Book Club

[Tensleep]

I know some of you out there have time to read actual books in easy chairs by an open window in the sunshine. I envy you all.

So here's a place to share the good books you're reading with the rest of us. Tell us a little about what makes this book a good read and you can even put up other recommendations from past reads that you enjoyed.

I look forward to reading what you find interesting and more importantly, why!

See ya in the funny papers!!!

Tens

[fairlane]

The latest books that I've read;

Saints at the River by Ron Rash

- I thought this was an awesome read. It's fight between the parents of a young girl who drowns in a river, and a group of environmentalists. The parents want to dam the river to retrieve their daughters body, but the environmentalists want to protect it's natural state. It's written from the pov of a photographer who has gone with a reporter to cover the story. The author has a great writing style, I would definately recommend it.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

- The build up to and the aftermath of a school shooting. I thought it was ok, definately readable and some interesting issues. I didn't sympathize with the shooter yet got the impression that I was suposed to. I'm undecided if I fully recommend it - but overall it was good.

[maxiekat]

I read Nineteen Minutes also. I liked it. This is the third book I've read by her and I find that I really like her style - she has a nice spare quality to her writing that isn't cluttered up with unnecessary descriptions.

I think she did a good job of showing both sides of the issue. Although I also didn't find myself sympathizing with the shooter, I found that I could maybe understand where the impulse came from. I had a customer return it because she was disgusted by the topic and thought that it could put bad ideas in someone's head. I (gently) argued that a book like that could maybe actually help someone pay more attention to their children - help them be more aware of signs that they may be potentially troubled and need help.

On a completely different note - I just read Twilight by Stephanie Meyer and loved it. I normally don't read Vampire books, but so many people I know have been raving about this book for forever, that I finally gave in. It was great - I couldn't put it down and read it one day and started the sequel today.

In case you don't know what the plot is - Bella is a teenager who goes to live with her father when her mother decides to remarry. She moves from sunny Phoenix, Arizona to rainy and dreary Washington State. She is drawn to a mysterious boy in her class who happens to be a vampire. It was very romantic and compelling, with a little bit of suspense thrown in. It's classified as Young Adult, but we have customers of all ages hooked on the series and waiting impatiently for book three in August.

[queenjaneapprxmtly]

My grandma was a really big fan of Stephen King. I've been meaning to read a few of his books, kind of in her memory.

I was at my aunt's house for a little bit this afternoon, and she lent me these two books by the Spanish author Julia Alvarez. One's called In the Time of the Butterflies, and the other is called How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents. I started the Butterflies one today, and it's pretty interesting so far. It's based on the murders of these four sisters -- well, three, actually. One of the sisters escaped, apparently. Some of it is kind of hard to understand because there are a lot of Spanish words and I don't speak Spanish, but otherwise, I really like it.

My mom's letting me read one she just got done with, too. It's called Beach Girls, by Luanne Rice. (Coincidentally, my mom's name is Luanne, too, lol -- spelled the same and everything.) So I'll probably read that one last because my aunt is only letting me borrow the ones she had. :)

[samanthamae]

Anyone ever read "The Shining" by King? I did a few months ago...and I couldn't sleep for days. I can still hear that creepy guy in a dog suit say, "I'm going to eat you up, little boy..."

*shivers*

[queenjaneapprxmtly]

Oh, my brother David and our friend Jake saw Misery on TV ... we always make fun of the end of it, when they're trying to kill each other. And David and Jake are always reenacting it. :p

I like the movie Christine, as weird as it is. I've been wanting to read the book. I have to see if my library has it.

[maxiekat]

samanthamae said:

Anyone ever read "The Shining" by King? I did a few months ago...and I couldn't sleep for days. I can still hear that creepy guy in a dog suit say, "I'm going to eat you up, little boy..."

*shivers*

The guy in the dog suit gave me nightmares for weeks - both from the book and from the movie. I also have an unnatural fear of hedge animals because of that book

My favorite Stephen King book is The Stand. I've read it a bunch of times - he's just so good at making that whole scenario seem believable and he creates characters that seem so real that it feels like you're there. Another favorite is the short story The Body from Different Seasons. It was the basis for the movie Stand By Me and I love the feeling of friendship and nostalgia that he captured in that story.

[samanthamae]

I had a dream my sister and I were spending a night at the hotel, and I ran into the dog-suit guy. Then I could see my sister, and she was at the party drinking. Most horrifying dream of my life, let me say that! I forgot about those hedges, and yeah, there are also quit terrifying.

My mom is trying to get me to read The Body, so I'm trying to find the book somewhere.

[latch22]

The Lovely Bones was excellent. 'Nough said. The Dark Tower series and the Four Seasons , also, are great. Stephen King is a very talented writer.

I don't have much to contribute, but I did finish a book a few weeks ago called The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl. It was published last autumn by a new writer named Barry Lyga, and I enjoyed his style very much. It is a Young Adult novel, but it's witty, funny, often insightful, and it's fascinating to see the character's development throughout the course of the bool--which, of course, is supposed to happen, but Lyga really did a wonderful job. It's an intelligent YA novel.

This is a great topic, by the way. Thanks for starting it!

Cheers!

