Have you read a good book lately? Was it light reading or a challange? Give a brief description of what the book was about.
The Catalpa Tree by Denyse Devlin
It is about an Irish girl whose parents died before she was 14 and her guardian.
Reply to this I'm about to read The Book of Murder by Guillermo Martinez.
Reply to this Remedy, by Anne Marsella
It is about an American ex-pat girl, living in Paris.
Reply to this the story of edgar sawtelle by david wroblewski
on of the best novels i have ever read, cant tell what is it about it is about a lot of things, but if u love dogs u will dg this one
Reply to this Autobiography of Patric Swayze & Lisa Niemi "The Time of My Life"
The 5000 Year Leap - very good for explaining why some government do and don't work! Why some governments are going to fail because of the socialist policies.
Arguing With Idiots - yes I am a Glenn Beck fan. LOL
Reply to this The Tattooed Girl by Joyce Carol Oates
Here is an extract from the book description on the cover.
An uneasy relationship begins, one which lurches between repulsion and attraction, between hate and love. One of the world's most respected living novelists brings us a tale of dark passions, prejudice, and the strange forms that love can take.
Reply to this Actually re-read one - Zorro by Isabel Allender - it was so good! Enough of a love story for women and lots of sword play for guys.
Reply to this I am currently reading Always the Sun, by Neil Cross.
It is about a 13 year old who is being bullied by an older kid, and what happened when his father got involved.
I am also reading a book about Persian cooking.
Reply to this I don't read fiction, so cannot assist with that - however over Christmas I read a stunning book on the Iraq war -
The Good Soldiers by David Finkel. It doesn't discuss the politics or take sides on the correctness or otherwise of the war, it just tells the story of the soldiers on the ground in a very powerful way - essential reading.
On a different note, for a book that is truly life changing,
Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado is one person's account about the members of a Uruguayan Rugby Team and their survival for 72 days in the Andes after a plane crash in 1973. The story proposed the following question: "What is the opposite of death?" and after reading this extraordinary tale, you too will understand the importance of knowing the answer to this question.
Reply to this Currently I am reading
- A book about Singapore and Malaysia, because I am going to those places this year.
- Mahatma, A Golden Treasury of Wisdom - Thoughts and Glimpses of Life. It is a collection of Gandhis philosophies. I bought it at the Gandhi museum, when I was in Mumbai last May.
- A book book of Pasta receipes
- A Danger to the Men? A history of Women in Trinity College Dublin - 1904 to 2004
Reply to this Trespass by Valerie Martin
It is about an American woman of Croatian decent and an American student who fall in love. I dont know yet what else it is about, because I have only read the first few pages. I think some of it involves details about the war in the former Yugoslavia.
Reply to this Out of Iran by Sousan Azadi with Angela Ferrante.
It is about a women who excaped from Iran, after the 1979 revolution. The book is very good(well as much as I have read of it so far), but getting to know more about the so called elite of Iran is making me see them in a light I didnt see them in before and and not a nice one either. They seem to have some kind of identity crisis going on.
Reply to this Garlands of Water, by Alan Drew.
It is about a contraversial relationship between a Turkish girl and an American boy, during troubled times in Istanbul.
Reply to this 'Dreams of My Father' by Barack Obama
Well, it is about Barack Obama and his relationship with his father, or lack of one maybe. I have only read the first few pages so far.
Reply to this I am currently reading
From the Holy Mountain by William Dalrymple (also recommended in post number 2). The author follows the same journey taken by two monks, John Moschos and Sophronius, who trekked around the Orthodox Christian communities of the Middle East in 587 CE.
What particularly pleases me about this book is that I have visited most of the same cities as the author, and agree with his descriptions on almost every instance. His impressions of the drive from Syria into Lebanon is a masterful piece of writing. It is inspiring me to return to some of these places (particularly those in Syria) to explore some of the sites that I missed.
Reply to this "The Enchanted April" by Elizabeth Von Arnim; about four very different women from 1920's England who travel to Italy for April. I first saw the made for TV movie, which is magical; the book is even more so and demonstrates how travel can change everything you know. It is also way ahead of its time. Easy read once you get used to 1920's British English.
"The Agony and the Ecstasy" by Irving Stone; long read but very well-written and worth it if you love the work of Michaelangelo and enjoy history; also ahead of its time as it freely admits that Michaelangelo had at least an emotional affair with a younger man.
"Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand; very well-written, very very long, maddeningly bleak at times, but I couldn't put it down. I disagree with some of the author's premises but it had a really deep impact on how I think about public policy. It is a mystery, a sci-fi novel and a philosophical treatise rolled into one; I adored the main character Dagny, who runs a train company, flies her own plane and doesn't take no for an answer.
Reply to this "Written on the Body" by Jeanette Winterson- I read years ago & still hold as an awesome view of.
"The Other Hand" by Chris Cleave- Amazing! Recent read. Beautifully written & there's no way this one will go to the book exchange.
Right now I'm reading "My Traitors Heart" by Rian Malan. It reads as a novel but is actually a very engaging & historic view of South Africa's political history. It's shocking, it's violent & being in South Africa now, and seeing the things written about, it's thought provoking & actually potentially life changing.
Reply to this Buddha by Deepak Chopra.
it's the story of who Buddha was, how he became Buddha, etc.
He doesn't write it as if to preach religion though, more to tell you the story of who the person was.
Reply to this 
