Patti, considering your recent reads, I wonder if you'd like Augusten Burroughs' _Running with Scissors_. Very bizarre, hilarious, sad, everything!

Anything by James Lee Burke, John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series, and just got "Anna Karenina"

Suzie, I absolutely feel the same way about the ending to "DiVinci Code"- mega disappointed.

cher cher - I loved Running With Scissors - probably one of the craziest most addictive books I've ever read!!

Life of Pi is a great book as well - it really makes you think (would be perfect for a book club discussion group!). I'm also a big fan of Poisonwood Bible (one of the few books I managed to get dh to read as well).

Some of my favorites "The Sweet Hereafter" by Russell Banks, "Nobody's Fool" by the author of "Empire Falls". Hated "Empire Falls". The Stephanie Plum series Janet Evanovich. I didn't like "Shutter Island" by Dennis Lehane but loved "Mystic River" and all his detective series. I read "Gone with the Wind" year after year in my teens. When I reread it in my 30's I hated it. I was so sad to lose a book I had loved. I still love "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and "Mr. Mike". Anyone else had this experience?

Just finished Killer Smile by Lisa Scottoline, a legal mystery with the internment of Italian-Americans during World War II as a backdrop. Scottoline has a quirky sense of humor and the book is actually much lighter than the subject might seem. Also read Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich. Next up is Sue Grafton's "R is for Ricochet", and Elizabeth Peters' Guardian of the Horizon (an Amelia Peabody mystery--Egyptian archaeologist in the early 1900's).

antlori, I read Scottolines book Courting Trouble not long ago..that was a fun read~

Wow- I love getting all these reading suggestions. I saw Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold mentioned several times. She also has published a memoir- The Lovely Bones is based on her personal experience. It's really interesting to read after LB.
J.

This is great, I'm making a list, it's getting reallly looong. I've read, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and "Mr. Mike." a long time ago, also saw the movies a long time ago. Nothing like a great old movie on a dark and stormy night! Also read "Lovey Bones" you do need a box of kleenex.
So many books, so little time!

I should have added "Reading Lolita in Tehran" to my previous list. Some of it was a bit ponderous, I thought, but the descriptions of daily life in Iran were mesmerizing. If you like that one, you might also like "Honeymoon in Purdah" by Alison Wearing. She's a Canadian writer who won a number of prizes when the book was published a couple of years ago.

HI cher_cher,

I have read Running with Scissors. Augusten Burrows grew up in my hometown and I knew who the crazy doctor was right away.

LOYL--actually The Lovely Bones was not based on Alice Sebold's personal experiences, her first book, Lucky, is based on her account of being raped. I haven't read that one--too heavy.

Has anyone read the book Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett, about her friendship with writer Lucy Grealy who died of a drug overdose a few years ago? I read Grealy's memoir, Autobiography of a Face years ago and was shocked when I heard she had died.

Patti

Hi, there, Scarlett! And a good morning to you!

Yes, "The Rule of Four" is a really tough go. I've read the first part several times. Can't figure out what in the boring discussion of East Coast college life by a couple of East Coast college kids has the makings of a New York Times bestseller. I guess the first pages are to "set" the characters for the rest of the book, but the first part really hasn't grabbed me as yet - lo!

On the third or fourth reread of the first part, I found my mind wandering to thoughts of the agent/publisher: must be pretty desperate to have a bestseller to push this book onto the bestseller list!

Well, you were in the New York publishing world, if I recall, you'll know a whole lot more about publishing shenanigans. Then there are people like Oprah ("If Oprah Winfrey married Deepak Chopra, she'd be known as 'Oprah Chopra'"), who mentions a book on her show, and - boom! - people are buying the book left and right. Hope they are reading them too! :)

Still, this is great list that is being recommended here on this forum! Have a good one today! :)

Sabrina, I read one Agatha Raisin book and found it <i>too</i> light for me. I prefer more mystery. I like Rhys Bowen's books that are set in Wales. I am an Anglophile.

