I’ve been tossing an idea around for a while and I think it’s time to out with it already.
People email me for book recommendations all the time, but it’s hard to recommend books in a vacuum. If I’m going to have any chance of picking a title you’re actually going to enjoy, I need to know what you love and what you hate.
So, let’s try something new. Would you like me to recommend a few books I think you’d enjoy?
Then tell me in comments:
- 3 books you love.
- 1 book you hate (if that’s too strong, tell me one you felt “meh” about).
- the last book you read.
I’ll recommend personalized picks in a future blog post.
Comments are open. Go for it!
P.S. Want to see if we have similar taste in books? Check out my 2013 favorites, the books I keep coming back to, and the books and reading archives.
207 comments
You. Are. AWESOME Anne!!! I’ve already added a lot to my ‘to-read’ list based on your recommendations, will definitely take you up on your generous offer 🙂
Love: Fangirl, Harry potter, the giver, hunger games, wrinkle in time, anything dan brown
Hate: historical fiction
Last read: daring greatly, and where’d you go Bernadette
Thanks!!!
This sounds exciting! I’m looking forward to reading your picks for others (or for me 🙂
Books that I love (which are all parts of series that I love)
1. The Quilter’s Apprentice (Jennifer Chiaverini)
2. These Happy Golden Years (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
3. 44 Scotland Street (Alexander McCall Smith)
A book that I wasn’t too excited about was The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. I wanted to like this book, but I think there were to many characters and literary references and I got a bit overwhelmed.
The last book I read was Birds of a Feather by Jaqueline Winspear (and I loved it!)
eish… grammar
“too many characters”
Oh man, I struggled with the Eyre Affair too. I got about halfway through and realized I had absolutely no idea what was going on.
Loved:
The Guernsey literary and potato peel pie society
the fault in our stars
the hunger games
loathed:
The casual vacancy
last read:
Witches of east end
currently reading the red tent if that helps
Loved:
Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
Terrier by Tamora Pierce
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society
Didn’t like:
Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs
Currently reading: Jitterbug Perfume
Loved: What Alice Forgot, Divergent, Maisie Dobbs books
Did Not Like: Gilead
Reading now: Bess Crawford series by Charles Todd
I loved the recommended pairings of books post (I think it was on your blog).
3 I love:
Pride and Prejudice (too obvious?)
Gaudy Night, and everything by Dorothy L. Sayers
Crunchy Con Conservatives, by Rod Dreher
1 I hate:
Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
Last I read:
The Fault in our Stars, by John Green (which I avoided for awhile because it looked depressing, but which I loved! To quote Larry the Cucumber, ” I laughed. I cried. It moved me, Bob.”
Just have to jump in and ask if you’ve read John Green’s others. An Abundance of Katherines is my favorite.
I’m listening to the audio of Looking for Alaska, but took a break from it. I think An Abundance of Katherines is my next choice!
Oh! Love Dorothy Sayers!
DOROTHY SAYERS 4-EVER!!!!
YES to hating Wicked…times 1000! I loved the music from the musical, and that the story was a really cool idea, so I decided to read the book. I hated it so much that I actually recycled it with all my other paper products rather than pass it on to some unsuspecting victim. XD Some books are just too bad to share!
1. LOVED:
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield
Amazing Adventures of a Nobody by Leon Logothetis
My Stroke of Insight by Jill Boyle Taylor
(I know, I know, it’s 4. I can’t be trusted)
2. HATED:
A Confederacy of Dunces by Toole
3. Cress (Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer
3 I love:
1. Fresh Wind Fresh Fire, by Jim Cymbala
2. Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers
3. The Complete Works of E.M. Bounds on Prayer
3b. The Help (because I just can’t choose only 3)
1 I didn’t like – but wanted to: Blue Like Jazz
Last I read: Cost of DIscipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Oo, love this idea!
Love: The Time Traveler’s Wife, Atonement, Into Thin Air
Hate: Twilight
Last Read: Quiet: The Power of Introverts (upon your recommendation)
Can’t wait to see what you recommend for everyone!
Ooh! fun fun fun. Thank you! I’ve enjoyed many of your recommendations since finding your blog last summer.
3 more recent loves:
What Alice Forgot, The Help, Under the Banner of Heaven
Hated: Gone Girl (the story was addictive but in the end, I just felt incredibly icky)
Last book I read: Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munro
Oh my gosh, I loved Under the Banner of Heaven! Have you read Into Thin Air or Into the Wild?
Wasn’t it wild?!? I loved Krakauer’s writing but I’ve stayed away from Into Thin Air and Into the Wild because I was afraid they’d be heavy and sad. Should I read them anyway?
They are fabulous. It’s the same sort of people living on the edge mindset as Under the Banner of Heaven. But with adventure thrown in. Krakauer could write about tree bark, and I’d be mesmerized.
Ha! I know exactly what you mean. The man is magic with a story. UTBofH read like a novel! Okay, you’ve convinced me with the other 2.
I haven’t read Into the Wild but I’ve read Into Thin Air at least three times. It’s SUCH a great story.
Okay, I’m adding an addendum just in case it’s helpful…I just finished “The Rosie Project” and loved it. So sweet and delightful. Also in the middle of “The Power of Habit” and I’m fascinated. A few weeks ago, I really loved “Bread and Wine” at your recommendation. REad it during my Whole 30, which was oddly informing and satisfying to read about people enjoying the things I couldn’t eat. Also made me really think about feasting vs. fasting vs. just fueling. Wonderfully slow and contemplative. Not my usual type of read but it was good for me.
3 that I love:
1: Cheating, but The Circle of Magic books by Tamora Pierce
2: The Journey is the Destination: The Journals of Dan Eldon
3: The Mists of Avalon
1 I hate: The Lovely Bones.
Three I love:
1. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
2. The Time Traveler’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger
3. Girl in Translation, Jean Kwok
One I didn’t like:
Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
Last read:
Longbourn, Jo Baker
And just in case it helps, currently reading (and enjoying):
America’s Women, Gail Collins
Quiet, Susan Cain
Cooked, Michael Pollan
Wasn’t a fan of Great Expectations either, but Bleak House was awesome! The Masterpiece Theater adaptation was great too. Little Dorrit was excellent as well.
I’m glad to hear I wasn’t the only one who was underwhelmed by Great Expectations. I’ll have to try Bleak House and Little Dorrit!
