What are you reading right now?

It's about a young murder victim watching her family from heaven. She sees them grieving and everything, I'm tellin ya I bawled!

Lovely Bones was a wonderful book. If you liked that Tammy, you should read Alice Sebold's Memoir, Lucky. It is also a good read and gives you insight into her inspiration for Lovely Bones. I also used to keep track of all the books I read and still have the file on my computer. Mostly I just keep track through Amazon.com now by marking what books I have read or own - they keep a list.
I have bookcases full of books I have read and books I have not. I have almost as many to-be-read books, because I can't keep up with my list and can't help splurging everytime I go to Half Price Books, the store. My book are my prized possesions. I use to read about 25 books a year, but that slowed down to just about 6 a year in the last couple years. Mostly due to taking care of more kids and my new passion (Gardening!) taking up more of my time. My absolute favorite author is John Irving.

I have read The DaVinci Code and thought it was a very interesting read and a good mystery. I will leave it at that though, and keep religion out of it. :)

I can't do the Stephen King stuff either. I started out reading a little King and much Dean Koontz back in High School which led to my favorite author at the time - Clive Barker. He is a horror author with usuallly a little fantasy thrown in, but I can't really read him much anymore. I think I got burnt out :/

Due to the cold weather and the repeats on TV, I read quite a few books through December and January and I can recommend them:
The Prince of Lost Places by Kathy Hepinstal (easy quick read - thoughnot as good as her other two)
The Nanny Diaries (entertaining, quick read),
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank (Fictional account of a nuclear holocaust written during the Cold War - good book which can still scare due to the newer threats of terrorists)
Next, I picked up Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides about 3 weeks ago, but have barely been able to read it. I did love his previous book and would recommend it.

Some of Stephen King's more mainstream books include The Green Mile and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. I loved his Dark Tower series -- wow, what a wild ride and excellent characters, all seven books.

Anyone like Anne Rivers Siddons? Her novel Colony blew me away. I enjoyed Low Country and Up Island, too. She's got such a lyrical way of writing, and I can almost smell the fresh, sea air. http://www.harpercollins.com/authorintro/index.asp?authorid=9057

Sweezel, I enjoyed Lucky too (by Alice Sebold) but there was no relief at the end because it was a true story, if that makes any sense?

Gardenwife, I agree on The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon - I really liked that one too.

There was another book I read years ago that I cannot remember the title about a midwife named Abby coming to the U.S. Does anyone know this one?

I have two copies of The Broker. Does anyone want a copy? Email me with your addr and I'll ship it off to you. First come, first serve. It's brand new, never been opened.

Are Lucky and Lovely Bones to be read in that order?

It's interesting to me that nobody has mentioned any gardening books. It's good to know we're all well rounded but there are a lot of good gardening books around. Any suggestions?

Has anyone read either of Dominique Browning's books? DB is the editor of House & Garden and I will subscribe to that magazine as long as she continues in that position. I buy the magazine strictly for her column. She has a beautiful way with words. A bonus is that the gardening articles are usually quite informative.

DB has written "Around the House and In the Garden" and "Paths of Desire - The Passions of a Suburban Gardener". My DH calls them chick books and maybe they are but they are so beautifully written. Very quick, very easy reads but very entertaining books about life.

Ooh, a really good book that I forgot to mention above: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. It's a great read, and very creatively written.

Those of you that have read Middlesex, would you recommend it? It's been a bestseller for awhile, but it sounded a bit strange... Let me know what you thought!

HerbsWife, you've got mail...

Some great books have been listed. I'll add two more. :)

I love, love, love Jasper Fforde's books. The Thursday Next series is wonderful. You dive headlong into a world of classic and not so classic literary characters and plays on words. It's a wonderful mixture of genres.

I also just listened to In A Sunburned Country on CDs by Bill Bryson. It's interesting and funny - kind of a virtual travel book, lol!

Interesting that GW thinks Stephen King ever gets anywhere near the "mainstream", whatever that is. I read all his early stuff (Carrie, It, Salem's Lot etc.) but he lost me about the time of Pet Sematary. Even Rod Serling didn't stray quite so frightening far from the central ripples of conciousness as Kings latter day things. TOO far out for (even) _ me?

