I read the Goldfinch (775 pages) in 4 days, mostly on my iphone because we were travelling.

So, i guess I liked it.

It does have some pretty boring bits about furniture restoration of all things, I admit.

HHireno, Have you read Middlesex?

kkay - Except for Stoner, I just looked up your list of books in my goodreads account and every single one of them is on my TO READ list already. Funny. I just added Stoner.

I haven't read The Goldfinch yet. My friends all really liked it, but my mother and her friend (both in their early 70s) both hated it. I told her I wondered if it was a generational thing - but I don't remember what it is about, so not sure if that was the case. I'm planning to read it.

I'm currently reading The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd - about 3/4 of the way done. I like it.

I also read Wild by Cheryl Strayed. Wasn't wild about the author but the book itself was an interesting read.

Read Tell the Wolves I'm Home about a month ago. I liked its quirky characters.

I haven't read anything else lately that I can truly rave about. Most of the books I've read, unfortunately, I'd give average rating to. Not that all were bad, but certainly not must-reads.

One book that I thought was just ok but several of my friends loved was Once We Were Brothers. I thought it was a little far-fetched but maybe you would like it.

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline was pretty good. A piece of American history I'd never heard about.

A dark story but one that I also really liked was The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar. Set in India. Insightful book about the relationship b/w an upper middle class woman and the housekeeper she employs who lives in a shanty town.

Gotta run, but I'll look at my list and see if I have any others to mention.

You've gotten some great suggestions... (Mtn - Middlesex is practically my favorite book ever. Definitely in the top 10.)

I think Richard Russo writes great novels if you haven't read his books - The Risk Pool, Bridge of Sighs, Empire Falls, etc. Good for summer reading I think.

One of the best books I read over the past year that hasn't been mentioned yet is Tenth of December, a great but disturbing collection of short stories by George Saunders.

I was at a play this week and in the play they mentioned Hedda Gabler ... never read it and decided it was high time I did. Wow! I then got on line and watched it on youtube with Diana Rigg playing the lead. I always enjoy reading a play and then watching it performed to see their interpretation vs how it was in my mind's eye.

So many classics I haven't read...

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This post was edited by jstell2008 on Fri, Sep 26, 14 at 20:27

Some books I have enjoyed include

11/22/63 by Stephen King (the first Stephen King I have read--this book was not creepy)

The Call the Midwife books (I have not watched the show, but really enjoyed the books--especially the first one)

Silver Linings Playbook (I have not seen the movie)

Defending Jacob

Cane River

Mudbound

Kitchen House

Pillars of the Earth

The Rosie Project

A Town like Alice

Confessions of a Prairie B*tch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated

All books by Tana French and John Hart (pychological thrillers)

Prince of Tides (and most books by Pat Conroy)

The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman

I've just finished reading Dan Brown's 463-page "Inferno" yesterday afternoon. I usually don't read books that fast, but I couldn't put it down and finished it in 2 days! It was a real page-turner, fascinating and full of plot twists and turns. I'm now anxious to see the eventual movie adaptation of it..

I'm more than halfway through a biography on Elizabeth Taylor by Ellis Amburn. Although she was a Hollywood icon and led a fascinating life, the first half of the book depressed me. Her life, IMO, was such a mess due to excessive drinking and the wrong choices in men. I'm not sure I'd recommend the book.

DD is now home from college for the Summer and wants me to read Tina Fey's " Bossy Pants" when she finishes it. She's really enjoying it.
Lynn

Tina Feys Bossypants was very funny and quite good

I just finished The Round House, by Louise Erdrich (one of my fav. authors). It was a great story. I also read Canada by Richard Ford, which I loved. A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash was a really good read, as was The 19th Wife - a novel about the history of polygamy and the Mormon Church (and modern day polygamists, who are not LDS).

I also loved We Are Water, by Wally Lamb - I love everything he writes.

A book that my book club read that I NEVER would have picked up, but found fascinating was The Queen of the Air by Dean Jensen. It's subtitled: A True Story of Love and Tragedy in the Circus. Now, I don't love the circus, but this partially fictionalized true story of the early circus and its female trapeze stars was fascinating, from the European origins to the early 20th century North American circuses and the families who produced the stars of the air. I didn't know that circus stars apparently were held in the same esteem as early movie stars and they moved in the same circles. Who knew? Anyway, it was enjoyable, even if not the best book I ever read.

The House Girl was another of our group's selections that I enjoyed.

