I like to read the book reviews in various magazines. Once I’ve read a favorite author’s books, I’m often left feeling lost. I like to walk through a bookstore and look at the newest books. Then I’ll go online to my library’s website and see if the books are available.
Something I like to do at the library is see what books they have sitting on top of the shelves (on display). These books are rotated often and are often books that I wouldn’t have given a second glance if they were on the shelves.
When picking a book to read, I either get suggestions from the New York Times Book Review or I go to a bookstore, pick out three to five I think are interesting from the fiction section and then read a paragraph of each from somewhere in the middle of the book on a random page. It hsould be at least twenty lines long. The one I want to keep reading the most right then and there is the one I get. Sometimes I get two, and sometimes I jsut remember that I want one of the rejects as well. It works for me about 9.9 times out of 10.
Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter
or Also by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
At Knit’s End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much
These are both really funny and have a little to do with knitting as well…lol
I’m one of those people who look at the title and artwork before picking up a book. If I see something I like between those 2 things then I’ll pick it up and read some of the back cover,but if I don’t like the cover or title its a no go. Unfortunatly it’s probably kept me from reading several good books, but I’ve only ever gotten a few I haven’t liked.
I love Janet Evanovich (as well as the books she co-writes with Charlotte Hughes). I also like Sophie Kinsella, Mary Higgins Clark, Tom Patterson, Lisa Scottoline, Patricia Cornwell, Susan Andersen, Suzann Ledbetter (I don’t know if she is still in print or not). I haven’t read in a while but I make it a point to pick up the newest Janet and Mary Higgins Clark book when they come out.
Have you ever read Debbie Macomber? She has written a ton of books but she has one series that she combines with knitting. The first book in the series is called “A Shop on Blossom Street”, next was a “A Good Yarn” and yesterday the latest in the series came out - “Back to Blossom Street”.
It is a book about a woman that opens a yarn store in Seattle and follows her life and some of her customers. I loved the first 2 books and as soon as I got home last night I went to B&N to get the third book - it is great so far too.
As far as mysteries I love the ABC series by Sue Grafton. She has the same character in her books - Kinsey Millone. Her first book was A is for Alibi, then B is for Burglar, etc… I think she is now up to T so if you like a great series these are wonderful.
Another mystery writer that I love is Donna Leon. She is an American that lives in Venice and all her books take place there. Last year when I was in Venice I went to a lot of the places she talks about in the books - it was so much fun.
I love to read - if I don’t have a set of knitting needles in my hands then for sure I have a book!
I have to third Good Omens. I’m a huge Neil Gaiman fan. When I was dropping my hubby off at the airport, I went in and picked up two copies of Good Omens. He’s not a reader, but I told him to read it anyways, that way we’d be reading it together and could discuss it over the phone. He loved it so much he wanted to read more Terry Pratchett. Of course, I wanted to encourage him to read, so I sent him 15 Terry Pratchett books. :roflhard:
I also agree with Jodi Picoult. I’ve been reading her books and I really enjoy them. I told my mom she HAD to read My Sister’s Keeper and gave her the book. Today when we were at lunch she says “Are you TRYING to make me cry with that book?”
I liked the Outlander books too, but I could never finish The Fiery Cross for some reason.
I’ve got to agree on Diana Gabaldon; her books are MEZMERIZING (and pretty :eyebrow: too)
I like historical fiction: right now I’m into Philippa Gregory (Diana Gabaldon is historical fiction too). John Grishom is always a favorite, and if you want lots of :eyebrow: Janet Evanovich and Judith McNaught are my favs.
I like books that are a series, or family legacy. The Thorn Birds is a FABULOUS book, if you’ve seen the movie and not read the book, you’re really missing out (even though the movie is pretty good, there are key parts missing). Colleen McCaullough’s other books are all great too. ANNNND, I really like Margaret Atwood; she wrote The Handmaid’s Tale, but also has several others (I’ve only read one, but it was great).
My two favorite books of all time are A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Alice in Wonderland. I have at lest 7 copies of Alice, some abridged, some not, some annotated, some ith different artists interpretations, some that are loosely based on Lewis Carrol’s story.
I’m really curious why everyone seems to like Good Omens. That’s one of the first books anyone recommends and I really don’t get it. I actually felt a lot like I was eavesdropping on a private conversation when I read it. I just felt it was lacking in a lot of ways.
I’ll second any recommendations for Neverwhere, though. That was really good, if mildly confusing.
