Discover Your Next Favorite Read with the Cheffers' Book Club

[mom2leelee]

Right now I'm working on Jan Karon's Mitford series. Somehow I missed these when they came out originally, I found one on my parents' bookcase while clearing out their house, and became hooked!
Ann

I have read a few of the Mitford books, I really need to go back and read the whole series. I'm also glad to hear I'm not the only book hoarder! I will go back and re-read and re-re-read some of my favorites..lol.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Just so you know...I'm open to many things. Mothers...http://www.rosemarywells.com/images/mcduff.jpgRoseary Wells' delightful series of picture books about McDuff, the little white dog that no one wanted.Of course, my favorite is McDuff Goes To School because it features a Scottish Terrier.

The illustrations by Susan Jeffers are indescribable, each is a work of art in itself.

 

[Jennie4PC]

I love to read I have read harry Potter several times and an waiting for book 7 to come out (aslo so I can get book 4) I hae also read a series called the Work and the Glory and Children of the Promise (both LDS aurthors) I also love Mary Higgins Clark.
Another 2 books I have read was Angels and Demons and the Davinci Code they were both really good also

 

[tlrice]

book clubI love to read all sorts of books. I recently found some books by John Jakes that I had never read. He wrote the North and South series. One of my favorite books from last year was The DaVinci Code, even my husband couldn't put it down. I can't wait to start his prequel, Angels and Demons.

 

[thechefofnorthbend]

Angels and Demons out shines The DiVinci code by far. It really lets you into Robert Langdons life and gives you a glimpse of what kind of man he is (TDC didnt do that). Other great reads from Dan Brown are deception Point and Digital Fortress. Total polar opposites of the other books.

I really enjoy John Grisham, especially his offbeat stories (Bleachers, Skipping Christmas, A Painted House). It just shows that you cant be stereotyped all the time.

James Patterson does really well with his off the path books (Suzannes Diary for Nicholas, Sams Letters to Jennifer, Santa Kid). I just love his Womens Murder Club series and Max and her bird friends. Just cant get into Alex Cross. (I saw Kiss the Girls before I read the book, and now everytime I see Alex cross, I see Morgan Freeman, and I didnt like him as that role at all).

Jonathan Kellerman has another fabulous series (Alex Deleware) and a few others (Petra Connor, Daniel Sharavi, Dr. Jeremy Carrier). I dont think I have ever read a book of his I didn't like.

 

[jrstephens]

Jonathan Kellerman has another fabulous series (Alex Deleware) and a few others (Petra Connor, Daniel Sharavi, Dr. Jeremy Carrier). I dont think I have ever read a book of his I didn't like.

I saw this author the other day and thought about trying him. What are his books like?

I forgot to mention that I love John Grisham too. I love legal thrillers.

 

[raebates]

Skipping Christmas was wonderful. I got hooked on the Mitford series. A group of us girls were out to dinner one night when I got to talking with one of them about the latest Mitford book. After a few minutes, a couple of the others looked at us and asked who we were talking about. They were shocked to find out they weren't real people.

 

[Gina M]

I agree Rae - loved Skipping Christmas too - such a different story for Grisham.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I like Bleachers and Skipping Christmas but I thought Painted House was not up to his own level. I found it a little too contrived and not very believable.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Skipping Christmas was wonderful. I got hooked on the Mitford series. A group of us girls were out to dinner one night when I got to talking with one of them about the latest Mitford book. After a few minutes, a couple of the others looked at us and asked who we were talking about. They were shocked to find out they weren't real people.

I think that is what I absolutely love about the Mitford books.....the characters are just so well written and real, it's like you really become a part of their lives....makes me just want to pull up stakes and move to Mitford.....except I don't want Fancy OR Joe cutting my hair!!! I want to live next door to Father Tim and Cynthia, and be invited over for dinner....and I REALLY want Dooley and Lace to discover how much they love each other!

 

[raebates]

My DH got me the Mitford Cookbook for Christmas 2005. I love it--snippets of the books with recipes. I have the recipe for the famous (or is it infamous?) Orange Marmalade Cake.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I like Bleachers and Skipping Christmas but I thought Painted House was not up to his own level. I found it a little too contrived and not very believable.

