Book Suggestions

Check out www.bookcrossing.com...It is a website for booklovers to trade their books, read them, release them, and share...It is all free and you can find some great reads!!!

Favorite Books ~

1. The Seven Daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes
2. The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
3. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
4. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
5. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
6. Dakota by Kathleen Norris
7. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sajie
8. Five Quarters of the Orange by JoAnne Harris
9. Girl in Hyancinth Blue by Susan Vreeland
10. Empire Falls by Richard Russo
11. Wobegon Boy by Garrison Keillor
12. The Color of Water by James McBride
13. The Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery
14. Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi
15. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
16. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
17. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
18. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
19. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
20. The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst
21. Straight Man by Richard Russo
22. Pompeii by Robert Harris
23. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
24. Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik
25. Three Junes by Julia Glass
26. Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani
27. Lost in Translation by Nicole Mones
28. The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank
29. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Cadavers by Mary Roach
30. Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
31. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
32. Brazil by John Updike
33. Candy Girl ~ A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper by Diablo Cody
34. Don't Let's go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller
35. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
36. Ines of my Soul by Isabel Allende
37. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
38. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
39. Ominivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
40. The World Without Us by Alan Weismann
41. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
42. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & Oliver Relin

I love reading things by Nicholas Sparks, Debbie McComber, Nora Roberts, Janet Evanovich. I actually signed up for an email book club thru my library. They send me a first chapter or two from a different book over the course of a week. Then I can decide if the book is something I would be interested in or not. The website for that is: http://www.dearreader.com

I loved the Kite Runner, too! Feel free to check out my page on goodreads.com:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/759886?page=1&sh...

Here are some of my other favorites that I think you'd enjoy:
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst
Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner
Lamb by Christopher Moore
Marley and Me by John Grogan
Harry Potter Series
The Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket (great to read with kids!)
anything written by Lorna Landvik (MN author)

Never enough time for all the books...Happy Reading!!

I know you have received a TON of responses, but I felt a need to add my own. I love historical fiction and book on other cultures, and I am an avid, avid reader, and a quick read, so I go through several books a week, and here are some of my all time favorites:

Princess : A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia, Vol. 1 by Jean Sasson,

Anne of Green Gables: by LM Montgomery- very light hearted, and a fun treat.

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See, fascinating cultural experience

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

The Princess Bride : S. Morgenstern, try to get the unabridged original version, it is fabulous!!

The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory- my favorite out of her books

Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams, he is hilarious!

I have to admit, I enjoyed the Davinci Code by Dan Brown. He write really well, and weaves a good spell, all his books are well worth it.

Jane Austen's books are great, Emma, Pride and Prejudice, classics, and well written.

I have many more, but you will be swamped with all of these replys so I will hold off.

Happy Reading!!!

Angela

"The Spirit Catches you and You Fall Down: A Hmong child, her American doctors, and the Collision of two cultures" by Anne Fadiman. One of the best books I've ever read! It teaches about the Hmong culture by telling the story of a Hmong girl in the US with epilepsy. It also made me think about our culture, how we assume we know what is "right", and have difficulty adapting our methods to work for people from other cultures. I highly recommend this book.

Hi L. -

I'm in two separate book clubs - and these are some of my favorites:

The Glass Castle
The Other Boelyn Girl
Eat, Pray, Love

Any of Jodi Piccoult's books are great. Also The Memory Keeper's Daughter, Eat Pray Love, Three Cups of Tea.

I read the other posts first and alot of the books I would have suggested are there already - you have a great reading list from this!

if you like books about other cultures, I'd highly recommend The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy.

Enjoy!

L.~
I too love to read! I try to sit down with a book any chance I get! I usually read whatever, but lately have read alot of Jodi Picoult: The Memory Keepers Daugher, My Sisters Keeper, The Pact and the 10th Circle. I just finished a book called Cage of Stars- sad, but a great story. A good 'life' story I read not too long ago was 'A Piece of Cake' by Cupcake Brown. Alot of times I just wonder the isles in the library and pick out whatever! I hope some of these catch your interest and you enjoy them as much as I did!
~T.:)

Hi L.-

I just finished reading 'White Teeth' by Zadie Smith, and thought it was fabulous... Another good book is 'Brick Lane' by Monica Ali... Also, 'Interpreter of Maladies' and 'The Namesake' by Jhumpa Lahiri are wonderful.

Hope you find something you like!

M.

I just wanted to second the recommendation for Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, particularly Sister of my Heart.

Also: Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks
Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz (first part of The Cairo Triology)
A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris
My Antonia by Willa Cather

Hi L.! (Before she was married my daughter was a L. M!) I don't have any specific suggestions for books, but if you check the library catalog, just about anybody you've ever heard of will have some biographies listed under his or her name.

