Does anyone have any book suggestions? I am currently in between books, and I would like something entertaining and preferably light hearted but also a bit informative. I know, that's a tall order, but any suggestions are welcome, even if they don't fit the "requirements." :-) I recently finished two book by A.J. Jacobs: The Year of Living Biblically and The Know-It-All. They were so good! He is hilarious. There were times that I would laugh aloud, loudly. Just burst out laughing. He actually wrote The Know-It-All first. It's about his endeavor to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. He then wrote a book about trying to follow all the rules in the Bible for a year. I like The Year of Living Biblically best. He is an agnostic, very nominal Jew, but even though I don't agree with him on some things, he wrote it in such a manner that it was rarely offensive or off-putting. He was very open-minded, which I appreciated, especially in regards to things that are often criticized, like fundamental Christianity and snake handlers. (No, I do not agree with snake handlers, but his coverage of it was very good and interesting.) These two books, alas, are his two main works, and now I am looking for something else to read. I have some books on order featuring bookmobiles, but I think they are children's lit and won't take long to read.
I have to clean the house tonight. Especially my rooms, which is a big undertaking right now. But, it needs to be done.
Also, in the paper today, there was a huge, two page spread about the Beat and the Bench. It was kind of odd that those two houses, inhabited by people who were 2 years ahead of us, got such big press. I guess the editors were trying to foster off campus community? Not sure, but it was kind of cool to read about people who were "big names" when I was an underclassman.
4 comments:
Have you read anything by Barbara Kingsolver? Her essays and non-fiction tend to be informative and entertaining. Animal, Vegetable, Mineral is her most recent work, about her experiences only eating food she could grow (info on the locally grown food movement).
My absolute favorite of her books is High Tide in Tuscon, which is an essay collection--topics range from "How Mr. Dewey Decimal Saved my Life" to her experiences visiting a nuclear missile facility to trying to raise a young baby in Spain. You might not agree with all her points, but I think you might find something you enjoy in her work :)
ooh those books sound good for when I have time to do some *frilly* reading ;)
whenever I want a nice read I go for Fannie Flagg; she writes cute little small southern town books that I like a lot. I liked her "Standing in the Rainbow" which I had read last summer and listened to during my spring break road trip. Her "Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man" is also really funny.
I couldn't really consider these books "informative" per se, but I do enjoy them quite a bit. :)
North and South is not exactly light reading, and ELizabeth Gaskell is not the best writer you will ever encounter, but that is my suggestion. I am not very good at light enjoyable suggestions, because I don't read many light and enjoyable books. When I want to I usually reach for children's lit.
Uhm, I'm currently working through "Atlas Shrugged," so ... you probably don't want my recommendations!
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