NTTGPR: Good Book

kamarks08 · December 2014

So, I'm looking for a few good books to read - Christmas is one of the few times I have enough time to read as much as I want. I was looking at this list, which has good suggestions, but I've read about half of them.

So - what's a book you read this year that you had trouble putting down?

or Alternatively, what was a horrible book that you would not suggest I pick up if my life depended on it?

awesomenus1341 · December 2014

I just finished Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson and it was great. If you liked the books on the list you posted, I also recommend The Art of Racing in the Rain. If you've never read Water for Elephants, it's one I can never put down (the movie was decent too).

Peaseblossom55 · December 2014

I really enjoyed The Maze Runner, I read the first two books, and I believe there is one more out there I haven't read yet.

jnnfrrose6 · December 2014

This year I've read the entire Outlander series and finished the Century Trilogy by Ken Follett. Looking for something new myself, so I'll be following this thread, but I will say I didn't care for The Art of Racing in the Rain. Can't remember why at this point, just that when I was done it was just "meh" to me.

mandy522 · December 2014

Outlander. Always Outlander.

Also, if you like YA:
If I Stay (it's on the list, but if you haven't read it yet) and the sequel Where She Went, which might be even better.
The Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy was fantastic.
Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce series (the first one is Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. 11 year old girl detective in post-WWII England. It's awesome)
I'm reading The 5th Wave right now and I can't put it down. Damn you, work.

bracingourselves · December 2014

I'm finishing up on the Mara Dyer trilogy (starting with The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer). That was some extremely excellent YA if you're into Horror. I was obsessed.

I read The Snow Child last year, which was really interesting and seasonally appropriate. It's sort of a new fairytale type thing.

Gone Girl was incredibly boring. I only got halfway through it before I gave up. I've heard quite a few other people agree, but that said the movie was good.

I'm always up for reading Kushiel's Dart when I'm in the mood for porny and politically complicated. It has to be read to be understood. It's like Game of Thrones, but with less characters and more high-class hookers.

awesomenus1341 · December 2014

@risscabobs‌, your book list looks very similar to mine, pretty sure we could be book bffs, I'm going to check out a few on your list I haven't read now.

@kamarks08‌ I will also second Jodi Picoult. In addition to the ones listed, I also loved House Rules and Lone Wolf, but really, if you like her style, you will like most all her books.

divinemsbee · December 2014

iamgroot said:

I don't know if you are into non-fiction at all, but I read "The Devil in the White City" earlier this year and loved it. It's really interesting-both the story of H.H. Holmes and his Murder Castle and just all the work that went into the World's Fair. I thought the story of the World's Fair planning would bore me, but honestly it was fascinating. Possibly because I didn't know much about it before I went into the book.

That book scared the bejesus out of me. It is genuinely fascinating and creepy.

He also wrote In the Garden of Beasts, which is really good.

Older book-wise, Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides is excellent. I just read Gone Girl, I didn't think I'd like it, but I really did. For funny stuff that's still really addictively readable, I love Jen Lancaster.

SpartanChick88 · December 2014

Disliked The Fault in Our Stars.

Agree with The Help

Highly recommend Ken Follet's The Century Trilogy beginning with Fall of Giants - AMAZING

Will ALWAYS recommend The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. I just finished reading it for the 6th time and I can't wait to see what they do with the mini series on Sunday

acorn99 · December 2014

I am currently reading The Secret History, by Donna Tartt who wrote The Goldfinch. Both great books.

ramaholic · December 2014

If you're looking for blind recommendations, I'd suggest The Gunslinger by Stephen King. It's a favorite.

reginaphilangee · December 2014

I am an old soul really and like @Joy2611‌ I highly recommend Gone With the Wind. A few more classics EVERYONE should read
1) Dracula
2) Sense and Sensibility
3) Last of the Mohicans
4) The Three Musketeers
5) A Tale of Two Cities

Now, number 5 is a heavy read IMO but I promise you....it is worth it.

whatsit · December 2014

@CharlieFox30‌ - Little Women always a wonderful choice.

I agree with the Outlander series as well. Love it! Those who enjoyed it might want to look at the " Into the Wilderness" series by Sara Donati ( it actually fleetingly mentions young Ian and Claire at one point.)

ETA- the Princess Bride. If you've seen the movie, the book looks into the background of all the characters more. It's wonderful.

mandy522 · December 2014

reginaphilangee said:

I am an old soul really and like @Joy2611‌ I highly recommend Gone With the Wind. A few more classics EVERYONE should read 1) Dracula 2) Sense and Sensibility 3) Last of the Mohicans 4) The Three Musketeers 5) A Tale of Two Cities Now, number 5 is a heavy read IMO but I promise you....it is worth it.

