So What Do You Like Reading?

I'm so excited that we've added another book to our class here for the final weeks. I feel like all of us have fallen victim to what happens to me so often. I get so caught up in what I'm reading that I really can't stop. I just have to keep reading because I have to see what happens or because I care about the characters or because I'm just so deep in that world that I don't want to come out. When that happens it's especially awesome when there's a sequel like with Messenger. The book ends, but you can keep following those characters or that world. This was the beauty of the Harry Potter books. With seven huge books, one can be immersed in that world for a really long time! I'd finish one book and then just pick up the next.

For some people, mysteries are the books that grab them in. The suspense, the uncertainly, the mystery of it all keep them up all night reading. This is the case with my friend Erin. She just devours mysteries (or at least she did before she had two kids in two years!!). I'm not a huge mystery fan myself. I think they're too plot-driven and too confusing for me. What really grabs me are the characters in books. I get very drawn into their lives and worlds, and I feel like I'm living with them. One book I read called Map of the World by Jane Hamilton was particularly depressing. It was about a woman whose niece drowns while the sister is supposed to be watching her. The novel is the story of how the family and especially the aunt deal with the death. The whole time I was reading it, I was totally depressed. The mood of the book was so pervasive and intense, that it really affected my mood. I finally just had to finish the last 200 pages or so all in one sitting (this was obviously before kids!) just so I could shake off my awful mood!

So what grabs you about a book? What draws you in in the first place? What keeps you reading? What would make you pick up a sequel?

Also, what books have you really enjoyed? What books would you recommend for the rest of us to read? In the final week of the semester, I'm going to put together a list of books that I or you all have read and liked so that we all have some good suggestions for over the summer. I always think one of the best ways to learn about good new books is to get suggestions from others. Otherwise, there are so many books out there that it can be overwhelming to choose one.

So let's hear it. What books have you read that you have liked? Give us a quick (one to two sentences) summary, and I'll put together a list of your and my suggestions.

Thanks!