Nowadays more attuned to Clive Cussler and Dean Koontz for the strange wanderings of the mind and lots of classics that I "never had time for".

TammyTN - was the midwife one who settled in Amish country? if so , that was a good book. No idea on name or author.

Gonna scope out the Bones book - sounds interesting.

I love to read, but have a really hard time finding something. I always end up reading some "self-help" type of book (mainly about raising children) or a library book about gardening.

I recently finished The Hiding Place. I had read it years ago and really enjoyed it. I am currently reading a small book called "Transported by the Lion of Judah".

I read Angels and Demons before The DaVinci Code. I liked A&D a lot. It was very interesting and full of things that made it mysterious. The DaVinci Code was hard for me to get thru. Herbswife, you are questioning your beliefs because that's exactly what this was meant to do. (on a spiritual level) I personally believe that God is quite capable of the Bible being kept just the way He wants it to be. I think maybe I will find myself a book that explains the error of The DaVinci Code myths. That and check out this "Assassin" book.

I have read a few Stephen King books and agree, he has a lot of insight into the spiritual world, but not the side I want to be involved in. He's a strange dude.

I'm interested in reading two books about the DaVinci Code: one debunking the theories, and one supporting them. I think they would be very interesting to compare!

I guess for me, if I'm educated about the issues-- any issue-- I feel like my position is strengthened. I really KNOW why I believe what I do, and when I'm challenged I've already thought about it, so I can genuinely stick up for my position. I always like to get the full picture: I cherish any opportunity to learn.

This message was edited Apr 15, 2005 11:11 PM

I've never questioned my beliefs in regards to who I serve and who has saved me. What I've questioned was the possiblity that books could be missing and/or whether Jesus could have had a wife. I agree with you, even if there were other books G-D is perfectly capable of keeping the Bible exactly the way he wants it to read. I also believe that Jesus did not get married b/c the Bible doesn't refer to it. If He were to have gotten married and it wasn't in the Bible then for whatever reason, G-D didn't feel it was pertinent. In that case we'll all find out soon enough and either way my feelings remain unchanged.

I do believe that other books could have been found but who's to tell whether or not they had been intended for the Bible. Since ultimately, G-D is the author of the Bible, he could have added them at any time and apparently, he chose not to. Perhaps they were written by over zealous apostles who determined in their own mind that their book should be included in the Bible. I'm sure the errant apostle eventually came to the hard realization that what is in the Bible is decided by G-D and not by man. It's just a matter of time until the secular world realizes that the Bible is NOT written by man but by a Holy G-D.

This message was edited Apr 16, 2005 12:03 AM

danak, you are right. I KNOW what I believe and why. (explaining it is hard for me becauseI have a hard time expressing my thoughts and getting them across right) I would like to read a book debunking the theory mainly to find the words to say what I'm already thinking. (if that makes any sense...lol)

Herbswife...we've all questioned things about our faith, which is a good thing for some, but when it comes to someone telling me that Jesus was just a mortal man, I reject that whole-heartedly.

I do not believe that there was anything left out of the Bible. Again, that is because I am certain that God kept what he wanted in it. If there was anything written other than the books in it, they weren't ordained by God to be in the Bible. I won't pretend that I said this but found something that I thought said it well "Jesus himself constantly quoted from the Old Testament Scriptures, and showed full confidence in their completeness and accurate transmission as they had survived down to His time. Jesus declared that "heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away"

...going now to see if my library has a book to borrow or to Amazon to buy me one. I'm really interested now. That Assassin book didn't look like it was my thing. Maybe I'll just get another "Dummies" book of some sort again. LOL (I love those books!!)

What is the Assassin book about?

There are a lot of good apologetic websites. I haven't looked to see if they address the DaVinci Code directly but they will certainly give you ammo to support what you believe.

My favorite apologetics websites are:
www.christiananswers.net
www.carm.org/index.html

Here are a couple websites discussing the book.

Da Vinci Code Deception
Is it really fact or fiction?
DVD docu-drama answers questions
www.ChristianCinema.com

Truth about Da Vinci Code
Handy pamphlet gives answers
to Christians' top 20 questions.
www.rosepublishing.info

I also really liked Roseanne Barr's bio.

