Books Recommended by our Members - April 2009

[GreenThumb]

and the Alpha and Omega series starts with a novella that was originally published in an anthology but can be downloaded separately.

Oooh, thanks for posting that!  I have read all the Mercy Thompson books, and have the first Alpha and Omega, but haven't started it yet.  I'll read this novella first.  I love this board!

[Leslie]

I have mentioned this book in other threads, but now that I have finished it, it is definitely going on my recommended for the month list.



It's a historical romance (m/m) that takes place in New York City right after World War I. The author has some great characterizations and really snappy dialog. There are a few places where difficult situations pop up and they are resolved a mite too quickly -- I could have used a bit more tension -- but that's a minor quibble. Overall, I'd give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.

This is a romance but there is no sex beyond a few kisses and implications of what is going on, ie, "the bed was unmade." So, for the chaste readers in the group, give this one a go. You won't be disappointed.

[drenee]

I may be wrong, but I think that's what m/m means.

[Betsy the Quilter]

I may be wrong, but I think that's what m/m means.

You are correct.   

Betsy

[CS]

How to Win Friends and Influence People[/i] by Dale Carnegie.  

I'm surprised this isn't available for free on sites like feedbooks.com, manybooks.net, mobileread.com, etc.

[LindaW]

Just finished "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett.  Wonderful book!

Some Reviews
“The Help by Kathryn Stockett is a story that made me weep as I rejoiced for each of humanity’s small but steady triumphs over hate and fear. I will never forget this wonderful book.”
—Dorothea Benton Frank

“A magical novel. Heartbreaking and oh so true, the voices of these characters, their lives and struggles will stay with you long after you reluctantly come to the end.”
—Robert Hicks, New York Times– bestselling author of The Widow of the South

“I love The Help. Kathryn Stockett has given us glorious characters and a powerful, truth-filled story. Abilene, Minny and Skeeter, show that people from this troubled time came together despite their differences and that ordinary women can be heroic.”
—Jill Conner Browne, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of The Sweet Potato Queens series and resident of Jackson, MS

“Set in the rural South of the 1960's, THE HELP is a startling, resonant portrait of the intertwined lives of women on opposite sides of the racial divide. Stockett's many gifts – a keen eye for character, a wicked sense of humor, the perfect timing of a natural born storyteller – shine as she evokes a time and place when black women were expected to help raise white babies, and yet could not use the same bathroom as their employers. Her characters, both white and black, are so fully fleshed they practically breathe – no stock villains or pious heroines here. I'm becoming an evangelist for The Help. Don't miss this wise and astonishing debut.”
–Joshilyn Jackson, Bestselling author of Gods in Alabama

“A wonderful book. A compelling and comically poignant tale about three women, and a time and a place that is in many ways very much still with us.”
—Beth Henley, Pulitzer Prize– winning playwright of Crimes of the Heart

[Leslie]

It probably should have a warning about the underlying gay story line.

I am not sure why one would need a "warning" about a gay love story. I said m/m, sorry if you didn't know what that meant. The Amazon description says " but success brings its own risks for two men falling in love." I think that makes the nature of the romance pretty obvious.

L

[jmiked]

I said m/m, sorry if you didn't know what that meant. The Amazon description says " but success brings its own risks for two men falling in love." I think that makes the nature of the romance pretty obvious.

L

The description did make it obvious , but if I had just seen the "m/m" I wouldn’t have had the foggiest. I have to puzzle out most of the abbreviations and acronyms around here. It took a while to figure out LGBT, heh.

"DH" I got pretty quickly, though. "Dumb Husband," right? 

Mike

[Leslie]

The description did make it obvious , but if I had just seen the "m/m" I wouldn’t have had the foggiest. I have to puzzle out most of the abbreviations and acronyms around here. It took a while to figure out LGBT, heh.

"DH" I got pretty quickly, though. "Dumb Husband," right? 

