Epistrophy Post #350 and #389
I love books like this. I am reading the first book very slowly. I have the Volume II to read next. Alos, I just picked up The Judgment of Paris by Ross King. (He wrote Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling). I haven’t read it yet. Do you have anymore suggestions? 
Seiclan,
I just finished the first book of that series…Twilight…and I did find it to be a very compelling read…I love the fact that “Cedric Diggory” from Harry Potter movie fame will be playing Edward in the movie… after all the movie took the Harry Potter slot on the calendar when they moved HP to next summer… I have just started the next book…New Moon… rumor has it they get progressively less compelling…some kids here said they never finished the last book…which is unheard of by these kids…they read anything and everything, so, I will enjoy the series until I don’t I guess…
and Artmommy77, how can you possibly have 4,294,967,295 posts?
artmommy77:
If you haven’t read it (I have a copy, but haven’t gotten to it yet), this much acclaimed book might be right up your alley:
[Amazon.com:</a> Rembrandt’s Eyes: Simon Schama: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Rembrandts-Eyes-Simon-Schama/dp/067940256X]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Rembrandts-Eyes-Simon-Schama/dp/067940256X)
scout59 - Kate Atkinson’s new one, When Will There Be Good News?, is even better than the first two. And given all the others you like, you need to look into Michael Koryta. He’s just brilliant.
Bromfield - Mysteries/police procedurals in unusual or far off places: See what you can find by Helene Tursten; she writes about a female detective named Irene Huss, in Sweden. Kind of Prime Suspect-like. Henning Mankell, also Swedish, is terrific, and Janwillem van de Wetering writes excellent mysteries set in the Netherlands (I really liked Outsider in Amsterdam).
For mystery novels, I recommend books by Donna Leon. She is an American who lives in Venice and her mysteries take place there. Great setting.
Bromfield - are you my twin separated at birth? I like the leaphorn/Chee novels, too, and now I’m going to check out “Mr. Clarinet” from my library. Do you read the James Lee Burke novels? I think his descriptions of Louisiana in his Dave Roubicheaux (sp?) books are wonderful; it seems like I can feel the humidity and taste the gumbo whenever I read his books. (Sometimes the plots are a little convoluted, though.) And have you read any of the Sharyn McCrumb “ballad” mysteries? She has several series, but these take place in the Appalachian mountains (and all the books have the names of ballads as titles.) They’re very atmospheric, too - lots of mountain customs and superstitions, and the characters are so well-drawn.
Okay Harriet - thanks to you, I dropped by Barnes and Noble after work today and bought the new Kate Atkinson! (I didn’t even know that her newest was out!) Now I have you to blame if I just spent good money on a book that’s disappointing - but knowing how well Atkinson writes, I don’t think that will happen.
It’s such a great feeling when you know you have a good book to read!
I’ve just enjoyed “The Last Chinese Chef” - sorry I just sent it back to the library, so I don’t remember the author, but she also wrote Lost in Translation.
Scout–sure seems like your mystery library is pretty similar to mine. I haven’t read Roubicheaux, but will look for his work. I have read Sharyn McCrumb–but not the “ballad” mysteries. Didn’t she have a female character who was a forensic person?
Harriet and Odyssey–thanks for the recommendations.
My husband (a mystery fan too) just finished Christine Falls. Says it’s one of the best–I can say that it kept his interest. He usually falls asleep after reading 3 or 4 pages of most books, and he stayed up late to finish this one! The author is Benjamin Black. Apparently, Black is John Banville, a novelist and a Booker Prize winner (The Sea). He’s Irish.
The latest entry in an ongoing series, “50 Greatest Books”:
[url=<a href=“http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080919.w50booksAlice/BNStory/Entertainment/home]globeandmail.com:”>http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080919.w50booksAlice/BNStory/Entertainment/home]globeandmail.com:</a> Alice in Wonderland<a href=“with%20links%20to%20the%20series’%20earlier%20pieces”>/url</a>
I have just gotten around to reading “Prep” by Curtis Sittenfeld, which I am enjoying so much more than I thought I would. The subject matter (midwestern adolescent at a New England boarding school) should be of interest to lots of people on this board, I would imagine. She is a writer of great precision and delicacy – it’s not really a “kids gone wild” kind of thing, which is what I guess I thought it would be. Instead it really looks closely at the narrator’s feelings of being an outsider. The chapters are more like interlinked, long short stories. I am really liking it and have added her newest novel (a thinly veiled fictionalized account of Laura Bush’s life, An American Wife) to my list!
Bromfield – I really like Christine Falls as well.
I just finished – and loved – “Home” by Marilynne Robinson. It is an independent companion novel to her Pulitzer Prize-winning “Gilead,” which I also adored.
For those of you who have read “Three Cups of Tea” by Greg Mortenson, I’m pretty sure the Marriott in Pakistan that was bombed yesterday was the one discussed in his book–specifically Chapter 20.
dbwes - “Prep” was a fantastic book! Sittenfeld has another book too - "The Man of My Dreams - which I also liked, although not nearly as much as “Prep.”
Just finished “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak. It was excellent. It’s actually marketed toward young adults, but I found it to be a great read for adults as well. It’s the story about a young girl named Liesel, living in Germany in the late 30’s-early 40’s. The narrator is the “grim reaper,” and he follows the life of Liesel as she is taken in by foster parents following the sudden death of her brother and her mother leaving (taken away by the Nazis). Liesel begins stealing books, although at first, she cannot read. Her foster father helps teach her to read, and her relationship with him is very sweet and special. Liesel’s best friend Rudy is a great character as well, as is Max - a Jewish man that they befriend. I can’t say enough good things about “The Book Thief.” It’s beautifully written, and I highly recommend it. I laughed and cried, and will never forget it.
The Book Thief is truly a wonderful book.
I convinced my book club to read The Book Thief and everyone loved it! Clarimom, thanks for the update about Three Cups of Tea. I really enjoyed that one too.
I have found a great source of suggestions to be the list every month at indiebound.com, the website for independent booksellers (formerly booksense.com). You might want to check out their old lists as well.
I just read all 32 pages of this thread and now have 4 typed pages of books to read! Thanks to everyone for the great suggestions.
I also recommend Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer along with The Poet and the Murderer by Simon Worrall, a true story about Emily Dickinson, the Mormon Church, and forgery.
Well, my older daughter has adored David Foster-Wallace for years and I’ve wondered vaguely what it was all about and being a sort of macabre type I picked up “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again” the other day because of his suicide and because I miss my daughter so much now that she’s started college. All I can say is WOW! It’s such a weird feeling - I’m enjoying the liveliness of his intellect and language so much and also mourning a terrible premature death and loss.