Member Book Recommendations

Whitney Book Bistro members often have a great recommendation for us to read, but there are too many books and too little time (and library copies!) for us to  read them all.    I intend to go back to this list occasionally, so we may still read them as a group.  In the mean time, though, it’s a great source for a new book.

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OUR BOOK CIRCLE JUNE, 2017:

  • Kon-Tiki : across the Pacific by raft by Thor Heyerdahl
  • Joanne recommends: Kaleidoscope by Danielle Steel
  • James is reading: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  • How not to be wrong : the power of mathematical thinking by Jordan Ellenberg
  • The Big Read: The Other Einstein: a novel by Marie Benedict
  • Ken recommends: Pacific : silicon chips and surfboards, coral reefs and atom bombs, brutal dictators, fading empires, and the coming collision of the world’s superpowers by Simon Winchester.
  • Carol: The Key to Rebecca by Ken Follett
  • Marianne: Biography of Rommel (author/specific edition unknown)

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OUR BOOK CIRCLE JANUARY, 2017:

  • Pier M. recommended anything by Dick Francis: mystery thrillers written 1965 – 2000 and somehow related to horse racing. (a couple of other members recommended these).
  • or by Rex Stout: Nero Wolfe mysteries written 1934 – 1985.
  • Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series (several members recommended these).
  • Clive Cussler’s Isaac Bell series.
  • The World is Flat: a brief history of the twenty-first century  (2005) by Thomas Friedman.
  • Freedom’s Forge: How American business produced victory in World War II (2012) by Arthur Herman.
  • Carol H. recommended Philippa Gregory, author of The Boleyn Inheritance.
  • Cheryl S. recommended Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.
  • Carol B. recommended author Rhys Bowen.

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM SUSAN (September 2016)

