What Are You Reading 2007

[emilina22]

i just finished the nanny diaries it was so good i finished in two days!!! i cant wait for the movie and now im starting 19 minutes by jodi picoult i love her!!! if you love courtroom drama/mystery so willl you!!!

 

[poptart]

Thank you ladies for your suggestions!

*M*

 

[Mara]

i love the shopaholic series. i still have yet to read bergdorf blondes. i just read ''trading up'' recently on a vacation.

i just need to get over to the library and stock up and stop procrastinating!

 

[bling*diva*]

~~I just read Can You Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella...it was a really good book!!!

 

[bookworm21]

I just finished the Secret History of the Pink Carnation and the Masque of the Black Tulip, both by Lauren Willig. They''re great, light hearted books, about spies during the French revolution and afterwards, plus humorous romance thrown in.

Also finished Fallen Angel by Andrew Taylor. Good book, if a little tedious.

Oh, and The Crimson Petal and the White. It was good up until the ending, the author didn''t really end the story, which irritates me.

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 3/26/2007 12:26:31 PM
Author: hikerchick

Date: 3/26/2007 11:53:17 AM
Author: Mara

Does anyone have any 'chick lit' recommendations other than the ones we have previously discussed??? Looking for some new stuff!

Here are a few authors who write 'chick lit', I have enjoyed one or more by each of them.

Barbara Kingsolver
Anita Shreve
Jodi Picoult
Elizabeth Berg
Alice Sebold

Hikerchick, we have a lot of the same authors in common! I just love Alice Sebold. I have not tried Barbara Kingsolver yet, but will have to give her a try. I really like Jodi Picoult! I agree with you on Tenth Circle. I just finished her newest one, Nineteen Minutes which just came out a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed it up until the end which I found dissatisfying. Usually my favorite parts about her books are the unexpected endings. Still, the issues in the book really made me think. Plain Truth was one of my favorites by her. I also enjoyed Disappearing Acts, and The Pact. I haven't read them all yet, but several. I do find she uses some of the same themes throughout her novels, do you?

In addition to Jodi Picoult I really enjoy John Irving's novels. I also love mysteries. My favorites right now are by Patricia Cornwell.

Even though my schedule is really busy, I keep a book by my bedside table and read for a few minutes each night. It helps me wind down and I also get quite a few books read this way! I also have a tradition, before I travel I buy a paperback or two for the plane. (The rest of the time I use the library!)

 

[MiniMouse]

Date: 3/26/2007 9:19:31 PM
Author: CrownJewel

MiniMouse I sort of understand what you mean. I felt that way for a few years (I went an entire year without reading a book) and still do sometimes. Have you tried books on tape? At one point I was commuting for an hour each way to work, and I got Running With Scissors on CD and it was such a great way to ''read.'' It could be just the thing to jumpstart your ability to read again. Or you could try short stories. I think Jhumpa Lahiri is going to catapult to the top of writer stardom now that The Namesake was made into a movie. I have not read that one, but I did read Interpreter of Maladies and it''s a nice way of getting your fill of literature in short bursts!!

Thank you CrownJewel, I never thought of trying out books on CD. That''s a great idea. I''m sure short stories would be a good start too. Here''s hoping it will help me get back into book reading again. Many thanks.

 

[hikerchick]

Date: 3/27/2007 2:13:35 AM
Author: gailrmv

Hikerchick, we have a lot of the same authors in common! I just love Alice Sebold. I have not tried Barbara Kingsolver yet, but will have to give her a try. I really like Jodi Picoult! I agree with you on Tenth Circle. I just finished her newest one, Nineteen Minutes which just came out a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed it up until the end which I found dissatisfying. Usually my favorite parts about her books are the unexpected endings. Still, the issues in the book really made me think. Plain Truth was one of my favorites by her. I also enjoyed Disappearing Acts, and The Pact. I haven''t read them all yet, but several. I do find she uses some of the same themes throughout her novels, do you?

In addition to Jodi Picoult I really enjoy John Irving''s novels. I also love mysteries. My favorites right now are by Patricia Cornwell.

Even though my schedule is really busy, I keep a book by my bedside table and read for a few minutes each night. It helps me wind down and I also get quite a few books read this way! I also have a tradition, before I travel I buy a paperback or two for the plane. (The rest of the time I use the library!)

