Do you remember the last "perfect read" you had?

[InternalDialogue]

Not necessarily the best book, but one where you picked up the book, were drawn immediately into the story and the characters, and enjoyed both the entire process of reading as well as what the story did for you.

The last book I read that had that effect on me was "Shantaram" by Gregory David Roberts. It's a long one, so there was no way to do it in one or two sittings, but I religiously read a hundred or more pages a night and actually was sad to know it was drawing to an end.

Before that, I remember that Donna Tartt's "The Secret History" did it to me as well.

There are many other books I've enjoyed reading and enjoyed discovering, but those two stand out for me as examples of how I wish all books would feel.

How about you?

[angstlessk]

1. A Stone for Danny Fisher, Valley of the Dolls, and various erotic

books my father accumulated when I was a teenager in the summer and bought lemons 1/2 dozen at a time and ate them like oranges while reading all night (and sneaking cigarettes). For some reason I quit reading fiction and began to read very droll self help books. Hoping, I suppose to extricate me from the vermin I had read in my youth. Boy I miss those erotic thrillers!

[The empressof all]

2. Middlesex

I resisted reading it for the longest time because everyone around me loved it and I wanted to be ornery. I loved it.

[InternalDialogue]

16. Honestly, I had that reaction to reading it too.

I was like, "Thanks, but I'll find my own titles that everyone hasn't already heard of." But I've also heard so many raves from serious readers, I presume I should put it on my wish list.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

3. "An Unfinished Season"

by Ward Just.

But I can say that about anything Ward Just writes. He's brilliant, compelling, and not an easy read - which I like. Right now, I'd say he's the best living American novelist....................................

[Warpy]

4. I read Janet Evanovich's latest last night

after I found it at Costco. I can't say it was a nourishing read, but it was an hilarious one in spots.

The last great read I had was "Reading Lolita in Tehran," a book I recommend highly for anyone trying to understand how things seemingly went so wrong after the revolution of 1978.

Parts of it were chilling as I read it during the rise of the last administration after the election had been stolen.

[Chemisse]

5. Thank you! I am going to add these 2 to my reading list.

I enjoy lots of books, but the last one I read (and reread) with that kind of extreme pleasure was Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth. That was a lot of years ago, as I'm sure most of you know, so I am eager to get suggestions.

[polichick]

6. I love John Hart's books - just finished his most recent & can't wait for the next...

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51lxMKw8qtL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/Last-Child-John-Hart/dp/0312359322/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247354702&sr=8-1

[RebelOne]

27. That sounds like a good one. Must read it. n/t

[snappyturtle]

7. Yes...thanks for reminding me...I should read it again this summer.

"A Girl of the Limberlost" by Gene Stratton-Porter, who I consider one of the greatest Hoosiers. GSP was a female naturalist and photographer. This is a story of a poor, fatherless, young woman wanting an education and her journey and struggles to that end. Written in 1909. Not long...beautifully descriptive. The Hallmark Hall of Fame made a production out of this. It was good but then don't cheat yourself saying you know the story until you've read the prose(poetry). imho

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

18. I read "Freckles" when I was pretty young and enjoyed it a lot. nt

[snappyturtle]

24. Yeah, that one was good too. I just liked her style and stories

set in simpler times!

[sharesunited]

8. Devil In The White City

and Thunderstruck

Both historical novels by Erik Larson.

[Rowdyboy]

9. Just finished "The Heart Shaped Box" by Joe Hill...I was hooked from page one.....

and after I finished I found out who the author really was!

I also loved Tartt's "The Secret Garden". I thought her next book "The Little Friend" was great until it fell apart in the last chapter. As I read the ending I was so angry I tossed it across the room.

[InternalDialogue]

10. I know what you mean about "Little Friend."

I so looked forward to that because she had waited so many years to follow up the first one. I loved her voice in it, and I saw a lot of what made me love her first novel, but the plot and structure dwindled as the book went on. I hate to say that I think she's an enormous talent with words, but she might not have a repository of stories in her to do more than she's done.

