I am (was) a voracious reader. I devour(ed) books, several weekly. However, as you can see by my use of the past tense, I've been derailed. It occurred to me yesterday that I actually can't remember the last time I read a book for pleasure. It's been months. There are many reasons this is true, but regardless of those reasons, the time has come for me to read again! I know you are readers. I know I should check your GoodReads page, but honestly even that has become overwhelming.
What I want to know is, if you could only recommend one book you've read recently, what would it be? I am a fairly eclectic reader, so it can be any genre. And here's what makes it worth your while--I promise I will read it. And I'll do it in the order you reply. And I'll keep track in the sidebar. And I'll send a little gift to the person whose book I like the best. Whoa, I'm just making this up as I go but it sounds kind of fun. I'll cap it at 10 books (am I being ridiculously optimistic?) which gives you a pretty great chance of winning. If I've already read it, you can get another chance to recommend something.
Ready, set GO!
25 comments:
I assume that you have read Shannon Hale's Bayern books. I really enjoyed them. I'm not a big reader right now since it tends to be all I can focus on. I don't recommend Wicked. Um, I really liked the Shopaholic books by Sophia Kinsella. Totally fun reads that you can easily put down when something (or someone) needs your attention. I pretty much only read chicklit books. The world is already too heavy and depressing without me willfully welcoming it into my mind. Good luck on your search. I'll have to come read the list later!
I recommend "The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World" by Eric Weiner. Also, if you haven't already read it (I bet you have), "The Book Thief" is excellent. I'll think some more and see what I can come up with.
I'm in a panic trying to think of a book I've read and you haven't. And a good one at that. I love your spur-of-the-moment idea. Unfortunately, nothing is coming to me. So sad. If you're looking for easy but smart reads, I suggest Jodi Picoult. I liked Plain Truth and Nineteen Minutes. She has several that are good. I also like the Ink series by Cornelia Funke. I'm sure I won't win, but there are a few suggestions.
Eclipse!!! Ha ha ha ha ha! How about Kate Seredy's The Good Master and The Singing Tree? They're written for children, but are moving and wonderful for adults as well. The Good Master won the Newberry Medal.
OH, they both won the Newberry Medal. and they're about two cousins growing up on the great plains in Hungary (yay!). CB will love them, too.
I'm sure you've already read all of my suggestions:
Princess Ben
Garbageland
Savvy
Richistan
Protecting the Gift
And one I dedicate to Elisha Condie because it just FITS her:
Good Omens: The Nice & Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch...
Do you read fantasy? If so there is a FAB new author (Mormon too) named Brandon Sanderson. He has a stand-alone called "Elantris" that is perfect, 5 star, and a trilogy that is pretty close to 5 star too. Good luck--I'll have fun scanning the comments too to get some more titles for myself!!
Wow, great ideas--and so many. I should offer prizes all the time. :)
Some of you confused me with multiple suggestions (which I will probably get to eventually) so I just picked one. If you have a preference of which you'd like me to read for the contest, correct me.
Here's my list so far and I will try to read them in this order.
Paige-first Shopaholic book
Karina-The Geography of Bliss (I haven't read The Book Thief, but I will!)
Amy P.-Nineteen Minutes
SK-The Good Master
Maren-Princess Ben
Halfway there! I need 5 more suggestions.
Pick whichever one you want from me--I just can't stand to see a good reader w/o a book... :) I'm less interested in the prize (though that part is fun) and more interested in making sure you have some good literary entertainment... :)
I just read A Bend in the Road by Nicholas Sparks. It was fantastic. I just love his writing style and I am sucker for his stories. If you are looking for a series type book to read I just read an interesting series that was written for teen girls. It is based in the victorian era. Here are the books in the series in order:
A Great and Terrible Beauty
Rebel Angels
A Sweet Far Thing
I read 1-2 books a week, so I can offer more suggestions as I read. I would also love suggestions! Maybe I'll read all of the books people have been suggesting here!
JUST IN TIME!!!!
That was a close one. Okay, on my death bed the other day, I started, and finished,
"Goose Girl" which I got as part of a "Favorite Things Swap". It falls into the category of Young Adult fiction, I believe.
I LOVED IT! And ever since I've been wanting to recommend it to everyone I know! It was such a fun quick read. Hope you like it!!!!
P.S. I rarely go to GoodReads because I find their web design horribly depressing and uninspiring.
acte gratuit--you may have won with that one, except that I have already read it! (sorry) Have you read the next two? Are books hard to come by in Japan? Do you have another recommendation? All very important questions. Hope you're feeling better.
Everyone else--I have ordered up all of the books you recommended and can't wait for them to arrive (at the library, of course). Then the fun can really begin.
Hey there. I can't accept any prize, but Mike has just finished two books that he raved over. Salman Rushdie's Midnights Children, and the Enchantress of Florence. I am eager to read them myself (once Andrew starts Kindergarten....)
The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian. It's great for a former English teacher and if you like the Great Gatsby. Twist does not come until the very end.
Hope you had a good Turkey Day!
-Kristine Gray
I have a few new favorites: Precious Bane (you've probably read it) and Crossing to Safety. Thanks for the post--I'm going to steal a lot of those suggestions.
One of my favorites this year is The Tale of Despereaux. It's a Newberry Medal winner. My daughter's class is reading it this year. It is very easy to read. Enjoy!
Sharon
Wow, there are so many great ideas here. I can't wait to get started. Lucky for you, I am a lightning fast reader, otherwise you might be waiting until NEXT Christmas for your prize. As it is, I make no promises as to when I will finish, but I will keep at it until I do. I will post each time I finish one of these books.
Oh, and actegratuit I will still accept an alternate suggestion from you. I'm nice like that. ;)
Maybe some of you would like to read along with me?
I need some good reads too. I would love to read with you.
Oh, I am so excited! I just went to the library website and reserved so many new books! Yea! Don't you just get a thrill when you have so many books that you're dying to read?
Karina, I feel just the same way.
Funny story--When I was a kid, every time we would go into a book store or library I would suddenly have to go the bathroom--I was so thrilled with all the books before me I just couldn't contain myself. (Perhaps this is why book stores always have bathrooms inside?)
I've got nothin'. Since becoming pregnant I can barely complete a book a month, and the last few I've read, though fun reads, are not ones I would recommend whole-heartedly. I might have to sneak a few ideas from your newly-created list, though.
Am I too late? My favorite recent read was The Luxe by Anna Godbersen.
Okay, I know I'm way to late for the contest but a book I've always loved is Phantom by Susan Kay (I think that's her name). It takes the Phantom of the Opera from his birth and follows him and other people in his life. Love it! Good luck with your quest.
Hope you will give us reviews of the books as you read them!
I read a new book tonight. It was The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks. I am such a sucker for anything he writes. It was really good!
Hi again,
I wanted to leave comment to let you know we FINALLY have a blog and when you get done with these 10 books I wanted to recommend Fieldwork:A Novel by Mischa Berlinski. Very different than other books I've read.
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