I figured it would be cool to have a thread for our personal recommendations. I always like having books suggested for me to read.

Right now I'm reading a book by Tess Gerritsen who does mystery novels I'd say. I like her a lot so far. Always on the edge of my seat.

I've also read many of the pink chick books. I don't know what else to call them but they are normally about a single girl who's trying to "figure things out" and also fall in love. Such books are like Good In Bed or Bridget Jones' Diary. I like them though normally. Sometimes they get a tad cheesy for me but I do like romance.

Thanks for starting this thread His Muse. I'm sure it will come in handy.

I highly recommend The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. It's about a Baptist family who goes on a missionary trip with their father to the Congo in the 1960s

Science Fiction - Vernon Vinge, especially his recent work

Fantasy - Tolkien is the classic. (The movies are good too, but you have to read the books.)

PoliSci/History - Kaplan is a great author, interesting ideas, well explored, intensely readable.

I'd recommend Lady's Maid by Margaret Forster. It took me a while to get into but it's a great book. And also Jane Eyre . I finally got around to reading it and am glad I did - I really enjoyed it

I loved that book... Charlote Brönte is a wonderfull writer. All the sisters are... Wuthering Heights by Emily Brönte is amazing. Another favourite of mine is Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility are some of my favourites. She's a very romantic writer.

One of the best books ever writen to me is Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities... i love the classics!!

I'm also into Agatha Christie (i have all her books), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (the Sherlock Holmes series)... i could go on and on!!

White Teeth by Zadie Smith and to a lesser extent her newest novel The Autograph Man.

The former is better and really is looking to become a British modern classic. And also, any of you would might have caught the television series shoudl know that as always the book is better. Multi-cultural Britain at its best.

Anything by Lorleen McDanel. I love her "One Last Wish" novels.

Everything by Astrid Lindgren. I know it's written for kids, but her books are amazing.

If you want to re-live your youth, "Summer sisters" and "here's to you, Rachel Robinson" y Judy Blume always make me smile.

My favorite books:

The 1-800-WHERE-R-U series
Daughters of the Moon series
Harry Potter
That Summer
Someone Like You

Thats all I can think of right now.

I read 19th/early-20th century books usually and I would highly recommend any Henry James novels and any D. H. Lawrence novels. James is wordy but really really powerful and emotional and Lawrence has incredible descriptive narratives. They're my favorite authors and they're just amazing. The Wings of the Dove, Daisy Miller and The Portrait of a Lady by James and Sons and Lovers by Lawrence are my favorites.

I love these types of books too. I adored Good in Bed. I find a lot of great books to read on the New Authors table at Barnes & Noble. Some of the recent ones I have read are The Diary of a Mad Bride by Laura Wolf and I Do But I Don't by Cara Lockwood. I got married three years ago and I was a matron of honor in a wedding this spring so they both made me crack up with their look at all of the wacky and stressful things about weddings. Another good one I have read recently was The Nannie Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. There were some great parts where the heroine was trying not to mouth off to her boss which reminded me of how I feel sometimes in my job as a customer service rep in a call center!

Janelle

Well...I'm a bride's maid in my best friend's wedding in a couple weeks. The Best Man is my boyfriend who is also the groom's brother. My bf and I plan to get married someday therefore she and I would become sisters. Weird? But I digress...considering all the stress I'm watching about having a wedding I'd probably get a kick out of those books.

I suggest Stephen R. Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle. Great books. On the fourth one right now, was almost done, but I left it at my cousin's house.

Pendragon Cycle:
Taliesin
Merlin
Arthur
Pendragon
Grail

The tommorrow series by John Marsden

and

Looking For Alibrandi - by Melinda Marchetta

I always recommend L.M. Montgomery's books.

I recently read Coraline by Neil Gaiman and I recommend it to anyone who loves Alice in Wonderland.

A book I would recommend is Q is for Quarry by Sue Grafton. Here is the synopsis.

[quote]She was a "Jane Doe" an unidentified white female whose decomposed body was discovered near a quarry off California's Highway 1. The case fell to the Santa Teresa County Sheriff's Department, but the detectives had little to go on. The woman was young, her hands were bound with a length of wire, there were multiple stab wounds, and her throat had been slashed. After months of investigation, the case remained unsolved.

