It’s funny. As I read over my many blog posts in the past (almost) 2 years, I rarely talk about reading. This is most peculiar to me, as I am an avid reader. It’s a huge part of my life, perhaps even bigger than crafting or collecting vintage. I have loved reading ever since I picked up James and the Giant Peach and The Boxcar Children. I read anything and everything. I have learned more from books than I can explain. Books are powerful. Stories are amazing. Imagination runs wild and I fly away to other places when I escape in a book. I feel awfully bad I haven’t shared my love of literature. I’m getting sad thinking about it. I will get Sean to take pictures of me reading. Check.
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We are going away next week. Gladly going on a small vacation/retreat with my parents to the mountains.
And I want to read. Devour a book.
So.
Give me suggestions.
What is the book that has made you stay up until 3am, on the couch, tearing through pages? What took your breath away and made you swear that you have “never read a better book before in your life”? What is your favorite book of all time? Give me something life changing/riviting/earth shattering.
Tell me.
I’m going to buy it on Tuesday.
no. 17 cherry tree lane 
FUN!! I’m a big reader, too, and rarely blog about my books. Gracious, too many to write about!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m quite positive you understand!!!
I’m not sure your particular favorite genre of book, but one of my personal favorites is Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss. Oh how I LOVE that book!!! Also, years ago, I read Julie by Catherine Marshall. I cried at the end because I was so sad that the book was over and my friends were gone!! LOL!!!!
My favorite types of books are, by far, biographies. I LOVE learning from others lives. Perhaps a book on the life of Martin and Katie Luther? Or Jonathan and Sarah Edwards??
Have FUN!!!
His,
Mrs. U
The Shack by William Paul Young
He Chose The Nails by Max Lucado
The Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath
The Camel Club Series by David Baldacci
it starts with The Camel Club, has 3 books after
The Last Man Standing By David Baldacci
Cry, The Beloved Counrty By Alan Paton
Thier Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale
Hurston
The Left Behind Series By Jerry B. Jenkins and
Tim LaHaye
The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini
Sphere, The Andromedia Strain, and Airframe all by Michael Crichton
I’m really into reading kids literature right now. The two that pop into my head (and you could just check them out in the library and not spend any money!) that are really good reads are Holes by Louis Sachar and The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg.
I don’t know if this is your cup of tea…but it changed the way I think in regard to our health…our food…our society…Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Maybe you just want to borrow it from the library!
And then…for fiction…anything by Anne Lamott. She’s one of my favorite authors…she’s unconventional. And I like that in a person!
I love to read too. I just finished 3 books by Angela Hunt – it’s the Fairlawn series (angelahuntbooks.com) I read one book in 2 days. I loved The Time Travelers Wife (couldn’t put it down). That’s all I can think of right now. Good luck choosing a book.
I recently had borrowed some Francine Rivers from our library and loved her books! Specifically Redeeming Love and she has a trilogy that was amazing also! Have fun, let us know what you choose!
These certainly aren’t life changing or much more than thoroughly entertaining but I LOVE the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. It starts with “One for the Money” and goes to 13 or 14. They are hilarious. My whole family loves them. =)
Oh I’m with Shanna. If you want to laugh out loud like a hyena, get the Stephanie Plum books. Stinkin hilarious.
For something more serious and just beautifully written, try The Shadow of the Wind.
If you haven’t read this, yet, The Time Traveler’s Wife…
LOVED it.
Recently, I read Atlas Shrugged and it changed the way I thought about everything. I’m not kidding either. The best book I ever read? That would be the Chronicles of Narnia – I particularly like The Magician’s Nephew, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and The Last Battle. I couldn’t put down the Twilight series (yes, I’m that kind of person) or any of Dan Brown’s novels. I also recently read A Great and Terrible Beauty and the the following two books of the series. They were pretty good. Recently my husband has had me on a politics kick so I’ve been reading Ron Paul’s Manifesto: Revolution. I’ve also been reading The Secret. It’s very interesting.
Let us know what you get!
ooh I love the The Yada Yada Prayer Group books by Neta Jackson. The very first one in the group is called The Yada Yada prayer group. These books are awesome. They are hard to put down once you start reading too! Another choice would be Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul by John and Stasi Eldredge. And if you’re looking for a fun, easy read about celebs and life in Hollywood I loved Lori Culwell’s “Hollywood Car Wash”. I read it at the beach a couple years ago. It was a fun book that you didn’t want to put down because you just had to know if she was going to drop a name or not! Anyway those are my suggestions that I can think of right now! Check them out on amazon to get descriptions so you can see if you would like to read them or not. Hope you find some fun books!
