Have you read any good books lately?

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SoOCOwner_IHB

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I noticed a book recommendation on the 'Memorial Day' post and thought it might be a good thread to start separately. I am always looking for a good book. Currently I am reading 'I Know This Much Is True' by Wally Lamb. I've read another of his books and he is a wonderful writer. Oprah and I tend to have similar taste :) so I generally stick with her recommendations, although this can be limiting. Does anyone have any recommendations? I just bought the Kindle and I love it.
 
<a href="http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/forums/viewthread/5072/">Book Club: Suggestion Thread</a>

<a href="http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/forums/viewthread/5170/">Book Club: "Transition" by Meghana Joshi</a>
 
I just finished <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Glass-Castle-Memoir-Jeannette-Walls/product-reviews/074324754X/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1">The Glass Castle</a>. It was a good read; it sucked me in pretty quickly and I finished the book within a week (I'm not a particularly fast reader, nor do I have a ton of time to devote to reading). The book was kind of like Amy Tan books - painfully tragic but somehow inspiring...this was even more so since it was a memoir. It was shocking and difficult to read but captivating.
 
I think we're all on the same page here, I love any Amy Tan or Wally Lamb book. She's Come Undone by Lamb was great!
 
I go through phases where I read a book a week, and then I won't read a book for 6 months. I'm currently coming out of my last 6 month hiatus. This weekend, I saw the movie The Secret Life of Bees, and I actually thought the movie was fantastic. Usually, I don't enjoy watching movies based on my favorite books because IMO the books are always much better and the movies disappoint. This one was a pleasant surprise. I read The Secret Life of Bees in 2005 or 2006 and I loved it. After watching the movie this weekend, I decided that I want to read the book again (something I've only done once before, and strangely, I don't remember the name of the other book at the moment). I also read The Mermaid Chair by the same author (Sue Monk Kidd), and I thought it was just okay. Before my 6 month hiatus, I struggled half way through One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garc?a M?rquez. It's not an easy read, so I found it difficult to read with one eye open at night. Anyway, I need to pick back up where I left off.



I try to read novels by critically acclaimed authors, new and past. I'm doing this in order to learn from and study the great writers so that I can shape my writing. I've been taking writing classes and I'd like to write a novel one day.



Finally, my favorite historical fiction book the past few years is The Known World, which I highly recommend.
 
Here is another great book:



<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fine-Balance-Oprahs-Book-Club/dp/140003065X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243609249&sr=1-1">A Fine Balance</a> by Rohinton Mistry. Don't let the length scare you - it reads quickly and is very funny at times.
 
A Fine Balance and Shantaram are two books that I have checked out at least three times, but never gone beyond the first 40-50 pages.

My all time favorite is The Golden Gate by Vikram Seth when it comes to Indian-American authors.

Read Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie recently and was terribly disappointed.

Been reading Blessed Unrest by Paul Hawken and heavily inspired/ impressed. It's a non-fiction about environment.
 
[quote author="Cubic Zirconia" date=1243687978]A Fine Balance and Shantaram are two books that I have checked out at least three times, but never gone beyond the first 40-50 pages.

My all time favorite is The Golden Gate by Vikram Seth when it comes to Indian-American authors.

Read Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie recently and was terribly disappointed.

Been reading Blessed Unrest by Paul Hawken and heavily inspired/ impressed. It's a non-fiction about environment.</blockquote>


I don't know why I had the same problem with A Fine Balance. I passed it along to a friend and it became a huge favorite of his entire family, guess I should try again.
 
Guess it is a starting problem.. Because those who did read it mostly have good things to say.

I am thinking of trying Shantaram another try. It will be a movie soon.
 
I read A Fine Balance years ago and thought it was good but I didn't LOVE it like so many others I've spoken to. I'm from Indian descent and a lot of what I read was painful and gave me some insight into to life in a poverty stricken country but I just didn't enjoy it like my friends seemed to.
 
