books you couldnt put down?

[faithnotgreed]

next week after the election portion of THIS is over, im going to need to read at least a few easy to read books. and i dont mean childrens books, even though there are some great ones

no. but i do need page-turners that are easy on the mind muscles. so, please no science fiction or philosophical recommendations even if you flew right through them

i like something offbeat preferably, but intelligent. intelligent writing is most important.

it can be serious or weirdly funny. i did enjoy the sedaris short story about him working as an elf in macys one christmas though i hadnt read the book it was in.
i enjoyed might magazine but didnt really enjoy eggers books. it felt like he tried a bit too hard to have strange yet funny life stories. i dont care for the obvious or crude. im more of the harold and maude type (heavier on the maude)

so. im just looking for a riveting story. if its trashy thats cool. if its not thats cool too. again, easy, offbeat, intelligent are places to start

any suggestions from all of you easy, offbeat, intelligent people?

on edit: if possible, could you provide a synopsis of the recommendation? thank you

[blackcat77]

1. Pet Sematary and The Exorcist

I read each of them in one day because they both totally hooked me.

[faithnotgreed]

7. i havent read steven king since 8th grade i think. it was that book

of short stories. i loved that book but forget the name. it had a picture of a hand on it.

thanks. steven king is definitely an option....

[Kierkegaard]

70. Skeleton Crew n/t

[7th_Sephiroth]

2. believe it or not, the 4th or 5th harry potter book

riviting, and dont take it like a kids book either, ist not

[Chovexani]

4. I haven't been able to put any of them down.

And those are totally not kids books, especially the 5th one.

I just wish she'd hurry up and get to 6 already, heh.

[7th_Sephiroth]

43. so we meet again my fine anime friend

and i agree with you, JK Rowling knows how to write for different age levels

[Chovexani]

49. Howdy

:hi:

Kinda been taking a break from DU and catching up on some Naruto...MAN is that some cool shit.

[7th_Sephiroth]

50. yeah, i subscribe to Shonen Jump

(is the english wing of SJ owned by fox?) but i have only read the one piece

[DrZeeLit]

103. Love all those books. Re-read them each summer! n/t

[JimmyJazz]

3. the three musketeers - the only book I ever read that when it was

over, I thought, "damn, it's over." I wanted more. In the beginning the french names are a little tough, but once you get past that, it's excitement and adventure and a fast moving story...WOW

[faithnotgreed]

16. oh no! not french names! im french

and studied a little while there to the easy point of dreaming in french, but that was some time ago.

thanks. i have always enjoyed de maupassant as far as french storytellers, but had never read three musketeers. though there are so many classics i never got to which i would like to remedy.

thanks for the suggestion

[JimmyJazz]

19. trust me: you will love this book - it is one of my all time

favorites. I have convinced non-readers to give this book a chance and they have told me how much they love it! It is fast and furious and romantic and intellectual -- oh, good grief, I must find my copy now....

[faithnotgreed]

23. wow. i always mean to read the exceptional, but rarely do

for some reason.... well, not since college anyway which is a crime by itself

thanks... i appreciate it

[JimmyJazz]

26. remember my name and get back to me when you finish the book

agreed? It's that good, trust me...

[faithnotgreed]

28. right on

[aePrime]

53. And speaking of Dumas

The Count of Monte Cristo is a good one as well!

The recent (couple of years ago) movie gets it all wrong!

[kermujin]

63. loved dumas

i recently went on a dumas kick; the count especially roped me in. great stuff!

[FuzzySlippers]

5. Have you read Empire Falls?

It's a Pulitzer Prize winner, but it's totally user friendly. I couldn't put it down.

[faithnotgreed]

8. no. never heard of it. i have been way out of the mainstream loop

for some time. ill write that one down, thanks.

[Kire]

34. I like Richard Russo

[July]

121. Best contemporary book I've read in a while.

I tend to go for the classics and often find even highly-touted contemporary works disappointing.

Also enjoyed "White Teeth" by Zadie Smith very much.

