I’ve loved to read my entire life. What’s better than curling up with a book, a blanket, tea, and Henry and Emerson? No matter what season of my life, I read voraciously…and I’m always looking for new suggestions!
Here’s what I’ve read lately (finally updated 11/11/14):
And The Mountains Echoed  Khaled Hosseini
Life After Life  Kate Atkinson
The Known World  Edward P. Jones
God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything  Christopher Hitchens
The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen Year Old Boy with Autism  Naoki Higashida
The Night Circus  Erin Morgenstern
The Buddha in the Attic  Julie Otsuka
A Storm of Swords  George R. R. Martin
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet  Jamie Ford
Ape House  Sara Gruen
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel  Deborah Moggach
The Hundred-Foot Journey  Hassan Kadam
Beatrice and Virgil  Yann Martel
The Road  Cormac McCarthy
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War  Max Brooks
Alias Grace  Margaret Atwood
The Handmaid’s Tale  Margaret Atwood
Summer Lies  Bernhard Schlink
Seating Arrangements  Maggie Shipstead
The Lie  O. H. Bennett
Lulu in the Sky  Loung Ung
Diving Belles  Lucy Wood
Drowned  Therese Bohman
The Toss of a Lemon  Padma Viswanathan
Love Falls  Esther Freud
Crossing Over  Ruth Irene Garret with Rick Farrant
Kitchen Chinese  Ann Mah
Death of a Whaler  Nerida Newton
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day  Winifred Watson
25 Months: A Memoir  Linda McK. Stewart
Wrapped in Rain  Charles Martin
Four of a Kind  Valerie Frankel
Skylark Farm  Antonia Arslan
The Provence Cure of the Brokenhearted  Bridget Asher
Gypsy Boy  Mikey Walsh
The Wednesday Sisters  Meg Waite Clayton
Room  Emma Donaghue
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close  Jonathan Safran Foer
I Just Want My Pants Back  David J. Rosen
The Life of Pi  Yann Martel
The Catcher in the Rye  J. D. Salinger
The Final Reckoning  Sam Bourne
Wide Sargasso Sea  Jean Rhys
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret  Judy Blume
We Bought a Zoo  Benjamin Mee
Fahrenheit 451 Â Ray Bradbury
The American Way of Eating  Tracie McMillan
The Taste of Salt  Martha Southgate
The Oriental Wife  Evelyn Toynton
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie  Muriel Spark
Nights of Rain and Stars  Maeve Binchy
Tell Me Another Morning  Zdena Berger
The Weight of Silence  Heather Gudenkauf
One Thousand White Women  Jim Fergus
The End of the Alphabet  CS Richardson
The Little Bride  Anna Solomon
Without A Backward Glance  Kate Veitch
The Forgotten Garden  Kate Morton
Red Harvest  Dashiell Hammett
The Spy Who Came In From the Cold  John le Carré
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe  C. S. Lewis
Brave New World  Aldous Huxley
Mrs. Dalloway  Virginia Woolf
The First Day of the Rest of My Life  Cathy Lamb
Incendiary  Chris Cleave
The Boleyn Inheritance  Philippa Gregory
Miss Peregrine’s School for Peculiar Children  Ransom Riggs
Invictus  John Carlin
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater  Kurt Vonnegut
Incendiary  Chris Cleave
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio  Terry Ryan
The Hanging Tree  Bryan Gruley
Growing Up Amish  Ira Wagler
The Shawl  Cynthia Ozick
Brick Lane Monica Ali
Missing Lindsay Harrison
The Crying of Lot 49Â Thomas Pynchon
Housekeeping Marilynne Robinson
Atonement Ian McEwan
A Gracious Plenty Sheri Reynolds
The Giving Tree Shel Silverstein
The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro
A Guide to the Birds of East Africa Nicholas Drayson
The Worst Thing Aaron Elkins
The Feast of Love Charles Baxter
So Long, See You Tomorrow William Maxwell
Away From Her Alice Munro
The Song of Names Norman Lebrecht
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Dai Sijie
Sideways Rex Pickett
The Saturday Wife Naomi Ragen
A Death in the Family James Agee
The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde
Happily Ever After Susan May Warran
The Game Jack London
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Lewis Carroll
Traitor’s Wife Susan Higginbotham
The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett
Reinventing Leona Lynne Gentry
