I usually have a stack of "fun" reading on my night stand. Currently, the stack includes The Piano Shop on the Left Bank (a re-read actually of a quirky book about living in Paris), and Daniel Silva's new book Portrait of a Spy (the latest in the Gabriel Allon series).
I often collect recommendations from colleagues, and a friend recently told me about a book recommendation website: Whichbook. You can select up to four different qualities in the book (happy v. sad, funny v. serious, easy v. demanding, etc.) The site then gives you recommendations, which include the title, an excerpt from the book and "similar" books. The Whichbook site has helped me move outside my reading comfort zone with some unexpected recommendations. Give it a try!
Glad to see another Silva fan!
Posted by: Tim Zinnecker | August 20, 2011 at 12:17 PM
I love the Silva books. I'm a huge fan of the Gabriel Allon series. One summer, I went back and read the books in order of Allon's time line, not publication order, which was fun. If interested, the order would be: The Kill Artist, The English Assassin, The Confessor, A Death in Vienna, Prince of Fire, The Messenger, The Secret Servant, Moscow Rules, The Defector, Rembrandt Affair, and Portrait of a Spy.
Posted by: Sheila B. Scheuerman | August 20, 2011 at 02:15 PM
I read Piano Shop on the Left Bank some years ago and really loved it. I also just finished the Happiness Project and wonder if anyone else read it? I liked it but had several criticisms of the project and the writing. I still thought it was worth reading though.
Posted by: Jacqueline Lipton | August 20, 2011 at 08:54 PM