 1984+HungerGames+Zombies)

[ttt]

For fans of crime/mystery, I love the Kurt Wallander novels by Henning Mankell. They're set in Sweden and are a zillion times better than "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo".

The first book is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0307742857/ref=mw_dp_mpd?pd=1&qid=1364240109&sr=8-2">Faceless Killers</a>. Summary: It was a senselessly violent crime: on a cold night in a remote Swedish farmhouse an elderly farmer is bludgeoned to death, and his wife is left to die with a noose around her neck. And as if this didn’t present enough problems for the Ystad police Inspector Kurt Wallander, the dying woman’s last word is foreign, leaving the police the one tangible clue they have–and in the process, the match that could inflame Sweden’s already smoldering anti-immigrant sentiments.

[elleblue]

Mar 25, 2013 14:37:55 GMT -5 ttt said:

For fans of crime/mystery, I love the Kurt Wallander novels by Henning Mankell. They're set in Sweden and are a zillion times better than "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo".

The first book is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0307742857/ref=mw_dp_mpd?pd=1&qid=1364240109&sr=8-2">Faceless Killers</a>. Summary: It was a senselessly violent crime: on a cold night in a remote Swedish farmhouse an elderly farmer is bludgeoned to death, and his wife is left to die with a noose around her neck. And as if this didn’t present enough problems for the Ystad police Inspector Kurt Wallander, the dying woman’s last word is foreign, leaving the police the one tangible clue they have–and in the process, the match that could inflame Sweden’s already smoldering anti-immigrant sentiments.

Have you watched the series? Kenneth Branagh plays Wallander and I believe it's available on Netflix instant.

[ttt]

Mar 25, 2013 14:55:21 GMT -5 elleblue said:

Mar 25, 2013 14:37:55 GMT -5 ttt said:

For fans of crime/mystery, I love the Kurt Wallander novels by Henning Mankell. They're set in Sweden and are a zillion times better than "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo".

The first book is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0307742857/ref=mw_dp_mpd?pd=1&qid=1364240109&sr=8-2">Faceless Killers</a>. Summary: It was a senselessly violent crime: on a cold night in a remote Swedish farmhouse an elderly farmer is bludgeoned to death, and his wife is left to die with a noose around her neck. And as if this didn’t present enough problems for the Ystad police Inspector Kurt Wallander, the dying woman’s last word is foreign, leaving the police the one tangible clue they have–and in the process, the match that could inflame Sweden’s already smoldering anti-immigrant sentiments.

Have you watched the series? Kenneth Branagh plays Wallander and I believe it's available on Netflix instant.

[br
No! I'm kind of afraid to because I love the novels so much - is it a good adaptation?

[elleblue]

Mar 25, 2013 14:58:42 GMT -5 ttt said:

Mar 25, 2013 14:55:21 GMT -5 elleblue said:

Have you watched the series? Kenneth Branagh plays Wallander and I believe it's available on Netflix instant.

[br
No! I'm kind of afraid to because I love the novels so much - is it a good adaptation?

I really enjoy it, but it's kind of bleak (haven't read the books, totally need to) and slow (for American audiences anyway - I tend to be okay with that kind of thing). My H and I both love the series, but it would probably depend on what your personal tastes run to, ya know?

[IIOY]

Mar 25, 2013 15:25:32 GMT -5 asdfjkl said:

Two books both nonfiction:

At Home: Bill Bryson.  Just really interesting trivia about the way people have lived in their homes from thousands of years.  Easy read, but really fascinating, too.

Almost everything Bill Bryson writes about is enjoyable. His book about England is the only one I found to be plodding. His book about Australia was my favorite.

[fluffaluff]

The last one I read was The Book Thief and I absolutely loved it.

It's narrated by death and follows a young girl's life with her foster family in Nazi Germany.

[sushi]

An old standby novel I love is The Far Pavilions Set in colonial Indian/Pakistan days. A boy who's the son of a linguist is basically orphaned during a time of violence against white people and raised Indian by his nanny. He goes into the military at a time when they're fighting some of the interminable Afghan wars. It's kind of a war, love story epic. That's not a good description, really, but it has all the elements of a good novel. Adventure, a girl, well developed characters, a whole lot of cultural stuff, and it is still relevant as a window to understand today's conflicts.

Nonfiction: I just downloaded some of Mary Roach's audiobooks, so I'll have to remember to update. I'm really looking forward to them. First is Stiffed: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. She just wrote a book about Mars exploration, so I'm on the waitlist. She's a journalist specializing in sciencey stuff. Received all sorts of awards for books and articles.

[ChillyMcFreeze]

My favorite book of late is 11/22/63. A man travels in time to prevent the JFK assassination and ends up living a full life in the wrong era.

More recently, Where'd You Go Bernadette is fun and fast. An agoraphobic mom goes on a wacky adventure and navigates Seattle crunchy-mom life.

Room was fascinating once I muddled through the first 100 pages. Narrated by a five year old who has only known captivity his whole life.

