Casual Fridays
Posted by PRGirlz Alumni on June 30th, 2006
As a way to ease into the weekend, I have decided to start a weekly post called, you guessed it, Casual Fridays. Each Friday I will post about something not PR related and I hope that you will join me! Some weeks it will be more intellectual than other weeks; this week, my topic is purely selfish. As an avid reader, I am always seeking out great books. I invite you to recommend at least one book that everyone MUST read.
I’ll start: The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. It is by far one of the best books I’ve read and I encourage you to pick it up at your local bookstore or library. (TFC, I own it if you would like to borrow it)
Have a great weekend! Happy reading!
**Just found out that a friend has started her own reading blog, be sure to check out her recommendations by clicking here.
Posted to Casual Fridays
June 30th, 2006 » 2:43 pm
From the lady that, at the beginning of the week, was timid of blogs…look at you go! Good for you!
I am a mystery buff so I’d recommend “A Drink Before the War” by Dennis Lehane. It is the first in a series of books about a detective duo, Patrick and Angie, that are street-wise and intellectually smart-mouthed. It’s also an eye-opening account of the racial undertones in Boston. Dennis’ books always make you stop and think long after the book is closed.
Disclosure: Dennis is a friend, but even if he weren’t, he’d still be my favorite author.
June 30th, 2006 » 6:35 pm
Great idea Jos. I’ll add The Hippopotamus by Stephen Fry to the list. Very smart. Very funny. And a little disturbing.
July 1st, 2006 » 2:28 am
I’ll third this as a great idea, Joscelyn.
By the way, a lot of self-proclaimed blogging experts will proclaim that personal content on blogs is verboten, but Amy Gahran ran a very interesting survey a while back and concluded that not only do readers appreciate a reasonable amount of personal content on a blog, but that it can also increase your readership:
http://blog.contentious.com/archives/2005/08/12/professionalpersonal-info-survey-sneak-peak-at-results
http://blog.contentious.com/archives/2005/08/10/write-in-responses-to-my-survey-professionalpersonal-overlap
I’m heading to the library tomorrow, so I’ll keep an eye out for Niffenegger and the other recommendations here.
And I’ll add Jaqueline Winspeare’s Maisie Dobbs mysteries to the list. I’ve just read the first in the series, about a woman private investigator in England in the 1920′2-40’s. The writing is exceptional.
July 3rd, 2006 » 12:19 am
Love these questions…the best book I’ve read in the last five years has to be “Peace Like a River” by Leif Enger. A little To Kill a Mockingbird-esque, I am now re-reading it aloud to my 10-year-old son. It’s spectacular.
Eileen
July 3rd, 2006 » 3:30 pm
I love author Marian Keyes. I’m working my way through her collection. Her books are very funny, easy to read, and I really like her characters. They are chick-lit without being super fluffy. Everything is set in England and Ireland, so slang she uses is very cute. “Sushi for Beginners” was the first one I read and it was great, so I started buying more of her titles. I just finished “The Last Chance Saloon” and I really loved it! I read it in 2 weeks. Before that, I had read “The Other Side of the Story” which I really enjoyed too. They are great vacation reads, coming in paperbacks for easy transpiration. I’m trying to decide on my next one. For more info, go to her website at http://www.MarianKeyesBooks.com.
July 3rd, 2006 » 3:31 pm
I love author Marian Keyes! I’m working my way through her collection. Her books are very funny, easy to read, and I really like her characters. They are chick-lit without being super fluffy. Everything is in England or Ireland, so slang she uses is very cute. “Sushi for Beginners” was the first one I read and it was great, so I started buying more of her titles. I just finished “The Last Chance Saloon” and I really loved it! I read it in 2 weeks. Before that, I had read “The Other Side of the Story” which I really enjoyed too. They are great vacation reads, coming in paperbacks for easy transpiration. I’m trying to decide on my next one. For more info, go to her website at http://www.mariankeyesbooks.com/index.html.
July 4th, 2006 » 2:46 am
As a writer, I have to go with “Art in the Zen of Writing” by Ray Bradbury. It’s a thoughtful and interesting look at what drives writers to write. It may just inspire you.
July 4th, 2006 » 2:47 am
Actually, make that “Zen in the Art of Writing”.
It may inspire you, but it doesn’t mean you won’t mix up your words now and then.
July 4th, 2006 » 4:01 am
I’ll add one, Jos – and it could even be PR-related at a stretch. I’ve just re-read a book I was given years ago by my writing professor, Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. Totally flaky, totally artsy-fartsy, but one of the best books I’ve ever read to inspire strong writing and exorcise crap writing.
July 4th, 2006 » 12:00 pm
Thank you for all your recommendations! I shall go to Chapters fully armed with ideas. Please feel free to let me know if you try any of the suggested reading, and what you think of them.
July 4th, 2006 » 2:06 pm
I love murder mysteries set in Scotland. My favourite author is Val McDermid and some of my favourites she has written are The Torment of Others and A Place of Execution! Fabulous reads!
July 6th, 2006 » 7:58 pm
Completely agree with The Time Traveller’s Wife. Cried like a little girl. I’d like to throw Barbara Gowdy’s The White Bone into the ring. It’s unlike anything you’ll ever read – a novel from the pov of elephants. Moving, unbelievably researched, and completely compelling. You’ll never look at the beast in the same way after this book.
July 11th, 2006 » 2:30 pm
A book that always makes me smile when I read it, as it is such an apt portrayal of corporate life is Orbiting the Giant Hairball by Gordon Mackenzie. We have all been there, and the humour is great.
Great to see more women bloggers!
July 25th, 2006 » 2:08 am
As a senior at Auburn University, most of the reading I’ve done over the past few years has been from textbooks, however, I did recently leisurely read a fabulous book. I’m not drawn to any genre of literature in particular. I tend to read books based on recommendation from others. The book, which was passed down from my mother, is called The Pilot’s Wife by Anita Shreve. This book is a fictional story about a pilot’s family coping with his tragic death. Not only was the book recommended by Oprah’s Book Club, the story was also recently produced into a television movie. I found it empowering to learn about the triumphs the pilot’s wife and family faced and how they pulled through. I couldn’t put it down…