Boston Gal's Open Wallet

I'd recommend "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls and "The Cellist of Sarajevo" by Steven Galloway.

 

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl who plays with Fire - Steig Larsson.

Both released posthumosly and are the first two in a fantastic 3 book series.

 

The last good book I read was the Harry Potter series, but a) I think you've already read it, and b) they've been out long enough that they're available at the library.

I've been thinking of cashing in survey money for a Borders gift card, and using that to buy "In CHEAP We Trust", but haven't done so yet and can't offer a review.

I am a big fan of cookbooks. Even in the era of websites for everything, I made enough use of my my Better Homes and Gardens "New Cook Book" this summer that the cover fell off. It's a great resource for canning and freezing, and classic recipes for everything else (Mmm.. bread pudding!)

Frugal aside: We keep the bread heels in a bag in the freezer and make bread pudding every 2 or 3 months. Last time we used chocolate chips instead of dried fruit, and tossed in some cayenne for "Aztec" bread pudding. It was delicious.

 

I've been reading so many good books lately. The Opposite of Love by Julie Buxbaum was one of my favorites. I also highly recommend The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows...such a good read. This month with my book club we're reading The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf. So far it is very dark but quite absorbing. Happy book shopping!

 

"How I Left Microsoft to Change the World" - there's actually quite a lot in there about the financial side of starting a charity, etc. and very interesting besides. Fairly well written.

Anne

 

If you're traveling a lot, a Kindle is one of the wisest travel investments you will ever make. I love mine. I take 2-3 roundtrip flights a month and make good use of it.

Lately I have been reading Stephenie Meyer -- I hate her weak female characters, but love her writing. Couldn't imagine hauling those books onto a plane, though. That's where I get really excited about having a Kindle. :)

-Erica

 

ditto this:
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl who plays with Fire - Steig Larsson.

"Both released posthumosly and are the first two in a fantastic 3 book series."

I've only read the first one, but loved it. Can't wait to read the second. I also have loved stories by Lisa Unger (find the two-part series featuring a female character named Ridley - very captivating.) and the Christine Kling books about the female tugboat captain Seychelle Sullivan, "Surface Tension," et al. Also really great books.

 

I would borrow books from the library (I second the Stieg Larsson series; Nick Hornby's Juliet, Naked (new) Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Anna Gavalda's Hunting and Gathering, Richard Price's Lush Life, Joseph O'Neill's Netherland), and use the gift card to buy holiday gifts (cookbooks for relatives, children's books for nieces/nephews, etc.).

 

Two of my recent favorites were by Ken Follett: Pillars of the Earth and World Without End. Long, but worth it. I had actually borrowed these from the library but ended up buying the hardcovers because I loved them so much!

 

I tried a couple survey sites years ago, but they turned out to be scams. Glad to see there are some real ones out there!

 

"Downtown Owl" by Chuck Klosterman is a fantastic and utterly convincing book.

 

Some of my all-time favorite books:

Bel Canto by Anne Patchett
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Also interesting are the pair "Autobiography of a Face" by Lucy Greely and "Truth and Beauty" by Anne Patchett.

 

mistborn series by brandon sanderson