just off the bookshelf
>> Thursday, January 6, 2011 –
book review
i love to read.
i'm one of "those" readers though.
you know the kind.
if the book is really good i sit around in my pj's all day reading.
if the book is really, really good. i'm in my pj's and the family fends for themselves come dinner time.
so. i try not to read too much. :)
i've even come up with my own rating system
i just finished reading The Help.
In Jackson, Mississippi, in 1962, there are lines that are not crossed. With the civil rights movement exploding all around them, three women start a movement of their own, forever changing a town and the way women--black and white, mothers and daughters--view one another.
i give this book 4 shiny gold stars!
my only complaint was that i wasn't ready for it to be over. i wanted to know more.
i'll definitely be passing it around to my family and friends.
***************
my favorite books from last year are The Hunger Games trilogy.
did you read them?
what was your favorite book you read last year?
I really liked the Help also and no, I wasn't ready for it to end.
I can't really think of any I read this year. That is horrible!
Also, I am a reader like you - if I am reading the house could fall down and I wouldn't notice. I love reading and one of my secret dreams is to start with the first book on a library shelf and read them all. There is nothing that a good book can't fix (or make you forget!)
Just started The Hunger Games. Great so far. And The Help was really good too.
I LLOOOOVVVEEEDDD The Hunger Games! That was definitely on my top 5 last year. I also really enjoyed The Outlander series & Shutter Island.
Definitely loved The Hunger Games!
Loved the Help and Hunger Games as well...You should try the Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton, absolutely LOVED it!
Loved The Help and Hunger Games series. I read the Outlander Series, and they may be my favorites of all time. Have you read The Uglies series? It's young adult, but fun reads I thought.
Some other good books:
- These Is My Words
- One Thousand White Women
- Midwives
- Someone Knows My Name
- Snowflower and the Secret Fan
I could go on and on.... I'm a reader like you!
LOVED the help. i am not a big reader but trying to read more in 2011. would love for you to keep posting suggestions as you finish the books.
The Help ranked high on my favorites list for last year-- such an amazing journey of a book. But I believe it was edged out by Broken for You, by Stephanie Kallos-- a wonderful book!
I also loved The Help and I was really excited when I heard it was being made into a movie! YAY!
I like your rating system. :) I read The Help a few months ago and really liked it too. Had a hard time putting it down. I'm pleased to see they're making a movie of it so we'll see how that turns out compared to the book. My favorite book of 2010 was The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum, one of those non-fiction books written to appeal to and be understood by non-experts like myself. It tells the fascinating story of the beginnings of forensic medicine along with some interesting true crime stories involving poison. Fascinating stuff! I hope to read The Hunger Games trilogy this year since everyone keeps raving about it.
The Help is the best book since To Kill a Mockingbird...well, in my opinion. :) The Hunger Games are fantastic too. Even my husband read them! I'm pretty sure they should let me direct the movies.
I really liked The Help too! It was SUCH a great book!
I loved the Help. I thought it was great. I'm finishing the Happiness Project now and am really enjoying it also.
The movie "The Help" was filmed this summer in my hometown. It was really neat to see what they did with our little town. I grew up in the times the book is written about in the deep south. Curious to see how the movie turns out. Thanks for the literary review!
I cried at the end of the Help-they are making it into a movie! Hunger games I have serious mixed feelings-I love a love triangle and so I loved the first two books but I hated the last one. It was awful and depressing. I like to feel good after reading a book since it consumes me (like it does you). And that left me feeling sad.
I loved the Hunger Games, I even got my hubs to read it! Another of my favorites from last year was, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It's a mouthful of a title but a wonderful book. I loved the characters so much, I just wanted to go and meet them all myself!
I've been wanting to read this book! I read the hunger games and I loved them too.
And I love this blog! heck even your rating system is adorable. I'd probably frame it.
I really adore reading Austenland and it was among my favorite books of this year!
Oh! Someone just gave me the help! Now I can't WAIT to read it!
My top 5 (no particular order):
- The House at Riverton, Kate Morton
- The Middle Place, Kelly Corrigan
- The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd
- The Red Tent, Anita Diamant
- Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See
The Hunger Games were my favorite from last year, too! Loved them!
Oh I love The Help and The Hunger Games books!!! You have great taste. :) You should more posts about books every so often. I need a new good one to read!
I loved The Help too. Two other favorites were The American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld and One Day by David Nicholls.
'The Lost Girls' - Jennifer Baggett, Amanda Pressner, Holly C. Corbett
I believe Jerry Bruckheimer is in the process of putting together a television series based on their experiences. Great book! I couldn't put it down.