  • Relationships:
  • The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones (2007). “If you love food and family, you’ll love this.”
  • Classics:
  • Pamela or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson (1740). “The first novel written and printed for popular consumption. Very popular with everyone because of its moral lessons. (wink wink)”
  • The Diaries of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain (1904 – 1906). “Little known, very funny shorter work by this author.”
  • Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1985.) “Pure poetry and humorous.”
  • Ageing:
  • The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out a Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson (2012). “The nursing home is about to celebrate his hundredth birthday with cake and a visit from the mayor. Disgusted with the whole thought, he climbs out his window and the adventure begins. Humorous. Made into a movie which is not as good as the book.”
  • A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman (2014). “Ove is a grumpy old man (you know the type) whose wife has died and he has been forcibly retired from his job. He decides he has nothing to live for and is going to suicide. Except life keeps getting in the way. Humorous.”
  • Childhood:
  • The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (2009). “Young girl who spends time devising ways to poison her obnoxious sisters. Humorous mystery.”
  • Thriller Spy:
  • Metzger’s Dog by Thomas Perry (1983). “Small time crooks engage with the CIA. Humorous. Anything by Perry is good. He has a series featuring Jane Yellowrock who helps people in trouble disappear.”
  • Mystery:
  • The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro (2012). “A great way to be introduced to the Isabel Gardener Museum. A fun read mixing history, art and crime.” (From Kristine: I am choosing this for the November book club discussion!)
  • American History:
  • Hometown Appetites – The Story of Clementine Paddleford by Kelly Alexander and Cynthia Harris (2009) Non-fiction. “Paddleford was a food editor for the New York Herald Tribune and This Week. She wrote between 1920 and 1960, flying a plane all over the United States, bringing regional dishes like red beans and rice, enchiladas and cioppino national to the rest of the nation. In 1953 Times magazine named her America’s best known food editor.”
  • Other Cultures:
  • The Devil’s Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea (2004) Non-fiction.
  • RECOMMENDATIONS FROM CHERYL B. (Update January 2017) 
  • Science Fiction/Adventure
  • A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (1996): I haven’t read it. It’s on my ‘to be read’ list but Susan says it’s too violent and I won’t like it. (From Kristine: This is the first in a series on which the current Emmy-award winning television series is based.)
  • The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov: Scientists have discovered a source of endless energy at little cost and with no environmental downside. Or are they mistaken? This book explores the relationships between energy, environment, and imperfect humans. Or should that be “imperfect humanoids”?
  • History/Social Science
  • Experiences in a Concentration Camp by Viktor E. Frankl (1946-Currently available library edition 2006) : This is Chapter 1 of the book, Man’s Search for Meaning. It is very short—perhaps 100 pages, but it is an incredible story of kindness and savagery, as found in unexpected hearts.
  • Classic Literature
  • The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925): A classic tale of ambition, greed, decadence, and personal growth.
  • Lady Chatterly’s Lover by D.H.Lawrence (1928): Sometimes love defies class barriers and marriage vows. This book was widely censored. Celebrate your freedom – read a banned book today!
  • A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (1943): A young girl grows up in one of the poorest slums in New York.
  • The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (1868): A large diamond, called the Moonstone, was stolen from an ancient statue. Was it cursed and does the curse follow it through its travels?
  • The Little Prince by Antoine de St. Exupery (1943): This is a multi-layered book, suitable for adults and children. The title character fell to earth from a distant planet, encountering a pilot whose airplane has crashed in the Sahara desert. According to Wikipedia, The novella is the fourth most-translated book in the world and was voted the best book of the 20th century in France. Translated into more than 250 languages and dialects (as well as Braille selling nearly two million copies annually with sales totaling over 140 million copies worldwide, it has become one of the best-selling books ever published.
  • Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole (1764): This is generally regarded as the first Gothic novel, but is now rather more humorous than terrifying. There’s a gigantic helmet crash-landing in the castle’s courtyard, secret passages, and several bouts of unrequited love.
  •  Fiction with a message
  • The Help by Kathryn Stockett (2009): Black maids and the white ladies who employ them, in 1962 Mississippi.
  • Peyton Place by Grace Metalious (1956): Forget the 1960’s tv show. This book is about sexy secrets, who is expected to keep them secret, hypocrites, and the penalties for exposing them.
  • Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim (2010): In the ante-bellum South, a privileged white baby is born, and is raised by a young black slave, who is not allowed the time to see her own child.
  • Mystery
  • A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters (1977): This is Book 1 in the Brother Cadfael series. It is set early in the twelfth century. One a Crusader, Cadfael is now a Benedictine monk in a small monastery close to the English-Welsh border. He uses his substantial intelligence and experience to investigate a baffling mystery.
  • The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (1926): If you like mysteries, you should read this. I can’t say more without spoiling it for you.
  • A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1887): In this book, Dr. Watson encounters an unusual detective, soon to be his lifelong friend – Sherlock Holmes.

Recommendations from Kristine (September 2016)

