i grew up a bookworm. i had to be called to dinner twice. i was repeatedly warned that my eyes were going to go bad as i sat curled up in a little ball in the back seat of our van holding up my nancy drew so i could read by the headlights of the car behind us…
matt also grew up with a love of reading. he dedicated long car rides to the adventures of the hardy boys– once he opened a book he was hooked…
so what happened to us? college? homework? jobs? whatever it was- we’ve realized it’s time to dive back into books. now, we’re not non readers currently- we can usually be found skimming internet articles, blogs, magazines and lots of business books but it’s just time we picked up some quality literature. i started yesterday with a little sophie kinsella– so maybe by ‘quality literature’ i just mean ‘quality entertainment’- really, we’re into either! ;) but we need your help! since you proved your superior taste with your netflix suggestions, we’d love to hear your book suggestions as well! last time our plea came with an offer- so this time we want to do that too- mostly because we just love…
…YOU! you are the reason that we blog and the fact that you take time to comment makes us want to continue to do so! this blog is how we’ve connected with so many amazing new friends so we want to offer a little something back! we’d love for you to drop a comment or you can shoot an email with your book ideas-and we will randomly draw a name to give you the gift of…audiobooks? -i’m trying to make this relate…- or music- or of tv shows or movies- or podcasts- basically a $25 itunes giftcard. ;) we’d LOVE to hear from you!
oh also:
WE LOVE THE EARTH!  …and apparently also playing tag?…
***EDIT!*** congratulations echupp– we’ll be sending you some itunes fun soon! thanks so much to everyone who left comments- i hope more than just matt & i were able to read the titles and get some new ideas! read on! ***EDIT OVER.***
Hey guys! Okay so I actually don’t want to win anything – I just love to read so I’m a sucker for this kind of thing. Are you on goodreads.com? It’s a great way to get ideas for good books and also keep track of ones you’ve liked, then make note of other books that author may have written, etc. If you lived in DC, I’d recommend my favorite used book store to you – it’s addictive! Might even be worth a flight up… haha but I def recommend going to used book stores when you need a book and don’t have any ideas on your own. I hope I’m not overloading you :)
Here are some books I recommend:
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Wicked by Gregory Maguire
ANYTHING (as in any of his books) by Malcolm Gladwell (esp: The Tipping Point & Blink)
Sea Biscuit by Laura Hillenbrand (one of the best books i’ve ever read)
The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
Grace in Practice: A Theology of Every Day Life by Paul F.M. Zahl
Blue Shoes by Ann Lamott
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers (a re-writing of the book of Hosea that will BLOW you away. I’ve even gotten guys to read it and love it, including my husband!)
The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
I love to read! And I absolutely love to recommend books to people!
Lucky – by Alice Sebold
The Time Traveler’s Wife – by Audrey Niffenegger
My Sister’s Keeper – by Jodi Picoult
Twilight Series – Stephanie Meyer
Eat, Pray, Love – by Elizabeth Gilbert
Middlesex – by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Secret Life of Bees – By Sue Monk Kidd
Enjoy! I hope you like them!
Yay books! I was the same way growing up, Kate… except it was usually Babysitter’s Club. ;)
Recently I read and enjoyed:
For Kate or Matt
“Same Kind of Different as Me” by Ron Hall and Denver Moore- LOOOOOVVVVVEEEDD this. Changed my life. One of my favorites ever.
“Outliers” by Malcom Gladwell
“City Lights: Stories About New York” by Dan Barry
For Kate
“Love Walked In” by Marisa de los Santos
“My Sister’s Keeper” by Jodi Picoult
“American Wife” by Curtis Sittenfeld
“Friday Night Knitting Club” by Kate Jacobs
“I Was Told There’d Be Cake” by Sloane Crosley
i prefer picture books where the protagonist is some sort of stuffed animal or something… or talking vegetables, you know.
I agree with a previous comment that the Babysitters Club was the thing to read!
Nowadays I tend to prefer the page turning books. I would recommend any John Grisham or Dan Brown book. Most people have read Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code, but Deception Point and Digital Fortress were both equally as good as his more well-known books. The Romanov Prophecy by Steve Berry also has a Dan Brown feel, and it is especially good if you are at all interested in the Russian culture.
I recommend the Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield. It’s a spiritual book, but is not religious.
Good luck with your search!
Wow you totally hit a nerve talking about reading!! (Especially the Babysitter’s Club series!!) I was the same way as a kid/preteen/teen and then somehow during late high school and college I never found time to read…I started back a few years ago and particularly look forward to trips/vacations when I know I’ll have time to knock out 3-4 good novels!!
