I realize I am a little late on this favorite books trend we got going, but I will still put in my two-cents =)

In no specific order.

1. As mentioned by Cat, Handle With Care is my favorite Jodi Picoult book. Of course, I never think you can go wrong with Jodi though :)

2. WHITE OLEANDER- this obviously doesn't help seeing as everyone else has already read it.

3. The hour I First Believed - really a great book to get you thinking and the author is a fabulous writer (also try "I Know This Much is True" by the same author)

4. I recently read this: "The Bitch in the House" It's a series of short stories from women (mostly on the East Coast) who bitch about their predetermined roles as mothers, lovers, and singles. It's really interesting and quite entertaining.


That's all I got for now!

You guys are going to kill me, as I have MORE Picoult books to add to the list of favorites:

1. The Pact - Jodi Picoult (My favorite Picoult novel is a story about a high school couple who are torn apart when one commits suicide and the other gets charged with murder, don't worry I didn't ruin anything as this is all said on the first page). Also, Handle with Care is her latest and I know is one of Julia's faves.

2. Freakonomics -by those Steven guys haha!

3. Light Chicklit reads include: All of Emily Giffith's books (Something Borrowed and Something Blue are the first two)

4. On my "to read next" list includes: The Help by Kathryn Stockett (it's supposed to be PHENOMENAL) and Shanghai Girls -Lisa See

Right now I'm reading One Fifth Avenue by: Candace Bushnell (author os SATC, duh) but it's kind of slow and lacking. Blah.

Favorites

Hi C Lee!

Well, my favorites of all time are:

* White Oleander (which I know you ADORE)
* When the Nines Roll Over by David Benioff
* Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk
* My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
* Naked by David Sedaris
* Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
* The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (I hated it in high school, but have re-read it a couple times since then and have absolutely fallen in love)
* The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
* Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (focused on writing, but very creative, story-like, wonderful)

Hope that helps get you back on the reading train. =)

p.s. I am ashamed to admit that I got sucked into the whole Twilight madness. I read the first book and couldn't stop. I was gonna take it to the grave, but I figured I'd get it off my chest. lol Oh dear.

help

It is clear I have not been my usual literary self lately. To get me started again (without having to resort to the "T" word...) what are your absolute favorite books of all time?

Some of mine:

Tree Grows in Brooklyn

White Oleander

Pretty Little Dirty

The Sun Also Rises

there are more, but that's all I can remember for now. Let me know your faves so I can check them out and hop back onto the readiiiiiiiiiingggggg rainboooowwwwwww.

Nazis, Sex, and a Dozen Eggs

"City of Thieves" by David Benioff

This is the story of a character named Lev Beniov and his accomplice Kolya who are assigned an impossible mission during the Nazi blockade of Leningrad. Lev is an intelligent, awkward, self-doubting 19-year-old Jewish boy trekking across the country with Kolya, the Slavic sex god who was imprisoned for wartime infractions. They are both summoned by the street police to go on an impossible mission of finding the Colonel’s daughter a dozen eggs for her wedding cake. Once done, they will get their ration cards back, be set free from jail, and allowed to go back to their families and towns, or whatever was left of them.

Despite the graphic details of the book as the two trudge from town to town and witness starvation, war, savagery, and killings, Benioff seems to insert almost irrelevant spits of humor and inanity – reminding the reader that our narrator is only 19 and has been shoved into war times barely with any chest hair or a place to call his own. He plays on the absurdity of the human condition and how sometimes we are compromised even in times of great struggle.

He travels quickly between humor and devastation, and I guarantee you will laugh out loud and cry a few times while reading this book. To quote a NY Times journalist, “Benioff reminds us what a beautifully ambiguous world we live in,” and it’s true. I promise you will not want to put this down.

If you like the novel and are interested in any of his other work, I’ve also recently finished “When the Nines Roll Over,” which is a collection of short stories by Benioff – they are lovely in so many sad and beautiful ways.

The Hour I First Believed

Wally Lamb does it again.  Another engaging novel with thoughtful research to support the historical events throughout the book.   Don't expect to read this novel in a couple of days, but do expect to go on a journey with the main character Caelum Quirk.

The novel stems from the shootings at Columbine in 1999.  Lamb includes the real names of the survivors and victims from Columbine and does extensive research on Harris and Klebold to contribute accurate facts to the book.  To say the least, those were two men who were either evil or mentally ill.  We'll never know the answer.  The 750 pages don't focus entirely on Columbine but rather on 4 items that I gathered from the novel: Chaos Theory, PTSD, adultery, and spiritual journeys. Fear not my friends who are not drawn to religious novels, because this is by no means a preachy novel.  In fact Caelum Quirk laughs at those who use faith to get through tough times.

The weird concept of Chaos Theory that gets Caelum's head turning may be something we have thought about before.  It essentially is cause and effect.  What event triggers the event of CHAOS? For Eric and Dylan was it being bullied?  What if one less kid provoked them?  None the less there were events that lead to the chaos of Columbine and then there are events that stem from Columbine.  Ironically I was watching the show Intervention and the man in trouble was a Columbine bully who resorted to drugs to ease his pain.  If Columbine never happened he wouldn't be a drug user, his family wouldn't be in distress, and his mom wouldn't have resorted to drugs because she couldn't handle her sons actions.  It's interesting to think about....

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a huge part of the novel.  It's frustrating as a reader because you just went to yell "get over it you are ruining your life!".  Easy to say, not so easy when certain things people say trigger your mind, certain sounds remind you of the experience, certain smells....

And HOLY ADULTERY.  I am beginning to wonder if anyone is faithful these days!

Lastly and most importantly is the spiritual journey or quest of Caelum Quirk.  He goes through so much (I would be pissed and angry all the time too).  It makes you wonder if there is an hour you will first believe or maybe you've already had it.  The hour to first believe in ourselves, each other, or perhaps something greater.

Book gets an A+ for sure..... Kolleen you should read it!! 

gods in Alabama

It took me three days to read this book...it would have only been two had drinking not taken place on one of these nights.

In this book, Joshilyn Jackson grabs you in the first chapter and makes it hard to put away. "There are gods in Alabama: Jack Daniel's, high school quarterbacks, trucks, big tits, and also Jesus. I left one back there myself..."

It's a good book about human relationships, racism, and love.  It's about a couple living in Chicago making a trek back to the narrator's hometown...Possett, Alabama.  Did I mention the boyfriend is black and she is white?  Of course that's where some drama comes in, but the book is moreso about rape and murder.  It's quick and easy if your looking for an uncomplicated lay.  Whammy!!!!

Now, I'm reading Wally Lamb's latest book, "The Hour I First Believed".  I can only stay away from books about tragedy for so long.