Books PS Not just for the Girls. Anyone can post!

[Bethany]

It seems to me that a thread like this is past due! I just finished reading my last book and am gearing up to start the Oh so famous Twilight. I am looking forward to finding out what all the excitement is about. And it occured to me that other bloggers may have an interest in other book suggestions as well. So, avid bloggers meet avid readers! Share your other favorite books, authors etc.  What you enjoyed about it, why you suggest it etc.

I will start a few, but keep it short for now! I can ramble on sometimes...(okay most of the time)
As a child, I was raised on green jello and Lord of the Rings. My dad would read it to us kids every night before bed. Some of my most fond memories of my father are listening to him read about Mordor and Frodo. So, naturally, these books are classics in my collection and have been reread many times.
Imagine my surprise when I found a connection between Tolkein and my other personal favorite CS Lewis. I stumbled on this literary giant in college (suggested by a friend) and have had a passion for ever since. I would recommend any/all of his works including his biography (forget which one, will post that later). HIs writing style is so smooth and clever.
Other favorites of mine include Jane Austen and all three Bronte sisters and would recommend their works. I enjoy the Mystery series by Charles Todd if you are interested in a well written mystery novel. Doestovesky (sp?) is another classic that got me through the graveyard shifts and beyond. I will actually stop there for now. Just wanted to get the ball rolling! Hope others are interested in posting.   

[Paul Petersen]

Anything by Vonnegut is great. I also really love "Catch 22" by Heller. I guess I like the post-modern stuff.

[M@r(!]

okay so i love Nicholas Spark books...all of them!!! they are soo good.  i need some ideas for what to read next now that i am done with Eclipse.  I am not like most of you..i can't read the same book over!

[MikL]

I love all the Jane Austen books and re-read them all about once a year. They are classics! I've recently been reading a few "spin-offs" from the Austen books like Mr. Darcy's Diary. My cousin reads a ton of them and lets me know the good ones. I can also enjoy a good John Grisham legal thriller and loved all the Harry Potter books, although I generally don't like that kind of stuff. Right now I am still stuck on the Twilight series.

[Lybi]

Bethany, if your literary tastes are like mine, it may take a while to really get into Twilight.  Right after I read it, I wasn't sure I would even recommend it--too mushy.  But after I was done,  I couldn't stop thinking about the characters, and wondering what they would do etc.  I love the characters in the series.  We'll see how much you like it when you get to New Moon.  If you can stand to take longer than 48 hours to read it, you are a better woman than me.   Hey, guess what I just got from the library? Yup.  "Out of the Silent Planet" on YOUR recommendation.  I'm excited!

Paul, that's cool that you like post-modern stuff.  I always thought they invented post-modernism just to torture high school sophmores.  (He he.)  Just kidding.  Post-modern is great unless it gets TOO existential.  (I'd rather clean the sidewalk with my tongue than read Camus' "The Stranger" again!)  I have a feeling you'd like "The Life of Pi".  It doesn't get philosophical until the end, but it leaves a lot to chew on.  Starts a little slow, so be warned.  I've never read anything by Heller, but I've read all about him. 

Marci?  Is that you?  M@r(!  I've never heard of Nicholas Sparks...what kind of books are they?   I guess I could just google it, but I have a thing against Google even since their team beat Marathongis at Relay Del Sol last year.  (Darn them!)

Personally, my favorite kind of book is a memoir--preferably by someone who has been imprisoned for half their life or survived the holocaust.  He he.  Not exactly light reading, but I love to be inspired!  Nothing is as inspiring as triumph over suffering.  That's why I took up running...JK...a little.

[MikL]

Lybi- Nicholas Sparks wrote Message in a Bottle, The Notebook, etc.
And Twilight is mushy, but there's so much more to it than that!

[Bethany]

M@rc! (cute) I have read one Nicholas Sparks book- but I cant remember the title for the life of me! The one about the paranormal reporter that went to investigate "ghosts/lights" in a cemetary and fell for the local librarian. anyway, I enjoyed it. It was pretty "sentimental" but that is a welcome change. What other books by Sparks would you recommend?

