>>Along the lines of Pilcher is a series of books by Jan Karon. Wonderful characters who live in a small town in N. Carolina. They are written in order - the first book is "At Home in Mitford." Hated to see them end.<<

They haven't quite ended yet! Unless she's changed her mind, she is supposed to publish the last one, "A Light from Heaven," this fall.

Lee Ann

LeeAnn, that is good news! Thanks for the info. I did really enjoy the series, very sweet and relaxing.

I tend to enjoy a lot of different type of authors, as I imagine most of you do.

The last one I read was by Sex and the City author Candice Bushnell called "Trading Up" about a Manhattanite model who desperately wanted to be accepted by the Hampton in-crowd. I was floored by just how shallow people can really be.

Great thread, maybe some of you could rec one for me...
I am an AVID reader, but had this issue after my dad passed away two years ago, I COULDN'T read, just couldn't concentrate, kept reading the same line over and over again. So put all the books down and several months later was able to (thankfully) read again. My dear hubby and I have suffered another close loss, alas the reading block is back, however I started with the Lindsey Boxer series by James Patterson, easy, easy reads, and they keep my interest, no grief ridden thoughts jumping into my head, and are able to get me to sleep at night. (sorry Mr. Patterson, it really is a compliment) Only problem, I am finishing the third book in the series and we're leaving on vacation in two weeks, can anyone recommend another same style book, that is a very easy, easy, easy read??????
(I have read the all the Kay Scarpetta books, just in case.)
Thanks for any ideas!
Happy travels, T.

I love all of Lisa Gardner's books esp "The Perfect Husband",,,great read. Do try Meg Chittenden too. Barbara Delinsky is good too, so is Luanne Rice Barbara Parker has a great series set in the Miami area..I love her hero( hunky Cuban lawyer) & heroine...titled "Suspicion of Malice, Fear, etc. She has a new hardback out now, but I would start on her earlier "Suspicion" titles.

Hello Tiff, right at this moment I do not have a recommendation regarding books, except some named here.

But I did want to respond to your post. When I lost my DH suddenly I too had the same problem you are having. For at least two years I would reread paragraphs in books, watch DVD's more times then I care to admit. It was like my brain had closed down.

And it was strange because I was able to take care of legal matters, rentals, financial etc. But when it came to "relaxing activities" my mind would not adjust.

But do know, this too will pass. Hang in there.
Be gentle and good to yourself. Best regards.

The "Kite Runner" is the best book I have read in years, but I don't know if it a "beach read" for everyone. It is pure pleasure to read beacause it is so well written. But it is dark. My daughter took it along for our annual family Christmas trip last year. I looked across the pool to see tears streaming down her face. I understood completely. I couldn't read it at night before bed time. On the other hand, a friend of mine didn't have any trouble reading it at night. I appreciate all the suggestions give here. Owa

Owa, I can sympathize with your daughter. I read Kite Runner last week on an airplane and had tears running down my cheeks. It is such an interesting book, story of redemption, etc.
One series not mentioned(by A.M. Smith?) is the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency - set in Botswana with a marvelous sense of place. They are quick reads but have a style that makes you feel like you are moving slower and have time for a cup of bush tea under the acadia tree.

These two aren't terribly trashy, but loved them both and the authors are way out of the mainstream:
* "Night Swimming" by Robin Schwarz
* "Bump" by Diana Wagman (you'll never forget the amputee)

To Tiff:

The read-alikes for James Patterson as listed in my Novelist's Database are the following:

John Sanford
Greg Iles
Jeff Deaver
Harlan Coben
Douglas Kennedy

It does say that they do differ in style, but share the ability to grip the reader and take him to the end of the novel "in one big gulp." I have read Patterson and some of these others, and they are correct.

Easy, direct reads like this take our minds out of "themselves". Concentration to read can be broken, even after habits of a lifetime, by many emotional or physical events. But in my life, reading has been the gift from God, literally.

Novelist is a database that most libraries use. I can't give out the url, but you can access it through your nearest library and in Illinois through every school. Lot of states are joining the band wagaon now, as well. Within Novelist you can find gendre, plot, read-alikes etc. and it has lead me into a lot of "unknown" territory. I seldom read best sellers anymore. For instance, you can put in "time travel" and get a list of books with that plot occurance. I got all my favorite Italian and Sicilian books from Novelist lists.

Several of those that were good:

Queen of the Big Time
In the Garden of Papa Santuzzi

If you can't read, just wait a bit, and you will be able to again. It is a good idea to start easy. James Patterson or how about some easy reads for teens. You would be surprised how good some of them are. Harry Potter, old Nancy Drew etc.

There are a series of books and I think one is titled "The Chocolate Chip Cookie" mystery or something similar which are light mysteries where the main character also runs a bakery. In a similar vein as the Diane Mott Davidson books.

Also in the light mystery category is all the Clarks: Mom Mary Higgins, daughter Carol Higgins and ex-daughter-in-law Mary Jane. Fast easy reads full of plucky heroines.

