Friday, November 26, 2010

Read a Good Book

Pirategeek9 and Calandreya were both interested in things that I read. Normally, I read constantly, but lately it’s been lacking. I just haven’t really found the time to sit down and read a book.

The book series that I am trying to read now is Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. So far, it’s great. You can read my review here. I tend to stick to books more like this. (Vampires, Werewolves, Wizards, etc.) Mostly because I like to escape and these books take me to a place I can never go.

The Anita Blake Novels, Twilight, The Mortal Instrument Series, The Vampire Chronicles, Maximum Ride, etc. These are all favorites of mine. But my all time favorite book is The Giver by Lois Lowry and has been since I was younger. I remember reading it in school and have read it over and over again since then.  I can't even describe it without writing an entire post about just that book, so click here if you are interested.

Growing up I was always into the Goosebumps books and had like every one of them ever made. Then I got into more of the teenage angst books. I read a lot of Sarah Dessen and while she is good, its definitely not my style anymore.

I had actually went on a reading hiatus for a long time and wasn’t really sure which genre called to me. Then my sister gave me Twilight one day. (It was before the movie came out and totally took over everything and everyone started hating it because of all the hype.) I wasn’t too excited about it, because I wasn’t sure if I’d like the whole Vampire fantasy thing.

I read all four books in the series in a week. Then I re-read them. I would skip work so that I could stay home and read. And then I would stay up until the wee hours of the morning reading because I just could not put them down.

My aunt asked me once how she could get her daughter to start reading and I handed her Twilight. Her daughter reads daily, now. She thanks me all the time for the suggestion.

Make fun of Twilight as much as you’d like, but that series is the reason I picked up reading again. And there is a reason so many people are fans.

James Patterson is another one of my favorite authors. He was responsible for the brilliant novels that are Maximum Ride. I’ve read a bunch of his mystery novels too featuring Alex Cross as a detective. They are all page turners.

So, Jumble Mashers, what’s your favorite book?

19 comments:

Leigh said...

I've never read The Giver....I'll have to check that one out!

hed said...

I read my first Sarah Dessen book a month ago, it was pretty good-even at 30.

Yeah, I got sucked into Twilight much like you. I always ALWAYS read on my lunch break at work and I forgot a book. One of my young servers had Twilight in her bag and let me borrow it. Read them all within a month. It's like crack.

hed www.hedabovewater.com

Anonymous said...

I may or may not be a total Twi-Hard mom. *shifty eyes* You need to read the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Oh, and I LOVE The Giver!

And now I need to go fantasize about Emmett Cullen. Have a great day.

Keyda-chan said...

I remember when my friend suggested the Twilight books to me, loooong before the movies came out. I always thought that they were great, and I still do. I mean, I still own all four of them. My friends and I even went to the midnight release party of Breaking Dawn :D

The same friend seems to suggest books for me to read all the time (she and I are both avid readers and like the same style). Recently I read The Mortal Instruments series on her request and, while I thought it was a bit slow at first, after a little while I couldn't put them down!

Another one that she suggested, and I only mention this one because it seems like something you might like, based on your post, was the Modern Tales of Faerie trilogy. They are written by Holly Black and the books are Tithe, Valiant, and Ironside. My friend and I both really like them; they have that dark fantasy element we both really enjoy.

As for my favorite book? I'd probably have to say the Harry Potter series. If I were to choose one, it would have to be Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I am seriously such a Harry Potter nerd. Like, I wrote a whole post about all of the Harry Potter goodies I own and such. Seriously, it's borderline obsession. Doesn't help that I AM completely obsessed with Severus Snape. Just...ahhhh....yummy.
Anyway.

(I also really like Sarah Dessen. I've read several of her books and own many of them. I always thought it was neat that she incorporated many of the characters in quite a few of the books.)

Rebecca said...

thanks for the great book reviews been looking for something to read

Tress said...

@Jess- Yep, add it to your list :)

@Hed- Aren't they wonderful?!? LOVE Twilight.

@Tame- HAHA I LOVE IT!! Twi-Moms are the best. Emmett is my favorite Vamp, but I'm Team Jacob all the way.

@Keyda- Ooo! I'll have to check out that series!! I've never even heard of it! I must admit, I've never ever read a Harry Potter book and have only seen the first movie. No reason behind it, just haven't gotten around to it. I LOVE how Dressen carries some of her characters into other books. I LOVE IT.

@Becca- You're welcome! I hope you like at least one that I recommended! LOL

Aimee said...

I like reading fantasy books as well because I like escaping real life sometimes. I LOVED Twilight but I got so angry when it got blown out of proporation and I wasnt a big fan of most of the movies. I hate how it turned into Team Edward and Jacob and it was like "oh Robert Pattinson is SOO hot" BLECH! But I completly agree with you about Twilight and not being able to put those books down.

I also love James Patterson. I love muystery and murder novels.

I of course love Harry Potter. That is by far my favorite series of all time.

