Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm one of these "safe" readers who usually stick to authors I have liked in the past such as Clive Cussler, James Patterson (gulp), and Patricia Cornwell
But somehow I found myself holding a Nelson Demille novel in my hand that someone had put on the swap table in our building and I brought it upstairs and read it. The novel was called Night Fall and was about the tragedy of TWA 800 but the thing that really got me was the fact that he didn't focus so much on accident vs coverup - he emphasized the relationships between the rescuers/investigators and the relatives and friends - people whose lives had changed forever and only those on the same side could truly understand.
So now I picked up a second novel by Nelson DeMille called Wild Fire and can't wait to finish it.
Now at the library today I picked up a novel because the title caught my eye: "Mutiny" and I had visions of Captain Bligh (lol) but this is the true story behind the movie "The Hunt for Red October" and since I've started reading it I can't put it down.
The true story wasn't a russian nuclear sub at all but a russian antisubmarine warship whose crew wanted the world to know about the corruption of the government in Russia. Obviously despite their attempts they weren't successful or we would have known about it long ago.
Also, several years ago, I found a book at the library that I thought would be a good challenge for me because it was almost 800 pages long and I had never read something that long before.
The book was called The Sunne in Splendor by Sharon Kay Penman and it takes place during the British Historical Era of the Wars of the Roses. Well, let me just say that I couldn't put it down and read it in record time. Then I got others out of the library that were written by her: Here Be Dragons; Falls the Shadow and The Reckoning - all of them dealing with the Welsh fighting the English for the right to keep and rule over their own kingdom. If you like history, these are a great set.
Interestingly enough, I was able to visit some of the battlefield sites and memorials on my trip to England, including the site of Bosworth Battlefield where King Richard III was killed in battle.
I can think of a few.............
I picked up First Helpings by Megan McCafferty and loved it so much that I read the next 5 books in the series.I fell in love with the main character.
"e" by Peter Beaumont..it's written entirely in email format and takes place in a British advertising agency.It's hilarious.I laughed out loud through most of it.
Mega Cabot's books.....not all of them,just three I loved...and read em in order!The Boy Next Door,Boy Meets Girl and every Boy's Got one.Written in email format and all 3 are funny and heart warming.
The Shack...........my mom gave it to me as a gift and it was the most magical and gorgeous book I have ever read.
Last edited by Irishrdhd; 09-26-2009 at 07:52 AM..
Reason: I made a silly mistake
I walked into a second hand book store in Surathani, Thailand and found Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. I had never heard of it before but it looked interesting from the back cover. I exchanged my book plus some change for it and only later found out it is basically a classic. I am having my ESL students read it this semester.
This also happened to me with my current favorite book. I went to the bargain section in Barnes & Noble and found a hugely thick book with a cool picture on the front. It was only $3 and I loved the page to $ ratio. ;] The book was Gloria by Keith Maillard. I will always have a copy of this book in my library.
Quite a few years ago now I bought in the a second hand shop "The girl with the pearl hearing" by Tracy Chevalier. I had never hear of the book but I liked the title and the cover.
I really enjoyed reading it. After then one I read all of Tracy Chevalier's books and in general enjoyed them all. I liked the way she would describe a particular historical period or an interesting trade.
Lately I've been going to the library and just randomly grabbing three books from the "new fiction" shelf. I almost always end up getting really into at least one of them. Using this method I've found a lot of good books and especailly loved the following two.
I just went to the library yesterday and picked up a novel by James Rollins called "The Doomsday Key". It is an excellent story and now I have to add James Rollins to my list of must-read authors.
My mom brought The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy home from work one night and gave it to me. I never heard of the author. Mom thought I would like it because it was about life on the sea. This book profoundly changed my life and led me on a writing spree that led to almost 500 poems, a short story and a couple novels that are still being worked on. Ah, if only there was a market for poetry....
A year or so back I was at the local thrift store going through their shopping cart of paperbacks for ten cents each. I love thick books and picked up one called Morgan's Run by Colleen McCullough. This is the story of convicts sent from England to Australia and how they made a new life for themselves far from those they loved. I was hoping the sequel was already written, but see that it has not been... bummer.
I have 2 books in mind which I picked up in the library knowing nothing about either, but liking the cover...
The Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. The fictionalized account of a real village in England that self-quarentineed during the Plague.
Stolen Child by Keith Donohue. After reading it, I flipped it over and started again! I don't care much for science fiction...and I'm not sure even if that is what this book is! Fantasy? Anyway, I like my reads to be plausable...and it was. The story of a "changeling".
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
.