Ravenous: A Food L0ver’s Journey from Obsession to Freedom Dayna Macy
Mockingjay Suzanne Collins
A Journey to the Center of the Earth Jules Verne
Catching Fire Suzanne Collins
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Betty Smith
Portugese Irregular Verbs Alexander McCall Smith
A Handful Of Dust Evelyn Waugh
Resurrection in May Lisa Samson
As I Lay Dying William Faulkner
The Anarchist John Smolens
Animal Farm George Orwell
If You Follow Me Malena Watrous
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
The Quickening Michelle Hoover
True Grit Charles Portis
The Witches of Eastwick John Updike
Range of Motion Elizabeth Berg
Mansfield Park Jane Austen
The Awakening and Selected Stories of Kate Chopin Kate Chopin
For One More Day Mitch Albom
Inés of My Soul Isabel Allende
Galore Michael Crummey
The Street of a Thousand Blossoms Gail Tsukiyama
Sag Harbor Colson Whitehead
Cannery Row John Steinbeck
Amaryllis in Blueberry Christina Medrum
The Headhunter’s Daughter Tamar Myers
Wench Dolen Perkins-Valdez
These Things Hidden Heather Gudenkauf
American Pastoral Philip Roth
Appointment in Samarra John O’Hara
All the Pretty Horses Cormac McCarthy
Black Boy Richard Wright
Prayers for Sale Sandra Dallas
Love Stories in This Town Amanda Eyre Ward
Small Island Andrea Levy
Let the Great World Spin Colum McCann
Rooftops of Tehran Mahbod Seraji
The Solace of Leaving Early Haven Kimmel
Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston
The Pillars of the Earth Ken Follett
The School of Essential Ingredients Erica Bauermeister
Pope Joan Donna Woolfolk Cross
Black Heels to Tractor Wheels Ree Drummond
The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins
A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini
The Omnivore’s Dilemma Michael Pollan
The History of Love Nicole Krauss
Karen Marie Killilea
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay Michael Chabon
White on Black Ruben Gallego
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake Aimee Bender
Road Map to Holland Jennifer Graf Groneberg
Look Me in the Eye John Elder Robinson
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter Kim Edwards
On Beauty Zadie Smith
Falling Home Karen White
All the King’s Men Robert Penn Warren
Amy and Isabelle Elizabeth Strout
The Yiddish Policemen’s Union Michael Chabon
The Swallows of Kabul Yasmina Khadra
The Hole We’re In Gabrielle Zevin
So Big Edna Ferber
The Wives of Henry Oades Johanna Moran
The Painted Veil W. Somerset Maugham
The English Patient Michael Ondaatje
The Help Kathryn Stockett
Northanger Abbey Jane Austen
Fireflies in December Jennifer Erin Valent
The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien
Outside the Ordinary World Dori Ostermiller
The Solitude of Prime Numbers Paolo Giordano
American Rust Phillip Meyer
That Old Cape Magic Richard Russo
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Stieg Larson
Fruit of the Lemon Andrea Levy
The Adventures of Augie March Saul Bellow
Shutter Island Dennis Lehane
Narcissus and Goldmund Hermann Hesse
White Noise Don DeLillo
Tallgrass  Sandra Dallas
For Whom The Bell Tolls Ernest Hemingway
In Defense of Food Michael Pollan
Hannah’s Dream Diane Hammond
The Night Trilogy Elie Wiesel
The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini
Breath, Eyes, Memory Edwidge Danticat
Time and Again Jack Finney
Water for Elephants Sara Gruen
What have you read lately? I’m always looking for a good suggestion!
55 comments
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acleansurface
November 21, 2010 at 3:44 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Loved a book called Smiling Bears (non fiction).
Love the Outlander series of books by Diana Gabaldon–and so did my husband!
Love the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series by the late great Stieg Larsson.
Recently read something called Mr Rosenblum Dreams in English, which is new, and I found it to be pretty unique.
Lauren Zietsman
November 21, 2010 at 5:09 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I’ve heard a lot about The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo–it’s definitely on my list of must-reads. Thanks for the other tips I’m currently running low on library books!