Don’t know if you’ve read these, but here’s my short list of favorites I couldn’t put down, and really affected me deeply:
This Much I Know is True, Wally Lamb.
Les Miserables, Victor Hugo.
Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell.
I read a lot of books about food and agree with Michelle about Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.
A few others:
Wickett’s Remedy by Myla Goldberg–Historical re-creation of the Spanish flu in 1918 and a second story of creating a soft drink empire. Very good!
Better Off by Eric Brende–A family who spends 18 months in a remote community without technology of any kind, more primitive than the Amish.
Climbing the Mango Trees, A Memoir of a Childhood in India by Madhur Jaffrey–Food, recipes and wonderful stories
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith–Pre-World War 1, childhood, growing up.
I could go on and on but you already have quite a few you need to consider (and if you want to borrow any of these, you can!!)
Have you read the “Mark of the Lion” series by Francine Rivers? Amazing!
what a gor-guss family you have…i love your post…hmmmmm…books….i am a small town farm girl wanna be….so i love home to harmony series…about quarky town folk…funny and heart warming…cat
Time Traveler’s Wife by far the best ever
Lovely Bones
The Thirteenth Tale
The Book of Bright Ideas
eat pray love —- loved it!
the shack —- was good.
any of the Phillipa Gregory book series about the wives of Henry the VIII – they are in order but the only title I remember is The Queens Fool
i read Gone With the Wind every summer starting in 10th grade. my high school librarian let me borrow it that summer and the next sumer and then my senior year gave me a library copy as a graduation gift – I still have it, my 30th high school reunion is next summer!
I want to run out and read all of these books-how fun! Silly as it is, the Twilight series keeps me engaged as well as anything by Jodi Picoult. Can’t wait to hear what you pick!
so when you mentioned James and the Giant Peach and the Boxcar Children (my favorite… sitting on my self waiting to be read to the girls) I thought I’d mention a few of my favorites. I am always reading at least 3 books at a time. So here are my suggestions…
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortanson
The Color of Water by James McBride
Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls (children’s book)
Happy Reading….
Stumbled on your blog through a comment you left @ pancakes and French fries…..
Many years ago my husband bought me the book “Mary and O’Neal”(sp?) That book has really stayed with me over the years for some reason.
I agree with the assesment of ” The Time Travelers Wife” ( soon to be a major motion picture…) – couldn’t put that down. And I’ll add “The Stand”,by Stephen King.
I’ll check on the spelling and the author’s name of the first book….
I love to read, but lately I never read. Isn’t that sad?
I need to get a good book. I’m looking over your comments to see who’s got a good idea for a book for me as well.
One book I couldn’t put down awhile back was
GIFTED HANDS ~ THE BEN CARSON STORY
Enjoy, Kathi ps I heard they made a movie recently
I absolutely adore James and the Giant Peach. I’ve loved books since I was just a wee one. I was the first kid in my class to learn to read and I’ve never stopped. Since I could never choose just one, here are a few of my all time favorites:
A HEARTBREAKING WORK OF STAGGERING GENIUS by Dave Eggers (my favorite writer who is also the writer of the upcoming “Where the Wild Things Are” movie). I actually recommend everything he’s written. Another favorite is YOU SHALL KNOW OUR VELOCITY.
DEMIAN by Herman Hesse. This is my favorite book of all time.
THE LITTLE PRINCE by Antoine de St. Exupery. My all time fave children’s book with ideals that hold true as an adult. I love this!
EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE and EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED by Jonathon Safran Foer. Two of the most original books I’ve read in a very long time.
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO by Alexander Dumas. Classic.
THE ODYSSEY. I totally love Greek mythology so this is a great read…difficult, but fantastic.
I’m also a huge Kurt Vonnegut fan. HUGE. I love a great satire so his stuff is right up my alley. SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE, MOTHER NIGHT, and CAT’S CRADLE are among my faves.
I almost forgot! THE PLEASURE OF MY COMPANY by Steve Martin. This is such a sweet, interesting story, I just love it. Besides, I think the funny man is fascinating. A tiny bit of a “comedy crush” I guess.
And finally, BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S by Truman Capote. Lovely.
Let us know what you choose! And have a great trip : )
PATTI AND ELSIE ARE BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!!! ANYONE WHO LOVES MARGARET MITCHELS “GONE WITH THE WIND” IS MY KIND OF GAL!!!!!!!!! =)
Just left you an award.
OOPS! ALSO ONE OF THE GREATS “A SEVERE MERCY” BY SHELDON VANAUKEN….I READ IT OVER 30 YEARS AGO AND WAS PROFOUNDLY CHALLENGED IN MY HEART….NOT A LIGHT READ……BUT ONE I WILL NEVER FORGET…..