Oh yeah, I LOVE Irving . . . haven''t read him in a while. I have been reading all of Jodi Picoult''s books. The other one of her''s I didn''t care for was Salem Falls. I will have to pick up her new one. Perfect Match is another good one by her. Gail, what are some of your other fav authors? I would love to get a new author addiction. I have almost run out of books by the authors I listed above, so I am finding myself at a loss.

Also, I buy books at second hand books stores and online from discount bookstores. I tend not to have time for the library and then forget to return stuff, etc. So, I buy books and pass them along to friends and family. Usually about 5 or 6 other people read the books I buy so I see it as a worthwhile investment. Then I donate them to a local booksale. I am too lazy for the library . . . plus I have this wierd aversion to hardcovers and libraries rarely carry paperbacks.

 

[Mara]

hikerchick, i actually don''t love getting library books either because i always forget to return them etc but i basically can read a 400 page book in 8 hours, so it never makes sense for me to buy them. i do anyway but then i''m like boy that was a waste because it''s done in a day or two. hahaha. especially when i have a lot of time to read, i can just MOW through the book. sometimes i have to only allow myself an hour to read or something because it''s so easy for me to get into the book and just keep going. sometimes i stay up til like 4am finishing a book! so the library is starting to make more sense financially hahah and also they just remodeled one about a mile from us so i can walk there and get books, then walk back, so it''s kind of a two-fold positive experience, getting some walking in and getting new books, hehe.

 

[hikerchick]

Date: 3/27/2007 12:49:01 PM
Author: Mara
hikerchick, i actually don't love getting library books either because i always forget to return them etc but i basically can read a 400 page book in 8 hours, so it never makes sense for me to buy them. i do anyway but then i'm like boy that was a waste because it's done in a day or two. hahaha. especially when i have a lot of time to read, i can just MOW through the book. sometimes i have to only allow myself an hour to read or something because it's so easy for me to get into the book and just keep going. sometimes i stay up til like 4am finishing a book! so the library is starting to make more sense financially hahah and also they just remodeled one about a mile from us so i can walk there and get books, then walk back, so it's kind of a two-fold positive experience, getting some walking in and getting new books, hehe.

I hear you . . . I read about 30 minutes a day, sometimes an hour (when I ride the bus to work and back if Bf doesn't pick me up) and I can usually finish a book of 250-300 pages in about 7 hours, so it is an expensive habit. For a while I belonged to an online book sharing club, so a bunch of us would share books and only have to pay for shipping the books to each other. But even that got tedious, I am too lazy to get myself to the post office. I might try the library route soon though since money has become a little tighter recently and will likely get worse once we start planning our wedding . . . argh (too many hobbies, not enough time or money

)

Wish I had a GREAT library near me, maybe that would help.

 

[Gypsy]

I read too freaking fast. I''m always looking for a good book, or re-reading an old one.

I''m currently re-reading (for the 1000th time) Lord of the Scoundrels by Loretta Chase.

For romance lovers likesbooks.com is a good resource for reviews... I use them as a guide to help me avoid the truly terrible... and to point me towards those with interesting possibilites.

 

[lovelylulu]

Date: 3/26/2007 4:15:32 AM
Author: nomissjane
I agree with about the ''heavy reading''....sometimes can be a chore to get to the end....

I have a theory with books....first a bit of background....
When I was a little girl, mum would send me of to school with a healthy salad sandwich and a jam or honey sandwich....and of course I was only allowed to eat the jam once I had finished the salad.....
So my theory with books is that I get to read a ''jam'' (ie any old airport rubbish, bodice ripper etc) once I have read a ''salad''(something that expands my mind etc)....
It''s a pretty good system for me....however I do cheat a little, I''m always looking for a jam with a healthy springling of mung beans/alfalfa in it.....hehe!

I''ve just reread the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kinsolver.....fantastic, although definately jammie....

nomissjane

this "philosophy" is too cute!

i have a similar approach but it''s with fiction and non-fiction. i''m one of those strange people that often prefers non-fiction, though not biographies...

i just finished up my fiction read, Absurdistan, by Gary Shteyngart - it was okay

I''m starting on Banker to the Poor, by Muhamma Yunus - sounded facinating, it''s about how this gentleman established a bank that granted microloans to Bangladesh and effectively sparked an entire movement aimed at eradicating poverty.

