Non Potter Book Discussions

[blackngold]

Has anyone else read the Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathon Stroud. I am just about to finish up the last book in the series and would welcome any discussion. For those who haven't read it yet, I would highly recommend it. Word of warning it appeals to my sense of humor and many people are killed. In some cases, these deaths are dealt with rather lightly.

[phoenix]

i've read the first book, and most of the second, but not the last. i enjoyed the humor as well. i believe sjr's son has read them.

nice penguin.

[Kit M.]

No, sjr's daughter. And I believe she said, BLECH.
~Cleverwitch

[Richard]

The last non-Potter book I read was one of the books based on '24' (the TV series). I like that show a lot, and got the book for 'Sinterklaas' (the Dutch equivalent of Santa Claus, for those who don't know). It was a nice read, finished it in a day. I'm not raving about it, though I'll probably buy the other books in the series as well.

On a side note, at the end of February, the Dutch translation of 'Deception Point' by Dan Brown will be released. Just wondering if anyone has read it.

Richard

[phoenix73]

I'm rereading "The Alienist" by Caleb Carr. I love to imagine what NYC was like in the late 1800's, early 1900's. What a fascinating time. And I recent;y finished a reread of "Memoirs of Cleopatra" by Margaret George. love that book. Havent' read anything new in a while, but i'm trying to find something that sparks my interest.

[Gwendolyn Snow]

Hi People!
I have recently read The Cronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis and totally enjoyed it! Now I have to read them all. I think there are seven Narnia books and I hope they will all be as fun as the first one. I also enjoyed the new movie of the same name.

[hedwig]

Gwendolynsnow - the Chronicles of Narina are good however TLTW&TW is the best.

Reliving my childhood at the moment - rereading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - noting the changes the movie made! Wonder where I have done that before.

Also got Star of the Sea by Joseph O Connor for Christmas - its about an immigrant ship from Ireland to US during the famine - so a real happy read that one!
Will tell more once I have read it.

[Kit M.]

I have just re-read all the Harry Potter's, the Princess Diaries & Ella Enchanted since I've got nothing else to do.

[sapphire]

Hiya MUGWUMPS.
Erm...there are other books?
OK, I am such a kidder.
Bng, can you give a little synopsis so I will know if I want to try the Stroud books?
Always looking for new reading material to supplement my HP marathon (currently doing CoS and GoF.) I also have been making my way through the works of Douglas Adams--"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe" series. Anyone read those? I love his whacky sense of humor, even though the "story" (I use the word loosely) is sometimes tiring.
Also reading "Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett, on Fins' suggestion, after we chatted about the fascinating history of cathedrals in the UK.

[sapphire]

I shouldn't have come in this one, since I love reading and can't shut up once I start talking books.
Richard, I read Deception Point and it is action packed--quite a good read. I still love Da Vinci Code the best, but Brown is such a great author of exciting tales you just can't go wrong there. I also just finished the Sean Smith bio of JK Rowling--not sure if that counts as "non HP, though." I found it fairly interesting. It made Joanne Rowling sound like just regular folk, which is nice.
I know we talked about books a lot on the original OFU thread, but I would love to have a list of other MUGWUMP's favorite books. Here are a few of mine:
The All Creatures Great and Small series by James Herriott--can read them a zillion times and still laugh.
Almost anything by John Steinbeck--fairly recently reread East of Eden and was reminded of what a treasure the man was;
ditto for anything Agatha Christie wrote;
double ditto for Dave Barry--I bet even his tax report is hilarious. If he wasn't already taken, I would be combing the streets of Miami.
Robert Fulghum is good for soul cleansing. He wrote Everything I Know I Learned in Kindergarten, for one.
Dave Peltzer's "A Child Called 'It'" totally reaffirms my faith in the human spirit.
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, by Carson McCullens
I haven't even got to the "kid's books" yet!

[sapphire]

I did warn you. (I won't be insulted if no one reads this...really.)
Kid's books--I LOVE THEM!
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
Little House series, Laura Ingalls Wilder
Anne of Greene Gables series, L.M. Montgomery (no little girl should get through childhood without these!)
The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Graham ( I loved Mr. Toad!)
The Ramona series, Beverly Cleary
Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
Looking back at this list, I see what a profound effect these books had on the person I became--what I think, what I feel and what I believe. Wow!
There are tons more. So...add some, somebody!

