just finished A Week in Winter by Maeve Benchy. I have read all her books, and highly recommend them -any one of them if you have not read her books before.

I just got around to reading The Paris Wife? I liked it.

I am loving "The Interestings" by Meg Wolitzer.

I love the earlier Maeve B.'s books- LOVE The Glass Lake- but she get cynical with the later ones.
Otherwise, I am not reading anything you would like, unfortunately.
It's interesting, but at different stages of life I find I like different things. At this point in life, spy/suspense with zero romance.

For light, fluff reading, check out the Ellie Quicke series by Veronica Heley. I like the characters, there's always a murder mystery, but no real violence, and some mild romance. They are set in England. The writing is not the best, but they are fun reads. And easy to pick up and put down. What my mom called junk food for the brain.

There's also the Mrs. Polifax series by Dorothy Gilman. Woman in her 60s goes and volunteers for the CIA. And gets a job. Adventures ensue. At some point in the series, she acquires a husband, but that just adds to the adventures. Good sense of humor, mild mysteries, fun characters.

I stumbled upon The Bartender's Tale and fell in love with Ivan Doig's writing.

Beautifully and intelligently written - characters to remember in a story that is timeless. Can't say enough good things about him and his books.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ivan Doig

I love everything Maeve Binchy has ever written. I was very sad to hear she died last year, I used to wait eagerly for her new books to come out!

Like Meg Wolitzer too, although I thought the Ten Year Nap was significantly better than her other books.

I recently enjoyed
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.
Where Did You Go Bernadette
Some Jodi Picoult are good (Mercy, 19 Minutes) but I have really hated her last two books
The Leftovers Tom Perotta
Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg (although I like almost anything by her)
Commencement and Maine both by J. Courtney Sullivan
Juliet Naked by Nick Hornby

For really silly goofy over the top romance mindless books, I've been really enjoying the Rock Chicks series by Kristen Ashley. They are so predictable, goofy silly but I actually laughed out loud once or twice reading them which is very rare.

This post was edited by beaglesdoitbetter on Sun, Apr 28, 13 at 19:58

I'm reading Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. Sort of a fictionalized biography of Thomas Cromwell, with Henry the 8th and wives as the backdrop. At first her writing style pulled me out of the book, but slowly, slowly, her clever writing of the character of a clever and gifted man has really drawn me in. I'm definitely planning to read the sequel.

Lost an earlier post, I guess. Thanks for all the suggestions so far. Keem them coming. You're a great group for sharing and everyone loves a good book.

I've recently read and liked:

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton - historical romance/mystery. Not sappy.

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom - life on a plantation told by the kitchen and house slaves and a young indentured Irish servant. Very good.

The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi - true crime about a serial killer in Italy. Sounds disturbing, but it's not. It's all about the detective work.

The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure - kind of like Julie and Julia but with Laura Ingalls Wilder.

A local author I'm enjoying a lot is Michael Perry.

For lighthearted, try Lisa Lutz' series about the Spellmans. The books remind me of the early Stephanie Plum novels before they got weird.

I just finished and thoroughly enjoyed The Good House by Ann Leary. It is about a New England realtor, who is a quintessential unreliable narrator because she is a not-so-recovering alcoholic. Leary's first novel, Outtakes from a Marriage, is also fun. She's married to Denis Leary the comedian so you can enjoy trying to guess which parts of both books might be, um, inspired by real life.

I also enjoyed Happiness at Home by Gretchen Rubin. She wrote The Happiness Project which I liked too. This one would be a nice tie in to our discussions here because of the obvious link to making your home life run smoothly.

In that vein, If Walls Could Talk: An Intimate History of the Home was really interesting. It's a biography of the evolution of just about everything to do with daily life. Short chapters that provide history on any number of quotidian aspects of living: how beds and sleeping habits evolved, how people historically had sex and eliminated and dealt with menstruation and cooked and cleaned and so on. And how all those aspects of life changed into what we consider modern and correct. Really enlightening and entertaining at the same time.

For light and easy I'd definitely suggest checking out the Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley. Flavia is a TOTALLY precocious 11-year old sleuth living in post-WWII England with her formerly wealthy and now genteel poverty stricken father and sisters. Mother is mysteriously absent; Flavia solves mysteries and the books are a delight to read.

