Best books you've read in the past couple months? - Page 2

lene1949 · 02-21-2011, 01:56 AM

Cutting for Stone

It was a fantastic book.

SlowRain · 02-21-2011, 10:39 AM

Everyman by Philip Roth
Waiting by Ha Jin
Our Kind of Traitor by John le Carré

treetotree · 02-21-2011, 02:11 PM

Lene1949
I agree. A great book. Would make a great movie.

ellimak · 02-21-2011, 05:11 PM

I just finished American Gods by Neil Gaiman. It's the first book of his that I've read and I was totally blown away. I feel like I need to sit with it for awhile and digest it -- wring out all the meaning. It's definitely the best book I've read in a long time.

maxbookworm · 02-23-2011, 04:41 PM

Thanks for all the reco's! Cutting for Stone is now on my reader, and I'm looking forward to starting it. Thanks to this thread, I picked up a Bill Bryson I've been meaning to read (Notes From a Small Island), and will probably get At Home as well.

Thanks again!

MickeyC · 02-23-2011, 06:38 PM

Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly

willijt · 02-24-2011, 08:32 PM

Outsider in Amsterdam by Janwillem van de Wetering

It features the police duo of Adjutant-Detective Henk Grijpstra and Detective-Sergeant Rinus de Gier. The interplay and social commentaries between and by the two almost render the plot a subordinate item. Delightful reading. For more about these two crime-fighters visit the link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grijpstra_and_de_Gier

shanghaichica · 03-06-2011, 08:26 PM

Since the start of the year the best i've read have been:

The Twilight Saga- Stephenie Meyer
The Passage- Justin Cronin
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas-John Boyne

boydcarts · 03-07-2011, 10:01 PM

I just finished Homer and Langley by E.L. Doctorow and quite enjoyed it.

Wintings · 03-08-2011, 01:44 PM

I have just finished reading The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal and can't recommend it highly enough. Although it purports to be the history of a collection of small Japanese carvings (netsuke) it is really about the author's exploration of his family's history. And what a history! Fabulously wealthy Russian Jewish bankers in Paris and Vienna in the 19th and early to mid 20th centuries, they were patrons of the likes of Renoir and Degas, and one ancestor served as the 'model' for Proust's Charles Swann. The family's treatment at the hands of the Nazis in the 1930s and 40s is very movingly, but unsentimentally, portrayed.

It's not the sort of book I would normally read - I tend to prefer science to the fine arts, modern thrillers to history, and books about mathematics to biographies - but this one had me entranced from start to finish. I urge you to read it. The book won the 2010 Costa biography award.

lila55 · 03-08-2011, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by treetotree

Water for elephants
In the Lap of the Gods
Cutting for Stone
The Art of Racing in the Rain - reading now
Blood of the Wicked - reading now

Water for Elephants I really enjoyed reading as well

Also:
Shipping News by Annie Proulx
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsover

Ritar551 · 03-08-2011, 02:25 PM

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Angel Island written in 1914 by Inez Haynes Gillmore

carpetmojo · 03-08-2011, 05:01 PM

My family always know what to get me for Christmas - the latest James Lee Burke, who is in my top 5, and probably my top , favourite authors.

So I waited for "The Glass Rainbow" by JLB - and got a Sony 650 instead !
But, they paid for the ebook, so all was well !
It is a sort of post-Katrina work, I think it's fair to say.

Simply, it is what I always expect , superb writing. He is referred to as one of the finest living American writers, and that's about it, really.
I still remember hearing a radio interview, which sent shivers down my spine, about his "Katrina" book, "The Tinroof Blowdown" and what led him to write it. Actually hearing him for the first time impressed me no end.
When I read "..Blowdown... , I felt angry, frustrated, staggered, all these, and, well, just exhausted and wrung out, over the stupidity, and appalling waste of the whole ghastly episode.

[ I admit to feeling guilt over not reading the "...Rainbow real book - until, in my local (Waterstones) bookstore, I spotted a 7-day special offer of the hardback at half-price, so, yup, I have that too. And still at less £'s than the h/back would have cost me, on it's own, at launch. More guilt - but I don't care !

]
And I treated myself to 2 Robichaux t-shirts.

ccowie · 03-09-2011, 10:13 AM

I'll certainly echo the praise for Cutting for Stone. Loved it, and have recommended it many times.

It seems we don't have many Canadian books recommended except Margaret Atwood who I personally dislike.

These Canadian books are definitely the best I've read in the past while:

The Bishop's Man - Lynden MacIntyre
A Map of Glass - Jane Urquhart
The Winter Vault - Anne Michaels
Fall - Colin McAdam

GA Russell · 03-09-2011, 04:01 PM

The Ninth Directive by Adam Hall

A spy story so good I read only a chapter a day to savor it and stretch out the pleasure!

http://www.amazon.com/Ninth-Directiv...9704449&sr=1-1

02-24-2011, 08:32 PM	#22
willijt Zealot Posts: 111 Karma: 483614 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Device: Sony PRS-505, Kindle 2, Nook	Dutch Treat Outsider in Amsterdam by Janwillem van de Wetering It features the police duo of Adjutant-Detective Henk Grijpstra and Detective-Sergeant Rinus de Gier. The interplay and social commentaries between and by the two almost render the plot a subordinate item. Delightful reading. For more about these two crime-fighters visit the link below. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grijpstra_and_de_Gier