Ok so Great Expectations was not my favorite either but I LOVE A Tale of Two Cities…I would encourage everyone to take as long as you need to recover from GE and THEN read ToTC with a fresh mind!
It makes me sad to see people write off Dickens over GE, especially students who were forced to read it in school!
LOVED ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ as well! (The movie version wasn’t bad, I liked it, would watch it again, but the book was better.)
Other 2 loves: ‘Here be Dragons’ by Sharon Kay Penman
and ‘A Severe Mercy’ by Sheldon Vanauken
Hate: ‘Beloved’ by Toni Morrison
Just finished: ‘The Glass Castle’ by Jeannette Walls
I haven’t watched the movie because I was afraid it would disappoint me – maybe I’ll have to give it a chance some time soon!
So fun! Thank you for doing this!!
3 I loved:
1. Bread and Wine
2. To Kill A Mockingbird
3. Confessions of a Shopaholic (probably should not admit to this being a favorite, but I thought it was so funny) 😉
Hated: Can’t think of a title, but I dislike most Science Fiction
Last Read: The Silent Wife, and The Rosie Project
Great idea! Thank you!
Loved:
1. Under a Tuscan Sun
2. Crossing to Safety
3. No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series
Meh: Lovely Bones (just …. yuck)
Last Read/Currently Reading and enjoying: Outliers, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, What Alice Forgot
Love matching books with readers! Thanks for this.
Three I love:
Possession by A. S. Byatt
Memoirs of a Geisha
Wild
Not a fan of: Bridges of Madison County
Just finished : The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr
Ooh, I loved Possession! It was so surprisingly moving and such beautiful prose. I didn’t think I would enjoy a ‘literary’ book that is essentially about doing research for a biography but it really captured me.
Everything about that book is perfection.
How fun!
Love: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, and Five Quarters of the Orange by Joann Harris
Not a fan: The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
Just finished: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
What an awesome idea! I can’t wait to see what you recommend for everyone!
Books that I love – To Kill a Mockingbird, Me Before You, Anything Jane Austen, and Bread & Wine (for non-fiction).
Book that I wanted to love but was meh – Eyre Affair
Last book I read – Blue Like Jazz
I love Jane Austen (except Mansfield Park)! If you like romance with a light, modern (but not randy) twist try almost anything by Cecilia Ahern. My favorite of hers is Love, Rosie. She also wrote P.S. I Love You, and the book is much better than the movie.
What an awesome idea!!
loved:
An absolute favorite …Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Seven by Jen Hatmaker
A Million little Ways by Emily Freeman
Stopped reading Wild
last read: the language of flowers
Loved:
– The Sun Also Rises
– Gurnsey Litereary and Potato Peel Pie Society
– Wonder
Hated:
– She’s Come Undone (by Wally Lamb)
Last book read:
– The Storyteller
Loved: Unbroken, Wonder, the Guernsey Literary
Hated: Gone Girl
Last Read: Divergent
Currently: The Whole Brain Child
Love:
The Harry Potter series
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
Did not like:
I know there are books I haven’t liked but they must have been so bad I blocked them.
Last Read:
Grave Peril -Dresden Files 3 by Jim Butcher
I love this idea!
Books I love: The Book Thief, Life of Pi, The Guersney Literary & Poto Peel Pie Society, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Jayber Crow, The Poisonwood Bible
Book that disappointed me: Flight Behavior
Last book read: Help for the Haunted by John Searles
Books that I loved:
1-Until I Find You–John Irving (really anything by him]
2-The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
3-Harry Potter series
Books that I don’t like:
1-Anything by Jodi Picoult
Last book that I read:
1-The Spark
I’m Currently Reading:
1-Crossing To Safety
2-Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun
Oh my gosh, this is SO much fun 🙂
Three books I love:
1) White Oleander
2) Cutting for Stone
3) Unbroken (by Laura Hillenbrand)
One Book I Didn’t Love:
1) Paris Wife
I’m currently reading:
1) Paradox of Choice
2) An Everlasting Meal
3) Glitter and Glue
I absolutely do not need any more book recommendations, but I can’t say no.
Three books I love: ‘A Year of Biblical Womanhood,’ ‘Girl Meets God,’ ‘Blue Like Jazz.’
One book I hate: Recent reads I didn’t care for include ‘One Thousand Gifts’ and ‘The Women of Christmas.’
Last book I read: I currently am reading ‘Going Clear’ by Lawrence Wright and ‘Strange Fire’ by John MacArthur.
So… yes to feminist spiritual memoir, no flowery prose and I’m into the weird stuff. Good luck with that!
“No flowery prose and I’m into the weird stuff.”
Awesome. Emily, you’re so quotable. 🙂
Ahaha. As a journalist, I know the value of a good quote. 😉
What a fun idea! Here goes:
Three books I loved (hard to choose just three!): The Goldfinch, A Moveable Feast, One Hundred Years of Solitude
One book I hated (despised!): Gone Girl
Last book I read: The Fault in Our Stars (currently re-reading The Great Gatsby)
Love: Eyre Affair ( which requires a decent understanding of Bronte, Austen, and Dickens, for starters),
Invention of Wings (just read), Guernsey Literary.
Meh: Lovely Bones
Now: Allegiant , Cuckoos Calling
So fun!
Loved: Anna Karenina, Rules of Civility, The Everlasting Feast.
Hated: The Red Tent
Last book read: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Oops, That should be The Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler.
Chronic lurker commenting for the first time (I think), but it’s about books so I couldn’t pass up this neat opportunity. 🙂
Hated: (a few come to mind, but most recent): The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling
Loved (oh so many!):
1. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen – classic
2. Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart – “modern/20th century”
3. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett – childhood favorite
Recent read: True Grit by Charles Portis
Love:
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
The Homeschool Experiment
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Meh:
Any book about coming of age, sisters becoming friends, children dying/being hurt, or illness. I feel like I have read all of those stories over and over. I am always looking for a fresh plot line.
Last Read:
Princess Academy (also loved!)
Exception to Meh Rule: I did like Harry Potter and Hunger Games and the like even though kids died 😉
How fun! But way too hard to narrow it down!
Love:
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Help
Hunger Games, Harry Potter
Jane Austen
Strongly Disliked:
The Tenth of December
The Tiger’s Wife
Recently Read:
Pride and Prejudice (again!)
