RE: Harry Potter and other book lovers.....need your advise!

JemJen24 · Sep 28, 2003, 07:05 PM

Well, I just finished the last book in the series and now I m depressed. I ve always been able to buy the next Harry Potter book and keep reading, but now I need to pick a whole new book.

Problem is, I don t know what to read. Does anyone have any suggestions on a fun, interresting, suspenseful, read? Reading is one of my favorite past times when camping and I was at a loss when I went to the bookstore yesterday.

I ve considered reading the next Lord of the Rings book before the movie comes out.

Suggestions....

Jennifer

Acts 2:38 girl · Jul 22, 2003, 08:17 AM

JemJen24Not into Harry Poter myself, but I highly recommend the " Left Behind" series. There are like 9 of them out now. The first one really sets the stage and introduces everyone and I found it hard to begin. I stuck to it though, and it was great! It revolves around Bible prophesy and Revelations, and it is interresting, and suspenseful! I also love to read, so I ll follow this post to see what other people suggest!

don · Jul 22, 2003, 08:25 AM

JemJen24Just finished number 5 myself! I went back and started reading number 3 again. LOL.
Any chance you liked Star Trek? Almost every series that they have had is continued in paperpack. It s great to pick one up. It s like an all new epsidoe you never saw and there are tons of the books. I don t think you d run out of new matarial. I pick them up at use book stores cheap.

angelsmom10 · Jul 22, 2003, 08:30 AM

JemJen24I m not into reading, but DD read the last Harry Potter in 1 1/2 days. She passed it over to the other DD, now DH is reading. DD is also re-reading the book again, she said it was so great -- we hope that she takes her time. Growing up, she d sit in her room and read, and read, and read. We couldn t keep her in books; now she s getting back into reading.[:@]

I know that I shouldn t compain.

birol · Jul 22, 2003, 08:41 AM

JemJen24Clive Cussler writes good books ... Tom Clancy too (Hey those are the things I read) [

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angelsmom10 · Jul 22, 2003, 08:47 AM

birol

QuoteORIGINAL: birol

Clive Cussler writes good books ... Tom Clancy too (Hey those are the things I read) [][]

I think DH like Tom Clancy also.

campingboaters · Jul 22, 2003, 08:53 AM

JemJen24I have found that books by Armistead Maupan have been captivating reads. He has a series of books: 28 Barbary Lane, Back to barbary Lane, etc that I could not put down.

Also Christopher Rice has a couple good books (A Density of Souls & The Snow Garden). He is Ann Rice s son -- she is the woman who writes Vampire-type novels. If you are into that type of book, I hear her books are fabulous. I just can t read anything too scarey! [

]

I read the above books years ago. Unfortunately, I have not found enough time to read lately. I did buy the first 4 Harry Potter books in paperback in hopes that I will actually get some reading done soon! I plan on sitting with my daughter and reading a chapter at a time with her. I figure if I don t have the books, I ll never read...[&:]

Dayton Dave · Jul 22, 2003, 10:13 AM

JemJen24I have really enjoyed the John Grisham books over the years. Got every one. And you are right, it will be hard to wait for the next Potter book.

CathyAnn · Jul 22, 2003, 11:12 AM

JemJen24The Mitford series by Jan Karon. The 1st book in the series is At Home In Mitford.

These are wonderful books, but to be honest there s no suspense in them. They are fictional stories of a small town Episcopal (sp?) priest. I have fallen in love with Mitford, the town, the characters. They are very light-hearted and well written. Also not real religious either.

CathyAnn

labontefan · Jul 22, 2003, 12:03 PM

JemJen24I can identify!!! I just finished re-reading " Order of the Phoenix" for the THIRD time! (I ve read the other four at least six or seven times each.)

I read " Lord of the Rings" years ago. I enjoyed them but they re not as much " fun" as the Harry Potter series. However, " The Hobbit" which is sort of the introduction to the trilogy but not actually part of it, is a little lighter than the three books in the trilogy.

Two other authors that I really like for a good " light" read are Janet Evanovich and Diane Mott Davidson.

Evanovich s main character is Stephanie Plum, a 30-something female from New Jersey who s a bounty hunter. She s not a very good bounty hunter--tends to solve cases by lucky accidents. The books are funny and suspenseful...and there are a couple of romantic interests also. I think she s just come out with the ninth in the series. (Which I haven t read yet. Something to look forward to! Yay!!) It s easy to tell the order of the books because they all have a number in the title--" One for the Money" , " Two for the Dough" , Three to Get Deadly" , etc.

Diane Mott Davidson writes " culinary mysteries" . Her main character is Goldy Baer, a caterer who lives in Colorado. In between cooking and catering, she solves murders. One word of warning...these are not good books to read if you re on a diet! She describes the luscious dishes she s cooking in detail and you tend to get very hungy! [

] But the neat thing is, the actual recipes are included in the books!! The titles all sort of refer to food and murder mysteries at the same time. The first one is " Catering to Nobody" , then " Dying for Chocolate" , " The Cereal Killers" , " The Last Suppers" , " Killer Pancake" , etc. There are about eight or nine of them out now.

Another series that s kind of fun are the Mrs. Murphy mysteries by Rita Mae Brown. (Mrs. Murphy is a cat. The books show the authors as Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown. Sneaky Pie is the author s cat.) The main character in the book is a young woman who s the postmaster in the small town of Crozet, VA. Mrs. Murphy is her cat. They solve mysteries in between sorting the mail! LOL!! The books can be a little off-putting at first because the animals in the book talk to each other. It bothered me at first, but then I got used to it!

