Suggestions For One Book?

Question

I told my husband I would cut back on the amount of books I would read this year. (I read 50 last year, which I don't think is that much) Like a dummy, I said I would only read 1 book a month, so I need to make it a good one. Which one should I read this month? I like pretty much anything, except for romance novels!

WoW! I gave some of you the wrong impression. It was my idea to cut back on how much I read, not my husband's idea. Sorry I didn't say that in the first place. Thank you for your concern though.

Answer 1

50 books a year is not too much.Read as much as you want.

Dresden file book series by Jim Butcher.There are 8 books in the series beginning with stormfront.It narrates the story of Harry Dresden,chicago's only professional wizard who works as a detective.He stands between the general population who is ignorant about the supernatural world and the monsters - vampires,werewolves,fallen angels,fey.He is aided by Bob,a talking skull.Karrin Murphy-a police officer and Thomas-a white court vampire.


Dragonjousters series(joust,alta,sanctuary,Ayerie) by Mercedes Lackey.The setting is ancient Egypt.Hunger, anger, and hatred are constants for young Vetch, rendered a brutally mistreated and overworked serf by the Tian conquest of his homeland. But everything improves when a Tian jouster requisitions Vetch to become the first serf ever to be a dragon boy. His training is intense, and his duty clear-cut: to tend his jouster, Ari, and his dragon, Kashet. That is only the beginning.The rest of the books are about his escape to Alta,how the war between the two kingdoms is stopped etc.

Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini.When his best friend, a young clergyman, is killed in a mockery of a duel by an arrogant noble, just to quiet his eloquent expressions of democratic ideals, Andre-Louis Moreau vows revenge. From that point, through meteoric careers as a consummate actor and scenario writer, then as a fencing master, and finally a politician, the brilliant Moreau keeps thwarting the aims of the aristocratic Marquis de la Tour d'Azyr. However, the nobleman causes pain to Moreau as well, and the time must come when the two will meet to settle their enmity once and for all. You are not likely to guess how their confrontation finally turns out. Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, this swashbuckling novel is exciting throughout, and it presents one of the most dashing heroes in fiction, a man who can fight equally well with his mind, his mouth, his pen, and his sword, a man who stirs up events wherever he goes.

The Time-Master trilogy By Louise Cooper.(review from Amazon)The books are 'The Initiate',The Outcast and The Master.It tells the story of Tarod a fascinating anti-hero, evolving throughout the series from a loyal disciple of Order to the God of Chaos that is his true heritage, with the repeated examination of his humanity thrown into the mix.

The door to december by Dean Koontz.A psychiatrist's daughter was kidnapped by her ex-husband years ago. When the daughter is finally found, the real fight begins. One by one the people who held her captive become mysteriously tortured and killed. Everyone is afraid the young girl will be next.

The mystery unravels as to what happened to the young girl while she was kidnapped. The young girl, Melanie, is unable to speak, but her mother soon learns that the young girl went through extreme torture as her father used her for a rat in his experiments.

The Vivero letter by Desmond Bagley.Jeremy Wheale's well-ordered life is torn apart when his brother is murdered by a mob hit man, whose bait was a family heirloom - a sixteenth-century gold tray. The trail takes Wheale from Devon to Mexico and the wild tropical rain forests of Yucatan. In dense jungle, he helps two archaeologists locate the rest of a fabled hoard of gold - treasure from Uaxuanoc, the centuries-old lost city of the Mayas. But his brother's enemies are on Wheale's trail, and with them are the Chicleros, a vicious band of convict mercenaries.

Landslide by Desmond Bagley.Bob Boyd wakes up in a hospital with no memory,the only surviver of an accident.He was burned badly all over and needed extensive plastic surgery which was payed by a mysterious sponser.He is told that he's a geology student with a bad history.However Bob recovers and gets on with his life.Hired by the powerful Matterson Corporation to survey land before they build a great new dam, he begins to uncover the shaky foundations of the Matterson family and becomes a fly in their ointment.His accident and the Matterson family have more in common than he thought.

