Book Recommendations

eilis1228 · October 2014

I know we've talked about books oodles of times, but I'm drawing a blank as I put together a Christmas wish list for FI (and whomever he shares the list with, like family and friends).

Tell me all the books you absolutely adore and couldn't put down! I've already got We Need to Talk about Kevin on the list, and I'm right smack dab in the middle of 11/22/63. What else should I add?

bethsmiles · October 2014

If he does get you We Need to Talk About Kevin do not read it on Christmas! It is not a Christmas book. 19 Minutes by Jodie Picoult wasn't bad and is on the same subject and not as dark.

I loved The Maze Runner series. If liked Hunger Games or Divergent you would probably enjoy it. Matched, Delirium, Under the Never Sky or The Selection aren't bad series either and they fall into the same genre. I really enjoy series and YA Dystopians clearly.

The Black Count is fabulous if you enjoy history and liked anything by Alexander Dumas. It's the true story that inspired The Count of Monte Cristo. I love French history.

All But My Life: A Memoir is a the memoir of a Holocaust survivor. It's a powerful story and extremely well written.

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon was also a really fascinating true story.

Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir is hilarious. I laughed out loud the whole way through it.

Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End is the best zombie book I've ever read if you enjoy zombie stuff.

eilis1228 · October 2014

@bethsmiles Thank you! So, while I was searching on Amazon for these to add them to my wish list, I found that 3 of them were roughly $5 in Kindle format, and I promptly purchased them... so much for that whole "wish list" thing. :-P

ETA: I looked up the YA series you also listed, and, uh, they were all super cheap for the Kindle too. In fact, The Selection was only $2.99. All purchased. All highly rated. *sigh*

bethsmiles · October 2014

Haha...I do that all the time! I have like 30 books on my Kindle that I have yet to read because they were too cheap to not buy!

Swazzle · October 2014

I finished We Need to Talk About Kevin the other night and I'm mad at @hummingbird125 and @GoldenPenguin for making me read it.

I'm switching back to my Gossip Girl marathon before I start a new book but will be checking in on this thread for recommendations!

Dignity100 · October 2014

Weren't we supposed to all be reading the Pretty Little Liars series - we suck as a book club

Swazzle · October 2014

@Dignity100 - You all made the books seem so bad, I couldn't bear to start them!

ShallowSeas · October 2014

I just started Sharp Object by Gillian Flynn a couple nights ago and so far its really good. I've heard its pretty dark and messed up though.

LabLove86 · October 2014

I just started reading Between the Lines which is by Jodi Picoult co-authored with Samantha Van Leer (who is her daughter - so that's cool) - its a young adult book, fantasy/fairy tale - easy ready. I'll probably be done with it by the weekend.

I really want to read We Need to Talk About Kevin - I think that's next on my list.

[Deleted User] · October 2014

I second @bethsmiles recommendation for Let's Pretend this Never Happened. I haven't laughed so hard at a book in a long time. My BFF loved it too.

I really love anything by Barbara Kingsolver (Poisonwood Bible is my favorite), Michael Chabon (especially The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay), or Orhan Pamuk. Pamuk is tough to read, since he's translated (from Turkish) and since he uses really rich language, but IMO it's worth the time. When I want to laugh I turn to the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum novels. My favorite YA novel is an older one by Nancy Farmer called The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm. I read it in 6th grade, and it's stuck with me ever since.

eilis1228 · October 2014

@severmilli12 I've been unsure of reading more Gillian Flynn after finishing Gone Girl a couple of years ago. I hated the ending. I remember throwing the book across the room because I was so mad. I really liked how Hithcockian her style was up until that point though. Maybe Sharp Object won't be as much of a letdown.

@LabLove86 I've only read The Pact by Jodi Picoult, but I really liked it. I remember thinking she was akin to Nicholas Sparks in the fluff books area, but The Pact was pretty dark. I'll add Between the Lines to the list (or my Kindle, depending on the price lol). ETA: Kindle edition of Between the Lines is only $1.99. Purchased!

@futuremrshistorian Poisonwood Bible has been on my list of books to read for a few years now. I really need to just bite the bullet, buy it, and read it. I don't know why I haven't yet. I added the Michael Chabon book you recommended (especially since it won a Pulitzer!), and I'm looking through Pamuk's books now. He's got a ton! Anything in particular that you recommend?

