Anyone reading any good books?

[coriolis]

Let's hear about it.

[Miss Mary]

Gosh, the last time I read a page turner, one I could not put down, was the last Harry Potter book. I read all 7 last summer. I know, I know, you may say they are children's books. The first few are but once they turn dark and the plan is set forth to fight "you know who", they are riveting. Since then, I've just read fluff pieces, not worth mentioning really....

I'd welcome a current book on a top 10 or 20 list, if anyone knows of a good one. Thanks.

[TreasureIslandFLGal]

Miss Mary, this one's not in the top 10-20 because it's an older one but, it's one of my all time favorites. Don't know if you've already read it or not. It starts a little slow as you get introduced to the principal characters but, it hits it's stride and then you're hooked! I've actually read it 8 times myself!

The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley

~Nikki~

[Miss Mary]

Thanks Nikki - I'll definitely look for it!

[sunny]

I've recently read "The Kite Runner" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini. Both are excellent reads, but sad.

I just started "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. It's the true story of a mountaineer's ill fated climb of K2 and his journeys into Pakistan.

[TreasureIslandFLGal]

Another one for you and your daughter, Miss Mary...

The Dharma Of Star Wars

I don't know the author but, I saw it at Barnes and Noble's today. It's definitely my next purchase after payday!

It's supposed to discuss the parallels between the Jedi principles and the principles of Buddhism. Looked pretty cool and I can't wait to check it out!

Best wishes,
~Nikki~

[Dee Bee]

The Mists of Avalon is just about my favorite book of all times, too. I think I've read it at least as many times as you, Nikki! The book is far superior to the made-for-TV movie based on the book and remains my favorite of Zimmer-Bradley's prequel series based on the Avalon theme.

My other all-time favorite which I've read over and over is Time & Again by Jack Finney (not the book which the movie Somewhere in Time was based on, but a similar concept of time travel back to the turn of the 20th century America). Again, I prefer this title to the sequel.

As far as books for fall/winter reading, I just splurged at Barnes & Noble last weekend:

The Shack by Wm. P. Young
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
The Little Book by Selden Edwards
Isaac's Storm by Erick Larson (1999 book about the Galveston hurricane of 1900)
The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan (2006 book about the American Dust Bowl)

Now I just have to make time to dig in and enjoy!

[Cryomaniac]

Moondust: In search of the men who fell to Earth by Andrew Smith is a cool book. A review of it

Fiction wise, I suggest The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon.

[Cookiely]

I read a Robin Cook book, I think it was Crisis or Critical. Sort of a disappointment. The new Ophrah book club book looks good. Here is a link to the first chapter.
http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G ... apter1.pdf

[coriolis]

I'm reading a little collection of some essays and letters written by Seneca. He was a Roman and wrote in the first century. One of the essays "On Providence" investigates why bad things happen to good people, or "why does a good god let evil happen to the righteous?" One of his arguements is that misfortune is a form of exercise that builds character. He puts it in a very compelling way: When we are born we bring nothing into the world with us. At the end of our journey we take nothing with with us to the next life. Everything that we acquire during this life - even our body - is "baggage." God is concerned with our soul, why should we expect him to be concerned with our baggage? The trials purify us. So whether it's the loss of a job, the loss of a loved one, or even the loss of our health, the important thing is not what we have to bear, but how we bear it. Though a pagan writer, Seneca was highly regarded by the early church. Some people claimed that he corresponded with Saint Paul, but later scholarship discounted it. In any case, it's pretty good reading.