The Readventurer
  • Home
  • YA Reviews
  • Adult Reviews
  • Contests and Giveaways
  • Policies
  • About Us
    • Flannery's Challenges
    • Catie's Challenges
  • Contact Us

If You Like This, You Might Like That: Maureen Shares Some of Her Favorite Books

8/13/2012

13 Comments

 
Welcome to another edition of our feature, "If You Like This, You Might Like That," where we give book recommendations based on random things. Today, our friend Maureen (who recently wrote a recap of a book event with Susan Elizabeth Phillips) is sharing some of her favorites. 

Hello again, Readventurers!  Flannery asked if I could contribute some recommendations – and if there is one thing I like giving, it is unsolicited advice! For real, you tell me a story about your life and I will throw down advice like nobody’s business.  However, advice about books to read is certainly less touchy (and more appreciated!) than life advice.  So here are some new favorites, some all-time classics, and some generally lesser known books that I think more people should read! 
The Ordinary Princess cover
If you like good old-fashioned fairy tales, with an excellent HEA, and stories about not-so-typical heroines – then you should read The Ordinary Princess, by MM Kaye.  This story is cleverly told with great humor, and Princess Amy is seriously one of my all time favorite main characters – mostly because she is NOT the typical tall, blonde, and beautifully perfect princess.  This was my favorite book growing up, and it never loses its charm.  If you can find a version with the illustrations, it is an extra treat – MM Kaye did them herself and they are so gorgeous.   
Sticking with the YA theme of books for kids that even adults can love, if you like stories about wilderness survival and ever thought that Thoreau wrote Walden just for you (clearly this is me!), then you should read My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George.  This is the story of young Sam Gribley from New York City, who is fed up with his crowded life in the city and decides to run away to the Catskill Mountains to live on his own.  This book totally fostered my love of the outdoors and camping and adventuring, and it is perfect for a little environmentalist in the making.  If you aren’t into the wilderness, or hearing about how a kid can find food, make clothes, and live inside of a tree (still one of the most awesome things I can imagine!), than this book isn’t for you. But it should be, because everyone should like those things! (see, I'm pushy with my opinions, right?? #sorryimnotsorry).   
Picture
Picture
Shifting gears, if you like books that restore your faith in humanity, that  remind you there are really still good people in the world, and that talk about service work for young adults, then you should read Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation, by Eboo Patel.  Patel tells the story of how he struggled with understanding his religious identity, and how through that experience he came to understand the universality of this struggle for young adults to know themselves.  He ended up starting a nonprofit that brings young people from diverse religious backgrounds together to spend a year doing service work.  Through this year of service, they come to understand and respect each others’ cultures.   I am sure Flannery would agree with me, that any type of story about young adults spending time doing long-term service work is probably awesome (since we are both alums of AmeriCorps)! 

Mountains Beyond Mountains cover
If you are riding that high on happiness and humanitarianism, and like books about global health and like Arcade Fire, then you should read Mountains Beyond Mountains, by Tracy Kidder.  Kidder tells the story of Paul Farmer – a medical doctor and anthropologist who was educated at Harvard and ends up starting a clinic in Haiti and founding Partners in Health (which is the pet project of the band, Arcade Fire).  Farmer is tenacious and almost crazy in his commitment and dedication to improving the lives and health opportunities for people that live in poverty across the globe.  This book made me mad, and inspired, and fired up about advocating for change.  It is a great read for anyone involved in or interested in healthcare, social justice, international nonprofits, eradicating poverty, or infectious diseases.  

Picture
Sticking with memoirs, but definitely changing genres here.  If you like pie, happiness and/or Sandra Bullock, then you should read My Life From Scratch, by Gesine Bullock Prado (Sandra’s sister!).   Honestly, this book is adorable.  Gesine started off as an entertainment lawyer in Hollywood, running a movie production company with her sister, and hating every minute of her job and life in Hollywood.  The only times she was truly happy was when she was baking pies or breads or cakes for friends and family and coworkers.  So she quits her job, moves to Vermont and opens a bakery.  Craaaaaziness! But awesomeness.  Anyway, this is a quick and light read, interspersing some lovely recipes with the story of how she came to love baking as a child to her life as an adult running a bakery.  Who doesn’t love a story about someone who follows their dreams? And gets pie at the end?  