Caleb’s Crossing (loved!)
Currently reading:
The Language of Flowers (and loving it!)
Aw, this is such a fantastic idea! I’m so excited.
Loved: Eleanor and Park, Quiet, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Felt meh: The Icarus Girl
Just finished: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (but I didn’t like it)
So much fun! I’m so curious to see all the recommendations 🙂
Loved: The Graveyard Book, Winter Sea, Quiet, anything by Jane Austen or Elizabeth Peters
Hated: Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Currently reading: Bread and Wine and the 3rd in the Mysterious Benedict Society series
Three books I love is a TOUGH one, but here are three off the top of my head without thinking too hard about it.
1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
2. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
3. One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
I never liked The Awakening by Kate Chopin (of course, that was junior year of high school) or Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (again, that was junior year of high school).
I am still currently wading through Anna Karenina, which I love, but I have very little time for reading during school, so I have yet to finish the last 150 pages or so.
I also love Harry Potter & In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
Love (with all my heart)
1. Harry Potter
2. My Name is Asher Lev
3. Middlesex
Hate:
1. those historical fiction books about the wives of Henry the 8th
Last read:
1. Jesus Land
Oh Chaim Potok! I haven’t read him in years. Davita’s Harp is one of my old favorites.
Loved middlesex!!
How fun! I can’t wait to see what you recommend.
Books I loved:
Thirteenth Tale by Setterfield
Me before You by Moyes
Lost Husband by Center
Book that was Meh:
Casual Vacancy
Last book I read:
Rosie Project.
Thanks!
My favourite books: Persuasion (Jane Austen), the Harry Potter series, the Outlander series
I hate: most but not all poetry (it often feels very self-indulgent – maybe I’ve just read bad poetry?!)
Last book I read: Stardust (Neil Gaiman)
3 books I love:
– Anything Jane Austen (though I’m meh on Mansfield Park)
– Anne of Green Gables series
– His Good Opinion by Nancy Kelley (still Austen related)
1 book I hate:
– Angels in America, which is technically a play. Forced to read it in college and I hated it. Or anything heavy like Anna Karenina.
Last book I read:
– Completed: Pride and Prejudice; currently reading: Emma. As you can see, I’m stuck in an Austen circle and am looking for new things to read.
This is awesome. I’m looking for more novel ideas because I’m 8 months pregnant and just cannot match speeds with my usual histories and biographies. But I’m super picky about novels. So maybe you can help.
Four books I love: Emily of New Moon, Hannah Coulter, Crossing to Safety, Less Than Angels by Barbara Pym (I like strong believable characters, a sense of place, and wit – they don’t have to be happy ever after)
A book I felt “meh” about was: The Secret Keeper (sorry I know you loved it – I just couldn’t fall in love with the characters and I don’t like historical fiction and am not fond of mystery either)
I recently read: Where’d You Go Bernadette (and I liked it – characters, sense of place, wit)
So, suggestions???
I did like The Secret Keeper, but if you don’t like mystery, or historical fiction …. yeah, I get it. 🙂
I love meeting fellow Emily of New Moon fans! She is such a wonderful character and those books are rich with meaning.
Loved: The House of Mirth, Rebecca, The Remains of the Day.
Hated: Death Comes to Pemberley.
Meh: Where’d You Go, Bernadette.
Just finished: The Fault in Our Stars.
The House of Mirth is in the running for my favorites too 🙂
So glad to hear that! I mean, it’s definitely not because of its cheerful upbeat tone … it’s just SO GOOD.
Yahoo for Edith Wharton ! Age of Innocence too ..
Oh, yes! I read innocence right after Mirth and loved it as well. Wharton is so talented. I notice that my favorites (Mirth, The Sun Also Rises, A Wrinkle in Time) all have that melancholy to them.
I came across the campaign to save Wharton’s historical home years ago. Looks like it was successful: http://www.edithwharton.org/
The House of Mirth is FREE for Kindle right now!!
I’m with you on Death Comes to Pemberley … but I might watch the BBC series anyway. You?
I love this idea. I want to steal it.
I know you and I have similar (though not identical) tastes, but I’ll give it a go anyway:
3 books I adore: Gaudy Night (and anything by Dorothy Sayers); A Circle of Quiet (and anything by Madeleine L’Engle); The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice
1 book I put down because it was NOT working for me: The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert
The last book I read: Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill – such a fun YA story. Currently reading Micha Boyett’s wonderful memoir, Found.
My first thought was, “Katie didn’t like that book either!” But hey, it’s you. 🙂
Found is on my pile. Starting it this week!
Ooh, we do that at work here on our Facebook page! It’s so fun. 🙂
So, 3 books I loved: Something Red by Douglas Nicholas; White Fire by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child; The Tale of Hilltop Farm by Susan Wittig Albert.
1 book I hated: Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot. Looked interesting on the outside but I couldn’t get past the second chapter. XD
The last book I read: Island 731 by Jeremy Robinson.
This is such a fun idea! I primarily read literary fiction. 3 books I’ve loved recently are Bloodroot; Northwest Corner; and Mudbound.
I wanted to like Flight Behavior, but I was disappointed in it.
The last book I read was The Invention of Wings.
Thank you for doing this! You are amazing.
How fun!
3 books I love:
– A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
– The Snow Child
– Jane Eyre
Book I really disliked: Gulliver’s Travels
Last book I read: The End of the Affair by Graham Greene (audiobook narrated by Colin Firth :-). Last book actually read The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Loved The Goldfinch!
I’m talking about The Goldfinch here tomorrow!
Love: To Kill a Mockingbird, Unbroken, The Poisonwood Bible
Book I Really Disliked: Angela’s Ashes
Last Book I Read: A Woman’s Place (Lynn Austin)
That’s such a great idea!
3 books I love:
1. Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist
2. Blink by Ted Dekker
3. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
1 “meh” book:
I couldn’t get into Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes.
Last book I read:
One Thousand GIfts by Ann Voskamp (SO good!)
Three books I love:
1. Ethan Frome
2. Hunger Games trilogy
3. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
A book I hate:
Crime and Punishment (and pretty much anything by a Russian author)
The Last books I read:
Oranges and Sunshine: Empty Cradles (interesting subject, didn’t like the book)
Stolen by Lucy Christopher (liked it)
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (liked it)
The Rosie Project (loved it)
How fun! True, people ask me for recs all the time too but it’s hard to know what they like! I was so disappointed when two of my best friends in college HATED Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler, which is one of my favorites.
