BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS! - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

PZelda · 10-22-2006, 06:34 PM

Let's try this...

This thread is for books that you have ALREADY read and completed. Tell us the title AND the author, what it is about, and why we should check this book out.

A few years ago, there was another thread like this, and Karly (Kay Scarpetta) recommended A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith. This was around 2003... I tried to check out a copy of that book from my library, but never really started reading it. Then, either last year or this past spring, I finally brought a copy of that book from Barnes & Noble. Again... my copy lay untoched for months (more than a year?). In June, I started my reading rampage - this is to say, I got back into reading again, after being on a super-long hiatus.

I decided to get around to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn at the beginning of August, and LOVED it! It truly is a fabulous book.

Basically, the book is set in early 20th-century Brooklyn, NY, and the main character's name is Francie. The book spans something like 12 years (1907 to 1919, I think). It's really just a book about her life - but Betty Smith's writing style really grabs you. Francie has dreams of becoming a writer, her dad is a huge drinker, her mom works really hard at being a good mother and raising her as well as her younger brother. There is so much that is covered in this book, I don't want to discuss it and spoil the surprises... It's a really great book. Betty Smith originally penned this book in 1945, and it was a groundbreaking novel at the time of its publication.

Okay, that's my book recommendation (and a huge thanks to Karly!). How about YOURS?

(Oh, by the way, Sharop, I picked up a copy of I Know This Much is True, by Wally Lamb, last week at the used bookstore. Yes, I picked it up because of that thread you started. lol I can't wait to start reading it.

)

Courtnee · 10-22-2006, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PZelda

Let's try this...

This thread is for books that you have ALREADY read and completed. Tell us the title AND the author, what it is about, and why we should check this book out.

A few years ago, there was another thread like this, and Karly (Kay Scarpetta) recommended A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith. This was around 2003... I tried to check out a copy of that book from my library, but never really started reading it. Then, either last year or this past spring, I finally brought a copy of that book from Barnes & Noble. Again... my copy lay untoched for months (more than a year?). In June, I started my reading rampage - this is to say, I got back into reading again, after being on a super-long hiatus.

I decided to get around to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn at the beginning of August, and LOVED it! It truly is a fabulous book.

Basically, the book is set in early 20th-century Brooklyn, NY, and the main character's name is Francie. The book spans something like 12 years (1907 to 1919, I think). It's really just a book about her life - but Betty Smith's writing style really grabs you. Francie has dreams of becoming a writer, her dad is a huge drinker, her mom works really hard at being a good mother and raising her as well as her younger brother. There is so much that is covered in this book, I don't want to discuss it and spoil the surprises... It's a really great book. Betty Smith originally penned this book in 1945, and it was a groundbreaking novel at the time of its publication.

Hm...I'm going to check that out tommorow. I need to read more.

Number 9 Dream · 10-22-2006, 07:16 PM

Awesome idea for a thread!

Well, my very favorite book is 'I Am The Cheese' by Robert Cormier (published in 1977). I first read this when I was in junior high school and fell in love with it. I can't give too much away (it's one of those books that totally shocks you at the end), but here's a little excerpt that sums up a little of what it's about

Imagine discovering that your whole life has been a fiction, your identity altered, and a new family history created. Suddenly nothing is as it once seemed; you can trust no one, maybe not even yourself. It is exactly this revelation that turns 14-year-old Adam Farmer's life upside down. As he tries to ascertain who he really is, Adam encounters a past, present, and future too horrible to contemplate. Suspense builds as the fragments of the story are assembled--a missing father, government corruption, espionage--until the shocking conclusion shatters the fragile mosaic. Young adult readers will easily relate to the shy and confused Adam, whose desperate searching for self resembles a disturbingly exaggerated version of the identity crisis common to the teenage years.

taken from Amazon.com.

It's an awesome book :tehcool:

tdf4077 · 10-22-2006, 07:21 PM

I think everybody should read To Kill a Mockingbird....it's great! So well-written and classic and important!