    • ANIMAL BEHAVIOR:
    • Never cry wolf (1963) and The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be (1957) by Farley Mowat – From the publisher: “A biologist’s official mission to study wolves turns up many unusual facts about their pattern of living.” I named my dog Farley after this author. The author’s books are informative and humorous. The movie of Never cry wolf (1983) is well done.
    • We are all completely beside ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler (2013) – The story was slow moving but fascinating, since I am interested in human-animal relationships. From the publisher: “Coming of age in middle America, eighteen-year-old Rosemary evaluates how her entire youth was defined by the presence and forced removal of an endearing chimpanzee who was secretly regarded as a family member and who Rosemary loved as a sister.”
    • FANTASY:
    • Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey (1976) (series) –A coming of age story of a young woman in a fiction/medieval type world – but with dragons. Great story that I consider a classic.
    • Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey (1968) (series) – If you love dragons and highland-type adventure, time-travel and romance, this series is engaging and not too farfetched. I never read past the White Dragon in this series, but I recommend it.
    • ● Dragonsbait (1992); Companions of the Night (1995 – modern vampire tale); Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird (1995 – short Stories) all by Vivian Vande Velde – This author offers a unique twist to ordinary tales, with humor and understanding.
    • MYSTERY:
    • Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov (1954) – This series blends traditional-style mystery with science fiction. His writing is always stellar, but his ideas and insight into technology and humanity is amazing. I also recommend a collection of his short stories that is paired with an essay on science that is related. This collection includes his classic Nightfall and my favorite, The Ugly Little Boy: The Edge of Tomorrow.
    • A gladiator dies only once : the further investigations of Gordianus the Finder (2005-Short Stories) by Steven Saylor – These mysteries are interesting and offer well-researched historical perspective of the ancient world. From the publisher: “Set against the backdrop of the later Roman Republic, a collection of short mystery tales featuring ancient Roman sleuth Gordianus the Finder follows the early career of the classical sleuth.”
    • Proof (1984) and Banker (1982) by Dick Francis – His books are formulaic but filled with great information about a specific subject surrounding race horses in England. He was a former jockey for the Queen of England. Proof involves Wine and catering for race courses and Banker involves a bank loan for breeding a race horse.
    • Tony Hillerman (Leaphorn and Chee Mysteries) – I recommend all of his books, although one of my favorites is the one we read for books club, Sacred Clowns (1993). This could also go under diversity for the insight into Native American Reservation life and religions.
    • DIVERSITY:
    • The Buddha in the attic by Julie Otsuka(2011) – This book is a beautiful account of the Japanese-Immigrant experience. It written in a collective voice that is poetic and moving.
    • The color of water : a Black man’s tribute to his white mother by James McBride (1996) – I was impressed by the insight into the world of a biracial child in the civil rights era. James McBride has such great insight into multiple perspectives and also great empathy, which is seen also in his first novel, Miracle at St. Anna (2002). I recommend them both.
    • ● October mourning : a song for Matthew Shepard by Lesléa Newman (2012) – A heartbreaking and beautiful collection of poetry expressing different perspectives of the murder of Matthew Shepard, a young homosexual student at the University of Wyoming in 1998.
    • People of Forever are not afraid by Shani Boianjiu (2012) – This book is beautifully written, though sometimes shocking/vulgar as it portrays the life of three young women from rural Israel and their experiences during their required military service
    • ● Shabanu: Daughter of the wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples – A Newberry Honor book in 1990, Shabanu is a coming of age story about a girl from a nomadic family in the deserts of Pakistan. A moving story that showcases some basic differences in U.S./Western culture and that in the Muslim world.
    • HISTORICAL:
    • Child of the morning by Pauline Gedge (1977) – This is a fictional account of the life of Queen Hatshepsut, who ruled Egypt as a Pharaoh, and her architect. The book is richly detailed and the descriptions of Hatshepsut’s building projects inspired my as-yet-unfulfilled desire to visit the Valley of the Kings in Egypt!
    • Goodbye to all that by Robert Graves (1929) – informative, moving, and yet humorous memoir of the author’s experiences during WWI.
    • The professor and the madman : a tale of murder, insanity, and the making of the Oxford English dictionary by Simon Winchester (1998) – I think the title says it all. It’s right up there with Devil in the White City by Erik Larson.
    • ENJOYABLE/INSIGHTFUL READS:
    • ● City of the beasts by Isabel Allende (2002) – This is the tale of a boy who travels with his National Geographic-photographer grandmother into the Amazon for an adventure and transformation. Beautifully written. This could also fit under diversity because the author is from Chile and writes in Spanish.
    • ● Dunk by David Lubar (2002) – I actually got hooked on this author after reading Hidden Talents (which I also recommend). I recommend Dunk for adults, though, because it explores the use of humor in dealing with pain and, ultimately, its importance for healing.
    • ● The outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place by E.L. Konigsburg (2004) – Inspired by the real-life story of the Watts Towers, this is the story of young girl standing up for the rights of her uncles to create their own kind of art in their own backyard. Humorous and heartwarming. Actually, I recommend everything by this author.
    • ● Running out of time by Margaret Peterson Haddix (1995) – This novel starts as the story of a young girl in a historic setting and twists into a tale of modern-day machinations (no magic needed).
    • CLASSICS:
    • Anything by Jane Austen. Lesser known: Northanger Abbey
    • Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Wollstonecraft
    • ● Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett – A heartwarming, beautifully written classic.
    •  ●Young Adult I read and fell in love with as an adult.