needed urgently: book recommendations for train rides that do not include sappy love romance bullshit, because otherwise the person sitting next to me will suffer injuries from my eyes physically popping out of my eyesockets and whacking them in the face due to all the overzealous eyerolling i'll be forced to do.
ps: last new book i read was Lamb, which holy crap was AWESOME, if that helps re: what to recommend.
aaaaaaand... go!
Middlesex. It's a very good read, and completely devoid of mushy love stuff.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of Lamb, so I can't help you there.
ReplyDeleteI just started The Omnivore's Dilemma. Heard it was excellent from a number of reliable sources.
BTW, I might be the only person, but I hated Middlesex. Sorry filbberty.
If you haven't read it already, Water for Elephants is fast and fun and not sappy.
ReplyDeleteOther suggestions:
-Special Topics in Calamity Physics
-Double Bind (not cheerful, but I read it on a plane and it is a good suspenseful travel book)
Three is probably enough suggestions, so I'll rein myself in.
Just finished reading "To Full Term" which is about miscarriage, so can't help you there.
ReplyDeleteAlso recently read "The Professor, The Banker, and The Suicide King" which is about Poker if you like that sort of thing. I really enjoyed "Bringing Down the House" which they recently made into a movie.
Have you ever read the Sue Grafton series "A is for Alibi?" It is excellent and TOTALLY devoid of romance.
I recently read the new John Grisham - The Appeal - and thought it was good. It was a fast/easy read with no mushy love stuff. Enjoy your trip! ~LA
ReplyDeleteAnything by James Patterson is generally a fast read, and the chapters are so short that you probably won't have to stop reading in the middle of one if you have to change trains.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite book ever is Beach Music by Pat Conroy, but it is a long one.
Stephen King's "Duma Key." Even if you're not a King fan, it's not like his typical fare and it is by far my favorite book of his.
ReplyDeleteI also liked Jodi Picoult's "Second Glance." A bit predictable, but her writing style is so beautiful.
Pagan and her parents. It's my fav book. The author is just so brilliant at describing things. Could get a little intense and depressing though. http://verbal-sid.blogspot.com/2008/03/pagan-and-her-parents.html
ReplyDeleteThe Shadow of the Wind. Devil in the White City. She's Come Undone. Never Let Me Go. My Year of Meats. Oooo. Especially that last one.
ReplyDeleteThe last book I read that involved no sappy sentiment was Predator by Patricia Cornwell. The only couple in the book was bitter and distant toward one another the whole time.
ReplyDeleteI second what Jess said on The Shadow of the Wind and Devil in the White City. Also, A Thousand Splendid Suns or The Kite Runner. I Know This Much is True. Anything by John Irving or Joyce Carol Oates.
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ReplyDeleteBooks? What are those?
ReplyDelete-I'd go with DVDs + Laptop or other portable player.
If you haven't read "Lolita," you must. Seriously. It's amazing.
ReplyDeleteHave you read any other Michael Moore books? If not, I highly suggest "Dirty Job," "Bloodsucking Fiends" and "You Suck: A Love Story."
ReplyDeleteI also suggest:
"Straight Up & Dirty"
"Stiff" by Mary Roach
"Bitter Is the New Black" by Jen Lancaster
Is Lamb the one about Jesus's or his friend or something like that?
ReplyDeleteI wish I could help you. It's been a while since I really enjoyed a novel. I heard And Then We Came to the End is good though.
Anything by Christopher Moore is great, so try "Dirty Job". A little strange but funny and moving in the same way as Lamb.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, I generally hate Sci-Fi but Terry Pratchett is really funny. Also enjoyed "How to Talk to a Widower" and most Nick Hornby books are fun.
Erm...I could go on for days but I'll shut up now.
Dixie wanted me to read Lamb, but I never finished it. With the blogosphere out there, I never read any more. Hornby and Coupland are always good for trips.
ReplyDeleteQueen of the Oddballs by Hilary Carlip
ReplyDeleteWe're Just Like You, Only Prettier by Celia Rivenbark
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster
Not fiction, but good reads, no sappy love included.