Jessie, Max Lucado always strikes me as such a very loving person. He presents this amazingly caring view of Jesus...such unconditional love. It always makes me feel so good to read his view of things. I can't believe you've seen him speak...that must have been an amazing experience!!! I'm jealous of your occupation...what fun it must be to work for a publisher!
Thanks for the wonderful book suggestions, chicks!
Wow, Jessie, I don't think I could narrow my favorites down to a hundred, let alone 3! Let me try, though...
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn/To Kill A Mockingbird (couldn't choose between those two...)
Tipping the Velvet, Sarah Waters
Eloise by Kay Thompson
There are a million others...but those are the ones that come to mind right now.
Oooooh favorite 3 books? Hmmmm. There are so many awesome books!
Let's see,
1. The Red Tent
2. A Hundred Secret Senses or The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan
3. Lord of the Flies or War of the Worlds for the layers of deeper meaning in our society.
and then there is Memoirs of a Geisha for the brilliance of a male author writing a in a woman's voice and culture so beautifully.
AND Stephen King's, The Stand because it was the 1st book of that size that I ever read as a teenager - and I couldn't put it down. I sort of credit that for my beginning love of adult reading.
I'm not sure it would be fair to pick 3 "favorites" I can only say, that reading is SUCH a passion of mine. I remember when I was a new mom and didn't have time...I think we should always try to make time for our enjoyment and our intellect.
I'm currently reading Before I Say Goodbye, by Mary Higgins Clark. She is about as "deep" as I can get before freaking out. I'm a bit of a wimp and can't read anything too scary or upsetting or I can't sleep at night! I'm tempted to read The DaVinci Code since everyone raves about it, but I haven't worked up the courage yet. I love to read historical romance novels best, it's pleasant easy reading for me.
My absolute favorite books I have ever read are the "Outlander" series by Diana Gabaldon. I haven't read the latest one, A Breath of Snow & Ashes, but I'm snatching it up the minute it comes out in paperback.
I just finished Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. VERY good and intriguing. It is set in 19th century China and goes through many of the traditions and family structures of that era. Very good...
Kiko, Had to find the name of this book I read (on my honeymoon, LOL, I am such a light reader!) about a woman working in a Chinese silk factory. The title is Women of the Silk and it is by Gail Tsukiyama. Here's the link if you want to check it out. It was a GREAT read. I read so much on our honeymoon because we had a little hammock! I also read Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen, which was thought-provoking. I think Quindlen tells a great story with meaning.
Happy reading! I listened to a whole book on CD this weekend while trying to move into our new townhouse--For Matrimonial Purposes by Kavita Daswani. A fun read, nothing difficult, and it might not be as fun without the voices the author makes for her mother and father on the CD! LOL!
Cottage, stay away from mysteries by James Patterson...I'm like you with scary or upsetting images and wow...he's fully of them. <shudder> A friend of mine swears by reading him before bed because his stories so fully engage her brain that she can clear her mind. I can't imagine!
I'm almost done with Annie Proulx's Postcards. It's one weird book! But it's fully of her amazing imagery, which I do love. Think I'll need a rest before I read another of hers...I have both Appetites: Why Women Want and Having Faith: An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood to read...it'll be hard picking between them! My overeating hasn't been the best lately and so I'm thinking I should dive into Geneen Roth's Feeding the Hungry Heart, too. I have Labyrinth on CD waiting at the library...I finished half of it before I had to return the book...now I need to finish the rest and pray I remember what I read before!
LOL...Laurie I totally know that feeling about having to return a book half finished! What is Labryinth about? I feel like I've heard about it somewhere. I read about half of Mary, Called Magdalene...gosh, probably two years ago. It's gigantic and I am convinced I'll have to buy it to finish it because three weeks won't ever be long enough. Guess I should do that (buy it).
Since we've moved I am going to have to unearth my books! I read most of Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller in the last two days--an easy but really thought-provoking read on faith in a postmodern world. He really deals with the question of how faith can be integrated into our lives in the 21st century. This book isn't so funny, but my sister read Searching for God Knows What by him and laughed hysterically the whole way through.
i LOVE this thread! Thanks for all the great reading ideas. Laurie, you're encouraging me to read more nonfiction.
Jessie, Blue Like Jazz sounds great! I've added it to my list. We're starting a Theology on Tap group here and it sounds like it might be a good topic starter.
Labyrinth is kind of a feminine version of the DaVinci Code, I imagine. It's about the only crusade held in a Catholic country...basically the Northern part of France wanted control of the land in the Southern part of France so they declared a crusade against the Cathars who lived there. That part is true. This book presupposes that there were three books written that guided one to the Holy Grail and that those who held the books lived in Cathar country during this crusade. The book goes back and forth between two women, Alais in the 1200s, and Alice in the present time. It has tons of intrigue and mystery. Interesting, but I must admit that it's hard to follow at times and some of the gory bits are a bit too gory for my taste. But I'm almost done.