I love about 6 million books, but here are some I read recently and loved: The Night Circus, The Fault in Our Stars, Family Pictures by Jane Green.
I didn’t hate but have not been into like others are – Bossypants and Divergent/Insurgent/didn’t even read the last one because I don’t care. The last book I HATED but did finish was The Marriage Plot by Eugenides.
The last book I read was Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen. I didn’t HATE it but I didn’t really like it very much either.
The Marriage Plot: UGH. (I’ve never read anything else by him, but I keep meaning to….)
Yes, I probably should read Middlesex but I haven’t. And now I may be prejudiced against him for life. So are you going to post recommendations for everyone?! 😉
I thought I’d tackle a handful at a time … but I wasn’t expecting there to be this many!
It seems like there are a lot of similar likes/dislikes. (Also, so glad I’m not the only one that hated Wicked.) So maybe you could do several “If you liked… then read…” suggestions?
Oh, this is fun!
Loved books:
1. Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
2. American Savage by Dan Savage
3. Just Babies by Paul Bloom
Meh book: Bossypants (I love Tina Fey, but this was just ok for me. I abandoned it, but maybe I should have finished it).
Currently reading: Notes from a Blue Bike by Tsh
You definitely win the coolest blogger ever award. New books are kind of like a drug for me and I’m always looking for suggestions. Three of my recent favorites were The Best Laid Plans, Ms. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and Spy Mom. My hated title is Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. A rare case of the movie being more enjoyable than the book. My last read was Y, about a young girl growing up in the foster care system. Definitely a “meh”. Thank you!
Ooh, I love it! And so generous of you!
Love:
1. Anything by Kazuo Ishiguro
2. The Book Thief
3. Memoirs and biographies
Couldn’t finish:
A Casual Vacancy and Gone with the Wind
Currently reading:
A Million Little Ways, Quiet, The Antelope in the Living Room, and Walt Disney: An American Original
This idea thrills me!
Thr3e books I love: Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt, Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth, and The Secret Keeperby Kate Morton
My meh book: The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
The last book I read: Running Like a Girl by Alexandra Heminsley
I am totally with you on the book theif
I know! I had heard such good things about it, but when I read it, I finished feeling unsatisfied. I felt like the book wandered along with not a lot of purpose. I assumed it was heading to some great climax, but no such luck. It’s not like I expected a book about war to be all hearts and roses, but did expect more than what I got.
3 I love:
The House of Mirth
The Sun Also Rises
A Wrinkle in Time
Non-fiction bonus: Beauty for Truth’s Sake
1 I hate:
Heaven is for Real. So, so, so bad in so many ways.
Current/Recent reads:
Acedia & Me (almost done – this is WAY up there on favorites now)
Brideshead Revisited (loved)
The whole Ender Series (loved)
Lol- also hated heaven is for real
How fun is this! I already love reading the lists, and you haven’t even answered yet.
I love lots of things, including A Year by the Sea by Joan Anderson, Harry Potter & Anne of Green Gables, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson.
Didn’t get into Wild.
Last book I read was The Violets of March by Sarah Jio (and some fluffy “women’s fiction” – which I like even though it’s completely predictable. It has a nice feeling to it 🙂 )
Curious about: Outlander and Divergent.
And I also just read 3 books by Allison Winn Scotch – very interesting and thought provoking.
Three I love: The Goose Girl (Shannon Hale), The Book Thief (Marcus Zasak), Stardust (Neil Gaiman)
One I hated: Wuthering Heights
Last I read: Pegasus (Robin McKinley)
If it helps, Quiet, Divergent, and The Fault in Our Stars are what I’m reading next.
I loved Stardust, the movie, but haven’t read the book. Thanks for the reminder!
Books I loved:
1. The Thirteenth Tale By Diane Setterfield
2. The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
3. The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
(I swear, I didn’t intentionally pick books that start with “the”)
Book(s) I hated (two, because I can’t decide which I hated more):
1. Where’d you Go Bernadette by Maria Semple (although I admit the mudslide was hilarious)
2. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Last book I read: the Golem and the Jinni by Helen Wecker
Love this!
Books I love: East of Eden, These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner, and Harry Potter.
One book I hate: anything by Jodi Picoult
Last book I read: The Stand by Stephen King.
Okay my three are:
1. Brave Girl eating
2. Code Name Verity
3. The Rosie Project
Hated Eleanor & Park. Couldn’t finish it. Just read The Midwife for book club, and am reading This is the Story of a Happy Marriage for myself.
I am so excited about this – I have never been disappointed with one of your recommendations!
Loved: Brothers K (David James Duncan) Cutting for Stone, Tell the Wolves I’m Home
Disliked: Having a hard time with this…I did not love Julie and Julia
Recently read: The Engagements, Outlander
Don’t feel bad: you’re in good company with not loving Julie and Julia. Compelling concept, but Nora Ephron’s version was much more likable.
From another chronic lurker:
3 I loved: The Divine Conspiracy, The Faithful Gardener ( Clarissa Pinkola Estes), and Les Miserables
Meh: Bringing Up Bebe (Pamela Druckerman)
Current: recently finished The Still Point of the Turning World (gravitating toward grief books since experiencing a profound loss 18 months ago), currently reading (and enjoying) War and Peace. That one will keep me occupied for a while!
{{waving hello!}}
Loved: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson, The Fault in Our Stars by Green
Disliked: The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks
Finished: A Sense of Wonder by Katherin Patterson
love this idea:
love: eleanor and park, call the midwife, flavia de luce series by alan bradley
meh: crossing to safety, gilead, a million miles in a thousand years (didn’t finish), beautiful ruins
currently reading/just finished: tell the wolves i’m home, the birthing house, the signature of all things
Oh, how interesting! You have books I love on your love andhate lists. Clearly, no slow, gorgeous novels for you. 🙂 Also, I need to read Call the Midwife!
Anne, this is awesome!
