Recommend Books here!

[Kathy]

If you have a book you'd like to recommend to the GGG members, add it to this thread!

[Noelle]

You have not lived until you've read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Oh, it is the most beautiful love story and keeps the reader hooked with all the social gymnastics that go on as people try to seduce, avoid, foil or marry eachother. Our protagonist is a sharp young woman, and our bad-boy-but-really-a-good-boy is the sensational Mr. Darcy, who I think could steal the heart of anyone. I know I would marry him. Oh my- and the language is lovely. I am excessively diverted! This book should not be missed! :woohoo:

[paisleyplace]

Recommended Book:

Greed, Murder, Lies - Can Love Survive? written by Samantha Thomas.

Synopsis:
Katherine Kensington was born into one of the most affluent families of Chanhassen; her inheritance alone ran in the millions. Despite the silver spoon from her birth, she wished to follow the example of her parents and make her own way in the world without solely relying on family money. The family success appeared to be genetic. The apple did not fall far from the tree because Kat owned and managed the most successful nightclub in the city much to the dismay of her socialite aunt.

Kat’s life changed dramatically following the death of her parents from an airplane accident with each day becoming more difficult to get through than the one before it. Her life was about to become more complex than she would ever imagine. After a family friend learned the plane crash did not occur by accident, someone severely beat him and left him for dead in the office of his business. Kat soon discovered she and her boyfriend Gavin her targets. As time slipped by, the importance of learning the identity of the person responsible for the death of her parents, the threats against friends, and the contract on her life. Kat only knew the greed led to murder and murder led to lies. With lives on the line, could love survive?

*This book is available through online bookstores. Some people did find it on the shelves of a few brick and mortar stores in the mid-western states. Order from any bookstore by searching title, author name, or ISBN#1413759750.

Author information:
Yes, I wrote this book. It went into publishing April of 2005. I spent many years writing short stories of various kinds, essays, and even a little poetry. A dear childhood friend felt so strongly about my writing talent that she refused to give up on me and refused to let me give up on myself. I made a promise when we were children. If I ever managed to publish a book, the dedication of the first one was going to her. My childhood dream came true and I fulfilled a promise made more than 20-some years ago.

If the proverbial writing bug did in fact bite as they say, my oldest daughter, a former college counselor, and one of three authors of another book put the bug in my direction.

In late 2003, I received an odd telephone call asking if I minded participating in a writing project with other women. We were all to keep a day diary on June 29, 2004. After we submitted our diaries, the three authors went to work with an editor and publicist chosing which diaries went into the work and which did not. Many excerpts, mind included, ended up in a special section of what later became, This Day in the Life: Diaries from Women Across America by Jonie Cole, Rebecca Joffrey, and Bindi Rahkra.

The fact that my daughter and former college counselor thought enough of me to nominate me for inclusive in the program swelled my heart. The fact that the authors chose me to participate doubled that feeling. The day I receive the call saying my complete diary did not make the book but an excerpt was included in a special section, I was over the moon. In addition to giving me the incentive to take my writing more seriously, it helped me realize that others felt I had talent too.

It is important to know that this is the largest body of work I ever put out there for anyone to read. It became the greatest of all learning experiences. Today, I continue writing articles and various essays but I am also working on another manuscript tentatively titled Dark Eyes and I have a third project in the works but it is nothing more than a basic sketch of an outline.

I found my voice and I feel other women out in the world have a voice too. If the notion strikes you, grab pen and paper or put fingers to keyboard. Write to your heart's content. I did and it felt great.

For more information regarding my work, including the synopsis for Dark Eyes, visit my website.

Warmest regards to all,

Samantha Thomas
aka Paisley Place

[Always Over Pack]

Here is a short list of some of my favorites:
Memiors of a Geisha (I have not seen the movie)
An Embarrassment of Mangoes (lease out the house and live in the caribbean on a sailboat)
A Trip to the Beach (Ever dream of chucking it all and move to the islands? Melanie Blanchard did)
The Five People You Meet In Heaven (just take on why things happen in life...even the bad stuff)
The Good Earth (A classic great read)
I love to read cookbooks as well:
The Cake Bible
The Pie and Pastry Bible
Chocolat
If you see one that intersts you, search it on amazon.com

[austenfan]

I have to agree with Noelle about Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. It is so witty! Every time I read it, I am surprised by how much of it can still apply to today. Read it!

I need to think about a more complete list of books to recommend, but wanted to second that recommendation!