If you re into sci-fi and fantasy, you might want to check out Anne McCaffrey. She has several different series. There s a trilogy, " The Dragonriders of Pern" , plus several other books about the planet Pern and the dragonriders. Another series starts with " The Rowan" , and another starts with " The Crystalsinger."

I am a VORACIOUS reader so there are always dozens of books lying scattered around the house. I m always on the lookout for a new author!

JemJen24 · Jul 22, 2003, 12:31 PM

JemJen24wow...ask and ye shall receive! ha!!!

Ok...ACTs girl...I enjoy reading biblical fictions. The books you describe sound like such. Am I right?

Don...not into Star Trek, but I laughed when I saw you went back and reread the 3rd. I actually thought about going back and re-reading them as well. LOL

Campingboaters...Anne Rice has a son? Are the books he writes similiar in style to hers? I ve read maybe two or 3 of her books. I like them but it sure takes time getting into them sometimes and one of them (Lasher) was so detailed about who was who s relative that I almost skipped a whole chapter. Also, can you tell me more about the books you mentioned in your post? Subject content. Difficulty to read, etc.

CathyAnn....tell me more about the story line.

LaboneFan...I ll check your recommendations out on Amazon. See if they have pics of the books, etc.

On a side note, and to all those who are avid HP readers, I must say I was a bit perplexed by the last (5th) book in the series. It seemed MUCH darker and not as light hearted as the others. I m not sure if I like Harry s character in this book as much as the others. I was also shocked that one of the main characters was written out of the book and killed off. (won t mention which one since some of you may still be reading). All in all, however, I found the book a great read and am eagerly anticipating the next one. droooollll. I find myself wondering, however, how they can possibly duplicate some of the special effects that they have come up with in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th book.

I really enjoyed the 3rd and 4th books. So far, they are probably my favorites.

Jennifer

CathyAnn · Jul 22, 2003, 01:57 PM

JemJen24Hi Jen-

Went searching and found a little exerpt of At Home In Mitford. It s been a while since I read book 1, so I found this for ya instead.

" At Home in Mitford
The first novel in the beloved Mitford series

It s easy to feel at home in Mitford. In these high, green hills, the air is pure, the village is charming, and the people are generally lovable.

Yet, Father Tim, the bachelor rector, wants something more. Enter a dog the size of a sofa who moves in and won t go away. Add an attractive neighbor who begins wearing a path through the hedge. Now, stir in a lovable but unloved boy, a mystifying jewel theft, and a secret that s sixty years old.

Suddenly, Father Tim gets more than he bargained for. And readers get a rich comedy about ordinary people and their ordinary lives."

campingboaters · Jul 22, 2003, 02:32 PM

JemJen24Here is a website for the Christopher Rice books that probably tells you WAY more than I ever could - http://www.densityofsouls.com/index2.htm

While I have not read any of Ann Rice s books, I have heard how difficult a read they are -- and probably why I never read any of them. Christopher s books are detail oriented in that you get to know his characters well, but it didn t bore me. I read " A Density of Souls" in a few days because I could not put it down. It had a GREAT twist to the ending. I m waiting to get it back from a friend and I plan on reading it again. I have not yet read " The Snow Garden" but I expect it to be as wonderful as his first book. It s waiting in my pile of books to read.

As for the Armistead Maupin books (Tales of the city sequence) -- They are easy reads. Here s Amazon s page on the first three Tales of the City stories held in one hard-back: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060164662/qid=1058898436/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-3017620-7337759?v=glance&s=books

I also enjoyed Armistead Maupin s Night Listener which is somewhat autobiagraphical.

I read the Christopher Rice book on recommendation from the Rosie O Donnell Show (way back when) and I read the Armistead Maupin books on recommendation from a friend. All of those books were the type I could NOT put down after just one chapter. I found myself staying awake very late - unable to stop after each chapter. I wanted to know more about the characters.

madrone · Jul 22, 2003, 05:27 PM

JemJen24Tamora Pierce has several interesting series and she gets better as she goes on. I like the Immortals series a lot, and Protector of the Small, and the two Circle of Magic series.

Other kid s writers you might try are Edward Eager, E. Nesbit, and Diana Wynne Jones.

Robin Hobb is someone I ve just discovered. I really enjoyed her Live Ship trilogy, perhaps because I grew up in a sailing family.

Robin McKinley writes beautiful books. She s done quite a few fairy tale remakes. _Spindle s End_ (a retelling of Sleeping Beauty) and _Rose Cottage_ (a retelling of Beauty and the Beast) are two of my favorites.

Many people suggest Susan Cooper s _Dark is Rising_ series and Philip Pullman s
Golden Compass series for fans of Harry Potter. Ptui! Susan Cooper is dark and
depressing and Christian allegorical (like C.S. Lewis, who has always struck me as morbid and mean-spirited). Pullman starts out well, but I think his books get boring and predictable.

tlhdoc · Jul 22, 2003, 05:36 PM

JemJen24

QuoteORIGINAL: JemJen24

On a side note, and to all those who are avid HP readers, I must say I was a bit perplexed by the last (5th) book in the series. It seemed MUCH darker and not as light hearted as the others. I m not sure if I like Harry s character in this book as much as the others.

I thought each of the stories was a little darker than the one before it.

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