All About Books discussion

It sounds fun :) I'd love to help someone decide between a few options. I personally have a set list for the next couple months, but after that I will probably come to this thread for help.

Thanks Shannon Noel for bumping this thread into life again, such a good idea. Once I'm outta bed (it's a Sunday morning here haha) I'm gonna put a list of books from my physical shelf up and you can all help me decide which to read next :)

Ok here goes...help me choose which of these books I should read next:
John Henry Days by Colson Whitehead

My name is Judas by C.K. Stead

In Moral Danger by Barbara Biggs

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry

Sole Survivor by Derek Hansen

A Respectable Trade by Philippa Gregory

Erica wrote: "Ok here goes...help me choose which of these books I should read next:
John Henry Days by Colson Whitehead

My name is Judas by C.K. Stead

In Moral Danger by Barbara Biggs
..."

I'd say The Shadow of the Wind, that's a good read.

Shirley wrote: "Erica wrote: "Ok here goes...help me choose which of these books I should read next:
John Henry Days by Colson Whitehead

My name is Judas by C.K. Stead

[book:In Moral Danger|4..."

I have heard good things about The Shadow of the Wind even though I haven't read it myself.

@Erica I'm with Shirley - The Shadow of the Wind

I have a few books

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Looking for Alaska by John Green
The Shining and Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy

OH, that really depends on the mood you're in I guess, but my instinctive reaction would be: North and South!

I agree with Jenny, North and South sounds good. Although so does Looking for Alaska.

The Shadow of the Wind it is. Thanks for your help:)

Jenny wrote: "OH, that really depends on the mood your in I guess, but my instinctive reaction would be: North and South!"

Me, too...I recommend North & South

Thanks, that's my next two books sorted then.

Hey everyone! I'm going to Europe for three weeks this August, and I'm bringing two books that I chose specifically for their length. (And because I want to read them, of course.) I've got a loooonnnng plane flight. :P Which should I read first? :)

The Elegance of the Hedgehog
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

Those are my top priority but I've got other books I'm bringing too. (It's a long trip!) If it helps your choice, our first destination is France. Later on we'll be in Italy and Switzerland.

Thanks!

Shannon Noel wrote: "Hey everyone! I'm going to Europe for three weeks this August, and I'm bringing two books that I chose specifically for their length. (And because I want to read them, of course.) I've got a loooon..."

I really enjoyed Hedgehog. So read that, and you will also soon be in France.

Oh you're right! I forgot that Hedgehog takes place in Paris - I bought it awhile ago. That choice makes sense :)

Shannon, have fun in France and Switzerland. Will you be in Paris? Great place! And where in Switzerland are you going. Driving through the Alps? We were once driving in the Alps and our brakes broke, on a Sunday when everything was closed! In Switzerland good things and bad things happened to me there..... Traveling is always a mix.

Shannon Noel wrote: "Hey everyone! I'm going to Europe for three weeks this August, and I'm bringing two books that I chose specifically for their length. (And because I want to read them, of course.) I've got a loooon..."

What will you visit in Italy?

Chrissie wrote: "Shannon, have fun in France and Switzerland. Will you be in Paris? Great place! And where in Switzerland are you going. Driving through the Alps? We were once driving in the Alps and our brakes bro..."

That must have been a pain! (Regarding your brakes.) Were you stranded? How did you get back to town? I suppose it's nice that it happened in a beautiful place at least :)

Yup, we'll be in Paris, but only for a couple days. Lots of cities to get to. I'm amazed at how a three-week trip can still feel not long enough! We'll be in Martigny, Switzerland for a day. Our train from Chamonix, France is stopping there on its way to Italy so we decided to spend a day there and go to the Evionnaz hedge maze - largest maze in the world :) I definitely plan on going to Switzerland again in the future because I would LOVE to see the Alps, and more of the country.

dely wrote: "What will you visit in Italy?"

Oh my goodness, so many places. The Tibetan Bridge in Claviere, Venice, Florence (to see the original David), the Terme di Saturnia, Rome (particuarly the Colosseum, the Vatican museums, St. Peter's Basilica, and whatever else we can squeeze into our days - we're only there a few), and a quick jaunt from Naples to Capri to the see the Grotta Azzurra. I'm very excited!

I see on your profile that you live in the Liguria region. What's it like living there?

Shanon, wow, all the places you will be visiting and all the memories you will be collecting.

Re the broken brakes: well we finally dug up a small gas station guy who, after his long lunch, came and helped us until we could get a real repair done the following Monday. We stayed in an unplanned hotel that night. All those serpentine roads through the Alps yo have to make sure you are using the correct gear so you don't wreck the brakes. Lesson learned.