[royallady]

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, one of the best books I have ever read. It is the story of Dinha, only Daughter of Jacob, sister if Joseph.

The Story is about the wives and then the only daughter of Jacob. Those of whom you rarely hear of in the original story (the bible).

Please read and let me know what you think.

[LavenderMoose]

Hi,
I read the Red Tent too. It really made me think about what life must have been like for women in the early biblical times. I went back and found Dinah in the Bible and it's amazing to think that these men demanded those guys to be circumcised and then when they were recovering...attacked them! wow...
This book really made me think.....

[Lavendergrey]

I also read The Red Tent...it was an awesome book! I recommend The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. My book group read it and many of us didn't think we would like it, however most of us really did like it! Gives insight into how living in Afganistan was years ago, and even more recently.

[Lavendergrey]

For those of you who like historical fiction (which I love!), The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory is a great book. She has also written additional books that take place during the same time periods. This book is just one of those that I couldn't put down once I got into it...and it is a thick one so it lasts a long time, too! :o

[QuiltAngel]

I just finished reading Let It Roll by Lisa Beamer. A book about her husband and his life and her experience in losing her husband in the 9-11 attacks.

I am starting Night by Elie Wiesel about his experience as a child in the concentrations camps at Buchenwald and Auschwitz. Sounded interesting.

I am going to have to read Pride and Prejudice and then see the movie.

[NeNe]

Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor. I read it when I was 14 and probably shouldn't have and read it again when I was 25. Its about a girl growing up in England. It's been a long time since I've read it but I liked it so much I just found it on ebay about 2 years ago.

This Restoration-era romance tells of the sexual adventures of Amber St. Clair, a beautiful and ambitious girl from a small English village. Determined to make it to the top of the social ladder, Amber bounces from man to man, eventually becoming the mistress of King Charles II. However, despite her many lovers, Amber only truly loves one man...the one man she can never have. Despite (or as a result of) being banned in Boston and denounced by the Hays Office when it was first published in 1944, FOREVER AMBER has sold more than 3 million copies, making it one the the best-selling romance novels of all time.

I especially liked the how the author intergrated the plagues and hardships the people had to endure during those times.

[Marian Paroo]

Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor. I read it when I was 14 and probably shouldn't have and read it

one man...the one man she can never have. Despite (or as a result of) being banned in Boston and denounced by the Hays Office when it was first published in 1944, FOREVER AMBER has sold more than 3 million copies, making it one the the best-selling romance novels of all time.



Okay, if we're going to recommend books like this :blush: , there's nothing to beat _The Sheik_, by Edith Maude Hull, written in the early 1920s. Yes, that, Sheik, the one made into a film with Rudolph Valentino.

Look for the Virago edition, it has a great preface.

[klisme]

I love james patterson book-the Alex Cross books are so good i cant put them down

[JasmineDreams]

