Monday

Monday Recommendation List

Random list of 10 books Monday! I have read and enjoyed each of these enough to flag for a potential personal library purchase.

Be bold and just choose randomly, stick to your normal genre...or step outside of your normal reading zone and try something you usually wouldn’t. You can look up the descriptions at Amazon.com, or search my blog for old posts by entering the title in the little search box in the top left-hand corner and clicking the magnifying glass.

This week-- 10 recommendations (in no particular order):

1. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
2. Superfreakanomics by Steven Levitt
3. Say You Love Me  by Johanna Lindsey
4. Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
5. Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
6. The Collector by John Fowles
7. Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama
8. A Time to Kill by John Grisham
9. Are You There Vodka, It’s Me Chelsea by Chelsea Handler
10. Black Ops Series (starts with Show No Mercy) by Cindy Gerard

Trying to Save Piggy Sneed

Trying to Save Piggy Sneed by John Irving

My rating:

4 stars—I really liked it.

My thoughts:

For anyone that loves John Irving, this book is a must read. It includes some memoir/essays and some short stories. I enjoyed his commentary and insight.

Description from Goodreads.com:

“A collection of one dozen short works includes the title piece, a loving portrait of the author's grandmother, and additional stories, including "The Pension Grillparzer" and "Dinner at the White House"

Here is a treat for John Irving addicts and a perfect introduction to his work for the uninitiated. To open this spirited collection, Irving explains how he became a writer. There follow six scintillating stories written over the last twenty years ending with a homage to Charles Dickens. This irresistible collection cannot fail to delight and charm.

The first collection of short pieces--two of them previously unpublished--by the author of The World According to Garp includes memoirs, six short stories, and essays on Charles Dickens and Gu+a5nter Grass. Reprint. Tour.

This gem, a delightful collection of shorter works, both fiction and nonfiction, written by one of the country's finest--and funniest--writers, includes a living portrait of Irving's grandmother, a new, never-before-published essay, six scintillating short stories--including the O. Henry Award-winning "Interior Space"--and two essays on Irving's favorite 19th-century novelist, Charles Dickens. Trying to Save Piggy Sneed is John Irving at the top of his form.”

Monday Recommendations

Monday Recommendation List

Random list of 10 books Monday! I have read and enjoyed each of these enough to flag for a potential personal library purchase.

Be bold and just choose randomly, stick to your normal genre...or step outside of your normal reading zone and try something you usually wouldn’t. You can look up the descriptions at Amazon.com, or search my blog for old posts by entering the title in the little search box in the top left-hand corner and clicking the magnifying glass.

This week-- 10 recommendations (in no particular order):

1. On Writing by Stephen King
2. The World According to Garp by John Irving
3. Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office by Lois Frankel
4. Eat This, Not That by David Zinczenko
5. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
6. The Nazi Officer’s Wife by Edith Hahn Beer
7. The Good Food Revolution by Will Allen
8. Guts  by Kristen Johnsten
9. At Home by Bill Bryson
10. Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas

Monday Recommendation List

Monday Recommendation List

Random list of 10 books Monday! I have read and enjoyed each of these enough to flag for a potential personal library purchase.

Be bold and just choose randomly, stick to your normal genre...or step outside of your normal reading zone and try something you usually wouldn’t. You can look up the descriptions at Amazon.com, or search my blog for old posts by entering the title in the little search box in the top left-hand corner and clicking the magnifying glass.

This week-- 10 recommendations (in no particular order):

1. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
2. Spirited by Rebecca Rosen
3. The Book of Joe by Jonathan Tropper
4. Genesis  by Bernard Beckett
5. Say You’re One of Them  by Uwem Akpan
6. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
7. Raising Freethinkers by Dale McGowan
8. Freakanomics by Steven Levitt
9. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
10. Schindler’s List  by Thomas Keneally

The Cider House Rules

The Cider House Rules by John Irving

My rating (out of 5 stars):

3 stars—I liked it.

Description from Goodreads.com:

“Raised from birth in the orphanage at St. Cloud's, Maine, Homer Wells has become the protege of Dr. Wilbur Larch, its physician and director. There Dr. Larch cares for the troubled mothers who seek his help, either by delivering and taking in their unwanted babies or by performing illegal abortions. Meticulously trained by Dr. Larch, Homer assists in the former, but draws the line at the latter. Then a young man brings his beautiful fiancee to Dr. Larch for an abortion, and everything about the couple beckons Homer to the wide world outside the orphanage ...”

My Thoughts:

John Irving is one of my favorite authors. This fell into a third place finish for me behind “A Prayer for Owen Meany” and “The World According to Garp.” So far, anyway! I still have some Irving books to read!

Irving immerses the reader into a world of complex characters and moral conundrums. There is a richness to Irving’s voice that could never be duplicated.

I’ve not seen the movie based on this book, but might be interested in checking it out!