I'm in a reading funk and need suggestions

[Nonny]

I'm just not feeling excited about any of my prospective future reads.  I started reading New York 2140, but I bailed after a few chapters because I found the writing, characters, and pacing insufferable (and I rarely abandon books).  

I'm currently doing the Big Library Read, Homes, and it's good but depressing and it's a quick read so I'll probably be done with it soon.   

I want something light, but not chick lit with awful female characters who constantly do stupid shit (for example anything by Sophie Kinsella or Jen Lancaster makes me want to punch things).

Lighter, funny stories I've enjoyed:  The Crazy Rich Asians trilogy, Eligible, The Devil Wears Prada

Even Artemis or The Martian for me was "light" because they are sort of gentle sci-fi without a lot of world building, but still something that kind of sucks you in and is fast paced. 

Basically I don't know WTF I want and it's making me annoyed and pouty.  LOL!

Any ideas?

[dontlook]

Are you opposed to YA? The chaos walking trilogy by Patrick Ness might be something to consider. I read all 3 books quickly. It’s sci fi which I don’t normally like but I thought it was pretty good.

A Place For Us by Fatima Mirza was really good.

Have you read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo? I can’t rave about that book enough.

[dontlook]

Also I was feeling that way for about a month and kept finding boobs that were 2/3 stars. It was disappointing. I reread The Giver which helped get me over my bad book hump.

[Nonny]

YA is perfectly fine. The Chaos Walking series looks interesting, but unfortunately there aren't any available copies right now.

Actually, none of the books you recommended have available copies.

[Vespasia]

Apr 9, 2019 11:16:07 GMT -5 dontlook said:

Have you read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo? I can’t rave about that book enough.

This was going to be suggestion as well. 

I'm only through the second book but I have really loved the Shades of Magic series by V.E Schwab. It has some world building you have to adjust to but it's not too complicated. I've really struggled with that in other series but helps that one of the settings is essentially Regency England. 

[krystee]

This would cost money, but I subscribed to Book of the Month to get new ideas and get excited about reading each month. I have really liked it so far!

[tacokick]

The new Ruth Reichl memoir is excellent.

Jenny Han’s PS I Still Love You trilogy is cute.

Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram is YA also but I liked it a lot.


Not as new books the library will probably have:

Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan
Stradal

Other People’s Houses by Abbi Waxman

When Katie Met Cassidy by Camille Perri

The Vacationers by Emma Staub

George and Lizzie by Nancy Pearl

Ice Cream Girls by Dorothy Koomson

Sourdough by Robin Sloan

[aurora]

Have you read Outlander (and the rest of the series)? The time travel is far outweighed by the character development.

JK Rowling's Cormoran Strike detective books are engaging.

ETA knowing how you feel about LOTR I'm staying away from all of my fantasy recommendations.

[Nonny]

Apr 9, 2019 22:34:34 GMT -5 aurora said:

Have you read Outlander (and the rest of the series)? The time travel is far outweighed by the character development.

JK Rowling's Cormoran Strike detective books are engaging.

ETA knowing how you feel about LOTR I'm staying away from all of my fantasy recommendations.

LOL! I actually like a lot of fantasy, just not LOTR, it's so boring! But I'm not sure I have it in me to start a big epic right now. I haven't read Outlander, but I actually think I'd like the time travel part more than the romance.

And I've already read all the Cormoran Stike books.

But you are reminding me that two months ago I read the first in Octavia Butler's series Xenogenesis, so maybe I should go back to that.

But really what I want is something funny. Or that feels familiar. Maybe I need to reread something?

I don't know.

Like I said. FUNK! 😝

[MrsAxilla]

I really enjoyed the Binti trilogy.  It’s Afrocentric YA and they’re each novella-length so they’re quick reads but well developed story and characters.

[Nonny]

Apr 10, 2019 0:01:31 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

I really enjoyed the Binti trilogy.  It’s Afrocentric YA and they’re each novella-length so they’re quick reads but well developed story and characters.

I've read those, they were really good.