And anything by David Lodge.

[CarolynEC]

6. Ann Tyler, "Saint Maybe"

[faithnotgreed]

9. yes, i have a positive association with anne tyler i think. ill check it

out. thank you.

[Red State Rebel]

10. Memoirs of a Geisha

Absolutely loved that book!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

11. In Cold Blood

by Truman Capote

[faithnotgreed]

17. youre right. that was good.

[spatlese]

12. Anything by John Irving...

Funny yet intelligent... excellent author, IMHO.

:)

[Hello_Kitty]

112. You are so right

I read "A Son of the Circus". I couldn't put it down.

[seventhson]

13. Anything by Primo Levi

or Italo Calvino

BRILLIANT writers

Levi's books are nothing short of breathtaking

and despite the subject matter

"survival in Auschwitz" for example

Superbly uplifting


I also highly recommend "Light One Candle" By Solly Ganor

Ansd for political thrills (and a great story) "Der Fuehrer" by Konrad Heiden

Finally

The Secret War ... by John Loftus is a political thriller too

for fun reread Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

[jdots]

14. George and Laura by Christopher Anderson

I couldn't put it down when i puked on it and it got stuck to my hand.
Anything buy Mark Leyner=funny offbeat and intellegent

[faithnotgreed]

22. i dont want to assume but was george & laura about THAT

george and laura? im kidding but would like to hear what the tone is

[NoMoreMrNiceGuy]

15. The only book that I've read straight through that was over 300pp

is "No One Here Gets Out Alive". Its about The Doors...so if you don't like them you won't like the book. I started it one afternoon and read it straight through...never done that for any book of that size but it was so engrossing couldn't put it down...finally finished very early in the AM. Awesome book.
Also, a great book is "Watership Down". I used to be a huge Stephan King fan and he said it was his favorite book so I had to read it. Won't describe it here...look it up on internet...fantastic book. If you want a book by Stephan King that isn't horror I would suggest "Different Seasons". It is made up of 4 short stories...3 were made into movies by diffent names..one "Shawshank Redemption"(movie name not short story) is one of my all time favorite movies...it is a tremendous book...not horror...give it a try.

[Kire]

35. Homegrown Democrat by Garrison Keillor

read it one long night

[faithnotgreed]

37. was that out a couple yrs ago? i think thats the one i had

seen was out at that time and i had wanted to read it but of course didnt...

thank you

[Kire]

105. it just came out over the summer

[NoMoreMrNiceGuy]

18. OH FORGET TO ADD...anything by Kurt Vonnegut n/t

[telex54]

20. The Pillars of the Earth

I'm about 3/4 of the way through it. Amazing book, possibly Follett's best! :thumbsup:

[charlie]

24. Excellent book

If you have a hankering for more non-espionage Follett, A Dangerous Fortune is every bit as rich and engrossing.

[telex54]

31. Thanks for the recommendation!

I'll put A Dangerous Fortune on the list and get to it after Jackdaws! B-)

[indigobusiness]

21. Foucault's Pendulum - (since you're french)

I've just started a book by Charles Portis - 'Gringos'- that fits the bill.

...his 'Dog of the South'' and Masters of Atlantis' are supposed to be exceptionally good, as well.

Try Pinkney Benedict's The Dogs of War. WOW!!!

[faithnotgreed]

27. thats right. i recall the titles you listed but didnt recall the author

thank you. ill have to check to see if i read those or not...

thanks

[indigobusiness]

30. Which did you like, Portis-wise?

I'm just getting acquainted with him.

[faithnotgreed]

38. youre more acquainted with him than i am.... but dogs of the south

was one i had on my list but doesnt look like i read it. story of my reading life. so many books and, yes, so little time.

sorry i wasnt any help with that... youll have to let me know what you think of him.

