Life Changing and Regret Reading!

TBC

Biography and Love

1. BIOGRAPHY
Empress Orchard (Anchee Min)
About the last female empress in China. Great insight into Chinese culture and traditions during the xin dynasty.

2. LOVE
Romeo & Juliet
Ok, strictly a play, but the best love story ever written, and also the love story which countless others have been based on.

Historical and Enlightenment

1. HISTORICAL
The Count of Monte Christo (Alexandre Dumas)
Wild Swans (Jung Chang)

2. ENLIGHTENMENT
Many Lives, Many Masters (Brian L. Weiss)
A book about an eminent Psychiatrist and how he delved into a patient's past life. The true story of a prominent psychiatrist, his young patient and the past-life therapy that changed both their lives.

Crime and Nostalgia

1.CRIME
Anything by Dan Brown or Michael Crichton. Especially enjoyed Deception Point.

2. NOSTALGIC
Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll) or The Faraway Tree (Enid Blyton)

Travel and Humour

1.TRAVEL
I like anything by Bill Bryson as I think he has a great understanding of other cultures nuances. I've also just
finished reading LP's book of short stories, which I thought was really disappointing. It made me realise that a group like us could probably come up with better travel stories than are in that book (there's a challenge!!)

2. A book that made me LAUGH
Hollywood Divorces (Jackie Collins)
The only English book available for sale on a remote Greek island when my luggage went missing. I laughed because it was so bad ... but kind of a page turner as well!

Top 5 Books

1. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
Very good message - philosophical look at life and what's important. Only takes a few hours to read.

2. An Equal Music (Vikram Seth)
About a string quartet in London & the relationship between them. Accompanying CD that you can listen to while the music's being described in the book

3. La Prisonierre (Malika Oufkir)
Fascinating book on King Hussein 2nd's rule in Morocco and the influence he had over the country and one family in particular.

4. Salem Falls (Jodi Picoult) As with all her books it looks at a controversial contemporary issue (this one is rape) - but more importantly views the power of the American legal system, how lies spiral out of control with a surprise twist at the end!

5. The Reader (Bernard Schlink)
Post war Germany and the effect on different generations.