I accidentally hit publish on this post the other day, and even though I immediately deleted it . . . it still went out to email subscribers. Sorry about that! It’s possible that you missed seeing that day’s post if you didn’t download the entire email. It was called “If One is Good, Then Four Is Better, Right?” I’ll go ahead and tell you that the answer is “wrong.” Four is not necessarily better than one.
So here we go again with this list of random books I’ve read recently. I was recommending books to a friend and decided to create a quick list for y’all as well. (And just so you know, each and every Amazon link in this post is an affiliate link.)
I looooved this one. A college student takes on the job of transcribing a long-lost diary of a young girl accused in the Salem Witch Trials. Very well written.
The Face of the Earth: A Novel
A woman disappears without a trace and her family has to figure out how to live. I really liked this one though it was unsettling.
This one was really good. Quite a bit of language and some . . . ummmm . . . scenes (if you know what I mean) but totally intriguing. And the language and scenes were purposeful for the story. Which makes a big difference to me.
Weird in the beginning, but once I got used to it I really loved it. It’s the story of the lives of an unlikely family in Germany during World War II.
The Language of Sparrows: A Novel
Slow for me in the beginning, but I ended up really liking it. It deals with depression.
More books that came to mind as I put this together:
I love everything I’ve read by Barbara Kingsolver. I read this one YEARS ago. I’m adding it since at the exact moment when I grabbed the link, it was on sale for 1.99 for the Kindle version. (Amazon prices change all the time so check before you purchase.)
This was the Barbara Kingsolver book I was looking for when I grabbed that last link. It’s one of the rare books I’ve read more than once. Thinking about it still affects me.
Mmmmm. This one was good. Good as in I cried and laughed and just generally loved it.
Please (pretty please?) share your favorite books in the comments!!
--Nony
These is my Words, by Nancy E. Turner. and then the follow-up books to this….A.MAZING!!!
Robert Whitlow’s The List. it is about the south and lawyers and a young man’s struggle with his spiritual walk….it kept me so captivated that I was using my cell phone’s flashlight feature while traveling at night over the Christmas break. I was the passenger of course!
I love to read too! I’m going on vacation in a couple of weeks and have not found THE book for the vacation.
Former vacation books that I have loved:
The Night Circus
Water for Elephants
Peace like a River
John Sandford novels (brain candy I know but I love gory mysteries)
Goldfinch
If anyone has THE book for me I would really appreciate it!
I love anything by Dee Henderson, but I find myself judging my husband a little afterwards as her men are a little idealized.
Have you read/seen The Help?? Very good, hilarious at times, heartbreaking. A look at Jackson, MS in the 60’s from the point of view of a white college girl curious about how African-American maids are treated in the households in her community as she’s searching for information as to why the maid who raised her suddenly moved to Chicago. It’s one of those that will probably be read and analyzed in High School English classes in 20 years J.
Um I just read Ender’s Game and the Ender’s Shadow series. My second SCi-fi experience. My first was The Host…written by Stephenie Meyer, but don’t hold Twilight against this book. It’s very good…first fiction book that made me cry. ever.
Whoops…okay that reply ended up in the wrong place.
Eveline Barnes, I was going to reply only to you that you should try out American Assassins by Vince Flynn. It’s an adventure/spy novel that introduces you to his character, Mitch Rapp.
What a great list! I tried to read Gone, Girl, but the language and scenes were too much for me, even though they were story appropriate. So I cheated and read the end. Amazing twist.
Other books I’ve read recently… I’ve just reread Legion by Brandon Sanderson. It’s a novella about a crazy guy that’s recognized as a genius. Only he’s not the genius – his hallucinations are the real geniuses. And when he has a problem, they help him figure it out.
Also just read the Mortal Engines series – wow. Set in the distant future, cities are mobile. And it’s survival of the fittest cities. And there are a lot of adventures as people are forced to change – or be eaten by another town. Suddenly cooperation looks a lot more appealing…
Thanks for the post. I’ll have to check out the books you’ve suggested!
I recently read The Next Target by Nikki Arana. It was great. Here is the description: It only took one bullet. Austia’s friend and student fell dead. And with a glimpse of a newspaper headline, the young and recently widowed Austia knows more about what happened than the police. From that fatal night, Austia’s secret outreach to the U.S. Muslim community—in the guise of English language classes—becomes a target. Local Muslim extremists set their sights on ending her ministry and even her life. And the women she ministers to will be next.A thick web of deceit closes in around Austia, and her circle of friends becomes smaller by the day, even as she finally opens herself to the idea of falling in love again. But who can she trust? Facing a spiritual battle that proves more treacherous than it at first seemed, Austia’s convictions are tested to their limits and her heart becomes primed for breaking. She must ask herself: how much she will risk to stay true to her herself, her faith, and to the lives of the women she serves?Preview this book »
I’m reading the tenth circle right now by jodi picoult (love her books) I love the way she writes. Its never quite what you think its going to be. Always moral dilemas.
