Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Book Begging

In the last 5 weeks, I’ve read 11 books.

For some of you, that may be a lot—for others, a regular occurrence.

For me, I always seem to live in either a state of drought or downpour.

And recently I’ve been putting on my galoshes* and dancing in the rain!

And while I’ve been reading a mix of genres, (political, historical, religious, and memoirs), what I’ve been loving is all the fiction!

It’s been a long time since I’ve lost myself in someone’s made up world and I’ve missed it. (I’ve even found myself liking books I normally wouldn’t.)

But, I’m running out of book recommendations.

So, I’m sending out a public plea to all who stumble upon my blog (whether I know you or not):

What books have changed your life? Altered your reality? What books do you turn to when everyday life is too much? When you need to escape? What classics do you love? What new authors are you raving about?

In essence, what are your favorite books?

Whether you have one or 100, I want to know about them. So please, pretty please, leave me a comment! (Or shoot me an email if that suits you better.)

I need more to read! So I’m begging you for book suggestions…



*I’ve never actually owned a pair of galoshes, but it’s always been a dream of mine. “Galoshes” is one of my favorite words…

12 comments:

Andrea said...

I'm sorry to tell you that I'm one of those kind of people that just doesn't read. I know, you'd think with my last name that I would. That being said I don't have any recomendations at this point but I'll ask around for you. Although I'm pretty certain that all the responses I'll get out here is the Twighlight series. Please don't turn to the dark side, stay far away from those as you possibly can! :)

rachelsaysso said...

Just off the top of my head: The last two books I read were AWESOME! I think I mentioned _The Solice of Leaving Early_ by Haven Kimmel to you. I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it and you were one of the very first people I thought of when I finished it because I'm pretty should you would love it too. And then I just finished _Cold Comfort Farm_ by Stella Gibbons. This has been a favorite movie of mine for years and I wanted to give the book a shot and it was one of the rare occasions when the book and movie complimented each other perfectly. And it's hilarious.

Ms. Liz said...

Well I'm sure that you've already read a lot of my beloved ones but I'll reiterate them here anyway.

Fiction that's just fun:)
The Georgia Nicholson Confessions
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Good Omens by Terry Prachett and Neil Gaiman
Pure Drivel by Steve Martin


Books that have Changed me but are a bit serious if not anvil heavy in content:
The Brothers Karamazov
The Handmaid's Tale
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Incredibly Loud and Extremely Close
6 Memos for the New Millennium
Paradise Lost
As a Man Thinketh

I heard the Kitchen God's Wife is excellent and I'm delving into Rachel's Thursday Next series so I'm excited about those but I can't recommend them. Not yet at least.

Mr. Hall said...

I concur about The Brothers Karamazov. Other great books include:
--The Seer
--Sophie's World
--The Solitaire Mystery
--We Die Alone

Amanda said...

I'm currently reading The Little House on the Prairie series to little Nate, and they are cute, but not transformational.

P.S. on the galoshes front, I used to own a slicker and would wear it just so I could talk about my slicker. I think everyone should have a slicker and galoshes.

Jennette said...

I'm actually reading The Brother's Karamazov right now. It's a bit long, but I challenged myself and I'm currently on page 213 and I love it so far. I think I might read "A River Runs Through It" next, a bit shorter. I recently read "White Noise" by Don DeLillo which was a bit weird, but interesting and the forsight that the author had on society in 1985 was amazing.

Unknown said...

a good batch of fiction that isn't life changing but is usually quick and easy to read along with easy to get wrapped up in is pretty much anyting by Jodi Picholt, there have been a few that I havn't liked and it takes a bit to get use to her writing style i'd list titles BUT after i'm done reading them I send them off to my Mom so if you want specifics e-mail me kbfox at msn dot com.. i'm sure I can look them up..
good luck, I wish I was more of a reader!!!
KyLeyne;)

Hannah said...

Books that changed my life:

1) East of Eden - John Steinbeck (aka my literary boyfriend)
2) A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
3) Jane Eyre - That charming Bronte girl, NOT Emily.
4) The Notebook (Pa-HA! I kid.)

Books that I've read semi recently that changed my life but not as much as East of Eden, holy crap that is an amazing book:

1) The History of Love - Nicole Krauss
2) The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck

Books I read when I want pure entertainment but with good writing so i still feel kinda smart:

1) The Amelia Peabody series - Elizabeth Peters (This is a mystery series starring a Victorian feminist who heads to Egypt with her archeologist husband to solve crimes and climb through pyramids and stuff. FUN TIMES!)

2) The Vicky Bliss series - also by Elizabeth Peters (set in modern times with a museum curator who travels around solving crimes and NOT being in love with a dashing and hilarious art thief. You know how I feel about books involving sleuthing. LOVE.)

3) Diana Wynne Jones novels, can I reccommend Deep Secret?

4) Agatha Christie novels, try Murder on the Orient Express, or any of the Miss Marple mysteries.

Wendy said...

I recommend going to the library and randomly picking books that look interesting and giving them a try. That's what I do and it's a fun game. Some weeks they are all winners, some weeks I never finish even one because they are...unfit. It's a gamble!

On the galoshes front, I also enjoy the UK designation of "Wellington Boots". I've wanted to say something like "It's pouring out! Better grab my wellies!"

Sheba's Mommy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sheba's Mommy said...

Hmmm, you may not be interested in any of the books I read. The books I read aren't really intellectual type books. People have given some good recommendations on here, and I'm almost afraid to put my recommendations down in fear of sounding stupid. But that's just my own paranoia. hehe

Well, I'll do it anyway...I really enjoyed all the Twilight books. I have also read a book by a man who belongs to our church who was an american spy and it was his story of some hard times he spent in Russia, and it's called "A Train to Potevka". It's an excellent story. I am in the process of reading Valerie Bertinelli's book "Losing It" which has been very, very interesting. I'm about halfway through that right now. I enjoy our good friend Madeline Baker's (Amanda Ashley) books. Especially her "Night" series. I love to read too!

Liz the Poet said...

I'm so glad to everyone who has suggested books!

Thanks to you, I have a list of about 20 that I'm dying to read.

And I LOVE knowing what you like.

I've been trying to branch out and you've all given me plenty to options.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!