Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Buttonhole books

What are your favorite "buttonhole" books, the ones you urge passionately on friends, colleagues, and passersby?

Jodi Picoult usually comes to mind first when a friend asks for a suggestion in fiction. I've read all her books except the 13th, and my favorites are Songs of the Humpback Whale and My Sister's Keeper. You may like others best, so browse ALL of Jodi Picoult's books on her web site. Another great thing about her is that EVERY time I've emailed her, she has written back. That is so nice!

If someone wants a book about Christianity, I highly recommend The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith by Marcus Borg. In this book, Borg explains the difference between what he calls the earlier paradigm, as understood by fundamentalists and literalists, and the emerging paradigm espoused by those who have struggled with their faith in a scientific world. Read chapter one from this book and see what you think about it.

Speaking of meeting the author ~ see my previous post ~ I not only met Marcus Borg, but got to hear him speak about this book. We asked lots of questions. Now I want to meet Jodi Picoult, if her American tours would only bring her SOUTH occasionally.

5 comments:

Kailana said...

Jodi Picoult is very hit or miss with me. Sometimes I really like her book and then other times it is not that great. Like, I liked Her Sister's Keeper, but I hated Tenth Circle. It is pretty much that for everyone I like, there is another that I don't like. It still would be nice to meet her, but authors never come around here unless they are locals.

Dewey said...

Just curious ... what do you email her about? I've emailed two authors in my life, and both times were since I started this blog! Once to ask for permission to post a poem I couldn't find on the internet and once to comment on a drawing and ask if prints of it were available. Both responded.

Bonnie Jacobs said...

Kailana,
Tenth Circle is the one book of hers I have not yet read. From what my book friends have told me, it is very different from her other books.

Dewey,
I don't remember why I emailed her the first time, but I have asked for comments about books for my face-to-face book discussions and lots of small things. She thought I had an interesting take on one of her books, but I don't remember which one it was. She knew I was recommending her books when I worked at a bookstore; two women even ordered ALL of her published books after reading one I had recommended. Once a friend of mine was able to meet Jodi at a book signing in another city and mentioned me ... and Jodi remembered who I was. On her web page, she chats with fans and joins conversations about her various books ... there are ongoing threads which she takes part in. Take a look at:
http://jodipicoult.com

Stephanie said...

I've read 6 of her books and enjoyed all but one. You guessed it, The Tenth Circle. I really disliked it, although I'm not sure why. But I loved everything else. Especially My Sister's Keeper and Plain Truth!

Anonymous said...

I like Jodi Picoult. I only read a few by her, though.

I always, always tell people about the Outlander books by Diana Gabaldon.