Wyomingmama1@aol.com There were two books for me that fit the catagory of your question. Angela's Ashes and Lonesome Dove. As for the second part of the question, well, I'd have to say that if I were stranded on a desert island and could only take two books with me, those would be the books. Easily two of the best books ever written. Wyomingmama1@aol.com There were two books for me that fit the catagory of your question. Angela's Ashes and Lonesome Dove. As for the second part of the question, well, I'd have to say that if I were stranded on a desert island and could only take two books with me, those would be the books. Easily two of the best books ever written.

Sulluin@aol.com
The most highly recommended book for me was The Giver by Lois Lowry.  It was indeed a very good book and I, in turn, recommend it to readers of all ages (I am 52, my daughter who also read the book is 14).

AnnRoyce@aol.com
Corrections by Jonathan Franzen.  Very disappointed!

bianca.g@192.com
Probably Angela's Ashes. It was recommended to me prior to the hype by a few book worms and I thoroughly enjoyed it and ended up following on the course of recommendations. Right now the book that I would recommend, or author for that matter, is Only Forward by Michael Marhsall Smith! His writing is SUPERB!

jupe77_2000@yahoo.com
It was The Source by James Michener...after that I read all of his books.

ParisPoet@aol.com
Possession by A.S. Byatt. And I'm so glad; it turned out to be one of my all time favorites.

KSEnglish@aol.com
Harry Potter... and I'm so glad I read them!  Definitely not just a kid's book.  I've recommended these books to many adults and everyone loves them.

Aztec921@aol.com
David Baldacci  - The Winner

Donsharris@aol.com
The Bible. I am still reading. Wow.

Grandmareadme@aol.com
The Poisonwood Bible. We read it for bookclub and I never keep a copy of a book once I have read it. However with this book I made an exception and so did most of the members. I have recommended this book to many others to read.

CluLess220@aol.com
I read She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb after hearing Oprah rave about it.  I was very interested to see what Mr. Lamb wrote since he had taught all four of my children at the Norwich Free Academy in Norwich, CT.  It may have been a well written book, but I thought it was a strange story and I did not care for it.

LMorris804@aol.com
One of the books recommended to me that very definitely lived up to its advance rave was The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell.  I truly found this book one of the most thought-provoking books I've ever read.  So much so that while the copy I read was from the library, I bought my own copy soon after finishing it.  

buterfl2@optonline.net
A friend of mine recommended that I read Beach Music by Conroy - I consider this to be the best book ever recommended to me - I cried, I laughed, I smiled and read on and on and on - not able to put the book down until my eyes closed each evening with the book in my hands - then finding excuses the next day to put off all chores just to keep on reading.  Every chapter brought more emotional surges and the realities of "family" - the interweaving of lives present and past and each characters' own personality and impact that they had on each other - made this one of the best books read.

GCassie51@aol.com
Jane Erye. My mother told me to read it when I was 13 and had the chicken pox. She told me it was her favorite book of all time and she gave me her original copy. I loved it and have read it over and over. I still have her copy and hope to give it to my daughter when she gets older. I hope she'll appreciate it like I did.

Dmills999@aol.com
Yes! My very favorite book - Gone With the Wind.  I am from California and I even developed a southern accent reading that book.  I loved it!

storm8810@yahoo.com
I am a manicurist and have a lot of clients who are avid readers like me. Each week we discuss what each of us is reading at that time. We end up getting the whole salon in on the conversation!! When I talk about books I've read in the past I always mention Absolute Power by David Baldacci. A client suggested this book to me and told me how great it was. She was absolutely right!!

Wyomingmama1@aol.com
For me, there were two books that fit that catagory. One was Angela's Ashes, and the other was Lonesome Dove. As a lifelong fan of Westerns, when I read Lonesome Dove I fell absolutely in love, and knew that the friend who had recommended it had been right in his assertation that it was the best western ever written. As for Angela's Ashes, I had heard about it from many sources, including Oprah's book club, and when I read it, I found it even more touching than the reviews had indicated. I made my kids read it as well, and through it they discovered that there are worse things in life than not having the money for the newest game system or seventy-five dollar JNKO jeans. It made them realize just how well they do have it in spite of our tight financial situation. Now when they start to complain and I remind them how much they DO have, they remember the book and know that I am right. God