BTW, I'm not ignore you Vespasia, Krystee, or TacoKick, I'm just on my phone and I hate browsing the library website from my mobile browser. I'm going to look at the other suggestions tomorrow when I'm on my laptop.

[rainbowchip]

New York 2140 was really boring! I don't blame you for giving up.

Have you read Born a Crime by Trevor Noah? He is really funny and his story is fascinating.

Or for fiction (I would consider these sci fi) Dark Matter by Blake Crouch or All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai.

YA I would suggest The Lunar Chronicles.

[susiebw]

I just finished An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green. It was fantastic. Pretty light, good female lead, a little bit sci-fi, but barely. I wouldn't call it chick lit at all. I don't want to say much, because I think it's one of those books that's better when you know less.

I LOVED Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, so much that I read it twice in about 6 months. It's definitely not as light, but it's really interesting and thought provoking, which is always good.

The Summer of Jordi Perez and the Best Burger in Los Angeles by Amy Spalding was another cute one I read recently. It's a YA lesbian romance, I guess. Romance in a YA way, though.

One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus was like Breakfast Club meets Clue, in a good way.

[Nonny]

Vespasia , dontlook , OK, I've added The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo to my list, but I'm going to be waiting quite a while.

I looked at A Darker Shade of Magic, and it looks interesting, BUT, I'm actually writing a novel about parallel worlds myself, so I don't want to influence my own writing. LOL!

krystee , I have probably 50+ unread physical books in my house, so I'm not sure a book of the month club would be a good option for me. LOL! I actually bought over a dozen books at a used book sale a few weeks ago, things I want to read, and some from favorite authors, but none of them are speaking to me right now either.

rainbowchip , susiebw , Dark Matter is on my Goodreads list, and was available for checkout, so I snagged that, although I'm not sure it's the "light" read I'm looking for. And yes, I've read Born a Crime. So good! I also put All Our Wrong Todays on hold.


tacokick , I placed a hold on Kitchens of the Great Midwest, Other People’s Houses, and I also wanted Ice Cream Girls, but for some reason I can only find it as an audiobook. I'll have to check my other libraries. Also, this is totally random re: Sourdough, but my H (and I before I retired) works in the software industry, and one of the very first things he did when he moved to WA was buy a bread machine because EVERYONE at his company made bread. We used to make bread every week, and eventually that tapered off, but we still have friends who make bread regularly. But I can't read books like that anymore because they give me stress nightmares.

[tacokick]

Apr 10, 2019 13:34:02 GMT -5 Nonny said:

Vespasia , dontlook , OK, I've added The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo to my list, but I'm going to be waiting quite a while.

I looked at A Darker Shade of Magic, and it looks interesting, BUT, I'm actually writing a novel about parallel worlds myself, so I don't want to influence my own writing. LOL!

krystee , I have probably 50+ unread physical books in my house, so I'm not sure a book of the month club would be a good option for me. LOL! I actually bought over a dozen books at a used book sale a few weeks ago, things I want to read, and some from favorite authors, but none of them are speaking to me right now either.

rainbowchip , susiebw , Dark Matter is on my Goodreads list, and was available for checkout, so I snagged that, although I'm not sure it's the "light" read I'm looking for. And yes, I've read Born a Crime. So good! I also put All Our Wrong Todays on hold.


tacokick , I placed a hold on Kitchens of the Great Midwest, Other People’s Houses, and I also wanted Ice Cream Girls, but for some reason I can only find it as an audiobook. I'll have to check my other libraries. Also, this is totally random re: Sourdough, but my H (and I before I retired) works in the software industry, and one of the very first things he did when he moved to WA was buy a bread machine because EVERYONE at his company made bread. We used to make bread every week, and eventually that tapered off, but we still have friends who make bread regularly. But I can't read books like that anymore because they give me stress nightmares.

That is really funny about the bread! Who knew it was based in reality!