Mike

darling husband, I think. 

[intinst]

When used by my wife it either means dear husband or da*n husband. Guess which meaning is most often the case?    

[Leslie]

When used by my wife it either means dear husband or da*n husband. Guess which meaning is most often the case?    

Dear, of course!

[LauraB]

I have just finished Lamb , by Christopher Moore, on my kindle2.  First, formalities, it is formatted well for kindle.  The TOC links, there aren't any footnotes etc to be dealt with.  There aren't any pictures in kindle or DTC.  The story is a novel, sort of sarcastic and funny.  It is narrated by Biff, who is Jesus' best friend from childhood.  It tells the story of Jesus' life by saying how it would look through the eyes of a child, teen, and eventual adult. The main question being what would it be like to be the Son of God's best friend? It is funny.  I was giggling out loud.  Then my hubby asked what I was reading.  So I filled him in on the plot and began reading the page I was on, which is about how the angel appears, 13 years late, to announce the saviors birth.  It was funny! My husband was laughing and at the same time said, "oh, your going to hell.." .  I really enjoyed the book it is a good, fun read. 
Also, in DTC, I just finished The Tourist, by Olen Steinhauer, this book is a suspense drama.  It is about a man, who is a "tourist" (spy) for the US.  It is really about his conflicts with a crisis of conscious, of his conflicts with society, and his family. It isn't a "Borne identity" type story.  In this book the characters are believable, they deal with problems that seem real, and there isn't the "and suddenly-" the solution appears type of spy book.  It isn't James Bond with crazy technology.  It is about how someone survives when there job is to survive and function as long as you can before they take you out.  It really gets into the head and thoughts of the character.  Also some of the daily stuff, like how do you deal with your family and kids, what do they think you do for a living.  And how do you really do it.  It is a really good book, the rights have been bought by Smokehouse production, for George Clooney to produce and star in. 
Added links:

 

[RJ Keller]

I have mentioned this book in other threads, but now that I have finished it, it is definitely going on my recommended for the month list.



It's a historical romance (m/m) that takes place in New York City right after World War I. The author has some great characterizations and really snappy dialog. There are a few places where difficult situations pop up and they are resolved a mite too quickly -- I could have used a bit more tension -- but that's a minor quibble. Overall, I'd give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.

This is a romance but there is no sex beyond a few kisses and implications of what is going on, ie, "the bed was unmade." So, for the chaste readers in the group, give this one a go. You won't be disappointed.

Thanks for the recommendation. I've bookmarked it (under "books to download once I get my Kindle") and have recommended it to my many Kindle-toting friends.

[Linda Cannon-Mott]

Link added for LindaW  BTW Linda I have this on my to be read list.

[LindaW]

Link added for LindaW  BTW Linda I have this on my to be read list.

Thanks so much - I have no idea how to add the pics.  I think you'll really like it.  I sat down on Sunday morning and never put it down until I finished it later that evening (stopping only to swap out loads of laundry!)

[Jesslyn]

I love the Kitty werewolf books. I'm up to number 5 Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand, but have been holding off so I have something to look forward to.

If you like the Kitty books, and you haven't already read Patricia Briggs, you'll like hers too. She has 2 werewolf series that are interconnected but can be read independently. I found her books first, then found the Kitty books. The Mercy Thompson series starts with Moon Called:


and the Alpha and Omega series starts with a novella that was originally published in an anthology but can be downloaded separately.


I loved all of these. There's just no substitute for good, solid writing skills. So many of the books out there are just not very well-written, and this seems to be a particular problem in "genre" books. I don't care how good the plot is, if the writing is not up to par and the author can't develop the characters, I just won't enjoy the book. Another reason to love my Kindle - downloading samples has been great for weeding out books that aren't well-written. I don't need the plot to develop right away - I'm willing to read at least 75-100 pages for that, but you can tell immediately if the writing is going to be good or not.