Can we add The Count of Monte Cristo to the classics must-read list?

SpartanChick88 · December 2014

whatsit said:

@CharlieFox30‌ - Little Women always a wonderful choice. I agree with the Outlander series as well. Love it! Those who enjoyed it might want to look at the " Into the Wilderness" series by Sara Donati ( it actually fleetingly mentions young Ian and Claire at one point.) ETA- the Princess Bride. If you've seen the movie, the book looks into the background of all the characters more. It's wonderful.

YES!! Reading it is the only way to learn her horse's name

Bee1112 · December 2014

@riscabobs, The Slammed series is AWESOME!! I got to meet Colleen Hoover twice in one week in September, it was awesome! If you liked those I highly recommend Ugly Love and Maybe Someday by her. AMAZING!!

I may have a small bump crush on you now.

Peaseblossom55 · December 2014

@Joy2611 I didn't like the divergent series either. I suffered through all 3 books just to see if they got better and nope.

Gone with the Wind is such a good book, it may be time for a reread on that.

kamarks08 · December 2014

Peaseblossom55 said:

I really enjoyed The Maze Runner, I read the first two books, and I believe there is one more out there I haven't read yet.

I LOVED The Maze Runner. I'm actually really excited for the movie to come out!

mandy522 said:

Outlander. Always Outlander.

Also, if you like YA:
If I Stay (it's on the list, but if you haven't read it yet) and the sequel Where She Went, which might be even better.
The Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy was fantastic.
Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce series (the first one is Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. 11 year old girl detective in post-WWII England. It's awesome)
I'm reading The 5th Wave right now and I can't put it down. Damn you, work.

Any relation to the movie that just came out earlier this year?

@Risscabobs - I've read a handful of those, but the rest sound right up my alley. I'm really not *too* picky about books because I like to keep an open mind and venture out. I've never read Gone Girl, but I definitely feel like I should. SLP I've read and watched the movie, I love J.Law, so I'm all over anything she's in. These are all awesome suggestions! Thanks.

Joy2611 said:

I really disliked Divergent. I couldn't read beyond the first book and the first book irritated the crap out of me. So there's that.

I like the classics on the list (Catcher in the Rye, etc).

I want to so highly recommend "Gone With the Wind." It's an amazing book about the Civil War and survival. I love it so hardcore.

I can't say I hated Divergent, but I was really disappointed in it. I am curious how all the movies will be adapted...

It looks like I have to read Outlander, that was a high suggestion.

awesomenus1341 said:

@risscabobs‌, your book list looks very similar to mine, pretty sure we could be book bffs, I'm going to check out a few on your list I haven't read now. @kamarks08‌ I will also second Jodi Picoult. In addition to the ones listed, I also loved House Rules and Lone Wolf, but really, if you like her style, you will like most all her books.

I love anything Jodi Picoult. I'm probably a borderline groupie for her.

These are all such great suggestions, ladies! I'm excited to get started!

kelley72 · December 2014

Another lover of Ken Follett's Century Trilogy (or any of his books, The Pillars of the Earth, World Without End)

A beautiful tragic book : Flight of the Sparrow by Amy Belding Brown, a beautiful, tragic story

Another wonderful book I've read more than once is The Moghul by Thomas Hoover.

mandy522 · December 2014

@kamarks08 Yes, they made the book into a movie this summer. I haven't seen it yet, but my goodreads reviewer pals seemed to generally bit a little let down. Not surprising - books are always better than movies

kayway85 · December 2014

Just finished the paying guests by Sarah waters. I recommend anything by her. It was a great read and I love her style. Great historical backdrops as well, really fascinating

Bee1112 · December 2014

Whatever happened to our book club? We should start that back up again. I wouldn't mind doing it!

akraus2015 · December 2014

I read Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, The Hemingway Girl, and The Aviator's Wife (I had a 20's thing going for awhile) and I LOVED all three of them. I would suggest all of them!

queencitygirl89 · December 2014

Serena by Ron Rash is amazing. They're making it into a movie with Jennifer Lawrence, who I love. Warning that it does have an infertility story line if that is a trigger for anyone

[Deleted User] · December 2014

I read a lot of true crime books. One I couldn't put down was "If I Did It"- the confession of Oj Simpson. It is an amazing book!! It's him basically telling his side of things, pretty much a confession, and then another writer jumps in around chapter 11 I think, and explains that Oj refused to go any further.

