Thursday, September 9, 2010

book help please!

alright gang, i'm in need of a new amazing book for my honeymoon. yes my honeymoon!

yesterday when i was reading sarah's book list over on auburn street, it suddenly dawned on me that when we're not lounging on the beach, touring buddhist temples, or taking care of our elephant we're going to be stuck on long hours of planes, trains and buses. so i need a new book to take along with me that will be so intriguing, so riveting, that i just can't put it down {nor notice a bit of turbulence}.

{photo found here}

but since i've been in grad school the last couple years, i haven't had much time to read for fun and i am kind of out of the loop as far as good books go. so i'm looking for a book that will be completely engrossing from the first page and more on the uplifting side. i don't want anything too heavy, i mean this is my honeymoon after all. there are several books on my list that i can't wait to read, but they all involve some sort of tragedy at some point in the story, and i'm not really wanting to cry in my traveling. so i'm looking for all those books you guys secretly can't wait to rush home to! any favorite recommendations that fit the bill?

thanks friends! :)

14 comments:

  1. I'm always looking for books too, something I can read at night to get away from all the grad school reading. I'd recommend The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (it's light, positive, and not too long), and I also loved Molly Wizenberg's A Homemade Life (cute stories about her family with recipes). I also recently read Four Fish and really enjoyed that; it might not be perfect for your honeymoon but do check it out. Hope you find some good reads!

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  2. hmmm well i just finished the help which was really good but it's kinda heavy. they only have it in hardcover.

    next on my list is a jen lancaster (i think that's her name) book. supposed to be fun, easy reading. i hear she's hilarious.

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  3. ooh good question. i'm probably not the best person to answer this question considering that i really can't remember the last time i finished a book. but back in the day when i did read, i enjoyed ruth reichl's books (she was the dining critic for the new york times for a while-tender at the bone is my fave. comfort me with apples is another good one where she goes back and forth between berklee and LA, so you might like that!). life of pi and october sky are also faves of mine!

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  4. i think it's really hard to find a book that doesn't have a bit of heavy to it, if you want a quality book, because conflict = good book, yanno? but eat, pray, love is amazing, as well as the christmas train by david baldacci (don't know if i spelled that right). the christmas train i couldn't put down, i just wanted to keep reading it! but, that makes it go pretty quickly. all the other good books i've read recently (like the hunger games) have been pretty heavy, though. wish i could help more!

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  5. I loved absolutely loved the Time Traveler's Wife. Oh my goodness I could not put it down and it totally changed my life.

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  6. If you like Twilight I would suggest Shiver (I like it even better).

    I would also suggest 13 Reasons Why but it would fall under the 'heavy' category.

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  7. I read the Jane Eyre with illustrations by Dame Darcy during my honeymoon. You may have already read it, but I thought the drawings with it were fun.

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  8. I read the Jane Austen Book Club and it was cute. I still prefer Jane Austen's work, though. Pride and Prejudice is my go to novel.Unless you like things from the 18th and 19th century or based there-I am no help when it comes to fiction. If you want a light non-fiction, try David Sedaris. I also recommend Julia Child's My Life is Paris. Lovely Book. p.s. I want that cup!

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  9. so... I suck and never read. but, my friend Katie just did a big book review today on her blog with several fun books that look awesome! check it out http://katiesperk.blogspot.com/2010/09/reading-rainbow.html

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  10. I ALWAYS suggest Why Girls Are Weird by Pamela Ribon. It's light hearted and positively hysterical.

    Also anything by Jen Lancaster.

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  11. I am so jealous of where you are going on your honeymoon! It sounds ridiculously amazing. Congrats! And I love the book "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie society". One of my faves. Quick read, pure bliss.

    Rachael

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  12. since you love jonathan sanfran foer, i think you should reread everything is illuminated. because it's incredible. unless you've already read it a couple times...

    i'm not really one for light and fluffy novels or chick lit type stuff, so i have trouble finding good quick and easy reads, which just happen to be the best air plane/ hotel room/ beach reads. i really, really loved water for elephants, though. i read the whole thing on a 12 hour flight to kenya... so good. i also love anything by jhumpa lahiri, especially her short stories. hmmm... i'll think of some more soon :)

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  13. I have to go with Rachael's recommendation, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It is soooo good. However, there's a bit of tragedy in there, so it might be one to wait for until you get home. It's mostly lovely and happy though, so don't rule it out completely.

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  14. I just finished (today) Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. Once I started reading it on holiday I seriously could not put it down. Despite the subject matter, it was not heavy going at all, more funny, tender, euphoric, exhilarating, and lots of other positive words! Definitely now one of my all time favourite books - I heartily recommend it.

    Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer is another favourite of mine, but is way too emotional for holidays/honeymoon. I cried half the way through it.

    Love in the Time of Cholera or A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez are both amazing. Despite the title, both are not depressing, but mesmerising and funny. And both are quite long, so one should see you the whole way to Thailand and back!!

    xx

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