Jenny in Florida Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 I feel kind of weighted down with news at the moment. My Facebook feed is full of sad stories about animals being hurt and killed; a friend with whom I was once quite close just announced she and her husband have separated; I just finished re-reading 1984 . . . (There's more, but you get the idea.) I need a book that won't pull me down any further, ideally one that might even make me feel better. I've been poking around Audible for a while now, without success. I'm not looking for "comedy," exactly. I have little tolerance for most "chick lit," and feeling like I do at the moment, anything that has as its primary selling point that it is intended to be funny is likely to miss the mark. I also almost never like anything that falls in the "romance" genre, although there have been occasional exceptions for books that walk the line between romance and urban fantasy. I like historical fiction, but don't want to dive into anything that deals with anything very sad. (So, for example, although I've been looking forward to Alison Weir's book about Anne Boleyn -- and even though I already know the story -- that wouldn't be the right choice for this week. Similarly, although I love biographies and there's a new one about Anne Bronte, I should probably save that for another time.) I especially have trouble with stories in which anything bad happens to children or animals. So, what have you all listened to or read recently that might hit the not-sad-or-scary-but-not-completely-fluffy spot? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 Jenny Lawson's Furiously Happy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 Hi Jenny! Here are a few audiobooks I've listened to lately that might work for you- Born a Crime by Trevor Noah All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot Her Royal Spyness series by Rhys Bowen 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 (edited) The Martian. Fun, and ends happy, but not silly and no love story. I'm sensitive to sadness. This is one of my favorite audiobooks. Edited March 8, 2017 by Meagan S 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 The Martian. Fun, and ends happy, but not silly and no love story. I'm sensitive to sadness. This is one of my favorite audiobooks. I clicked on this thread to suggest The Martian. My husband and I both enjoyed listening to it. (I've also read the book several times.) Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 Anything by P. G. Wodehouse. I have been feeling the same as you, right down to the animal stories, and Wodehouse is my go-to for some escapism. I am reading Frederick Douglass's autobiography right now, which isn't exactly light reading! I suppose technically PGW is comedy, but it's very subtle. And I second all the other suggestions! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 I'll 3rd The Martian. It's a very exciting read. Definitely makes you proud of humanity. Others that may or may not be on Audible: The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax - definitely no romance. An 80 yr old widow decides she wants to be a CIA agent. Really sweet and sometimes funny. There are some tense points, but it all ends up happy. Amsterdam: The World's Most Liberal City - non-fiction. Very educational. I learned so much from this fascinating history of a place. The Eyre Affair: The First Thursday Next book by Jasper Fforde. Very funny and exciting. If you are a bibliophile then you will most likely love this book. Who hasn't wanted to literally go into a story and participate. Just don't take it seriously, at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 (edited) Books by Jeffrey Archer are fluff books that are fun. I don't really remember exact plots, but they often have a little twist in them. He has a book of short stories and they're very much like O. Henry stories, with a twist. (O. Henry wrote the Gift of the Magi.) You can go old school and get some Isaac Asimov. His books hold up well. He's good at bringing out personalities and making the characters seem so real. I don't know if it's on Audible, but I have a non-fiction book that is fascinating. It's called Inside the Victorian Home. I normally avoid non-fiction like the plague, but I loved this one so much that I read it twice. It describes the life of the Victorian era by taking you room-by-room through the house to describe life. So, in the kitchen, they'd talk about the food of the day. In the bedroom they'd talk about dealing with sickness and death (most people stayed home when sick, attended by the women of the house.). I won't say it read like a novel, but I never got bored reading it. It explains a few traditions/cultural things we still do today that stemmed from that era--for example, in the Victorian era people liked to decorate their parlors in red and green--it was very popular. Red and green has held over as a way to decorate at Christmastime. Edited March 9, 2017 by Garga 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 You need Cold Comfort Farm, the audio version :) https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Comfort-Farm-Dramatised/dp/B003AYQ35O/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
three4me Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 I second James Herriot. Or maybe Anne of Green Gables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meena Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 The Darling Dahlia series by Susan Wittig Albert. It's set in a Depression-era rural Alabama town and features a group of ladies who band together during hard times. This series is considered of the "cozy mystery" genre so it's not incredibly deep, but it does highlight strong female characters and touches on historical and cultural issues enough that it doesn't feel super fluffy. These books have been my palate cleansers, so to speak, between heavier reads that I've taken on in the past couple months. Another book that I was surprised to like so much, as it's definitely chick-lit, was The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan. It's about an English woman who is being downsized, realizes her calling is matching people with books, and ends up buying a van to turn into a mobile bookshop. There's a typical romantic element (sigh, of course) but I can forgive that for the charm of the rest of the story, especially its setting. On the non-fiction side, what about something by Bill Bryson? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 On the non-fiction side, what about something by Bill Bryson? Ooh yes, we listen to a lot of Bill Bryson. His voice is so soothing. I also like Simon Winchester. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 If you like fantasy, check out the books by Jonathan Stroud - the Bartimaeus Trilogy and the Lockwood & Co series. Stroud creates richly embroidered worlds, has strong (esp. female) characters, and all the audiobooks are read by talented actors/readers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upincanada Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 Poirot mysteries Agree about P. G. Wodehouse Nonfiction: Elizabeth by Sarah Bradford I listened to it after watching The Crown to learn more about her life. Informative and interesting without feeling like I was being bogged down with details. I sometimes find junior fiction quite comforting. Going to go look up the Darling Dahlia series now! Always love hearing about something new. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomsintheGarden Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 I've been listening to books while commuting. My choices are pretty random, but these would possibly fit your criteria: How to Think Like a Freak (nonfiction) by Dubner and Levitt Emma by Jane Austen Kim by Rudyard Kipling The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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