Reading Suggestion, Fiction

Glad, there have been times when I haven't been able to concentrate either and end up reading sections repeatedly. I think stress causes us to lose concentration; at least that's been my experience. But I'm trying to read to battle stress!

I used to read the same magazines - Family Circle, Woman's Day, BHG and of course lots of crafting, gardening and quilting magazines for inspiration.

Along the way I used to get Early American Life and Colonial Homes. I loved that period for lifestyle and furniture. Someday I'd still like to try making furniture from scratch. I'll try a flat board first - I should be able to handle that!

This Old House has sooo gone upscale that I hardly even watch the tv show anymore. Interestingly enough, I used to post in the gardening section on an old TOH forum. That was years ago. In the last few months I've gotten half a dozen solicitations to subscribe to the magazine. It took me a while to figure out where they got my e-mail address.


Carla, Water for Elephants was a best seller wasn't it? And I believe a move was made of it. Thanks for the good recommendation; I wouldn't normally read about someone in a nursing home but if there's a positive ending, that's a different story.

I forgot to mention my top recommendation from the fiction category. I recently picked up Water for Elephants and was mesmerized from the first page to the last. It starts with an old guy in a nursing home and ends up the most uplifting, heartwarming story I've ever read. Don't miss it!

GA, strange about reading for me. For many years I would take an hour or two, nearly daily, to read the novel I was working on at the time. Even while caring for mom and L. With mom at daycare I usuAlly was able to take a couple of hours for me.

When I moved to KS the reading did not stop, but the comprehension did! I do not think I comprehended a single book while there. I was not happy to be there, and the constant distraction of not having mom to deal with. Now that is certainly bizarre, isn't it!

I enjoy magazines too. When younger they were family circle, better homes and others like that. I really enjoyed This Old House for awhile since I had one. Too many projects, too little time, and a high maintenance house. Now, National Geographic I love and the special issues, and you are absolutely correct about the photography!

Bringing this wonderful thread back up to the top, hopefully for more input on posters' reading interests.

Every time I read through the posts here, I imagine a "perfect setting" for reading. Often it's during a snowstorm or blizzard, creating an almost mandatory obligation to stay inside until the storm is through.

Accompanying the sound of wind, or just the gentle fall of snowflakes, are always hot chocolate or beverage of choice, a nice comfy chair or couch, soft and warm fleecy throws or home made afghans, leisure time with all obligations suspended temporarily, and of course, relaxation.

Then I might as a change of pace thumb through an Herb Quarterly magazine and see a lovely drawing of someone reading in the summer, lemonade at hand, furry cat on someone's lap, flowers in the background through a porch window, and sun shining in the distance.

Do others have any "visions" of the best reading scenarios? What inspires you to read? Stress? Relaxation? Expansion of vistas, travels to new lands? New ideas?

Does anyone read educational material such as scientific journals? Smithsonian magazines? Crafting, woodworking or similar magazines? At one time I used to enjoy thumbing through Popular Mechanics; there were always projects that I could imagine tackling someday, or there were good technical articles.

NatGeo is I think one of the most inspirational and relaxing magazines. The photos are of the highest qualify and for me are instantly soothing.

Anyone have any favorite magazines? Quilting? Needlework? Cooking? I don't know (and hope not) if Chocolatier is still being published. I used to mentally salivate at all the chocolate temptations. Taste of Home can be good as well. Of course, when we're dreaming none of the foods have high calories, too much fat, just delicious taste.

I think Jeanne started a wonderful thread, with wide ranging benefits, especially for caregivers. Let's keep this going!

Thank you for all the great book talk. I will have to check my local bookstore and see what I can find.

Cussler must be preoccupied with gold. Many titles with gold in them. Spartan Gold, Inca Gold and others.

Went to bed last night thinking that I mis spoke/wrote. The Amber Room wasn't about gold, but about amber treasures. I think..??? Then I couldn't remember for sure! So it's time to read the book again; it was a bit on the rough side but the historical elements compensated for that.

Glad, this is embarrassing. I just read the Cussler book about the Amber treasure but can't remember the name of it. Checked my Cussler library and not even the plot summary helps. I'll keep looking and will let you know when I figure out which novel it was. I go through his books so quickly b/c they're so fast paced that sometimes I have to reread them a second time to remember the plots.

Romanov treasures (the Faberge eggs in particular) was in his Romanov Ramsom. That's well worth reading as well. He has the ability to graphically recreate scenes; I felt as if I was actually a witness to the scene when the Empress reluctantly turns over the Faberge eggs to the revolutionaries.

I wouldn't say Cussler is a moralist, but the "good guys" always triumph over the "bad guys". His work isn't preachy, but it does address good and evil, not in an historical way but more like a James Bond intelligence and physical triumph. There are definitely physical challenges, but intellectual ones as well.