Mainly, I just wanted to say RIGHT ON! about being a SAHM! You hear about parents setting aside "quality time" for their kids, but I know the highest-quality time I spent with my mother was while she was doing chores around the house or driving us someplace. That's when she'd tell me stories about our family history, explain the reason she did such-and-such, teach me Christmas carols, etc, etc. And all that conversation was great for my vocabulary and grammar too!

Happy Independence Day! L.

Theres are historic, but definitely different lifestyles, I've recently enjoyed Water for Elephants, and a must read is The Zookeepers Wife by Diane Ackerman (I think). It is non-fiction which reads like fiction. The family shelter Jews fleeing the Warsaw Ghetto, however, she beautifully characterizes people according to her knowledge of her animals. The agony of the time is not glossed over, but neither is it the focal point. Enjoy!

I used to read alot of prehistoric america novels, I have a ton that I was just thinking of getting rid of them. If you would like to look at them I'm in Waterloo, IA email me at ____@____.com

I would recommend Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibegiza (sp?). It is a story of her survival from the Rwandan genocide. It is an absolute page turner and not too long. It was very interesting to learn about that African culture.

I'm probably going to get frowned upon for this, but oh well: Read the Harry Potter series. I'm 33 yrs old and I love them. I read the first one a couple yrs after it came out, because my mom asked me to =) I had refused to read them because I'm not 11 (lol) but my mom said if I read the first one and didn't like she'd never mention it again. Needless to say, I breezed through the first 2 books and joined the rest of the nation in axiously awaiting every book after that.

Oh you must read Left to tell- such a great book about perserverance- Love it- heres the link at Amazon but you I checked it out at the library.
http://www.amazon.com/Left-Tell-Discovering-Rwandan-Holoc...

Some favorites:
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Digging to America by Anne Tyler
any Kate Atkinson
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
any David Sedaris
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon

It's old but I enjoyed the book "the Good Earth". I also liked "Memoir's of a Geshia". "A walk through the Woods" is also an interesting read. Harry Potter is good if you want to read about a fantasy culture. The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich are fun - she's a white girl from the suberbs but has a life style like no one I know. If you like Stephanie Plum you would like the Alexandra Barneby series by the same author.

Hi, I just finished 2 books by Marisa de los Santos-Love Walked in and Belong to Me. The characters are the same in both. You will want to read Love Walked In first. Not heavy novels, but very enjoyable. The kind you want after a long day with the kids! They both take place in the suburbs, so not very exotic, but still good reads.

Three Cups of Tea (Greg Mortenson) is an inspiring true story that I really enjoyed and Veil of Roses (L. Fitzgerald) is a novel about an Iranian woman who comes to America to find a husband so that she doesn't have to go back to Iran. I hope this helps! I love to read...

Wild Swans is a great book. It follows a grandmother, mother, and daughter in China and is biography/autobiography (it's written by the daughter). I learned so much about Chinese history and culture through following these three generations in the book. Another personal favorite is the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. It takes a bit of time to get into it, but then I couldn't put it down. It's a fictional story set in the Congo, but all the historical facts are true so I felt like I learned a lot about US and foreign involvement in Africa while getting emotionally attached to the fictional family. And Corelli's Mandolin, the movie was absolutely terrible, but the book is excellent.

Jane Green has some great books they are a lot like what you described your taste to be. Jemima J, Bookends ETC.

I LOVE Debbie MacComber's Shop On Blossom Street series.

They are great.

Let me know if you want more. Sounds like we enjoy the same books. We could have our own online book club!!
Enjoy,
A.
Of Course being a mom of two, our meetings might be every 6 months!!LOL I never MAKE time to read lately.

I love Nicholas Sparks for a good love story, although it is always a white girl from the suburbs too.
Veil of Roses was a great book, and different culture.
The Glass Castle is awesome.
I am currently reading Forever Lily --good, about a lady who goes to China so her friend can adopt a baby.
I love Jodi Piccoult books --they can be a little intense, but always a great read. My Sisters Keeper is wonderful and will be a movie soon.
Hope that helps a little.

If you like fictional stories from different cultures you should enjoy Amy Tan. Joy Luck Club was her most popular book made into a movie so I'd recommend starting there but the rest of her books are really, really great as well. (Bone Cutters daughter was one of my favorites by her)
Even if you have seen the movie I would recommend reading Memoirs of a Geisha if you end up liking the Amy Tan books.
I envy you,I am still at the stage where if I get engrossed in a good book the little ones will tear the house apart so its parenting books and magazines until they hit preschool:)
Enjoy
K. H.

I agree--I love the books that show the diverse yet same lives that women lead.

