The Next Best Book Club discussion

Soul Journaling - Lessons from the Past
Soul Journaling - The Journey Continues

Take a chance on these...they won't disappoint!

Markus Zusak is very innovative in his stories, either book thief or I am a messenger both fresh in their approach. Also Haruki Murakami is both the good kind of weird and different in the way he writes.

May We Shed These Human Bodies by Amber Sparks is a story collection, not a novel, but it's innovative and lovely and haunting all in a tidy 150 pages.

One of my personal favorites, partially because of its creative approach is . It's a love story of sorts, the kind that is both beautiful, haunting and timeless by essentially using a classic myth (can't reveal, too much of a spoiler) and completely reinventing it into something equally wonderful. Also the lovely thing about this book is it is not a recent publication and is almost always easy to find at half price for under ten bucks.

These are all non-series, unique reads that I have never read anything like them and gave five stars to that came out in the last five years:
Cinnamon and Gunpowder
Amped
When She Woke
Ready Player One

One of the best I ever read was Simple Jess. It was the most amazing romance book, because the guy is mentally challenged, and Pamela Morisi wrote it at a time when combining a sympathetic look at both religious fundamentals and homosexuality was impossible. She told that it was almost not published.

If you would like to give a crime thriller a chance... And there's a visible love angle too, please check out From Behind the Blue Line by William Mark. It's a gritty, realistic crime thriller that poses the question, how far would you go if something tragic happened to a loved one? What if that same person is a cop?

Two original novels I recently read and loved were The Circle by Dave Eggers and The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton.

The first is a technological thriller, set in a dystopian future where privacy is a crime and everyone knows everything. Eggers weaves some romance in his subplots, but they definitely take a backseat to his fascinating world-building.

The second book falls under the category of magical realism. It takes place in the Pacific Northwest and follows the story of several generations of women and their lovers, and how their magical powers affect their relationships with their families and loved ones. It's a little more dramatic and graphic than The Circle, but every bit as engrossing.

Allow me to briefly step in, plug my book, then quietly exit.

I wrote a novel about a brand new, original superheroine called The Silver Ninja. However, unlike other superheroic fiction books, the things she goes through and experiences are the same things any woman would feel if they were in her shoes.

She has relationship problems with her husband, has a sister she looks out for, struggles with an eating disorder, while at the same time delivering action packed moments filled with high tech nanosuits, flying motorcycles, and lot's of girl power moments.

The 99 cents sale will be ending tonight, but I'll be more than happy to send out free copies to anyone who is interested.

Okay, enough talk. Here's the sample and my website. Feel free to contact me if you'd like a free copy or buy one for yourself.

Thank you for your time.

The most unusual books that I have read are the Jasper Fforde series about the literary detective Thursday Next (The Eyre Affairs, Lost in a Good Book, the Well of Lost Plots, etc.). These are mysteries with a twist where Next enters the books to investigate crimes. They are filled with literary allusions and remind me a bit about Lucille Ball, but I know that some people have a hard time getting into them.

The same can be said for Christopher Fowler's Bryant and May Mysteries. About two aging detectives who head up a Peculiar Crimes Unit, that solves mysteries using very unusual methods. The first of the series is Full Dark House. No romance in either one of the series ...

I think a lot of it depends on what kind of books you like to read. Literary? Fantasy? Women's fiction? Something new in theme and what it has to offer its genre, or something truly avant garde?

One author who writes sideways-thinking novels is Cecelia Ahern. I've actually never read "PS I Love You," but I absolutely LOVED "There's No Place Like Here." (There actually is a place where missing things end up: socks . . . keys . . . people)

If you want to start a detective/romance series try The Silver Pigs

I recently discovered Jeremy Neeley, who is certainly original; both of his books have an element of romance in them, but it is not the main focus of either one. Infinite Meat, which I read first, has a title I personally think is really offputting, but please ignore that. I think the book is wonderful (I did a review, see on the book page). The other is The Royal Perfects, and both are highly original and well worth reading.

And, having looked at your 'read' list, you might well appreciate and enjoy The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver; but this is serious literature, as well as being one of the best books I've ever read.

Stan wrote: "If you want to start a detective/romance series try The Silver Pigs"

I really enjoyed this series as well, especially if you like historical fiction.