AusQtie

Anybody read any good new books? As of Monday I will have finished the fall semester at school and have a few weeks before spring starts so I would like to have something to fill my free time.

Jewel

I will have a few weeks off university after next Friday as well, so I'm looking for some good books to read as well.

I would recommend The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, or Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. Anything by V.C. Andrews is pretty interesting, I recommend Flowers in the Attic, Ruby, or Dawn.

jnjsarauer

There is an author by the name of Diane Mott Davidson who writes a mystery series that is really good. The main character is a caterer and amateur sleuth, and they even put her catering recipes into each book. There must be at least thirteen of them out now.

Jewel

Janet Evanovich is a great writer, her books are slightly mystery, but they are very funny too. She also writes them with an element of romance. I really like her writing style.

leighdu

Try " The Prince of Tides" by Pat Conroy. It's not a new release but it is one of the best books that I have ever read. Forget what you have heard about the movie. The book is totally different and is great. I also like Frank Mccourt's "Tis" and "Angela's Ashes", and true crime books by Kathryn Casey and Ann Rule.

Jewel

"Tis" was great, but for some reason I just always preferred "Angela's Ashes". Have you, by any chance, read anything by Frank McCourt's brother? I have seen some of his books at the library but haven't read them.

leighdu

I sure did. I read " A Monk Swimming". It was not even close to being as good as Frank's writing, and his "brogue" is really hard to follow, but it is a decent book. He was obviously the wild one in the family. It basically told of all his adventures throughout young adulthood.

I definitely prefer "Angela's Ashes" too. I also read Frank's new book " Teacher Man". It was good, and he followed the same style of writing as in all his other books, but it was really short. I think I read it in a day.

leighdu

Looks like you and I have the same taste in books, Jewel. I grew up reading V.C. Andrews, and "Flowers in the Attic", as weird as it may be, is still one of my favorite books. I've never seen anyone that writes quite like her. The ghostwriter is horrible compared to her, but there are a few of the books that can mimic her pretty good. Isn't "Ruby" the one set in New Orleans ?

Jewel

The first V C Andrews book I ever read was Dawn, and that got me started on the Flowers in the Attic series. I loved her writing style, and the ghostwriter started off great, only to get worse and worse. I'm still debating whether or not I should even start reading the latest series. Ruby is the one set in New Orleans, and I liked it because it was just a little bit different from the others, with the twins and all.

As for Frank McCourt, I did not know that he had a new book out! I'll have to check that one out, I love the way he writes.

leighdu

Eh, don't even bother with the new V.C. Andrews books unless you are 12 . They cater more and more to younger kids as they go along. I also liked Heaven a lot and that series. That is a series where the ghost writer did a really good job.