He's also written a very contemporary thriller, Nighthawk, which is probably one of his most complicated novels. It addresses theft of advanced technology weaponry for global domination. I couldn't help thinking of the Putin and his (obsessive?) quest for power and control.

Most of Cussler's works that incorporate contemporary political issues are very thought provoking, especially given the current situation in DC and an unstable amateur threatening N. Korea and communicating through Twitter.


CWillie, I had completely forgotten about Leon Uris. I don't even remember if I read Exodus, but I did watch the movie several times. It ranks with Mayerling, Dr. Zhivago, Gone with the Wind, and other historical dramas as the best movies I've seen. I did read Marjorie Morningstar but it was so long ago I don't even remember what it was about.

I'm still waiting for the now 5 - 8" of snow predicted for today, so I have an excuse to indulge in more reading. Maybe it won't materialize and I'll actually have to do some work today.

If you like historical fiction, I devoured everything I could get that was written by Leon Uris back when I was in my teens and twenties. I don't know how well they have stood the test of time though. (Mila 18 and Trinity were awesome)

Yes, GA I have read the Amber Room, as well, probably 8 years ago or so. Do not remember the story line, though. Must add Gold books to my list! There are a number of them. Which one, GA? I have also read some Cussler, though don't know what.

Glad, I like Berry's novels as well. The historical settings really enrich the plot. Have you ever read his The Amber Room? Cussler has also written a novel about the alleged gold stolen by the Nazis and possibly sequestered away in some hidden hideout.

I love Steve Berry! I have read a number of his books including Romanov Prophecy. I was reading many of his books. Think I may have started with The Templar Legacy.

CWillie, hear, hear! Well said!

I used to wonder this as well when required in college to slog through some boring novel that someone determined was a classic.

And I've frequently wondered why Edgar Allen Poe's works were considered classic. I won't deny that he's creative, in a malevolent and macabre sort of way, but some of his works are positively revolting. I've read that he had a gambling and alcohol problem, so that might have affected his outlook, but to create such horrific situations was just plain sick.

On the other hand, I discovered some authors whose work was really inspiring and insightful. I knew when I read Faulkner's Go Down Moses that he understood the bonds that people discover and/or create with nature. And F. Scott Fitzgerald's works were so insightful studies in the effect of money and wealth on people's lives.

But I've also been influenced by some of the posts in this thread, and think it would be a nice relief to find some more lighthearted books w/o any messages or underlying social analysis. Peter Mayle's charming anecdotes of life in France easily meet that criterion. And I always love a "visitation" to France, even if it's only on paper (and much cheaper!).

After reading lots of Veronica's posts, I found in my bookshelf a set of old books by Elswyth Thane. I forgot how much I loved them. It was Veronica talking about nursing when patients were in wards and jolly old England that reminded me of these. But Girl on a train was good too! And Tolkien books were childhood friends too. I love all these suggestions because I love to read anything!

There are too many books out there to waste time slogging through something that doesn't make sense, I don't care how many glowing reviews it has. Sometimes I wonder what the editor thinking, why allow multiple characters with similar names? Why entire chapters that don't seem to lend anything to the plot? And as for fantasy series, if Tolkien could get it done brilliantly in three books why oh why do so many feel the need to ramble on for five, seven, more?

Has anyone had more luck than I've had with 'The Master and Margarita'? It's been sending me off to sleep helpfully for weeks, and it's due back at the library tomorrow, and I can't face renewing it, so I just skimmed the epilogue to see if it would make more sense if I read it again. I suspect this edition might be suffering from pretty feeble translation - the kind of clunks that I used to try to iron out of my schoolchild efforts - but even making allowances... Uh? What?

Hm. "The author says the poem "The Second Coming" by William Butler Yeats influenced the book."

So did 84 Charing Cross Road by the sound of it... But it still sounds extremely intriguing.

Epistolary, with accessories! Sounds brilliant, I shall run and look it up :)

I've been skimming more of the discussion posts which have long histories and have found that I've been missing discussions on art, animals, literature and a lot more. The combination of art and literature reminded me of a very creative fiction series I read sometime ago.

It was titled Griffin and Sabine, was extremely allegorical, and written as 6 separate sequential episodes. The "plot" and action were via letters, complete with envelopes, in magnificently and creatively styled art as background or complements.

Has anyone else been captivated by this very unique and creative writing style?

I don't know if I could read a novel on caregiving; it might just be too depressing for me at this stage of our journey. I'm having enough trouble balancing challenges.

I have found the Chicken Soup nonfiction books inspiring though. I have almost the entire series, and have read some several times. The Ocean one is particularly appealing as it addresses bonds created by humans with ocean creatures. It's very heartwarming, and makes me wonder, as I have often, how much we really could communicate if we tried (as people who work with marine animals do). It's also inspiring to contemplate the relationship we have with living beings that aren't humans, i.e., whether it's a dominant or more equal relationship.

