Jennifer
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."
-Aristotle
I used to read Stephen King all the time in college, until his creative output exceeded my economic income! He just put out book after book, and I couldn't keep up. I got great at picking up his paperbacks at yard sales for a quarter! Then, I sold all those same paperbacks at my own yardsale, read or not. The Stand was my favorite of his.
DH reads sci-fi and fantasy (Friday nights, he's glued to the Sci-Fi channel!). He's a big HP fan, but I find it rather tiresome and it's all just the same stuff. The movies are good escapist stuff, but even that gets a bit..."Haven't I seen this before?"
I currently have a collection of to-be-read books from what I term the "way-far-away-on-adventures-I'll-never-have" genre: Into Thin Air (mountain climbing), The Hungry Ocean (swordfish fishing), Under the Tuscan Sun (fixing up that dream house in Italy), etc.
p.s. Brandi - I just saw your post...The Hungry Ocean is the Linda Greenlaw book you are referring to about fishing. It was really good - written in response to The Perfect Storm, also a good book. But then, I was involved in the fishing industry up in Gloucester for some time when those books came out, so I had a keen interest in it all! The Lobster Chronicles sounds like somethign I should pick up!
Last edited by 7rider; 09-26-2006 at 05:03 PM.
Brandi,
I read Julia Child's book that you recommended some months ago, and found it very interesting!
Lise,
I just picked up "I should have stayed home" from the library today and am looking forward to reading it!
I'm a voracious reader (but a lousy speller!) and I love, love, love books. I have to keep myself in check though, because I would easily give up too much in my life to just read. It's crazy. My H gives me a hard time about it and my family used to call me 'brick wall' whenever I had a book in my hands. It's not uncommon for me to stay up all night reading when I'm into a good book! It's also not good for my riding habit. I missed out on too many beautiful evening rides because I was head first into the last Harry Potter.![]()
My favorite are historical novels and adventure stores, but there isn't much I won't read. Luckily, I read quickly.I loved 'Into Thin Air'...I think it's one of my all time favorites. Currently I'm reading a series of Philippa Gregory books (historical romance...but not trashy) and a few on solar power (I'm an EE by trade).
I also tend to like LONG books. I hate it when I'm enjoying a story and it's over too quickly. I think that's why I've enjoyed each Harry Potter more than the previous ones...they keep getting longer! Oh, and I read and loved Sarum which is a super long historical novel set in England (Salisbury area). I loved that it lasted half a summer for me!
My new non-farm blog: Finding Freedom
wow, you read Sarum! I don't know anyone else besides myself that has read that book.
I did. Probably only because one of our family names is Canterbury.
Frends know gud humors when dey is hear it. ~ Da Crockydiles of ZZE.
Wow, you guys both read it too? I've also never met anyone else who has...
I think I picked it up originally just because it was so long.![]()
My new non-farm blog: Finding Freedom
2004 Colnago Chic - WTB Deva
2008 Blue RC7 - WTB Deva
2009 Colnago Master X-lite - WTB Deva
I read constantly, but I think I am the only person (and English teacher) who has not read Harry Potter. I really dislike fantasy, sci-fi, and mystery; all those strange names confuse me and there just doesn't seem to be the same type of plots that I like in other genres. I like historical fiction and just plain regular realistic fiction books about real people. I have also read quite a few of the biographies like John Adams and I really liked the Bill Clinton bio. I also read a lot of non fiction on politics, ec.
And as far as those series of Unfortunate Events... after awhile my former students realized that they were a "formula" type of book and they always ended the same way. The same thing happened a few years ago with the RL Stine and Goosebumps books, which were even worse in terms of writing quality. The kids could never understand why i don't like fantasy, but some of the YA science fiction I have read is OK.
My new non-farm blog: Finding Freedom
If you like historical novels and adventures, check out books by Bernard Cornwell. He writes some fantastic stuff, and they are several book sequels so your story won't finish too quick. I'm currently reading the Warlord chronicles, a three book sequel based around Arthurian legends. Another fantastic series was the three books from the time the Saxons were fighting the Danes for control of England. And he wrote a great book called Stonehenge, a novel about the building of Stonehenge. All his books are very well researched too and he includes a chapter at the end detailing the research he has done. BF is a big fan too and next on our reading list is his series based around the American civil war.
"My predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved;I have been given much and I have given something in return...Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and an adventure." O. Sacks
I just finished Kite Runner. I could not put it down, it was that good.
LOVE Barbara Kingsolver's essays. "High Tide In Tucson" is high on my list. I haven't read "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" yet, but I sure want to!
Right now I'm re-reading "Going Postal" by Terry Pratchett.
"If Americans want to live the American Dream, they should go to Denmark." - Richard Wilkinson