| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| susank2 |
Posted - October 20 2007 : 5:38:33 PM
I think for me without a doubt the #1 best book I've ever read has to be Lonesome Dove. I first read it over 20 years ago and still re-read it every few years. The book has everything...adventure, romance, sadness, humor...and Larry McMurtry isn't afraid to shockingly kill off main characters.
My runner's up would be:
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
I think the last book that I've read that I couldn't put down was A Thousand Splended Suns by Khaled Hosseini.
So what about you guys??? |
| 21 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Stephanie |
Posted - October 25 2007 : 11:46:15 AM
"One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I've read it at least a dozen times and get something different every time. |
| RedFraggle |
Posted - October 25 2007 : 08:17:17 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Wilderness Woman
. . . If you like a well-written, historical romance that is full of exciting events and interesting characters, that will have you on the edge of your seat... this is the novel for you. Oh and, it is a sequel to the movie version of Last of the Mohicans. You will meet an older Hawkeye and an even older Ching!
Oh, it's that book! I added it to my "to be read" list a while back (with only about a zillion other novels!), but I lost my list when I moved earlier this year.  I didn't recognize the title, but now that I know it's the sequel to LOTM, I think I'll check it out.
Thanks for the reminder.  |
| Light of the Moon |
Posted - October 25 2007 : 02:19:38 AM
I would say the best book I ever read was the Bible. |
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - October 24 2007 : 10:49:35 AM
Talking about emotionally draining books, I really enjoyed the series by the late English veterinarian James Herriot. His books are wonderful. One chapter you laugh uproariously and the next, you cry. They are incredible.
www.jamesherriot.org |
| halfbreed |
Posted - October 23 2007 : 11:41:26 PM
funny thing is, i got turned on to marley and me, by none other then howard stern, was listening to the show like i do every day, when howard told a story of how he was on a plane to visit one of his kids in collage and was reading the book, when at the end he started to get emotional, the attendent came over and asked if he was o.k. went and got the book a few days later, and by the end of the weekend was done with it, and drained from reading it.
matt |
| RedFraggle |
Posted - October 22 2007 : 3:29:46 PM
My favorite book of all time is Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. After that, Cooper's Last of the Mohicans is pretty close (I know,  ), along with (another Austen work!) Northanger Abbey. I also enjoy Toni Morrison's Beloved and John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, which ends with one of the most haunting scenes I've ever read. Very powerful! |
| susank2 |
Posted - October 22 2007 : 2:05:32 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Wilderness Woman
quote:
Originally posted by susank2
quote:
Originally posted by Wilderness Woman
"Into The Wilderness" by Sara Donati
When I read this the first time, I thought: "Wow. If I had the ability to write a novel, this would be the one I would want to write."
Just about time for another re-read!
WW, I just got his book based on your recommendation. I'm gonna start it tomorrow. Can't wait!
Well, I do hope you like it. It is difficult to recommend books because people's tastes in reading material are so different. But, believe me, this is not a Harlequin romance. If you like a well-written, historical romance that is full of exciting events and interesting characters, that will have you on the edge of your seat... this is the novel for you. Oh and, it is a sequel to the movie version of Last of the Mohicans. You will meet an older Hawkeye and an even older Ching!
Enjoy! And do let me know how you like it.
I started it this morning and was reading the 1st chapter and thought...hmmm this seems familiar... and got to the part about building the schoolhouse and said to myself "he's gonna build the schoolhouse for her" and when he said he would I knew I had read this before. Then going to the grocery store today I was thinking that I actually think I own this book and guess what?? I just found it on my bookshelf!! I don't think that I've read the whole thing before and now that I've seen LTOM it'll have a whole new meaning to me. I'm so glad you mentioned this book. |
| winglo |
Posted - October 22 2007 : 1:30:53 PM
Thanks, there are lots of good reading ideas here. I don't know what book is the best I've read. I think it changes with my circumstances. I really liked A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis when I was grieving. I also like A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawkings. It is so mind-expanding and is such a challenge to understand.
Sorry, neither is very light reading material. |
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - October 22 2007 : 12:36:19 PM
GG, your post about "Marley and Me" prompted me to remember the books of Farley Mowat. I have read several of his, and they are wonderful! One of the funniest was called "The Dog Who Wouldn't Be." It is about the author's boyhood and his family, which included a number of interesting critters. This book focuses on a wonderful, zany dog who refused to be.... a dog! Good stuff! |
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - October 22 2007 : 12:27:52 PM
quote:
Originally posted by susank2
quote:
Originally posted by Wilderness Woman
"Into The Wilderness" by Sara Donati
When I read this the first time, I thought: "Wow. If I had the ability to write a novel, this would be the one I would want to write."
Just about time for another re-read!
WW, I just got his book based on your recommendation. I'm gonna start it tomorrow. Can't wait!