[CanuckAmok]

25. All of them...somone stole all my tables.

n/t

[RiffRandell]

29. "The Secret History" by Donna Tarrt. n/t

[Kire]

32. Ethics: Essays on the Understanding of Evil

by Alain Badiou

[charlie]

33. The River Why

by David James Duncan. A light, near-mystical, howlingly funny story about...... flyfishing. Really.

Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin. One of the most luminous, magical, and wildly inventive novels I've ever read.

[faithnotgreed]

36. those really do sound good. there are times

when i would love to read something that i wouldnt normally think about. maybe fly fishing. there was a book a couple yrs ago i wanted to check out of the library about quantum physics that sounded fascinating and very accessible

i dont know what winters tale is about but ill write it down.
thanks again

[VOX]

39. "A Fan's Notes," by Frederick Exley. Cannot recommend this highly enough.

If you're unfamiliar with the book, ignore the title -- it's only tangentially related to sports. It's written as an autobiographical memoir, but it's also -- maybe -- a novel.

It is one of the funniest, most desparate, best-written American books, ever. Written in 1968, it's an acutely observant and painfully hilarious look at mainstream America from a reluctant outsider's perspective.

Very highly recommended.

[faithnotgreed]

40. wow. this sounds perfect. i love a book from this time period

and from what you describe it sounds well worth finding

thank you so much

[derbstyron]

41. Dennis Lehane

He wrote the book Mystic River on which the movie was based.
Also, try Shutter Island or his excellent detective novels.
Plus, he graduated from my school, Eckerd College in St Petersburg. ;)

[faithnotgreed]

45. sounds like a good enough reason! thank you & welcome to du

[kermujin]

64. dennis lehane...

loved him too! also like john sanford.

[barb162]

42. any book by Tom Wolfe or Saul Bellow

[specimenfred1984]

44. "1984" and "Taking the Risk Out of Democracy"

but I also read Mad Magazine from front to back when I get one, so much for good taste!

[mcerise]

46. Memoir of a Geisha

Pretty good writing and it flows really well. However, please don't take this to be an accurate representation of geishas in Japan. It touches the truth here and there but for the most part misrepresents a lot of things. For example, in the book it implied that all geishas go through a ritual called "mizuage" where their virginity is taken by the highest bidder. That's NOT true at all. But, for entertainment purposes, it's a great read.

[HEyHEY]

47. Angela's ashes

[JSJ]

48. " the world according to garp"- john irving

[realisticphish]

51. The Davinci Code

i actually skipped class and sat outside reading it all day

:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[gollygee]

90. I couldn't set it down either

It is a facinating book.

[Spider Jerusalem]

52. Neal Stephenson's "Baroque Cycle".

3 volumes ("Quicksilver", "The Confusion", and "The System of the World"), each running to almost a thousand pages. I just got the third volume, and I went through all 900+ pages in two sittings.

The basic storyline is: the creation of more modern ways of looking at the world and more modern structures of society by really brilliant people in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz are characters. But there are also Barbary corsairs, pirates (Blackbeard makes an appearance), intrigues at the Court of St James and Versailles, alchemists, a very sympathetic sort of proto-feminist character who starts out a harem slave and ends up a duchess, Puritans smashing cathedrals in the English Revolution, and too much more to list in a short synopsis. Quite enjoyable if you have any interest in historical fiction.

[indigobusiness]

66. WoW///POW

right between the eyes...

you convinced me.

[Spider Jerusalem]

82. If you look on Amazon...

I think something like the first ten or so pages of each can be browsed online, so you can kind of get a feel for them.

[getoffmytrain]

54. D-Day Stephen Ambrose

[Nightowl_2004]

55. The Longest Day and Band of Brothers are both absolutely epic!

Amazing books very much along the line's of Ambrose's book on D-Day (he has a bunch out about D-Day or relating to it somehow. Pegasus Bridge is another that leaps to mind)

.......and yes. I am a history buff.

[chaska]

56. 'Solaris' Stanislaw Lem

Read 'Ishmael' Daniel Quinn.