[Nonny]

Apr 10, 2019 13:42:14 GMT -5 tacokick said:

Apr 10, 2019 13:34:02 GMT -5 Nonny said:

tacokick , I placed a hold on Kitchens of the Great Midwest, Other People’s Houses, and I also wanted Ice Cream Girls, but for some reason I can only find it as an audiobook. I'll have to check my other libraries. Also, this is totally random re: Sourdough, but my H (and I before I retired) works in the software industry, and one of the very first things he did when he moved to WA was buy a bread machine because EVERYONE at his company made bread. We used to make bread every week, and eventually that tapered off, but we still have friends who make bread regularly. But I can't read books like that anymore because they give me stress nightmares.

That is really funny about the bread! Who knew it was based in reality!

I really thought it was just a quirk of that company or possibly a hipster Seattle thing of the early 2000s, or even because I have a bunch of kind of foodie friends, but reading the description of that book, I was like, hey, wait a minute.  LMAO!  

[Gato]

Have you read the Maria Semple novels? I liked Where’d You Go Bernadette (son to be a major motion picture!) better, but Today Will Be Different is funny, too. I also usually love any novel by Nick Hornby or Tom Perotta. Or Margaret Drabble.

[aurora]

Apr 9, 2019 23:23:36 GMT -5 Nonny said:

Apr 9, 2019 22:34:34 GMT -5 aurora said:

Have you read Outlander (and the rest of the series)? The time travel is far outweighed by the character development.

JK Rowling's Cormoran Strike detective books are engaging.

ETA knowing how you feel about LOTR I'm staying away from all of my fantasy recommendations.

LOL! I actually like a lot of fantasy, just not LOTR, it's so boring! But I'm not sure I have it in me to start a big epic right now. I haven't read Outlander, but I actually think I'd like the time travel part more than the romance.

And I've already read all the Cormoran Stike books.

But you are reminding me that two months ago I read the first in Octavia Butler's series Xenogenesis, so maybe I should go back to that.

But really what I want is something funny. Or that feels familiar. Maybe I need to reread something?

I don't know.

Like I said. FUNK! 😝

I re-read frequently, especially when I'm in a funk. It's like hanging out with old friends. Close to half of the books I read in a typical year are re-reads.

[expectantsteelerfan]

Have you read Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic and The New Rules of Magic? I haven't actually read them, but they've been on my list for a while, but might feel familiar if you like the movie?

I was also going to suggest the Jenny Han trilogy To All the Boys I've Loved Before, light and cute without being super annoying (I can't stand Sophie Kinsella either)

[Nonny]

Apr 12, 2019 9:04:42 GMT -5 Gato said:

Have you read the Maria Semple novels? I liked Where’d You Go Bernadette (son to be a major motion picture!) better, but Today Will Be Different is funny, too. I also usually love any novel by Nick Hornby or Tom Perotta. Or Margaret Drabble.

I've read Where'd You Go Bernadette and I really hated it (I can did up the reasons if you want, but there were a lot of them LOL!).

I don't think I've read anything by Nick Hornby or Margaret Drabble, and the only thing I've read by Tom Perotta was The Leftovers, which I thought was just OK.

[Nonny]

Apr 13, 2019 7:20:14 GMT -5 expectantsteelerfan said:

Have you read Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic and The New Rules of Magic? I haven't actually read them, but they've been on my list for a while, but might feel familiar if you like the movie?

I was also going to suggest the Jenny Han trilogy To All the Boys I've Loved Before, light and cute without being super annoying (I can't stand Sophie Kinsella either)

I haven't read either of those books by Alice Hoffman.

Is the Jenny Han trilogy the one that Netflix made into a series recently?

[tacokick]

Apr 14, 2019 14:10:49 GMT -5 Nonny said:

Apr 13, 2019 7:20:14 GMT -5 expectantsteelerfan said:

Have you read Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic and The New Rules of Magic? I haven't actually read them, but they've been on my list for a while, but might feel familiar if you like the movie?

I was also going to suggest the Jenny Han trilogy To All the Boys I've Loved Before, light and cute without being super annoying (I can't stand Sophie Kinsella either)

I haven't read either of those books by Alice Hoffman.

Is the Jenny Han trilogy the one that Netflix made into a series recently?

Yes, they made a movie of the first one and now are doing another movie of the second. They are cute. Very light.