Last a couple of books that weren't really light but that I enjoyed tremendously. Just finished The Round House by Louise Erdrich which won the National Book Award this year. Though outwardly it is a story about the search for a criminal who attacks the narrator's mother, it's really a beautifully written coming of age story. Erdrich sets most of her work in or around an Indian Reservation with Native American protagonists, and this book is no exception. Great read.

I also enjoyed Canada by Richard Ford. Somewhat similar thematically to the Round House, this is the story of a teenage boy whose family crumbles in a very dramatic and sudden fashion. The writing was just so spare and beautiful in the book, I was utterly absorbed.

Ah, books and reading-the loves of my life!

Ann

I love these threads, specially since this last year I can't seem to lose myself in a book.

running, I also enjoyed the Happiness Project, I'll get the new book now. The author was on the Katie show
recently but I missed it, maybe the show website has the video of that segment.

Another vote for The Kitchen House. One of my all-time favorites.

My other favorite book is The Way The Crow Flies by Ann Marie McDonald. (Also loved Fall On Your Knees by the same author.)

Not sure if either of these qualifies as "light," exactly. But I loved both.

Am in the middle of Jodi Picoult's newest book and I think I am officially done with her after this one. I'm not enjoying it at all, but I feel like I should finish it. Like someone else said above, I used to love her books but the last couple have not been good IMO.

I also agree with anything by Elizabeth Berg. Love her!

I think I might be the only person alive who did not like Where DId You Go, Bernadette. I just didn't find it that funny.

What I DID find hilarious was Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson. Now, that's my kind of funny. DH was so annoyed because he'd be trying to sleep in bed while I was giggling like a fool next to him.

I'm getting ready to start "The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England."

It's written as if the era still existed and what to expect from every aspect of life if you go to England.

I've kind of been obsessed about books during this time....as you all know. lol.

However, a friend gave me the new book, "Top of the Morning," about the big morning show war's. Since I've always watched the morning shows (right now GMA) I think it will be interesting.

You might like Elizabeth Musser. The Sweetest Thing and Swan House were delightfully entertaining and uplifting.

I guess I'm an odd reader, compared to everyone else. No novels, biographies/auto-biographies, but have found myself on a spiritual quest as i've 'gotten up in years', the last 5-6 specifically. I've always enjoyed reading, but over these last several years 'recommended reads' seem to have lost their appeal~Eat, Love, Pray was so horribly disappointing. Though not 'religious' books per se, they're thought provoking, and I always seem to learn something about myself, life in general, as well as various interpretations of our reason for being here, and yes, talk of God or a higher power.

Maybe they're feel good books, since I usually find myself in a very good mood the next morning, and looking forward to where I left off the night before. It's all good! ;o)

I love book threads! I don't have any suggestions as most of the books I've read lately have been very long (but good) or though decent, weren't exactly noteworthy enough to recommend. I've seen lots of books already suggested that I read and liked though.

Shout out to Geokid - you are the only person I know who has also read The Monster of Florence. I happened upon that book at the library and picked it up on a whim. I studied abroad in Italy and love reading books that are set in Italy. That one sort of intrigued me even though it was non-fiction. Quite interesting to see just how crazy and corrupt the Italian justice system is! I read it while that American college girl was being tried (can't remember her name but she is mentioned in the book) and made me realize how traumatic it must have been for her family given how things seem to work in the Italian justice system , as well as their somewhat shoddy police work. My grandfather is from Sardinia, which is where some of the suspects were from, so that also was particularly interesting to me. Anyway, just thought it was neat to see someone else had read that book!

Natesgram, where are you going on such a long flight? Vacation? Have a great trip!

Fourkids, what a coincidence that you studied in Italy as that is where we will spend most of our time. Flying from S. Calif. to NY then on to Venice. Board a cruise ship for 12 days and tour Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Naples, Rome, Piza and Florence, France, and down to Barcelona and home. Dh booked a spur of the moment trip (2 weeks notice) which I love. This will be our first time out of the country except for Mexico. It feels like a whirlwind vacation just thinking about it.