I have never heard of either the authors that Paul mentioned. I need to look into that. I have read "life of Pi" and enjoyed it. Had an interesting cover story for philosophy.

I am excited to start Twilight, but unfortunately there is a long list of holds at our limited Logan library. I can either wait it out or stop by Borders one of these days.

Lybi: if you enjoy memoirs, I would recommend "Night" by Elie Weisel (a very short memoir of a holocaust survivor) or "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Wood or "Left to Tell" by Immacule Illibagiza ( a survivor of the Rawanda conflict, incredible!)
A fiction but nonetheless spectacular read is "The Book Thief" but Markus Zuskas (not totally sure on the last name actually)
Let me know what you think of Out of the Silent Planet. It is a different style of book for sure.

MikL: Love Jane Austen. Have you read any of the Bronte Sisters? Jane Eyre, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall or  Wuthering Heights. all are in the same vein as Austen- victorian novels. I enjoyed them all.

[M@r(!]

i love Jane austin also.  i haven't met many girls who don't!
Nicholas Sparks...i recommend all of them...they are mostly just plain good love stories!
i also enjoyed Catch-22 which paul recommends.
Bethany-i have twilight if you want to read it..is you don't mind a one years olds' teeth marks in it.
what books should i read next??

[Bethany]

Oops Lybi, The Glass Castle is by Jeanette Walls. Sorry!

Marci
I would love to borrow your copy! Thanks! (1 year old bite marks are no problem, as long as the saliva is dry)
Depends, what genre of book do you like best?

[ktjo]

I have read the Glass Castle it is a good book.
Also "Night" is good but I can't think of the author.
I love the Memoir books also.  There is one I read that was so good I will have to think of the name.

[ktjo]

This memoir is probley one of the best I have read. It is Left To Tell By Immaculee Ilibagiza
Also I just finished A Shining Season By William Buchanan.

[Ruth Hilton]

When I was younger, I drank up any fantasy/fiction series I could , but now I'm so tired of the (much) less quality ones, though I still love LoTR, the Wheel of Time (Robert Jordan - far too wordy, but good characters and plotline) and of course Harry Potter is a fun quick read. Although I have far too little time to read for pleasure nowadays, I have lately enjoyed Robert Cormier's books and even (gasp) a lot of the required reading for my English classes. Also, I've always loved to pick up one of Roald Dahl's books, especially because they're so short and hilarious!

(BTW ktjo, Night is by Elie Wiesel)

[Paul Petersen]

Oh, how can I forget? I give Lord of the Rings a read about once a year. It never gets old.

Apparently I am the only man who reads. Or pretends to anyway.

[Logan Fielding]

Paul,

I love to read as well.  In order to give this post a little more testosterone, I love the Clive Cussler books.  They are the same but never get old.  An old sunken ship with some sort of treasure or fancy device to save the world is on it and Dirk Pitt and his trusty side kick Al Giordino go and find it before the evil guys get to it!  Always on the edge of my seat when I read these books.  Clive Cussler is the one that wrote Sahara.  The ladies might remember the movie based off of the book with Matthew McConaughey in it!

[Cody Draper]

I am a die-hard reader as well as my wife.  The difference is that I like to read Fiction and not the classics.  I am a lot like Logan and LOVE Clive Cussler books.  My favorite for many years was Sahara.  The movie was ok, but nothing compares to the book.  I have read almost every Cussler book.  I have a bookshelf of about 25 of them if anyone wants to read them.  I basically grew up with Dirk.  I also like Cussler's Oregon Files novels as they are not so predictible as a Dirk or Kurt Austin series. 
I am also a fan of Dan Brown.  My favorite book by him is Digital Fortress. (I liked it better than the DaVinci Code).  I have also read all of the John Grisham novels and a whole hoard of Tom Clancy.  I have gotten sick of how political his books have become (and full of fluff) so I don't read his new stuff, but I love the famous ones that have been made into movies.   Michael Crichton, Robert Ludlum, Jeffrey Archer, Stephen Coonts, and David Baldacci are always in the mix.