[Jean Louise Finch]

57. "The Time Traveller's Wife"

by Audrey Niffenegger. It's about the wife of this guy who suffers from a rare genetic condition that makes him travel through time unexpectedly. And no, it's not sci-fi, even though the premise totally is. It's fantastic. Really interesting and a bit off the wall, but mostly about the really difficult struggle of being in love with someone who disappears and reappears all the time, at different times of your life.

I'm also reading "Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell" by Susanna Clark just now, which is sort of like Harry Potter meets Jane Austen (that's how the Salon review described it). It's a hefty one, but really quite brilliant.

[Maiden England]

58. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

I found it most informative.

[Fridays Child]

59. "The Stand," a page-turner and an allegory for our time.

The mini-series was good but the book is better.

[Robeson]

60. Anything from Gore Vidal or Arthur C. Clarke

[Heidi]

61. "Underworld,"

Don DeLillo.

This is a big book, but the words and scenes and construction are a pleasure. I found that I could open the book up to any chapter and find something interesting to read or re-read every time. It's like the people of DU: offbeat and intelligent. It's as easy or difficult to read as you want it to be.

[indigobusiness]

68. Welcome to DU, Heidi...I picked up 'Underworld"

and started it while I was knee deep in another book. I left it hanging, and must get back to it. Thanks for reminding me.

ps Do they really yodel in Switzerland?

[Heidi]

74. Yes,

THEY (not I) do yodel, but it's really more of an Austrian thing, I think. (Thank you for the welcome!)

[indigobusiness]

76. Roy Rogers was a heck of a yodeler...as was most of the singing cowboys.

But they did it to impress the ladies, mostly. Not to call their cows. When they wanted their cows, they pretty much just went and got 'em.

And...you are welcome.

[Heidi]

78. Too funny . . .

I had never considered yodeling a courtship skill! But then, I didn't consider cheese a main course until I moved here. :puke:

[indigobusiness]

81. Well, I truly don't don't know much about cows or yodeling...

but I'm willing to learn.

Nachos are a thing of reverence, around here.

[Heidi]

83. Don't say nachos.

You're a cruel person. I haven't had nachos in five years. We have a list of American goods and consumer goods that we don't mention around our house.

[indigobusiness]

85. I'll send you a can of jalapenos...

I have a stockpile that are like candy.

[faithnotgreed]

94. thanks heidi - im glad youre here with us....

[Heidi]

110. Thank you, faithnotgreed,

for the welcome. I'm pleased to be here.

[kermujin]

62. arturo perez-reverte

he's awesome!
- the queen of the south
- the seville communion
- the club dumas
- the nautical chart
- the fencing master

yum!

[Huckebein the Raven]

65. Destined to Witness : Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany

by Hans J. Massaquoi

The title's pretty says it all. A very very very good book that I have read several times.


I highly recommend this book.

Here's a link to it on Amazon:

http://tinyurl.com/5erk8

[Whoa_Nelly]

67. Sho-Gun

by James Clavell
The TV miniseries didn't even come close to doing it justice.

Also, Lonesome Dove...everytime I had to put the book down, wondered what the characters were doing while I wasn't reading...lol

[Dookus]

69. "Into Thin Air"

by Jon Krakauer and, as mentioned above, "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote.

[TransitJohn]

71. My Name is Asher Lev

by Chaim Potok. Best book I have ever read, and I've been a voracious reader my whole life.

[indigobusiness]

77. That's an awesome plug...

I'm ordering that book tomorrow.

[TransitJohn]

84. You'll like it.

Made me cry.

[indigobusiness]

86. I'm crying now

just thinking about it.

How I've managed to put off Potok is a shame and a sin and I must be punished.

[SoCalDem]

72. "Deliverance" and "Is Paris Burning"

and waaaay back.. The hardback edition of "Hawaii"..(Sue me.. I have read all of Michener's books):P

[Kierkegaard]

73. The Old Man and the Sea

Hemingway. Short, sweet, intelligent. It's as easy a read as you make it. Very steeped in metaphor.