For fiction, subjects range, depending on mood. I've always found Margaret Truman's "Murder in/on....(insert name of place)" to be a good read. I have (I believe) the entire series and have read most of them twice. It's interesting to see how her writing expanded and became more sophisticated as she herself became more experienced.

Now I'm on a Clive Cussler kick. His novels are action oriented, move quickly, and are completely engrossing, even if they are variations of a common theme. However, they're researched well and seem to be grounded in scientific and engineering basics. History is always a focus around which the plot revolves, and, like the James Bond movies, there's an international villain trying in one way or another to build an empire for himself.

The Romanov Prophecy was one that was particularly intriguing. It's steeped in the history of the Revolution and the ensuing events, unsettling, but a reminder of country wide suppression as well as a pivotal event in the evolution (or tyranny, in this case) of a nation.

Sometimes I'll read a legal novel, such as Scott Turow's works. When I'm in a military mood, it's Stephen Coonts, who has an extensive knowledge of aviation and reflects it in his fast moving novels.

Today, however, I'm in a mood to just thumb through gardening and holiday magazines and plan complicated knot gardens which I probably will never have the stamina to create, or imagine lovely holiday decorations which probably will never get made b/c I can't find my supplies amidst boxes and boxes of material which I also probably will never get to use for quilts.

Alas, dreaming about gardens and decorations is a major part of my life.

Hi jeannegibbs,

I just downloaded the audiobook "A Spool of Blue Thread" I just now started listening to it. Thank you for suggesting it :).

This is really a fun thread. It's great to get new book recommendations from people I already know I have something in common with.

I don't know if anyone else has experienced this, but since becoming a caregiver I seem to see caregiving themes in everything I read. The author of "A Box of Darkness" went to visit her mother in a nursing home shortly after becoming widowed, and her mother actually forgot that her daughter's husband had died and absently passed on her greetings to him as her daughter was leaving. That would be my mother, who forgot that one of my sisters had colon cancer. The author of The Geography of Love was caring for her husband through lung cancer, when her mother had a health crisis and her out-of-town sister tried to drop the old lady off on the author's doorstep after she was released from the hospital. Wow! (The author refused to take her but said she'd stop at her mother's house daily to see to her needs.)

I recently finished Home is Burning, written by a young man whose mother was sick with cancer when his father was diagnosed with ALS. This kid was a year out of college and had just started progressing in a career and a relationship with a woman he wanted to marry, and his mother demanded that he and his younger brother drop everything to come home and care for their father for an indefinite period of time. "It's time for you kids to step up and give something back," or words to that effect. The young guy was immediately drafted, over his objections, into helping his father in the shower and in the bathroom. Sheesh! Sometimes I want to scream at total strangers, but it's always interesting to see how other people (fictional or real) respond to the challenges of illness and disability in the family.

Just ordered a Spool of Blue Thread! It will be next. Thank you for the recommendation, Jeanne.

Thanks for all the great reading suggestions.

I loved the early Scarpetta books too Shane and reread them multiple times, but it seems to me that somewhere along the way Ms Cornwall started to dislike her ties to this series and the writing changed.

I have recently began reading the “Outlander” series of books by Diana Gabaldon. Finished the first, now have “Dragonfly in Amber” to begin.
Not sure if I will make it through the series of 7 soon to be 8 books. While I do enjoy it, the author uses too many words.
I’m like - “get to the point already!” . But read this second one I shall.
I love the Patricia Cornwall books to on Kay Scarpetta. I love forensic science and her books move through the storyline quickly.

Ooh, a book thread, Following... :-)

The original topic of a fictional work about caregiving dynamics sounds very interesting, Jeanne.  

Eenie meanie miney Moe, what should I next read first? These sorts a decisions are supposed hard. So many books, so little time.😉

GA, there are indeed half a dozen companion volumes, but sadly not anything like Rococo Ceilings or Comfy Chairs. Still! - it's good to know that if the relationship lasts (God willing - this boyfriend seems a nice lad) I'm all set for further present ideas.

That is a brilliant USP Blannie! - undemanding mysteries with added dog for reassurance and comic/touching moments. Sounds perfect.

The late Alan Coren was lectured by his publisher on how to improve his sales. "Put a cat in the title. Golf, obviously, everyone likes golf. Or anything about the Nazis."

You can see the results on Amazon under "Golfing For Cats."

CM, same here, I just cannot figure out who is who. I may feel like getting some concrete and bricks by the time I am done with Into the Water. ;)

Everyone should read Dorothy Sayers mysteries. Good for the soul.