You can never see everything. Visiting Giocometti's home town and museum in southern Switzerland is on my must see list.

If you can go to Bolzano in northern Italy, and the lakes and......

Shannon Noel wrote: "Hey everyone! I'm going to Europe for three weeks this August, and I'm bringing two books that I chose specifically for their length. (And because I want to read them, of course.) I've got a loooon..."

Do you think The Elegance of the Hedgehog long? I don't remember the pages, but it is a book that goes away quickly enough!

Shannon Noel wrote: "dely wrote: "What will you visit in Italy?"

Oh my goodness, so many places. The Tibetan Bridge in Claviere, Venice, Florence (to see the original David), the Terme di Saturnia, Rome (particuarly t..."

If you happen to have time between Florence and Rome why don't you stop in Perugia? Nice little city, close to Assisi ... And I can drive you around a bit!
In Florence the original David is in the Galleria dell'Accademia, not in the square - that's a copy. In the same Museums are also the Prigioni always of Michelangelo; worth seeing. As the Uffizi Museum - by Michelangelo there there's only a painting - the "tondo Doni" - but you can see the primavera and the birth of the Venere by Botticelli.
The Vatican museums have a lot of great things, but you usually are crammed with a lot of other turists and have barely the time to look at them. I remember the last time I went there - two years ago - I had only one minute for the School of Athens by Raffaello!!!

LauraT wrote: "Do you think The Elegance of the Hedgehog long? I don't remember the pages, but it is a book that goes away quickly enough!"

It's not outrageously long, no. Definitely not a Game of Thrones or anything. :P I'm bringing more, but for the long flight I wanted something that wouldn't breeze by in one sitting.

LauraT wrote: "If you happen to have time between Florence and Rome why don't you stop in Perugia?"

We'll be renting a car to go from Florence to Rome, because we definitely want to explore the Tuscan countryside. There are a couple villages we're planning to stop in, but I believe they're on the western side. So I think Perugia might be out of the way, but it does look beautiful!

Yup, we're going to the Galleria dell'Accademia - thanks for the tips! I'm very excited to see the original. I've loved the sculpture of David for many years.

Haha, yeah, I'm a little nervous about the crowds... But the Vatican museums were recommended to me so I feel like I can't go to Rome and not see them!

Since we're on the subject and since many of this group's members are in Italy, perhaps someone can help me with a question?

We very, very much want to see the beautiful hills and vineyards of Tuscany. Am I correct that that landscape is the Chianti region? And am I correct that the Chianti region is between Florence and Siena? We were planning on driving south from Florence to the village of Montefioralle and then again south to Siena. Then from there, south to Saturnia for the hot springs.

Is that a scenic route, or do you advise another one? What other villages should we stop in along the way? (I love the old stone villages such as Montefioralle - anything similar to that we'd love to see.)

I know I've gotten a bit off-topic but I had to take this opportunity to ask!

Shannon Noel wrote: "dely wrote: "What will you visit in Italy?"

Oh my goodness, so many places. The Tibetan Bridge in Claviere, Venice, Florence (to see the original David), the Terme di Saturnia, Rome (particuarly t..."

Wow, a lot of places! Coming down from Martigny you have nearly all on the same route except Venice, it is on the other side of Italy.
You are very brave to drive from Florence to Rome, good luck! Be prepared because it will be full of cars on the highway and in big cities like these.
You can buy the tickets for the Vatican museums already online so you can avoid the queue for purchasing the tickets (at least this queue!).

Life in Liguria is very calm. It depends also where you live because Liguria has the sea and the inland has mountains. I live on the sea and during the winter everything is quiet, there is nothing; during the summer it is full of tourists and there are a lot of interesting events (but also less parking and a lot of traffic). It has wonderful places, perhaps you know Portofino, Alassio, the "Cinque Terre"...it is full of famous places.

Shannon Noel wrote: "Since we're on the subject and since many of this group's members are in Italy, perhaps someone can help me with a question?

We very, very much want to see the beautiful hills and vineyards of Tus..."

I have found this site: http://www.chianti.com/traveling-thro...

I was only once in Tuscany near Montecatini but I don't know if it is Chianti area (I don't drink wine so I'm not interested). You will find a lot of stone villages in Italy!

If I were you I would make another tour but you should renounce to Capri or Venice: you come down from Switzerland and go to Piedmont for the Tibetan bridge; then you can go to the Cinque Terre in Liguria (it is on your way from Piedmont to Tuscany); you visit all the places you want in Tuscany and go to Rome.
From here you can go to Neaples and Capri or you can go to Perugia as Laura said and visit also Orvieto (everybody says it is wonderful) and other beautiful places that are in Umbria. From Perugia you cross Italy and go on the Eastern side and then you go upward to Venice. On the road there is also San Marino, Bologna and other interesting cities.