[Gwendolyn Snow]

Hey Guys!
I plan to read the Da Vinci Code this summer. Don't they have a passing reference to HP in there? The other series I have read at all recently was the LEFT Behind Series, which was wonderful. A few of them drug a bit, but they were trying to end up with 12. I want to read them all again now that I've finished the lot.

I love to read kids of Middle school level books for fun. I only want to use my time reading really good stories, though. I have recently read the entire Junie B. Jones series and loved it. A friend of mine is a second grade teacher and she reads them to her class.

Another reason I read kid books is that I don't have a lot of time to read. If I get into a book, it kinda consumes me. I'm sure y'all understand. I love to read the Chicken Soup for the Soul books because they are full of quickies.

Saph, Give me some ideas for Good Young books!!

I loved Judy Blume books when I was younger, Beverly Cleary (Ramona), The Baby Sitter's Club, Sweet Valley High, A Gift of Magic by Lois Duncan, and several by Betty Ren Wright. I also love The Giver by Lois Lowry. I didn't read that til college, and it was wierd (alternate futuristic society). I Really enjoyed it anyway.
See Ya.

[kats]

Gwen,
I also enjoy children's books. I can think of two series that I can recommend. (I just woke up and can't really think straight yet.) The first is just two books so far, The City of Ember and The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau. The second is The Shadow Children series. It is written by Margaret Peterson Haddix and begins with Amoung the Hidden. There are six books in this series. I suggest you read them in order. Some of the books in the series are better than others but I have enjoyed them all.

[kats]

Oh and The Da Vinci Code is a great read. Also try Angels and Demons.

[blackngold]

Sapphire, I see I have been a bit remiss.

The Bartimaeus Trilogy is about the adventures of a young essentially orphaned boy, Nathaniel. (Isn't it amazing how most "children's" stories are about orphans.) The books are set in present day London, but the history leading up to it is not quite what you might remember from your high school history. Anyway, Nathaniel is apprenticed to a magician. Magicians in Stroud's world are not quite benevolent figures that they are in JKR's world. Think of the saying, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely". The magicians siezed control of the government in Gladstone's time and set things up to benefit themselves over the "Commoners".

The big secret is that the magicians can't actually do magic. What they do is summon demons from the "Other Place" and through force of mind and strength of character bend the demons to their will. The demons do all the magic, but are controlled by the magicians.

I don't want to describe the plots too much but Stroud does a great job with them. The point of view keeps skipping back and forth between 2 or 3 characters which is very interesting. Some people don't like that but I did.

Lastly, I would highly recommend listening to them on audiocassette or CD. Simon Jones is the narrator and he does a superb job. There is one scene where an evil character's voice is modulating from the lower octaves to the higher as he talks. When you read that in the books, it's supposed to be scary and creepy, but my imagination must be lacking cause I just say "Yawn, wake me up when it gets scary." But hearing Simon Jones do it was seriously creepy.

Let me know if I have tantalized you enough or do I need to go into it a bit more. I liked these books every bit as much as HP. And the best (and worst thing) is that as of January there is no wait for the last book in the series.

[Kit M.]

Hi peeps!

sapphire, my brother has read all Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. They're supposed to be hilarious. Also, I have read Anne of Green Gables, the first. I tried reading the next one and disliked it.

For all those who love kid's books well here's some I've read:

The Little Princess- Love it and I can't get away from it! There's a movie that isn't so great.
The Unfortunate Series of Events- There's 12, I can't wait for the 13th. Has to end on a unlucky number, doesn't it?
Ella Enchanted-It's cute/good. Also a movie.
The Anastasia series-It's not THE Anastasia, but I found them quite entertaining.
The Cat Who books-Some are OK. It's a mystery book with two cats, Koko and YumYum. This isn't really a kid's book. Just thought I would throw it in.

Okay! That's all I can think of, if I remember I'll post it here.

[Cissa]

Hi all! I was just wandering around the board. I haven't had much time lately to check out any of these other threads and since I love books, I couldn't resist.

I finally got to read The Da Vinci Code and loved it. I couldn't seem to read it fast enough. I certainly hope the movie lives up to the book. Now I have to get Angels and Demons and read it.