I’ve been mulling this over, and even though I was an English Lit major, I actually don’t have a favorite book. I was a play/poem kind of girl, so I thought I’d leave some poems/plays for you. A little something different (although reading a play can be difficult):
I heart Shakespeare a LOT. I have read 25 of the 36 plays he wrote (courtesy of my upper division classes in college). My favorites are:
King Lear
Much Ado About Nothing (which you can follow up with the movie starring Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, et al., which is fabulous except for Keanu Reeves…)
Richard III (another great movie with Ian McKellen)
The Merchant of Venice (Shylock is a fantastic character)
I love Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw with respect to playwrights. I also love Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard, but I admit this is a little out there – probably best in a college classroom and not in your mountain cabin (just thought I’d throw it out there).
I think you would like the English Romantic poets – William Wordsworth, Samuel Coleridge, John Keats and Lord Byron. You would also probably like William Blake. I love Ulysses by Alfred Tennyson.
One of my favorite poems of all time is The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot. Sad, but a beautiful poem on the importance of time and how quickly it passes us by.
Class dismissed!
i too love love love to read but find that I dont have time like I used to. I WORKED at Barnes& Noble at one point and it was the best job ever for me!!
Love in the Time of Cholera
The Wedding by Dorothy West
I like Janet Evanovich as well
the Deborah Knott series by Margaret Maron
Portrait in Sepia or Daughter of Fortune – Isabella Allende (pretty much EVERYTHING she writes is AMAZING!!!)
The Bonesetters Daughter
Anything by Patricia Cornwell or Sue Grafton
Sandra Brown novells are always good for an afternoon of escape and flights of fancy!!!
Let me know if you find anything good! I am looking for a new book as well!!!
Enjoy!!
I have loved the Mitford series by Jan Karon. The first one is called At Home in Mitford, it is a little slow in the beginning, but as you get into it and meet the characters . . . oh I just LOVED it!
I am so excited that you posted this question! Everyone’s answers are inspiring me to use the B & N gift certificate I’ve had in my wallet since Christmas.
I have to agree with previous comments that Gone With the Wind is definitely worth your time.
My favorite children’s novel is From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. It is a great read about 2 kids that run away to the Met in NY (why I wanted to go so bad when we were there) and live there and solve an art mystery. So my childhood fantasy.
I can’t ever remember the frivolous reads I couldn’t put down but I did devour The Thirteenth Tale last summer.
Let us know what you pick!
since you are such an avid reader, i’m guessing you’ve already read it, but To Kill a Mockingbird is an amazing book, i would love to re-read it if i had the time!
Yay for books! I love to read too, but I have a hard time finding good ones – I’m going to take some of the other suggestions too!
(I hope you can find these books over there; I think they’re popular enough!) My favorites I’ve read lately – ‘The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency’ – set in Botswana, main character a smart, clever woman who runs her own detective agency. Really fun, and I couldn’t put it down!
Also, if you can find ANYTHING by Marian Keyes GET IT. She is amazing. She’s an Irish writer who has a knack for really funny characters and situations. I love all her books, they’re so much fun.
Finally, I love Southern-fried books, and the best for that is Mary Kay Andrews. Her best are ‘Savannah Blues’, ‘Savannah Breeze’, and ‘Hissy Fit’. They always come with at least one recipe (fun!) and really well-written, fun characters and plots. I always love her novels.
Let us know what you pick! Have fun!
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See; a story of a friendship you could never imagine.
It reminds of us of how blessed we are to live where we live and have what we have.
Thanks for the blog, I’ve also got some new books I now want to read.
I love reading and don’t blog about it much either. I have been trying to figure out how to add it in.
But anyway I am reading The Brothers Karamazov right now by Dostoevsky . My sister swears it will change my life and I picked it up at a used book store.
For light reading I liked The Friday Night Knitting Club and she has a new book out called Knit Two that I haven’t read.
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle was one of the most beautifully descriptive books I have ever read.
The Shack is one that I keep describing as a “must read.”
Funny… some of my very, very favorites as a kid were also James & the Giant Peach and The Boxcar Children. Did you ever read the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books? I loved those.
My two favorite books of all time have been 100 Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera, both by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. For fun, this past winter I really enjoyed Outlander, but I can’t remember the author’s name. It’s kind of a time travel romance, which is not something I read. Ever. But it was fun!
I’m printing out the replies to this thread for my own use! 🙂
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers….absolutely the best. Can’t put it down.
I really liked the Twilight books. They were not something I would have ever read but my sister told me to try them and surprisingly they were a very good read.
I also really like Lori Wick- the Kensington Chronicles (thought you would like the name :)) There are four books and each one was good.
Happy Reading.
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