My favorite author is John Irving. His books are not casual reads however and they are NOT for children as they frequently deal with sex, pornography, drug abuse, and other subjects. They are however, some of the most inventive and well written books I have ever encountered.
You know, someone else just recommended this book too and it sounds interesting! Thanks so much for the quick synopsis. I’ve been hearing SO much about Autism lately. It’s interesting.
I haven’t read the THGTG or CON (heard great things), but I have read A Wrinkle in Time and a sequel of it. I liked it when I was younger.
I actually have At Knit’s End. I read it during jury duty. I wouldn’t call it a fictional book, but it was a good read. She’s funny.
I have heard of Debbie Macomber, but I have yet to pick up a book. Sounds interesting.
I will try to find a synopsis somewhere of Good Omen and Neverwhere. Synopsises (is that a word??) REALLY help me.
I tried reading Harry Potter when it came out, I could NOT get into it. I’m not into the whole HP thing, but it’s a great story for kids.
I read a lot of reviews on Amazon.com I lurk there all the time for everything. It’s never been hard for me to find a non-fiction book to read, but I guess that’s because you know exactly what it’s about. A Fiction book is more of a gamble which is why I need to find a book club or a book buddy haha.
It’s great hearing how everyone finds what books to read for themselves. That’s really the main question I was asking. I also like hearing praises of other authors and books though. Synopsises (word?) help greatly.
Just author’s names alone or book titles do NOTHING for me. In all honesty if there’s no short sentence of what it’s about, I probably won’t go looking for it unless everyone suggests it haha.
Thanks again for the info guys, keep it coming! :cheering: :happydance:
Synopses. And I can’t believe you couldn’t get into the Harry Potter books! I bought them for my daughter before she started kindergarten. She was too young for them at the time and not very interested, but I was completely hooked. :teehee:
Ya, at first, I was against Harry Potter. I am weird like that. If something is too popular sometimes I am just stubborn and force myself not to like it. Eventually, I tried to open my mind to it, but I just didn’t like it. It was not my kind of read. I even watched 2 of the movies and they didn’t really appeal to me. And it’s funny because I actually like the idea of magic and witchcraft. :shrug: I would get it for my kids, but I personally couldn’t get into it.
I started reading the first book about 3 or 4 years ago. I only could through the first half. It was struggle just for that. My friend who is a big HP fan asks me from time to time if I ever finished it. I just smile, she laughs it off. I actually have #3 & #5 I think. At the time I thought I would read the series, but it never happened. But I have seen all the movies and own them.
If you like humor, romance and mystery, Janet Evanovich has a series about a female bounty hunter. Here is herewebsite.
I’m glad I am not the only one! haha. I had a friend in middle school that forced me to read a page just to see if I would like it, I read it and didn’t like it. And that was in the middle of the book! So, that’s a big ‘No’ for me when it comes to books. It has to keep my interest on every page.
That series on a female bounty hunter has intrigued me! Thanks for the heads up
If you are interested in fantasy, [b][i]here[/i][/b] is a thread with lots of great recommendations from our KH fantasy fans!
If you haven’t read the Chronicles of Narnia, those are great for any age level, as are Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels.
I second both A Wrinkle in Time and the Chronicles of Narnia! I enjoyed both as a fantasy fiction fan, particularly the Chronicles of Narnia. I know some of my highschool teachers also enjoyed the CON series (the middle-aged ones, too!) , so I think it fits almost all age group readers .
Thanks to this thread, I just requested about 6 books from my library! :teehee:
One question for those of you who frequent your public library, I do all my requesting online. Sometimes titles will come up, but it will say “No copies available,” yet the “REQUEST” button is still there. Of course, I requested those titles, but I’m wondering if I’ll ever get those titles. I’ve seen where it says X copies available - due date: XXXXXX, so my guess is that “no copies available” means the library doesn’t even own a copy of the book I’ve requested.
I have to ‘third’ Margaret Atwood, she’s one of my favorite authors. I have read all of her novels, and they are all really good. Jane Austen is another of my favorite authors, but you have to like writing from that time period…
Ronda- here in Austin if you request a book, your library branch will get it from another branch for you. If the entire Austin library system doesn’t own a copy at all, then it won’t even come up in the search.
MEZMERIZING 
:cheering: :happydance:
And I can’t believe you couldn’t get into the Harry Potter books! I bought them for my daughter before she started kindergarten. She was too young for them at the time and not very interested, but I was completely hooked. :teehee:
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