reading for pleasure
 

Okay i know we have plenty of threads about your favorite book but this is kind of different. When i was younger i used to enjoy reading but as i got older i kind of stopped, probably because of the intense reading i have had to do in college. Anyway, a couple of months ago i bought Bridget Jones' Diary and loved it, so i purchased the one after it which i think is called The Edge of Reason and also loved it. Confessions of a shopaholic was really funny too. I want to go to Barnes and Nobles and pick up another book since I am done with finals for the semester.

Has anyone read any of these three books and have a good book they would like to recommend me reading? I like funny, easy reading books to enjoy in my spare time. BTW, my brother has a Harry Potter book but im not interested in those kinds of book, sorry!

I haven't read these yet, but how about Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City and her new one Four Blondes. There's always the classic Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote.

My all-time favorite "funny" book has to be "Holidays in Hell" by PJ O'Rourke. The chapter entitled "Among the Euroweenies" leaves me howling with laughter EVERY time I read it.

I'm not sure if I would classify it as "easy reading", but it is definitely the funniest book I've ever read. A word of warning, however - O'Rourke will never get any award for being "PC" - so if you are easily offended, steer clear!

Two of the funniest I've read lately are "Wicked" and I think "Tales of the Ugly StepSister" both by Gregory Maguire. They are hilarious! THe first is the "true story of the wicked withc of the west" and the second is the Cinderella story told from a step sister p.o.v. They are easy reads (good plane books).

Four Blondes is terrible trash. Don't waste your time or money.

If you liked "Bridget Jones" and "Confessions", you absolutely must read "Jemina J" by Jane Green! It's in the same kind of easy read, British tradition as the others. :)

I liked 4 Blondes, but I guess it all depends on the person. Also, Jane Greene wrote another good book called Mr. Maybe. I haven't read Jemima J yet. I also tend to like the books by Olivia Goldsmith (First Wives Club) she is the ultimate funny female revenge author :D

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb is an awesome read!! You wouldn't believe this book was written by a man (the subject matter is about the life of a female!)

The last book I read was "Doorslammers" by Dave Morgan, but unless your into automotive chassis science you probably wont find it too enjoyable...

I am very picky about what I read. If I have a terrible time getting into a book I have to put it down. That's why I highly recommend Patricia Cornwell! I am reading Cruel and Unusual right now and I have read All That Remains. Very riviting and sure to keep you reading! :D

Hooray for this thread...as I'm sure you're all sick of hearing by now, I'm a librarian...yay for books!

If you liked Bridget Jones' Diary you will LOVE the Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich. The first one is called One for the Money, and even though I don't usually like mysteries, or books for adults for that matter, I HIGHLY recommend it. It's about a lingerie-buyer-turned-bumbling-bounty-hunter in Trenton, New Jersey, and it's hysterical.

You might also like Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicholson, and its sequel On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God, both by Louise Rennison. Very Bridget-Jones-like, told by a teenager. My friends and I can't get enough of them (don't worry about the teenage point of view). And try Waiting to Exhale by Terry McMillan, too. It's not really funny, but it's a great read, a wonderful story about friendships.

And DON'T brush off Harry Potter before you've read them. I am not a fantasy reader at all, in fact most fantasy bores me to tears, but these are truly marvelous books. Take the first one out of the library and read it, that way, if you don't like it, you haven't spent any money and you can return it (and you're keeping me and my colleagues from living in a cardboard box :) ).

my favorite pleasure reading is greek chat.

I've read all 3 of those and recommend...

The Trials of Tiffany Trott - author escapes my mind at the moment
Jemima J by Jane Green
Mr. Maybe - Jane Green
Getting over It - Anna Maxted
Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married by Marian Keyes

that's all I can think of off the top of my head!

In addition to all the books in the last post, try Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells. I am obsessed with that book!!!!

I LOVE Divine Secrets!

Millennium Girl by Corte Felske is kinda good...
The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing is also a pretty decent, quick read, as is The Good People of New York. The Kid: What happened after my boyfreind and I decided to go get Pregnant, by Dan Savage, is a really sweet book (and he signed it for me!).

Classics: Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Catcher in the Rye, On the Road.

OMG!!!!!! I *love* Jane Green books, as well as the Stephanie Plum mysteries!!!!! I'm dying to read the next one, but it isn't coming out for forever!