Natesgram,
Sounds like a great trip, lucky you. I hope you have an e-reader so you can bring many books and give yourself options. I downloaded Game of Thrones, after recommendations here, and gave up half way through. I really wanted to like it but it just didn't grab me. Thankfully, I had other things on my Nook and easily moved on to the next title.

Like 4kids, I don't have any memorable titles to recommend and I made note of some new titles the rest of you provided.

Years ago, my Mum wrote a fan letter to Maeve Binchy and received a nice, hand written note back from her.

I enjoyed both the Spellman and Flavia de Luce series very much and second the recommendations to read them. Let's Pretend had me crying with laughter a few times, but there are, ummm, adult words and attitudes so it's not for everybody.

Patty, can you share a few titles of the self improvement type books you've been reading?

Oak, the time traveler guide is a very interesting idea. I'll be adding that to my reading list.

Magical Journey by Katrina Kenison....

just to mention a couple of mystery writers I enjoy-Elizabeth George, and P. D. James-both British. I read all of Stephen King and Dean Koontz, agree Jodi P early books much better. Some fun books are the Rita Mae Brown novels. They are "cute mysteries' characters with funny names, set in Virginia horse country with fox hunting. But the cute comes in with the 3 characters who help solve the crimes-a Corgi and two cats.

A favorite is the Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. Fun to start from the beginning but not entirely necessary. Eagerly await each new volume.

Summer's Lease by John Mortimer (set mostly in Italy)

Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes (set where else but Tuscany)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

84 Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff (oldie but goodie)

If you like mysteries...Inspector Montalbano series by Andrea Camilleri. Might work for Med cruise as the setting is Sicily. Great food/meal descriptions!

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway (set in Paris)

Have a grand trip!

The Misremembered Man - a very sweet book set in Ireland in the early 70's that had me giggling and then sobbing at the end (in a good way).

Life As We Knew It - a young adult novel about life after a meteor shower disrupts daily life. Very realistic and thought provoking.

I just started Howards End (again) and I am enjoying it.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Seeker - Inspector Montalbano is a novel/series? My mother used to tape the series on TV b/c I didn't have the channel in my lineup but then her cable dropped that channel so she doesn't get it anymore. I never knew it was based on a novel(s). Thanks for the info - I'll have to add to my list. If you ever have the chance to see the TV series, it was really good, if you don't mind subtitles. And coincidentally, my book club is reading A Moveable Feast this month for our next meeting.

Friend just recommended I read "The Orchardist" by Amanda Coplin...

Ok, I'm having a brain drain; what's the book title about the British widower and the Indian widow grocer? And his son, her son, the infamous gun.....
I loved that book! Charming, well written, interesting, funny, .....

I'm currently reading the Fourth Star, an insider look at Daniel Boulud's new york restaurant, someone here recommended it but I can't remember which thread.

The author was allowed to spend a year in the kitchen of Boulud's restaurant and she relates the inside stories, which I love to hear.

Bumble it was "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand".

Has anyone read " The Hundred Year Old Man Who Jumped Out Of The Window And Disappeared"? Very unusual!

Here is a link that might be useful: The Hundred Year Old Man

Oh good, now I have a full summer reading list.

Just read two books that are the best ones I've read in a year, the first got me so engrossed I completely neglected everything else until I finished it and the second, well, it's just the sweetest little story.

Me before you by JoJo Mayes An unconventional love story

The art of racing in the rain: my life as a dog by Garth Stein
If you own a dog this is a "must read", if you enjoy family
stories this is highly enjoyable..

The reason nothing ever gets done at my house is I prefer to sit and read. And basically I'm lazy. Thanks to these book suggestions, it appears to be shaping up to be a great summer for me, not so much for the yard and property.

To fourkids4us -- I wasn't aware there was a TV series of Inspector Montalbano. Have read them only in paperback...easy to travel with as they're not pounds of paper!

Penguin is the publisher.

fourkids, I was reading the comments somewhere about how Italy wanted to retry Amanda Knox and someone wrote about The Monster of Florence and how one of the investigators of that botched investigation was also on the team that was trying to convict her. It piqued my interest so I picked it up. Now my book club has to read it since I chose it as my pick for when I host this summer!