Love:
Anne of Green Gables
Bread and Wine
Daring Greatly
Hate: Gone Girl. ( the ending )
Last Read : the One Thing
Love:
Arena by Karen Hancock
The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Hate:
My Brother Sam is Dead
Lord of the Flies
Just Read:
Crazy Dangerous by Andrew Klavan
Love:
1. Jane Austen (Northanger Abbey less than the others)
2. Anthony Trollope (esp. the Barchester and Palliser series)
3. Milan Kundera (most)
4. Dezső Kosztolányi, Skylark
Meh:
1. Marilynne Robinson, Gilead (beautiful prose, not enough angst)
Loathe:
1. Fantasy/SciFi
Currently reading/Recently read:
1. Sigrid Undset, Kristin Lavransdatter (like)
2. Henry Fielding, Tom Jones (like)
3. Khaled Hosseini, And the Mountains Echoed (like)
I like mostly “realist” fiction with a dash of postmodernism thrown in–would like to read more good contemporary fiction!
I’m so excited about this idea! But, my, you have quite handful of requests!
Three favorites….
Gone With the Wind
Cold Sassy Tree
Little House on the Prairie
One I’m meh about…
Ernest Hemingway anything
Reading now…
The Hunger Games trilogy (rereading, this time with my 12 year old. Love these!)
Thanks bunches, Anne!
Love this idea ~
3 that I love…
Pardonable Lies (favorite in the Maisie Dobbs series) by Jacqueline Winspear
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Code Name Verity
1 that I loathe…
Catcher in the Rye
Just finisher…
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
Thanks!!
All time fav. “To Kill a Mocking Bird”
1st half of “Thorn Birds” I am convinced the 2nd half was written by someone else!”
“On The Island” (I don’t usually read “Romance” novels, but this one is written by my niece
Tracy Garvis-Graves. Her 1st Novel and it has been sold to movie people and part of the cast has been picked!! It really is a good story, the kind you are anxious to get back to!
I also have to add “The Onion Field ‘s ” (husband was a 35 yr police man)
LOVE mysteries and Historical! And young adult, I’m even known to stand and read a couple of children’s books while I am shopping!
I know there have been many books I did not like but I don’t remember the names. haha
Last book read “Book Thief”
Thanks for your blog, I really enjoy it!! jq
Fun! This reminds me of one of those cooking shows when you get 3 ingredients and you have to create a 4 course meal.
Love:
Emma
11/23/63
The Power of Habit
Gave up on:
The Eyre Affair
Reading Now:
The Bicycle Teacher & Harry Potter and the Order Of Phoenix
Love: Sense and Sensibility, The Cheerleader, and Anne of Green Gables
Meh: Life of Pi (couldn’t finish it)
Last book: Eleanor and Park
Three books I lived: Unaccustomed Earth, The Red Tent, Secret Life of Bees
Book I didn’t like: Gone Girl
Book I’m reading now: The Story of Beautiful Girl
Loved: 1. Cold Tangerines ( actually everything by Shauna Niequist)
2. What Alice Forgot- Liane Moriarty
3. The Night Circus- Erin Morgenstern
Meh: Girls In White Dresses
Last Read: Say Goodbye To Survival Mode- Crystal Paine
Current: The Rosie Project
So very cool!
1. Anything by Jane Austen, Shauna Niequist, or Francine Rivers
2. The Kite Runner
3. Notes From A Blue Bike
What fun to read all your comments– I adding to my “look for at the library list”
Favorites (how can I choose just 3?!) :
#1. Reason for God by Tim Keller (so very clear and true)
#2. Distant Land of my Father by Bo Caldwell (Father & daughter Shanghai to Pasadena)
#3. China Road by Bob Gifford (NPR correspondent meets people across China-insightful)
#4. And the Mountains Echoes by Kahlid Hosseini (master storyteller)
#5. Wild Swans by Jung Chang (memoir- 3 generations of women in China–absorbing)
Sorry I cheated so I’ll skip unfavorite book
Just finished reading– This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett (collected essays)
Books I love:
1: Love Does – Bob Goff
2. The Breath of Dawn – Kristen Heitzman
3: Full Disclosure – Dee Henderson
Book I never finished/hated – Jane Eyre
Just finished – Pastrix by Nadia Bolz-Weber
How fun! (although I don’t know if anyone could give this many recommendations!)
I loved:
-The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger (though I couldn’t get through Her Fearful Symmetry)
-A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith
-David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens
I hated:
-Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte
I just read:
-The Orphan Master’s Son, by Adam Johnson (really enjoyed it)
-Bossypants, by Tina Fey (funny, but “meh” on balance)
Oh, Her Fearful Symmetry… that was a strange one. It’s one of those books that I finished because I had to find out what happened, but I felt really strange at the end.
I kept looking at it, sitting half-abandoned on the end table, wondering, “So where is she going with this? What in the world happens?” And yet, I never cared enough to actually open the book and find out 🙂 I decided that meant I didn’t like it – or that I’m lazy!
Oh, and is this cheating? My husband could use some book ideas; he wants to read more, but never knows what to look for.
He loved:
-Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by JRR Tolkein
-Screwtape Letters, by CS Lewis
-Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card
He hated:
-A Separate Peace, by John Knowles
He most recently read:
-The BFG, by Roald Dahl (always a favorite for him)
love:
1. peace like a river — leif enger
2. the husband’s secret — liane moriarty
3. olive kitteridge — elizabeth strout
hated: picture of dorian gray — oscar wilde (i never don’t finish books, but i had to give up on this one!)
last book i read: by blood — ellen ullman (really good!!)
I’m totally excited about this! I stumbled across your blog a month or two ago and have been loving all the book recommendations and ideas. I don’t typically comment on blogs, but a personalized book recommendation from someone I can tell has good taste? Yes, please!
Love:
*Anne of Green Gables (but who doesn’t?) and all things L.M Montgomery
*Pride and Prejudice (again, a give in)
*Jacob Have I Loved
*The Giver
*The Scarlet Letter
Hate:
*The Great Gatsby
*The Old Man and the Sea
*Island of the Blue Dolphins
Just Read:
*Drop Dead Healthy by A.J. Jacobs (really enjoyed this one)
Loved:
The Book Thief
Little Women
Anything by Madeline L’Engle
Harry Potter (but not The Casual Vacancy)
Anything by Jane Austen
Angela’s Ashes and ‘Tis
Hated:
City of Bones
Meh:
Non-fiction (except for memoirs. I love those).
Most recently read:
Between Shades of Gray
Mary Poppins
Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith
First of all, just wanted to say that I just started reading your blog, and I love it!
