Exceptional Books discussion

I have read the Outlander series several times & I think that Outlander is my favorite of the books. It's what got me interested in reading the rest of the series. Great book!

Colleen wrote: "LilaBird, I've never read The muse of Edouard Manet, but I'll check it out. What do you love about this book :)"

I love that it has it all. It defies genre. It has time travel, art history, romance, adventure, codes, forgery, art theft, duels, true love, chases, murder -- and it's all set in two beautiful cities: Paris and Chicago. The characters are rich and fully developed and the twists and turns of the plot make you want to never put the book down. It's a beautiful story with characters you feel like you know personally by the end.

Sue wrote: "I have read the Outlander series several times & I think that Outlander is my favorite of the books. It's what got me interested in reading the rest of the series. Great book!"

I agree, Sue. The Outlander series is so amazing. I love the first book also, but my favorite for sure is Dragonfly in Amber. I love, love, love when Claire shows up at the printshop in Edinburgh after all those years and Jamie hears her voice behind him. Every time I re-read the series, it's THAT scene that I'm waiting to get to.

LilaBird wrote: "Colleen wrote: "LilaBird, I've never read The muse of Edouard Manet, but I'll check it out. What do you love about this book :)"

I love that it has it all. It defies genre. It has time travel, art..."

Thanks Lilabird, it is now on my to read list and I'm looing forward to reading it.

Currently reading the Night Circus by by Erin Morgenstern. It is off to a good start. Erin Morgenstern

I was interested in getting this one for my Kindle. Let us know what you think. :)

Outlander, just started this book. Love it so far. :+

Hull Creek: A Novel of the Maine Coast
Having lived in upstate Maine for 6 years I remember a lot of the places mentioned in the book. Probably gave me a better appreciation for the story. Good solid read.

Fincalian wrote: "Colleen wrote: "Thanks Fincalian, I'll check it out."

Even if it doesn't make it to the shelves, it's an excellent book, and I thought these shelves needed more than just Haruki Murakami.

[b..."

Naomi is a great book.

Sarah's Key, The Book Thief, These two I couldn't stop talking about and sharing. Oh! The Wife's Tale loved this one too.

Kate wrote: "The Book Thief"

Added this one too (kind of new to this site). So much to take in with this one. A friend recommended it and I am so glad she did.

"It's Not My Mountain Anymore" Appalachian best seller. Supports preserving mountain heritage. (Foxfire Books) www.itsnotmymountainanymore.com
Also on Amazon and Kindle edition.

I'm new so don't want to make too many mistakes at the very beginning. Are we to add the books directly to the bookshelf (I added The Last Days of Plotemy Grey and few others) but wonder if I should simply have mentioned them here and allowed the moderators to add them? There are a few other books that aren't on the shelves that I feel are exceptional but will wait to hear the proper protocol before adding any more.

Hi Mikela,

You can add any, and as many, books as you like to the bookshelf, as long as you think they are exceptional. And you don't have to add the books here first. You don't have to add the books here at all if you don't want to.

I'm in a great deal of conflict as to what constitutes an exceptional book. There are a few books that I absolute love and to me they are exceptional but to others with a literary academic or "intellectual" background they might not be. I'm not talking fluff books but more serious works. On the other hand there are books like The Sea by John Banville that while his use of language and descriptive powers are wonderful, the book itself isn't great as it is too hard to identify with or to like the protagonist. Fugitive Pieces also falls into that category with her hauntingly beautiful prose but a story line that I found wanting. Any guidance or comments would be appreciated.

Mikela, There are so many books on the "Best Books Ever" that I disliked and could not finish some of them. Rather than say they are bad books, I would say they are not the kind of books I like to read. It doesn't make them bad (even tho' I think so!), they are just not what appeals to me. And some books I absolutely love that others don't. So, in my humble opinion, read what you love and discard the others that you don't like even if they are award winners. We are all different.

Quite honestly I never look for award winners anymore as too often I've been disappointed in them. I'll read a summary of the book (of an author that I'm unfamiliar with) and if it looks promising will go for it, if it doesn't will pass it by. Lately I've been blessed to read some amazing books and have learned to love the writing of J.M. Coetzee.

Mikela wrote: "I'm in a great deal of conflict as to what constitutes an exceptional book. There are a few books that I absolute love and to me they are exceptional but to others with a literary academic or "inte..."

HI Mikela,

Sorry it took so long to get back to you. If you think some of the books you've read are exceptional, go ahead and put them on the bookshelf and then you can write in the message box what you thought was exceptional about the book. We'd love to hear your thoughts and see your choices :)

I will have to add "Nobody's Fool" by Richard Russo and "Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Zafon as brilliantly written, wonderful books.

