My book group is meeting next week to set up a schedule for the year. We are all supposed to bring names of books that we want to read. I have a list on a sticky that I jotted down when something sounded interesting. But I don't really know anything about them.
So, if any of my dear blog buddies has a book that should not be missed, tell me. Please. Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind. (I should at least be interested in the book that I am suggesting after all.) I am not a big fan of the classics, mostly because I don't like flowery language, I want it to get to the point already. I am not a big fan of sci-fi/fantasy, I like them to at least have the illusion of plausibility. Otherwise, I'm open.
Help me. If you love a book. Tell me what it is and why it is sooooo fabulous. Thanks!
8 comments:
oh, man, ped, when are you meeting? do you have time for me to answer this?
here are a few:
anything by Lee Smith. she's an American southern writer, not terribly well known outside of the south, but really good. sort of on par with Anne tyler, if you like her.
i can recommend her latest book, "On Agate Hill," which is about a woman after the Civil War, but it's a bit dark.
for something not as dark, you could read her "The Last girls," which is about a road trip down the mississippi taken by a bunch of old friends in their 50s and 60s, or "Fair and tender Ladies,' which i just love--a novel written in letter form.
you can't go wrong with lee smith.
2) Anne tyler, Any of her books. Again, they're great, they're wise, they're funny, they're engrossing. definitely no flowery language. all of her books are about the quirkiness of family--the tug and resilience and bond of why we love who we're related to. but they're all great reading.
my favorite is "Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant," but, again, you can't go wrong with Anne Tyler.
3) do you like non-fiction? any of Erik Larson's books would be great. "The Devil in the White City," is about the chicago world's fair in 1880, and it's also about a mass murderer at the time who preyed on young women who went to chicago to visit and work at the fair.
i also loved his two other books--one, "Isaac's storm," was about the hurricane in Galveston last century, and "Thunderstruck" was another dual-track book about Marconi and the invention of the wireles (i know, that doesn't sound intresting, but it was) interspersed with the story of a murderer in London who got his comeuppance, eventually, because of Marconi's invention.
that's enough for now. but i have thousands more....
I enjoyed Atonement. I read it because of the movie. I also like Love and other impossible pursuits. A view from Mount Joy. I have read a lot of good books lately. Up at the Villa, by Somerset Maugham was good as well.
We are meeting next Tuesday. So I have a little time. And yes, I have been known to read nonfiction.
Thanks for the suggestions so far. I'm not really awake yet. So I'll look in to them when I am. :)
I'm just stopping by for Fun Monday, but I can't resist books.
I heartily second Laurie's suggestion on "Devil in the White City".
I recently did my best/worst list of the books I read in 2007 - You can see it here
But my friend Amy, her list is usually way better than mine - she has much better taste than I do - you can see her list here
If you like mysteries at all, there's an author named Caroline Graham who is wonderful. They're English village mysteries, but she has a wicked sense of humor and some really wonderful characters.
The first one is called The Killings at Badger's Drift and is terrific.
Ped, how about anything by Alexander McCall Smith, but especially the series of books starting with The No1 Ladies Detective Agency?
And if you fancy something really classy to get your teeth into, try Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky. The language may be a little flowery at times, but it's an amazing read - especially when you read the notes at the end. I like easy-to-read chick lit and this isn't, but it blew me away and I will never forget it.
Thank you all so much. I shall be on the computer looking these up when I cannot handle my parents anymore this weekend.
And to Ann and Potty Mummy thanks for swinging by my little blog. Come back anytime.
I know I'm a little late, but I am a big book lover.
I really loved "Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson. It is fairly short and the prose is clean but descriptive. It's about a man looking back and remember his life. Very touching.
"The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion is beautiful, ultimately redeeming, but sad. It is about the year following the loss of her beloved husband. I couldn't put it down.
There is an older book that I like a lot that I think would be fascinating to discuss. I haven't ever heard anyone else talk about it. The author is Liza Ward and it's called "Outside Valentine". I read it in one sitting on the plane from Chicago to London. It's about the Starkweather-Fugate serial murders at the end of the 1950s. It's written by the granddaughter of one of the couples that was murdered. It is riveting, and written in a spare style.
I don't tend to pay much attention to when the books I read were written, so I hope these aren't so old that you've already read and/or discussed them.
Happy reading!
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