I really enjoyed Jean M. Auel's "Earth's Children" series.
~The Clan of the Cave Bears
~The Valley of the Horses
~The Mammoth Hunters
~The Plains of Passage
~The Shelter of Stones
She is suppose to be working on the 6th book in the series.
Waiting patiently..... lol

~~~I've read all of the "Left Behind" series. Definitely recommend these!

[Marian Paroo]

I really enjoyed Jean M. Auel's "Earth's Children" series.
~The Clan of the Cave Bears
~The Valley of the Horses
~The Mammoth Hunters
~The Plains of Passage
~The Shelter of Stones
She is suppose to be working on the 6th book in the series.
Waiting patiently..... lol




I liked the first two, but by the time I finished the third I was calling it _The Bargain Hunters_....

[Hillbilly_Angel]

Gap Creek by Robert Morgan!!!!


Oprah Book Club® Selection, January 2000: Robert Morgan's Gap Creek opens with one wrenching death and ends with another. In between, this novel of turn-of-the-century Appalachian life works in fire, flood, swindlers, sickness, and starvation--a truly biblical assortment of plagues, all visited on the sturdy shoulders of 17-year-old Julie Harmon. "Human life don't mean a thing in this world," she concludes. And who could blame her? "People could be born and they could suffer, and they could die, and it didn't mean a thing.... The world was exactly like it had been and would always be, going on about its business." For Julie, that business is hard physical labor. Fortunately, she's fully capable of working "like a man"--splitting and hauling wood, butchering hogs, rendering lard, planting crops, and taking care of the stock. Even when Julie meets and marries handsome young Hank Richards, there's no happily-ever-after in store. Nothing comes easy in Julie Harmon's world, and their first year together is no exception.
Throughout the novel, Morgan chronicles Julie's trials in prose of great dignity and clarity, capturing the rhythms of North Carolina speech by using only the subtlest of inflections. Clearly the author has done his research too--the descriptions of physical labor practically leap off the page. (Suffice to say, you'll learn far more about hog slaughtering than you ever dreamed of knowing.) Yet he resists the temptation to make his long-suffering characters into saints. Julie simmers with resentment at being her family's workhorse, and Hank flies into a helpless rage whenever he feels that his authority is questioned.

[triplej2676]

ok, ladies, here are some of my favorites:

*Rebecca by Daphne du Marier ~ I have read this book I don't know how many times. I love it. All time favorite book.

*I love the Harry Potter books.

*I love the Shopaholic books written by Sophie Kinsella when I need a good laugh.

*Did you read the DaVinci Code? Read Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. i think it is even better than the DaVinci Code. Plus, it was written before the DaVinci Code, same character.

*I like all of Nicholas Sparks' books.

*I am an avid Stephen King fan, too!

happy reading!

[Marian Paroo]

ok, ladies, here are some of my favorites:

*Rebecca by Daphne du Marier ~ I have read this book I don't know how many times. I love it. All time favorite book.

*I love the Harry Potter books.

*I love the Shopaholic books written by Sophie Kinsella when I need a good laugh.

*Did you read the DaVinci Code? Read Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. i think it is even better than the DaVinci Code. Plus, it was written before the DaVinci Code, same character.

*I like all of Nicholas Sparks' books.

*I am an avid Stephen King fan, too!

happy reading!


Rebecca is a great book, the sequel written about 10 years ago, by Susan Someone is very good for that kind of thing, too but rather distressing.

HP -- assuming that #7 comes out on 07.07.07as speculated, it means 436 days, 12 hours, 29 minutes (I have a count down in my cell phone)

Haven't tried Kinsella yet.

Liked DaVinci more, thought the villain in A + D was too over the top.

Sparks - if you can't say anything nice...

King - depends what.

Am currently a VERY HAPPY CAMPER - just bought Susan Isaacs's _Any Place I Hang My Hat_ in trade paper.

Reading and enjoying, Sarah Waters _The Night Watch_ WWII + post London.

[reddaisy]

The book I recommend is MANY MASTERS, MANY LIVES by Dr. Brian Weiss. It really made me see things in a different light.

[Marian Paroo]

The book I recommend is MANY MASTERS, MANY LIVES by Dr. Brian Weiss. It really made me see things in a different light.

Tell me about this guy.

Thanks,
Marian

[Mykhal Jaems]

Since about 14 years of age I've been in love with Christy by Katherine Marshall. It's about a 18-19 yr old girl who grew up in Ashton N.C and teaches in the mountain people in the area. It's a great book and a while ago it was a series on CBS for two years.

I've also recently found Perri O'Shaughnessy, she writes about Nina Rielly a lawyer in Lake Tahoe. I really like the Law & Order type books and even though I've only read two in the series, I'm hooked, she's my new favorite author. Perri O'Shaughnessy is two sisters Mary and Pamela who write together. I can't get over that, my sister and I aren't that close and doing something like this is way way beyond what we could do.

[Digitizingqueen]

I am reading Hissy Fit (cant rember the author) but it is a great light read, also listening to Cell By S. King (he is my favorite) Love CS Lewis (fiction and non fiction a like) John Grisham, mary Higgings clark, I have quite a collection of Books on tape religated to my work out sessions....

[jcs]

TRUTH & BEAUTY: A Friendship
By Ann Patchett

A wonderful true story on friendship.

[jasper]

I have just started "The Secrets of Jin S'hei" by Alma Alexander

It is very interesting, set in medieval China about a sisterhood.
