Books - What Are you Reading?

[kmom]

Recent discussion regarding book suggestions for Cayte gave me the idea that many of you (including me) may be interested in book ideas -- all in one place on the Board?

If we get a lot of activity here...I will list the books here in this main post so that it is easier to find the titles etc...at a later date.

EDIT: In case you want the resulting list -- here it is.
The latest books or ratings added are noted in blue. Some of the books we are reviewing at the bottom have not been our favorites. Since they are mentioned in the thread, I decided to leave the ones not highly recommend in the lower thread with the rating given by the reader. This allows someone coming late to the thread to know the outcome. I like Cayte's 5-star approach, so that's what we'll do.

Recommended Books (through 2/19/08):

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Into the Light by Dr. John Lerma - (kmom)
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert - (cayters)
Don’t Kiss Them Goodbye by Allison Dubois - (kmom)
We Are Their Heaven: Why the Dead People Never Leave Us by Allison Dubois - (kmom)

Atonement by Ian McEwan - (RunningAway & hyperstarre)
The Giver by Lois Lowry - (RunningAway)
White Oleander by Janet Fitch - (RunningAway)
Paint it Black by Janet Fitch - (RunningAway)
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson - (RunningAway)
Swallowing Stones by Joyce McDonald - (RunningAway)

The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury - (gogonutz)
The Ice Limit by Preston & Child - (gogonutz)
Reliquary by Preston & Child - (gogonutz)
The Temple by Matthew Reilly - (gogonutz)

Inca Gold by Clive Cussler - (gogonutz)
Golden Buddha ** by Clive Cussler - (gogonutz)
Lost City by Clive Cussler - (gogonutz)
Trojan Odyssey by Clive Cussler - (gogonutz)

The Eleventh Commandment by Jeffrey Archer - (gogonutz)
As The Crow Flies by Jeffrey Archer - (gogonutz)
Sons of Fortune by Jeffrey Archer - (gogonutz)

Where Troy Once Stood by Iman Wilkens - (gogonutz)
Clapton: The Autobiography by Eric Clapton - (gogonutz)
The Flight of the Iguana by David Quammen - (gogonutz)

Independent People by Halldor Laxness - (FrancisMartin)
Crow Lake by Mary Lawson - (FrancisMartin)
Ender's Game (sci fi) by Orson Scott Card - (yndihalda)
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger - (yndihalda & katelyn)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky - (RunningAway)
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelo - (successstory)

The Pact by Jodi Picoult - (yuliya)
The Little Ice Age (How Climate Made History 1300-1850) by Brian M. Fagan - (gogonutz)

Waiting for the final word (through 2/14/08):

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Save Me from Myself: How I Found God, Quit Korn, Kicked Drugs, and Lived to Tell My Story by Brian Welch (thinkaboutgoo)
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (katelyn)
90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper (kmom) -- Final rating: *OOOO (1 out of 5 stars)
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (kmom)
Forgive Me by Amanda Eyre Ward (cayters) -- Final rating: ***OO (3 out of 5 stars)

[kmom]

My first suggestion may bit heavy, but for me, light at the same time. In 2006, my mother was sent a manuscript, where the ghost writer was asking her friends to proof the book and offer feedback. She let me see it, I started to read it and could not put it down.

Yesterday, a friend of mine who read it too (and absolutely loved it) asked me if it was ever published. Since I DO NOT know the doctor author OR the ghost writer, I was unsure. Finally, I searched on Amazon and there it was, published on Nov 30, 2007, but with a different title than the manuscript.

This nonfiction book is called "Into the Light", by Dr. John Lerma, MD. Truthfully, I liked the working title better, but I didn't get a vote .

This book is by a Houston Hospice doctor who made it his life's work to treat/work with nursing home and hospice patients. Events in his life lead him to this path and he was passionate about this work. He tells stories of his patients dying and what their transition (their stories to him) looked like as they were clearly trying to pass from this life to heaven...or wherever you believe one goes. Many times he was amazed by what he was hearing...he took note and moved on. Finally, he saw a consistent pattern and this touched him enough to document the stories and events that were happening around him. In this book he tells the stories told to him by his patients and relays his own experiences while working with them.

