I use the CRAP out of Goodreads! I put every book I read that is for an audience of 10 years old or older on there. (I don't bother with picture books.)
I've reviewed 565 books and have 3 pages of shelves. I've been active for over 5 years!
One of my favorite things about Good reads is the fact that when you tag heavily, it's so easy for you to make recommendations to others. I often get questions from friends about books for a child, and I can just go to my shelf for that age group, sort by ratings so the highest stuff shows up first, and use it as a memory jog for other things.
I did this when I recommended a book to Alex. His reading taste to seems to match mine pretty closely, at least when it comes to adult books. So I went looking for a "sleeper" amongst my 5* books, and found Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman. Heavily hyped in its native UK, it didn't get as much attention here (it IS very British) but was one of my favorite books of 2011.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Week Three : The Conversation
1. Last book read was Eat, Pray, Love.
I read that too, and liked it!
The first thing that comes to mind is Wild by Cheryl Strayed. It has a similar journey of self discovery, and was Oprah approved, but feels fresh and interesting on its own, not like a "rip off" of Eat, Pray, Love.
I just read a Teen Novel called Just One Day that even though it's from a teenagers perspective, it's an older teen (heading off to college) and has a lot of the similar themes - and lots to discuss!
You might also want to try Anne Lamott. She's written a lot so let's get started!
2. For vampire books that are nothing like Twilight, you might want to try Let the Right One in by John Ajvide Lindqvist. Like Twilight, there's vampires and teenagers, but no angst, and no romance, nothing but scary scary vampires.
Another possibility is Guillermo del Toro's series that starts with The Strain. It's another one that's cinematic, since del Toro was a filmmaker as well, but the romance is purely adult and is a side note, not the plot, and not with vampires - it's human on human!
3. For books like River of Doubt, I would suggest something by Nathaniel Philbrick. The first book that came to mind was In the Heart of the Sea about sailors in early 19th century Nantucket who are shipwrecked and must face hard decisions about how to stay alive. (Hint : cannibalism) But he's written other fascinating historical books, like The Last Stand about Custer, and Bunker Hill about the famous battle.
I read that too, and liked it!
The first thing that comes to mind is Wild by Cheryl Strayed. It has a similar journey of self discovery, and was Oprah approved, but feels fresh and interesting on its own, not like a "rip off" of Eat, Pray, Love.
I just read a Teen Novel called Just One Day that even though it's from a teenagers perspective, it's an older teen (heading off to college) and has a lot of the similar themes - and lots to discuss!
You might also want to try Anne Lamott. She's written a lot so let's get started!
2. For vampire books that are nothing like Twilight, you might want to try Let the Right One in by John Ajvide Lindqvist. Like Twilight, there's vampires and teenagers, but no angst, and no romance, nothing but scary scary vampires.
Another possibility is Guillermo del Toro's series that starts with The Strain. It's another one that's cinematic, since del Toro was a filmmaker as well, but the romance is purely adult and is a side note, not the plot, and not with vampires - it's human on human!
3. For books like River of Doubt, I would suggest something by Nathaniel Philbrick. The first book that came to mind was In the Heart of the Sea about sailors in early 19th century Nantucket who are shipwrecked and must face hard decisions about how to stay alive. (Hint : cannibalism) But he's written other fascinating historical books, like The Last Stand about Custer, and Bunker Hill about the famous battle.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Two: Appeal Factors
I just finished Gone Girl, months after everyone else. I love books with dual narrators because they make the pace so fast - you always want to get back to the other side of the story. Many folks didn't like this book because of the unpleasant characters, but I love reading about unsympathetic types.
On audio, I recently listened to Andy Cohen's Most Talkative. If a book could be a "fast listen" it would be this one. Andy reads his own story in the chatty, relatable way he has on his talk show. He's also close to my age (in his 40s) so his childhood mirrored mine in many ways - I could relate to the pop culture tidbits he was sharing.
I recommended a series of books to Randalee G. at http://bmbrg.blogspot.com/
On audio, I recently listened to Andy Cohen's Most Talkative. If a book could be a "fast listen" it would be this one. Andy reads his own story in the chatty, relatable way he has on his talk show. He's also close to my age (in his 40s) so his childhood mirrored mine in many ways - I could relate to the pop culture tidbits he was sharing.
I recommended a series of books to Randalee G. at http://bmbrg.blogspot.com/
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