I have something special to tell you all. I had, what was without a doubt, the happiest moment of my entire life yesterday. The kind of moment you don't think will happen but when it does you think, Yes. Thank you. I really do deserve this and I'm grateful for it.
I got a shipment of books from Amazon.
YESSSSSSSSS. Today I thought realizing I could probably get away without vacuuming for another day was the happiest moment of my life.
I'm kind of like a dog that way. BALL? BALL? THROW THE BALL. I LOVE PLAYING WITH THE BALL! Oop. TWIG??? TWIG??? THROW THE TWIG. I LOVE PLAYING WITH THE TWIG!
I really do get a tingly feeling in my toes when a big box full of books arrives. I'm not an order one or two books kind of person. I order them like pancakes. By the stack.
When last we met, several of you recommended a few books for me to read. In fact if you look at the comment section of the last "5 Books I've read, Plus 5 Books I'm Gonna Read" post you'll see there are hundreds of book recommendations from readers. I read all of those comments, cross referenced them with reviews from GoodReads and Amazon and put together an Amazon order. That was several months ago. I've since read my first shipment of books recommended by you and am now moving onto my second shipment.
I'd been hearing about the Hunger Games triology for a longgg time. I wasn't sure I'd like it but the set was on sale so I bought it. I absolutely loved the first book. Could NOT put it down. Which of course is the sign of a good book. Or blankie. The second and third books were good and very readable, but were a little flat compared to the first. Still an excellent trilogy that you can read in NO time. Probably because they were written for 12 year old girls.
I Still Dream About You - Fannie Flagg
I keep going back to Fannie Flagg based on her phenomenal book Fried Green Tomatoes. So far nothing has equalled that novel, but a few have come close. This isn't one of them.
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver
Award winning novelist Barbara Kingsolver is know for her works of fiction like The Poisonwood Bible and The Bean Tree but several years ago she wrote a work of non-fiction chronicling a period in her life when she uprooted herself and her family to move to a farm to live off the land. As in only eat what she could buy locally or grow/kill herself. Yep. If that sort of thing interests you, you'll love this book with all of your heart. If it doesn't ... it probably won't keep your attention.
I read other books as well, these are just a select few I thought I'd bring to your attention. The one book that came highly recommended by a lot of people was Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I have tried and tried and I cannot get through this book. I find the kid (from whose point of view the book is written) annoying, the writing extremely jarring, pretentious and forced.
Mind you, it took me about 6 tries to finally get through Lonesome Dove, which I hated every time I started to read it. The Pulitzer Prize winning western is now my favourite book of all time.
The Book Thief - I'll admit it. I have a thing about novels revolving around WWII. I don't know what it is, but I'm inexplicably attracted to them. Two of the best I've read ... Sarah's Key and Suite Francaise.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Originally published in 1943, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. An American Classic about a girl coming of age at the turn of the century. Of my stack, I'm most looking forward to reading this book. I have no idea if that means I'll read it first or last. I'm kind of known for delaying gratification for as long as possible. Ahem.
The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party (Book 18 of The #1 Ladies Detective Series) - I love these books. I just LOVE them. The television series was even better, but alas it's been cancelled. If you're looking for a series of books that are funny, heartfelt and just make you feel good every time you read them, this is the series to go for.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - I'd heard mixed reviews about this book that's written as a series of letters. So I checked the reviews on Amazon and if 1,638 readers gave it an average review of 4.5 out of 5 stars ... I think it's a safe bet I'll like it. Also takes place during WWII. Which I swear, I didn't know when I bought it.
Explosive 18 (Book 18 in the Stephanie Plum series) - These are great, no brain books. You can read them fast, they entertain you and there's always genuine laugh out loud moments. You're not tucking into it for the greatest story ever told, you're reading it for mindless entertainment, good writing and a guilty pleasure.
O.K. So let's have it. Let the next round of recommendations begin ...
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Renee
Gone Girl - I just finished it and read it in two days. I could not put it down!
Pam
I loved Gone Girl until the ending and then I hated it!
Michelle
I loved Gone Girl and it was a good, quick read. The ending was sort of a let-down at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. It made sense to me to go with the characters. Highly recommend.
Mollie
Room. And Rules of Civility. My two recent favs. But Guernsey is one of my all time favorites -- read that one first!
Jenny
Ahem - the 50 Shades of Gray trilogy!! They were NOT written for 12 year old girls :)
Alison
Totally agree with stefanie! Let's Pretend This Never Happened is a nonfiction laugh out loud book. Easy to read and kind of reminds me of your writing style and humor.
Vaughn
Swamplandia!