 

[LuckyLady]

Jodi Picoult is fantastic. I just finished her newest 19 Minutes, and while it wasn''t her best, it is still a great read. Even her not great books are better than most out there. I saw her speak last year and she''s great- warm, self-deprecating, great sense of humor- kind of girl you want to go get a glass of wine with. She told some great stories about researching her novels.
Her best ones are (imho, of course!):

My Sister''s Keeper
Second Glance
Plain Truth

Chick Lit:
Try Emily Giffin
Also a book called The Marrying Game- (Kate Saunders)- adorable, easy read.
Also second any Jane Austen- they get better everytime I read them.

I also just fnished The Namesake and really enjoyed it. Water For Elephants- didn''t want to read it but loved it. Also great:
Middlesex by Jeffery Euginedes (wrote Virgin Suicides, also good)
Evening by Susan Minot
The Kite Runner- Khaled Hosseini
The Keep- Jennifer Egan
On Beauty- Zadie Smith
Time Traveler''s Wife- Audrey Niffennegger
The Eyre Affair (and following in series)- Jasper Fforde

Neil Gaiman writes weird, interesting books. FI likes these as well.

Btw, making a movie of The Other Boleyn Girl with Scarlett Johannson, Natalie Portman, and Eric Bana. Great book.

 

[Rosebud8506]

I just read "Something Borrowed" and now I''m on "Something Blue" by Emily Giffin. Good reads, but I can easily read them in 2-3 days! I read too fast sometimes too.

 

[Mara]

Date: 3/27/2007 5:28:34 PM
Author: Rosebud8506
I just read ''Something Borrowed'' and now I''m on ''Something Blue'' by Emily Giffin. Good reads, but I can easily read them in 2-3 days! I read too fast sometimes too.

I loved those!! I seriously need authors like Emily Giffin and Sophie Kinsella to WRITE FASTER. Don''t they know that we bookaholics need like a new novel every month? hehe.

 

[LuckyLady]

Have either of you tried Jane Green or Jennifer Weiner?

Jane Green is a British writer, has written tons of these kind of books.

JW is good, kind of annoying sometimes, but good at this genre.

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 3/27/2007 9:45:04 AM
Author: hikerchick

Date: 3/27/2007 2:13:35 AM
Author: gailrmv

Hikerchick, we have a lot of the same authors in common! I just love Alice Sebold. I have not tried Barbara Kingsolver yet, but will have to give her a try. I really like Jodi Picoult! I agree with you on Tenth Circle. I just finished her newest one, Nineteen Minutes which just came out a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed it up until the end which I found dissatisfying. Usually my favorite parts about her books are the unexpected endings. Still, the issues in the book really made me think. Plain Truth was one of my favorites by her. I also enjoyed Disappearing Acts, and The Pact. I haven''t read them all yet, but several. I do find she uses some of the same themes throughout her novels, do you?

In addition to Jodi Picoult I really enjoy John Irving''s novels. I also love mysteries. My favorites right now are by Patricia Cornwell.

Even though my schedule is really busy, I keep a book by my bedside table and read for a few minutes each night. It helps me wind down and I also get quite a few books read this way! I also have a tradition, before I travel I buy a paperback or two for the plane. (The rest of the time I use the library!)

Oh yeah, I LOVE Irving . . . haven''t read him in a while. I have been reading all of Jodi Picoult''s books. The other one of her''s I didn''t care for was Salem Falls. I will have to pick up her new one. Perfect Match is another good one by her. Gail, what are some of your other fav authors? I would love to get a new author addiction. I have almost run out of books by the authors I listed above, so I am finding myself at a loss.