ETA: I forgot to list The Ocean at the End of the Lane, oh so wonderful and hard to describe, but from amazon..."This bewitching and harrowing tale of mystery and survival, and memory and magic, makes the impossible all too real."

Another addition: The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh - a great summer read!

This post was edited by olychick on Sat, May 24, 14 at 13:39

I'm currently reading The Town by Conrad Richter. It's the last book in a trilogy about (white) settlement of Ohio through the lifetime of one female character. The series has been quite interesting.

Other books I've read recently and enjoyed:

The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Short stories with a (mostly) Nigerian perspective

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick - A classic I'd never read before

Saints and Sinners by Edna O'Brien - Short stories. I've really enjoyed everything I've read by this author.

Edited to add that I really appreciate these periodic book threads. I have added a couple mentioned to my "to read" list at Goodreads.

This post was edited by rosesstink on Tue, May 20, 14 at 21:11

Light Between the Oceans (recommended on a previous book list)
Defending Jacob (the ending is haunting)
Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris (she wrote Chocolat)
Lost and Found (woman rescues dog/dog rescues woman) is a read-in-one-sitting book - easy, feel-good, and a little mystery.
The Language of Flowers
Re-read Beach Music and the Pat Conroy Cookbook

...and the summer has just begun!

If you're looking for light and fun, Janet Evanovich's numbered series. DH and I love listening to her stuff if we're on a long driving trip.

And I always mention "The Thirteenth Tale" by Diane Setterfield as I so enjoyed it....

I haven't read it, but Jon Stewart highly recommended "The Reason I Jump" written by a boy with autism.

What a great list you're accumulating! I loved "The Goldfinch" and went back and picked up one of her earlier novels, "A Secret History". I liked that even more. "Goldfinch" is Dickensian and "Secret History" more like an Iris Murdoch novel. (I recommend her highly!) I just finished "Stoner," and it was good, though I like Willa Cather's "The Professor's House" better. Love Munro and O'Brien. Antonya Nelson has a new collection of short stories, and I love her work. In the summer I like long books, so I went back and re-read Herman Wouk's "Marjorie Morningstar." I couldn't put it down. So many books, so little time!

Thanks everyone, I was able to add a few new titles to my book list. Between the library and my B&N gift card I should be able to gather a stack of possibilities.

Last night I started The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and I'm enjoying it.

I forgot to pack my book club book (for the life of me I can't even remember the title without checking my email. Oye.) but I'll miss the meeting so it doesn't matter when I read it. I'm glad I asked for the extended check-out and won't have to return it to the library right away.

Keep the ideas coming. My summer plan is to sit around reading. Actually, that's the same as my spring plan, my fall plan, and my winter plan.

Heeheehee, I checked the online library catalog and they have Magical Journey in LARGE print. I guess they know the audience that might read a book with insights about aging might prefer large print.

This post was edited by hhireno on Wed, May 21, 14 at 11:13

I thought of another series that is fun to read when you don't want heavier topics. It is the mystery series featuring Flavia de Luce by Alan Bradley. I also love the Mary Russell novels by Laurie R. King.

Have added a number of books to my Goodreads list, thanks!

I would recommend many of the books already mentioned, so I'll just stick here to the ones I didn't notice on the list.

Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots, by Jessica Soffer.

Goodbye to All That, Writers on Loving and Leaving New York

Seabiscuit, by Laura Hillenbrand

Mother, Daughter, Me by Katie Hafner

The Art Forger by Shapiro

The Forgetting Tree, by Tatjana Soli

The End of Your Life Bookclub by Will Schwalbe

Color of Water by Jim Mcbride

and always, Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver

"My summer plan is to sit around reading. Actually, that's the same as my spring plan, my fall plan, and my winter plan. "

LOL, my kind of plan!

Good books, my favorite topic. I agree with lots of what's already been recommended. Adore the Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley about a talented self taught chemist/ sleuth who also happens to be a very bright 11-year old living with her rather eccentric aristocratic family in a crumbling mansion in post-WWII England. Although Flavia always solves a mystery, the books really shine at portraying, with great humor, a very distinctive personality. That the author is a middle aged American man is a wonder to me. If you want to get into the books I'd suggest starting with the first one, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and go from there in order.

Disclaimer: that's one of my own personal reading quirks about series books. I always start with the first one and read in order, because that allows me to appreciate the full range and development of plot and characterization the author weaves as the books are published.

The Goldfinch is our book club summer reading selection. Loved The Secret History too, what a creepy stunner that one was.