I love kids books too!!! When Caitlyn was in kindergarten her teacher started reading the Junie B. Jones series to them. Since then Caitlyn has to have each new book that comes out, even though she is now in 7th grade. But I have to agree with her, they are a very fun read.

Some of my all time faves are Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, and The Little House series. I have such fond memories of reading those books when I was young. I also like The Cat Who...? books. I love mysteries and I love cats, so they're PURRFECT for me. lol

It's funny that you should mention The Giver by Lois Lowry. I've never read the book, but Caitlyn just read it for school. they even created their own community within their classroom based on the book. Caitlyn really enjoyed it, and it made her think about something besides clothes, music, and boys. Now my interest in the book has been piqued. I may have to make a trip to the library soon. ;D

[* amanda]

My favourite books...

Adult fiction:

- Carlo Levi, "Christo se e fermato a eboli" (or "Christ Stopped at Eboli" in English) - a book about a prisoner of the state sent to live in Southern Italy during the time of Facism. Southern Italy is known for being a poor area, where magic and superstition still exist. Beautifully written especially in Italian.

- Ann Patchett, "Bel Canto" - gorgeous book about a group of elite individuals kidnapped for several weeks in a president's mansion during a terrorist attack somewhere in South America. It sounds depressing, but it's actually hauntingly beautiful.

- Tracy Chevalier, "Girl With a Pearl Earring" - definitely more interesting if you have a solid knowledge of Dutch art, but still a well-written, enjoyable book.

- Sarah Dunant, "Birth of Venus" - ohhh I love this book and how it brings Renaissance Italy alive through the eyes of a young woman. I also suggest "Secret Book of Grazia dei Rossi", which is vaguely similar but far grittier and more detailed and from a slightly different perspective.

Adult Nonfiction:

- "Leap of Faith" by Princess Noor of Jordan - nice autobiography with some unique perspective on Jordan's role in some of the major 20th century events in the Middle East. You do, however, have to go into the book with the realization that it is coming from a biased source. Still, very nicely written and my grandma (who doesn't really know a lot about politics) enjoyed this one especially about what it's like to be married to the head of a monarch in the modern world.

- "A Brat in the USSR" - the account of a Canadian girl who spent the summer in the USSR in the 1970's. Really interesting account of life from within that empire.

any other sort of biographies or history books... epecially about Russia, the U.S., Italy... etc. too many to name.


Children/Young Adult/Teen books:

- Little House Books - I love these books, I credit them for making me want to write, I credit them for making me love history and reading and learning, and they're just really good, solid, beautiful books about a precious time in American history.

- Anne of Green Gables series

- "Little Princess" and "The Secret Garden" - two beautiful classics!

- "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" - quality as far as "just for fun" books go. Better for older (and adult) girls, however.

- "Habibi" by Naomi Shaib Nye - beautiful book about a Palestinian-American girl whose father moves her family back to his homeland in "Palestine". She, naturally, meets and falls in love with a Jewish boy. I liked how this book (from the begining) had the simple and plain purpose of showing how most of the world really just wants to live in peace and according to their own personal will more than anything else.

[blackngold]

I have to agree with Amanda on Bel Canto and Leap of Faith. We just read both of those in my book group. Bel Canto was loosely based on a Venezuelan(?) hostage situation that carried on for several months when a group of people took an entire house party hostage. This story humanizes the terrorists (for lack of a better word) without excusing what they did or why they did it.

Leap of Faith was a very interesting book. As Amanda says, it should certainly be read with a jaundiced eye. Queen Noor makes no pretence about espousing a very pro-Arab/pro King Hussein point of view. However, since most things you read in America about the Middle East are so strongly from the US/Israeli viewpoint, it's nice to have the contrast. For instance, her entire viewpoint on the Arab-Israeli conflict starts and ends with the 6-Day War. No mention of the other wars leading up to that and no mention of the Yom Kippur War.

[blackngold]

I have already given my lists of good reads on other forums, so I will limit myself a bit here

The Death of Vishnu - Manil Suri
The Ender Wiggin Saga - Orson Scott Card (actually just about anything by him)
The Foundation Trilogy - Isaac Asimov
Any book written by Timothy Zahn
Santiago - Mike Resnick
The Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Mystery Series - Anne Perry