What would you recommend...
 

I once asked, "What are you reading?" I realized later, what I really wanted to know is, of the books you have read, what books would you recommend and why????

I'm looking for the books that held you so tight you couldn't put them down. Books that brought laughter and joy as well as tears and sorrow. Books that took you away.

I would recommend....

24 Hours by Greg Iles A suspense and a page turner. I couldn't put it down.

Watchers by Dean Koontz Another one I couldn't put down with an irresistible dog... Who can't love that? I people have said it's one of his best books.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova A compelling book about a 50 year old woman with a brilliant mind who finds she has Alzheimer's disease. It's a first account fiction that will grab you and bring you into the story and into her life.

I can't wait to see what you recommend.

Well, I'll submit several books that I would feel fit those adjectives. I enjoy first and foremost excellent spy novels. I recently finished Alan Furst's "Mission to Paris" (he centers on pre-WWII settings.) Anything in his series is wonderful.

Oleg Steinhauer's "Tourist" series is complex, surprising and satisfying modern espionage - but apparently not the latest offering according to many readers. Go to Amazon and search for his books in order of publication.

Philip Kerr's police/spy books about wartime and post war German police detective, Bernie Gunther, are excellent. I just finished "Prague Fatale." Read his in order.

One of the most enthralling, 'can't put down' series I and my wife ever read was the Jan Karon "Mitford Series." Set in a mythical North Carolina town, they're about life there and centered upon a sixty year old bachelor Episcopal rector set in his ways. A sophisticated writer named Cynthia becomes his neighbor. It's gentle, delightful and a classic example of an irresistible force and an immovable object at times. There are several other major characters, including a huge stray dog who adopts the priest and has the untaught habit of sitting down attentively every time the rector quotes Scripture. A young boy from the 'wrong side' of town is brought under the priest's wing and his story of growth is magnificent.

It's loaded with funny characters, beautiful and non-cloying episodes of religion in practice and above all, love. Did I mention I kind of liked this series? Please take a look at Amazon for these books really have to be read in order. Then pick a few up and cancel all upcoming appointments.

I am into two authors of historical figures, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jean Edward Smith.

DKG wrote "Teams of Rivals, The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln", and won a Pulitzer prize. It's the book, the movie "Lincoln", was based on. "No Ordinary Time", FDR's days during the WWII and "Wait Till Next Year", the story of the Brooklyn Dodgers finally winning the World Series, and the joy it produced in the borough of Brooklyn. Doris just wrote, "The Bully Pulpit". A story of Teddy Roosevelt and his close relationship, with William Howard Taft". I lent it to someone, and can't wait to start reading it, as she really knows how to write and does extensive research in all her projects, (750 pages).

JES - Wrote the definitive biography of FDR from birth to death. A fascinating account of one of our greatest Presidents. It is fascinating, because it is meticulously researched, and tells the stories, of all the people who helped him. If one doesn't know, or needs to be illuminated by this fascinating man, this is a must read.

He also wrote a book on "Grant". Ulysses S. Grant became our leading general, in The Civil War and saved the union. He was a good President but his administration was rocked by scandals. It is made clear that he personally wasn't connected to any wrongdoing. A brilliant account of his war strategies and his life. The book that Grant wrote, is still studied at West Point, in terms of military strategies.

If one is into history, these two authors are a must read, as they don't make history boring. They really make their subjects come to life!!!!

Defending Jacob is fiction that will not let you put it down. Psychological mystery that will enthrall you and destroy you at the end.

.I am currently reading Swimming with Maya which is a mother's story of losing a child. Very well written and gut wrenching.

If you want a light read I absolutely loved The 100 year old man that climbed out the window and disappeared. A wonderful story of aging and still needing to enjoy life with lots of laugh out loud moments.

I have read all of Nicholas Sparks books and enjoyed them.

I have all her books and all that were written about her. I only wish there were more of them.

Thanks for the ideas!
 

I always get a couple of authors I haven't tried when someone posts here. My latest favorites are Patricia Gaffney's "Circle of Three," about 3 generations of women. I think she used to write historical fiction - I would call this "Circle of Three" women's fiction.

Also anything by Chris Bajalian (not sure of that spelling, but one was "Light In The Ruins." My other new (to me) favorite author is JoJo Moyes - books seem to set in different eras and flip back and forth in an intertwined story, if that makes sense. I've read 5 and loved them all (British author).

Found a great app (I think it's also a website if you don't have a tablet) called Good Reads, free if you search for it. You can rate books you've read, and it immediately suggests others in that same genre.

If you are a recent Florida transplant, I would suggest you read "A Land Remembered" by Patrick Smith. You will never see Florida in the same way again.

I am a mystery book reader and I really like Ruth Rendell's mysteries. She also writes under the name Barbara Vine, these are novels with a heavy psycho twist. I don't care for outright brutality in a book, but I like a spine tingling twist.

My mother and I went to Cross Creek to a special event at the home of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings yesterday. My mother has read all of her books and I am rereading Cross Creek. Rawlings was a gifted writer and the book brings insight into this area where we are now living and the life of the Crackers. It was also interesting to realize that she entertained such personages as Hemingway, Robert Frost, Gregory Peck (who starred in The Yearling), Margaret Mitchell etc. We had a delightful lunch at The Yearling restaurant nearby.

I highly recommend Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. It's two stories in one. The one part is about the creation and building of the Chicago World's Fair and the other part is about America's first serial killer H. H. Holmes who did a lot of his dirty deeds during the Chicago World's Fair. It's a really interesting story and has a lot of cool history that we use almost everyday. Check it out, you'll really enjoy it.

For something a little different, I enjoyed "Room" by Emma Donoghue.

I am also a Lisa Genova fan. She is a neuroscientist as well as an author. As well as "Still Alice", she wrote "Left Neglected", another compelling book.

The Goldfinch

My daughter and I are both currently reading The Goldfinch as a recommendation from a friend. Slow to start, but before you know
it you are enthralled - can't believe how descriptive the writing is and
I love that there are many pages cause I don't want it to end.

Invention of Wings
 

I am presently reading Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd (author of Secret Life of Bees). If you enjoyed The Help, I believe you would also like this book. I would also recommend A Dog's Purpose - regarding reincarnation of a dog. It's a short, sweet and sometimes sad read but thoroughly enjoyable.

Thanks for listing this Good Reads site - great information for book lovers.

Goodreads is a great site:)


Some books I have really enjoyed in the past year:

Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years
by Sarah Delany, A. Elizabeth Delany, Amy Hill Hearth

Divergent (Divergent #1)
by Veronica Roth

Still Alice
by Lisa Genova

Safe Haven
by Nicholas Sparks

Suspect
by Robert Crais

The Storyteller
by Jodi Picoult

The Dream: A Memoir
by Harry Bernstein

Wish You Well
by David Baldacci

Same Kind of Different as Me
by Ron Hall, Denver Moore

The Kitchen House
by Kathleen Grissom

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt
by Beth Hoffman

The Good Dream
by Donna VanLiere

Bound by Guilt (Thicker Than Blood #2)
by C.J. Darlington

Touching Evil (Bishop/Special Crimes Unit #4)
by Kay Hooper

These Things Hidden
by Heather Gudenkauf

A Dog's Purpose (A Dog's Purpose #1)
by W. Bruce Cameron

Speak No Evil (Evil #1)
by Allison Brennan

Never Go Back (Jack Reacher #18)
by Lee Child

Anybody's Daughter (Angela Evans #2)
by Pamela Samuels Young

The Glass Castle
by Jeannette Walls

The Lock Artist
by Steve Hamilton

Sarah's Key
by Tatiana de Rosnay