[YankeyMCC]

11. Wolf Totem

by Jiang Rong aka Lü Jiamin

[HamdenRice]

12. Franzen, "The Corrections"

I read it in about 2 or 3 days, a lot on the subway back and forth to work. At times, I was laughing out loud like a crazy person on the train. It is funny in places, but also profound in places, sad, thought provoking and bizarre. I'll never forget that angry, belligerent, talking piece of feces.

I loaned it to my best writing friend and she couldn't get through it and gave it back. I was amazed, but I learned it's not for everyone.

[InternalDialogue]

14. That's on my shelf and soon to be read.

I haven't read Franzen's fiction since "The Twenty-Seventh City" (though I have read some of his essays since then). I really liked Franzen's voice in that, but the story didn't move with the rhythm it should have. I chalked it up to his young age at the time he wrote it. I look forward to "The Corrections" when I get the time.

[azmouse]

13. Dan Simmon's "Iluim" and "Olympos"

The best sci-fi I've ever read.

[InternalDialogue]

15. Simmons is someone I've always had recommended to me.

But I haven't read him yet. I'm sure I'll get around to him soon enough. I take it you'd recommend those titles for an intro to his writing, then?

[azmouse]

17. Simmons is a very good writer.

I recommend "Summer of Night" (my favorite) and "The Terror" also.

[mix]

20. what do you recommend?

oops i see your recommendations above now, thanks...a new genre for me really

[mix]

19. Moby Dick Fall 2000

[Onceuponalife]

21. "The Hotel New Hampshire" by John Irving

I picked it up in the bookstore knowing nothing about Irving (this was before the movie was made) and was almost done with the first chapter before I realized I was still standing in the bookstore.

[BlueIris]

22. "Nocturne," by Adam Rapp, which I read this weekend. (It's a play, not a book, though.)

If you want a novel worth mentioning as a recent 'perfect read,' I'd go with "Limitations," by Scott Turow (read this past January).

[InternalDialogue]

23. Thanks for the recommendation.

[dixiegrrrrl]

25. Ava's Man, by Rick Bragg.

Closely followed by all Over But the Shouting, the sequel.
Actually read the last page, then started all over again.
2 books which will never leave this house.

[fishwax]

26. Last month I read The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter and East of Eden

and both of those read that way for me :)

[japple]

28. I think it would have to be Cold Mountain, which I read just after it was

released. It took at least 50 pages for me to get into the rhythm of Frazier's writing, and then I could not put it down. I was so immersed in the story that I had to struggle to come back to the present.

I also had that experience listening to All the Pretty Horses read by Frank Muller (not sure of the spelling of his last name) on audiotape.

[MadMaddie]

29. The Last Ship by by William Brinkley

I have kept the book. I reread it because it is so well written.

Synopisis
The Last Ship is a post-apocalyptic fiction novel written by William Brinkley. It tells the story of a United States Navy guided missile destroyer, the USS Nathan James, on patrol in the Barents Sea during a brief, full-scale nuclear war among superpowers, and the ship's ensuing search for a new home for her crew.

[InternalDialogue]

30. That sounds like a good premise.

Was it clear on the time during which it was set -- present, near future?

[MadMaddie]

31. The missiles that are referenced in the book

are Tomahawk missiles.
<snip>
Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) is a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile. Introduced by General Dynamics in the 1970s
<snip>

I perused through the first chapters and didn't see a specic date or year but with the reference to the missiles I put it in the 1970's or 1980's.

There is also a reference to the Russian missile SS-N-23 which was built in 1985. So this may be more accurate.

It may refer to a date later in the book


You should read it and let me know what you think.

[gratefultobelib]

32. The Time Traveler's Wife

[downeyr]

33. Yes, I do!

"Sometimes a Great Notion" by Ken Kesey...the first, last, and only perfect read I've had.