My favorite book of all time is The Pillars of the Earth. When I first read this amazing and long book (its huge) I thought this needs to be a movie. Well they turned it into a series on starz... But seriously its such a good book and I recommend it to anyone. Its a long book but you wont want to put it down.

BB said...

James Patterson, John Grisham, Michael Robotham, Kathy Reichs are among my all time favorite authors. However, my friend Garnet wrote in a blog once that she was reading a good mystery and coudn't put it down even though it started off slow. The book was The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. So I decided to try it and sure enough this book was so interesting and suspenceful. A big book too. I didn't want it to end but when I got to the the very last page (seriously) I was so disappointed at the way it ended. I told Garnet and she told me that it's a trilogy set. Thank God so I ordered it through my Ebates and am awaiting #2 and #3. Can't wait to continue it. Now that's what I call a good read much like your Twilight I guess.

not displayed said...

Tried Twilight but couldn't really get into it. Loved all the Harry Potter though. Harry Potter was what really got my eldest reading. Just wish I could find the key for the other one.

Pragmatic Spector said...

The Giver was a good read. I read it when I was 6, and it opened a couple doors for me. For one it got me hooked into Dystopian novels such as a Clockwork Orange and 1984 to name a few. it's a good stepping ground for people who want to branch off to much heavier stuff.

PirateGeek9 said...

I got mentioned in a post. I feel special.

I've never read The Giver, but I shall add it to my very long "Someday List."

Twilight...I'll just say that I've avoided it, but my YA Lit prof convinced me to read them eventually. I won't pass judgment until then.

And I agree with Tame. You (and everyone else in the world) must read The Hunger Games. More about it's awesomeness over on my bloggy blog.

Meg O. said...

LOL.... Goosebumps. That's a blast from the past! Remember the ones where you could choose your own ending?! LOVE IT!

ImplausibleYarn said...

We are like book twins! I have a very special place in my heart for The Giver and my reacation to Twilight was very similar in that I went out and bought the read and read them and then re-read them and recommended them. Have you tried Soulless by Gail Carriger? That was my most recent stay up late obsessive reading series.

Tress said...

@Aimee- I completely agree about the Twilight movies. I hate when people hate Twilight and haven't even read the books. They just hate it because it got blown up. I am going to have to read the Harry Potter books. A few people have mentioned them now. I think I'm missing out. I'm also curious about The Pillar of the Earth.

@Barb-Oh I like John Grisham, too! I forgot about him! I actually bought The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and have yet to read it. It's sitting on my bookshelf all lonely. I may have to start on that today.

@Mynx-Aw, really? You didn't like Twilight? Again, I think I'm gonna have to try Harry Potter.

@Pragmatic-I agree. The Giver was so much different from anything I'd read when I'd read it. I absolutely loved it and it really got me into reading in the first place.

@Pirategeek-You are special :) lol. You should at least give Twilight a try. As I've said, it got blow out of proportion but the books are really good. The Hunger Games will have to be added to my list!

@Meg O-Yes I do! I was actually thinking about those very ones when I was writing the post. LOL

@IY-Yay for being book twins!!! LOL. I have not read Soulless. But I always love the stay up late obsessive reads! Thanks for the recommendation.

Uninspired Blogger said...

My absolute favorite is The Dragonlance Chronicles, they're a trilogy. You should totally read them. They are brilliant.

Lyndylou said...

The Host by Stephanie Meyers is really good too and totally different from the Twilight series which I also love.

I love love love the Harry Potter books, escapism at it's best and funny too.

Maximum Ride series is also ace.

Have just read my daughter's books called Shiver and Linger by Maggie Stiefvater about werewolves and they are really good!

I just love books :-)

Calandreya said...

I loved all the ones you love, myself, so we might have similar wavelengths about such things. Maybe. A few years ago, Peregrin and I put together a list for young readers, stuff we consider basics and really good. It's a pretty long list, so I'll just mention a few highlights:

Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series, 7 Day Magic and Half Magic by Edward Eager, Enchantment by Orson Scott Card and possibly his Alvin Maker series, Steven Brust's Jhereg series, Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, (adults) A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore, and, seriously, this list could go on for pages. If you want the whole thing, let me know.

My personal favorites are The Princess Bride by William Goldman, Illusions by Richard Bach, and The Postman by David Brin, but I like so many that, again, a comprehensive list of favorites would be miles long.

Tress said...

@Uninspired- I would add them to my list! Thank you!

@Lyndy-I've been meaning to read the Host and just haven't gotten around to it. When it first came out I was waiting for it to go paperback and then I just kinda forgot about it. I love Werewolf books, too! I may have to check those out.

@Calandreya-I love the Princess Bride! I would love to see that list! I'm always up for suggestions and that list seems like it could keep me busy for a long time!

FreeFlying said...

Oh! I'm going to look at some of those! You should get on goodreads.com and make a list so I can read all of your recommendations. I've found so much good stuff from there. Let me know if you do so I can add you!