Does anybody read books here?

[salsabike]

KG, you would still love Dune. We fans periodically reread it.

And I have an extra copy of The Kite Runner. PM me if you want it--I'd be happy to send it, and it is a really wonderful book.

[kelownagirl]

KG, you would still love Dune. We fans periodically reread it.

And I have an extra copy of The Kite Runner. PM me if you want it--I'd be happy to send it, and it is a really wonderful book.

Thanks Salsa! I am pretty sure my friend at work has the book so I'll give her a shot first! Hmm, maybe I should reread Dune.

[KnottedYet]

I haven't read any Dune in about 20 years...

I still think about it sometimes. I was very into Dune when I was late teens/early 20's, I wonder if reading it now I'd get something else out of it.

There are several books like that I should got look into again.

[Bklynmom]

I forgot to mention what may be the best book ever - Middlesex. Just an amazingly constructed and often funny tale, completely unpredicatbale, and uplifing in an odd way. There are some tough war scenes at the beginnning, and definitelly some violence, but amazing twists and turns. The plot is breathtaking.

Especially if you are in your 40's 50's or 60's and from Detroit, you will really enjoy it, although that is hardly all that it's about. Lots to do with growing up Greek, and gender issues too.

Riveting - good reason it got the Pulitizer.

[Meaux]

Holy smokes! I just re-read Middlesex. I LOVED it both times I've read it. I worked for Barnes and Noble for nearly four years (my husband still does), so we have LOTS and LOTS of books in our home. I love Wally Lamb and I read any historical fiction I can get my hands on. I just read this book called The Historian, it was fantastic. (I love vampires too, anything kind of sordid is my guilty pleasure. Just not romance novels. That's going too far.) And Neil Gaiman is a fantastic author. American Gods really changed the way I thought about other religions. Okay, I'm rambling now. I have loved to read since the time I was really young. I'm trying to get on the ball and read things that are more "academic", as I'm hoping to start grad school next fall.

[newfsmith]

Some passages are reminiscent of Carl Sandberg. Very good read.
The Lost is a non-fiction account of a historian that sets out to find what happened to relatives lost in the Holocaust. It is an intensely personal book, that really grabs you. Sorry I can't give the author's name (Daniel Somebody), as I loaned it to my boss as soon as I finished it. Just read Fannie Flagg's Can't wait to get to Heaven, it was a lot of fun. Hampton Sides' Blood and Thunder is a combination biography of Kit Carson and history of the Southwest, with emphasis on the defeat of the Navajo. That is a chunk of history that was largely skipped in my American History class, that was too busy with the business & politics of the eastern part of the country. Simon Schama's Rough Crossings brought a new view of Revolutionary history. The British promised black Americans freedom for serving in their army. Of course, they didn't get it, and the British reneged on salaries, etc. But that little fact was never mentioned in American history either, nor in 1776, which is also an excellent read. Anything Erik Larson writes is great, he really gives a feel of what everyday life was like in the period he is writing about. I think Isacc's Storm is my favorite. I'm currently reading John Grisham's non-fiction, The Innocent Man . It is pretty good, although very scary and sad. I'm a big fan of Elizabeth George, she is about due for another, and I won't be able to wait for it to come out in paper.

[Bklynmom]

I agree - also about Elizabeth George (those are my dessert books) - I assume you have read PD James mysteries? Henning Mankel (Swedish) is also great.

Blood and Thunder sounds right up my alley, I will put it on my Hanamas list.! I read a lot about the history of NYC, and The Island at the Center of the World, about Dutch NY is my all time favorite. Also Low Life by Luke Sante, is about turn of the century NY, although I wonder a bit about some of his interpretations of events. Did you read In the Heart of the Sea - the true story Moby **** is based on? Very New England.

Quality Fiction wise, The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenager is also great - sad, but very strong writing. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers is good - it's a biography but it reads like fiction (parts of it may actually be fiction!).

[Bad JuJu]

Currently re-reading some classics, which I'm teaching next semester in a class on belief and non-belief in Victorian literature: On the Origin of Species (OK, not strictly *literary* but important to the Victorian world view), Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Peter Pan, The Picture of Dorian Grey, and of course, my favorite Victorian page-turner: Dracula.

And I've been asked to write a review for a local paper on Carl Hiassen's Sick Puppy. Hiassen is an entertaining and inventive Florida writer who comes up with some wonderfully convoluted plots and characters, and who usually throws in an environmental agenda, underlying the twists and turns of action. I find his books great for downloading to the iPod for long road trips.

[snowtulip]

Absolutely addicted to books! After signing up at paperbackswap.com, I've opened myself up to other genres and I'm amazed at how much I love all types of genres.

Recent faves:

The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova (loved it, couldn't put it down, loved all the travel, history, etc. I even passed on a ride to finish reading)

The Sparrow - Mary Doria Russell (a book I would have never read if I didn't expand my horizons, kept me completely captivated, looking to read the sequel next)

Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon (took me a little while to get into, but then I was hooked, plus it's about a book!)

The Golden Compass - Phillip Pullman (ok, I've already read this a few times, but had to reread before the movie release).