Book Recommendations - Minneapolis,MN

The Space Between Us - I forget the author. One of the best books I've ever read. It didn't "sound" good when I picked it up - it's about the difference between rich and poor in India - but wow, what a story. I fell in love with the poor woman living in the slums! She was so real. It's one of those books that makes you want to go out and do some good for people!

Have you read "The Help"?

Ya know what I have done?
Well I have a 9 year old daughter.... so I have been reading HER books!
Its great!
Easy reading, interesting, of varied topics and genres. And my daughter gets a kick that I am reading 'her' books. THEN we talk about it! Fun!

And, my kids have TONS AND TONS of books at home... some they read, some they have not read .
So I read their chapter books.

Then that way, I am not spending money!
Or having to go anywhere to 'get' a book.

But anyway, my suggestions would be:
"Watership Down."
Loved that book as a kid. But it is not only a kid book. It is a real classic! And a big ol' thick book.
Nice to curl up to.

"S.'s Key" -wonderful but HEAVY and will haunt you!

"The Lonely Polygamist" -soooooo good!

These are young adult fiction, and I think a movie is about to come out, but "The Hunger Games" is FANTASTIC! I just finished it for a book club, and I am getting my hands on the 2nd in the series tomorrow! (There are three -"The Hunger Games" "Catching Fire" and I think "Mockingjay" is the title of the last one).

where should I begin? LOL I've got a collection of around 1,200 print books at my house, and about 500 e-books.

I recommend the following (all are a little different),

Anything by Sherrilyn Kenyon (but especially her dark hunters ... vampires that DON'T sparkle)
Anything by Catherine Coulter - but I particularly like her FBI thriller series, a couple of them be careful when you read them, you might not sleep well
As someone else recommended anything by Janet Evanovich but especially her Stephanie Plum series (starts with one for the money and is numbered after that, 18 is coming out on tuesday)
Anything by Jayne Anne Krentz/Jayne Castle/Amanda Quick (all the same author LOL) Her arcane society novels are great, and the ones set on harmony (these are written under the castle name).
Anything by Douglas Adams - especially The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Series
The Secret Life of Bees ... I cried my eyes out, can't remember the author.
Anything by Marie Harte ... these are definitely erotic romance, so ignore if that's not your thing.
I personally really like Dan Brown's stuff too ... although if you're particularly religious you may not like some of it :)
State of Fear by Michael Crichton I thought was really good too.

That's all I can think of at the moment LOL but feel free to message me if you want other suggestions LOL Give me more ideas what you really like and I'm sure I can give you more ideas.

Also I write reviews for Night Owl Reviews (www.nightowlreviews.com) you can check there for ideas too :)

Another vote for "The Help". Excellent book.

Here are other suggestions:
"Oryx and Crake" by Margaret Atwood
"The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein
"How to Be Lost" by Amanda Eyre Ward
"Belong to Me" by Marisa de los Santos
Any book by Jennifer Weiner
Any book by Janet Evanovich
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith is great.

Happy reading!!

The Help, Still Alice, Water for Elephants, S.'s Key, Left Neglected, Before I Go To Sleep, A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Next Thing on my List, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (series of 3 books), Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, anything by Jennifer Weiner, anything by Jodi Picoult. Happy reading!

I agree with many of the suggestions below, and would add Marian Keyes & Jane Green if you are looking for something a little lighter, but still good.

Also, you could try goodreads.com - you set up a profile & rate some books that you have already read, and it suggests *hundreds* of books for you! You can also see the combined rating from others, so you can avoid picking a total dud.

Happy reading!

What do you like to read?

There are a lot of good books out there.

The Help.
A Girl with the Golden Tattoo
Any books from John Patterson
Any books from Grishom
Any books from Iris Johannson

If you love humor and drama - Janet Evanovich has a great series that will have you laughing and turning the pages - One for the money, two for the show!! Go to the library and browse!! you will be in heaven!!!

good luck!

The Help is a great read. Here are some more ideas, with stars by the ones I really really loved:

Young adult novels (these can be terrific):
fantasy --
The Hunger Games trilogy
The His Dark Materials trilogy
The Mortal Instruments trilogy by Cassandra Clare
not fantasy--
*The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks, by E. Lockhart
Going Too Far, Jennifer Echols

Literary fiction:
*Love Walked In, Marisa de los Santos
Garden Spells, S. Addison Allen
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Annie Barrows
*The Forgotten Garden, Kate Morton

Non-fiction:
The Blind Side, Michael Lewis
Freakanomics, Steven Levitt

Romance:
Anything by Jennifer Crusie or Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Mystery:
the Sookie Stackhouse books
Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley novels

I loved The Space Between Us! Thanks for mentioning that one, Katie L.; I was trying to think of the name of it last week and couldn't remember it. It is beautifully written, and the friendship between the women is so complex. Wonderful!

I also love everything by Ann Patchett, but Bel Canto is my favorite.

Middlesex is a good read, too. I'm going to read the next book by the same author over the Christmas break, but I can't remember the name of the book or the author right now.

Some of these have already been mentioned, but I second them:

"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society"
"The Space Between Us" (Kind of an Indian version of the Help, but my book group thought it was better written)
"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks"--non-fiction, science and racial issues
"The Room"--fiction, but similar to Jaycee Lee Dugard story, took me awhile to get into it, but I ulitmately liked it. Easy read.
"The Art of Racing in the Rain"--I just started it.

Have fun reading!