David and I have been reading in the evenings and have finished: Northanger Abbey (Jane Austen), The Fountain Head (Ayn Rand), A Separate Peace (John Knowles), and My Antonia (Willa Cather).
Reading can kind of take a long time so I'm a little picky about what I pick up. Any suggestions? Here are some general guidelines: 1.) It helps if someone sees it as a Classic, 2.) NO VAMPIRES- not even Shelley's classic, 3.) fantasy and science fiction are out, 4.)David and I are approaching age 30 so we are a little too old for the juvenile fiction section (even if the New York Times condones it-plus, I'm sure I'll get my fill in a few years), 5.) I'm not too into LDS fiction.
So, with about 8 people reading this blog (and a good half that do not regularly read for enjoyment) and those exacting criteria above- I expect like zero recommendations. Wanna prove me wrong? Please, please do.
10 comments:
Les Miserables is my ALL TIME FAVORITE book (and it's a classic and there are no vampires). It's long, but completely worth it! I've probably read it 8 times.
I love reading and could probably give you a million recommendations, but hit this one up first!
I second Les Mis... loved it. Let me think some more and I'll come back with more good recommendations.
The first that comes to mind is one I just finished. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. I read it after Shauna recommended it on her blog. I don't know what length you're going for but it would keep you busy for a while. Not fantasy, but an interesting mystery. I'm curious what you'd recommend, too. I'm always looking for something good and recommendations really help!
Have you ever tried The Glass Castle? I just read it and I'm still thinking about it.
Or if you're looking for something light, maybe The Scarlet Pimpernel. . .
Oh, and Ivanhoe rocks.
Some of the books you have already read are my favorite. I love Austen's Northanger Abby. The juicy satire is to die for compared to her more romantic, prideful books. Good choices! I am completely immersed in Agatha Christie. She has lots of twisty mystery novels. I have really come to love her characters and her setting, England. They are also only 200 pages, so a quick read for a busy mom. I'll pick my two favs to give you some direction on where to start in her vast collection The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and The Moving Finger. Each book features one of her star detectives. Don't know if you love a mystery, but these are classic.
Les Mis is an excellent suggestion. I recently read the unabridged version. I can only recommend that version to people who love history. It was good, but I probably won't read it again. I'll stick with the abridged. :D Have you checked out BYU's list for the Honor's students? If not, you should. That'll keep you reading for ages. :D I've saved the file to my computer. You don't even like LDS historical fiction? I've pretty much loved anything by Gerald Lund, and there are a couple of other choice series that I really love as well; "Faith of our Fathers", "Children of the Promise". . .
The Woman in White- Wilke Collins- Classical
The 13th Tale- Diane Setterfield- evil characters/great resolve
The Count of Monte Cristo- unabridged
Oooh! I second the vote for The Count of Monte Cristo. I recently read that one. LOVE! If you haven't read that one you need to . . . sometime. It is long, but not long like Les Mis. SO good. I saw the movie first; it departed from the actual story by quite a bit. I liked the movie quite a bit, but the book was lots better.
I happened upon your blog through Lindsey and couldn't help but leave a comment on this one. I have nearly 1,000 books all sorted by age group then by author and title. Some of my favorites that fit your criteria include...
-Great Expectations by Dickens
- Sherlock Holmes by Doyle
- The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald
- Lost Horizon by Hilton
- To Kill a Mocking Bird by Lee (could be a juvenile book but I have it in my adult fiction section.
- 1984 by Orwell
- Anything by Jules Verne
- The Once and Future King by White
Post a Comment