Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Good Reads


First let me apologize if this post is full of spelling or grammatical errors. I have been extra busy today and I'm just now writing this post at 10:45 pm. That is ridiculously late for me to try to think coherent thoughts - never mind trying to write them down. I may regret this in the morning, but live and learn right?

Yesterday, I shared with you my two All Time Favorite Books. Which truly are fabulous and transcendent! But there are many, many, many other books that I absolute love. Too many really to list all of them here. I noticed in yesterday's comments that many of the books that you all listed as your All Time Favorites are also favorites of mine. You have such good taste! So, I thought I'd share with you some of my other recent favorites and also give you a heads up on two new books coming out by two of my favorite authors. OK, here goes. In no particular order they are:


Ten Books I Highly Recommend


The Help by Kathryn Stockett (read my review)
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (read my review)
Sister of My Heart by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (read my review)
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

Also, be on the lookout for these two new books by two of my favorite authors. Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg and Weight of Heaven by Thrity Umrigar. I've already put my name on the holds list at the library for both of them. Can't wait!

Just curious - have any of you read any of my favorites? Did you like them? Hate them? *gasp* Have any you want to share? I'd love to hear what you all think.

Image from Google Images

19 comments:

bassislife said...

I love Jhumpa Lahiri's writing. When I finished The Namesake, I cried. I hadn't done that since Les Miserable.

Terra said...

UGH, I have only read one of them, Water for Elephants and I loved it, couldn't put it down!

mommakin said...

I read:

Water for Elephants (LOVED!), One Thousand Splendid Suns (liked it even more than Kite Runner - which I LOVED!), and The Namesake (so darn beautiful)

Since I read and loved three on your list, I guess I best put a hold on the others now that reading season is upon us!

Pam said...

Bass - So glad you left a comment. Yesterday Tammy said she new your answer to "transcendent" books and wondered if she was right. I was curious what your answer would be. I haven't read Les Miserable. It seems so daunting, but maybe I need to give it a try. What I'd really like is to see the show!

Terra - If you loved Water for Elephants I think you'd love the others as well.

Tammy - I completely agree - I liked A Thousand Splendid Suns better than Kite Runner, too. Though Kite Runner was amazing. How exciting was it when Hosseini's second book was even better than the awesome Kite Runner? That doesn't happen often!

bassislife said...

Les Mis is daunting. It got me through a particularly troublesome period in my life. It took me 6 months to finish (I'm a pretty slow reader). When I finished that book, I cried not because of the sadness of the novel but because I was saying goodbye to friends.

The musical, while obviously condensed, easily brings it all back to me and puts me right back with my friends again.

Pam said...

Bass - There have been a few books that I was sad to finish, but I don't think I can say that I've ever felt that I was saying goodbye to friends. That is AWESOME! I hope I feel that way about a book someday.

Lucky Wife/Bookaholic said...

I haven't read any of them YET, but I printed out a list and plan to start...

Unknown said...

I've read A Thousand Splendid Suns, and The Namesake. Water for Elephants has been on my to read list.......for.a.long.time. I plan to read The Help this summer.
I think this is a great list and I'm anxious to read the new Berg book too.

Pam said...

Lucky/Bookaholic - Let me know what you think about the books after you read them.

Anita - Water for Elephant is amazing. Here's a tip - when you finish the book go back and read the prologue. I will be waiting right here to discuss it with you!

Ronnica said...

I read and enjoyed Sister of My Heart and Thousand Splendid Suns!

I'm going to have to make a list like this on my blog...be looking for it soon!

Debbie said...

You and I have so much in common! Of course, I loved your two favorite books. Now, I haven't read the first three on this list (shame on me) but the rest I agree with completely.

Pam said...

Ronnica- Yay! I'm so glad that I've redeemed myself after choosing The Good Earth! LOL! Looking forward to seeing your list. As I said in the comments on yesterday's post, THIS is what I LOVE about talking about books. Finding out about other people's opinions about the books I've read. Fascinating.

Debbie - I can't believe you've read so many of my favorites. AND that you liked them! Very cool! I'm almost done with The Gargoyle and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! I'm frustrated that I haven't found large chunks of time to just sit and read it. I'm trying to squeeze it in here and there. But, it fabulous. Be on the lookout for a review here soon.

Kathy B! said...

I am greedily reading through your list and plotting a book vacation... I haven't read as much since my kids were born and I'm looking forward to jumping back in with two feet. I haven't rread most of what's on your list, and I'm excited to head to the library :)

Pam said...

Kathy - Yay for a book vacation! Can I come? Where should we go? Somewhere warm with cool breezes, a comfy chair and plenty of cool drinks? OK, OK - back to reality. An hour or two poking around in the library can be a kind of "book vacation". Have fun!

Mimi said...

I've had so little time to read lately. I hate it!
Thanks for stopping by my blog & helping to make my SITS day special!

Pam said...

Mimi- I hate when that happens, too! Thanks for returning the visit and I hope your SITS day was a happy one!

Gail said...

I've read "Water for Elephants" and "The Namesake" and liked them both...I guess I should read some of the others too. Also, I bought "To Kill a Mockingbird" at the middle school book fair today -- I read it MANY years ago (middle or high school) and didn't really like it but after reading your thoughts I figured I should read it again as an adult.

Midlife Roadtripper said...

I've read Water for Elephants, Snow flower and the Secret Fan, A Thousand Splendid Suns

I'll record your other choices for the future reference. Almost time to put the summer reading list together.

Pam said...

Gail - I, too, read Mockingbird in HS. It didn't make much of an impression on me either way. But, rereading it as an adult was a totally different experience. I think this can be said for many books.

Jobhunter - Summer reading is the absolute best. It feels so decadent and leisurely. Let me know if you decide to read any of the books I've recommended. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

 

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