A bit of a change, but so far I'm liking it. :thumbsup:

[paisleyplace]

The local newspaper for this area is working on doing an interview for a story about my book, Greed, Murder, Lies! I cannot believe it! :dance:

I initially called to check on how to purchase pictures the paper printed of my daughter's baccalaurate but I asked in the end if they received the press release. In addition to receiving information about the cost of the photographs, I received an invitation for one of the reporters to write a story regarding my book and how it came to be written! Yippee! I am so happy I would tdo cartwheels if my joints didn't hurt so badly and I wasn't eaten up with poisin ivy from helping my DH in the yard this past weekend. LOL!

Paisley Place

[GirlyGirl]

That's exciting! I'm doing cartwheels in my mind for you!

[Marian Paroo]

I'm reading Donna Leon's _Blood from a Stone_ .

[GooglGirl]

Just purchased this book today from Christian Bookshop and have only read a few chapters and I am hooked. It is written by John and Stasi Eldredge who are the authors of an equivalent Mens book called "Wild at Heart".

I would have liked to purchase the companion Study Guide /Journal that is available as well. It looks very good.

This is on the back of the book:
"The message of "Captivating" is this: Your heart matters more than anything else in all creation. The desires you had as a little girl and the longings you still feel as a woman- they are telling you of the life God created you to live. He offers to come now as the Hero of your story, to rescue your heart and release you to live as a fully alive and feminine woman. A woman who is truly captivating."

[ScrapbookingZebra]

I have read Girls in Pants: the Third Summer of the Sisterhood. It was good, I think that the author is going to have one more in the Sisterhood series.
I have also read the the Series of Unfortunate Events, book the twelth. The last and the thirteeth is out in October on the 13th. These are really good for 8-12 year olds and make the kids (and adults too) find out that they are blessed in almost everyway that these kids are not!
Girl with the Pearl earring is good too!

[Marian Paroo]

I have also read the the Series of Unfortunate Events, book the twelth. The last and the thirteeth is out in October on the 13th. These are really good for 8-12 year olds and make the kids (and adults too) find out that they are blessed in almost everyway that these kids are not!



I never looked at them that deeply - for me (haven't read that many of them yet), they're just cynical fun, and parodies of the kind of Horatio Alger kind of thing.

[Poppie]

I have been :reading: reading the Joanne Brady series by J.A. Jance, they are mysteries, and hard for me to put down. I like that the crimes are solved within days or weeks.I have also been reading books by Perri O'Shaughnessy, and really enjoy her. I am also in the process of reading Divine by Karen Kingsbury, I love her books.

[GooglGirl]

You sound like me!!........so many books on the go at once! Happy Reading!

[Moonchime]

I am currently reading The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks. After all of the recommendations here though, I am going to be reading The Red Tent next. Thanks everyone!~Moonchime

[Marian Paroo]

I am currently reading The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks. After all of the recommendations here though, I am going to be reading The Red Tent next. Thanks everyone!~Moonchime


For what it's worth, I couldn't get through more than two chapters of The Red Tent.

[scotia]

Any of Jane Austins books are terrific. If you like historical/romance(of sorts)Diana Gabaldon has a great series. It's kind of a time traveler thing. One of my other favorites is The Spiritual Wisdom of Marcus Aurelius. Very good, and a lot of it is very appropriate for our time.
Elaine

[mimarg5557]

She is a wonderful Irish writer. She has written Circle of Friends, and Tara Road, and Scarlet Feather.

All of her books have very real and endearing characters. There is always just a little twist of a mystery in them, and a little romance too. You will love these books. I am collecting for my personal library because I can always go back to them over and over again.
Mary

[CharChar]

I also love the Earth Children Series. The research that she has done is amazing. I love Harry Potter too!. I like to read just about anything. Sara Paretsky, Patricia Cornwall, Maeve Binchy, Stephen KIng, gosh can't name them all! I go to the library or get most of my books from Goodwill, then take them back to Goodwill so they can get another .88 or 1.38 for a good cause!!

[Marian Paroo]

Started reading this yesterday - one scarey book!

There are two nasty killings and a suspicious car accident, and you just know they are going to be tied together somehow.

Brrrrrrrrrr!

[danigirl]

I have many books I could reccommend.
The first one-- The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night Time by Mark Haddon
It is about a boy who is a geniuous. He knows his prime numbers up to 7,057... he relates to animals but does not understand human emotions He cannot stand to be touched.He has a gifted logical brain but he is autistic.Christophers carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbor's gog impaled on a garden fork and he is initionally blamed for it
He decides to track down the killer.

It is an amazing book. How he works with numbers and figures out so much incredible stuff. Just a great book! One of many that I really liked,

[mezzo soprano]

I am so jealous of all of you reading actual books.... I mean with chapters and stuff :) .

I am now trying to get through a book called "Love 'em or Lose 'em", which is about rewarding employees. And I just finished reading "Kate", a biography of Katherine Hepburn.