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Since September, I have been on a "break" as far as reading goes. I tend to get very obsessive over books, and they interfere with my studies, so I abstain from pleasure reading during the school year.
However, as of Thursday afternoon, I will be free for a whole month to read as much as my heart desires.
So, what have you read that's really impressed you? I'm looking for fiction that is well written, with a good story. I'm also avoiding books (as i've found in the young adult genre, are very common) that blatantly ignore topics like sex and sexuality even when they have necessary place in the story. It doesn't HAVE to include these topics, but if they make it part of the story, I would prefer it to be in a straightforward manner.
One book that I enjoyed was "The Time Traveler's Wife". Well thought out story, and didn't treat readers like they were incapable of handling a bit of sexuality, which blended with the story well. Definitely worth a read.
Any suggestions?
Posts: 430 | From: United States | Registered: Apr 2009
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Well, two of my favorite books are 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher and Looking for Alaska by John Green. Both are YA fiction that mention sex in a fairly straightforward manner (I think, anyway), and both are heart-wrenchingly real and sad. They will both stick with me for a long time.
Hope this helps, LishyElizabeth
Posts: 25 | From: USA | Registered: Jun 2010
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"The Stories of Eva Luna" by Isabel Allende is really amazingly written, especially if you can read it in the original Spanish. For the English translation, I recommend one by Margaret Peden. Allende definitely never shies away from women's sexuality issues, or sex in general :]
Also the classic "The Catcher in the Rye" by JD Salinger is one of my all-time favorites, if you're going for something more YA.
And "Bonk" by Mary Roach is an entertaining read on the history of sex in scientific research. It's nonfiction, but very readable.
Happy winter break reading :]
Posts: 96 | From: USA | Registered: Jan 2010
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My favourite book at the moment is Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen. When you read the blurb on the back of the book it doesn't sound that great but it really is and I would definitely classify it as a must read. Her newest novel, Ape House is also great and it is very thought provoking but it doesn't have quite the same magic as Water For Elephants. It's still definitely worth a read though.
If you like animals, the James Heriott books make light, easy to pick up put down anecdotal reading. Torey Hayden does first person accounts of her life as a special ed teacher and psychologist. Sounds boring but they are fantastic and once you've read one you'll want to read them all.
That's just about all I can think of off the top of my head, hope they interest you!
Posts: 61 | From: Melbourne, Australia | Registered: Jun 2007
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If you're not averse to reading a children's book, there's an excellent one called Two Weeks with the Queen by Morris Gleitzman, about a boy called Colin who's younger brother gets cancer, Colin tries everything he can to find a cure. It's one of the best children's books I've ever read, there's also a bit where Colin makes friends with a gay man who's partner has a terminal illness (I think it was cancer also), and it handles the issue very well, I'm glad I went to at least one relatively progressive school where they were willing to read books that covered these topics to the class.
-------------------- Always knock before entering my room when I am in there alone, as I may be doing all sorts of wonderfully thrilling things that I'd rather you didn't see. Posts: 819 | From: UK | Registered: Dec 2008
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"Death with Interruptions" by José Saramago. There are mixed reactions about this book, but I found it pretty interesting. It's originally in Portuguese, so some stuff might be lost in translation. I read it in Spanish, since it's closer to Portuguese, and I thought it was good. Hopefully you will too. The author's style is a bit peculiar, but if you can get used to it, I think it'll be worth it. Posts: 128 | From: La La Land | Registered: Nov 2009
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I've never paid much attention to sexuality in books, or perhaps I have but don't know how to evaluate them. Here are some books I liked and think fit the requirements:
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins The Handmaid's Tale by Margret Attwood
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues deals a lot with female sexuality and coming of age. Its more of YA than The Handmaid's Tale which deals with a dystopic world where female sexuality is greatly repressed because of multiple politic reasons.
If you read them, let me know what you think of them. Posts: 38 | From: Northwest Coast | Registered: Jan 2010
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Over the summer I read each of the hunger game books, one each day, 3 days total. They were really going, very engrossing. I like these Reaktion book series on animals too. Look homeward angel is a great classic, this new book that game out called 'the tiger'. And though I haven't read them yet I heard this new series 'the knife of never letting go' was really good.
Posts: 29 | From: Philadelphia | Registered: Nov 2010
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Mary Renault's The Charioteer is my all-time favourite book. It's set in 1940 and is about a young homosexual man, wounded and disabled at Dunkirk, who while in hospital falls in love with a Quaker conscientious objector working as an orderly. It is beautifully, beautifully written, wonderfully perceptive, brilliant.
Posts: 170 | From: UK | Registered: Mar 2011
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I really enjoyed The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. I also got ahold of a book called The Mockingbirds, by Daisy Whitney, that is absolutely excellent.
Posts: 173 | From: USA | Registered: Sep 2010
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