Good Reads, Part I

I'm an avid reader, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite fiction books. You can see full reviews on Amazon, and that's not really my strength anyway so I won't bore you with lots of words! I am not a big fan of fluffy, beach type novels. If I spend time reading a book, I really want it to make me feel something, even if it's sadness. (I know how weird I am, my kids tell me every day.) So while none of these books are necessarily hard to read, they're not light little summer books either.

The Red Tent

I really love this book. Probably my all-time favorite fiction book. I think it's just a great story about relationships between women.

The Book Thief
I've heard people describe this book as life-changing. It's really good.

Time Traveler's Wife
I hate science fiction, and although this is not science fiction time travel is obviously central to the story line. I thought it was hard to really follow all the time travel at first, and most of the people who don't like this book cite that as the reason. I thought it was a little graphic for my taste in parts, but overall I liked this book and I loved the movie.

Water for Elephants
Really easy to read. Loved this one. Have yet to see the movie. I love Reese, but I'm not that excited about Robert Twilight-whats-his-name playing the main character.

Cutting for Stone

The central character in this book is a surgeon and there is alot of talk about surgeries. Of course, I loved that and I loved the characters also.

A Thousand Splendid Suns
Same author as The Kite Runner, also a great book. One of my friends says this book made her realize how lucky we are, as women, to live in the United States.

Sarah's Key
I thought this one was really moving. Not a happy little story though.

The Art of Racing in the Rain
A must for any dog lover! Really sweet story. (of course, the ending is sad but sad-happy if that makes any sense)

The Hunger Games
I downloaded this one to Kindle because I'd heard alot about it and it was on sale for $5. Had I known what it was about I probably wouldn't have read it. Once I figured it out I was already hooked though, and had to see what happened. (Basically, in a futuristic setting children are drawn in a lottery-like system and they fight against one another in a huge arena for sport until only one survivor is left). I hate science fiction, and I really hated the idea of this book but I couldn't put it down. I read the whole trilogy in less than 2 weeks.

And now I think I will make an appointment for some therapy because sadness seems to be a recurring theme in my list of favorite books, and I'm not sure what that says about me -- an otherwise very happy person.

If you have any book recommendations I'd love to hear them.