Suggestions for an excellent 'read'?

[Bullwinkle925]

I finished "Middlesex" a few days ago and would like to find something comparable to it. It was such an enjoyable book, I'm finding that the next couple of books I've picked up are sorely lacking in the ability to hold my attention. I just hate it when I search for that ultimate great tome and come up empty.
Thanks in advance for your help.

[bpcmxr]

1. Just finished 'Shantaram'

Loved it:

http://www.amazon.com/Shantaram-Novel-Gregory-David-Roberts/dp/0312330537/sr=8-1/qid=1165683091/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-1377110-0758562?ie=UTF8&s=books

[Bullwinkle925]

14. I'm 1/10th of the way through 'Shantaram' now.

For the first time in my life, it has me wanting to visit Bombay. I am thoroughly enjoying this writer and his descriptive prose. Thank you so much for your suggestion!!

[Dulcinea]

20. Just finished it.

I loved "Shantaram." Fascinating story, well written.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. Excellent poetry portal.... found it by remembering a sig from

a poster noting a work called Door into the dark..... search the H's for Heaney S. direct link to his works here: http://poetry.emory.edu/epoet-itemgroup-contents.xml?search=tamino-faber-fa1101CPUE.d11e3321

Main search page here: http://poetry.emory.edu/epoet-selection-author.xml

[Zensea]

3. Against the Day

if you can handle Thomas Pynchon that is.
There is no question that he is one of the greatest living novelists, although he's not everyone's cup of tea.
This new novel has a lot of very pointed commentary about current conditions even though it is set in 1900.
For example

These words right here <...> is what it all comes down to, you won't hear it in school <...> but if you learn nothing else, learn this by heart, what it says here -- 'Labor produces all wealth. Wealth belongs to the producer thereof.' Straight talk. No double-talking like the plutes do, 'cause with them what you always have to be listening for is the opposite of what they say. 'Freedom,' then's the time to watch your back in particular -- start telling you how free you are, somethin's up, next thing you know the gates have slammed shut and there's the Captain givin you them looks. 'Reform'? More new snouts at the trough. 'Compassion' means the population of starving, homeless, and dead is about to take another jump. So forth. Why, you could write a whole foreign phrase book just on what Republicans have to say

[alarimer]

8. I like Mason and Dixon a lot more than Gravity's Rainbow

I will have to check out the new one.

[Richardo]

4. I'm a broken record, but: "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time"

Best book I've read in years.

Haddon's latest 'A Spot of Bother' is also good, but is a more traditional novel.

OR

Anything by Michael Connelly.

[pitohui]

10. "extremely loud and incredibly close" by foer

similar idea to "curious incident" but a bittersweet 9-11 theme

[jane_pippin]

5. The Children's Hospital by Chris Adrian is the best book I've read

this year. It's a retelling of the biblical flood, set in modern times. It's narrated by a series of angels, so it can be a little confusing but because he's writing about the apocolypse the confusing aspects seem intentional. When the flood happens, the Children's Hospital where the heroine works becomes transformed into a new ark. It takes on magical qualities and the people in the hospital need to figure out what exactly it is they need to do in what is now the new world. The author is a pediatrician and is also in Harvard Divinity School, and he weaves the two together so beautifully. It's an amazing book.

I'd also recommed:

The Uses of Enchantment by Heidi Julavitis (sp?)
A woman returns to her Boston area home town after the death of her mother and tries to unravel the circumstances surrounding her teenage kidnapping that may or may not have actually happened.

Seven Types of Ambiguity by Elliot Perlman
Lives of people from many different backgrounds intertwine when a man kidnaps a child--its a mystery but a very non-traditional one. It's not violent, but it is graphic in some parts. It's a great literary thriller.

Everything is Illuminated by Johnathan Safran Foer
An American travels to Europe to find out about his family who were victims of the Haulocaust. With the help of a translator who barely speaks english, he learns about the modern history of his family as well as the deeper, mystical history of the town they came from. It's a wonderful book and I could never describe it in a way that does it justice.

Here They Come by Yannick Murphy
A girl living in a tenament in 1970's New York City narrates a year (or so) in her life. The details are vivd, sometimes funny, sometimes very depressing, but a good little book that winds up being a much richer story than you might think when you first start reading it.

[Bullwinkle925]

15. Thank you .....

I am jotting these down for future reference. They all sound wonderful.

[PA Democrat]

6. I really liked "Middlesex" as well.

I am currently reading Moloka'i by Alan Brennert. It is set in Hawaii in the late 1880's and is the story of a 7 year old Hawaiian girl who is diagnosed with leprosy and is taken from her family and sent to live in a leper colony on the island of Moloka'i. There is a lot of interesting tension between the Catholic missionaries who work in the colony and the inhabitants many of whom are resisting the missionaries efforts to "save their souls."

I love fiction that teaches me something about a time period or culture, and I think that is why I am enjoying this book.

[gratefultobelib]

7. The Known World and A Fine Balance--both books I've read in the

past year and they were just excellent.

