I think that they are making Lovely Bones into a movie?
Between Lovely Bones, the Kite Runner and Sex and the City weāll be set with movies for awhile!
alwaysamom,
I finished The Thirteenth Tale yesterday. What a delicious book. I couldnāt put it down.
Everyman by Philip Roth. Hadnāt read Roth since Portnoyās Complaint and had forgotten how much I like his style . . .
sac, I have just finished āSuite Francaiseā and also recommend it. I loved āWater for Elephantsā, and āEat Pray Loveā is soon to be startedā¦
For those of us with China connections, or not, River Town, by Peter Hessler is one of the most insightful books Iāve read on Chinese culture. Beautifully written as well. He has another, Oracle Bones, that I need to find.
Eat, Pray, Love was a great read, if partially because she hit my proclivities so well. Am happy and surprised is so popular. Have given it as gifts several times.
great lakes mom, I just saw āOracle Bonesā at Costco yesterday. Almost bought it but DH was rushing me. (He knows if I stand by the books too long, several of them will somehow jump into the cartā¦)
āSwimming to Antarcticaā - wow, that is one determined person! Also highly recommend āBlinkā.
parabella, Iām so glad you enjoyed The Thirteenth Tale! Youāre right, it was definitely a delicious book. Iāve loaned it out and as soon as it returns, I want to reread it and savor it again. 
The Sweetest Dream by Doris Lessing.
I went to the Library in search of something by Lessing after hearing her wonderful voice on NPR.
This book I find to be stunningly beautiful. The effects of WWI, II, Vietnam, Zimbabwe (Iām only 2/3 done) on a family (a country, a worldā¦). Amazing writing.
hugcheck, when I read last week that Doris Lessing had won the Nobel Prize for Literature, I dug out all of my Lessing books to find one to reread. Iāve always loved her books and sheās always been on my wishlist of people Iād love to meet. Sheās led an incredibly interesting life and sheās quite the character, which was apparent in her remarks to a reporter who asked her what it was like to win the Nobel. Her response made me chuckle:
"On being told by reporters that she had won the Nobel Prize for Literature, she exclaimed: āOh Christ. I couldnāt care less.ā She went on to say: āI canāt say Iām overwhelmed with surprise. Iām 88 years old and they canāt give the Nobel to someone whoās dead, so I think they were probably thinking theyād probably better give it to me now before Iāve popped off.ā
A few days ago, I was feeling a little bit down, so I looked at this thread, went to Amazon and ordered the following books (I went a little crazy):
A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Thirteenth Tale, The Book Thief, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Eat Pray Love, Three Cups of Tea, Seeing in the Dark, and a boxed set of the Harry Potter series (for my ten year old).
I am so excited!!! I have begun rading Three Cups of Tea (since it was the first book to arrive), and so far, so great!
I second as great books other books mentioned that Iāve already read: Beloved, Suite Francaise, Love in the Time of Cholera (itās been a whileā¦ time to reread it), Water for Elephants, and A Walk in the Woods.
When Iām done, Iāll revisit this thread for more recommendations!
Happy reading everyone!
Buying a book, or (better) two, or (even better) three, serves as a tonic, I find, for just about any of the myriad ills that everyday life presents.
The only problem is that the darn things take so much less time to buy (particularly with the 'net) than to read that, as my wife seldom fails to notice, they tend to pile up (and up, and up).
(And, no, the library wonāt work for me; I canāt read unless I have a pen in my hand and can talk back.)
EpistrophyāI have piles of bought books around that I havenāt gotten to yet, and I still go to the library every week and get more. Itās definitely pathologicalāI live in mortal fear of not having an available book to read, when in reality, there are zillions.
curiousmother, Iām so glad youāre enjoying Three Cups of Tea! Iām up to my neck in sewing costumes for a play, but I plan to start Pray Love this weekend. Weāre flying down to Maryland to visit D at school and Iāll get a good start on the way there and back.
Iāll be interested to hear how you like the others!
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. Not for the faint of heart. Very dark and disturbing, but McCarthyās mastery of the English language is astonishingly good. <a href=āCormac McCarthy | Penguin Random Houseā>Cormac McCarthy | Penguin Random House;
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In the nonfiction category, and a riveting read, was Louder than Words by Jenny McCarthy. According to the intro written by a pediatrician with an autistic child, the incidence of autism is up to 1 in 70 boys. Holy cow. Anyway, a great read. And one of the most controversial topics out there, these days.
. . . via the Web:
āSquare Books (Oxford, Mississippi)
<a href=āhttp://www.squarebooks.com/[/url]ā>http://www.squarebooks.com/</a>
āHarvard Book Store (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
<a href=āhttp://www.harvard.com/[/url]ā>http://www.harvard.com/</a>
āSeminary Co-op Bookstore (Chicago, Illinois)
<a href=āhttp://semcoop.booksense.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp[/url]ā>http://semcoop.booksense.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp</a>
āAmherst Books (Amherst, Massachusetts)
<a href=āhttp://www.amherstbooks.com/[/url]ā>http://www.amherstbooks.com/</a>
A friend of mine once said, āI always feel rich when I have a pile of unread books beside my bed.ā And I know just what she means. I second those who liked Water for Elephants, Suite Francaise, Thirteenth Tale, 1000 Splendid Suns and the Lost (although sometimes I felt lost too). Wonderful books! If you enjoy history, Ghost Soldiers is very good but very sad. I am right now trying to hit some classics and have just finish Grapes of Wrath. I am probably one of the few that never had to read it for school. I couldnāt put it down. I felt as if the dust from the dust bowl was going to sift out of the pages.
Onward- so coincidental that you should mention The Grapes of Wrath. I also had never read it in HS and just purchased it for my 13 yr old son to read and then I will read it next. I am currently enjoying The End of Time by David Horowitz.