Try a classic book.



Farewell My Lovely - Raymond Chandler. No one can write crime stories like RC. FML was my last read.



1984 - George Orwell. A terrific read in todays climate. Understand what everyone else merely references.



The Road - Cormack McCarthy (sp?) Haunting. A book that you still remember weeks later.
 
[quote author="Soylent Green Is People" date=1243896521]Try a classic book.



Farewell My Lovely - Raymond Chandler. No one can write crime stories like RC. FML was my last read.



1984 - George Orwell. A terrific read in todays climate. Understand what everyone else merely references.



The Road - Cormack McCarthy (sp?) Haunting. A book that you still remember weeks later.</blockquote>


The Road was one of the most horrifying books I have ever read. I will <i>never</i> forget it, especially since it is a fair prediction of what could transpire in the years after a nuclear war. Actually, the book never really explains the tragic event, but from what is described, it seems like a nuclear winter to me. It was a hard book to get through (due to the graphic content) but I'm glad I read it.
 
How they are going to convince people to pay $9 - $11 to see this book in movie form I will never know. Viggo M. is the father. The film was to come out in December 08 but parts of it had to be re-shot due to it not being bleak enough. Any test audience will tell the filmmakers that this is too much of a downer. I hope they don't twist it too much from it's core. I know more about it but won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it.
 
[quote author="Soylent Green Is People" date=1243904521]How they are going to convince people to pay $9 - $11 to see this book in movie form I will never know. Viggo M. is the father. The film was to come out in December 08 but parts of it had to be re-shot due to it not being bleak enough. Any test audience will tell the filmmakers that this is too much of a downer. I hope they don't twist it too much from it's core. I know more about it but won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it.</blockquote>


I had no idea they were making a movie of this book. After I finished the book, I tried to imagine it as a movie, but I thought "no, there is no way they would do that". This is going to be one depressing movie.
 
[quote author="SoOCOwner" date=1243897501][quote author="Soylent Green Is People" date=1243896521]Try a classic book.



Farewell My Lovely - Raymond Chandler. No one can write crime stories like RC. FML was my last read.



1984 - George Orwell. A terrific read in todays climate. Understand what everyone else merely references.



The Road - Cormack McCarthy (sp?) Haunting. A book that you still remember weeks later.</blockquote>


The Road was one of the most horrifying books I have ever read. I will <i>never</i> forget it, especially since it is a fair prediction of what could transpire in the years after a nuclear war. Actually, the book never really explains the tragic event, but from what is described, it seems like a nuclear winter to me. It was a hard book to get through (due to the graphic content) but I'm glad I read it.</blockquote>


1984 is a very good book to read. If you like horrifying books that I suggest you check out The wasp factory. This will give you nightmares for months.





<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wasp-Factory-Novel-Iain-Banks/dp/0684853159/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243881171&sr=8-1">http://www.amazon.com/Wasp-Factory-Novel-Iain-Banks/dp/0684853159/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243881171&sr=8-1</a>
 
[quote author="Soylent Green Is People" date=1243896521]Try a classic book.



Farewell My Lovely - Raymond Chandler. No one can write crime stories like RC. FML was my last read.



1984 - George Orwell. A terrific read in todays climate. Understand what everyone else merely references.



The Road - Cormack McCarthy (sp?) Haunting. A book that you still remember weeks later.</blockquote>


Animal Farm by George Orwell is my other favorite. Don't know how many times I have read it!

Haven't read "The Road". Sometimes if they are "haunting" emotionally, I get disturbed.. Mystic River was one I couldn't finish.
 
There's always "Still Life With A Woodpecker" by Tom Robbins. Odd, but not as odd as Hitchhiker's Guide.



"The Martian Chronicles" is another classic book suggestion.



I can't watch Mystic River without wanting to shoot the villains, so in order to preserve my Plasma, I turn the channel.
 
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