I enjoy short stories. One of the best books I’ve read is The Stories of Breece D’J Pancake. Sadly, that is all that exists of his work. He committed suicide at age 26.
I’ve been trying to avoid this thread because I knew I would get hooked and for various reasons have not been into books in the last few years, but I finally gave in. I have now read every single post going back over five years and have taken notes. I also started ordering and reading some of the books recommended on here. It’s been fun because after awhile, I see that I agree with some of you so if you recommend something I will add it to my list while others of you I can see we do not agree so if you liked it, I might even avoid it.
I started with “Defending Jacob”, by William Landay because it was mentioned here and I received it as a gift. It was okay. “We need to talk about Kevin”, Lionel Shriver was so much better. I couldn’t put it down.
Now my mailman is not going to be happy with me because I’m receiving a book in the mail almost every day from the suggestions here.
Just so you guys know what kind of books I like, these are some of my all time favorites in different categories:
“There’s a Boy in the Girls Bathroom” by Louis Sachar. Its for elementary aged kids. All three of mine absolutely loved it. I knew when my youngest was reading it again, because I could alternately hear him laughing or being very quiet. About a boy having trouble in school and it is wonderful.
“Heart of a Champion” by Carl Deuker about a high school baseball player and bad things that happen when you drink. Finding good books for male high school boys is tough. This was really good.
“To Kill a Mockingbird”. Haper Lee. - fairly obvious but my favorite all time book. Can’t believe she never wrote another one.
“Wifey” by Judy Blume. She’s known for her children’s books and this is NOT one of them. Definitely adult. About a woman and her marriage. I used to read it during hard times and it made me appreciate my husband, who appreciated me reading it.
“Evergreen” by Belva Plain. I read this book about once a year. Journey of a woman’s life from childhood to old age. Not great literature but I love it.
I can’t wait to get to all the others on the lists here and please, keep adding.
P.S. My only other post here so far was about “Fifty Shades of Gray” and you were all right. What a complete waste of time.
I’m nearly finished reading “Homebody” by Orson Scott Card.
Plot: Loner contractor, grieving his daughter’s death, finds homes and fixes them up as a way of running from his pain. Contractor finds ramshackle Southern mansion with its own dark past, buys it and lives in it while renovating it. The house is alive. There is a mysterious squatter, and nosy neighbors who try to convince him the house is evil.
Stephen King would have taken this down one path, but Card is more attracted to themes of redemption. An easy and absorbing summer read.
cartera, thank you for the short stories recommendation. A sad story that reminds me of the very talented John Kennedy Toole who wrote A Confederacy of Dunces.
I just finished Americanah, a novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I really liked it; it was fascinating, engaging, very readable and enjoyable.
About halfway through, I realized that I had already read a short segment of the book as a short story in The New Yorker!
There was a nice interview with Adichie on NPR this past week:
[‘Americanah</a>’ Author Explains ‘Learning’ To Be Black In The U.S. : NPR](<a href=“'Americanah' Author Explains 'Learning' To Be Black In The U.S. : NPR”>'Americanah' Author Explains 'Learning' To Be Black In The U.S. : NPR)
I just finished The Girls of Atomic City ([Amazon.com:</a> The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II (9781451617528): Denise Kiernan: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/The-Girls-Atomic-City-Untold/dp/1451617526]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/The-Girls-Atomic-City-Untold/dp/1451617526)) — very nicely written and interesting history as well.
Finished Rules of Civility yesterday - loved it.
On to Burgess Boys.
Not high literature, but I have to say I’ve been impressed by the Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries by C. S. Harris - I’ve really gotten invested in the characters. I’ve been whipping through them with dh in close pursuit.
Think Georgette Heyer crossed with Dorothy Sayers and a smidgeon of James Bond. They have to be read in order.
Having recently seen My Name is Asher Lev off Broadway, I am re-reading the book by Chaim Potok. I really recommend and I think next I will re-read The Chosen as well.
I just finished The Other Child by Charlotte Link - loved it.
The Misremembered Man by Christina McKenna. It’s billed as a romance novel but it has several plot lines that are definitely not romantic.
[Amazon.com:</a> The Misremembered Man (9781935597766): Christina McKenna: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/The-Misremembered-Man-Christina-McKenna/dp/1935597760]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/The-Misremembered-Man-Christina-McKenna/dp/1935597760)
Just read Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. I used to read Hardy all the time in college, and this book was so far back in the memory bank, I had forgotten how it ended!
Great read.
almost through Burgess Boys, excellent and realistic inner dialogues, loving it. Great beach reading…
I am finding this to be a silver lining in the memory problems that are creeping up on me. I can re-read books I know I like from a long time ago, and be surprised again at the ending. 
^Ditto! 
I chose “Still Alice” for my book club to read. About a Harvard Professor who is diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s. Very sad but informative.
Currently reading “In the Garden of Beasts” by Erik Larsen. That man can write like nobody’s business.
My son was assigned “The Fatal Equilibrium” for APEcon summer reading. I picked it up and read it over the week-end. A breezy murder mystery about Harvard Professors (once again!) that anecdotally uses theories of economics to move the plot. Fun way to get students familiar with the terms that will be used in class. Kudos to the teacher for that!
I am adding Homebody, We Need To Talk About Kevin, The Other Child, and In The Woods to my list. And I’m going to look into more Joshilyn Jackson, I only just read A Grown Up Kind of Pretty a month or two ago and I liked it.
I haven’t had as much time for reading lately, so I am still reading Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. I am enjoying it much more than The Paris Wife, Zelda seems to me like a much more likeable character than Hadley… which is funny since in Paris Wife Hadley thought Zelda was completely insane.
Just finished Burgess Boys, which was even better than I hoped (but not as great as Olive Kittredge). Now I’m reading Zookeeper’s Wife but I don’t like it much. I may bail and catch up on my stack of Cook’s Illustrated!
I enjoyed “The Interestings” (especially since my D attended a summer camp much like the one in the book), but thought it got a little heavy handed in propounding its themes.
“The End of the Point” is a multi-generational family saga set at a beach house on Cape Cod. I liked it very much. I think It addresses the issues of aging and the passage of time more adroitly than The Interestings.
Have to say I hated In the Garden of the Beasts. I’m a history buff, but I can’t think of anything less interesting about the early days of Nazi Germany than the tribulations of the inept American ambassador and his slutty, Nazi-phile daughter.
Our book club read “Still Alice” and it was a big hit–quite depressing, though.
My life in France by Julia Child. I loved the movie but the book has so much more depth and she really was so terrific.
I just finished “Behind the scenes at the Museum” by Kate Atkinson. It was her first book that won the Whitbred prize. I loved it and I can’t wait to read all her books.