more light summer reading

[snugglekitty]

At the library before my vacation with mrpet, I picked up Tanner on Ice by Lawrence Block. I love Lawrence Block, except for his Matthew Scudder mysteries, which I find bleak and nihilistic - I like his funny stuff. Anyway, Evan Tanner is my favorite character of his - writes term papers for a living and does some conspiracy on the side. He also falls into bed with a lot of leggy blondes, and I can relate to that. So far, Tanner's Twelve Swingers has been my favorite in this series, because it was hilarious. This one - well, you find out on the cover that Tanner was frozen by an enemy agent for twenty-five years, so now, he's in the nineties. The account of him trying to figure out what has changed since the ice is probably the best part of the book. Still, it was good. I don't think there are any more (besides one or two in between Swingers and Ice which are out of print).

Anyway, here's another shoutout to harlequinade for turning me on to Block shortly after I moved to Boston.

In the same library trip, I asked my friend Karen the librarian for another light reading suggestion. She pointed me towards Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor. She said the first book was an important setup but she liked the others better. It transpires that starkeymonster has read these as well, and she liked the first book better than the others. I will have to read at least one or two more just to find out which of them I agree with. :)

Does anyone have any other suggestions of good light summer reading? I'm taking September off from my job, mostly, so I'll have some time to catch up.

Comments

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon!

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Wow, I actually hated that book with a firey passion when I read it in college. :) Thanks though.

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

LOL!! Well then, how about some Tom Robbins? Jitterbug Perfume?

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Mmm, love Tom Robbins. Loooved Jitterbug Perfume. (I always knew that beets were magickal!) I should re-read some of his stuff. Thanks for the idea.

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

I liked Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates, one of his more recent ones.

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Sorry that came out weird. I just always find it so interesting that two similar people can feel so differently about the same work of literature.

"In literature as in love, we are astounded at what is chosen by others" is a favorite quote of mine.

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's fine. It didn't trouble me. Generally people either love or hate the Outlander series, with no in-between.

[lifecollage.livejournal.com]

Have you read A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray? Victorian boarding school chick lit set in a world where magic exists. Sequel is Rebel Angels.

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Ooh! That sounds awesome! I'll give it a try.

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

It was pretty good--not my favorite, and ricevermicelli strongly disliked it, I think, but it's worth a read.

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Along similar lines, have you read Sorcery and Cecilia by Wrede and Stevermer? That was fantastic.

[lifecollage.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, and snagged The Grand Tour as soon as I got my hands on it. (Sequel, sequel!)

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

There's a sequel? I'll have to check it out...

[chienne-folle.livejournal.com]

Have you read the Mrs. Polifax books? Mrs. Polifax is a retired lady who gets bored raising prize-winning geraniums and walks into CIA headquarters one day and says, "Excuse me, but do you need any spies?" She figures that since women of a certain age are effectively invisible, she'd be a great spy. These books are not at all like the grimmer spy novels that try to be realistic; this is very much a fantasy CIA where things are MUCH nicer. Mrs. Polifax travels around the world in a series of books and has many adventures, usually managing to acquire the help of the most unlikely people along the way. The first book in the series is "The Unexpected Mrs. Polifax."

Because of the nature of my work, I mostly read light stuff. I get enough tales of the evil that men do at work. So I won't deluge you with suggestions, but any time you want more, just ask!

Have fun.

Cory

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I think I read one of these as a teenager. I don't remember it too well, and my tastes back then were pretty bland - I liked Mary Higgins Clark a lot at the time. :) Perhaps I'll have to give her another go.

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

I just added The Unexpected Mrs. Polifax to my wish list after reading the first few pages on amazon and becoming enchanted with her. I can't wait to see what she does--thanks!

[lifecollage.livejournal.com]

Actually, speaking of Blocks, Francesca Lia Block has a new Weetzie Bat book out: Necklace of Kisses. Weetzie is maturing, but still lives in the magic realism of LA. I've got this one at home, waiting its turn.

If you haven't read any of the Weetzie Bat books, I highly recommend them. They're light, but not fluffy. And Block's other works vary from just as light to really heavy, but they're all good.

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Actually, I was lucky enough to read an advance copy of Necklace of Kisses back in February, and I loved it.
I've loved all the Weetzie Bat books. Post-modern fairy tales. They're wonderful.

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

Hey, have you read The Time Traveler's Wife? Easily the best book I read last year. Closely followed by The Magician's Assistant, by Ann Patchett. They're not "light" summer reading in the sense of fluffy, but they are light in the sense of fascinating and fairly quick reads.

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Yup, I really liked The Time Traveler's Wife, even though it was really sad. It was sad in a nice way, you know?
I haven't read anything by Ann Patchett. I picked up her Bel Canto a few months ago for Cheap Cheap Cheap. Perhaps I'll take that with me to the beach this weekend. Thanks for the suggestion.

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

So sad! But so beautiful, because they loved each other so much...

Ann Patchett varies. Bel Canto was good, but I liked Magician's Assistant better.

[opn.livejournal.com]

I also recommend Mrs. Pollifax -- it's fun to read about sleuthing without cellphones!

How about Laurie R. King's Russell/Holmes series or Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody books?

Now I'm off to the Minuteman Library site to request some of the books mentioned above!

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Yes, I've read Laurie King and Elizabeth Peters. It was you who turned me on to Amelia Peabody, actually - I saw you reading it at the Diesel one time. :)

Have you read Victoria Thompson? Her Gaslight Mysteries are similar, set in New York in the early 1900s I think. I like them a lot - they have a little more substance than some others of the type.

[opn.livejournal.com]

Well, then, yay for Amelia Peabody! :)

No, I haven't read the Gaslight books, but I just requested one. Thank you!

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

I like that they talk about the class divide in that time period, and government corruption, and stuff. They're pretty real. Let me know what you think.

[chienne-folle.livejournal.com]

I LOVE Amelia Peabody!

I love the first few Laurie King books about Mary Russell, but after awhile, they just turn into ordinary mysteries, without that Holmesian element. I hope she gets back to writing ones like the first few.

Gee, Opn, sounds like we have similar tastes in fiction. Please tell me what else you like to read!

Cory

[opn.livejournal.com]

Sadly, I can rarely pull authors' names or titles out of my head when it is convenient! I just happened to have had Locked Rooms on my work desk today and Amelia Peabody is ALWAYS on my mind, so those were easy ones to offer up. I don't have lofty tastes and I often don't know why I like or don't like a book. I loved the Shopaholic books but hate almost every other book that feels similar (like The Devil Wears Prada and Chore Whore). I like some contemporary chicklit and I like coming-of-age stuff like Whores On The Hill and Prep (recent reads) but I can't really get into Jane Green, Jennifer Weiner, et al. I admit a harumphing attitude toward most books that offer three protagonists or anything too period-saga-y. Books like Expecting Adam and some drawn-outta-blog books (I'm Not The New Me, for example) will sometimes grab me.

[chienne-folle.livejournal.com]

P. S. Love the Hermione userpic!

C

[harlequinaide.livejournal.com]

Anyway, here's another shoutout to harlequinade for turning me on to Block shortly after I moved to Boston.

One does what one can. ;-)

You have read the Jasper Fforde books, yes?

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Yes, but I actually didn't like them much.

Although the Rocky Horror Hamlet thing was pretty awesome.

[harlequinaide.livejournal.com]

Richard II, actually. I'm surprised - I find them endlessly creative and entertaining. Ah well, non argumentum, right? :-)