All About Books discussion

I love Khaled Hosseini, I thought the Kite Runner was brilliant, but my favourite was A Thousand Splendid Suns. I'm saving And the Mountains Echoed as a treat to myself over Christmas.

I haven't read the Alchemist, but it's sounds intriguing, added to my TBR!

Chatterjak wrote: "Thank you Dhanaraj, I haven't read any Flaubert - I'm shockingly behind in reading the classics, although I've started to try to read one a month this year, so I may give your first suggestion a go..."

Read it and you will have a great time.

@ Jean, I had read A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. But I did not like it much. I liked only some chapters. I have not read Arthur & George. And I will read it for sure, but I am not sure when....

@ Chatterjak Currently,am reading And the Mountains Echoed!!A thousand Splendid Suns is a nice one also but you should read Alchemist or anything by Paulo Coehlo,he is the best!!

David wrote: "@ Chatterjak Currently,am reading And the Mountains Echoed!!A thousand Splendid Suns is a nice one also but you should read Alchemist or anything by Paulo Coehlo,he is the best!!"

I also really liked The Alchemist but it seems to be one of those marmite books.

@Jean - you are right about humor & satire. I can't think of any contemporary author who makes me laugh the way P.G. Wodehouse does! And I am NOT going to read the new "Jeeves & Wooster" book written by someone else!!

Good for you Leslie - they never seem to work do they, these "tributes".

Dhanaraj - Could you perhaps suggest a Julian Barnes for me? If neither of us cared forA History of the World in 10½ Chapters yet you usually rate him highly, then I'd appreciate a suggestion. He's so prolific!

Try his latest Levels of Life, specially the third part (book is divided into three parts). That does not mean the first two parts are not that good. And have you read the booker prize winner, The Sense of an Ending? If you haven't read it, I would also recommend it.

Thank you Dhanaraj, I will add them both. I'd wondered already aboutThe Sense of an Ending, but had not heard of the other :)

If you fancy a buddy read with The Sense of an Ending Jean I'm up for that! I was going to start it today but my Kindle is telling me there's a 'problem with my credit card'!! Ahem! Oops, will have sort that out!

That's exciting, two new authors in a day - I really like the sound of The Alchemist too, I'll have to get myself to the library until I sort out my Kindle problem! Thanks for the recommendations folks!

How are you finding And the Mountains Echoed so far David? I think the quality of his writing is superb, I can't imagine anything by him being a disappointment! All the way through Reading the Kite Runner I craved Lamb Kebabs & pomegranates - you could almost smell them from the page! I'd be surprised if he doesn't become a future classic (to steer us back in the direction of the topic a little!!).

Jacks - maybe next year? For once I'm a couple of books approaching being up-to-date, and taking something down from my actual shelves to read...

But I have found a LP copy in the library, so will happily it read then. On the other hand, don't let me delay your read if you want to read it now. We'll probably chat about it later anyway :)

No probs Jean - there's no mad rush! It would be quite nice to buddy read it so I'm happy to wait - I can't download anything on the Kindle at the mo anyway!! I'm also regretting my 'setting books free' policy at the moment, as I want to re-read Alias Grace & gave my copy away!

@Chatterjak,he is a good writer,good storyteller!!And the Mountains Echoed is good story so far,I had to stop for a few days bcoz I have exams coming up but it's a good book,definitely u r going to enjoy it!!am in algeria doing my M.D,so the two previous books I could real relate to,interms of people's culture here e.g marriage,religion e.t.c!
Little off topic,Have u read The Bookseller of Kabul??it's a non-fiction book but also has the same storyline about relationship,culture of Afghanistan plus many other stuffs about afghan people!!

David, yes I have, I LOVED it - I learnt so much from that book, and I thought it was really well written. I always enjoy reading about other cultures/countries/religions etc. - all the rich tapestries that comprise our lives. It's a long time since I read it - more than ten years I think - I remember being so shocked by it, I thought I was reasonable wordly-wise at the time, always kept up with the news & current affairs. I knew women didn't have the same rights as in the West, but it really opened my eyes to the extent of it. Nowadays there's much more awareness, but it was a massive eye opener at the time.
In addition to the women's rights it brought up so many issues - any period in history where there has been book-burning, is likely to be interesting politically! I have a very poor memory, so I don't remember it in detail, but I do remember it made a very big impression on me!

Is your M.D. a masters degree, or a medical degree? I didn't dare let myself read any fiction when I was at university - I'm too easily diverted, I had to confine my fun reading to the holidays! I missed it so much, I was always dying to pick up a good novel when the holidays came round!

@chatterjak my M.D is medical degree,it's little bit tricky to read during school season but I try to pick simple,short fiction/Non-Fiction and leave the big boys during holiday!!words and knowledge it's what put my mind together,so I have to find time!!