I’m a fan of all things Nicholas Sparks (All-time faves being “Dear John” and “The Wedding”), but once I ran out of those I actually read all of the Shopaholic series! Also along the lines of the feel of Sophie Kinsella is a fun author by the name of Emily Giffin. Her first two I read were “Something Borrowed” and “Something Blue” – (The latter is a follow-up to the first)
In the past couple of weeks I’ve ventured into the world of Jodi Picoult and it’s FANTASTIC!! My first was “My Sisters Keeper” then “Nineteen Minutes” then “Salem Falls”. Currently I’m in the middle of “Vanishing Acts” (reading it online) and “The Tenth Circle” (reading it at home). I’ve really enjoyed all of her books I’ve read so far. Most are about some sort of crime/violent act and are told through the eyes of the different characters. For the most part they are free-standing with the exception of a few characters who appear in multiple books, but they don’t build on each other so it’s not necessary to read them in any particular order.
Guess this is quite a “book” of a comment, but hope you enjoy reading some of my suggestions!
The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon–oddly classified as Romance but definitely not a typical romance book. Each book is an incredible historical fiction novel with the most true to life dialogue I’ve ever read in a book. Especially since you guys like adventure series (Nancy and the Hardy Boys) you’ll love this author!
Hi,
I would like recommend the following book:
“Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace.. One School at a Time”
by Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin
I am sure Greg Mortenson will receive the Nobel Peace Prize one day for what he is doing !
Hey! So I’m not a reader. I don’t like reading, I’ve never read anything for fun until about 3 weeks ago. I’m 24 years old and my husbands little cousin age 15 told me I had to read the twilight books. Three weeks ago on a sunday I thought you know I’ll try…it was warm got on my bathing suit and headed to the back yard to get a tan taking with me the first twilight book!! Absolutely LOVED it!!! Since I’ve the first three of the series each in about a week…which for me is amazing since i don’t like to sit down and read. Also I heard the left behind books are very hard to break away from. Hope you find a good one.
Okay i love your photography and what you do… so ill help you with what i do–read!
I have a weakness for chick lit… but i have read some pretty good books of substance too:
Chick Lit:
I ditto Emily Griffin… she’s awesome. Read all of her stuff!
True Blue by Luanne Rice
Anything by Meg Cabot (she writes books for teens and adults)
Megan McCafferty books
Lauren Weisberger books
Substantial Stuff:
Life of Pi
the perks of being a wallflower
The Power of One
Ender’s Game
Angela’s Ashes
John Green’s books (Looking for Alaska)
Born on a Blue Day
Stolen Innocence
Okay that should be plenty!
Let me know if you read/enjoy any of them!
Laura
I agree with a previous reader that Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers is awesome!!!! I’m currently reading “Captivating” by Stasi Eldredge (It’s for women) and there is a book called “Wild at Heart” by her husband John Eldredge. I’ve also been told by several friends that “For Men Only” and “For Women Only” are amazing as well!!! The Five Love Languages is great :) Good luck.
I, too, recommend the Twilight series. I was apprehensive at first but quickly became addicted!! Happy reading!!
Here are a couple authors I have grown to love and respect and a couple book favorites to check out. Mind you, this is just a very small list
Chuck Palahnuik- Fight Club, Choke, Haunted, Invisible Monsters, just read him’ You’ll be better people for it.
T.S. Eliot
Will Christopher Baer- Kiss Me, Judas and Penny Dreadful & His third Phineas Poe novel, Hell’s Half Acre.
Alex Garland _He wrote the book “The Beach” before Leo DiCaprio killed the movie. He also wrote 28 days later and some other gems.
Douglas Coupland- He is the voice of us Gen X’ers. His collection is fantastic
If your into Quick Reads, I enjoy the good graphic novel in between shooting sessions. It has Great Art and Wonderful Storytelling.
Watchman
Sin City
Bottomless Belly Button-This will pull at your heart strings
30 Days of Night
Tip: Check out your local library too. They are a great resource in getting some of the newest and oldest books even graphic novels. They can usually network other libraries to get you what you need as well. Of course it’s FREE too! Can’t beat that.
This just a sampling, but happy reading to the both of you.
The Twilight series by Stephanie Myers! Im not into these types of books usually but they are some of the best books I have ever read!!!
I too read Nancy Drew by headlights in the car – and under my covers with a flashlight . . .