Well, I do hope you like it. It is difficult to recommend books because people's tastes in reading material are so different. But, believe me, this is not a Harlequin romance. If you like a well-written, historical romance that is full of exciting events and interesting characters, that will have you on the edge of your seat... this is the novel for you. Oh and, it is a sequel to the movie version of Last of the Mohicans. You will meet an older Hawkeye and an even older Ching!
Enjoy! And do let me know how you like it. |
| Gadget Girl |
Posted - October 22 2007 : 11:20:53 AM
quote:
Originally posted by halfbreed
marley and me is the best book ive read in a long time, ive got 2 dogs, or should i say 2 dogs have me.....
h-b
I actually had to save the last chapter for a time when I could be alone. Such candid emotion that I could SO relate to having just lost my dog of almost 15 years! Had to take a few breaks so I could wipe my eyes to see the pages.
Grogan is a wonderful story teller. I visited his website and he has provided space for and invited folks to share their dog pictures and stories. There are 1000's and 1000's of entries from all over the world!
GG 
|
| halfbreed |
Posted - October 21 2007 : 10:41:13 PM
marley and me is the best book ive read in a long time, ive got 2 dogs, or should i say 2 dogs have me.....
h-b |
| susank2 |
Posted - October 21 2007 : 9:06:12 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Wilderness Woman
"Into The Wilderness" by Sara Donati
When I read this the first time, I thought: "Wow. If I had the ability to write a novel, this would be the one I would want to write."
Just about time for another re-read!
WW, I just got his book based on your recommendation. I'm gonna start it tomorrow. Can't wait! |
| Gadget Girl |
Posted - October 21 2007 : 3:10:38 PM
Black Beauty was a book I read over and over as a girl, and likely one of the few I read at all. It was one I got through the Weekly Reader Book Club! So I wasn't much of a reader until I became an adult.
Some of the "couldn't put down" books I recall -
The Notebook - by sappy Nick Sparks
Beach Music - Pat Conroy
Crucible of War - Fred Anderson (so full of info)
Outlander - Diana Gabaldon
and most recently - LOVED THIS BOOK - Marley and Me - John Grogan. If you love dogs - this is a must read and about to be made into a movie. Hope Owen Wilson can get his head healthy as he is slated to play Grogan in it! |
| Bookworm |
Posted - October 21 2007 : 2:43:51 PM
"Uncivil Seasons" by Michael Malone. It's a mystery novel set in the fictional town of Hillston, NC, and it features two wise, engaging, very human police officers, Lt. Justin Savile, a wayward member of the Southern aristocracy, and Deputy Cuddy Mangum, a wisecracking good ol' boy with hidden depths. It has everything you could want in a mystery novel: a terrific sense of place, a plot that makes perfect sense in the end but isn't obvious until then, beautifully drawn secondary characters, tons of humor, and a sympathetic understanding of human nature. AND a sequel -- "Time's Witness," a longer novel in which Justin and Cuddy have changed places. |
| caitlin |
Posted - October 21 2007 : 1:32:12 PM
I always enjoyed "Watership Down" by Richard Adams.
and The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. |
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - October 21 2007 : 11:22:35 AM
quote:
Originally posted by richfed
"Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine" ...  no, just kidding, though that title does stick in my head from my grade school years.
Ohmigawd!! You have just brought back a childhood memory that I had temporarily forgotten!! Rich! I read that one, too. My younger brother belonged to a children's book club, to encourage him to practice his slow reading skills, and I ended up reading every book that came. That one was one of them! Another one was "Follow My Leader" about a blind boy and his guide dog. (Interesting that I love that one and now work with blind people.)
Sorry! And now back to your regularly-scheduled topic......
 |
| richfed |
Posted - October 21 2007 : 08:42:35 AM
"Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine" ... no, just kidding, though that title does stick in my head from my grade school years.
Does "The Bible" count????
Very difficult to answer, but off the top of my head - and spoken as a Little Bighorn buff - "Son of the Morning Star," by Evan S. Connell. |
| Obediah |
Posted - October 20 2007 : 11:43:20 PM
My favorite: "On Stranger Tides" by Tim Powers. Pirates and voodoo, woohoo! |
| Irishgirl |
Posted - October 20 2007 : 7:48:30 PM
Okay, me next. Have to "fess up", never been a big reader in my "adult life" until my mother in law forced the first Harry Potter book upon me, at which I cringed saying "I'll never read it" but, obviously I just started reading and couldn't put it down. Thereafter, every Summer, I would pre-order the newest HP book and eagerly await it. I have read them all and they are the best books ever. Brought this "non-reader" back to reading. That woman JK Rowling is a genius IMHO  For me, there could be no other books ever as good |
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - October 20 2007 : 5:52:49 PM
"Into The Wilderness" by Sara Donati
When I read this the first time, I thought: "Wow. If I had the ability to write a novel, this would be the one I would want to write."
Just about time for another re-read! |
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