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this sumer i’ve jumped back into reading. not that i haven’t read in the last few years, but i’d get really into a book, let it take over my life for 48 hours and then not read again for 2 months. this summer i’ve tried to be more balanced and pace myself. the boys are also older and a little more independent, which means i can read for longer than 5 minutes without an interruption. usually i don’t pick up my book all day and after dinner i get a couple hours in.
so what have i been reading? well, like most young women (ok, i’m not that young) in the US, i read the entire twilight series. the series really drew me in and i read all four books in about 2 weeks. they are fun and easy to read. after that i read ‘the host’ also by stephanie meyer (twilight author) and really enjoyed it as well. not quite as easy to read (as it was written for adults, not youth) but a great story.
i just finished ‘love walked in’ by marisa de los santos which is a fun, sweet story about a thirty-something woman whose life changes in a beautiful way.
now i am reading ‘nights of rain and stars’ by maeve binchy. she wrote ‘circle of friends’ (remember that book/movie from about 12 years ago? it was minnie driver’s first big role). it took me a while to get into it, but i’ve really enjoyed the story and the characters.
notice a trend here? yep, i like fun, happy stories. i can’t handle anything too sad or violent. like has enough drama on it’s own, i want my entertainment to be light and uplifting. so, what are you reading? anything fun i might enjoy??
I recently stumbled upon your blog and what a sweet surprise. You, your children, husband, jewelry and photography are so beautiful and inspiring. Some books I have recently enjoyed are: The Kite Runner(hard to read but glad I did), Secret Life of Bees(sad but so good), The Girls of Ames(a great story I think almost any woman,maybe all women would enjoy..a real tale of friendships and the strong bonds between women), My Journey With Farrah(Farrah Fawcett’s story-sad but she was amazing). I also love anything by Dorthea Benton Frank…she writes great beach fiction moslty based in SC. Enjoy 🙂
You will LOVE Outlander… my fave series ever!
Also recommend the Twilight series, Time Traveler's Wife, Emily Giffin books, Philippa Gregory's Other Boleyn Girl, Water For Elephants.
And you can't NOT read The Art of Racing in The Rain. If you liked Marley & Me, you'll LOVE this!
Eat, Pray, Love…I read it last year but we just had our book club meeting about it last night and it just reminded me how much I loved it!
if you haven’t already, you must read ‘To Kill a Mockingbord’ by Harper Lee……….its just sooo sweet!!
Try ‘Arlington Park’ by Rachel Cusk! I read it last month in only two nights – it’s so enchaining!
(PS: I really like your blog and I always drop over when I’m surfing the web)
I just love reading. Normally I devour books over the summer, but my courses ate into my enjoyable reading time. I love any novel by Barbara Kingsolver, especially The Prodigal Summer, or Chris Bohjalian. I’m searching through the comments to find a good book to read next!
I just read Wednesday Letters! Wonderful story of love surviving and flourishing through an entire marrage.
Absolutely anything by Elizabeth Berg, but no woman should miss “Talk Before Sleep.” Also, most definitely, “Sotah,” by Naomi Regan. Faves I have read over and over.
'summer sisters' by judy blume is such a fun, easy read.
'water for elephants' is a book where you not only laugh, cry and get into the characters lifestory, but you learn something as well. another quick read that does not take a lot out of you to understand.
anything & everything by jodi piccoult.
'the memory keepers daughter' by kim edwards.
and lastly, a classic – a tree grows in brooklyn. 🙂
hope youre enjoying the holiday weekend with the family. 🙂
Oooo, I love this post!
I think you’d love Lorna Landvik, if you haven’t read her yet: “Patty Jane’s House of Curl” and “Angry Housewives Eating BonBons” were two of my favorites…
And if you like Maeve Binchy (I do!) then you’d probably enjoy Rosamunde Pilcher (September, Coming Home, Shell Seekers) – all family sagas set in England.
I absolutely loved the Twilight Series. I will have to check out some of your other reads! I am sure they are great as well! Thank you for sharing!
If you liked “Love Walked In” read her latest one “Belong to Me.” Same delightful characters, another beautiful story…
Hi Lisa,
Lisa here, my all time favorite book is…………………My Sister’s Keeper by author Jodi Picoult.
This book did everything it should have for me.
The next best thing is they are making a movie about it.YEAH!!!!
Warmest Regards,
Lisa.
Praying for you, sister!
I would recommend Wide Open Spaces by Jim Palmer. I haven’t finished it yet, but I worked at the Parable, so I can be trusted 😉
Feel like I'm on a radio show…"Long time reader, first time commenter!" 😉
Not all lighthearted, but…here goes…I would echo some of your other commenters here: 'The Last Lecture', 'Water for Elephants', & Emily Giffin's books. I just finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak…takes place during Hitler's regime in Nazi Germany. Some of my all-time faves…'The Secret History' by Donna Tartt, Chronicles of Narnia series (which I didn't start reading until 4 years ago – & I'm 31!), 'A Lesson Before Dying' by Ernest Gaines, 'Welcome to the World, Baby Girl' by Fannie Flagg (author of Fried Green Tomatoes), 'Wicked', anything by Anita Shreve, anything by LM Montgomery (author of the Anne of Green Gables series). One of my friends just hooked me on Harry Potter…yes, yes…I know I'm well behind the popularity curve here…but I'm through books 1 & 2 & can't wait to get to the library tomorrow to pick up book 3!
Lisa, love your blog…Have ordered a spoon & 2 key rings from you this year! Loved all of them! (So did the recipients!) I ordered when you gave a portion of the proceeds for CF – awesome *gift* for the Lawrenson's! Thank you for letting us all peek into your life through your blog!
