I noticed that jdpandcmp indicated in her profile that she is reading "Three Cups of Tea." It's a wonderfully inspirational book. It would be nice if other players would list books they've read that the rest of us readers might enjoy. I read mostly novels, but I also enjoy reading about history, current events and science.

Ok - so nobody's biting on this... I'll do what I've asked others to do. The last two books I've read are worth checking out:
The Splendor of Silence by Indu Sundaresan about a young American soldier during WWII in a remote province of India searching for his brother who disappeared under suspicious circumstances while serving with the British army.
The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean about a woman who survived the siege of Leningrad in WWII and is now living in the US and succumbing to alzheimer's.

I don't get time to read too many books, the last I read was "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy", one of my favourites. But my all-time favourite is George Orwells 1984.

The "Guide" is also one of my favorites as well as "1984" which I read for the first time in 1984, the year my daughter was born. If you like Douglas Adams' style of humor you might also enjoy books by Haruku Murakami or Terry Pratchett.

Do you have any recommendations from Haruku Murakami or Terry Pratchett?

I first heard 'The Guide' on B.B.C. radio, before it was a book (yes I rearly am that old)! I love the series, have you read 'The meaning of Liff'? I rearly enjoy English detictive novels, some of my favorite authers are Reginal Hill, Mark Billingham, Giles Blunt, Val McDermid, Minette Walters & Peter Robinson. I also read a lot of poerty and essays, I esp. enjoy Clive James.

Adam - my favorite Murakamis are: "Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World", very funny and somewhat bizarre but meditatively serious about the nature of the mind; "Kafka on the Shore" is my favorite - maybe even more bizarre but at the same time more real perhaps because the setting is more familiar than in "Hard-boiled..."; "After the Quake", "The Elephant Vanishes" and "The Wind-up Bird Chronicle" are also good read. The only Terry Pratchett book I've read is "Hogfather" a rather twisted Christmas story. They made a movie of it, but the book is 100 times better.

I am so excited to see this thread! I haven't had much time to read comments this month. Now I've got some great book ideas; I hope to see more. I read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy a couple of years ago to see if it was appropriate for my son - which it wasn't at that time but probably is now. I think I may dust it off - if we can still remember it to talk about it years later, there's usually something to it.

Hitchhiker was introduced to me by my daughter while she was in college. Up until that time the novels of Tom Robbins had been my only link to the "bizarre". My world of literature has been opened up by my daughter.

A wonderfully written book is, Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen. Set in Depression Era America, this story of a man and his life in the circus is a fabulous read with rich characters. I love a book that doesn't telegraph the ending and this ending was a surprise.

I am reading now, Hester Among the Ruins, by Binnie Kirschenbaum. Let you know what I think when I am finished.

Everyone above seems to read more intellectual books...I like murder/thrillers by authors such as Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin, Diane Mott Davidson (she has the caterer who stumbles onto murders and includes recipes (which are quite good), Daniel Silva....Sue Grafton...

I love Catch 22, One flew over the cuckoos nest, Hitchhiker to So Long And Thanks For All The Fish, Brave New World, 1984, The Celestine Prophecy, On the Road.....

hmm I just got done with a grueling,bug oriented summer reading program.Rip, Leslie Meier, Joanna Carl, and others write catering or food based mysteries. I am taking a break, am hitting the cookbooks, and delving in J.A. Jance. And getting my kids into the classics, like Grimm's fairy tales, and the "Oz" series.

Water for Elephants - I loved! Another excellent read is Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See.

tigleapfrog - if you like food based reading you might enjoy "The Language of Baklava" by Diana Abu-Jaber; "The Epicure's Lament" by Kate Christensen; "Like Water for Chocolate" by Laura Esquivel.

I just finished Three Bags Full; A Sheep Detective Story by Leonie Swann. Apparently it was a sensation in Germany where it was written. The premise sounds too odd to be good, a flock of sheep investigate the murder of their beloved shepherd, but it was well worth the read.
I'm a big mystery fan, love Henning Mankell, (set in Sweden) Donna Leon (set in Venice), P D James, Elizabeth George, James Lee Burke. Lawrence Block, Peter Robinson, and of course, Carl Hiaasen (very funny stuff, Tourist Season and Double Whammy being my favorites.)
Non mystery favorites are Life of Pi, Water for Elephants, Year of Wonders, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time, A Spot of Bother, anything by Christopher Moore,

And History, All the Shaw's Men, Power, Faith, and Fantasy, Imperial Life in the Emerald City, Teapot Dome Scandal, Master of the Senate, Team of Rivals, River of Doubt, Charlie Wilson's War,

I tend to do a lot of audio books while I play solitaire!

I will look into those! I can't "do"audio books, they tend to become background noise. Looking to delve deeper into Pearl Buck, after I get fall cleaning, and some craft projects done. Why isn't there more time in the day? Alas. alack, and sob

Dick, I enjoy reading but don't get much time too..I love murder, suspense, mystery, history, and inspirational books. My daughter is wanting me to start reading the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. ( I guess I will try to start those while I wait for my son Blake at football practice. I enjoy reading all of the book ideas. Thanks Dick for starting this, and thanks to everyone else for their suggestions.
Tigleapfrog, I agree, I can't get into audio books ( I wish I could) but like you it turns into background noise...
Hamlette, I don't see how you can do audio books and play solitaire at the same time!!! You are very talented, I have trouble just doing one of them at a time. (lol)

For the last 20 years before I retired I commuted an hour and a half each way. I listened to a lot of books on tape. I thought it was a great way to pass the time driving. But I agree, it must take some special mental gymnastics to be able to pay attention to a reading while concentrating on solitaire. My hat's off to Hamlette!!
Thanks everyone for participating in this thread. My list of books to read is growing...

My hats off to you as well Dick, I just don't have that kind of mental capacity (LOL) kids blew that along time ago..Thanks to you also, my book list has grown as well