Defending Jacob is my favorite book!
You should read Finding Jake and Afterwards.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about the Shopaholic books by Sophia Kinsella?

WAY too fluffy for me! I like bestsellers, but they need to be a bit more meaty than that.

It is adorable that you think Jodi Picoult novels are more "meaty" than the Shopaholic books.

Seriously, the PP who asserted you would like books that have been made into movies with familiar actors is correct.

Have you read both? Dr. Seuss is more "meaty" than the Shopaholic books.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about the Shopaholic books by Sophia Kinsella?

WAY too fluffy for me! I like bestsellers, but they need to be a bit more meaty than that.

It is adorable that you think Jodi Picoult novels are more "meaty" than the Shopaholic books.

Seriously, the PP who asserted you would like books that have been made into movies with familiar actors is correct.

Ok I know you said no series books, but these books can be read as singletons.

I love the Maisie Dobbs series, about a private investigator/psychologist in England between WWI and WWII. It's easy, slow, patient, and in every book, the author explores an area (e.g. mapmaking, gypsies) so you learn something. It's interesting and calming at the same time.

If you do decide to read the series, it's also interesting to see how Maisie evolves over time, and the country evolves, moving away from WWI into a lull and slowly marching forward to the precipice of WWII. But no gore, no--nothing to upset you, OP. It's a murder mystery series but the dead is dead when you start out, nothing horrible.

Also ignore the jerk face from page 1. I love book threads, and wouldn't discourage anyone from looking for their next read.

Agree +100. Reading book threads is almost as much fun as the books...

OK, good absorbing reads, not to heavy...

You've read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which was at the top of my head.

How about some memoirs? Wild: by Cheryl Strayed. Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller (this one has some "verboten" tragedy, but it is very much not the focus of the book). My Life in France by Julia Child. And while on cooking memoirs, Heat by Bill Buford, is LOL funny, and I rarely actually laugh while reading. Just Kids by Patti Smith is terrific even if you are not a big fan.

Lighter fare but still with some substance: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (sort of a fantasy book for adults). The Paris Wife by Paula McLain (the story according to Hemingway's wife, if you like that whole scene). I'd second Where'd You Go, Bernadette.

Anonymous wrote:I love book threads too.

OP, one thing I do is look up a book I like on amazon.com and then look at "readers also bought" to see what other books are similar. They also have those scrolling recommendations with similar books.

I second a lot of other PP recs, like Station Eleven, Life after Life, Anne Tyler, Prayer for Owen Meany. Also try Nora Webster (Irish, no violence); Longbourn (servants in Jane Austen novel); Olive Kitteredge; The Help; American Wife (Curtis Sittenfeld); Stone Diaries; Storied life of AJ Fikry;

For a laugh try Sandra Loh's "Madwoman in the Volvo: My year of raging hormones."

I loved Station Eleven, Longbourn, and American Wife. Some others to try:

Brooklyn
Foreign Affairs (Alison Lurie)
Plainsong
Nobody's Fool
The Rosie Project
Three Junes
Atonement
Crossing to Safety
China Court (if you can find it; it's out of print)

The Blue by Lucy Clarke (also loved Swimming at Night and A Single Breath)

All of Catherine McKenzie's books (Hidden, Arranged, etc...)

All of Lucie Whitehouse's books (Keep You Close is the latest one)

Also ditto to the Rook. Thank you to whoever on DCUM first cited it.

Also love Rachel Bach's books about Eli Monpress or the Paradox Trilogy (sorry I know you said no series).

Also Emily Arsenault's books, especially The Broken Teaglass

+1 on Ann Tyler - especially "Digging to America" and "The Accidental Tourist"

"When We Were the Kennedys," a memoir set in small-town Maine. Very engrossing.

"Modern Lovers" and "The Vacationers" by Emma Straub - light, fun, well-written.

Anonymous wrote:The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

OP. LOVED this book!

I love book threads too.

OP, one thing I do is look up a book I like on amazon.com and then look at "readers also bought" to see what other books are similar. They also have those scrolling recommendations with similar books.

I second a lot of other PP recs, like Station Eleven, Life after Life, Anne Tyler, Prayer for Owen Meany. Also try Nora Webster (Irish, no violence); Longbourn (servants in Jane Austen novel); Olive Kitteredge; The Help; American Wife (Curtis Sittenfeld); Stone Diaries; Storied life of AJ Fikry;

For a laugh try Sandra Loh's "Madwoman in the Volvo: My year of raging hormones."

Anything by Elizabeth Berg or Sue Miller

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Red Tent
Girl with the Pearl Earring
Memories of a Geisha
The Poisonwood Bible

All great ones from 15+ years ago .

I would suggest OP look into books that were made into major movies starring familiar actors. These are the types of books OP will enjoy.

Well clearly pp gets her intellectual stimulation by reading DCUM

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Sisters of St. Croix
Honolulu
Shanghai Girls

No One Knows, by JT Ellison
The Two Family House, by Lynda Cohen Loigman
Necessary Lies, by Diane Chamberlain
Disclaimer, by Renee Knight
The Silent Wife, by A.S.A Harrsion