01.08.07
Reading Update - 01/08/2007
So, I’m halfway through my first book of the year - Tolkein’s The Fellowship Of The Ring. It’s a bit slower-going than I thought it would be, but I do think it’s helped that I’ve seen the movies so I at least have SOME idea of what is going on. 
Hopefully I’ll finish it this weekend and move on to another one.
I’ve realized that I have this grand plan to read 25 books this year, and yet I have no idea what I want to read. I plan on finishing the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and I KNOW I’ll be reading the new HP book once it comes out (and therefore I’ll be reading books 1-6 again prior to that release), but other than that, no big ones that I feel like I HAVE to read.
My usual habit when I can’t figure out a book to read is to look for ones that I know are coming out as movies later. But, I don’t want to get in the trap of reading only things that are coming to the screen soon.
So, here’s where I need your help. Give me suggestions of stuff to read! What have you read that you really enjoyed?
Rose J. Said:
January 8, 2007 at 10:59 pm
I would suggest the following:
Rose J. Said:
January 8, 2007 at 11:07 pm
I would suggest the following:
1. Marley & Me: John Grogan: a heartwarming story about a dog named Marley who is consistently in trouble for being mischievous (particularly when it comes to food–and who hates thunderstorms), but also one who is loving and loyal to his family to the end of his life
2. Ella Minnow Pea: Mark Dunn: a story that is based around the sentence “The Quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog”, and how the a South Carolina community communicates with each other via letters
3. On Agate Hill: Lee Smith: I don’t know much about this one, but it has been well received by critics and readers–it should be a good story
scott Said:
January 9, 2007 at 1:41 am
“through painted deserts”
Andrea Said:
January 9, 2007 at 9:25 am
I’m planning on reading several of Kari’s recommended books sometime this year (Dogs of Bable [good], Lost and Found, 33 Swoons). I LOVE Jodi Picoult (My Sister’s Keeper, Vanishing Acts, The Tenth Circle), the Mitford series by Jan Karon, Elizabeth Peters mysteries (series about an archeologist family in Egypt in the early 1900s), and Barbara Kingsolver’s Prodigal Summer (one of my all-time fave books, even though I can’t get into the Poisonwook Bible).
I’m looking for more good non-fiction to add in still…
Adriene Said:
January 9, 2007 at 9:42 am
Yeah, I read the Poisonwood Bible a few years ago, and it depressed the hell out of me. Prodigal Summer is better, I take it?
Andrea Said:
January 9, 2007 at 10:05 am
yeah, I still can’t get more than about 60 pages into Poisonwood Bible - Prodigal Summer feels very different to me, about the convergence of several people’s stories. It’s lovely, and definitely not depressing the way PB felt to me. There’s a lot of descriptions of the natural environment (one of the characters is a naturalist), but not in a science-textbook way - and it’s set in the Appalachian Mtns (I think) so that helped me feel like I could relate. It’s lovely
Kari Said:
January 9, 2007 at 11:12 am
Prodigal Summer is more about place than plot or characters. Once you get that down, it makes more sense. The whole story is about the Appalachian mountains, and there are snapshots of the people who live there in relation to the place rather than it being a specific story arc (there are things that happen, but it’s definitely not a plot driven book).
I liked it better than The Poisonwood Bible, partly, as Andrea said, because it’s about an area that I know and can picture. It does have a lot of descriptions, which is not normally my favorite kind of book, but I did like it a lot. My book club was mixed on it, but it might be worth giving it a shot.
Andrea Said:
January 9, 2007 at 11:23 am
yeah, that’s a good point - the location is probably a bigger character than any of the people in the book.
oh, and I forgot ‘Rise and Shine’ by Anna Quindlen, which I think Kari and I both loved - it didn’t feel quite the same as her earlier stuff (Black and Blue, Blessings, One True Thing), but very awesome nonetheless. It’s much more character-driven than Prodigal Summer too.
Kenneth Said:
January 28, 2007 at 7:33 pm
Just found your blog. If you like the Lord of the Ring triology, theres another one call the ColdFire Triology by C.S. Friedman. Book 1 is called “Black Sun Rising.” Second book is called “When True Night Falls,” and the third is called “Crown of Shadows.” You will be pleasently surprised how cool these books are.
Have fun with this.