I just finished Delancey (A Man, A Woman, A Restaurant, A Marriage) by Molly Wizenberg and loved it. The author is a food blogger and this is her second memoir. It deals with her artistic husband's decision to open and run a restaurant. If you like it, her first book A Homemade Life is also excellent. About her upbringing, and food of course.

Just started Glitter and Glue, a memoir by Kelly Corrigan. I love her voice too, enjoyed her previous book The Middle Place and so far like this one as well.

Of course I have to plug the latest Michael Connelly books-The Gods of Guilt which is a Lincoln Lawyer book and Black Box the latest Harry Bosch. Both excellent. See comments about series reading above :).

If you like comfortable, humorous light reading you might enjoy the Miss Julia series by Ann B. Ross. The latest one is Miss Julia's Marvelous Makeover. The eponymous heroine is a genteel lady of A Certain Age in North Carolina, with her quirky and colorful family/friends. Each book features some type of adventure with a bit of a mystery (though that's a minor part of the plot really). There are over a dozen in the series by now and they are tons of fun to read-Miss Julia always manages to get herself into some type of utterly hilarious predicament. Again, probably best appreciated by starting with the first book and then reading the series.

Just finished Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler, which I liked very much too. Great evocation of personalities in a story about a group of friends in a small midwestern town. One of the friends is a famous rock star and the storyline and characterizations are exceedingly well done. The author, as is probably no coincidence, grew up in a small town in the midwest and one of his close friends became a famous rock star. Good read.

Sous Chef: 24 Hours on the Line iby Michael Gibney is exactly what it sounds like. If you have ever worked in food, or if you have ever wondered about life behind the restaurant kitchen door, this is your book. Loved it

Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Paul Clark Nuell and Bill Dedman was an oddly fascinating book. Odd because Ms. Clark never really DID anything in or with her life other than live in a manner that reflected the incredibe opulence enjoyed by the children of American 'robber barons' who amassed almost unimaginable fortunes. Reading about her life was like reading a fairy tale, except of course all true.

Not a new recommendation but The Dinner by Herman Koch was also a corker. Think unreliable narrator (and how!).

This is the Story of A Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett was also a delight. A series of essays by an excellent writer. I enjoyed every single one, which is unusual for a collection.

Someone Could Get Hurt: A Memoir of Twenty-First-Century Parenthood by Drew Magary. Hilarious! Warning: strong language, but the view from a millenial parent on the first years of being a father literally had me LOL-ing repeatedly.

if you're a dog lover, don't miss the Chet and Bernie series by Spencer Quinn. Absolutely delightful books about a rather hapless PI and his dog-narrated by the dog. I got that recommendation here and apologies for not recalling who suggested these, they are just great. I'm not even a dog lover and I can't wait for each installment.

A few that are either on my shelf or my library waiting list:

Little Failure, a Memoir by Gary Shteyngart
The Divorce Papers by Susan Rieger
Weekends with Daisy
You Should Have Known by Jean Korelitz
One Plus One by Jojo Moyes (author of Me Before You which was a marvelous novel)
Summer House with Swimming Pool by Herman Koch (same author as The Dinner)
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
Casebook by Mona Simpson

Yes, to Tina Fey's 'Bossypants'! Funny and worth the read.
And yes, definitely to the rollicking fun of Janet Evanovich's number series. I also read some of the Miss Julia series a long time ago. Funny how this thread brings back a lot of book memories.

Is anyone an Adriana Trigiani fan? I've read all of hers. Love the way she weaves her Italian heritage into the stories. 'The Shoemaker's Wife' is probably my favorite. Her grandmother sewed costumes for Enrico Caruso and she used her story in the novel.

'Unbroken' by Laura Hillenbrand is another good one. Soon to be a movie too I think.

just read 'you before me' by jojo moyes and 'the art of racing in the rain' by garth stein--- both worthwhile reads!

The Uncommon Reader. A brief but delightful little number: What if Queen Elizabeth encountered the palace bookmobile?

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. A.J. raises a foundling in his bookshop, as life and novels connect around them.

The President's Hat. When the Francois Mitterand leaves his hat behind, it travels from person to person, and their lives change.

Interesting, I liked A Secret History better than Goldfinch, too!

If you want to get sucked into some historical fiction in a series, you might try the wilderness series by Sara Donati. The six titles are: Into the Wilderness, Dawn on a Distant Shore, Lake in the Clouds, Fire Along the Sky, Queen of Swords and The Endless Forest. I was drawn to this because I’m from the Adirondack Mountains and supposedly have a Mohawk indian somewhere back in my gene pool on my grandmother’s side. I found the family and the locations depicted within each book of the series fascinating reading, and the characters even settled in the area around the same time my ancestors did. Once I’d read the first book, I was hooked, and then had to read each one in order. My order with Amazon was duplicated for some reason, so I have several duplicate copies of three of the books. If anyone’s interested, drop me a note and I’ll give them away if you’re willing to pay for shipping!

