hi,alma,i just read:we,the drowned,from carsten jensen.it was one of the best books i ever read,have a nice weekend,susi

Hmmm...

When you say you want a sci-fi book are you talking outerspace sci-fi or fantasy sci-fi?

My husband loves Diana Gabaldon and Raymond Feist. Myself, I am very fond of Patricia C. Wrede. Her books are quick, enjoyable reads.

Just watched the DVD of The Moonstone, from Masterpiece Theater. Checked it out from the library. It was very good.

Brenda in IL

Try Resistance by Anita Shreve. This is a favorite I revisit from time to time. It's also a move with Bill Paxton.
Stephani in TX Tomazec@aol.com

If you want an un-put-down-able SF book that is really well written look no further! Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood is SO GOOD!!!!!!!

It's not sci fi, but if you like fantasy I just finished the second book of a trilogy which I have to say are the best I've come across in ages--The Name of the Wind (first in the series) and The Wise Man's Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss. You won't be disappointed!

You'll have to let me know what you think of Nora Ephron. I didn't like it at all, but I read it under unusual circumstances, so I need another reference point!

OMG, isn't it funny -- the same thing happened to me! I love Charles Dickens, have from a child. And didn't discover Wilkie Collins till I was an adult. Love him!! Good reads -- Room by Emma Donoghue (actually some of her other books are good too), The Help by Kathryn Stockett, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by ?. So many good reads! It's funny -- I have We the Drowned in my to-read list. i should read it.

How about O'Henry? His stories are just so fun to read...my fav!. Dianntha

Another book by Wilkie Collins that I really enjoyed is "Poor Miss Finch". There is no blood or murder but there is just as much suspense. Very intriging book.

I read myself to sleep to, only way to shut my mind down. I haven't seen many good sci fi's lately.

Debbie

I'm currently reading An Echo in The Bone by Diana Gabaldon from The Outlander series. Not sic-fi, but a great time travel historical fiction. I'm listening to My Name is Memory by Anne Brashears while I stitch. I'm only a few chapters into it but so far, it's fabulous. I've been in a reading funk all year. I think I'm finally starting to come out of it.

I've been wanting to read the Woman in White and haven't done so yet. I think I need to put it near the top of my list. I just read one that just enthralled me so much - The High Flyer by Susan Howatch. I have read many of her other books years ago and just read this one. It was so good I could not put it down. I wish there were more books like that, but I'm going to look up the ones you've recommended.

Let me suggest Janet Evanovich's Plum Series (One for the Money, etc). They are fun and quick reads!! My grandma at 86 loves those books too. They are not sci fi, but do hold your interest. There are currently 17 books in the series with a handful of "Between the Numbers" about the same characters. If you have already read them, then I can't suggest anything else. Hope this helps!

Cute bookmarks!!

Encontrei um blog lindo!
Parabéns!
Já sou seguidora.
studiodabere.blogspot.com

Hi Alma,

I just finished reading "When God was a Rabbit" and loved it. It's not SF though. I wonder if you might like "Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman. It's an older book but along the lines of fantasy/SF?

I have that same cookbook too and hope to try some recipes from there soon!
Happy Reading!

Wow! I wonder the same thing about Coollins myself! HOW did I get through college without learning of this guy? I have a few of his books on my shelf to get to (Moonstone and the Woman in White, they seem very popular!) I have not read any of Nora Ephrons stuff but I love "You've got mail" the movie, and she wrote,produced and directed it! So, I can only imagine a book by her would be funny and amazing! Enjoy! You know? I have been having the same problem with not being able to settle into my books as well lately...that might be because I'm reading War and Peace now though, don't yah think? =)

Isn't Wilkie Collins wonderful. I love all his books. Another one of Charles Dickens friends and also a wonderful writer is Elizabeth Gaskell. My favourite is one of her little known books called "Ruth". It is really wonderful and it makes you think about the social injustices of how woman and men were treated in society.

The only one of all those books I've read is the one by Nora Ephron...and I highly recommend it (and her newer one...I Remember Nothing...)is good as well. She just speaks to women of a certain age...and I happen to be one of them!

Have you read "The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms" by NK Jemison? It's a great fantasy novel. And "Feed" by Mira Grant is also excellent. Both have been nominated for the Hugo Award.