I like the Kitty and the Briggs books, but in a contest, I'd have to vote for Briggs.  I like fantasy and it seems that there are a lot of the 'kick-butt-and-take-names' chick series around.  IMO, not all are worth the screen they're printed on, but I recommend the above two and:
Kate Daniels series

[RJ Keller]

I'm not a fan of fantasy, but if I click on a link and find one by mistake I close the link and go back to perusing the boards without a word.

[lb505]

Recently finished this:

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao


Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best of the Month, September 2007: It's been 11 years since Junot Díaz's critically acclaimed story collection, Drown, landed on bookshelves and from page one of his debut novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, any worries of a sophomore jinx disappear. The titular Oscar is a 300-pound-plus "lovesick ghetto nerd" with zero game (except for Dungeons & Dragons) who cranks out pages of fantasy fiction with the hopes of becoming a Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien. The book is also the story of a multi-generational family curse that courses through the book, leaving troubles and tragedy in its wake. This was the most dynamic, entertaining, and achingly heartfelt novel I've read in a long time. My head is still buzzing with the memory of dozens of killer passages that I dog-eared throughout the book. The rope-a-dope narrative is funny, hip, tragic, soulful, and bursting with desire. Make some room for Oscar Wao on your bookshelf--you won't be disappointed. --Brad Thomas Parsons

I didn't want this book to end. 

[KindleKay (aka #1652)]

I'm not a fan of fantasy, but if I click on a link and find one by mistake I close the link and go back to perusing the boards without a word.

I agree.  If a book isn't to your liking, just close the link and move on...

[Leslie]

I didn't read the Amazon description until later. I rapidly skimmed your post and missed the m/m, as I already stated. Newsflash, not everyone is liberal and not everyone approves of GLBT, hence the need for the warning or whatever term you want to use.

We don't have a rule or guideline here for "warnings" or ratings or anything else. People--readers making recommendations--are free to post as much or as little information as they want about a book. Interested folks can go to Amazon and learn more. I assume we are all intelligent adults here and we can each make our own informed decisions. Whether you "approve" of something or not is your own prerogative. I am not going to ask posters to make decisions a priori about what may or may not be acceptable to others on the board.

L

[Betsy the Quilter]

Book Corner Moderator jumping in here.  Peace, people!

These are books recommended by our members.  Books they enjoyed.  We don't ask that members put reviews of the books in the posts, in fact, I personally think less is more.  We indicate that we enjoyed the read and then post a link to the book on Amazon or wherever the book may be found where full information can be found.  The post did in fact indicate the nature of the romance.  The fact that someone skimmed the post and missed it or that someone did not understand the acronym doesn't change that.

There are plenty of books that have been posted that are not my cup of tea, I read the info and move on.

Let's move on.

Thanks!

Betsy

[Luvmy4brats]

Betsy, it's been awhile since we've seen this hat. It's one of my favorites.

[LDB]

Exactly why I said not everyone rather than nobody. I do appreciate though how the moderators go out of their way to be neutral in all things and equally respectful of every forum member's right to their reading choices.

[Betsy the Quilter]

Thanks to all for resuming peaceful discussions.  While I don't try too hard to keep this thread lean & mean, I'd like to keep it tidy for the benefit of our members. I'm not planning on doing any pruning at this point, but the discussion seems to be over and everyone has made their points. I invite anyone who is willing to delete any of their own posts that they don't think would be of interest to the general membership or guests to do so.

Betsy
(Thanks, Heather, I don't often repeat hats, but that WAS a good one.)

in honor of baseball season. (RIP Nick Adenhart)

[CS]

I deleted my post since Betsy seems to have put an end to the discussion/argument.

Book recommendation (just to keep this on topic):

Hmmm....



Okay, I read that ages ago - BUT... I had to stay on topic and the DVD is out, so enjoy a book, a movie, some coffee, and the antics of the "World's Worst Dog."