Feeding My Brain

[angelbaby]

Can any one suggest to me some good books to read. I'm getting better with my scripture reading, so that's a given anyway = but i mean books in general. Fiction, non fiction anything. LDS standards ofcourse though. I want to start reading more and get my brain working again ... like it did before I had children Any suggestions would be appreciated.
ange

[mom_of_jcchlsm]

That's a really broad question! What are your interests?

Our RS has had a reading group for the last several years - we call ourselves the "Literacy Ladies." We meet about 9 times a year (once a month, minus a few when it doesn't work out), rotating from one sister's home to another. Our December meeting is always Poetry Night - we each bring and read aloud a poem we have discovered (or rediscovered) during the year and we also bring suggestions for the next year's reading materials. We try to take in a free or cheap Shakespeare play each summer (and read the play the month before). Generally, we read the book of the month on our own and then meet to discuss it at the home of the sister who recommended the book. She leads the discussion and will generally have done some research / printed out questions or additional info about the book or the author for us. Most people bring a snack to share and we have a really good time.

Here's a quick list of books our group has read over the last few years (I don't remember the names of all the authors and my spelling may be bad):
The Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card (first in a series so you may get hooked - LDS author)
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom (we had a very interesting discussion on this one)
Schindler's List
As You Like It by Shakespeare
The Odyssey by Homer
The Giver by Lois Lowry (I loved his other books, too)
Midwives by Chris Bohjalian (don't read while pregnant!)
St. Peter's Fair by Ellis Peters (not my favorite genre, but good book)
My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok (unsettling, but very good)
MacBeth by Shakespeare
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Silas Marner by George Eliot (I really liked this one)
The Scarlet Pimpernell
Too Late the Phalarope by Alan Paton (kinda strange, but very interesting)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Watership Down by Richard Adams
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (we read this before the movie came out)
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis (a classic - if you haven't read it yet, you should)
The Red Badge of Courage
The Good Earth (made me sad, but it was powerful)
A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
To Kill a Mockingbird
An American Childhood by Annie Dillard
Love Comes Softly
Emma
Illusions by Richard Bach(?)
Girl with a Pearl Earring (great book)


I like having a group with different tastes who lead me to read things I would not choose on my own. I also really like having the externally imposed time limit - otherwise I wouln't get through some books at all. But most of all, I love having other people to discuss them with.

[Seraphim Moonshadow]

Um, a lot of those books have a LOT of swearing in them, just to let you know. Ella Enchanted (before the horrible movie) is a good book. So are "The Ragwitch" and "The Enchanted Forest Chronicles."

[thebomb7652000]

If you want some really good reading I would recomend the louis l'amour collection although my personal favorite out of all his books is (The lonely men) its a book you can read over and over again. well good luck I hope this helps.

[Seraphim Moonshadow]

Do you have a particular genre you'd like to explore?

[Maureen]

Silas Marner by George Eliot (I really liked this one)[/b]

You have excellent taste 'mom'. May I also suggest anything by Jane Austen. My favorite of hers is Mansfield Park but Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice are wonderful reading. She has the best protagonists and antagonists; they are such rich, interesting characters. Give her work a try angelbaby, it might take a few pages to get into her writing style but once you do, it's wonderful entertainment.

M.

[Jason]

Dan Brown's novels (DaVinci Code is great).

Louis L'amour is ok (Sackett series are the best).

John Grisham novels are good as well.

[Sugarbay]

Sometimes you have to have dessert in your brain. Clive Cussler writes some fun books withhishero Dirk Pitt, played recently by Matt McConoughy in SAHARA. Fun fiction.

[angelbaby]

those are some excellent suggestions. i will follow up what i can. i actually just started Sense & Sensibility. I haven't read Emma, but loved the movie so i'll read that when i get a chance. I am not really sure what particular genre i like just yet. I know that sounds dumb. I love poetry, i write when i can, i find it clears the mind. I just started De bono's "beautiful mind", i like those kinds of books (psychology, body language, things that get you thinking about how things work), but he just goes on and on with very basic principles and repeats himself an awful lot. Or is it just me lol.

[BenRaines]

Jason and Sugarbay. I have read most things by both those authors.

Also Dale Brown-Dreamland series. Flight of the Old Dog and many others

Alistair McLean

John Grisham

Michael Crichten or something like that.

Edgar Rice Borroughs

Steven Hunter

W.E.B Griffin

Those are a few that I read.

Ben