Tabitha
If you like WWII novels, try _Code Name Verity_. It's amazing and full of interesting surprises.
Laura
All Over But the Shoutin' and Ava's Man, both by an Alabama author named Rick Bragg. I also love historical fiction, and Phillippa Gregory has several great novels about the kings and queens of England and all their drama. They are juicy and scandalous but not x rated. Or you could just read the Little House series 50 times over, like me. I was meant to be a pioneer or Amish, I swear.
Karen
I know the feeling. ~ karen
Patti
Haha! My sister is totally like that, too - and, in fact, volunteers at her local Pioneer Village for fun. She churns butter and stuff. We realized that she *actually* wanted to be a pioneer when she dressed as one for like 5 years in a row at Hallowe'en. Her favourite book is the Root Cellar. It got her hooked.
Lucy
On my way to bed (it's almost 1 a.m., but I'll still read for an hour or so before really calling it a night), but wanted to thank you for the new round of book recommendations and for picking up the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It is one of my all-time favorite books, but my s-i-l was unable to get through it. I hope you like it. I'm a Janet Evanovich fan, too. The books are perfect for vacation trips. They aren't prized possessions, so I often leave them somewhere along the way when I've finished one. Since you're a WWII book fan, I highly recommend Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley. It's the TRUE story of Iwo Jima -- you'll be surprised what you thought you knew but didn't. It was triumphant and heartbreaking at the same time. Off to read....
shauna
okay - I've read all the recommendations from your past "5 plus 5" and the ones above. I gobbled up Hunger Games and agree that book one is the best, the others ok. Janet Evanovich is fun and I've read all 18. And Ender's Game is one of the best books I've read (and I've read plenty). But if you haven't read Lee Child's Reacher novels then you haven't lived! These are the fastest paced, most enjoyable reads I've found in the past two years. There are 12 or 13 of them and they certainly have a formula - but it's a good one. Reacher is a great anti-hero and the stories are so urgent you can't put these books down. My husband and I are both hooked and have read them all. (He reads them on his iPhone). Violent, no holds barred but really entertaining. Not for those who love pages of flowery description or moody maunderings! Enjoy.
Court
Just finished Hugh Howey's "Wool" (the Omnibus edition). Was sad I finished it so quickly; the nearly 1400 five star reviews are on par. I loved it! Gladly, Howey is still making additions to the series (Omnibus includes books 1-5), and #6 just arrived. I'll be thinking about Wool for a loooong time.
Barbie
Do you ever read any of Nora Ephron? She is so hilarious and I love the way she writes! "I feel bad about my neck" is my favorite! You would LOVE.
Dawn
Ooo - if you liked the Hunger Games trilogy, try the Maze Runner trilogy by James Dashner, and/or the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness :)
Elise
Wow, that list is AWESOME! I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and The Book Thief one after the other last year, and both brought me to tears, made me laugh, and made me wish they didn't end.
Also, Janet Evanovich is pure gold, i laugh so hard i can't see the page, and when i've calmed down, i inevitably reread the same line again, so it takes me a good half an hour to get through a page...
Email me if you ever want to talk/wax lyrical about any of those!
karenagain
While attending the hubby's brother's wedding in the home town of Brent Butt, I picked up a book entitled ROOM. It is a novel by Emma Donoghue.
A boy turns five years old. He lives in a room 12' by 12' with his Mom. He doesn't know that anything exists outside the windowless room. His Mom tries to make his life as normal as possible within the confines of their room.
This was kind of a stupid book, but I couldn't put it down and I can't stop thinking about it and recommending it.
Janet
LIstened to an interview with the author several months ago (maybe a year), and was VERY fascinated. Haven't read it yet, but it's on the list (ridiculously long list...)
Julia at Home on 129 Acres
It was an interesting concept. A really quick read too.
Bev
I loved the Guernsey book (and Sarah's Key), really enjoyed the HungerGames trilogy and have just started the Book Thief.
Just finished a number of YA books which I have really enjoyed as well:
Divergent and Insurgent
Blood Red Road
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (WWII)
One for the Murphys
The One and Only Ivan
(each Monday there is a meme called It's Monday, What are You Reading?" - lots of great books shared each week)
Jennifer H.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas was amazing and heartbreaking. Definitely second this recommendation. I also have the movie in my Netflix cue but haven't watched it yet.
Karen
Jennifer H. - I've seen the movie but haven't read the book. :) Movie was great. But then again ... I hadn't read the book. ~ karen
Heather
Whiskey Rebels by David Liss.
Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde.
Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore.
Denise Leavens
Jasper Fforde's entire Thursday Next series (of which "Eyre Affair" is the first) is wonderfully funny, and pokes a lot of fun at literature, sci-fi and time travel.