Loved:
Cutting for Stone
Time Traveler’s Wife
Some Knows My Name (by Lawrence Hill)
Hated (well, couldn’t finish)
A Discovery of Witches
Most recent:
Where’d You Go Bernadette (I liked it)
Letting Go of Perfectionism (by Brene Brown)
Books I’ve loved:
1. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
2. Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden
3. The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen by Syrie James
Meh: Cinderella Ate My Daughter
Last book: The House I Loved by Tatiana de Rosnay/Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George
Currently reading: How to teach your children Shakespeare by Ken Ludwig; Becoming Josephine by Heather Webb; Homemade Winter by Yvette van Boven; My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor
This sounds like fun!!
3 books I love:
To Kill a Mockingbird
Lonesome Dove
The Widow of Larkspur Lane
1 book I hate:
Twilight series (started to read because my daughter was reading – I couldn’t get past the first few pages)
Last book I read:
Home for the Homicide
Currently reading:
In Defense of Food
The House Girl
Mrs. Lincoln’s Rival
Margin
Love this idea!
3 books I love:
The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
Carry On, Warrior by Glennon Melton
Killing Lincoln by Bill O’ Reilly
1 book I hate:
The Position by Meg Wolitzer (didn’t capture my attention at ALL)
Reading Now: Will the Circle be Unbroken? Reflections on Death, Rebirth, and Hunger for a Faith by Studs Terkel (Christmas present from my husbands uncle. My mom passed away in November. It’s actually pretty good!)
Loved:
The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony
Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist
Divergent Trilogy
Vampire Academy/Bloodlines series
Hunger Games Trilogy
Don’t Like:
Anything Vulgar or Terrifying.
Just Finished:
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Currently Reading:
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Longest Ride (audiobook) by Nicholas Sparks
Love:
A Sweetness to the Soul (Jane Kirkpatrick)
Pride & Prejudice (Jane Austen)
The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
No LIkey:
Love in the Time of Cholera
Currently:
Champion (Marie Lu)
Three books I love:
1. Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley. Spunky and great. I love them all.
2. The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield
3. I Capture the Castle, Dodie Smith
Hated: The Sense of an Ending, Julian Barnes
Just read The Last Enchantments by Charles Finch (SO great!)
Love. This. Idea.
Books I love:
-The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
-In the Belly of the Bloodhound by L.A. Meyer
-By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie.
Book I hated:
-The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Last book I read:
-Becoming Jane Austen by Jon Spence. Loved it!
Thanks!
~Gillian
As usual, you are the QUEEN of fabulous book blog post ideas! Love this! Here’s my lists:
Books I LOVE:
1) Walking On Water by Madeleine L’Engle
2) Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist
3) Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman
Books I do/did NOT like: Don’t like most historical fiction, or sad, heavy fiction or memoir. (I need some redemption, and a fantastic narrative voice). I also rarely finish books I don’t like
1) Left Behind by Tim LaHaye
What I’m Reading Now:
1) Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
2) Still Writing by Dani Shapiro
3) What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
Loved: Hunger Games (all of them), Pursuit of Mary Bennet, Mr. Darcy’s Little Sister
Meh: Tomorrow River – the writer kept assuming I knew what was going on…I felt lost through the first half, skipped to the last 5 chapters and finished it.
Last read – Pursuit of Mary Bennet, had me in tears in a couple spots. so good though
I’ve gotten so many great recommendations from you. Here are my responses:
Books I love: Traveling Mercies (Anne Lamott), The Dovekeepers (Alice hoffman), The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Books I hate: Love in the Time of Cholera
Last book read: New York (Edward Rutherfurd)
Thanks!
love: cutting for stone, my name is mary sutter, the dress lodger
loathe: the spirit catches you and you fall down
last book read: the diplomat’s wife
thanks!
3 books I love:
The Help
The Fault in Our Stars
Eat, Pray, Love
Meh: The Things They Carried
Last books read: Divergent Series and Rosie Project
This is such a great idea. Are there any companies doing customized book boxes – like Stitch Fix but for readers? If not, you totally should.
Here’s my list:
LOVE (so hard to choose only 3) – The Poisonwood Bible, Redeeming Love, The Undomestic Goddess
Hated – Wicked (wanted to like it, but couldn’t even get through it)
Just finished – Wonder (Also in the middle of Jesus Is)
I’d love to get a customized book box! Not like I need any more books to read, but it just sounds so fun–I wouldn’t be able to resist!
There is one–Just The Right Book. I wanted to get it for my SIL for Christmas but it was out of my budget. Maybe someday I’ll splurge on it for myself!
You have pulled me out of my lurkdom.
Loved:
The Age of Miracles,
1,000 Gifts,
Happiness Project,
Hate:
Twilight
Just Finished: The Rosie Project (on audio as you suggested!)
I’ve added 16 titles to consider reading by just reading over the comments of everyone else! Must find more time in my days to read!!
Welcome to the comments section! I’ve actually read and enjoyed the ones you loved, wouldn’t touch Twilight with a ten-foot pole, and you know I liked The Rosie Project. 🙂
Happy reading!
3 I loved:
Hunger Games Trilogy (is that cheating?)
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Jane Eyre (one of the only books I’ve read multiple times)
1 book I hated:
The Pact by Jodi Picoult
Just finished: The Mortal Instruments City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (watched the movie & then wanted to read the book because the idea was interesting, but the movie was pretty awful; I enjoyed the book & it was a quick, fun read).
AND
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton (the writing was amazing and I liked the book-but it was very depressing.)
I LOVE mysteries and have been reading through P.D. James after reading “Death Comes to Pemberley”. I thought “Cukoo’s Calling” by J.K. Rowling was amazing & I want more like that! James is good, but I’m mostly reading her early stuff & maybe should go to her later work.
1. Books I loved:
– The Hunger Games trilogy
– The Abduction (Mark Gimenez)
– Water for Elephants (Sara Gruen)
– Looking for Alaska (John Green)
2. Book I Hated:
– Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn) – loved the idea and the writing style, HATED the way it ended. Felt like it was a cop-out ending and that I just wasted my time.
3. Last book read:
– Wonder (R.J. Palacio) – It was for my daughter’s school book club and I loved it!
– The Rosie Project (Graeme Simison) – enjoyed it!