Hi, Colleen,

I tried to add a book to the shelf and I think it failed. Unless it has to be approved? Not sure. Also I was a bit unclear about the step having to do with creating a shelf. Maybe I messed that up and that's why it went poof.

Sorry if this caused any trouble . .. the book I tried to add is A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth . . .

HI Kristen,

I did find "A suitable boy" on the book shelf. Did you write a note saying that it took you 5 months to read the book? If you didn't write that note, then someone else put the book on the bookshelf.

Let me know if that is your note. If it is then you did fine putting the book on the shelf. If it is not your note, then I will type out how to add a book to the bookshelf. Just let me know.

Thanks for adding your exceptional book so we can all check it out as well :)

Hi, Colleen, thank you! But no -- that is not my note.

I also tried to add Pilgrim of Tinker Creek to see if I could figure out what I did wrong . . .

What I thought I was doing, when I added them, was also creating a place on the forum that shows the books I've added but that doesn't appear to show up either! Maybe I need to create that first, then add books to the shelf after?

Thanks in advance for your help :-)

Ok to add a book to the bookshelf.

1) Click on Bookshelf (Right hand side of page)
2)Type in name of book in search engine
3) When you find that book click "add to group"
4) You can type in the reason you liked the book in the "why this book?" box
5)Click on Choose shelf and click the box to choose where the books should be shelved. if the shelf doesn't exist, feel free to create a new shelf
6) Then click "save book to group"

Let me know if any of this is unclear or if you are still having a problem

I'm totally stumped.

http://www.goodreads.com/group/booksh...

I did a sort on date -- I don't see either book I've tried to add.

Where are you seeing Suitable Boy?

I did the steps you suggested, I just don't know where what I've added is going, I guess.

For Suitable Boy, I filled out "why this book" and it was apparently not saved; for both books I clicked on Choose Shelf; the first time I created a shelf (w/ my name); second time I added to that same shelf.

But the shelf isn't showing up on the Exceptional Reads forum that I can see.

Sorry to be so much trouble!

No problem, I'm in a mtg now but when I'm out ill take a look and email u.

I loved Shadow of the Wind too!

I'm a newby to this group, so I don't know if Michener's Hawaii has already been suggested as an exceptional book?

I love its scope and realism. It partly inspired me to write Fiji , a historical adventure-romance set in 19th Century Fiji and co-authored by my co-writer/son James Morcan.

Incidentally, we welcome reviews for Fiji: A Novel. The kindle edition's available free now to March 12 PST.

For me, an essential component of a great book is a meaningful, resonant ending. This usually involves some declaration of belief on the author's part, but it's not fashionable to make them, hence the open-ended ambiguity which gives the normal reader little satisfaction. If life is chaotic, books are the great repository of meaning and conclusions. When they fail to provide them as so many contemporary works of fiction do, then they fail to satisfy!

David wrote: " But what I propose here is a list of the Top 100 Literary Novels -- genius works for serious readers. No Stephen King .... No children's books. No SciFi. No non-fiction. No poetry or drama for now because this list is genre-specific. Not best-seller driven. Not mainstream fare. Not plot driven. Simply world-class literary novels."

Hi David.
I can be just as much of a book snob as anybody but are great literary works exclusively defined by their genre? I would suggest that "Fiasco" by Stanislaw Lem is deserving of your list whether it is described as science fiction or not. The theme and writing are serious - more thoughtful than plot driven - it is, I believe, a rather profound work.

There are also very rare books marketed to children which are literary in tone and scope.
Please may I assume there will be no Ayn Rand on this list? Many adore her for her philosophy but she was a dreadful writer. "The Fountainhead" in particular seemed very trashy-romance to me.

Colleen wrote: "Ok to add a book to the bookshelf.

1) Click on Bookshelf (Right hand side of page)
2)Type in name of book in search engine
3) When you find that book click "add to group"
4) You can type in the re..."

Does it take a long time to add a book? I'm trying to add one right now but the loading process doesn't seem to stop. I filled in every bar with info, just like you instructed.

I had the same problem for adding books to the shelf, have added Catch 22 to the 'please add to the bookshelf' discussion group and that seemed to work.

Think I've added my latest story Market Forces & Marilise a romantic comedy about money, sex and shopping

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007UB0RM8

I would like to add 2 trilogies: A Great Circle by Reynolds Price and The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies. Price is a writer of grand many-themed Southern sagas in the manner of William Faulkner. Davies is a Canadian author who writes with great wit and charm, also many-themed novels, often with Jungian themes and symbols.

I add Night Train to Lisbon: A Novel it was one of the best book I read this year, The Rose Labyrinthand and Falling Angels

Brand new and already received an acceptance to the ITW and three national magazine hit reviews. Hope you can check it out! www.tallentandlowery.blogspot.com

I don't know how to add :/
I want to add A Little Princess, The Selfish Giant, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Noughts & Crosses