Recently in Reading Category

The following is a list of thirty of my favorite books that I've read over the last 10 years or so.  As you will see, once I read something I like, I will make it a point to find other books written by the same author assuming I will like those as well.  I am rarely disappointed.  I hope you enjoy the list and find a good book or two to read!

1. The Help - Kathryn Stockett
2. White Oleander - Janet Fitch
3. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
4. In Her Shoes - Jennifer Weiner
5. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
6. The Last Song - Nicholas Sparks
7. Something Borrowed - Emily Giffin
8. Something Blue - Emily Giffin
9. Baby Proof - Emily Giffin
10. Love the One You're With - Emily Giffin
11. The Glass Castle: A Memoir - Jeannette Walls
12. Good in Bed - Jennifer Weiner
13. She's Come Undone - Wally Lamb
14. I Know This Much Is True - Wally Lamb
15. Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
16. Joy in the Morning - Betty Smith
17. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith
18. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
19. American Wife - Curtis Sittenfeld
20. Prep: A Novel - Curtis Sittenfeld
21. The Man of My Dreams - Curtis Sittenfeld
22. Little Earthquakes - Jennifer Weiner
23. The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
24. The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks
25. Rise and Shine: A Novel - Anna Quindlen
26. The Pilot's Wife - Anita Shreve
27. Light on Snow - Anita Shreve
28. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
29. Fall On Your Knees - Ann-Marie MacDonald
30. Angela's Ashes: A Memoir - Frank McCourt

 * Disclaimer: All link are Amazon affiliate links

Now it's your turn. What are some of your favorite books from the last decade?  Share your thoughts on any of the books above, I'd love to hear your opinions.

This past weekend I finished My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult.  I really, really enjoyed it.  I put the movie in my Netflix queue weeks ago but wanted to read the book first.  Now I'm really looking forward to seeing the movie, too.

The book started a little bit slow, but soon enough I was looking forward to reading a little bit before going to bed.  I had to force myself to put it down so I could get enough sleep before work.  I thought it was quite suspenseful throughout the second half.  And then the ending.  Wow.  Of course I'm not going to give the ending away in case you haven't read/seen it yet, but it was a surpise I totally didn't see coming.  It was fantastic.

I loved how each chapter was told from the perspective of a different character.  I liked how it kept the book fresh by switching up the perspective. I liked how it gave each of the characters more depth. Each chapter is in the first person, and each character has their own voice. 

The book made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me think.  All things, in my mind, that make a book a wonderful read.

If you've read the book or seen the movie, what did you think?  If you haven't, do it now!  What are you waiting for?!  :)  Anyone have any suggestions for the next Jodi Picoult book I should read? 

A couple of months back I saw the book The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks at the grocery store.  I was actually in need for a book to read, it was 40% off, and I liked the other Nicholas Sparks stuff I have read, so on a whim I bought it.

II read it fairly quickly, and I really, really liked it.  I didn't want to put it down.  It is probably my second favorite of all his books I've read, after The Notebook.  So I was quite excited when I saw the movie was coming out.  Even though I am quite a homebody, and am almost never the one to initiate an outing, I quickly sent out feelers to a couple of girlfriends to see if they'd be interested in seeing it.  I knew there was no way I was going to get my boyfriend to sit and watch this movie, let alone actually pay to see it.  Then I checked rottentomatoes.com.  And I kind of panicked for a moment.  It was given a rating of 13%.  13%!  I was embarrassed that I had started this thing in motion, and now people were going to hate it. 

I had one friend in particular that I thought might like to see it with me.  She was actually very interested, even though she hadn't read the book yet.  I let her borrow the book and she read it in a weekend.  She loved it as much as I did.  And she still wanted to go see the movie even though the ratings were pretty abysmal.

So I'm heading out shortly to go see it.  I'm thinking we'll still enjoy it, despite the critics.  We know it's not going to be winning any Oscars, and we've set our expectations accordingly.