Totally agree....I re-read Skipping Christmas every year during the Holidays, (BTW - it was made into a movie - "Christmas w/ The Kranks" w/ Tim Allen, and ? I can see her face, but can't get the name out...)
But Painted House didn't do anything for me - just left me feeling blah at the end of the book - like "That's It?"

 

[raebates]

Jamie Lee Curtis--the bravest woman to ever make a movie. She appeared in a bikini with no retouching and without lipo or months in the gym. Priceless!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

My DH got me the Mitford Cookbook for Christmas 2005. I love it--snippets of the books with recipes. I have the recipe for the famous (or is it infamous?) Orange Marmalade Cake.

I have that cookbook too - haven't tried the Orange Marmalade Cake yet though...maybe there is a subconcious fear that it will send someone into a Diabetic Coma???

 

[raebates]

Being a diabetic, I haven't made it because I'm afraid I won't be able to resist. It sounds too yummy!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Jamie Lee Curtis--the bravest woman to ever make a movie. She appeared in a bikini with no retouching and without lipo or months in the gym. Priceless!

That's right....new it started with a "J".....loved the movie almost as much as the book - it's just a lighthearted fun flick!

 

[legacypc46]

Atlas ShruggedKG,

Just saw your thread and your posting mentioning Atlas Shrugged. That book is at the top of my "top five list" (which actually has way more than five books!).

I read somewhere that it is appears on more recommended reading lists(including Alan Greenspan's) than nearly any other piece of literature...despite it being over a thousand of pages in fine print!

Kris

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Atlas Shrugged is a doorstop, no doubt about it. Still, it's a fast read and a real education.It is finally being made into a movie - the script is almost finished and it's scheduled for release in 2008.

Somehow, I have a bad feeling about what Wackywood might do to the story.

 

[Teresa Lynn]

a book club sounds wonderful, count me out however as I usually only read FLUFF~! HA
Love the Jan Karon series you know she is finished writing right?
I also read all of Nora Roberts, Debbie Macomber, Carly Phillips, & of course Janet Evanovich
Just finished the new Susan Wiggs book. It's the 2nd of a trilogy
I read 1 novel every 2 days in my free time HA!!
when we go on vacation I stock up at 1/2 price books or garage sales take at least a dozen to read during the riding/flying time and when we are there. It's a joke with our best friends kids when we travel together they think it is hilarious.

 

[jrstephens]

I have just started reading Debbie MaComber. I love her so far.

I agree that Painted House was not up to par for Grisham. I was also left with thinking "this is it."

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

If the main character in Painted House had been a little older, it might have been a bit more believeable. It was just too contrived for my taste.

 

[jrstephens]

If the main character in Painted House had been a little older, it might have been a bit more believeable. It was just too contrived for my taste.

I think one reason it was not tht great for me was I was use to his legal thrillers that were fast paces and kept you awake until you finished it and this one was just so slow and nothing really ever happened all that munch to me

 

[jrstephens]

I am just now starting Nora Roberts. Cordina's Royal Family: Gabriella and Alexander.

I am not busy at all at work today and the libray was closed and I could not go get the next book in the Debbie MaComaber series I am reading.

 

[cooking.with.ann]

John Grisham...I knew him when! Actually, I have one of the original copies of A Time to Kill, the ones he was selling from the trunk of his car!

He was in law school at Ole Miss when I was an undergraduate. We knew each other there, and then later when he was in the legislature and I was a lobbyist.

Honestly, the two books of his that I like are A Time to Kill, and The Chamber. The rest are just too predictable for me.

Ann

 

[chefjeanine]

John Grisham...I knew him when! Actually, I have one of the original copies of A Time to Kill, the ones he was selling from the trunk of his car!

He was in law school at Ole Miss when I was an undergraduate. We knew each other there, and then later when he was in the legislature and I was a lobbyist.

Honestly, the two books of his that I like are A Time to Kill, and The Chamber. The rest are just too predictable for me.

Ann

A first edition? Are you taking VERY good care of it?

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

The Kat Lady has a second edition of Gone With The Wind, her favorite movie and story. A few years ago, I came across a first edition of GWTW and I really wanted to buy it for her, because I love her that much.But not THAT much.

