# Read Aloud Couples Book suggestions? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 11, 2002, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-aloud-couples-book-suggestions/97689 "2002-03-11T21:34:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tygr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df788c/32.png) [@Tygr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tygr)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-aloud-couples-book-suggestions/97689/21 "2002-03-21T19:17:21Z")
Mrs. Tygr and I enjoyed reading the back-and-forth correspondence of the _Griffin and Sabine_ books. They are beautiful to look at and a very interesting story as well. We have the full, single volume _Globe Annotated Shakespeare_ which we bought intending to read together, though we’ve not done that yet. I actually find that Shakespeare seems easier to “get” when read aloud. _Watership Down_ is a great idea. Maybe we’ll try that. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-aloud-couples-book-suggestions/97689/22 "2002-03-21T19:58:58Z")
How about **The Eye of Argon**. Reportedly, no one can read it all the way through out loud without cracking up: [http://www.wulfarchives.com/eyeintro.html](http://www.wulfarchives.com/eyeintro.html) ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-aloud-couples-book-suggestions/97689/23 "2002-03-22T04:49:53Z")
My ex-wife read the whole of _Brennu-Njalls Saga_ to me. The book was in Old Norse, but she read it out in English–without using a dictionary. I still marvel at that. ---
**Author:** ![jinty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dbc845/32.png) [@jinty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jinty)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-aloud-couples-book-suggestions/97689/24 "2002-03-22T14:08:39Z")
If you want more _good quality_ contemporary crime fiction as mentioned in the OP, you might like **Carl Hiaasen**. (I’ve recently had some reading-out-loud-to-the-girlfriend success of my own with his book “Native Tongue”, so give him a try!) ---
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-aloud-couples-book-suggestions/97689/25 "2002-03-22T18:52:11Z")
If you liked Imajica, I bet you’d like Gene Wolfe. Start with [Litany of the Long Sun](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312872917/qid=1016822909/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-6451337-2132028), which combines the first two books of the Long Sun series. Really great stuff, in a somewhat similar vein to Barker’s Imajica. ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2002, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-aloud-couples-book-suggestions/97689/26 "2002-03-23T00:31:32Z")
Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck Why read aloud? Because\*\* Drachillix\*\* has a sexy voice! ---
**Author:** ![Tortuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@Tortuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tortuga)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2002, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-aloud-couples-book-suggestions/97689/27 "2002-03-23T00:48:41Z")
I second Carl Hiaasen for fun stuff-- we liked _Sick Puppy_ best. Yesterday, we read much of Daniel Pinkwater’s _Uncle Boris in the Yukon and Other Shaggy Dog Stories_, it’s great if you like dogs. Another collection of amusing essays is David Sedaris’ _Me Talk Pretty One Day_. I used to love Farley Mowat. I’m gonna assume you’ve read _Lolita_ if you like the stuff where the authors just roll in the rythms of their words. Margaret Atwood’s _Wilderness Tips_ is a good short story collection. P.G. Wodehouse’ Bertie and Jeeves stuff is fun too. ---
**Author:** ![CheapBastid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@CheapBastid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheapBastid)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2002, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-aloud-couples-book-suggestions/97689/28 "2002-03-24T22:56:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tygr \* > \*\*Mrs. Tygr and I enjoyed reading the back-and-forth correspondence of the _Griffin and Sabine_ books. They are beautiful to look at and a very interesting story as well. > > We have the full, single volume _Globe Annotated Shakespeare_ which we bought intending to read together, though we’ve not done that yet. I actually find that Shakespeare seems easier to “get” when read aloud. > > _Watership Down_ is a great idea. Maybe we’ll try that. \*\* I forgot to mention _Griffin and Sabine_, we really loved that series, as the wife is an artist as well. We do have Shakespeare, but the wife was a bit theatre geek in college and worked on so many of the plays that it is kind of moot to re-read them. We might try it anyway. Thanks again for all the suggestions! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-aloud-couples-book-suggestions/97689.md?page=1)