Lets see here. I saw on Twitter that you already got this one – but Same Kind of Different As Me is amazing. Seriously amazing.
And my other favorite book is The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. I’m not exaggerating when I say it changed my life. The ministry I do now, I would not be doing without this book! :-)
Lets see, I also really loved (Matt probably wouldnt like these . . . ) Francine Rivers’ Mark of the Lion series. That time period is so fascinating to me for some reason. And she’s a great writer! :-)
I love to read and my all time favorite is the Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers. (She also wrote redeeming love, which I see someone else recommended.) A Voice in the Wind and An Echo in the Darkness are the first two. I’ve read them three times… twice during finals week, maybe not the wisest decision. haha, but totally worth it!
A Three Dog Life – Abigail Thomas (best memoir I’ve ever read… be careful though, it’s a tear-jerker)
Altmix, I can’t believe I didn’t know you were a Hardy Boys fan too! I have almost all of the case files boxed up at home and was devastated when I found out Frank W. Dixon was not a real person during college!
Anyway, some good books of late:
‘House of God’ by Samuel Shem – brutally raw account of a medical intern year
‘The Anatomist’ by Bill Hayes – sort of biography of the author of “Gray’s Anatomy”, Dr. Henry Gray
‘In Cold Blood’ by Truman Capote
‘Complications’ and/or ‘Better’ by Atul Gawande
Next on my reading list: ‘Catcher in the Rye’ by Salinger, and ‘Blink’ by Malcolm Gladwell
I must also mention that Jaynah loves and owns almost all the Jodi Picoult books, Nicolas Sparks, and she is a sucker for LuAnne Rice anything.
I’ve never posted on here before (which is horrible, because everything you do is amazing!). But, I just HAD to recommend one book that hasn’t been mentioned. My hubby and I were given “A Severe Mercy” by Sheldon Vanauken as a “honeymoon” present from my uncle and aunt. They were given it for their honeymoon present as well. We like giving it to other couples about to embark on the journey of marriage (it’s my plan to give that book as a thank you to my clients)! It is SO good. My hubby and I read it aloud to each other as we lazed about on the beach and cuddled in bed. It’s indescribable, you just have to read it. It will have you crying too. But it’s not “sappy” either. It’s a simple story of two people madly in love. And “love may not make the world turn ’round, but it sure makes life worth living.”
hey guys!
i’m going to have to second (and third!) same kind of different as me. i read it in a day — it’s absolutely amazing!
i’m also a fan of secret life of bees!
east of eden by john steinbeck
i became a christian and all i got was this lousy t-shirt by vince antonucci
great gatsby by fitzgerald
mudhouse sabbath by lauren f. winner
q and a by vikas swarup (this is the book that inspired slumdog millionaire)
right now, i’m reading savage inequalities by jonathan kozol
next on my reading list are:
the brief and wondrous life of oscar wao by junot diaz
reading lolita in tehran by azar nafisi
the well and the mine by gin phillips
crazy love by francis chan
and if you’re into kids books, i love “naked mole rat gets dressed” by mo willems, “the mysterious benedict society” by trenton lee stewart, all the narnia books, the shadow children series by margaret peterson haddix
enjoy!
Hey! I’m a pal of Hart and Vanessa’s, and have been enjoying your amazing photography skills ever since seeing the amazing pictures you took of them! Some random reading ideas …
– I have to agree with the poster who suggested Redeeming Love – my copy is very tattered. I love that book.
– Bridge of Sighs and/or Empire Falls
– C.S. Lewis! All of his work is great, but my favorites are some of his lesser known works – the Space Trilogy, Till we have Faces, and Weight of Glory.
– The Curious Incident of the Dog and the Nighttime
– The Scarlet Pimpernel
– The Poisonwood Bible
– Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – full series
– The Sparrow -and- Children of God
– A Child called It and sequels
– Anything Jane Austen (my favorites are Northanger Abbey and Persuasion)
– Watership Down
– The Memory Keeper’s Daughter
– The Princess Bride (the book is so much better than the movie, if that is even possible!)
Also, Librivox.com is a GREAT way to get free audiobooks for older novels/etc in the public domain – so if you prefer to listen to books while working, this is a free option!
I can never remember good books I’ve read to recommend them, but my favorite book ever that I think the world should enjoy is “Love and Other Impossible Pursuits” by Ayelet Waldman.
LOVE it!
I’m the 4th or 5th person to tell you this, but you MUST read the Twilight series…I promise you will want to be a vampire before you are done with the first one, haha.