Snowrooster: I saw the Life of Pi in Barnes &amp; Noble and really wanted to get it, but my bill was already over $40 for three books. It's at the top of my list for next month's reading tho! ***kim***

&quot;Life of Pi&quot; made for a very good discussion at our book group, but I wouldn't recommend it for vacation reading: it's very intense, and the long middle section is extremely gory in parts.

What I would recommend is &quot;Fast Food Nation,&quot; fascinating but disturbing. Jon Lanchester's &quot;The Debt to Pleasure&quot; is very, very good--lots of twists in the plot that will surprise you. Anything by Peter Mayle is a good, easy read, as is anything Rumer Godden every wrote (especially &quot;In This House of Brede&quot;. &quot;The Dream of Scipio,&quot; by Ian Pears, is fascinating; he just gets better and better. Finally, &quot;Consider This, Senora,&quot; by Hariet Doerr, is a wonderful book with a great sense of place.

It's amazing - I've read most of the books mentioned in the post :) Of course, I hardly ever watch TV (maybe three shows a week - including the Amazing Race), and read a LOT. Here are my additions:

Anything by Jane Green or Marian Keyes - nothing intellectually stimulating or anything, but good beach reads.

I didn't see The Five People You Meet in Heaven (or whatever it was called) - but it's great!

Another good one was Milk in My Coffee by Eric Jerome Dickey - a little heavy on the stereotypes, but still a pretty good book about an interracial romance (and one of the few I've seen from the man's point of view).


Also - a question for some of you who read Jodi Picoult's &quot;Keeping Faith&quot; (I think that was it) - at the end, did the last scene with the little girl make you wonder if we got the whole story from the mother? Maybe I was just reading too much into it...

Hi Carolyn, I think the reason I laughed with Agatha Raisen is that she is not your typical heroine. She has all these image problems. I found that amusing. Will try the recommended Bowen books also as I love the English mysteries. My mother . who is 97 loves the M. C. Beaton mysteries that feature the inspector. Thanks for the suggestions. She and I both love Elizabeth George.

I'm another fan of Marian Keyes - read Sushi for Beginners this summer. Very funny.

Also just finished &quot;That Old Ace in the Hole&quot; by Annie Proulx - the same woman who wrote The Shipping News. Really good. Its about a young guy who gets a job as a scout for a hog farming operation and settles into a small town with the intent of convincing local ranchers to sell their property. Weird topic but my test for a good book is:
1. If you can hear the characters speak in their accents and
2. If you can see what the characters are seeing and
3. If you can envision the action that is taking place

then you've gotten a book that contains good dialogue and enough descriptive language to set the scene and a good plot. I know this book was good because even though I've never been within a hundred miles of a commercial hog farm I could smell the noxious odors.

I loved Running With Scissors, and I just read his other book, Dry, pretty sobering, no pun intended...If you read the 1st book it is easy to see how he wound up in the situation in the second book. I also enjoyed a short book called Funny in Farsi, I don't remember the author. Quick read that describes a young girl and her family moving from Iran to the US.

If you like true &quot;how could this have possibly really happened?&quot; stories, I'd recommend &quot;American Taboo&quot;.

Hubby is out of town so I'm doing a lot of reading this week. Some I've read this summer include Rewriting History, by Dick Morris, The Wedding, by Nicholas Sparks (conclusion to The Notebook), Windfalls, by Jean Hegland (highly recommend), and Lucia, Lucia.

Thanks everyone for some new suggestions here on this thread. I've printed out for use. Many here, I have read.

Susan Isaacs has a previous one that has the same characters as in Long Time No See (25 years earlier in time). I read them out of sequence but both were superlative.

Another one not mentioned yet and that was very enjoyable is Queen of the Big Time by Trigiani or Trigiano. It's centered on an Italian girl in N.Jersey and her town circa 1920-30's. Good vacation or anytime read.

I got hooked on Connelly after reading The Narrows and ended up reading a bunch of his old ones. They are good airplane/ travel reads.

Like to add &quot;Ain't She Sweet&quot; by Susan Phillips -- light southern fun novel...good beach read....