The reason this book really hit home with me -- and gave me the ultimate chills (of comfort) -- is that after reading the book I was able to reflect on the events leading up to the death of my own relatives and (in retrospect) understand that they were going through the same thing as they passed.

I recommend this book for anyone who has been with a dying relative in their last days, but also for those who haven't had to experience that yet. I would have so loved to have heard these stories BEFORE so that I could fully take in the "energy" surrounding someone transitioning to the other side.

IMO, this book is not at all a heavy read, but very uplifting. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that was written by a medical doctor that was brave enough to relay the pattern that he was observing with his patients.

[RunningAway]

oh good idea for a topic! i'm currently working on my Act 4 for my teleplay....so i will come back and post some stuff.

[kmom]

runningaway said:

oh good idea for a topic! i'm currently working on my Act 4 for my teleplay....so i will come back and post some stuff.

How cool would that be? I never thought about us having our own authors in the house!

I am interested in reading what you've written when you are ready to post.

[thinkaboutgoo]

I hope to be reading the book by Brian Welch soon. He was from KoRn. It is journey to God.

[katelyn]

i'm currently reading "bel canto" by ann patchett. my sister reccomended it to me and i have to say that i've really been enjoying it so far. it's about a birthday party in a south american country (forget which off the top of my head) for a japanese buisnessman. guests include a famous american opera singer, a french foreign ambassador, and the vice president of the host country. it turns into a hostage situation when terrorists invade and take over. sounds kind of depressing but the relationships that form as a result are really interesting. i'm only about half-way through but it's an easy read and i'd reccomend it.


karen, have you checked out any of maureen's lh stories? i think they can all be found on minka's site. they're amazing and hilarious

[cayters]

aww yay, i like this thread! hehe i just finished my first book, "eat, pray, love" by elizabeth gilbert, which was pretty good. a synopsis of the book is here if anyone is interested: www.elizabethgilbert.com/eatpraylovejacket.htm

so now i need a new book.. something good for bedtime. i'll have to go back and check out all the books that have been recommended...

and karen, that book sounds good.. my grandpa passed away a few months ago, and i would see him every week for the last few months of his life, so i may be interested in checking this book out.

[kmom]

katelyn said:

karen, have you checked out any of maureen's lh stories? i think they can all be found on minka's site. they're amazing and hilarious

Katelyn, sorry, I guess I wasn't clear on that. Yes, I have read and do really enjoy Maureen's stories. Though, I forgot until she posted today, that she was a writer and could contribute her own work to this thread -- even the NEW ones hot off the press (or Mac or whatever).

Cayte, did you ever read or finish Eat, Pray, Love? My Mom was reading it over Christmas and she also gave it to me. It's still sitting on my nightstand untouched.

The other book sitting there is Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The movie came out in December and it looked like from the previews that the movie might be quite good. I asked for the book for Christmas so that I could read it before seeing the movie. It looks like I will be seeing the movie on DVD Has anyone read the book or seen the movie?

Okay...it looks like I am about to read 90 Minutes in Heaven. The same friend that was asking about the status of that manuscript yesterday sent this book to me today, thinking I might enjoy it. It seems obvious from the title that it is about someone who died and had been pronounced dead for 90 minutes before he came back to live on this earth again. I don't think that I have ever heard of someone coming back after that long!!?!? I will let you know more once I get into it. I have to kind of get a feel for the author and hear the story, slant, etc...before I am comfortable commenting. I can tell you that I am fascinated by what happens right before (see my post above) and right after death. There seem to be more and more accounts of this type recently. Again....we'll see. Let me know if any of you are interested in knowing the outcome.

As you can tell, I am more into non-fiction than novels, but nothing is better than a good novel. I can't wait to hear what people here have enjoyed most!

[cayters]

yep, i finished "eat, pray, love" last night, karen. you should read it.

oh and as i was checking for a synopsis on that, i saw that the author is coming to my area in april to speak! i thought that would be cool to go to, but it's $90 for a ticket! (includes a book signing i guess.) grr, why must it be so expensive?