I'll bet that was really interesting. Did you believe it? I think folks probably don't give her enough credit because of the way she presents herself. I know she's been through hard times and I hope her book will help her continue to heal and grow.

Not sure if any of you like epic adventures, but one of my all-time favourite authors is Wilbur Smith - as a rule I am not a big fan of historic fiction, but these books are STUNNING - they're epics (primarily based in Africa from the 1600's to present), several of them are in a series - each lasting a generation. I've read them pretty much out of order except a couple when I finally figured out there was a pattern. I will easily go through 600+ pages in two days, just devouring them over the weekend. I think my roommate thought I was sleeping or antisocial for a few weekends in there, but they're definitely incredible. Note, there is occassionally some violence, but it's not gratuitous, rather an integral part of the story.

http://members.tripod.com/%7Erollindice/nswilbur.html

Has anyone else read his books? At some point - I will organize all of the books and read them again in order - but, that will be thousands of pages.

Those book really sound interesting, sbarr. I think I'll have to read one. In some contexts I really enjoy historical fiction (The Red Tent was interesting, for example), and you've sparked my interest in these! Do you have a favorite?

TammyTN
I just recently started a file in Excel to keep track of what I've read as sometimes I get the same book twice. It really helps keep track of things.

Joan

I just finished Dean Koontz's Frankenstein, Book 1: Prodigal Son" not long ago. Glald you mentioned that the second book is out. Will be looking for it at the library.

Joan

Dean Koontz's Frankenstein, Book 1: Prodigal Son

What is the name of Book 2 ?

Tammy..."I have The Lovely Bones"...have not read it yet. Maybe I'll get a chance during the rainy days.

I read much more than I should, and really get wrapped up in the book. That's one reason I can't read King, and I cry buckets over any book that is truly sad. My favorite authors are in the Science Fiction/Fantasy or Mystery genera: Mercedes Lackey, Andre Norton and Anne McCaffrey in Fantasy, Dana Stabenow, Carole Nelson Douglas, Sneaky Pie Brown and Murphy in Mysteries. In general fiction/adventure I am especially fond of Tom Clancy and Clive Cussler (perhaps he should be in Fantasy). There are a lot of interesting gardening books but my favorite is Sunset's Western Garden Book. There are so many plants in there I had never heard of before, and as I have never read it cover to cover, there still are. I am also especially like the catalog from Plant Delights but for one special reason - the person who wrote the descriptions for the plants has a wonderful sense of humor and I found parts of that catalog hysterically funny. Dotti

I have spent over a year's time reading and studying the Bible from Genesis to Revelation (King James version,and Chinese version).The part of the Gospel,I think,is well worth reading again and again.In fact,it has become my guidance in my daily life.

Dream of the Red Mansion (bilingual edition) is one of my favorite classical love novel.It is said that it took the writer Cao Xueqin more than ten years to finish the manuscript.So far as I know,there is no other novels in Chinese history can be compared with the Dream in literature value.Whenever I read it,the vivid characters will appear before my eyes and the vivid speeches will linger in my ears.

danak - I hope you enjoy. I'd recommend this series - I'm not all of the way through this one, but have read quite a few others along the way - some of the books are a bit harder to find, but I've had pretty good luck on ebay and half.com. The publication dates aren't quite in order (except within a mini-series) so I thought I'd share the recommended order (which I did not follow, but really doesn't matter too much unless you're a stickler for doing things right) *grin* The first three go pretty well together in order or you can skip way forward to his first book

Courtneys
Birds of Prey 1997 Finally figured out this one goes first -- took a few books
Monsoon 1999 Starts after and refers to previous book, characters, etc.
Blue Horizon 2003 Awesome - my favorite book - read early on, I was hooked, but gives away some of the story of Monsoon
When the Lion Feeds 1964 his first book - great - doesn't really rely on the first three much
Sound of Thunder, The 1966 Not read, want to buy, then re-read Lion because of the theme
A Sparrow Falls 1977 Haven't bought yet, want to read the preceding two first
Burning Shore, The 1985 Motivating - I picked this one up three days after I moved here and became a fan
Power of the Sword 1986 Not read - want to read these in order, children of heroine in previous book
Rage 1987 Not read - want to read these in order
A Time To Die 1989 Not read - want to read these in order
Golden Fox 1990 Not read - want to read these in order

If you don't mind learning the plots of the book - this also gives you a good indication of the different stories.

http://www.wilbursmithbooks.com/wilburindex.html

Cheers!