Cindy Kruse
December 17, 2010 at 7:31 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I loved The Help and just finished Sarah’s Key – both good reads. Enjoy your long Christmas break!
Nancy MacLachlan
January 2, 2011 at 8:31 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hi Lauren. Your mom posted something on facebook that brought me to your blog. Love it! I have to comment on your reading…..
When I used to drive your bus, every morning I would pull up to your driveway and you and Kristen would be standing, so poised and pretty, at the end of your driveway with books in your faces. I used to comment to everyone about how wonderful it was to see your love of reading – even while waiting for the school bus at 7am in the morning! I love your site. You are a beautiful young lady with such a zest for life. It gives me hope for the next generation!!! Take care! Nancy
Lauren Zietsman
January 2, 2011 at 9:39 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Thank you so much! That was the sweetest thing to say and totally made my day! I’m glad you like my blog!!
Kristen
February 1, 2011 at 2:06 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hi Lally!
You should read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, by Michael Chabon. Other books by the same author that I also liked: Wonder Boys and The Mysteries of Pittsburgh.
XOXOX
Lauren Zietsman
February 1, 2011 at 9:28 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
thanks! i’m going to request some of those from the lib right now…im reading the yiddish policemen’s union also by him and i’ll let you know what i think!
saltandserenity
March 2, 2011 at 12:54 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Just finished “The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake” by Aimee Bender. I need to discuss this book with someone else. So much to think and talk about!
Lauren Zietsman
March 2, 2011 at 3:09 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I’ll add it to my library list–then we can discuss!
Jamila
March 2, 2011 at 3:28 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
you have to read the help, a thousand spendind suns and the kite runner. Those were my 3 faves last year.
Lauren Zietsman
March 2, 2011 at 6:05 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I read the help and the kite runner this year already–both GREAT books! i’ll add the last one to my list!
Marilyn
March 5, 2011 at 10:21 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Sing You Home-Jodi Picoult’s newest book
Ravenous a food lover’s journey from obsession to freedom by Dayna Macy
The Pioneer Woman Black Heels to tractor
Wheels-a*true* love story by Lee Drummond.
Her cookbook is fun though definitely not low fat.
I also love ANYTHING Gluten Free Girl writes-the cookbook she and her husband wrote together was a lovely read-part love story, part cookbook, and the photography…
oh la la…
Anything by Lee Childs-love his Jack Reacher Series on CDs-which I listen to on the way to work sometimes….
I have a very eclectic reading list I know:)
I loved the Kite Runner and In Defense of Food!
Just discovered your blog-love it-can’t wait to make your Mexican Hot Chocolate Spiced Almonds-found the recipe from http://www.foodgawker.com and later on a similar site….
Lauren Zietsman
March 5, 2011 at 11:41 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Thanks! Like I said, I’m always looking for new titles to add to my lists so I appreciate the recommendations (I also have eclectic taste in reading :))
Carolyn
March 8, 2011 at 8:13 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
There are a few books on your list that look interesting. Since I’m adding them to my must read library list, I thought I’d leave one for you… The History of Love by Nicole Krauss is a lovely, if lonely, tale filled with glints of hope. I would think from the list you have here that The History of Love might be something you would enjoy. Have a lovely day…
Lauren Zietsman
March 8, 2011 at 10:05 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I just requested it from the library! Thanks for the tip
pauseandsmile
March 9, 2011 at 2:26 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Currently, I am reading “The School of Essential Ingredients”, by Erica Bauermeister. So far (about 3/4 of the way done) I love it. It’s about mastering the ingredients of cooking, life, and relationships. Now when I read it, I think of your wonderful blog. If you wouldn’t mind, I would love to include your blog in my blog roll. I have already shared your site with a friend that LOVES to cook. Happy cooking AND reading! ~Carol~
Lauren Zietsman
March 9, 2011 at 7:52 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I would love that
Share away! And thanks for the recommendation it sounds like something I’ll love!