Short story collections by O.Henry.The Cop and the Anthem by O.henry.Its about a young tramp Soapy who tries desperately to get arrested so that he can spend the winter in jail.He eats in expensive restaurents,steals,insults women,cause general mayham.But to no avail.he just doesn't get arrested until...
The Gift of the Magi,From the cabby's seat,Last leaf all by the same author are terrific stories.

Answer 2

I don't think that 50 books over the course of a year is a lot, myself, either. BUT, if you must limit yourself....
The Kite Runner is an excellent read. I don't remember the author but it's by/about Afghanistan people.
Also, The Rainmaker by John Grisham is pretty good.
I'm working on Manhunt, the 12 day hunt for the men who killed President Lincoln.
These are just the most recent books I've read. I read a lot too!
Oh, and they're nice and long, should take you a little while to read. Have fun! :)

Answer 3

I work in a Library, I could give you dozens of titles, but I won't because this is one scary situation -- am I the only one who sees this? You read too many books? What a horrible wife you are! Next thing, he won't like the way you looked at his mother or you breathe too heavily on the phone. I hate to use a cliche, but this is a slippery slope, and you already know his is an unreasonable demand. You said so yourself: You don't think reading 50 books a year is too much (and neither does anyone else on here.) You feel like a dummy for agreeing... I gotta' quote Abby or Ann -- one of 'em said it: "Wake up and smell the coffee..." I am smelling control freak here. PUH-lease read as many books as you want, and listen to your gut. Please take care of yourself.

Answer 4

Only one book? So I'd like to recommend Naguib Mahfouz's "The Cairo Trilogy", he's awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1988, the only one among the Arab world. I've never heard his name or read his books before, then I decided to buy the book to read and hoped his Prize should guarantee his fame and authorship. I wasn't disappointed and I will read it again. It's a readable, understandable English version translated from the Arab by a four-scholar team.

Moreover, please visit the web site below for more interesting titles, find some to read and enjoy the whole of your Happy New Year 2007.

Answer 5

Go to Infoplease.com and pick one off a list of best books. I finished reading The 100 best books of the 20th century in February. I started in 2000. I read some other books between the 'best ones' as some of the 'best' were boring.

Now why would your husband not want you to read so much? What does he read? Try to interest him in reading what you are reading and have some discussions with him. Perhaps he feels you are not paying enough attention to him so included him.

Keep reading as much as you can. It is good for relaxation, education, expanding your mind and entertainment.

Answer 6

Cut down on books???!! What's wrong with him??? Of course unless you're reading all night long.Read every book you can get your hands on. Burgess Meredith was right, although he wasn't smart enough to walk down the street to the Optometrists store.(Twilight Zone) We were in a bookstore one time (my daughter 12 years old at the time...) and she asked me if we could buy this book she was looking at. I yelled."How many times have I told you about reading books when we have a perfectly good TV and VCR at home??!!!" Oh man, you should have seen the looks I got!! I just got done reading Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. It's a wonderful book and a quick read. You should tell him he has to give up something he enjoys.

Answer 7

Why cut back? What is the harm in reading? And 50 is not that much, compared to the about 300 a year I read. If you want to read, read, don't let anyone stop you.

Answer 8

WOW!! only 1 a month!! I loved the book 'Running w/ Scissors' by Augusten Burroghs. I read about 5 amonth,plus I'm in a book club and we meet once a month for our discussion on the selected book.

Answer 9

The Collected Works of William Shakespeare?

The Collected Works of Louis Lamour

The Collected Works of Agath Christie

The Collected Works of PG Wodehouse

(I think you can see the pattern here.)

Of course you could always go the "How to Replace Your Husband in 30 Days!!!" route.

but seriously...
Nocturnal Butterflies of the Russian Empire: A Novel
by Jose Manuel Prieto
Wonderful, beautiful, words fail me.

Answer 10

Try reading Eragon, Artemis Fowl, or Eldest, the sequel of Eragon. Eragon is done by Christopher (or Christophor, I forget) Paolini, Artemis Fowl (series) is by Eoin Colfer, and Lord of the Rings, top notch, J.R.R Tolkien. The movie was absolutely good, but Eragon was horrible with the book against it.