One of my favorites is Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni --any thing, both short stories and novels. She writes about traditional East Indian women who have moved to America with new husbands and learn how to navigate their lives between the traditional and the new.

Brick Lane (Monical Ali)(shortlisted for the Booker Prize)is about a Bangladeshi woman who moves to London as part of an arranged marriage and how she navigates in her new world. I go back to this one every few years.

I'm currently reading Veil of Roses (L. Fitzgerald, about an Iranian girl who is sent to her sister in the US to find a husband because her parents don't want her growing up in the repressed regime they are not allowed to leave. It's much lighter reading than the other two, but I've snuck it into work today because I can't stop reading...

And one final one
Escape (Carolyn Jessup)--this one's gotten a lot of press lately because it's about her escape from a polygamous marriage to a man in the FDLS church (part of the same sect that was involved in the YFZ ranch raid a few months ago.) It's a quick read, but it was a really fascinating look into a world that I never knew existed.

Happy summer reading!

"The Shack" by William Young is sort of the latest phenomenon sweeping the bookstores. It is a quick read, but VERY thought-provoking. I also enjoyed the Harry Potter series! I began reading them for my boys' sake, but got totally hooked them. They are so fun!

i just finished 'the secret life of bees' and it was great... i just started 'the red tent' and during the day there are times i can't wait to pick it up to read!!
enjoy!

I would suggest books from authors Nicholas Sparks, Nicholas Evans, Elizabeth Berg or Jodi Pinoult.

I didn't read for pleasure (again) til I was 10 years out of college. Now I get up an hour before everyone else just to have my quiet reading time and a cup of coffee.

The Mitford Series by Jan Karon is a light, uplifting, thought- provoking series. It is about life in a small town (North or South Carolina). It is a Christian series, but is not heavy-handed and does show a variety of characters from all walks of life. "At home in Mitford" is the first one.

Of course, the Harry Potter series is awesome, if you haven't read them yet.

Another thing you may want to do as your kids get a little older is check out the award-winning children's books. The Caldecott Medal is for illustrations, the Newberry Medal is for authors. Maud Hart Lovelace award winners are also note-worthy. It's always good to know what your kids are reading or to encourage them to read the quality books.

Hope this helps.

I love Lorna Landvik. She is a local author (around Lake Nakomis in Mpls) and has written many best sellers. Start with "Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons". Its a fun read about a group of women who are neighbors living around Minnehaha Creek in Minneapolis. It follows their particular adult lives. You can usually find them at half price books. All her books are great, though. Look her up on www.amazon.com for some reviews or synapses.

For a quick but intriguing read, try The Red Tent (I believe it is by Anita Shrive). For a book that takes you outside of your experience, try Passing by Nella Larsen, A Gesture Life by Chang-Rae Lee or a collection of Langston Hughes' short stories. Good for you for returning to reading...you are setting an excellent example for your son!

I'm in a book club. Recent reads that I have enjoyed include the following:

Water for Elephants- It is about life traveling with the circus with a great love story in the mix.

Eat, Pray, Love- A woman travels to Italy, India, and Indonisia to find herself.

Life of Pi by Y. Martel- a young Asian boy finds himself on a lifeboat with a tiger, a hyena, and an oragutan after his ship carrying zoo animals sinks. Very cool book.

The Time Traveler's Wife- A man spontaneously travels through time... usually ending up naked whereever he turns up. A great love story also. It is genius how the story flips back and forth throughout this man's life.

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. Her heartbreaking memoir of growing up very poor with an alcoholic father and a hippie type mother. It is a fascinating story.

I hope you appreciate these suggestions! Have fun reading.

Hi,

Here are some of the books I have read that I have enjoyed. The girls, This much I know is true, She's come undone, Faamily Secrets, five pillars of the earth, Whistling in the dark. These are all really good books, Enjoy reading, M.

If you are looking for something beautifully written, check out the English Patient (novel, not book). I avoided it forever due to excess hype, but read it last month and was mesmerized.

I also recommend anything by Joyce Carol Oates.

Finally, I get a weekly email from Amazon.com (the UK branch, but you can search for it on the US one I'm sure) and Harper Collins called "Authors in the Spotlight", have bought about 5 of these and have never been disappointed. It's a nice way to find new reads without relying on word of mouth or chick-lit hype. Enjoy reading!!

Try authors Lisa See or A. Tan. They both include Chinese history and culture in their books and are really good. By Lisa See I would recommend "Snowflower and the Secret Fan" and "Peony in Love". By A. Tan I would recommend "Joy Luck Club" and "The Bonesetter's Daughter". I was pleasantly surprised by all of these. Some take a bit to get rolling, but once they do, I bet you will be hooked. Let me know if you like them, and happy reading. Joining a book club several years ago was one of the best things I ever did for myself! Have you considered joining or starting one? It's a great way to broaden you literary horizons and meet people.