I'm also reading Devil in the White City...if you want to try non-fiction, this is a great place to start! The book is about the World's Fair that happened in Chicago in the late 1800s. The central characters are the architects who built the fair (a.k.a. the 'good guys') and the first serial killer in North America (a.k.a. the 'bad guy') who carried out his killlings through schemes related to the fair. It's written like a fiction book and is SO hard to put down! Wonderful!
I'm also working my way through Having Faith...it's very deep and full of information, so it's hard going, but well worth it. I was able to look up the pesticide levels in the air and water in my area and feel a little better about my chances of bearing a kid without birth defects (or without birth defects caused by where I live!).
Laurie,
Have you read anything by Tracy Chevalier? Labyrinth sounds a little like The Virgin Blue, which goes back and forth between someone in like the 18th century and someone in present day (in France, nonetheless). It was excellent. I also liked Falling Angels by her. She's heart-wrenching and not at light, but a great author. She's the author of Girl with the Pearl Earring, but I haven't read that.
I just finished "A Woman from Cairo", which is a really good page turner. It is a fiction novel about a terrorist plot in the U.S. though -- so maybe not a good one for anyone feeling vulnerable.
Also, OMG! "The Kite Runner" Brilliant!!! It swept me away and was so emotional. I HIGHLY recommend it. It is one of the best books that I have ever read.
I am currently reading a non fic novel called, "The Fallen" http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/006...lance&n=283155 So far, I am about 100 pages into the book, and I have to say, I am having a hard time getting into it. I feel compelled to read it since people on Amazon spoke so highly about it. Maybe it's just that, after reading The Kite Runner, I am just not impressed. I don't think so -- has anyone here read it? Let me know.
After this, I am going to read "The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion. And after that, it's "Case Histories" by Kate Atkinson.
Scully, I'm interested in Magical Thinking...let me know what you think! I've heard tons of good things about Kite Runner, but like that book with "pills" in the title (I can see the cover...turquoise blue with a hand and little round sprinkles everywhere???) that was so well thought-of, I just don't have any real desire to read it, though I feel like I should. It's like the literary version of brussels sprouts to me. I know, though, that some of my favorite books have been ones that felt like that at first... Phantom Tollbooth was one of those, can you believe that???
Jessie, you are cracking me up, girl! I LOVE Tracy Chevalier!!! I've read all her books and they are fantastic!!! I really thought about Virgin Blue when I was in France earlier this year. That's a great novel!!! However, Girl With the Pearl Earring is just as phenomenal, if not better. I thought of that one a lot when we were in Amsterdam two years ago. Have you read The Lady and the Unicorn by her? That one has to be my favorite and led to me having a semi-ecstatic experience when I went to the Musee de Moyen Age and saw the Unicorn Tapestries in person. I almost drooled...and I totally amused the security guard with my rapt adoration. They are just amazing pieces of art, but her story makes them even more luminous.
Laurie,
I read A Million Little Pieces (the blue one with the sprinkles!) and I was honestly very disappointed. I read it after it came out that it was somewhat false, and that didn't bother me as much as the constant graphic puking scenes! Just wasn't impressed. Not my style. Kite Runner, however, was phenomenal IMO but you know what, life's too short to read stuff you don't want to!
I finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince this weekend, I'd almost forgotten what had happened! Then I sat and almost cried thinking that she might kill Harry, or Ron or Hermione. Last night I decided I am up for a challenge so I started The Three Musketeers by Dumas. The copy we have has no copyright page but a person inscription from 1899! I LOVE old books, we have boxes of them and this one is a particular gem.
LOL over Tracy Chevalier..great minds think alike. I will put Girl with the Pearl Earring and Lady and the Unicorn on my reading list!
This survey was in one of my friend's blogs, and I thought it might be interesting to share and see what books have affected YOUR lives. (I am not very good at limiting "one" to one, as you can see!)
One book that changed your life: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia-Marquez. I read this in a 200 level English class and was so fascinated with all the themes, it showed me I could be an English major and that I am kinda smart in English!
One book you have read more than once: All of the Harry Potter books.
One book you would want on a desert island: the Bible; the Sweet Potato Queen's Book of Love because it always makes me laugh.
One book that made you laugh: Marley and Me by John Grogan. Laughed hysterically and then sobbed hysterically.
One book you wish had never been written: Moby Dick. Bane of my existence!
One book that made you cry: Sophie's Heart by Lori Wick. I always cry when she cries on Easter.
One book you are currently reading: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
One book you have been meaning to read: Light a Penny Candle by Maeve Binchy. Only one of hers I own that I haven't read. Also: Coming to America by Anne Tyler, everything by CS Lewis; the Satanic Verses by Rushdie.
One book you wish everyone would read, and why: the Bible, and Blue Like Jazz.
I can't believe you've seen him speak...that must have been an amazing experience!!! 
I'm jealous of your occupation...what fun it must be to work for a publisher! 
Let me try, though...
