One of the best books I've read in the last 6 months is .

[ignatius]

@takeitallin

“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”- wonderful book. Non-fiction about the woman whose cancerous cells were the first human cells to be cultivated outside of the human body. Sounds boring but definitely kept my attention as it discussed not only the scientific procedures developed in the 50’s in terms I easily understood, but the human story behind the donor and the moral issues of how people were used as guinea pigs.

Read it and thought it wonderful also.

@mathmom

ignatius, Doomsday Book was the first Willis I read. It’s very good, but depressing. She can be quite funny, but doesn’t let it out in her long fiction often. I recommend Bellwether and To Say Nothing of the Dog if you like a bit of levity.

I’ve heard the author of the Henrietta Lacks book interviewed several times on NPR. It sounds fascinating.

Thanks for the info about Willis. I’ll look into the other titles.

And … The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lack is truly fascinating … and hard to put down.

[3bysmom]

I just finished “anthropology of an American girl” and it was incredibly good! It is a coming of age novel Written in the first person by a young woman from high school through college. Her voice is perfect, capturing the self absorption of many adolescents but observing the world around her with beautiful prose. It is a long one (600 pp) but as I am a quick reader, that makes it more appealiing to me. I understand that it was originally self- published in 2003 and then re-edited and republished more recently. I really loved it.

[worrywart]

memphismom, I put down Little Bee last week to read The Postmistress which I highly recommend. Since then I can’t bring myself to resume reading Little Bee. Does it remain a heavy downer throughout?

[Treetopleaf]

I am really enjoying “As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto”.

[garland]

Just finished “Skippy Dies” by Paul Murray. Both sad and funny in wonderfully original ways. Picture Harry Potter without the magic, crossed with the Brief Wondrous LIfe of Oscar Wao, set in Dublin.

Really, really liked it.

[LasMa]

I’m about halfway through Shanghai Girls about two Depression-era Chinese sisters who are sold as brides to Chinese-American men. Excellent.

[frazzled1]

Reading a recently re-issued memoir from 1977 that I somehow missed the first time around - “Haywire” by Brooke Hayward. Beautifully written story of a privileged family that fell apart because of tragic mental illness. Halfway through and wish I could take today off to finish reading it.

[sewhappy]

War and Peace

Have felt kind of like a slacker for never reading it. Finally loaded it on my kindle and read it over spring break at the beach. Not at all what I expected. It was like watching a really sumptuous technicolor movie. I didn’t expect to be so entertained.

[emilybee]

I just started Day After Night by the author of The Red Tent. I’m really liking it.

[PackMom]

Just finished Ken Follet’s Fall of Giants. I enjoyed it and learned a lot about WWI.
S1 (age 24) decided he would read it too. It’s a pretty thick book. He finished it in a weekend.

Now I’m re-reading Wuthering Heights. I have an old version printed in 1937 (belonged to my grandmother).

[FallGirl]

Thanks for bringing up this thread.

I recently read “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand. Could not put it down.

[alwaysamom]

Reading a recently re-issued memoir from 1977 that I somehow missed the first time around - “Haywire” by Brooke Hayward.

frazzled, I remember enjoying that one, too. It was made into a TV movie with Lee Remick and Jason Robards.

Recently read Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy. She’s my favorite guilty pleasure author, and I love how she weaves many of the same characters’ stories through her books. Not great literature but fun, nonetheless.

[mamom]

^Maeve Binchy is a favorite of mine also. Didn’t know she had something new out, thanks! I just downloaded it on my kindle.

[CBBBlinker]

Read “Shanghai Girls” for my local Book Club last month. Enjoyed it and learned quite a bit. As is often the case in many novels, some of the events were a little too improbable/coincidental. But, all in all, a good read.

[SodiumFree]

@FallGirl

I recently read “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand. Could not put it down.

I’m about 50 pages from the end, and am having the same experience. It’s a true page-turner and the best non-fiction book I’ve read in the past year.

For fiction, I recommend So Much Pretty, a debut novel by Cara Hoffman.

[garland]

Just read Swamplandia! by Karen Russell. Interesting characters and story, and absolutely gorgeous writing–one great line after another.

[HImom]

“Bitter Melon” by Cara Chow is another take on being raised by a tiger mom and a young person finding her voice to choose a different path from that urged by her immigrant mom. It is quick reading & does have a significant # of cliches/stereotypes.

[mafool]

Reading Peace Like a River by Leif Enger right now and am enthralled.

[emory83]

if there is one book you need to read, it is BREAKING NIGHT by Liz Murray. you will never regret it. it will change your life.

[ELY]

Just loved PEACE LIKE A RIVER!! I thought it was beautifully written–one of those you hate to finish. I read it several years ago, but you’ve inspired me to re-read it, mafool.

Also enjoyed UNBROKEN. What a story! (Actually I cheated & listened to it on my IPod).

Currently I’m indulging in a bit of mind candy–Michael Connolly’s LINCOLN LAWYER. I enjoy his books and often pick them up between weightier reads.

But, getting back to the thread topic. Best book I’ve read in the last 6 months was WOLF HALL. Historical fiction taking place in the Tudor era from point of view of Thomas Cromwell.