Comments | scaracetera: recommend me

scaracetera

recommend me

Dec 17, 2005 19:12

i desire and require that you give me book recommendations! i know that most of you read and i trust the taste of nearly all of you! everyone had better pony up at least one. i don't care what it's about as long as it's good, defined as "you enjoyed it."

thank you and goodnight!

Comments 21

ketchonade December 18 2005, 05:17:28 UTC

I like... uh. Not really books. Hows abouts... the Julie Andrews biography? yeah. That's a good one.

quartzie December 18 2005, 07:27:20 UTC

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. I sobbed (like, sobbed) while reading this book, but in a good way. It made me feel proud to be a woman.

The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx. It took me a while to get used to this book but then I fell in love with the protagonist.

The Giver by Lois Lowry. For kids but such a great story. I wrote a paper on this in college about its status as a banned book in some schools. And also if you enjoy a good YA novel, Sharon Creech is fabulous. I love love love her stories. Also Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. It didn't strike me as that great until the very last line totally punched me in the gut and then it was like, wow.... this moment of total awe over what the author had done.

And you probably wouldn't be into a Wilbur Smith book (I've read a bunch of his stuff and it's okay writing with good stories) but River God is one of my favourite books ever. It takes place in Ancient Egypt and it's just really fun ( ... )

712 December 18 2005, 10:08:33 UTC

My recommendation is a book called THIS IS UNCOOL: The 500 greatest singles since punk and disco.

meepmeepmealio December 18 2005, 10:53:33 UTC

Anything by Bill Bryson.

I'm translating 'Notes from a Big Country' for my dissertation, and it's laugh out loud funny. He describes peculiarities of American life to Britons. Pretty interesting for Americans too, I reckon, to see what you take for granted and what outsiders find odd. And maybe even more so for Canadians, cause you'll be on the American side of the argument on occasion, and other times on the British side.

I also recently read my first Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. Simple, entertaining, for when you just want to relax, and read about clumsy wizards, witches with barely flying broomsticks, and so on.

And if you want something completely different: another book I'm looking at quite often is Teach Yourself Swedish ;)

scaracetera December 18 2005, 15:23:56 UTC

i very nearly bought a bill bryson book recently, but i wasn't sure if it was going to be really funny or that "tender" funny that old people like. i was hoping for really funny, though, and you've confirmed it.

and maybe i will teach myself swedish! MAYBE I WILL.

jeanie3 December 18 2005, 13:43:05 UTC

*puts hand up* also a John Irving fan! The Irving book I've most recently read is The World According to Garp, which I quite enjoyed.

Most of the other things I've read lately have been quite disappointing actually...except for Lewis' Narnia series' which I re-read for the bajillionth time before I went to see the moooovie. Yay.