The 'Ultimate' book reader's thread

[cougarnurse]

OK---I know we have some readers on the site. What books are you reading now, or have read in the past? Let's hear about them.

What did you like about the story? What did you NOT like? Would you recommend the book to others?

Was it made into a movie, or do you think it would make a great movie?

To start off the thread, for all you readers who have been following Jean Auel's Earth's Children series, the 6th (and from what I understand, LAST!) book will be released in March of 2011. There was talk of 7 books in the series, but it doesn't look like it now. But then, who knows. Anyone read the series?

[hppygr8ful]

OK---I know we have some readers on the site. What books are you reading now, or have read in the past? Let's hear about them.

What did you like about the story? What did you NOT like? Would you recommend the book to others?

Was it made into a movie, or do you think it would make a great movie?

To start off the thread, for all you readers who have been following Jean Auel's Earth's Children series, the 6th (and from what I understand, LAST!) book will be released in March of 2011. There was talk of 7 books in the series, but it doesn't look like it now. But then, who knows. Anyone read the series?

I love the books by John Sanford that feature Lucas Davenport - also known as the "Prey" book. It's best to read them in order so you can follow the character development. I am currently working my way through Lee Child's Jack Reacher series. I love a good murder mystery - also good true crime. Historical fiction is fun too - I have degree's and history and Lit as well as nursing.

Anyone here read books more than once? On average I read a book up to three times and some books are just old friends! My husband thinks this is weird but he only reads technical manuals..... go figure.

Hppy

[cougarnurse]

I tend to read some books over and over and over...... Yes, even when I can remember quite a bit of the story and quote the dang thing.

Lord Of The Rings trilogy....have loved that since 6th grade.

[suebird3]

I like Carlos Luis Zofon's 'Shadow of the Wind'. It's pretty decent, and has a plot like one of those Russian stacking dolls. It's a Gothic murder/mystery type story set from the '30's to the mid '60's in Spain.

I am not sure if a movie can do this story justice, with all the twists and turns.

As for Jean Auel's book, I will wait for it to come out in paperback. I had heard the same story (7 books, now 6). I also read where she stated LAST YEAR that there will be 7 books. Maybe something is going on with her? Plus, look how long it took her to get the last book or two out! Much speculation on what this book is going to encompass.

[hppygr8ful]

Just Finished "Without Fail" by Lee Child - another Jack Reacher story - This character is the epitome of Oscar Wilde's quote "Good men sleep peacefully in their beds at night knowing rough men stand ready to do violence on those who would do them harm"

Peace and Namaste

Hppy

[Grandma-RN]

I love to read. What I have bought in the last several weeks have been geared toward advancing my knowledge in management. It must peak an interest for me to read and then I go "crazy" on that particular topic and then move on.

I check out books from the library first [if they have them] then I buy them I love to reference things.

[cougarnurse]

I have updated my Med Surg book ONCE! I can't see spending over $100 to get a new one every 2 years. Maybe every 5?

[cougarnurse]

Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynly(sp?) series is good. I actually started reading the series in the middle, so to speak, with Deception on His Mind.

She (George) is an American, writing about England, and the differences between Lynly and Barb Havers is something else. He is a titled Lord, she is 'working class'. Of course, in England, there is that 'distinction' between classes.

The whole series is dang good. Just finished This Body of Death, and the curves that have been thrown throughout the series! It seemed to me that Barb would eventually (somehow?!) end up with Azhar, but.....not sure now.

[suebird3]

I have read Elizabeth George, too. She is pretty good.

I just found out that Louise Cooper died; she wrote alot of Fiction that is no longer available here in the States. Guess she died last year from an aneurism. What a shock.

[cougarnurse]

In honor of Banned Book week, here are some books you may not have KNOWN were banned! How many have you read?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20100924/...y_banned_books

The pen is mightier than the sword and, apparently, it can also be more offensive. Many of us have read the most commonly banned and challenged classics, including "The Great Gatsby," "The Catcher in the Rye," "1984" and "Catch-22." Some of the other titles on the list of banned and challenged books may surprise you.

"Captain Underpants"

Some folks had their underwear in a bunch over this children's book series by Dav Pilkey. The "Captain Underpants" series -- about two fourth-graders and their superhero of a principal -- was one of the top 10 most frequently banned and challenged books for 2002, 2004 and 2005. The books were said to contain offensive language, to be sexually explicit and to be anti-family.

"The Lord of the Rings"

J.R.R Tolkien's book was burned, not in the fires of Mount Doom, but outside of a church in Alamogordo, N.M., in 2001 because it was viewed as "Satanic."

Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary

When it comes to banning books, even the dictionary gets no respect. The Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary was pulled from the shelf of a school in Menifee, Calif. The offending term in the dictionary? "Oral sex." The entry references of the dictionary also included cunnilingus and fellatio, which were not cited as the reasons for pulling the dictionary off the shelf. Merriam-Webster has been publishing language reference books for more than 150 years. They were bound to offend someone along the way.

"Fahrenheit 451"

Could a book about censorship really be banned? Absolutely. Enter "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury. The book has been banned by the Mississippi School District (1999). It's also No. 69 on the American Library Association's list of top banned/challenged books from 2000 to 2009.

Harry Potter series

One of the most surprising banned books sits at the No. 1 spot on the ALA list. It's not even a book. It's the entire Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. The Harry Potter series is to teens what "Star Wars" was to an entire generation of now-40-somethings. The series has been challenged for occultism, Satanism, violence, being anti-family and having religious viewpoint. The series is No. 1 on the ALA's most challenged book list for 2000 to 2009.

"The Grapes of Wrath"

John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" is not just another classic on the list. The book was originally banned in California due to obscenity, but the catalyst behind the banning was based more in embarrassment: The people in the region did not like how their area and the workers' situation was portrayed in the novel.

"Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?"

Most parents of kids under 5 have seen Eric Carle's art accompanying the book by Bill Martin. The Texas Board of Education banned the book, in January 2010, because it thought the book was written by the same Bill Martin who penned the nonchildren's book "Ethical Marxism: The Categorical Imperative of Liberation."

"James and the Giant Peach"

Author Roald Dahl is no stranger to being banned. His book "The Witches" is on the ALA's 100 most frequently challenged books for 1990 to 1999 for its depictions of women and witches. But what about James and his peach? Was there witchcraft at work? James was disobedient and there was violence in the book.


American Heritage Dictionary (1969)

The American Heritage Dictionary of 1969 was also banned in 1978 from a library in Eldon, Mo., because of 39 objectionable words. The dictionary continued to cause trouble as far away as Alaska, where it was banned by the Anchorage School Board in 1987 for its inclusion of slang words, including "balls."

Grimm's Fairy Tales

Fairy tales have always held a precarious place in children's literature. On one side, readers have fairy-tale purists who lament the morals lost in fairy tales that have been too cleaned up. Others object to any violence in fairy tales. A couple of California school districts found a whole new reason to ban Grimm's Fairy Tales in 1989: misuse of alcohol. Little Red Riding Hood's basket for her grandmother includes wine. Maybe it wasn't a California red.