Have you read Sarah's Key by de Rostenay? If you are in the mood for just an easy and enjoyable read, try Shannon Hale. Most of her books are for young adults, but they are a lot of fun. Goosegirl was her first and is based on a Grimm fairy tale. Very well written. Austenland was written for adults and is also a lot of fun. She is a fairly new author, but I have really enjoyed her novels.

The Forgotten garden by Kate Morton is a fantastic book, my all time favourite now!

Hi Alma - I read the Nora Ephron book and got a few chuckles out of it - it does relate to women of a certain age. I see come books in your comments that I think I will have to look up. I am looking for a good one right now too - The Forgotten Garden has my interest. Good luck - I'm not much for Sci-fi sorry.

What a great idea....use your patterns for beautiful bookmarks...I'm sold. :)

You need to read 'Without Warning' by Jane O'Conner.you won't be able to put it down. It's a true story of a woman who survived & was literally in the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009 in Australia

I don't read much SciFi... the closest that comes to it, for me, would be the dystopian Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. I didn't think I'd bother reading them because they're YA. I decided to try one, and was so enthralled that as soon as I finished the last page on the first one, I hopped in the car to get to the bookstore to get the second book. I just finished A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness and Angelology by Danielle Trussoni and enjoyed them both.

Other favorite books... The House at Riverton (Kate Morton), The Beach Trees (just finished this--loved it! By Karen White), The Lace Reader (Brunonia Barry, The Historian (Elizabeth Kostova), A Long, Long Time Ago & Essentially True (Brigid Pasulka), The Book Thief (Markus Zusak), and Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly. Revolution is also a YA but again--don't let it turn you off--it's a great book. If you go to You Tube and type in the name with the author, there's a little video where the author talks about her inspiration for the book.

Oooh, lots of great book recommendations! I just finished the Steig Larsson series that began with The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo and couldn't put those down.

I enrolled DH in the cheesemaking class last year at the Culinary Center for his birthday. Learned alot but hasn't tried his hand at that yet.

Just finished Any Human Heart by William Boyd and LOVED it. Had watched it on Masterpiece a few months back--that was very enjoyable too.

Just finished "The Bird Sisters" and "The Story of Beautiful Girl" which were both great summer reads. Couldn't put either of them down, but they aren't science fiction. Love all your new projects, and just got the fabric to start a quilt from your Garden Club book.

I second Resistance by Anita Shreve or anything she wrote. I am currently going through the Amish murders by Linda Castillo, Sworn to Silence, Pray for Silence and her newest just came out this past week Breaking Silence, they are all great reads.

Not a sci fi reader myself, but one of my fave books was The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Movie about ready to come out based on that book. So many books, so little time . . . .

You sure have a good eye for taking pictures. Even these pictures of these different books look lovely!

Recent book loves: The Help by Kathryn Stockett, The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (currently reading The House at Riverton by her also). Also enjoy authors: Anita Shreve, Jodi Picoult, Janet Evanovich, Barbara Kingsolver. Books that have "stuck" with me: Secret Life of Bees, Sarah's Key, The Saving Graces (by Patricia Gaffney). Okay...guess there are just too many!!!!

Listen to (cd) Union Quilters, by Jennifer Chiaverini. What a great book. About quilting, women, and what women did while their men were off at war, and when the war came to them. Makes me proud of our women.
You can sew while listening to the cds. Great book.
karencg@hotmail.com

Books! I l-o-v-e books! Your thoughts on "Down the Nile" reminded me of "West with the Night." It's about Beryl Markham, the first woman to fly non-stop from Europe to North America. She and Isak Dinesen, the woman who wrote "Out of Africa" were each the other woman in the other's life. It was interesting to read both books and see many of the same people and events from two perspectives - and no, neither of them ever mentions the other.

Thinking of good authors that you learn of late - Wila Cather is a favorite of mine. Her "My Antonia" and "Death Comes for the Archbishop" are both classics, but I think I just might like "Song of the Lark" even better.

Cooking books!?!?!?? We might be twins of different mothers here. have you read "Home Baking" by Duguid and Alford? The tag line, "the artful mix of flour and tradition around the world" tells a lot about the book. They are a husband and wife team who travel the world and write cookbooks about their experience. "Hot Sour Salty Sweet" is their book about traveling through Southeast Asia. wonderful photos and recipes in both books.