If you're not already a Hemingway aficionado, this would be a great intro.

[bliss_eternal]

75. I couldn't put down Wicked by Gregory Maguire

I don't know that it would fill the bill in terms of what you are looking for, but it was a fun read for me. But I have to be honest in that it is a 'challenging' read. The language and prose he utilizes to tell the story takes a bit of getting used to, but once you get the hang of it the story flows rather well.

It is an 'adult' retelling of the classic "The Wizard of Oz." At times dishy, dirty and even democratic. At other times just juicy and fun.

He has written some other adult fairy tales based on children's stories--check him out if you are interested.

Happy reading!

[auburngrad82]

79. Jaws by Peter Benchley

Read it in about 6 hours.

[UL_Approved]

80. Why We Can't Wait - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

If you read this book, you will know beyond the shadow of a doubt why our current administration in Washington, D.C. will be the end of the United States of America. The 2000 election is a mirror of the South in the 1960's. Our election of 2004 is a battle, not of partisanship, but of basic freedom, integrity, and an adherence to moral law. We may look forward to many decades of oppression at the hands of our current leadership if we cannot remove them in due time.

[Bridget Burke]

87. Almost finished rereading "A Night in the Lonesome October"

by Richard Zelazny. Every Halloween with a full moon isan opportunity for opening the gates--so the Old Ones may return to the world. Therefore, forces (& their familiars) gather to help with the Opening--& some to help with the Closing. The narrator is Snuff, a dog belonging to Jack--who has a wicked way with a blade. We also meet the Count, the Great Detective, and other characters you may recognize. Twisted wit, odd warmth & a bit of Lovecraft--with illustrations by Gahan Wilson. Out of print, but used copies may be found.

Another ripping yarn: Mark Frost's "The List of 7" in which young Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle becomes involved in occult doings. He assists a brilliant, charismatic agent--with great gifts in detecting & disguise--in fighting the diabolical plot. A real page turner.

Somewhat lighter is "To Say Nothing of the Dog" by Connie Willis. This is a story of time travelers researching the past to help in the rebuilding of Coventry Cathedral. Much silliness & a bit of depth. Another visit to Victorian England but no monsters in this one.

Finally, "The Shadow of the Shadow" by Paco Ignacio Taibo, II. I'll just lift the summary from the Library Journal (per Amazon.com): Taibo, Mexico's foremost crime novelist, leaves the contemporary scene of An Easy Thing (Viking, 1990) for the Mexico City of 1922. The promise of the revolution has been betrayed, and four friends who play dominoes nightly find themselves involved in a series of murders that are strangely related. As the bodies pile up, a sinister conspiracy emerges, involving the oil rich lands of the Gulf Coast, and greedy army officers and American industrialists. While Taibo masterfully evokes a bygone era, the theme of oil has a distinctly modern ring. Taibo is a history professor, leftist & biographer of Che Guevara. But this is also a novel of character, nostalgia & sardonic wit.

Have you ever read a book & then flipped back to page 1 so you could read it again? These are all on my list.

[Cyndee_Lou_Who]

88. Now that he's shown he has some political sense...

I seriously recommend both of Howard Stern's books - Private Parts and Miss America. He's a very easy read. And quite an intelligent man under all of the sexual stuff.

As a woman, I used to HATE him. I was convinced he viewed all woman as sexual objects, yada, yada, yada. A friend talked me into reading his stuff. I was converted. He's really helped me (honest to jeebus) understand men, in general, on a much better level.

[faithnotgreed]

89. thanks everyone! any more "lighthearted but solid" recommendations? nt

[wildeyed]

91. Any of the Easy Rawlins mysteries

by Walter Mosely.

Walter Mosley’s reluctant and existentially minded black detective, Easy Rawlins, has brought Mosley bestseller status and the type of mainstream literary acclaim usually denied writers of mystery thrillers.

[jmm]

92. Citizen You

I got it as a coffee table book but flew through it and have a waiting list of friends that want to borrow it.