 

[pcchris]

I just read "The Bridge to Teribithia" last week. Other than that, I LOVE Michael Crichton. Anything he writes is fantastic! I can't put his books down once I start reading them. At the current moment, I'm reading "The 45 second presentation that will change your life". It's about network marketing, not direct sales. Had I known that, I would not have ordered it. There are some interesting things in it, though.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I just read "The Bridge to Teribithia" last week. Other than that, I LOVE Michael Crichton. Anything he writes is fantastic! I can't put his books down once I start reading them. At the current moment, I'm reading "The 45 second presentation that will change your life". It's about network marketing, not direct sales. Had I known that, I would not have ordered it. There are some interesting things in it, though.

It sold you, didn't it?

 

[chefjeanine]

The Kat Lady has a second edition of Gone With The Wind, her favorite movie and story. A few years ago, I came across a first edition of GWTW and I really wanted to buy it for her, because I love her that much.

But not THAT much.

Yeah, I bet that was a LITTLE steep.

 

[cooking.with.ann]

A first edition? Are you taking VERY good care of it?

I am now! However, it's not in great condition because who thought he would ever become a serious novelist?

My copy is from his self-published set of A Time to Kill. He published it while in the state house and would sell copies to lobbyists as a fundraising tool for his re-election.

I read it, fell in love with it, and stuck it on the bookshelf next to To Kill a Mockingbird. Imagine my surprise years later when his second book was published by a commercial publisher and became a national bestseller! (That book was The Firm.)

Ann

 

[poohritz]

avid readerThe book I am reading is The Lost Continent Travels in Small-Town America by Bill Bryson. Good book so far. Others that I have recently read were The Power of Positive Thinking and the Magic of Believing and the Magic of Thinking Big. For novels I have recently read Immoral not sure of author, Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz and reread The Stand by Steven King, one of my all time favorites.

 

[pcchris]

It sold you, didn't it?

Yep - it did! I only ordered it because a friend of mine, who sells SLAH, told me that this book helped her, and she recommended it. She was going to send me her copy of it, but me just being me said "you don't have to do that - if it's that good, I'll just buy it myself". Shoulda Coulda Woulda...oh well. Thanks for the laugh, KG!! (BTW - like your new avatar! what state is that one in?)

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

(TY- West Virginia, near Point Pleasant, across from Gallipolis, Ohio. It sort of sums up my whole life.)

 

[Grandmarita]

Bill Bryson's other books are well written, esp. A Walk in the Woods that was
very eventful walk on the Appalachin Trail, and one about Australian journey he took. I got hooked on the Mitford series and was not aware they were
finished. In fact, was thinking just the other day that I should check with my library to see when the next one was due. I borrowed the Mitford Cookbook but did not actually try any of the recipes. I had considered the Orange marmalade until I saw the ingredients!

Thanks for this thread, with all the good recommendations. My husband has read through all the Jakes books. I enjoyed his summaries of the action and saved myself time to do PC, when we were traveling. One trip, we found one
he was missing from the series, in a Used Bookstore in Littleton, NH. That is a pretty little town to explore, if any of you live near there. We loved the Mill next to the Bookstore, especially the pancake flour we bought.

 

[Chef Kearns]

The book I am reading is The Lost Continent Travels in Small-Town America by Bill Bryson. Good book so far. Others that I have recently read were The Power of Positive Thinking and the Magic of Believing and the Magic of Thinking Big. For novels I have recently read Immoral not sure of author, Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz and reread The Stand by Steven King, one of my all time favorites.

The Odd Thomas trilogy was intriguing. The first book was very very good. The second book did not measure up. The last one Brother Odd was very nicely done. I think it was very predictable, but the writing and story were much better.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

You're thinking of In A Sunburned Country. One of the funniest books I've ever read, on my top 5 list along with the funniest book I ever read, Life In A Putty Knife Factory by H. Allen Smith.
http://www3.telus.net/pagerweb/hallensmith/images/putty3cover.jpg

 

[SillyChef]

Are we going to have a book club where we all read the same book and then "discuss" it? Or are we just discussing all of our books at once?!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

At the moment, we're all just sort of talking out loud about books in general. I would think that assigning a book for everyone to read, and then discuss it, would be a regular book club. Maybe, it if works, Greg would make a special area for us. Then we'd be special - like our own short bus on the CS forum.