Not a new book, but also not too old, "These is My Words." About a woman's life from her wagon train journey across the country to her life as a wife. Besides the story, it's interesting to see that the author had the language/vernacular change as the girl grew into a woman.

I'll stop now before my babbling on puts you to sleep. Good luck with the quest for a good book, it looks like you have several good candidates there already!
Linda

Connie Willis is a great science fiction writer! Her time travel novels are the best! To Say Nothing of the Dog is my favorite.
Karen L.

Another great series is the Armand Gamache mystery novels from Louise Penny. I can't wait for her next one due in the fall!
Karen L.

Oh Alma!
Definitely read I Feel Bad About My Neck -- it's a great, fun read that will make you laugh!

I'm finishing up The Help -- Fabulous book!!!

Diane

Hi Alma, Thanks for the book ideas! Check out Heidi's blog at 101cookbooks. It's definitely inspirational! Looking forward to your next fabric line this fall! Enjoy your summer - you girls amaze me with all that you do!
Colette

I know they're old but I've always loved the Foundation Trilogy books by Isaac Asimov. Even if you've read them before, it could be time to re-read them.

And it's not sci-fi, just a simply terrific book - Birdsong, by Sebastian Faulks. Far better than anything he's written since.

thank you for the reading suggestions...I didn't know Wilkie Collins but now Moonstone is in my to read list.
thank you also for posting my little bookmarks.
happy stitching and reading!

I love Dickens but I'd never heard of Collins, so I'll have to look him up. I noticed someone mentioned Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, which is brilliant, as is his Robot series. I'd also recommend Arthur C. Clarke (2001 A Space Odyssey). 2001 was the first of the Space Odyssey series and his Rama series is excellent too. The other book I loved was the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It's one of the best boooks I've read in a very long time.

Are you familiar with C.J.Sansom? He writes a mystery series featuring Matthew Shardlake, a lawyer in the time of Henry VIII. Mystery, intrigue and a bit of si-fi along the way...great fun!! Start with "Dissolution". You won't regret it!!

Hey Alma....have you read Cutting for Stone? Awesome book and then there is A Land Remembered by Patrick Smith, it is about Old Florida before Disney and all of that...great read. Okay, not even on the subject, far from it, but the minute I saw your new fabric, the pattern that came right to mind was Aunt Opal's Blue Baskets...remember that blast from the past??? I am thinking it has now made the top of my to do list and I have always wanted to make that quilt anyway and there is no more perfect fabric than your new stuff coming out...YUMMY....tons of hugs...Susan

Real Sci-Fi, and not Fantasy, read Dune. DH gave it to me for Christmas one year, and it sat on the shelf for years, but when I picked it up, I got sucked into that world. Socio-economic, policial, foreign world. Actual science fiction, and AMAZING. Then there's Heinlein. I recently read The Puppet Masters, which was cool. And for a more modern sci-fi read, I picked up a freebie from the Kindle store, it was Good Tidings and the ones in that series, about a private investigator who can talk to the dead. But Patricia Wrede is fun, I read her as a child and still read her Dragon books now. Diana Galbaldon is good, but that's more historical fiction. Orxy and Crake is good, that's the whole distopia thing, like We (the "first" distopia novel, written in the 1920s, in Russia) and 1984 and Brave New World. Janet Evanovich's books are fun. But you seem to like serious, literary stuff. So go with Dune (Frank Herbert) and Heinlein (Stranger in a Strange Land, Puppet Masters, etc.)Okay, I'll hush now. (I'm a book nerd...)

My favorites that I've read this year are Winter Garden by Kristen Hannah (EXCELLENT!), Love You More by Lisa Gardner (lots of twists and turns in this murder mystery!), Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B. Ross (great characters, funny and nice life lessons), Maisie Dobbs by Jacquline Winspear (WONDERFUL!), Plain Truth by Jody Picoult (good mystery in Amish country), Katherine by Anya Seton (One of my FAVORITES - historical fiction..outstanding!) and These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner is probably one of very favorite books of all time!