It's a mock handbook for "good" Americans. The business chapter has sections about how to close your small business and how Rumsfeld is a hero for the way he pushed Aspartame on the market while he was the CEO of Searle. The civic duties chapter has a section on how to run for class president in high school. It has tips such as get a list of students who have gotten detention and make sure their names are scrubbed from the voters list. The end is a special read and burn section of dangerous 9/11 questions such as why was the anthrax investigation dropped after it was discovered that it was military grade anthrax which most likely came from Fort Detrick?

[tjwash]

93. "Orion" by Ben Bova.

Awesome book.

[welshTerrier2]

95. my all time favorite book

The Magus by John Fowles ...

[Queen Jane]

96. A Prayer For Owen Meany - John Irving

[BoX o BooX]

100. Second that.

Best. Book. Ever.

[mikebl]

97. Temple of Gold/William Goldman

[Peanut Gallery]

98. Just about anything by Anne Lamott

"Operating Instructions" is my favorite. It's a touching journal of her first year as a single mom. Some of it is laugh-out-loud funny.

[faithnotgreed]

109. i have been a long time fan of anne. i enjoyed travelling mercies

[Heyo]

99. All 4 Dan Brown books...

... but in particular, Angels and Demons and The DaVinci Code.

Great books!

Heyo

[MissMarple]

101. Still Life With Crows by Preston and Childs

Not "light", but very good. I've been saving Brimstone. Perhaps next week will be a good time to read it.

on edit: It is definitely not a "downer" and is quite charming, in a dark way.

[DrZeeLit]

102. Seven Days in May... I got a wicked sunburn because...

...I just kept reading. Blisters... oi!

Since we are talking mostly commercial fiction:

Shogun (read it in less than five days; I was a maniac on a roll)
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
From Here to Eternity
Lonesome Dove


and the beat goes on... I have left out so many.

Kerry On!

[sendero]

104. I don't read many books......

.... butr back when I did, I could never put down anything by Kurt Vonnegut. :)

[LWolf]

106. Here's a list:

I've read too many books. And right now I'm reading a pile of kids/young adult books for work. But here are some I enjoyed this year, and some old favorites:

New to me this year, and worthy:

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger: while I usually avoid xtian themes, this story is about faith, not necessarily a particular faith or doctrine. It's about love and faith carrying a family through and beyond challenge and tragedy.

The Life of Pi by Yann Martel; unforgettable. I was drawn in by the harmonious blend of faiths that the main character enjoys, held by the tension as his crisis unfolds, and blown out of the water when the author shifts our perspective at the end.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd; about finding yourself, becoming whole, and healing.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon--getting inside the head of an autistic mind, and viewing the events and family/community issues from that pov.

The #1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith; first in a series, and the whole series is worthy. The detective agency is nothing more than a vehicle for human interaction, and I loved it. It's set in Africa, outside, but not too far from, American culture.

Some old favorite authors:

Elizabeth Peters; best is the Amelia Peabody series, of which there are 16 or 17; independent, strong-minded, humorous female protagonist in the midst of Egyptian excavations and skulduggery.

Joane Dobson: has written 3 or 4 books in a mystery series about Karen Pelletier (sp?), an English professor.

Sharon McCrumb: Two different, but great, sets of books. One about a female character; humorous and poignant mysteries. The others are not so much a series, but separate stories linked by setting (Appalachians) and repeating characters.

Kingsolver. I love them all, but my favorite is Prodigal Summer, about a woman growing and healing and coming to terms with her life.

There's more, but this thread is too long already.

[MissMarple]

107. My favorite Sharon McCrumb," If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him."

I love the title. Humorous and poignant describes her books quite well. But, so far, I've only read the mysteries.

[LWolf]

119. They're good, but

she seems to have come to a stop when she killed off Elizabeth's husband. I loved "Bimbos of the Death Sun," which was written as a joke that wouldn't die, and followed up by "Zombies of the Gene Pool." They are satires of SF "fandom."