Hhireno, how funny - I just picked up that book The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry at the library this afternoon. Headed to the beach tomorrow with a stack of books as I'm almost finished with my current one. Glad to hear you are enjoying that one. I had never heard of it, but it was on display at the library and looked interesting.

Anyone going along on Harold Fry's pilgrimage must bring a box of tissues. Or two. Seriously, no one warned me.

I write YA and have come to prefer it for reading too. If you've had trouble with your attention span lately you might find that books written for young adults are surprisingly refreshing. They tend to have less filler-type description and more pure story. Here's a few I've enjoyed recently:

Like Fun2BHere, I have to suggest Laurie King's Mary Russell stories, particularly the first one, The Beekeeper's Apprentice.

Elizabeth Wein's Code Name Verity was spectacular.

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell was both fun ... and creepy. Definitely worth a read.

Out of Easy by Ruta Sepetys was quite good too.

Happy reading!

It is definitely true that people seem to love or hate The Goldfinch. My idea of an apocalyptal /satanic union would be Donna Tartt married to Jonathan Franzen. No elegance of expression or economy of words, just stuff enough of them between two covers and you've got a novel. About halfway through the wretched thing I was wondering why I had ever picked it up in the first place.

Recently I've enjoyed Kate Atkinson's Life After Life (fans should be aware that this is not her usual genre and it is a tad gimmicky) and am rereading the entire work of Jane Austen. Perhaps this is why I am so fed up with modern writers, they can't hold a candle to a woman who probably did not travel more than 100 miles from her home at any time in her life,

"Elizabeth Wein's Code Name Verity was spectacular."

Warning: this book is EXTREMELY intense. The writer is indeed very talented, but the plot revolves around WWII, Nazi torture, extreme self-sacrifice. I couldn't finish it, just too much to handle emotionally.

Ann

Going back to the classics, if you haven't read AJ Cronin's "Keys of the Kingdom" you have something to look forward to.

And Daphne du Maurier....she wrote such terrific stuff. Rebecca was just so good...a study in jealousy.

My favorite ghost story is Shirley Jackson's "Haunting of Hill House". She also wrote some funny stuff including "Life among the Savages" which was more in the vein of Please don't eat the Daisies.

And if you are into crime drama....the original detective mystery Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone...and Dashiell Hammett is fun...and I think I've read all of the Sherlock Holmes books...

runninginplace: True. Code Name Verity is not exactly a "beach read" but I hope one day you'll pick it back up and finish it. It's an extraordinary story.

I must be so shallow and trashy :). I am always waiting for new releases from Sandra Brown, Karen Robards, Nora Roberts, and Linda Howard! I want happy endings.

I have been reading a lot of Jodi Picoult, but her books are starting to get on my nerves - even if there is some type of resolution at the end, no one is ever truly happy. The dramas, the tragedies, the illnesses etc can be so depressing.

In all seriousness though, I am broadening my reading choices and trying to go deeper, more thought provoking in my reading choices. My goal next winter is to read from your lists. Don't have a lot of time to read in the summer.

Oh, goodie! Fresh meat!

Appreciate all the recommendations and am now constantly telling people they must read Me Before You, think I heard about it here.

Adding many titles to my list, thanks ladies.

I'm thinking back to books that really stuck with me...one that was so terribly heartbreaking because it was true...Victim: the Other Side of Murder by Gary Kinder.

Another very moving book was "In my hands: memories of a holocaust rescuer" by Opdyke.

Then there was Trevanian's Shibumi...some really tense scenes there...

Almost done reading The Good Daughters, which is an easy and good read. It's been a while since I've read a book where I actually want to find time during the day to read, to see what happens next (usually I read only at bedtime).

I now have a new list of books to read in addition to the 10 pages of samples on my Kindle. Thanks for starting this thread, hh. I read a lot in the summer and now I feel well prepared for the next several months!

I've read a lot lately and one that stuck with me was "Into the Darkest Corner" by Elizabeth Haynes. It was over 6 months since I read it and it may that it may be more in my mind now too since I just returned from London and saw many of the places mentioned in the book too, but on the other hand I don't normally remember all those out of other books either.

I started reading Night Film by Marisha Pessl at the lake this weekend. It's really good so far.