03-08-2011, 05:01 PM	#28
carpetmojo Wizard Posts: 3,117 Karma: 9269999 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: UK Device: Sony- T3, PRS650, 350, T1/2/3, Paperwhite, Fire 8.9,Samsung Tab S 10.5	JLB - Glass Rainbow. My family always know what to get me for Christmas - the latest James Lee Burke, who is in my top 5, and probably my top , favourite authors. So I waited for "The Glass Rainbow" by JLB - and got a Sony 650 instead ! But, they paid for the ebook, so all was well ! It is a sort of post-Katrina work, I think it's fair to say. Simply, it is what I always expect , superb writing. He is referred to as one of the finest living American writers, and that's about it, really. I still remember hearing a radio interview, which sent shivers down my spine, about his "Katrina" book, "The Tinroof Blowdown" and what led him to write it. Actually hearing him for the first time impressed me no end. When I read "..Blowdown... , I felt angry, frustrated, staggered, all these, and, well, just exhausted and wrung out, over the stupidity, and appalling waste of the whole ghastly episode. [ I admit to feeling guilt over not reading the "...Rainbow real book - until, in my local (Waterstones) bookstore, I spotted a 7-day special offer of the hardback at half-price, so, yup, I have that too. And still at less £'s than the h/back would have cost me, on it's own, at launch. More guilt - but I don't care ! ] And I treated myself to 2 Robichaux t-shirts.

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02-21-2011, 01:56 AM	#16
lene1949 Wizard Posts: 1,952 Karma: 213930 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Middelfart, Denmark Device: Kindle paper white	Cutting for Stone It was a fantastic book.

02-21-2011, 10:39 AM	#17
SlowRain Addict Posts: 311 Karma: 9553 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: a Canadian expat in Taiwan Device: HTC 10, Asus Phonepad	Everyman by Philip Roth Waiting by Ha Jin Our Kind of Traitor by John le Carré

02-21-2011, 02:11 PM	#18
treetotree Connoisseur Posts: 61 Karma: 346 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Florida Device: Jetbook Lite, Kindle DXG,prs-350, wife k3	Lene1949 I agree. A great book. Would make a great movie.

02-21-2011, 05:11 PM	#19
ellimak I spit hot fire Posts: 91 Karma: 13464 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: USA Device: Nook, or as I call him, Sir Nookington	I just finished American Gods by Neil Gaiman. It's the first book of his that I've read and I was totally blown away. I feel like I need to sit with it for awhile and digest it -- wring out all the meaning. It's definitely the best book I've read in a long time.

02-23-2011, 04:41 PM	#20
maxbookworm Addict Posts: 372 Karma: 1122865 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: Kindle Voyage, Galaxy Note 2	Thanks for all the reco's! Cutting for Stone is now on my reader, and I'm looking forward to starting it. Thanks to this thread, I picked up a Bill Bryson I've been meaning to read (Notes From a Small Island), and will probably get At Home as well. Thanks again!

02-23-2011, 06:38 PM	#21
MickeyC Grand Sorcerer Posts: 16,732 Karma: 12185114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Device: iPhone 6 plus, Sony T1, iPad 3	Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly

03-06-2011, 08:26 PM	#23
shanghaichica Guru Posts: 989 Karma: 5782970 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Scribe,Kindle Oasis 3, iPad Pro 11, iPhone 13 Pro Max,iPad mini 6, PW5	Since the start of the year the best i've read have been: The Twilight Saga- Stephenie Meyer The Passage- Justin Cronin The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas-John Boyne

03-07-2011, 10:01 PM	#24
boydcarts Connoisseur Posts: 85 Karma: 30 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Nook WiFi, iPad2	I just finished Homer and Langley by E.L. Doctorow and quite enjoyed it.

03-08-2011, 01:44 PM	#25
Wintings Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: UK Device: Kindle	I have just finished reading The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal and can't recommend it highly enough. Although it purports to be the history of a collection of small Japanese carvings (netsuke) it is really about the author's exploration of his family's history. And what a history! Fabulously wealthy Russian Jewish bankers in Paris and Vienna in the 19th and early to mid 20th centuries, they were patrons of the likes of Renoir and Degas, and one ancestor served as the 'model' for Proust's Charles Swann. The family's treatment at the hands of the Nazis in the 1930s and 40s is very movingly, but unsentimentally, portrayed. It's not the sort of book I would normally read - I tend to prefer science to the fine arts, modern thrillers to history, and books about mathematics to biographies - but this one had me entranced from start to finish. I urge you to read it. The book won the 2010 Costa biography award.

03-08-2011, 02:25 PM	#27
Ritar551 Kindle 3. Nook 3. iPad Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: Kindle 3	The Help by Kathryn Stockett Angel Island written in 1914 by Inez Haynes Gillmore

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03-09-2011, 10:13 AM	#29
ccowie Hiding with an ereader Posts: 391 Karma: 3987376 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Kitchener Ontario Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony PRS 950, Ipad 2, PRS 350	I'll certainly echo the praise for Cutting for Stone. Loved it, and have recommended it many times. It seems we don't have many Canadian books recommended except Margaret Atwood who I personally dislike. These Canadian books are definitely the best I've read in the past while: The Bishop's Man - Lynden MacIntyre A Map of Glass - Jane Urquhart The Winter Vault - Anne Michaels Fall - Colin McAdam

03-09-2011, 04:01 PM	#30
GA Russell Montreal wins Grey Cup! Posts: 7,583 Karma: 31484197 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite	The Ninth Directive by Adam Hall A spy story so good I read only a chapter a day to savor it and stretch out the pleasure! http://www.amazon.com/Ninth-Directiv...9704449&sr=1-1