Tuesday, March 4, 2008

WFMW: Watcha Readin'?

I heart me some Works for Me Wednesdays. Every week Shannon at, Rocks in My Dryer hosts a huge list of tip givers anxious to share their best tips. Oh, everything from potty training to cheap breakfast recipes...
Once in a while Shannon stirs up the dryer a bit with a Backwards Works for Me Wednesday. In this case, the tip givers are tip seekers.

So, as tonight's Tip Seeker I'm looking for book recommendations. I love to read and I'm always on the lookout for a good book, so Hit me with your best book! Watcha readin'? Don't be shy, I'll take any recommendation- fiction, non-fiction, Christian, secular, novels, books for me, books for the boys, parenting books, cookbooks, coffee table books, how-to books,...

Eager readers want to know...

48 comments:

Katz said...

I'm reading "Strangling Your Husband Is Not An Option" by Merrilee Browne Boyack

Sheila said...

Here is a list of my recent reads:

- What is the What - Dave Eggers (lost boy of Sudan)
- Goodnight Nobody - Jennifer Weiner (chick lit murder mystery and spoof of suburbia)
- #5 in the Mitford series by Jan Karon - highly recommended. Christian fiction but I hesitate to label it that.
- Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld
- Atonement by Ian McEwan

Mrs. Gray's Class said...

Of course I had to come by to say "hello". I love the title of your blog. I have a Goodreads recommendation widget on my blog - pretty cool little tool if you want to check them out. Right now I'm reading The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd - she also wrote The Secret Lives of Bees, which is another great book.

Pamelotta said...

Since you mentioned coffe table books, I'll suggest one of my favorites. It's called Material World: A Global Family Portrait. I don't know where I heard about it, but I got it and loved it and gave it away. I need another copy. It shows families in other countries standing outside their homes with all their possesions. Kind of humbling.

Then, when you're done looking at that, you can read Women in the Material World and Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. Fascinating!

Stacy said...

I just started reading Jodi Picoult novels. I have loved the three I've read so far. I'm also reading Karen Kingsbury. I just love her books.

Phyllis Sommer said...

excellent read: The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

Couldn't put it down.

Anonymous said...

I usually read books about serial killers - ok not a good opening line I know, but it's the truth. My favorite author is Harold Schechter. I typically don't read any fiction at all but I was once recommended a book by a friend that I put off reading for a long time. Once I pick it up I couldn't put it down. The Handmaid's Tale - awesome book! Although if you aren't up for racy topics and violent acts I'd avoid it.

Unknown said...

Been done this for awhile, but it still "haunts" me, in one of those good "sticks with you and makes you think" kind of ways.

Labelled as a "modern day Pilgrim's Progress" by Eugene Peterson; "The Shack" by William P. Young. Wild ride. Startling, Moving, Thought provoking, Tear Jerking, great literature with provoking "theology"... words cannot describe.... check it out.

Robin said...

I just finished Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper, and it was EXCELLENT. Bring your tissues though.

Jenny said...

I love Karen Kingsbury books. If you are new to her work, I would suggest the Redemption series. You can most likely find them at the library.

Right now I'm reading "The Most Important Place on Earth - What a Christian Home Looks Like and How to Build One" by Robert Wolgemuth. I'm really enjoying it so far. Lots of great ideas and encouragement.

Happy Reading!

Kathy in WA said...

I'm reading a children's book, The Mysterious Benedict society, right now. I got it at the library (audio version) and fell in love with it right away. Ordered it for myself and some friends. My older kids grabbed the book and finished it (I was TRYING to read it aloud but was obviously going too slowly). My middle ds stole the audio cds and finished it in his room.

I'm the only one who still has a chapter left to go. Even dh managed to get his hands on a copy and finish it.

Duckabush Blog

Great question!

Cindy said...

I am reading "The Everyday Family Chore System" by Vicki Bentley (www.everydayhomemaking.com); however, the book that's been on my wish-list for a while now is "The Pursuit of Holiness" by Jerry Bridges. Had it, read part of it, gave it away, now need to buy a new copy.

Also, I second Pamelotta's rave about "Material World." Great book!!

Beth Cotell said...

I just finished The Kite Runner and before that 1000 White Women and the Secret Lives of Bees.

All were very good books but the Kite Runner was the best.

penguinsandladybugs said...

Boundaries by Drs. Cloud & Townsend and For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn. These are non-fiction but very, very good!

Amy said...