Also, I buy books at second hand books stores and online from discount bookstores. I tend not to have time for the library and then forget to return stuff, etc. So, I buy books and pass them along to friends and family. Usually about 5 or 6 other people read the books I buy so I see it as a worthwhile investment. Then I donate them to a local booksale. I am too lazy for the library . . . plus I have this wierd aversion to hardcovers and libraries rarely carry paperbacks.

hi Hikerchick! I have been trying to think of other good authors to recommend. Lately it''s been all Jodi Picoult and Patricia Cornwell and of course, grad school stuff. I also really like Jennifer Weiner, as another person recommended. And I''m sure you''ve already read these if you wanted to, but I thought The Nanny Diaries and also The Devil Wears Prada were fun, lighthearted reads. Do you have any other favorites that you can recommend?

I agree with you about Salem Falls. I think I enjoyed the beginning of it, but the ending was so so if I remember properly. I really enjoyed My Sister''s Keeper, which was my first Jodi Picoult. I thought Picture Perfect was a little unrealistic, but well written. I also enjoyed Harvesting the Heart, one of her older ones.

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 3/27/2007 1:28:11 PM
Author: hikerchick

Date: 3/27/2007 12:49:01 PM
Author: Mara
hikerchick, i actually don''t love getting library books either because i always forget to return them etc but i basically can read a 400 page book in 8 hours, so it never makes sense for me to buy them. i do anyway but then i''m like boy that was a waste because it''s done in a day or two. hahaha. especially when i have a lot of time to read, i can just MOW through the book. sometimes i have to only allow myself an hour to read or something because it''s so easy for me to get into the book and just keep going. sometimes i stay up til like 4am finishing a book! so the library is starting to make more sense financially hahah and also they just remodeled one about a mile from us so i can walk there and get books, then walk back, so it''s kind of a two-fold positive experience, getting some walking in and getting new books, hehe.

I hear you . . . I read about 30 minutes a day, sometimes an hour (when I ride the bus to work and back if Bf doesn''t pick me up) and I can usually finish a book of 250-300 pages in about 7 hours, so it is an expensive habit. For a while I belonged to an online book sharing club, so a bunch of us would share books and only have to pay for shipping the books to each other. But even that got tedious, I am too lazy to get myself to the post office. I might try the library route soon though since money has become a little tighter recently and will likely get worse once we start planning our wedding . . . argh (too many hobbies, not enough time or money

)

Wish I had a GREAT library near me, maybe that would help.

I agree, I read really fast too and I have limited bookshelf room, so it''s rare that I buy new books. I like the library b/c of the cost savings, but sometimes they don''t have what I am looking for or I forget to return them and get a huge fine. I really like the books on CD from the library, because I have a long commute and it makes it a lot better.

I have found another good place to buy books: sometimes Goodwill stores and the like will have great paperbacks for like $1. Whenever I donate things, I go in to see if there are any good books. Sometimes there are! Even if it is not my favorite, I just donate it back when I am done and it is a good cause. Also, my parents'' local library has a store where the books are really cheap and I''ve picked up a number of good books there.

 

[monarch64]

I, too, love Jodi Picoult--have read Plain Truth, Vanishing Acts, my Sister''s Keeper, and one other I can''t remember the title of...she''s great and it is always an educational experience reading her novels! I also loved The Kite Runner, a little tough to get into at first but once I finished a chapter I couldn''t stop reading.

I''m vowing to get to the library within the next two weeks. I finally got a library card after living in this particular burb for the past 2 years last fall, and haven''t even used it yet (I signed up online and then just went to pick up the card but didn''t have time to browse that evening)! I was ALWAYS in the library with my mom and brother when I was a child and loved it...even after graduating college when I lived by myself for a few months before meeting Dh I used the local library so I don''t know what my aversion is now...I get so many books from friends and relatives, though, I guess that''s why I always have something to read whether it is something I''ve chosen or not. I really, really need to make use of the library, though... and ours is in a network of others so if something I want to read isn''t available at one I can reserve and pick it up at another branch in a different suburb if need be, which is really nice.

I''m definitely taking notes on this thread and will bring a list to the library when I get there! I''m feeling pretty inspired, so maybe even this week I will find time to go!

 

[emilina22]

i thought vanishing acts was a bit hard to get through...but still i love jodi picoult books she really gets you into the whole story and theres always surpises! if you never read one of her books run and get your hands on one youll be hooked!!!! promise

 

[Gypsy]

Okay.. I''m going to have to check out Emily Griffin. Never read her.

As for Jennifer Weiner... I didn''t like her most recent... but in general I really enjoy her books.

