Okay, it's the Academy awards time and I haven't seen ANY of the movies. It's the same way with your book list. I probably SHOULD have read them (okay, I read one: Escape). But now, I'd take another look at the ones you recommended. What made these specific ones your favorites?

Love Walked In by Marisa De Los Santos & The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory were two this year I loved...I always enjoy Jody Picoult.

Pamela, don't feel bad.. I haven't read any on her list. I love to read and tend to go in spurts. I recently read and loved Jodi' Picoult's Nineteen Minutes - warning - the subject matter is about school shootings and very deep. I was very much looking forward to reading Jennifer Weiner's book that came out last year and HATED it. I threw it across the room when I was done. I had waited 2 months for my copy at the library and I love all her other books. I think that alot of it was that I had too high expectations for the book.

I would be very interested in a TriangleMom2Mom book club. I find being in a book club helps me actually read and to read different books than I might usually pick up.

I didn't like Nineteen Minutes at all. But that was probably mostly because I had read We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver and it is so much better. I loved Jodi Picoult's The Pact, but I think her recent books have not been as good as her earlier stuff.

 If you got mad at Jennifer Weiner, you might want to try Laurie Notaro. I have loved all of the books I've read of hers.

It's hard to say what made these specific ones my favorites. I came up with my list by going back to my ratings and I guess the reviews might give you better insights into what I liked about them. Overall, I would say that it's a combination of the book and where you are in your life.

 A great example is from years ago. I started reading Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood and just couldn't get into it. Then my BF Amy insisted that I give it another chance. When I did, it ended up being one of my favorites of that year.

It's funny you say new moms can't find the time to read, but I think I read more in those first six months or so than any other time in my life. My son was a marathon nurser. He rarely finished a meal in less than a half hour and would regularly latch on for an hour at a time so I made frequent trips to the library and picked up a book whenever he looked hungry.

I haven’t read any from your list. I’ve tended to gravitate more to the classics than current authors. Most of the books I’ve read in the last year though have not exactly been chosen by me. I belong to a mom’s group through church and we read and discuss books with faith-based topics. I’m also a member of Amazon’s Vine Voice program where I get to pick a couple of books each month to review. This has gotten me a little more into the new releases. The one that comes to mind that I enjoyed most from that list was Goodbye and Amen by Beth Gutcheon.

I just read Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. Its compelling, based on a part of history I never heard about (in France) and quite easy to read within a few days/week. It left me thinking about it for a while after reading. Definitely would suggest it to anyone looking for an intriguing, suspenseful and emotional book.

Jodi Picoult does have a new book coming out in March. Bound to be controversial, it's about a couple whose daughter has a devastating bone disease, and they have to ....well, I guess you'd have to read the book. "Handle With Care" is the name.

If you're strapped for time .. but DO log on to your computer each day, try a subscripton to www.DAILYLIT.COM.. They serialize books into little bits ... and send you a bit each day .. You tell them what book, what time.. what schedule.. what FONT size.. (extra large for me!) and how big a bit to send. Best of all it's free! Lots of books on their list .. I have been getting My Antonia by Willa Cather.. and old book but a classic that 'I've always meant to get around to reading someday'. My son is subscribing to Kipling's 'The Jungle Book'.. Perfect for a nightly bedtime story segment. Try it ! -hockeemomee

I actually made a New Year's resolution a few years ago to read at least 2-4 books a month. I wanted to join a book club, but working made it hard to find a good one that fits my schedule. I have followed the selection that Real Simple has set up with their "No Obligation" Book Club. Some selections have been hits like the "Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" by Junot Diaz and I am reading things that I might not normally pick up. I still want to find a book club that could actually meet though, as I'd like to discuss what I am reading with others and get their point of view.

I, too, love to read, but also do it in spurts. I recently discovered a great site, www.paperbackbookswap.com and it is wonderful. You put on the books you would like to swap and once you have credits, you can request books that other readers have posted. All it cost is the price of mailing the books. I have only just begun, have posted 13 books and have received 2! it is a good way to get rid of your own books and be able to read exactly what you want. I could possibly join a book club, however, my daughter is getting married in April so needless to say, I am very busy at the moment. Hopefully after April things will calm down and I will see if there is a club looking for members!

Didn't Jodi Picoult kind of tackle a similar topic in My Sister's Keeper?

I have not read the new Beth Gutcheon, but I can tell you from my spreadsheet that I finished her book, More Than You Know, on April 7, 2000 and gave it a 7 on my 1-10 scale. I also finished Still Missing on December 1, 1998 and gave it a 7. My spreadsheet tells me that Nancy Olsen from Quail Ridge Books recommended it...and we didn't even live in Raleigh yet!

I'm thinking that if we do a book club, it will be very open and very flexible. Maybe we could start by choosing one book every 3 months. That way people have no pressure to get the book and get it read in a month. And our "group" would be limited to...well, everyone who wants to come to the discussion or discuss the book online!

Di - Thank you for the recommendation. I will check out Laurie Notaro. I didn't read Picaults book - The Pact, but will try that one. I had like My sister's Keeper also, but read a few more that I didn't enjoy.

I love all the recommendations for sites and books! I'm now very excited.

My 15 year old daughter loves Jodi Picoult and I think her books are not bad for teens to read. They often raise moral dilemmas that I think it's good for teens to think about.

I agree, though, that some of Picoult's books have been better than others.

I LOVED The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. And of course I got completely sucked in to the Twilight series. I read all four books, and although I didn't love them for pre-teens or young teens, as an adult I found them incredibly engrossing. As Diane mentioned earlier, maybe not literary genius, but engrossing nontheless.

I loved The Glass Castle too! What an amazing story. Funny, sad and true all at once.

Thanks for this blog topic. great to discuss books to read. The Glass Castle true story: I once mentioned this book at the dinner table at a retirement home, surrounded by 8O plus yr. old adults with varying degrees of dementia. Desperate to make conversation with old ladies that I only just met, I mentioned to one woman who said she was from W. Va. , that I had just read this book. Her eyes which had been previously glazed over, not paying attention to the conversation, ignoring us, became clear and interested. She knew the book. This old lady was NOT in mental decline, was bored by the others at the table, and suddenly came to life to me, realizing that I had interesting things to talk about. I've felt similarly at parent groups when I wanted to talk about the current world, not ONLY childhood.