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My absolute fav too was The Kite Runner - best book in years for me. I also read a Thousand Splendid Suns which was also fabulous and probably my runner up. I agree Jen at how much it taught me.
Holly, I am a bit nervous to start Shantaram as I can't imagine reading anything else all year with such a big book. How long did it take you and was it easy to read?
I preferred The Kite Runner but The Thousand Splendid Suns has stuck in my mind more so a part of me thinks that it may be a better book although it was much bleaker and the narrative had so much more violence.
I'm like you, Dach - I think Splendid Suns has stuck with me a little more because it was about the women - not that I can relate to any of it as we are so lucky here in Aus, but I could attempt to 'put myself in a position' to feel the horror (for lack of better terminology :redface:), whereas in The Kite Runner it was little bit more distance for me. If that makes sense??!!
Dusty - We read Shantaram in one of my groups, we usually do a book a month approx 500 pages, so we just did it over 2 months.
Its set in 5 parts, so we read the first 3 parts for the first month, and the last 2 parts for the second month.
When we all met after the first month, though, most of us were almost finished.. we all just got sucked into it that much!!!
Its an incredible story - and the way he writes is captivating, you fall in love with so many characters!
The interesting thing, too, is before I read this book, I just didn't enjoy eating Indian food at all - and throughout reading it (and even now) all I did was eat Indian - DH couldn't believe it because he would have to literally drag me to Indian restaurants in the past!
The way that he wrote about the food, you could just taste it - and you wanted to eat it!!!
His descriptions were like that about everything... I can't remember the last time a book effected me that way!
A lot of the older ladies in our book group didn't like it as much (ladies over 60yrs).. they thought he was too egotistical, but I found it quite the opposite!
Made for some lively discussions in our meeting ;)
Everyone else loved it though!
They have just started filming the movie, so that will be interesting to see what they do with it - Johnny Depp is playing the lead role, and I can see that, so its a good start!
I want you to read it now so you can tell me what you think!
Everyone I've lent it to has loved it as much as I have.
*sigh* some of you have listed books that are definitely on my list of 'To read'... But until I finish my course in June (after several long years) I'm afraid it's non-fiction only for me! Loving the suggestions though.
Sonya, I asked DH to get it for me for xmas, read about half of it the first day and had to put it down as all I could think of was those innocent little girls about my DD's age. Picked it up yesterday to finish it off. I don't think I've cried so much reading a book!
Nic
holly you are quite convincing. i am ploughing through books at the moment so i should throw Shantaram into the mix.
Re Kite Runner and Thousand Splendid Suns, one of the differences for me was his use of a woman's voice/character to tell the story in TSS. i thought it gave his writing a slightly different feel and experience for the reader. i also so loved the prose and language in KR which was sometimes almost dreamy in its telling. the story of the two boys was more the focus with an overlay of the happenings of the day, where as in TSS i thought the story moved more due to the events of the times IYKWIM. such 2 splendid books - i imagine there was a bit of pressure on him to produce something that lived up to expectations after KR.
i just finished a quirky book, This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M Holmes - i loved how you never knew what was going to happen next as the story gathered more and more quirky characters and happenings. a good fun read.
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS!!!!
I cried when it was all over, so sad.
Didn't have much time to read books last year as I was in my final year of Uni, but I made time for Harry.
What a great thread. So many good ideas, thanks.
I read Shantaram in a week… on my honeymoon! Kinda weird, I know. I was so captivated by it, poor DH, I think he was happy though (I don’t really remember I was too busy reading). He read it after me and had the same opinion of it as the 60yo ladies you described (DH thought that he (author) was just way too egocentric).
DH and I were listening to an interview with Greg Roberts (Shantaram author) on radio national as we were driving up to Queensland for our honeymoon. After I had heard him speak I just had to read the book. I think you can get the interview as a podcast on the RN website, well worth a listen IMO (if you can find it).
My favourites for 2007
Collapse, Jared Diamond
Born on a Blue Day, Daniel Trammet
Pompeii, Robert Harris
I only got about a third of the way through the Weather Makers (Tim Flannery), it was just too scary and depressing for me.
Hmmm .... I didn't get much reading done at all in 2007 (other than baby books), but I'd have to say the best one I read was "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides, about an intersex person, Callie. It was one that I read for a bookclub I'm a part of.
For anyone wanting good reads, try the Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich. She has written books 1 - 13 with a few novellas thrown in between. These are my absolute favourite books. They are easy to read, not too serious and funny. At times I found myself giggling!