I'm reading 'Tis A Gift to be Simple, as well as a book about children's personalities that I can't remember the name of right now. (There's a widget in my sidebar if you really want the title, LOL!)

You might like the site GoodReads - you can read book reviews by all your friends. I've found some good books that way!

Britni said...

I just read Nineteen Minutes and My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult and loved both. I'm actually part of a book club blog that posts reviews on what they're reading right now. You should check it out. There are normally some pretty good recommendations.

Sister Honey Bunch/Judi maloney said...

Bitter is the New Black. Love it.

Amy said...

I am reading Quaker Summer by Lisa Samson

Laurel said...

i know there have been a couple recommendations for jodi picoult - but i recommend everything she's written!

for mysteries, i've been really enjoying p.d.james lately.

i also like karen kingsbury... john grisham... dean koontz (but he's SCARY)... daniel silva... angela hunt... elizabeth goudge (she's not current, so you might have to request her from the library, but try pilgrim's inn.)

Jendeis said...

Love, love, love Diana Gabaldon's books, starting with Outlander.

I liked The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs. Also recommend: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, Wild Swans by Jung Chang, Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell.

ames said...

I recently signed up for a GoodReads (www.goodreads.com account to keep track of what I have read and also to see what others with similar tastes like.

I just read Water for Elephants (liked it), I'm currently slogging through Smilla's Sense of Snow (slow) and on my bedside table patiently waiting for me are Shogun (woohoo 1200 pages!) and The Poisonwood Bible. You can see my list o' books here, but if your taste is not the same as mine you can at least look up other books that may be!

Wifey said...

I just finished Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult and am working on Coffee Rings by Y. Lehman. As a recommendation, though, I'd say anything by Lisa Samson or Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.

Jessica said...

I am re-reading The Purpose Driven Life, which I will say has been rocking my world this time around. Also, I am reading The Shack by William Young. It is awesome and my advice in reading would be to read it just to read, not to try and "get" something out of it.

Stephanie said...

My last book that I loved was The Night Journal by Elizabeth Crook. I love using Goodreads.com to keep track of my books. Here is a link to my list. http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/834375?shelf=read

CC said...

"Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and "Blue Like Jazz". I can relate to your profile a lot since I am a wife to a seminary student, mom to 2 young kids, and elementary school teacher! Hense, very little time to read.... ;)

Dianna said...

Everything by Shannon Hale, especially The Goose Girl, and Spindle's End by Robin McKinley. Fantasy.

Unknown said...

I'm in the middle of the unabridged version of Les Miserables. But I'm also reading Get Out of That Pit by Beth Moore, and Potty Training Sucks.

Hugs,
Melinda

Stacie@HobbitDoor said...

Kathy Reichs is one of my all time favorite authors (she is a forensic anthropologist--it's where they got the idea for the TV show "Bones). Lori Wick, Francine Rivers and Angela Hunt are all excellent. Looks like you've been give a lot of good ideas--I may adopt a few myself. Happy reading!

Gettysburg Mom said...

Hello there- I'm in the midst of reading The Cat Who... series by Lilian Jackson Braun. I tend to read a clump of books by one author because when I visit the library with three kids, I can find an author and grab a stack of books. These are not intellectual by any means, but sometimes reading should just be fun!

ttelroc said...

Funny you should ask this question, I sort of answered it on my blog a few days ago LOL I was talking about what I had on my coffeetable and on my bedside table. I am loving every one of the books I mentioned... I've either read most of the books or a few chapters, none of them are duds.

Come take a look.

http://ttelroc.blogspot.com/2008/03/books.html

I've also got a WFMW post asking how to keep in touch with my 4 year old niece.

You all have a great day!
Kristin

(Can't wait to write down all of these book suggestions!!)

MT said...

I'm reading Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. Totally intriguing and thought-provoking!

Marianne at Writer-Mommy

Hopewell said...

Just finished Neta Jackson's "Yada Yada Prayer Group"--good, light reading. Also hilarious Frank Schaeffer's Calvin Becker books--"Portofino," "Saving Grandma" and "Zermatt." Warning--these do poke fun at Calvinists and show missionaries in a not-so-good light, but are hilarious. He is the son of Francis and Edith Schaeffer who founded L'Abri.

Miriam said...

I love anything by John Piper (theologist- quoted by all the other theologists), especially Future Grace.

For fiction (which has got to be meaty or I won't spend time on it) I love Cormac McCarthy (All the Pretty Horses, No Country for Old Men, The Road, The Crossing ), Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth (my whole family 3 generations loved that one), and for sort of poetic autobiographical faith journeys you can't beat Annie Dillard, Don Miller's Searching for God Knows What (somebody else mentioned his Blue Like Jazz but I like Searching... better) or Kathleen Norris ( Dakota 's her best).