I use the library sometimes... but I''m a re-reader and it drives me crazy if I can''t re-read a book I remember a line from... or a scene from... or a plot of... so it''s not really great for me. I end up buying the ones I love anyway.

Used book stores are my best friends though. There are two great ones by my parent''s house.

 

[monarch64]

OK, I just have to say...does anyone else get a little anal about where your books come from? In the past few years since I''ve basically only been borrowing books from friends and relatives, the same people I would share food with, I have realized or thought that the library is sort of one of those ways to pick up random germs. It''s part of my aversion to going to the library even though I''ve gotten my card, and I would rather not keep shelling out money to Borders for paperbacks...maybe I''m just weird, I don''t know.

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 3/28/2007 1:02:39 AM
Author: monarch64
OK, I just have to say...does anyone else get a little anal about where your books come from? In the past few years since I''ve basically only been borrowing books from friends and relatives, the same people I would share food with, I have realized or thought that the library is sort of one of those ways to pick up random germs. It''s part of my aversion to going to the library even though I''ve gotten my card, and I would rather not keep shelling out money to Borders for paperbacks...maybe I''m just weird, I don''t know.

Never considered it before. Will now though, I''m sure. LOL. Still the used bookstore is my friend. Where else can I spurlge on 15 books at a time without guilt.

 

[monarch64]

Oh gypsy I will still go to the library and read whatever I bring home; however there is still that sense of "how many hands has this book been touched by, and how much late night food has been dropped into it" ya know? Its just a matter of cleansing one''s hands and face after reading/before going to sleep, I guess, lol!

 

[Rosebud8506]

Date: 3/27/2007 5:43:39 PM
Author: LuckyLady
Have either of you tried Jane Green or Jennifer Weiner?

Jane Green is a British writer, has written tons of these kind of books.

JW is good, kind of annoying sometimes, but good at this genre.

I''ll have to check those out!

Is ''Baby Proof'' even out yet???? I think that''s the next installment of EG''s series...

FYI Gypsy: it''s Emily Giffin not Griffin, I made that mistake when I went to Borders, lol

 

[emilina22]

i dunno i guess i would consider myself a bit anal about my books...cause i need to own all mine i like having a big library of books i nver liked borrowing casue i always forget to return even with blockbuster im always late with returning so i just buy all my book....but i will borrow mine out im ok with that

 

[AmberWaves]

Rosebud, Baby Proof is out, but it''s not to do with Darcy or the other friend (I can''t believe I forgot her name!!). To be honest, after loving the first two, I didn''t like Baby Proof at all.

I LOVE Jane Green, her books are fantastic. Anna Maxted, is great, too!

 

[Mara]

just got back from a walk to the library...it's a small one locally, but they have a lot of stuff for me to read...i only brought home 5 books since that was all i could carry...hehe. but hopefully i will be done with them by the end of the weekend so i can go back next monday!!

here's my booty:
angels by marian keyes
matieral girl by julia london
carolina isle by jude deveraux
holly by jude deveraux
the pregnancy test by erin mccarthy

i guess that also shopaholic and baby IS out (it's on the bestseller for march) but of course the library didn't have it!

i loved the 'something borrowed/blue' books and wish she'd come out with more on those two or others in their circle!

oh and monnie, lol about the whole 'where has this book been'...i totally think that too but i tend to wash my hands all the time anyway so i hopefully am washing most of anyone else's cooties off. not like anyone wants MY cooties either. hehe.

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 3/28/2007 2:21:17 PM
Author: AmberWaves
Rosebud, Baby Proof is out, but it''s not to do with Darcy or the other friend (I can''t believe I forgot her name!!). To be honest, after loving the first two, I didn''t like Baby Proof at all.

I LOVE Jane Green, her books are fantastic. Anna Maxted, is great, too!

I listened to Baby Proof on CD in the car. Liked the beginning, liked the characters, thought the plot dragged a bit but liked the end. So, are her other books about the same characters that are in Baby Proof?

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 3/26/2007 11:45:36 PM
Author: bling*diva*
~~I just read Can You Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella...it was a really good book!!!

I LOVED that book! They were going to make a movie out of it. I am not sure if they ever did.