Well, now that school is out (thank god) I have a long summer stretching out in front of me (I'm not complaining) and am looking for some good stuff to read. I've read a lot of the Oprah's club books and have enjoyed them and I'll read just about anything I guess. Anyone have any good suggestions for me?

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2000

Answers

Check pamies forum. There is a similar question there. People have been giving lots of answers.

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2000

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This is the beta site for Bookface.com Apparently, the idea is advertising supported Books online. Sort of like an ad supported magazine online -- but books.

-- Anonymous, June 03, 2000

The Harry Potter books are fun reading and they go fairly qiickly. My whole family is now addicted and waiting on pins and needles for book number 4. I would also suggest Memoirs of a Geisha, All She Wanted by Aphrodite Jones, Anything by Tom Robbins, As Nature Made Him...heck I could probably go on...but start with Harry Potter~

-- Anonymous, June 03, 2000

If you like historical fiction: "The Sunne in Splendour" by Sharon Kay Penman. About Richard III and War of the Roses. Brilliant and engrossing.

-- Anonymous, June 03, 2000

I'm just finishing "The Binding Chair or, A Visit From the Foot Emancipation Socity" by Kathryn Harrison. What a beautiful book of sharp prose and dark humor. I have post-it notes littering the pages of my copy...each note pin-pointing a particular hauntingly beautiful passage.

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2000

Harry Potter Rules! You'll love the books - at the bookstore they told me more adult readers read them than children.

I'm ready "The Ayn Rand Cult" (by ?) - very good, but a little biased I think.

"The Pilot's Wife" - excellent, you won't be able to put it down. Is an Oprah book, but if you haven't read it, you should.

I'm curious to see what other's comments are about the books Oprah chooses... I feel like a lot of them have to do with race, abuse, and women's issues. I'd really kind of like to see her read a classic, or some poetry, or a silly book rather than these huge, heavy topics. Anyone agree?

-- Anonymous, June 05, 2000

I think you're right about Oprah. She never seems to go for anything unless it has an issue slant. But I can see where she's coming from: She's a black woman who was abused as a child. Hence her fascination with books that are about gender/racial/abuse issues. Good on her, though, because she's making people more aware of these issues because of her book choices. Her choices sell out at the bookstore every thime. And I have to say that her picks have been bang-on. I've never read an Oprah book I didn't like (OK, I've read three Oprah books-- She's Come Undone and I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb, and Where the Heart IS by Billie Letts. And I didn't pick them up because they were on Oprah. They were all good, though).

Check out Pamie's forum. I've printed out the reccomendations, and I'll be using that list when I go to the Library. There are a lot of great suggestions.

-- Anonymous, June 05, 2000

"Anonymous Rex" by Eric Garcia. Hysterically funny. Cross Raymond Chandler with Jurassic Park and you have this book. The premise: What if dinosaurs didn't really die out 65 million years ago? What if they just got smaller and started wearing human suits? It's a riotously (and righteously) funny story about a velociraptor private eye named Vincent Rubio told in the Kinky Friedman/Dashielle Hammett style. Wonderful read, totally engrossing.

-- Anonymous, June 05, 2000

Books I've been pushing on friends who stand still long enough:

"The Manchurian Candidate", Richard Condon. The book that the movie is based on, and however many years later it's still a good suspenseful political thriller.

"Behind the Scenes At the Museum", Kate Atkinson. The story of a British girl named Ruby Lennox, narrated by Ruby herself beginning from "I am conceived!" It's funny and interesting and gives you a lot to think about on the topic of how families talk or don't talk to each other.

"Little Altars Everywhere" and "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood", Rebecca Wells. Crazy, funny, thought-provoking, etc.

"Slow River", Nicola Griffith. This is probably the best novel I've ever read, and as a result it's really hard for me to come up with anything coherent to say about it. It's the kind of book that sucks you down into it until you feel like you can't breathe from being caught in the story, and then pushes you back up to the surface.

On that note, "The Blue Place", also Nicola Griffith. I'm madly in love with Nicola Griffith, I can't help it.

See, I could keep going forever if I'm not careful.

-- Anonymous, June 06, 2000

Try The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. I know it's supposed to be for ages twelve to eighteen (which usually translates as eight to fourteen), but the imagery and Pullman's sheer genius, not to mention his ability to tell a story make this book really worthwhile. Much better than Harry Potter, IMHO; and there's a sequel out already, and another dated for September.

-- Anonymous, June 10, 2000

Here's one I read a few weekends ago and found I couldn't put down: The Haunting of Maddie Prue by Alfred Silver. Biases up front: I actually know Alf. He's a great guy, but that's not why I'm recommending this. It's a really fabulous book and I wouldn't be surprised if he wins the Raddall again for it next year (he won it a few years ago for Acadia - the Raddall Award being an Atlantic Canadian regional book prize for fiction). Sorry about the Canadian links but it isn't available in the US yet (though it will be within the year). The $19.95 price would actually be around $15 US.

Anyway. It's a literary mystery - with quite a lot of fantasy elements as well. Should appeal to readers of fantasy or mystery as well as people who like literary fiction. Very well-written. I have a more extensive review here.

Joanne

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2000

If you like fantasy, read "Tigana" by Guy Gavriel Kay, as well as "The Fionavar Tapestry". Both are very good. I've tried reading other Kay books, and I haven't been in a mindset to get through them. Not to say they weren't good, but I didn't get into them at the time. All of his books are non-formulaic, unlike most fantasy out there. David Eddings "Belgariad" and "Mallorean" are good, too, but I couldn't read his "Sapphire Rose" stuff.

I'm currently reading "Pink Slip" by Rita Ciresi. It's about a young woman with a weird family. She's a writer and editor. Her mother keeps trying to marry her off. It's good so far.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2000

Possession by AS Byatt is astounding. (It won the Booker Prize for England a year or two ago.) The Hours by Michael Cunningham is a fascinating, intricately woven web that will draw you in between the pages effortlessly (it won the Pulitzer).

Harry Potter... I just have to say that I love that little wizard. I'm eagerly awaiting the new book on July 8th. (I'm a geek who works in a bookstore and we are getting wizard capes and hats to wear the day the book comes out. I'm a geek because I'm excited about this.)

Katie.

-- Anonymous, June 20, 2000