Picture
Finally, if you like Jane Eyre, The Eyre Affair, Clueless [note from Flann: As if anyone doesn't like Clueless!], or 10 Things I Hate About You, you should read Jane, by April Linder.  Linder writes a modern interpretation of Charlotte Bronte’s classic, about young Jane, who is suddenly left penniless when her parents die and is forced to drop out of her elite college and take a job as a nanny.  It roughly follows the plot of the original and I had fun re-imagining some of the characters in their modern selves.  It might not have been as great without the original source material behind it, but if you enjoy re-tellings (like the Lizzie Bennett Diaries – WHICH I AM COMPLETELY OBSESSED WITH!), than this is right up your alley!  

Xs and Os, Readventurers! 

Maureen  


Hot Lights Cold Steel cover
I'd like to tack on two more recommendations to Maureen's list: the books her father wrote. If you are thinking of going to med school or becoming a surgeon (specifically of the orthopedic variety), you are the spouse of someone in the first two categories, you like medical memoirs, or you like large families (Maureen has 11 siblings!), you should try Hot Lights, Cold Steel: Life, Death, and Sleepless Nights in a Surgeon's First Years, Michael Collins' memoir of his residency at the Mayo Clinic. It is a quick read filled with humorous anecdotes, thoughts on the profession, and his personal story about raising a family when time and money were scarce. His sophomore work, Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs: The Makings of a Surgeon, is actually a prequel to Hot Lights, Cold Steel, in that it follows Dr. Collins from working construction in Chicago through his decision to enter med school and a bit further. I recommend it for people who are contemplating the medical profession, people who grew up in big Irish families, or people who are just confused about where they want to go in their lives.  Also, I recommend both of his books for people who are curious where Maureen got 50% of her DNA from. 

In terms of Maureen's other recommendations, I went on Goodreads to link up the Jane cover image and that book is definitely on my list of "The Books My Goodreads Friends Disagree About Most." No question. The reviews run the gamut from 1-5 stars with vehement fans on both sides, though many of my favorite reviewers fall somewhere in the middle.  Coincidentally, The Ordinary Princess is one of those books I pretend I've read. I've been listening to Maureen go on about its wonderfulness for about a decade now. It is short, so what am I waiting for? Thanks for sharing, Maureen!

Do any of these books sound interesting to you? Are there any books you've had to read for college or grad school that were actually really interesting? I'm very curious.
13 Comments
VeganYANerds link
8/13/2012 08:22:22 am

It's always fun to get book recs from friends and friends of friends - great post, Maureen!

One of my co-bloggers really enjoyed Jane but I could tell from the comments on her review that some people really dislike it, I plan on reading it in the near future.

The Ordinary Princess sounds sweet and My Side of the Mountain sounds really intriguing, I want to know how his story ends.

Reply
Maureen
8/13/2012 02:12:19 pm

Thanks!! I can definitely see people reacting strongly to Jane - especially for people that really love Jane Eyre and want a very faithful interpretation. I hope you enjoy all the books though!

Reply
Tatiana (The Readventurer) link
8/13/2012 10:56:31 am

I am very much interested in M.M. Kaye's book. I've heard a lot of this author, but in my mind she is "old school," so I am not sure if her books are old-fashioned or not?

Reply
Maureen
8/13/2012 02:33:46 pm

M.M. Kaye really is an interesting writer. Ordinary Princess was her only children's book - her other books were several Agatha Christie-style mysteries and an epic story of a man of Indian-British descent, The Far Pavilions (which is crazy long, but wonderful). Her writing is somewhat old fashioned - but not in a way that I found to be off-putting. She was born in India in like 1908 and died around 2004 - and I do think there is a very British feel to her writing, if that makes sense?

Reply
Tatiana (The Readventurer) link
8/14/2012 10:12:17 am

The book of hers I heard the most is "Trade Wind." Have you read it by any chance? It's pretty hefty, so I am reluctant to try it.

Maja
8/13/2012 03:31:01 pm

I haven't read any of these! I love that, it doesn't happen often, but it means there's more to choose from. I'm definitely interested in reading Jane, I get curious when people have such polarizing opinions. I always want to know which side I'll fall on.
I'm defintiely adding My Life from Scratch right now. And FYI, you can make me read just about any book using the words 'pie' and 'happiness'. Oh, and Sandra Bullock didn't hurt, I like her.

I really enjoyed this post. And I'd really love to have 11 siblings too! That must be so awesome.

