Read12

Read12 Recommendations from Heather in Chicago

Neil Gaiman -- "Coraline," "American Gods"

Erik Larson -- "The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America"

Alice Walker - "The Color Purple"

Stephen King - "Shawshank Redemption"

J.R.R. Tolkien - "The Hobbit"

E.B. White - "Charlotte's Web," "Stuart Little"

Marjane Satrapi - "Persepolis 1: The Story of a Childhood"

Arthur C. Clarke - "Childhoods End", "Rendezvous with Rama," "The Hammer of God"

Thanks Heather!

Recommendations from Beth in New York

A Prayer for Owen Meany -John Irving
Jane Eyre -Bronte
The Picture of Dorian Gray -Wilde
Lonesome Dove : A Novel -McMurtry
The Custom of the Country -Wharton
Washington Square -James
Goodbye, Columbus -Roth
The Fall of the Roman Republic -Plutarch
Oliver Twist -Dickens
Mansfield Park - Austen
Moll Flanders -Defoe
Silas Marner -Eliot

Thanks Beth!

Recommendations from Nicole in New York

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Water for Elephants: A Novel by Sara Gruen
The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank

For fun:
Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler

Thanks Nicole!

Read12 Book Recommendations - Stacy from Los Angeles

When I worked at a bookstore and people asked me this same question, I always asked what movies their recipients liked.

If they liked Indiana Jones, for example, I suggested Sahara, by Clive Cussler because Dirk Pitt (the hero) has that same dry humor, and the story falls along the lines of an Indiana Jones plot.

If they liked Star Wars or Terminator, I recommended Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.

Mysteries: Dennis Lehane (Darkness, Take My Handis 1st in series)
Carol O'Connell (Mallory's Oracle is the 1st)
Andrew Vachss has a very edgy, dark series featuring Burke, an anti-hero
John Gilstrap (he wrote Nathan's Run, which was turned into a movie that was NOT like the book)

Philosophical--Man's Search for Meaningby Viktor Frankl

Whimsical--Diaries of Adam and Eve by Mark twain (Fair Oaks version only)

Funny--anything by Christopher Moore
(Practical Demonkeeping, Lamb, Island of the Sequined Love Nun, etc.)
Also funny--Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series
Carl Hiaasen
Mary Janice Davidson's Undead series is hilarious.

general fiction:
Jodi Picoult

Fantasy: Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card (Alvin the Maker series)

Firestarter by Stephen King is excellent to lure someone in. :P

Thanks Stacy!

Read12, 2009

Read12 Book Recommendations - Andrea from Phoenix

Andrea from Phoenix, AZ - "I don't know about listing 12 books, but certainly one that I love. I passed it on to my husband, who passed it to his sister, who passed it on to someone else. My daughter couldn't get into it last year, but loved it this year when she turned 17.
It is "The Sparrow" by Mary Doria Russell. She wrote a sequel "Children of God" that wasn't as good, but I still recommend because you want to know what happens after "The Sparrow" ends!"

It is about humans making first contact with an alien species. Ok, not new, but it's Jesuits who are making first contact! Yeah. So, read a little bit about how the Jesuits began and you'll understand why they are the ones to be assigned first contact. That's all I want to say or else I'll give the story away. I want you to be as surprised as I was when you read it."

Read12, 2009

The Quest to Increase Reading

The National Endowment for the Arts did a study, "Reading at Risk" that showed we lost as a nation 20 million readers between 1992 and 2002.  A 7% decline in people reading books.  This was of course taken up by the Internet, electronic game, television and other media, but I am joined by millions of others that know reading is an vital part of a successful society.  As readership declines, so will the U.S.

I have begun a quest to increase literacy one county at a time.  Through the local literacy groups already in place and the state and county fairs that bring over 100 million people to events every year, my plan is to build a coalition between the literacy groups, the state and countyfairs and their association and authors, publishers and distributors to provide low cost or no cost books to fairgoers and promote the idea for people to read 12 books a year.  Thus the name Read12.  Today the average is less than 1 book a year, so this is a big goal.  I think it's entirely possibly.  Do you?

Stay tuned here to see how this comes together including a website to suggest monthly reading.  If you'd like to join me, please contact me at tblair@enklings.com or 805-748-1333.

Tim Blair - Founder - Read12