 

Disclaimer: links are affiliate links to amazon.com

Are you a fan of Nicholas Sparks?  If so, what's your favorite of all his books.  Have you see this movie?  If so, what did you think?  Have you ever organized and outing or an event that was a complete bust?!

I finally created an account at goodreads.com the other day.  So far, thumbs up!  I like being able to easily track all the books I've read, and my to-read list so I don't forget.  I love lists  :)  It's also great for reading reviews and getting recommendations.  Hundreds of great suggestions right at your fingertips.

There is a downside, however. I am extremely tempted to spend far too much time reviewing books while at work.  I am sure TheBoss would not be very happy about that.

Yesterday, I was a book nerd.  The Boy sent me a text yesterday afternoon asking if I wanted to go to the bookstore.  I didn't really need to go but he always humors me and goes wherever I want to go so I said yes.  He wanted to buy a book or two for his mom, and then one for himself to take with him on an upcoming work trip to California. 

I thought I might buy something since I don't have any books lined up in the queue right now.  At first I had a hard time finding anything.  Then, I apparently was on a roll and found 3 in the span of 2 minutes.  Literally.  They are all books that sounded interesting and they were all books written by authors I had previously enjoyed. I am really excited to start reading.

The three books I ended up buying were:

• little earthquakes, by Jennifer Weiner
• American Wife, by Curtis Sittenfeld
• Joy in the Morning, by Betty Smith

little earthquakes

Jennifer Weiner's rich, witty, true-to-life New York Times bestselling novel tells the story of three very different women as they navigate one of life's most wonderful and perilous transitions: the journey of new motherhood. Becky is a plump, sexy chef who has a wonderful husband and baby girl, a restaurant that's received citywide acclaim -- and the mother-in-law from hell. Kelly is an event planner who's struggling to balance work and motherhood while dealing with an unemployed husband who seems content to channel-surf for eight hours a day. And Ayinde's basketball superstar husband breaks her trust at her most vulnerable moment, putting their new family even more in the public eye. Then there's Lia, a Philadelphia native who has left her Hollywood career behind, along with her husband and a tragic secret, to start her life all over again. From prenatal yoga to postbirth sex, Little Earthquakes is a frank, funny, fiercely perceptive take on the comedies and tragedies of love and marriage.

American Wife

A kind, bookish only child born in the 1940s, Alice Lindgren has no idea that she will one day end up in the White House, married to the president. In her small Wisconsin hometown, she learns the virtues of politeness, but a tragic accident when she is seventeen shatters her identity and changes the trajectory of her life. More than a decade later, when the charismatic son of a powerful Republican family sweeps her off her feet, she is surprised to find herself admitted into a world of privilege. And when her husband unexpectedly becomes governor and then president, she discovers that she is married to a man she both loves and fundamentally disagrees with-and that her private beliefs increasingly run against her public persona. As her husband's presidency enters its second term, Alice must confront contradictions years in the making and face questions nearly impossible to answer.

Joy in the Morning

In Brooklyn, New York, in 1927, Carl Brown and Annie McGairy meet and fall in love. Though only eighteen, Annie travels alone to the Midwestern university where Carl is studying law to marry him. Little did they know how difficult their first year of marriage would be, in a faraway place with little money and few friends. But Carl and Annie come to realize that the struggles and uncertainty of poverty and hardship can be overcome by the strength of a loving, loyal relationship. An unsentimental yet uplifting story, Joy in the Morning is a timeless and radiant novel of marriage and young love.

The books that I had previously read by these authors (all of which I highly recommend) are Good in Bed and In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner, Prep and The Man of My Dreams by Curtis Sittenfeld, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.

What is the last book you bought or read?  What book(s) would you recommend?

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Related Posts:
eat, pray, love - a novel by Elizabeth Gilbert about a woman who travels to three different countries for three months each in an effort to find herself after a divorce.
the condition - a novel by Jennifer Haigh about a dysfunctional New England family.  Each family member has their own personal issues and struggles.  The youngest child has a medical conditional called Turner Syndrome.