I stumbled upon your blog and I love it! I have read a few of your recommendations (The Rosie Project and A Homemade Life) and have enjoyed them both. Thanks!
Love: Little Women, Desiring God, The Hunger Games
Hate: Great Expectations
Last Read: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (I think this was a recommended read from you, and I LOVED IT!)
Thank you! I think this is wonderful! I’m busy and had not ready anythng more than magaziines consistently until I had my last baby. I read while I nurse. She’s my #5, and I don’t know what I’ll do once she’s weaned!
Loved:
All of Kate Morton’s books
The Red Tent
One Thousand Gifts
Waste of time:
Gone Girl
Just finished:
Sycamore Row
Just started:
Things That Matter
Thanks so much for taking time to do this! Your work is appreciated. 🙂
3 books you love:
1. Hunger Games Series
2. Anything by Jodi Picoult
3. Anything by John Grisham
1 book you hate (if that’s too strong, tell me one you felt “meh” about).
1. Broke Heart Blues by Joyce Carol Oates (didn’t even finish it, and I HATE not finishing books!)
the last book you read.
1. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
THANK YOU!
I LOVE reading and talking books. This is perfect! Hmmm. How do you narrow down the books you love? Ok.
Love: The Thirteenth Tale, Harry Potter, Freddy and Fredericka, anything Jasper Fforde and Kate Morton. Persuasion and Sanditon. Also memoirs like Notes From A Small Island & A Year in Provence. Messy Spirituality.
Hate: Gone Girl. Ugh. Just. No.
Laste read: A Man Called Ove (advance copy), The Forgery of Venus, & Lets Pretend This Never Happened.
Whoopsie. Forgot to say that I also just finished THe Rosie Project. <3 and I'm currently reading Elenor and Park (which I love, like I did TFIOS), and A Tale of Two Cities -audiobook.
Thanks so much! This is so much fun! I'm loving reading all if the comments.
Since I enjoyed reading through everyone’s comments , I’ll add my own.
My absolute favorite: 1) Bridget jones by Helen Fielding. all three are great, the second is my fave of the faves.
2) Twilight . Love them all and their hokeyness.
3) Daring Greatly.
4) middlesex. Loved Detroit as a character, describing the times when my family was there.
5) hunger games
6) assination vacation by Sarah vowell
7) me talk pretty one day by David sedaris
Oh yes, also really liked ‘my life in France’ and so many more…
Meh books: the book thief, a wrinkle in time,
can’t stand: 17 second miracle by Jason somebody, shiver by Maggie stiefvater
Reading now: notes from a blue bike, the greater journey by David McCullough, an embroidery guide, food and mood by Elizabeth somer, clutter free with kids, Labor Day, Eleanor and park,
Based on loving Twilight and books with settings as characters, you would probably love the Caster Chronicles series. Beautiful Creatures is the first; there’s a pair of authors, one of which is Kami Garcia. It’s kind of reverse Twilight (mortal boy, supernatural girl) set in the deep South.
Also the All Souls Trilogy, starting with A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness. Not YA, adds time travel to the vampire stuff, and both the main characters have powers (a vampire and a witch).
Such a great idea! Here’s mine:
1. Love: Like the flowing River by Paulo Coelho, A praying Life by Paul Miller and Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore, What I talk about when I talk about running by Haruki Murakami
2. Meh: White Teeth by Zadie Smith and Life of Pi
3. Last read and current read: When we were on fire by Addie Zierman and Third Culture kids by Reken and Pollock
This is awesome!
Loved: The Luminaries; Cutting for Stone; The Last Runaway; Kite Runner; Ten Thousand Suns
Couldn’t Stand: Julie and Julia (I adore Julia Child but the narrator was so full of herself that i didn’t want to spend time with her)
Last Book Read: Team of Rivals (love!)
Thanks so much! Happy reading!
I loved The Stand, White Oleander and all the Prey books by John Sandford. I hated Gone Girl and I just finished The Rosie Project: A Novel (which I loved)…
So much fun!! I love reading your picks and have added quite a few to my to-read list.
Love: The Book Thief, Rebecca, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats
Didn’t like at all: Enders Game
Last book I read: The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton (loved it)
Loved (Ones I do or would like to read multiple times): Beloved by Toni Morrison, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner, Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist
Disliked: The Sun Also Rises, What Maisie Knew
Last Read: Dust, the conclusion to Hugh Howey’s Wool trilogy
Currently Reading: Reluctant Pilgrim by Enuma Okoro
I like page-turners (especially fantasy fiction page turners), but also thoughtful reads about personal journeys.
Loved: The Red Tent, The Living Blood, The Alchemist
Hated: Lolita
Last Read: From Rum to Roots (though it was a bit of an accident and before that I haven’t read fiction for ages!)
Well. It may be an age before you get to me, but I love the blog and I’m loving g your recommendations so far!
3 books you love: Bread and Wine, Eat Pray Love, The School of Essential ingredients
1 book you hate: currently popular and supposed to be great-Goldfinch. Literary fiction in general
the last book you read: currently reading My Age of Anxiety, Creative Thursdays, Carry on Warrior. The In-Between
Ah, you love foodie memoir! Or at least one foodie memoir. My favorite genre. 🙂
I am slow to finally comment here, but I am enthralled by the idea and am enjoying your matchmaking so far.
Love: Lord of the Rings, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Space Trilogy and all other C.S. Lewis, Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte
Dislike: Wicked
Recently read: Emma (love it and needed a refresher because of Emma Approved), The Annotated Hobbit (epic happiness), Say Goodby to Survival Mode (good stuff). I always have multiple books going.
Also enjoy: biographies/autobiographies, young adult and some Christian romance (like Chautona Havig novels) for a change of pace
I’ve been thinking I need to re-read Emma for the exact same reason. 🙂
Books I love: Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Pride and Prejudice, Dr. Sleep by Stephen King, and Kiss the Girls by James Patterson (yes, I had to pick four).
One book I hated: Justine (French lit. junior year…Don’t ask)
Last book I read: The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
Love this!!! I’m in a reading slump lately & would love some new ideas 🙂
3 Books I Loved: Pride & Prejudice, The Uncommon Reader, Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Possession (I cannot leave one out!)
