What book should you read next?

[Beguile's Mistress]

Take the quiz.

It's not long and it's probably meant to promote certain books but what the heck.  My response has lead me to a book I hadn't heard about before.  You can take the quiz more than once but please let us know what your results were.

You Should Read
The Book of Unknown Americans
by Cristina Henríquez

It's not complicated: You're looking for a great, thought-provoking novel that's extremely well written and brings you closer to understanding mankind. (Oh, and if it wins some literary awards, that's OK too.) Our pick is The Book of Unknown Americans, a quiet, intimate novel about South and Central American immigrants in a small Delaware community. The love story between mentally handicapped Maribel and down-on-his-luck Mayor will leave you teary-eyed.

[Shjade]

#4: If I had to re-read one classic book right now, it would be...

Choice 1 - The Hunger Games

...I am now having a hard time taking this test seriously.


You Should Read

One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories
by B.J. Novak

Serious literature has its time and place, but your next book should definitely be one that makes you giggle. Try B.J. Novak's One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories, a hilarious collection of (duh) stories from the former Office actor and writer. Our favorite is about a new arrival in heaven who procrastinates over a long-ago promise to visit his grandmother.


So if I'm reading this test result correctly, it decided that since most of my choices suggest I really like more thoughtful, somewhat serious writing that nonetheless has humorous traits embedded in it, I should read something completely different written by someone who wrote and acted in a show I didn't particularly like. >.>

[Lux12]

The Dinner by Herman Koch. Honestly I was hoping for something more speculative.

[Xurtan]

The Dinner
by Herman Koch

Hey there, Queen of Darkness. You're clearly looking for a creepy thriller that will keep you up past your bedtime. Try Herman Koch's The Dinner. This Dutch best seller is about two couples who meet at a restaurant in the wake of their sons' terrible crime. As the story progresses, you won't know who or what to trust... aside from your own sense that something is very, very wrong.

Hmm. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It felt a little short to really get much of an accurate opinion, but it was kind of interesting either way.

[rou]

The Here and Now
by Ann Brashares

You firmly believe that reading should be an escape, and you're always up for some futuristic dystopian sci-fi--with a strong Katniss-like heroine, of course. We think you'll love Ann Brashares's The Here and Now, about a teenage girl who travels back in time to try to stop a terrible pandemic. Bonus: There's a killer love story.



Well, I don't know if it's really all that accurate in general, but that does sound like a book that's right up my alley. So that's going onto my list!

[consortium11]

...I am now having a hard time taking this test seriously.

That was pretty much my first thought as well. Without running through all the variables to see exactly what changes if you do/don't select it, it's not particularly easy to work out what you signify by selecting it but surely there have to be better options in each of the possible categories (young adult, dystopian future, arena combat, action-adventure, sci-fi etc etc).

I got The Dinner.

I've actually read the Dinner and thought it was a bit pretentious and caught up in it's own importance and how clever it was for my liking. It also doesn't really fit any of the themes/ideas I like to see included in a novel; I enjoyed it on an intellectual level but it never really touched me.

[Beguile's Mistress]

Make sure you read the opening post, friends, and approach things in a light-hearted manner.  I know that can be difficult at times but it is doable.

I've actually read the Dinner and thought it was a bit pretentious and caught up in it's own importance and how clever it was for my liking. It also doesn't really fit any of the themes/ideas I like to see included in a novel; I enjoyed it on an intellectual level but it never really touched me.

*nods*  I find that happening a lot these days.

[consortium11]

*nods*  I find that happening a lot these days.

Somewhat O/T

I've actually got into the bad habit of being really conservative with my reading; there's one author I adore, where I must have read some of his novels at least 40 times (and that's a conservative estimate) and even the ones I don't particularly like about six or seven times.

The thing is, some people want to read novels that make them think. I sort of don't... if I want to read things that make me think I tend to focus on non-fiction, especially philosophy and political/economic comment and analysis. That doesn't mean I'm only looking at the pop-corn flick version of literature but making me think isn't a big incentive. I want my novels like I want my art or my music or my film or any other form of creative media... I want them to make me feel. And I know that the author in question and the books in question make me feel, even if only for specific scenes.

[Beguile's Mistress]

I read to relax, escape and for pure pleasure.  However, I never approach a book without the hope that I'll learn something new.  I read history, biographies, culture and philosophy as well as more light and fluffy genres and try to take away from it that which adds to my knowledge and understanding of the whole of my experience.  I think one of the worst things a person can do is limit their exposure to only that which supports any position they have already formed.  Over time and from many sources I've learned that if you don't have the courage to challenge your own beliefs you are cutting yourself off at the knees.

[WhiteWolfDancer]

The Here and Now
You firmly believe that reading should be an escape, and you're always up for some futuristic dystopian sci-fi--with a strong Katniss-like heroine, of course. We think you'll love Ann Brashares's The Here and Now, about a teenage girl who travels back in time to try to stop a terrible pandemic. Bonus: There's a killer love story.

I chose the Hunger Games as its the only book out of the selection that I've read. I'm quite interested by the book but I hate teenage love stories because I feel that they are dull and cliched.

[Inkidu]

As someone with a degree in English I have to say only one of those choices in question four is a classic. :|

Three guesses and the first two don't count.

[wander]

I got The Dinner...

I honestly had to go with closest answers for some of those questions... I've only heard of Hunger Games and Great Expectations and tbh, I have not read the first and don't want to (Gimme the novel version of Battle Royale!), so I guess it'd be Great Expectations for me, except I did that in English Literature class way back when and I would rather stab myself in the palm than go through that again!

YMMV of course

[yobo]

I got One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B.J. Novak.

Most of the time I had to pick the alternative that was less wrong, and there was the issue with Hunger Games as a classic book. So yeah, I doubt I will be picking up this book now.