Book Suggestions

Post by **Rose Alstien** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 7:30 pm

OK,here's my list:

the entire Inheritance Cycle, though the 4th book hasn't come out yet, by Christopher Paolini

The secret life of bees by Sue Monk Kid

Rocket Boys/October Sky by Homer Hickam

any book written by Jodi Picoult

Post by **Jinxy Jo** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 9:13 pm

I've just finished reading 'My Sisters Keeper' by Jodi Picoult. It's such a brilliant book which made me cry. I would definitely recommend this to anyone.

Post by **Adeliene Cromwell** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 11:11 pm

Jinxy Jo wrote:QUOTE (Jinxy Jo @ Jul 20 2009, 04:13 PM) I've just finished reading 'My Sisters Keeper' by Jodi Picoult. It's such a brilliant book which made me cry. I would definitely recommend this to anyone.

I agree. I would suggest any book by Jodi Picoult. Although they are all pretty sad.

Post by **Anatu Nerezza** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:07 am

If you want some more grown-up fantasy, I suggest The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. I could not stop reading them!

For murder mysteries, Midsomer Murders by Caroline Graham is a must!

Post by **BrookeAnne Ginevra** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 9:31 pm

I really love a book called The Season by Sarah McLean

Post by **Katelynn Carroway** » Sat Aug 15, 2009 6:56 pm

Its kind of been my 'year to listen to my mum'

She's been talking about various books she thinks I'll like for years, and I finally tracked them down.

The first is the Earth's Children series By Jean M. Auel (Clan of the Cave Bear, etc). Right now, there are five of the six/seven novels published, and all follow Ayla, a prehistoric woman through her life and travels. The premise is that Ayla, a homo sapien born in the early years of the species' existence, is raised by a clan of Neanderthals (the species is still quite prevalent, at this time). Its and incredible study of cultures, and is fiction, though the extent of Auel's research is astonishing. I adore these books--though I'm quite glad I've only read them now. The first book was published in 1980, and we're still waiting for the last one or two book to come out. There was even a 12 year span between two of the books (and we thought 3 years was bad!). I'd definitely recommend these to just about anyone.

The second is a stand-alone novel called The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough, which I can honestly say is unlike anything I've ever read before. Her characters are incredibly alluring, yet so very realistic. It follows three generations of the Cleary family, living in Australia in the early 1900s. Definitely a recommendation for anyone who enjoys historical fiction!

Post by **Lilia Firebird** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 1:56 pm

I suggest the Pendragon Series. It was written for kids, but it's not as simple as most kid's books. The author, DJ Machale, is a great writer, and he brings a lot of great ideas together. The characters clearly change throughout the book, and the places in the story are unique and interesting. It's a unique and creative story, and even my mom likes them!

Post by **Liam Weasly** » Tue Sep 01, 2009 11:47 pm

some really gud books are
Pellinor by Alsion Croggon
Lord Of The Rings J.R.R. Tolkien
The Power Of Five Anthony Horowitz
Alex Rider Anthony Horowitz
The Keys to the Kingdom Garth Nix
Artemis Fowl Eoin Colfer

I dont reveal wot there about, it wud spoil the story!

Post by **Lynne Fantome** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 1:21 am

I would recommend The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. It's about a boy, Charlie, who has just entered his Freshman year at High School. The book is a series of letters that he's written to an unidentified recipient. There are a lot of issues faced, a wide array of emotions that take place, high highs and low lows. It's really hard to explain just how great the book is. It's one of those that I could read over and over again.

Also, Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk, also the author of Fight Club. [Yes, it's a book. Most people don't know that.

] It's really very difficult to give a short summary of it. It's a very odd book. It switches between past and present quite often. The main character is a former supermodel who was involved in an accident that left her face disfigured. The parts that switch to the past pretty much lead up to the accident. Horribly summary, yes, but an interesting read.

Post by **Isabel Moon** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 8:23 pm

I have a few fantasy series to recommend...most of them aren't YA, though. Firstly, The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. A very long series which has been going on since the early 90s and still isn't quite done, but it's epic. Really good world, plot, characters. Also, the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher. A little heavy on the battle scenes, almost too much so, for me, but again, great characters. And Sharon Shinn's Twelve Houses books. Another great cast of characters, great world with an interesting take on magic.

Website · Post by **Elise Dantes** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 7:47 pm

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult.
Its an amazing book, and will really get you thinking. I have a totally different outlook on life after reading it. I appreciate life more and love my friends and family even more fiercely.

I seriously recommend it.

