Saille Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 I have been reading WAY too much non-fiction, and my head feels fuzzy and tired. I desperately need someone to just point me toward something new and fictional. I don't mind dark fantasy, but I despise grind-you-down-for-your-own-edification books a la Oprah. She can be ground down all she likes...she's rich, and gritty is not her post-book reality. I prefer rays of hope. I read a lot of YA fiction when I can get it. Loved The Graveyard Book and Chains. Anyone got any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Fun Home by Alison Bechdel was depressing in spots but in the end I found it made a happy statement about family reconciliation and how being queer has changed in just one generation. It's not fiction, though, is it? Hm... The Sweetness At The Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley was a wonderful and intelligent mystery featuring a spunky girl chemist in England in the fifties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King Freddy & Fredericka by Mark Helprin Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (though you may not like the ending) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrscopterdoc Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 I like the Blossom Street series by Debbie Macomber. It's about a lady who runs a yarn shop. It is light and fluffy and happy and really good. http://www.debbiemacomber.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=books&pageID=5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reya Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Fun Home by Alison Bechdel was depressing in spots but in the end I found it made a happy statement about family reconciliation and how being queer has changed in just one generation. It's not fiction, though, is it? Hm... Er. Um. I don't think the statutory rape relationships between a high school teacher and his "special" students are exactly "uplifting" in any circumstances. My mother loves Jan Karon, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happygrrl Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 There is always the Ladies' No.1 Detective Agency to cheer me up between non-fiction stretches. My friends and I call these sorts of books "parsley", as in cleaning the palate between courses. My other parsley standby is Ngaio March mysteries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara in PNW Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 I like the Blossom Street series by Debbie Macomber. It's about a lady who runs a yarn shop. It is light and fluffy and happy and really good. http://www.debbiemacomber.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=books&pageID=5 Me too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Have you read The Hunger Games? Its sequel, Catching Fire, comes out next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Love-love-love the Amelia Peabody series by Elisabeth Peters. These books are clever, well written, light, and funny. Even more light and heartwarming, and very well written, are Jan Karon's Mitford series books. Start with At Home in Mitford. You will thoroughly enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2denj Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 I Love her books! I have read about 15 of them.They are modern day christian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 I'm not too into adult fiction (and I don't mean "adult" as in... "adult", but rather adult as opposed to children's fiction). Sometimes I'll find an author I really like, but I tend more toward young adult fiction for some reason. Could be that I taught jr. high lit for a while and acquired a taste for it. Lately I've been reading Karen Cushman's stuff "Matilda Bones", etc. and have really enjoyed her. I also like Avi, and Cynthia Voigt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saille Posted August 26, 2009 Author Share Posted August 26, 2009 Lately I've been reading Karen Cushman's stuff "Matilda Bones", etc. and have really enjoyed her. I met her once, and she's *wonderful*. So is Karen Hesse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi @ Mt Hope Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Parsley. I *love* it! You don't mind if I steal it, do you? My list of books that make me laugh (often until tears are streaming down my face): Down the Garden Path (Beverly Nichols), Our Hearts Were Young and Gay, A Year in Provence, and Cheaper By the Dozen (and the sequel Belles on their Toes). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jugglin'5 Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 The Road to Samarcand and The Golden Ocean by Patrick O'Brian. Neither of these are part of the Aubrey/Maturin series - they were aimed towards younger readers - teenage boys, really. My 15 year old dd and I really enjoyed both of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Er. Um. I don't think the statutory rape relationships between a high school teacher and his "special" students are exactly "uplifting" in any circumstances. No, but many uplifting novels have unhappy circumstances changed by means of a horrible conflict. It's the resolution that keeps the book from being miserable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 (edited) For light fiction that I found quite satisfying, I'll toss my hat into the ring for The Sugar Queen, and Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. http://www.sarahaddisonallen.com/ Edited August 28, 2009 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WiseOwlKnits Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 I've been hooked on Jodi Piccoult lately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 How about Though the Darkness Hide Thee by our own SWB? It's currently oop but there are copies on Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fivetails Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 I don't mind dark fantasy I'm not sure what falls under your definition of "dark fantasy", but if vampires make the cut, you might like the Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris ~ also known as the "Sookie Stackhouse series" or "those True Blood books" (the last isn't really an official moniker - they made a show loosely based on the novels) ... I'm reading through them at the moment and I like 'em so far. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Murder mysteries by the Kellermans are great- Jonathan and Faye and now their son Jesse. I loved A Great and Terrible Beauty trilogy by Libba Bray (teen section). Christopher Moore is really funny but quirky and a bit irreverent. Happy reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series is light and has some humor in it. They're murder mysteries, but very easy to read. I can read one in an evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linders Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society. Part historical, part quirky people, absolutely wonderful and heartwarming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen by Garth Nix. YA fiction about white necromancy. They're a few of my favourite books. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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