Halle, for her seventh birthday, was given six brand-new books from her Nonni and Poppi (her grandparents, Elisabeth’s folks). Each of these books was about 75-80 pages in length (for 8 to 10 year olds). She finished them in less than two hours. All of them. Two hours. Are you serious?
Almost finished!
For my 36th (wow, I’m 36), in December, I borrowed a book from our friends Duane and Sue. It is probably 400 pages (don’t have it with me, otherwise I’d look), but I’m still not finished. However, it is good. I am a big John Grisham fan.
I grew up reading the sports page and not too many books. In fact, it wasn’t until I was a couple years into marriage I remember truly reading a book just for pleasure (all other books, though some were enjoyable, were for classes).
The Appeal, though very good, is not my favorite of the Grisham books, I look forward to reading Playing For Pizza and A Painted House, next (both Grisham novels).
I’m also going to read the next in the Bourne series (thanks mom). So, you have any suggestions for other authors I might like, given I like Ludlum and Grisham? I need suggestions if I want to keep reading at the same pace as my seven year old daughter!
Happy reading (might finish the Appeal tonight)!
Grace,
Brian
BRIANAABY.COM 
Well, I tend to read a lot more… classic novel type books, but for fast-paced I would definitely recommend Fahrenheit 451. I’ve read most of the doom-and-gloom books of the 60’s and 70’s, oddly enough, and that one was by far the coolest.
Philip Yancey’s Soul Survivor was a fun book. (I own it, fyi.) It’s individual chapters devoted to people and writers who had a profound influence on Yancey’s life. LOVED it. Can’t wait to read some Shusake Endo.
If you aren’t adverse to magic in books, Harry Potter. I even got my Dad to read the first four. (I need to get him to finish, they get far more exciting.) For adults and teens, they’re REALLY entertaining and interestingly enough for all the bad hype, it turns allegorical. I was totally addicted to them last summer. But wouldn’t have my kids read them till they were 10-12 at least due to about 3 scenes in the 7 novels. (Btw, they start really cutesy and end up a whopping 700+ pages in a mature style.)
The Hobbit? The Two Towers was really exciting and kept me up at night… Oh! and for classic books — The Phantom of the Opera by LeRoux. Totally exciting and creepy. No singing, I promise. 🙂 H.G. Wells, too. His stuff is awesome and exciting, in my opinion.
I love books. Will be quiet now…
You would probably enjoy Michael Crichton. I’d recommend starting with Andromeda Strain, it’s personally my favorite of his stories. He covers a wide variety of topic from book to book, unlike Ludlum and Grisham who tend to stick to a fairly uniform general world. “A Case of Need” is also particularly fascinating to me because it deals with illegal abortions in a pre-Roe world. For something a little more modern than the 60’s or 70’s, his latest two “Prey” and “Next” were both excellent.
You might also check out Tom Clancy, he’s a bit more technical though and his later stuff gets into the thousand-page range, but don’t be intimidated because it’s worth it. You might start with “Hunt for Red October” or “Patriot Games” for a less involved taste, though “Debt of Honor” and its sequel “Executive Orders” are my personal favorites.
Clive Cussler is also someone you might check out, he’s not my favorite but both my folks and several others I know swear by him.
P.D. James!
Children of Men … and such!