That was eighteen years ago. Now, the two men who found the body, both nearing the end of long careers in law enforcement, want one last shot at the case. Old and ill, they need turn to Kinsey Millhone. They will, they tell her, find closure if they can just identify the victim. Kinsey is intrigued with the challenge and agrees to work with them.

But revisiting the past can be a dangerous business, and what begins with the persuit of Jane Doe's real identity end in a high-risk hunt for her killer.

A second book I would recommend is The 10th Kingdom by Kathryn Wesley. If you saw the mini series then you'll probably love this book. Here is the synopsis.

[quote]When a host of magical creatures find their way into the modern world, a young waitress and her father become unlikely heroes in a battle to save not only their own reality but the fabulous lands of the Nine Kingdoms. Writing as Kathryn Wesley, coauthors Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith bring to life a smorgasbord of old fairy tales and nursery rhymes, weaving them into a grand story of love's triumph over fear.

Finally a third book I would recommend is The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King. Here is the synopsis.

[quote]A fantasy set in the mythical kingdom of Delain. Aging King Roland is murdered by his court magician, who sees to it that the king's eldest son and heir, Peter, is blamed for the crime. Peter is imprisoned and his younger brother Thomas ascends to the throne. Thomas is easily manipulated by the evil magician, and the kingdom's last hope is Peter if he can escape from prison and set things right again.

I hope you enjoy these books as much as I have.

Tonee

The Belgariad and The Malloreon by David and Leigh Eddings. Fantasy

Number two on my list.

Any of The Cat Who... books,
Harry Potter
White Oleander
The Deep End of the Ocean
Memoirs of a Geisha


What a great idea for a thread. I read all the time and it is great to have a place to go to for recommendations.

Romace... The Blaze Series.. REALLY GOOD ROMANCE SERIES!!!

Did anyone read The Celestine Prophecy? Really good. New age though, but still, REALLY good.

I totally recommend everyone to read...
Fast Food Nation
and
Reefer Madness

both are by Eric Shlosser
They are well written and veryinformative. You won't look at things the same way twice!

My fav book is She's Come Undone by Wally LambBig Fish by Daniel Wallace
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
and A Time For Dancing by Davida Willis Hurwin[/color] (I think that's her name)

it's really disturbing and out there but an awsome book, invisible monsters by chuck palanichuk. (spelling?) he's the author of fight club and his books rock.

[size=18]If one like series... I would recomend Fearless.... Its abouta girl who does not have the fear gene... before you know it you are stuck to that book like glue!

And one of my oldies but i believe everyone should atleast read once is "the Outsiders"

Anything by Jodi Picoult.
I assure you you will not be disappointed!

Looks like we have Genre fiction pretty well covered, so I'll put in my two cents about real literature:

Anything and everything by Robertson Davies. My favorite is the Deptford trilogy. I'm amazed he isn't required reading in high schools yet.

I've also enjoyed everything by Herman Hesse

And my list of the other books I think everyone should read:
"The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco
"Les Liaisons Dangereuses" by Charles de la Clos
"The Bean Trees" by Barbara Kingsolver

[quote=Spiderman Tonee]A book I would recommend is Q is for Quarry by Sue Grafton.
I stopped reading the Kinsey Milhone-series around N for Noose, I think. Until then I really enjoyed it, but somehow I just never felt like picking up the O-book.

[quote] Finally a third book I would recommend is The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King.
Amazing book! I don't know how many times I've read it, but I love it to bits. I even continue to go back to it after I stopped my "must-read-everything-Stephen-King-has-published" spree some years ago (it was just impossible to read everything, and after a while it got a bit predictable).

I second the recommendation of Coraline. I just love the main character - and the cat!

And if you like long, really well-written series with a dash of fantasy and lots of blood and murder and characters you truly care about (even the "evil" ones), you can't go wrong with A song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. A word of warning, though - the series is only up to number three of (possibly) six, and the fourth one is still being written, so if you don't want to bite your nails in agony for a year or more, wait until the entire series has been published (though that may take quite a while).

Coraline is a must read.

