Reddit mentions of Water for Elephants: A Novel

Here are three that fit the bill:

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Wonder by RJ Palacio.

(And, of course, Old Yeller)

Here's my comment copied from further down the page:

I think it's from page 272 or 268.

I used Google Books to find the excerpt. You can read it for "free" if you're an Amazon Prime subscriber. Here's the source:

>Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (Kindle version) Page 268 of 372 Position 36789 of 4808

>When her hands move to my shirt, I open my eyes. She undoes the buttons slowly, methodically. I watch her, knowing I should stop her. But I can't. I am helpless.

>When my shirt is open she pulls it free of my trousers and looks me in
the eye. She leans forward and brushes her lips past mine—so softly it’s
not even a kiss, merely contact. She pauses for just a second, keeping her
lips so close I can feel her breath on my face. Then she leans in and kisses
me, a gentle kiss, tentative but lingering. The next kiss is stronger still, the
next one even more so, and before I know it I’m kissing back, clutching her
face in both my hands as she runs her fingers over my chest and down my
body. When she reaches for my trousers, I gasp. She pauses, tracing the
outline of my erection.


>She stops. I am reeling, teetering on my knees. Still staring into my eyes,
she takes my hands and brings them to her lips. She presses a kiss into
each palm and then places my hands on her breasts.

>“Touch me, Jacob.”

>I am doomed, finished.

>Her breasts are small and round, like lemons. I cup them, running my
thumbs over them and feeling her nipples contract under the cotton of her
dress. I crush my bruised mouth to hers, running my hands over her rib
cage, her waist, her hips, her thighs—

>When she undoes my trousers and takes me in her hand, I pull away.

>“Please,” I gasp, my voice cracking. “Please. Let me be inside you.”

>Somehow, we make it to the bed. When I finally sink into her, I cry out.

>Afterward, I curl around her like a spoon. We lie in silence until
darkness falls, and then, haltingly, she begins to talk. She slides her feet
between my ankles, plays with my fingertips, and before long the words
are pouring out. She speaks without need or even room for response, so I
simply hold her and stroke her hair. She talks of the pain, grief, and horror
of the past four years; of learning to cope with being the wife of a man so
violent and unpredictable his touch made her skin crawl and of thinking,
until quite recently, that she’d finally managed to do that. And then,
finally, of how my appearance had forced her to realize she hadn’t learned
to cope at all.

>When she finally falls silent, I continue to stroke her, running my hands
gently over her hair, her shoulders, her arms, her hips. Then I start to talk.

>I tell her about my childhood and my mother’s apricot rugelach. I tell her
about starting to go on rounds with my father during my teen years and of
how proud he was when I was accepted into Cornell. I tell her about
Cornell, and Catherine, and how I thought that was love. I tell her about
Old Mr. McPherson running my parents off the side of the bridge, and the
bank taking our home, and how I broke down and ran out of the exam hall
when all the heads lost their faces.

>In the morning, we make love again. This time she takes my hand and
guides my fingers, moving them against her flesh. At first I don’t
understand, but when she trembles and rises to my touch I realize what
she’s showing me and want to cry with joy at the knowledge of it.

>Afterward, she lies nestled against me, her hair tickling my face. I stroke
her lightly, memorizing her body. I want her to melt into me, like butter on
toast. I want to absorb her and walk around for the rest of my days with
her encased in my skin.

>I want.

>I lie motionless, savoring the feeling of her body against mine. I’m afraid
to breathe in case I break the spell.



I think the page numbers correspond with the print version, but I'm not sure what ISBN it's from.

So... I tried to recreate the issue.

I found the Books with Narration

Mockingjay

Here's the description of [kindle unlimited] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=sv_kstore_2?ie=UTF8&docId=1002872331)

> thousands of Kindle books come with the free professionally narrated Audible audiobook. With Whispersync for Voice, whenever you see "Kindle Unlimited with Narration,"

Here's a book with actual narration

Amazon isn't wrong. Just a bit unclear until you read the directions.

Water for Elephants because I lost my copy and can't find it anywhere.

As for why I want a Kindle, I actually would use it in school. I would actually give it to my bf because I bought a tablet that was originally for him and well I like it a lot, so this one would actually go to him and be his to use for reading and anything else he wanted :D

I'll recommend some newer literature I really enjoyed:

Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

I'm also a big fan of John Steinbeck if you want to go the more classic literary route; East of Eden, The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men--they're all regularly assigned in literature classes for a reason. Some of his less well-known works, like Tortilla Flats and Travels with Charley are also a delight.

Erich Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front has some of the most haunting and soul-stirring depictions of war that I've ever read.

For novels that might have more of a women's perspective, consider pretty much anything by Barbara Kingsolver (The Bean Trees and Prodigal Summer are my favorites) or Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic is fantastic).

Don't discount the work of Stephen King, either, especially if you have only seen his movies. The Stand and The Shining are extraordinary, many of his short story collections will just blow your mind (that's where the source material for the movies The Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me come from). I particularly loved 'Salem's Lot and It (which cemented my lifelong aversion to clowns).

For non-fiction, I'd recommend any biography by David McCullough. His research is impeccable and he does a fantastic job of storytelling. I first encountered his amazing talent in Truman but American history fans really go nuts over John Adams and 1776.

Hello, I'm Chelsey. I'm addicted to all things sweet and I'm a'feared that that love has been passed on to my son. Anywho, one of my favorite books of all time is Water For Elephants. I've read it three times already, but I love it. Saw the movie, liked it...just not nearly as good as the book.

Try, believe it or not, Water for Elephants.

I wouldn't call it a romance novel, but it's most certainly a very character driven novel, and I felt for all the characters very much. And the end is fantastic.

Water for Elephants