Reply
Maureen
8/14/2012 02:46:45 am

Thanks Maja! Pie is perhaps my #1 favorite food - and I feel good about happiness, too! :)

Reply
Maja
8/13/2012 03:34:08 pm

Also, I use the word defintiely far too often when it's 7 am and I'm sleepy. I'm going to have coffee now in absolute silence and hopefully people will leave me alone long enough to enjoy it. :)

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
8/13/2012 09:49:50 pm

Great post Maureen! I'm so torn about whether I should try Jane or not. Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books, but in general I tend not to like updated versions of things...on the other hand, you said the magic word that makes me want to read cheesy YA's (Clueless!). Maybe someday. I'm also interested in the Jean Craighead George because I recently read Julie of the Wolves and really liked it.

It must have been so interesting to have 11 brothers and sisters!

Reply
Maureen
8/14/2012 02:52:35 am

Thanks Catie! I think if you read Jane with expectations for something frothy and fun and minimally associate it with the source material (like Clueless and Emma), it tends to go better! Haha but some people just aren't into it - and that's okay! :) I haven't read Julie of the Wolves - I'll have to add it to my list!

Reply
Noelle link
8/13/2012 11:32:06 pm

The Ordinary Princess!!!! Formative as hell. I need to re-read that sometime soon. I know I read My Side of the Mountain back in the day but it's blending together with Hatchet in my memory. Jane and I unfortunately didn't hit it off but I ADORE the Lizzie Bennett Diaries. Awesome post Maureen :)

Reply
Maureen
8/14/2012 10:19:35 am

Haha thanks! I am so glad you share my total love of Ordinary Princess - I just re-read it this week, and it is every bit as wonderful as you remember it! Also - I just caught up on the 3 most recent Lizzie Bennett Diaries - I can't wait to finally see who they have as Darcy!!

Reply
Maggie, Young Adult Anonymous link
8/14/2012 12:40:56 pm

OMG.... Maureen's dad is a Susan Elizabeth Phillips character!! LMAO! And yep, after your first post, Maureen, I zoomed through 10 of her books.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Follow Us On:

    Facebook Twitter Feed

    Subscribe:

    Subscribe
    Follow on Bloglovin

    Subscribe via email:

    Delivered by FeedBurner


    What We're Reading:

    Blood of my Blood cover

    Flannery

    Goodreads
    Monstrous Affections cover

     Tatiana

    Goodreads
    Rules of Civility cover

      Catie

    Goodreads

    Archives 

    March 2014
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011

    Categories

    All
    Author Spotlight
    Book Events
    Book Vs. Movie
    Catie's Adult Reviews
    Catie's Y.A. Reviews
    Contest Or Giveaway
    Flannery's Adult Reviews
    Flannery's Y.A. Reviews
    If You Like This Maybe That
    Library Quest
    Odds & Ends On The Web
    Randomness
    Readalong Recaps
    She Made Me Do It
    Tatiana's Adult Reviews
    Tatiana's Y.A. Reviews
    Three Heads Are Better Than One Or Two
    Year Of The Classics


    Blogs We Follow

    Angieville
    Anna Scott Jots
    Badass Book Reviews
    The Book Geek
    The Book Smugglers
    Book Harbinger
    Books Take You Places
    Bunbury in the Stacks
    Chachic's Book Nook
    Clear Eyes, Full Shelves
    Collections
    Cuddlebuggery
    For the Love of Words
    The Galavanting Girl Books
    Inkcrush
    Intergalactic Academy
    Ivy Book Bindings
    The Nocturnal Library
    Rainy Day Ramblings
    The Readers Den
    The Reading Date
    Realm of Fiction
    Sash and Em
    Stacked
    The Unread Reader
    Vegan YA Nerds
    Wear The Old Coat
    Wordchasing
    Wrapped Up In Books
    Young Adult Anonymous 

    Grab A Button

    The Readventurer
    <div align="center"><a href="http://www.thereadventurer.com" title="The Readventurer"><img src="http://www.weebly.com/uploads/7/8/9/9/7899923/custom_themes/149267861480723643/files/TheReadventurer.png?1321429794244" alt="The Readventurer" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

    Parajunkee Design
    SiteLock
    Since 2/4/2012

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.
Photos used under Creative Commons from savillent, vue3d, vue3d, ljcybergal