Marilyn Dwyer
March 29, 2011 at 11:17 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I am excited to come upon your reading list. I am going thru books so quickly because of my situation. So neat to see we share some favorite books. I also have my first memory of you reading. Being in church with your dad and not taking your face out of your book the whole time.So cute. I loved The Help. Water for elephants too! Now it is going to be a movie. Have you read Pope Joan by Donna woolfolk Cross ? How about THe Pillars of Earth By ken Follett. Keep up the hard work
Lauren Zietsman
March 29, 2011 at 7:00 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I haven’t read either of those but I will add them to my list very shortly! Since I posted my own reading I have gotten tons of recommendations from people and it has been the richest reading resource ever! So many readers out there! I’ve been thinking of you and praying for you and I hope my booklist can help pass some time for you
E. Lynd
April 17, 2011 at 8:26 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Based on your list, which quite overlaps mine, I am willing to bet you will love a couple of books I’ve read in the past year including When We Were Romans (can’t remember the author just now); This Must Be the Place (same author deal); and I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass. I read a lot as well!
Lauren Zietsman
April 17, 2011 at 10:29 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
thanks so much for the suggestions!
Pei-Lin
May 3, 2011 at 1:14 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hi, Lauren! Glad I　stumbled upon your site! You write very well. You’ve got great photos here, too.
I love reading, just like you, but am selective about what I read. Unfortunately, most of the people around me, in my region here, don’t have the habit of reading regularly – thanks to the education system, which has turned everyone into fellas who read only for the sake of passing or getting distinction for the exams. (You have heard of Asian education systems, no?)
Anyhow, will drop by to visit in the future for sure. Lovely site, I must say. =)
Mark Kaplowitz
June 2, 2011 at 2:15 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
White Noise is in my top ten.
Alexandria Jade Blue
July 24, 2011 at 4:12 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Everything is Illuminated, by Jonathan Safran Foer. Excellent movie too.
Susan Sunde
July 28, 2011 at 5:29 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I’ve two good ones for you: 1) The Help 2) Before I go to sleep. Both of these are great!
Esther Brown
August 8, 2011 at 5:08 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Yes I agree with the above recommendations for the History of Love by Nicola Krauss, and Everything is Illuminated by Jonothan Safron Foer, and would add Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by the same guy. Krauss and Safron Foer are married and you can see their influence on each other in their writing. Great books. Love your site, and love your taste in books
Lauren Zietsman
August 9, 2011 at 7:03 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
thanks so much–appreciate the tips, and I had no idea that they were married! I love fun facts like that!
Stefanie
August 11, 2011 at 4:13 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I just read The Shadow if the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, and really enjoyed it.
diego
August 12, 2011 at 10:45 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I lreally liked your blog. It really looks sincere, something you dont see often these days. You should read 100 years of soltitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez,it has the essence of all latin america on it.Congratulations .
Lauren Zietsman
August 13, 2011 at 10:54 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I have read that! Beautiful book
I also had to pay the library a few dollars in fines ’cause I accidently put it away in MY bookshelf and then couldn’t find it…but it was worth it!
Kristen
August 28, 2011 at 2:23 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
Tasha Orshoff
August 30, 2011 at 4:14 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I was hoping that you could help me choose a book to read for enjoyment. I am a stay at home mom with a 7 and 10 year old. I read a lot of self help books. I also do quiet time with my bible study. The last 3 books I have checked out I have returned to the library after reading the first chapter! I want something interesting…a can’t put it down type of book. I was going to look at Oprah’s list.
Any suggestions? Anyone? Lauren?
Thanks!
Lauren Zietsman
August 30, 2011 at 7:45 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I really liked The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender or A Thousand Suns (or The Kite Runner) by Khaled Hosseini, or the Help by Kathryn Stockett or if you want an educational book, In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan is a realllly fascinating look at the way we eat here in America! Hope you LOVE your next book!
Bayla
November 17, 2011 at 5:02 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
The book thief by Markus Zusak is the one i’m reading now, the first chapters are a bite weird, but keep on reading because the rest is gorgeous.
Lauren Zietsman
November 18, 2011 at 8:34 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I’ll be sure to check it out!
Quee
November 18, 2011 at 8:39 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hi Lally, I didn’t check your list to see if this was on there yet, but I am almost done with Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende and I know that you will absolutely love it. I can’t stop reading it.
Leah at One Vignette
December 1, 2011 at 2:57 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hey, Lauren! I love your blog. You have to–have to!–read Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, by Helen Stinson, if you haven’t already. It’s so, so funny and witty and sweet and powerful and smart–and it’s set in Britain, so you can do a little bit of armchair travelling while you’re at it…I swear I’m not being paid by Stinson’s agent (I wish!), but it’s one of those that you buy and keep to read again. So, so good.