DottiK, have you been to the Plant Delights website? He's got all kinds of comics on it. Are those in the catalog too? I haven't spent enough time on it to catch his humor yet. Last night when I read your post I went to surf the site. I'm looking for Dahlias and every time I hear of a new nursery website I'm on it in seconds. I loved the Plant Delights site.

This is one of the BEST theads yet! How lovely to have readers share their favorites. I was an only child and books were my friends and companions. How precious they have always been to me. When I moved into my tiny apartment I was only able to bring 500 books. They are old and worn, but my favorite ones came with me. Some date back to grammer school.

I read Biographys, Non-fiction, Historical fiction, Fictionalized history (there is a difference), and my favorite fiction author is John Le Carre. (Love spy novels)

I have just discovered a new author (to me), Sharon Kay Penman. I just started her series of historical novels about the War of the Roses, "The Sunne in Splendour". It's been a LONG time since I've read anything so well researched. Her characters truly come alive. Medieval history isn't usually novelized so well.
Pati

I am reading Forever Amber... an old story written by Kathleen Windsor about a woman who grew up in the 17th century England.

It was considered scandalous when I was a young girl so of course I read it. Now, reading it again, I realize I got a bunch of my ideas about love from reading this book.

It's very romantic with a bit of history thrown in.

speaking of notorious books I remember reading Judy Blume as a child. I always liked her writing.

Yes, I loved Judy Blume!

Re-reading the DeVinci Code myself.....great bit of fiction. Never could understand why all the huffing and puffing about it. It was never billed as fact or historically acurate.....it's just another piece of fiction, no different than any other.

The huffing and puffing is because it could easily make an uncertain Christian doubt. IMHO

But they have the right to make their own decisions about what they read and what they believe. And they owe it to themselves, in my opinion, to test their beliefs (no matter what their beliefs are). Only when beliefs are tested can they become strong and lasting.

Janiejoy, I added Forever Amber to my wish list at Amazon. It sounds good, and interesting! The problem with this thread is that my list of books to read is doubling, and I already have a pile of books that will last me at least a year!

I'm wondering how a book club would do here at DG. Like we all pick one book and read it a month and then we can discuss it... what do you guys think?

How did everyone think Scarlett held up next to Gone With The Wind? I thought it was fantastic and really felt as though Scarlett had come alive.

We've done a few book discussion threads, but the Media forum in which they were located is on hiatus. Maybe Dave would re-activate it?

I started a thread in the Dave's Garden forum. If you're interested in the reinstatement of the media forum and would utilize it, please let folks know. :) http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/501332/

I did. :) Yay! *crosses fingers*

I'm reading Angels and Demons, same author as DaVInci Code.

Gardenwife... I absolutely LOVED the movie 84 Charing Cross Road with Anthony Hopkins. One of my favorite movies. My sister recommended it to me because I told her, when I finish a book, if it has a bad ending or was a waste of my time, I get so irritated I throw the book up against the wall. She burst out laughing and said there was a movie (84 Charing Cross Road) where the woman did that! So I had to rent the movie and watch it and its such a classic movie for me now. I LOVE Anthony Hopkins and will watch anything with him in it. I can't remember the woman, think it may have been Ann Bancroft?

DaVinci Code.. also made me think about my own religious teachings. After that book I went to the library and got Mary Magdelen, Myth and Metophor. It was written by a person who had a Catholic upbringing. It brought like to some of the "changes" made, before publishing the Bible. All very interesting. I liked the DaVinci Code, but I grew exhausted of the "code senerial" substance of it, after I finish Angels and Demons, gonna give that author a break.

Kathys999, I need to rent the movie now that I read the book. Anthony Hopkins is so excellent, I agree! But first I want to read the sequel, The Dutchess of Bloomsbury Street.

I guess I'm the only one who wasn't impressed with "The Lovely Bones". No wait, my daughter didn't like it, either. Probably because of all the hype and positive spin at the time .... it was a letdown for us.

I'm reading Janet Evanovich's "One for the Money" and plan to read her whole series of wonderful mysteries.

This is a great thread. I'm going to take notes on what to read this summer!