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while on the topic, could anyone suggest a good fiction book for someone who is going to Spain (historical adventure suggestions will be much appreciated!!!)<BR>Thanks to all,<BR>Katie
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This is such a good string...for any kind of book recommendations, even if they have gone off the original questions... Time to TTT! <BR><BR>Had to say thanks to all of the #Power of One recommenders... what a good read/character. I'm making my husband read it now. <BR><BR>LuvPhilly couldn't remember the name of a book - It was #Under the Skin by Michael Faber and is indeed a page-turner, but it is creeeeepy! Excellent read, warts and all. <BR><BR>The women out there especially might find the book #No Hurry to Get Home by Emily Hahn a fun read. What a woman, what a life! Talk about a traveller, she puts us all to shame - and was at the turn of the century. (American who lived in London, China, visited most everywhere. She even drove across America in a Model T in the early 1900s)<BR><BR>#English Passengers is also a very funny book taking you from England to Tasmania (and back)<BR><BR>And even though it is not fiction - I have to put in a vote for #Seabiscuit. What a charming book. <BR><BR>Come on Fodorites... time for some new/fresh recommendations!
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Just read another great one by Sharon Kay Pennman, "Time and Chance". The historical,fictional novel of Henry, perhaps England's greatest king and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitane...and of course that pesky priest Thomas Beckett.<BR><BR>Outstanding!<BR><BR>US
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katie re spanish historical adventure: can't do better than don quixote - funny, timeless, and very gabacho
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I recently finished Heinrich Mann’s Young Henri of Navarre and Henri the King. This is a two-volume biography of King Henri IV of France, the first of Bourbons. Outstanding reading, although it slows down a bit towards the end of his reign.
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If you like historical or good literary novels, might I suggest one of the following:<BR><BR>Anything by AS Byatt -- Possession is particularly good<BR><BR>Memoirs of a Geisha<BR><BR>Stones from the River
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On my last trip, I read Empire Falls by Richard Russo. <BR><BR>BTW, for more book ideas, you might also check out www.readerville.com, a great site for readers of all types.
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If you're going to Germany: read Bernhard Schlink's (sp?) "The Reader", about post-WWII Germany and the social pains and tribulations of a changing world; if you're off to southern Europe, then, yes, "Captain Corelli's Mandolin". For some personal growth stuff, try Eckhard Tolle's "The Power of Now", it will make you stop and think about how you're living your life... And finally, for something American that needs to be read outside the U.S.: either "The Catcher in the Rye" or "Catch-22". The first you may have read in school, but reading it again will be revealing; and, the latter is a perfect, zany, exposé-type book about organization-life in general (though based in WWII Europe), you will be chuckling in sarcastic wonder that the world hasn't really changed in all these years...
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Travel Essays Iv'e read and would recommend are:<BR>1. A SMALL PLACE IN ITALY by Eric Newby<BR>2. DANCING GIRL by Thordis Simonsen takes place in a Greek village. <BR>3. A HOUSE IN SICILY by Daphne Phelps.<BR>4. MYKONOS a memoir by Nancy Raeburn<BR>5.THE SECRET LIFE of the SEINE by Mort Rosenblum. A trip up the Seine in a 54 foot boat, with great stories along the way.<BR>6.(last but not least) PLAIN and SIMPLE by Sue Bender. A womans journey to the Amish country where she lives with a family. A delightful little book. Only 9 chapters.<BR>Happy Reading, I have taken a list from this post and have read about 15 books from it .Keep it up.
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What is the record for number of responses to a question on this forum? Do you get a prize? I vote for Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand if you have not read it. This great novel is about very talented individuals who can keep the system running at the expense of their own integrity until they are driven beyond their own endurance. They are shown the way out in the end. Who is John Galt?????
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I am currently reading A Star called Henry by Roddy Doyle. excellent.
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To the top for Jean.
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Most amazing thread - just did a text search and noticed that Leon Uris' The Haj is not mentioned. Book club read it this past year. We were all stunned to discover it was written nearly 20 years ago. Could be right now, today in Palestine. There's usually some of us who don't finish a selection - this was a non-stop read for all of us.
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hi all,
Found it! Yeah! For your reading pleasure! Merry Christimas early.... |
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just seeing if this will work to correct the index problem.
A really fabulous fiction book A really fabulous fiction read |
Erin,
Cool, you did it. Thank you, thank you , thank you! Bobbi |
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In all the hoopla I actually forgot to copy this to my hard drive. you guys, this post is really great. I have so many suggestions for book hunting just from this one post alone. it was worth the search. Hey bobbi, you did it, without your info I would have never found it. thanks all! |
I have to add "The DaVinci Code" by Dan Brown. I absolutely could not put it down. Read it shortly before our trip to Paris, and then visited the locations in the book.
While in st. Sulpice, looking for a brass line in the ancient floor, we were approached by a tall young man who asked us, "DaVinci Code?" He was also checking out the various sites, and turns out, he had been the pilot on our plane from Miami that morning! |
Thanks erinb! I've been looking for this one.