Jenn, Amanda and Holly - dub themselves The Lost Girls and embark on an epic yearlong search for inspiration and direction. They quit their coveted NYC media jobs and leave behind their friends, boyfriends, and everything familiar to travel the globe. The Lost Girls journey 60,000 miles across four continents and more than a dozen countries, stepping far outside of their comfort zones, embracing every adventure and experience the world has to offer.
I rarely get time to read and my "must read" list was growing constantly so I started using audio books. I have never listened to a better audio book than The Help. Sometimes I feel like I miss out on something with the audio books, but this one I think was even better.
The Hunger Games is my new favorite series! I read them last year, borrowed from a friend, and for Christmas I got my very own boxed set! I am looking forward to getting a chance to read them again! I read each book in about 1-2 days! I too am one of "those" readers!
OM Goodness, i totally loved the help. I was raving to all my friends. Great book, can't wait for them to mess up the movie, just kidding. My reading list is such a blur but I did enjoy all of the Malcolm Gladwell books I received just because his books really make me think and examine things and I loved Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. Now I have to read the Hunger Games because everyone has said how great they were. Thanks for this fun post.
-Joanne
jpineda77@hotmail.com
I'm one of those slow readers. I managed to read a few books this year but my favorite was A Thousand Pleasant Suns. Did a post on it this week http://mannhome.blogspot.com/2011/01/on-book-shelf.html
Love reading the comments and anxious to read The Help plus some others your readers have liked. I gotta read faster!
Bringing Up Girls by James Dobson... one of the best books I've read in a while. I'm not so much a novel reader but more of a self-help reader... but this book is GREAT if you are raising daughters! (There is also Bringing Up Boys by the same author if you have boys and it's just as good)
Haha! I like your rating system! I have been wanting to read The Help. Good to know it will be worth my money. I loved the Hunger Games trilogy. I am always sad when a good series is over. I love to read!
I read 54 books this year so picking a favorite is a little hard. I think I'll have to go with The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton but I also enjoyed a non-fiction book called In The Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White - the story of a leper colony/prison down south. I'll posting my list of books read in 2010 later this week.
I really liked all of "The Hunger Games" books. With the exception of the end of "Mockingjay" they were brilliant. I like her other set of books as well.
My absolute favorite this year though: "The Passage" by Justin Cronin. It is huge, but it sucks you in and won't let go.
Also, if you like teen fiction that isn't terrible, try The Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Steifvater. Very well written. The third one comes out this summer, iirc. :)
I loved "The Help".........I just ordered 'The Immortality of Henrietta Lacks.' The other readers at work are raving about it. SInce I commute 45 miles to work one way this is how I get my 'reading' into my week. Then I donate the books on CD to my local library. It works out great for all of us.
I love this post too, I'm a big reader as is my hubby and kids. We could sit all day and read a book. Sad to say that when my 13 year old is in trouble I ground her from reading for a day, it works like a charm. Our favorite place away from home is our library. Anyhow I love your rating system and I do that too and if the book is really good my kids know that there is pbj's for dinner and nothing in the house gets done, haha. I've never heard of this book but looks good so will check it out. I love to read Danielle Steele books mostly but I have a few other good ones. I loved reading all the comments and getting more book ideas. Thank you for sharing.
My favorite was The Hunger Games as well!!
I LOVED "The Help" and, like you, was not ready for it to be over...it seemed to end abruptly. I would say that was probably my favorite read of last year - and I read over 100 books.
I got a Nook for Christmas and am currently reading "The Hunger Games"...at first I had a hard time getting into it and now I can't put it down!
Love your rating system...
~alicia
i read the Outlander series. LOVED THEM ALL! there are like 8 in the series and they are so hard to put down. love, suspense, adventure, drama, intrigue... all wrapped up in each book!
I'm the same way when it comes to reading. My husband jokes that I eat books for dessert. This year I've read a ton of good books and I really like the Outlander series, but the favorite that comes to mind is "Mennonite in a Black Dress". OMG it was SO funny and witty. It's a quick read and you really will find yourself giggling.
I read The Help last year and it was one of my favorite books ever. I would definitely read it again.
I'd like to read the Hunger Games series but haven't yet.
Last year I started the 52 books in 52 weeks. I came in at 33 books which I thought was pretty good since I only read at night in bed.
heehee Ü i am exactly that sort of reader . . . and hence why i haven't read a book in YEARS because the textbooks are 'supposed' to take priority. bluck.
I love to read! My friends and I started up a small book club this past year and it is the highlight of my month. My favorite book of 2010 was The Help! Our book for January is the first book of the Hunger Games. I can't wait to get started.
Other books to look into:
-One Day by David Nicholls
-The Next Thing on My List by Jill Smolinski
-Room by Emma Donoghue
-Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah (or any of her other books!)