Keep up the great blogging!
Leah
Lauren Zietsman
December 2, 2011 at 10:51 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I haven’t–just requested it from the library! thanks for the tip!
Leah at One Vignette
December 12, 2011 at 9:45 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hope you like it!
Nick Drayson
February 7, 2012 at 12:39 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I am so glad that you enjoyed my book A Guide to the Birds of East Africa. The sequel will be published in July. It is called A Guide to the Beasts of East Africa.
Best wishes from India, Nick Drayson.
Lauren Zietsman
February 7, 2012 at 9:54 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the first and I look forward to the next one! Lovely book.
Jennifer @ Raisin Questions
February 27, 2012 at 11:33 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hi Lauren, I just spent my morning going through your books lists! Thank you very much for all the inspiration. I am also constantly requesting and reserving at my library! I also live on Long Island and couldn’t do without the Nassau interlibrary loan system! I just finished reading Sue Monk Kidd’s novels The Secret Life of Bees and also The Mermaid Chair, both of which I recommend. I am excited about getting started on reading/re-reading the TIME 100 list also! Thank you again for the inspiration. I will be following your blog along with your reading lists closely!
Lauren Zietsman
February 27, 2012 at 9:08 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I loved the Mermaid Chair when I read it a few years ago, I should give it another read since I don’t remember it at all! Having the Time 100 List just gives me a fun way to read outside of my normal box when I feel the need to expand!
Vicky
April 5, 2012 at 8:35 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I just started reading Omnivore’s Dilemma which naturally is interesting for a food blogger/enthusiast. Right before that I read China Road and Nothing To Envy – both very interesting. China Road is written by an NPR correspondent who travels along route 312 from Shanghai to the Kazakhstan border documenting his interactions with the locals in between and commenting on China’s ability to become the new superpower and it’s history/political situation. Nothing to Envy is written by a female journalist who interviews 6 families of North Korean defectors, adding in aspects of the culture, history and political atmosphere of what life was like for them in North Korea. From this list what were some of your favorites?
Lauren Zietsman
April 5, 2012 at 10:34 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Some of my favorite were The Life of Pi; The American Way of Eating; The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie; The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio; Let the Great World Spin; The History of Love; The Kite Runner…I’m really not a picky reader and pretty much enjoy most books I try! Thanks for the suggestions, they both sound awesome and very different from my last few books!
Vicky
April 9, 2012 at 11:53 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I absolutely loved the Kite Runner as well – couldn’t put it down. I’ll have to check out The Life of Pi – I’ve heard a lot of good things about it!
Michèle Dextras
December 18, 2012 at 10:06 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Ended up on your blog via Food Gawker and I always check out anything about books. You have an impressive list. I didn’t see any Barbara Kingsolver “The Poisonwood Bible”, or “Prodigal Summer” . How about Jane Urquhart’s “The Stone Carvers”. There are a lot more, so many wonderful books to read and not enough time. Happy Holidays!
Lauren Zietsman
December 20, 2012 at 8:31 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I have read the Poisonwood Bible and loved it, but I need to add the others to my list!
Lauren
January 26, 2013 at 10:02 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
You should try ‘A Walk Across the Sun’. Truly – the best book I have read in a few years!
Connie
February 16, 2013 at 10:15 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Two of my all-time favorites:
Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver
Cold Sassy Tree – Olive Ann Burns
Savannah
March 11, 2013 at 4:09 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hey, have you read any of John Green’s books? I’ve only read two of his: “The Fault in Our Stars” and “Looking for Alaska” both of which are now on my “favorite’s” shelf. Green’s writing is pretty amazing.
Lauren Zietsman
March 11, 2013 at 5:02 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I don’t think so! I definitely have to check it out!
Zee
January 30, 2014 at 3:34 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
The Fault in our starts was beautiful. I got all teary eyed when I saw the preview to the movie today.
Beth
November 10, 2013 at 2:51 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Thanks for the great list. I have added a few to my reading wish list. Another great book is The Light Between Ocean by M.L. Stedman!!
Zee
January 30, 2014 at 3:33 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Give Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn. My current all time favorite!