"Water for Elephants" is a good read. "My Sister's Keeper" or any Jodi Piccoult book. Happy Reading, it's a great get-a-way.

I know that you've received many, many suggestions, but one suggestion I think you may not of received was a culture right here in our own back yard, Native American. Three great books are "Last Standing Woman" by Winona LaDuke and "Pigs in Heaven" by Barbara Kingsolver (Great reading for someone in social working and likes stories about family, they really are heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time). And "Walking the Rez Road" by Jim Northrup (A very fast and funny read, easily read when you have a busy life). Who knows you may have had to read these in college but if you did it was certainly from a teacher who didn't want to torture you, unless you had a couple teachers like mine that want you to read it at the speed of light, lol) Any way happy reading!

I HIGHLY recommend "Pope Joan" and "The Book Thief". I read them both earlier this year and LOVED them!!! Let me know if you need me to get the authors for you. Also, I haven't read it yet, but my parents keep raving about "Water for Elephants". That's next on my list.

If you would like something that is quick and fun, I recommend any of the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. They are all numbered and she just released number 14. I promise that even a super slow reader can devour one of her books in a few days, and they are the only books that have ever made me truly laugh out loud!

Happy reading!

Try the Diana Gabaldon series starting with Outlander. It's historical fiction, includes time travel, history, romance and adventure. There are 6 books. I couldn't put them down.

I am a fan of Phillipa Gregory. She wrote The Other Bolyn Girl as well as a few others. It is historical fiction of the Tudor era and really wonderful reading. Right now I am reading the Bolyn Inheritance and I have also read The Constant Princess which is by her has well. All really involving books. My all time favorite book is The Mists of Avalon. It is based on Arthurian legend, about his sister Morgain, but a different perspective than most. It is by Marion Zimmer Bradly. For good fun trash, I just started reading Chasing Harry Winston. TOTAL guilty pleasure read. Sometimes you have to break up the normal stuff with some fluff and this is totally that. Enjoy your rediscovered love.. I can't imagine life without books! I just love escaping for a couple of hours or so to another world. :)
I am going to take some of the suggestions on this page as well so thanks for asking such a great question!

Hi L.,

I just finished reading "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" and also "Eat, Pray, Love" which were both really good books. "Eat, Pray, Love" was very funny and entertaining and gave me some insight about other cultures. The author has a great sense of humor.

My children have always seen me reading for pleasure and because of that, all four love to read for pleasure. What a great example you are setting for your kids! Have fun reading!

C.

Great question L.! Now I can get some good recommendations from others too.

Here are my suggestions:
The Poisonwood Bible (Africa)Barbra Kingsolver
The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
The Kite Runner (Afganistan)Khaled Hosseini
Pillars of the Earth (heavier, old England)
East of Eden - John Steinbeck
Under the Banner of Heaven
(local story) Til they Bring the Streetcars Back
Patty Jane's House of Curl
The Janet Evonovich Stephanie Plum series which starts with One for the Money

"The Time Travelers Wife" is my personal favorite. Also, they are making a movie out of it soon so it would be good to read and then see when it come out in the theaters.

Saffron Skies by Lesley Lokko is a really good one, delves into several different cultures.

Also, a wonderful series that I absolutely can't get enough of is by Charlaine Harris. It's about a mind-reading barmaid in Louisiana living in a world in which vampires have just declared themselves to be American citizens. I think the first book is called Dead by Day, or something like that. They're AWESOME.

non-fiction:
The Last American Man, by Elizabeth Gilbert (she wrote Eat, Pray, Love)
Into the Wild
the Jon Krakauer book about Mt. Everest (sorry, forget the title)

fiction:
The Magician's Assistant, Ann Patchett
I Capture the Castle, Dodie Smith
Sacred Games, Vikram Chandra

I enjoyed:

The Good Earth by Pearl S Buck

Memoirs of a Geisha - I can't remember the author's name but it's not depressing the way I thought it would be

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Enjoy!

I'm in the same boat as you and I'm glad you asked the question. I'm always looking for a good read. I just finished a series by Sophia Kinsella called the Shoppaholic and the.... There are 7 of them in total (alwASY have some at 1/2 price books) I also like Emily Giffin she did something borrowed, Something Blue, and Baby Proofed...all funny. And my last new farorite is Little Earthquakes cant remember the author but it's a great book about moms coming together...make me laugh and cry.
Enjoy reading and if you come across anything good let me know my name is M. and you can reach me at ____@____.com. I'm from lakeville as well and always looking for good books.