Friday, September 14, 2007

BOOKS

I would love it if people would share book recommendations.
I want to hear about books that you thought were really amazing when you read them.
For example, it has been years since I read the Poisonwood Bible, but I still remember
the book very well. I felt that reading it changed my perception of the world in some
way.
What books stick out in your memory?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

great idea Marni.

I agree, Poisonwood Bible was an all time favorite of mine.

How about The Kite Runner. An amazing book.
ma

Bob said...

I wish I was a reader ;-( I always have to wait till they make a movie or tv show of the story.

abscott823 said...

i read eat, pray, love not too long ago and thought it was a book to think about later

Kite Runner was written very well, but one of the saddest books I ever read. I don't even want to read his new one. And yes, there is a movie coming out this fall of the Kite Runner

For non-fiction try the Tipping Point, or a new one called MicroTrends

Anonymous said...

I agree, the Kite Runner was really sad.

Marni

cryptosaurus said...

Well, not highbrow, but heartfelt:
A Canticle for Liebowitz Walter Miller, which struck me as a remarkably powerful statement of the fact that we, human beings, are both our own worst enemy and our only hope for salvation from ourselves.
The Stand Stephen King. Ditto theme as above. I will never take an advanced academic course in literature, because I would inevitably betray my belief that if I myself ever accidentally write a character who is wholly formed, complex, engaging and entirely believable regardless of the narrative situation, it won't be because I've read Tolstoy, Mann, Joyce, or Pynchon.
The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea Yukio Mishima. Read first when I was twelve. There were things I didn't understand, and what I did disturbed me immensely. Would I recommend it? Probably not, but I've never forgotten it.
The Worst Journey in the World Apsley Cherry-Garrard. A remarkable document if you've ever wondered whether such a mythical creature as the Victorian Englishman really existed. Also excellent summer reading, as it's mostly about being incredibly cold.

velo photo finish said...

Joanne says...
Desert Solitaire - by Ed Abbey
The Bean Trees, Animal Dreams - by Barbara Kingsolver
Cowboys are my Weakness by Pam Huston
more recently...
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - by Michael Chabon

I'm more of a non-fiction guy...
The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester - the story of the making of the OED
Anything by Bill Bryson (travel? essays), or Witold Rybchinski (architecture/design essays)

ALL of these are gathering dust on our bookshelves if you got inspired to read any of them