BLM221@aol.com
A dear friend told me that if I enjoyed The Color Purple by Alice Walker I would like Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston. She was so right! It was a wonderful book, one I have read many times.

jennysnell@netspeed.com.au
Angela's Ashes would have to fit the bill for this week's question. At the time of its release this was a much hyped book and the reviews were so positive that I decided to give it a try. Many friends recommended it also but unfortunately I didn't have the same opinion. From memory I only read a third of the book and found the story distasteful and difficult to digest. All those dying babies and the desperate situation that was bestowed upon the family was difficult to read for me. I felt immense frustration at the actions of the father in the story due to his drinking and gambling. This is particularly sad and tragic because it is nonfiction!!!

EDMARYMOM@aol.com
The Red Tent

JRConover1@aol.com
Pat Conroy's The Prince Of Tides was one of the most hyped books of all time but it just turned me off completely.

CariUp@aol.com
The book that was most highly recommended to me - by many people - was Left Behind.  It took a while to get me to read it but I am so happy that I did!  The book was fantastic and I have now read every one in the series.  I can't believe I have to wait until Summer 2002 for the next one!

MegVT@aol.com
The book was The Great Santini by Conroy and it was one of the best books I have ever read.  Anytime I recommend it to anyone, they agree.  It is a must read, in my opinion.

BKWORM34@aol.com
The librarian told me I should read the first Jan Karon book. I was "hooked" from page one. The Mitford series became my favorite and I look forward to each new book. My only complaint is new stories from Mitford do not reach the shelves often enough. A fellow booklover friend and I agreed we would like to move to Mitford if only we could locate it.

JohnPLaura@aol.com
Jane Eyre, definitely, I had never read it, and many people told me what a great book it was, and they were ALL correct!!!  What a book!!!!

lisa07110@yahoo.com
The most highly recommended book I was urged to read was Left Behind, the first book in the Left Behind series.  The book exceeded my expectations and I thank a practical stranger on the west coast for recommending it.  I could not put the book down and now, two months after I started reading it, I'm reading the 7th book in the series.

Hippichick14@aol.com
The best book I've read so far is a book called Mind Prey by John Stanford. It's definitely for a person who likes to create the movie in their head and can handle some topics that aren't so popular.

burnzy@voyager.net
Angela's Ashes was recommended, had strong reviews, and I just thought it was depressing. Every time the family was getting anywhere, the father drank away the opportunity. It was just a little too much.

DesertGma@aol.com
I read To Kill a Mockingbird when it first came out.  I was a child, and loved it!!  I've recommended it to my children, and now my grandchildren.  No negative reviews so far.

Hyssop7@aol.com
Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged while in the bloom of my youth!  I did read it and her other one, and did enjoy it as much as my neighbor touted it.

YTCOD@aol.com
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

elaine@parexcellencecoaching.com
Girl in Hyacinth Blue was highly recommended, however, in reading it, I found it to be too similar to the Red Violin.  

LadyJane8@aol.com
The most recommended;  The Bible, next, the Left Behind series!

pnutgirl@ivillage.com
For me it has got to be the first Harry Potter book.  So many people (adults) told me to read it.  I have since read all of them and anxiously await the movie.

JlaidPrinter@aol.com
I have read The Red Badge of Courage 6 or 7 times.  

SLowe19513@aol.com
The most highly recommended book I have ever read that lived up to its recomendation was Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. It frightened me then in the abstract and it is even more true today.

penny.51@home.com
The Perfect Storm. I actually thought the movie was better and the movie was not very good - but at least I was able to watch George Clooney. I think the book was too predictable or I was too aware of the lives of people who do commercial fishing. I was totally overwhelmed by Into Thin Air as I have very little knowledge of mountain climbing and I couldn't put the book down.

Beanie1977@aol.com
A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY  my all time favorite

Kaelesa@aol.com
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was recommended to me by my friend who has a master's in library science.  She recommend the book long before it hit big here in the states.  My only regret is that I didn't listen to her and read it when she first recommended it.  I waited until I started reading about it in the news.  But it was by far the best book I've read on someone else's advice.  

