A Crazy Amazing Reading List

cutting-for-stone.jpgI'm trying to get back into the habit of reading before bedtime, as both a means to transport and unwind. I so enjoyed Katherine Center's book recommendations earlier this year so I decided to query on my social channels for literary inspiration. The responses were so fantastic that I wanted to post the recommendations here, both to share the wealth and archive for myself. I left the responses intact instead of simply listing the books because the comments definitely are helping guide my choosing. Print this list out for your library/used book tote or go crazy at your local bookstore or on Amazon (note: I included affiliate links below). Thanks to everyone who commented in, and enjoy! And if you have other books to recommend, feel welcome to add them to the comments.
Via Twitter:

  • @nancyholtzman: If you haven't read ROOM that gets my pick. Couldn't put it down. author Emma Donoghue.

  • @Misserikas: Chris bohjlian's new book is what I'm reading so far so good:)

  • @ummnuseebah: read God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy. it's a beautiful read, with gorgeous use of language.

  • @liasynthis: Let The Great World Spin. Really enjoying it.

  • @domnicella: Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet or Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Also, Cleopatra (nonfiction).

  • @RockcCT: invisible bridge is a big but compelling book - a must read!

  • @acbranger: fav book ever Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. Also loved Cutting for Stone

    Via Facebook:

  • Carmen: Read Outlander. It's a bit slow for the first 100 pages or so, but rapidly picks up steam and will hold your interest like no other for the next 7 books. No, really - I promise.

  • Sarah: I don't generally read novels but when I do it's chick lit by Jane Green, Jennifer Weiner or Sophie Kinsella. Have you read Little Earthquakes?

  • Mara: Just finished Falling Together by Marissa de Los Santos - highly recommend.

  • Liz: The Hunger Games (if you haven't already)... Recently finished Minding Frankie (Maeve Binchy) and Nineteen Minutes (Jodi Picoult), and currently working on A Week in December, Sebastian Faulks.

  • Marie: I second Hunger Games. Or along those lines, The Maze Runner. Or I have a whole other list of teen sci-fi post-apocalyptic novels to choose from :)

  • Mark: The Art of Fielding has lived up to the hype.

  • Jennifer: If you go the Outlander route, let me know. Read the first five books and enjoyed them. Also just read S**t My Dad Says which was given to me as a gift. Not really a novel but totally hilarious!

  • Sharon: Cutting for Stone by Verghese or The Invisible Bridge by Orringer - both GREAT reads!

  • Sharon: This might sound really lame... I'm re-reading The Thorn Birds!

  • Marcy: Have you read Middlesex? I think it's actually the best novel I've ever read. So well written. The language is inspiring, and the characters are really well developed. It's insightful and funny. It took the author 9 years to write it, and you can tell. What did you just finish reading?

  • Liz: Reading Life, the Keith Richards autobio now. Great fun so far.

  • Candy: The Art of Racing in the Rain. Sweetest story ever and the ending will have you in tears of joy :).

  • Susan: Still Alice. Finished it today and really liked it.

  • Sharon: Still Alice is very good as is her next one which I read this summer and also liked, Left Neglected, both by Lisa Genova.

  • Katherine: Cutting for Stone! Just finished it and really enjoyed it :)

  • Paige: Just finished The Night Strangers byChris Bohjalian...highly recommend!

  • Greer: Invisible Bridge, History of Love, Secret Daughter

  • Cynthia: Have been reading Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie mysteries and enjoying them very much. Novels about a declining Britain with a bit of crime and dry humor thrown in.

  • Amy: Sarah's Key and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Both were fantastic stories - both are highly recommended.

  • Kerry: I have to second Sarah's Key, good read.

  • Dianne: I keep re-reading Daphne Du Maurier's House on the Strand - absolutely compulsive.

  • Susan: I read patti smith's memoir just kids - couldn't put it down!

  • Jenny: Blueprints for Better Girls. Vivid writing and interesting tie-ins across the short story characters.

  • Erin: Room by Emma Donoghue

  • Gwen: Cutting for Stone... outstanding!

  • Lisa: The Help and The Book Thief

  • Claire: The Hunger Games Trilogy

    What a bunch of reading rock stars no? I cannot wait to get my hands on a stack of these recommendations! Thank you everyone!