I searched online, and found an online book club's list of recommended reading (classics not included). Unfortunately, I had read, started to read but didn't like, or just plain had no interest in almost all of the books (see below).
So tell me...are any of the books that are still white worth the read? Are any of my purple (started but couldn't get into) books THAT GOOD that you think I should give them a second shot? Have another suggestion that isn't on the list but you think I might like?
Blue-Read
Purple-Started, but didn't like enough to finish
Red- No interest
Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Gilded Chamber by Rebecca Kohn
Wicked by Gregory Macquire
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Gods and Kings by Lynn Austin
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Skinny Dip by Carl Hiiasen
The Dive From Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson Culler
Better Homes & Husbands by Valerie Ann Leff
Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Gods In Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson
The Whole World Over by Julia Glass
Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Lucky by Alice Sebold
Almost Moon by Alice Sebold
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner
The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
A Girl Becomes a Comma Like That by Lisa Glatt
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
PS I Love You by Cecelia Ahern
Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern
Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Middlemarch by George Eliot
No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
My Life in France by Julia Child
Marley & Me by John Grogan
A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve
Three Junes by Julia Glass
What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage
Good Grief by Lolly Winston
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger
Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
Beach Music by Pat Conroy
Songs in Ordinary Time by Mary McGarry Morris
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe
Diary by Chuck Palahniuk
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
The Wonder Spot by Melissa Bank
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer
Outlander Series by Diane Gabaldon
Jessica Darling Series by Megan McCafferty
Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
Jesusland by Julia Scheeres
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philipa Gregory
I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Shopholic Series by Sophie Kinsella
Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
Any book by Jodi Picoult (well, all except her most recent, which I own but don't want to read yet).
Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas is SO good!! You should TOTALLY read it!! I read the whole thing in about 4 or 5 hours! :)
ReplyDeleteLove some of the books on the list and will have to start some of them. I recently read "The Choice" by Nicholas Sparks...it was pretty good...
ReplyDeleteSo does white mean you haven't read? Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas-AWESOME!!! I sat up in bed because of the surprise not to mention I was crying...loved it!!!
ReplyDeleteI read Water for Elephants and really liked it. I think I may start the Harry Potter series soon. All my friends loved it.
ReplyDeleteI recently read Time Traveler's Wife and Lovely Bones and I LOVED them. I say give them a second try. Time Traveler's Wife was a tad on the confusing side, you had to really be paying attention because it jumps around in time. I loved it anyway. I like the movie as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your suggestions--I ordered Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas from Paperback Swap...not my usual genre, but I'm willing to give it a shot!
ReplyDeleteAlso, Anonymous--I've already read both The Lovely Bones and Time Traveler's Wife...maybe the color coding was more confusing than I thought!
Honestly I wasn't too inpressed with secret life of the bees...maybe because I was expecting something else? I heard so much about the book but then was kind of disapointed and ended up putting it down several times. I have no idea if the harry potter series is on your list but I noticed a commentor mentioned it. I really recommend it if you haven't. I waited to read them after the series was done because it just wasn't the kind of material that particularly interests me but wow, they are incredibly well written! I flew through the whole series and really enjoyed them!
ReplyDeletehah, I just saw fast food nation on your list, I didn't enjoy that at all. It was forced freshman seminar reading back in college and while that might have had some negative impact on my opinion, overall I just didn't get in to it.
ReplyDeleteWell, as I've made clear before, I worship the ground Cormac McCarthy walks on, and while I don't think The Road is his best, plenty of people do, so I'd suggest giving it another try. If nothing else, it's quick to read.
ReplyDeleteHmm. My ex really liked Wicked and Skinny Dip. My mother really like Life of Pi.
I, honestly, wouldn't touch most of these books with a ten-foot pole.
I've read Molokai'i and The Namesake and while they didn't change my life I can tell you they'll probably keep your attention. Don't waste your time on The Other Boleyn Girl, it's just a bodice ripper masquerading as historical fiction, unless that's what you're looking for, then go for it.
ReplyDeleteIf you've read my facebook profile you know I like Sophie Kinsella. If the Shopaholic series don't interest you she's also written Can You Keep a Secret, Remember Me and The Undomestic Goddess which are a little different and I actually liked more than Shopaholic. Well not that much...it's always a twenty-something girl whose life is in ruins, fixes it and gets the guy. If you saw the crappy movie version of Shopaholic don't worry, I think the books are better.
The Road and The Poisonwood Bible are two of my favorite books. I can see what you mean about them being difficult to "get into" - they were for me as well. Cormac McCarthy is an incredible author.
ReplyDeleteWater for Elephants is an extremely quick read and relatively entertaining. A beach book. Why not?
I loved Prep and I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe (Wolfe did research for the book at my university while I was there, and I met him. I love Wolfe in general. this isn't his best, but it's good.)
ReplyDeleteI also like The Poisonwood Bible. Slow going, but the end was awesome!
I think you've visited my blog before where I got a list of book recommendations from a bunch of my friends and I've tried to make my way through the list over the past few months.
ReplyDeleteWhile some of them I didn't enjoy so much, I've recently finished a few that were fantastic.
About two months ago I finished The Book of Negroes which was perfect! I loved every single page and read the whole book in 4 days. A little after that I read The Island by Victoria Hislop and really enjoyed it. Its a historical fiction that centers around one family and a leper colony in the early to mid 1900's. The first 50 pages or so were a little slow, but the characters develop so well that its definitely worth the wait. Last night I also finished Summer Sisters by Judy Blume and was pleasantly surprised. It was a super easy read but enjoyable nonetheless.
Finally, if you liked Redeeming Love, I have to recommend Francine Rivers' Mark of the Lion series. A Voice in the Wind is the first of 3 novels in the series and once you make it through the first 50 pages, you will be spellbound - I guarantee it!!
Let me know what you think if you try any of the books out... I know I tried The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime and couldn't make it past page 20... so I'm curious to know your thoughts.
Captivating is a wonderful read! I highly suggest it!
ReplyDeleteTry 'Septembers of Shiraz'. I am basically in love with 'Lovely Bones'...it is overwhelmingly powerful.
ReplyDeleteThe purple and blue text are hard to read on the gray background....so I'm not sure about those..... otherwise a great list!
ReplyDeleteNow that is SOME book list! wow! In no time you'll have a whole new collection of baby and kids books!
ReplyDeleteIt's really nice post and colorful as well. Thanks for sharing this facts with us.
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