Her other books are about the people, past and present, who live in Southern appalachia, centered on a couple of towns in Tennessee. Most of the books are a fascinating blend of past and present, with mysteries included, but the stories of the people are the focus. I love "The Hangmans Beautiful Daughter."

[faithnotgreed]

114. have you read donna williams? somebody, somewhere

and she also previous to that did nobody nowhere. these are about her struggles with autism/asperbergers. very real and jarring.

thanks for the great suggestions and for taking the time. i love books but havent read in some time now.

[LWolf]

120. I haven't read Donna Williams, but

I'll look for her. I have a professional interest, as well, since I'm on year 3 with an Asperger's student!

:hi:

[philosophie_en_rose]

108. The Tuesday Next Series or About a Boy.

Tuesday Next is light, fun mystery with in-jokes from classical literature. Tuesday lives in a world where books are the most popular form of entertainment. Books include: The Eyre Affair, Lost in a Good Book, The Well of Lost Plots, and Something Rotten.

About a Boy was recently made into a Hugh Grant movie, but the book is about much more and is set in the time before and after the death of Kurt Cobain. It's about a man that inherited the royalty rights to his father's annoying Christmas songs and a miserable boy whose mother tries to commit suicide. Sounds depressing, but it's really amusing.

Jennifer Government is good, light reading. It's tone is very similar to Tuesday next and is set in a world where everything is sponsored by corporations and everyone takes the name of their employer as a last name. (i.e. Dick Halliburton and George W. Satan).

The first few Benjamin January books (Start with A Free Man of Color) are excellent. The main character is a doctor trained in France that was a slave in Louisiana. His mother was bought as a mistress and Benjamin was able to go to France to study medicine. He returns to New Orleans after the death of his wife, faces his shrewish mother, and struggles between his training by his mother and the culture of the enslaved people in New Orleans. Good mysteries and unique characters. Like most series, the last few books are lacking.

I'd also recommend Johnathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, although it's not too easy on the brain muscle. It's very dense, but if you have the time, it's very good.

[Hello_Kitty]

111. David Sedaris' "Naked"

If you haven't read it yet, do so.

[fortyfeetunder]

113. "Burned Alive" by Souad

This is a very easy read, but very gripping and it might make you angry. This is an autobiography of a woman whose parents and family members unsucessfully attempted to off her, not once but twice, (honor killing) because they figured out she was preggers by her lover. (And she suspects a sister was also killed by her brother)

She did get exiled to another country after they tried to burn her to death, and poisoned and managed to have a family. It's a story about tragedy and recovery.

There are scenes that can be disturbing but it's important to understand the culture.

[Cats Against Frist]

115. "Notable American Women" & "The Age of Wire & String"

Ben Marcus. Definitely intelligent. Far out. If you don't know what a "cloud shim," is -- you will.

http://www.benmarcus.com/


Also, Deborah Levy -- "Billy & Girl"

[Lefty48197]

116. The hungry little caterpillar. I wouldn't put that book down for anything

.

[Flaxbee]

117. Some great books listed here, I'm keeping notes for my

next trip to the bookstore..

But I love, and reread whenever I need a little levity, the Rumpole stories by John Mortimer. Look for "The First Rumpole Omnibus" (there are three, collections of short stories). Rumpole is an English barrister, practicing in London, fiercely for the defense all the time. His wit, and his way of teasing judges and questioning punishment, are wonderful. The stories are really very, very funny and clever, but there's a good deal of liberal social commentary throughout. Rumpole has gotten me through some tough times, and I love him (he was played by the late, great Leo McKern on the BBC Rumpole! series...)

"I thank Heaven for small mercies. The first of these is Rumpole" Clive James

[Shadowen]

118. The BEST...BOOKS...EVER...

A Song of Ice and Fire series (currently consisting of A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and A Storm of Swords), by George R.R. Martin. Big, thick, fat tomes, they will take you a while to get through, but you will not be able to put them down.

Warning: sex, violence, foul language.