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"If you only read one book this summer, it should be _______"  

post #1 of 47
6/27/06 at 6:09pm
Thread Starter 
Fill in the blank!
post #2 of 47
6/27/06 at 6:33pm
The swarm by Frank Schatzing...... kept me awake reading despite late pregnancy energy loss syndrome . A very unique plot I have to say.
post #3 of 47
6/28/06 at 5:14am
"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. You will need a full box of kleenex, though. I got a couple friends to read it and one was so moved by the story she bought 5 copies when the author came to town and had them autographed.
post #4 of 47
6/28/06 at 8:44pm
I just got done reading "In Pursuit of Happyness" (that's the way you spell it) by Chris Gardner. It's a true story and it's very inspirational.
post #5 of 47
6/28/06 at 10:26pm
Water for Elephants
post #6 of 47
6/30/06 at 3:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by luvtjones
"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. You will need a full box of kleenex, though. I got a couple friends to read it and one was so moved by the story she bought 5 copies when the author came to town and had them autographed.
I read it, but I wasn't able to go and hear him speak, unfortunately.
post #7 of 47
6/30/06 at 11:42pm
State of Fear.
post #8 of 47
7/1/06 at 12:16am
The Other Boelyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory

or

His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman. Fantastic!
post #9 of 47
7/1/06 at 1:16pm
The Mists of Avalon
post #10 of 47
7/1/06 at 1:49pm
The 7th Harry Potter book. Because, wow, wouldn't that be a cool thing to read this summer? You'd be the envy of your HP loving friends!
post #11 of 47
7/1/06 at 3:58pm
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by
Christopher Moore

I am falling for Christopher Moore the same way I swoon : for Tom Robbins!!
post #12 of 47
7/1/06 at 4:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by luvtjones
"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. You will need a full box of kleenex, though. I got a couple friends to read it and one was so moved by the story she bought 5 copies when the author came to town and had them autographed.
Oh my goodness. Ita. I read this book last summer and have recommended it to everyone who ever asks for a book recommendation. It was so moving and gave such an empathetic and enlightening picture of the plight of modern Afghanistan. The story is so eloquently told and the characters are so rich and complex and human. I had my hankie out a lot while I read it too. And the characters stayed with me for months after I finished the book. I would find myself thinking about them and parts of the book, etc. An incredible read.

Along a similar theme, I just finished reading "The Bookseller of Kabul" which is about a real family in Afghanistan and their lives in the wake of the political and cultural upheavals there. I forget the writer's name, but she is a Scandinavian woman journalist who was reporting in Afghanistan and met a fascinating man who was a bookseller. The bookseller had committed himself to trying to preserve Afghan culture and literary heritage, etc, amid the regimes of the Taliban and others who were banning and burning books, etc. A very interesting and apparently modern man from the outside appearances. The journalist asked permission to live with this man's family and write about them. He consented. And she did. From the inner workings of his life, she discovered other facets of his life and family, including the still very traditional roles of women in the home and the plight of these women. It was a fascinating book with complex characters and paradoxes: the seemingly modern Afghan intellectual who still upholds the very strict gender roles and familial hierarchical structure, etc. The bright, multilingual youngest sister who spends her life a virtual servant of the family, unable to realize her goals to teach. It's a passionate and poignant book. Another recommended read. And I found it presented fairly the complexity of human culture. There are parts of other cultures I do not understand, or that even make me angry. But reading about real people and the multiple facets of their lives, not just one area or another, helps round out the understanding of human beings with very different backgrounds.

I don't know how well I explained that, but it's a good book. I should never be a book reviewer. Lol! And oddly enough, I don't generally seek out books about that part of the world. I just happened to read these two. I think b/c the Kite Runner moved me so deeply the Bookseller piqued my interest. I was not disappointed.

Now I'm gonna go read through the recommendations here and put some of these books on my library list...
post #13 of 47
7/1/06 at 4:49pm
well, the question is nonsensical to me, of course, with several going at a given minute for oh, nearly 40 years (wow! i never thought of that), but if the question really means, 'what current book is rocking your socks off and oughtn't be missed by discriminating readers?', i'd say 'jonathon strange and mr norrell'. it's delicious. (it's described as 'harry potter for grownups' , which i know will make some of us twitch, but don't hold that particular reviewer against it.)

It's Regency era, so if you are mentally hanging out with Our Jane (did you know there's a Jane bio coming out with Anne Hathaway as our heroine?!) anyway & don't need to have explained exactly what a pelisse is, it helps. (There's also a lot of Peninsular War details with Wellington & Napoleon that I found interesting.)
post #14 of 47
7/1/06 at 5:03pm
Wow...Alot of these sound great!Thanks for the recommendations! Off to the bookstore tomorrow!
post #15 of 47
7/1/06 at 7:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by abclan
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by
Christopher Moore
Oh yeah, I want to read that one. I heard him on NPR awhile back.
post #16 of 47
7/1/06 at 11:00pm
The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue
post #17 of 47
7/1/06 at 11:13pm
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet

one book that I have read and reread so much that I have had to replace it twice...
post #18 of 47
7/3/06 at 10:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by abclan
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by
Christopher Moore
TOTALLY awesome book.
post #19 of 47
7/3/06 at 11:12pm
The Da Vinci Code. Truly taught me a lot I didn't know! Right now I'm reading The Watermen, also great! ( about a young girl growing up on an island, her sick mother, and fisherman father.)
post #20 of 47
7/5/06 at 1:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by abclan
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by
Christopher Moore

I am falling for Christopher Moore the same way I swoon : for Tom Robbins!!
I LOVE this book. I have to say though, while I really like CM's style of writing and sense of humor, nothing of his has compared to Lamb yet, for me at least. The practical guide to demonkeeping was pretty good, but doesnt hold a candle to lamb. I hear that Dirty Work is really really good - jsut waiting for paperback before I buy.

Neil Gaimen and Terry Pratchett's Good Omens is similar to Lamb in some ways. Great, funny book!
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Mothering › Forums › Natural Family Living › Books, Music and Other Media › "If you only read one book this summer, it should be _______"