"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Monday, May 2, 2011

Books I'm Glad Someone Recommended that I Read

The Broke and Bookish Blog
Top Ten Books that I read on a recommendation 
(and I'm glad I did!)

1.  Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
I credit this book for bringing me back to reading after a ten year hiatus.  I still think of it as one of my favorite books. (My sister, Kathy, recommended that I read it)

2.  Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
This was one the first classics I remember reading where I was just swept up in the story. (My friend Rita recommended it.)

3.  Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
I know this will be my favorite book club book of 2011. Even though it is long, it is worth the read.  Everyone in the book club really liked it, too. (Deborah recommended that we read it.)

4.  Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver
My first Kingsolver, now a favorite author.  I read this book out-of-order (Bean Trees is first) because my friend was so high on it. (Rita)

5.  The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
I love this exquisitely written story translated from French (My friend Margaret, who is a French teacher, recommended this one!)

6.  Going Bovine by Libba Bray
This was the #1 YA book last year and it was a student, Kelsey, who told me that I should read it.

7.  Harry Potter and and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (in audio format)
The whole family listened together as we drove to California for vacation.  We all enjoyed it immensely. (My neighbor, Susie, loaned us her audio-CDs of this book.)

8.  Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Annie Lamott
This book really spoke to me on a spiritual level.  (My mom recommended that I read it.)

9.  The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
This is one of my favorite YA books ever.  It was a student who kept encouraging me to read it even though I had a hard time starting it, once I got going...WOW!

10.  Mountain Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder
This book that was recommended by someone at church, It really put a new idea of "mission" work into my head.

11. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
My oldest daughter, also named Rita, loved this book and kept at me until I read it.  I started reading it and then got derailed but she kept after me until I finished it.  I was so glad, too, as I loved it.

****Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins is on my pile of books to read as it comes with the strongest recommendation from my youngest daughter, Carly.  I promise to read it this month.  Moms must not ignore recommendations from reading daughters if they expect daughters to not ignore them!


25 comments:

  1. Cold Sassy Tree! Oh, how long has it been since I read that? The grandpa who came home with a bride...decades his junior, who bought the town's first 'horseless carriage'..;) Charming little book. I think my high school librarian recommended it to me.

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  2. The Book Thief made it on my list also! Such a great read! Going Bovine was one of my favorites last year also!

    I haven't read Pigs in Heaven yet, although I read and loved The Bean Trees, which is the book that comes first. Maybe I will have to push this one up the pile!

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  3. I keep seeing The Book Thief pop up in my blog hopping. I am going to have to check that one out.

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  4. I haven't read many of these. I need to get to reading :)

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  5. I forgot about Cold Sassy Tree! That should have been on my list as well- my best friend recommended it to me in 8th grade, and it is one of the most well-written books (IMO) I have ever read!

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  6. I just read Cold Sassy Tree a few months ago and I agree, it is a wonderful book!

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  7. Anne, I love this list. Traveling Mercies? Yes! Hedgehog? Yes. Mountains Beyond Mountains? Yes.

    We should form a club of like-minded readers to share book titles that we enjoyed!

    Here's my gratitude list: Top Ten Books I'm Happy Were Recommended to Me. I hope you will stop by!

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  8. The Book Thief is on my list as well. Don't you love student recommendations that turn out to be incredible reads? Great list!

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  9. I love hearing a student recommended a great book for you!

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  10. The Elegance of the Hedgehog is on my tr list. Heard a lot of good things about it. I also loved The Book Thief.

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  11. I've wondered about Cold Sassy Tree. You think it's good, though, so maybe I'll check it out.

    Thanks!

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  12. What a great list! :) I've been told I should read Going Bovine, too, and The Book Thief has been on my list for a bit. Excellent list, thank you for sharing and for visiting! :)

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  13. Oh! i forget about the Hedgehog book...how could I do that. Loved that one and wouldn't have read it if not recommended. I think I'll have to add an extra.

    Here's mine: http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2011/05/top-ten-tuesday-recommendations.html

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  14. Great list of books. Cutting for stone and the Harry Potter series is also on my list. I've heard great things about The Elegance of the Hedgehog but I've yet to read it.

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  15. Harry Potter and and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (in audio format)
    The whole family listened together as we drove to California for vacation. We all enjoyed it immensely

    That is so awesome. I wish my family liked to read. I'm pretty well an anomaly

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  16. I really enjoyed The Elegance of the Hedgehog as well. It wasn't recommended to me, but I just couldn't resist the cover in the bookshop. It's beautiful! I read it while on holiday in France a few years back which seemed quite fitting.

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  17. Isn't Jim Dale fantastic? I loved how he read the Harry Potter series. It is the best audio series I've ever listened to.

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  18. I forgot to include The Time Traveller's Wife on mine.

    Here is my list:
    http://carabosseslibrary.blogspot.com/2011/05/top-ten-tuesday.html

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  19. Ah, as always, Anne, I want to comment on every single thing you wrote about!!

    Let's see...

    I'm in the middle of Cutting for Stone. It seems to be taking me forever to read it, but I am enjoying it.

    Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible is one of my favorite books of all time (top 5 definitely). My best friend keeps telling me I have to read Bean Trees and Pigs in Heaven, etc. and I just haven't gotten around to it yet! Maybe this summer...

    Time Travaler's Wife is another of my top 5 of all-time books - absolutely loved it!

    I really enjoy Annie Lamott's books but haven;t read Traveling Mercies yet - another one I keep meaning to get to!

    And...you spent 10 years NOT reading??? Wow, that's hard for me to imagine! So glad your sister helped bring you back into it!!

    Sue

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  20. I loved Cold Sassy Tree! I listened to it, and when I was finished I passed it along to a friend because it was so good. Thankfully she loved it too.

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  21. Lots of good recommendations here. Cutting for Stone is one I really want to read-I have it on my Nook.

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  22. Love your list! New follower.

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  23. I feel like I keep hearing recommendations for Maugham, so I bumped up Painted Veil in my TBR. Good list.

    Check out my list here

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  24. Does this mean I need to listen to more of your book suggestions? I'm glad you made it through Time Traveler's Wife, it's weird, but wonderful.

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  25. Nice to see Pigs in Heaven on someone's list! Bean Trees is also on mine, I love those books. Also loved Time Travelers Wife. I think I really need to read The Book Thief one of these days.

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