I love learning about history, so recent books that have filled in gaps for me have been Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea and Life and Death in Shanghai.
“Life and Death in Shanghai” is a wonderful book!
I’d also recommend “Wild Swans” to anyone who’s interested in the history and culture of China. It’s the story of the author’s grandmother (a concubine with bound feet), her mother (a communist revolutionary), and herself (a student during the Cultural Revolution in the 60’s, who later moved to the West).
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. If you’re looking for THE book…this is it!!
One Summer: America 1927 by Bill Bryson. Curl up and read right straight through book!
I just finished the Divergent series by Veronica Roth which I found fascinating — an exploration of the downfalls of five different utopian societies. The first one is about to come out in movie form.
I love the Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher (the first one is Storm Front,) about a modern day wizard in Chicago. I appreciate that Harry must make difficult choices in his quest to take care of those he loves. Not all of his choices turn out to be the right ones, which makes the books more realistic for me.
I like Brad Thor for adventure/spy novels.
Greg Iles tells intricate tales of relationships.
My favorite Barbara Kingsolver is Prodigal Summer.
Two of my favorites were stories I discovered long after they were written. One is called Mrs. Mike, based on a true story set in the Canadian wilderness in the early 1900s. It’s a love story about a young woman who marries one Canadian Mounted Police (either way I spell it – mounty or mountie is red-lined). It also deals with a plague, how the Indians helped them survive, and it’s just great story.
The second one is Alas, Babylon. It’s a story set in the late 50s about a community in Florida that survives – and thrives – after a nuclear war wipes out much of the world (which they don’t discover until the end of the book). It just reads very real, like that’s what might happen in the event of a worldwide war.
I recently read Gone Girl and while the beginning drew me in, I was extremely disappointed with the ending.
Absolutely loved The Book Thief.
I’ve read many of Kingsolver’s books, but so long ago I can’t remember details. I did enjoy them.
Now for my suggested reading:
Any book by Kate Morton – There is always some kind of mystery that has happened long ago, that the present day character is trying to figure out.
Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole
A Town Like Alice by Neville Shute
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
Phantom by Susan Kay – Loved this novel about Erik (Phantom of the Opera). Highly recommend.
Nonfiction:
River of Doubt by Candace Millard
Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand (highly recommend)
I tried to limit myself, but you get me talking about books and watch out!
Sarah
Thank you, Nony, and everyone else, for sharing your favorites, I recently read The Almond Tree. It’s based on the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Very sad, but at the same time inspiring.
Can you give some insight into de-cluttering and organizing books you have found helpful? I would like to look into those more but am not sure where to start. Thanks!
I love reading! I have heard so much about The Book Thief. I really want to read it and then go and see the movie! I read Good Grief a few years ago. It was very sad but still one of my favorites. I want to read Gone Girl as well. I read the author’s other work “Sharp Objects” and really loved it so I’m sure I’ll love Gone Girl just as much.
loving Liane Moriarty right now- What Alice Forgot and The Husband’s Secret were both books I couldn’t put down.
I love everything by Grace Livingston Hill, and L.M. Montgomery. Yes, I’m an old fashioned girl when it comes to my reading choices.
Yes! I think I’ve read almost everything by those two authors!
I think I still have everything by GLH. Some I got when I was a teenager. One thing I can’t even think about getting rid of. I’ve decluttered other books, and hers are still in a box, but…. I can’t even bear to think…..
I did declutter my books. It broke my heart, but they had been in boxes for over 2 years. So I found a women’s ministry to donate them to. It warms my heart to know that they are being read, and appreciated again.
Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler. I cried when trying to tell someone else about it when I was done. A week later! Loved it!
http://juliekibler.com/calling_me_home
I’m not sure if the book Gone Girl was like the movie, but I have heard it is similar. I saw the movie and felt it was an attack on marriage.
Way late to this party but I had to add that *my* favorite Kingsolver is Pigs in Heaven. Every year I read my Facebook memory about how much I loved it.
I also love everything by GLH and LMM. My favorite re-read every year is The Shell Seekers by Rosamund Pilcher. I love all of hers (and Maeve Binchy who is similar but also different) but The Shell Seekers has been my favorite comfort read for going on 30 years :O