Reading is one of those pastimes that totally relaxes me yet inspires me, all at the same time. Often when I’m reading my mind trails off and my thoughts jump from one idea to another, but the neat thing is I don’t forget what I’m reading about or lose my spot on the page. I recently finished a book, so I’ve been scanning my bookshelf for something new to read — but I don’t think there’s anything in there I haven’t read. So I’d love to know: do you have any book recommendations for me?
Some books I’ve read recently (and loved):
I really enjoy reading fiction; romance novels aren’t really my thing. I think my favorite is a book that leaves me feeling inspired and challenged, with a twist of hope woven throughout :) Also, a lot of the fiction books that Target carries are totally my kind of read. Makes perfect sense, right? Thanks in advance for sharing a title or two!
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PS. some of my favorite indie biz books!
![{Giveaway Week ~ celebrating 1 year since quitting my day job [day 5]}](https://maggiewhitley.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/DSC06334.jpg)
Fault in our star, wonder, the Rosie project
My all-time favorite fiction books are The Bell Jar, Brave New World, and Little Women. Two out of those three are crazy sad or strange dystopian, but they’re amazing. I actually don’t read fiction *too* much, but I’ve been reading YA fiction a little bit here and there (between 3 or 4 nonfictions) :) and I really loved The Fault in Our Stars, and Flora & Ulysses was so cute and quirky. The first is a love story and is coming out as a movie this summer (it probably already has?). It’s ugly-cry romance material, and it’s really well written.
Sarah M
The Fault in our Stars, Summer Sisters, The Obituary Writer, A Moveable Feast
I’ve actually read Summer Sisters, totally forgot about that! I’ll have to look into The Obituary Writer. Thanks for the recommendations :)
I’m a sucker for Young Adult Fiction. I’m a Cassandra Clare fan and will read ANY of her works, but I also like Maggie Stiefvater. Of course with fiction like this there’s always a love story element to it, but it’s not super heavy romance, given the audience it’s aimed at. It generally serves a purpose to the main plot.
For more adult fiction, I can’t really name any authors by name, except Anne Rice (but vampires aren’t really your thing are they?). I usually aim for historical fiction, like Tudor based fiction, or fantasy.
I read, but I can’t say I’m “well-read”. I have a hard time getting into classic literature. I just feel like it goes nowhere. When I read I want it to entertain me. I want it to play out like a movie in my head, so I find that young adult fiction really does that for me. The pace and content work for me, and I like the characters too. I mean, yeah, they’re usually teenagers, but if the author is good the age doesn’t matter because the characters develop and grow, usually in a positive manner.
I’m exactly the same way, wanting literature to entertain me. Have you ever read Jodi Picoult? Highly recommend her books :)
I recently read and loved “Afterwards” by Rosamund Lupton!
“the puzzle king” by betsy carter is a favorite of mine, so is “peace like a river” by leif enger (i read it over 10 years ago and it still sticks with me). “the paris wife” by paula mclain is a fictional account of ernest hemingway and his first wife, hadley, in paris; it was beautiful.
i like to read jodi picoult if i want a book that makes me think (her prose is unrivaled, in my opinion), laura lippman if i’m looking for a mystery/thriller and john grisham if i want a crime novel.
i read way too much, and like just about everything. :) i recently read “a little bit wicked” by kristin chenoweth, and it was great. i read all of the divergent books recently, too, and liked those a lot (i also love “the hunger games” and “harry potter,” though). “the fault in our stars,” by john green, which i saw that many people mentioned, was good but i didn’t find it to be spectacular, personally.
Oh my goodness, I LOVE Jodi Picoult! “The Pact” was my first book by her I read. Have you read that one? I’m not sure if I could read “The Fault in our Stars”… seems a little to sad.
I’ve also heard of” The Paris Wife”, I think it’s time I finally read it :) thank you so much for all the feedback!!!
I loved The Pact. I also really liked Salem Falls, Picoult’S modern-day take on The Crucible. I think I have all of her books! The Fault in our Stars was good, but very sad, and while I enjoyed it, wouldn’t put it on my Top 10 List. Paula McLain (who wrote The Paris Wife) came to the town I was living in a couple years ago with Jodi Picoult, and I got to meet them both. It was totally amazing. I also got to write about Picoult and her at-the-time just-released book “Lone Wolf” for one of the newspapers I freelance with. Incredible!
I’ve loved reading all the comments on this post, and have put even more on my to-read list. (I love using Goodreads for that.)
And I love your blog! It’s such a pleasure to read about your business and your life.
OH, meeting those two authors sounds amazing!! How fun! I need to read some more of Picoult’s books…
I love all Jodi Picoult books. My Sister’s Keeper is probably my favorite but haven’t been disappointed by any of them. I also have a list of books on my blog that I have read and loved.
AGREE!
if you like young adult fiction then I would suggest, “fault in out stars.”
fiction with hope and resolution “redeeming love”, “scarlet thread” , “her mother’s hope”, and “her daughter’s dream”
other fun fiction reads: “what alice forgot.”, “the 100 foot journey”,
hope this helps, happy reading!
“What Alice Forgot”, adding that to my list — thank you!
I read What Alice Forgot for a bookstore that I do reviews for – it was totally hilarious and a little crazy! Lane Moriarty is a great writer. The Last Anniversary and The Husband’s Secret are both really good, too.
I borrowed “What Alice Forgot” from our library today and can’t wait to read it tonight! xo
I’ve heard that Finding Spiritual Whitespace by Bonne Gray is wonderful. It’s my next to read. I’d definitely recommend Rhinestone Jesus by Kristen Welch as well.
Not sure if it’s my favorite book, but I love this one called, “Edenbrook.” It is set in the regency time period. It’s basically a young adult version of a Jane Austen type book. It has a great story, I even laughed out loud at some points. I rarely read a book more than once, but I did with this one and it was equally as good the second time around! I highly recommend it!
I just read What Alice Forgot and really enjoyed how it was both quirky and thought-provoking (and not romance novelish at all). I also liked The Midwife and The Forgotten Garden (which is a little deeper and intriguing).
I love everything by Karen Kingsbury. Absolutely can not go wrong with any of them. One I recommend is Redemption (it’s a series). Happy reading!
I love the book Seven by Jen Hatmaker!
I have that one, but haven’t gotten to reading it yet. I hear it’s really good.
I recently read “The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club”. Super cute. Here’s a link to my halfway through review (http://csqdesigns.blogspot.com/2014/07/book-review-beach-street-knitting.html#.U8aPPLFGlco). You might finish it saying British phrases like “bloody hell” and “bugger” though. Fair warning.
Now I’m reading “The Fault in Our Stars”, per my roommate’s recommendation. So far, so good. Easy to read.
My best recommendation and one I’ve been recommending to all of my friends and family for a while now is the Medicine Man series from S. R Howen. Amazing stories based on Native American legends with supernatural, horror, time travel and a bit of something for everyone. You won’t read a book like these anywhere. They are unique and truly captivating from the first page. Really great books. http://www.srhowen.com/
I loved The Book Thief, The Fault in Our Stars, Ender’s Game, Harry Potter, The Strain, Mortal Instruments…I could go on for forever! I love fantasy but I also love books about real life. You may want to check out Sarah Dessen’s work.