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The daVinci Code!!!!!!!!!!!!
I LOVE this book! My biggest disappointment is that I didn't read it before I went to France. I was in France when it came out and didn't really know about it til I got back. I have tried and tried to remember the sights mentioned in the book like in the Louvre but I really wish that I read the book before I went. If you are going to Paris, read this first! It just means I have to go back and look for lines and other things. :) |
I just finished BEL CANTO by Ann Patchart and am giving it to my DH for our trip over to Spain in Nov. It was fantastic and is in paperback. Highly recommend it.
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Try Angels and Demons, or The Davinci Code, both are by Dan Brown and they both focus on mysteries set in Europe that are based both in present day and ancient times. Angels and Demons is set in Rome and the DaVinci Code is set in Paris and continues around france and then into Scotland. I couldn't put either book down and after I was done read every other book that the man wrote.
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I didn't read through the whole thread prior to posting my first message so I was unaware at all the others who had posted the DaVinci Code. I have to agree though that after reading this book I too went and searched the various mentioned sights, not only in Paris, but I followed the path laid out in Angels and Demons in Rome. It was a lot more difficult that it looked. I also want to recommend Hannibal. I read this book on the train from Vienna to Florence and the moment I stepped off the train I was waiting for Hannibal himself to walk past me.
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just testing the build index
fabulous read 1 |
Great thread thank you for bringing it back up Erin..
I just bought the book "Spygirl: True Adventures from My Life As A Private Eye" by Amy Gray. It was humorous and made for light reading on a recent road trip. |
The "Da Vinci Code" was one of the worst books I have ever read in my life. Working in the art and antiques world, I thought the book would appeal to me. NOT! I used to teach eighth graders who were better writers. The author's work was full of cliches and factual errors (anyone who has been to the Louvre knows that there are TWO enterances to the room that houses the "Mona Lisa"). And no art historian with any validity would ever confirm that Mary Magdelen appears in Da Vinci's "Last Supper." That is just plain bloody nonsense. The characters were also very one-dimensional and had no appeal whatsoever. As someone who was born into the upper class in the UK, I can confirm that the "voice" of Sir Lee Bing was off. British aristocrats don't speak like that, but untalented American authors assume they do. (Do some research, darling.) Just my two pence, sweetie. :) A much better, gripping, intelligent read is "Attonement," by Ian McEwan.
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I love this thread!! We are leaving for Europe in 2 weeks and there are so many here to choose from. If you like horror/suspense, I have to agree with an earlier recommendation of The Stand by Stephen King. Also a page turner was The Talisman and it's sequel Black House. The Bad Place by Dean Koontz is excellent.
Others I have enjoyed: Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett The Gold Coast - Nelson DeMille Inheritance - Judith Michael Anything by Patricia Cornwell The Winner - David Baldacci I guess I'll have to try Corelli's Mandolin. I didn't like the movie so I've shied away from it. Just too many great recommendations to ignore. Enjoy! |
Dang! Dis beat me to it. (Did Dis "dis" me?)
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett is the greatest book EVER!!!! |
No wonder this thread is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo long, it's been going for nearly 3 and a half years!
Gina - how was your trip?! |
i bought the "da vinci code" too - The accents are horrendous - you know there's going to be a riddle to open everything that openable - and he can't spell. Aston Martin on page 282 of the hardcover - ASTIN - I forged his siganture and am now asking an exorbitant fee on EBAY for this rare edition or it can be yours for $1.99
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Thanks to Rex for bringing this old thread to light. It's interesting how many of these books or authors works have been made into film-unsuccessfully
except for Byatt's, "Angels and Insects." Ecco's, "Name of the Rose." "Cold Mountain"I haven't seen but the clips on Charlie Rose looked promising. |
Aw shucks... but really, the credit goes to erinb - - http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34449236 - - aftr thi thread fell into one of the Fodors' indexing "black holes". She credits me for teaching her (some of)the methods she used to find it - - maybe I did that - - but she di the atual ob of relocating it.
Best wishes, Rex |
erinb, a toast to lovers of books and you.
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Evolution, Baxter...May may you think.
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Another much-touted book with quite a few typographical and factual errors is the recent "John Adams." The author should have been ashamed of himsel for the French inaccuracies.
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Some people have lately asked what a good "bite off and chew" book would be, one that will really keep your attention on a long flight. Our newspaper recently suggested "And Ladies of the Club" which is over 1000 pages long but supposedly is guaranteed to hold your interest. Haven't read it myself but would like to know your comments. I would also add the tip that anything by Jodi Picoult is great and I really enjoyed "Bird by Bird" by Anne LaMotte. Happy reading!
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I don't know if these have been mentioned yet (I'm NOT going to read all 400 posts!), but what about the classics? Just about anything by the literary genius John Steinbeck grabs me (I've read "East of Eden" three times and can't wait to again)...Ayn Rand's novels, especially Atlas Shrugged, are thick, engrossing, make-you-think doozeys.
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