What are you reading?

jmq · Post by **jmq** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 1:17 pm

Just read "Pillars of the Earth" while in the BVIs which I think was recommended by several here. Thanks. Always nice to start and finish the long ones (900+ pgs) on vacation. My daughter saved the last Harry Potter for last yrs vacation - what a treat for her to read uninterupted.

Reminds me of reading "Lonesome Dove" by Larry McMurtry on vacation in Mexico yrs ago. Thats a long one too, a great book (and I dont even like Westerns) that was made into a perfectly cast TV miniseries with Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Duvall, Angelica Houston, Diane Lane, etc. I have that on DVD and need to finish watching it this summer.

alw1977 · Post by **alw1977** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 2:28 pm

jmq - good call on the Larry McMurty books. As a younger woman, I'm probably the furthest thing from a target reader for L.M., but his works are timeless. I've read the whole "Texasville" series (set in more modern times and made into REALLY bad movies in the 80s) and some of his westerns. I love his books, and your post is a good reminder to look him up at the library when I return this week.

pswlrw · Post by **pswlrw** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 5:13 pm

Just read this thread, so I'll add my 2 cents! Favorite all time books in no particular order (I have re-read these over and over through the years):

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein. Yes, it is technically science fiction, but don't let that scare you. I am not a SCI FI and just love this book.

Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy. Yes, a little dark, but so so beautifully written.

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Yes, you have seen the movie, but the book is so much more!!

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. I laughed out loud (through my tears) at this one.

The World According to Garp by John Irving. Reading this one led me to read every other thing he has every written, but Garp remains my favorite.

The Colony by Anne River Siddons. My family has had a beachhouse in NH since this 60s and this "chick book" about a family's beach house in Maine really resonated with me and my cousins. Defintely a beach read.

Lots of fun: The Harlan Coben's mystery series. Don't recall all the names but there are 5-8 of them dealing with a sports agent/crime solver and his oh-so-cool sidekick.

Xislandgirl · Post by **Xislandgirl** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 7:36 pm

pswlrw wrote:Just read this thread, so I'll add my 2 cents! Favorite all time books in no particular order (I have re-read these over and over through the years):

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein. Yes, it is technically science fiction, but don't let that scare you. I am not a SCI FI and just love this book.

Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy. Yes, a little dark, but so so beautifully written.

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Yes, you have seen the movie, but the book is so much more!!

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. I laughed out loud (through my tears) at this one.

The World According to Garp by John Irving. Reading this one led me to read every other thing he has every written, but Garp remains my favorite.

The Colony by Anne River Siddons. My family has had a beachhouse in NH since this 60s and this "chick book" about a family's beach house in Maine really resonated with me and my cousins. Defintely a beach read.

Lots of fun: The Harlan Coben's mystery series. Don't recall all the names but there are 5-8 of them dealing with a sports agent/crime solver and his oh-so-cool sidekick.

I think that we share a brain. I love every book you listed except for the Coben books. I am going to have to get them.

LysaC · Post by **LysaC** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 9:07 am

My husband is eating up those Coben books! He's a big "manly mystery" fan as well as a sports fan so these books are perfect for him!

jmq · Post by **jmq** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 2:43 pm

pswlrw wrote: Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy. Yes, a little dark, but so so beautifully written.

Prince of Tides is a Top 5 of all time book for me too, but unlike Lonesome Dove mentioned above, the movie was horribly, horribly cast - Nick Nolte and Barbara Streisand for those 2 main characters?
Give me a break. Worst Casting Ever.

PA Girl · Post by **PA Girl** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 3:00 pm

pswlrw wrote:
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. I laughed out loud (through my tears) at this one.

So did I. In fact I liked it so much I took from the libray both out the unabridged books on tape read by the author I remember laughing so hard that I had to pull off the road.

My mother, on the other hand, thought it was awful.

My Nana was down right angry with me for loaning it to her. She found it very depressing, likely because it hit close to home (similar age, tough upbringing, etc.)

I am rereading Personal History by Katharine Grahm at the moment. I checked out several new releases today so I will be setting that aside.

pswlrw · Post by **pswlrw** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 4:02 pm

JMQ have to agree about the Prince of Tides movie - not only was the casting the worst ever, the entire focus of the book was lost. I might call it worst adaptation ever

pswlrw · Post by **pswlrw** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 4:03 pm

X - I knew I liked you!

sherban · Post by **sherban** » Wed Jul 02, 2008 6:52 pm

While on STJ last week I read "A Trip to the Beach" by Melinda and Robert Blanchard....about starting a restaurant in Anguilla. It was a nice, light beach/vacation read...easy stuff and interesting.

liamsaunt · Post by **liamsaunt** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 9:56 am

I loved a Trip to the Beach! They have a Trip to the Beach cookbook too, which I also have. There are some pretty good recipes in it.

I just finished reading Unaccustomed Earth, by Jumpa Lahiri, which was excellent. Now I am reading The Outlander, by Gil Admason. I'm only on page 110, but I am enjoying it so far.

jmq · Post by **jmq** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 11:04 am

Half way thru The Ruins by Scott Smith and I'm starting to root for the vines.

RickG · Post by **RickG** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 11:17 am

I just picked up "Zena: Warrior Princess" by Rob Weisbrot, based on a recommendation from a friend in Louisiana. I'm skeptical, but she promised "Where guilty pleasures live, armed to the teeth and sporting battle armor, there strides Zena."

Cheers, RickG

silverheels · Post by **silverheels** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 2:41 pm

Just read a piece on the AOL site about the ten books you should read before you die.
Here they are and how many have you read?
Gone With the Wind
Lord of the Rings
Harry Potter
The Stand
DaVinci Code
To Kill a Mocking Bird
Angels and Demons
Atlas Shrugged
Catcher in the Rye
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

I've only read 6-better get busy before I die.

Xislandgirl · Post by **Xislandgirl** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 7:30 pm

silverheels wrote:Just read a piece on the AOL site about the ten books you should read before you die.
Here they are and how many have you read?
Gone With the Wind
Lord of the Rings
Harry Potter
The Stand
DaVinci Code
To Kill a Mocking Bird
Angels and Demons
Atlas Shrugged
Catcher in the Rye
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
I've only read 6-better get busy before I die.

I am certain I will never complete that list. I have read 8, but I just don't see me picking up Gone with the Wind or Lord of the Rings. I don't have the slightest interest in either of them.

usvi-on-line

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What are you reading?