It's the most wonderful time of the year!

So guess what? I'm going on vacation! Which means I'm going to pretend like I don't know what “vacationing” with two children is really like and ask you for book recommendations again. Last year I made it through ONE MEASLY BOOK because of Lucy's poor LIVING habits (kid didn't sleep at night or nap worth a crap AND she was at the developmental stage where she didn't want to crawl but she couldn't walk and basically she spent four hours on the beach every morning clinging to the rolling cooler and shouting angrily at us about it) but this year I think things will be much improved. This year, for example, we got a house with a rocking chair! A ROCKING CHAIR. Do you know how awesome it will be to have a rocking chair in case my child wakes up in the middle of the night and needs to be soothed back to sleep? Have you ever tried rocking a child back to sleep SEVERAL TIMES A NIGHT for SEVEN NIGHTS IN A ROW without a rocking chair? I thought after the first two days that maybe there was a chance I'd at least come out of it with really hot abs, but all I ended up with was a killer backache that plagued me until Christmas. I am going to invent a portable rocking chair someday. I am CERTAIN there is a market for such a thing. (Also certain there's a market out there for mittens with a soft, cotton strip built in for nose wiping when you're outside in the cold, but I haven't really done anything about it yet.)

Anyway! The cool thing about asking for book recommendations this year is that I don't have to ask for them in six weeks in advance so I can order cheap books from Amazon and have them delivered with the free shipping option. This year, I own a Kindle. Oh, the BEAUTY of this thing, you guys. I don't have to go ANYWHERE to buy a book. I can finish a book on the beach and get myself another one WITHOUT GETTING OUT OF MY CHAIR. I won't even have to walk back into the house and wash the sand off my feet! It is a lazy person's answer to prayer. Don't give me that crap about how a book smells and how lost you'd feel not being able to turn pages blah blah blah. The Kindle is a LIFE CHANGER. Yes, yes, also a bank account changer. That's definitely a negative.

So the deal is that I'll tell you what I've read and loved or hated, and then you can do the same for me in the comments. It's awesome for everyone who is involved because EVERYBODY likes hearing about things they should be reading, am I right? I'll go first.

One Day, David Nicholls: LOOOOOOVED THIS. Read it in two sittings, could not put it down. Funny and heartwarming and engaging and downright fantastic. I could say more but I seriously, I might make old Mr. David Nicholls blush.

The Forgotten Garden, Kate Morton: Good story. Not as predictable as I originally thought it would be, but no groundbreaker, either. By the time I hit the middle, I kind of found myself reading just so I could find out what happened, not because I was in love with the characters or the storyline. Also I recommended it to my mom, because there weren't any swear words.

The Book Thief, Markus Zusak: This book was recommended to me several times last year, and I only got around to reading it a few months ago. I thought it was well written and haunting, but I didn't get so sucked into the story that I cried. Also, I did find the relationship between the girl and the dude a leeeetle creepy. A little, okay? I just didn't quite understand why a grown man would be so taken with a thirteen-year-old girl but maybe I missed something? I mean, yes, she's caring and talented but... I don't know, did anyone else think the same thing? Would definitely recommend, though.

The Lonely Polygamist: A Novel, Brady Udall: Um, hmmmm. I thought this would be a little bit more exciting, but it turns out polygamists are just like you and me, they just have three times as many wives and kids and as a result, are three times as boring. I kept waiting for something BIG to happen, and then when it did, I didn't feel like it was what I WANTED to happen. So I was disappointed in the storyline and the pace of the storyline. Scale of one to ten, this gets a five. Tops.

Little Bee, Chris Cleave: SAAAAAD. Really really good, really well-written, really really REAL and also tragic and upsetting. Just so you know. Would recommend, as long as you have a strong stomach.

A Reliable Wife, Robert Goolrick: MEH. Another one where I kept reading just to find out the ultimate result, even though I didn't really care how it ended up. Frankly, it kind of bored me, and it isn't a very memorable read, because I can't remember much about it just a couple of months later.

Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese: I want to marry this book. This is the best book I have read in AGES. It took a while to get into it (a few chapters, I think) but once I did, I didn't want it to end. I didn't want it to end! It was so moving, and the story was so beautifully woven together (think Owen Meany, you've read that, haven't you? Even if you didn't love it, remember how it all came together with a big, resounding BOOM at the end? REMEMBER?) and I loved, really loved, the characters. It is set in Ethiopia, a country I knew nothing about, but I remember when I finished this book I wanted to visit. I wanted to see it. This book is the kind of book you want to read over and over. I simply adored it. Also, it's kind of technical and involves lots of medical jargon (the setting is a hospital). But I am a sucker for medical stuff, so I loved it. It wasn't gory, just clinical at times. I highly highly HIGHLY recommend this. I couldn't give it enough stars if I tried. I INTERRUPTED A LADY READING IT AT THE POOL JUST TO GUSH OVER IT, you guys. I am INSANE for this book.

