Fantastic Books!

Hi
I'm sure that a similar thread has been done before but I read a lot during this whole inactivity thing and wanted to share the titles with you that I loved

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet (absolutely beautiful...long and tough to get into at first but then you just can't help but love it)
Map of Bones, Black Order, and The Judas Strain by James Rollins (I don't know why I didn't know these stories existed but wow!)
The Devil May Cry by Sherrilyn Kenyon (I was impressed by the story line. The writing leaves quite a bit to be desired but as I read i kind of edited in my head and really enjoyed it)
The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud by Julia Navarro

I know it seems like a lot, but I read really fast. Pillars of the Earth took me a day and half but the others I read in less than a day. Anyway, they are all pretty good books although The Devil May Cry was my least favorite.
Anyway, sorry this was so long...I just wanted to share.
Gray

A friend gave me Pillars of the Earth about 4 years ago before Oprah put it on her list (damn her lists!). It was a great book and I agree, half the book was slow and tedious but then it just picked up and ran off in the latter half.

I'm having a really hard time finding good fiction these days. I still would have to rate the Harry Potter series as the best I've read in the last several years. Most other books just leave me flat.

Another book that starts out slow but progresses well is Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid's Tale is still one of my faves).

Power of One (again, damn Oprah!) by Bryce Courtnay is my all time favourite book of mine, it's moving.

Wild Swans is a very important read
and if you can find it "the remote country of women" by Hua Bai. Fascinating great book.


oh you said fiction?

I read Pillars of the Earth years ago. LOVED it.

Had to have a subfloor rebuilt in an old house I was restoring -- I swear, the guy was (and I called him...) Tom Builder.

Try the sequel to Pillars....World without End. Also excellent.

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Originally Posted by Biciclista

oh you said fiction?

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Fiction is a pretty broad category!!:D

I read literary historical ( as compared to bodice ripper historical); adventure historical ( think Master and Commander); alternative history, sci fi, and somewhat literary fantasy ( as compared to genre series-ish fantasy sword and sorcery)

I've been finding lots of goodstuff through www.goodreads.com
Anyone wanna be my friend?

I didn't realize that Pillars of the Earth was an oprah book. I have never read any of her recommended books before.
I love to read anything and I do mean anything. But I'm partial to historical fiction particularly anything having to do with the Holy Land, the templars, WWII (but not a war book per se) Christianity in general. Some people think I'm kind of strange in that way. I love a good mystery but since Patricia Cornwell went haywire with her last several books in the Scarpetta series, I kind of got away from her. Same thing with the James Patterson Women's Murder Club series. I do dearly love Iris Johannsen (sp?). And of course there's my secret stash of romances that not everyone likes.
Gray
I'll check out those books ya'll mentioned. They sound very interesting. Thanks!
Oh, and with regard to Kay Scarpetta...I do really, really, really LOVE that character...I just don't like what Patricia Cornwell did to her.

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Originally Posted by GraysonKelly

I
Oh, and with regard to Kay Scarpetta...I do really, really, really LOVE that character...I just don't like what Patricia Cornwell did to her.

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LOL, so I'm not the only one that went "WTF" with the last few?

I've been reading the Lords of the North series by Bernard Cornwell. It focuses on Alfred the Great, and the clashes between the Saxons and Danes over territory to make England. I'd definitely put this in the adventure historical category: lots of battles and sword fights and stolen hoards, but the author does do his homework on places, timeline and incidents.

The reason I mention this series in response to your post is that the series is also a study of the clash between the Christians and the Danish pagans. I like that it is somewhat historical in context, without the usual feminist/wicca-ish twist that tends to get put on paganism in old England. Anyway, they are a lot of fun.

Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
The Baroque Cycle (comprises Quicksilver, The Confusion, and System of the World); also Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson. If you're a fast reader, Neal Stephenson books will STILL take you a few days. Seriously.
Deepness in the Sky and Fire Upon the Deep - Vernor Vinge


Pillars of the Earth...what's the story line with that? I really feel like I've read it...

I've loved Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. Historical fiction with time travel. OK, some bodice- (or kilt-) ripping, but not so much that it stopped my generally conservative MIL from getting addicted too (maybe she just skipped those parts). Lots of adventure. They're big fat books too, so they keep you busy for a while.

The Mammoth Cheese by Sheri Holman. Long but engaging.

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Originally Posted by BikeDutchess

I've loved Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. Historical fiction with time travel. OK, some bodice- (or kilt-) ripping, but not so much that it stopped my generally conservative MIL from getting addicted too (maybe she just skipped those parts). Lots of adventure. They're big fat books too, so they keep you busy for a while.

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I second this one! I love this series.

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Originally Posted by gingerale

I second this one! I love this series.

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I was good for the first three, which I'd recommend. After that....zzzz for me.

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Originally Posted by BikeDutchess

I've loved Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. Historical fiction with time travel. OK, some bodice- (or kilt-) ripping, but not so much that it stopped my generally conservative MIL from getting addicted too (maybe she just skipped those parts). Lots of adventure. They're big fat books too, so they keep you busy for a while.

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I think where much of my thing for men in kilts started.:D

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Originally Posted by Irulan

I was good for the first three, which I'd recommend. After that....zzzz for me.

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Book 4 was definitely not my favorite, but I did enjoy the others after that one.

I also enjoy the Anna Pigeon mysteries by Nevada Barr.

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Originally Posted by BikeDutchess

I've loved Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. Historical fiction with time travel. OK, some bodice- (or kilt-) ripping, but not so much that it stopped my generally conservative MIL from getting addicted too (maybe she just skipped those parts). Lots of adventure. They're big fat books too, so they keep you busy for a while.

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I wanted thank you for recommending this series. I'm about 200 pages into the first nice fat book (I LOVE fat books) and am enjoying it a lot!

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Originally Posted by GraysonKelly

I'm partial to historical fiction particularly anything having to do with the Holy Land, the templars, WWII (but not a war book per se) Christianity in general.

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Favorite authors of mine in this regard are Bodie and Brock Thoene - great historical fiction, WWII, and with a slight Christian perspective. Zion Chronicles are the ones that cover this.

I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction, but I like the kind of historical fiction that's a counterpoint to the truism that "history is written by the winners" - novels that give a voice to history's losers.

The Valiant and the Damned by Roy Clews, about the Luddites - I'll never use that word as an insult again.

There was a book about the Catiline rebellion that I read several years ago and just can't remember the author or title.

Another one by Sheri Holman that I just finished: The Dress Lodger, about a factory worker/prostitute and a doctor in 1830s England.