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I've got a lot of spare time on my hands now and I want to start reading books again (it's been a while). What's everybody reading? I need suggestions please.

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Guest Ot**w***og****n

A few weeks ago I finished "No Easy Day" by Mark Owen about the raid on Bin Laden's estate and his demise. I thought it was a good read. Gives some insight as to what these guys go through. Also, read "Who am I" by Pete Townsend...I liked it as I'm a long time Who fan. Some ideas anyways.

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I'm reading The Naked Ape By Desmond Morris. (Subtitled: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal)

 

Very interesting so far! :)

 

books?id=FB5Ddqv8nO0C&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=1&edge=curl&imgtk=AFLRE71iLUkmlFYambibuwOlfQ6zrvK5gyaxvx3XskOLcC5Jdm5ntZDfZAqWq6ylSYqdjkC5b7EMshIHTGHvdrINDe6SDOBtBChZImZGfLsCCHhOW0WSqHacICefKdFaBJzyvzBv_iL1

 

Here is the Naked Ape at his most primal - in love, at work, at war. Meet man as he really is: relative to the apes, stripped of his veneer as we see him courting, making love, sleeping, socialising, grooming, playing.

 

Zoologist Desmond Morris's classic takes its place alongside Darwin's Origin of the Species, presenting man not as a fallen angel, but as a risen ape, remarkable in his resilience, energy and imagination, yet an animal nonetheless, in danger of forgetting his origins.

 

With its penetrating insights on man's beginnings, sex life, habits and our astonishing bonds to the animal kingdom, The Naked Ape is a landmark, at once provocative, compelling and timeless.

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Anything by James Lee Burke...especially the Robicheaux series of novels.

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Guest K***e D****ls

I tweeted about these two books recently: 'The Glass Castle' and 'Half Broke Horses', both by Jeannette Walls. Just incredible reads. I'm a voracious reader and these are by far two of the best I've read in quite a while. 'The Glass Castle' has been published in over 20 languages.

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I wish I could include the link to my book, but since I'm being published next spring I can't just yet, but I am currently reading two books, one is a thousand splendid suns by Khaled Hosseini and the other is Game of Thrones...

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Here's a list of some of my all-time favourite books:

 

"Kushiel's Dart" by Jacqueline Carey

"1984" by George Orwell

"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

"The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold

"Self" by Yann Martel

"My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult

"The Clan of the Cavebear" by Jean M. Auel

"The Swimming-Pool Library" by Alan Holinghurst

"Fall on Your Knees" by Anne-Marie MacDonald

"The Hours" by Michael Cunningham

"Sexing the Cherry" by Jeannette Winterson

"The Postmidstress" by Sarah Blake

"Tales of the City" by Armistead Maupin

"Chorus of Mushrooms" by Hiromi Goto

"Valencia" by Michelle Tea

"Zami" by Audre Lorde

"On Chesil Beach" by Ian McEwan

Edited by N*t****e L*f*****
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Recently I have been reading dystopian novels. I just finished The Chrysalids by John Wyndham (I can't believe I missed that one in high school) and I just started The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. The next on the list is The Trial by Franz Kafka.

 

My favourite all-time novels include:

 

1984 and Animal Farm - George Orwell

Lord of the Flies - William Golding

Watership Down - Richard Adams

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

 

I have also been eyeing the book 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. Has anyone read this novel? Any comments would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Erica.

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Marilyn at Rainbow's End by Darwin Porter.

 

Not only does this book discuss Marilyn, but there are also many other stories on other celebs from back in the day...btw this book details how Marilyn was murdered and the giant cover up!

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I tend to prefer reading more non-fiction. Last summer's reading list included these two interesting reads:

 

"Wide is the Waters: The story of the English Bible and the Revolution It Inspired" by Benson Bobrick

 

This one was an impulse purchase but well worth it. A fascinating history of the creation of the King James Bible and how the translation process influenced the English language, the development of Christianity and the history of the English-speaking world.

 

"Bloodlands -Europe between Hitler and Stalin" by Timothy Snyder

 

A very very depressing book about the parts of Europe (Poland, Baltic States, Ukraine and Belarus) which were located between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. You know you are going to a dark place when the author is arguing that a place like Auschwitz wasn't as bad as people thought because their were actual survivors unlike many other camps where barely anyone survived. Even with the depressing subject manner, Snyder does a great job conveying the central theme that this evil can easily occur when regimes turn people into numbers. Only when those numbers are seen as people can we keep our humanity.

 

On the fiction front I tend to read writers from the 1930's and 1940's. Not sure why, guess those high school English classes influenced me more than I thought.

 

Seeing some of the reading lists here does have me thinking that may be I should expand my fiction reading wish list. Nathalie's list contains at least three books that have been recommended to me friends and co-workers.

Edited by Philander39
fixing typos and dumb grammar mistakes
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I'm currently reading 'The 100-Year-Old-Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared', a comedy novel originally written in Swedish by Jonas Jonasson. So far it's absolutely adorable, very enjoyable book.

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For someone just getting back in to the reading things the choices are endless. As a voracious reader myself, I would suggest you start with selections on the New York Times Best Seller list (google it) and take a look at the fiction and non fiction selections.

 

Its just a starting point to let your imagination grow to the myriad of other great suggestions on this thread. Good luck and happy reading.

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In the mystery section find Donna Leon. She has created a series with the character Commissario Guido Brunetti. The setting is Venice Italy, which adds to the enjoyment.

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Guest K***e D****ls

I know this author was mentioned earlier in this thread but Khaled Hosseini's 'The Kite Runner' and 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' were outstanding. I just got his new book 'And The Mountains Echoed' and I can't wait to start it!

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I've just picked up a novel called 'Room', written by Emma Donoghue. Terrifying subject matter, but written in an amusing, clever way. Seriously. I have a feeling I'll finish it in one sitting this evening.

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Guest
I've just picked up a novel called 'Room', written by Emma Donoghue. Terrifying subject matter, but written in an amusing, clever way. Seriously. I have a feeling I'll finish it in one sitting this evening.

 

That's a great book. Without giving too many details away, it's bitter sweet and is an emotional roller coaster. I wonder how many times this situation has actually happened and what it would do to a person's character. Have fun reading!!!

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The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.

 

From a review of the book: "A groundbreaking work from a master, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out. It is a stirring, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark."

 

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15783514-the-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane

 

Additional Comments:

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.

 

From a review of the book: "A groundbreaking work from a master, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out. It is a stirring, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark."

 

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15783514-the-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane

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Started re-reading Fathers and Sons by Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev. Just snagged it off the shelf and realized I hadn't read it since University.

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