JJ5
Some of Michael Connelly's olders are great! I'm still waiting for &quot;The Narrows&quot;.
You might like the outrageous stuff from
J.H. Cobb (his most recent - Cibola is sci/fi which I don't read) and
James H Huston.
A few threads from each remind me of my active duty USN &quot;nuke&quot; exploits.
M
M

On the lighter side: &quot;A Walk in the Woods&quot; by Bill Bryson. He buys a new home in New Hampshire, notices a footpath adjacent to his property and discovers that it is the Appalachian Trail. Hilarious account of a semi-couch potato's decision to hike the entire 2000+ mile trail in one summer.

According to my friend at Barnes &amp; Noble, these titles are hot local sellers, although I have not read them myself:

The Other Boleyn Girl
Peace Like a River
Lance Armstrong - It's Not About the Bike
Bourne Supremacy

Good catch motives!

I almost forgot about Bryson. I read &quot;A Walk in the Woods&quot; which then inspired me to read his &quot;In a Sunburned Country&quot; which is a fascinating look into the country, people and history of Australia.

Brysons books are classified as travel books but they have plenty of humor and lots of history to them as well.

Questionmotives mentioned Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger. I don't know what's sparked the interest in it right now (I noticed it's selling very well at Powell's, too), but Peace Like a River is a *wonderful* book, and I'd recommend it very highly.

Lee Ann

Me and my local book club are reading Anna Karinina along with Oprah's book club. It is HUGE book, but wonderful. Leo Tolstoy wrote this in 1877 and it is filled with events and attitudes of the day, which, are not that different from ours. Great read and will keep you &quot;into it&quot; for a very long time.

I love these threads, because I'm always running out of new things to read and usually get a few good suggestions here!

I'd just posted the following in response to the &quot;Safe Areas in Key West&quot; question, which caused the US forum to refresh and topped this thread for me:

&quot;If you're looking for some good vacation reading, pick up one or two Lawrence Shames paperbacks before you go. He writes humorous detective fiction set in Key West. I was turned on to him after I tapped out Elmore Leonard, Carl Hiassen and Tom Corcoran, all of whom write in the same genre of Florida crime (usually with idiotic criminals providing the humor).

I've never been to Key West, but reading Shames both makes me want to go and makes me feel like I already know the place!&quot;

Message:JJ5, Hi, yes I mentioned earlier that I have a copy of Adriana Trigiana's new book. Glad to hear from you that it is good. Have your read her other books. The Big Stone Gap series is great and I loved Lucia, Lucia.
Also love the books by Ruth Rendell.

Heather H

It's been a while (and alot of books) since I read Keeping Faith. I remember that I thought the actual outcome was left up to the reader to interpret. I'm going to have to go back and reread that last chapter.

Don't ask me why, but mention of Ruth Rendell made me think of Minetta Walters and her books. Good good mysteries, mostly chilling pyschological crimes..
The Sculptress
The Dark Room
I can't remember the rest, I have read them all and enjoyed every one of them:)

Lee Ann, my friend at B&amp;N said that local book clubs have been reading &quot;Peace Like a River&quot; and that their store keeps selling out of copies because of it.

Yes, Bill Bryson is absolutely hilarious! Can't wait to read his other works.

Also forgot to mention &quot;Under the Banner of Heaven&quot; by John Krakauer (&quot;Into Thin air author).

&quot;under the banner of heaven&quot;....was that the one about the crime in mormon/utah? that really was good! i like true crime stories...

topping

Glad you topped because Adriana Trigiani's got a new one out this month and the protagonist is a man this time. It has gotten good reviews. The print out I had with the title has been picked up by a patron and I can't remember it- but look for it.

She's isn't the most literary writer but her stories are great summer reads.

Also found another oldie that some of you may like, especially if you like European (I put it on the Europe board) period pieces. It concerns travel/tourists as well. Very, very good- about a small town in coastal Spain circa 1957, and includes much revealing of a certain type of Spanish/ English characterizations. It would remind you of Ian McEwan quite a bit. Lots of passion and some blood-
The Columbus Tree by Peter S. Feibleman.

It's very summer- you can feel the foreno bake you. It was published 1973 and you might have to find it in a library. Do.

Also read (actually heard on audio) Closer, and liked it. He continues to write well.