Yes, it's that time again. I've read all the books on my "must read" list. I've haunted the library and Barnes and Noble and half the indie bookstores in town. I just don't know what's good out there. Help me out, folks. What have you been reading lately? What's good? What should I avoid? What's a must-read?

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2000

Answers

I would strongly recommend Timothy Findley's "last of the crazy people" and "not wanted on the voyage".. a couple people online recommended them to me years ago, and since then i've read just about all of Findley's books. Maurice Gee's "the burning boy" was also pretty good. Gee is a New Zealander, and their prose is similar to Canadian prose. I also really liked "emma" by jane austen. i thought the love letter in it was the best one i'd ever read. (how sad for me!) Jan-- i'm still looking for a copy of "buying time" by joe haldeman. i REALLY want to read it.

-- Anonymous, June 14, 2000

Well, most of the new books I've been reading lately are motorcycle books, which I'm going to assume are less-than-fascinating to everyone without my particular obsession. ;) So I'll refrain from mentioning all of those (unless y'all really want to know).

Recently, though, I've started re-reading Colette's The Claudine Novels, which I absolutely *love*. She's a wonderful writer, and the particular translation I'm reading (it's originally french) is as good as I've read yet. It's basically the "diary" and coming-of- age story (told in multiple installements) of a young French girl, Claudine, and her adventures in boarding school, and then off on her own in Paris. Funny, sexy, bitchy, racy, you name it. Claudine kicks ass.

-- Anonymous, June 14, 2000

If you've never read Brenda Euland's "If You Want to Write," you should check it out. It is one of the finest books on writing I've ever read. Moreso, it is one of the most fascinating books on creativity, art, independence, and freedom you will ever read. You don't need to be a writer or an artist to enjoy it, but it certainly helps. Shay

PS, the book is available from amazon.com

-- Anonymous, June 15, 2000

No, really, I read Playboy for the articles. =P

Aside from being quasi-forced to read Introduction to Cisco Router Configuration (as part of some training) I'm reading some H.P. Lovecraft story collections as well as skimming through The Perfect Storm. I'm also attempting to construct a hardcover book collection of all those books I read when I was young. Think I can find any Madeleine L'Engle or Beverly Cleary in hardcover?

-- Anonymous, June 16, 2000

Some must reads:

The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Accidental Tourist
Emma
Flowers in the Attic

I almost quit reading Emma, as the first quarter or so was fairly dull and the older english was a pain to read. But it turned out to be one of the bigger reading pleasures of my life... worth the initial struggle.

I don't really remember Flowers anymore, but the rest are definitely great reads.

-- Anonymous, June 16, 2000

Books I loved and want to pass on -

The YaYa Sisterhood - Anyone who ever wished they had a tight knit group of women friends NEEDS to read this book.

She's coming undone - Wally Lamb writes extrordinarily well from a woman's perspective. I laughed, cried and was amazed.

Dragonriders of Pern - My Fav Anne McCaffrey Dragon Book; Even if you don't like Scifi, you can't help but get sucked into these dragon stories!

Moretta - Another Anne McCaffrey Dragon book; a classic.

Wuthering Heights - my all time favorite book.

-- Anonymous, June 21, 2000