Books you don't want to come to the end of...

[MadCityWriter]

Too often I find myself reading just to get to the end of a book so I can move on to the next (I'm one of those who almost never leaves a book unfinished).  And of course there are the books you can't put down because you have to find out how it ends before you go to bed.

But every once in awhile I find a book I just want to savor, and I slow the reading down - maybe to a chapter a night at bedtime - just so it won't end too soon. 

One such book  for me was the non-fiction The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, by Thaddeus Carhart.

Any others, anyone else?

[thwaters]

Oh... The Piano Shop on the Left Bank sounds like a cool read -- just checked out the description on Amazon.  Paris would be an amazing place to live, giving an author a plethora of fascinating subjects to write about.   
So, I know I'm going to get laughed at by anybody who reads my reply, but here goes -- the book that I most did not want to end (thus far) was... "The DaVinci Code".  Okay, okay, so I already know that Dan Brown doesn't have the greatest prose in the world.  But, as far as a story line goes, I thought Mr. Brown took us on one hell of a ride.  Angels & Demons was just as good, if not better.  I guess for me, I just love all that stuff about secret societies and mysterious codes embedded in high level places -- absolutely fascinating.  I was talking to a guy a few week's ago whose father-in-law is a mason and refuses to tell him anything about what goes on behind closed doors.  I guess the masons have some kind of secret book of rules, too, that they have to keep under wraps.  I asked him what will happen to it after his father-in-law passes away but he wasn't sure.  I told him to steal it before anybody else gets to it.  I want to read a book called "The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power" by Jeff Sharlet.  I heard the author in an NPR interview and found it fascinating.  I suspect all of our top political leaders & captains of industry belong to their own specific secret societies.  Ahhh... if I could only be a mere fly on a wall for just one night and hear what transpires in those halls.  Truly riveting.
Have an awesome day, Mad City Writer 

[Adele Ward]

I enjoyed Affinity by Sarah Waters so much that I didn't want it to end. But I couldn't sleep because I couldn't stop reading it, so it's probably a good job it ended. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro is also a beautiful book I could have lived with for longer, but the film ruined it.

[MadCityWriter]

Thwaters, I have read Jeff Sharlett's book, The Family.  It is a fascinating read, and for me a bit disturbing. The DaVinci Code was definitely a page turner.  I didn't have the desire to linger over it, but I did do follow up research because the topic was so fascinating.

Adele, I will look forn Affinity and Remains of the Day. I haven't seen the film, so it should still be good for me. Thanks!

[Sean Patrick Fox]

Harry Potter

A Song of Ice and Fire (whenever GRRM gets around to finishing it)

The Dark Tower

Mostly long, epic fantasy series that I've become overly attached to.

[KateDanley]

One such book  for me was the non-fiction The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, by Thaddeus Carhart.

Ooo!  Thanks for the recommendation!  I just downloaded the sample.  Looks FANTASTIC!  I can hardly wait!

And maybe it is just the mention of a Parisian book which gets my brain on the European theme, but Under the Tuscan Sun was that way for me.



I was living in New York at the time and read it in the dead of winter.  The description of the sun drenched Italian countryside, the olive trees and free flowing wine and eating outdoors beneath the stars... Well, it sure beat the reality of 2 degrees and snow. 

[Ty Johnston]

Just finished "The Crippled God," the 10th and final novel in Steven Erikson's Malazan Books of the Fallen series, and I did not want it to end. More than 3 million words, and I didn't want it to end. That sounds crazy even to me.

[Sean Patrick Fox]

Just finished "The Crippled God," the 10th and final novel in Steven Erikson's Malazan Books of the Fallen series, and I did not want it to end. More than 3 million words, and I didn't want it to end. That sounds crazy even to me.

Sounds crazy, because I couldn't force myself to continue after 5 books. Enjoyable, but Erikson is just all over the place.

[thwaters]

Thwaters, I have read Jeff Sharlett's book, The Family.  It is a fascinating read, and for me a bit disturbing.

Thanks for the heads-up, Mad City Writer.  I'm looking forward to reading "The Family" and will brace myself for the impact -- I had a feeling it would be disturbing -- eerie subject matter.

[thwaters]

Okay... so I just finished another book which I didn't want to come to the end of:  The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.  Love, love, love it.  The good news is that Sherman Alexie has a few other novels, so I'm really looking forward to reading those as well.

