Good Reads

Read on

February 20, 2012

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these and I’m on the hunt for new reads! Leave any recommendations here please!

If you yourself are also in search of new reading material, see my earlier posts on books I like: Good Reads 1 and Good Reads 2.

Now, onto the books.

Thirteen Reasons WhyThirteen Reasons Why: Jay Asher

This book isn’t the best written book I’ve ever read, but it’s heartbreakingly beautiful and will make you think long and hard about the way you treat people. A teen commits suicide but before she goes she leaves 13 tapes on the doorsteps of 13 people explaining how each one of them is one of the reasons why she chose to end her life.

DivergentDivergent: Veronica Roth

I absolutely loved this. It’s another Young Adult novel (which apparently I’m addicted to, who knew) also set in a futuristic world where everybody is divided into different sects according to their dominating characteristic: Abnegation, Amity, Dauntless and Erudite. Anybody who can’t be easily categorized and is considered to be a Divergent. The main character realizes she’s Divergent and the book is about what happens to her as she switches sects and then is forced to go to war against her former family’s and sect. Fascinating, I couldn’t put it down. I read it from start to finish in a couple of hours.

Naturally Thin: Unleash Your SkinnyGirl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of DietingNaturally Thin: Eve Adamson and Bethenny Frankel

My love for Bethenny is already documented so I figured why not buy her book and support her business, since I like her so much. I’ve never read a diet book before and I probably won’t ever again. That means you should really take what I say with a grain of salt. I liked the book. It was a lot of common sense “rules” but for some reason hearing another person say them pounds them into your head a little more. Now I have a little Bethenny food-devil (ok, she’s probably the angel) sitting on my shoulder telling me to “balance my account” when I drink too much champagne :)

Wither (Chemical Garden)Wither: Lauren DeStefano

This book is very similar to The Handmaids Tale, in that it’s also set in a futuristic society where women are sold to be baby making machines to a husband (who can have multiple wives). I liked it more though. In The Handmaids Tale they purposely keep the characters left feeling vague enough that they could be anybody but Wither is descriptive enough to make you know and care about the characters. I thought it was a really fun book and I’m looking forward to the sequel coming out!

Little Bee: A NovelLittle Bee: Chris Cleave

THIS IS THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ.

Too much caps lock? Sorry. I really don’t have the words to say how much I loved this book. It was the most beautifully written piece of literature I have ever, ever read. I went through the whole thing underlining passages just because the words sounded like music. Example:

“That the ocean covers seven tenths of the earth’s surface, and yet my husband could make me not notice it. that is how big he was for me.”

And

“Or look how the sari girl could fit the entire color of yellow into one empty see-through plastic bag.”

And

“Everything was happiness and singing when I was a little girl. There was plenty of time for it. We did not have hurry. We did not have electricity or fresh water or sadness either, because none of these had been connected to our village yet.”

The story in and of itself is an amazing one — a Nigerian girl meets a British couple on the beach while fleeing from men who want to murder her and her sister. They witness something horrible that haunts them all forever and the couple goes back to the UK. Then later on the Nigerian girl stows away and flees to the UK where she is in a detention center for years and then gets out and finds the couple — the husband then commits suicide.

The story got me, but the way it was written got me even more. You know how some people wish they could sing, or play an instrument or have some other talent? If I could have any talent in the world, it would be to write like this.

Incendiary: A Novel (Book Club Readers Edition)Incendiary: Chris Cleave

After I read Little Bee, of course I immediately went out and downloaded Chris Cleave’s other book without reading any reviews. I really enjoyed Incendiary as well but not the way I fell in Love with Little Bee. It is a riveting story about a lower class woman whose husband and son are killed in a terrorist attack in London (while she’s cheating on her husband with another man). I couldn’t put it down either and I think if I had read this before Little Bee I would’ve liked it more, but I had been expecting it to be written in the same style and it wasn’t at all. That being said, the man is just an amazing writing and whatever style he chooses to do, he does it well. He has a genius knack for putting you in the head of the character, like no other writer I’ve ever read.

Outlander: Diana Gabaldon

These books are incredibly good. They make me feel smarter because I learned a lot about Scottish/English/U.S. history. But there’s an incredible love story at the heart of it all. There are 7 books in the series so far, with one more coming. I read all 7 in a row without taking breaks to read anything else, that’s how much I enjoyed them. The only thing I didn’t absolutely adore is that they’re all really long books. I almost wish they were broken up in to 14 books of half the size. But I loved them and now I’m really hoping somebody makes them into movies because they’d be awesome films — great action scenes, lots of sex and romance and incredibly likable characters!

This is getting too long as it is and I know if I don’t write about all the books I’ve read lately I’ll never get around to mentioning them in my next one because by then I’ll have read even more good material. So forgive the lack of review, but here are a few other books that I read and enjoyed:

The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial PacificThe Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific : by J. Marteen Troost.