Also, three books I can definitely recommend, but that everyone seems to have the same high opinion of all over the internet: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout; The Help by Kathryn Stockett; and Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel by Jeannette Walls (read her first novel, The Glass Castle first, if you haven't already). (WHY HAVEN'T YOU READ IT, THOUGH, SERIOUSLY? Amazing book, The Glass Castle.)

Okay, your turn!

Comments

[liz]

Cutting for Stone is my fave book of the year and I am going to recommend it to my book club. Also I just read What We Have on your recommendation and loved it. Little Bee was awesome too.

I also am in love with my Kindle. After living in the same house for 20 years, every shelf is full of books and the Kindle was a lot less expensive than having more shelves built. I also love that I can switch off my Kindle and bring up the same book at the same spot on my laptop and read all night with the light off. My husband sleeps like a rock so he is ok with this. I don't sleep at all so it works great for me.

[Carrisa]

The Glass Castle really was such an amazing book. Go read it people! I'm also about to start reading The Help. I've heard nothing but wonderful things... and that they are turning it into a movie.

[Carrisa]

Oh I suppose I should throw a rec in there for you too. Oops!

Hmmm how about Healing Waters by Nancy Rue & Stephen Arterburn.

I don't normally read Christian fiction, but I really enjoyed this one.

[liz]

Oh, I didn't leave you a recommendation. Here's my shelfari page which shows what I've read and liked:

http://www.shelfari.com/o1514275414

[Jennie]

I was hoping you hadn't read One Day just so I could recommend it. Oh, wasn't it good? IT WAS SO GOOD. I'm scared to start another book because how can another story ever compare to that story?

I also liked "This is Where I Leave You" -- funny, quick read. I finished it in a day. Not life-changing but enjoyable.

And "Her Fearful Symmetry." It's the next book from the author of "The Time Traveler's Wife." It was quite slow at first but the ending just haunted me. I couldn't put it down the last 100-150 pages.

[Brenda]

I just finished The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlin (on my Kindle!)

Love it!! I couldn't put it down! It would be a fantastic book to read on vacation. I read it along with my bookclub and it seems everyone is saying that they can't put it down.

[Jessica]

Have you read the new Lionel Shriver? Or for that matter, any Lionel Shriver? She is awesome. Her last two books, "The Post-Birthday World" and "So Much For That" are both just seriously amazing. Plots that constantly deliver, really full characters, and the woman can write.

And aren't Kindles the best vacation thing ever?

[Robin]

Emily, have you read the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins? Its a YA trilogy (third book just came out) but its completely engrossing. I'll say that I did get engrossed in the series so much so that I sobbed the last 30 pages or so of the last book. Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay.

[Robin]

Aah double use of 'engross' I would suggest invested instead. oops.

[Kimberly]

Everyone in my book club raved over The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I liked it, I'll read the next books in the trilogy, but a little too violent for me. Need something uplifting? The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. LOVE LOVE LOVE. Also, really liked Plainsong by Kent Haruf.

Have fun!!

[Gloria]

I also loved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It's a sweet story, loved it. One of my favorite books of all time.....Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson.

[Mimi]

I would have TOTALLY bought a to-go rocking chair. I was caught in several situations trying to similate the rocking motion on the edge of a mattress. Not fun.

[Stacie]

I wish I could read more. I love to read. However I admit I'm a bad mom when I get engrossed in a book b/c I cannot put it down (even if it's a bad book I just want to know how it ends) so I turn on the TV more. However I have a girls beach trip coming up in Sept so I'll definitely get a few of these book and devour them while sitting on the beach with NO KIDS! Woo Hoo. I have read one book recently that I thought was good. It came out a few years ago so you have likely already read it: Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall & Denver Moore. I thought it was really good

[Michele D]

Oh I have to agree with The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Great book. I haven't been inspired lately by the books I have been reading. Have you read any of the Diana Gabaldon books? I resisted for 2 years, but I could not put them down once I got into them.

[Kristin]

Ooh...I SOOO need to get a Kindle! I literally have 11 novels checked out from the library right now and three more waiting to be picked up!

One of my favorites is "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Kahled Hosseini (who wrote "The Kite Runner" - also excellent) not lighthearted by any means, but an AMAZING story.

"The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein was wonderful. Told from the point of view of the dog - sounds wierd but was done really well.

"Love Walked In" & "Belong to Me" by Marisa de los Santos are both really good.