I also really think that if you're into theory or whatnot, Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead is really good...I used to read it at least once a year!

Number 9 Dream · 10-22-2006, 07:23 PM

Ahhh, To Kill a Mockingbird was one of my favorites in high school! Actually, Catcher in the Rye was my all-time favorite (still is!) I recommend that book to everyone!

I am hearing a lot of good stuff about this book called The Timetraveller's Wife (forgot the author, sorry!)...can anyone tell me more?

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdf4077

I think everybody should read To Kill a Mockingbird....it's great! So well-written and classic and important!

I also really think that if you're into theory or whatnot, Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead is really good...I used to read it at least once a year!

gilligan fanatic · 10-22-2006, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdf4077

I think everybody should read To Kill a Mockingbird....it's great! So well-written and classic and important!

I also really think that if you're into theory or whatnot, Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead is really good...I used to read it at least once a year!

I read that in school two years ago. I couldn't get in to it. I didn't hate it or anything, but I don't think I like being taught a lesson that straight foward. I think I get more out of it when it's a hidden message.

Kristen · 10-22-2006, 07:35 PM

Add me to the To Kill a Mockingbird fanclub. That is like the BEST book! If I had my way, it would be required reading in every school. I'm a bookworm, so I def. have book recommendations. A few that come to mind:

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving: I read this book in like 8th grade for summer reading, and fell in love w/ it. It's all about this boy, Owen Meany, who believes that he's God's instrument and he's meant to do something great. Basically the book is about how everything happens for a reason. (I know Sharop will agree with me about how great this book is, hehe!)

Along the same lines, I'd also recommend The Five People You Meet in Heaven, by Mitch Albom. It's about a man named Eddie who dies in an accident at an amusment park, believing that his life has been pretty much a waste. But the five people he meets in heaven show him that no life is a waste and that we're all here for a reason.

Pretty much any book by Jodi Picoult is good, too. You might've seen the Lifetime movies The Pact and Plain Truth, which were based on her novels. Those books are good, and so are Vanishing Acts, Perfect Match, and My Sister's Keeper. I'd especially recommend them to anybody who really likes Lifetime movies, b/c they're kind of similar in themes and such. I've prob. rambled enough for one post already, so I won't give summaries of those books here, unless somebody would like me to.

Edit: I can't believe I left out my other fave book The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I read it in HS, and then did my final paper on it in college. It's about a man (Gatsby) who becomes rich to impress the woman he loves. OK, that was a really bad summary, but the book is good! LOL

- Kristen
PS - Great thread, Allison!

PZelda · 10-22-2006, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Number 9 Dream

Ahhh, To Kill a Mockingbird was one of my favorites in high school! Actually, Catcher in the Rye was my all-time favorite (still is!) I recommend that book to everyone!

I am hearing a lot of good stuff about this book called The Timetraveller's Wife (forgot the author, sorry!)...can anyone tell me more?

I actually *JUST* picked up that book at the used bookstore the other day, I think it was on Friday. The author is Audrey Niffenegger (I know, nice last name huh? lol). I'm going to start reading it pretty soon... Will let you know what I think of it!

Brad Russ · 10-22-2006, 08:25 PM

Every Michael J. Fox fan should read his 2003 autobiography "Lucky Man". You find out things about him that you never knew before, and for me, I gained even more respect for him after reading it.

Central Perk · 10-22-2006, 08:39 PM

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse.

Nighthawk76 · 10-22-2006, 09:59 PM

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

Leigh Ann · 10-23-2006, 11:15 AM

I recommend Homer Hickam's books: October Sky, The Coalwood Way, and Sky of Stone. They're really great.

I also love the Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot, and of course To Kill a Mockingbird is excellent. Also the Harry Potter books are great, but I guess everybody knows about them.

Edit: Oh and Having Our Say by the Delany sisters is another good one, and Christy by Catherine Marshall is good too.

