I'm in one of my mainstream fiction moods, and I just don't know what to read. The amount of mainstream fiction that is utter crap astounds me and I can't think of any way of sifting through it all.
So anyone, anyone, tell me something fantastic to read. Modern novels are better (it seems to be that sort of mood), but I'll take anything.
Jen
Posted by Tinros (Member # 8328) on :
"Once a Thief" and it's sequel "Always a Thief" by kay Hooper are absolutely incredible. They're REALLY funny. But I can't say anything or I'll give away the big twist. *zips mouth shut*
Mmmph mph, mmmph, pmm mmph. Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Have you read Louise Erdrich's Tracks?
Posted by xxsockeh (Member # 9186) on :
Lost Boys (Orson Scott Card) - I finished reading this one a few days ago...it was excellent! Dune (Frank Herbert) - Was referred to read this book. Not far in at all (pg. 19-20?). Heard great things about it, though.
Posted by Tinros (Member # 8328) on :
I'll also second the "Dune"... it really is incredible. It can get a bit tedious at times, xxsockeh, but don'e give up!
Oh wait! my lips are sealed. :X
mmph.
Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :
I just finished "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal"
I found it insightful and very, very funny.
Posted by Geekazoid99 (Member # 8254) on :
And if you read Lamb you also have to read "Fluke: or i know why the winged whale sings"
Also i like " So you want to be a wizard" and the rest of that series
[ March 02, 2006, 10:52 PM: Message edited by: Geekazoid99 ]
Posted by Xaposert (Member # 1612) on :
Life of Pi
Posted by Zeugma (Member # 6636) on :
Carl Hiaasen's books about ridiculously odious Florida dwellers are usually a lot of fun. "Skinny Dip" was one of our favorites. Posted by Uprooted (Member # 8353) on :
None of these are new, but Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, The Chosen by Chaim Potok, and Peace Like a River by Leif Enger were all good reads. (hmmm . . . actually those just came to mind and it wasn't intentional, but all have religious themes. )
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Anything by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.
Posted by Mirrored Shades (Member # 8957) on :
'Lamb' is great. Also, 'Good Omens' if you haven't read it already.
I've been reading W. Somerset Maugham, and am absolutely in love with just about everything he wrote, but he's not exactly modern...
'Gun, with Occasional Music' is my all-purpose recommendation at the moment. It's by Jonathen Lethem, and is a lot of fun. Talking animals, weird drugs, and futuristic detectives, but what's not to love about a gangster kangaroo named Joey?
Posted by jennabean (Member # 8590) on :
Carl Hiaasen is good fun. Serious and sad: Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini). Romantic and modern: The Time Traveler's Wife (Audrey Niffenegger). Strange and shocking: Middlesex (Jeffrey Eugenides).
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
Leonide, I just read Lamb as well. I enjoyed it immensely. I liked the way I could relate somewhat to Joshua as a human, a person with needs and uncertainties, and desires.
I also enjoy irreverence. And there was plenty of that. However, I suspect that it may be offensive to some people, so be warned.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
I really enjoyed "Angle of Repose" by Wallace Stegner. It is seriously good.
Carl Hiaasen is fun and light. Not really serious literature, but diverting.
Pete Hamill's "Snow in August" and David Guterson's "Snow Falling on Cedars" are two books that have nothing in common but snow, but they are both worth reading.
"Inside, Outside" by Herman Wouk was enjoyable. Not serious, but well-written, funny, and diverting.
Posted by Nell Gwyn (Member # 8291) on :
I'll second Lamb (one of my favorites) and Middlesex, and I also enjoyed Life of Pi.
Alex Garland's The Beach is a wonderful novel, far better than the bizarre movie nominally based on it.
And it's not fiction, but Color by Victoria Finlay is a fascinating travelogue/history of pigments.
Posted by Irami Osei-Frimpong (Member # 2229) on :
Sport of the Gods by Paul Dunbar A Fairly Honorable Defeat by Iris Murdoch
Posted by Eduardo_Sauron (Member # 5827) on :
Try "Blindness", from José Saramago. The story is powerful but disturbing. The Portuguese author is a nobel prize winner. The translation to english is supposedly very good.
Here is a link to Amazon, where you can read full-fledged reviews and comments about it:
Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon Elinor Lipman's Isabel's Bed (not real heavyweight, but enjoyable) Dave Barry's Big Trouble Elmore Leonard's Pagan Babies Posted by advice for robots (Member # 2544) on :
Girls and North by Frederick Busch, in that order.
Posted by starLisa (Member # 8384) on :
Grass by Sheri S. Tepper. It is Sci-fi, but it's quite a trip.
My mother swears by anything Tepper writes, but Grass is the only one I've looked at (actually I haven't yet finished it, so don't give anything away if you read it ).
And I'll give a whopping second to anything by Dave Barry.
Posted by sweetbaboo (Member # 8845) on :
If you liked the "Da Vinci Code", I am reading "The Templar Legacy" by Steve Barry right now that is seeming to be a fun, fast read.
Posted by Kristen (Member # 9200) on :
I definitely agree with Xaposet and Nell. Life of Pi by Yann Martel is splendid.
If you get it, buy it in the children's section. It's usually about $14, but I stumbled upon a smaller kid's paperback for $7.99.
Posted by starLisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by Fyfe: I'm in one of my mainstream fiction moods, and I just don't know what to read.
What I don't understand is why people would read this line, and post recommendations for Dune and So You Want To Be A Wizard.
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