Blessings!
Beth
I am a HUGE Maeve Binchy fan! My MIL got me hooked. Try “Tara Road” “Scarlet Feather” or “Light a Penny Candle”. I also read “Circle of Friends”. I am reading “The Copper Beech” right now. Every Christmas, my MIL gets me a Barnes and Noble gift card, and I always get whatever Maeve Binchy books I don’t have. So, I have a collection, and I am just working my way through the collection.
After “The Copper Beech” I think my next book venture is going to be “The Secret Life of Bees”. I saw the preview for the movie that is coming up, and I haven’t read it. So, I want to have it read before I see the movie.
Hope you enjoy my suggestions. In my opinion, you can never go wrong with a Maeve Binchy book. I always start one, and can never put it down!
Brianne
Hi Lisa,
I haven’t visited you for a while. I wrote down some of the suggestions, will try to read them in the winter, there’s just too much activities for me in the summer.
P.S.
I’m sorry to hear about your grandma.
Thanks for leaving me a comment – I was excited to see that you visited my blog. I really enjoy your blog. I think your photography is fabulous. (And…I love your jewelry too!)
Nick Hornby’s ‘How to be good’ might be something you like. He has a great sense of humor. Or what about Cecelia Ahern (lowbrow, but great!) and Anna Gavalda’s ‘Hunting and Gathering’?
I’m still in the middle of Eclipse (I have a newborn, so….). LOVED “Love Walked In’. Right now I’m reading “Certain Girls” by Jennifer Weiner (one of my favorite authors).
I posted just last week on some books I’m currently reading: http://herlings.blogspot.com/2008/08/whats-on-your-nightstand.html
Favorite for the year though is Tales of a Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelman. Fun stuff!
I have come across numerous mentions of the Twilight series on a number of blogs. I shall investigate and may have to read them because I'm intrigued. I am a Nicholas Sparks fan and own all his books. They are a genre of books that may be too sad for you (not all the stories have sad endings though). What may interest you about Nicholas Sparks though is his Memoir called "Three Weeks with my Brother" – published after Nicholas & Micah returned from a three-week trip around the globe together. I enjoyed it immensely and wouldn't hesitate recommending it. I love books. Books add life.
you guys rock! i've been on amazon ordering used books based on your recommendations!! my sis in law got me the outlander–a few years ago! maybe i'll read it finally. i just finished pride & prejudice over the winter and proceeded to read, mr. darcy's diary and then mr. knightly's diary (which was even better).
I’m totally with you about the depressing thing. Everyone always tells me “Oh, it’s okay to cry” like I’m just too uptight. I tell them I don’t need a book or movie to cry about…there’s enough to cry about in real life.
I know this is probably old news, but have you ever read “Pride and Prejudice”? It’s fabulous:)
pzcaraThe “Outlander” series by Diana Gabaldon was really good-I’ve read the whole series at least twice. 🙂
Loved the Twilight series…may have to order a “Be Safe.” necklace from you one of these days!! I’m now reading Neil Gaiman’s “Anansi Boys”…50 pages into it and laughing hysterically.
Looks like someone already mentioned it but thought I would second, the next book after Love Walked In, which is Belong to Me, I loved it!!
I was really into this post. I, too, had a summer goal of reading more books. My goal was three and I read five. The two I would recommend are “The Pact” by Jodi Picoult and “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini. However, I would not call them light-hearted…..they are more on the drama side. I especially liked “A Thousand Splendid Suns” though–even if a bit drama-filled. My sister lent it to me and wondered how I could take two weeks to read it (she does not have kids yet). I told her I was enjoying it, but I can only read a little at a time….as my time allowed, when I wasn’t doing Mommy things.
This winter I read “Eat Pray Love.” I really enjoyed that one as well.
My newest favorite book is “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch who just passed away from pancreatic cancer. I think everyone should own this book. It is more of a guide on how to live your life.
My all-time favorite books are the Anne of Green Gables series. They are written for kids/young adults but I have always loved them and have read and reread and reread them.
I am going to start the Twilight series this fall as per your suggestion. Thanks!
Sara
Obviously, I meant BUT goodie, not BY goodie….
I think you would LOVE Coast Road by Barbara Delinsky. It is an oldie (1999), by goodie!
I just finished the “Sweet” series by Susan Mallery, who is another great author.
Well, it is not light hearted for sure. But in the end the uplifting is there. You must keep an open mind though and remember it is fiction. An easy read, “The Shack” by William P. Young. You really should try it and see what you think.
I get in reading “moods” where I like to read certain kinds of books. But those change as the seasons of my life change.
If you’re up just some fun chick lit, try anything by Sophia Kinsella (Shopaholic series, and other good chick lit books), or Emily Giffin. They are two of my favorites for light easy reading.
‘the time traveler’s wife’ by audry niffenegger or ‘water for elephants’ i forget the author. ‘the glass castle’ i also forget the author. ‘peony in love’ was a beautiful story. all of these are reflective of life, so not all happy all the time, but great stories and hard to put down. i’m a first time commenter. thank you for sharing your story.
If you liked Love Walked In, you should REALLY read her newer novel Belong to Me. I liked the first one enough to borrow the second from the library…the second was a MUCH better book!! I think you would really enjoy it!!
I'm giving in and starting the Twilight series this week. (I was afraid I wouldn't like it.)
A frequent read of mine is "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.
I've also read "how to say No… AND live to tell about it" by Mary M. Byers.
Finishing "The Proper Care & Feeding of Husbands" by Dr. Laura C. Schlessinger.