Post by **Karen Circa** » Sun Jul 04, 2010 5:29 pm

I'm not sure if anyone has suggested it yet, but I just finished reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I really did not expect to enjoy it but I truly did. Here is the description from a review on amazon.com: "The Help is about a young white woman in the early 1960s in Mississippi who becomes interested in the plight of the black ladies' maids that every family has working for them. She writes their stories about mistreatment, abuse and heartbreaks of working in white families' homes, all just before the Civil Rights revolution. That is the story in a nutshell - but it is so much more than just stories."

SO SO good!

Post by **Lily Diggory** » Wed Aug 25, 2010 1:23 am

Dracula the Original, The Lord of the Flies, The Lord of the Rings, the Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons and... I'll think of some more later!

Post by **T. Byrd** » Tue Sep 14, 2010 6:22 pm

The Magicians, by Lev Grossman, is a really interesting grown up version of Harry Potter. It's a more ... realistic take on what would happen if a kid found out that he gets to go to Magic School. The book involves God complexes, inferiority complexes, kids WAY over their head, teenage problems, lots of specialized magic, and an extra spooky big bad. I really, really enjoyed it. It's a great homage to HP and to other fantasy kids tales.

Post by **Kai Daniels** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 9:30 pm

One of the best series I've ever read is His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. It really is a great book, with some very interesting concepts, such as daemons. I would also recommend Dracula (THE ORIGINAL!) by Bram Stoker. It is a really good book. Scary - but good.

Post by **Ariel Chasen** » Mon Oct 11, 2010 9:41 pm

I agree that Nineteen Minutes is very worth reading. Also anything by Jodi Picoult. For me, Change of Heart really made an impact. It will make you think differently about life in general.

Post by **Constance Rigley** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 3:20 pm

I could go on for ages in this, but for now I'll recommend Vanity Fair. It's amazing! If you're at least a little comfortable reading older things like Poe or Jane Austen, you'll have no trouble with this. There are a few words that even I wasn't familiar with, but you can infer a lot from context, so it wasn't a problem really. The characters are amazing and all well thought out. The author has a lovely skill of randomly speaking to the reader as though the events in the book at a certain point represent a metaphor for feelings or actions of human nature. And it's funny because all of those little axioms are still true today! I've laughed in it, I've nearly cried too. I'm not finished with it yet, as it is a rather long book, but it's well worth the read!

I agree with Dracula as well. The classic vampire, you can't go wrong. I haven't read it in a while, but it's a long-standing favourite of mine. :3

Another book that deals with magic is Johnathon Strange and Mr. Norrel. It's a fairly large book but an easier read than Vanity Fair. It takes place around the 1800s and is just wonderful! It doesn't deal with magic in the sense of witches and wizards, but "magicians". The magicians create magic much like that in the HP books, but the thing is, there hasn't been one in ages! There's a league of magicians but all they do is study it. It's seen as "ungentlemanly" to actually practice magic. Until a stranger shows up and promises them magic, the likes of which they'd never seen before! There's loads of conflict and mini-plots and the imagery in it is to die for! I remember it being so intense that I skipped a night of sleep and just kept reading. I couldn't put it down!

Post by **Nozomi Kisaragi** » Mon Dec 20, 2010 11:37 pm

I know the Milennium series by Stieg Larrson is really popular now, and I usually don't subscribe to reading what everyone else is... but it is seriously amazing!!! I'm on the 3rd one now! I got the first one in mid-October and read it in a few days, and the second in about a week. But I have a lot of school work and things, so I'm still reading the 3rd. I watched the first movie about a week ago and it was pretty good. (And Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth is currently my icon.. she was brilliant.)

I also absolutely love the Hannibal Lecter series by Thomas Harris. It's written so beautifully in all the tragedy it contains and with such strong, arresting characters. The ending of Hannibal is the best! That part wasn't even in the movie! I know the common misconceptions of the series are that it's disgustingly gory and practically horror. It's completely untrue. It might be gross to some, but I think it's an important series (and not to be overlooked because of its violence) because of how Harris writes his characters and their interactions. I don't read many crime novels, but these (Milennium & HL) are such great reads! Everyone loves a good mystery..
Amid the s** & violence, there is such strong, interesting dialogue and characters. So if you love suspense, you'll love The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Swedish title translated: Men Who Hate Women), The Girl Who Played With Fire, & The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Swedish title translated: The Air Castle That Exploded). It's so sad that Larrson died before he could publish his books.

It's said that he had at least 7 more books planned for the Milennium series. (They published the series posthumously.)

Post by **Charlotte Athena** » Sun Feb 20, 2011 11:44 pm

I love reading, but a good book series is the Hunger Games series. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is also another really good book about a mischievous girl.

All of these suggestions sound really good. I'll have to work hard at my reading!

Charlotte Athena