I really enjoyed "The Help" and think it is worthy of 4 stars.
Last year I read and blogged my way through 52 books. My favorite was "These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 Arizona Territories" by Nancy E. Turner.
I just recently found your blog and am already a huge fan. Was super excited to see today's post was about books.
Loved The Help! Two of my other favorite historical fiction books that I read last year were Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and Sarah's Key.
Great post today about books. I got a Nook from B&N for Christmas and now I need to get a pen and piece of paper to make a list of the books I need to download on it. Thanks everyone for the suggestions!
I liked The Help too, the other one is on my list to read. I LOVE The Red Tent (mentioned here already). This year, I loved The Book Thief and Sarah's Key. ALso liked The Art of Racing in the Rain alot.
Yeah, I loved the Help. I don't read enough, but I couldn't stop reading this one.
I'd love to hear more recommendations from you!
I loved Water for Elephants and the Help was also wonderful. Trying to start The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series now... not going as planned. Just not feeling it...
My family knows when I get a new book they won't see me for hours. My hubby took the kids away for the day when I got Breaking Dawn so I could lounge on the couch and read uninterrupted (I married a good man).
I had a hard time with hunger games, it was good but so graphic and violent. I finished it at 2 a.m., no bueno. I really liked the end of the series, unlike a few other commenters.
I can't pick a fave from last year (I probably read 200 books) but EVERYONE should read The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom (I read it this week). AMAZING true story.
Loved both of those! Have you read The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale? I loved it. It is the first in a series of three. Clean and a great story line. My boys loved it too!
Loving me some "Jen rating system." I think I'm gonna use that system for people too. People that bug....one star.
You, of course, are a 5 star individual. :)
I'm kind of like you, I hate to find a book I really like...because I don't do anything else. Like I can barely get up to pee.
My favorite book of all time is "To Kill a Mockingbird" and i re-read it this year. Still the best.
I also love "Team of Rivals" about Lincoln. It was divine.
This sounds like a good one though. One of my goals is to read more this year. I'm obviously succeeding....since I'm on the computer....DOH!!
Your rating system is awesome. My favorite read last year was Water For Elephants ~ it was e of on the stangest books that I have read.
I am the same way!!! My all time favorite book would have to be "Redeeming Love" Francine Rivers. LOVED IT!!!! Couldn't put it down till I was done!
Don't read Girl with the Dragon Tatoo series. The most horribly graphic, sadistic and corrupt book series. Not even good writing with that aside.
LOVED Still Alice. A complete page turner.
Thanks for the recommendation. I'm looking for something new. I got the Hunger Games for Christmas and Oh. My. Gosh!!!! I LOOOOOVE them! Definitely a re-read!! I'll have to look up The Help.
I just finished the Help too.
I was not happy with the ending but the rest of the book was great~
Sandy Toe
If you like YA - The Penderwick's! There are two now and another to come this summer!
Loved The Help and Hunger Games is one of my favorite. I really loved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and also Green Rider by someone Britain and have loved Josi Kilpack's culinary mystery series.
I had a few this year. Cutting for Stone was amazing. I also really liked the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
Loved The Help and The Hunger Games series!
I read a new book called Matched. Check it out! Since you liked The Hunger Games I think you'll LOVE this one! I did :)
I haven't read any of these,.. but I will have to! If I really like a book, I become obsessed, and get sad when I'm done. Then I won't read anything for a while because I'm afraid that it won't be as good as what I just read. I know, it's weird. I just have a hard time getting into books after I've read something really good. I'm coming off of one of those breaks now, so it's nice to have some good recommendations!
My fav book I read last year was A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. A few years old, but SO SO SO GOOD!
I loved "the Help" too!! and I'm so glad i'm not the only one who neglects real life when I get sucked into a good book! my poor boys got completely shunned when i read the hunger games this year!!
Other books I loved were "The Forgotten Garden" by Kate Morton and I just read "Incarceron" by Catherine Fisher which interfered with my new year's keep my house cleaner goal. poop!
I've been running a book club for over 5 years so when ever a blog post comes up about favorite books, I've always got a list of 5 star books to recommend!
Here's a few books we LOVED in 2010
-The Robe, By: Lloyd C. Douglas (A modern classic that will change your life!)
-Ender's Game, By:Orson Scott Card (One of the most famous SiFi books EVER, we were all surprised that we loved it so much but it has amazing dialogue.)
-We also LOVED The Help, it's a must read in my mind.
-We loved the entire Hunger Games series, they are phenomenal YA books that kept me guessing which is refreshing now days.
-We also just finished reading The Guernsey Literary and Potatoe Peel Pie Society and absolutly adored it! That book is a gift to who ever reads it so give it to someone you love.