 

[SillyChef]

LoL. Right now I am reading

The Memory Keeper's Daugher

Then...
Harvesting the Heart
Jack & Rochelle
Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates

Thats my line up!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I'm about to start reading Water for Elephants but it's on hold for a moment - I found a copy of Pioneer Railroad and I have to get it back very quickly. (Before you ask: It's the history of the Chicago & North Western Railroad, published in 1948 and it seems to be a rather rare book. I'm reading it because A) I'm doing research for my novel, B) my grandfather worked for the C&NW and C) My grandmother lived within 50 yards of the C&NW branch line to Ashland, Wisconsin. Now swollowed up by the Union Pacific, the C&NW has always been one of my favorite railroads.)

 

[Teresa Lynn]

I have a first edition of GWTW on my fireplace mantel

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

THAT'S a prize!I'd have it in a hermetically sealed package and someplace much safer than that!

 

[Teresa Lynn]

It IS, IT HAS A NICE LAYER OF DUST ON IT!!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I think, with the Lunch for my book club thread running, it's time to bump this thread.Book club has gotten me to read all kinds of things I otherwise probably wouldn't read. I just finished A Lion Among Men, the third book in Gregory McGuire's Oz series.

 

[Jolie_Paradoxe]

Currently reading junk...I am easily bored , so I usually read 2-3 at a time...he he....I have a romance novel by Jennifer Blake (I've read better one by her)....also reading Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchet and lastly, I'm reading David Eddings....

 

[candiejayne]

I think I need to figure out how to get a library card, that sounds bad, but we have a lot of different libraries around here, and I'm not sure which district I'm in. Thanks for bumping this. I'm going to go back through and mark some books for reading!

 

[ButterflyVioletta]

At the moment, we're all just sort of talking out loud about books in general.

I would think that assigning a book for everyone to read, and then discuss it, would be a regular book club. Maybe, it if works, Greg would make a special area for us.

Then we'd be special - like our own short bus on the CS forum.

There's a Young and Restless thread...maybe we could agree on a title and have that be a thread?

 

[chefann]

Currently reading junk...I am easily bored , so I usually read 2-3 at a time...he he....I have a romance novel by Jennifer Blake (I've read better one by her)....also reading Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchet and lastly, I'm reading David Eddings....

LOVE that one! I have a hardcover copy that's falling apart, so there's a backup softcover on the shelf, too. If you like that, I recommend any of Pratchett's Discworld series (although the first 4 or so are a little weird - before Pratchett found his voice with the series).

 

[etteluap70PC]

Since discovering the Twilight series earlier this year it rekindled my love of reading.
Since the first of the year I have read:
All 4 books in the twilight series by Stephenie Meyer (twice)
all the Harry Potter books (OMGosh why did I wait sooo long???)
Finished The His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pulman:
The Golden Compass
The Subtle Knife
The Amber Spyglasscked by


Wicked: The Life And Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory McGuire



On my list... all by Gregory McGuire:
Son of a Witch
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
a Lion among men

As a girl I fostered my love of reading witht the "little house" books, Anne of green Gables, and the Black stallion series by Walter Farley.
I also love EB white, and Roahld Dahl. I have been getting a kick out of reading my my forite childrens books to my own children.

As a teen I discovered Stephen King (how could I not growing up in southern Maine/NH) I worked in Ogunquit ME when they were filming some parts of "the Stand.

I also LOVE Jean Auel and her Earth's childern series Clan of the cave bear, The valley of horses, The Mamoth hunters, The Plains of passage & the Shelters of stone. I have read the first 3 at least 5 times!

Of course John Grisham and Michael Chrighton are great too!

 

[Jolie_Paradoxe]

LOVE that one! I have a hardcover copy that's falling apart, so there's a backup softcover on the shelf, too. If you like that, I recommend any of Pratchett's Discworld series (although the first 4 or so are a little weird - before Pratchett found his voice with the series).

Good Omens has me cracking up....thanks for the tips, will definitely look into the series once these 3 are wrapped up....