I also echo to read Francine Rivers’ books. The Mark of the Lion series is good and so is Redeeming Love.
I also really liked the Marley and Me book- much better than the movie!
Okay, so I don’t know if you have ever liked or read any Jane Austen but I absolutely love and reccomend two of her books above any of her others:
Really, Pride & Prejudice is a good read and Persuasion.
One more on the Jane Austen genre & I’ll let it go. Jane Fairfax by I think it is Joan Aiken (alternate version of Emma & much better)
My husband is in the middle of reading Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy & is enjoying it.
The Edge of Reason is better than Bridget Jone’s Diary by FAR! Anything by Helen Fielding is really very good actually.
Also my husband read Prey by Michael Crichton and loved it.
Hope this gives you at least a few more to consider.
Oh and for one more “girly” book the Notebook by Nicholas Sparks is a million times better than the movie.
i love to read so here goes:
Cold Mountain
anything by Donald Miller
Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series
Marley & Me
What is the What – Dave Eggers
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho **** Love this book!!!!!
The Kite Runner- Khaled Hosseini and the follow up book I think is called A Thousand Suns
anything by Shane Claiborne
Farenheit 451- Ray Bradbury
CS Lewis books
Tuesdays with Morrie
The Memory Keeper’s daughter
The Secret Life of Bees
Water for Elephants
Angels and Demons & The Da Vinci Code- Dan Brown
Velvet Elvis
Well I’m sure I have more but I figure that’s good enough for now!
the other book by Khaled Hosseini is A Thousand Splendid Suns
I love nonfiction books so here are 2 of my favorites:
1) “The Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman
2) “The Grace Awakening” by Charles Swindoll
totally Marley and Me-book is so much better than the movie!!
Just finished school, so I could tell you to read European greats like Proust, Calvino, Vittorini and Grass, but I know that’s not for everyone. To get back into reading, I would suggest Jodi Picoult. The research she puts into her novels makes the narrative real to any reader. I would start with My Sister’s Keeper (mostly because I love films too and a film based off this novel will be coming to theaters in late June)!
And just because I’ve recently discovered that I love reading plays (because the language of drama has an excellent rhythm), I would suggest Margaret Edson’s Wit–an afternoon read that you’ll remember for many days after.
You guys rock, btw!
You are going to be so busy with all these recommendations Geez! I absolutely loved Water for Elephants, Blue like Jazz and Velvet Elvis. I am currently reading The Art of the Start but that is a business type book and I know you were looking for more fun reads.
Highly suggest you read The Time Traveler’s Wife. It is such a great book and the movie is coming out this year.
Also:
The Red Tent
Middlesex
Life of Pi
Kite Runner
Thousand Splendid Suns
The Book Thief
The Lovely Bones
The Shadow of the Wind
And for mindless fun: The Twilight series and the Mortal Instruments Series
BUT, the author my husband and I most agree on: Christopher Moore. His books are laugh-out-loud funny. I’d start with Lamb (the whole title is “Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal”), then move on to the Vampire series (You Suck and Bloodsucking Fiends)
fair and tender ladies by lee smith
I know I’m too late to be a winner ;o) but I thought I’d add my 2 cents, albeit late. I’m reading Atlas Shrugged and it’s an amazing read!! Huge, long, lots of words but it has kept me captivated since the beginning!! Love your site!
So I know this is really late and I’m not sure if you even check comments from posts this far back, but I love giving book suggestions, so here goes.
Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins (anything by Tom Robbins is great – he has a really unique sense of humor and writing style)
Life of Pi
Ender’s Game
Water for Elephants
The Bluest Eye
The Kite Runner
The Other Boleyn Girl
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole! Well-written literature but hilarious too! Rumors were a movie was in the works, starring Will Farrell in another serious-yet-silly role (think Stranger than Fiction). Read it and cross your fingers with me!
I just got hooked on your blog by Stephen Albright, whose wedding you just shot. FANTASTIC!!!!! Oh, and Matt totally looks familiar. I know I served him coffee while working at Jittery Joe’s back in the day. Best to you both and keep up the great work!
Ok, so I know the contest is over, but I cannot help passing along recommended reading when it is requested!
The Glass Castle – a memoir by Jeannette Walls, truly tugs at your heartstrings
Picasso at the Lapin Agile – a play by Steve Martin…wacky, fabulous and imaginative!
Both suggestions use fantastic language and entice you into their worlds. I hope y’all find the time to enjoy many of the wonderful suggestions you’ve received!