My DH is currently away at school, then is deploying to Afghanistan for 15 months (his 4th Tour of Duty).  We would like to start our own personal 'book club' so we can have something to share while we are apart from each other.

HE likes Tom Clancy... I like Koontz and King.  We are trying to find a common starting gound. 

Can anyone recommend a book of fictional short stories?  I was thinking about 'Night Shift' but we would really prefer to start out with one neither of us has read.  ANY help would be appreciated!

Thanks In Advance

~Deila

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has an excellent collection of short stories called "Arrange Marriages".  I'm not a short stories fan, but I liked that one.  Not sure if it would appeal to your husband but they were well written.

If either of you like historical fiction, Kingston by Starlight was really good.  It's a pirate story about Anne Bonney, the female pirate.  1906 (about the SF earthquake and the crime investigations going on in the city at that time) by James Dellasandro was a good read.  It was a little bit too violent for me (I preferred the tales of survival during the earthquake than those about the criminal investigation)

How about James Fennimore Cooper's the Deer Slayer, Alexandre Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo, or Jack London's Call of the Wild.  These were all good.

What kinds of books do you like Deila?  Maybe we can think of something in between your taste and your husband's.

I read an anthology that I think would satisfy your requirements.

I can't remember which one it was.  The only thing I do remember is that one of the stories was by Jeffrey Deaver.

He has a list of books that contain his short stories on his web page.  You might start looking there.

http://www.jefferydeaver.com/Short_Stories_/short_stories_.html

Sorry I can't be more specific.

Happy Friday!~

 Thanks for all the imput friends!  I think I will try the Jeffrey Deaver short stories.  I"ve checked on a title called 'Dead Man's Hand', which would seem well suited for DH and I both to read.

On a personal note, I will be ordering the 'Arranged Marriages' book by Divakaruni for myself.  After perusing a synopsis of the book, I realised that I would like to read it but DH would most likely read a paragraph of it and put it down.  I also liked the story for 'Kingston by Starlight' and will look more into it for when DH heads off to Afghanistan.

Thanks SO MUCH again!

~Deila

Hope this isn't too late but whenever I'm looking for an auther similer to one I already know I like, I go to this resource.  http://www.gnooks.com/   It shows how close styles of different writers are by how close they are in the map to the reference author.  That doesn't make a whole lot of sense until you see the site.  It's *really* interesting and a little addictive.  I hope your husband is doing well and is safe!  Take care.

Laurie B

I hope your husband is doing well.

Melissa

Laurie, I just tried the web site http://www.gnooks.com/ that you recommended and loved it!! Thanks so much for sharing. You can tell I loved it since this is the first time I have ever posted on any topic even though I like to read  them.

Elaine