1 Book I Disliked: The Language of Flowers (so much potential, then soooo much angst)
Currently Reading: Notes From a Blue Bike
P.S. I was so glad to see you recommend The Uncommon Reader to someone recently. It’s one of my all time favorites, and I never hear anyone talking about it. For you, I highly recommend Anne Fadiman’s essays…short, sweet, intelligent gems 🙂
I love that you chose A. S. Byatt!
And you can recommend books to me anytime: I love Anne Fadiman!
Oh, you asked for it! 🙂
I’ll also highly recommend Ann Patchett’s new essay collection This is the Story of a Happy Marriage: for anyone who loves insightful essays, beautiful prose, and books & writing. Divine!
And since you seem to be an Anglophile like me, Susan Branch’s A Fine Romance is DELIGHTFUL. Read it in the warmth of spring with a glass of wine. 🙂
I loved that Ann Patchett collection, but I’ve never read anything by Susan Branch! Thanks for the tip. 🙂
I am so intrigued by this idea!!!
3 books I loved: The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton, I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella, and The Language of Fowers by Vanessa Deffenbaugh
1 book I disliked: The New Countess by Fay Weldon
Last book I read: The English Girl by Daniel Silva
I love this – so cool! Here are my picks:
Loved:
1. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
2. Peace Like A River by Leif Enger
3. all Emily Giffin’s books
4. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
Hated:
1. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
2. Summerland by Elin Hildebrand
3. Runaway by Alice Munro
Last books I read:
1. The Wind Is Not A River by Brian Payton
2. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
3. Sick Heart River by John Buchan
Our reading tastes sound so similar!
Love: Outlander, Harry Potter, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Hate: The Time Traveler’s Wife
Recent reads: Ignite Me (kind of mindless YA dystopian romance; not as good as the first 2 in the trilogy but still 3 stars from me), the first 4 Betsy-Tacy books (re-read, LOVE), Call the Midwife (loved)
Love: The Help (Stockett), The Red Tent (Diamant), The Paradise Guest House (Sussman), The Fault in Our Stars (Green), It Happens Every Spring (Chapman)
There are too many good ones, it is hard to decide!!!
Hate: A Secret Kept (Rosnay)
Last Read: Labor Day (Maynard) and I enjoyed it.
I also like series, I am a sucker for Janet Evanovich!
This is a great project! Here are my answers:
1. Love: Catch Me If You Can, The Kite Runner, anything by Rainbow Rowell, The Engagements (by Courtney Sullivan), The Other Boleyn Girl
2. Meh: The Lord of the Rings series (I read all of them and just couldn’t get into it) and The Cider House Rules
3. The last book you read: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell & Mrs. Lincoln’s Rival by Jennifer Chiaverini
I love your blog, and especially love the book recommendations!
Three books I love:
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkein
One I hate:
Twilight….I just couldn’t get into it.
Just read:
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowel and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Doyle.
Hi! I know it’s late but I’ve been reading these posts and loving them.
Three books I loved: The Red Tent, The Remains of the Day, The Shadow of the Sun.
One book I hated: The book that still haunts me from high school – Lord of the Flies.
I already mentioned the last book I read (Red Tent), so I’ll give you the one I’m reading now: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.
Yayy!
Hello,
I remember having answered here in the comments in February, and I did receive a few followup comments in my email, but now both my comment and the followup comments have disappeared! I will answer again, then.
3 books you love:
1) Small is Beautiful
2) Uglies (recently read, wasn’t in my previous answer)
3) 1984 (I remember I answered differently at the time, but I am now on a dystopia phase, though I would gladly read something lighter too)
1 book you hate
1) The Celestine Prophecy (couldn’t finish reading it even though a coworker recommended it to me)
the last book you read.
The last 3:
1) Cryer’s Cross
2) The Rosie Project
3) Uglies
I’m so sorry about that! That’s not at all usual. I need to manually restore about 15 comments that were left on the blog during the eight-hour window my hosting was being transferred. I got the email notifications, so I have them, but the comments themselves were lost in cyberspace. I just haven’t gotten around to doing it yet (sheepish here). But it shouldn’t happen again!
It’s OK. I’m actually curious for what were my previous answers 🙂
Anyway, I am not really sure about 1984 on last answer. Maybe “Brand New World” in the dystopia line, though I am usually not in such a dystopia mood as lately…
LOVED: To Kill a Mockingbird, all the Harry Potter books, everything Little House on the Prairie, and Ferrol Sams’ trilogy about Porter Osbourn Jr. (Run with the Horseman, the Whisper of the River, When All the World was Young), The Montmoray Journals trilogy
Felt “meh” about: Care of Wooden Floors, The Casual Vacancy, The Historian
Put down: The Hatbox Baby
Hated: Heart of Darkness
Last Read: Where’d You Go Bernadette
Way more than you asked for but my taste in books is complex. Also, how do you just pick 3 favorites?!
I just finished Heart of Darkness yesterday and I agree. I don’t know if I would have finished it if it wasn’t for my book club! Glad to hear I’m not the only one.
I read it my senior year of high school, then had to read it 6 months later for my first Literature class in college. So twice in one year. My more literary minded friends were all “It’s great, there’s so much symbolism etc.” And I see the symbolism but that doesn’t make it worth reading twice!
I know! Asking anyone to pick just 3 is verging on cruel. 🙂
I’m always looking for new books to read…
Loved:
Dragonflight by Anne McCaffery
Utopia by Sir Thomas Moore
The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell
Didn’t Like:
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Reading (and loving it):
Peacemaker by CJ Cherryh
What a lovely idea!!
Loves:
Harry Potter
Hunt for Red October
Poisonwood Bible
The Book Thief
The Alchemist
To Kill a Mockingbird
Old Man and the Sea
Gone Girl
Ender’s Game
Wonder
Guests of the Ayatollah
Hates:
Gatsby (I just HATE Daisy)
Anything by either Bronte
Recent reads:
Wonder
Cuckoo’s Calling
Prodigy
I’ve been a little scarce online for a while but if it’s not too late, I’d love to play!
Books I’ve loved – Persuasion, The Book Thief, Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda, Let Me Be a Woman
Book I Hated – Eat Pray Love
Last Book I Read (that wasn’t a baby book) – How Sweet the Sound by Amy Sorrells
“that wasn’t a baby book”–ha! Yes, I need to use that qualifier sometimes, too. 🙂
Comments are closed.