[fairlane]

I love Stephen King. My favourite book of his is "It". Even though it's a huge book, it doesn't feel too long because it's such a great story and the characters are so vivid. His short stories are fantastic too.

I read The Lovely Bones too and really enjoyed it. The concept was great - I've heard it's going to be made into a movie.

[EmilineHarris]

Has anyone ever read Stephen King's short story, "The Library Policeman?" I believe it's in the book Four Past Midnight. In any case, that was one short story that I couldn't put down once I started reading. It had quite a creepiness to it that I really enjoyed.

[Tensleep]

I go away for three days and look at all the posts! You guys rock.

Ok, ok, ok - my turn. The last book I read was called The Romanov Prophecy By Steve Barry. Those of you who are history nuts might enjoy this one. Basically it's a "what if novel" where two members of the Russian royal family - The Romanovs - survived the assassination. This American lawyer and this acrobat from the Russian circus are prophesied to find their heirs so they can rightfully retake their place as Tsars, Grand dukes and the like. Of course there's bad men chasing them and the mystery of how the hell they survived. It's a good read if you don't put it down fifty billion times like me...

A book I would recommend is Dark Fever by Karen Marie Moning. She normally writes very sexual romances, but this is much different since there's no sex - still boggles my mind.
The main character is my roommate. Seriously. The character is almost transcribed from her personality and actions. I snorted through a good bit of it, despite the fact her sister dies and she's being hunted in a foreign country by other worldly things only she can see... Very good sarcastic humor, very good style and excellent voice. I suggest if you read romance pick this one up even though there is no romance in it. If you don't, still pick this one up. It's worth the time.

Now, I have to honestly say I am a bit surprised there are so many Steven King lovers. I only ever read Hearts in Atlantis and I was done with him. Not to mention Jack Nicholas did a few of his movies. What? Some kids are scared of Ronald McDonald. I had Jack and Star Trek First Contact when the Borg pulled Data under the door...it was very traumatizing to a 6 year old...

Anyways, babbling.

Keep 'em coming!

[queenjaneapprxmtly]

Has anybody read The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells?

That's probably the most notable novel of hers, but it's actually a trilogy -- the first is called Little Altars Everywhere, and then Ya-Ya Sisterhood, and then the third and, I think final, is Ya-Yas in Bloom.

You don't necessarily have to read them in order, though -- they're fairly easy to understand. I think I read Ya-Ya Sisterhood first, and loved it so much that I just couldn't help but go out and actually buy the other ones, as opposed to borrowing them from the library, lol.

Anyway, I'm not sure how to explain it, really (even though it is an awesome book), so I'll just borrow the summary from Amazon:

"[The] loopy saga of a 40-year-old player in Seattle's hot theater scene who must come to terms with her mama's past in steamy Thornton City, Louisiana, reads like a lengthy episode of Designing Women written under the influence of mint juleps and Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom!. The Ya-Yas are the wild circle of girls who swirl around the narrator Siddalee's mama, Vivi, whose vivid voice is "part Scarlett, part Katharine Hepburn, part Tallulah." The Ya-Yas broke the no-booze rule at the cotillion, skinny-dipped their way to jail in the town water tower, disrupted the Shirley Temple look-alike contest, and bonded for life because, as one says, "It's so much fun being a bad girl!"

Siddalee must repair her busted relationship with Vivi by reading a half-century's worth of letters and clippings contained in the Ya-Ya Sisterhood's packet of "Divine Secrets." It's a contrived premise, but the secrets are really fun to learn."

It's just an awesome book, and the series is great, too. I hope she writes a third book, but I don't think there's one in store.

And I really love the name Siddalee. Random, I know, but I love it, lol.

The movie is really fantastic, too. I'm watching it now, actually. There's a lot of good actors/actresses in it, and the music is great. :)

[zevie]

I don't think I could read Stephen King. *Hides face in shame.* Scary movies or books, even the lame ones, absolutely terrify me. I don't understand it myself. Fiction is just ten billion times scarier to me than real life. Are You Afraid of the Dark and Harry Potter 3 both gave me nightmares, so the Shining is sadly not in my future.

Currently reading Douglas Coupland's "JPod". It's my first Coupland (that I can remember) and the man is a freak. I'm halfway through and I have yet to figure out what it's about (and kinda doubting that I'm supposed to). So, I guess my synopsis would be: "it's something to do with computer nerds." He's really transparent about a lot of devices he uses, and just a touch arrogant in places. And talk about hard to read - there's a whole page of just dollar signs ($). The man is crazy, absolutely, no question, and really, really funnee. I love the book so far, would heartily recommend it.

[fosterchild]

I'll tell you, it's summer and I like easy or fun reads in summertime since I read them on the beach a little at a time. I tend to either find a cute little book or just go back to stuff I've already read. At the moment I'm re-reading "I'm With the Band" by Pamela Des Barres (who incidentally is coming out with another book and doing a reading and book release party next week that I'm going to try like hell to go to!!!). The book is a true, fun and real account of her supergroupie-ness with all the big name rock bands and then some from the 60's. If you love music like I do and you love behind the scenes stuff you'll like it. There's nothing x-rated about it meaning she's not filthy. She writes it like a true fan who appreciates and loves the music.

Another author I love is Elizabeth Berg. I can't even name just one book of hers I love, they're all really enjoyable. Check her out!