Any Book Suggestions?

I'm always looking for book suggestions. Especially since I will have plenty of free time during the summer.

Please list some of your favorite books in the comments, who knows I might end up reading it and writing a review on this site.

Fool's Errand, Golden Fool, Fool's Fate

This is another trilogy by Robin Hobb, about the same characters as the Farseer Trilogy. While these stories aren't as fast paced and exciting as the first set, the characters' relationships and personalities are explored more. These books are also very good, even if I didn't like the ending. If you read the Farseer trilogy, you will love revisiting the characters in this trilogy.

Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin, Assassin's Quest

This trilogy by Robin Hobb is the best of her work. In this world, some people have the ability to bond with the living world around him, including animals, called the Wit. Other people have the Skill, which is a telepathic power. Few have both powers.

A young man with the Wit and the Skill is the subject of this trilogy. He is a half member of the royal family (born out of wedlock) who is brought to the royal palace to become an assassin.

Hobb's best attribute is her ability to make characters that you love, care about, and remember. This trilogy is extremely well written, never boring (rare for a series), and worth reading again.

The Alchemist

Another book that educated people read.

This is the story of a young man who goes on a journey and ends up learning about the universe, God, and himself. The first half is actually pretty good. But, towards the end, when the man is having his spiritual awakening, the book becomes preachy. Ugh.

This book only took about an hour to read, so I think it's worth it. I just prefer to make my own insights about man's soul and the heavens while enjoying a good story, instead of being preached to in a book.

Anna Karenina

I decided to tackle this book because I know that educated people are supposed to have read this. It was a long long book, and I'm just not sure it was worth the time, except for bragging rights of course.

Anna is a young woman living in Russia, and all kinds of things happen to her. People get married, have affairs, fall in and out of love, get killed, betray each other, and the like. The many many story lines in this book are much like those in any good Bronte book; however, there are so many characters to keep track of over such a long period of time that I stopped caring about the characters. Then, at the end, a corrupt person finds church, and the book turns preachy--which I do not like at all.

So, if you have hours and hours of time to read a book and want to be able to brag about it, go for it. If you want the same time period and type of story line, go for Pride and Prejudice.

Angels and Demons

This book was a really fun read. The story is well written and goes by quickly. If you've seen the Da Vinci code, this book is about the same premise--solving a mystery using ancient clues left by famous old people.

Brown says that his facts about Rome, Vatican City, the art and artists, and the Catholic church's rules and customs are all correct, which is what made this book so interesting to me. I recommend it highly to anyone who is interested in the origins of the early Catholic church or Roman history.

The Reader

I read this book because of the movie, which I didn't see. The writing was excellent--just the right amount of description without losing the pace of the story. However, the story was a little slow and a little puzzling--why on earth are we reading this story?

The book is about a woman who worked for the Nazi's, then moves away. She ends up living next door to an adolescent boy, whom she seduces. And that's about it for the story. Maybe I'm just not intellectual enough to get this book.