I can't be running low on books already?!

December 5, 2009 11:36 PM

MeFites, help! Need more books to read. /book-recommendation-filter

I'm currently about halfway through my to-read list, and want some book recommendations. Help me out here, MeFites!

Books that I've enjoyed thoroughly:
- The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova
- The Hour I First Believed, by Wally Lamb
- Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides
- The Cider House Rules, by John Irving
- Child 44, by Tom Rob Smith
- The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski
- The Conscience of a Liberal, by Paul Krugman
- Freakonomics, by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt
- Hot, Flat and Crowded, by Thomas Friedman

Books on my to-read list:
- Superfreakonomics, by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt
- What the Dog Saw, by Malcolm Gladwell
- Everything is Illuminated, by Jonathan Safran Foer
- We Need to Talk About Kevin, by Lionel Shriver

There are of course, other books that I've read and liked, but these by far are my favourites. Your input is much appreciated!

posted by titantoppler to Writing & Language (23 answers total)

The Great Deluge by Douglas Brinkley. I think a few of the things he wrote about were challenged but it's a really interesting book.
posted by fshgrl at 11:40 PM on December 5, 2009

I really loved Wally Lamb's two previous novels, particularly I Know This Much is True. (She's Come Undone might be excellent if you are female, but possibly a little alienating if you're male--but I'm not sure, that's just a guess, since Lamb wrote it and he's a dude anyway.)
posted by so_gracefully at 12:29 AM on December 6, 2009 [1 favorite]

Superfreakonomics and What the Dog saw are some of the books I most recently read.
My recommendations:

Don't Sleep There are Snakes by Daniel Everett - Non-fiction. A missionary goes into the Amazon and lives/studies linguistics with a very interesting tribe. (I'm only 2/3 of the way done)

Chaos by James Gleick - Non-fiction. Changed my life. Very interesting and easy to read book about the history of chaos theory. So good.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera - Fiction. An engaging story with a philosophical message.

Seemed like we have some similar tastes, and these were the first books I could think of. I hope you enjoy.
posted by notnathan at 12:47 AM on December 6, 2009

Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks.
posted by benzenedream at 1:52 AM on December 6, 2009

Non-fiction:
The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford
Any of Mary Roach's books

Fiction:
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris
posted by transporter accident amy at 3:45 AM on December 6, 2009

A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving, if you liked Cider House Rules

Seconding I Know This Much is True

Bel Canto and/or The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett

Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald

(we seem to have similar taste, and these books are all in my top ten)
posted by cider at 4:15 AM on December 6, 2009

I always recommend the same books on AskMe, but it's because these books are awesome.

Along with Middlesex, Midnight's Children and Tin Drum sort of form a weird trinity of books about deformed heroes who represent the progress of nationhood.

I was not so much a fan of Safran Foer, but his wife, Nicole Krauss wrote the excellent Holocaust novel, The History of Love.
posted by zoomorphic at 6:20 AM on December 6, 2009 [1 favorite]

Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis.
posted by A dead Quaker at 6:22 AM on December 6, 2009

Oh for non-fiction, definitely nthing Oliver Sacks and putting in Lawrence Weschler. You'll never want to go back to Gladwell after them.
posted by zoomorphic at 6:23 AM on December 6, 2009

if you enjoy "everything is illuminated" add Foer's novel "extremely loud & incredibly close" to your list. it is excellent.

also, seconding "the history of love" by Nicole Krauss.
posted by gursky at 6:26 AM on December 6, 2009

Churchill, Hitler, and "the unnecessary war": how Britain lost its empire and the West lost the world. Despite being obsessed with the fate of "Christian peoples" in a way which makes me think he must be some kind of white supremacist (or at least Western supremacist...), Pat Buchanan is quite an erudite, persuasive and talented writer. This was quite an entertaining and educational book, once I put aside the "ick" factor of the author's ideology.
posted by Estragon at 7:30 AM on December 6, 2009

Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx
The Alienist by Caleb Carr
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi
posted by Majorita at 7:45 AM on December 6, 2009 [1 favorite]

Oh, A slight trick of the mind, Atonement, Saturday, Goodbye, Darkness
posted by Estragon at 7:58 AM on December 6, 2009

Seconding Lawrence Weschler! He is one of my favorite favorites. My favorite of his collections are Vermeer in Bosnia and A Wanderer in the Perfect City.
posted by ocherdraco at 8:26 AM on December 6, 2009

Seconding zoomorphic. I was struck by how much Middlesex reminded me of Midnight's Children, in a good way.

Other books you might like
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
John Irving's other books, especially Hotel New Hampshire and The World According to Garp.
posted by lunasol at 8:51 AM on December 6, 2009

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Awesome awesome awesome. Really truly worth a read. Also his first book Ghostwritten is fantastic as well.

Come to think of it I may just go and re-read it today!
posted by ghostpony at 11:20 AM on December 6, 2009

Geek Love Katherine Dunn

The Sparrow Mary Doria Russell

The Book Thief Markus Zusak
posted by thebrokedown at 2:15 PM on December 6, 2009

The Poisonwood Bible -- by Barbara Kingsolver
posted by I'm Brian and so's my wife! at 4:58 PM on December 6, 2009 [1 favorite]

We Need to Talk About Kevin was one of the most affecting books I have ever read, and I hope you love it! As for non-fiction, probably the greatest book ever written has got be to Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. I recommend it to everyone, and so far everyone who's taken me up on reading it has loved it immeasurably.
posted by just_ducky at 10:14 PM on December 6, 2009

Immortality by Kundera is one of the most engaging and thought-provoking books I've ever read.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Marquez.

Thirding History of Love.

If you enjoyed Freakonomics, how about Malcom Gladwell? The Tipping Point and Blink are fun reads.
posted by AAAAAThatsFiveAs at 7:57 AM on December 7, 2009

While this doesn't necessarily fit with your loved-books list, I recommend The Known World by Edward P. Jones. It was just a treasure. He has a unique way of writing that makes the story seem very real.
posted by Knowyournuts at 12:22 PM on December 7, 2009

Response by poster: Thanks for the replies so far!

I have, in fact, read Wally Lamb's "I Know This Much Is True", though not his "She's Come Undone", and enjoyed that thoroughly too.

I did give Foer's "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close", though for some reason I cannot remember, I dropped it a few pages into the book. I'll give it another try though. And yes, I did finish Nicole Krauss's "History of Love", and I enjoyed it, though not as much as the other books.

Milan Kundera's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" was a little too dry for my tastes (sorry to say).

"Atonement" was very good, once I got past the first 2-3 chapters...

Hope this gives a greater idea of what I'm into and what I'm not. Keep 'em coming, people!
posted by titantoppler at 9:30 PM on December 7, 2009

How about David James Duncan's The Brothers K? Loved it!
posted by Knowyournuts at 3:30 PM on December 8, 2009