book recommendations?
i'm desperate for good reads that i can't put down. last two books i picked up from the library when i had to run in and run out: appetite for profit, about "big food" and how they want to keep us eating unhealthy, and the view from castle rock by alice munro, a sort of collection of semi-fictionalized stories from her family's history, which just happened to arise in scotland and included scenes in edinburgh.
they were good, but not all-engrossing. i also recently read life of pi. beautifully written, something about the storytelling reminded me of the little prince, but still not quite what i had hoped for. i don't know why, but i want REALLY GOOD escape. stories i don't want to leave. i need books i can't put down. i read while i'm nursing and before i go to sleep. please please, anything you can recommend?
they were good, but not all-engrossing. i also recently read life of pi. beautifully written, something about the storytelling reminded me of the little prince, but still not quite what i had hoped for. i don't know why, but i want REALLY GOOD escape. stories i don't want to leave. i need books i can't put down. i read while i'm nursing and before i go to sleep. please please, anything you can recommend?
posted by Ayesha | 5:10 PM
9 Comments:
Salaam,
Two books I really enjoyed recently were Zadie Smith's "On Beauty" & Kiran Desai's "the Inheritance of Loss."
:)
Warmly,
Baraka
thank you baraka!! have actually been thinking of reading kiran desai. thanks for the recommendations...
Salamaat,
This may be old: have you read "One hundred years of solitude" by Marquez? I just re-read it after a long time, and was still amazed at him.
"The alchemist" is my old time favorite but that's old too.
I got the same slightly dissapointed feeling from "The life of Pie" dont' know why. Maybe because people had hyped it up for me.
Aboulela's books are really good but I doubt you will find them at your local library. I especially enjoyed "The translator."
This is not helpful at all is it?
Knowing how you like Irish stuff have you read the books by Morgan Llywelyn? If not, you must, NOW! lol. They are really good and cover all sorts of Irish history and myth. The good part for you is that there are about 2 dozen for you to read.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Llywelyn
Another great author is Edward Rutherford who writes a lot about the British Isles. His books Sarum and The Forest are great. They take an area in England and cover it from ancient history to modern times covering certain families. They are those books, although thick, you can finish in a few days.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Rutherfurd
Opps, that is my post above. I dont know why it is using Arabic for Abu Sinan now.
maliha: i have read all those but it's been years since i read marquez - i might try it again then! yeah, i think "life of pi" was overhyped. sad, because it is a great book... just not ALLLL that. yes, you were helpful!
abu sinan - it's okay, i can read arabic :) but i will check out morgan llywelyn! thanks so much! definitely the kind of thing i am looking for. i have read rutherford's "london" but nothing else by him. i will try The Forest!
yay, i have books to read again... seriously, it's weird, i actually start to feel withdrawal symptoms if i don't have a book to read (right now i'm re-reading "eragon" for the umpteenth time and liking it less each time).
my husband wants me to stop reading fiction and start reading "intelligent" books... :p
Well, some fiction is "intelligent". That is why I love historical fiction. You learn something without having to deal with the dryness of a hsitory book.
Rutherford also has two books on Ireland now, neither of which I have read, more's the pity. I might have to buy them and stache them at work for lunch time. I dont get free time at home.
Ah, my name is in English today. What is happening? lol
Salaam,
I might not be too helpful since I am a HUGE Stephen King fan and I am way to picky when it comes to other authors. But I did enjoy "Angels and Demons" (Dan Brown of Da Vinci Code fame)which I recently finished reading (I actually stayed up till 5 am to finish it!). Next in line for me to read is Da Vinci code :)
Mwana
P.S. my email is mtumu at hotmail dot com
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