[MadCityWriter]

Okay... so I just finished another book which I didn't want to come to the end of:  The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.  Love, love, love it.  The good news is that Sherman Alexie has a few other novels, so I'm really looking forward to reading those as well.

Thanks for this one, Thwaters.  I'll put it on my "to read" list.

[caylenesmom]

The Dark Tower series was one of my favorites.  I think I just may need to read them again...

[Joel Arnold]

Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove - I could've gone on reading that for another thousand pages!

Same with Stephen King's IT

[tamaraheiner]

It's rare for me to find a book like that. I read a lot of books that I enjoy, and even more than are okay. But to find a book that just grabs me and won't let go--I don't think it's happened since The Hunger Games. I'll have to start reading the books you guys recommend.

[KateDanley]

I don't think it's happened since The Hunger Games.

Hunger Games was AMAZING.  That series left me with a great big hole in my heart that was so hard to fill...  And that made me think of THIS book, which I have become the biggest cheerleader for...



I am almost embarrassed because I almost compulsively keep checking to see when the next one is going to come out.  For me, it filled The Hunger Games hole.  I  LOVED it.  I NEED THE SEQUEL!  NEED IT I SAY!

[MadCityWriter]

I'm guessing that just because one person is so mesmerized by a book that he or she doesn't want it to end, doesn't mean others will receive it the same way.  But it certainly makes one want to give it a try. 

Lonesome Dove is a title I'm familiar with, but never thought I would enjoy. But who knows.  I could be in for a wonderful surprise.  The same with Hunger Games.  And now I'm intrigued by this new title Angelfall.

Thanks all!

[Darlene Jones]

Anything by Alan Bennett. He's a masterful writer.

[Capri142]

  Yes to Lonesome Dove, What a great read that was! I think that most anyone would enjoy it. Another one was The Hobbitt

[DYB]

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro is also a beautiful book I could have lived with for longer, but the film ruined it.

Loved the book - and the movie.  A magnificent film!

[DYB]

I think the only thing I really wished had continued was "Harry Potter."  Maybe it's because I thought Rowling stopped when she should have.  So many other authors keep writing past their due date. 

[thwaters]

I think the only thing I really wished had continued was "Harry Potter."  Maybe it's because I thought Rowling stopped when she should have.  So many other authors keep writing past their due date. 

You are so right, DYB.  "Harry Potter" was magically delicious.  I agree that Rowling got out of the game at the perfect time.  I often wonder about her.  After such magnificent success, where will she go from here?

[GGKeets]

My heart always hurts when I'm finishing a Harry Potter book. The endings are always so bittersweet.

[UnicornEmily]

Oh!  I know what you mean!

Then there are also those books you dread reaching the end of, because you're nearing the end of the number of pages, and you don't think it's wrapped up sufficiently, and you get this horrible feeling the author a) didn't wrap it up sufficiently and you'll never get a satisfying ending to the story, or b) the author is trying to build up to a cliffhanger ending.  (All the more annoying when you didn't know, going in, that it was supposed to be a series!)

The kind of book you don't want to finish, just because you're enjoying it too much, though . . . the last one for me was Totto-chan: The Little Girl in the Window.  It's this adorable true story about a perfect school in Japan in the 1940s.

[RobynH]

Angela's Coven by Bruce Jenvey
This book fit two catagories: I couldn't put it down and when I was done, I wished it had gone on for another hundred pages!  The tough part is I heard on FB that the author has just finished book two in the series but it won't come out until NEXT OCTOBER! That's a long time to wait...
His story is about modern day witches, no magic wands or magic spells, it's all chemistry and holistic type medicine. But there's a strong fantasy aspect in that they try to help a dying rock star break his deal with the devil before it's too late. It's also about guardian angels but these angels are like secret angels and they carry guns! It was funny and then I cried, and then i laughed again, and cried again. What a book. I really have read it twice.
I can't seem to get the amazon page to come up like other people but here are some links:
http://www.amazon.com/Angelas-Coven-Cabbottown-Novels-ebook/dp/B005W62FDM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1326808018&sr=1-1
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbH92Lrrtdg" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbH92Lrrtdg</a>
It seems I can make the youtube thing work.

[Buttercup]

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.  Loved it, didn't want it to end, I needed more.

[StephenLivingston]

The Lord of the Rings and Storm Constantine's Wraeththu novels.
Best wishes, Stephen Livingston.