Can someone suggest a book for me?

Question

I've always said that one of my favorite things to do is read, but i realize now how much i DON'T read anymore...I want to start reading again, but i don't know where to begin. I'm 19, in college and looking for something of a 'page-turner' that actually has something to say!
Can someone recommend a book that has inspired them... something i can pick up for the summer and still want to read later.. (not looking for a trashy 'romance' novel)
Here are some of the books I've already read (and liked)
The Giver
The Outsiders
The great Gatsby
Of mice and men
Jayne Eyre
Pride & Prejudice
The little Prince
Follow Your heart
Blood
Valentina
The Ladies' Paradise
Little Women
Lord of the Flies
Aesop's Fables

p.s. Has anyone read any of Jennifer Weiner's books? Are they any good?

Oh yeah, I've also read The Catcher in the rye and i still have it, as well as the Diary of Anne Frank.

Keep 'em coming plese. Thanks so much! ♥

Okay, so i purchased Tale of Two cities on Amazon and will be reading it as soon as it gets delivered (it had good reviews-I hope I won't be dissapointed)
Now I'm looking at the other titles..
I would really appreciate it if I could get a brief description of those books..
Example:
Title/Author: a story about.... bla bla
^___^

Answer 1

If you like those books, then you will surely like Captains and the Kings by Taylor Caldwell.

That book definitely has something to say.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

the wolves of Willoughby chase, Sounder, the search for delicious—Natatlie Babbit, The ancient one, Strawberry Girl—Lois Lenski, Tucker, A string in the harp, Queenie Peavy, A little princess, the secret garden, Indian Captain—Lois Lenski, Flowers for Algernon--Daniel Keyes, Go Ask Alice, A Child Called It--David Pelzer, Summer of My German Soldier--Bette Green, Watership Down--Richard Adams, Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind--Suzanne Fisher Staples, Tuesdays With Morrie--Mitch Albom, The Old Man and the Sea--Ernest Hemingway, I Never Played the Game--Howard Cosell, Lonesome Dove--Larry McMurtry
Mississippi Bridge Taylor, Mildred
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Lewis, C.S.
Missing May Rylant, Cynthia
Where the Red Fern Grows Rawls, Wilson
Bud, Not Buddy Curtis, Christopher Paul
Tuck Everlasting Babbitt, Natalie
The Great Gilly Hopkins Paterson, Katherine
Bronx Masquerade Grimes, Nikki
Hoops Myers, Walter Dean
Island of the Blue Dolphins O’Dell, Scott
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Taylor, Mildred
Because of Winn-Dixie DiCamillo, Kate
The Westing Game Raskin, Ellen
Black Beauty Sewell, Anna
A Wrinkle in Time L’Engle, Madeleine
Gifted Hands Carson, Ben
Jacob Have I Loved Paterson, Katherine
Let the Circle be Unbroken Taylor, Mildred

Answer 3

I have read and reread all of these books, some countless times and still look forward to being in them again.

The Secret History, Donna Tartt... explores the bizarre ethics of a group of hyper-intelligent privileged college kids, dark, compelling & somewhat creepy.

Snow Falling on Cedars, David Guterson... so vivid that when I close my eyes I can see dripping moss covered cedars and deep oily green water...about the past, lost oportunities and redemption in the present

The Shipping News, E Annie Proulx... Don't see the film first, let your mind create the beautiful ice shattered rocks, the welling up sensation of being drowned in your own misery and of having a hand pull you from the darkness... yep, redemption again.

Cloudstreet and Dirt Music, both by Tim Winton... both create a vivid reality (set in Australia) and have flawed central characters who are somehow loveable

Persuasion, Jane Austen... more wracked with melodrama than Pride and Prejudice, my favourite line "...you pierce my soul..." It's about love delayed and feelings hidden.

Miss Smilla's Feeling For Snow, Peter Hoeg... you know how hitting your hand really hurts when it's cold...well this book is intense and searing in just the same way. It has a driving pace that will make you gobble it up way too fast. Read it with a blanket even in summer

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee... there's no reason not to read this book, It's uplifting and moral. It compels us to view everyone with an eye unclouded by prejudice.

Alias Grace, Margaret Atwood...set round 1840s Canada. Grace, a maid, is convicted of murdering her employer. How did she get to this point and did she do it? Public speculates, Doctors of the mind swarm.

The Great Railway Bizarre, Paul Theroux... yes it's armchair travel but I really enjoyed it anyway. It has a bit of history and politics with lots of scenery and strange characters.

I've left out the Famous Five, Enid Blyton... they're best kept for exam time ha ha. Hope you enjoy them (c;

Answer 4

I read Jennifer Weiner's book "In Her Shoes" (the one the movie was based on). I though it was really good, better than the movies. A friend of mine read some of her others and really liked them too. I have a hard time figuring out books to read too. A lot of times I just go to the public library and walk through the aisles and pick up random books and read the back or inside cover to see what they are about. I've found some pretty good ones that way. Good luck!

Answer 5

I can see you like a lot of classics. :D You have good taste.

I would reccomend:
1984 by George Orwell
Brave New World by Auldus Huxley
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

They're all brilliant classics, and you'll more then likely love them.

Answer 6

The Good Earth, The Old Man and the Sea, Johnny Tremain, A Separate Peace

Answer 7

My personal favorite is a book of short stories by Guy DeMaupessant, a French author. The stories are very short stories about people and their lives but what I really like are the way he can put an unexpected twist on the end of a story.

Answer 8

Try "Parfum" by Patrick Suskind...

wiki says some of the following...

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is a 1985 literary historical horror novel (originally published in German as Das Parfum) by German writer Patrick Süskind. The novel explores the sense of scent, and its relationship with the emotional meaning that scents may carry. Above all this is a story of identity, communication and the morality of the human spirit.

Plot introduction
An international bestseller, set in 18th century France, Perfume relates the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, "one of the most gifted and abominable personages in an era that knew no lack of gifted and abominable personages".

Born lacking a personal odour (a fact other people find disquieting) but endowed with an incomparable sense of smell, he apprentices himself to a perfumer and becomes obsessed with procuring the perfect scent that will make him fully human. In the process, he creates perfumes—presumably based on pheromones—that powerfully manipulate human emotions, murdering 25 girls to take their scent.

Ermatrude says;
"It's a wonderfully written pleasure, from cover to cover.
Enjoy..."

Answer 9

Some recent books I've been reading and I'd recommend are:
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Maximum Ride series by James Patterson (books by order go angel experiment (1st), school's out forever (2nd), and saving the world and other extreme sports (3rd)
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (wasn't real impressed by this one)
Ted Dekker books (The trick with Dekker is you pretty much have to go in order of publication of his books b/c he links most of them with references back even though they're 'seperate'. I suggest Blink or THR3E though. Those have no 'linkings', and are excellent page turners.)

Answer 10

The Diary of Anne Frank.
Daddy's Little Girl-Mary Higgins Clark.

Answer 11

If you loved the movie, Forrest Gump, the book is better. I advise anyone to read it, I was laughing and crying all the way through. There is also a sequel book to it. I enjoyed it so much, I let my 13 year old son read them, and he could not wait to read more. Any book that a 13 year old that usually does not like to read, makes them want to stay up just a little bit more to read, is a winner in my book. Great READ!