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What book have you loved lately?

It’s the weekend, and that means we all have time to read, if we choose to. And I suggest we all choose to. Reading is vastly more relaxing than watching TV, and it doesn’t leave that guilty residue.

But since our time is so precious and our choices so immense, it helps to help each other out here. So tell us all one book you’ve read lately that was really worth your time.

I’ll start: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. It’s SO much better than either movie version. It’s sweet, touching, imaginative. Somehow I missed this in my childhood reading, and the only reason I have it now is because it came in the big box of books Knopf sent me a few weeks ago when they were trying to show me why I should choose them for a publisher (which I did–in part because of that box of books). Plus my friend Carolyn, who used to be an English teacher, often steers me toward great classics that I’ve missed, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was her favorite book from childhood. Her teacher read it aloud to the class every day, and they couldn’t wait for the next installment. In fact, Carolyn really couldn’t wait, so she went out and bought a copy of it herself. Now that’s a great book.

Your turn. Give us the title and author and a short reason why you loved the book. We’ll report back after we’ve read it.

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Posted on Friday, April 21st, 2006 at 4:15 pm under Reading, Writing . Subscribe to responses: RSS 2.0 Comment Feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

5 Responses to “What book have you loved lately?”

  1. Barry Says:
    April 21st, 2006 at 4:23 pm

    I hate this question because you would think that I could just rattle off a million books, but for some reason whenever it’s asked, I always blank out.

    Fortunately, technology keeps me sane — I have a spreadsheet of cool books I’ve read. (Stop laughing!)

    Truly awesome books: The first two volumes of the Everworld series by K.A. Applegate. The series is tough to find now (I’m trying to find volume 3, which is why I haven’t finished it yet), but those first two books just blew me away. A whirlwind combination of mythology, action, teenage angst, and slam-bang storytelling. Kick-ass stuff.

  2. bj Says:
    April 21st, 2006 at 8:16 pm

    Did I hear my name mentioned? :-)

    I’ve read two by Tracy Chevalier lately. Tracy is an incredible historical novelist, who really captures whatever era it is she’s writing about. The first was “The Girl with a Pearl Earring” which is a fictional story about the girl who modeled for the painting by Vermeer. The second was “Falling Angels” which is a story of three families during the time of the Suffragette Movement in England, told from the POVs of each of the three families’ members at different times, so we get a lot of different opinions of what’s going on.

    There are also a few books I keep around for periodic re-reading. John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden” has to be my all time fave, followed closely by “Franny and Zooey” by Salinger, and also “Winter’s Tale” by Mark Helprin, which was the most incredibly prophetic book of New York. Oh, and I sometimes sneak back even further to an Oz book or two, or one of the Seuss treasures.

    And I threw out my TV. With as many books as you guys write who needs a TV?

  3. Todd Says:
    April 25th, 2006 at 12:33 pm

    I just read The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty. I was intrigued by hearing that the former actor/playwright had tried and tried to sell this book, but had failed until his self-funded audiobook release of the title recieved a critical endorsement from Stephen King. Then, bingo, sales took off.

    A great, human story that I for one could relate to, the book really satisfied.

  4. Emily Says:
    April 25th, 2006 at 9:34 pm

    I have two- The Romance of the Forest, Anne Radciffe– oh what a delightful entree into the sublime horror of GOTHIC NOVELS! oOoooOOOHhhh….
    AND
    Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen– which makes fun of all of my goosebumps and wide eyes from the previous novel!! Plus, don’t you just love Jane Austen?

    (PS another good historical novelist a la Chevalier: Emma Donoghue- quality)

  5. bj Says:
    April 30th, 2006 at 7:19 pm

    Thanks, Emily! I love good historical fiction. I wish Rita Mae Brown would dig into that again . . . oh and if you like scary and can find a copy, my all-time favorite scary novel is “The Elementals” by Michael McDowell (there’s actually a used copy available on Amazon right now.) I couldn’t walk on the sand for a couple years after that one without feeling eyes on the back of my neck. It’s the first full book my son read voluntarily after he saw how much re-reading it spooked me out. He never much read until that, now he’s as nuts about books as the rest of the family.

    Gothics . . . “We Have Always Lived in the Castle” and “Hill House”– oh yeah. And I’ve always had a soft spot for Daphne DuMaurier. And for the ultimate in Fantasy combined with Gothic, it’s Mervyn Peake’s Ghormenghast Trilogy.