Although they are kind of YA novels, I love anything by Francescia Lia Block. Very original and cute!

Poppy Z. Brite novels are beautifully written. I feel like I know the characters personally by the end.

Another set of good mystery novels are by Laurell K. Hamilton...they are about this badass chick named Anita Blake who hunts vampires. They sound cheesy, but are really good!

I would have to say absolutely read "The Pact" by Jodi Piccoli (sp?).....it's wonderful!!! It's about this teenage couple who are in love...one dies...ahhh...I don't want to give too much away. Read the summary on Amazon.com.

ok, i think i've read this, but i don't remember - is this about an overweight british girl who pretends to be someone she's not when she starts talking to a california guy but then transforms herself?

am i thinking the worng book here?

No, you are correct! :)

I also recommend anything written by Nicholas Sparks. He wrote "Message In A Bottle" and his book "A Walk to Remember" is being adapted into a movie also. His book "The Resue" was wonderful as well.

It's Jodi Picoult, and it IS a faboo book. I read it over the summer in two days, couldn't put it down. I also sent this question to the Reader's Advisor at my library, and she seconds the nominations for The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing , Four Blondes , and also recommends Welcome to my Planet by Shannon Olson. The reader's advisory site she used also listed The Perfect Elizabeth by Libby Schmais, Cupid and Diana by Christina Bartolomeo, and Otherwise Engaged by Suzanne Finnamore. She hasn't read any of them, though. She also gave me a funny look when I said I recommended Waiting to Exhale, but I still like it anyway.

Nicholas Sparks-The rescue, The notebook
John Irving-Hotel New Hampshire, Widow for a year, The world according to Garp
Wally Lamb-She's come undone, I know this much is true
Judy Blume-Summer sisters
Anna Quindlen-Black and Blue
Mauve Binchy- Scarlet Feather
I've also read several of the Oprah books, liked most of them
I'm so glad I'm done with finals so I can fun read!! I've gotten some good ideas from you all!

how about audio books, does anyone have any of those? i was thinking about getting one to try it out. I have a long drive to school so i could listen to it then, and i also asked for a CD alarm clock that i might get for christmas, and then i could listen to it before i go to bed.

frustrating
 

A friend gave me this to borrow a few months ago. While I enjoyed the story, I found myself getting very frustrated with & pissed off at the main character. She makes some really poor decisions, and I wanted to scream at her, or for one of the other characters to punch her in the head and say "what are you thinking?!". But it was amazing that a man wrote it. Incidentally, my friend really liked it.

Ok, so I don't read a lot of girly books like what everyone's listed. The closest thing I could recommend is probably High Fidelity by Nick Hornsby.

I am also a huge fan of Douglas Coupland. I would recommend anything by him, but particularly Microserfs & Girlfriend in a Coma.

I love Bridget Jones' Diary as well. But then, I also am addicted to the whole Harry Potter series.

Let us know if you pick any good books!

I also love the BJD books!

I know this isn't exactly academic ;), but you will love (or at least I do) Judith Krantz's Spring Collection. One of my guilty pleasures! It's about the lives of models and unconventional sex and relationships. I read it cover to cover one cold winter night last year!

When I am in the mood for historical fiction, I love anything by Victoria Holt (aka Jean Plaidy). My just-for-fun stuff is also books by David Eddings. They're fantasy adventure, but one of the main characters is a woman. Also, the Raymond Feist/Janny Wurts series "Servant of the Empire" is fantasy-adventrue and has a woman as the heroine.

I am an avid bookworm, so it is very hard for me to name just a few. However, I tried to keep it limited!!!!

Ok, let me start out by saying I am addicted to books and that I don't like mysteries or fantasy. BJD was awesome and so are most of the books of that genre that most of the people have mentioned on this post. Mauve Binchy rocks!

I have to give a little plug for Harry Potter though. I refused to read them until two months ago b/c I always insist that I don't like fantasy. I can't tell you how obsessed I have become with the books. I read the first one, bought the next three and had them all done within about two weeks. I saw the movie on opening night and now I am actually considering reading a book for the second time so that I can reread them. You have to understand, I NEVER read books twice b/c it bores me.

I also just bought a book that I haven't seen anyone mention. It is called The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc , by Loraine Despres. It looks pretty entertaining, but I promised myself I would get all the way through The Lord of the Rings before I touch it (gotta go see the movie with my guy friends who will not forgive me if I don't read the book first).