[kmom]

confusinglyamusing said:

aww yay, i like this thread! hehe i just finished my first book, "eat, pray, love" by elizabeth gilbert, which was pretty good. a synopsis of the book is here if anyone is interested: www.elizabethgilbert.com/eatpraylovejacket.htm

so now i need a new book.. something good for bedtime. i'll have to go back and check out all the books that have been recommended...

and karen, that book sounds good.. my grandpa passed away a few months ago, and i would see him every week for the last few months of his life, so i may be interested in checking this book out.

Oh Cayte, I just got chills. I think you will definitely enjoy this if you have recently been through this with your Grandpa. To me, it was so comforting and now I feel that I will have a much better understanding of the process....i.e. I can be a better companion to someone going through the final stages of life if I ever have to do that again. It is not something we ever want to have to do, but it is usually something each of us must do some time in our lives.

Into the Light is at Amazon for about $10. Truthfully, I think you can read this one even at bedtime -- although you may not want to put it down.

Also, oddly enough we were writing at the same time about what you thought of Eat, Pray, Love -- I'll check it out. I am going to have 16 teenagers all night in Galveston after a dance next weekend. It might be a good time to find a book to put my nose in, so that I can pretend that I am not listening (or watching, or there).

[cayters]

aww yeah, that does sound good. i still have my grandma... she is 92 and pretty healthy considering her age, but you still never know.. so it would be nice to get some advice. i also feel like i'm not doing much comforting with her over the loss of my grandpa.. i just feel awkward asking her how she feels about it and stuff. but i hope just being there for her and helping her out when i can is a way of being there for her.

i also have to think about where to get my books.. a store, online, or a library. there are also some sites like netflix, but for books, that might be interesting. i don't have a library card, and the thought of handling books that have been who-knows-where makes me feel a little icky, lol. maybe i can find a book cover thingy. anyway, that was probably too much ranting.

wow.. 16 teenagers, good luck with that, haha.

[hyperstarre]

i'm still working on atonement ... yes, i'm taking forever.

and i really want to read eat pray love! everyone tells me it's good!

[cayters]

wait.. is this book religious? because i'm not religious that much, but i am open to the ideas...

reading about this book, "into the light" kind of reminds me of books by allison dubois. she's the person that the show "medium" is about. i've thought about checking out her book about her experiences..

[kmom]

confusinglyamusing said:

wait.. is this book religious? because i'm not religious that much, but i am open to the ideas...

reading about this book, "into the light" kind of reminds me of books by allison dubois. she's the person that the show "medium" is about. i've thought about checking out her book about her experiences..

I, personally, did not find Into the Light to be a religious book - spiritual, maybe. If I recall, Dr. Lerma does not cram any real belief system down your throat, he just reports what he's seen and heard from his patients. It's kind of like he is reporting his "Ah-Ha" moment after seeing the same process repeat over and over in his patients. I liked the fact that he is not really trying to convice you of what you should believe, but just reports what he's seen. When I read the synopsis and reviews on Amazon, it almost didn't seem like the same manuscript that I read; but, looking at the chapters in the "Look Inside" of the book option on Amazon, I recognized the stories and patients.

On the other hand -- I am thinking that the "90 Minutes in Heaven" might have more of a religious tone to it -- which is why I am a little cautious until I read it.

Interesting that you mention Allison DuBois. I really enjoyed her first two books "Don't Kiss Them Goodbye" and "We Are Their Heaven", but just read the third one, "Secrets of the Monarch" and did not like it nearly as well as the first two. I would definitely recommend the first two. They are well done and she is a good author/storyteller/person (IMO). For Allison DuBois books, you would have to be open to the idea of Mediums, but if you have seen the show, then you have an idea. I have never seen the show, but have been around mediums before and had a real interest in her stories. They are well done.

[cayters]

ok, that's good to know about into the light. thanks.

also glad to hear you enjoyed 2 of allison's books. i really enjoy the show, so i thought reading some books by the real woman would be interesting too.