here’s a listing of his published works–
i never read midwives–but i really did enjoy “before you know kindness” and “the double bind”
A Killing in the Real World (1988)
Hangman (1991)
Past the Bleachers (1992)
Water Witches (1995)
Midwives (1997)
The Law of Similars (1999)
Trans-Sister Radio (2000)
The Buffalo Soldier (2002)
Idyll Banter: Weekly Excursions to a Very Small Town (2003)
Before You Know Kindness (2005)
The Double Bind (2007)
Skeletons at the Feast (2008)
[Square</a> Books – Merchandise and Stuff](<a href=“http://squarebooks.com/stuff/mugs.php]Square”>http://squarebooks.com/stuff/mugs.php)
Wow, so many great books! I’ve gotten some great suggestions from this thread. I’ve read many of the ones listed here and loved them. So, a couple I haven’t seen mentioned:
“Lay of the Land” by Richard Ford (his best one yet, imho)
“The Glass Palace”, “The Hungry Tide”, “Circle of Reason”, all by Amitav Ghosh (love him, can you tell?)
and, my favorite book of all time, “Fugitive Pieces” by Anne Michaels
Just read The Good Earth for the very first time because D2 read it over spring break and I got jealous of how much she was enjoying it. Just enormously satisfying in every way.
I just finished “Exile” by Richard North Patterson. I could not put this book down (all 728 pages of it)! The book was about a Jewish American lawyer who, while preparing to run for congress, gets swept into defending a Palestinian woman (with whom he had an secret affair back in law school) for the murder of the Israeli Prime Minister (which took place in the US). Very well researched novel and a real page turner!
Mammall, read Pearl Buck’s autobiography ‘My Several Worlds’ for some amazing insight into the background of ‘The Good Earth’ I have a collection of Pearl Buck someplace, as I loved her writing years ago, if now seen as overly sentimental.
Jose Saramago - All The Names, fascinating & artfully crafted, also Blindness & The Cave, but liked All The Names best. All translated from Portuguese.
R. Mistry - Family Matters, India (Ds vote)
Ishigoro - The Remains of The Day
Mother’s all time fave - We Were The Mulvaneys
Sorry, here are two people may have missed, another of Mother’s top picks: Sabbathday River by Jean Hanff Korelitz (opening with “The first baby was found early on a weekend morning in September, 1985…”) Also, The French Mathematician by Tom Petsinis (a young genius in revolutionary France complete with intellectual passion, historical detail and dreams of solving the quintic. Finally I’ve gotten away but also but R. Misry A Fine Balance.
Another Pearl Buck fan here. Read it in high school and re read it a couple of years ago.
Also like: The Butterfly Lions by Rumer Godden
If this sounds like an appealing recipe, go to the first volume of Hilary Spurling’s much acclaimed biography, The Unknown Matisse: A Life of Henri Matisse: The Early Years, 1869-1908. I just started it last night, and already I’m enthralled. It’s a beautiful book, too, with period photographs throughout. (I got a used hardcover copy on the cheap via Amazon.)
[Amazon.com:</a> The Unknown Matisse: A Life of Henri Matisse: The Early Years, 1869-1908 (Unknown Matisse): Hilary Spurling: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Matisse-Henri-Early-Years-1869-1908/dp/0679434283]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Matisse-Henri-Early-Years-1869-1908/dp/0679434283)
A Fine Balance, I like that one, too D Apps.
[Three</a> Books… : NPR](<a href=“http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90796087]Three”>Three Books... : NPR)
[Three</a> Books About Cowboys and Indians : NPR](<a href=“http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91155807]Three”>Three Books About Cowboys and Indians : NPR)
[Three</a> Books with Blood … and Brains : NPR](<a href=“http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90890695]Three”>Three Books with Blood ... and Brains : NPR)
[Three</a> Books about Sand and Sun : NPR](<a href=“http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90778228]Three”>Three Books About Sand and Sun : NPR)
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunnant
Transports you to rennaisance Florence. Full of art, culture and a great love story.
i’m busy taking care of a terminally ill family member, so i’m looking for light, easy no-brainer books.
i enjoyed case histories by kate atkinson and then a clever, silly book entitled bad monkey by matt ruff.
right now i’m reading the girls by lori lansens. didn’t think i’d enjoy it, but so far, i’m surprised at how sweet of a story it is. didn’t expect that.
i’ve downloaded a few books to my ebook for an upcoming flight to denver and back in almost the same day–i hope to read a bit of leif enger’s latest book during the flight.
keep those suggestions coming–
Not light, but good…and fast.
Valerie Martin’s “Property” a look at plantation life from the interior.
Much lighter…and longer…
“Shadow of the Wind” Carlos Ruiz Zafon, gothic tale from Barcelona with many twists and turns.
Been out for a couple of years…The Big House by George Howe Colt…excellent story that follows several generations that spend thier summers at their beloved house on Buzzards Bay. Beautifully written.
Just read “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” which I got for S – it’s on his required reading list for senior year. I’d never heard of it, and it was a little eccentric, but somehow captivating. (I think S, who’s not much of a reader, will like it.)
Another excellent book, which I think has been mentioned on this thread, is “Three Cups of Tea.” IMO, this one should be required reading for some of the more whiny types here on CC who are moaning and groaning about the schools they didn’t get into. (Sorry if that seems a little harsh, but, honestly, if you read this book, it puts the educational opportunities in this country in perspective.)
I recently finished “A Long Way Gone: Memoris of a Boy Soldier” by Ishmael Beah. This is the biography of a 12 year old forced into being a soldier in Sierra Leone. It’s not a smooth read but the writers voice comes through loud and clear. It’s a book like Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns where you get a feel for a war torn country and how people survived the strife.
This last post reminded me of a fascinating (and moving) interview that I heard on NPR’s *Fresh Air<a href=“which%20can%20be%20accessed%20via%20the%20Web”>/i</a>:
[A</a> Rapper Out of Sudan’s Civil War : NPR Music](<a href=“http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90517634]A”>A Rapper Out of Sudan's Civil War : NPR)
CBBlinker – interesting comments you made; Three Cups of Tea is the required summer reading for incoming freshmen at Rice this year.