[Bullwinkle925]

24. We read "The Known World" for our bookclub . . .

it was thought-provoking, to say the least. I wasn't aware that there were black slaveholders as well. What a confusing world we live in, eh?

[Homer Wells]

9. A Prayer for Owen Meany

by John Irving.

Am reading it now, and stand in marvel at the rendition of this story.

[Flying Dream Blues]

31. Oh, I got a shiver remembering how much I loved that book!

Maybe it's time to read it again...

[Clintonista2]

11. My favorite book of all time:

The Egyptian. It is simply amazing. I was literally crying by the time I finished it, because I knew I would never again have the wonderfull experience of reading it for the first time.

[LisaM]

12. LOL, try MiddleMARCH

a million times better than Middlesex (which I didn't particularly like) if you ask me.

I haven't read anything very compelling lately. I bought a new biography of Zelda Fitzgerald and my main impression is that her previous biographer (Nancy Milford) should sue for plagiarism.

You might like "Arthur and George". The people in my book club who did like "Middlesex" also liked that. It's not totally terrible, just not much to my taste, but it's better written than many books.

[RobertGregoryBrowne]

13. Stigma

by Philip Hawley, Jr.

A really terrific new thriller.

[JennyH]

16. Know where you're coming from

Loved Middlesex, hated to finish it. One of the best things about the book (IMO) is the chance to get a glimpse of Detroit - a city I'd inever thought to be curious about - early in the industrial age. The city, good and bad, great and small, is a very important part of this book.

If you haven't already read Time and Again (Jack Finney), it could be a good choice. There's a lot of late 19th century NYC atmosphere - plus a great plot. Also, time travel done in a way that's not too hokey and doesn't override the other elements.

Another book I like a lot is The Church of Dead Girls (Stephen Dobyns). This time the setting is a delightful little town with a black heart, tainted by the, seemingly, gentle people who live there.

An oldie-but-goodie I enjoyed all the way through and didn't want to end . . . James Michener's Hawaii.

[WCGreen]

17. Everything is Illuminated or Extremely Loud & Increadably Close

Both by Jonathan Safran Foer


I also enjoyed Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem

[yellowdogintexas]

18. I just read 2 by Laura Joh Rowland...The Concubine's Tattoo and

The Samurai's wife. Both good reads. Detective/mystery novels set in 17th century Japan. Shogun, Emporer, Samurais, the works. Turns out there are about a dozen of them and I jumped in at about the 4th book, unknowingly. Normally I will never read a series out of order. But these were fun.

Now I am reading "The TAlisman" by Stephen King and Peter Straub, found it in a box of books I brought back from my mom's when we cleaned out her house. She loved King and this is my first venture into reading his stuff. So far, so good.

I also have read several of Alexander McCall Smith's African stories, beginning with "The #1 Ladies Detective Agency". These are quite enjoyable.

Waiting for Harry Potter 7 to come out though.

[DixieBlue]

19. The Talisman is so good!

It's actually one of my favorite's of King's.

You should really read "Eyes of the Dragon" if you like "The Talisman".

[alfredo]

21. "The White Castle" by Orhan Pamuk.

My wife read it in one sitting.

She will probably write a review of this book and I will post it.

He has become my new favorite writer.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1187233,00.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orhan_Pamuk

[Bullwinkle925]

23. I have "Snow" sitting on my bookshelf . . .

I've been in such a *funk* lately that I haven't even been reading - which is not like me.


Has your wife written her review yet? Please post when it is available.
Thanks.

[alfredo]

26. She may not do the review. She's already started on his "Black Book."

Let's just say, he is one of the finest story tellers since Marquez.

I was never good at reviewing movies or books. I usually "get" them but not able to write about them.

Some thoughts.

Much of what I enjoyed about this book was the interaction between the narrator and the master. I loved how their roles of slave/master changed as the fortunes of the characters changed. Are there indeed two people, or is there just one. Does the Sultan exist or is he just a device?


Of course, everything could be as they appear.

Still I would pay attention to the mirrors.

[LisaM]

29. If you want my opinion, leave it on the bookshelf

I didn't particularly like it. It has the flaw that most current fiction, imho, has - flat, two-dimensional characters.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

22. Life of Pi

I just finished it and still am in kind of a daze. Brilliant! I will wait a bit and then read it again. It moved immediately to my Top Ten of All Time List

[Bullwinkle925]

25. Yes, we read that a couple of years ago for our bookclub . . .

it is one I will need to *re-visit*.

[dannofoot]

27. "The Inheritance of Loss"

by Kiran Desai. Delicious, absolutely toothsome writing.

As soon as I'm finished with it (120 pages left) I'm going to immediately begin her first, "Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard."

[libodem]

28. The Secret Life of Bees

can't remember the author right now but I enjoyed the book very much. It's a pretty quick read. A longer one that I loved was Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet. I read it a couple of years ago.

[Sequoia]

30. I was just going to post a book so watch.