As far as books on tape/cd go, make sure to check out the collection at your local library. When I take long drives I always check them rather than buying them. My video store also has a collection and gives pretty good rates.

Happy reading!

The last book I remember reading was "The Great Gatsby", in my junior year in high school. Which I didn't really get, until I saw the movie. I would read more only if I can get past the first page without falling asleep. http://www.plauder-smilies.com/sleep.gif

I'm sorry you didn't like it! "The Great Gatsby" is far and away my favorite book of all time. I have read and love all of Fitzgerald's work, but GG is the best. I am such a geek, I even named my miniature schnauzer "Gatsby"! :)

KillarneyRose, I am right there with you! The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite books of all times. Every year we go to this party called "Tavern on the Green" at our club. It reminds me so much of the parties in the book. I've always dreamed of having my wedding be in a similar setting.

I just started reading the GREEN MILE. I have seen the movie and I cant wait to see the differences in the book!

For easy, fun reading, nothing beats short stories. Some really good collections are --

The Penguin Book of International Women's Stories, edited by Kate Figes

Travelers' Tales A Woman's World, edited by Marybeth Bond

I also have to mention A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers -- it's funny, sad and amazing! It's not "girly" or anything, but (and I am someone who usually reads stuff written by women) it is one of the best books I have ever read.

Another really good, easy book is Layover by Lisa Zeider. In short, it's about a woman who is frustrated with her life and travels around, sneaking into hotels to stay without paying, and having, as the back of the book calls it, "anonymous sex" -- although it's not as trashy as that makes it sound. The author does a great job of getting into the mind of the main character, and it's interesting too because she spends a lot of time alone, so you really get to read about what she's thinking.

Also -- While I Was Gone by Sue Miller is good. It's an Oprah pick about a woman who revisits her early 20s life and a tragic event that happened then. An added bonus is that the main character is a veterinarian, so you know that she's cool.

I LOVED The Great Gatsby...I know a lot of people feel the exact opposite way, but it's amazing. It reminds me so much of some things I've seen/experienced.

My pleasure reading lately, however, has been limited to Rome guidebooks and Italian tutorials. Oh well. :D

I LOVED this book! I highly reccomend it, I just got one of my sisters to read it and she also loved it, when she was reading it I got the urge to actually read it again... very very very good!!!

This thread has been retired a looonngg time ago, but I'm interested to know what people read over the summer. My reading list is kind of in a rut now, so suggestions are needed!

While not the most intellectual reading, over the summer I enjoyed -

Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas: Further, Further Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty

All very, very good!

Also, I read something by the guy who wrote American Psycho. It was called Glamorama. Very strange, but worthwhile. I think that I need to read it again to figure it out.

I'd like to reccommend the romantic historical fiction series by Diana Galbandon. It's about a woman who travels back in time from WW2 to Middle Ages. What's really cool is that each book gets longer than the first . Book titles in order Oultander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, and Drums of Autumn. It's a series that you can really get into.

Like someone posted before, I would try The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. I read it on summer break 2 years ago and I recently re-read it before the movie came out. The movie was good, but the book has so many other great stories that aren't told in the movie. I've gotten all my friends (who aren't big readers AT ALL) to read it and they all loved it, too.

If you aren't in the mood for a sentimental journey, I'd recommend A Prayer For Owen Meany. I read this when I was a senior in high school, but it still remains my favorite book. It's a story about God's purpose for two little boys and their friendship... good stuff :)

Of course, there are always the classics...

i just finished reading suzannes letters to nicholas by james patterson..it was a really good, quick read

I've read Bridget Jone's Diary as well as Confessions of a Shopaholic. Just today I bought the sequal to Shopaholic, which is Shopaholic Takes Manhatten. Perhaps you'd like that one.

Also, Candance Bushnell's 4 Blondes is a really funny book!

XOXO,
Annie.

bill oreillys books, some written by dennis miller, one book that i cant remember what its called, but it takes a look at the confederate government throughout the civil war. last summer i read lee iacocas books (even though their old) and a few months ago I finished reading the bible from cover to cover :)

If you like the Jane Green books, you'll also like Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner. I actually just finished Getting Over It this morning and can't wait to get Running In Heels. I love romantic comedies!

I just finished a book by Jagdish Bhagwati called: Volume I: The Theory of Commercial Policy. Pretty interesting reading.