Sharop · 10-23-2006, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PZelda

(Oh, by the way, Sharop, I picked up a copy of I Know This Much is True, by Wally Lamb, last week at the used bookstore. Yes, I picked it up because of that thread you started. lol I can't wait to start reading it.

)

I hope you enjoy it.

I totally agree about To Kill a Mockingbird, A Prayer for Owen Meany, The Catcher in the Rye and I am the Cheese. The other books that have been mentioned all look really good too.

Some recommendations of my own:

A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle: A teenage girl, Meg Murry, and her youngest brother, 5-year-old Charles Wallace (who talks like a 50-year-old professor and has an IQ of about 10,000) along with their newly-made friend Calvin, go in search of Meg's missing father, along with three angels that they meet, named Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who and Mrs Which. Their father is being held on a planet called Camazotz, which is ruled by an evil thing called IT.

Fire and Hemlock - Diana Wynne Jones: As she is preparing to start her second year at university, 19-year-old Polly suddenly realises that she has two sets of memories, one set of which features her becoming great friends with a man called Thomas Lynn when she was 10 years old, and remaining in contact with him until she was about 15. Polly goes through these memories and cannot understand why there seems to be no trace left of Thomas Lynn.

In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash - Jean Shepherd - a collection of short stories by the radio humourist. The movie A Christmas Story (which Shepherd narrates) was based on some stories in this book.

Jonathan · 10-23-2006, 09:16 PM

Christy by Catherine Marshall is good so far.

Courtnee · 10-23-2006, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blair's Number #1 Fan

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

I'm getting that when I'm done with "A tree grows in brooklyn"

10-22-2006, 06:34 PM	#1
PZelda Two Valeries! <3 Forum Addict Join Date: Jul 15, 2002 Location: I'm STILL missing NYC. :( Posts: 78,223	BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS! Let's try this... This thread is for books that you have ALREADY read and completed. Tell us the title AND the author, what it is about, and why we should check this book out. A few years ago, there was another thread like this, and Karly (Kay Scarpetta) recommended A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith. This was around 2003... I tried to check out a copy of that book from my library, but never really started reading it. Then, either last year or this past spring, I finally brought a copy of that book from Barnes & Noble. Again... my copy lay untoched for months (more than a year?). In June, I started my reading rampage - this is to say, I got back into reading again, after being on a super-long hiatus. I decided to get around to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn at the beginning of August, and LOVED it! It truly is a fabulous book. Basically, the book is set in early 20th-century Brooklyn, NY, and the main character's name is Francie. The book spans something like 12 years (1907 to 1919, I think). It's really just a book about her life - but Betty Smith's writing style really grabs you. Francie has dreams of becoming a writer, her dad is a huge drinker, her mom works really hard at being a good mother and raising her as well as her younger brother. There is so much that is covered in this book, I don't want to discuss it and spoil the surprises... It's a really great book. Betty Smith originally penned this book in 1945, and it was a groundbreaking novel at the time of its publication. Okay, that's my book recommendation (and a huge thanks to Karly!). How about YOURS? (Oh, by the way, Sharop, I picked up a copy of I Know This Much is True, by Wally Lamb, last week at the used bookstore. Yes, I picked it up because of that thread you started. lol I can't wait to start reading it. )
	__________________ Cheers behind the couch!

10-22-2006, 07:16 PM	#3
Number 9 Dream That '70s Girl Forum Veteran Join Date: Jan 18, 2005 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 5,875	Awesome idea for a thread! Well, my very favorite book is 'I Am The Cheese' by Robert Cormier (published in 1977). I first read this when I was in junior high school and fell in love with it. I can't give too much away (it's one of those books that totally shocks you at the end), but here's a little excerpt that sums up a little of what it's about Imagine discovering that your whole life has been a fiction, your identity altered, and a new family history created. Suddenly nothing is as it once seemed; you can trust no one, maybe not even yourself. It is exactly this revelation that turns 14-year-old Adam Farmer's life upside down. As he tries to ascertain who he really is, Adam encounters a past, present, and future too horrible to contemplate. Suspense builds as the fragments of the story are assembled--a missing father, government corruption, espionage--until the shocking conclusion shatters the fragile mosaic. Young adult readers will easily relate to the shy and confused Adam, whose desperate searching for self resembles a disturbingly exaggerated version of the identity crisis common to the teenage years. taken from Amazon.com. It's an awesome book :tehcool:
	__________________ Live a little be a gypsy get around http://www.librarything.com/profile/skelterhelter http://retrogirl82.dvdaf.com/owned formerly Retrogirl82