LOTS of great reads! Lucky us!
Teresa

You should definitely read The Hunger Games trilogy. Also, I just finished reading An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin - also a good read. Oh and The Hare with Amber Eyes was another recent read that was excellent.

a really great sci-fi book is "the Doomsday Book" by Connie Willis. It starts centuries ahead and goes back to the time of the plague..time travel. An excellent read

I just finished the 4th book of the 'Song of Fire & Ice' and can recommend them highly. This series was the basis for the HBO show 'Game of Thrones'. Just be warned - the books are highly addictive !

I would be encouraging, along with several others to read Diana Gabaldon. Outlander is the 1st book in the series... if you read them out of order, I think you might be lost. Also, found a contemporary, magical author Sarah Addison Allen writes quick fast whimsical but great fiction. I would recommended The Girl Who Chased the Moon. I would also recommended Janet Evanovich series...

Love it when people do book posts! I get so many ideas for books to read. Thank you and thank you everyone else for all the recommendations. :D

This-will-scare-you-to-death! Read "One Second After" by William Forstchen. Some people call this science fiction but one top military officer said not "if" this will happen, but "when" it will happen. I read it will be made into a movie. "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett is one of the best books I've ever read - not sci-fi, though.

First, I don't know how I missed your post on the new fabric line, but I'm in total love. Blue is absolute favorite color, so I'll be snatching up a bunch.

Second, sounds like you might like a real life canoeing story I read years ago. Down the Wild River North by Constance Helmericks. In the 60's, the author took her 2 daughters, ages 12 and 14, on a canoe trip across Canada to the Arctic Ocean. Not a fast based book, it's true life adventure. Here's a link: http://www.amazon.com/Down-River-North-Constance-Helmericks/dp/0943127025
You might be able to find it at the library.

Hi there - I recently listend to "Cutting for Stone" - very rich and powerful novel set mainly in Africa. I also love Diana Gabaldon - read her books over and over, they are so detailed and full of fascinating characters. Gotta love time travel!
Colleen

I love Wilkie Collins - his books are very atmospheric! Have you tried No Name and The Law and the Lady? I read these as a teenager, and the thing I recall most about them was how lovely it was to read a Victorian book with srong female characters.

For something totally different I just read The Island by Victoria Hislop - about a Greek leper colony. I was totally engrossed by the main characters, it was a really gentle, yet serious read - highly recommened!!

I am reading "The Emperor of Maladies" now - its science, and kind of fiction but mostly not. It is verging on a can't put down, staying up until all hours reading kind of book, quite fascinating. I highly recommend it!

The first book of Wilkie Collins i read is The Woman In White. I have now read Moonstone, Armadale and No Name. I own a copy of each of these books. I have also read a library copy of The New Magdalen. So yes, I love reading Collins.

I recommend you read No Name and Armadale. You will love them...

This was great.. all these suggestions! Will definately look into W. Collins.
I would be thrilled to go down the Platte.. as I just finished a great book, The empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne, a history of the Comanche indians.
Judy

"The Host" by Stephanie Meyer is a great read. It's kind of sci-fi. She's the author of the Twlight series but a very different type of book. I enjoyed each of them.

There is some good suggestions listed here!

If you like Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens, check out "Drood" by Dan Simmons. It's a fictionalized account of Dickens' last few years, and reads somewhat like a mystery. It's very good. (And I seem to remember The Moonstone being mentioned a few times.)

FYI - the cookbook by Heidi Swanson is great. She has a wonderful blog too - http://101cookbooks.com/

I haven't heard of Collins either...hmmm...off to the library I go!

www.gutenberg.org has thousands of free books to download,including all of Wilkie Collin works. I was searching for H. Rider Haggard when I found this site several years ago.
www.joegrey.com is the site for a great mystery/fantasy series by S. R. Murphy, about two cats who solve murders in their small California town. This series should be read in order, at least read "Cat on the Edge" first.
Anything by Alison Weir, Anya Seton, and Georgette Heyer is awesome.
Take a look at the Agent Pendergast stories by Preston and Child. They resurrected the evil count from Wilkie Collins "The Woman in White" in one of their books.
I collect 19c women's magazines just for the old-fashioned romance stories contained in them. Of course, the neddlework patterns are a bonus.....

Herbert Wells proposes. Futurist and humanist.