I normally read a lot of true crime, but this one was one I could NOT put down! I've also read Helter Skelter- pretty unreal. Those two are by far my favorite.

Not the most Christmasy of books but if you're looking to try something new, I definitely suggest those!

kamarks08 · December 2014

queencitygirl89 said:

Serena by Ron Rash is amazing. They're making it into a movie with Jennifer Lawrence, who I love. Warning that it does have an infertility story line if that is a trigger for anyone

I love J. Law. Pretty hardcore. So, I'm convinced.

Bee1112 said:

Whatever happened to our book club? We should start that back up again. I wouldn't mind doing it!

I like this idea.

ELMTree1306 · December 2014

The Discovery of Witches trilogy is great but very long!

lvlyldybmp · December 2014

@kamarks08 thanks for starting this thread, I've been needing a new book...
I just finished The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir, and also the Children of Henry VIII, they're nonfiction, but they were so full of scandal, it was the most entertaining thing I've read in a long time... I hated finishing those books...

JennyLynn6785 · December 2014

Yet another lover of Gone With The Wind over here! I read it for the first time in sixth grade and have reread it at least once a year since. I love it so much that it was the theme of my bridal shower and my husband got me a first edition first printing as a wedding gift!

Other classics I adore are Wuthering Height (Heathcliff and Cathy are so messed up, but it's just great), Sense and Sensibility (but I HATE Pride and Prejudice -- I feel like Jane was way too wordy there), and The Great Gatsby (it's so short there's no excuse NOT to read it).

For fantasy, obviously Harry Potter, A Song of Ice and Fire series, The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings trilogy, and C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. I also like Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, and I REALLY enjoyed The Magician and its sequels, The Magician King and The Magician's Land, by Lev Grossman. It's kind of like HP meets Narnia, but in a more adult sense, and if you can get through the first half of the first book (which read like fanfiction to me) then I promise you the rest is awesome.

I agree with @risscabobs‌ on The Hunger Games trilogy if you haven't read them. I'm also currently reading The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen. It's a dystopian setting but reads more like a historical fantasy, and I believe it's slated to become a film starring Emma Watson. I also adore the Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray (starting with A Great and Terrible Beauty) -- it's set in Victorian England with some fantasy mixed in, and I think the writing is just really lovely.

Outlander should definitely be read (although I do admit it took me a while to get into the first one). Wild by Cheryl Strayed was fantastic, as was The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. I thought Gone Girl was okay but not fantastic, and I liked Divergent but was really let down as the series progressed. For laughs, I always like any of Chelsea Handler's books.

Let me know if you want me to keep going!

ETA: Line spacing. Stupid iPad.

mandy522 · December 2014

@bloodyjack87 Not a Drop to Drink in on my to read list - I might have to bump it up now!

bouncinsol · December 2014

This is Where I Leave You

Big Little Lies

Sharp Objects

Where'd You Go, Bernadette

Orphan Train

Defending Jacob

The Glass Castle

Half Broke Horses

JennyLynn6785 · December 2014

PismoDuo said:
On that same note, Rhett Butler's People is an excellent spin off from Gone With The Wind. And the North and South Trilogy by John Jakes is awesome if you're into historical fiction.

I liked all of these, too! Andplusalso Ruth's Journey by Donald McCaig was just recently published. Haven't read it yet but it's based on Mammy from GWTW.

kamarks08 · December 2014

bouncinsol said:

This is Where I Leave You
Big Little Lies
Sharp Objects
Where'd You Go, Bernadette
Orphan Train
Defending Jacob
The Glass Castle
Half Broke Horses

@bouncinsol Defending Jacob is one of my all time favorite books, and hardly anyone I know has read it. You just got 50 million points in my book.

bloodyjack87 said:

I did not like The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The narrator was supposed to be starting high school but talked like he was about 7. It drove me crazy.

I think that was a hard read, honestly. It took me way to long to get through it, considering the page length. But have you seen the movie? It's better than the book, IMO.

I really think we should start up a book club. I feel like we have enough people interested.

eta: weird spelling and format

bouncinsol · December 2014

@kamarks08 awesome! book BFFs lol

bracingourselves · December 2014

@bloodyjack87‌ Ashfall was awesome...I only read the first one though. I think you might enjoy The Forest of Hands and Teeth if you haven't already read it.

lvlyldybmp · December 2014

@chad5285 any suggestions for what to read next Tudor related?

gonetothesea · December 2014

I'm really into comedy writing. I loved "Bossypants," by Tina Fey. I am in the middle of "Not That Kind of Girl," by Lena Dunham. They are both fantastic. Next up is "Yes Please," by Amy Poehler.

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