so now that we’re finished with the unbearable lightness of being, it’s time to pick our next book for the fp book club. i would love to hear your suggestions! what’s the last great book you read? what’s the most inspiring book you’ve read? what’s your all-time favorite? leave suggestions below!
Comments
I suppose im a little behind on the reading, I’m halfway through the unbearable lightness of being. Anyway, I am a biiig reader. Two books come to mind when i think of the free people philosophy: The alchemist by paulo coelho and the history of love by nicole krauss.
Both The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides and Veronica Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho are beautiful books that I not only love and could read a thousand times, but also think would be perfect to do for the book club.
Sophie’s Choice is my all time favorite
Absolutely “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” by Jonathan Safran Foer. It’s the most beautifully written book.
patti smith: just kids
<3
Waiting for Bardot, by andy martin. SO good.
read Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro! Soo soo good…you will not want to put it down. I think I read it in 2 or 3 days!
Lolita by Nabokov and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. Beautiful books.
East of Eden, John Steinbeck, written beautifully, and full of themes to inspire you to live in the freedom we have within us all! life changing book!
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly!
And to go with Lolita, Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. It really makes your appreciate your freedom as a woman – to be able to do something as simple as wearing nail polish, wearing mascara, & choosing your own clothes. It’s really interesting book.
If you have not encountered “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint Exupery it is the most charming little nugget of a book [disguised as a tale for children, but oh so much more!] & a swift read at that. I have given away so many copies because it leaves me so warm & fuzzy & sad but with such sweetness. Not to be missed.
“Wonderful Tonight” by Pattie Boyd, one of my most favorite books. She was married to George Harrison & Eric Claption. worth reading
Drop City by T.C. Boyle. the writing is pure beauty. it’s about a hippie commune in the 70′s
“Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.” This book is great, I learned so much and gained a new prospective on life after reading this. It is a true story written by a man who was an “EHM”. You’ll be hooked from the first page.
Steal This Book! just full of good information, and I can imagine lots of good photos to go with it.
Virgin Suicides for sure! or Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk. I’ve read both of them numerous times!
the delivery man by joe mcginnis jr: a devastatingly beautiful portrait of kids growing up in Las Vegas during our “myspace” generation. Spectacular writing, deep and thought provoking characters. I consider it a modern day “great gatsby”.
Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs
Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs
Drop City by T.C. Boyle!
or The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway hmm or Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman :)
The Lover by Marguerite Duras.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
a book called (un)fashion……it’s a great read cuz it’s all pictures!
also…..for a quick, deep read….saul william’s “a shotgun to the head”…really beautiful poetry :)
shine on free people girl!!!
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith… it is a lovely book and very uplifting! It takes place in England in the 1930′s and the family lives in an old castle!! Its a perfectly wonderful read and one of my favorites :)
Her Beautiful Symmetry- Its about a set of twins who are the daughters of a twin. It has twist of fantasy build in as it examines family feuds and relationships.
the elegance of the hedgehog is an amazing book that everyone should read!It is an amazing book!
please please please “AS THE GREAT WORLD SPINS” -such a great book!
http://ourlifeisajoke.wordpress.com
The History of Love- about the connections and lives of all different people all wound together in a beautiful and mysterious way that involves coming of age, growing old and an awe inspiring and time transcending girl named Alma :)
this child will be great by ellen johnson sirleaf. it’s an autobiography of Africa’s first female president….very interesting and inspiring
“I’m with the Band : Confessions of a Groupie,” this is book about Pamela Barres, a real band aid! It tells about her encounters with rock stars for example, Jim Morrison, one of my favorites. I think it would fit the FP book club well since it’s very hippie inspired!
extremely loud and incredibly close– jonathan safran foer
or much much shorter
this is water–david foster wallace
The Girls of Riyadh was a great novel I recently read. It is vaguely about girl’s lives in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia in particular). It touches a lot on the tribulations women face with some of the archaic laws and customs. This may not sound very enticing. However, the novel is truly addicting. You become truly infatuated with each character and their stories. The author sent an email every Friday revealing her story for a year. This book caused a lot of controversy and was actually banned in Saudi Arabia, until they realized it was a best selling book. This book is a great eye opener and allows you to view a completely different culture from other women’s eyes.
The History of Love is a great book
or The Mysteries of Pitsburgh.
What about Little Bee by Christopher Cleave?
No Place Like Home by Brooke Berman
Inspiring and relevant read for 20-somethings struggling to find their place in the world.
Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a beautifully written book
Oh i REALLYYY want to read I’m with the Band : Confessions of a Groupie, by Pamela Barres too!! it sounds so interesting
White Oleander by Janet Fitch
Such an amazing read, and such beautiful writing.
You will not want to put this story down!
Charles Dickens suits wintertime so well!
Jonathan Safron Froer for sure.
100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Atonement by Ian McKellan.
A Room with a View by E.M. Forster.
And a good edition of ‘Arabian Nights’ or Grimm’s Fairy Tales is just lovely no matter how old you are.
Barbara Kingsolver – Prodigal Summer or Poisinwood Bible
The Botany of Desire – Michael Pollan
Love in the Time of Cholera – Gabriel García Márquez
The Rum Diary – Hunter S. Thompson
All very different, but each uniquely inspiring…
the catcher in the rye by salinger. a classic.