[Deleted User] · October 2014

@ellis1228 - The Museum of Innocence is my favorite Pamuk out of the ones I've read. It's a beautiful, tragic love story.

LabLove86 · October 2014

@eilis1228 - its really a fun easy read - good for when you want mindless entertainment

eilis1228 · October 2014

@futuremrshistorian Oh, it sound really good! Added it to the list, thank you!

eilis1228 · October 2014

@LabLove86 I'm definitely not opposed to mindless entertainment.

AlPacina · October 2014

My favorite book that I've read in 2014 is The Glass Castle, although I know that one is pretty famous so maybe you've already read it.

I liked Sharp Objects a lot more than Gone Girl. But it just might be my personal taste.

I also really like Choke by Chuck Palahniuk, if you haven't read it. Great characters, and a hilarious intro. That one is an older book, but most of his books are pretty interesting reads. I was on a CP kick last winter.

[Deleted User] · October 2014

Can't believe I forgot to mention Jodi Picoult! I thought she was fluffy too, for a while, (I think it's because the book covers look a little Sparks-esque)...then I read her stuff. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Harvard, I believe...which, while it might not mean much in general, means a lot in my college prof brain. :-)

eilis1228 · October 2014

@TwoDimes I had never read her stuff or even looked at her plot summaries. Like @futuremrshistorian, I thought she wrote fluff based on her popularity and her covers. I read an interview a few years ago where she ripped apart Nicholas Sparks, and that's what me me actually look at her work. She's really talented, and I definitely need to read more of her stuff.

Also, there's nothing wrong with fluff like Nicholas Sparks or Luanne Rice. I definitely enjoy their books from time to time as well. I just liked that she tore into him and called him out for being a hack writer. She reminds me a bit of Mark Twain and how he used to bash hack writers in his hey day.

Re: Gone Girl, it wasn't necessarily the twist ending that got me, it was just all very anti-climactic and didn't seem to really follow the pace she'd set with the plot up to that point. I was ready for something epic, and instead it was just, "Oh, eh, ok then." I guess for me it just fell a little flat.

@AlPacina I've never actually read any of CP's stuff. I'm a terrible English major. lol. I need to add a few of his books to my list too.

ShallowSeas · October 2014

@TwoDimes I just started Sharp Objects but from what I've heard from friends who have read it and from reviews online, Gone Girl was good, Dark Places was super dark, and Sharp Objects is disturbing $:\$

Peaseblossom55 · October 2014

I really enjoyed The Maze Runner.I also loved Let's Pretend this Never Happened.

I enjoyed Sharp Objects and Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

bethsmiles · October 2014

I'm not a big fan of Picoult. I think her books are very predictable and I do think she is similar to Nicholas Sparks in that her writing is formulatic, at least in my opinion. Every time I read her books I either am meh, it was okay about it or don't like it at all. I only picked up 19 Minutes because people were comparing it to We Need to Talk About Kevin and it wasn't anywhere near as well-done.

Swazzle · October 2014

I like Sharp Objects and Dark Places better than Gone Girl.

bethsmiles · October 2014

@Swazzle - Are the characters any more likable in Sharp Objects or Dark Places? I think that was my biggest issue with Gone Girl is that from the very beginning I really hated both main characters. I actually though Gillian Flynn's style was similar to Lionel Shriver in We Need to Talk About Kevin so I'm thinking of trying one of her other books since I did like Shriver's.

Swazzle · October 2014

@bethsmiles - Ehhh I liked them more than the Gone Girl characters. They're pretty twisted and dark too and not necessarily someone you want to become best friends with. I hated most of the characters in the Kevin book.

desertsun · October 2014

bethsmiles, Into the Darkest Corner is a suspense/thriller that has a main character who was pretty likeable IMO. I'm with you in that I'd rather read books with characters I like or that I can identify with.

For contemporary woman's fiction on the lighter side, I've been enjoying Liane Moriarty.

danamw · October 2014

For those who like fantasy, Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Legacy series. Each book is over 600 pages long, but are intoxicating. There are 6 or 9 books in the series (depending if you count the last 3 as part of the series).

Start with Kushiel's Dart, the first one.

Book Recommendations

Re: Book Recommendations

Choose Another Board

Search Boards