[AJL]

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol rifka Brunt

Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Zafon

[scout8]

Mar 25, 2013 12:27:41 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

My go-to recommendation, if you're looking for hilarious easy reads, is The Sex Lives of Cannibals. It's nonfiction, the chronicle of a man who followed his girlfriend (wife? don't remember!) to a not-picture-perfect island in the South Pacific.   Its sequel, Getting Stoned with Savages is almost as good; it's another year on another island. His third book, about a trip to China, doesn't stack up.

Interesting. I enjoyed all three, but Lost on Planet China was my favorite by far. I found the subject matter more interesting. What didn't you like about it?

[scout8]

These are a few of my favorites:

Seabiscuit & Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Anything by Jon Krakauer
Anything by Bill Bryson
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
For mysteries, I really like Tana French's books.
For chic lit, I like Marian Keyes

[secretlyevil]

The Tender Bar by JR Morringher
Amazing, that's all I can say about it.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
There are so many I enjoy and have/will read again but Gone with the Wind will always hold favorite book title for me. It is the bar for all epic novels and romances and well everything. And for those who have never read the book but have seen the movie...don't kid yourself. As good as the movie is, and it's one of my favorites, it doesn't hold a candle to how truly awesome the book is. Mitchell was just the right amount of descriptive, enough to paint a vivid picture in readers imaginations but didn't go over board.

[Deleted]

For fiction, I'll second The Night Circus and for more of a fluff read, Emily Giffin's Where We Belong.

For non-fiction, I'm reading Team of Rivals right now and it's excellent.

[Melissa W.]

I just read Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. It is about a reporter who goes to her home town to cover a missing kids story.

[wedbliss5]

Mar 25, 2013 12:39:41 GMT -5 brookles said:

The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth (totally YA lit, Hunger Games-ish but better)

Agree on this!

Also, The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning is great.    All are over 4 stars on goodreads. 

www.goodreads.com/series/41192-fever

[Jermys]

FYI, read anything NewOrleans recommends. She hasn't steered me wrong yet, and I've read like ten books she's recommended.

[pedanticwench]

Currently reading: Who Cooked the Last Supper? Women's History of the World by Rosalind Miles

Description:

Men dominate history because men write history. There have been many
heroes, but no heroines. This is the book that overturns that "phallusy of
history," giving voice to the true history of the world — which, always and
forever, must include the contributions of millions of unsung women. Here is the
history you never learned — but should have!

Without politics or
polemics, this brilliant and witty book overturns centuries of preconceptions to
restore women to their rightful place at the center of culture, revolution,
empire, war, and peace. Spiced with tales of individual women who have shaped
civilization, celebrating the work and lives of women around the world,
distinguished by a wealth of research, Who Cooked the Last Supper?
redefines our concept of historical reality.

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[StrawberryBlondie]

I'm currently on a fluff kick. I'm reading Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and enjoying it way more than I thought I would.

[aurora]

Apr 3, 2013 14:26:54 GMT -5 pedanticwench said:

Currently reading: Who Cooked the Last Supper? Women's History of the World by Rosalind Miles

Description:

Men dominate history because men write history. There have been many
heroes, but no heroines. This is the book that overturns that "phallusy of
history," giving voice to the true history of the world — which, always and
forever, must include the contributions of millions of unsung women. Here is the
history you never learned — but should have!

Without politics or
polemics, this brilliant and witty book overturns centuries of preconceptions to
restore women to their rightful place at the center of culture, revolution,
empire, war, and peace. Spiced with tales of individual women who have shaped
civilization, celebrating the work and lives of women around the world,
distinguished by a wealth of research, Who Cooked the Last Supper?
redefines our concept of historical reality.

I read that a couple of years ago.  I'd be curious to hear if you liked it in the end...I thought the description sounded a lot better than the book ended up being.

[anasara]

Just finished 'Joseph Anton' by Salman Rushdie.  3rd person autobiography based on his life under the fatwa.  I've loved everything he's ever written & this is no exception.

Other books I've read in the past year that I enjoyed:

www.amazon.com/Behind-Beautiful-Forevers-Mumbai-Undercity/dp/1400067553

www.amazon.com/Nothing-Envy-Ordinary-Lives-North/dp/0385523912/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367942531&sr=1-1&keywords=nothing+to+envy+ordinary+lives+in+north+korea

www.amazon.com/Cutting-Stone-Abraham-Verghese/dp/0375714367/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367942547&sr=1-4&keywords=abraham+verghese

[2doxies]

Lurker here, but I recently finished a few books that I really loved.  I got so many good reading recommendations from this board that I wanted to share some:

The Worst Hard Time - an account of the dust bowl.  It follows a few family's stories through the dust bowl while giving a lot of context to what was going on in the country at the time.  Timely and very moving.

Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity - a book about families who have children that have very different identities for various reasons.  Each chapter covers a different type of identity such as children who are deaf, gay, dwarves, transgender, products of rape, prodigies, have downs syndrome, etc.  It's fascinating and heartbreaking book.  

Legacy: The Acclaimed Novel of Elizabeth, England's Most Passionate Queen - I thought that I was done reading about the Tudors, but this book was so compelling.  Elizabeth was a bad ass.

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer - not a light read, but very interesting.  I was encouraged by how far science has come in a short time in the treatment of cancer, even though it's evident that that is a lot we still don't know.  

Now onto some light beach reading!