Other books we've loved are:
-These is my Words By: Nancy Turner (You'll want to pick up the characters from out the pages and take them home with you because they are delightful. Don't let the title discourage you from reading this book, it's worth it.)
-The Forgotten Garden By: Kate Morton (LOVED THIS BOOK!! It's sort of a cross between a gothic fairy tale with a dash of family mystery and a side of Secret Garden imagery.)
-Nine Coaches Waiting, By:Mary Stewart (It's a modern gothic mystery classic that will sweep you off your feet and make you want to buy a plane ticket to France!)
Feel free to look for more ideas and suggestions on our blog at www.bookklubbers.blogspot.com
Happy Reading~
I really liked The Help, too! Considering most of the other books I read last year were read aloud to an under 1 year old or were books about the development of that under 1 year old, The Help pretty much topped the list.
Must read Sarah's Key. So good and you learn something too.
I enjoyed Help! It was the author's first book, so who knows maybe she's planning a sequel.
I am only commenting because I feel so strongly about this (I guess I'm a lurker). I just read "When Crickets Cry" and "Chasing Fireflies" by Charles Martin. Hands down my favorite books of 2010.
"Same Kind of Different as Me" was also very good. Enjoy!
I have read all of these books and LOVED them! They were hands down my faves of 2010!
I loved The Help as well and it was one of my favorite books I read this year. I am just like you as far as reading goes. In fact, I was sick in bed over the christmas break and read four books.
Other than The Help, I also loved "Sarah's Key" and "The Art of Racing in the Rain With Dogs."
I can totally relate to you when you say you are one of 'those' readers. When the Deathly Hallows came out, my husband knew I wouldn't be reachable. I stayed in my pj's and read it in less than 24 hours! And the Hunger Games Trilogy - yeow - three of my all time favorites! - Cares
I just finished "A Month of Summer." I loved it! My other favorite books:
"A Thousand Splendid Suns"
"The Hiding Place"
"The Secret Life of Bees"
"The Help"
"Wednesday Wars"
The Help was one of my favorites this past year! I also loved "Molokai" and "1,000 White Women". I just finished "Life of Pi" and thought it was good, although I had trouble getting into it at first.
I love all of these book suggestions. I am wanting more info about the outlander series. Author?
Those are the books I read last year too and loved them all! I'm waiting for, "Say Your One of Them" to come in the mail. Hopefully it's good.
I heard they are turning "The Help" into a movie.
The Help was excellent and I heard the same about a movie with possibly Emma Stone playing Skeeter, which would be fantastic. Love her.
I got really sick of The Hunger Games fast. Not my favorite.
I read The Maltese Falcon and I really liked that!
The Help was a great book & am def going to read "hunger games". In the spirit of sharing great books:
Room, Emma O'Donoghue (a 'read it in a session' book)
Ransom, David Malouf (if you like historical fiction)
My Name is Memory
I have been feeling like I go to the same authors over & over again when I am at the library, so I am super excited to have such a long list of things to look for! Thanks to everyone for sharing!!
The Help was my pick for our book club here in Henderson last year. We all loved it! I don't remember where I first heard about it but I could sit down and read it again...as soon as I remember who I gave my copy to. I highly recommend it to anyone!*Ü*
I LOVE your rating system!! AND...I want to know how you work that "fend for themselves" dinner angle as I am TOTALLY that reader (but can't seem to get the family to let me read when I want to)! :-)
Oh I am on chapter 23 of the Help and I love it! I should be done by this weekend! Great recommendation
My favorite book from last year was "The Historian". I also re-read Dee Henderson's O'Malley Series which is very good also.
"The Help" was good but didn't make my favorite list this year. For some reason I just couldn't love it like the rest.
My favorite book from last year was "The Scent of Rain and Lightning" by Nancy Pickard. Others on my list are "The Virgin of Small Plains" also by Nancy Pickard, "Winter Garden" by Kristen Hannah and(because I am a Twilight Fan) "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner" by Stephanie Meyers. I have not read "The Help" or "The Hunter Games", but I may have to put them on my need to read list for this year.
Finished the Help..I too was left wanting a little more. I am going to start on Room next.
Wow! Crazy small world. I am currently reading The Help. I am totally absorbed in it (the only reason I am blog hopping andnot reading is because the Hubs can't get to sleep with my reading light on so I came downstairs) tee hee!
I also read the Hunger Games Trilogy about six months ago & I they rival the Twilight Saga in the match for my favorite series ever. LOVED them!
I am reading "The Help" right now. I am about 3/4ths of the way through and I absolutely love it. It is one of those books that you don't want to put down!