Help! I need something to read

[Carol Jago]

I've been reading Ivanhoe for way too long (I wanted to see what it was about the story that made be absolutely unable to put it down at 15) and need a new book.

Any suggestions? Nothing that's been reviewed lately seems terribly tempting.

[Laura Bolf-Beliveau]

I just read The Help by Kathryn Stockett. It is a compelling look at white women and their African American maids. Set at the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement, it is highly engaging, but I had problems with some of the characterizations. Another good read in Outliers. I plan on using this for my introductory composition class next semester. Happy reading...from Laura Bolf-Beliveau

[Carol Jago]

I'll give them a whirl, Laura. Thanks so much for the suggestions! (The alternative was The Old Curiosity Shop1

[Amy Marshall]

I've just started Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin. Very interesting and I love the premise. So far so good. For a more "grown-up" read (if there is such a thing), I enjoyed World Without End by Ken Follett.

[Jack Martin]

Books I've enjoyed lately--

Death With Interruptions by Jose Saramago
Obabakoak by Bernardo Atxaga
David Sedaris' recent collection
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson
How to Be Bad by E Lockhart, Sarah Mlynowski, & Lauren Myracle
Astonishing LIfe of Octavian Nothing by M.T.Anderson
Without a Net: Middle Class and Homeless (with Kids) in America by Michelle Kennedy

Old, odd favorite--

Geek Love by Katherine Dunn

[Carol Jago]

I adore Geek Love so our reading tastes must be much the same! Thanks so much for your suggestions!

[Rita Oates]

In an era of globalization, I want to read books by authors outside the British/American canon. With students from so many other countries in our classrooms, I want to know more about the literary traditions of their homelands.

For anyone teaching Haitian students, I highly recommend the work of Edwidge Danticat, who has won several writing awards. My favorite is the very somber story of ethnic cleansing and genocide in 1937....in the Dominican Republic, Haiti's neighbor. The Farming of Bones won the American Book Award and is lyrical and powerful even as it tells a sad story that I never learned in my history or social studies classes. Krik? Krak! is a terrific set of short stories, her second book and a finalist in 1995 for the National Book Award. Breath, Eyes, Memory was an Oprah Book Club pick, the basis of her MFA work at Brown. Her most recent award was for the powerful nonfiction work, Brother, I'm Dying. (National Book Award, autobiography)

I'm reading through all of Brazilian Paulo Coehlo's books, and yesterday I got his newest one, The Winner Stands Alone. I just finished reading The Fifth Mountain, which was quite different from many of his other books and quite fascinating. When I finish all his books, I want to rereadThe Alchemist.

Then, I'll read two of Coehlo's favorite books: Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon by Brazilian Jorge Amado, and Ficciones, a book of short stories by Argentinean Jorge Luis Borges. I'd welcome suggestions for other books/writers from the Americas, south of the Rio Grande.