And then on my Kindle I'm switching back and forth between 2666 by Roberto Bolano and Will Not Attend: Lively Stories of Detachment and Isolation by Adam Resnick. 2666 is super long (and disturbing) so I have to take breaks and Will Not Attend is pretty funny so far. Some of the stories are better than others. It's an easy read. I started to say "nice" but Adam Resnick is not really very nice.

Leslie

I'm currently reading The Things We Save by Joanne Zienty. I read about it recently in our local paper. For this book, her first, she was the winner of the first "Soon To Be Famous Ilinois Author Project". If you are familiar at all with the Chicago area or grew up here, you will enjoy all the references to different parts of the city, especially the south side. She is a very descriptive storyteller.

I am noting all the suggestions above: lately I needed a fast read and I got the last 2 books by Lisa Scottoline, they did the trick.

Busy writing reports, so haven't read thru the entire list. I love when we do a reading list. I find it so hard to come up with good titles anymore.

I love anything by Ann Patchett, but really liked State of Wonder and Run (but like most, Bel Canto was my absolute fave).

I just read "This is Where I am" by Karen Campbell and loved it. I'm going to be looking for other books by her - if I ever get my real work done :)

daisy, I just added "This is Where I Am" based on your love of Ann Patchett, one of my favorite authors as well. Have you read Truth and Beauty? It's a memoir about her friendship with Lucy Grealy, another writer. Really loved it.

Thanks best years. After reading your post, I stopped at the library, but they didn't have it Truth and Beauty. I'll have to put a hold on it. Must be good if all copies are out.

I loved Me before you, I read it a year ago and I still think about it.

I read From the Kitchen of Half Truths, someone had recommended the kitchen house to me and all I could remember was kitchen and I borrowed the wrong book. Anyhow I really enjoyed it, it was a quirky story and set in England, but I really liked it.

My girlfriends and I started a trashy book club, so my current reading choice, I am too embarrassed to share. Lol.

I also read The Fault in our Stars, the movie is being released this weekend. This was meant to be for young adult readers, but I must admit I really loved it.

Now after reading this thread, I must go update my list on goodreads, I need to read a few substantial books in between my selections from the book club, hehe, to balance my brain a bit.

Happy reading everyone!

I think I must be HH's polar opposite LOL. I like to read, but I am one who also likes to be doing something so the sitting around reading does not appeal to me. I do know how to relax, don't mean it to sound like I don't, but I usually have something going on. Probably why I don't watch much tv. If I try to read in bed, I fall asleep! LOL

I did get the Secret History last week. I started out with a bang, read a few chapters, but have not gotten back to it. I think it will be a good read tho! I have read Defending Jacob and really liked it. Read Gone Girl, but couldn't really get into it, and yes, I finished it. Sometimes all the hype about a book (or a movie, etc.) ruins it for me and I just don't like it as well as I expect to.

Polly929, this weeks NYer mag has an article about the author of the fault is in our stars, in case you had an interest.

I just had to add (and it's probably been mentioned already) that I just finished "The Invention of Wings" by Sue Monk Kidd (she also wrote "The Secret Life of Bees"- one of my favs of all time). What a great read. I just loved it - a perfect summer read. Her use of language and imagery is stunning, as is her character development. Wonderful!

I have been reading "The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon"-- Highly entertaining, if you like to read about the crazy lives of rock stars. It's written by his ex-wife.

CNN: Amazon 100 books to read in a lifetime, Feb 6, 2014

Here is a link that might be useful: Amazon 100 books to read in a lifetime

Hhireno, have you finished The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry? What did you think? I just finished it a few days ago. What a moving book. I could see how some people might not like it as it wasn't engrossing (to me anyway) but I thought it was a really touching story with unique and interesting characters.

I'm ready for an engrossing book and have several books awaiting me but can't decide which to start! I want one that is going to draw me in quickly. I have a lot of free time this weekend which is unusual so I'm hoping to get a lot of reading in!

Fourkids,
I did finish and I enjoyed the book. I agree, it wasn't totally engrossing but it was interesting and different than the usual.

I went to the library today and came back with a stack of 10 books. Like you, I'm hoping one will grab my attention and make me regret having to put it down to do other things. Thanks to the many suggestions here I had a great list.

I've heard there is a book coming out called "Breaking Luck". It is about a sixty year old woman that use to be a successful call girl in a big city. She moves to a small town and finds herself and forgives herself. And, through redemption and hard work she finds true success and true love. I can't wait to read it.

Here's Time mags top 100 novels ever, fwiw...

Here is a link that might be useful: Top 100 novels