I know Venice is famous and everybody wants to see it but there are a lot of nice places that are worth to be seen.
Let's see what Laura says, she is more "wanderer" than me and knows a lot of places!

Shannon Noel wrote: "LauraT wrote: "If you happen to have time between Florence and Rome why don't you stop in Perugia?"

We'll be renting a car to go from Florence to Rome, because we definitely want to explore the Tu..."

If you go to Rome by car from Florence Perugia is not so far of the way, especially if you want to see the countryside - and therefore go to Siena. Siena from Perugia is around 100km; less than an hour driving. And you'd pass close to Trasimeno Lake, a nice landscape area.
A lot of English, Germans and Dutch have bought houses in that area; the famous film "Stealing Beauty" by Bertolucci with Jeremy Irons and Liv Tyler was shot right between Siena and Perugia. If you like that from Florence you should look for the directions for Siena and follow not the high way but the internal road. It is of course longer, but much nicer. Probably you'd need somewhere to stay either in Siena or around the Lake and Perugia. Tel me if you need any help.

Think about it; I'm telling you it is really worth seeing.

The vatican museums are a must - as the Uffizi in Florence I think. The only thing is that you have to know beforehand how things are and be prepared to fight! Go there not on a saturday or a sunday; that's a good tip

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini or The Shining/Doctor Sleep by Stephen King?

I know you will need to be working on your dissertation so I'd pick the less cerebral read. The Shining; then watch the Jack Nicholson film of same and get scared witless:)

Bette BookAddict wrote: "I know you will need to be working on your dissertation so I'd pick the less cerebral read. The Shining; then watch the Jack Nicholson film of same and get totally spooked:)"

I do like Jack Nicholson, he was great in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

I did study The Shining last year for my Gothic class but I didn't read it because I had a big history essay worth 60% due in around that time so I only read certain scenes my tutor had set. I still managed to get a good mark from my final essay on it.

I've just finished The Shadow of the Wind. Thanks for the suggestion, it was really good, gave it 4*. I really enjoy books about books and I liked the author's writing style.

Erica, if you want a fun book book about books check out Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader. I am unsure if it your kind of book so I have given here a link to my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

It is funny and is composed of essays.

Don't worry about spoilers.

Sounds like a fun read Chrissie, has gone on my tbr list :)

Erica, glad I could help.

Okay here's a fun one. :D

Recently I started a challenge where I asked 5 friends to recommend a book, and whatever they rec'd I have to read no matter what. (Fortunately they all picked books that sound good!)

So, which should I read first??

1. Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins
2. Too Far
3. Jane Eyre
4. I, Lucifer
5. All Families are Psychotic
(Honorary 6. The Stand, if I can find the first individual volume instead of the entire TOME, heh. There was a bit of negotiating when my friend rec'd this bajillion-page thing :P)

Shannon Noel wrote: "Okay here's a fun one. :D

Recently I started a challenge where I asked 5 friends to recommend a book, and whatever they rec'd I have to read no matter what. (Fortunately they all picked books that..."

I have only read Jane Eyre but it is my favourite Victorian classic.

I also only know Jane Eyre but I do like the sound of Too Far!

Ditto with Alannah and Jenny, I've only read the one.

I've read both Jane Eyre and The Stand. If it were me I'd start with Jane Eyre.

Haha, I was actually hoping to hold off on Jane Eyre for that very reason - I'm too familiar with it and wanted to try something newer first. :P Alas!

Jenny - I agree, I was really excited when I read the description for Too Far! Unfortunately my library network doesn't have it - that's the first that's ever happened. :O Noooooo....

Sorry, didn't even see The Stand there, I loved it but it does take some commitment.

I agree with Jenny, Too Far sounds interesting if you're not quite in the mood for Jane Eyre.

Uh oh Erica, I think you accidentally linked to a different Too Far. Very different.... Hahaha :)

Lol! Its not my type of book but perhaps you'd like it too haha.

Hey Erica. The Stand is a pretty good read but pretty long. It's one you got to focus all your attention too. I read it a few years ago and it took me six weeks to read but it was pretty good as a tale about good versus evil. def give it a check out.

There's a challenge in this group that inspired me to give Dickens another try. I have only read A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist. While I enjoyed the first, I didn't like Oliver Twist, but I was reading it for school and we all know that sometimes we hate books that are forced upon us and end up loving them years later. So, which book by Dickens do you recommend?

Yes, either that one or perhaps David Copperfield

Jean wrote: "Yes, either that one or perhaps David Copperfield"

Or Dombey and Son?