I am currently reading "House Rules" by Jodi Picoult. It's pretty good so far. I'm very anxious to see how it turns out. I enjoy her writing, but all of her books tend to follow the same pattern - she and Nicholas Sparks must be good pals :)

I could suggest dozens more, but I'll stop for now. So many books - so little time! Enjoy your vacation!

[Nothing But Bonfires]

I recently finished The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris and have been thinking about it ever since. (He also wrote Then We Came To The End, if you haven't read that already, which was also excellent.) I read The Unnamed RIGHT after Little Bee and right BEFORE The Help, so I think that maybe tells you that we have the same taste in books. (Also, I read both Tana French books once because you liked them so much, so I would say we are aligned.)

[Crystal_m_k]

Emily! I always keep up with your booklist and love reading your blog! You could make this SO! MUCH! EASIER! if you join Goodreads...there is an app! And they have ebooks now! I follow Jonna, too, (said as if I_know_her. AM JUST A READER, not a blogger!) and have read so many good books on her rec. This way when you put your thoughts down about what you have read, I'll be updated and can instantly click that book for synopsis and see other people's reactions!
Do it! You'll love it! Also, does everyone know you can get the Kindle app on iphone free? I am sure the Kindle is lovely, but this is FREE. I also read in bed and you can change the background to black and text to white and its backlit, but lightly, and small in your hand so you can lay on your side with no problem.
Off to manually read about the books, heh. Oh, and I second Jonathan Tropper. (This Is Where I Leave You) Love his stories but be forewarned. He writes "like a man" and his sex scenes/talk reflect this. Less lovey and more primal? Does that make sense? Sex=pleasure, not Sex=love.

[Life of a Doctor's Wife]

I haaaaaated A Reliable Wife. But that is possibly because I listened to the audio version and the narrator was horribly annoying.

Sad to hear about the Lonely Polygamist, but I may still give it a try.

I just read The Cradle by Patrick Somerville, which I enjoyed. It was a quick read, had some lovely moments of writing and thoughtfulness, and some unexpected turns.

I also finished Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie recently, which was a nice change of pace. The protagonist is a precocious 11-year-old chemist who solves murder mysteries. Enjoyable, but not the best book I've ever read. But it - and The Cradle - were both perfect for picking up while on the plane. They didn't require constant focus or attention.

Hope you have a wonderful vacation!

[Life of a Doctor's Wife]

Also, I am in love with your kleenex-strip-on-mittens idea. Forget kids - I would totally use that myself!

[Swistle]

Little Bee needed an epilogue. I LOVED it, but can't recommend it because of what seemed to me like a totally unclear ending.

[Peggy]

Here's a few recommendations:

Art of Racing in the Rain - love, love, loved it!!

Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - very good, but sad to think of what we did to Japanese Americans during WWII.

Beneath a Marble Sky - loved it. It's a fictionalized story around the building of the Taj Mahal.

Sarah's Key - sad, but good.

People of the Book - loved it.

Happy reading!!

[Megan]

I love Goodreads. I am never at a loss for an idea of something to read.

Most of my recs right now are pretty mainstream. I loved the Hunger Games series (well, the first two...HURRY UP LIBRARY!) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, although the first one was hard to get into so might not be the best choice for a vacation when you will be interupted by putting on sunblock and trips to the ice cream parlor. The Passage was good if you like scary (think The Stand)but big to carry around (Oh, wait...KINDLE) and Animal Vegitable Miracle was good if you are looking for Non Fiction. The History of Love was good but deep and serious, not light and fluffy for the beach. Water for Elephants I liked a surprising amount. The Diana Gabaldon series (Outlander) is fun if you are looking for some (pretty yummy) romance and there are a lot of historical details in there too if you like that. The Luxe series (By Godbersen, I think?) was like watching your favorite guilty-pleasure-really-for-teens-but-you-love-it-too-8pm-gossipy-soap-opera-set-100-years-ago. What was the name of that movie with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Rypan Phillipe...Cruel Intentions? Sort of like THAT. Good times

[Debbie]

I'll ditto recommendations for the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society.

I also recently read Water for Elephants and loved it.

[HereWeGoAJen]

Oh my heavens, I just spent the week at my uncle's house, rocking Elizabeth back to sleep (MULTIPLE TIMES each night) in a hard, wooden folding chair. With slats that smooshed into my butt. I have possibly never been so uncomfortable.

Why not just make the whole outside of the mitten soft and cotton? That way you don't have to aim while nose wiping. Perhaps a nice flannel would be good.

[Sarah]

This may be too 'fluff' for you or just not your thing, but I just read Realityland, which is kind of a history of/insider's view of DisneyWorld. It was a nice summery read, easy to read a bit here and there and then attend to children! I used to work at Disneyland through their college program so that's why it was of interest to me. The same author has a couple other 'fun' Disney books too.