So is Silverlock by John Myers Myers and The Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I'd also recommend The Firebringer by Meredith Ann Pierce.

Almost EVERYTHING by him is a must-read!

Definitely! He has such a fluid and simple style, everything he writes tends to be just perfect, not overly melodramatic or silly.

if you like the hitchhikers guide, anything by terry pratchett will be right up your alley. it's crazy british humor, and there's a ton of his discworld books.

Terry Pratchett is really funny, a bit like Douglas Adams but with much more heart (I love Hitchhiker's, but it's pretty bleak IMO) ... and he's written a book with Neil Gaiman called Good Omens, also highly recommended.

Has anyone read the Sue Grafton alphabet books? I'm interested in them, but there's so darn many of them!

I've read up to N for Noose I think... the first books are really good, but around M I got a bit tired of them. Up till then I really enjoyed them, though. And one huge advantage is you have no trouble figuring out which book is next if you know your alphabet

Terry Pratchett's Discworld series are an absolute must for anyone who likes 'Fantasy' genre books. They're fabulous. I've just ordered the latest - Monstrous Regiment. (Which means I still have the entire series, last count 27[?])

I loved reading, Angela's Ashes, Chinese Cinderella, Falling Leaves, Blackbird and Still Waters. If you have the chance I really recommend you reading them. Their something special. And Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman, thats amazing.( I cant wait until the 2nd one comes out)

Oh and Adrian Mole if you want some comedy, thats funny!

Any book by Michael Chriton. Especially "Timeline"

Lisa

I'm trying to find some new stuff to read and I'll be going to Barnes and Noble this weekend. Lately I've been reading a lot of medical mystery like Tess Gerritsen but I'm kinda bored with that right now. I'd like to read something like She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb or Memoirs of a Giesha by Arthur Golden. I want to read something that really moves me. I don't however like fantasy at all. Usually more about the human spirit and dealing with real issues. Anyone have any suggestions?

Couple of recommendations

Glamorama by Bret Easton Ellis
Song of the silent snow & Requiem of a dream by Hubert Selby Jr.

Those are the last three books I've read, loved every second of them....I highly recommend them to anyone!

Is that the same writer as American Psycho?

Most certainly is

I have to second the recommendation of Chinese Cinderella and Falling Leaves, as well as Memoirs of a Geisha. Anything by Amy Tan is fantastic. The Joy Luck Club is my favorite book.

May I ask what it is about? I liked American Psycho and didn't at the same time. Not sure I want to read anything more by him but he does intrigue me

Hmmm, how to explain Glamorama? Well, I'm terrible at explaining stuff, so, here's a page on it from amazon....hope you find it useful.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0...0976049-8843840

If you didn't like American Psycho, you might not like this, of course it depends on the reasons you didn't like AP

I'm sure I've been as useful....as something really un-useful.

But it really is a great book.

Thanks. It sounds good. I may have to give it a go. I think the only thing I didn't like about AP was really just those chapters about Whitney Houston or bottled water. I understood the reasoning but it was just painful to read. So boring.

Well, to put your mind at ease, there's no chapters about Whitney Houston or bottled water in glamorama

Here is another recommendation which I forgot to add in my last post:

old magic and The Named by Marianne Curley

Absoutely AMAZING books! I was glued to the page! And read them both in 2 days!

Okay, if you like humorous books you have to check out The Idiot GIrls Action Adventure Club by Laurie Notaro. It's honestly the funniest book I have ever read. Her website is here and I totally suggest you guys check this book out. Her site has some funny stories as well.

Peace~Jordan

Here are some recommendations ( I know I sent you a PM His Muse, but I thought I'd post this reply for anyone else who enjoys true stories which deal with real issues)

Blackbird and Still Waters by Jennifer Lauck
Chinese Cinderella and Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah
Angela's Ashes and 'Tis by Frank Mc Court
A Child called It, The Lost Boy and a Man named Dave by David Pelzer (also available in hard back as one book, called My Story)

I'm also reading 'The Binding Chair' by Kathyrn Harrison which is also good so far.

'The Colour Purple' By Amy Walker ( I think thats her name)

'The Kid' ( dont know the author, sorry)


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