Summer time and the readin' is easy

Hey all!  Just wondering what's the best book you've read lately?  I'm running out of books in all my favorite series and am looking for some new authors - any genre.

Just started reading the Nero Wolfe series by Rex Stout.  Loved the A&E show and am loving the books even more!

So what do you recommend?

I'm an English major and thsi semester I had to read a lot of novels! My favourites from the year were Atwood's Oryx and Crake, Huxley's Ape and Essence, Nabokov's Lolita and Julian Barnes' A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters. These novels are radically different, sci-fi/ dystopia/ criminal/ historiographic metafiction. A little something for everyone! Have you read any of them yet?

None of those!  Heard of a couple.  Will add a couple to my list.

What the heck is historiographic metafiction?

I just finished "Into Thin Air" by John Krakauer, it's about the disaster that happened on Mt. Everest in 1996. it was really fascinating!

Oy.  Is that the one where they left a guy behind thinking he was as good as dead and then other climbers saw he was still alive?  I don't know if I could read that.  Get mad just thinking about it.

"Into Thin Air" was an easy and entertaining read. I read it while I was working at a mental hospital. Nothing like being stuck on 1:1 patient observations with someone who sleeps constantly to make you read random books. 

I recommend "First They Killed My Father" and "Lucky Child' by Loung Ung. Their memoirs about living through the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia in the 1970s. Some other books I've really liked... "Little Children", "Three Cups of Tea", "The Namesake" and "Interpreter of Maladies" (last two by Jhumpa Lahiri), "Untouchables", "Middlesex", "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier", and "Everything is Illuminated".

I'm currently forcing myself to read two Cambodian history books... one solely about Pol Pot's rise to power and the Khmer Rouge's destruction of the country and another about the rebuilding of the country after the Vietnamese takeover that ended the Khmer Rouge rule up until the late 1990s. Although I'm really interested in it, I'm finding it hard to stay focused but I'm going to make myself finish them before I head to Cambodia in the Fall. 

Original Post by pavlovcat:

Oy.  Is that the one where they left a guy behind thinking he was as good as dead and then other climbers saw he was still alive?  I don't know if I could read that.  Get mad just thinking about it.

yes, i think you're talking about Beck Weathers. not sure if Beck blamed them for their actions, dying up there is a risk everyone takes, and it's not as if they just said "meh, let's not bother trying to save him." they truly believed he had no chance, and had they tried to bring him and the Japanese woman back, they could have died themselves. he wasn't found by other climbers, he actually managed to walk himself back to camp.  

i thought it was a great book, definitely an easy and engrossing read. i'm curious to read some of the books by the other people who were involved, including the one by Beck Weathers, there are obviously several sides to the story.

A Widow for One Year  by John Irving

Totally weird book but I couldn't put it down.  I would recommend it :)

Wild Swans and To the Edge of the Sky.

Wild Swans was the last book that my late Mom was reading when she went into the hospital.

what dreams may come by matheson...it's a much better book than movie, and I loved the movie too.  Same with I am Legend.  He was a great author. 

Eat, Pray, Love is also an excellent book.

Oh oh oh....and Swan Song by Robert McCammon is my ABSOLUTE favorite book.....it's about 900 pages but it is an EXCELLENT book.

The Shack 

I would definitely recommend The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, a great, great read. I couldn't put it down and you get so into the characters. A truly different take on the traditional love story. It's also being made into a movie this year with Eric Bana :), yummy haha.

Also, Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet. My fiance got this for me for my birthday and I just read it a month or so ago when we were on vacation. The book description sounds a little strange, but you will NOT regret reading this book. Deep character development, action, betrayal, history, love -- it really has something for everyone. It's long, but you'll get so into it you won't want it to end...which is good, because there is a kind of sequel, World Without End that I've also heard is amazing, but I haven't read it yet.

Good luck with all your reading this summer, I need to start making a dent in the pile of books on my nightstand. I keep adding to the "want to read" pile, but never have the time :(

Also, if you're into fitness/running, read Dean Karnazes' Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All Night Runner. I read this book within a 24 hour period, couldn't put it down. It's fascinating to see what the human body can be put through. He's an amazing individual and it makes me want to push my body to the limits and get healthy.

I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking for a lighthearted summer read that's still inspiring and will stick with you.

Original Post by jordielg:

I would definitely recommend The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, a great, great read. I couldn't put it down and you get so into the characters. A truly different take on the traditional love story. It's also being made into a movie this year with Eric Bana :), yummy haha.

Also, Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet. My fiance got this for me for my birthday and I just read it a month or so ago when we were on vacation. The book description sounds a little strange, but you will NOT regret reading this book. Deep character development, action, betrayal, history, love -- it really has something for everyone. It's long, but you'll get so into it you won't want it to end...which is good, because there is a kind of sequel, World Without End that I've also heard is amazing, but I haven't read it yet.

Good luck with all your reading this summer, I need to start making a dent in the pile of books on my nightstand. I keep adding to the "want to read" pile, but never have the time :(

 

 These are already two of my favorite books.  Good taste!

Looking for histerical books that are chock full of adventure, witty banter and romance?

Check out Christopher Moore.

I've read

• Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story (1995) Simon & Schuster ISBN 0-684-81097-2
• The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove (1999) Harper Collins ISBN 0-06-059027-0
• Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal (2002) HarperCollins Publication ISBN 0-380-81381-5
• A Dirty Job (2006) (awarded The Quill Book Award for General Fiction for 2006) Harper Collins ISBN 0-06-059027-0
• You Suck: A Love Story (2007) William Morrow ISBN 0-06-059029-7

And they're all fantastic!

I'm going to read 'Fluke' by him next :D

Original Post by nasuoni:

Looking for histerical books that are chock full of adventure, witty banter and romance?

Check out Christopher Moore.

I've read

• Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story (1995) Simon & Schuster ISBN 0-684-81097-2
• The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove (1999) Harper Collins ISBN 0-06-059027-0
• Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal (2002) HarperCollins Publication ISBN 0-380-81381-5
• A Dirty Job (2006) (awarded The Quill Book Award for General Fiction for 2006) Harper Collins ISBN 0-06-059027-0
• You Suck: A Love Story (2007) William Morrow ISBN 0-06-059029-7

And they're all fantastic!

I'm going to read 'Fluke' by him next :D

 I'll check him out.  I like weird/funny/fantastic fiction.  Have you ever read Jasper Fford?  Hilarious.

another book i loved Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd, it's long, but if you enjoy historical fiction, it's great. it's like 10 books in one!

Original Post by pavlovcat:

 I'll check him out.  I like weird/funny/fantastic fiction.  Have you ever read Jasper Fford?  Hilarious.

Nope, I'll have to look him up :D

Original Post by jules817:

another book i loved Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd, it's long, but if you enjoy historical fiction, it's great. it's like 10 books in one!

 Rutherfurd's great.  Although I haven't been as thrilled with his Ireland series.

If you like Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet then you have to read his book World Without End. :)