There is also a mystery series where the main character runs a bookstore on an island in low-country South Carolina. I'm sure someone here can help out with author name.

All of the above are rather short in length.

This is a longshot, but here goes.. does anyone know the name of the female author who was reviewed in Elle magazine a couple years ago who was quoted as saying "my friends all ask me if MY sex life is like my characters". I've been intrigued by that for awhile. A search of the magazine archives has not been helpful. Thanks, J.

jetset-Jackie Collins maybe? Her books sure are raunchy! :-D

Elendi: good to know another Jan Karon book will be out.

I saw a new interesting cook book by her in my library last week. I did not take it out as I prefer reading to cooking.

For uplifting trash, why not read Orwell's 1984 for the sexually lurid romance between Winston Smith and Julia. Walker Percy's Lancelot fits the bill, too.

buckeye, no, it was an author I'd never read, and she has a few books out. I guess I could pester the Elle staff, lol.

ncgirl, are you thinking of the Carolyn Hart series featuring mystery bookstore owner Annie Darling? They are light and amusing.

Another vote for Carl Hiaasen. I also recommend anything by Donna Leon, who writes mysteries set in Venice. She's definitely a cut above trash.
Two authors I've been enjoying lately are David Rosenfelt, whose mysteries take place in and around my old home town, Paterson, NJ, and Linda Fairstein, the New York sex crimes prosecutor whose heroine is -- surprise, surprise -- a sex crimes prosecutor. Each of Fairstein's books looks at a different aspect of New York life, e.g. the Chelsea art scene, the rivalry between the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Natural History.
Can't wait to head off on vacation...

How much fun is this??

One of my all-time favs is
Widow for One Year by John Irving.
Semi-trashy, an unstoppable page turner.

The Mitford Series by Jan Karon is so
great. Talk about feeling great after
reading a chapter or two.

Also an easy and fun read, The Ladies'
No. 1 Detective Agency Series by
Alexander McCall Smith.

Thanks for all of the great suggestions!

I also love the Miss Julia books - and the Mitford series - altho I am afraid to make the orange cake in the last one b/c it may kill any desire I might have to ever lose weight!Pat Conroy's new cookbook is also a good read - full of personal anecdotes - some of which are the basis for parts of his novels....
My girls and I fight over the "Traveling Pants" books - in fact they have kidnapped the newest one and taken it to college with them!
Also just re-issued is "Murder on a Bad Hair Day" and others by Kathy Trocheck, an Atlanta author who also writes the chic-lit books "Hissy Fit", "Little Bitty Lies", and a book about Savannah under the name of Mary Kay Andrews - all are fun and a little naughty.

Beach reading?

These recommendations are more like entertaining instead of trash.

Fool's Run by John Camp. And any of the Fletch series by Gregory McDonald.

Rick Olson's Maui Whispers--perfect trashy beach reading.

Candace Bushnell's books are great beach reads. She is the author behind the Sex and the City series.

I find Patricia Cornwell books to be good for beach reading as well. They're quick crime/mystery reads that are interesting.

>>I also love the Miss Julia books - and the Mitford series - altho I am afraid to make the orange cake in the last one b/c it may kill any desire I might have to ever lose weight!<<

It's really, really good, though.... ;-)

Lee Ann

For those who might like to sit by the ocean with a nice drink or beer at hand and contemplate the disasterous effects of the ocean on peoples' lives, let me suggest Lawrence Kusche's THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE- SOLVED, the only book of the genre worth reading. By doing a little bit of detective work, Kusche solves nearly all the "strange occurences" that some unknown force in the Bermuda Triangle somehow caused.

My thanks to JJ5 and LovesItaly for your suggestions, I appreciate your kindness!

My ideas...
I too agree about the Mitford series, they are unlike no others, just good, happy books, a book tht makes you want to live there and long for a day when life was that simple. I read the first five and then stopped because that was all there was at the time, I should pick up the next books in the series now, I have heard there is more now.

One of my all-time favorites, but not a trashy beach read is "Memoirs of a Geisha" Arthur Golden is an excellent author, I wish he would write another, you just find yourself unable to put this one down.

Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil, a must read especially if you are traveling anywhere near Savannah.

And my selection for a beach read, although not trashy is Julie & Romeo, it is a funny lighthearted book about a not-so-young couple that starts "going steady" and how their families react to it. It is a quick read, I found it very funny.

For another kind of easy to follow book, I enjoyed The Horse Whisperer.

I love Tracy Chevalier books, they are book and quick reads.

Michael Faber's The Crimson Petal and The White, one to sink your teeth into.

And another for lighter but smart reading is the Kay Scarpetta series by Cornwell. Forensic science at it's best. Start with Postmortem, her first, and work you way through every one. Marino, Kay, Lucy, they will all become your best friends. I wish I had another series like hers to read, although like I said in an above post, I am enjoying the beginnings of Patterson's Lindsey Boxer books very much and just what I need right now! Easy, but interesting!