Hooch95proof@aol.com
My most highly recommended book was Barbara Delinsky's Three Wishes. It was the first book of hers that I read and I always look for her new ones.  The story is of a man and woman who fall in love and the wishes that she makes. Some are foolish and one is so very unselfish you just cry and cry.

ReadNgo@aol.com
The book was A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving.  The best book that I have ever read!  People of all ages and groups read this book in my community and everyone had their own interpretation of what Irving was trying to convey.

Tllblnd@aol.com
It would definitely have to be A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY. A reader online recommended it to me 5 years ago and I have since recommended it to at least 100 fellow readers.

RT90MORROW@aol.com
C.S. Lewis's Screwtape Letters

GinSperry@aol.com
Definitely, it was "Gone With the Wind".

MRFOURUNNER@aol.com
THE CELESTINE PROPHECIES BY JAMES REDFIELD. THE ONLY BOOK I'VE READ. RECOMMEND TO EVERYONE LIVING, EVERY RELIGION, EVERY CULT, EVERY NATIONALITY.

Edie1127@aol.com
The great book that I was told to read or else the world would come to an end, was The Name of the Rose. by Umberto Eco. I thought it was very dull and boring.I always remember now about the fairy tale, THE KING HAS NO CLOTHES. Whenever a person tells me they just finished the best book they ever read.

Markandel@aol.com
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I was told it was the "greatest book ever written." If it's not, it's pretty close.

KKWsDawn@aol.com
The Road Less Traveled

cubsgirl@flash.net
Endurance by Alfred Lansing came with the highest recommendation I've ever heard.  It did not fail to live up to that recommendation, and will probably always be one that I will rave about to others.

cdrefs@cdpr.ca.gov
The most highly recommended book to me:  Cold Mountain.  What did I think of it?  I didn't. Completely overrated (actually, it stank). And I consider myself a well-educated (college grad), voracious reader.

Afnak@aol.com
The book Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier was recommended to me around the time it became a bestseller. I tried to make my way through but just couldn't.  Then, someone on a book chat said I should go back and finish it, that it would really be worth the effort. So I rechecked it from the library and did finally finish it. Sorry, I was still disappointed in the book.

FIRE195O@aol.com
Hmmmmm, it's a toss up. I would say the odds are 70/30.   70% of the "highly recommends" were just awful and the other 30% were good.   No particular titles in mind, but I learned a strong lesson. I do LOTS of research now before I read high recommends, including taking into consideration WHO recommended it.  One strong recommend this year was Lehane's MYSTIC RIVER.  I heard about it SO much I had to try him out.  I did like it.  Watch out for some of those "high" recommends!

Kinezovich@aol.com
It was 1984 by George Orwell, and it was very very good, just as I had been told.      

DBinPgh@aol.com
My favorite and best recommendation was GOD ON A HARLEY by Joan Brady! I loved this book and referr back to it regulaly! It is one that I recommend to anyone who loves to read ( and even someone that doesn't like to read).
I also love Bookreporter.com!

NSHEPARD7@aol.com
Harry Potter, the whole series. And yes, yes, a thousand times yes - it was better than I could have imagined!

heinefh@netscape.net
For me a recent release by Xulon Press entitled The Ruach Project far exceeded my expectations for a first time novelist. Written by E. Forrest Hein it is a novel with the setting in today's White House. A excellent example of how "managing the news" can bite you in the rear. A real page turner that held my interest to the very last page.

Ware25@aol.com
Plainsong stands out among recently published books.

dbelk105@adelphia.net
It was YA YA SISTERHOOD which my sister raved about and bought me a copy for the plane trip home. I didn't like it.

rededj@yahoo.com
The most highly recommended book was The Weatherman by Steve Thayer. It is among the best books I've ever read. The book was better, if possible, than I was lead to believe. (I listened to the unabridged audio book.) I could, with a month's notice, gather a list of beloved titles. But this is one book that I loved so much I have passed the recommendation along. Everyone I recommended it to have thoroughly enjoyed it and passed that recommendation along to others. The story is well written. I hesitate to say much about it (although I could wax poetic for a couple pages). I wouldn't want to spoil the story for anyone. I will say that I was convinced that the book was going to go in one direction and kept trying to figure it out. Everyone I know who read it has had delicious reading experience with this book. It has to be on the top of your list if you haven't read it yet.