Have fun!

Ronnica said...

I'm reading The Brothers K by David James Duncan. It seems good, but I don't like to recommend a book before I know how it ends! It does have more language than I'd prefer, however. I'll be posting a review of it on The Book Nook Club when I complete it (probably next week).

Treasures From Heaven said...

I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old and I just finished reading "Raising Godly Tomatoes" by Elizabeth Krueger.

I have not read alot of parenting book because I wanted God to lead me and trust my instinct, but this book opened my eyes in a whole new way. I highly recommend it. She also has a website and you can read the book on her site at www.raisinggodlytomatoes.com

I am also reading "The Excellent Wife" by Martha Peace.

Jessica (jjrm.wordpress.com)
Thanks for the comment!

Kim said...

Have you read any of the Jan Karon books? Both my hubby and I love her books featuring Father Tim and all the characters in fictional Mitford, North Carolina. We wanna move there! :-)
I'm also a fan of mysteries by J. A. Jance, Earlene Fowler, Rita Mae Brown...
I really enjoyed Lynn Cheney's autobiography "Blue Skies, No Fences" about growing up in Wyoming.
And while I haven't read it yet, I've read other books by Diane Ackerman and she's such a superb writer, so I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest her latest, "The Zookeeper's Wife". I caught just a few minutes of an interview with her on C-Span recently and it sounds really good. Based on the true story of the zookeeper and his wife in Warsaw, Poland, who sheltered Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII. It's the next book on my reading list!

The (Almost) Amazing Mammarino said...

"God Said Yes" by Heather Hornback-Bland, AWESOME BOOK!!!!! She was accidentally run over by her mother at age 4, has had 187+ operations, 13 medical miracles, and has led the most incredible life! A must read!

Amanda said...

Valley of the Dolls is my all time favorite book EVER! It has a sequal too :)

Mindy said...

I am currently reading Symphony of Secrets by Sharon Hinck. It's a great fiction read, especially if you're a music lover.

MaryLu said...

Ok, none of mine are original. I just read through everyone's recommendations and I am echoing a lot of opinions.
Deceptively Delicious-great cookbook!
Anything Jan Karon-Mitford Especially. Love them, rereading them now.
The Excellent Wife, by Martha Peace, deals with that nasty word, submission!! Love it, thought provoking, and life changing!
One more great cookbook, Mega Cooking by Jill Bond, good stuff, 30 meals in 2 days in the freezer, dinner done!

Jennifer P. said...

Whoa-ho! This looks like a lot of great books! I haven't read all the comments, so hopefully I'm not doubling up too much! I love "The Dangerous Book for Boys:--my boys have really taken to a lot of the ideas, and "An Inconvenient Book" by Glenn Beck--laughed all the way through and learned a lot too!

Kristy said...

Thanks for the wedding gift ideas! I think, if I didn't need to fly to the wedding, I would definitely do that. As it is, I've settled on something that will fit a little bit better in my suitcase, but I'm keeping your idea in mind for the next wedding I go to!

As for book ideas - most of what I read is fiction (especially Christian fiction), and my favorite authors are Brock and Bodie Thoene and Dee Henderson. The Thoenes write historical fiction that will make you feel like you've actually lived through the stuff (the Zion Covenant, Zion Chronicles, and Zion Legacy series and Shiloh Autumn are just amazing). Dee Henderson write these mystery / romance stories that are good reads, but not fluff, either. I especially love the O'Malley series. Enjoy!

tommie said...

I am reading The Firefly by PT Deutermann. It was one of my husband's books he had left lying out.

Thanks for visiting my PhotoHunt.

Happy Sunday!

tommie said...

I am reading The Firefly by PT Deutermann. It was one of my husband's books he had left lying out.

Thanks for visiting my PhotoHunt.

Happy Sunday!

The (Almost) Amazing Mammarino said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog and sharing your book recommendations for boys! (And I'm sorry I provided the wrong link. Thanks for taking the time to find the right page!) I will definitely check out the Minnie and Moo books. They sound perfect!

Ter said...

pop by my blog, i'm always posting book reviews. :) I think I'm going to start putting "currently reading" in my sidebar...

Jenny said...

Infidel by Ted Dekker, I love his books!

Jen

Anonymous said...

Hi, I tagged you at my blog!