One last one, I really enjoyed Wally Lamb's I Know This Much Is True, but did not like his other, She's Come Undone. I Know This Much is dark but has alot of sarcasm, even though it is bleak, it did makes me laugh because he just works his way through it wih sarcasm, I should read that again. She's Come Undone was just too dark for me.

I love it every spring and summer when someone starts one of these book threads as to bring a new book along to travel. Thanks flygirl.

Safe journey, T.

Tiff, Memoirs of a Geisha is one of my all time favorites, too. Fabulous book.

For those of you who like Patricia Cornwell, try Kathy Reichs. Her character, Tempe Brennan, is a forensic anthropologist based in Charlotte and Montreal, so there is a travel element. At one point in each book you'll get creeped out by some aspect of forensic science.

Yes, Carolyn, it is Carolyn Hart's Annie Darling I was thinking about. And the baker-sleuth is Joanne Fluke's series featuring Hannah Swensen. Recipes are usually included.

This thread is great! Half.com thinks so too since everytime somebody mentions one I might like I sprint over to see if it's available. On the other hand, our letter carrier is getting a little testy.....

And how are you finding those flight manuals, Flygirl? Did ground school ever leave you feeling overwhelmed like I am at the moment? I was feeling so positive at the beginning of the week too. Sigh.

April - hang in there! once you start flying it will all click - reading can be dry. What I'm doing now is mostly review and at some point I gotta tackle the AIM/FARs. (ugh).

if you get a chance, buy Rod Machado's private pilot book. he's a hoot! he spells it out clearly and jokes a lot too - and if he comes into your area for a speech, go to it! it's like a comedy routine - a lot of war stories, along with good advice. His last "seminar" was called "How not to be on the 11 o'clock news". ha ha ha (my ground school instructor also had a dark sense of humor, he'd start each class with "a new way to kill yourself in an airplane". watch out for those flat spins!!)

another good one to get is Stick and Rudder. It was written in the 40s, believe it or not, but the basics still apply. I may actually read that one again, it's good to dip into once in awhile.

what I did in ground school was get up each morning at 6 AM and read until 730 AM then got ready for work. and some studying in the evenings too - and wkds of course. it's only 6 weeks - set a timer for yourself and go! it's well worth it.

Tiff, so sorry about your Dad. :-( and your recent loss too. I'll take a look at my bookshelves to see if I can reco anything that sped by as I read it.

y'all will laugh, but I've narrowed it down to two books to pick from. One is "Out of this Century" which is Peggy Guggenheim's autobiography (never did finish it, started it, set it aside but picked it back up again this week - she's funny!! she came from a crazy and colorful family too.) a quote - when her mother accepted Mr. Guggenheim's hand, the telegraph to the family should have read "Florette chooses Guggenheim smelter" but instead the telegraph said "Guggenheim smelt her". ha ha. so far it appears to be a collection of nuttiness about her family.

the other choice: "Moab is my washpot" which is Stephen Fry's autobio. I'll likely just take Peggy's b/c then I'll finish it for sure.

I'm not a big fan of murder mysteries most of the time, but I do enjoy Nevada Barr's. Every book is set in a different national park. Good, easy reading...and a bit of armchair traveling at the same time!

Thanks for the encouragement and tips, Flygirl! I needed that. (Our ground school is 10 weeks.) Guess I should get myself in the air. Everyone says so. 'How not to be on the 11 o'clock news' - I love it.

Great post! Definitely the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.

Oh how could I have forgotten the trash beach reads of all time- the long, long running Archie McNally series by Lawrence Sanders. Join Archie on the beach and in all of his escapades. And grow to love his Mom & Dad, as well. It's cocktail time in the library at the McNally's residence promptly after Archie's late afternoon swim. And you'll get invited to all the Palm Beach supper club and private parties afterwards, as well. I always wonder what Archie and Binky will be wearing this time.

Will Connie ever get him to put a ring on her finger? Or is everything too perfect for the rascal or herself to want to change a thing, except his fidelity quotion. Someday we may know. But Archie never seems to age, or forget a pretty face either. Oh to have a man with such artistic sensibilities and yet such macho around!

Beach reading:
anything by Tim Dorsey
Hunter S. Thompson's The Curse of Lono - also recommended for anyone planning a trip to Hawaii

ElendilPickle - Thanks for the encouragement about the cake - I may give it a try at Easter when I have a houseful to help eat it!
All of the Margaret Truman books - with each one set in a different "landmark" of Wash DC are also entertaining and almost educational.

well, it's decided, and I did take both books above. I figure I'll finish at least one and start on the other.

Tiff, didn't have a chance to look for books last night, but one that sprang to mind as a fun quick read was Bridget Jones Diary - the first one - even if you already saw the movie it was cute.

bon vwoy-a-gee! that's all folks.

What about the Alexander McCall Smith No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series? They are so much fun!

Shirley, I agree.