Swept: Love with a Chance of DrowningSwept: Love With A Chance of Drowning: Torre Roche

The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the WorldThe Art of Non-Conformity: Chris Guillebeau

Between Yesterday and Tomorrow: Transforming Ordinary Life into an Extraordinary AdventureBetween Yesterday and Tomorrow: Charmaine Pauls

The Long Run (Kindle Single)The Long Run: Mishka Shubaly

 

Also, if you purchase any of the books off of the links in this post it goes to my Amazon affiliate store and I’ll receive a small commission. Thanks for supporting me!

31 Comments
Subscribe to comment feed

Facebook comments:

One Trackback

30 Comments

  1. Now the proud owner of a Kindle, I am loving these recommendations- and hating as must.stop.downloading.books!
    I would recommend The Hunger Games trilogy- very addictive. I’m reading The Historian {Elizabeth Kostova] at the mo- not the greatest book written but also very compelling. I’ve got The NIght Circus ready to go next, supposed to be good! :)

    Comment by Mary — February 21, 2012 @ 2:37 am

    Reply

    • I loved The Hunger Games. Now I’m just waiting for the movies to come out and ruin them. Though I have faith in the main girl so we’ll see.

      Thanks for the other recommendations!

      Comment by kyle — February 21, 2012 @ 9:32 am

      Reply

  2. I loved little bee too – although from the sounds of it not as much as you did ;)

    I’ll have a think of other books that I’ve read and let you know – I’ve been slacking on the readign front recently.

    Comment by Deidre — February 21, 2012 @ 3:34 am

    Reply

    • I don’t know if anybody loved Little Bee as much as I did but really that book just spoke to me. The way it was written was so beautiful.

      Comment by kyle — February 21, 2012 @ 9:32 am

      Reply

  3. Divergent was so good! I cannot wait for Insurgent. I think you’d also really like Delirium – another YA one – and the Mortal Instruments series if you haven’t read that yet. I’ve heard Little Bee is great, but I haven’t read it yet because it also just sounds so sad.

    Comment by Emily in Chile — February 21, 2012 @ 5:44 am

    Reply

    • Oh the Delirium book was one of the ones that my Kindle recommended to me and I thought it sounded good but then I thought maybe I should stop reading YA. But whatever, twist my rubber arm, I’ll read it :)

      Little Bee is sad. But sad and beautiful. It’s so worth reading.

      Comment by kyle — February 21, 2012 @ 9:33 am

      Reply

  4. Thanks for all the recommendations! I just added Little Bee and Incendiary to my list. Will read the second one first ;)
    Have you considered joining http://www.goodreads.com ? It’s a great way to keep track of your reading lists and see how friends rate books they’ve read. I’m a big fan. Just sent you an invite in case you are interested.

    Comment by Petunia — February 21, 2012 @ 5:53 am

    Reply

    • I’ve been avoiding that site because I don’t need more social media to keep track of! I’ve really just been pinning my favorite reads and even with that I’ve been slacking. Oooook I’ll join, only because I like you :)

      Comment by kyle — February 21, 2012 @ 9:34 am

      Reply

  5. Just finished Little Bee last night. I loved it and agree that it is beautifully written.

    Comment by Rita — February 21, 2012 @ 4:03 pm

    Reply

    • I’m so glad you liked it too!

      Comment by Kyle — February 22, 2012 @ 9:35 am

      Reply

  6. little bee was probably my favorite book in 2010!!! i took it to europe and i thought it was going to last me all trip – i finished it in 3-4 days! LOVED it!!!! the help was probably my favorite in 2011. so far, i’ve only read “the lost symbol” by dan brown and it is good. Just like the davinci code: easy to read and a good mystery. I have incendiary at the top of my list and the last one i got from pilar sordo. They are short and i want to read them but i’m a little spoiled w my kindle and i dont want paper books anymore!!!

    Comment by Catalina — February 21, 2012 @ 5:55 pm

    Reply

    • You are obsessed with Pilar Sordo, jejejejjee, pero esta bien porque ella es increible!

      Comment by Kyle — February 22, 2012 @ 9:35 am

      Reply

      • jajaja i know… pero es q aca no los venden!! me toca traerlos de COL y ecuador!! no sera q la puedo conocer en santiago??? jajaja

        Comment by Catalina — February 22, 2012 @ 5:47 pm

        Reply

  7. i liked little bee but i think i liked it less after i processed it more, for some reason? like i read it 2 summers ago and i remember LOVING it but now i look back and i’m like eh…did you hear it’s going to be a movie with nicole kidman?

    anthropology of an american girl is a good one i recently read. it’s a novel about a girl growing up in the early 80s. i also really liked swamplandia! but it’s pretty strange, although gorgeous writing.

    Comment by carrie murphy — February 21, 2012 @ 7:45 pm

    Reply

    • Whaaaaat, I didn’t know it was going to be a movie and I don’t really like Nicole Kidman so that sucks. Who is going to be LIttle Bee? Now I’m concerned…

      Comment by Kyle — February 22, 2012 @ 9:36 am

      Reply

  8. I LOVE The Outlander series. It is by far my favorite series EVER! So glad you enjoyed it, it too. I recently read The Hunger Games Trilogy and it was great. (Teen fiction – so they’re short books unlike the Outlander series). Happy Reading!