10-22-2006, 07:21 PM	#4
tdf4077 JaJa Senior Member Join Date: Jan 17, 2006 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,678	I think everybody should read To Kill a Mockingbird....it's great! So well-written and classic and important! I also really think that if you're into theory or whatnot, Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead is really good...I used to read it at least once a year!
	__________________ CSC--The Best Cycling Team in the World!!

10-22-2006, 07:35 PM	#7
Kristen Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Jul 17, 2000 Location: New York, USA Posts: 4,042	Add me to the To Kill a Mockingbird fanclub. That is like the BEST book! If I had my way, it would be required reading in every school. I'm a bookworm, so I def. have book recommendations. A few that come to mind: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving: I read this book in like 8th grade for summer reading, and fell in love w/ it. It's all about this boy, Owen Meany, who believes that he's God's instrument and he's meant to do something great. Basically the book is about how everything happens for a reason. (I know Sharop will agree with me about how great this book is, hehe!) Along the same lines, I'd also recommend The Five People You Meet in Heaven, by Mitch Albom. It's about a man named Eddie who dies in an accident at an amusment park, believing that his life has been pretty much a waste. But the five people he meets in heaven show him that no life is a waste and that we're all here for a reason. Pretty much any book by Jodi Picoult is good, too. You might've seen the Lifetime movies The Pact and Plain Truth, which were based on her novels. Those books are good, and so are Vanishing Acts, Perfect Match, and My Sister's Keeper. I'd especially recommend them to anybody who really likes Lifetime movies, b/c they're kind of similar in themes and such. I've prob. rambled enough for one post already, so I won't give summaries of those books here, unless somebody would like me to. Edit: I can't believe I left out my other fave book The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I read it in HS, and then did my final paper on it in college. It's about a man (Gatsby) who becomes rich to impress the woman he loves. OK, that was a really bad summary, but the book is good! LOL - Kristen PS - Great thread, Allison!
	__________________ Twitter \| Facebook \| Swagbucks \| Fanfiction Avatar Credit: Leigh Ann Last edited by Kristen; 10-23-2006 at 09:15 PM.

10-22-2006, 08:25 PM	#9
Brad Russ Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Feb 17, 2002 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 10,085	Every Michael J. Fox fan should read his 2003 autobiography "Lucky Man". You find out things about him that you never knew before, and for me, I gained even more respect for him after reading it. Attached Images
	__________________ St. John 15:13 - Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Currently my favorite song.

10-22-2006, 08:39 PM	#10
Central Perk ~~~~~ Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 10, 2002 Posts: 4,553	Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse.

10-22-2006, 09:59 PM	#11
Nighthawk76 Rachel Berry Forum Celebrity Join Date: Feb 28, 2003 Location: Illinois Posts: 23,254	The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

10-23-2006, 11:15 AM	#12
Leigh Ann Member Senior Member Join Date: Oct 15, 2002 Posts: 2,189	I recommend Homer Hickam's books: October Sky, The Coalwood Way, and Sky of Stone. They're really great. I also love the Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot, and of course To Kill a Mockingbird is excellent. Also the Harry Potter books are great, but I guess everybody knows about them. Edit: Oh and Having Our Say by the Delany sisters is another good one, and Christy by Catherine Marshall is good too.

10-23-2006, 09:16 PM	#14
Jonathan ***** Senior Member** Join Date: Aug 28, 2004 Posts: 2,304	Christy by Catherine Marshall is good so far.