342,745 Ways To Herd Cats Challenge

I've decided to join the Herding Cats Reading Challenge. If you're interested, visit http://bottle-of-shine.livejournal.com/273294.html

tl;dr = Too long; Didn't read :)

The parameters are simple. List 10 Books You Love. Choose three books from the other lists to read between May 1 and November 30, 2008. I find this appealing because it allows for pleasant, leisure reading while providing a good resource for book recommendations.

Here are my 10 recommendations. These truly are books I love!

1-Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Opening chapters of unspeakable cruelty by society.
Turns of phrase:
***Mother Nature looking like Eleanor Roosevelt.
***Dragonflies darted back & forth like they were stitching up the air.
***Calendar sisters(Spring & Summer)
***"I had no idea what sort of denomination Orthodox Eclectic was, but I nodded like we had a big group of them back in Sylvan."
***"Women make the best beekeepers, 'cause they have a special ability to love critters that sting. It comes from years of loving children and husbands."

Enjoyed the parallel of Lily's secret life and that of the bees.
The element of spirituality reminded of "We all live lives of quiet desperation."
Each finds a way to deal with it. This incredible story is a tapestry of faith, humanity, and the natural world. Beautiful, beautiful...

2-Chocolat by Joanne Harris

3-Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Love-love-love his whimsical view on life---how well he connects with children of all ages.

4-The Senator's Wife by Susan Miller
Excellent---parallels of Deila the Senator's wife & neighbor of newlywed Mary. The stages of women's lives. Great story line, character development in the women & their spouses, Tom & Nathan

5-The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

6-The Preacher and the Presidents: Billy Graham in the White House by Nancy Gibbs

7-Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell

8-740 Park: The Story of the World's Richest Apartment Building by Michael Gross

9- The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque: A Novel by Jeffery Ford

10-A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlena De Blasi
Started ho-hum. Wasn't even sure I'd finish it. A memoir: romantic, lush with food and Damask and descriptions of Italy--chiefly the waterways and lagoons of Venice. Everything has a golden hue--even the man with one sharp front tooth! The author paints with words describing her adventures in meeting and marrying an Italian man, giving up everything and moving to Venice. She, a renowned chef and writer from St. Louis. How wonderful it would be to tour beginning in St. Louis and visiting all of the places in her book!! A long,extensive tour to see the richness, the beauty that she describes, the luscious foods and wines she tastes. "A thousand days. A minute. A flash. Just like life I think." A luscious book to savor. I hesitate to begin another and diminish the "taste" of this one~~~

Now I have to choose three from the lists of the other participants. Thus far, I have selected two titles that I want to read. Since people are still posting books, I'll monitor those to choose the third book to read.

Three Books I Will Read Are

1- The Opposite of Fate by Amy Tan
2- The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
3- After All These Years by Susan Isaacs

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