    Comment by Justine — February 22, 2012 @ 9:34 am

    Reply

    • I have already read and loved The Hunger Games!!!

      Comment by Kyle — February 22, 2012 @ 9:36 am

      Reply

  9. i recommend “unbroken” by laura hillenbrand (and “seabiscuit” by her as well if you haven’t read it). they’re both non-fiction and meticulously researched, but read like novels. i am a complete disappointment to my father and know NOTHING about history, so both of those books made me feel smarter ;-)
    i also loved “bossypants” by tina fey, but you’ve probably already read that.

    Comment by caroline shea — February 22, 2012 @ 4:23 pm

    Reply

    • I don’t think I’ve ever read anything by her. I will check them out.

      And yes, I read Bossypants and freaking loved it!

      Comment by kyle — February 24, 2012 @ 7:45 pm

      Reply

  10. I love these posts because I always get more books to add to my Kindle wish list! I can’t remember if I have recommended these books before, so forgive me if I am repeating myself. I read Falling Together by Marisa de los Santos and enjoyed it. I am also reading Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton. It’s a memoir written by a chef who got her start in NYC, went to U of M for creative writing, and then went back to NYC to open a fairly well known restaurant. It kind of reminded me of The Glass Castle in some ways-especially when she recounted her childhood. I also re-read the Millennium (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) series…if you haven’t read them, please do! I also liked Banker to the Poor by Muhamad Yunus-it’s about microfinancing. Kind of dry at times but it’s a very interesting concept. Now let me list the books I want to read: The Lord John series by Diana Gabaldon; The Happiness Project; Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe; The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot; and Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. I am really getting into memoirs and non-fiction but I loved me some Outlander series too!

    Comment by Tara B — February 22, 2012 @ 6:43 pm

    Reply

    • I have read the Millennium series, but I actually didn’t like them that much. I mean I did because I couldn’t put them down, but I didn’t like the way they were written.

      The Blood Bones and Butter book sounds REALLY good! Sold, I’ll get that next.

      I FORGOT about the Lord John series. I need to read that too. You’ll like The Happiness Project and also The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is really good.

      Thank you for adding even more to my list :)

      Comment by kyle — February 24, 2012 @ 7:47 pm

      Reply

  11. What a fabulous list, hun. :) Oh, I miss reading so much. I’m on the lookout for English book stores here so I can get back to being a bookworm. I just can’t wait to be able to speak Spanish so I can read books in that language too!

    Comment by Ceri — February 22, 2012 @ 11:23 pm

    Reply

    • Buy a Kindle! Best travel device EVER!

      Comment by kyle — February 24, 2012 @ 10:15 am

      Reply

  12. I’ve been wanting to read Wither and Little Bee and will definitely pick them up from your links. :)

    Comment by Jenn Dyer — February 23, 2012 @ 7:26 am

    Reply

  13. Something isn’t working right with the links though.

    Comment by Jenn Dyer — February 23, 2012 @ 7:32 am

    Reply

    • They’re working for me today. Yay!

      Comment by Jenn Dyer — February 24, 2012 @ 9:32 am

      Reply

      • I had my web lady fix them, I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong! Turns out I’m just technologically dumb :)

        Comment by kyle — February 24, 2012 @ 9:36 am

        Reply

  14. Hello my love! I have some good books for you to try!! And actually, since you have a Kindle- I think I can “loan” them to you from my Kindle, can’t I? We should look into that and save ourselves some pennies!!!

    1. Night Road, Kristin Hannah (EASY read and you really can’t stop once you start. I can’t say she is a brilliant writer but I have read her other book “firefly lane” and liked that, as well. These are good books if you are looking for something that doesn’t require alot of learning or thinking…
    2. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs (you HAVE TO READ THIS. I loved it! I believe it’s YA but its another one that is almost fantasy-like but sooooo good. And there are pictures in the book that I know you will appreciate)
    3. Secret Daughter, Shilpi Somaya Gowda (I can’t say I LOVED this one but I couldn’t put it down. I wasn’t crazy about the writer’s style but I loved the overall premise of the book and the fact that it took place in India, somewhere I would love to go)
    4. Flat Out Love, Jessica Park (This one is very strange, but another easy read. I actually recommended it to Jessie’s book club and there were mixed reviews, but Jessie liked it :) Its a very easy read and you really can’t stop reading once you start, but it’s not brilliantly written and the overall context is alittle strange. With that said, I really loved it and it was like 3.00 on Kindle, so how can you beat that?!

    Let me know what you think or if you decide to try any! I need new books, so I wrote down your suggestions. I’ve tried to pick up “Little Bee” on multiple occasions and couldn’t get past the first few pages! Perhaps it’s worth another try?!

    Catch up soon!!! XO

    Comment by Julie — February 23, 2012 @ 9:24 am

    Reply

    • I love you, let’s Skype.

      Comment by kyle — February 24, 2012 @ 10:15 am

      Reply

    • And thank you for these recommendations, I haven’t read any of those. Yay new books!

      Comment by kyle — February 24, 2012 @ 7:48 pm

      Reply

Leave a Reply