Thursday, January 14, 2010

book talk

 i've been getting sick all week. {which makes sense because hubby has been sick for a week 1 1/2 and has been using my toothbrush!} 
well, i think i've just been fighting it off all week.

which means taking lots of vitamins and sleeping 14 hours a day. which is fine, but i want to read a lot and i just don't have a great book right now. i've been starting and stopping a whole bunch of novels from our home library, but i just can't seem to stick with one.

anyone have any ideas for me?
i'm looking for something interesting that doesn't take too much concentration {since i'm half asleep most of the time} but is a couple steps above chick lit. and i don't want to buy anything, so hopefully it's something i can find at the library.

thanks you guys!
photos from here and here

17 comments:

  1. Anything by Anita Shreve, Jodi Piccoult, Nicholas Sparks... There are some more good ones, but the books are in the other room and I am lazy! :)

    Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting today. I am going to take a peek around before I leave... Oh, and I am a new follower!

    ~Lanie

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  2. crow lake by mary lawson is extraordinary. it's "slow-burning" - according to a reviewer on the back of the book somewhere - so it's paced steadily and won't blow your mind davinci code style, but you will really appreciate the story and the characters. it's a really good read. :)

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  3. A few page turners -
    Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (short stories so you can nap between!)

    March by Geraldine Brooks (the Little Women story told through letters by their dad. Waaaaay better than a cheesy twist on the story book.)

    Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (can't remember if I ever loaned this to you. I reread it this summer in a couple days just for fun. Page turner like Memory Keeper's Daughter is)

    Hope this helps... love you girl!

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  4. 'after you'd gone' by maggie o'farrel is a beautiful, beautiful read. i've read it twice and will most likely read it again. 'on beauty' by zadie smith is also very good, or 'the corrections' by jonathan franzen. fantastic.

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  5. Wow, all the young girls are reading Dear John, but I swore off Nick Sparks a couple years ago - too depressing. Just like Danielle Steele. I've been into Elizabeth Gaskell - Ruth was my most recent "read" - I listen to the librovox version. Perhaps you can listen to something! I also read a lot of nonfiction - biographies and stuff. I did read "Dirty Sexy Knitting" when a friend put together a relaxation basket for me. It was perfect beach reading! HOpe you feel better.

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  6. I love Wally Lamb! This Much I Know is True(I think that's the name) is huge, but wonderful.

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  7. Pride & Prejudice, just finished it again and still LOVE it. Sorry you're sick, everyone here is as well. Not me yet!!!

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  8. Sarah already recommended March, which I haven't read, but People of the Book, also by Geraldine Brooks, was the last amazing amazing book I read. I can't recommend it highly enough.

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  9. I am a HUGE fan of Mary Alice Monroe books. Start with The Book Club or The Beach House. As for cost, my daughter does paperback swap online and thinks it is awesome!

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  10. I'm reading the Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee at the moment and absolutely loving it! I am a big fan of historical fiction.

    While we were in Paris I read A Farewell to Arms and My Life in France by Julia Child... Both excellent reads as well!

    Hope you are feeling better my dear!

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  11. This is just a step above chick lit, but there is a great three-book series called the Friday Night Knitting Club. They are novels all about relationships and their relation to knitting. The main character owns a knitting store. They are easy reads but surprisingly profound at times. Really enjoyable! (The Friday Night Knitting Club, Knit Two, and Knit the Season -- http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Friday-Night-Knitting-Club/Kate-Jacobs/e/9780425219096/?itm=1&USRI=friday+night+knitting+club)

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  12. the maytreees by annie dillard. it is one of my favorite books.

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  13. Try The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar. He stories and characters are funny, endearing, wacky, and do things you don't expect. You could also check out his other book: Lonely Werewolf Girl It is a long one but very good and not a hard read.

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  14. Well since you've already been to the library...and you probably feel better by now...you can add this one to your list for next time: Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier. Super good :)

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  15. I agree with the above post, Tracy Chevalier books are good (especially that one, as well as Girl with a Pearl Earring.) They take you to another era, which I think is always fun.

    Also, for a more contemporary tale,I really liked "Saving Fish from Drowning," by Amy Tan. A group of interesting characters set out on an organized art tour in Asia--and they disappear! I think Amy Tan is an amazing story-teller, and always unpredictable. It's an entertaining read.

    Hope you feel better soon.

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