As my committee work is coming to end later this month, I'm finding myself in the mood to branch out and read some palate cleansing books. I'm really in the mood to read some adult books, but I never read adult-I'm lucky if I read one or two adult titles a year. So I need your help.
What are some adult books you recommend I read as a good palate cleanser? I'm up for anything!
Have you read A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron? It's on the Gateway list for this year, but it's not really classified as YA. It has a very wide appeal as far as age. My school is reading it for our Community Read. If you have a dog or have ever had a dog, you will adore it.
ReplyDeletehttp://wildaboutteenbooks.blogspot.com
Etymologicon by Mark Forsyth was really good! It's a non-fiction book that kind of meanders around word origins. Super different than YA fiction!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I feel like The Rook by Daniel O'Malley did for X-Men what The Magician did for Harry Potter. Only I actually liked the characters! It was a good audio, too.
J.D. Robb's IN DEATH series - great futuristic murder mysteries with a romantic story arc between main characters... Lauren Willig's SECRET HISTORY OF THE PINK CARNATION series - great historical fiction with spies and romance... Janet Evanovich's STEPHANIE PLUM series - hilarious mysteries...
ReplyDeleteI know you have dogs so you may enjoy Stay by Allie Larkin. It's so cute.
ReplyDeleteIf you're looking for some nonfiction, I highly recommend: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain.
I enjoyed The Help, Time Traveler's Wife, Night Circus and anything by Jennifer Weiner. I don't read adult novels either, but I liked these.
ReplyDeleteI don't think any of these books came out this year but here you go...
ReplyDeleteArchangel by Sharon Shinn (fantasy)
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson
The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer
I love any of Sarah Addison Allen's books.
Working in Youth Services has really influenced my reading...if I don't make a point of reading some adult fiction, I would only stick to juvenile and youth fiction books, so I know where you're coming from! I would recommend "Tell the Wolves I'm Home" by Carol Rifka Brunt. It's an adult book with a teen narrator (it would be a great choice for the Alex Awards, in my opinion). Also, have you read Gillian Flynn's first two books (Sharp Objects and Dark Places)? I read Gone Girl and then had to go back and read the rest of her work!
ReplyDeleteWool (Hugh Howey) is the best book series I've read in YEARS. I can't get over how amazing it is. The amazon reviews are near perfect.
ReplyDeleteI have the same problem! I love reading all the teen stuff. I am currently listening to When She Woke by Hillary Jordan. It is a modern Scarlet Letter retelling and it is so good. I second the suggestion of The Rook. Amazing! Anything Sarah Addison Allen is wonderful. I also loved 11/22/63 by Stephen King.It is huge, but worth it. I can't wait to hear what you pick. *cough* The Rook *cough*
ReplyDeleteGone Girl is an interesting read
ReplyDeleteI do most of my "adult" reading during the two weeks each summer while I'm on a beach vacation. Some of my recent (to me) favorites have been: Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus, Helen Simonson's Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, Cheryl Strayed's Wild, Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain and Paula McLain's The Paris Wife. If you're up for nonfiction, Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken was amazing!
ReplyDeleteI just finished "The Snow Child" by Eowin Ivey. Magical realism. Set in 1920s Alaska. And it does have a dog. Eventually.
ReplyDeleteI have recently read and enjoyed "Gone Girl"by Flynn, Me Before You" by Moyes and "Age of Miracles" by Walker. All very good for different reasons.
ReplyDeleteI read mostly YA, but still try to make time for adult fiction. Some of my all time favorites are The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty and Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld. Both are about teenagers even though they are more mature than typical YA (and I actually recommend anything by these authors).
ReplyDeleteSome YA authors also write for adults! I loved Anne Brashare's The Last Summer (of You and Me). Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series is fun if you like steampunk/supernatural/historical, and she has a YA prequel coming out this year, so I can imagine it will attract more teen readers.
One of my favorites that I've read in the last year is WHAT ALICE FORGOT by Liane Moriarty. It's about a woman who loses her memory when she falls down at the gym. It's kinda chick lit, but not as fluffy as some and there were all these twists that kept me turning the pages.
ReplyDeleteThis week, I read CINDERELLA ATE MY DAUGHTER by Peggy Orenstein. It's a nonfiction book, written in a humorous and conversational tone, about Peggy's quest to raise a daughter outside of the girlie-girl stereotypes and how hard she found it and WHY it was hard. It talks about things like Disney Princess, American Girl, Mily Cyress, etc. Definitely interesting for anyone who works with kids!