Heather
Diana Gabaldon's Outlander Series--well researched with wonderful characters. George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice & Fire series is great too--never know what will happen. And finally James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small series--laugh out loud. Esp with your love of farming.
Cynthia
I second the recommendation of this writer, Diana Gabaldon. Usually my preferred genre is mystery/thriller or any of the Janet Evanovich books, but Diana Gabaldon's writing style, characters and settings is well done.
Chau
I loved the Outlander series. Diana Gabaldon is a gifted writer. Her research for these books were as thorough as it could be.
marne
Seconding (or thirding or whatever) Outlander and Song of Ice & Fire. Both are epic!
Heidi G
I also highly recommend the Outlander series. Diana Gabaldon's books are my favorite. I would also recommend George RR Martin's Song of Ice & Fire series, although with a caveat that his books take a lot of mental energy to read.
AnnW
Best book ever: The Power of ONe by Bryce Courtenay. Small white boy grows up in Black Africa. I just learned their is a sequel. Tandia? On the way from Amazon. All the Lee Child books with the hero Jack Reacher. May boycott them in the future because Tom Cruise, the midget is playing 6'4" Jack. Worst casting ever. Another great book."Lets not go to the Dogs Tonight:" About white owned farms in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Rhodesia. Eye opening. True story. Sequels abound. I loved most of the 1st Ladies Detective Agency books, but I think they are getting a little thin. I'm reading the book "overdressed" about how our profligate buying of super cheap clothes is ruining the world's economy and wasting resources. That's all for now. I keep saying I am going to keep a list of what I read, but I don't. I love my kindle, but sometimes I get free or cheap books, or buy them from Amazon.
angie
On the subject of keeping track of what you read, with the bonus of finding great books to read, you should check out http://www.goodreads.com This site makes me so happy on so many levels!
Gabrielle
Very first ones that come to mind:
"Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff" by Christopher Moore (Hi-larious)
"Blackout" and "All Clear" are a pair by Connie Willis about time-travelling historians from the far future in WWII England.
(I've very much enjoyed everything I've read by Connie Willis)
Denise Leavens
The Connie Willis books Black Out and All Clear are FABULOUS! They left me with an imprint of WWII London lingering long after I was done reading. Loved them. She has written a few others set in WWII besides these two.
On a hilariously playful note is Connie Willis' book "To Say Nothing of the Dog". I keep rereading this one when I want to laugh out loud.
Lucy
I agree with your choice of "Lamb." I laughed a lot and learned a lot, too. It's one of the funniest books I've ever read.
Tara
I also love Christopher Moore. Lamb is a good introduction to him if you aren't into supernatural creatures. If you find them (vamps, etc) even slightly amusing, then I'd say You Suck is a better intro.
In terms of WWII books, I'd recommend David Downing's John Russell series which begins with Zoo Station. All the books are named after train stations. He's a brit-american with a german son, ex-wife, and girlfriend who wants to stay in Germany to protect them when the war starts. I wasn't sure about them but read all 5 this summer (I'm obsessive about series).
`tara
And I'll second:
The Help (interesting historical perspective-is seen as racist by many)
Enders Game
The Girl with Dragon Tattoo series (couldn't put it down but the way 99% of the men treat her made me want to hit all men first, ask questions later. Not a good time in for the hubs).
Amusing non fiction
Packing for Mars
The sex lives of cannibals
angie
A note on The Help, a few friends listened to the audio version, book on tape or whatever it's called now-a-days, and they all agreed that it was the best audio version of a book they'd ever heard.
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (Non-fiction) is hysterically funny and you learn stuff too. One of those annoying books you try to read out loud to anyone unfortunate enough to be in the same room with you.
Stephanie
ALL Christopher Moore books are hilarious! Finishing up Lamb now..
Stefanie
Let's Pretend this Never Happened (a mostly true memoire). Hands down the funniest book I've ever read!
Brittany
Seconded. Chapter 3 (the one about the racoon)had me laughing so hard I was crying. Then I tried to read it outloud to my husband, which just resulted in almost hyperventalating from laughing/trying to breathe.
Lauren
DO IT! I've recommended it to five people at work, men and women, who have all loved it. It's seriously I a great book...and I'm kind of a literary snob.
Ariel
Must read! I almost choked on kale at work trying not to laugh too loudly while eating/reading during my lunch break. It was embarassing. And totally worth it.
Bethany
I am so glad so many have already recommended this one, because I was totally going to. Read it. And if you've never read her blog...then I feel very, very sad for you. http://thebloggess.com/