Recommended books for spring summer 06?

[shakennotstirred]

Cil - I agree with you regarding the Mermaid's Chair - a good read but not as good as the Secret Life of Bees. I'll let you know how the Cholera book is.

I am getting a lot of ideas from this thread to add to my "must read" list. Although this doesn't fare well for my summer project list. Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

 

[peapod1980]

I did not like The Mermaid's Chair nearly as much as The Secret Life of Bees, but it was certainly readable.

I agree. For me, no comparison between the two.
A few years ago, I read Bel Canto at the beach, and I still rave about that book to people.
My favorite book from two years ago The Memory of Running, and last year's favorite was The Tender Bar. For fun, I've recently read A Girl Named Zippy, and the follow-up, She Got Up Off the Couch is in my waiting-to-be-read stack right now.
Right now I'm reading An Embarrassment of Mangoes. One I've been hearing a lot of great things about is Eat, Pray, Love; a book I thought might sound interesting to you, Alli!

 

[Cil]

peapod

Thanks for reminding me about Bel Canto and The Tender Bar!
Maybe they are in paperback now?
I really want to read both.
(BTW: Moerhringer, author of The Tender Bar, is a one-time Denver writer.)
I will put them on my Amazon wish list so I won't forget about them again.

 

[Franny]

Cil: I'm sure I'll get a few tears in my eyes on the porch or beach when I read it... I can still sing parts of the Italian songs of the Alpinini (the Italian soldiers) "Sul capello, sul capello che noi portiamo..." (In our hat that we wear there is a feather...) and "Tapum Tapum..." (the sound of the drums). Thanks again for the recommendation!

Paula, sounds like you could write your own book that we would all enjoy!

 

[Paula]

Paula, sounds like you could write your own book that we would all enjoy!

Gee, thanks. We all have little stories to tell about our families and places (My family really romanticized these stories so they stuck, they even made the skeletons in our closet sound special!). I really should write something for the kids though about their family's past with photos (I think only our children would really enjoy these stories). You've inspired me, Franny. Gotta get out those old photo albums this weekend... Thanks.

I hope the kids have stories to tell about their days at the beach in SoWal someday. I know they'll remember catching frogs by the pool, sunsets, fireworks on the beach at New Years, Angelinas, Red Bar and more. They'll probably remember their mother spending time on the computer talking to her SoWal friends... though they do ask me what's going on in SoWal based on my online conversations.

 

[Allifunn]

Right now I'm reading An Embarrassment of Mangoes. One I've been hearing a lot of great things about is Eat, Pray, Love; a book I thought might sound interesting to you, Alli!

Thanks Peazer!!! I will look it up...let me know how "An Embarrassment of Mangoes" is!!!!

 

[audie]

just read vanish by tess gerritson - very good suspenseful read !

 

[Paula]

I just read "Isaac's Storm: A Man, A Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History" by Erik Larson. I thought it was very good reading about the 1900 hurricane that devastated Galveston. It focused on the hubris of Isaac Cline, the "weatherman" who was a know-it-all and how his hubris (and the politics of the weather bureaus) delayed action. Mostly though, it was the story of people's lives before, during and after the storm. It also explains the "science" of hurricanes in some passages throughout the book.

 

[Allifunn]

I just read "Isaac's Storm: A Man, A Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History" by Erik Larson. I thought it was very good reading about the 1900 hurricane that devastated Galveston. It focused on the hubris of Isaac Cline, the "weatherman" who was a know-it-all and how his hubris (and the politics of the weather bureaus) delayed action. Mostly though, it was the story of people's lives before, during and after the storm. It also explains the "science" of hurricanes in some passages throughout the book.

just a little light reading?? JK...sounds like a very interesting and informative book...makes me wonder when a book about Katrina will be coming out?

 

[Sheila]

I just read "Isaac's Storm: A Man, A Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History" by Erik Larson. I thought it was very good reading about the 1900 hurricane that devastated Galveston. It focused on the hubris of Isaac Cline, the "weatherman" who was a know-it-all and how his hubris (and the politics of the weather bureaus) delayed action. Mostly though, it was the story of people's lives before, during and after the storm. It also explains the "science" of hurricanes in some passages throughout the book.

We actually saw a special about Isaac Cline on history channel last year. It was very interesting and very sad. It also went into detail about the lives of the people that lived there before, and the few that survived, after the hurricane.