The Celestine Prophecy, which will lead you to the Tenth Insight followed by the Secret of Shambhala – Phenomenal
the great gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald,absolute BEST book ever,hands down
To Kill a Mockingbird!
Eat, Pray, Love……..really great book!!!!
The one book I will forever recommend is Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Nothing has ever touched me like that book.
flowers for algernon
“Smilla’s Sense of Snow” by Peter Hoeg
Anything by Edward Abbey
be here now. ram das
Right now my book club is reading Water for Elephants – it is so good! The last one we read was A Reliable Wife which I highly recommend as well.
Hmmm,assuming Free People are interested in freedom, Byron Katie’s book, “Loving What Is” teaches us how to get and live free. She is so clear and honest and funny you will love her. Powerful in ways we can’t imagine yet. Luv DJ
Like Water For Chocolate by mexican novelist Laura Esquivel.. it was a NY Times best seller years ago. “The novel follows the story of a young girl named Tita who longs her entire life to marry her lover, Pedro, but can never have him because of her mother’s upholding of the family tradition of the youngest daughter not marrying but taking care of her mother until the day she dies. Tita is only able to express herself when she cooks.
(Each Chapter Begins with a recipe)
Esquivel employs magical realism to combine the supernatural with the ordinary.”
There is a scene in the book where her sister gloriously rides naked and free on a horse… Going along with the Equestrian Dreams
“The Dud Avocado” by Elaine Dundy
With a Holly Golightly-esque main character and a mid 1950s Parisian setting, its humor and insight into the trials and tribulations of a woman in her early 20s attempting to discover herself while maneuvering the Parisian social landscape makes for a very entertaining read.
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides or The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky are both beautifully written.
Middlesex. by jeffrey eugenides. this book is written so beautifully my mind is blown away every time a read it.
Another suggestion for a book by Jonathan Safran Foer… “Eating Animals” Life changing!
After that one, maybe something light? Just finished “Life” – Keith Richards autobiography. A romp and a half …
-The Dharma Bums (Kerouac) – favorite book
=The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald) – wonderful book, a great intro to F. –Scott Fitzgerald – shorter and simpler than his other fiction
-Tender is the Night (Fitzgerald) – a little long, but great book and beautifully written!
prodigal summer by barbara kingsolver… she is such a lovely writer and passionate about nature, seems in the spirit of FP :)
http://www.flickr.com/artbysarah
****WE SHOULD READ SOMETHING THAT WILL CHANGE OUR LIVES FOREVER****
Frequency: The Power of Personal Vibration by Penney Peirce
..this book is such a “life changer”…no sticky religious dogma and very easy to understand. It literally takes the top of your head and opens it up so the light of life can come flooding in!! I’ve read a million books from the “new age” section of the book store and nothing comes close to the power of this one book. MUST READ!!
“We are all affected by positive and negative energy whether we realize it or not. With the wisdom contained in this book, you will learn how to raise the level of your vibration—your frequency—to benefit yourself and humankind in miraculous ways.”
The Valkyries by Paulo Coelho
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
The Old Man and Me or The Dud Avocado they are both by Elaine Dundy and they are both great
The Perks of Being A Wallflower
or Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close(:
Looking For Alaska- John Green
Franny and Zooey- JD Salinger
i also vote for extremely loud and incredibly close
…Either To Kill A Mockingbird or The Scarlet Pimpernel! :)
the count of monte cristo- an old classic full of everything and anything!
The Sirens of Titan is my favorite Vonnegut so far. I just finished Cat’s Cradle. Both made me think much about fate.
Demian by Herman Hesse–a life changing book for me.
“Letters to a Young Poet” by Rainer Maria Rilke. Friends sent it to me soon after they’d moved away. It’s a beautiful gift. Although one of them wrote inside that it is “a perspective changer” and that I should pass it on to another young poet in time, I don’e believe I can. I’ve revisited book many times and I can’t imagine not having it beside my pillow.
anything by David Mitchell. start with either Ghostwritten or Cloud Atlas
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand! or The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene
Kahlil Gibran, “The Prophet”
East of Eden – Steinbeck
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho definitely, and The Little Prince are some of the most inspiring books written.
But if you want something that is less well known and still very unique and inspiring, STARGIRL by Jerry Spinelli will change your life. Stargirl is a care free girl, not scared to be herself and always looking for the positive side of everything. She is in tune with herself and has the most amazing insight on life. (Sounds like a free people girl to me)
“The earth is speaking to us, but we can’t hear because of all the racket our senses are making. Sometimes we need to erase them, erase our senses. Then–maybe–the earth will touch us. The universe will speak. The stars will whisper.” -Stargirl
xoxo
Gabriel García Márquez:
Love in the Time of Cholera
End of the Affair, Graham Greene
A LITTLE PRINCESS
The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
a rage to live by john o’hara. actually anything by john o’hara, he’s wonderful!
the tropic of cancer by henry miller
the dharma bums by jack kerouac
Im reading the book Shantaram by: David gregory Roberts right now and im glued to the book for hours! Its a long novel but its soooo magical
I just read The Things They Carried and loved it! I definitely reccomend it.
100 years of solitude, by gabriel garcia marquez.